PRESENTED TO THE LIBRARY
'< '^'P^INCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
Ptfofessof l^enity van Dyke, D.D., IiIi.D
THE
WHOLE WORKS
OF THE
REV. EBENEZER ERSKINE,
MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL AT STIRLING.
CONSISTING OF
SER]?IOJ\S AJ^'B BISCOIJRSES,
OS IMPORTANT AND INTEUESTINC SUBJECTS,
TO WHICH IS ADDED,
AN ENLARGED MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR,
BY THE
REV. D. FRASER,
MINISTER OF THE UNITED ASSOCIATE SYNOD, KENNOWAY, FIFE.
IN THREE VOLUMES.
VOL. III.
PHILADELPHIA:
PUBLISHED BY WILLIAM S. & A. YOUNG,
No. 173, Race Street.
1836
GRIGGS &, CO., PRINTERS.
CONTENTS OF VOL. III.
Sermon XXXIII. — A Lamp ordained for God's Anointed.
I have ordained a lamp for mine Anointed. — Psal. cxxxiii. 17. - 5
Sermon XXXIV. — The Angel's Seal set upon God's faithful Servants,
when hurtful Winds are blowing in the Church Militant.
And after these things, I saw four angels standing on the four corners of
the eartli, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should
not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.
And I saw another angel, ascending from the east, having the seal of the
living God: and lie cried witli a loud voice to the four angels, to
whom it was given to liurt the earth and the sea.
Saying, Hurt not the earth, nor the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed
the servants of our God in their foreheads. — Rev. vii. 1 — .'3. - - 46
Sermon XXXV. — Christ considered as the Wail fastened in a sure place,
bearing all the Glory of his Father's House.
And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his Father's house, the
offspring, and the issue, all vessels of small quantity? from the vessels
of cups, even to all vessels of flagons. — Is. xxii.24. - -75
Sermon XXXVI. — A Rohhery committed, and Restitution made both to
God and Man.
Then I restored that which I took not away. — Psai. lxix. 4. 133
Sermon XXX VII. — Worthless Man much regarded by the mighty God.
Lord, what is man, tliat thou takest knowledge of him? or the son of
man, that thou makest account of him. — Psai. cxlit. 3. - - 151
Sermon XXXVIII. — The Human Nature preferred to the Angelic.
For verily he took not on him the nature of angels? but he took on him
the seed of Abraham. — Heb. ii. 15. - - - - 173
Sermon XXXIX. — The broken Law magnified and made honourable.
The Lord is well pleased for his righteousness' sake ; he will magnify
the law, and make it honourable. — Isa. xlii. 21. • - - 188
Sermon XL. — The wise Virgins going forth to meet the Bridegroom.
And at midnight there was a cry made. Behold the Bridegroom cometh,
go ye forth to meet him. — Matth. xxv. 6. - - - - 220
IV CONTENTS.
Seemon XLI. — 2'he New Testament Jlrk opened against the Deluge of
Divine Wrath.
By faith Noah, being wiirned of God of tiling's not seen as yet, moved
with fear, prepared an avk, to tlie saving of iiis house. — Heb. xi, 7. 294
Seiimox XLII. — The Plant of Renown.
And I will raise up for them a plant of renown. — Ezek. xxtit. 29. 339
Sermon XLIII. — God's Doves flying to his Windows,
Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as doves to their windows? — Is.
XX. 8. - . - . . . . -361
Sermon XLIV. — Christ set up from everlasting.
I was set up from everlasting', from the beginning, or ever the earth
was. — Pkov. VIII. 23. - - - -. - - 385
Sermon XI.V. — Abraham rejoicing to see ChrisVs Day afar off.
Your fitther Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was
glad. — John viii. 56. ----- - 403
Sermon XLVI. — Christ, as the Breaker, opening all Passes to Glory,
that were impassable.
The breaker is come up before them; they have broken up, and
have passed through the gate, and are gone out by it; and their King
shall pass before them, and the Lord (or Jehovah) on the head of
them MicAH ii. 13. - - - - - - 428
Sehmon XLVII. — Ethiopia stretching out her hands to God.
Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God. — Psal. lxviii. 31. 466
Sermon XLVIII, — The Kingdom of God within the soul of Man.
For behold the kingdom of God is within you. — Lure xvii. 21. -" 481
Sermon XLIX. — Gospel-treasure in Earthen Vessels.
But we have tliis treasiu'c in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the
power may be of God, and not of us. — 2 Cor. iv. 7. - - 521
Sermon L. — The character of a faithful Minister of Christ.
Epaphras — who is for you a faithful minister of Christ. — Col. i. 7. 548
Sermon LI. — Christ in the Clouds coming to Judgment.
Then shall he reward every man according to his works. — Matth. xvi.
37 559
Sermon LII. — The Word of this Salvation.
To you is tlie word of this salvation sent. — Acts xii. 16. - - 568
Some signs of a sad evening-time with the Church of God.
But it .shall come to pass, that at evening-lime it shall be light. — Zech.
xiY. 7 585
i§]ERMO]\ XXXIII.
A LAMP ORDAINED FOR GOD'S ANOINTED.*
I have ordained a lamp for mine Anointed. — Psal. cxxxii. 17.
THE FIRST SERMON ON THIS TEXT.
I SHALL not consume time in introducing myself into these
words. It is thought by some interpreters, that this psalm was
penned by Solomon, upon the occasion of the dedication of the
temple to God. The first part of the psalm, namely, from the
beginning of it to verse 10, consists of petitions. The second
part, namely, from verse 1 1, to the close, consists of a bundle of
great and precious promises relating to David and his family
in the type, but mainly and ultimately to Christ and his New
Testament church in the antitype.
God promises, (1.) To fix his residence in his church, verse
13, 14: "For the Lord hath chosen Zion : he hath desired
it for his habitation. This is my rest for ever : here will I
dwell, for I have desired it." God's gracious presence in his
church, and amongst his people, makes her the perfection of
beauty, and the praise of the whole earth. (2.) He promises
to bless the provision he makes for them, verse 15: "I will
abundantly bless her provision : I will satisfy her poor with
bread." He " will supply all their needs, according to his
riches in glory, by Christ Jesus." He will " feed them with
the hidden manna," &c. (3.) He promises to give her faith-
ful and successful ministers, verse 16: "I will clothe her
priests with salvation." Ministers are clothed with salvation,
when by the power of God resting upon them and their minis-
trations, they are the happy instruments of bringing many to
* Tlie substance of two sermons; the first preaclied at tlie admission of the
llev. Mr. .Tames Fisher, late minister of the gospel at Klnclaven, to be minis-
ter of the dissenting Associate Congregation in and about Glasgow, October
S, 1741; the other preached at Stirling, the third Sabbath of October, 1741.
VOL. HI. 2 t
6 A LAMP ORDAINED FOR GOD's ANOINTED. [SER.
Christ, in -whom they find salvation from sin and wrath ; and
when " the arm of the Lord is revealed," then the servants
of Christ, and all true believers, " shout aloud for joy." (4.)
He promises, that however low the interest of Christ maybe
brought, though, like himself, it may appear " a root in a dry
place," yet, like a tree well rooted in the ground, sore lopped
and hacked by man and Satan, it will sprout again, as in the
first part of the verse : " There will 1 make David's horn to
bud." The meaning is, I will bring forth a glorious and re-
nowned King out of the rotten stump of the family of David
" in the fulness of time." Christ himself is the principal bud
of that tree, and all believers are the buds of that bud. (5.)
He promises, that the lamp of gospel-light shall still shine in
his true church, for manifesting the glory of Christ: / have
ordained a lamp for mine Ajio'mled .
- Where remark, (1.) The designation given to Christ by
God his Father; he is mine Anointed. "Though he be de-
spised and rejected of men ;" though an unbelieving world
see no form or comeliness in him, why he should be desired,
yet I own him, and challenge him as mine Anointed, "the
Prophet, Priest, and King" of my church. "I have found
David my servant: with my holy oil have I anointed him.
With whom my hand shall be established : mine arm also
shall strengthen him," Psal. Ixxxix. 20, 21. (2.) The great
mean of God's appointment for manifesting the glory of Christ
to a lost world ; he has provided a lamp for his Anointed.
The use of a lamp is to give light to people in the darkness
of the night; so the word of God, particularly the gospel, is
" a light shining in a dark place," until the day of glpry
dawn, when the Lord God and the Lamb will be the light of
the ransomed for an endless evermore. (.3.) The authority
by which this lamp is lighted and carried through this dark
world; it is ordained of God; and by his commandment it is
that we preach and spread the light of the gospel, Mark xvi.
15, 20.
Observe, " That the dispensation of the everlasting gospel
is a lamp which God has ordained for manifesting the glory
of Christ to a lost world lying in darkness."
In discoursing on this doctrine, through divine assistance,
I shall pursue the following method: —
I. Speak a little of Christ as God's Anointed.
H. Of the lamp ordained for him.
III. Of the ordination of this lamp.
IV. Offer some reasons why God has ordained it.
V. Make application.
XXXIII.] A LAMP ORDAINED TOR GOD's ANOINTED. 7
1. The Jirst thing proposed is, lo speak a little of God's
anointed. " God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of
gladness above thy fellows," Psal. xlv. 7. Hence his name
Messiah in the Hebrew, and Christ in the Greek, both of them
signify, properly, The anointed 0?ie of God. This designation
imports,
1. That he is a Redeemer and Saviour of God's choosing;
for none were anointed to any office under the law, but such
as God particularly designed and elected : and such a one is
Christ: "Behold my servant whom I uphold, mine elect in
whom my soul delighteth : I have put my Spirit upon him, he
shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles," Is. xlii. 1.
2. This designation intimates, that he was called, " the
called and sent of God : I, the Lord, have called thee," Is.
xlii. 6. He did not take this honour to himself, but was
" called of God, as was Aaron." When faith embraces him,
it has this in its 5ye, it takes him up as the sent of God.
3. This designation likewise implies his investiture into his
offices as the great Prophet, Priest, and King of his church.
He was invested into his offices with great solemnity ; the so-
lemnity of a decree, " 1 will declare the decree," Psal. ii. 7,
&c. the solemnity of an oath, " The Lord hath sworn, and
will not repent. Thou art a Priest for ever," Psal. ex. 4; yea,
with the solemnity of an open and audible proclamation from
the excellent glory above, when " the heavens were opened,
and the Spirit descended upon him in the likeness of a dove."
4. This designation also denotes his being thoroughly fitted
and furnished for his work, by an immeasurable effijsion of
the Holy Ghost. " Grace was poured into his lips." There
is a twofold grace given to Christ as Mediator, namely, (1.)
The grace of personal union, when the human nature, consist-
ing of a true body and a reasonable soul, is taken into the
person of the eternal Son of God, which is the great mys-
tery of godliness." (2.) There was a created habitual ful-
ness of grace bestowed on him for the discharging of his
mediatorial work, and for the use of his mystical body : he
" received gifts for men," that " out of his fulness, we might
receive grace for grace." Thus, you see what is imported
in Christ's anointing.
For the farther illustration of this anointing, I shall only
add,
L Christ and all his members, all believers, are anointed
with the same oil of the Holy Ghost, although in a very dif-
ferent measure. He is " anointed with that oil above his fel-
lows ;" he received not the Spirit by measure : " It pleased
the Father, that in him should all fulness dwell." Our anoint-
ing is but a drop in comparison of the ocean; yet it is with
8 A LAMP ORDAINED FOR GOD's ANOINTED. [SER.
the self-same Spirit; for "he that is joined to the Lord, is
one Spirit." As it is the same human soul that is in the head
and in the members of the natural body ; so it is the very
same Spirit that is in the head and in the members of the
body mystical. He is " the head, from which all the body
by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit
together, increaseth with the increase of God," Col. ii. 19.
2. The anointing of Christ was gradual, according to the
different stages or advances in his work. He "increased in
wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man," Luke
ii. 52. This anointing began in the first moment of the union
between the divine and the human natures. He had a greater
measure of the Spirit and the gifts of the Holy Ghost bestowed
on him at his baptism ; a still larger measure at his death,
when " through the eternal Spirit, he offered up himself with-
out spot to God," Heb. ix. 14 : a greater measure yet was
poured upon him at his resurrection, when he was "declared
to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of
holiness, by his resurrection from the dead :" and when he
ascended upon high, he poured out the Spirit "like the rush-
ing of a mighty wind," Acts ii. 1 — 4,
3. The anointing of Christ extends to all his offices, Pro-
phet, Priest, and King. As a Prophet, he says of himself,
"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord
hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto ibe meek," Is.
]xi. 1, &c. He is an anointed Priest: the human nature
which was sanctified, was, as it were, perfumed "with the oil
of gladness," which made it savoury to God througli the eter-
nal Spirit. " He offered up himself a sacrifice to God for a
sweet-smelling savour," Eph. v. 2. This anointing extends
unto him likewise as a King : " But unto the Son, he saith,
Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever; a sceptre of right-
eousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom: — therefore God, even
thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above
thy fellows," Heb. i. 8, 9. And, again, " I have anointed,"
as it may be translated, *' my King upon my holy hill of
Zion," Psal. ii. G. I shall finish this head, when I have told
you,
4. That Christ himself, and the whole of his gifts, graces,
and qualifications, is ordained for our use, who are sinners of
Adam's race. He is " made of God unto us wisdom, and
righteousness, and sanctification, and I'edemption." He is
God's gift to you: "For unto us a child is born, unto us a
son is given : — and his name shall be called. Wonderful
Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The
Prince of peace." "God so loved the world, that he gave
his only begotten Son, that whosoever believelh in him might
XXXIII.] A LAMP ORDAINED FOR GOD's ANOINTED. 9
not perish, but have everlasting life." " Verily, verily, I say
unto you, My Father giveth you the true bread from hea-
ven." " God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that
we might live through him." " Herein is love ;" and, there-
fore, let every lost sinner come to him, receive and employ
this anointed Saviour ; take Christ's counsel to Laodicea,
for the same advice and counsel comes to every one of you :
" I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou
mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be
clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear;
and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see,"
Rev. iii. 18.
II. The second head proposed was, to discourse a little of
the lamp that God has ordained for his Anointed.
By the lamp, then, 1 understand the word of God, and par-
ticularly the word of the truth of the gospel. You know the
use of a lamp is to give light to men in the dark, and to let
them see their way. All mankind, ever since the fall, are in
darkness, yea darkness itself. They have lost their way, and
are walking upon the ridge of hell and utter destruction.
Now, the gospel, or " word of faith which we preach," is a
light or a lamp as it were, which God has set up to discover
to the children of men how they have lost their way, and let
them see that new and living way of his own devising, by
which they may come back again to God and glory. " We
have a more sure word of prophecy ; unto which we do well
that we take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark
place, until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in our
hearts," 2 Pet. i. 19. The dark place of which the apostle
is speaking is this dark world, and the heart of man is the
darkest place in the world. God, who is the Father of lights,
has given his word, the scriptures of truth, as a lantern or
lamp, to direct us how we are to glorify God, and to enjoy
him for ever. To this light, or lamp, we do well to take
heed, as David did, the man according to God's own heart:
" Thy word," says he, " is a light to my feet, and a lamp unto
my paths." Now, the lamp of the word of God casts a two-
fold light among the children of men ; namely, a law light and
a gospel light. A law light, to discover our sin and misery ;
'• for by the law is the knowledge of sin," " The law was
added because of transgression." " I had not known sin,"
says Paul, " except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
And when the law or commandment came," says he, " sin
revived, and I died." But then there is a gospel light, which
serves to discover the remedy. And this I take to be prin-
cipally understood in the text : / have ordained a lamp for
2*
10 A LAMP ORDAINED FOR GOD's ANOINTED. [SER.
mine Anointed. I, the eternal Jehovah, have appointed the
preaching and publication of the gospel as the great mean
for bringing lost mankind to the knowledge of that mighty
One on whom I have laid their help. " It hath pleased God
by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe."
"Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every
creature," Mark xvi. 15.
Now, concerning this lamp of gospel light, which God has
ordained, for the glory of his anointed, if time allowed, I
might, 1. Premise a few things about it. 2. Tell you of some
great and glorious discoveries that are made by it. 3. Give
a few of its properties.
First, I would offer you two or three propositions about it.
1. This lamp was first set up in the purpose of God from
eternity, or in the council of peace, when the whole plan of
salvation through Christ was laid. " I was set up from ever-
lasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was: before the
mountains were settled : while as yet he had not made the
earth, nor the highest part of the world. When he prepared
the heavens, I was there : when he set a compass upon the
face of the depth : when he appointed the foundations of the
earth," says Christ, " I v\'as by him, — rejoicing in the habi-
table part of his earth, and mv delights were with the sons
ofmen," Prov. viii. 23— 31.
2. This lamp was first lighted in this low^er world, imme-
diately after the fall in paradise; when a dark and dismal
night of wo and misery was spreading itself over our first pa-
rents, then a gleam of light began to break out in the first
promise. Gen. iii. 15: and afterwards to Abraham; "In.th}'
seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed."
3. The lamp of the gospel shone typically and propheti-
cally during all the Old Testament period, before the coming
of Christ in the flesh. It shone, as it were, under a veil, and
only among the Jews. As for the Gentiles, except a few pro-
selytes, they were aliens and strangers to the covenant of
promise; they sat in darkness, and in the regions of the sha-
dow of death.
4.' After the coming of Christ in the flesh, and his resur-
rection and ascension into heaven, the lamp of gospel light
was brightened, and the light of it was made more general
and extensive. The veil of types, ceremonies, and prophe-
cies, was rent, and by the commandment of the everlasting
God, carried to all nations for the obedience of faith, Christ
being given of God for "a light to enlighten the Gentiles, and
for salvation to all the ends of the earth."
5. Ministers of the gospel are, as it were, the lamp bearers.
They are commissioned by Christ to preach the gospel, to
XXXIII.] A LAMP ORDAINED FOR GOd's ANOINTED. 1 1
teach all nations. " To them the word of reconciliation is
committed ;" and as the heralds of the great King, they are
to lift up their voice like a trumpet, and proclaim the salva-
tion of God to the ends of the earth.
Secondly, I shall tell you of some discoveries that are made
by the light of the gospel-lamp. Only, in general, remember
that all the discoveries it makes are wholly supernatural ; the
world, by all its wisdom could never have found them out.
Here "vain man would be wise, yet he is born" as void of
gospel wisdom, " as the wild ass's colt." Proud men may,
and no doubt will, boast of their natural or acquired wisdom
and penetration, as though, by means of these, they could
ransack and unfold the secrets of heaven ; and yet even when
they are revealed, they cannot know, cannot receive them; the
things of the Spirit of God are foolishness to them; hence is
that of Christ, " I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and
earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and
prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so. Fa-
ther, for so it seemed good in thy sight," Matth. xi. 25, 26.
I shall only mention a few things, among many, that the
gospel discovers, which nature's light could never have dis-
covered, and which proud nature cannot receive when re-
vealed.
By the gospel-!amp, then, 1. We have discovered a Trinity
of persons in one God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, three
distinct persons, and yet but one God : " There are three
that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the
Holy Ghost : and these three are one," 1 John v. 7. This is
such a hard doctrine to human reason, that Arians, Socinians,
and Deists, will reject the whole scriptures of truth before
they entertain it ; or if they acknowledge the scriptures, they
fall to work to prevent scripture-light, in order to bring Christ
down from his supreme Deity in among the rank of created
beings; for between the Creator and a creature there is no
middle being : and if Christ be a creature, I would ask wdiat
way any creature can make itself, seeing " without him was
not any thing made that was made ^" John i. 3. So then, I
say, the gospel-lamp discovers the mystery of the Trinity ;
and how each person acts his part in the glorious work of
our redemption.
2. By the light of this lamp we can look back to eternity
past, and see what God was doing before the foundations of
the world were laid : how a council of peace was held w'ith
reference to the recovery and salvation of fallen men ; how
an overture being made, that the Son of God should under-
take the work of our redemption, that the different claims of
mercy and justice might be fully satisfied in the salvation of
12 A LAMP ORDAINED FOR GOD's ANOINTED. [SER.
fallen man ; and how the Son of God heartily agreed, saying,
" Lo, I come ; I delight to do thy will, O my God." — " He re-
joiced in the habitable part of the earth, and his delights
were with the sons of men." Without the gospel men could
never have known this ; but " the Lion of the tribe of Judah,"
opened the book, and disclosed the grand secret, and orders it
to be published to the ends of the earth.
3. The gospel-lamp discovers the glorious mystery of the
incarnation of the Son of God in the fulness of time Incon-
sequence of this glorious transaction, angels admire and adore
a God in our nature. " When he bringeth in the first-begot-
ten into the world, he saith, and let all the angels of God wor-
ship him," Heb. i. 6.
4. By the gospel-lamp we have another mystery opened,
even the substitution of the Son of God in the room of the
guilty sinner, by which means our iniquities come to be laid
upon him. " The just suffered for the unjust." He is the
ram caught in the thickets, and sacrificed in the room of the
sinner. The sword of justice awakes " against the man that
is God's fellow," who " thinks it no robbery to be equal with
God." " He was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for
our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon him,
and by his stripes we are healed."
5. By the gospel-lamp only we know of a law-fulfilling
rio-hteousness brought into this world, where " there is none
righteous, no, not one." — " Seventy weeks are determined, to
finish the transgression and to make an end of sin, and to
bring in everlasting righteousness," Dan. ix. 24. " What the
law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God
sendine; his own Son, in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin
condemned sin in the flesh; that the righteousness of the law
mif^ht be fulfilled in us," Rom. viii. 3, 4. " Christ is the end
of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth,"
Rom. X. 4. " For he hath made him to be sin for us, who
kncvv no sin ; that he might be made the righteousness of God
in him," 2 Cor. v. 21. O what a high discovery is this for
us, especially considering, that this righteousness of the surety
Christ is brought near to every one in the everlasting gospel,
that they may put it on, and improve it for their justifica-
tion before God ! " Hearken imto me, ye stout-hearted, that
are far from righteousness. I bring near my righteousness :
it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry," Is.
xlvi. 12, 13.
G. By the gospel-lamp, we shall see great and glorious
mysteries in the death and blood of Christ. As Samson found
a honcy-coml) in the lion that he had slain, so may we find
the great and soul-nourishing mysteries of the grace, love,
XXXIII.] A LAMP ORDAINED FOR GOD's ANOINTED. 13
mercy, and wisdom of God in the death and blood of the
Lamb of God. Here we may see the justice of God satis-
fied for the sin of man, by a sacrifice of infinite value, the
answer of God turned away, and God declaring himself to be
a God of peace through the blood of his eternal Son. Here
we see the head of the old serpent bruised, that " leviathan
slain, and given to be meat to those who inhabit the wilder-
ness "of this world. Oh meat indeed, and drink indeed!
Here we may see "a new and living way opened and conse-
crated," that we may "enter into the holiest" with full assu-
rance of acceptance, &c.
7. The gospel-lamp discovers a mystery in the resurrection
of Christ from the dead. There is more of God, and of his
infinite power and wisdom, in the resurrection of Christ, than
if all Adam's posterity were raised out of their graves in the
twinkling of an eye. Christ is said, by his resurrection to be
"declared to be the Son of God, with power," Rom. i. 4.
And that power of the Father, by which he was raised, had
an " exceeding greatness" in it, and was a " mighty power,"
Eph. i. 19. The load of sin and wrath that lay upon the
grave of our Surety, would have sunk all the angels in hea-
ven, and men upon earth, to the lowest hell; yet Christ, by
his divine power, rises from under this load, and so bears
away our iniquities, and leaves them buried in his grave be-
hind him, and death itself swallowed up in victory, &c.
8. The gospel-lamp lets us see a mystery in his ascension
into heaven, the most glorious solemnity that ever the inha-
bitants of the spiritual world -aw, which made them all cry
out, and shout, " God is gone up with a shout, the Lord with
the sound of a trumpet," &,c. This world saw little solem-
nity in Chri-st's returning to heaven after he had finished the
great work of man's redemption. But, oh ! angels and glori-
fied saints, who were then arrived at heaven, they saw hi
chariots of state attending him. "The chariots of God ars
twenty thousand, even thousnnds of angels: the Lord is among
them as in Sinai, in the ho!v place. Thou hast ascended on
high, thou hast led captiv-ily captive: thou hast received gifts
for men," Psal. Ixviii. 17, 18.
9. The gospel-lamp lets us see a mystery in his appearance
for us in heaven; how he ap|)ears there as our Representa-
tive and High Priest within the veil, with much incense of-
fering up the prayers of all saints, &c. ; how he states him-
self as our Advocate with the Father, to plead our cause, and
to transact our business for us, and to repel all complaints
given in against us by the accuser of the brethren. " He is
able to save to the uttermost, seeing he ever liveth to make
intercession for us," Heb. vii. 25. " And if any man sin, we
14 A LAMP ORDAINED FOR GOD's ANOmXED. [SER.
have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the right-
eous." He appears for us before the bar, not as a suppliant,
but as one having authority : " Father," says the Advocate,
" I will that they also whom thou hast given me, be with me
where I am ; that they may behold my glory which thou hast
given me," John xvii. 24.
10. By the gospel-lamp there is a discovery made of anew
and better covenant established in Christ as a second Adam,
than that which was made with the tirst Adam, even a cove-
nant of grace and promise ; which being confirmed by the
death of Christ, is now set out in its last and best edition,
namely, as a testamentary deed. Every thing in and about
this covenant is wonderful and mysterious. The Trinity
transacted in it with Christ as a second Adam from eternity:
" I have made a covenant with my chosen ; I have sworn
unto David my servant," Psal. Ixxxix. 3. The gradual ma-
nifestation of this covenant to us, and the variety of dispen-
sations that it has undergone under the Old and new Testa-
ment, and yet still the same covenant. The absolute free-
dom of this covenant to us, no conditions or qualifications
required on our part to interest us in it, the proper condition
of it being already fulfilled in the obedience and death of
Christ, it comes out to us absolutely free, " I will be their
God. I will sprinkle them with clean water, and they shall
be clean. I will take away the heart of stone," &.c. The
way in which a sinner is brought within the bonds of this co-
venant is only owing to the gospel-lamp or light, namely, hy
faith, not of the operation of man, but of the operation of God
in a day of power. He just makes the sinner willing to be
saved " without money and without price," upon the footing
of free grace reigning in and through an imputed righteous-
ness, &c.
1 1. By the gospel-lamp we come to know the mystery of
regeneration, or the new birth; which so startled and con-
founded Nicodemus, a teacher in Israel, that he babbles and
speaks stark nonsense, when Christ proposes it to him. "Can
a man," says he, " be born when he is old ? Can he enter
the second time into his mother's womb, and be born T" John
iii. 4. The case is just the same with a great many men in
our day, who set up for wits. They are ready to brand the
doctrine of conversion and regeneration with the character
of enthusiasm : but let such remember, that the God of truth
has said it, with a verily, verily, except they know and feel it
on their own souls, they " cannot enter into the kingdom ot
heaven."
12. The gospel-lamp discovers the way of justification for
an ungodly sinner, by an imputed righteousness. This disco-
XXXIII.] A LAMP ORDAINED TOR GOD's ANOINTED. 15
very is wholly supernatural, which the apostle Paul valued
so highly, and gloried so much in, that when compared with
the knowledge hereof, he reckoned every thing else as so
much dross and dung, &-c.
13. The mystery of sanctification is discovered by the gos-
pel-lamp ; how Christ is made of God to us sanctification ;
and how, by the great and precious promises, we are made
partakers of the divine nature ; and by beholding the glory
of the Lord in the glass of the gospel, we are changed into
the same image ; how the heart is purified by faith in Christ,
our old man crucified in him, and the body of sin destroyed,
&c.
In a word, ,to shut up this head by the light of the gospel-
lamp, we may see in through the veil of death and mortality,
and behold " life and immortality brought to light :" " For,"
says the apostle, " we look not at the things which are seen,
but at the things which are not seen ; for the things which
are seen are temporal ; but the things which are not seen,
are eternal." By the gospel-lamp, and the eye of an enlight-
ened understanding, we may see the Jordan of death divided,
and a passage opened for the Israel of God into the promised
land of glory, where we shall be for ever with the Lord. By
this lamp we may look to the end of time, and see Christ
coming to judge the w^orld. He will " descend from heaven
with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the
trump of God. Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every
eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him ; and all
kindreds of the earth shall vi'ail because of him. Verily, verily,
I say unto you. The hour is coming in the which all that are
in their graves shall hear the voice of the Son of man, and
shall come forth," &c. By this gospeMamp we may see " all
that sleep in their graves raised up" again, " some to the re-
surrection of eternal life, and others to the resurrection of
everlasting damnation ;" some are seen like condemned pri-
soners, brought out of jail to the place of execution, and
whenever they see the Judge upon his white throne, they cry
to "the rocks and mountains to fall on them," to hide them
from his angry face; whilst others are beheld lifting up their
heads, because the day of their redemption is come, and crying
to one another, " Let us be glad and rejoice ; for the marriage
of the Lamb is come," Rev. xix. 7. By this lamp we may
see the righteous like so many suns shining in the kingdom of
their Father, with robes made white in the blood of the Lamb,
crying, " Salvation to our God that sits upon the throne, and
to the Lamb for ever and ever."
Thus, I have told you of some great and glorious discove-
16 A LAMP ORDAINED FOR GOd's ANOiNTED. [sER.
ries that are made by the light of the lamp of the everlast-
ing gospel. I come now,
Thirdly, To give you a few of its properties and qualities.
1. Then, It is a divine lamp, a lamp of God's making and
preparing ; hence the gospel is called " the gospel of the
blessed God." It comes down from the Father of lights. All
scripture is given by inspiration of God ; hence we are to re-
ceive it with a divine faith, &.c.
2. It is a dazzling lamp. There are such things in the
gospel, or discoveries made by it, as dazzle the eyes of men.
Some are totally struck blind with it: "For judgment, I
am," says Christ, "come into this world: that they which
see not might see; and that they which see" (or imagine
they see) " might be made blind," John ix. 89. As for
real believers, when gospel light shines into their hearts,
and discovers the method of salvation through Christ, they
fall to wondering at every thing they behold, crying, " O
the depth of love, grace, and wisdom !" — " Without contro-
versy, great is the mystery of godliness, God manifest in the
flesh !" But why do I speak of man ? The clear-sighted an-
gels cover their faces with their wings at the brightness of
that glory that shines in the person and mediation of Christ ;
" which things the angels desire to look into ;" and one cries
to another, and says, " Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts,
the whole earth is full of his glory," Is. vi. 3. I say, it is a
dazzling lamp ; and, like light, it is of a piercing and pene-
trating nature. Both the law and gospel-light of the word
are penetrating ; " For the word of God is quick and power-
ful, and sharper than -any two-edged sword, piercing even
to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints
and marrow, and is a disccrner of the thoughts and intents of
the heart," Heb. iv. 12. It shines in through the head, down
into the heart, and, like the candle of the Lord, pierces into
the belly or bottom of the soul.
3. The light of this lamp is of an assimilating nature. " But
we all with open face," says the apostle, " beholding as in
a glass the glory of the Lord, arc changed into the same
image, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."
It purifies the soul, and makes it holy : " ]\o\v ye are clean
through the word which I have spoken unto you," John
XV. 3.
4. It is a glorious lamp ; hence called " the glorious gospel
of the blessed God." The author of it is the God of glory ;
the object of it is Christ the brightness of the Father's glory;
and the end of it is the glory of all God's attributes in the
everlasting salvation of the lost sinner, &c.
XXXIII.] A LAMP ORDAIPTED FOR GOd's ANOINTED. 17
5. It is a most pleasant lamp ; truly the light of it is sweet ;
when it shines into the heart, it fills the soul with the light
of knowledge, the light of joy and comfort; the consolations
of it are strong, and fill the soul with "joy unspeakable, and
full of glory," &c.
6. It is the most profitable lamp that ever the world saw,
because it shows to us the path of life, and leads the soul
into an immense treasure of soul-riches, that makes the man
up for an endless eternity, even the unsearchable riches of
Christ, &c.
7. It is an infallible lamp. We have a great deal of new-
lights got up in our day, which like ignis fatiws, or wild fire,
lead men into the bogs and pits of Deism, Arminianism, Qua-
kerism, and other errors in which men are " drowned in per-
dition." But here is a sure light, which w^ may follow with
full assurance of faith. It is the " sure word of prophecy, to
which ye do well that ye take heed." — " The testimony of
the Lord is sure, making wise the simple." — " And as many
as walk according to" the light of this lamp, "peace shall
be upon them, and upon the Israel of God," &.c.
8. It is an ancient lamp, as you heard. It has been shining
in the orbs of the church militant since it was first lighted in
paradise. And this lamp, instead of waxing dim, as other
lamps do, has shone brighter and brighter in every gradual
dispensation of it. Hence,
9. It is a lasting and durable lamp. It will shine to the
world's end, let men and devils do their utmost to have it
smothered and extinguished. All that men have done hitherto
with the design to put out the lamp, through the hand of
God overruling their wrath and corruption, has only served
to snufT the lamp, as you snuft' the candle to make it give
better light. " As we have heard, so have we seen this in
the city of the living God."
10. It is a common lamp to all men. You know the sun
in the firmament is a common lamp to this lower world;
every body, rich and poor, has the privilege of the light of
the sun, and pays naught for it. Just so the lamp of the gos-
pel, the light of the Sun of Righteousness, Jesus Christ him-
self, who is " the light of the world, and the day-spring from
on high," is a common good to all mankind, "that will but
take the benefit of his light; they shall pay nothing for it.
That the gospel is a common good to mankind, is very evi-
dent from the words of the angel at his birth : " Behold,"
says he, " I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall
be to all people." It is also very plain from the commission
Christ gives to his ministers to " go into all the world, and
preach the gospel unto every creature" under heaven.
VOL. in. 3 t
18 A LAMP ORDAINED FOR GOD's ANOINTED. [SER.
II. It is a moveable or portable lamp, like the tabernacle of
old, and " the pillar of tire " and of cloud, which moved from
one place to another. God has not, in all the word, bound
himself to fix his gospel-lamp so in any nation or congrega-
tion, as never to talve it away from them, and give it to others.
No, Christ plainly tells the Jews, that the gospel of his king-
dom was to be " taken from them, and to be given to another
people bringing forth the fruits thereof" The same, we see,
Christ tells the church of Ephesus, that he would take away
his candlestick from them, except they repented, reformed,
and did their first works, (fee.
Thus I have given you some account of the lamp which
God has ordained for his Anointed.
III. The third general head laid down in the method was,
to speak of the ordination of this Lamp.
Remember, sirs, it is God's authority in any ordinance of
his, that gives it value, efficacy, and validity ; just as the
stamp of the king upon the coin makes it to pass current.
Nothing will pass current in the church of Christ, with his
loyal subjects, that does not bear the stamp of the authority
of the King of Zion. What is the reason that the subjects of
Christ, who desire to be faithful to him at this day, run away
from the generality of pretended ministers '\ Why, it is be-
cause they do not carry the King's commission ; they run
unsent ; they do not hear the voice of Christ in them ; they
do not see them coming in by the door of the fold ; and
therefore they will not follow them. Why do we Protestants
reject the doctrines of the Romish church, their mass, bre-
viaries, and idolatries ? Why, it is because they do not bear
the stamp of God's authority. And for the same reason we
reject Episcopal and Independent government, and the super-
stition and ceremonies of the English church ; it is because
they arc only the inventions of men, and have no authority
from God; and therefore we cannot expect his blessing to
accompany them. And, on the other hand, why do we
sprinkle water in baptism "in the name of the Father, Son,
and Holy Ghost ?" Why do we eat and drink at the table
of the Lord a little simple bread and wine, which to carnal
reason are inconsistent things? Why do we preach the gos-
pel, which to the wise of this world is foolishness '? AVhy do
we pray, and praise, and go about other duties? It is because
they are commanded and ordained of God. The gospel is a
lamp of God's ordaining; and therelbrc it is " the power of God
unto salvation, mighty through God to the pulling down of
strong-holds," &c.
The weakest and most insignificant things, when appointed
XXXIII.] A LAMP ORDAINED FOR GOD's ANOINTED. 19
of God are the only means that will produce the desired effects.
What made the sound of ram's horns to overthrow the walls
of Jericho ? What made the waters of Jordan more effectual
for curing Naaman's leprosy, or spittle and dust mixed' to-
gether effectual for opening the eyes of the blind man? Just
this. These were the means of God's appointment; and
therefore his own power went along with them. So here
the gospel, and a gospel ministry, however contemptible and
insignificant in the eyes of the world they may appear ; yet,
being a lamp of God's ordination, therefore his power is to be
looked for by it for the salvation of souls. " It hath pleased
God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe."
By these means it is that sinners are gathered to the blessed
Shiloh.
To let you see hov/ much God is concerned about this lamp
of the everlasting gospel, I shall tell you of several things that
God has ordained about it.
1. He has ordained the places and parts of the world where
it shall be set up and shine. " He gave his statutes unto Ja-
cob, and his testimonies unto Israel ; he dealt not so with any
nation." If you ask me. Why doth God send the gospel to
Scotland, and not to many rich and populous nations who sit
in darkness? Why, the reason of it is, " Even so, O Father,
for so it hath seemed good in thy sight." Hence Paul, view-
ing the severity of God in taking the gospel from the Jews,
and sending it to the Gentiles, cries out, [Gr. a^ci%i, &c.]
" O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge
of God ! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways
past finding out !" Rom. xi. 33.
2. As he ordained the place where the lamp shall be set up,
so he ordained how long it shall shine, before it be lifted to
another part of the earth. He ordained how long it should
shine among the Jews, namely, until Christ carne. He or-
dained how long it should shine in the churches of Asia, before
he came and removed his candlestick. He has ordained
when, and how long, the gospel shall continue in Scotland;
and there is but too just ground to fear, that God is about to
take away his kingdom from us also, and to give it to the
American world, who are receiving it with joy and gladness.
He has also ordained how long the gospel and a faithful minis-
try shall stay in any parish or congregation.
3. He has ordained what souls or persons shall be converted,
edified, or built up, by the gospel : when he sends it to any
nation or congregation of Zion, (that is, the place where the
gospel- lamp is set up,) " it shall be said this man and that
man was born there," &c. The election of grace shall ob-
tain, when others are hardened. " To the one it is the sa-
20 A LAMP ORDAINED FOR GOD's ANOINTED. [sEB.
vour of life unto life, and to others tlie savour of death unto
death." He will order a beam of this lamp to shine into one
heart, in hearing the gospel, when it passes by twenty, thirty,
a hundred, or a thousand, who lie as fair as to the external
means as others.
4. He ordains by what instrument or minister the gospel-
lamp shall be brought to a people or particular person, f aul
is ordained for the Gentiles, Peter for the Jews, and every
one of the apostles and other ministers, led by the luling
hand of the sovereign Lord, to labour in this, or that, or the
other spot of his vineyard ; for the stars are all in his right
hand ; and he ordains them to shine in this or the other orb
of his chuich; and, whenever he pleases, he removes them
from one place to another of his church militant, where he
has any work for them ; or else, when their work is ended
upon earth, he removes them to the church triumphant, w iiere
they that have " turned many to righteousness, shall shine like
the brightness of the firmament, and like the stars for ever
and ever."
5. He ordains what fruit and success a minister with his
lamp shall have, what number of souls shall be edified, and
who shall be hardened and blinded by his light. It is not
always the greatest and brightest ministers that are most suc-
cessful; for Christ and his apostles, when lifting up the lamp
amoncTst the Jews, were put to complain, " We have laboured
in vain," &c. "Who hath believed our report ? and to whom
is the arm of the Lord revealed ? We have piped unto you,
and ye have not danced," &c. So much for the iMrcl thing
proposed, namely, concerning God's ordination of this lamp.
IV. The fourth thing in the method was, to give the reasons
uhy God has ordamcd this lamp for his Anoitited. And,
1. In the first place, it is ordained for the honour of God's
Anointed; for it is the will of God, "That all men should honour
the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honourcth
not the Son, honourcth not the Father which hath sent him,"
John v. 23. He will have him highly exalted both on earth
and in heaven.
2. God has ordained this lamp for his Anointed, that his
name may be remembered through all nations, and to all gene-
rations. God has ordained that " bis name shall endure for
ever, that his name shall last like the sun." When Paul got
his commission, the Lord tells him, that he was to carry his
name among the Gentiles, and kings," Acts ix. 15. It is by
the <Tospel-lamp, that the church causes his name to be remem-
bered to all generations.
XXXIII.] A LAMP ORDAINED FOR GOd's ANOINTED. 21
S. He has ordained the gospel-lamp for his Anointed, that
the gathering of the people may be to the blessed Shiloh,
according to the ancient prediction of Jacob upon his death-
bed: " The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver
from between his feet, until Shiloh come, and unto him shall
the gathering of the people be," Gen. xlix. 10. , The perfume
of the name of God's Anointed has such a drawing and gather-
ing virtue with it, that whenever sinners get the smell of it
about their hearts, they " fly as a cloud, and as doves unto
their windows." — Other reasons might be added ; but I do not
insist farther upon the doctrinal part. I proceed now to,
V. The Jiflh thing in the method, which was the Applica-
iio?i.
Use Jirst shall be in two or three mfereiices at present.
Inf. 1. See how dear Christ is in his Father's eye, how
warmly and affectionately he speaks of him here, and every
where in scripture. He, as it were, glories in him and in his
relation to him before all the world. Oh ! says he, he, is mine
Anointed ; he is my servant ; he is mine elect; he is my fellow, and
jnine equal. Why does God speak so affectionately of him to
a world of lost sinners, but that they may fall in love with him,
and say as he says, by an applying faith, as the spouse does,
" My beloved is mine, and I am his ? This is my beloved, and
this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem ?" or, as Thomas,
" My Lord, and my God ?'
Inf. 2. See, from what has been said, the amazing love of
'^God towards lost sinners of the tribe and family of Adam, in
giving and sending the Son of his love to be our Mediator and
Redeemer, and in his anointing and fitting him for the service
of our redemption with an unmeasurable measure of the Holy
Ghost: and then in ordaining the lamp of the gospel, for dis-
playing his glory and excellency through all the world, and
to every creature. Does not this argue strange love that
God has to lost man? "God so loved the world, that he gave
his only begotten Son," <fec. Oh sirs, admire the height and
breadth, and length and depih of this love.
Inf. 3. See hence the melancholy and deplorable condition
of those who want the lamp of the gospel, or who have pro-
voked God to lift his lamp, and to leave them in darkness.
Solomon tells us, that " where no vision is," that is, where the
gospel-lamp is not, " the people perish." Their destruction is
unavoidable, seeing they want the only means of salvation,
there being " no name given under heaven among men where-
by to be saved, but bylhe name of Jesus." Thus the apostle
argues. It is only they that " call upon the name of the Lord
that shall be saved. JBut how shall they call on him in whom
3*
22 A LAMP ORDAINED FOR GOD's ANOINTED. [sER.
they have not believed? and how shall Ihcy believe in him of
whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a
preacher? and how shall they preach except they be sent?"
Rom. X. 14, 15. By all which the apostle seems plainly to make
it appear, that the salvation of sinners is impossible, without
the lamp of gospel-light to show them the way to it. This
should stir our bowels on the behalf of the blinded nations who
inhabit the dark places of the earth, which are full of the ha-
bitations of horrid cruelty, where poor souls are just slaugh-
tered and butchered by the roaring lion for want of the gos-
pel, 6lc.
Inf. 4. See hence what reason we have to " contend ear-
nestly for the faith once delivered unto the saints," and to
be " valiant for the truth." Why, if the gospel-lamp be taken
away out of* the land, we are unchurched, and left among
ihe dark places of the earth, and our " house is left unto us
desolate." What would this earth be, if that great luminary,
the sun, were taken out of the heavens? We would be stum-
bling and breaking our necks upon every thing in our way ;
it would be a most doleful and melancholy habitation. But
far better want the sun out of the iirmament, than the gospel-
lamp out of the land. Strong efforts have been used by hell
and earth in all ages, to put out the lamp of God's Anointed,
that his soul-captivating glory might not be seen by the sons
of men. This is, and has been, the design of all the errors
that were ever broached since the Christian church and the
gospel-lamp were set up in the world. The Arian heresy is
designed to darken the glory of his supreme Deitj'. The So-
cinian error agrees with the Arians, and also overclouds, or
rather obliterates, his satisfaction. TheArminian error dark-
ens the freedom and efficacv of his grace, by exalting the
freedom of man's will in liis depraved state. Papists and le-
galists, of whatever denomination, impugn and disparage his
everlasting righteousness, by substituting something of their
own legal workings, doings, or personal qualifications, in the
room of it. Aaid now-a-days, the idol of self-love is substi-
tuted in the room of the glory of God, &c. AH these, and
the like errors, are just like so many damps or mists cast out
of hell, through the malice and subtlety of the old serpent, in
order to darken and obscure the lamp of gospel-light, that
men may not perceive the glory, fulness, and suitableness of
Christ, and so believe in him, to the salvation of their souls.
However, through the overruling hand of God, these mists
and clouds have only served in the issue to make the gospel-
lamp, and the glory of God's Anointed, to shine with the
greater lustre ; like the clouds in the air, which you observe
have just now overcast the sun in the Iirmament j they ob-
XXXni.] A LAMP ORDAINED FOR GOD's ANOINTED. 23
scure his light for awhile, and yet serve only, in the event,
as a foil to set off the glory of the sun, when he breaks through
these clouds, and darts his beams down upon this earth among
the children of men.
Inf. 5. See from this doctrine, what we are to think of the
conduct of the judicatories of the established church at this
day, and for many years past, who seem to be upon a conspi-
racy to put out the gospel-lamp, which God lighted at our re-
formation from Popery. Perhaps some hearing me may think
this charge both heavy and calumnious, and say, Now you are
turned very uncharitable. But if it be not so, I would have
you to solve these few plain questions. " What meaneth the
bleating of the sheep?" What means that swarm of lax,
legal, and erroneous ministers that are to be found almost
through all the corners of Scotland ? What means that vio-
lent way in which men are obtruded upon Christian congre-
gations by presentations or sham calls, without the call, and
against the inclinations, of the Christian people? What means
the abuse of church discipline, by which the erroneous are
screened from censure, truth falls in the streets, and error pa-
tronised? What means their suspending, outcasting, and de-
posing seven men from the holy ministry, for no other cause
but their bearing up the gospel-lamp, and witnessing for God's
anointed Prophet, Priest, and King, in *bpposition to the pre-
v?iiling defections and corruptions of the day? What can we
think of these things, especially when they have slain the
witnesses and condemned their testimony, but conclude that
they have rejected the stone which God has ordained to be
the head stone of the corner? And because they have rejected
him (I do not speak of every individual,) therefore God has
rejected them, and is saying of the judicatories and ministry
of Scotland, "Because ye have rejected knowledge, I will
also reject you, that ye shall be no priests to me ; seeing ye
have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your
children," Hos. iv. 6,
Inf. 6. See what good reason we of the Associate Presby-
tery have for the work we are about at this day, in licensing
and ordaining ministers through several corners of (he land,
in a way of secession from the present judicatories, however
irregular it may appear in the eyes of some men. Why, the
gospel-lamp must by no manner of means be lost or extin-
guished. By the attempts that have been made to put it out,
or make it useless, we arc driven to preserve it in a way of
secession from the judicatories, and we can see no other way
of keeping up the gospel-lamp in the land, than by fulfilling
that command given by Paul to Timothy: " The things that
thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same com-
24 A LAMP ORDAINED FOR GOD's ANOINTED. [SER.
mit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others
also," 2 Tim. ii. 1.
And in regard the lamp-bearer at Kinclaven is thrust out
of his station there, through ecclesiastical and civil violence;
therefore we are this day to change his station and set him
up at Glasgow, upon a call given him by the dissenting con-
gregation in and about this place.
(After psalms, proceeded to this purpose : — }
" You in this correspondent congregation having a conside-
rable time ago petitioned the Associate Presbytery for the
moderation of a call, they accordingly appointed myself.
Which appointment I accordingly obeyed. And you may
remember, by a great majority of votes, the call came out
for the Reverend Mr. James Fisher, minister of the gospel
at Kinclaven; and was most harmoniously subscribed for him
even by the few who had voted otherwise.
" His call being attested, was presented to the presbytery,
and sustained as orderly proceeded in. Together with the
call, reasons of transportation were offered by you of the cor-
respondence of Glasgow. The parish of Kinclaven were sum-
moned, compeared, and heard, and the matter fully reasoned
on both sides. After fome considerable delay, the presbyte-
ry, which met at Abbotshall, taking to consideration the
whole affair, together with the conduct of holy providence,
which plainly cleared their way, they transported him to be
minister of this correspondent congregation, and appointed this
day for his admission. His edict being served, was returned,
and no objection offered against the designed transportation
and admission." And therefore,
We now proceed to fix the relation between you and him.
(Here Mr. James Fisher was called up, and proceeded: — )
" Reverend Sir, although both I, and all the Reverend bre-
thren and members of the Associate Presbytery are fully con-
vinced of your orthodoxy and soundness in the faith, and of
your firm attachment to the covenanted reformation of Scot-
land, both as to doctrine, discipline, worship, and govern-
ment; yet I suppose it will be expedient and necessary, for
the satisfaction of the people here, that you give answer to a
few questions, which the Reverend Presbytery appointed me
to put to you."
(Here the usual questions were read one by one.
After which proceeded thus : — )
XXXUI.] A LAMP ORDAINED FOR GOD's ANOINTED. 25
" Now, I suppose you who are the people, are fully satisfied
with the answers given hy the Reverend Mr. Fisher to these
questions. You have, it is true, already signed and consented,
that he should be your minister, by the c^all which you have
given him. However, 1 suppose it will be encouraging to him,
and satisfying to the presbytery, that you discover your ad-
herence to your call, by the z^'^o'^ovix, or lifti?ig up of the
ha/id.
" So many of you as can conveniently come near, may
come forward, and take him by the hand'; others, who can-
not, may do it upon the dismissing of the congregation."
Now I shall conclude this work by offering a few words of
advice to minister and people.
First, To the minister. Reverend sir, God in his adorable
providence, who " has the stars in his right hand," has seen
iit to move you from another place, and" to fix you here, in
order to bear the lamp for his Anointed to this people, upon
a very public and conspicuous tower. And, in order to the
right management of the gospel-lamp, there are only a few
advices that I would oflTer ; and what advice I offer to you, 1
take to myself, and I make no doubt but my Reverend bre-
thren will also listen to them.
1. Let us study to be well satisfied in our own minds, that
we carry the call and commission of God's Anointed, to bear
the gospel-lamp before him, so as to be in case to say to our
people, as Moses was ordered to say to Israel, " 1 am hath
sent me unto you," Exod. iii. 14; or with the apostles, " We
are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you
by us : we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to
God," 2 Cor. V. 20. It inspires a minister's heart with cou-
rage, and harnesses his spirit against the slavish fear of man,
and all that man can do; it makes him bold as a lion in de-
livering his commission, when he is confident that he stands
in Christ's stead, and speaks in his name.
2. It is necessary, in bearing the gospel-lamp, that we re-
member we are in the very sight and presence of our great
and glorious Master, Jesus Christ, " the King of kings, and
Lord of lords," whose eyes are as a flame of fire, and ob-
serves the motives, ends, and principles, by which we were
actuated, and will shortly call us to give up an account of
our stewardship, &c.
3. It is necessary we remember for what end we carry the
lamp of the everlasting gospel to our people, namely, to show
to them the M^ay of salvation, by presenting both their lost
condition by nature in the first Adam, and how they may be
delivered by a second Adam. In order to the salvation of
26 A LAMP ORDAINED FOR GOD's AlVOIIVTED. [sER.
poor souls, both law-light, and gospel-light, is necessary to be
scattered among our hearers, &c.
4. In holding up the gospel-lamp, let us be frequently trim-
ming our lamps before God's holy oracle, much in studying
the scriptures of truth ; " for these are they that testify of
Christ," God's anointed dear. We need to follow that ad-
vice given by the apostle Peter to all in common, ministers
and Christians : " We have a more sure word of prophecy ;
unto which we do well that we take heed, as unto a light
that shineth in a dark place, until the day," of grace " dawn "
in the souls of our hearers, " and the day-star arise in their
hearts," 2 Pet. i. 19. " The word of God is like a lamp unto
our feet, and a light unto our path," Psal. cxix. 105.
5. In order to the successful management of the gospel-
lamp, we need frequently, by faith and fervent prayer, to
fetch new oil for our lamps from God's Anointed, who had
the oil of gladness poured upon his head above his fellows.
However we may preach, and bring forth to our people, the
pure truths of the gospel ; yet unless the oil of the Spirit
come along with it, the lamp of the gospel shines dimly, and
will not make its entrance into their hearts, &c.
6. In bearing the gospel-lamp, and preaching the everlast-
ing gospel, let us study to have our hearts tired with love to
God's Anointed, zeal for his glory, and the good of souls. It
is observable, when Christ is re-installing Peter into his mi-
nisterial office, John xxi. 15, he says to him three several
times, " Simon, son of .lonas, lovest thou me ?" And when Pe-
ter had appealed to him three several times as the heart
searching God, " Lord, thou that knowest all things, knowest
that I love thee," he just requires this as a proof of his love
to him, that he would feed his lambs and sheep. The love of
Christ, and the love of souls, is like a cord by which a minis-
ter is drawn to be faithful, active, and diligent in his work ;
" for the love of Christ constraineth us," 2 Cor. v. 14.
7. It is fit that we turn the light of the gospel-lamp in the
very face of these errors and corruptions, whether in princi-
ple or practice, that begin to broach in the land or place in
which we live. Many pestilential and soul-ruining errors
have come abroad from our seminaries of learning, and par-
ticularly that which is next adjacent. Now, I know no bet-
ter way to prevent their infection; than by bringing them as
quickly as possible to the light of the word ; for as the birds
and beasts of prey creep into their holes when the light of
the sun spreads itself along the face of the earth, so all error
and corruption, in principle and practice, vanishes before the
light of the word.
But I come next to speak a word to the people, who are
XXXIII.] A LAMP ORDAINED FOR GOd's ANOINTED. 27
under the inspection of the minister of Christ now planted and
settled among them. Time will not allow me to go on in the
improvement of the doctrine I was insisting upon; and there-
fore I shall conclude at present, with two or three advices,
how you are to behave with respect to your minister, who
bears the lamp of God's Anointed before you.
1. Remember that there is a covenant between you and
him. As he is engaged to fulfil all the parts of the ministe-
rial office towards you, so you are engaged, on your part, to
fulfil all the duties that the word of God, and laws of the King
of Zion, require of you toward him. Not only covenants be-
tween God and man, but covenants between man and man
are sacred things ; and God resents the violation of them, as
you see Ezek. xvii. You are not now at liberty to throw up
and desert his ministry, or to turn your back upon him, par-
ticularly by running back to those of the corrupt body, from
whom both you and he have made a secession, &c.
2. In order to your fulfilling your part of this day's trans-
action between you and him, I advise you to attend carefully
and diligently upon his ministry, particularly upon the preach-
ing of the gospel in public, the dispensation of the seals of the
covenant, diets of catechising, and when he teaches from
house to house. When you come to hear the word, re-
member that the word you hear will take hold of you, and
issue either in the life or death of your immortal souls; and
what will all the world profit a man if he lose his soul ? O
then attend diligently, incline your ears, " hear, that your
souls may live," and the covenant may be made and esta-
blished with you, &c.
3. Mingle faith with your hearing of the word preached by
your minister; take his message, and receive his Master,
God's Anointed. We are told that " the word preached did not
profit some, not being mixed with faith in them that heard
it," Heb. iv. 2. Let not your minister have occasion to take
up that complaint against you, " Who hath believed my re-
port? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?" He
comes to offer " a Saviour and a great One," to deliver you
from sin and wrath. Oh beware of rejecting the offered re-
medy ; for in so doing you despise God's herald or messenger,
and him that sent him. When Christ is sending his apostles
abroad to preach the gospel, he says, " He that despiseth you,
despiseth me; and he that despiseth me, despiseth him that
sent me," &c.
4. I advise you to submit to your minister and elders, in
the administration of the key of discipline, they, being a ra-
dical court of Christ, constituted in the name of Christ for
28 A LAMP ORDAINED FOR GOD's AlfOlNTED. [SER*
that very end. This is expressly commanded of God : " Re-
member them which have the rule over you, who have spoken
unto you the word of God : whose faith follow, considering
the end of their conversation." — " Obey them that have the
rule over you, and submit yourselves ; for they watch for
your souls, as they that must give account; that they may
do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for
you," Heb. xiii. 7, 17. Obedience in the Lord is the indis-
pensable duty of people towards those that have the keys of
the kingdom of heaven committed to them; "for what they
bind on earth shall be bound in heaven ; and what they loose
on earth shall be loosed in heaven," Matth. xviii. 18.
5. I advise you to pray much for your minister that is come
to bear up the gospel-lamp among you : " Brethren," says
the apostle to the Hebrews, " pray for us."
Query, What should we pray for? Aitsw. Pray that the soul
of your minister may be refreshed daily with the oil of God's
Anointed, that the lamp may be brightened, and he may
come forth to you daily " in the demonstration of the Spirit
and with power;" and that, like a scribe instructed in the
mysteries of the kingdom, he may " bring forth things new
and old" for the edifying of your souls. Pray " that a door
of utterance may be given " him, that he " may declare the
mysteries of the gospel," that he may " feed in the strength
of the Lord, and in the majesty of the name of his God." Oh
pray that he may not only get furniture, but be blessed with
success in his work ; for " although Paul were to plant, and
Apollos water," yet their ministry would be ineffectual, un-
less " God gave the increase." l^ray that God may give him
the art of winning souls, and that his Master may direct" him
so to cast the gospel net, as that a multitude of souls may
be gained. Pray that he may be made " as a sharp thresh-
ing instrument having teeth, to thresh the mountains, and
beat them small, and to make the hills as chaff," Is. xli. 15.
6. Another advice I give you is, to encourage God's lamp-
bearer among you. Query, How shoidd we encourage him 1
Answ. (1.) By receiving his Master and his message, as has
been said. (2.) By strengthening his heart and hand in his
preaching and witnessing work, particularly at this time,
when there are many adversaries, and many arrows of re-
proach and calumny may be cast at him. (3.) By "main-
taining the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace " among
yourselves. Jars, divisions, and animosities among a people,
are a heart-break to a minister of the gospel of peace, where-
as it is his great comfort to find them of " one heart and way
in the Lord." (4.) By providing a suitable maintenance for
XXXIII.] A LAMP ORDAINED FOR GOD's ANGINTEDt 29
your minister, and a place of worship where you and he may
meet and attend ordinances without being exposed to hazard
from the injuries of tlie weather. But 1 know you have these
things at heart, and therefore do not insist upon them.
And now, my brethren, suffer me again to renew the word
of exhortation. Oh remember what a valuable blessing the
gospel is to a land or people. Why, it is a lamp to discover
the way how you may come to God's Anointed, and so get
your souls for a prey. They that know the worth of their
souls, and have any concern about their salvation, cannot but
prize the gospel in its purity, above all their other concerns
in the world ; for it is " better than gold, yea, than much fine
gold ; sweeter also than honey from the honey-comb," Psal.
xix. 10.
Beside what was said in the doctrinal part, I might offer
many other considerations, to raise your esteem of the glori-
ous gospel.
1. The gospel-lamp lets men see where they are, and how
far they have departed from God, how near they .are to ut-
ter ruin, like the prodigal in a far country, without God, with-
out Christ, without hope, without help, without light, with-
out life, no eye to pity, no hand to help, &c. ; in a state of dis-
tance, darkness, enmity, every moment liable to wrath and
condemnation, yea, condemned already, &c.
2. The gospel-lamp discovers " a Saviour and a great One,"
Is. xix. 20; vvhois "able to save to the uttermost, I have laid
help upon one that is mighty: I have exalted one chosen out
of the people, even David my servant: with my holy oil have
I anointed him," Psal. Ixxxix. 19, 20.
3. In the light of this lamp the sinner may see a ransom
found, that he may not go down to the pit, even the blood of
Jesus, that sacrifice of a sweet-smelling savour, by which the
wrath of an angry God is turned away, &c.
4. By this lamp we may see an angry God reconciled and
declaring himself a God of peace, and that furii is not i?i him.
Here we may see the white flag, and the olive branch of
peace held up, and God saying, " I create the fruit of the lips;
peace, peace to them that are afar off, and to them that are-
nigh," Is. Ivii. 19.
5. By the light of this lamp, sinners that are beggared and
bankrupt by the fall of Adam, are led i(i a mine of unsearch-
able riches, which they may lay hand upon, and make their
own without theft or vicious intromission. " Unto me," says
Paul, " who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace
given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearch-
ble archies of Christ," Eph. iii. 8. The cry of the gospel is,
VOL. in. 4 f
30 A LAMP ORDAINED FOR GOd's ANOIXTED. [SER.
"I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the tire, that thou
mayest be rich," &c.
6. By this gospel-lamp, we may see a house of mercy reared
and opened, and all manner of provision in plenty, made ready
for the poor, the halt, the withered, and lame. " I have said,
Mercy shall be built up for ever," Psal. Ixxxix. 2. "Wisdom
hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars.
She hath killed her fallings, she hath mingled her wine ; she
hath also furnished her table. She hath sent forth her mai-
dens, she crieth upon the highest places of the cit3% Whoso
is simple, let him turn in hither: as for him that wanteth un-
derstanding, she saith to him, Come eat of my bread, and
drink of the wine which I have mingled," Prov. is. 1 — 5. "In
this mountain, shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a
feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things
full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined," Isaiah
XXV. 6.
^ 7. By this gospel-lamp we may see not only meat, but me-
dicine prepared for the poor diseased soul, that is ready to
perish of its wounds and leprosy. Here you will see balm in
Gilead, and a phijsician there. Here you will see the mysti-
cal brazen serpent, by a look of which the venom of the old
serpent is stayed, and the hurt of it prevented. Here is to
be seen the " tree of life, which bears twelve manner of fruits
every month, and whose leaves are for the healing of the
nations."
8. By this lamp is to be seen the Rock that follows Israel
through the wilderness to Canaan ; you may see the clefts of
the Rock that were made by the rod of God's anger ; you
may see the living water gushing out of the smitten Rock,
and a cry made, " Whosoever will, let him come and drink of
the water of life freely." You may see the Rock having a
shadow, to refresh the weary traveller in his way to glory;
you may see God's doves lodging " in the clefts of the Rock,
and in the secret places of the stairs," &c.
9. By this lamp you may sec and find the " chariot of the
wood of Lebanon," with its golden bottom, purple covering,
" paved with love for the "daughters of Jerusalem." Bv
which I understand the covenant of grace and promise, which
is everlasting, well ordered, and sure. The gospel lets you
see, that you have fr^e access into this chariot'of salvation, in
which you may ride in safety, through all dangers to glory :
" Thus saith the Lord— unto them that take hold of my co-
venant, even unto them will I give in mine house, and within
my walls, a place and a name better than of sons and of
daughters : I will give them an everlasting name that shall
XXXIII.] A LAMP ORDAINED FOR GOd's ANOINTED. 31
not be cut off — Even them will I bring to my holy mountain,
and make them joyful in my house of prayer," Is. Ivi. 5, 7.
10. By this lamp we may see a ladder reaching between
heaven and earth, by which you may have access to that hea-
ven of glory which we fell from, when we broke the first
covenant in Adam ; but here is " a new and living way into
the holiest of all."
11. Here you may see and find a city of refuge from the
avenger of blood, &c.
12. Here you will find the true ark in which you shall be
saved from the deluge.
13. Here you may see chambers where you may hide your-
selves in a day of wrath, until the indignation be overpast.
14. Here by this lamp we discover a confirmed testament,
securing us to the inheritance of eternal life, which was lost
in the first Adam, and much more than ever we lost. Here
we may find our God saying, " I am the Lord thy God;"
which is more than ever eye saw, or ear heard, &-c.
Thus you see what great, glorious, and beneficial discove-
ries are made by the lamp of the everlasting gospel. And
does not all this make it evident, that they are a privileged
people, who have the gospel-lamp lighted, and set up among
them? It was not without ground, that the psalmist cried out,
in the view of these things, " Blessed are the people that
know the joyful sound : they shall walk, O Lord, in the light
of thy countenance," Psal. Ixxxix. 15.
I conclude by reading a portion of scripture to you con-
taining a bundle of necessary duties, both toward yourselves,
your ministers and elders, and one another, 1 Thess. v. 12 to
28 : " And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which
labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admo-
nish you; and to esteem them very highly in love for their
work's sake. And be at peace among yourselves. Now we
exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort
the feeble-minded, support the weak, be patient toward all
men. See that none render evil for evil unto any man : but
ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves and
to all men. Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In
every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ
Jesus concerning you. Quench not the Spirit. Despise not
prophesyings. Prove all things : hold fast that which is good.
Abstain from all appearance of evil. And the very God of
peace sanctify you wholly: and I pray God your whole spirit
and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of
our Lord Jesus Christ. — Brethren, pray for us. — The grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you." Amen.
32 A LAMP ORDAINED FOR GOD's ANOINTED. [SER.
A LAMP ORDAINED FOR GOD'S ANOINTED.
I have ordained a lamp for mine Anointed. — Psal. cxxxii. 17.
THE SECOND SERMON ON THIS TEXT.
I PROCEED now to make some farther improvement of the
doctrine.
A third use of the doctrine may be by way of Trial and
Examinatio7u Sirs, we in tliis land, and you particularly in
this place, have had the gospel-lamp for a long time shining
among you: but the great question is, Has ever the light of
it led you to God's Anointed, and discovered his glory to your
souls.
I offer the few following marks for trial in this matter: —
1. Has ever the light of the gospel-lamp discovered the
plagues of your heart to you, so as to fill you with an abhor-
rence of yourselves, saying with David, "Who can under-
stand his errors?" Psal. xix. 12; or with Jeremiah, "The
heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked,
who can know it?" Jer. xvii. 9. Whenever Job's eyes saw
the Lord, he cries, "I abhor myself, and repent in dust and
in ashes."
2. The light of the gospel-lamp lets a man see that all the
ways and methods of salvation that he has proposed to"him-
self, while in a natural state, are nothing but a mere delusion.
The man was imagining, that he might be saved by the ge-
neral mercy of God, by the works of the law, by a profession
of religion, or some good thing or other: but whenever the
light of this lamp enters into his heart he sees that it is in
vain to look fo these hills and mountains; and that to stay
where he is or has been, he but walks in the light of his fire,
and sparks of his own kindling, and must lie down in sorrow
at the end ; and therefore casts away all these cob-web co-
verings, and accounts them but loss for Christ.
3. I ask you. What think you of God's Anointed? for the
gospcl-lamp is ordained to discover the glory of God's Anoint-
ed. What think you of his person, righteousness, fulness,
glory, and salvation, love and grace? I am sure the glory of
his person and mediation has put your souls to an everlast-
ing stand, that you know not what to say or think, but are
swallowed up in a silent wonder at him, crying with the
XXXIII.] A LAMP ORDAINED FOR GOd's ANOINTED. 33
church, " Who is this that cometh up from Edom, with dyed
garments from Bozrah 1 this that is glorious in his apparel,
travelling in the greatness of his strength ? Wherefore art
thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that
treadeth in the wine fat?" Isa, Ixiii. 1, 2.
4. If ever the glory of God's anointed was discovered to
you in the light of this lamp, your hearts have been fired with
love to him, and zeal for his glory ; so that you know not
how to express your esteem of him, and desire after him:
Oh ! " Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none
upon earth that I desire besides thee." " Many waters can-
not quench love, neither can all floods drown it." Indeed,
the devil, and the world, and a corrupt heart, are frequently
casting water upon this fire ; but yet where it is genuine, it
always gets up again ; the flame rises, and breaks through
all opposition, and sends the sparks of it heavenward.
5. Has ever the lamp of the gospel dropped some of the oil
of God's Anointed upon your souls? The gospel is, as it were,
a golden pipe, through which the oil of the Holy Ghost is
conveyed into the vessels of the sanctuary from God's Anoint-
ed : Gal. iii. 2 : "We receive the Spirit by the hearing of
faith, not by the works of the law." Now, I ask you. Have
you got " an unction from the Holy One ?" Query, How shall
I known that? Anszv. In the following particulars. This oil
has had the same eflfect, in some measure, that it had upon
Christ. As, *^
Isf, Christ's anointing, made him of quick u?iderstandir/g or
of a ready scent, as it is in the margin. Is. xi. 3. The same
effect, in some measure, has it had upon you ; it has siven you
a quick understanding and uptaking of the things ofGodj'the
secrets of his covenant: "Unto you it is given to know the
mysteries of the kingdom of heaven," says Christ to his dis-
ciples; " but unto others it is not given." " Ye have an unc-
tion from the Holy One, and ye know all things," 1 John ii.
20. " He that is spiritual, judgeth all things:" he has another
discerning than other men have of the things of God and eter-
nity. "We have not received the spirit of this world, but
the Spirit which is of God : that we may know the thines that
are freely given to us of God," 1 Cor. ii. 12.
2dly, Christ's anointing made his face to shine. "Oil maketh
the face to shine." Hence the spouse cries out, " His coun-
tenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars." So, if you
have shared of this anointing, you will, in your way, and
walk, and talk, '' adorn the doctrine of God your Saviour :'"
you will be " changed into the same image " with God's
Anointed, by beholding of his glory : your " light will shine
4*
34 A LAMP ORDAINED FOR GOd's ANOINTED. [SER.
before men, so that others, seeing your good works, will glo-
rify God, your heavenly Father."
3dly, Christ's anointing made him active and agile in the
work of our redemption ; so that he never rested till he could
say, " It is finished." So, if you he partakers of his anointing,
you will be active and diligent in the great work of your
salvation, that you may finish your course with joy. Oh !
says David, " I will run the way of thy commandments,
when thou hast enlarged my heart," namely, by anointing
the wheels of his soul with the oil of the Spirit's influ-
ences.
4thly, Christ's anointing made his heart glad ; therefore
called " the oil ot gladness." This was it that rejoiced his
heart under all the discouragement and opposition he met
with in his work. So if you be anointed with the same oil,
your hearts have been made glad with it. The Holy Ghost
is frequently called the Comforler, because he gladdens the
hearts of Christ's followers, under all the troubles and trials
in their way in this weary wilderness. Hence Christ says
to his disciples, speaking of the Spirit, "Your hearts shall re-
joice, and your joy no man taketh from you." Now, try
yourselves by this; know you any thing of the consolation of
the Spirit? Oh! says David, "thou hast put more gladness
in my heart, than they, when their corn, wine, and oil,
abounded."
Vse fourth , Has God ordained a lamp for his Anointed?
then my first advice or exhortation is, to answer the end of
the gospel-lamp, by coming to God's anointed Saviour and
Redeemer by a true fiiith. This is the end and design of
God in the whole revelation that he has made of Christ in
the word. " These things arc written, that ye might believe
in the name of the Son of God, and that believing ye might
have life through him," John xx. 31. This is the end and
design of a gospel ministry, and of all the ordinances of the
gospel, that ye might behold the glory of God's Anointed, and
by coming to him, ye might be built up in the holy iaith.
Motives to engage you to come to God's Anointed.
1. The light of the lamp of the gospel points you directly
to him ; for it is " Christ whom we preach ; we preach not
ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your ser-
vants for Jesus' sake." Every gospel-sermon leads to Christ,
and lands you in him, if the design of it be answered. Oh !
says Paul to the Corinthians, " I desire to know nothing among
you, but Christ, and him crucified."
2. Christ was anointed for your sakes. " He received
gifts for men ; yea, even for the rebellious, that the Lord God
Uiight dwell among us." His oil is lor your use. He himself,
XXXIII.] A LAMP ORDAINED FOR GOD's ANOINTED. 35
and all his offices to which he was anointed, are intended for
the salvation of lost sinners of Adam's family. Why was he
anointed to be a Prophet, but for your illumination in the
knowledge of God and his will ? Why anointed to be a Priest,
but for your reconciliation with God, and justification before
him? VVhy anointed King in Zion, but to deliver us from our
captivity to sin and Satan, and to sanctify us, and write his
law in our hearts? Hence he is " made of God unto us wis-
dom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption," 1 Cor.
i. 30. Now, seeing it is so, why then should we stand off
from him by unbelief, and, by following lying vanities, forsake
our own mercy ?
3. Oh come to God's Anointed through the light of the gos-
pel-lamp; for there is an immeasurable measure of the oil of
the Holy Ghost with God's x-Vnointed, and all to be communi-
cated to them that come to him. " It hath pleased the Fa-
ther, that in him should all fulness dwell; that out of his ful-
ness we might receive grace for grace." Here there is no
fear of want. His fulness is not exhausted or diminished by
all that is given out. No, he is as full as ever, and as ready
to communicate. We read of the widow's pot of oil, 2 Kings
iv. 4, 5, &c. ; that tilled all the vessels that were brought
to it, and never stopped till no more vessels were brought.
This is the case here: Christ never ceases to communicate
of his grace and Spirit, as long as empty vessels are brought
to him. The only thing that stops the communication of his
grace is, that we do not come to him by faith to receive of
his fulness.
4. God's Anointed calls, invites, and beseeches you to come
to him for his grace and fulness. " Ho, every one that thirst-
eth, come ye to the waters; and he that hath no money,
come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk with-
out money and without price," Is. Iv. 1 — 3.
5. God's Anointed has promised you welcome ; " Come to
me" who will, " I will in no wise cast out." " He that
Cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on
me shall never thirst." " He satisfieth the longing soul, and
filleth the hungry soul with good things."
6. If you do not come to God's Anointed, you lose (he be-
nefit of the gospel-lamp, and incur the displeasure of that
God who ordained the lamp for iiis Anointed. " This is the
condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men love
darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil. How
shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation" of God's
Anointed ?
7. Unless you come to God'S Anointed, and buy oil, your
vessels and lamps will be found empty at the corning of Christ.
36 A LAMP ORDAINED FOR GOd's ANOINTED. [SER.
My friends, before long, the midnight cry shall be heard,
" Behold, the Bridegroom cometh ; go ye forth to meet him."
You know what became of the foolish virgins that wanted oil
at the coming of the Bridegroom ; they go to seek oil when
it was out of time; "the door was shut" upon them, and
they are shut up in eternal wo and darkness. Oh take care
that it do not fare so with you against the coming of Christ
at death or judgment. And, therefore, while the market of
grace lasts, take Christ's counsel, " I counsel thee to buy of
me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be I'ich ; and white
raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of
thy nakedness do not appear : and anoint thine eyes with eye-
salve, that thou mayest see," Rev. iii. 18.
8. When a people privileged with the lamp of the everlast-
ing gospel, do not answer the design of it by coming to God's
Anointed, God in that case is provoked to remove the lamp,
and give it to others that will improve the light of it to a
better use : Matth. xxi. 43 : " Therefore I say unto you, The
kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a na-
tion bringing forth the fruits thereof," says Christ to the
Jews. By the kingdom of God there, we are to understand
the same thing with the gospel-lamp, by which we enter into
the kingdom of grace here, and of glory hereafter. Now,
says Christ, this shall be taken from you, and then the door
of" the kingdom of God will be shut up against the Jewish
nation, and given to the Gentiles, which was accordingly
done. The Jews were cut oft' for their unbelief, and the gos-
pel church and lamp set up among the nations of the earth.
Now, if God spared not the natural branches, we need to
take heed lest he treat us after the same manner, who are
wild olives of the Gentiles by nature, Rom. xi. 21. You have
a word to the same purpose, John xii. 35, 3G: "Then Jesus
said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you : walk
while ye have the light, lest -darkness come upon you: for
he that walketh in darkness, knoweth not whither he goeth.
While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the
children of light." By all which you see that we are in ha-
zard of losing the light of the gospel-lamp, and of being left
in darkness, if we do not come to God's Anointed.
And here I will tell you of several kinds of darkness that
will follow upon the removal of the gospel-himp.
1st, The darkness of gross ignorance ; which is so far from
beinfT the mother of devotion, as the Papists teach, that it is
the mother of destruction: "My people are destroyed for
lack of knowledge," IIos. iv. «. If we but look through the
world, or through this island, or the land in which v.'e live,
and take a vievv of those corners of it where the gospel-lamp
XXXIIl.] A LAMP ORDAINED FOR GOD's ANOINTED. 37
does not shine, or where another thing is substituted in the
room of it, we shall find nothing but gross ignorance of su-
pernatural truths, and the people no better than a company
of baptized heathens.
2dly, The darkness not only of unbelief, but of infidelity,
follows upon the removal of the gospel-lamp. Unbelief may
be, and, alas ! too frequently is, where the gospel-lamp shines :
" Who hath believed our report ?' But when the gospel-
lamp is taken away because of unbelief, then the people turn
infidels. An unbeliever may come to be a believer, because
the object of faith is still revealed and presented to him by
the gospel-lamp; but an infidel cannot become a believer,
because the object of faith is removed ; the things that be-
long to his peace are hid from his eyes and ears. " How
shall he believe in him of whom he has not heard ?" (as the
apostle argues;) " and how shall they hear without a preach-
er?" Rom. X. 14. When both lamp and lamp-bearers of
God's sending are taken away, how then shall they believe?
Men in that case can no more believe, than the eye of the
body can see without the light of the sun in the firmament.
2dly, The darkness of idolatry and superstition in worship,
follows upon the removal of the gospel-lamp, as we see in
those lands or nations where the gospel-lamp once was, but
are now covered with Popish and Mahometan delusions and
abominations.
'ithly, As the gospel-lamp removes, so gradually the dark-
ness of error prevails. Deistical errors, rejecting supernatu-
ral mysteries in the word ; Arian and Socinian errors, dero-
gating from the glory of God's Anointed, either in his person,
oifices, or satisfaction ; Arminian errors, striking at the free-
dom and sovereignty of the grace of God both in election and
eflfectual calling, and the perseverance of the saints; legal
errors, overturning the doctrine of justification by the righ-
teousness of Christ alone, and foisting in something else in its
room, that men may have something to glory in. These and
the like errors prevailing in a land where the gospel has been
preached in purity, argues a setting, not a rising sun, because
the shadows are growing long.
5thly, The darkness of a dead, lifeless, blasted, profane, or
ignorant ministry, prevails upon the withdrawing of the lamp
of God's Anointed. Indeed, God may leave something in the
land called the gospel, and a set of men who call themselves
ministers of the gospel. But what sort of a lamp is it that is
left, when the true gospel-lamp is taken away ? It is the de-
vil's lamp ; it is not the narrow way, but a broad- way lamp,
to lead people straightway to the bottomless pit. And what
sort of ministers or lamp-bearers are left ? Why, they are
38 A LAMP ORDAINED FOR GOD'S ANOINTED. [SER.
blind guides leading the blind, and both fall into the ditch to-
gether.
Qihhj, The darkness of a departed God and glory follows
upon the removal of the gospel-lamp. The name of that na-
tion or congregation then becomes Ichabod, that is, " The
glory is departed." And then innumerable woes take place:
" Wo also unto them, when I depart from them," Utter de-
struction and desolation takes place : " Behold your house is
left unto you desolate," Matth. xxiii. 38. "And now go to;
1 will tell you what I will do to my vineyard : I will take
away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up ; and break
down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down. And
I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged, but
there shall come up briers and thorns : I will also command
the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. For the vineyard
of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Ju-
dah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but be-
hold oppi'cssion; for righteousness, but behold a cry," Is. v.
5 — 7. Thus you see what darkness follows upon the removal
of the gospel-lamp for rejecting and refusing to come to God's
Anointed. Oh, then, let me beseech you, as though God did
beseech you by me, " be ye reconciled unto God," by re-
ceiving him, resting upon him alone for salvation from sin
and wrath, as he is offered to you in the gospel.
Oh that I knew how to prevail with you to accept of God's
Anointed ! Come and let us reason together upon this im-
portant matter. Sirs, when you reject God's Anointed, you
reject God himself, that God in whom every moment you
live, move, and have your being ; for God is in Christ his
Anointed dear; but when you receive him, you receive "God
to be your God and portion in time and through eternity ; his
Father becomes your Father, and his God your God.
Pray tell me, what ails you at God's Anointed, that you
will not come unto him ? Do you reject him because he is
an insufficient Saviour? Why, the gospel-lamp discovers the
contrary* and that the very reverse is true : " I have laid
help upon one that is mighty," says God. Do you reject him
on a pretence that he is unwilling to receive you ? The gos-
pel-lamp confutes this thought ; for you may see him com-
plaining of sinners, that they will not come unto him ; swear-
ing by his life, that he is willing, and has no pleasure in the
death of the wicked ; appealing to the heavens and earth,
to bear testimony for him against sinners for their folly and
obstinacy: " Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be hor-
ribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the Lord. For my
people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me
the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns,
XXXIII.] A LAMP ORDAINED FOR GOd's ANOINTED. 39
broken cisterns, that can hold no water," Jer. ii. 12, 13. And
again, he says, " Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth ; for
the Lord hath spoken : I have nourished and brought up chil-
dren, and they have rebelled against me," Is. i. 2. Do you
stand ofFfrom God's Anointed, because you have no claim or
right to him 1 Let not this be pretended ; for you have as
good a right to him, and as good a warrant to employ him
for your salvation, as any of the saints, either in heaven or
earth, ever had, before they actually believed in him. You
have a right to him by virtue of the human nature that he
wears, by which he is related to all the human kind. You have
a right and claim to him by virtue of his office ; he is the
Saviour of all men that are willing to be saved. As every
man in Israel had access to the brazen serpent, which was
a conunon good to all the canip ; so has every sinner a right
to look to Christ, and be saved. You have a right to him
by the revelation, the offer, the gift, and grant, of the gospel :
'• Then Jesus said unto them. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Moses gave you not that bread from heaven ; but my Father
giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of
God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life
unto the world," John vi. 32, 33: "For unto us a child is
born, unto us a son is given," Is. ix. 6. And, again, " Ho,
every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters," &c. Is. Iv. 1:
" And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that
heareth say. Come. And let him that is athirst, come. And
whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely," Rev.
xxii. 17. Do ye stand off from God's Anointed for want of
power and abihty to come to him ? Why, God's Anointed
in the gospel is reaching forth his saving arm to help every
impotent soul, saying, " I give power to the fiint ; to them
that have no might I increase strength." Oo you decline
to come to God's Anointed, because you are uncertain if God
ordained him for you, or you for him, in his eternal purpose
or decree ? Why, sirs, I have often told you, and now 1 tell
you again, that in the matter of believing, you have nothing
at all to do with the decrees of God : " Secret things belong
unto the Lord ; but things revealed, to us and to our children."
Now, it is among the things revealed, that you should believe
in God's Anointed ; " This is the work of God, that ye believe
in him whom God hath sent ;" and that moment you believe
with the heart, thou mayest read thy name in the Lamb's
book of life ; and never can or shall any man find out the decree
of God as to himself in another way or method. Oh then,
come and close immediately with God's anointed Saviour, and
the way of salvation through him, by which you shall at
once both give " glory to God in the highest," and secure
40 A LAMP ORDAINED FOR GOD'S ANOINTED. [SER.
your own salvation for ev^er. But if you continue to reject
God's anointed, and the lamp he has ordained for him, your
light shall be put out in obscurity, and you shall lie down in
everlasting sorrow with hypocrites and unbelievers. " Behold,
all ye that kindle a tire, that compass yourselves about with
sparks; walk in the light of your tire, and in the sparks that
ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand, ye shall
lie down in sorrow," Is. I. 11,
Quenj, What advice do you give us, in order to our right
improvement of the gospel-lamp as to [get] a saving interest
[in] God's anointed ? To this I answer in these particulars : —
1st, Be much in viewing yourselves in the light of the holy
law of God, which requires no less than an absolute and sin-
less perfection in every man and woman sprung of Adam, in
order to fix a title to life and glory, and which dooms every
one to hell and destruction from the presence of the Lord,
who cannot produce a personal and perfect obedience to it.
The language of the law is, " He that doth these things shall
live by them :" but " Cursed is every one that continueth not
in all things which are written in the book of the law to do
them."
2dly, Consider seriously whether you be capable to pro-
duce what the law requires of you. There are three things
demanded of you by God from the bar of the law, to which,
if you cannot give a satisfying answer, sentence must pass
against you. (1.) God will demand of you, Where is that
innocent nature you received from me at your creation : for
I made you upright? (2.) Where is that sinless obedience of
life which the law requires? Have you done all that the law
requires ? None of Adam's race can answer these two ; for
" all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." And,
therefore, (3.) A third demand follows: What satisfaction
do you give to my justice? To this the sinner, ignorant of the
gospel, is ready to answer, " Oh, will God be pleased with
thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil ? will
he accept of our first-born for our transgression, or the fruit of
our body for the sin of our souls." But will God be pleased
with this? No, he no more values all these large protiers,
th;in the cutting of a dog's neck, or the oflering of swine's
blood upon his altar. Such " sacrifice and offering 1 desire
not," says God. Well, seeing the sinner cannot give a satis-
factory answer to these questions, seeing his nature is vitiated
and corrupted, " every thought of his heart is evil," seeing
he has broken the law, in thought, word, and deed, times
without number, what must follow on this, according to the
tenor of law and justice, but that the sword of justice awake
?XXIII."| A LAMP ORDAINED FOR GOd's ANOINTED. 41
against the criminal, and that he be " hewn in pieces before
the Lord," as Agag ? Now, I say, my advice to you is, oh
take a serious view of this state of matters between God and
you. While you are upon a law-bottom, " indignation and
wrath, tribulation and anguish, unto every soul of man that
doth evil."
3dhj, Having thus pondered how matters stand between
Ood and you in the light of the law, I advise you next to take
the lamp of the gospel, and see what relief is provided by
God in his Anointed for you in this dismal situation. See if
there be not a suitable and sufficient answer to these [puz-
zling] and silencino; questions in God's Anointed as a second
Adam, a new covenant-head. When the question is put,
Where is that pure and holy nature that we had from God
at our first creation 1 view God's Anointed by the lamp of the
gospel, and you will hear him answering, Here it is, in my
person, as their public head and representative ; and I pre-
sent their nature to God as holy and pure as ever it was at
its creation. Again ; when the question is put, where is that
perfect, personal, and sinless obedience they owe to my holy
law, which was the condition of life, according to the tenour
of my covenant I made with them? why, the gospel-lamp
will let you see God's Anointed as your Surety, answering, I
have "fulfilled all righteousness" that the law required in
their room ; I " was made sin for them, that they might be
made the righteousness of God in me;" "I am the end of the
law for righteousness unto every one that believeth in me ;"
" I have magnified the law, and made it honourable," and
the righteousness of the law is fulfilled by imputation, in all
that come to me by faith. Again ; when the question is put.
What satisfaction will the guilty sinner give to my justice?
God's Anointed answers, 1 was wounded for their transgres-
sions, I was bruised for their iniquities, the chastisement of
their peace was upon me ; I was made a curse for them, the
just suffered for the unjust, to bring them to God; I bore
their sins in my own body on the tree, and therefore justice
cannot have recourse upon them. Thus you see how the
gospel-lamp discovers a way of relief for the poor sinner
standing condemned at the bar of the holy law, how this an-
swers all these questions, to which, all finite understandings,
whether among men or angels, were utterly unanswerable.
4thly, Having thus viewed how things stand in the light of
the law, and in the light of the gospel-lamp, consider, delibe-
rately, where you will take up your standing before God's tri-
bunal, and for an awful eternity ; whether will you take your
hazard to answer God to these questions in your own person,
by presenting to him the works of righteousness that you have
VOL. III. 5 t
42 A LAMP ORDAINED FOR GOd's ANOINTED. [sER.
done, for the satisfaction of his justice? or will you quit and
renounce all these as lilthy rags, and betake yourselves to
God's Anointed, as *' the Lord your righteousness," saying,
" In him alone will I be justified, and in him will I glory?'
I am sure, if you have any uptaking of God in his infinite
tremendous holiness and justice ; any uptaking of the holiness,
equity, perfection, and extent of the law; any uptaking of
your own lost, wretched, and miserable condition ; any value
for your precious souls, that are condemned already by the
law; any view of God's Anointed in the light of the gospel-
lamp, you will not be long in determining the matter, upon
what foundation you will venture. Oh, will the soul say,
with Paul, " Yea, doubtless, I count all things but loss, for the
excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord ; for
whom I am ready to sufTer the loss of all things, and do count
them but dung that I may win Christ, and be found in him,
not having mine own righteousness, wiiich is of the law, but
that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness
which is of God by faith." This is just the language of faith
submitting to the righteousness of God's anointed Saviour
and Surety. The soul just sinks itself, and all its own w'orks
and righteousness, into nothing, and states itself before God
in Christ, and says, " Behold, O God, my Shield, and look
upon the face of thine Anointed," Psal. ixxxiv. 9. It is in
this way that the soul closes with Christ, atid is interested
savingly in him ; and it is in this way that the infinite power
of God is exerted and put forth, when he '"fulfils the work
of faith with power,"
bthli/, In regard the gospel-lamp discovers Christ not only
as an atoning Priest, but also as a teaching Prophet, and a
ruling and a governing King; therefore at the same time
that we submit to his righteousness for justification, we must
take care to submit to the whole will of God revealed by
him, setting the seal to all the *' promises of God, as yea, and
amen in him ;" yea to the whole of the gospel revelation ;
submitting also, at the same time, to the law as in the hand
of a Mediator, and saying, " The law is holy, and the com-
mandment holy, and just, and good:" (hou hast delivered
me out of the hand of mine enemies, therefore rule thou
over me. Thus the man gets the law written in his heart,
" the kingdom of God is set up within" him, and "every
thought brought into captivity unto the obedience of"
Christ, God's Anointed. So much for advice how to improve
the gospel-lamp, in order to your sharing salvation by God's
Anointed.
I conclude with a word of advice to believers, who through
the light of the gospel-lamp, and the power of God accom-
XXXIII.] A LAMP ORDAINED FOR GOD's ANOINTED. 43
panying it, have been determined to come by a true faith to
God's Anointed, for all the ends of his mediation.
1. O bless God for his Anointed, and for the lamp he has
ordained for his Anointed ; and that he ever made the lamp
discover his glory to your souls, and to drop down the oil of
his Spirit upon you. All is of grace : " By grace are ye
saved, through faith ; and that not of yourselves : it is the gift
of God : not of works, lest any man should boast." And
therefore, O celebrate the praises of that God, whose name
is gracious, saying, " Not unto us, not unto us, but unto thy
name be the glory."
2. Has the gospel-lamp led you to God's Anointed? Then
abide in him, and with him ; says Christ to his disciples,
" Abide in me, and I in you," John xv. 4. Abide in him by
a hfe of faith, and let his Spirit abide in you, without griev-
ing his Spirit, or quenching his operations and motions. It
is not enough, that you have once believed, but you must
live in him, and upon him, by faith. " The life, I live," says
holy Paul, " is by faith upon the Son of God, who loved me,
and gave himself for me," Gal. ii. 20. It is in this way of a
continual coming to Christ, that we are " built up a spiritual
house, a holy priesthood, to otTer up spiritual sacrifices unto
God, acceptable through Jesus Christ." It is in this way
that the life of grace is maintained, until it issue in a life of
glory. Faith is always receiving " out of his fulness grace
for grace ;" and thus we are " anointed as with fresh oil,"
and " wax stronger and stronger, till we come to appear be-
fore God " in the heavenly Zion, where we shall " receive the
end of our fahh" and hope, " the salvation of our souls."
3. Put honour on God's Anointed, for this is the will of him
that sent him, " that all men should honour the Son, as they
honour the Father." We are commanded to honour our
earthly parents, because they are the instruments of our na-
tural being in this world ; but how much more should the
seed of Christ put honour on him as their everlasting Father,
who is the author of their spiritual being in the world of
grace here, and the world of glory hereafter? "For we are
his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works."
Query. How shall we put the honour on God's Anointed?
A?7sw. In these few particulars : —
1st, By employing and trusting him in all his saving offices
to which he is anointed, and casting all our cares upon him.
God the Father, who anointed him, has made him both his
own and our great Trustee. He has intrusted him with all
the concerns of his glory, and he requires us to trust him with
all the concerns of our salvation ; and therefore " trust in him
as the Lord Jehovah, for with him is everlasting strength."
44 A LAMP ORDAINED FOR GOd's ANOINTED. [SER.
^dhj, Put honour upon him by putting away all his rivals,
every thing that would usurp his room. There are many
false Christs in the heart of man. Sometimes the law as a
covenant usurps his room, by self-righteousness. Sometimes
carnal reason usurps his room, by bringing the mysteries of
the gospel, revealed by him, to its bar. Sometimes the world
usurps his room, by stealing away the heart from him. Some-
times the vile idol of self usurps his room, by preferring our
own ends to his glory. Sometimes we are ready to put cre-
ated grace in his room, by living more upon created grace,
than "the grace that is in Jesus Christ," and are not content
with a " life hid with Christ in God," unless we find our life
in our hand. These, and many other false Christs, usurp the
room of the Christ of God. Now, I say, if we would honour
God's Anointed, let him have the principal room in our hearts,
and lay all these under his feet, that he may tread them
down, and he alone be exalted.
^dly, Put honour upon him, by imitating him both as to the
temper of his mind, and tenour of his walk. " Let the same
mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. Be ye holy
as he who hath called you is holy." " He hath left us an ex-
ample, that we should follow his steps;" and therefore "let
us run our race, looking unto Jesus," &c.
4,thly, Be frequently crying for new drops of the oil of the
Spirit from God's Anointed ; for the seven Spirits which are
sent unto all the saints on earth, flow from the Lamb, as it
were slain, in the midst of the throne. It is his promise, "If
I go away, I will send him." O cry that he may come
"like the rushing of a mighty wind" upon your own souls,
and upon " the dry bones in our valley of vision," and upon
all the churches.
blhlii, When you get any drops of the oil from God's
Anointed, study to be dropping of your oil into the empty
vessels that you will find every where round about you. And
this you are to do, by spreading the light of the gospel-lamp
as far as you can, and by speaking to the praises of God's
Anointed. When the heart indites a good matter concern-
ing God's Anointed, your tongue will be like the pen of a
ready writer, to proclaim his praises. The woman of Sama-
ria, whenever she came to know God's Anointed, and to get
the oil of his Spirit, runs to her neighbours, saying, " Come,
see a man that has told me all things that ever I did: is not
this the Christ?" John iv. 29 ; that is, the anointed One of God.
And thus others are drawn to Christ, through the smell of
Christ's ointment upon her.
Gthly, Study by all means to preserve the lamp of the ever-
lasting gospe lin safety and purity among us, against all that
XXXIII.] A LAMP ORDAINED FOR GOD^S ANOINTED. 45
are attempting to rob and spoil us of such an unspeakable
mercy; for if the lamp of the gospel go, God's Anointed will
go with it ; he will not manifest himself by any lamp of man's
devising or forming, but only by the light of the lamp that
God has ordained for him, namely, the gospel in the purity
and simplicity of it. And, therefore, beware of following any
pretended lamp-bearers, who preach another gospel, and
bring out a strange light, not lighted at the Sun of liighteous-
ness, but by some wild-fire of man's imagination. " Try the
spirits whether they be of God." Try them by "the law and
testimony ; for if they speak not according to these things, it
is because there is no light in them."
Ithhj, If you would preserve the gospel-lamp, and put ho-
nour upon God's Anointed, study to be his witnesses, and to
bear testimony for him, and for his covenanted doctrine, wor-
ship, and government in the land, as founded upon the reve-
lation of the word. Many injuries are done to God's Anoint-
ed, both by church and state in our day. Oh take up his
cause and quarrel, and confess him before men, as ever you
expect that he should confess you before his Father, and the
holy angels, at the day of his appearing.
Lastly, If trouble and persecution come on the land for
Christ's sake, and for the gospel, be ready to seal your testi-
mony for him with your blood, like those who " loved not
their lives unto the death, and took joyfully the spoiling of
their goods" for his sake. Study to say with Paul, "I am
ready not to be bound only, but to die for the name," truth,
and testimony of the Lord Jesus."
46 THE angel's seal^ [ser.
S£K]IIO]\ XXXIV.
THE ANGEL'S SEAL, SET UPON GOD'S FAITHFUL SERVANTS,
WHEN HURTFUL WINDS ARE BLOWING IN THE
CHURCH MILITANT.*
And after these things, I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the
earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow
on the earth, nor on tlie sea, nor on any tree. And I saw anotlier Angel,
ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried
with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth
and the sea. Saying, Hurt not the earth, neitlier the sea, nor the trees, till
we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. — Rev. tiii.
1—3.
It is agreed amongst the generality of interpreters whom I
have consulted, that in those three verses I have now read,
there is a prediction of some awful spiritual judgments to fall
upon the visible church, together with the care that the Lord
takes of his own faithful remnant, by separating them from
others, that they might not be hurt thereby.
These spiritual plagues are expressed under the notion of
four winds, verse 1 ; which drive away unstable professors,
who are not rooted by faith in Christ, just as the wind drives
loose and light things before it. Those zmids are said to be
four, with allusion to the four quarters of heaven, east, west,
north, and south ; implying, that the devil sets upon the church
of Christ from all points at once, so that she is like a. city
besieged by enemies from all quarters. The instruments in
the hand of God, for plaguing the visible church with those
spiritual judgments, are four. Some say they were four evil
angels, like those that were sent to be a lying spirit in the
mouth of Ahab's prophets, to persuade him to go up to Ra-
moth-Gilcad, to his destruction. Others think that they were
good angels, because they restrained the winds until the saints
were sealed. But we need not insist to determine this diffe-
i-ence, seeing we find God, the great Lord and Sovereign,
sometimes making use of good, and sometimes of bad angels,
as the executioners of his wrath.
But now in the second and third verses follows the conso-
lation of the saints of God, his little remnant, who are keep-
ing their garments clean, and keeping the word of his pa-
• The substance of three sermons, preached in the New Church of Bristo,
at Edinburgli, at, and after tlie celebnition of the sacrament of the Lord's
supper there, October 10, 11, and 17, 1742.
XXXIV.] SET UPON god's FAITHFUL SERVANTS. 47
tience. " The eyes of the Lord are running to and fro through
the whole earth to show himself strong in their behalf," and
his care about them is thus expressed : — " And I saw another
Angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living
God : and he cried with a loud voice to the four Angels to
whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying,
Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have
sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads." Where,
for explication, we may notice these following particulars: —
1. The great agent who interposes for the safety of the
saints, when the four noxious winds are blowing away the
generality of professors; and that is a?iother A?igel: not any
created angel, like the four mentioned in the first verse, but
the glorious Angel of the covenant, Jesus Christ, who was sent
before Israel to open the way into the land of Canaan, con-
cerning whom God says to Israel, Exod. xxiii. 21 : " Beware
of him, and obey his voice : for my name is in him." This I
say is the Angel here spoken of, for he is the Head that looks
to the welfare of his members ; " And he is given to be head
over all things unto the church, which is his body," and "all
the saints are in his hand," and "none shall pluck them out
of his or his Father's hand."
2. We may notice from what quarter this Angel arises and
appears ; he ascends from the east, with allusion to the natu-
ral sun in the firmament, who arises from that point, and
spreads his light and influences tow^ard the west. The coming
of Christ is compared to lightning coming from the east. He
is " the light of the world ; the true light, which lighteth every
man that cometh into the world." Some observe that the en-
try of the temple, by which the prince was to ascend, was
upon the east; and so it may signify, that when Christ comes,
for the help and relief of his church, he appears in a princely
and sovereign way ; and when he does so he acts like him-
self, "the Prince of the kings of the earth."
3. This Angel is the Lord-keeper of the privy seal of hea-
ven, for he had the seal of the living God. This shows that
he is his Father's great trustee, w^ho has " all power in hea-
ven and in earth committed " unto him. On the same ac-
count the keys of the house of David, or the government is
laid upon his shoulders: Is. xxii. 24: "He shall hang upon
him all the glory of his Father's house, the ofi'spring and the
issue, all vessels of small quantity: from the vessels of cups
even to all the vessels of flagons." The care of God's par-
ticular kingdom, of his chosen generation, royal priesthood,
peculiar people, and holy nation, is committed to him.
4. We may observe how Christ executes his authoritative
trust ; he cries with a loud voice to the four angels, to zchom il
48 THE angel's seal, [see.
was given to hurt the earth, and the sea. His crying may sig-
nify Christ's authority, the eminence of the clanger, and his
care to have the hurtful winds restrained for a season. Those
to whom he directs his cry, are the four angels, to whom itu-as
give7i to hurt the earth and the sea ; by which we are made to
understand, that all the angels, both good and bad, are sub-
ject to the authority and command of Him, who is "the head
of all principalities, and power, and might, and dominion,"
&c. None of them all can act but by orders from him.
Christ in heaven is looking lo the welfare of his church and
people upon earth in time of danger, when they themselves
have no thought about their own hazard.
5. We have the particular charge given to the angels by
Christ, which I have mainly in view, ver. 3 : he said to them
Hurt not the earth, iieither the sea, ?ior the trees, till u-e have
sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
Where we have, Is^, A prohibition. 2dli/, The party imme-
diately concerned in the prohibition. And, Sdlij, The reason
of it.
1st, The prohibition : Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor
the trees, for a time. Where you see the judgment is not ab-
solutely averted nor discharged, but only suspended, until pro-
vision be made for the safety of God's peculiar people. Ob-
serve, that any favour shown to the wicked, or any suspen-
sion of divine vengeance with respect to them, is owing to
the truly godly that live among them. If it were not for the
elect's sake, God would make short work with the rest of
mankind : " Except the Lord of hosts had left unto us a very
small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should
have been like unto Gomorrah."
2dlij, Wc have the party immediately concerned in the pro-
hibition ; lite earth, the sea, and the trees. Bv whom, in general
we are to understand professors of dillerent kinds against whom
the [rage] of those hurtful winds was levelled, and who were to
sustain great hurt and injury thereby to their souls, when God's
time of loosing them should come. What sort of professors of
religion are ])articularly pointed at by the earth, the sea, and trees,
shall be declared afterwards.
3^////, We have the reason of the restraint that is laid upon
the hurtful winds, that they are not suflbred to blow ibr awhile,
namely, Until zee have sealed the servants of our God in their
foreheads. Where we have,
(1.) The objects of the divine care, the servants of our God.
It is Christ that is speaking, and he speaks in the cajiacity of
a public head, in his own name, and in the name of all his
faithful friends and followers, saying. Our God, because he is
the head of the whole mystical body, and stands in a joint re-
XXXIV.] SET UPON god's FAITHFUL SERVANTS. 49
lation to God with his members and people, according to John
XX. 17: "I ascend unto my Father and your Father, and to
to my God and your God." The character that he gives them
is, that they are the serva7ils of God ; and the reason of this
designation is, because they were such as feared his 7iame, Neh.
i. 11, and because they " kept the commandments of God ; and
the testimony of Jesus," when the flood cast out of the mouth
of tlie old serpent was sweeping away the bulk of visible pro-
fessors to a course of apostacy.
(2.) We may notice what was to be done to or for the ser-
vants of God; why, they are to be sealed, that is, they are to
be separated or distinguished from others that were to be
doomed to destruction ; much like that, Ezek. ix. 4, 6. Says the
Lord to the man who had the v^'riter's inkhorn by his side,
" Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Je-
rusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that
sigh, and that cry for all the abominations that are done in the
midst thereof;" and then, it is added, " Come not near any man
upon whom is the mark." In short, this discovers the particu-
lar care that God has of his own remnant, and the special pro-
vidence that God exercises about them, when his judgments
are in the earth.
(3.) Notice the conspicuousness of this seal: they are sealed
on their foreheads. Thus,Rev.xiv. 1, the hundred forty and four
thousand who stand with the Lamb on mount Sion, are said to
"have his Father's name written in their foreheads;" that is,
they had a visible profession of the name of God in the world,
and are not ashamed to confess him before men. So, here,
this seal is set on the foreheads of the servants of God ; that is,
as they had been faithful to his cause and interest, when others
had deserted him and his truth ; so he would visibly own them
as his before the world, and would not be ashamed of them,
and would make his regard for them evident to all men, by
the singular care he took of them, when his destroying judg-
ments were in the earth.
(4.) The reason of their being thus sealed is here implied,
namely, that they might not be hurt, that is, that they might
be preserved from the danger and hazard of those pestilential
winds that were to blow in a little time upon the visible church.
Thus r have endeavoured to open the text and context a
little.
From the 2d and 3d verses we may observe these few
things : —
Observ. 1. That Christ, the glorious uncreated Angel of the
covenant, is the protector and guardian of his church and
people. He is that other Angel, who has a watchful eye upon
his remnant, that they may not suffer hurt by the winds that
50 THE angel's seal, [ser.
were to blow, Psal. xci. : " The angel of the Lord encampeth
round about them that fear him, and delivereth them," Psal.
xxxiv. 7 : " The angel of his presence saved them : in his love
and in his pity he redeemed them, and he bare them, and car-
ried them all the days of old," Is. Ixiii. 9. In which the pro-
phet refers to Exod. xxiii. 20, 21; where God says to Moses,
*' Behold, I send mine Angel before thee to keep thee in the
way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.
Beware of him, and obey his voice : — for my name is in him."
This is he that was with the church in the wilderness, and this
is he that is with the New Testament church, even he who
*' rideth upon the heavens by his great name Jah, for the help
of his people, and in his excellency on the skies ;" and therefore
will make all things, even the most cloudy dispensations, " work
together for good to them that love God, and who are the call-
ed according to his purpose."
Observ. 2. That Christ's appearances for his church makes
day to break from under the darkest night. Hence here likened
to the sun ascending from the east, dispelling the darkness of
the night. Luke i. 78 : " Through the tender mercies of our
God, the day-spring from on high hath visited us." He brings
" healing in his wings."
Observ. 3. That however the glory of Christ may be cloud-
ed and obscured by the errors of man, and the mists of hell,
yet, like the sun in the firmament, he is always in the ascen-
dant. This prophecy here is thought to have a particular
respect to that period of the church, when, after the ten Ro-
mish heathen persecutions, a swarm of heresies broke out in
the church, calculated for obscuring the glory of his person
and righteousness; and yet at the same time he is ascending,
and, in the issue, all these mists serve only as a foil to set forth
his glory with the greater lustre. Thus " the wrath of men"
and devils, apd all their errors and delusions, " shall praise
him ;" and what will not answer this end he " will restrain."
And, therefore, " let the children of Zion be always joyful in
their King ;" he will prevail.
Observ. 4. That our glorious Redeemer is a person of the
highest interest, credit, and authority, in heaven; for here we
are told, that he halh the seal of the Ihwg God. God has
" hung upon him all the glory of his house;" he hath " high-
ly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every
name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow.'*
Oh, what unspeakable consolation is here, especially consi-
dering that he got this authority, and executes it, for the good
of his church !
Observ. 5. That such is the power and authority of our Re-
deemer, that all the executioners of the divine anger against
XXXIV.] SET UPON god's FAITHFUL SERVANTS. 51
the children of men, or the rotten professors of the visible
church, are under his empire and command ; for here we see
he restrains the four angels, to whom " it was given to hurt
the earth, and the sea, and the trees." Angels and principa-
lities and powers in heavenly places do obeisance to him, and
are his w'inged messengers, and as a flame of fire to obey
him : and as for wicked men and devils, they are under the
chains of his power and providence ; " he ruleth in the raging
of the sea, and when the waves thereof roar, he stilleth them,"
and says, " Hitherto shalt thou come, but no farther."
Observ. 6. That when the danger is great and most imminent
toward his church and people, that is the season in which he
most readily interposes for help and deliverance. When the
four angels were just ready to let loose the four hurtful winds,
by vv'hich good and bad, chaff and corn, might have been
swept away together, then he gives the cry to stop until the
servants of God were sealed, and provision made for their safety.
" Now will I arise, saith the Lord," namely, " when their
strength is gone, and none shut up, or left."
Observ. 7. That in the times of the greatest defection and
apostacy in the visible church, God has still a remnant that
are cleaving to him and his way and cause. This is clearly
implied here; he has servants that must be sealed, when the
winds of error and corruption are hurling away the rest of vi-
sible professors : Rev. iii. 4 : " Thou hast a few names even in
Sardis, which have not defiled their garments," &c. When
all Israel was carried away with a flood of idolatry, God had
his " seven thousand in Israel that had not bowed the knee
unto Baal ;" God will keep his hand about these, come of the
rest of the world what will.
Observ. 8. God's remnant in this world, are mingled with
the rest of mankind ; they live promiscuously together in the
same land, in the same parish, and in the same families. So
much is injported in the staying of the winds until the ser-
vants of God were sealed. They are just like the wheat and
chaff" lying on the same barn floor ; or like the tares and corn
which grow in the same field, and yet are of a quite different
nature, and therefore cannot but be a great grievance to one
another; the godly are a burden to the wicked, and the wick-
ed are a burden to the godly. Hence is that melancholy
sonnet of David's, " Wo is me, that I sojourn in Mesech, that
I dwell in the tents of Kedar."
Observ. 9. That although the godly and wicked be as it
were jumbled together, yet " the Lord knoweth them that
are his," and " his eyes are running to and fro, to show him-
self strong on their behalf." Hence you see here the Angel
who is their guardian, Jesus Christ, cries to stop the winds
52 THE angel's seal, [ser.
till they be sealed ; which implies, that he knows them that
were to be sealed, and was exercising a particular providence
about them. He that " calls forth the stars by name," he
knows all his jewels by name and surname ; and no wonder,
for he bears their name on his breast, *' their names are
written in the Lamb's book," that none of them be lost.
Observ. 10. That when once provision is made for the safe-
ty and welfare of God's faithful servants and people, he then
gives a loose to his awful and terrible judgments against a
wicked world, " the generation of his wrath." You see here
that the restraint is only until the servants of God be sealed ;
which implies, that whenever they were sealed, the restraint
was taken off, and the angels loosed the four hurtful winds
against the rest of mankind. So soon as Noah and his family
were shut up in the ark, "the fountains of the great deep,
and the windows of heaven, opened," a loose is given to the
waters of the deluge upon the old world. So soon as Lot
was gone out of Sodom, snares, fire, and brimstone, were
rained down from heaven upon the rest of the wicked inha-
bitants. Whence we see, that the truly godly, though the
objects of the world's hatred, yet are the pillars of the land
where they live, to keep off the judgments of God from them ;
Is. i. 9 : " Except the Lord of hosts had left unto us a very
small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should
have been like unto Gomorrah."
Observ. IL That God's particular interest in his people is
their safety and security in an evil day. They are the ser-
vants of our God, and therefore they must be sealed.
Observ. 12. That Christ and believers have one common
God and Father ; and therefore here he takes them in with
himself when he speaks of them, Our God: hence is that
New Testament name, " The God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ." He and they are included in one covenant,
wrapt up in the same robe. But, passing all these, the doc-
trine 1 intend to insist upon is that which follow s : —
Observ. " That whatever pernicious and hurtful winds may
be allowed to blow in the militant church, Christ, her glori-
ous head and guardian, will take a distinguishing care for the
safety of those that are found faithful to him in an evil day,
that they do not sustain any real hurt."
The foundation of the doctrine is clear and obvious ; for
here, when the four winds are just ready to blow, Christ the
great Angel, that has the seal of the living God, '• ascends
from the east," arises as it were out of obscurity, and gives
the cry, saying. Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees,
XXXIV.] SET UPOP^ GOD^S FAITHFUL SERVANTS. 53
till we hate sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
See for proof, Ezek. ix. 4 : "Go through the midst of the
city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon
the foreheads of the men that sigh, and that cry for all the
abominations that are done in the land."
In discoursing on this doctrine, I shall, through divine assis-
tance, endeavour the order and method following : —
I. I shall take notice of a fev^^ of those hurtful winds that
are suffered to blow in the church militant, and who they
are that are hurt by them.
II. I would inquire who are those servants of God for
whose sake the hurtful winds are restrained for a time.
III. I would speak a little of the seal that he sets upon
them for their security against hurtful winds.
IV. Why he sets a seal upon them.
V. Apply the whole in some uses.
I. The Jirst thing is, to take ?iolice of some of those pernicious
winds with zohich the church of Christ is i?ifested tvhile here iji
a militant state.
1. Then, There is the wind of open violence, persecution,
and bloodshed. The roaring lion delights in blood, especially
the blood of the saints, who are the true seed of the woman,
and therefore commonly this is the first thing that he essays
in order to ruin the church of Christ. Hence he instigated
Cain to slay his brother Abel. He instigated the Jews to
" crucify the Lord of glory," and to persecute his apostles :
and the Romans, by ten several persecutions, to raze the
Christian church, if possible, from the face of the earth. And
it is well known how he instigated malignant men in power
under some reigns before the late revolution, to essay, by per-
secution and bloodshed, to raze a covenanted reformation,
and all that owned it, from off the face of the earth. And we
see the same spirit of enmity at this day raging against that
same work and cause under another denomination ; only the
great Angel of the covenant does not allow, as yet, that wind
to blow ; but [whenever] the permission is given, 1 make no
doubt but we may see the Grassmarket, and other places
through Scotland, reeking as fast as ever with the blood of
the saints.
2. Sometimes, and very frequently, the hurtful wind of er-
ror in doctrine is suffered to blow in the barn or field of the
visible church, "There must be heresies," says the apostle,
" that they which are approved, may be made manifest," 1
Cor. xi. 19. Those heresies are compared to the wind ; hence
is that [direction] Eph. i. 14 : " Be not like children, tossed
VOL. in. 6 t
64 THE angel's seal, [SER'
to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine."
It galls and torments the devil, to see the church of Christ
professing the pure truths of God. He himself abode not in
the truth, and therefore cannot endure to see any abiding in
it ; and therefore studies by all means to sow the tares of er-
ror and corruption in doctrine, by which the food of the
church may be poisoned, and people perverted from the sim-
plicity of the gospel. And, indeed, when once it has entered,
it flies like a pestilential wind, corrupting the minds of men.
Manifold melancholy instances might be adduced, both in
former ages, and in our own day ; but I must not enlarge,
that I may go forward to the application. I shall only add,
that truth in its purity is such a valuable commodity, that
every man is to contend for it as in an agony; for if but the
least hoof of it be parted v/ith, we are in danger of losing
the whole, because of the necessary connexion of truth in the
system of our holy religion.
3. Another hurtful wind is the wind of strong delusions as
to everlasting soul concerns ; and this is consequential to the
former. It is very common and ordinary, when God has
given his statutes and testimonies to a people in purity, as " a
light unto their feet, and a lamp unto their paths," and in-
stead of taking heed to the " sure word of prophecy, as unto
a light shining in a dark place," they embrace, countenance,
and patronise error; God, in that case, chooses their own de-
lusions, sutlers them to " feed upon ashes," " a deceived heart
to turn them aside," that tiiey cannot deliver their soul, nor
say, " Is there not a lie in my right hand ?" Isa. xliv. 20.
Tiius he dealt with Israel, Psal. Ixxxi. 11, 12: "My people
would not hearken to my voice ; and Israel would none of me.
Therefore I gave them up unto their own hearts' lusts: and
they walked in their own counsels." Thus he dealt with the
abettors and supporters of antichristian errors, 2 Thess. ii.
11, 12 : they received not the truth in the love of it; there-
fore "God gave them up unto strong delusions, to believe a
lie." And this; is the very case with multitudes both of mi-
nisters and people in our own day. They have forsaken the
reformation doctrine, principles, and covenants, in many in-
stances, which arc made known to the world : they have
rejected a testimony for that glorious work, and killed the
witnesses, and cast them out ; for which cause God is giving
many of them up in this generation to such strong delusion,
as to believe a lie, and to cry up that for a saving work of
God, which looks like that judgment we read of, Is. vi. 9 — 12 :
"And he said. Go, and tcU this people. Hear ye indeed, but
understand not ; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make
the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and
XXXIV.] SET UPON god's FAITHFUL SERVANTS. 55
shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with
their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert and
be healed," &c.
4. There is the wind of temptation that blows in the visi-
ble church. This was a wind that blew hard on the glorious
Head and Captain of our salvation, as you see Matth. iv.
He was tempted to a distrust of providence, to self-murder,
and to call in question his own supreme Deity. And there-
fore, none of his friends and followers need be surprised when
they meet with the like attacks; and never is the enemy
more ready to make an attack upon the Christian, than when
he has been admitted to fellowship with, and nearness to, the
Lord, as you see in the case of Peter, after he had been at
the first supper, where Christ himself was personally present,
Luke xxii. 31, 32 : " Simon, Simon, behold Satan hath desired
to have you, that he may sift you as wheat," &c. And
therefore, you that have been at the communion table, and
enjoyed any thing of the Lord, take heed to yourselves, for
you may expect a winnowing wind from hell to blow ere it
be long. Oh look by the eye of faith to your " Advocate
with the Father," that he may pray that your faith fail not.
5. Another hurtful wind is the wind of profanity and open
ungodliness. Usually, when men espouse errors, and lax tole-
ration [latitudinarian] principles, God gives up with them,
lays the reins upon their necks, and suffers them to run into
all excess of riot, saying, " Let us eat and drink, for to-mor-
row we shall die ;" let us make the best of the world and the
pleasures of it that we can. Thus God dealt with the very
heathen, when they did not walk up to the light and law of
nature, Rom. i. 25, 26, 28, 29. Now, if God thus punished
the abuse of nature's light, how much more will he not pun-
ish the abuse of gospel-light, by giving [up] a people to all
manner of impiety ? which is the case with multitudes among
us at this day, who are given up to the same abominations as
heathens.
6. All these winds are commonly followed with the winds
of sweeping and desolating judgments, such as sword, famine,
and pestilence, by which the wicked are turned otF the stage
of time into a miserable eternity. Many awful beacons of
God's severity and justice this way are left upon record to us
in the scriptures of truth, such as the old world, Sodom and
Gomorrah, the Jewish church and nation; and truly I am
afraid, yea, I may be pretty positive, that God is saying to
us in this land, upon the account of perjury, covenant-break-
ing, apostacy, contempt of the truth, persecution and church
tyranny, profanity, and the hke, " How shall I pardon you
for these? shall I not visit for these things? and shall not my
56 THE angel's seal, [ser.
soul be avenged on such a nation as this ?" The rumour of
war is begun, but where it shall end, God knows. Perhaps
God is saying, as in Is. vi., when the prophet puts the ques-
tion, When, or how lo?ig, shall these spiritual judgments last'?
the Lord answers, ver. 11, 12: " Until the cities be wasted
without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land
be utterly desolate," &c.
Thus i have told you of some of those hurtful winds that
God lets blow in the visible church. But now you may ask me,
What arc we to understand by the earth, the sea, a?id the trees,
that shall be hurt by these winds, particularly the winds of
error, defection, and delusion, &c.? I shall just give you the
opinion of the judicious Durham upon the place.
1. Then, By the earth, we are to understand earthly mind-
ed professors, who " suppose gain to be godliness." They
have some shadow of a profession, and some form of godli-
ness ; but yet the world is set in their hearts, " their God is
their belly, they mind earthly things," such as wealth, ease,
credit, preferment, and the like. Such professors are swept
away like chaff when the above winds are let blow, Phil. iii.
19; 2 Pet. ii. 15; Jude 10. Hence, also, in 1 Tim. vi. 10,
the love of money is called " the root of all evil ; which, while
some coveted after, they have erred from the faith." I am
afraid, earthly considerations, and worldly gain, keeps many
men back from owning the truth and testimony of the day ;
it would not stand with their employments, Actsxix. 25.
2. By the sea, the same commentator understands, light
unstable professors, who are lixed in nothing, but, like Reu-
ben, their motto is, " Unstable as water, thou shalt not ex-
cel." The apostle Jude calls them, (verse 13,) "Raging
waves of the sea, wandering stars, and clouds that are car-
ried with a tempest :" like some among ourselves, who are
keen Presbyterians one day, the next day Independents, and
the next day joining hands with Prelacy; one day keen for
supporting a testimony, for the covenants and reformation,
and the next day for burying it. Such unstable professors,
are " like the sea, driven with the wind, and tossed."
3. By the trees he understands professors, who, for their gifts
of knowledge, learning, utterance, and the like, are high
above others, both in their own conceit, and in the opinion
of other men ; but not being " rooted in Christ " by " faith of
God's operation," when the wind blows, they are like the lofty
trees plucked up by the root, and overthrown by the winds of
error, delusion, or persecution. And do not we see this also
fulfilled in our own day, men that once seemed to be pillars
in the church, and like tall cedars in Lebanon, overthrown
with the present winds of error and delusion.
XXXIV.] SET UPOIV god's FAITHFUL SERVANTS^ 57
II. The seco?id thing was, to inquire who are those servants of
God for zvhose sake the hurtful wmds a?'e restrained, that provi-
sion may he made for their safoly when they do actually blow. I
shall not stand much upon this, but only refer you to a de-
scription given of them in two particulars in this same book
of the Revelation, chap. xii. 17, where the apostle, by the
Spirit, is describing those against whom the dragon makes
war, and casts out the flood of malice and enmity; they are
" the seed of the woman, that keep the commandments of
God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ."
1. The servants of God are such as " keep the command-
ments of God;" that is, (1.) They are holy persons; the
" sanctified and preserved in Christ Jesus." They have the
law of God in their hearts, and therefore "have a respect unto
all his commandments," Psal. cxix. G. Although they can-
not, in this life, attain to perfection in holiness, yet it is what
they aim at ; and therefore forget things behind, and reach
forth unto perfection ; like those that shall attain unto the re-
surrection of the just. Holiness is the badge and distinguish-
ing motto of all the true followers of the Lamb, therefore
called " a holy nation, and the people of his holiness. Holi-
ness becometh thy house, O Lord, for ever." Or, (2.) as Dur-
ham observes, they " keep the commandments of God," it is
to be understood of a keeping the laws, ordinances, and insti-
tutions of Christ, in opposition to a set of men in the Anti-
christian church, who, through their traditions, were making
void the commandments of God. Observe, That it is the cha-
racter of Christ's faithful servants, whether ministers or Chris-
tians, to observe and do all things whatever he has command-
ed them in his word. Tt is not what kings, parliaments, or
assemblies, command, but what God commands, is the rule
by which they walk ; the laws of man must be tried by the
law of God. There is a generation of men in our day called
ministers, who, instead of keeping the commandments of
God, are very careful to keep the commandments of men,
though even [contraiy] to the command of God: if they be
commanded by men to profane the Sabbath, to profane the
pulpit, and ministerial character, and to prostitute the head-
ship of Christ, and turn heralds to another head than Christ,
they will do it, and defend the deed when they have done.
Such servants of men cannot be the servants of Christ Jesus,
but they serve their own bellies. And yet such men at this
day, though we hear nothing of their repenting of their evil
deeds, and though they be " holding fast deceit, and refusing
to return," some would have us to believe are honoured of
God as great instruments of the conversion of souls. I shall
only sav, that I cannot help thinking, that as such ministers
6*
58 , THE angel's seal, [ser.
only carry a counterfeit commission, so the seals of their mi-
nistry are but counterfeit seals. For my part, J shall never
believe these noisy conversions to be of the right stamp, until
I see both ministers and converts follow the practice of Ju-
dah, and Israel, when returning to the Lord after a course of
defection, Jer. 1. 4, 5: "In those days, and in that time, saith
the Lord, the children of Israel shall come, they and the chil-
dren of Judah together, going and weeping : they shall go,
and seek the Lord their God. They shall ask the way to
Zion with their faces thitherward, saying. Come, and let us
join ourselves to the Lord, in a perpetual covenant, that shall
never be forgotten." The reason is set down in the two fol-
lowing verses, which are applicable in the present case of the
church of God in this land: "My people have been lost
sheep : their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they
have turned them awa)'- on the mountains ; they have gone
from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their resting-place.
All that found them have devoured them, and their adversa-
ries said. We offend not, because they have sinned against
the Lord, the habitation of justice, even the Lord, the hope
of their fathers." And thereupon they depart out of Baby-
lon, and their ministers or shepherds, become as he-goats be-
fore the flock.
2. The faithful servants of God, are said to be such as
"have the testimony of Jesus." By the testimony of Jesus,
we are to understand the gospel of Christ, or the doctrine of
faith in its purity, which alone is "the power of God unto
salvation," Rom. i. IG. The -whole word of God is divided
into law and gospel ; and sometimes the whole word is called
by the one, and sometimes by the other, as you see frequently
in the UDth Psalm. Now, the question is, What is it to
"have the testimony of Jesus?" Jltisrc. (L) it implies a firm
faith of the record of God concerning his Son Jesus Christ ;
this is called a " believing the report, and setting to the seal that
God is true." (2.) A firm trust in Christ as the only Saviour,
upon the testimony of God. -They credit and trust him for
the execution of all his saving offices, as a Prophet, Priest,
and King, for wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and com-
plete redemption. (3.) A holy care to preserve the doctrine,
worship, and the government of Christ's house, in its purity,
and according to the pattern shown in the mount ; together
with a steady contending for the faith, and a "standing f;ist
in the liberty wherewith Christ has made his people free," in
opposition to error in doctrine, corruption in worship, and all
tyranny in government and discipline. Now, these are the
servants of God that are here intended to be sealed, in order
to their being preserved from those hurtful winds that blow
XXXIV.] SET UPON god's FAITHFUL SERVANTS. 59
in the visible church ; these are they against whom the rage
of the great red dragon and his angels is levelled, against
these the flood cast out of his mouth runs. But now I pro-
ceed to,
III. The thh-d thing proposed in the method, which was,
to speak a Utile of the seal that is set upon the servants of God.
And here 1 shall propose and answer two or three questions :
Query 1. Who is he that seals them?
A?iszo. It is Christ, the great Angel, that hath the seal of
the living God. He himself was sealed as God's Secretary
and Plenipotentiary to this lower world, John vi. 27. And
he has the seal of the living God committed to him ; for he
has " given him power over all flesh, that he might give eter-
nal life to as many as he hath given him," John xvii. 2. He
has the roll of election committed to him, that he may put
his mark, his own name, and his Father's name upon them :
Rev. iii. 12 : " Him that overcometh, will I make a pillar in
the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I
will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of
the city of my God, which is the new Jerusalem, which
com-eth down out of heaven from my God: and I will write
upon him my new name." There you see that Christ makes
him that overcomes a pillar in the temple of God ; but that
is not all, he writes his name upon them, and the name of his
God, he puts his own image and Spirit in and upon them, as
" he is the express image of the Father." Thus you see that
it is Christ that seals the servants of our God.
Query 2. What is implied in the sealing them ?
Ansiv. It implies, 1. That he is their great owner and pro-
prietor; for a man seals his own goods, that it may be known
they are his. " The Lord's portion is his people, and Jacob
is the lot of his inheritance." They are his by election, and
his Father's donation ; they are his by purchase, and by co-
venant, and by the inhabitation of his Spirit : and " the foun-
dation of God standeth sure, having this seal. The Lord know-
eth them that are his."
2. A seal is for distinction, to distinguish one man's goods
from another. And so it implies, that God will have a dif-
ference put betwixt his own people, and others ; for they are
his gold and coin of his own mint, the rest of the world are
but the dross; they are his wheat, and others are the chaff";
and " what is the chatf to the wheat ? saith the Lord." He
has his fan in his hand, and will thoroughly purge his floor,
the wheat he will gather into his garner, but the chalT he
will burn with fire unquenchable."
3. A seal is for confirmation. The king's seal appended
60 THE aivgel's seal, [sek.
to a charter establishes it and confirms it. And so it may im-
port, that, before the winds arc suffered to blow, Christ will
have his own servants established and confirmed in the faith
of these truths, which were to be most exposed to the winds,,
that they might not be carried about like children with every
wind of doctrine, but might be like mount Zion, which can-
not be removed for ever.
4. A seal is sometimes for secrecy. We read of a book,
Rev. V. 1, which was sealed with seven seals, because of the
great secrets and hidden mysteries contained in it. No man
can warrantably break up a sealed letter, but he to whom it
is directed, because it is hidden and secret to any other. And
so it may import, that God's people are his hidden ones, and
that his secrets are imparted to them, and not to others.
God's people are a hidden people : " They have consulted
against thy hidden ones," says the psalmist. God's doves
" abide in the clefts of the rock, and in the secret places of
the stairs." He has them " hid in the secret of his presence
as in a pavilion ;" he has his secret chambers in which he
hides them, " until the indignation be overpast," Is. xxvi. 20.
And then, as they are secret hidden persons, so he imparts
his secrets to them, which he hides from the restof the world:
" The secret of the Lord is with tHem that fear him." " Unto
you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom, but to
others it is not given."
5. A seal is a badge of honour, love, and esteem. And so
it implies, that his servants are honourable persons, precious
in his sight : Is. xliii. 4 : " Ever since thou wast precious in
my sight, thou hast been honourable," &.c.
G. A seal is for custody and preservation. So the saints
and servants of God, arc " the preserved in Christ Jesus,"
'' kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation."
Query 'J. When and how are they sealed ?
Ajisw. 1. From all eternity, they were sealed with his elect-
ing and everlasting love. " I have loved thee with an ever-
lasting love ; therefore with everlasting kindness have I drawn
thee." " He hath chosen us in him, before the foundation
of tlie world." He " predestinates them unto the adoption
of children."
2. In their conversion and effectual calling; they are sealed
in their own persons with the image of the second Adam, be-
ing predestinated thereto from eternity; they are "renewed
in knowledge after the image of him that created them ;"
they are separated from the rest of the world, and become
"a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a pe-
culiar iicople, that they should show forth the praises of
XXXIV.] SET UPON god's FAITHFUL SERVANTS. 61
him who hath called them out of darkness into his marvel-
lous light."
3. They have a seal of blood set upon them in their re-
demption and justification; for, as you see, ver. 14, of this
chapter, " they have their garments washed, and made white
in the blood of the Lamb."
4. They have the seal of the Spirit of promise set upon
them : Eph. i. 13 : " After that ye believed, ye were sealed
with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our
inheritance." The Spirit of G-od dwells in them as in a tem-
ple ; he sanctifies them by the truth, he, as a spirit of adop-
tion, teaches them to cry, Abba, Father, and comforts them in
all their tribulations with the consolations of God with the
oil of gladness, wherewith he was anointed, above his fel-
lows.
Query 4. But why are they said to be sealed i?i their fore-
heads ? •
Amzv. The forehead, you know, is the upper part of the
face, the most conspicuous part of a man's countenance ;
and I conceive the seal upon the forehead may import two
things.
1. Their visible profession of Christ, and their open owning
of the Lord, and his way and cause, in the time of the great-
est opposition, when error, and delusion, and persecution, were
most rampant in the visible church. Sirs, it is not enough to
be night-disciples, when Christ is calling us to confess him be-
fore men ; no, we must come forth to the open field, when
called up " to the help of the Lord against the mighty." "He
did not hide his face from shame and spitting, but openly en-
dured the cross, and despised the shame ;" and yet shall we
be ashamed of him, or afraid to own him before the world 1
It is dangerous to come near the borders of denying him and
his cause before men, lest he should " deny us before his Fa-
ther, and before his angels." Christ's plough, his cause, and
testimony, drive heavily for many professors in Scotland at
this day ; and because they have been so slack-handed this
way, God is leaving some, both ministers and people, to put
hand to another sort of plough, which will produce a melan-
choly crop ere all be done,
2. Their being marked or sealed in the forehead implies,
that, in the time of common calamity, God will make such a
visible difference between his own faithful servants and others,
that he that runs may read, according to that [declaration]
Mai, iii. 18: "Then shall ye return and discern between the
righteous and the wicked ; between him that serveth God,
and him that serveth him not." The righteous and the wicked
live together now (as I was saying ;) but ere it be long, God
62 THE angel's seal, [ser.
will put such a visible mark of f^ivour upon the one, and of
vengeance upon the other, that all men and angels shall know
the one from the other, and at the end the separation will be
as wide as between heaven and hell.
IV. The fowih thing in the method was, to inquire into the
reasons zvhy Christ, the Angel of the covenant, will have his ser-
vants marked ifi their foreheads, zchen the winds are to he let
blozo ?
Answ. 1. In so many words, he will have them sealed, be-
cause they are his Father's gift: " Thine they were, and thou
gavest them me ;" and for the Father's sake that gave them,
he will have them sealed.
2. ]]ecause he hath bought them at a dear rate, even with
the price of his precious blood, not with silver, or gold, or
such corruptible things, &c.
3. Because they are his sheep, his lambs that he carries in
his bosom, Is. xl. 11.
4. Because they are his servants, the servants of God, their
ear he has bored, they love their Master, &c.
5. Because they are his peculiar friends: "I call you no
more servants, but friends," John xv. 14, 15.
6. Because they are his seed, Is. liii. 10; Psal. xxii. 30: "A
seed shall serve him," &c.
7. Because they are his spouse and bride, he their Husband
and Bridegroom, Is. liv. 5; Hos. ii. 16, &c.
8. Because they are his members, and he their Head, they
are his bone and flesh, they " hold the head," &c.
9. He seals them, because they believe in him, Eph. i. 13:
" After that yc believed, ye were sealed," &c.
10. He seals them, because they love him, so as to mourn
for injury done him, Ezek. ix. 4.
11. He seals them, because they are his faithful witnesses,
that confess him, when others deny him.
12. He seals them, that they may not suffer hurt by the de-
stroying winds that blow in the visible church. They keep
the commandments of God, and the testimony of Jesus; and
therefore he will keep them in the hour of temptation, ac-
cording to the promise, Psal. xci. 3, 7.
V. The fifth thing was the Application of the doctrine.
And ihe first use I shall make of it, shall be by way of La-
mentation over the many hurtful winds that have blown, and
are still blowing, in our land. God seems in our day to have
given a commission to his angels, the ministers of his wrath,
who fulfil his pleasure, to let loose the winds, that the earthy
XXXIV.] SET UPOPf god's FAITHFUL SERVANTS. 63
the sea, and the trees, may be hurt thereby ; and much hurt
and damage have they done already in our valley of vision.
Query, What are the hurtful winds that are blowing at this
day, or in this period of the church ? for some tel! us that the
church of Christ in this land, was never in a better condition.
I answer. Whatever some may imagine, yet I am of the
mind, and many others with me, that the church of Christ
was never in a more dangerous condition since our reforma-
tion from Popery. God seems to have given a commission
to the four angels to loose the four winds, to hurt the in-
habitants of the land. And here I will tell you of several
hurtful winds, which, like the pestilence, are walking through
the land, and hurting many, both professors and others at
this day.
1. The hurtful wind of Infidelity, or Deism, is blowing
which strikes at the roots, and denies all supernatural re-
velation, or at least discards all the supernatural mysteries
of the Christian religion, which depraved reason is not able
to comprehend, such as the doctrine of the incarnation of the
Son of God, and of his satisfaction to justice, of the necessity
of regeneration, of justification by his imputed righteousness,
of sanctification by his Spirit : these, and the like supernatu-
ral doctrinesof our holy religion,! say, are exploded by many
in our day, insomuch that through many places of Scotland,
instead of the gospel of Christ, nothing is to be heard, but the
dry sapless harangues of heathenish morality. And what
must become of those poor souls that are daily entertained
with such food? Why, Solomon answers the question, when
he tells us, " Where no vision is, the people perish." The
hurtful wind of Arian heresy has been travelling through the
land, and appeared before the bar of the Assembly without
any becoming censure. The doctrine of self-love, also, by
which the creature is exalted above the glorious Creator,
We have been long taught, that the chief end of man is, to
glorify God, and that " whether we eat or drink, or whatever
we do," we ought to " do all to the glory of God." And, to be
sure, that which is the chief end of man, ought also to be the
leading and chief motive of all his moral and religious actions.
But now it is a doctrine sustained by the National Assembly,
that our own delight, pleasure, and satisfaction in glorifying
God, is the chief motive of all virtuous and religious actions ;
by which the creature's happiness is preferred to the glory
of God, who " made all things for himself" And I cannot
shun to observe, that God, in a way of righteous judgment,
is answering many according to this idol of jealousy set up
in the temple of God, by letting them adopt, and embrace a
religion that lies all in internal feelings, pleasure, and satis-
64 THE angel's seal, [Sfift^
faction to themselves ; while the declarative glory of God, and
the honour of the Redeemer's crown and kingdom in the
world, is none of their concern ; yea, it torments them to hear
of a testimony against the indignities done to him in the land
in which "we live. I might here also insist on the injuries
done to the doctrines of the grace of God, in the acts of As-
sembly, 1720 and 1722, with relation to the Mirrozv of Mo'
dern Divinity, by which a bundle of precious truths are con-
demned and lie under the rubbish ever since, which I hope
shall yet be brought forth unto victory."
2. The hurtful wind of church tyranny and abused disci-
pline, has been for a long time blowing in the church of Scot-
land, by which the erroneous have been screened, and minis-
ters of Christ cast out of ministerial communion, and deposed
for bearing testimony to the truth, in opposition to the present
current of apostacy and backsliding. And how has the boar
of ecclesiastical tyranny laid waste, and scattered the flock
of Christ up and down the land, through violent intrusions
that have been made upon Christian congregations, imposing
men upon them, contrary to that " liberty wherewith Christ
has made them free?"
3. I might, among other pernicious winds, take notice of
the pubhc affront done to the Mediator's crown as the alone
King of Zion, when by reading of the act respecting Porteus,
ministers changed their holding of Christ, and prostituted his
sovereignty, and dipped their hands in that innocent blood
shed at the execution of Wilson, by not testifying against
him as a bloody murderer condemned in law, when they read
that act.
4. How has the wind of profanity and open impiety blown
upon all ranks in the land, and hurt many, both in soul, and
bodily estate? What heaven-daring impiet)^ abounds, inso-
much that the land groans under our provocations against
the holy One of Israel? The very abominations of the hea-
then are perpetrated among us Christians, like those, Horn, i.,
at the close.
5. There is another wind that God is suffering to blow at
this day, by which both many ministers and people are stag-
gered, and cast down ; and that is the noisy wind that the
known foreigner of the Prelatic communion of the church of
England has brought along with him to this land. I know,
indeed, that some deny any connexion between him, and that
work wliich we have now among us ; but it is in vain to deny
this, when it visibly follows him through the world, where-
over he goes, and is received into communion as a minister
of Jesus Christ.
Query, How does it appear that this is one of the hurtful
XXXIV.] SET UPON god's FAITHFUL SERVANTS. 65
winds that God has, by the ministry of angels, whether good
or bad, loosed upon the church of Scotland? for many call
it, and are very confident of it, that it is a heavenly wind.
A?isw. I cannot stay upon it at present; only, notwithstanding
of all the fine things I have read and heard about it, I cannot
help thinking, that it is one of the most hurtful winds that
ever blew^ in this covenanted land, and that for these reasons.
It appears to me, and many others, to be a hurtful and perni-
cious wind, by observing, (1.) Whence it comes; (2.) Whither
it blows ; (3.) What are its effects.
Isl, Let us notice whence it comes. It comes from the
Prelatic superstitious church of England; and he that has
brought it, owns himself to be still of the communion of that
church, abjured by this church in her national covenant, and
by the three nations in the solemn league ; one who has sworn
the oath of supremacy, and so renounced the alone headship
of Christ in his church, and, in consequence of this, denies the
binding obligation of our solemn covenants. And his own ac-
count of his conversion appears to be an evident delusion of
the devil.
2dly, Let us also observe, whither, and for what, this noisy
wind blows. It is evident, that it blows up every M'here
through the world, and particularly in this land, for filthy
lucre, worldly gain and advantage ; the cry of it every where
is, Who will show us any of this world's good? Another quar-
ter toward which it blows, is, toleration of all sects, plainly
founded upon the principle of Catholic love and communion,
so much applauded by that foreigner, and all that patronise
him and his work. And hence the natural tendency of it is,
to overthrow the hedge of government, and to cast down the
walls and fortifications of Zion, against which the gates of
hell shall never prevail.
Sdly, Let us notice what are the fruits and effects of this
noisy wind. I know, indeed, that some talk of great and
good effects of it, in the conviction, conversion, and consola-
tion of many ; but I much doubt if this will stand the trial of
the word, which is the light by which all spirits, and works,
must be tried : " To the law and to the testimony : if they
speak not according to these, it is because there is no light in
them." An imaginary conviction produces an imaginary
conversion, and an imaginary conversion produces but an
imaginary consolation. I will only tell you of two or three
fruits of it, that I know, and can document.
(1.) A [determined] enmity and bitterness of spirit against
a covenanted work of reformation, and all that bear up or
own a testimony for it at this day, notwithstanding of their
Catholic love.
VOL. III. 7 t
66 THE angel's seal, [seRj
(2.) A striking men blind, and deaf, and dunnb, as to all the
public affronts done to Christ, or injuries done to his mystical
body. I dare appeal to themselves, if at their most solemn
occasions, where they say there was most of the Lord, any
thing was spoken for God's declarative glory, in opposition to
the bloodshed, perjury, covenant-breaking, or the violent in-
trusions and [violences] committed upon the spouse of Christ,
or the profaning of Christ's crown, his sabbaths, and the mi-
nisterial character, by reading of Porteus's act. Nay, so far
from this, that that spirit goes along with intruders, act rea-
ders, and the like, as w-ell as others; but not one word of
their professing repentance for their evil deeds.
(3.) Another fruit of this work, is the palliating of all the
public defections of the church, and so fostering and harden-
ing men in their evil ways. Hence they wipe their mouths.
and cry they are innocent, God is with us, and he has forsa-
ken those that pretend to witness against us and our ways. I
have heard with my ears, and read little less in some of their
•writings, Where is the God of the Seceders? he is not own-
ing their ministry as he is ov^'ning us. I shall only say with
David, when this profane jeer was passed upon him in his af-
fliction and distress, Psal. xlii. 10: "It is as a sword in our
bones, while the enemy says daily to us. Where is your
GodT" But we desire to follow David's example, and say
with him in the words following these now quoted, " Why
art thou cast down, O my soul '( and why art thou disquieted
within me 1 hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise him, who
is the health of my countenance, and my God." This puts
me in mind of a passage 1 have read in Baxter's Life. A
certain faithful minister of Christ, being ordered to a prison
at some distance, under the custody of soldiers ; by the way
they halted at the house of a malignant lady, who, when she
saw the minister in the hands of liis enemies, said. Where is
the God of the Whigs now? Upon which he desired a sight
of her Bible, which she brought with a taunt ; he takes the
Bible, and casts up the following text, which I shall read also
to those who upbraid us after the same manner ; the text you
have, Mic. vii, 8 — 10: " Rejoice not against me, O mine ene-
my : when 1 fall, I shall arise ; when 1 sit in darkness, the
Lord shall be a light unto me. I will bear the indignation
of the Lord, because I have sinned against him, until he plead
my cause, and execute judgment for me : he will bring me
forth to the light, and I sliall behold his righteousness. Then
she that is mine enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her
which said unto me, Where is the Lord thy God? mine eyes
shall behold her: now shall she be trodden down as the mire
of the streets." As this scripture, upon the reading of \U
XXXIV."] SET UPON god's FAITHFUL SERVANTS. 67
struck that woman with a damp and confusion, so may it
do those whose language is the same with hers. Now these,
I say, are some of the hurtful winds that blow at this day.
Use second shall be by way of Trial and Exami?iation.
Seeing it is so that there are such hurtful winds blowing in
the church of Christ, it concerns us to try whether we be
among the number of these servants of God, who are secured
against any real hurt from those pernicious winds, by having
the seal of the living God set upon us.
Query, How shall I know if I be among that happy num-
ber 1 In answer to this question, 1 shall offer you the few fol-
lowing marks of the faithful servants of our God, who have
this seal set upon them.
1. All God's faithful servants have had their bands loosed:
Psal. cxvi. 16: "Oh Lord, truly I am thy servant, I am thy
servant, and the son of thy handmaid : thou hast loosed my
bands." All are by nature held fast in the gall of bitterness,
and bonds of iniquity; they are lawful captives. Now, has
the Lord in a day of power loosed your bands, and proclairn-
ed liberty to you, and made you free indeed?
2. AlfGod's servants have seen their master's glory, beau-
ty, and excellency ; 2 Cor. iv. 6 : " God, who commanded the
light to shine out of darkness, hath shined into your hearts,"
&c. Have you seen the Father in the Son? and has the
sight transformed you into his image?
3. The first-born of the family will be very dear to you,
" more glorious than all the mountains of prey ;" and that will
be the language of your heart, " My beloved is white and rud-
dy, the chiefest among ten thousand."
4. They are all very sensible of their inability to serve him
as they ought; yea, they are ready to acknowledge, that with'
out him they can do nothing; they will not brag of their ser-
vices, as the proud Pharisee, " God, I thank thee that I am
not as other men," &c.
5. They have all a great regard for his authority, and will
obey God rather than man, as the apostles of Christ, Daniel,
and the three children, &c. Every one of them is ready to
say, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" Give strength
to obey, and command what thou wilt.
6. They are all for the standing of their Master's house,
and stand up for their Master's honour. It goes nearer the
hearts of his faithful servants, to see him injured, or his crown
profaned, than any private interest of their own ; it grieves
them to see their master's house invaded by thieves and rob-
bers; and they will not take them by the hand, but bear faith-
fol testimony against them. They cannot part with the least
iioof that pertains to their great Master.
68 THE angel's seal, [ser.
7. All God's faithful servants have his seal set upon them,
as you see in the text, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor
the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God iti their fore-
heads. O, say you, how shall I know if I be among the
sealed? A?}szu. You may know it by the print of the seal.
You know the print of the seal upon the wax, is an exact
transcript of the engraving that is upon the seal. Just so is it
here, when Christ seals, or sets his mark upon the soul, he by
the power of his Spirit puts the print of his own grace upon
it, John i. 16: " Of his own fulness have all we received, and
grace for grace;" that is, the grace that is in the believer, just
corresponds to the grace that is in Christ. As in nature, so
it is in grace ; the child receives from the parent by natural
generation, member for member, eye for eye, hands, legs,
limbs, just like its parent that begat it; so it is in supernatu-
ral things, or in regeneration, we receive from him, who "of
his own will begat us by the word of truth," grace for grace.
The Spirit shows the things of Christ to us, and we, by be-
holding them, are " changed into the same image from glory
to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord."
So, then, see whether you have the following prints of
Christ's seal upon you : —
1st, The print of his life : " Because I live, ye shall live
also." It is the life of Christ that is in the soul of the believer :
*' I live ; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me ; and the life which
I now live in the flesh, is by faith in the Son of God." Where
notice, the believer does not live upon his own feelings, or
grace in him, but on Christ the fountain of life.
2dly, The print of his light; "for he enlighteneth every
man that cometh into the world." So then, have you in" his
light seen light ? If so, then you will know the ditierence be-
tween light and darkness, day and night ; and when it is night,
you will long to see the sun again, and " go mourning without
the sun."
3dly, A print of his love ; for " God is love," and he " draws
with the cords of love ;" he kindles a fire of love in the heart,
the spf^rks of which are always flying upwards toward heaven.
4thly, A print of his holiness ; " Be ye holy, for I am holy."
And this is it that makes the soul to " groan under a body of
sin and death," to war against it, and to long to be fully like
him in holiness.
5thly, A print of his faithfulness in the word of truth : " Of
his own will begat he us by the word of truth." What is
faith, but just the impression of God's faithfulness made on the
soul by the word of truth ; insomuch that, whenever the
soul hears the record of God concerning Christ, it cries, O
" this is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation V
XXXIV.] SET UPON god's FAITHFUL SERVANTS. 69
Glhbj, The soul gets a print of his seal for the honour and
glory of God, so that the man cannot but stand up for the
house of God, and the concerns of his glory. " The zeal of
thine house hath eaten me up," says Christ ; and therefore,
like him, the man that is sealed, cannot endure to see the
house of God turned into a den of thieves, robbers, and hire-
lings, buyers and sellers, and he is far from joining hand vi^ith
them.
7thli/, The man carries the print of Christ's seal upon his
forehead, in a way of a visible profession of Christ, and his
cause and truth, in opposition to the corruption of a wicked
world. Hence it is, that as the world hated Christ, so it hateth
them also ; for as " the world knows its own," so it soon knows
the followers of Christ, that " keep the commandments of God,
and the testimony of Jesus." And this is one thing among
others, that gives me a very bad notion of those new con-
versions so much talked of, that if they know a man to be
either a formal or practical acceder, they will not enter upon
a religious conversation with him, or give any account of the
Lord's v^'ay of dealing with them, contrary to the command,
" Be ready always to give an ansvi^er to every man that asketh
you a reason of the hope that is in you."
Use third, oi consolation to those that are sealed ; for we are
commanded to speak comfort to you. And therefore know
for your comfort,
1. That Christ, the Angel of God's presence, has the charge
of you: "All the saints are in his hand." " He has power
over all flesh, to give eternal life."
2. He is ascending from the east, like the sun in the firma-
ment; even when the clouds are thickest and darkest, it does
not hinder his rising, and he will break through to the salva-
tion and comfort of all his sealed ones, that "keep the com-
mandments of God," and have and " contend for the faith once
delivered to the saints." " His goings forth are prepared as
the morning."
3. He is a person of great power and authority ; for he
has the seal of the living God, he has the keys of the house
of David, he opens, and no man shuts, and shuts, and no man
opens," yea, the keys of hell and death belong to him.
4. All the executioners of the divine wrath against a wicked
world are under his command ; you see here, that the angels
that loose the winds, are at his beck, and fulfd his will and
pleasure. Good angels are his ministering spirits, and they
minister for good to them that are the heirs of salvation; and
the bad angels are in his chains, which Ik- lengthens out, or
shortens at his pleasure.
5. It is his opportunity to help his dm 'cli, and to interpose,
7*
70 THE angel's seal, [ser.
when the danger is most threatening, for here he gives the'
cry, when the winds are at the point of being loosed.
6. All his administrations are calculated for your good,
Rom. viii. 28. " He rides in the heaven for your help."
7. He will guide you with his counsel, and bring you to
glory.
Use fourth, of Terror to all an unbelieving Christless world ;
who, instead of being the servants of God, are " serving divers
lusts and pleasures ;" who, instead of having the seal of hea-
ven, have the seal of hell upon them : all carnal unstable
professors, who are already wandering with the winds, giving
up with the truth, and the tradition we have received from
the Lord in this land. What shall I say to you ? your con-
demnation is awful and terrible, God's "soul hath no pleasure
in you." Perhaps, indeed, you may imagine otherwise ; and
that, in giving up with the covenanted cause of Christ in this
land, you have now fallen upon a new way of which God
approves, and your own soul delights in ; but read these three
scriptures. Is. xliv. 20 : " He feedeth on ashes : a deceived
heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul,
nor say, is there not a lie in my right hand ?" Is. 1. 11 : " Be-
hold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about
with sparks : walk in the light of your tire, and in the sparks
that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand, ye
shall lie down in sorrow." Is. Ixvi. 3, 4 : " He that killeth
an ox, is as if he slew a man : he that sacrificeth a lamb, as
if he cut off a dog's neck: he that offereth an oblation, as if
he offered swine's blood : he that burncth incense, as if he
blessed an idol : yea, they have chosen their own ways, and
their soul delighteth in their abominations. I also will choose
their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them ; because
when I called, none did answer ; when I spake, they did not
hear : but they did evil before mine eyes, and" chose that in
which I delighted not." The winds, when loosed to the full,
whither will they drive you? especially you that have had the
knowledge of the truth, made a profession of it before the
world, and yet have turned away from the testimony of
Christ in this land? You may see and read your doom, if in-
finite mercy do not prevent, Heb. vi. 4 — 6; x. 26 — 29; 2
Pet. ii. at the close, &.c. Perhaps you may think this very
hard, but it is no harder than God has made it, for whom " it
is impossible to lie."
Use Jifih shall be an Exhortation to all in general, even to
all that are afar off, to come to Christ before the wind be fully
loosed, that perhaps shall blow you out of this world into an
unalterable state of efternal wo and misery : O come to Christ,
I say, in order to your being sealed with his seal, for he is
XXXIV.] SET UPON god's FAITHFUL SERVANTS. 71
" the Angel who hath the seal of the living God." His Fa-
ther commands you to come to him, 1 John iii. 23: "This is
his commandment, that we should believe on the name of his
Son Jesus Christ." He himself invites you to come, yea, not
only invites you, but importunately solicits you to come. Is.
Iv. 1 — 3 : " Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the wa-
ters; and he that hath no money, let him come; come, buy
wine and milk without money, and without price," &c. He
passes his word that he will make you welcome, and that
you shall not be put away : " Come to me," who will, " I will
in no wise cast out ;" he " hates putting away :" he com-
plains of your backwardness to come, John v. 40 : " And ye
will not come to me, that ye might have life." His Father
sealed him, and he "hath the seal of the living God," that
he may seal all that come to him in a way of believing : John
vi. 27 ; he makes it an argument to press sinners to come to
him for life and salvation, " because him hath God the Fa-
ther sealed." If you be sealed by him, you are " the pre-
served in Christ Jesus ;" the winds shall never hurt you, no
evil shall come near your dwelling, Christ himself shall be
your " hiding-place from the storm." The curse of the law,
the storm of vindictive wrath, the sting of death, the malice
of Satan, the rage of men and devils, shall never hurt you,
" he shall cover you with his feathers," &c. If you be sealed
by him, you shall be guided by his counsel, he will lead you
in the way you know not, until he bring you to glory. If
you do not come to him to get his seal, the wrath of God
abideth on you, and will pursue you through all the ages of
eternity: " He that believeth not, is condemned already ;" and
the day comes, when it shall be said to you, " Depart from
me, I never knew you," for you have not my seal on your
hearts or foreheads.
Do not say, I am a sinner, and therefore he will not re-
ceive me ; for it is only sinners he deals with : " He came
not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
Do not say, I am a great and grievous sinner, he will not
put his seal upon me ; for he says to the greatest of sinners,
" I am mighty to save," Is. i. 18. Remember Paul, Manasseh,
Mary Magdalene ; for they all obtained mercy, and are tri-
umphing in heaven.
Do not say, I have nothing to recommend me to him ; for
he wants nothing but poverty, misery, blindness, &c.
Do not say, I fear the door is shut ; for he says, John x. 9 :
" I am the door : by me if any man enter in, he shall be
saved," &c.
Do not say, I am not elected, and do not belong to his
commission ; for neither you, nor all the devils in hell, can
72 THE angel's seal, [ser.
say you do not belong to the election of grace. Come to
him b}'- faith, and get his seal, and then you niay read your
" name in the Lamb's book of life."
Do not say, His bowels are shut up against me, I have
slighted his call so often ; for he says, Jer. iii. 1 : " Thou hast
played the harlot with many lovers ; yet return again to me,
saith the Lord :" ver. 22 : " Return, ye backsliding chil-
dren," &c.
Do not say, I want power ; for " he gives power to the
faint, and to them that have no might he increases strength."
Do not say, He is angry with me ; for that moment you
come to him, his anger turneth away, and he says to the soul
that comes, " Thou art my dear son, my pleasant child."
Like the father of the prodigal, Luke xv., it is the delight of
his soul, to see a prodigal coming home to him.
Direct. I. Be convinced, that by nature you have the seal
of hell upon you, and that you belong to the devil: study to
know and be convinced that God is angry with you every
day, that you are condemned already, dead in sins, upon the
very borders of eternal wo and misery.
2. Be convinced and persuaded that Christ is " a Saviour,
and a great one, mighty to save," Psal. Ixxxix. 19; Is. Ixiii. L
3. Be persuaded that you have a title to him, to employ
him as your Saviour: a right by his wearing the human na-
ture: a right to him by office; a Saviour is for a lost sinner,
a Mediator to make peace, a Redeemer to set captives at
liberty, a Prophet to teach the ignorant, a Priest ordained for
men: a right by the command of God, by his own invitation,
and the fi'ee grant and gift of him to sinners in the gospel.
4. In the persuasion of all this, cast thy perishing soul into
his arms, lie down at his door, and say. If I perish, I shall
perish here, where never one perished,
5. In a dependence on the divine power, and in obedience
to the divine command, 1 John iii. 23, [endeavour] at be-
lieving, and be persuaded upon his own faithful promise,
that through his grace, ye shall be saved as well as others.
Use sixth shall be in a word to God's sealed ones, that have
come to him in a way of believing. And all I shall say to
you, shall be in a few advices, in order to your being estab-
lished, and preserved from any hurt or danger, by the perni-
cious winds that blow in our day.
1. Then, As you have come to Christ the Angel that "hath
the seal of the living God," so study to be always renewing
your acts of faith upon him, that he may renew and brighten
his own seal upon your souls: 1 Pet. ii. 4,5: "To whom
coming, as unto a living stone, — ye also as lively stones, are
built up a spiritual house, a habitation of God through the
KXXIV.] SET UPON GOd's FAITHFUL SERVANTS. 73
Spirit." Let the life you live, be by faith on the Son of God ;
for " by faith ye stand." " He that triisteth in the Lord shall
be as Mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for
ever."
2. Cry that the wind of heaven may aw-ake, and come and
blow away the hurtful winds of hell: Cant. iv. 16: "Awake,
O north wind, and come, thou south, blow upon my garden,
that the spices thereof may flow out." Ezek. xxxvii. 9 :
" Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon
these slain, that they may live." And then the dead and
dry bones will stand up as a numerous army to fight the bat-
tles of the Lord. And learn to distinguish the winds that
come from heaven, and those that come from another quar-
ter. And particularly remember, that every wind, however
specious, that blows against the present truth or testimony, is
a hurtful wind, A testimony is lifted up for the covenanted
doctrine, discipline, w-orship, and government of the church of
Christ, which the greatest enemies are not able to disprove,
being so evidently founded on the word of God. Now, every
wind that blows against the truth, though it appear like a
heavenly wind, yet it must be rejected, as coming from a bad
quarter; Is. viii. 20: "To the law and to the testimony: if
they speak not according to this word, it is because there is
no light in them."
3. In order to your being preserved from all hurtful winds,
hide the word of God in your hearts: Psal. cxix. 11 : " Thy
word have I hid in mine heart, that 1 might not sin against
thee." It is said of the righteous man, " The law of his God
is in his heart ; none of his steps shall slide." And, therefore,
take heed to the ''sure word of prophecy, as unto a light
shining in a dark place ;" for by it you shall be " thoroughly
furnished unto every good work," and secured against the
wind of error, delusion, temptation, profanity, or apostacy
from the truth.
4. " Hold fast what you have received, that no man take
your crown." Have you received Christ Jesus the Lord, and
been determined to embrace him who is the unspeakable gift
of God? hold fast the grasp you have gotten of him, as the
spouse did : " I held him, and would not let him go." Have
you received any of his love-tokens on this occasion? lay
them up, and hold them fast, for Satan will do his best to
spoil and rob you of them. Have you " received the testi-
mony of Jesus," and made a profession of your faith 1 " then
hold fast the profession of your faith without wavering, stead-
fast unto the end;" " be steadfast and immoveable" in your
profession, particularly in your profession of the present
truth, against which the main [fury] of the present winds is
74 THE angel's seal, &c. [ser.
levelled. If a thief or robber enter a house, and be carry-
ing away any part of your furniture or goods, your present
care is to preserve or recover that part of your furniture
which is in greatest hazard of being lost. " Who hath given
Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers? — even he against
whom we have sinned." The house of God is in danger of
being quite phindered, and spoiled, much of his valuable fur-
niture is carried off; study then to recover what is lost, and
hold fast what remains of the covenanted doctrine, worship,
discipline, and government, of the church of Christ in this
land.
5. Keep a strict and watchful eye upon all the enemies of
Christ, and of your own salvation. You have enemies both
within and without doors. Take heed, in the first place, of
" an evil heart of unbelief," that it do not " turn you awav
from the living God ;" for when you are turned away from
God, you cast yourselves out of his protection, and then you
are an easy prey to all your other enemies, and are fair to
be driven away like chafi' before the wind. " Watch and
pray, that ye enter not into temptation." Be not ignorant of
Satan's devices, and wiles, who casts himself into every
shape in order to catch the prey, and who at this day is
transforming himself into an angel of light, by counterfeit
convictions, conversions, and raptures of joy, which (it is well
known through the land) leave men and women just where
they were, if not worse; because, imagining themselves to
be in a state of grace, they are proof against all that can be
said to the contrary, until God come and " sweep away the
refuge of lies."
6. Lastly, Take care what ministers you own and hear as
the ambassadors of Christ. This is as necessary a caveat in
our day, as it was in the days of the apostles, 1 John iv. 1 :
" Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whe-
ther they are of God : because many false prophets are gone
out into the world." And if you ask, How shall we try
them? Christ answers the question, Matth. vii. 15, 10: " Be-
ware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing,
but inwardly they are ravening wolves. ^' By their fruits
ye shall know them." But, say you, what are the fruits by
which they may be known? Aimc. Do you see any of them
fishing up and down for worldly gain? do you see them
strengthening the hands of those that are pulling down the
carved work of reformation, and weakening the hands of
those that are [endeavouring] to build it up? do you see them
tormented by a testimony for the Lord's work in the land,
and siding with those that are carrying on a course of back-
sliding? do you sec them entering any other way than by
XXXV.] CHRIST CONSIDERED AS THE NAIL, &C. 75
the door of the house 1 depend upon it, they are not the true
prophets of Christ, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
And, therefore, do not own them as the ambassadors of Christ ;
they do not carry Christ's commission ; and therefore, though
they shall say, " Lo, here is Christ, or lo, he is there," what-
ever pretensions they may make to the Spirit of Christ, yet
go not after them, because these fruits are not the fruits of
the faithful prophets of Christ's sending ; and if he never sent
them, they cannot profit their hearers, however, perhaps,
they may have the art of touching the imagination, or raising
passions to strange and unaccountable effects.
SERHIOI^ XXXT.
CHRIST CONSIDERED AS THE NAIL FASTENED IN A SURE
PLACE, BEARING ALL THE GLORY OF HIS
FATHER'S HOUSE.*
In the name of our God we will set up our banners. — Psal. xx. 5.
PREFACE.
My friends, we are met together tiiis day about a very great
and weighty work, namely, renewing of our solemn covenant-
engagements to the Lord, which, for a great many years back,
have been lying buried in oblivion, by the generality of the in-
habitants of the land. Many grave-stones have been cast upon
them, since they were last renewed by authority both civil and
ecclesiastical. Their obligation was rescinded by act of the Scots
parliament: they were ignotniniously burnt at Edinburgh, by the
hand of the public executioner^ many have suffered upon scaf-
folds and gibbets, in the fields and cities, for asserting the obli-
gation of these covenants, under some reigns before the Revolu-
tionj and, since that period they have lain much neglected, yea,
measures gone into, both by church and state, inconsistent with a
• A sermon preached at Stirling-, December 28, 1743, immediately be-
fore the Renovation of our solemn Covenants, by the ministers of the Asso-
ciate Presbytery. And some other sermons preaclied afterwards upon the
same subject.
76 CHRIST CONSIDERED AS THE NAIL [SER«
covenanted reformation. However, we, the ministers of the As-
sociate Presbytery, are this day met together, in order, through
grace, to renew these solemn covenants, in a suitableness to the
circumstances in which we stand in holy providence, and, in the
Lord's strength, to essay the rolling away the stones from tlie
grave, in which they have been so long buried, and to bring them
forth again to the light. We that are ministers are only con-
cerned in the work of this day, that we may, like the he-goats,
lead the way to the Lord's flock, who, I hope, in due time shall
follow.
There are two things M'hich I judge somewhat remarkable, with
respect to the work we have in view, namely, the time, and the
place of it. 1st, As for the time, I judge it pretty remarkable,
that this same time one hundred years, the Solemn League for
reformation was sworn by persons of all ranks through the three
kingdoms of Scotland, England, and Irelandj and that, not-
withstanding of the strong efforts of hell and earth, since that
time, to have them buried in utter silence, yet this day, God, in
his adorable providence, is making these covenant-engagements
with him to peep from under the ground. 2d/y, I judge the place
of their begun resurrection somewhat remarkable, namely, in the
town of Stirling, where that faithful witness, Mr. James Guthrie,
minister of the place, was stoned, and otherwise nial treated and
abused, by a malignant party, for h[s faithful adherence to the
covenanted reformation, and who also suffered martyrdom in the
same cause, in the Grassmarket of Edinburgli. And although
we be shutout of the legal synagogue of the place, have not ac-
cess to speak in the pulpit of that eminent light of our Israel,
yet, it is worthy of our observation, that God has, in his holy
providence, brought a place of worship out of the old quarry,
where we may worship him, even in Stirling, and set about the
renovation of our solemn covenant-allegiance to the exalted King
of Zion.
Perhaps some may say, as in Neh. iv., "What will these
feeble" associates "do? will they make an end in a day.^ Avill
they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish, which are
burnt?" I answer. It is all one with God to v/ork by many or
by few; by the weak things of the world, or by the great and
mighty, who appeared for this cause at our reformation. I re-
member a scripture or two that has been comfortable to myself
since the first beginning of the work that God has been employ-
ing us in for some time past. One you have, Mic. ii. 13: " The
Breaker is come up before them; they have broken up, and have
passed through the gate, and are gone out by it, and their King
shall pass before them, and the Lord on the head of them." The
other is, Matth. xxviii. 20, being Christ's parting word of pro-
mise to his disciples immediately before he ascended up on high,
" Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world."
In the faith of his faithful word of promise, though our hands be
weak and few, we are to set forward in this great work. The
apostles were but twelve poor fishermen, sent out to build the
XXXV.] FASTENED IN A SURE PLACE. 77
kingdom of Christ, and to encounter hell and earth, "princi-
palities and powers, and the rulers of the darkness of this world;"
and yet, the Breaker going up before them, the Jewish economy
is unhinged, the idolatries of the Gentile nations fallen down, and
the power of the Roman empire is made to stoop to the " obe-
dience of Christ, the Prince of the kings of the earth." And
what do we know, but the Lord may so far countenance the little
effort we are making to own the royal authority of Zion's King,
this day, as to determine all the inhabitants of Britain and Ire-
land, in his own time, ti> do the same, and again, like "Ethiopia,
to stretch out their hands to God," and to return to him, from
whom they have so far departed. His blessing upon this essay
will do it effectually; for " his hand is not shortened, that he
cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that he cannot hear."
And they shall hang- upon him all the glory of his Father's house, the off-
spring'and the issue, all vessels of small quantity: from the vessels of
cups, even to all the vessels of flag-ons. — Is. xxii. 24.
THE FIRST SERMON ON THIS TEXT.
Iiv this chapter, fronn verse 20, we have an illustrious pro-
phecy of the kingdom and government of the glorious Mes-
siah, under the type of Eliakim's preferment and promotion
in the kingdom and government of Judah, as appears by com-
paring verse 22, with Rev. iii. 7, where Christ applies this
passage to himself. More particularly we have,
1. Ehakim's call to his honourable employment, by which
is represented Christ's call to his mediatory work and office:
ver. 20: " And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will
call my servant Eliakim the son of Plilkiah. Christ did not
run unsent, like many in our day, who intrude themselves
into the office of the ministry, Is. xlii. 6; Heb. v. 4, 5: he
" did not take the honour unto himself, but was called of
God, as was Aaron."
2. We have tiie badges of honour bestowed upon him in
consequence of his call: verse 21, 22: " And I will clothe
him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and
1 will commit thy government into his hand, and he shall be
a Hither to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of
Judah. And the key of the house of David will I lay upon
his shoulder : so he shall open, and none shall shut, and he
shall shut, and none shall open." (1.) He is clothed with a
royal robe. So Christ is clothed, Rev. i., with a garment
down to the foot, that serves to cover and adorn himself and
VOL. III. 8 t
78 CHRIST CONSIDERED AS THE NAIL [SER.
all his members ; and his robe is so odoriferous, with the holy
anointing oil of the Holy Ghost, that they perfume the ivory-
palaces, Psal. xlv. 8. (2.) He is strengthened with a girdle,
a girdle of truth and faithfulness; he is always ready girded
for the execution of his work. (3.) He hath the keys of the
house committed to him, and the sole government ; " he opens,
and none shuts," &,c. the keys of the heart, and the keys of
hell and death are in his hand.
3. We have his confirmation in his honourable office and
station ; he is " fastened as a nail in a sure place ," ver. 23 :
"And I will fasten him as a nail into a sure place," &c. Christ
is nailed in his mediatory work and office by an eternal decree,
Psal. ii. 6, and by the oath of God, Psal. ex. 4; and all the
powers of hell and earth shall never loose this nail. Many-
attempts have the powers of hell and earth made to loose
this nail, but the gates of hell could never, and never shall
accomplish their design.
4. We are here told to what advantage he should discharge
his trust: " He shall be for a glorious throne to his Father's
house." God manifested in the flesh, or God reconciling the
world to himself in Christ, is the throne of grace to which we
are called to come with boldness, " that we may obtain mercy,
and find grace to help in time of need:" and this may well
be called a glorious throne, because there is, in this dispensation
of grace, the brightest display of the glory of God ; the views
of which made the angels. Is. vi. to cover their faces with
their wings, and, Luke ii., to tune their harps at his incarnation
and birth, crying, " Glory to God in the highest." Christ is
the ornament of his Father's house, "the brightness of his
glory ;" and the brightest crown that ever adorned the hu-
man nature. Heaven and earth have credit by him. Solomon
tells us, Prov. xxvi. 6, that " he who sends a message by the
hand of a fool, cutteth off the feet, and drinketh damage ;"
that is, he sullies his own character, ruins his business, and is
a reproach to him that sent him. But Christ, the sent of God,
the great Apostle and High Priest of our profession, managed
the affair of redemption, in which he was employed, to such
advantage, that all the parties concerned in his embassy to
this lower world, reap advantage and honour by him ;' he
"restores what he took not away," even glory to God, and
salvation and happiness to lost mankind.
5. Wc have Christ's pre-eminence in God's family, and
the dependence of all the domestics upon him: ver. 24: Aiid
they shall hafig upon him all the glory of his Father^s house, ^-c.
Where we have, \st, The designation given to the church
of God ; it is called, " The house of the God and Father of
Christ." God has a higher and a lower house. His higher
XXXV.] FASTENED IN A SURE PLACE. 79
house is heaven, where is the residence of the church tri-
umphant, Is. xiv. 2. His lower house is the church miU-
tant. 1 Tim. iii. 15, we read "of the house of God, which is
the church of the hving God." See Heb. iii., Christ was sent
and received gifts for men, that the Lord God might have a
house in which he might dwell with men, Psal. Ixviii. 18.
2dlij, We have the nature and quality of the house : it is
glorious, there is glory in it : Is. iv. 5 ; where the prophet, speak-
ing of the church of Christ under the New Testament, says,
" The Lord will create upon every dwelling-place of Mount
Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud of smoke by day, and
the shining of a flaming fire by night : for upon all the glory
shall be a defence." And, Psal. Ixxxvii. 3 : " Glorious things
are spoken of thee, O city of God." There is a visible glory
in the church visible, of which we read, Rom. ix. 4 : "To
them belonged the adoption, and the glory. Some view of
this glory and majesty made Balaam, when he saw the comely
order of the tents of Israel and God's tent, or tabernacle, in
the midst of them, to cry out, " How goodly are thy tents, O
Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel ! The Lord his God is
with him." There is such a divine majesty in the church
of Christ, when her doctrine, discipline, worship, and go-
vernment, is ordered according to the pattern showed in the
mount, and so much of a divine lustre, as strikes beholders
both with terror and admiration ; for then it is that " she looks
forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and
terrible as an army with banners," to all the enemies of Christ ;
so w^as it in our own land, in our reforming period. And as
there is a visible glory in the church visible, so there is an
invisible glory in the church invisible. God communicates
something of the divine glory and image to every one of his
children: " The King's daughter is all glorious within." Through
justifying and sanctifying grace, they who had " lain among
the pots," become like " the wings of a dove covered with
silver, and her feathers with yellow gold."
Mly, We have the high and honourable station that Christ
has in his Father's house ; he is the great Master-household,
and the whole family is committed to him, and is said to
" hang upon him as a nail fastened in a sure place." Of
which more afterward.
Athly, We have the common consent of the whole family
to his management ; They shall ha7ig upon him all the glory,
&c.; that is, the Father of the family, and the whole offspring
of the house, concur amicably that he should have the sole
management. God the Father cries, " He is mine elect, in
whom my soul delighteth ; and I have laid help upon one that
is mighty ; and all the family, in a day of conversion, having
80 CHRIST CONSIDERED AS THE NAIL, [SER.
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of
Christ darted into their hearts, unanimously cry, every one,
Approve, approve, approve !
5thly, We have some account of the furniture of the house,
committed to the management of the great New Testament
Eliakim. (1.) The glory. (2.) T\\e offspring and issue. (3.)
The vessels of small quantity, from vessels of cups, even to all
the vessels of fugons. By which we are to understand be-
lievers, for they are the children of God, and the seed of
Christ by regeneration; and likewise called vessels, because
they are the recipient subjects of divine grace, which is the
wine, milk, and honey of the house. But of these things more
afterward, if the Lord wilk
The doctrine that ofiers from the words is this.
DocT. " That as the church is the house of God, so Christ
is the sole manager of it, and all its concerns hang upon him
as upon a nail fastened in a sure place." And they shall hang
upon him all the glory, &c.
In discoursing on this doctrine, through divine assistance, I
incline to observe the following method.
I. I would show that the church is the house of God, and
show somewhat of its glory.
II. That Christ is the great manager of the house.
III. That he is fastened in the management like a nail in
a sure place.
IV. Show that all its concerns hang upon him, all the glory.
all the offspring, and all the vessels of a lesser or a greater
quantity.
V", Why the management of the house is committed to him.
VI. Make some application anti improvement of the whole.
I. The first thing in the method is, to shoxv that the church
is the house of God.
This is clear from the whole current of scripture; I onl}'"
quote two or three texts to this purpose. Is. ii. 2, 3 ; where
there is a prophecy in the church of God in the days of the
New Testament, "And it shall come to pass in the last days,
that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established
in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the
hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people
shall go and say, Come yf, and let us go up to the house of
the Lord, to the mountain of the house of the God of Jacob,"
&c. Heb. iii. 6., Christ is said to be " faithful as a Son over
his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the con-
fidence, and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end." Heb.
XXXV.] FASTENKD IN A SURE PLACE. 81
X. 21, Christ is called " the high priest over the house of God."
1 Pet. ii. 5 : Believers " are built up, a spiritual house." Now,
how fitly the church is called the house of God, will appear
by the following particulars:
1. He is the founder of the house : Is. xiv. 32: " What shall
one answer the messengers of the nation? The Lord hath
founded Zion." And, like a wise builder, he does not lay his
foundation upon the sand, but upon the rock, against which
the gates of hell shall never prevail. " He hath founded the
earth upon the seas," a fluctuating and unstable element; but
when he builds a house, in which he might dwell among men,
he builds it upon a rock, and upon the holy mountain of the
divine perfections as they are manifested in Christ. And as
he lays the foundation, so he rears up the superstructure.
"It is God that doth build up Jerusalem;" he it is that digs
the stones out of nature's quarry, and joins them to the
foundation that he hath laid in Zion."
2. He is the purchaser of the house; he hath bought it
with an immense sum, not of silver and gold, but with the
red gold of the blood of his eternal Son, Acts xx. 28 ; 1 Pet.
i. 18, 19. All the vast sums expended in building the tem-
ple of Solomon were but a mere trifle in comparison of
what was laid out in the purchase of the New Testament
church.
3. Having purchased the house, it follows that he is the
sole proprietor of it, and of every thing in it or about it : " The
Lord's portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance."
His treasure, his peculiar treasure, is kept here. Here he has
his jewels, his crown and diadem: "Thou shalt be a crown
of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadeni in the
hand of thy God." The house, I say, and all its valuable fur-
niture, are his property.
4. It is fitly called his house, because here he has his abode
and residence ; he shows himself present in his church, both
in a symbolical, gracious, and providential way : Psal. cxxxii.
13, 14: "The Lord hath chosen Zion: he hath desired it for
his habitation. This is my rest for ever : here will 1 dwell,
for I have desired it." Thus you see that the church is a
house, " whose builder and maker is God."
And hence it naturally follows, as is here supposed, that it
must be a very glorious structure. The plan of it was laid
by Infinite Wisdom from all eternity : Prov. ix. 1 : " Wisdom
hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars."
There being a joint concurrence of all the three persons of
the glorious Trinity, it must needs be a consummate piece of
workmanship.
I give you at present a little glimpse of the glory of this
8*
82 CHRIST CONSIDERED AS THE NAIL [sER.
house in a few particulars, because I may have occasion af-
terwards, if the Lord will, to insist on these at greater length,
when I come to show how all the glory " hangs upon the
nail fastened in a sure place."
1. The foundation of the house is glorious; the stones are
laid withyaiV colours, and its foundations with sapphires. When
God is to lay the foundation of his church, he invites all the
world to come and behold its glory: Is. xxviii. IG: "Thus
saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation, a
stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sui'c founda-
tion." This foundation is none other than Christ, the bright-
ness of the Father's glory, as the apostle Paul declares, 1
Cor. iii. 11 : " Other foundation can no man lay, than that is
laid, which is Jesus Christ." Such is the glory of the foun-
dation, that it transmits a divine glory upon all the inhabit-
ants, all the vessels of the house.
2. The form of the house is glorious, when moulded ac-
cording to the pattern shown in the mount of divine revela-
tion. A house must needs have a form; to deny this is to
make it like the primitive chaos, Gen. i. 2 : " without form,
and void." The Old Testament church had a certain form
both of doctrine, worship, discipline, and government; much
more must the New Testament church, considering that the
whole Mosaic economy was but like a porch to lead the
world into the greater glory of the New Testament dispen-
sation. This the apostle argues at length, 2 Cor. iii., from
verse 7, to the close. Of this form of the house the prophet
Ezekiel speaks as a thing most sacred, chap, xliii. 10, 11;
'• Thou son of man, show the house to the house of Israel,
that they may be ashamed of their iniquities, and let them
measure the pattern. And if they be ashamed of all that
they have done, show them the form of the house, and the
fashion thereof, and the goings out thereof, and the comings
in thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances
thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof;
and write it in their sight, that they may keep the whole
form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do them."
Where you see that the form and fashion of the church of the
New Testament, among the Gentile nations, is reckoned by
God such a sacred thing, and of so great importance, that
the prophet, and, consequently, all ministers of Christ, are
commanded expressly to show the form and fashion of it, from
the pattern described in the mount of divine revelation; and
not only so, but to "write it" in a book, " that they may
keep the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances there-
of, and do them." I do not know if, in any nation under
heaven, this precept has been more literally and expressly
XXXV.] FASTENED IN A SURE PLACE. 83
obeyed and fulfilled. The form of doctrine, and of sound
words, is drawn out of the scriptures, in the Confession of
Faith ; the form of worship, in the directory for the public
worship of God through the three kingdoms; the form of
church government, the ordination of ministers, and books of
discipline, all dravv'u out of the scriptures of truth, and writ-
ten or printed in a book, and the whole land brought under
the bond'of a solemn covenant to observe and do accordingly ;
which covenant we that are ministers are about to renew
this day. And seeing this is the case, what shall we think
of the doctrine of Mr. George Whiteficld, who lately traversed
up and down the land with so great applause, and dissemi-
nated his latitudinarian principles, as if the church of Christ
had no form of government established by Christ, and there-
fore non-essential, and a matter of inditlerence whether the
church of Christ be of the Episcopal, Pi-esbyjtcrian, or Popish
form, providing that people were acquainted with the essen-
tials of Christianity, and were good men in the main? All
this poisonous doctrine he has propagated under the specious
pretence of advancing a catholic love and communion among
good men of all denominations. Who does not see this to be
a battery raised against the covenanted form of doctrine, dis-
cipline, worship, and government of the church of Christ in
the three kingdoms, and particularly the last, namely, the
Presbyterian form of government ? which yet is so clearlv
founded upon the word of God, that when the articles of
government, and the scriptiu'cs that sujiport them, were read
to him (Mr. Whitefield) by a company of ministers here pre-
sent, he had not a word to object against any one of them.
And yet how lamentable is it to see such a number of pro-
fessed Presbyterian ministers, and others, blown away from
their covenant Presbyterian principles, into the latitudinarian
and sectarian camp, by the breath of an English priest, whom
they took into full church communion WMth them? No won-
der though they were left to adopt that awful delusion that
has followed upon his ministrations in this land, agreeably to
the threatening denounced against those who " do not receive
the truth in the love of it," 2 Thess. ii. 10 — 12. It is true,
they who have been left to adopt his ministrations, and to
partake of that delusive influence that has attended it, cry
it up as an excellent work of the Spirit of God ; but some
of us have not wanted opportunity to know the contrary,
that instead of being a spirit of truth and love, it is a spirit of
malignancy and enmity against the truth, and covenanted
cause of God in this land, and that it inspires the convicts and
subjects of it with an inveterate prejudice against those who
bear up " the testimony of Jesus," and do not strike sail to
84 CHRIST CONSIDERED AS THE NAIL [sER.
the corrupt established church, and the course of defection
she is carrying on in opposition to solemn covenants for re-
formation. The walls and ramparts of Presbyterian church-
government have endured many a blast of the wind of hell in
this land, and no wonder, because " it is founded upon a rock ;"
and I make no doubt but it shall stand this effort of the gates
of hell also. The form of the house of God, I say, is glo-
rious, as is the form of eVery work of his hand. And there-
fore let us still " walk about Zion, and go round about her,
and mark her towers and bulwarks, that we may tell it,"
in a way of testimony and solemn covenanting, -• unto the
generations following; for this God," w^ho has set up the
towers and walls of his church among us, " is our God" in
covenant " for ever and ever, and he will be our guide even
imto death," Psal. xlviii., at the close.
3. The door or entry of the house is glorious. And if you
ask. What is the door of the church visible or invisible ? I
answer, Christ answers the question, John x. 9 : "1 am the
door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall
go in and out, and find pasture." This is the gate of God,
bv it the just shall enter in; and by it the sinner m^y enter
in, and become just: no sooner does he enter this door by
faith, but he is clothed with the garment of salvation, and
covered with the best robe of the imputed righteousness of
Christ ; yea, becomes the righteousness of God in him, he be-
ing " the end of the law for righteousness unto every one that
belicveth."
4. The pillars of the house are glorious : Prov. ix. 1 : " Wis-
dom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pil-
lars." These pillars are the perfections of the divine nature,
as they are displayed and manifested in Christ, his wisdom,
power, holiness, justice, mercy, love, and faithfulness; all
which, with a pleasant harmony, combine to support the fa-
bric of the house of mercy, which God has said shall be built
up for ever.
5. The ordinances of the house are glorious ; there Christ
and his family meet, and have fellowship one with another.
David, Psal. Ixxxiv., cries out, '-How amiable are thy taber-
nacles, O Lord of hosts ! One day in thy courts is better
than a thousand: I had rather be a door-keeper in thy house,
than dwell in the tents of sin." And when he was, through
the fury of Saul, and other persecuting enemies, driven to the
wilderness of Judea, and so deprived of access to these galle-
ries of the King of glory, where he used to enjoy communion
with liim, how does his "heart and flesh cry out after the
living God !" Psal. Ixiii. and Psal. xlii. And they that have
David's experience of fellowship with God in his ordinances,
XXXV.] FASTENED IN A SURE PLACE. 85
•will be ready to say with him, *' I love the habitation of thy
house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth."
Not to multiply particulars, all the oifspring of the house
are glorious : " The King's daughter is all glorious within ;
her clothing is of wrought gold." The servants of the house
are glorious in the eye of the church : " How beautiful upon
the mountains are the feet of them that preach the gospel of
peace!"
Thus I have given you a short hint concerning this house
and its glory; neither time nor strength will allow me to go
on to the other particulars proposed in the prosecution of the
doctrine, and therefore must defer them till God shall give
another occasion ; and because the great work of the day is
before us, therefore I [will close] at present with two or three
inferences from the text and doctrine.
1. See hence what happy and privileged persons believers
are, who are " the offspring and issue " of this family, being
born of God, and having a name and a place in his house,
even an everlasting name which shall never be cut off." O,
says David, " Blessed are they that dwell in thy house, for
they are ever praising thee." " Happy art thou, O Israel :
who is like unto thee, O people, saved by the Lord !" Only
let it be remembered, there is a great difference between a
free-born son, and a servant in the house, who is working for
his lawful wages ; for the son abideth in the house for ever,
but the servant at term day is turned to the door. There is
a difference between coming into the house for awhile, and
being planted there by regeneration ; for " they that are plant-
ed in the house of the Lord, shall flourish in the courts of our
God." " They are the trees of righteousness, and planting of
the Lord, in whom he will be glorified."
2. See what a dangerous risk they run who do injury to
this house ; instead of building the house of God, do their ut-
most to pull it down, and " raze it to the foundation." There
are a generation of men in our day, who turn the house of
Christ's Father into a den of thieves, who plunder the house
of its valuable furniture, and spoil the offspring and issue of
the house of their valuable privileges. They call themselves
the servants of the house, and yet, contrary to the laws of the
house, they beat and cast out their fellow-servants, for no
other cause but for contending and witnessing against them
in giving away the rights of the church, and of the Lord's lit-
tle ones, to the world's great ones, particularly in the impor-
tant affair of electing ministers, that are to have the charge
of souls. In a word, truth falleth in the streets, equity can-
not enter, error in doctrine is patronised, the keys of disci-
pline perverted ; they go to, as with axes and hammers, to
86 CHRIST CONSIDERED AS THE NAIL [SER.
break down the carved work of reformation, which, by the
authority and oath of God, we are bound to maintain, pre-
serve, and defend. Well, but shall ihey always trample on
the divine authority, and break God's covenant, and escape?
No, they shall not, says God, Ezek. xvii. 18. Jerusalem will
yet be a burdensome stone ; and the head-stone of the corner,
which they reject, will in the event fall heavily upon their
heads, and grind them to powder, Zech. xii. 1 — 3 ; Psal. ii.
1 — 4; Dan, ii. 44, 45, &c.
3. If Christ be the sole manager of his Father's house, and
doth all the glory of it hang upon him 1 then it ill becomes
any crowned head to wear the jewel of supremacy in and
over " the church, which is the house of the living God,"
save he only wOiom God hath anointed King over his holy
hill of Zion. The Pope, or Antichrist, pretended to this su-
premacy ; and when King Henry VIII. of England renounced
the Pope's jurisdiction, he took that jewel of the crown of
Christ, and set it in his own crown, and got himself pro-
claimed head in all causes, not only civil, but ecclesiastical,
and the oath of supremacy imposed in consequence of it upon
the subjects of England, and there it stands to this day. This
supremacy, at the restoration of King Charles, was extended
to Scotland, and an absolute power granted to the king, to
mould the church of Christ according to his pleasure. IJpon
which, contrary to the oath of God, lying upon himself and
the whole land, the whole covenanted work of reformation
from 1638, and the obligation of our solemn covenants for
reformation, were rescinded by acts of parliament, some of
which are not to this day abrogated. Our forefathers wit-
nessed against these things, and many of them sealed their
testimony with their blood. Their testimony, for Scotland's
reformation and solemn covenants, has never been fairly
adopted by the church of Scotland, since the deliverance God
wrought for us at the lievolution ; but, on the contrary, a
conspiracy has been found among the prophets of our Israel,
for burying that testimony, and our solemn covenants for re-
formation, in utter silence and oblivion. However, God,
who " takctli the wise in their own craftiness, and turns
the counsel of the froward headlong," has, in his overruling
providence, raised up that testimony, and a judicatory upon
the footing of the covenanted reformation, who are this day
met together, designing to revive and renew our covenant-
allegiance to the exalled King of Zion, after the example of
our worthy forefathers, and the precedents for it which stand
upon record in scripture, particularly, Deut. xxix. 10 — 16;
Neh. ix. 38. But these things I cannot insist upon at pre-
sent.
XXXV.] rASTEPfED IN A SURE PLACE. 87
I shall only add another inference from the text, though I
have not yet insisted on the doctrinal part from which it
flows. Is it so, that all the glory of the house of God, the
oflfspring, issue, and all the vessels of the house, hang upon
Christ, as upon a 7iail fastened in a sure place? This serves to
show where the stress of our covenanting in a way of duty
lies, namely, upon the great Manager: for "without him,
Vfc can do nothing," and " without faith" in him and a single
dependence upon him, " it is impossible to please God ;" he
is the strength of Israel, and the horn of salvation, upon whom
all our engagements to duty must hang. And, therefore, let
us set about this work with the eye of faith fixed upon him,
as " the glory of our strength," saying with David, " We will
go in the strength of the Lord God, making mention of his
righteousness, even of his only." But neither time nor
strength allows me to go farther at present. The Lord bless
what has been said.
The author not having time or strength to overtake the main purposes of
the text in his first discourse, and considering, that, through the divine
blessing, his other discourses on that subject may be edifying to the body
of Christ, he consented to their being transcribed also from his notes for the
press.
Stirling, April 27,
1744. • E. E.
CHRIST CONSIDERED AS THE NAIL FASTENED IN A SURE
PLACE, BEARING ALL THE GLORY OF HIS
FATHER'S HOUSE.
And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his Father's house, the off-
spring, and the issue, all Vessels of small quantity: from the vessels of
cups, even to all the vessels of flagons. — Is. xxii. 24.
THE SECOND SERMON ON THIS TEXT.
Having discoursed on the/?/,?; general head in the prose-
cution of the doctrine, I proceed now to,
II. The second thing projiosed, which was, to show, that as
the church is the house of God, so Christ is constituted the great
Manager of his Father^s house, all the concerns of it are com-
88 CHRIST CONSIDERED AS THE NAIL [sER.
milted to his care. There is nothing clearer than this from
the scriptures of truth. Js. ix. 6 : " Unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his
shoulder." Mic. v. 2 : " Out of Bethlehem shall he come forth
unto me, that is to be ruler in Israel : whose goings forth
have been from old, from everlasting." But this will be far-
ther cleared in the induction of the following particulars: —
1. In the council of peace, from eternity, he was chosen to
be the builder of the house. It was enacted at that council-
table, from eternity, as in Zech. vi. 12, 13 : " Behold, the
man whose name is the Branch, he shall grow up out of his
place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord, and bear
the glory, and sit and rule upon his throne." As by him, who
is " the wisdom of God, and the power of God," be brought a
beautiful world out of the barren womb of nothing; so by
him he rears up a beautiful habitation for himself among
men, out of the vilest of materials, which were good for no-
thing but to be fagots for the fire of hell.
2. As he is the builder, so he is the Father, and the ever-
lasting Father of the family : Is. ix. 6 : " His name shall be
called, The everlasting Father." The first Adam was but a
short-lived father to his family; although he lived a long
natural life, nine hundred and thirty years, yet he soon died
as a covenant-head, and left his family like a company of
fatherless orphans cast out to the open field, without any eye
to pity them among men or angels. But when God, in his
infinite love, is to take up a new family among the sons of
men, he provides also a new Father, an " everlasting Father"
for them. God had promised to his " beloved Son " a seed
to serve him, Psal. xxii. ; and that he should see his seed"; and,
that they might never more be orphans again, he constitutes
his own Son, the Son of his love, God blessed for ever, to be
their everlastino; Father, and through him the Father of
Christ becomes their Father also.
3. He is the great Oracle and Counsellor of the house : Is.
ix. G: "His name shall be called wonderful Counsellor."
And O, what happiness is it to the offspring and issue, that
they have such a Counsellor to go to, in all their perplexing
cases, who " hath all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge
hid in him," and therefore can never give " the counsel that
causcth to err!" "There is no searching out of his under-
standing;" he was never bcmisted, nor nonplussed, with dif-
ficult cases; yea, he is, both by office and promise, engaged
to " lead the blind in the way they know not, to make dark-
ness light before them, and crooked things straight." The
faith of this made David sing, Psal. Ixxiii. 24 ; " Thow wilt
XXXV.] FASTENED IN A SURE PLACE. 89
guide me by thy counsel, and afterward thou shall bring me
to thy glory."
4. He is the great Priest over the house, Heb. x. 21. As
the high priest under the law was over the temple, so Christ
is the great High Priest over the house of God, and as such
he is entered within the veil of the visible heavens, to appear
in the presence of God for us, to represent our persons, and
to offer up the prayers of the church with the rmtch mcense
of his intercession.
5. He is the great Lord-treasurer of the house ; yea, he
himself is the treasury of the house ; for " it hath pleased the
Father", that in him should all fulness dwell, that out of his
fulness we all might receive grace for grace." As all the
stores of Egypt were in the hand of Joseph, so all the stores
of grace are in the hand of our Jesus. The whole blessings
and gifts of the covenant of grace lie ready in his hand for
the use of the offspring ; and whenever the children or ser-
vants of the house want furniture, either for work or war-
fare, they have no more ado but to come to him for it, and
" whoever comes to him, he will in no wise cast out." For,
6. He is the great Lord-steward or Dispenser of the house ;
it is he that gives the offspring and issue their food in due sea-
son ; there is not a crumb of the children's bread but passes
through his hand, and his very hand perfumes the food to the
true-born children of the family, for his fingers drop sweet-
smelling myrrh ; and whenever they get a meal from him,
their hearts are so cheered with it, that they are ready to
sing, as Eph. i. 3 : " Blessed be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in Christ Jesus."
7. He is the Lawgiver of the house : Is. Iv. 4 : "I will give
him for a commander to the people." Which may be un-
derstood not only in a military but forensic sense, because all
the laws of a God-Creator are issued to the offspring of the
family through him ; for " we are not without law to God,
but we are under the law to Christ ;" and as such, all the
children of the house cry out with one consent, Is. xxxiii. 22,
" The Lord is our judge, the Lord is our king, the Lord is
our lawgiver," or, as it is in the Hebrew, " our statute-ma-
ker :" and this is it that makes the law to the believer a law
of love, and a law of liberty ; " his yoke is easy, and his bur-
den light; and his commandments are not grievous;" " the
love of Christ constrains them to obey, and run like the cha-
riots of a willing people." So I say, he is the Lawgiver of
the house, and we that are ministers are expressly ordered
to " go and teach all nations, to observe and do whatsoever
he has commanded us," Matth. xxviii., at the close. And,
VOL. III. 9 t
90 CHRIST COIVSIDERED AS THE NAIL [SEH-
therefore, whatever ministers or church officers teach or act
in the house of God, that is inconsistent with his orders, they
have to reckon with hinn. And what sort of a reckoning they
will meet with, at the coming of the great Master, see Luke
xii. 45 — 47 : " But and if that servant say in his heart. My
Lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the men
servants, and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be
drunken : the lord of that servant will come when he looketh
not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will
cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the
unbelievers. And that servant, which knew his Lord's will,
and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will,
shall be beaten with many stripes."
III. The third thing in the method was, to shoiv that Christ
is fixed, in the management of the house of God, as a nail in a
sure place. This will appear, if we consider,
1. That there is an irreversible decree passed in heaven
for it, that he should be the sole manager and governor of the
house : Psal. ii. 6, 7 : "I will declare the decree : the Lord
hath said unto me. Thou art my only Son, this day have 1
hegotten thee. I have set or anointed him King in my holy
hill of Zion." And therefore they who go about to dethrone
him, as head and King of Zion, or to invade his sovereignty,
as some have done of late, make but as vain an attempt, as
one who with his hand attempts to remove mountains of
brass ; yea, these mountains of brass, I mean the divine pur-
pose establishing Christ's government, will crush and grind
them to powder in the issue, however light account they
make of it at present.
2. He is fixed in the administration of the house, with the
solemnity of a covenant transaction : Psal. Ixxxix. 3 : " I have
made a covenant with my chosen: — Thy throne shall be
established for ever." In the council of peace, between the
Father and the Son, it was concluded, agreed, and finally
ended, that the Son of God should reign over the house of
Jacob for ever; and, for farther security, this is recorded in
the volume of God's book.
3. With the solemnity of an oath taken by the great Jeho-
vah. This is one of the immutable things wherein it is im-
possible for God to lie: Psal. Ixxxix. 4: " Once have I sworn
to build up thy throne, and perpetuate thy seed." And if
God has interposed his oath, all controversy should be at an
end about Christ's supremacy in the house of God.
4. In his oath he pledges the brightest jewel of the crown
ef Heaven, the most dazzling perfection of his nature : " 1
have sworn by my holiness, I will not lie unto David," &c.
XXXV.] FASTENED IN A SURE PLACE. 91
He will as soon cease to be a holy God, as suffer his Son's
authority in his house to be overturned.
5. He is fixed in the management by a solemn call and in-
vestiture : " I the Lord have called thee," Is. xlii. 6 ; Heb. v.
4 : " he was called of God, as was Aaron." And as for his
inauguration into his mediatory offices of " Prophet, Priest,
and King" of his church, we read of it in the context; and
Matth. iii., at the close, when the heavens were opened, a
voice heard from the excellent glory, " This is my beloved
Son, in whom I am well pleased ;" and the Spirit, at the
same lime, descending upon him in the likeness of a dove.
6. He is fixed in the government by an actual possession of
the throne, he is " set down at the right hand of the Majesty
on high :" Psal. ex. 1 : " The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit
thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy foot-
stool." See this actually fulfilled, Phil. ii. 9— 11 : " Where-
fore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name
which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every
knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and
things under the earth ; and that every tongue should con-
fess, that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the " praise and '' glory of
God the Father."
7. He is fixed in the government of the church, by a com-
plete victory over all his and his church's enemies, so that
none of them are capable to give him the least disturbance.
The head of the old serpent is bruised ; sin, that first-born of
the devil, is finished, and transgression ended ; the world is
overcome, death is unstinged, the curse of the broken law is
abolished, torn, and disannulled ; " hell and death bound and
cast into the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone."
Thus you see that our great Immanuel is fixed in the go-
vernment of his Father's house, like " a nail fastened in a
sure place."
IV. The /o?/r//i thing in the method was, to show that the
whole house, xoith all its appurtenaiKes, hang or depetid upon this
blessed nail that isfasteiied in a sure place. I shall confine my-
self to the text; and there we find three things mentioned,
that are said to hang upon our blessed Eliakim. 1. All the
glory. 2. All the offspring and issue. 3. All the vessels of the
house, from vessels of cups, to vessels of flagons. A word to each
of these.
First, then, All the glory of the house hangs upon our Lord
Jesus Christ. I gave already a hint to prove that the house
is glorious ; but now 1 would enlarge it a little, in order to
let you see, that every glorious thing in the house of our God
92 CHRIST CONSIDERED AS THE NAIL [SER.
hangs upon the nail that he has " fastened in a sure place ;"
and you may take up this in the following particulars: —
1. God's presence in the church is that which makes her
glorious : Psal, 1. 2 : " Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God hath shined." Psal.lxxvi. 1, 2: " In Judah is God known:
his name is great in Israel. In Salem also is his tabernacle,
and his dwelling-place in Zion." When God withdraws from a
church, the ways of Zion do mourn, and a dismal Ichabod is
to be read in every corner of her streets, " The glory is de-
parted." Well, this glory hangs upon Christ, for it is owing
to him that the tabernacle of God is with men. Unless " God
were in Christ reconciling the world to himself," if he had
not been well pleased with his person, his mediation, and
smelt a sweet savour in the sacrifice of his death, the Lord
God had never taken up house again with men, no more than
with the angels that fell. It is ovi'ing to Christ's appearing
in the presence of God for us in heaven, that God's " delights
are with the sons of men" upon earth.
2. The revelation of the mind and will of God in the scrip-
tures of truth, is the glory of the church, and as necessary
for her as the light of the sun in the firmament is to this
lower world. This is " as a light shining in a dark place, to
which we do well to take heed, until the day dawn, and the
day-star arise in our hearts." This was the glory of the
church of Israel, that God gave his statutes and testimonies
to them when he dealt not so with every nation. This makes
the church of Goshetj, a land of light, when the rest of the
world are " the dark places of the earth, full of the habita-
tions of horrid cruelty." Now, this revelation hangs upon
" the nail fastened in a sure place ;" for Christ is the Alpha,
and Christ is the Omega of the whole scriptures. He is the
glorious Author of it : " The only begotten Son, who is in the
bosom of the Father, he hath revealed him," John i. 18. It
is only " the Lion of the tribe of Judah that opens the book,
and looses the seven seals Ihereof" He is the subject mat-
ter of the scriptures, for " to him bear all the prophets and
apostles witness;" they are just the record of God concern-
ing Christ ; hence Christ declares, John v. 39: "These are
they which testify of me." He is the end of the scriptures ;
they are pointed to him, as the needle in the compass points
to the pole star; the very design and end of the Bible is,
what the star in the heavens was to " the wise men of the
east, to show them where "Jesus (he King of the Jews" is
to be found, John xx. 31 : " These things are written, that
ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Sonof God, and
that believing ye might have life through his name."
XXXV.] FASTENED IN A SURE PLACE. 93
3. A faithful ministry is the glory of a church; for where
these are wanting, " the house of God is turned into a den
of thieves," and grievous wolves, that plunder the house in-
stead of preserving or defending it. Faithful ministers are
the watchmen, that give warning when the house is in dan-
ger by invading enemies ; they are the stewards that dis-
pense the bread of life to the children of the family : they
are the lights of the house, which are not to be " under a
bushel," but upon the candlesticks, that they may scatter the
light through the house, for the benefit of the whole : hence
they are called the glory of Christ ; much more are they the
glory of the church. Now this glory hangs on " the nail
fastened in a sure place," for it is he that gives the church
pastors according to his heart, to feed his people with sound,
wisdom, Jer. iii, 15, and Eph. iv. 11 — 13: " When he ascend-
ed up on high, he gave some, apostles, prophets, evangelists,
pastors, and teachers, for the edifying of the body." They
have their commission from him ; for " no man taketh this ho-
nour unto himself, but he that was called of God, as was Aaron."
They have their furniture for work and warfare from him,
and he sends none a warfare upon their own charges ; it is he
that " puts the treasure in earthen vessels." They have their
success from him ; he makes them able as well as successful
ministers of the New Testament; he teaches them to be
" fishers of men ;" and " Paul" himself " may plant, and Apol-
los water, but God gives the increase." He it is who '• cre-
ates the fruit of the lips," and " gives the tongue of the
learned "
4. The ordinances of the gospel, dispensed in purity by
faithful ministers of Christ, are the glory of a church. These
are " the gates of Zion, which God loves more than all the
dwellings of Jacob," these are God's tabernacles, which David
knew to be so amiable, that he envied the sparrows and swal-
lows that had access there, while he was excluded from attend-
ing them, Psal. Ixxxiv. 3., and xxvii. 4. It is in the ordinan-
ces of the gospel that the saints enjoy fellowship with God,
and receive communications of his grace ; hence compared to
pools that aflford water to the weary traveller, and wells out
of which they draw water with joy, and breasts at which the
babes of grace are suckled. Well, all the ordinances of the
gospel hang upon the great Manager, such as word and sacra-
ment, prayer and praise. The preaching of the word is of
his appointment, Mark xvi. 15 : " Go ye into all the world,
and preach the gospel to every creature." Our authority to
baptize is from him, Matth. xxviii., at the close: "Go teack
all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holv Ghost." The sacrament of the Lord's
9*
94 CHRIST CONS[DERED AS THE NAIL [SER.
supper carries evidently his Stamp, "What I have received of
the Lord, that do I deliver unto you," 1 Cor. xi. 23, &c. And
as they are of his institution, so it is he, by his own presence,
and the influences of his Spirit in them, and with them, who
gives them their success and sweetness. Through him it is
that these ivory palaces smell of myrrh, aloes, and cassia,
"whereby he and his people are made glad. He fills the pools
with water, by causing the rain to come down, even the
former and latter rain of his quickening and comforting in-
fluences; and without him these ordinances are but as dry
breasts, and miscarrying wombs.
5. The judicatories of achurch, higher and lower, constituted
in his name, and moulded according to his appointment, for
the government and for the exercise of the keys of discipline ;
these, 1 say, are the glory of a church, for these are " the
thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of David."
When these courts, constituted in the name of the King of
Zion, proceed in their management with an eye to the honour
of Zion's King, and according to that complete system of
laws that he has given in his word, then it is that a church
" looks forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the
sun, and terrible as an army with banners," to all ignorant,
erroneous, or scandalous persons; and her very enemies are
obliged to say of her, as Balaam said of Israel, " How goodly
are thy tents, O Jacob !" &c. Now, all this glory hangs upon
the nail fastened in a sure place, for he alone is King in Zion.
" the government is upon his shoulders." He it is that gives
the keys of the kingdom of heaven to his office-bearers, and
promises that " what they bind on earth, shall be bound in
heaven; and what they loose on earth, shall be loosed in hea-
ven ;" and where they assemble in courts for discipline, he
" will be in the midst of them."
6. The covenants of a church are her glory; God's cove-
nant of grace and promise, and their covenants of duty and
gratitude. In Rom. ix. 4, it is said of the Old Testament
church, "To them belonged the adoption, the glory, and the
covenants." God's covenant of grace and promise is the
p-lory of a church. It was the misery of the poor Gentiles
under the Old Testament, before the coming of Christ, that
they were "strangers to the covenants of [)romise." This is
the church's charter for all her immunities and privileges, vi-
sible or invisible; for the life that now is, and that which is
to come: and it is "an everlasting covenant, well ordered in
all things and sure:" and him that takes hold of this covenant,
" even him will God bring to his holy mountain, and make
ioyful in his house of prayer," Is. Ivi. Now, this covenant
hangs upon Christ, the nail fastened in a sure place ; for God
XXXV.] TASTENED IN A SURE PLACE. 95
has " given him for a covenant unto the people ;" it v^^as
made with him as a second Adam, and with his seed in him;
he has fulfilled the condition of it, by the holiness of his na-
ture, the obedience of his life, and the satisfaction made by
his death; his fulfilling the commands and demands of the
broken covenant of works, is the very condition of the cove-
nant of grace, and by virtue of his doing so the cry comes
out, Is. Iv. 1: "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the
waters; he that hath no money, let him come; come, buy
wine and milk, without money, and without price." The cove-
nant, and all the blessings and promises of it, hang upon this
blessed nail ; they are all in him, and " in him yea and amen."
Again, our covenants for duty, obedience, and gratitude,
hang upon this blessed nail. These are the glory of a church
and land now, as they were to the church of Israel. God
avouches them to be his peculiar people, and they avouched
him, by solemn covenant, to be their God ; on which account
they are called Hephzibah, and Beulah; a people married to
the Lord. This was the glory of this land, and of the three na-
tions, though perfidiously broken, burnt, and buried. Blessed
be God, there is some small degree of a resurrection of these
solemn covenants, by what has been lately transacted in this
place.
But now, I say, the glory of all our covenants, and engage-
ments, to personal or public reformation and obedience, must
needs hang upon this nail fastened in a sure place. When
men engage to duty in a legal way, in the strength of their
own covenants, vows, promises, and resolutions, without fast-
ening faith's grasps upon the nail in a sure place, for riejht-
eousness and strength, they only make to themselves ropes of
sand, that will fall asunder as fast as they can make them.
Christ only is " the strength of Israel;" all our funds of grace
lie in him, "in whom it has pleased the Father that all fulness
should dwell." And whatever duty we engage to should be
in the strength of promised grace for assistance, and in the
faith of his righteousness and intercession for acceptance : Is.
xlv. 24 : " Surely, shall one say. In the Lord have 1 right-
eousness and strength. I will go," says David, " in the strength
of the Lord God: I will make mention of thy righteousness,
even of thine only." And it is in this way that his command-
ments are not grievous, his yoke easy, and his burden light.
7. The multitude of real converts is the glory of a church ;
for they are called " a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord,
and a royal diadem in the hand of our God." It is spoken of
as the glory of Zion, that " this man and that man was born
there;" for then "the Highest himself Soth establish her;" and
it is prophesied and foretold of the New Testament church,
96 CHRIST CONSIDERED AS THE WAIL fsER.
that " more should be the children of the desolate, than of the
married woman ; that a willing people shall be made in the
day of his power;" and that these should be " like the drops
of dew from the womb of the morning ; that the city shall
flourish like the grass " for multitude of converts. Well, this
glory of the church hangs upon Christ; for it is by the rod of
his power that this is eflected and brought about ; " of his own
will he begets us by the word of truth." And when he makes
us fishers of men, and directs us when and where to let down
the net, a multitude of fishes are enclosed; a seed is begotten
to serve him, "which shall be counted to him for a generation,
who shall declare his righteousness to a people who are not
yet born."
8. The purity, holiness, and faithfulness of church mem-
])ers is the glory of a church, when that motto is written upon
the conv^ersation, walk, and talk of professors ; " Holiness to
the Lord." Well, this glory of the church hangs upon this
blessed nail ; for it is by virtue of their union with him, the
living root and head of influences, that they derive sanctifying
influence from him ; for "except we abide in him, and he in us,
we cannot bring forth much fruit; yea, without him we can
do nothing." " I am," says the Lord, " like a green fir tree ;
from me is thy fruit found." Let men talk of their moral
virtues as they have a mind, they will never make a saint, or a
holy person, until he be lopped off from the first Adam, and
his covenant of works, and be planted in Christ by regenerating-
grace: for "Can a man gather grapes of thorns, or figs of
thistles ?" The tree must be made good, otherwise no good
fruit can be expected. It is only "they that are planted
in the house of the Lord," by regenerating grace, that " shall
flourish in the courts of our God, and be called the trees of
righteousness, the planting of the Lord, in whom he will be
glorified."
Thus you see that the whole glory of the house of God
hi.ngs upon the " nail fastened in a sure place."
I thought to have pi'occeded to inquire who are "the olT-
spring and issue of the house of God :" and how they, and all
that concerns them, hang upon the nail fastened in a sure
place. But this I must defer to another occasion.
Allow me only to deduce an inference or two from what
has been said.
L See hence that the church of Christ is the most dignified
and honourable society in the world, that has so much of the
divine glory in her. " Glorious things are spoken of thee, 0
city of God !" She has a glorious King in the midst of her,
even "the holy One of 'Israel, the King of glory, the Lord of
glory, the Prince of the kings of the earth." She has glorious
XXXV.] FASTENED IN A SURE PLACE. 97
walls : " Salvation is appointed for walls and bulwarks," Is.
xxvi. 1 ; Psal. xlviii. A glorious river to defend and refresh
her ; Is. xxxiii. 21 : " The glorious Lord shall be unto her a
place of broad rivers and streams," &c. A glorious trade and
traffic : Phil. iii. 20 : " Our conversation is in heaven," or,
our traffic is with the land afar ofE Glorious riches and
treasures are in this house, even " the unsearchable riches
of Christ ;" glorious immunities and privileges, freedom from
sin, the law, Satan, the world, death, and hell; and all the
true inhabitants have an interest in the city's stock, free
access to the King's throne, and to all the blessings of the co-
venant.
2. See whence it is that God exercises such a care about his
church, that he " rides in the heavens for her help," and turns
about the whole wheels of providence for her benefit. Why,
his glory is there: Is. xlvi. 13: " I have placed salvation in
Zion for Israel my glory."
3. See hence how much it is our concern to contend for the
house of our God, against all those that would spoil her.
Why, God's glory, and our glory is in the house. And there-
fore let us plead with God, " that glory may still dwell in our
land," and that he may "create upon our Zion, and her assem-
blies, a cloud by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by
night;" and that " upon all the glory there may be a defence,"
and that he may yet recover the spoils of the house, that the
uncircumcised Philistines have carried away.
4. See hence, that when a church departs from Christ,
either in point of doctrine, worship, discipline, or government,
she is off from her proper hinge, and therefore is fallen from
her purity; her crown is fallen from her head, her glory is
departed. The glory of that church is at a low pass, which
hangs upon the nail of legal securities, by kings and parlia-
ments, instead of the nail which God has fastened in a sure
place. This, alas! is the case with the church of Scotland
at this day. What have the judicatories to support them in
their screening the erroneous, suspending, ejecting, and de-
posing men for bearing testimony to the truth 'I in tyrannizing
over the Lord's people, by wresting from them their Christian
rights and liberties, and the like? The word of God cannot sup-
port them in such proceedings ; they do not hang upon the nail
in a sure place; no, such things stand in a flat contradiction
to the authority and will of the King of Zion. The only thing
that supports and imboldens them in such proceedings, is the
nail of a legal security and establishment, which one time or
other will give way, and then all that hangs on it falls to the
ground. As it is said of Eliakim, personally considered, or
of Shebna his predecessor, upon his removal by death, or
98 CHRIST CONSIDERED AS THE NAIL [SER.
otherwise, from his high station in the court of Hezekiah, he
and all his dependants should fall together, in the verse fol-
lowing the text : " And in that day, saith the Lord of hosts,
shall the nail that is fastened in the sure place be removed,
and be cut down and fiill ; and the burden that was upon it
shall be cut off." Thus will it fare with churches that hang
only on legal securities from men; Jer. xvii. 5, 6: "Cursed
is the man that trusteth in man, and maketh iiesh his arm,
and whose heart departeth from the Lord," &c.
CHRIST CONSIDERED AS THE NAIL FASTENED IN A SURE
PLACE, BEARING ALL THE GLORY OF HIS
FATHER'S HOUSE.
And they shall hang- upon him all the g-lory of his Father's house, the ofT-
spring-andtheissue, all vessels of small quantity; from the vessels of cups,
even to all the vessels of flagons. — Is a. xxii. 24.
THE THIRD SERMON ON THIS TEXT.
I AM yet insisting upon the fourth general head proposed in
the prosecution of the doctrine, namely, What is it that hangs
upon our blessed Eliakim, Jesus Christ ? And here we are
told of three things that are said to hang upon this nail. 1. All
the glory of his Father's house. 2. The whole offspring and is-
sue. 3. All the vessels of the house, from the least to the great-
est. And these two, namely, the offspring of the house, and
the vessels, are a great part of its glory, also mentioned in the
first part of the verse. I have already mentioned several
glorious things in the house of our God, which all hang upon
the nail fastened in a sure place.
I proceed, seco?idlij, to speak a little of the offspring and issue
of the house, which arc also said to hang upon Christ. By
the offspring and issue, I understand all true believers, who are
so called upon several accounts.
1. Because they arc born or brought forth in the house;
Psal. Ixxxvii. 5: "Of Zion it shall be said. This man and that
man was born in her." And, vcr. 6: " The Lord shall count
when he writeth up the people, that this man was born there."
The church is the mother that bare them; for, "Jerusalem,
which is from above, is the mother of us all," Gal. iv. 2(5.
2. Because the Father of the house.or family begat them:
James i. 18: "Of his own will begat he us by the word of
truth," John i. 13 : " Which were born, not of blood, nor of
XXXV.] FASTENED IN A SURE PLACE. 99
the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God ;"
hence commonly designated the children of God, being, in a
day of power, " begotten by the incorruptible seed of the
word."
3. Because the first-born of the family, Jesus Christ, the
only begotten of the Father by eternal generation, owns them
for his brethren, and is not ashamed to do so, saying to his
Father, " I will declare thy name unto my brethren : in the
midst of the congregation I will praise thee," Psal. xxii. 22,
compared with Heb. ii. 12.
4. They are fitly called the offspring and issue of the house,
because, like new-born babes, they are suckled and dandled
there: 1 Pet. ii. 2: "As new-born babes desire the sincere milk
of the word, that ye may grow thereby." The ordinances of
the gospel, particularly the preaching of the word, and ad-
ministration of the sacraments, are, as it were, the breasts
which the church, like an indulgent mother, draws out to all
the babes of the family: Is. \xv. 11: "That ye may suck,
and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations:" and, in
the verse following, believers are said to be " borne upon her
sides, and dandled upon her knees." What shall we think of
that church that dandles the bastards, and neglects the true
begotten of the family, and is more concerned to encourage
and cherish the world's great ones, than Christ's little ones,
and that yields the corrupt and unsound milk of error to the
children of the family, which has an evident tendency to poison
instead of nourishing them? Surely she must be an adul-
terous mother, for the natural mother is more careful of the
children.
5. They are called the offspring and issue of the house, be-
cause they have their education and nurture there: " All thy
children shall be taught of the Lord:" and they are trained
up in the knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom. The
Father of the family takes pains upon their instruction; and
all that have heard and learned of the Father, come to the
Son to be taught by his word and Spirit more and more: and
thus they " know the Lord, and follow on to know him:" and
" his goings forth to them are prepared as the morning." Upon
this, and other accounts, believers are called the offspring and
issue of the house.
And now I come to let you see that the offspring and issue
all hang, with every thing that concerns them, upon the
Nevv Testament Eliakim, who is fastened as a nail in a sure
place.
1. Then, Their very being, as they are new creatures,
hangs upon him: Eph. ii. 10: "Ye are his workman.^hip, cre-
ated in Christ Jesus." The expression is remarkable; they
100 CHRIST CONSIDERED AS THE NAIL [SER^
are " created in Christ Jesus." As the branch has its being in
the root upon which it is ingrafted, 6o has the believer his
spiritual being, as a new creature, in Christ, insomuch that if
you take Christ from the believer, or the believer from Christ,
he is not; his being ceases. A true Christian is a creature in
Christ Jesus.
2. Hence it follows, that their life hangs upon Christ. The
second Adam is called a quickening spirit, because he is the
resurrection and the life of his whole mystical body. " The law
of (he Spirit of life, which is in Christ Jesus, makes them all
free from the law of sin and death," and it is not so much they
that live, as Christ that lives in them : hence the life that they
live is " by faith in the Son of God." He it is that quickens
them at first, when dead in trespasses and sins ; and he it is
that holds their souls in life ; the fountain of life is not
with them, but with him. The life of the believer is just
bound up in the life of Jesus: "Because I live," says he, "ye
shall live also." Whenever the spiritual life of the believer be-
gins to languish, they run to him, and cry, "Wilt thou not
revive us again, that we may rejoice in thee?"
3. Have the oflspring and issue of the house any thing of
the light of saving knowledge of God? Why, this hangs upon
Christ; for he is their everlasting light, the true Sun of Righ-
teousness, the day-spring from on high, that gives light to them
that sat in darkness, and in the regions of the shadow of death :
2 Cor. iv. 6 : " God, who commanded the light to shine out of
darkness, hath shined into our hearts, to give us the light of
the knowledge of his glory, in (he face of Jesus Christ." He
it is that translates them from the power of darkness unto his
marvellous light. It is in his light that they are made to see
light ; and through him it is that " the path of the just is as the
shining light, thatshineth more and more unto the perfect day."
His absvcnce makes night, and thence they go mourning wi(h-
out the sun; but by his return the shadows of death are turned
into the morning.
4. The offspring and issue of the house of God enjoy a
glorious liberty. In Rom. viii., we read of " (he glorious liberty
of the sons of God." Well, this hangs upon Christ; for "if
the Son makes us free, then are we free indeed ;" and. Gal.
V. 1, we are enjoined to "stand fast in the liberty wherewith
Christ hath made us free:" which has a respect both to our
ecclesiastical liberty, as we are members of the visible church,
and our spiritual liberty, as we are believers, or members of
the church invisible. All sinners, that are out of Christ, are
prisoners in chains, captives to the mighty, under the power
of sin, under the curse of the law, " led captive by Satan at
his will;" but Christ comes in a day of power, and says, Let
XXXV.] FASTENED m A SURE PLACE. 101
the lawful captive be delivered, and the prey be let go from
the terrible ; and it is done. He says to the prisoner, Go forth ;
it is the Lord that looses the prisoners, and gives liberty from
the power of all their enemies, " that they may serve him
in holiness and righteousness all the days of their lives." In
a vv^ord, he gives liberty, and he maintains it.
5. The offspring and the issue of the house have all the best
robe put upon them, when they return from a far country to
their Father, 1 mean, a justifying and law-abiding righteous-
ness, by which they are enabled to stand before God with ac-
ceptance, so as the sliame of their nakedness shall never ap-
pear. Well, by whom, or from whom, have they this? It is
from Christ, who is " the end of the law for righteousness to
every one that believeth." " He was made sin for us, who knew
no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in
him." Our blessed Eliakim clothes all the children of the fa-
mily with his own livery; through him it is that the righteous-
ness of the law is fultilled in them. Hence every one of the
genuine children of the family will be ready to say, " Surely
in him have I righteousness, and in his righteousness I am ex-
alted; in him will I be justified, and in him alone will I glo-
ry." He it is that has "clothed me with the garments of
salvation, and covered me with the robe of his righteousness,"
6. Have the offspring and issue of the house any thing of
" the beauty of holiness" within, or shining out in their way
and walk before the world ? Why, this they have from Christ,
" who is made of God unto them," not only righteousness, but
" sanctification." It is " the beauty of the Lord their God "
that is upon them ; he takes them " from among the pots,"
and makes them " like the wings of the dove covered with
silver, and her feathers with yellow gold."
7. Have they any strength for work or warfare? Why, he
is " the glory of their strength ;" they are strong, not in them-
selves, but " in the Lord ;" not in their own might, but " in
the power of his might." He it is that " makes the feeble, as
David, and as the angel of God." He it is that " teaches
their hands to war, and their fingers to fight;" by him *' the
arms of their hands are made strong to do exploits," and to
" break through troops, and break bows of steel in pieces;"
through him it is they " wax valiant in fight, and turn to
flight the armies of the aliens :" and wheu their faith in a
lively way is acted upon him, they can speak like little om-
nipotents, with Paul, " I can do all things through Christ
strengthening me."
8. Are they heirs of God and of glory ? It is through him
that they are so: "If children, then heirs; heirs of God, and
VOL. III. 10
1 02 CHRIST CONSIDERED AS THE NAIL [SEK."
joint heirs with Jesus Christ." By faith the believer serves-
himself heir to the God of Christ, as his God, and to the Fa-
ther of Christ, as his Father; and upon Christ's title he ven-
tures to take up the w^ords of the Head, saying, with the con-
fidence of faith, " Thou art my God, my Father, and the rock
of my salvation." " God is the portion of my cup, and of
mine inheritance ; thou maintainest my lot." " The lines
are fallen unto me in pleasant places, and I have a goodly
heritage."
I might enlarge this head in a great many particulars. I
only add, in so many words, whatever we can name in and
about the believer, it all hangs upon Christ. Hast thou any
faith, believer 1 Why, Christ is " the author and finisher" of it.
Hast thou any spark of true love to God 1 It is Christ that
kindled it ; he it is that " sheds abroad the love of God in our
hearts by the Holy Ghost." Hast thou the lively hope of a
glory to come 1 Why, he is our hope ; and it is " Christ in
us" that is " the hope of glory." Hast thou any delight in
the law, and in the ways of holiness? Well, he " puts his
Spirit in us," causing us to " walk in his statutes." Hast
thou any thing of " that peace which passeth all understand-
ing?" Well, Christ is our peace with God, for he "made
peace by the blood of his cross ;" and his blood, applied by
faith, yields peace like a river : " Peace I leave with you,
my peace I give unto you." Hast thou a "joy that is un-
.speakable, and full of glory?" Christ is the fountain of it;
"the river that makes glad the city of God," takes its rise
from under the throne of God, and of the Lamb. Thus you
see that the offspring and the issue, and every thing about
them, hang upon the blessed nail, &c.
Thirdhj, But now 1 am come to a third thing in the text
which hangs upon " the nail fastened in a sure place," and
that is the vessels of the house, y>om vessels of cups to vessels of
flagons. Now, for clearing this clause of the text, I would,
1. Show what we arc to understand by the vessels of the
house. 2. Show that these vessels are of diiferent sizes, some
vessels of cups, others vessels ofjlagofis. 3. Make it appear
that they all havg upon Christ, and by what bonds they do
so.
1. 1 would show what we are to understand by the vessels
of the house. ■ I answer. By the vessels of the house we are
to understand believers, who, under different considerations,
are sometimes called the house itself, Hcb. iii. 6 : sometimes
the seed and qffsprwg of the house, as here, and Psal. xxii. at
the close; sometimes the vessels of the house, 2 Tim. ii. 20,
21 : " But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold,
and of silver, but also of wood and of earth ; and some to
SXXV.] FASTENED IN A SURE PLACE. 103
honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge
himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sancti-
fied and meet for the Master's use, and prepared unto every
good work." I find several epithets or designations given in
scripture to believers, under the notion of vessels. Sometimes
they are called chosen vessels, Acts ix. 15, says the Lord to
Ananias concerning Paul, " He is a chosen vessel unto me."
Tliey were all "chosen in Christ before the foundation of the
world." Sometimes vessels of mercy, Rom. ix. 23, because it
is " not according to works of righteousness that they have
done, but according to his mercy, that he saveth " them.
Sometimes " prepared vessels, fitted for the Master's use,"
2 Tim. ii. 21, because he " forms them for himself, to show
forth his praises." Sometimes " vessels of honour and glory,"
because he draws a greater revenue of honour and glory to
himself from them, than from all the world beside. In a
word, they are called vessels, because the milk, the wine, the
honey, and the oil of divine grace, is bestowed and laid up
in them ; out of the fulness of Christ they are daily receiving
grace for grace. And as the vessels of a house are its orna-
ment, so are fruitful believers the ornament of the church,
and of the great owner of it, for he calls them his crow7i and
diadem.
2. We are here told that these vessels are of different
sizes ; some are vessels of cups, others are vessels of fag07is ;
plainly intimating, that in God's family there are saints of
diflerent stature; there are babes, young men, and fathers;
for " unto every one is given grace according to the measure
of the gift of Christ." Some are like the smoking flax, others
like a flaming lamp ; some like the bruised reed ; others like
"■^ the tall cedar of Lebanon."
And if you ask me, why God will have it so, that the ves-
sels of the house shall be of different sizes? I answer, (1.)
For the manifestation of his own sovereignty. He is the Lord
of the house, and lie will do all his pleasure ; and it is the
good will and pleasure of God to give more of his grace to
one, and to another less; "and who may say unto him,
What dost thou?" He is no man's debtor, but may do with
his own what he pleases. (2.) Because this is for the beauty
and ornament of the house. It serves not a little to orna-
ment and adorn a house, that there are different vessels in it,
some more, and some less, for different services ; the least
vessel, like the least member in the natural body, has its pro-
per usefulness in the body, so that the one cannot say to the
other, " I have no need of thee." (3.) God will have it so,
that there may be room for the edifying exercises of the fel-
lowship oi the saints. If every saint had the same degree of
104 CHRIST CONSIDERED AS THE NAIL [SER.
faith, love, knowledge, and other graces, the one could not
be edified by the otlier : but it is otherwise ordered, that the
strong may be useful to the weak in strengthening ; and that
those who have more knowledge and experience than others,
may communicate of their gifts to the benefit and edifying
others, " until they all come to a perfect man, to the measure
of the stature of the fulness of Christ." But I do not insist on
this at present. I come,
3. To show that all the vessels of different sizes, " from ves-
sels of cups to vesselsof flagons," havgupon the greatManager,
Jesus Christ, as upon a " nail fastened in a sure place." This
is what is commonly called the mystical union between Christ
and believers, and is in scripture set forth to us by a variety
of metaphors: sometimes by the union that is betw^een the
branches of a tree and the root of it ; for as ail the branches
hang upon the root, and receive their sap and nourishment,
growth, and fruit from it, so does every believer, whether of
a higher or lower stature, receive life, grace, and growth from
Christ, Hos. xiv. 8: " I am like a green fir tree, from me is thy
fruit found." John xv. 5 : " J am the vine, ye are the branches.
He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth
much fruit : for without me ye can do nothing." Sometimes
this union is represented by the union betwixt the building,
and the foundation upon which it stands. As the whole build-
ing, and every stone of it, hangs and rests on the foundation,
and receive their support and stability from it ; so does .the
whole house of God, and every spiritual stone of it, hang upon
Christ by faith of his operation, 1 Pet. ii. 4, 5 : " To whom
coming, as unto a living stone, — ye also as lively stones, are
built up a spiritual house," &c. Sometimes this union is re-
presented to us by the union betwixt head and members of
the natural body, for which I refer you to two texts of scrip-
ture, Eph. iv. 15, ]6; Col, ii. 19; from which you see, that
the whole body, and every particular member, greater or less,
hangs upon Christ as by joints and bands. But here arises
the main question to our present purpose.
Quest. What are these bands by which all believers, from
the least to the greatest, hang upon Christ?
Answ. These bands are principally two. (1.) The Spirit.
(2.) Faith of the Spirit's operation.
l5^, I say, the Spirit is one, and the principal band by
which believers hang upon Christ: 1 Cor. vi. 17: "He that
is joined unto the Lord, is one spirit with him." By the
Spirit the union is made up between Christ and his members,
Eph. ii. 22: " We are built up an habitation of God through
the Spirit;" yea, the Spirit himself is the band, 1 John iii.
24: " We know that he," namely, Christ, " abideth in us, by
XXXV.] FASTENED IN A SURE PLACE. 105
the Spirit which he hath given us." The Spirit of life that
is in Christ Jesus, by the means of the word, in a day of con-
version, enters into the soul, and quickens it; and in the very
quickening by the Spirit, it becomes a member of Christ ;
and so for ever after it hangs upon him as a nail "in a sure
place."
^dly, Another band, by which they all hang upon the nail,
is faith of the Spirit's operation. Not a mere historical, tem-
porary, partial, or legal faith ; but a living, working, justifying,
and sanctifying faith, which applies and appropriates Christ
by the means of the word of grace and promise ; such a faith
as "eats the flesh, and drinks the blood" of Christ, and so
lives in and upon him, according to that of the apostle, Gal.
ii. 20: " I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live: yet
not I, but Christ liveth in me : and the life I live is by faith
on the Son of God." In a word, faith hangs all its ever-
lasting concerns upon " the nail fastened in a sure place,"
and there it stays and rests all its cares and concerns ; and
in this way the soul is kept in perfect peace, knowing that
the nail being well fastened will not yield and give way.
And thus you see how it is that all the glory, the whole off-
spring and issue, and all the vessels of the house, greater
and less, hang upon our blessed Eliakim.
V. The Jiflh thing in the general method is, to inquh-e into
the reasons of the doctrine. Why is Christ constituted sole
Manager of his Father's house? why does he hang the off-
spring and issue, and all the vessels, upon him, as upon a nail
fastened in a sure place?
I shall not stay in answering this question, the reasons of
it will naturally occur from what has been already said; only,
therefore, in so many words, the management of the house,
and of all its concerns, are committed to Christ, because it
was the good pleasure of God that it should be so. But though
sovereignly is enough to satisfy us upon the head, yet there
are some wavs of Infinite Wisdom to be observed in this con-
stitution of things in "the church which is the house of the
living God ;" as,
1. He only had ability for bearing such a weight ; " I have
laid help," salth the Lord, " upon one that is mighty."
2. Because Christ voluntarily undertook it in the council of
peace, saying, " Lo, I come: I delight to do thy will, O my
God." Whereupon Jehovah, the Father, said and deter-,
mined, " He shall build the temple, and bear all the glory."
3. Because hereby a new revenue of glory is brought in
to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, even *'glor^
10*
106 CHRIST CONSIDERED AS THE NAIL [SER.
to God in the highest," higher glory than what comes in by-
creation and providence.
4. Because hereby all men are brought to honour the Son,
as they honour the Father. " Every knee shall bow unto
him, and every tongue shall confess, that he is the Lord to
the glory of God the Father."
5. Because this was for the safety and comfort of the saints
and cliildren of God. All their everlasting concerns hang
upon him, that they may warble out that song through eter-
nity, Rev. V. 12, 13: " Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to
receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and ho-
nour, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is
in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such
as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying,
Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power be unto him that
sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and
ever."
CHRIST CONSIDERED AS THE NAIL FASTENED IN A SURE
PLACE, BEARING ALL THE GLORY OF HIS
FATHER'S HOUSE.
And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his Father's house, the ofT-
spring, and the issue, all vessels of small quantity: from the vessels of cups,
even to all the vessels of flagons. — Is. xxn.24.
THE FOURTH SERMON ON THIS TEXT.
VI. The sixth thing is the Application of the doctrine.
First, For Informatio7i and insiructioji. I have deduced se-
veral inferences already, intermingled with the doctrinal part,
and therefore I shall mention the fewer at present.
1. See hence, why it is that "the eyes of the Lord run to
and fro, to show himself strong on the behalf of" his people
in this world ; why " he rides in the heavens for their help,"
and "makes all things work together tor their good." There
is good reason for it ; they are the olispring and issue of his
family; they are the gold and silver vessels of his house; and
you know, if a man have power and ability, he will not suf-
fer his offspring to be hurt, or his house to be plundered of
its valuable furniture, which perhaps he has bought at a dear
XXXV.] FASTENED IN A SURE PLACE. 107
rate. Hence it is that " he watches his house by day and
night, lest any hurt it." All his saints are in the hand of the
great Manager, and he deties he!l and earth to pluck them
out of his hand.
2. See hence, what trust and credit our glorious Kinsman-
Redeemer has with his Father. Why, you see how that he
puts the whole family under his hand; he hangs the whole
glory upon him, all the offspring and issue, and all the ves-
sels, &c. " He hath made him to be head over all things to
the church, which is his body." "All power in heaven and
in earth is given unto me," says Christ. " The Father judg-
eth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son."
And seeing he has such trust and credit with his Father,
what an indignity is done to the Father, and Son also, when
a sinner, through unbelief, declares him to be unworthy of
any credit, and says, practically, that the nail that God has
fastened is loose, weak, or insufficient, and therefore will not
venture the weight of his salvation or justification upon it:
but will choose rather to hang upon some nails of bis own
fastening ; such as the nail of an empty profession, the nail
of God's general mercy, the nail of legal duties and obe-
dience, and the like, which are all but rusty, weak, or bro-
ken nails, that will give way, and ruin all that depend upon
them.
3. See hence what great ground and reason of the perseve-
rance of the saints, and why they cannot fall totally or finally
away from a state of grace; why, they hang upon the nail
fastened in a sure place. The great Manager of his Father's
family has them in his custody, and is to give an account of
the offspring and issue, and every vessel of the house to his
Father ; and he will make a good account of every one of
them, and say to his Father, that intrusted him with them,
" Of all that thou hast given me, I have lost none." " Here
am I, and the children which thou hast given me." If a be-
liever can fall totally or finally away, it is either because the
nail may break or be loosed, or because the bands, by which
they h^ng upon the nail, may be broken or cut. But none
of these can fall out. The nail, as you heard in the doctrinal
part of this discourse, is fixed so, that heaven and earth will
sooner be dissolved than that it should yield or give way in
the least. And as for the bands, by which they hang upon
the nail, they are so firm, strong, and well fastened, that the
soul, when it has a view of its security in the light of the
Lord, is able to give that [challenge] of Paul's, Rom. viii. 35,
37_39: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ '?
shall tribulation or distress, or persecution, or famine, or na-
kedness, or peril, or sword 1 Nay, in all these things we are
108 CHRIST CONSIDERED AS THE NAIL [SER.
more than conquerors, through him that loved us. Fori am
persuaded, that neither death, nor Wk, nor angels, nor prin-
cipahties, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to
separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our
Lord."
4. See the great diiTerence between the state of a believer,
now under a covenant of grace, and the state of Adam under
a covenant of works. Adam, the first covenant-head and
representative, though an innocent, yet was but a fallible crea-
ture, and being left to the liberty of his own will, that nail
gave way, and he and all his posterity, fell into a horrible
pit of sin and misery, from which the whole creation could
not recover them. But the case of the believer is not so, he
hangs on a nail in a sure place, he stands on " the foundation
God hath laid in Zion," against which " the gates of hell shall
never prevail." Many a pull and pluck has the devil and
the world given at the vessels that hang upon this nail, and
yet by all their power and policy, they were never able to
carry off a cup, much less a flagon, that hangs upon the nail
fastened in a sure place. To this purpose is that of Christ,
,Tohn X. 28, 29 : *' None sliall pluck them out of my hand :
none shall pluck them out of my Father's hand."
5. See hence, that the saints have no cause of boasting or
glorying in themselves, but only in Christ; for he is the nail
in a sure place, upon whom all the glory, and all the offspring
and issue hang. " Where is boasting 1 It is excluded. By
what law, of works? Nay; but by the law of faith." Now,
the law of faith is, to lay the whole ^^veight of our salvation
and justification upon Christ, to receive him, and to rest upon
him alone for eternal life and all the appurtenances of it; to
" receive out of his fulness, grace for grace." And therefore,
" He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord," saying, " The
Lord is my strength and song, he also is become my salvation."
When the believer finds pride of gifts or grace begin to stir
in his heart, he should prt;sently check it, by putting these, or
tlic like questions, to himself, "• What hast thou, O man, that
thou hast not received? and if thou hast received it, why dost
thou boast, as thoay;!) thou hadst not received it?" Let none
of the branches that grow u[)on the true vine boast, as though
they had their standing, strength, or righteousness in them-
selves. " If thou boast, remember that thou bcarest not the
root, but the root beareth thee," Rom xi. 18. All hang upon
the nail.
6. See hence a good reason for Ihc solemn work and duty
of covenanting, by stretching out the hand unto the Lord, as
it is said of Ethiopia, Psal. Ixviii. 3L This duty is warranted
XXXV.] FASTENED IN A SURE PLACE. 109
by scripture example, and scripture prophecy concerning the
days of the New Testament, and the example of our worthy
forefathers in the three kingdoms, and this land in a particu-
lar manner. As God the Father, by solemn oath, has consti-
tuted his own Son the great Manager of his house, hanging
all the offspring and issue upon him ; so it is highly reasonable
that all the olfspring and issue of the family should [ratify]
his deed, by solemn oath and covenant, before the whole
world, because this is for his declarative glory, upon whom
all the glory hangs. It is requisite that we not only believe
with the heart unto righteousness, but confess him with the
mouth unto salvation, Rom. x. 10. And this is in a particu-
lar manner necessary in a day like this, when the prophets
are become such fools, and the spiritual men so mad, as to dero-
gate from the glory of the great Manager of his Fathers
house, both in his prophetical, priestly, and kingly offices, by
tolerating the erroneous, foisting in moral virtue in the room
of his everlasting righteousness; and by throwing up his alone
headship, and enacting laws, and inflicting censures, incon-
sistent with his authority in his holy oracles : 1 say, what
more just and reasonable, in such a case, than that all that
love our Lord Jesus Christ, and regard his honour and glory,
should, in the most solemn manner imaginable, declare their
adherence to him in the presence of angels and men, saying
with Joshua, " Whatever others do, we and our house will
serve the Lord." There is a generation of men in our day
who set up only for a private, selfish kind of religion. If they
" believe with the heart," they think they have done enough.
If they enjoy raptures and ecstasies of love to Christ, they
are easy what come of Jerusalem, what come of the ark of
God, or a covenanted reformation. Let error in doctrine, cor-
ruption in worship, tyranny in government, prevail as much
as they will, it is all a matter of indifference; these are not
the essentials ; all is well with them, if they have what they
call the Spirit. But what sort of a spirit is that which follows,
cleaves to, and coalesces with abjured prelacy, a corrupt back-
sliding ministry, and judicatories that deny the obligation of
solemn covenants, and at the same time inspire men with
enmity against a testimony for a covenanted reformation,
and all that own it ? Surely such a spirit must be the spirit
of the old serpent transforming himself into an angel of light ;
the old malignant spirit that persecuted our forefathers unto
death, for cleaving to a covenanted reformation, although
now% indeed, it has put on the name and vizor of Presbyterian.
They that boast of such a spirit, as if it were a spirit of
conversion, boast themselves in a thing of naught ; yea, in
110 CHRIST CONSIDERED AS THE NAIL [SER.
a thing that is worse than naught, even of a spirit of strong
delusion. "A deceived heart," and a subtle devil, have
" turned them aside " from the truth, that they " cannot de-
hver their souls, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand ?"
Use seco?id of the doctrine may be by vvay of I'rial and
Examination. Is it so, that believers are the offspring and
issue of the house of God 'I Then it concerns every one to
try himself, whether he be of that blessed progeny. We
read, Heb. xii., of bastards in the visible church, vvliich cannot
be reckoned among this number. They are, indeed, called
"the children of the kingdom;" but they are "such as do
not inherit the kingdom of God," because tUey will be "cast
into utter darkness." And therefore it concerns us to see,
whether or not we be the lawfully begotten children of Zion,
the true offspring and issue of God's household and family.
I remember, in the doctrinal part, I told you why they are
called the offspring and issue ; and now I would offer you two
or three marks by which they may be known.
1. All the offspring and issue of God's family, have passed
through the strait gate of regeneration, or the new birth ; for,
says Christ, " Except a man be born again, he cannot enter
into the kingdom of God." But, say you, how may I know
if I be a partaker of the new birth? I answer. The new
birth brings a new state or standing with it. You have quit
your standing upon the law bottom of works, and all founda-
tions of sand, and taken up your only stand upon the "foun-
dation laid in Zion," which is Christ Jesus. The new birth
brings a new heart along with it: Ezek. xxxvi. 2G: " A tiew
heart will I give them," &,c. The new birth brings with it
new principles of action, a principle of life, of faith and love;
new motives and ends; self-love constrains the sinner, but (he
love of Christ, and the glory of God, constrain the true con-
vert to duty. The new birth makes a man toaifectthe new
covenant, even a covenant of rich grace and promise, " saying,
This is all my salvation." The new birth makes a man to
affect new laws. He was formerly under " the law of sin
and death ;" but now he " delights in the law of the Lord,"
and approves of it, as holy, just, and good; he "delights in
the law of the Lord, after the inner man." The new birth
brings a new language along with it; the man gets a new
tongue. Formerly he spoke the language of Ashdod, but now
the language of Canaan. The new birth produces new viow^s,
.both of things temporal and eternal. So, then, try yourselves
by these whether you be among the true offspring and issue
of the house of God : for " he is not a Jew, who is one out-,
wardly ; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in ths
XXX v.] FASTENED IN A SURE PLACE. Ill
flesh : but he is a Jew, who is one inwardly : and circumcision
is that of the heart, in the Spirit, and not in tiie letter, whose
prai>e is not of men, but of God."
2. All the otispring and issue of the house have seen their
Father's countenance ; and they are always glad at the sight
of it, like David : " Thou hast put more gladness in my heart
by thy countenance, than they when their corn, wine, and oil
did abound."
3. All the offspring of God's family, each one of them re-
sembles the children of a king, because they bear a likeness
to their Father, and his first-born Son : " By beholding his
glory, we are changed into the same image." And they hate
themselves, because of their dissimilitude through remaining
sin and indwelling corruption ; saying, with Paul, Rom. vii.
24: " Wretched man that J am, who will deliver me from
this body of sin and death !"
4. All the offspring of God's family have great trust and
faith to put in Christ the great Manager of the family:
hence called believers, because they believe in, and believe
on his name. John i. 12: "But as many as received him,
to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to
them that believe on his name." The very name of Christ
is so sweet to them, that it is like ointment poured forth ;
and if they had all the souls that ever sprang of Adam dwell-
ing in their bodies, they could commit the keeping of them
all to him.
5. All the ofispring of the house are acquainted with the
Manager's voice, the voice of his word, and the voice of his
rod: " My sheep know my voice." When they hear his pro-
mising voice, they are filled with joy and peace in believing
it. When they hear his commanding voice, they are ready
to say, I will run the ways of thy commandments; only
give grace to obey, and command what thou wilt. When
they hear his threatening voice, they tremble at his word.
When the}' hear his correcting voice, in worldly trials and
crosses, they are ready to say with David, " I was dumb
with silence, I opened not my mouth, because thou didst
it."
6. All the offspring and issue of the family love to lisp out
their Father's name, crying, Abba, Father,'Rom. viii. It is
true, through the prevalence of unbelief, and a sense of guilt
and filth, they blush when they speak to him as a Father ;
but yet, now and then, as faith gets up its head, they will be.
ready to cry, as the church. Is, Ixiii. 16: " Doubtless thou art
our Father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel
acknowledge us not : thou, O Lord, art our Father, our Re-
deemer; thy name is from everlasting."
112 CHRIST CONSIDERED AS THE NAIL [SER-
7. ]i^ you be the true offspring of this family, your Father's
presence will be your delight, and his absence, hiding, and
frowns will be an intolerable affliction. Christ, the first-born
of the family, never complained so much of all his other
troubles, as when his Father looked down upon him, Psal
xxii. 1 : •' My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me ?"
Just so is it with all the genuine offspring, as you see in Da-
vid, Asaph, Heman, and others.
8. You will dearly love all that bear their Father's image,
and the image of him who is " the express image of the Fa-
ther ;" and the more resemblance they have to him, you will
love them the better : 1 John iii. 14 : '• By this we know-
that we have passed from death unto life, because we love
the brethren." You will esteem them, as David, the excel-
lent ones of the earth ; with them will be all your delight.
Lastly, All the offspring and issue of God's house, have
a zeal for the standing of their Father's house ; they " love
the habitation of his house, and the place where his ho-
nour dwelleth ;" and therefore will have something of the
Spirit of the first-born, of whom it is said, " The zeal of thine
house hath eaten me up." Is it possible that a true child of
a family can be unconcerned, when he sees robberies com-
mitted on his house, or the house of his father turned into "a
den of thieves?" Or will a true-born child associate himself
with such, without opposing them, and witnessing against
them ? A true child of the family will be ready to say of such,
as Jacob said of Simeon and Levi, " They are brethren in
iniquity : O my soul, come not thou into their secret, unto
their assembly, mine honour be not thou united." Thus I
have given you some marks which have a relation to the first
character given to believers in the text.
I come next to pursue a trial, with an eye tow^ard the se-
cond character or designation of vessels of different sizes,
" vessels of cups, and vessels of flagons," all hanging upon
"the nail fastened in a sure place." In the church, which
is the house of " the living God," there are vessels of mercy
and vessels of wrath, vessels of honour fitted for the Master's
use, and " vessels of wrath fitted for destruction."
Now, here some may readily put the question. How may I
know if 1 be a vessel of mercy and honour 1 For clearing the
way to the answering of this question, you will consider, that
all the children of men sprung of Adam by natural genera-
tion, the elect of God as well as others, are, in the eye of the
law, " vessels of wrath fitted for destruction," through the
pollution and guilt of original or actual sin. And until God
come in a day of power, and dig the vessels of mercy from
under the filth and rubbish of the fall of Adam, no man can
XXXV.] FASTEKED IN A SURE PLACE. 113
make a difference betwixt the vessels of mercy, and of wrath,
because this is among the " secret things that belong to the
Lord."
But if the question be, How may a person know if he be
yet a vessel of mercy fitted by regenerating and sanctifying
grace for the Master's use ? Has God yet formed me for him-
self? Has he taken me out of nature's quarry, out of the
miry clay, and " washed, and justified, and sanctified me in
the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God ?"
Now, I say, if this be the question, I will give you a few
marks of the vessels of mercy and honour.
1. Every vessel of mercy in the house of our God (whether
they be vessels of cups, or vessels of flagons,) has seen him-
self to be a " vessel ol^ wrath " by nature, " condemned alrea-
dy," full of the vermin of sin and corruption, " treasuring up
to himself wrath against the day of wrath." Hence all God's
Israel are ready to take up that melancholy song, " A Syrian
ready to perish was " I. At that time I was afar off, an alien
from the commonwealth of Israel, a stranger to the covenant
of promise, without God, without Christ, and without hope in
the world." Hence,
2. All the vessels of mercy are taken up in admiring the
rich arid free mercy of God, in taking up the like of them
from "among the pots." "Not by the works of righteousness,
but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of
regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost." Oh, says
Paul, " I was a blasphemer, a persecutor, an injurious per-
son, but I obtained mercy. He took me, says David, " out of
the horrible pit, and miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock,
and put a new song in my mouth, even praises unto our God."
3. All God's vessels of mercy have undergone the hammer
of the law in a greater or less measure: "Is not my word as
a hammer, saith the Lord, that breaketh the rock in pieces?"
The law is a school-master, to lead us unto Christ. So much
hammering by the law is necessary, and no more, as serves
to beat the heart and hands of a sinner off from the broken
nail of the law, in point of righteousness. " I throii<ih the
law," says Paul, " am dead to the law." So much of this
hammer is needful, as to beat down the vain and towerinjj
imagmations of our own goodness, holiness, wisdom, and
righteousness; the Dagon of self, in all the shapes and forms
of it, must be broken down for ever. The vessel of mercy
shall never more say with the proud Pharisee, " God, I thank
thee, that I am not as other men ;" or, with Laodicea, '• I
am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of no-
thing."
4. All the vessels of mercy are made heartily con lent to
VOL. III. 11
1 14 CHRIST CONSIDERED AS THE NAIL [SER.
change their holding. All mankind have their holding either
on the first or second Adam ; they are either hanging by the
broken nail of the covenant of works, or by the gospel-nail
of the covenant of grace ; they are either seeking life and
righteousness by the works of the law, or by the grace of the
gospel. Now, in a day of conversion, the sinner having his
hands knocked off from his first holding, he, by the hand of
faith, which is God's gift, receives Christ, and takes hold of
that covenant of which he is head, saying, " In him will 1 be
justified, and in him will I glory; for in him have I righteous-
ness and strength; he is to me the end of the law for right-
eousness; for he was made sin for us, though helinew no sin,
that we might be made the righteousness of God in him ;" so
Paul, Phil. iii. 8, 9.
5. All the vessels of mercy are melted in the fire of gospel
grace and love, and made pliable to the will of God. The
heart of stone is melted into a heart of flesh, Ezek. xxxvi. 26.
The iron sinew of the obstinate will, through the heat of di-
vine love, is made to give way, and yield to the divine will,
Psal. ex. 3 ; the language of every vessel of mercy, is, " Lord,
what wilt thou have me to do?" The adamantine heart is
dissolved into evangelical repentance, so that the man novr
'• looks on him whom he had pierced, and mourns," Zech.
xii. 10. X
6. All the vessels of the house are washed, and will be fre-
quently washing themselves, in the fountain of a Redeemer's
blood, " from sin and from uncleanness," Zech, xiii. 1. The
vessels of the house, through remaining corruption, tempta-
tion, and frequent falls into the puddle of actual sin, gather
dust, and become dim and unfit for the use and service of
the great Father and Manager of the house; and therefore
he will have them " sprinkled with clean water;" he will
have their " hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and
their bodies washed with pure water:" "Except 1 w'ash
thee," says Christ to Peter, " thou hast no pait in me." And
this washing is what they themselves cry for, especially
when defiled with any fall: hence they cry, with David,
Psal. li. 2: "Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and
cleanse me from my sin." And, ver. 7: "Purge me with
hyssop, and I shall be clean : wash me, and I shall be whiter
than snow."
7. All the vessels of the house, from the least to the great-
est, have the name of the Father of the house, and of the
Manager of the house, and of the house or city to which they
pertain, engraved upon them. It has been, and still is, the
custom of great men, to have their names and arms engraved
on their gold and silver vessels; so is it in the house of our God.
XXXV.] FASTENED IN A SURE PLACE. 115
All the vessels of mercy have his name and motto engraved
upon them: Rev. xiv. 1: " Lo, a Lamb stood on the Mount
Sion, and with him a hundred forty and four thousand, having
their Father's name written in their foreheads." They have
the name of Christ, the great Manager of the house, written
on them, particularly that name, Jer. xxiii. 6: "The Lord
our righteousness ;" and in this name of his " they rejoice all
the day long, for in his righteousness are they exalted." And
then, as we are told. Rev. iii. 12, the name of the new Jeru-
salem, which Cometh down from (iod out of heaven, is en-
graved on them; for they " prefer Jerusalem unto their chief-
est joy." In a word, God's name, his glory, honour, and
authority, his truth, his worship, his cause, and interest, the
word God, the testimony of Jesus, the prerogatives of his
crown and kingdom, every true believer has these, as it
were, engraved on his heart, and will study to profess and
maintain them before the world.
8. If you be the vessels of mercy and honour, the Master
of the house will now and then be making use of you, by
pouring the wine, the oil, the water, or milk of his grace and
Spirit into you: "For out of his fulness do we all receive,
and grace for grace." Every vessel of the house is anointed
with the fresh oil of the Holy Ghost: "We have an unction
from the holy One." And they that want this anointing of
the Spirit, in one degree or another, the Manager of the
house will not own them as his: " If any man have not the
Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." They will be found among
the foolish virgins, whose vessels had no oil, when the mid-
night cry was heard, "Behold, the Bridegroom comelh, go
ye out to meet him." But, I say, all the vessels of mercy
have a greater or smaller measure of the anointing of the Spi-
rit; and every anointing of the Spirit, enlarges the vessel to
hold more, insomuch, that, through the frequent communica-
tions of the Spirit, a cup vessel at first becomes a large vessel,
or a vessel of flagon, until it be ready to be transported from
the lower to the upper story of the house, where every vessel
shall be filled brimful of God.
Quest. Some exercised soul may be ready to say, O how
happy would I be, if I knew that I were but the least vessel
in the house of God, hanging on the nail fastened in a sure
place ! but, alas ! I am such a poor, worthless, useless crea-
ture, that I am afraid I am none of them.
A/iszv. It is the nature of all the vessels of mercy in the
house of God, yea, of the great flagons, to esteem themselves
worthless, and among the least, yea, less than the least of all
the vessels of the house. Eph. iii. 8, says the great apostle
Paul, " I am less than the least of all saints." And the lower
116 CHRIST CONSIDERED AS THE NAIL [SER.
they sink in their own eyes, the higher Ihey rise in the esteem
of the great Lord of the house, Is. Ivii. 15, and the more of
his grace and favour do they receive, for " he giveth grace
unto the humhle."
Object. 2. May another say, I am so broken and tossed with
worldly trials, that I am ready to think I am none of the off-
spring or vessels of his house. A?}sw. " Many are the afflic-
tions of the righteous," and "through many tribulations we
must enter into the kingdom." Christ himself suffered before
he entered into his glory, and so liave all the cloud of wit-
nesses, Heb. xi. And therefore it is a false conclusion to
think you do not belong to the Lord, because of multiplied
roots of affliction; for "if we be without chastisement,
whereof all are partakers, then are we bastards, and not
sons. Whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth." God's gold
and silver vessels go frequently into the furnace, and there is
a veed-he for it, to purge away their dross; and therefore
learn to say with Job, " When thou hast tried me, thou shalt
bring me forth as gold."
Object. 3. lam such a vile polluted creature, (hat I cannot
think I am one of his offspring by resieneration, none of the
vessels of honour, but rather a "vessel of wrath, fitted for
destruction." Ansiv. God will not cast away his gold and
silver vessels, because of the dross and alloy of sin and cor-
ruption that is al)out them. A man will take up a vessel of
his house, though it be lying in a dunghill. So here; David,
Solomon, Peter, and many others of the saints, fell into the
mire of sin, and yet the Lord took them from the dunghill,
and made them like the wings of a dove. And therefore,
seeing God will not cast off for ever, do not you cast off
yourself.
Object. 4. I am so harassed with Satan and his fiery darts,
that 1 am afraid I am none of God's children, none of his ves-
sels; 1 am tempted to evils and abominations that I am afraid
to name to any in the world. Ansiv. Christ himself was
templed in all things as we are, that he might be a merciful
high priest, to sympathize with them that are tempted. Again,
consider, for thy encouragement, that usually the devil gives
the sorest pulls and pushes at the offspring of God's house, at
the gold and silver v(?.ssels of his family : and if you did not
belong to God, Satan would not pursue you so much. When
Israel came out of Egypt, then Pharaoh and his host pursued
most vigorously. Again, "The God of peace shall bruise Sa-
tan under your feet shortly."
Object. 5. I am none of the offspring or vessels: for God is
hiding, and carrying to me as an enemy, insomuch that the
very remembrance of him is a terror to me. Answ. This is
XXXV.] FASTENED IN A SURE PLACE. 117
no unprecedented case among God's children. David, when
he " remembered God, was troubled;" Asaph cries, " Is his
mercy clean gone?" Heman, Psal. Ixxxviii., " While I suffer
thy terrors, I am distracted." Yea, Christ, the first-born and
beloved Son, is under such agony of soul, that he cries out,
•" 1 am exceeding sorrowful, even unto death." It is hard to
tell how iar fatherly displeasure and chastisement may be
carried ; but this is an uncontroverled truth, that " the foun-
dation of God standeth sure," and God will never disinherit
any of the offspring and issue, or castaway any of the vessels
that hang, by a faith of his operation, upon the nail fastened
in a sure place.
Use third may be of Consolalion to the offspring and issue,
and all the vessels of cups and flagons. This doctrine may
yield comfort to you,
1, In case of public reelings and commotions in the world.
The abounding sin of all ranks, and the present aspect of
providence, give just ground to fear, that some shaking judg-
ment is not far off, such as, sword, famine, or pestilence, to
avenge the quarrel of a broken covenant, a contemned gos-
pel, and the blood of those whose souls are crying from under
the altar. But whatever calamities may be coming, though
the world should be unhinged, heaven and earth mingled, and
nothing to be heard or seen but the confused noise of the war-
riors, and garments rolled in blood, yet verily " it shall be well
with the righteous;" the great Manager of the house is "given
to be head over all things to the church, which is his body ;'*
and he, being at the helm, will take care that the least cup
of his Father's house shall not be lost, though the mountains,
should be removed and cast into the midst of the sea," Is.,
xxvi. ; Psal. xlvi., at the beginning.
2, Here is comfort in case of personal afflictions. Some-
times the Lord sees tit to take the vessels of his house, and to
cast them into a hot furnace, or to plunge them into the deep
and bitter waters of Ma rah ; "deep may call unto deep," one
wave making way for another: but here is comfort, the great
Manager sits at the side of the furnace, to see that the dross
be purged, but the vessel preserved. He treads upon the
waves, and the wind and the seas obey him, and at length
he will say, " Peace, be still ;" and then there shall be a great
calm, Psal. xlii. 7, 8: "All thy waves and thy billows are-
gone over me. Yet the Lord will command his loving-kind-
ness in the day-time, and in the night, his song shall be with
me."
3, Here is comfort in case of rents, divisions, and manifold
disorders in the visible church, as there is at this day ; men
beating their fellow-servants, and putting them out of the:
11*
^^ CHRIST CONSIDERED AS THE NAIL [SER.
house, for their faithfulness to the Master of the house; their
maltreating the offspring and issue of the fanriiiy, misplacing
the vessels, preferring the nnan with the gold ring, to the man
that is rich in faith, a^nd an heir of the kingdonn ; these, or the
like evils, take place in the visible church, and have a me-
lancholy appearance. But here is comfort, that the great
Manager of the house is looking on ; he permits and overrules
all these confusions and disorders, for his own holy and wise
ends, for the trial of faith and patience, and to show his own
skill in bringing order out of confusion : and when he has per-
formed his whole work, in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, he '
will reign among his ancients gloriously.
4. Here is comfort to the Lord's remnant, when there are
few or none of the rulers, nobles, or gentry of the land to own
the cause of Christ, or to put to their liand to the rebuilding
of the walls or gates of Jerusalem, lying in rubbish, as in
the days of former reformation in this land. The great New-
Testament Zerubbabel can carry on his work, either with
them or without them, even thouo;h threat mountains be stand-
ing m the way ; for it is " not by the might or power of man,
but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosis, that the work is
effected. The man whose name is the Branch, he shall come
out of his place; he shall build the temple, and bear all the
glory." This use miuht be enlarged in many particulars,
which I wave at present, that I may go on to a fourth use.
CHRIST CONSIDERED AS THE NAIL FASTENED IN A SURE
PLACE, BEARING ALL THE GLORY OF HIS
FATHER'S HOUSE.
And (hey sliall hanir upon liim all the f^lory of his Father's house, the off-
spring', and the issue, all vessels of small quantity: from the vessels of
cups, even to all the vessels of flagons.— Is. xxii. 24.
THE FIFTH SERMON ON THIS TEXT.
The fourlh use, namely, of Exhortation. 1. To all in ge-
neral. 2. To believers in particular.
First, I would offer a word of exhortation to all in general.
Is Christ the great Manager of his Father's house, and has
God (he Father hung all the glory, all the offspring and issue,
ail the vessels greater and smaller upon him, as upon a nail
XXXV.] FASTENED IN A SURE PLACE. 119
fastened in a sure place? Then let every man and woman,
that has a soul to be saved, come to him in a way of believ-
ing, and lay the stress of their eternal salvation upon the
great Manager of the house. This is a business of everlast-
ing concern, and therefore allow me to enforce the exhorta-
tion a little.
There is no help for you in heaven, or in earth ; all other
nails are weak, broken, or crooked, but this of God's fasten-
ing; and therefore to the bottom of eternal wo and misery
you must go, unless you hang your salvation upon it. "No
name is given under heaven whereby to be saved, but by the
name of Jesus; neither is there salvation in any other:" all
refuge fails, and proves only a refuge of lies: " In vain is sal-
vation hoped for from the hills, or multitude of mountains:"
and therefore I may put that question to you in this case,
" Whither will you flee for help ? or where will you leave your
glory," if you do not "commit the keeping of your souls unto
him as unto a faithful Creator.
This Manager is a person of great skill and experience in
the business of saving souls that are lost by the fall of Adam;
it is his trade and business, upon which he came into the
world; no case is desperate to him, for " he is able to save to
the uttermost," and he has been occupied in the work of
saving the lost, ever since sin entered into the world. Many,
many have gone through his hands, and he has made a good
account of every one of them; the " Innumerable company
that are about the throne, singing the song of Mo.ses and the
Lamb," are all standing monuments of his skill and experience;
every one of them cries, " Worthy is the Lamb that was slain ;
for thou hast redeemed us, and thou hast washed and saved
us by thy blood."
The great Manager has not only skill, ability, and experi-
ence, but he is most willing to be employed. "To you, O
men do I call, and my voice is to the sons of man." " Come
to me" who will, "I will in no wise cast out." "Come, and let us
reason together, saith the Lord ; though your sins be as scar-
let and crimson, I will make them white as snow and as
wool." And, to put the matter out of doubt, and beyond all
controversy, he assures you of his willingness with the solem-
nity of an oath, Ezek. xxxiii. 11: " As I live, saith the Lord,
I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that
they turn unto me, and live," &.c. He is so willing and desi-
rous of having the manasjement of thy salvation committed to
him, that it is the joy of his heart wtien a lost sinner comes to
him for this end, as you see cleared in the three parables,
Luke XV.
You are well warranted ta hang your all upon this nail, for
120 CHRIST CONSIDERED AS THE NAIL [SER.
it was fixed in a sure place. For thisvery end he was set up
from everlasting, from the beginning, to be the Saviour of lost
"sinners; he is " ordained for men in things pertaining to God:"
and it is the command of God, that you " believe in him to the
saving of your souls," that you receive and rest upon him,
1 John iii. 23. And therefore you must either trust t[iis great
Manager with your salvation, or otherwise counteract the
authority of Heaven in the greatest command that ever was
issued out from " the excellent glory."
Let nothing then scare you from coming to the great Mana-
ger by faith, or from hanging your justification, sanctification,
and salvation, upon this nail fastened in a sure place. " Take
heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of
unbelief, in turning you away from the living God; and let us
fear lest a promise" of salvation " being left us, any of us
should seem to come short of it ;" the consequence of which
will be fatal through all eternity.
Do not say, I am not prepared for coming to him ; for I
know of no preparation a sinner can make for Christ, but
that of his seeing himself lost and undone without him. What
preparation had the man-slayer, besides danger from the aven-
ger of blood, when he fled to the city of refuge '? What prepa-
ration has a drowning man to make for taking hold of a strong
rope cast in to draw him ashore? Is not the sick man prepared
for the physician] the man starving through want prepared
for meat?
Do not say, that the fiery law, and its curse, stand in your
way; for the law condemns you because you do not improve
the remedy presented to you in the gospel. I'he thunders of
the law are hushed into a pleasant calm, whenever the sinner
comes to mount Zion and to 'Jesus the Mediator of the new
covenant. Christ is " the end of the law for righteousness to
every one that believeth ; and therefoie there is no condemna-
tion to them that are in Christ Jesus."
Do not say, that the decree of God is any obstacle in your
way of coming to Christ, and hanging your eternal salva-
tion upon him; for as the decree of God is secret, and does
not belong to us, so, in the decrees of Heaven, the end and
the mean are cotmccted together, and the one made subservi-
ent to the other. Does any man concern himself with God's
decrees in the ordinary affiirs of life? Does the merchant
argue, If God has decreed that I shall be rich, it shall come
to pass, though I never go to the market and buy and sell?
Or does the husbandman argue, I shall have a plentiful crop,
if God has ordained it, although 1 neither plant nor sow?
Men will not venture their worldly affiiirs upon such a foolish
way of arguing; why then should any argue at that rate in
XXXV.] FASTENED IN A SURE PLACE. l2l
matters wherein their precious souls are concerned, and lie
at stake ?
May some poor soul say, O, gladly would 1 come to the
great Manager Christ, and hang my soul's eternal salvation
upon him, as on a nail fastened in a sure place; l)ut, alas! I
find such an utter impotence and inabihty to believe in him,
that all exhortations are in vain, until the power of God be
put forth to enable me; " No man can come to Christ, unless
the Father which sent him, draw him." Answ. (1.) The soul
that is truly sensible of its own inability to believe, or do any
thing for itself, is in the fairest way of believing; for faith
springs out of a thorough conviction of its own impotence and
inability, either to will or to do. And therefore, (2.) From
a sense of your own impotence, look up to him that "giveth
power to the faint, and increaseth strength to them that have
no might;" for he who commands you to believe, is the Author
and Finisher of faith, ready to " fuUil in you all the good plea-
sure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power." (3.)
I would say to you that are in good earnest in making this
objection, and complaining of inability to believe, that the
power of God is exerted in a very silent and imjierceptible
way in bringing the sinner to believe in Christ, therefore
likened to the falling of the dew, the growth of tlie corn, or
a grain of mustard seed or the gradual working of leaven in
a measure of meal, which are best known by the effects: and
therefore observe and see if you can perceive any of the ef
fects of the Spirit of faith in or about you, such as a prizing
of the word and ordinances, a drinking the sincere milk of it,
a valuing of Christ, a renouncing of our own, and a leaning
only to a Surety's righteousness, heart-love to all that bear
the image of God; these, or the like fruits of faitli, may be
sometimes found in the soul that is complaining of its own ina-
bility to believe; and if so, it is a hopeful evidence that the good
work is begun, and so you may be " confident of this very
thing, that he who hath begun the good work, will perform it
against the day of Jesus Christ."
1 close this exhortation with two or three advices, in order
to your committino; your all into the hand of the great Mana-
ger of the house of God.
1. Study to be in good earnest in the matter of believing:
for it is " with the heart that man believeth unto righteous-
ness." Faith is not a dreaming, sleeping work, as you see in
the case of Peter's hearers. Acts ii., the jailer, Acts svi.
2. Consider well the worth of the soul, and what danger
it is in of being lost for ever. " What is a man profited, if
he gain the whole world, and lose his soul ?"
3. Be frequently viewing the majesty of that infinite God,
122 CHRIST CONSIDERED AS THE NAIL [SER.
with whom you must have to do for ever and ever, and what
a fearful thing it is to fall into the hands of an implacable
and eternal enemy. " Who knows the power of his wrath?
Who can dwell with devouring fire?"
4. Be convinced, that, by the breach of the holy law in
Adam, your federal head, and also in your own persons, you
are liable to the wrath and displeasure of God, yea, con-
demfied already.
5. Be convinced of the utter insufficiency of all those nails
that you have been formerly trusting to. Perhaps you have
been trusting to the nail of a general mercy in God. But
this will not hold ; for God himself has declared, that he who
"made alnners will have no mercy on them; that he will by
no means clear the guilty," without a satisfaction to his jus-
tice, and faith's improvement of that satisfaction set forth in
the gospel revelation. Perhaps you are leaning to the nail
of gospel-church privileges, or receiving the seal of the cove-
nant in baptism, or the Lord's supper. But this nail will give
way : " Unless you be baptized with the Holy Ghost, and eat
the flesh, and drink the blood of the Son of man, you have
no life in you." Perhaps you are leaning to the nail of a
blazing profession. But, alas ! this will fail you, as you see
in the case of the foolish virgins, and those mentioned Matth.
vii. 22, to whom Christ says, " Depart from me, I never knew
you." Perhaps you are leaning your weight upon the nail
of some common attainments under the drop of the gospel,
such as, a common knowledge, a common faith, a common
reformation, a common zeal for the public cause of Christ,
without an actual taking holdof God's covenant of grace and
promise. All these wilf give way. That knowledge that
does not humble and sanctify, that faith that is not accompa-
nied with an humble sense of unbelief, that reformation of
life that does not begin at the heart, that zeal that is not
founded on knowledge, will never abide the trial. Perhaps
you are laying your weight upon the law, or the works of it,
either in part or in whole; your morality, civility, delight in
duties, or your own good meanings and endeavours. But,
alas ! this nail will break also: for " the law is weak through
the flesh," and there is no law given, since the fall of Adam,
that can give life, otherwise righteousness would come by the
law. The Jews leaned to this nail, and went about to estab-
lish their own righteousness, as it were by the works of the
law. But what came of it? The nail broke, and they fell
under the condemnatory sentence of that law to which they
leaned; and there they lie, and will lie till their eyes be
opened. Now, I say, study and be fully persuaded of the
utter insufficiency of all these, or other nails you are ven-
XXXV.] FASTENED IN A SURE PLACE. 123
turing your salvation upon. The hail shall sweep away all
these refuges of lies.
6. Turn away your eyes from all these, and take a view
of the strength, sufficiency, and excellency of the nail that
God has " fastened in a sure place." Study the excellency
of Christ in his person as Immanuel, God-man; the validity
of his commission as the sent of God ; the sufficiency of that
righteousness he has brought in for justifying of the ungodly
by his obedience to the death; the stability and freedom of
the covenant of which he is Head, Surety, and Mediator;
the prevalency of his intercession, by virtue of which he is
" able to save to the uttermost all that come to God by him :"
1 say, be much in viewing and meditating upon these things.
7. With these join earnest and importunate prayers in the
name of Christ, that he, who is Father of light, the Author of
every good and perfect gift, may " send forth his light and
truth," that in his light "you may see light;" that it may be
"given you, by his word and Spirit, to know the mysteries
of the kingdom of heaven," particularly that leading mystery
of a God in our nature, " God manifested in the flesh, justified
in the Spirit," &c. And while you are praying for these
things, study to believe, and be confident toward him, that
he will hear you, and that he does hear you, because thes.g
things are agreeable to his will, Mark. xi. 24; 1 John v. 14
8. In obedience to the command of God, and in depend"
ence upon his power, make the effort at resting upon the
nail fastened in a sure place: commit your eternal all into
the hands of the great Manager of his Father's house, saying,
"I believe, Lord, help thou mine unbelief:" 1 " believe that
through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, I shall be saved,
even as others" that have taken the same course: and thus
"he that believeth entereth into his rest." And in this way
wait on the Lord ; for " he that shall come, will come, and he
will not tarry."
I proceed now to offer a word of exhortation and advice
to believers, who are here designed the offspring and issue of
the house, and likewise the vessels of cups, and offagons. I
shall offer a few advices to you, suited to these different cha-
racters given you in the text.
First, then, Considering you under the character of the offr
spring and the issue of God's family, I have the following ad-
vices to ofler you : —
L Bless God that ever put you among the children, and
gave you the pleasant portion and the goodly heritage. The
question that is put, as to this matter, Jer. iii. 10: "How
shall this be done?" plainly implies, that tliere were such
insuperable difficulties in the way of its accomplishment, a?
124 CHRIST CONSIDERED AS THE NAIL [SER.
no created power was capable to remove. Although a ge-
neral assenibly of angels and archangels had been convened
to answer this question, IJow shall these sinners of Adann's
fannily, being heirs of hell and wrath, lawful captives to the
god of this world, under sentence of eternal death ; how shall
they, in a consistence with the honour of the law, justice, and
holiness of God, be "put among the children," and become
^' heirs of God," and be possessed of the " inheritance that is
incorruptible, undehlcd, and that fadeth not away ?" they had
been all |»ut to an eternal stand, they behooved to own that
it was a (|uestion too high for them to resolve. ]5ut behold
the knotty and unanswerable question solved by Infinite
Wisdom and Sovereignity, inspired with infmite grace and
love, in the close of that verse: "And I said. Thou shalt call
me, My Father, and thou shalt not turn away from me."
As if he had said, Although this question puts the whole cre-
ation to silence, yet 1 myself will answer it. My own be-
loved and eternal Son, having, in the council of peace, pro-
mised, as a second Adam, to satisfy justice, and to repair the
honour of my law, by his obedience to the death, 1 have de-
termined to put them among the children, and, by the power
of my Spirit, they shall, upon the footing of the ransom I have
found, cry, Abba, FaUur, to me; and I will keep them by my
power "through faith unto salvation." O how should the
consideration of all this grace and love, manifested in your
adoption, fill your hearts with wonder, and your mouths with
the highest praisesof God, saying with the apostle, 1 John iii. 1,
" Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon
us, that wc should be called the sons of God !" O "what is
man, that thou art so mindful of him? or what is the son of
man, that thou shouldst be so kind unto him?" "Bless the
Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name,"
<fe.c. 0 levy a tribute oui of the whole creation, and invite
all creatures in heaven and earth to concur with you in cele-
brating his praises, as David does under a sense of redeeming
love and grace, Psal. ciii., through the whole.
2. Let the whole odspring and issue of (lod's family be
much employed in biholding and admiring the nail upon
which they and all their privileges hang; for all the glory
and ollspring hang on Christ as the great Manager of his Fa-
ther's house, as you heard in the doctrinal part. Believer,
thou hast thy very being as a new creature in him; and all
thy privileges, in time and through eternity, have their con-
veyance to thee through him. Hence is that doxology of
the ofi'spring and issue of (iod's house, Eph. i. 3 : " Blessed be
the God and Father of oirr Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed
us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ
XXXV.] FASTENED IN A SURE PLACE. 125
Jesus." It is the will of the Father, that "all men should
honour the Son, as they honour tiie Father ; that every tonj^ue
should confess, that .lesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God
the Father." And therefore, I say, let every one behold and
admire the glory of liis person as Immanuel, the glory of his
mediation ; for through him it is that your relation to God, as
your God and Father, comes: John xx. 17: "I ascend unto
my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God."
3. Let all the ollspring and issue of the family give a firm
credit to their Father's word, set to their seal to this word
of promise, and believe the record of God concerning the
great Manager and Priest over the house of God. It were
a thing criminal among men, and " an iniquity to be punished
by the judge," for a child to say to the father that begat him,
Thou art a liar. But is it not much more ci'iminal for the
offspring of God by regeneration, to say so to him that begat
them by the word of truth ? And yet this is the way that
God is treated by his own children, under their fits of unbelief,
despondency, and discontent ; for " he that believeth not,
halh made God a liar." Alas ! how often do we contradict
our everlasting Father to his face, by saying, either with the
heart or tongue, " His promise fails for evermore ; he hath
forgotten to be gracious ; his mercy is clean gone ?" Is not
this flatly opposite to what he has declared in his word, that
" his mercy is from everlasting to everlasting; that his grace
never faileth ; that he is ever mindful of his covenant; his
promise he will not break?" O beware of the sin of unbe-
lief, for it is a reproaching and contradicting your Father:
•' Why sayest thou, O Jacob! Why speakest thou, O Israel?
Is he not thy Father, that begat thee '?" " Beware of him,
and provoke liim not ;" for he " will visit these thine iniqui-
ties with the rod, and thy transgressions with stripes." Well,
then, credit your I'\'ithcr's word, for " faithfulness is the girdle
of his loins, and truth the girdle of his reins." Man may lie,
and the son of man may repent, but " it is impossible for God
to lie." Imitate Abraham, the father of the faithful, who
" staggered not at the promise through unbelief, but was
strong in faith, giving glory to God."
4. Lot all the offspring and issue of the family trust the
blessed Manager, and rest upon him in all cases with assured
confidence. Has God the Father intrusted him with all the
glory, all the offspring, and all the vessels of his house; and
shall not all the members of the family, particularly his own
otispring and issue, trust him also with every thing that con-
cerns them in time and through eternity? This being the
leading duty called for from the text and doctrine, allow me
VOL. m. 12
126 CHRIST COIfSIDERED AS THE NAIL [sER,
to enforce it with some few motives, and then to illustrate it
by answering a question or two.
First, I would enforce the duty with a few weighty con-
siderations. Consider, then, in the first place, That as God
the J'alher reposes a full trust and confidence in him, and has
hung upon him all the glory of his house, so he calls and
commands all mankind, particularly the children of the fami-
ly, to do the like, and to write after his example, " This is
my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him."
He hath my ear, let him have yours also. He cries from
heaven, " Behold my servant whom I uphold, mine elect in
whom my soul delighteth." And for what end does he thus
commend him, but that we may make him (he object of trust
and confidence, as he does? There is not one duty in all the
word of God, that is i-.o much, or so frequently inculcated as
that of faith in Christ, or a firm trust in him, for all the ends
of his incarnation; yea, this is the great end of the whole
a'evelation, John xx. '6\ : '• These things are written, that ye
might believe that Jesus is the Clirist, the Son of God ; and
that, believing, ye might have life through his name."
There is no pleasing of God, no way to avert his wrath
and displeasure, but by trusting the great Manager of his
house; " without faith" in Christ, " it is impossible to please
him," even though you were capable to perlbrm all the other
duties enjoined in the holy law, which yet is impossible
through the want of faith in the promised INIessiah. All the
splendid services of Israel were rejected as an abomination,
3s. i. 10 — 12, although commanded in the law. But, on the
other hand, the weakest effort at commanded duty, though
attended with many infirmities, is accepted of God, if done
in faith. And the reason of this is, because faith hangs the
whole glory of the soul's acceptance upon (he nail fastened
in a sure place, and not upon any work or duty done by us.
The language of it is, " I will go in the strength of the Lord
God, and I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of
thine only."
Trust the great Manager, for he is " the mighty God," Is.
ix. 6. Take his own testimony as to this, Hcv. i. 8: "I am
the Alpha and Omega, (he first and the last, saith the Lord,
which is, and ^Yhich was, and which is to come, the Al-
mighty." He is the man who is God's fellow, neither is it
any robbery for him to be equal with God ; for he and his
Father are one, the same in substance, equal in power and
glory. Let this engage your trust in him, for this he gives
as the ground and reason why he should be (he confidence of
all the ends of the earth, and of them that are afar ofi' upon
the seas: Is. xlv. 22: "Look unto me, and be ve saved, all
XXXV.] FASTENED IN A SURE PLACE. 127
the ends of the earth : for I am God, and there is none
else."
The great Manager is your near Kinsman, bone of your
bone, and flesh of your flesh, and has acted the Kinsman's
part, by avenging your blood upon the head of the old ser-
pent, and by redeeming the mortgaged inheritance of eternal
life; and therefore it is natural and kindly to put your trust
in him : " How excellent is thy loving kindness, O God 1"
says David, " therefore the sons of men put their trust under
the shadow of thy wings." He is not only God, but man ;
"the man of God's right hand, whom he hath made strong
for himself," that is, for the purposes of his glory in our re-
demption. As he has authority and ability to manage our
affairs, so he is gone to his Father to appear in the presence
of God for us. As he " died for our olfences, and rose again,
for our justification," so he hath stated himself, before the
high bar, as our Advocate with the Father. And whatever
business we have [pendintr] before the high court, he is al-
An'ays present to look after it, and never absent when the
cause is called ; and he has the concerns of his clients so much
at heart, that he reckons theni his own. Being " touched
v/ith the feeling of our infirmities," he transacts and manages
the cause of the oftspring and issue of the house gratis, with-
out any money or price. " He shall deliver the needy when
he crieth: the poor also, and him that hath no helper," Psal.
Ixxii. 12: "He standeth at the right hand of the poor, to
save him from those that would condemn his soul," Psal. cix„
31. Let these or the like considerations engage your firm
trust in the glorious Manager.
But, beside all these, consider what advantage shall accrue
to yourselves, by putting all your trust and confidence in him.
Hereby you shall be " kept in perfect peace" amidst all the
shakings of this world. Is. xxvi. 3. You shall hereby be filled
with joy and peace, yea, "with joy unspeakable, and full of
glory." You shall be rendered immoveable like the rock,
when storms of trouble and temptation are overthrowing
others who build upon the sand. In a word, your trust in and
upon the great Manager, shall be followed with " an exceedr
ing and eternal weight of glory ;" " none perish that trust
in him:" " Whosoever believeth in him, shall not perish, but
have everlasting life."
I conclude at present with that word, Is. Ixiv. 4 : " From
the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor per-
ceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, besides
tkee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him,"
128 CHRIST CONSIDERED AS THE NAIL [SER.
CHRIST CONSIDERED AS THE NAIL FASTENED IN A SURE
PLACE, BEARING ALL THE GLORY OF HIS
FATHER'S HOUSE.
And they shall hang- upon him all the glory of his Father's house, the off-
spring-and the issue, all vessels of small quantity: from tlie vessels of
cups, even to all the vessels of flagons. — Is. xxii. 24.
THE SIXTH SERMON ON THIS TEXT.
You may ask me first, When, or in what cases are we to
trust the glorious Manager ? I answer, in general, there is
no case unseasonable: " Trust in him at all times; ye peo-
ple, pour out your hearts before him." More particularly,
1st, When you are in any concern about the salvation of
your souls, roll this weight upon the nail fastened in a sure
place. Are you in any doubt or fear about j'our eternal
state? Put it out of doubt, by committing this to him, who
" came to seek and save that which was lost," saying with
David, " Into thy hands do I commit my spirit, O thou Jeho-
vah, God of truth, who hast redeemed me." The direct act-
ings of faith on Christ, is the surest and shortest way of se-
curing " the one thing needful," for " none perish that trust
in him."
2dly, When pressed with manifold charges of guilt, from
the devil, from the law, from conscience ; in that case trust
in the Manager, " for his blood cleanses from all sin." " We
have redemption through his blood ;" and under this cover-
ing you may say, " Who can lay any thing to 7ny charge ?"
It is the voice of the great Manager to " the offspring and
issue," " I, even I, am he that blotteth out thine iniquities for
mine own name's sake."
3db/, When indwelling sin is molesting you with its [irrup-
tions,] trust him that he may destroy the works of the devil
in thy heart, that he will, according to his promise, " subdue
your iniquities," Mic. vii. 19; Rom. vi. 14: "Sin shall not
have dominion over you."
4:thb/, When Satan is molesting you with his fiery darts,
act faith upon hinn ; fear nothing from that enemy, whose
head he has already bruised; and, in this case, improve his
atoning blood, for it is said of saints in former ages, that
"they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb." — When
j'ou are afraid of falling or stumbling, take hold of the Ma-
nager, for " he keeps the feet of his saints, and holds up their
XXXV-] FASTENED IJJ A SURE PLACE. 129
goings." — When called to any work or duty that is above
your strength, remember that he is " the strength of Israel."
Be strong in "the grace that is in Christ Jesus," for "he
sendeth none a warfare upon their own charges." — When
engaged either in personal or public covenanting work, do
all in the name and sli'ength of the great Manager, and with
an eye to the sacrifice of his death for acceptance: Psal. 1.
5 : " Gather my saints together unto me ; even those that
have made a covenant with me by sacrifice." — When the
world is reeling and staggering, seas roaring, tempests of
personal or public trouble blowing, then trust the Manager ;
for " he doth whatever he pleaseth in the heavens above, in
the earth, in the seas, and in all deep places." Study to see
all things in his hand, and all things working together for
good to them that love him; and then you will sino;, as Is,
xii. 2, " Behold, God is my salvation: I will trust, and not be
afraid." Or, Psal. xcvii.' 1 : " The Lord reigneth, let the
earth rejoice," &c. — When Jacob is brought low, and men
pointing at the true church of Christ, and saying, " This is
Zion whom no man careth for ;" in that case, look to the
Manager, for " it is he that builds up .Jerusalem, and gathers
the dispersed of Israel into one." " What shall one answer
the messengers of the nation? The Lord hath founded Zion,
and the poor of his people shall trust in it." — When there is
a famine of bread trust him ; for he that " feedeth the ra-
vens," will not starve the offspring and issue of the family:
Psal. xxxvii. 3 : " Trust in the Lord, and do good, so shalt
thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed." I^
there a great scarcity of the word, the bread of life, and few-
faithful hands to dispense it ? Trust him, for the stars are in
his riglit hand ; he gives apostles, prophets, evangelists, pasr
tors, and teacliers, for edifying of his body; and it is his pro-
mise, " I will give them pa-tors, according to mine heart."
Are the sheep and the shepherds scattered 1 Well, trust him,
for he that hath scattered Israel will gather them again:
" He shall gather the lambs with his arms, and carry them
in his bosom," &c.
Thus you see there is no case in w^hich the offspring and
issue are not to hang by faith upon the blessed Manager, as
a nail fastened in a sure place.
I conclude this exhortation with two or three advices:
(1.) Be much in studying your own weakness and insuffi-
ciency for work or warfare, that you may be denied to your
own strength; for it is the poor that " commit themselves to
him." (2.) Be well acquainted with his name, I mean, the
glory of his person; for it is " they that know his name that
will put their trust in him." (3.) Study to know the near
12*
130 CHRIST CONSIDERED AS THE NAIL [SER.
relation he stands under to you, both by his human nature,
and by his offices as Mediator, Redeemer, Prophet, Priest,
and King, Head and Husband, for the knowledge of these
[inspires] trust and confidence. A wife trusts in her husband,
a child in his parent, the members trust their head. (4.) Be
well acquainted with the great and precious prom'ses of the
covenant of grace, and how the condition of them all is ful-
filled to your hand by Christ, as a second Adam, in his fulfill-
ing the do and die of the covenant of works. Legal concep-
tions of the covenant of grace, as if our faith, love, obedience,
repentance, were the condition of the covenant, [perplexes]
faith in the free actings of it on Christ and the covenant of
grace. We must come without money or price to take hold
of the covenant, and to apply the blessings of it, because
Christ has already paid the money and price that justice de-
manded. (5.) Pray much for the Spirit of fttith ; and, under
the conduct of the Spirit, habituate yourselves to a frequent
acting of faith, that so the life you live in the tiesh may be
" by faith on the Son of God."
I come now to oiTer a word to believers, under the notion
of vessels hanging upon the nail which God has fastened in a
sure place. And here I might, (I.) Offer a word to the ves-
sels of cups. (2.) To the vessels o/Jlago?is, or believers of a
higher stature. (3.) A word to both in common.
1. A word to weak believers, who are designed vessels of
cups. I only suggest these two or three things to you:-r-(l.)
It is a high privilege to occupy the least room in the house
of our God. The prodigal son, when he came to himself,
only begged of his father that he might have the place of a
hired servant ; he was glad to be under his father's roof, and
to eat in his father's house, at any rate. (2.) God has ser-
vice for the least vessel of his house, as well as for the largest.
God never made a useless creature, and he does not form any
useless vessels ; no, eveiy vessel is " formed by himself, to
show forth his praise." (3.) The least vessel is God's proper-
ly, and he will not disown, but maintain his property, and
own it before men and angels, saying, "They are mine," in
the day when he makes up his jewels. (4.) The bands, by
which you hang upon the nail fastened in a sure place, are
as strong as those by which the vessels of flagons are secured ;
for he has said as to both, " They shall never perish, neither
shall any pluck them out of my hand." (5.) The weakest
measure of grace is a pledge of more ; for " to him that hath
shall be given." What grace you have got is the arles-pcnny
of more a-coming, for "his goings forth are prepared as the
morning," as the break of day is a pledge of more light to
follow : " The path of the just is as the shining light, that
XXXV.] FASTENED IN A SURE PLACE. 131
shineth more and more unto the perfect clay." The least
measure of grace has glory connected with it, according to
the order of the covenant, Psal. Ixxxiv. 11 : <' The Lord God
is a sun and shield, he will give grace and glory ;" first grace,
and then glory.
I next offer a word of advice to the vessels of cups, I mean
weak believers. Although you are not to envy or grudge at
God's bounty or liberality to others, in making them vessels
of flagons, yet you may and ought earnestly to covet more
grace than you have yet received ; and therefore we are
commanded to " grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." In order to which, be hum-
ble under a sense of your own weakness and emptiness; for
" he giveth grace to the humble." Be diligent in the im-
provement of what grace you have received ; for " the hand
of the diligent maketh rich." Be frequently coming to the
Manager of the house for more grace : " To whom coming,
as unto a living stone, — ye also as lively stones, are built up,
a spiritual house, a habitation of God through the Spirit."
Improve all the means of God's appointment for your edifi-
cation, such as the word,' sacraments, prayer, Christian con-
ference, (hat you may "add to your faith, virtue; to virtue,
knowledge ; to knowledge, temperance ; to temperance, pa-
tience; to patience, godliness; to godliness, brotherly kind-
ness ; and to brotherly kindness, charity ; for if these things
be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither
)^. barren, nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus
'Christ, 2 Pet. i. 5—8.
2. A word to the vessels of Jlago?is, believers of a higher
"Siature. To you I would say,
m, Be not proud of grace received, but walk humbly with
your God. " Who made thee to differ? and what hast thou
that thou hast not received?" " His soul that is lifted up is
not upright in him." Where true grace is genuine, the more
a man receives of it he is always the more humble and emp-
ty, as you see in Paul, Eph. iii. 8 : " Less than the least of
all saints." To keep your sails low, consider that the most
eminent saints have discovered the greatest weakness, even
in the graces in which they most excelled; as we see in the
case of Abraham, Moses, David, Peter, and others. They
that have the greatest measure of grace, get as much to do
with it ; strong corruption, strong temptation, and strong trials
to grapple with: and the more talents a man receives, the
more has he to account for, as to the improvement of them ;
for " to whom much is given, of ihem much shall be re-
quired."
2dhj, Instead of despising others that are not come your
132 CHRIST COKSIDERED AS THE NAIL, &C. [SER.
length, study to be helpful and serviceable to them. The
vessels of cups are ordinarily filled out of the flagons ; so study
to impart and communicate of your grace, of your faith, love,
hope, knowledge, and other graces, to those that are weak
in grace. The strong children in a family are helpful to the
young and weak. Thus it is in the natural body, the strong
member is helpful to tlie weak and infirm ; so ought it to be
in the mystical body of Christ. And when you see any fall
through weakness, do not triumph over them ; but "strengthen
the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees ; say to them
that are of a fearful heart, Be strong;" " restore such a one
with the spirit of meekness."
Sdlij, Whatever grace you have received, be not strong or
confident in it, Yike Peter ; but "be strong in the grace that
is in Christ Jesus," and let the life you live be by faith in the
Son of God. Grace received will soon give way in a day of
trial and temptation. An innocent Adam, left with the stock
in his hand, soon turned bankrupt, and ruined all his poste-
rity. And therefore, I say, do not trust to the life or grace
you have in hand, but in the grace and life you have in your
iiead Jesus Christ, the glorious Manager and Steward of his
Father's house. Still remember, that all the vessels hang
upon him ; and therefore let all the weight lie where God
has laid it.
3. A word of advice to vessels of all sizes, whether they
be vessels uf cups, or vessels ofjlagoiis.
\st. Adore the riches of divine grace and mercy, that put
a difierence between you and others, for naturally you were
as bad as others.
2f////, Let every one possess his vessel in sanctification and
honour. Do not debase or defile the vessel of thy soul or
body, by prostituting it to the service of sin, Satan, or any
abominable lust. You was once living in the miry clay of
nature, but God has washed, justified, and sanctified you ; and
therefore study to keep yourself clean and holy in heart, life,
and in all manner of conversation. If you defile yourselves
with sin, the Manager of the house will be fair to cast you
into a furnace of afiliction, or, like Jonah, to plunge you into
deep waters, till you acknowledge, "Mine own iniquities cor-
rect me, and my backslidings reprove me."
3r//?/, When you find any defilement of sin cleaving to you
(which you will never miss while in the body,) flee to " the
fountain opened for sin and for uncleanness in the house of
David." Be often bathing thy soul in " the blood of Jesus,"
which " cleanseth from all sin."
4:ihly, Come to the fountain for supply under all your wants,
" that you may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time
XXXVI.] A ROBBKRY COMMITTED, &C. 133
of need." " Out of his fulness do all we receive, and grace
for grace." Let thy vessel just lie under the flowing of this
blessed fountain, that it may never be found empty when the
midnight cry is made, " Behold the Bridegroom cometh, go
ye forth to meet him."
Lastly, Pray for a plentiful outpouring of the Spirit, ac-
cording to the promise. Is. xliv. 3 : " I will pour floods upon
the dry ground," that so all the empty vessels of the land,
that are destitute of the waters of God's grace, may be fllled ;
and those that are hanging upon the first Adam, and under
the curse of the law, may, by the power of grace, change
their holding, and hang upon the nail that God has fastened
in a sure place.
SEMM©M XXXVI.
A ROBBERY COMMITTED, AND RESTITUTION MADE, BOTH
TO GOD AND MAN.*
Then I restored that which I took not away. — Psal. lxix. 4.
It is abundantly plain, that there are several passages in
this psalm applied to Christ in the scriptures of the New
Testament; particularly that in the 9th verse of the psalm,
•'The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up," we find it ap-
plied to Christ, John ii. 17 ; and likewise that immediately
following, " The reproaches of them that reproached thee are
fallen upon me," Rom. xv. 3; so likewise in the 21st verse,
" They gave me also gall for my meat, and in my thirst they
gave me vinegar to drink," applied to Christ, Matth. xxvii.
48, and Mark xv. 23. But I need go no farther to prove
this, than the first word of the verse where my text lies,
" They hate me without a cause," Christ applies it to him-
* Preached upon a thanksgiving da)^, after the sacrament, in Dunfermhne,
Monday, August 11, ir46.f
f I have perused the following notes of my sermon, preached at Dunferm-
line August last, taken from my mouth in the delivery. My other work
cannot allow me time to transcribe it. However, I have corrected and
amended what I thought might mar the sense. If the doctrine of the gos-
pel here delivered be understood, I am not anxious about the wisdom of
words, "lest the gospel should be of none effect."
Stirling, December 27, 1746. E. E.
134 A ROBBERY COMMITTED, [SER.
self, in John xv. 25. We find our Lord here, in the verse
where my text lies, complaining of his enemies ; he complains
of their causeless hatred in the first clause of the verse,
"They hate me without a cause;" he complains of their mul-
titude, " They are more than the hairs of mine head ;" he
complains of their implacable cruelly, " They that -.vould de-
stroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty," Now,
our blessed Lord is thus treated bv the world, whom he came
to save. When thereissuch a powerful combination of hell
and earth against him, one would have been ready to think,
that he would have stopped, and gone no farther: but "he
did not faint, nor was he discouraged," for all the opposition
that was made against him ; for you see, in the words I have
read, what he was doing for lost sinners, when he was meet-
ing with harsh entertainment from them. The?i, even iheriy
says he, I restored that which I took not away.
In which words you may notice these following particu-
lars:— (L) You have here a robbery disclaimed; a robbery
was committed, but it is disclaimed by the Son of God ; /
took not away. There was something taken away from God
and from man; by whom it is not said, but it is easy to say,
that " surely an enemy did it." But then, (2.) We have a
restitution made of that robbery that was committed : / re-
stored, says Christ, I restored what I took 7iot azcay. The work
of man's redemption, is a restitution both to God and to man
of what was taken away by sin and by Satan. When once
the work of redemption is completed, there will be a restitu-
tion of all things ; for we read. Acts iii. 21, of the " restitu-
tion of all things." Again, (3.) We have an account of the
person restoring. Who made the restitution ? It was /, says
the Lord; I restored what I took not away. "I who speak in
righteousness, and who am mighty to save," I, the child born,
and the son given to the sons of men, whose name is " Won-
derful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father,
and The Prince of peace ;" I, even /, restored zchat J took not
azcay. Again, (4.) You have the voluntariness and frankness
of the deed. No man is obliged to make restitution of what
is taken away by another, unless he docs it of his own ac-
cord. Well, says Chiist, though I took it not away, yet I
made restitution of the robbery and stealth that was com-
mitted ; I engaged to do it in the council of peace," " Lo, 1
come: I delight to do thy will," &c. Again, (5.) We have
hero the time when our glorious ImmanucI made this resti-
tution of what he took not away. It was, Then I restored
what, &c., when his enemies were destroying him ; when they
were robbing him of his name, and robbing him of his very
life, he restored what was taken away by robbery from men.
XXXVI.] AND RESTITUTION MADE, BOTH TO GOD AND MAN. 135
You will see how low our blessed Lord descended to make
this restitution, and when it was ; it was, in the first verse,
when the waters of God's wrath were comins; into his soul,
even then, sa3's he, I restored that which I took vol au-ay. Now,
from the words thus briefly opened, the doctrine that I take
notice of is shortly this : —
DocT, " That it was the great design of the Son of God,
when he descended into a state of humiliation here, in this
lower world, to make restitution both to God and to man, of
what he never took away." For as there was a robbery com-
mitted upon God and upon man by sin and Satan ; so our glo-
rious Redeemer, makes a restitution of the stolen goods : he re-
stores both to God what was his due, and to man what he
had lost.
Now, in the prosecution of this doctrine, if time and strength
would allow, the method that I propose is,
I. To premise two or three things for clearing of the way.
II. To inquire into the stolen goods, what it was that was
taken away both from God and man.
III. I would make it appear, that our glorious Immanuel.
makes restitution of what was taken away both from God
and from man ; he restores to God his due, and to man his
loss,
IV. I would show when it was that our Lord did this ; for
it is said here, The?! I restored.
V. I would give the reasons why Christ made this restitu-
tion, when he was under no manner of obligation to it, but
his own free will. And then,
VI. Lastly, I would make some application of the whole.
I. ^he first thing proposed is, to premise tzco or three things
for clearivg of the zcay. For clearing of it you would con-
sider,
1. That when God made man, he made him a rich man;
he bestowed all manner of goods upon him, that were neces-
sary to make him live comfortably here, and to make him
eternally happy hereafter.
2. You would consider, that Satan, by this time, having
fallen, like a star, from heaven to earth, when he lighted
upon this world, upon this earth, he presently saw man stand-
ing and acting in the capacity of God's viceroy, bearing h^s
image, and having the whole creation in subjection to him.
This filled the enemy with envy, and therefore he enters into
a resolution, if it were possible, to commit a robbery upon
man, and to strike at God's sovereignty through man's side;
and, accordinglv.
136 A ROBBERY COMMITTED, [SER^
3. Satan prevailed upon our first parents, and beguiled
them into an eating of the tree of knowledge of good and
evil, which God had discharged them to eat upon the pain
of death ; and thereby the compact betv^een God and man (I
mean the covenant of works) was broken.
4. The covenant of works being broken, and man having
entered into a rebellion against God with the devil, he justly
forfeited all the spiritual and temporal goods that God be-
stowed upon him, and likewise lost his title to a happy eter-
nity, and became the enemy's vassal ; and thus the enemy
robbed him of all the goods that God bestowed upon him.
5. Lastly, The eternal Son of God having a delight in the
sons of men, and beholding them in this miserable plight, en-
ters upon a resolution that he will take on man's nature as a
coat of mail, and that he will in man's nature be avenged
upon that serpent that has beguiled our first parents, and
spoiled them of their patrimony. And, accordingly, in the
fulness of time, he comes, and is " manifested to destroy the
works of the devil," and to recover all the stolen goods; "he
spoiled principalities and powers, and triumphed over them
in his cross," and then " divides a portion with the great and
the spoil v\'ith the strong ;" and, with a view to this, it is said
in this text. Then I restored that which I took ?iot azvay. And
so I come to,
11. The secofid thing I proposed, and that was, to hiquire a
little into the robbery that was committed by sm a?id Sata/i, both
upon God and upon ma7i.
And, first, To begin with the robbery that was committed
upon God. It was the devil's great drift, by tempting man to
sin against God, to rob God of his glory. God made all things
for his glory, *' and for his pleasure they are and were cre-
ated." The whole earth, before sin entered into it, was full
of his glory ; and whenever Adam opened his eyes, and looked
abroad through the creation, he saw the glory of God spark-
ling, as it were, in every creature he cast his eyes upon.
Well, the enemy's design was to despoil and rob God of his
glor3^ There is a question put, Mai. iii. 8 : " Will a man rob
God?" will a creature venture to rob his Creator? And yet
this wickedness is perpetrated. God is invaded, and his glory
is in a great measure taken away, I mean his declarative
glory, for it is impossible his essential glory can be invaded.
♦ I will tell you of several things relative to the glory of God,
which were attempted to be taken away, and quite obscured
and sullied by the sin of man.
1. There was an attempt made to rob God of the glory of
his sovereignty, as the great Lord and Lawgiver of heaven
XXXVl.] AND RESTITUTION MADE, BOTH TO GOD AND MAN. 137
and earth. Man, when he sinned against God, and broke the
law in compliance with the motion of the enemy, what was
the language of the deed? It was, " We ourselves are lords,
and will come no more unto thee ;" we will make our own will
a law : " Let the Almighty depart from us ; for we desire not
the knowledge of his way."
2. There was an attempt to rob him of the glory of his
wisdom. The wisdom of God was impeached by the sin of
man as a piece of folly, namely, in giving a law to man, that
was not worthy to be observed. Sirs, depend upon it, every
sin you are guilty of, charges God with folly, and exalts the
will and wisdom of the creature, above the will and wisdom
of God expressed in his holy law. And what a capital crime
is it for poor men to charge God with foolishness !
3. By sin there is an attempt to rob him of the glory of his
power, in regard the sinner gives a defiance to the Almighty,
and upon the matter, says, he is not able to revenge his quar-
rel on us, the arm of his power is withered. That is the lan-
guage of sin. And then,
4. There is a robbery upon God's holiness, which is one
of the most orient and bright pearls of his crown. When
the holy law is violated and transgressed, the language of that
action is, God is like ourselves, he approves of our ways.
Again,
5. There was an attack upon his justice, and a denying
his rectoral power and equity. God says, " The soul that sin-
neth shall die, that he will by no means clear the guiltv-"
Well, but the language of sin is, " God will not require it,"
or he may be pleased or pacified with this or the other petty
atonement.
Not to insist : there was a despising of God's goodness.
God gave man a great estate ; he gave him the whole earth,
and would have given him the heavens also, if he had conti-
nued in his integrity ; but yet all that goodness of God was
trampled under foot by the sin of man.
Also, there was a denial of the faithfulness of God in the
threatening that was denounced against the sin of man, " In
the day that thou eatest of it, thou shall surely die." But the
language of sin is, God is not true to his word, he will not
surely do it ; said Satan, " Thou shall not surely die." Thus
you see there was an' attempt made to rob God of the glory
of all his perfections at once.
Secondly, Let us inquire a -little into the goods that were
stolen from man by sin and Satan. Here we may see a me-
lancholy scene. The glory of the human nature was quite
marred by sin. Man was made the top of the creation ; but
by sin he was brought below the very beasts that perish, so
VOL. III. 13
138 A ROBBERY COMMITTED, [sE?-.
that, " The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's
crib, but nny people know not me, saith the Lord ; and they
do not consider " their obligations to me.
Sin, robbed man of his light and sight. You know what
befell Samson when he was taken captive by his enemies;
they put out his eyes : so when we fell into the enemies' hands,
they put out our eyes, and all mankind have been born blind
since that time. Again, sin has robbed us of our very life,
and laid us among the congregation of the dead. — All man-
kind are a dead and putreticd company, " dead in trespasses
and sins," Eph. ii. 1. — And then, sin has robbed man of his
liberty to any thing that is spiritually good ; and ever since
we have become captives to the devil, the world, and our
lusts. Again, sin has robbed us of our wisdom, and brought
us to prefer folly to the wisdom of God. Every man by na-
ture is playing the fool. Who but a fool would "spend his
money upon that which is not bread, and his labour upon that
which profiteth not?" — Sin robbed us of our righteousness,
and rendered us a company of guilty criminals before God,
and brought us under the sentence of the broken law, co7i~
demned already, John iii. 18. — Sin robbed us of our beauty,
of the beautiful image of God, consisting in holiness and con-
formity to the great Creator, and it has brought the hue of
hell upon all mankind, lying among the pots. — Again, sin
has robbed us of our health. Man was a healthy creature
both in soul and body before the entrance of sin ; but sin has
robbed us of that, so that, "from the crown of the head to
the sole of the toot, there is no soundness in us." — Sin has
robbed us of our peace, and set us at war with God, with
ourselves, with one another, and at war with the whole crea-
tion.— Sin has robbed us of our beautiful ornaments that God
put upon us at our creation, and stripped us naked, as it is
said of Laodicea, Rev. iii. IS. — Sin has robbed us of our
treasure, insomuch that we are become beggars, poor, and
naked. — In short, sin has robbed us of our God, so that vvc
are become " without God in the world." There is a robbery
for you that cannot be paralleled ! You see wdiat was taken
away from God and man, by the sin of man. — I might like-
wise tell you thatsin robbed man of that paradise of pleasure in
which God set hitn at his creation. No sooner had man
sinned through the instigation of Satail, that old serpent, but
he was turned out of the garden of Eden, Gen. iii. 24, and a
flaming sword placed, that turned every way, to keep him
from having access to the tree of life in the midst of the gar-
den.— Sin has robbed us of heaven, and made us heirs of hell
and wrath. — In short, sin lias disordered and disjointed the
whole creation. Whenever man sinned, there came such a
XXXVI.] AND RESTITUTION^ MADE, BOTH TO GOD AND MAN. 139
load upon the earth, through the curse of God, that ever
since the whole creation has been crying in pain, seeking de-
liverance from that dead weight that has been lying upon it.
So that, I say, by the sin of man there is a robbery commit-
ted ; there are goods stolen from God and man, and the good
creatures of God.
III. The third thing proposed was, to make it appear that
our glorious Immanucl, makes a restitution of v^hat was taken
away both from God a?id from man. He restores to God his
due, and restores to man his loss.
And, 1. He makes restitution of glory to God, and that in
the highest measure and degree, as was intimated by the an-
gels, at the nativity of our Lord, Luke ii. 14. The tirst note
of the song of the angels is, " Glory to God in the highest,"
It is just as if they had said, Glor}^ hath been taken away from
God, by the sin of the first Adam and his posterity; but now
there is a higher revenue of glory to be brought in to the
crown of heaven, than the whole creation in innocence could
afford. Accordingly, our blessed Lord declares, when his
work was finished, after he had gone through his course of
humiliation, he comes to his Father, (John xvii. 4,) and he
says, Now, Father, " 1 have glorified thee on the earth." Ob-
serve the phraseology, for there is something remarkable in
it : "I have glorified thee on the earth :" the earth was the
theatre of rebellion where God was aflfronted, his law vio-
lated, and his sovereignty contemned ; but, says he, " 1 have
glorified thee on the earth," where thou wast dishonoured. I
ought to go through all the perfections of God, that were [ob-
scured] by the sin of man, and tell how Christ restores glory
to every one of them.
He restores glory to the divine sovereignty, bowing his
royal neck to take on the yoke of the law which we had
broken. He was " made of a \voman, and made under the
law," that he might magnify it, and so maintain the honour
of the great Lawgiver.
He restores glory likewise to the divine wisdom ; for Christ
himself, in his person and mediation, is just " the wisdom of
God in a mystery," even his " hidden wisdom, the manifold
wisdom of God. Oh sirs! never were the treasures of divine
wisdom and knowledge so much expended as in the person
and mediation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And then, he restores glory likewise to the divine power;
for Christ is " the power of God :" and when he went forth
to the great work of man's redemption, he w^ent forth armed
with infinite power to manage it; therefore he is called "the
arm of God, and the man of God's right hand, whom he hath
made strong for" the purpose of his glory. How gloriously
140 A ROBBERy COMMITTED, [SEK.
was the power of God displayed, when he "came from Edom,
with dyed garments from Bozrah, glorious in his apparel, tra-
velling in the greatness of his strength;" spoiling principahties
and powers, who had spoiled God of his glory, and man of all
that was valuable to him !
He restores glory to the holmess of God. This attribute
was injured by the sin of man, but its glory is restored by
Christ; and there is such a brightness of divine hoHness
shines in the person and mediation of Christ, that when the
angels look upon him. Is. vi., they are dazzled, they are over-
whelmed, not being able to behold it, they cover themselves,
and cry, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts: the whole
earth is full of his s^lorv."
And then, he restores glory to the divine justice; for in the
work of man's redemption, justice gets a complete, and full
satisfaction, till it cries. It is enough. And the justice of God
manifested in the execution of the penalty of the law upon
the Surety, is laid as the very foundation of the throne of
grace, that we are called to come to for grace and mercy to
help in time of need, Psal. Ixxxix. 14: "justice and judg-
ment are the habitation," or establishment, "of thy throne;"
namely, justice satisfied, and judgment executed upon the
glorious Surety.
Again, he restores glory to the divine goodness. God was
good to man, yet man trampled it under foot: but Christ
makes a higher display of the divine goodness than ever- was
seen by men or angels: for in his person, and mediation, and
sufferings, the goodness of God breaks out like an ocean, in
amazing streams of love, grace, and mercy. The love of
God, O how does it shine in the giving his only begotten Son,
to the world ! " Herein is love, not that we loved God, but
that he loved us, and gave his own Son to be a propitiation
for our sins." And then for grace, grace is made to " reign
through righteousness unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ our
Lord." And for mercy, it is " built up for ever." Thus, 1
say, there is a restitution of glory to the divine goodness.
And likewise there is a restitution of glory 1o the divine
faithfulness. The faithfulness of God engaged in the penalty,
was trodden upon by man and tiie devil; but the faithfulness
of God is maintained in the execution of that penalty threat-
ened against man in the person of our glorious Immanuel:
and not only so, but the faithfulness of God comes to heesla-
hlished in the new covenant " in the very heavens:" for all the
promises come to be "yea and amen in Christ, to the glory
of God." Thus you see, that Christ restores what he took
not away from his Father ; he restores " glory to God in the
highest," which he never took away."
2. Let us see next what restitution he makes to man ; for
XXXVI.] AND RESTITUTION MADE, BOTH TO GOD AND MAN. 141
man was robbed of all that was valuable to him, either for
time or eternity.
First, The human nature was debased by sin, and sunk be-
Jow the beasts that perish. Well, but the Son of God comes
and takes the human nature into a personal union with him-
self, and thereby exalts the human nature above the angeli-
cal nature: Heb. ii. 16; " Verily he took not on him the na-
ture of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham."
And, chap. i. 5: "Unto which of the angels said he at any
time. Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee?" And
see what follows, " When he bringeth in the first-begotten
into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God wor-
ship him." Thus the glory of the human nature is restored
and advanced to a far higher pinnacle of glory and honour,
than when it stood in the first Adam before his fall, adorned
with all its embroideries, in a state of innocency. O sirs,
look up and see your nature exalted, taken out of the dung-
hill, and set on the throne of God. The throne of God is
called " the throne of the Lamb," because our nature is there
in a personal union with the great God.
But this is not all : he not only restores the glory of the
Iiuman nature; but, to all who believe in him, he restores to
advantage all the losses we sustain, either by the sin of the
first Adam, or our own personal transgression ; as will appear
by running over the particular losses mentioned upon the
former head.
First, Then, Did sin rob us of our sight and light, and leave
us in darkness? Well, Christ makes a restitution of that; for
he comes forth as the bright and morning star, to give light
to the darkened world, which may make us all sing and say
with Zacharias, Luke i. 78 : " Through the tender mercy of
our God ; whereby the day-spring Irom on high hath visited
us." PsaL cxviii. 27 — 29: "God is the Lord which hath
showed us light ; bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto
the horns of the altar. Thou art my God, and I will praise
thee; thou art my God, I will exajt thee. O give thanks
unto the Lord, for he is good : for his mercy cndureth for
ever,"
Again, Has sin robbed us of life, and left us among the
congregation of the dead? Christ makes restitution of that;
for he is "the resurrection and the life:" and having reco-
vered life by his own death, John xiv, 19, he keeps it in his
hand and heart, and binds up our life with his: "Because I
live, ye shall live also. Our life is hid with Christ in God."
Again, Did sin rob us of our liberty? Christ makes resti-
tution of that ; he buys our liberty at the hand of justice, and
then takes the executioner and binds him, and spoils him of
13*
142 A ROBBERY COMMITTED, [SER.
his power over the poor captive ; and having purchased Hber-
ty, he goes forth and " proclaims liberty to the captives, and
the opening the prison-doors to them that are bound."
Again, Did Satan and sin spoil us of our wisdom, insomuch
that ever since we are infatuated, and, like fools, spend our
money for that which is not bread, and our labour for that
which profitoth not ?" Well, Christ restores wisdom to fools
and babes; he is " made of God unto us wisdom ;" and when
we are determined to come to him, he " makes us wiser than
our teachers ;" wise to know the mysteries of the kingdom
that are " hid from the wise and prudent of the world, and
revealed unto babes :" " Unto you it is given to know the
mysteries of the kingdom of heaven," &c.
And then, again, Did sin spoil and rob us of our original
righteousness? Christ makes restitution of that ; for he him-
self is " the Lord our righteousness," and, " he was made sin
for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the right-
eousness of God in him."
Did sin spoil us of the beautiful image of God '( Christ
makes restitution of that ; for the very moment that a poor
sinner looks to him with the eye of faith, he gets the print of
the second Adam drawn again upon his soul, and it is b}'
" beholding his glory, that we are changed into the same
image."
Did Satan and sin rob us of, and take away our health?
Well, Christ comes to make restitution of that : for he is the
Physician of value, and there is no disease so obstinate as is
able to stand the virtue and healing power of this Physician ;
so that, if we perish with our diseases, we need not do it with
that word in our mouth, " Is there no balm in Gilead, and no
physician there?"
Did Satan spoil us of our peace? Well, Christ makes res-
titution of that; for " he is our peace." Peace on earth was
one of the articles of the angels' praise, " Peace on earth,
and good will towards men." Sin robbed us of our peace
with God. Christ restores that ; for "God is in Christ, recon-
ciling the w'orld unto himself" Did sin rob us of our peace
of conscience? Christ restores that; "Peace I give unto
you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you," &c.
Did sin kindle a tire of war and of strife betwixt man and
man ? Well, when Christ comes with the sceptre of his
power, he makes them " beat their swords into ploughshares,
and tlicir spears into pruning hooks;" ho makes " the wolf
dwell with the lamb, and the leopard lie down with the kid."
Did sin rob us of our ornaments? Christ restores these; he
makes the King's daughter all glorious within; he brings us a
far better garment, even the garment of salvation, and a robe
of righteousness to adorn us.
XXXVI.] AND RESTITUTION MADE, BOTH TO GOD AND MAN. 143
Did sin take away our riches and treasures? Christ opens
up a far better treasure, even tmsearchable riches ; and he tells
us, that " riches are with him, yea, durable riches and right-
eousness."
Did sin rob us of our God, and leave us without God in the
world f Christ makes restitution of that; for what is Christ?
He is Immanuel. And what is that '{ He is God rvith iis.
That may make our hearts rejoice indeed; our God is come
back to us, and is saying, " I am the Lord thy God ; I will be
their God, and they shall be my people." It is a God in
Christ that speaks in such a dialect to poor sinners. Thus
you see, that Christ restores to man what he took not away
from him. I might enlarge much on this subject.
Sin robbed us of our title and charter to eternal life ; when-
ever the covenant of works was broken, our charter was
gone. But Christ restores a better charter, even the covenant
of grace; he himself is "given for a covenant to the people,"
and is the Alpha and Omega of the covenant ; all the promises
and blessings of it are " in him yea and amen." The cove-
nant of works was a frail covenant, a slippery security ; but
the covenant of grace, and the charter granted to us in Christ,
is a lasting charter : Is. liv. 10: "The mountains shall de-
part, and the hills be removed, but my kindness shall not de-
part from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be re-
moved, saith the Lord, that hath mercy on thee."
In short, Christ restores beauty and order again to the
whole creation. Whenever man sinned, there fell such a
dead weight upon the creation, that the whole creation was
like to crumble to its original chaos; but the thing that pre-
vented it was, the Son of God bought this earth, as a theatre,
on which his love to sinners might be displayed ; therefore he
will uphold the theatre till the scene be acted ; and when it
is acted, he will commit it to the flames: there is a word to
that purpose, Is. xlix. 8: "I will preserve thee, and give thee
for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause
to inherit the desolate heritages." The theatre of this earth
was giving way under the weight of the wrath of God ; but
Christ being given as a covenant of the people, upholds the
earth and all things by the word of his power, as it is, Heb.
i. 3.
Thus much for the third thing, which was, to let you see
how Christ makes restitution of these good things which he
never took away from God or from man.
IV. The fourth thing proposed was, to inquire into the time
when Christ did all this: n)hen did he restore that zohich he took
not away 1
144 A ROBBERY COMMITTED, [sEB.
I shall not stay upon this ; 1 pointed at it in the explica-
tion. I told you that it was in a state of humiliation- that he
made this restitution. I cannot stand to tell you of the seve-
ral steps of his humiliation by which he restored what he took
not away. We have a summary description of it, in that
question of the Catechism, 'Wherein did Christ's humiliation
consist '(' The answer is, ' In his being born, and that in a
low condition, made under the law, undergoing the miseries
of this life, the wrath of God, and the cursed death of the
cross; in being buried, and continuing under the power of
death for a time." By these steps of his humiliation, he brought
about the blessed project of redemption. Then was it that
" he restored what he took not away:" Gal. iv. 4, 5: " In the
fulness of time, God sent forth his Son made of a woman,
made under the law, to redeem them tliat were under the
law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." But I do
not stay upon this ; 1 hasten forward.
V. The ftflh thing proposed was, to inquire a Utile into the
reasons of the doctrine. Why zvas it that our Lord restored what
he took not azcay ? Jfhy did he restore these goods that sin and
Sata?i took away both from God and from man? In answer to
this, J only suggest these few particulars: —
1. Christ made this restitution, because it was his Fathers
pleasure that he should do it ; he did always those things that
pleased his Father : " No man taketh my life from me," says
he, " but I lay it down of myself." "This commandment have
I received of my Father."
2. He restored what he took not away, because it contri-
butes very much to enhance his mediatorial glory. Gen.
xiv. — there you read of what Abraham did; he armed his
men, and vveivt in quest of the five kings that had plundered
Sodom; he pursues them, takes them captives, and recovers
the spoil, and restores what not he, but the enemy, had taken
away ; and this was much for Abraham's honour. So it is
to the immortal honour of our glorious Immanuel, that lie pur-
sued, and " spoiled principalities and powers," who had robbed
God and man ; and then lestores to both what they, not he,
had taken away. Upon this account, " God hath highly
exalted him, and given him a name which is above every
name," (fcc.
3. Christ restored what he took not away, out of regard
that he had to the holy law of God. The holy law was vio-
lated, and the sovereignty of God in it was trodden down : but
Christ had a mind to maintain the dignity of the law, it be-
ing an emanation of the holiness of God ; therefore he will
restore a perfect obedience to the law, and bring in an ever-
XXXVI.] AND RESTITUTION MADE, BOTH TO GOD AND MAN. 145
lasting righteousness that answers it to the full, that so a foun-
dation may thus be laid for our legal investiture in the pri-
vileges of children we had lost by sin.
4. Because his " delights were with the sons of men." Sirs,
Christ had a bride in Adam's family to espouse to himself for
ever. God the Father gave him a bride. And when he saw
her in the devil's clutches, he arms himself with divine power,
and rescues the bride : " He loved me, and gave himself for
me." And then, Christ restores what he took not away, that
so the glory of grace miglit be exalted in the salvation of lost
sinners ; and that none might glory in themselves, but that they
that glory may glory in the Lofd. It is not we, but he only,
that makes the restitution, and grace reigns to us through
that restitution that he made.
5. And lastly, Christ restores what he took not away, that
he might " still the enemy and the avenger," as the expression
is, Psal. viii. 2; " the enemy and the avenger," that is, the de-
vil. Sirs, when the devil robbed man, he thought the day
was his own, and triumphed as if the world, and the glory
thereof, were his own, and men led as captive prisoners.
But Christ "stills the enemy;" he stills his boasting; for he
spoils the spoilers, takes the prey from the mighty, and " de-
livers the captives from the terrible."
VI. The sixlh thing proposed was the Applicatio?i.
1. Is it so, as you have been hearing, that Christ restores
what he took not away ? Then, hence see, what a generous
Kinsman we have of him ; he never took away any thing
from us, and yet he restores all to the spoiling of his own
soul, and pouring it out unto death. Oh ! how has the kind-
ness of God to men appeared ! What reason have we to
to adore the achievements of our renowned Redeemer, who
•' went forth conquering and to conquer !"
2. This doctrine serves to let us see into the meaning of
that word, Rom. viii. 3 : '• He condemned sin." Why, or how
did he it '? Why, sin is a robber, it committed a robbery on
God and man ; and is it not just that a robber should be con-
demned to die 1 Well, Christ condemns sin, and yet he saves
the sinner : the sinner deserves to be condemned ; but he
manages the matter so dexterously, that he kills sin, and pre-
serves the sinner.
3. Hence see what a criminal correspondence it is that
the generality of the children of men have with sin. It is
dangerous to haunt and harbour robbers; and yet will you
keep a robber in your bosom. Sin is a robber ; and every
time you sin, it is committing robbery upon God and your own
souls; therefore do not harbour it, "Stand in awe, and sin
not."
146 A ROBBERY COMMITTED, [SER.
4. If sin be such a robber of God and man, then see how
reasonable the command is, to crucify sin, and to mortify the
deeds of the body : " Mortify the deeds of the body ; crucify
the flesh, with its airections and kists." Why crucify them?
Why i<ill and destroy them? They are robbers. Therefore
let us wage war against all manner of sin, whether within us
or without us ; let us " re.^ist even unto blood, striving against
sin," because sin is a robber, and deprives us of all the good
of which you are hearing.
5. From this doctrine see what way Christ takes in order
to carry on his mediatorial woik of making peace betwixt God
and man. There was a robbery committed upon God and
man ; and unless there was a restitution to both parties, there
could be no peace. Well, Christ restores what he took not
away; he restores glory lo God, happiness to man; and so he
carries on his mediatorial work; for when both parties have
restitution, then there is peace. Christ makes an end of sin,
for he is " the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the
world." And why takes he it away ? It is, that so peace
may be restored between God and man, restitution being
made to both.
G. From the doctrine we may likewise see, that the be-
liever in Christ is the wisest man in the world, however the
world may look upon him as a fool. Why? because he
comes to Christ, and gets restitution of all the losses he suf-
fered either by the sin of the tirst Adam or his own. "No
wonder he be a thriving man, because he gets his losses
made up in Christ; for he comes, and " out of his fulness re-
ceives grace for grace," and gets " wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification, and redemption," irom the Lord Jesus.
7. See the folly and madness of the sin of unbelief. The
generality of the hearers of the gospel vv'ill not come to Christ
to get restitution of what they lost by Adam and their own
sin; John v. 40: "Ye will not come to me, that ye might
have life." O what folly is this! If you had lost any of your
worldly goods at the last rebellion, how readily would you
seek restitution, if it were to be had? And yet such fools are
the mo>it part of sinners under the gospel, that though Christ
counsels, calls, and beseeches them to come and get restitu-
tion of their God, of their life, and all losses, yet they will
not hear, Psal. Ixxxi. 11 : " My people would not hearken to
my voice," &c.
8. See the folly of the legalist, who goes about to make
restitution to God, and to himself, of what was taken away
by sin. The legalist, like the proud Pharisee, comes to God
with liis filthy rags, and thinks to please God with this and
that obedience. But, 0 sirs ! consider, that " by the works
XXXVI.] AND RESTITUTION MADE, BOTH TO GOD AND MAN. 147
of the law no flesh living can be justified;" you will never
repair your own losses, nor the dishonour you have done to
God, but only by coming to Christ, who is "the end of the
law for righteousness to every one that believeth."
I should next improve the doctrine by a use of Trial. Try
whether you have ever come by faith to a second Adam, and
found in him a reparation of your losses by the sin and apos-
tacy of the first Adam. They who find Christ himself, have
found all, for " Christ is all, and in all." " All things are yours ;
whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cej)has, or the world, or life,
or death, or things present, or things to come ; all are yours;
for ye are Christ's ; and Christ is God's." They who find
him, find the goodly pearl, a treiisure of unsearchable riches;
and therefore cannot but reckon all their losses made up to
wonderful advantage. And, if so, whatever appeared gain
to you formerly, will be esteemed "loss for Christ;" yea,
doubtless, you will count all but dung and " loss for Christ,"
that you may know him, win him, and be found in him. You
will be dead to the law, and the works of it. being married
to a better husband, whose name is, " The Lord our right-
eousness;" for "in him shall all the seed of Israel be justi-
fied, and shall glory." Again, if you have found reparation
in Christ, you will wage a continual war with sin and Satan;
you will resist the devil, and resist even to blood, striving
against sin. These robbers never come but to spoil you of
some good, in whatever disguise they may appear. And if
you have received any love-tokens from t!ie Lord on this oc-
casion, you may lay your account with an attack ; the pirates
pursue and attack the ship with the richest cargo. Lastly,
Whenever the enemy has prevented and [deprived] you of
your comforts, you will fly to Christ for restitution, saying,
with David, " llestore unto me the joy of thy salvation," for
he it is who restores what he took not away.
I close with a v.'ord of Exhortalio?}.
Sirs, I have a proclamation to issue forth in the name
of the Loan Immanuel. Be it known to you, by these
presents. That whereas two great robbers have entered into
the world, namely, sin and Satan, and have stolen away all
the valuable goods which once pertained to Adam and his
family, by which they are all reduced to the utmost poverty
and misery; it has pleased God the Father, from the love he
bears to mankind-sinners, to send his only begotten Son into
the world, to repair all their losses, and to restore what he
took not away. Accordingly, the eternal Son of God has
come into the world, and having armed himself with the hu-
man nature and divine power, he has gone forth and pursued
148 A ROBBERY COMMITTED, [SER/
the robbers, and taken Satan captive, and bruised his head,
and destroyed that destroyer of mankind ; he " hath finished
transgression, and made an end of sin, and hath brought in an
everlasting righteousness," and has recovered all the goods
that the robbers had taken away, all the goods and gear
men lost; has recovered them v^'itli wonderful advantage;
and the goods are all in his hand, and he has sent out us,
who are liis ambassadors, to cause all mankind to see what
losses they have sustained ; and whoever have lost any thing,
their God, and their souls, heaven and happiness, he is will-
ing to restore it to mankind, and that without any [compen-
sation ;] for he will do it without money and without price.
Come, and get your own again; for Christ " hath received
gifts for men," for the sons of men. O come, come, come,
sirs, and get from the glorious Restorer what you have lost,
what you stand in need of, through time and eternity ! O
come and get your life, your God, and your souls again for
a prey !
Since the rebellion [instigated by the Pretender to the
crown of England] commenced, many a man lias lost very
much; some have lost their land, some (heir houses, some
their legs, and some their arms, and many their lives. And
now, if the Duke of Cumberland, the King's son, should issue
forth a proclamation, to every man to come and get his losses
repaired in his Father's name, I believe you would not be
shy to put in your name, and tell that you have lost this and
that. Well, the Son of the King of heaven, the great Jeho-
vah, has all his Father's treasures in his hand, and he has
sent us to tell you to come and get your losses repaired. O
sirs, what are men's temporal losses in comparison with their
soul losses ! " What is a man profited, though he should gain
the whole world, and lose his own soul?" Well, come and
" get your souls for a prey" from the Son of God.
I might make use of many motives to persuade you. Pray
consider only the goods you lost are in Christ's hand, and that
they are in his hand that they may be restored again to you.
He invites you to come: " Incline your ear, and come unto
me," &c. He not only invites you, but counsels you: "I
counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire," that is, I
counsel you to get your losses restored. He not only coun-
sels you, but commands you : " This is his commandment,
that ye believe in his Son Jesus Christ." He not only com-
mands, but he promises; he gives all manner of security that
your losses shall be made up, if you come to him for a repa-
ration, Psal. ixxii. 4 : " He shall judge the poor of the peo-
ple, he shall save the children of the needy." Come, then,
XXXVI.] AND RESTITUTION MADE, BOTH TO GOD AND MAX. 149
poor and needy sinner. He is grieved to (he heart when
sinners will not come and get their losses repaired; he was
grieved when Jerusalem would not be gathered as a hen
gathereth her chickens under her wings. I will tell you,
many a man has got his losses repaired ; an innumerable
company have got restitution from him, Rev. vii. 9: "I be-
held, and lo, a great multitude, which no man could number,
of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood
before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white
robes, and palms in their hands." Now, when others have
come and got reparation, will not you come and get repara-
tion too?
O sirs, consider what you are doing. Mind, there is no
hope of reparation after death ; but if you come for repara-
tion, \ ou must come now to the King's»Son ; therefore, " To-
day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in
the provocation."
U()on this last day of the feast, I cry to all mankind, if my
voice, could reach them, to come and get their losses repaired
by the Son of God, who reslores thai which he look not azcay.
Do not say, " I am rich, and increased with goods, and stand
in need of nothing ;" for I can assure you, that he who is in-
finitely wise, and knows you better than you do yourselves,
declares, that you are " poor, miserable, wretched, blind,
and naked," through the robbery that sin has committed. —
Say }''ou, I cannot get time to come, because of worldly bu-
siness. But let me tell you, that your worldly business is
but a mere trifle in comparison with this; therefore make all
other business but by-business in comparison with this " one
thing needful." — Says another, I w-ill get time enough after-
wards. I will tell vou, delays are dangerous; what know
you, man, what a day may bring forth ? Death may come,
and then you are gone for ever through eternity. — Says an-
other, I am afraid the time is gone already, and that he will
not make a reparation of my losses. No, sirs, I will tell you,
that while there is life there is hope, and the Son of God is
at the back of your heart, crying, " Behold, I stand at- the
door, and knock : if any man" (out of hell) " hear my voice,
and open to me, I will come in to him, and will sup with
him, and he with me." — But 0, say you, I fear my losses are
irreparable. I will tell you, poor sinner, as broken a ship
has come to land, as we use to say ; as great sinners as you
have got a reparation of their losses, and a full pardon to
the boot. What think you of Manasseh, and Mary Magda-
lene, and Paul ] The same hand that repaired their losses
is ready to repair yours ; " his hand is not shortened,
that it cannot save," &-c. — Says another, What if I be not
VOL. III. 14 t
150 A ROBBERY COMMITTED, &C. [sER.
among the number of the elect ? I answer, You have nothing
to do with election ; for " secret things belong unto the Lord,
but that which is revealed unto us and our children." Elec-
tion does not belong directly and immediately to the business
of believing, but only things revealed: and if revealed things
belong to us, then put in your claim: for " the promise is to
you and your seed." — Say you, 1 am impotent, and cannot
come. I answer. That was one of the losses Christ came to
restore ; " he gives strength to the weak, and to them that
have no might he increaseth strength." — Say you. My will
is as an iron sinew, it will not answer. Answ. He that re-
stores that which he took not away, offers to restore your
good heart, and your will ; " Thy people shall be willing in
the day of thy power." Ezek. xxxvi. 20 : "I will take away
the heart of stone, and give you a heart of flesh." — Says an-
other, 1 would fain come to get my losses repaired, but I
think when 1 come to him he [would thrust] me away. Do
not think so; lor he says, "Whosoever will come to me, I
will in no wise cast out." When he frowns upon you, and
calls you a dog, be as the Syrophenician woman, do not give
over, and you shall prevail, " Truth, Lord, 1 am a dog, yet
the dogs eat of the crumbs that fall from their master's table ;"
the Lord repaired her losses, and granted her all the desires
of her heart.
I should conclude with a word to believers, who have got
their losses repaired by (he glorious Immanuel. I only say
two or three things to you by w'ay of advice. (L) O sing
praises to the blessed Restorer, " O my soul, bless the Lord,
who hath redeemed thy life from destruction, and crowned
thee with loving-kindness and tender mercies," Psal. ciii, 1 —
4. (2.) Whenever you meet with new losses, come back to
the blessed llestorer. Satan will be about with you, he goes
about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour, and
to take away any good you have got on this solemn occasion ;
but when the enemy has robbed you, I say, come back to
Christ by faith, and you will find restitution again. Again,
mv advice to you is, O love the Lord with your heart, strength,
and mind ; let him have the strength and flower of your af-
fection, lay nothing in the balance with him; and, as an evi-
dence of your love, keep his commandments, " walk worthy
of the Lord, to all well pleasing," " contend for the faith once
delivered to the saints;" study, with the church, to '• cause
his name to be remembered to all generations, that the peo-
ple may praise him for ever and ever," who restored xchat he
look Jiot azvay.
XXXVII.] god's regard to worthless man. 151
S EM MO IV XXXVII.
WORTHLESS MAN MUCH REGARDED BY THE MIGHTY
GOD.*
Lord, what is man, that thou takest knowledge of him? or the son of man,
that thou makest account of him. — Psal. cxny. 3.
Here is a question put, that is both answerable and un-
answerable ; it is both easy and difficult : it is easy to tell
what man is, for the end of his perfection is soon discovered ;
but why God takes knowledge of man, or makes so great ac-
count of him, as to heap his favours on him, is a thing that
God only can best account for. David, in the two preceding
verses, dec lares, _^rs<, what a reconciled God in Christ was to
him, and makes it the ground of his praise and triumph: 1.
Says he, My God is my strength ; he is the strength of Israel,
the glory of their strength. However feeble and weak the
saints be in themselves, yet " their Redeemer is strong, the
Lords of hosts is his name." O " blessed is the man whose
strength is the Lord Jehovah, with whom there is everlasting
strength ;" for " he shall go from strength to strength, till he
appear before the Lord in Zion," &c. 2. His God was his
goodness; for "there is none good but one, that is, God;"
who, as he is the chief good himself, so he is truly good to
Israel; good to them that wait upon him, and to the soul that
seeks him. And whatever goodness is in any of the sons of men,
6v saints of God, he is the glorious source and fountain of it ;
for " every good and perfect gift cometh down from above,"
from an infinitely good God, &c. 3. His God was his for-
ti'ess and his high tower. David saw himself in God, as a
man is in his castle, that can look down on all his enemies
with contempt : and lience we find him frequently expressing
himself with the greatest confidence of safety ; " I will not be
afraid of ten thousands of mine enemies against me round
about :" O ! who can hurt them that have "the eternal God
for their refuge, and his everlasting arms underneath them?'
• Preached upon a thanksgiving day, after the sacrament, in Dunfermline,
Monday, July, 1737.
152 god's regard to worthless man. [seh.
4. His God was his deliverer. Many a danger David had
been in, from Saul, fronn AI)salonr), and his other enemies;
but his God had always interposed for his preservation ; pro-
bably he may have his eyes upon the great deliverance that
God wrought for him, and all his saints, by Jesus Christ, in
finding a ransom for him, that he might not go down to the
pit, &c. 5. His God was his shield : as a shield in the day
of battle defends against darts and arrows that are shot against
a man's body, and wards oif' the blows that are levelled
against him; so his God has protected him against the mali-
cious arrows of reproach and malice, &c. 6. His God had
made him a skilful and successful soldier: his hands had been
used to the shepherd's crook, and the musician's harp; but
God had taught " his hands to war, and his fingers to tight,"
and to lead and head the armies of Israel, &c. 7. His God
had taught him not only to manage the sword, but to sway
the sceptre; (in the close of verse 2.) "He suhducth my
people under me." He who had ordained him to be king of
Israel, in the room of Saul, swayed the hearts of all the tribes
to acknowledge him as their king and ruler; just so he, in a
day of power, bends and bows the wills and minds of men to
submit to the government of the Son of David. Christ Jesus,
every one crying, Thou hast delivered us out of the hands of
our enemies, therefore rule thou over us.
Well, David having thus viewed the goodness of God to
him, and remembering the greatness, glory, and majesty of his
Benefactor, ^vho had done all this for him; extends his views
to the goodness of God to mankind in general, and especially
to the saints, and cries out, in a rapture of wonder, in the
words of my text, Lord, ivhtd is man, that thou takcst knoideclge
of him ! and the son of man, that thou mukest account of him!
So then the words are a question of admiration. And more
particularly we may note, 1. The subject-matter of the
question, and that is man; earthly man, as some read it; man
that is " sprung of earth, and whose foundation is in the dust;
man who was made a little lower than the angels," but who
is now sunk into the greatest ignominy and contempt, by his
apostacy from God. 2. We have a question of contempt put,
concerning this creature, man, or the son of man, what is he?
or " wherein is he to be accounted of?" W^e may hear the
solution of this question afterwards. 3. Notice to whom this
question is proposed; it is to the Lord: Lord, rr/iat is man?
" The Lord is a God of knowUnlge," and " there is no search-
ing of his understanding:" he " needs not that any should
testify of man to him;" he knows the inward value of persons,
things, and actions: God has balances in which he weighs all
mankind, and therefore he can well tell what man is; " he
XXXVII.] god's regard to worthless max. 153
searcheth the hearts, and trieth the reins of the children of
men and knows far better what you and 1 are, than we do
ourselves. 4. We have the ground and reason of this inquiry
concerning man ; it is the knowledge that God takes, and the
account God makes, of such an inconsiderable creature, that
" the high and lofty One, who inhabiteth eternity, and who
dwelleth in the high and holy place, that he should " bow his
heavens, and come down," to visit man in a way of love.
Observe, " That the regard that God shows to man is truly
wonderful and surprising."
This I take to be the plain import of the question. We
have the like question put, Job vii. 17, 18: "What is man
that thou shouldest magnify him? and that thou shouldest set
thine heart upon him 1 and that thou shouldest visit him every
morning, and try him every moment ?" Psal. viii. 3, 4 :
" When I consider the heavens, the work of thy fingers, the
moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained ; what is man
that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou
visitest him." These are down-bringing questions. It is ob-
servable in scripture, that questions, when they are put con-
cerning God, are intended to raise our affections and ad-
miration to the highest. So, Exod. xv. 11: ''Who is like
unto thee, O Lord, among the gods?" and Micah vii. 18:
" Who is a God like unto thee ?" These are uplifting ques-
tions. But when the question is concerning man, it brings
him down in his own eyes to nothing, " that no flesh may
glory in the presence of God."
Now, in discoursing on this doctrine, through the Lord's as-
sistance, I shall endeavour,
I. To give a scriptural solution of this diminutive and
down-bringing question, What is man?
II. What is imported in God's regarding man, or making
account of him.
III. Wherein God discovei's his regard to man ?
IV. Show that this is truly wonderful and surprising.
V. Apply.
I. The first thing is to give a scriptural solution of this
question, JVhat is man ? for we can never wonder at and ad-
mire the regard that God shows to man, until we know what
man is. Come, then, sirs, let us weigh ourselves in the ba-
lances of the sanctuary, and see what we are; \st, As crea-
tures ; 2f//y, As fallen creatures.
\sl. What is man, as he is a creature of God ? Why, trace
him to his first original, he is but a piece of modified dust, en-
14*
^^^ god's regard to worthless max. [ser.
livened with the breath of God: Adam signifies earth, and
red earth, Gen. ii. 7 : " The Lord God formed man of the
dust of the ground." Hence is that of the apostle, 1 Cor. xv.
47 : "The first Adam was of the earth, earthy ;" also that of
the prophet Jeremiah, who, addressing himself to Israel, cries
out, " O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord," &c.
Again, Jfhat is ma?i? He is in scripture reckoned a poller's
vessel, that is easily dashed and broken : " Hath not the potter
power over the clay of his hand, to make one vessel unto ho-
nour, and another unto dishonour?" Rom. ix. 21, and Psal.
11. 9; Christ " will dash all his enemies in pieces, as a potter's
vessel." If you ask farther. What is man? the prophet
Isaiah will tell you that he is but grass ; Is. xl. G— 8 : "The
voice said, Cry. And he said. What shall I cry ? All flesh
is grass, and the goodliness thereof as the flower of the field.
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, because the Spirit of
the Lord bloweth upon it : surely the people is grass." What
is all this multitude here present, but just a fickle grass: for
as grass springeth out of the earth, and falls down again to
the earth, so shall we and all living; and then "the place
that knows us shall know us no more." If you ask again,
m>ai is man ? the Spirit of God will tell, Is. xl'lS : That " all
mankind is before God but as the drop of the bucket, and the
small dust that will not turn the scales of a balance," nobody
regarding it ; and yet all mankind before the Lord is no more.
Oh then, fVhat is man, that God should lake knouledge of him 1
If you ask yet again. What is man before the Lord ? W'hy,
you have an answer that reduces man, and all nations of men,
into nothing. Is. xl. 17: "All nations before him are as no-
thing." Can any thing be less than nothing? yea, it is added
in the close of that verse, " They are accounted before him
less than nothing, and vanity." And thus you see an answer
to that question. What is man, considered as a creature?
But,
2r////, What is man as a fallen creature? Man, even in
his best estate, is altogether vanity before (iod: what then is
he in his worst estate ? " God planted liim a noble vine, but
he is become the degenerate plant of a strange vine." Let
us consider what he is in this respect: a creature he is, in-
deed ; but then he is the worst of all creatures, through sin;
for if we search out his character from the record of God, we
shall find him described, 1. To be a diseased creature, over-
run with a loathsome leprosy, " from the crown of the head
to the sole of the foot :" (he disease of sin has invaded the
very vitals, insomuch that the very mind and conscience is
defiled and wasted, &c. Hence it follows, 2. That man,
iallen man, is become an ugly and loathsome creature, Job
XXXVII.] god's regard to worthless man. 155
XV. 16: "How much more abominable and filthy is man,
which drinketh iniquity like water ?" Sin is called " the abomi-
nable thing that" God's soul " hates." Oh ! how abominable
then is man, who is nothing else than a mass of sin, a com-
pound of all manner of iniquity 1 3. What is man i He is
an impotent and a helpless creature, without strength, " like
the helpless infant cast out into the open field," Ezek. xvi.
Men may talk of the power of nature, and of their ability
to convert and turn themselves, as they have a mind; but, if
we believe the Spirit of God, speaking by the Son of God, he
will tell us that " no man can come unto him, except the Fa-
ther who sent him draw him." What can a new-born infant
do for its own help, cast out into the open field 1 Of all crea-
tures it is the most helpless and impotent; and yet this is
man's condition in his natural state. 4. What i-i mu7i ? Why,
the Spirit of God will tell you that he is a rebellious; creature ;
that he has lifted up arms against his great Lord ; broken his
allegiance to God, and joined in a confederacy with the devil
against God. With proud Pharaoh, " we have disowned God,
saying, Who is the Lord, that I should obey him V Numb.
XX. 10: "Hear now, ye rebels, must we fetch you water out
of this rock ?' &c. 5. What is man, fallen man 7 Why, he
is a condemned creature, under sentence from the great Judge
of heaven and earth : " He that believeth not is condemned
already, and the wrath of God abideth on him,".&c. Con-
demned by God, condemned by the law, condemned by con-
science, &:c. 6. What is mari, fallen man? Why, he is a
noxious and a hurtful creature: (he has hurt the creation of
God ; " Cursed is the ground for thy sake," says the Lord to
Adam ;) a cumberer of the ground ; " Yea, the whole creation
groaneth and travaileth in pain, under the burden of his sin."
7. He is a noisome creature, that has a filthy smell in the
nostrils of God, angels, and saints ; and therefore compared
to the stench of a green opened grave, that is ready to raise
the pestilence: "Their throat," says David, speaking of the
wicked, "• is an open sepulchre, and the poison of asps is un-
der their tongue." Yea, we find fallen man compared to
those creatures that are most hurtful to us : he is compared
to a toad, a serpent, an asp, a tiger, a lion, and the like hurt-
ful beasts. 8. What is man, fallen man 1 Why, he is a dead
creature, Eph. ii. 1 : " And you hath he quickened who were
dead in trespasses and sins:" Now, what account do we make
of the dead ? They are buried out of the sight of the living;
"Bury my dead out of my sight," said Abraham of Sarah;
so what account should God make of dead sinners, who are
destitute of the life of grace? but bury them out of his sight
in hell. Thus I have told you some things in answer to that
156 god's regard to worthless man. [ser.
question, What is man ? and told you what he is, as he is a
creature, and as he is a sinner, or a fallen creature. And,
after all, is there not good ground for this question in my
text. What is man, that thou takest knowledge of him 1 or the
son of man, that thou makest account of him ?
II. The second thing. What is imported in this regard that
God shows to man, and the son of man ? He is here said to
take knowledge of him, to make account of him. Ansio. It
implies, 1. That, for as low, mean, and miserable a creature
as man is, yet he is not beyond God's notice and observation.
•' I saw thee," says the Lord, " when no eye pitied, when thou
wast cast out and polluted in thy blood." When Adam hid
himself in the bushes of paradise, " the eyes of the Lord were
upon him." He saw what a pitiful pickle he was in and all
mankind in him. So, Gen. vi. 5: " God saw that the wicked-
ness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagina-
tion of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."
2. What is man, that thou takest knowledge of him? It implies
that the regard God shows to man docs not flow from any
thing in himself, that there is no excellency whatever in him,
to recommend him to God, neither birth nor beauty, nor
riches, nor wisdom, no qualification at all that is desirable.
W^hen God takes knowledge of his elect in a way of mercy,
what are they, but children of wrath, as well as others? dead
in sin : and therefore, " it is not of him that willeth, nor of him
that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy." 3. What is
man? &c. It implies, that, whatever regard God shows to
man, it is the fruit of his own free grace, and sovereign will"
and pleasure : " By grace are ye saved through faith, and
that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. I will heal their
backslidings ; I will love them freely," Hos. xiv. 4. Hence,
all the promises of the covenant, run in the tenor of sove-
reignty, no other reason being given for them, but that of his
own sovereign will. " I will be their God, and they shall be
my people. I will sprinkle them with clean water, and they
shall be clean ; from all their tilthiness and idols will I cleanse
them. A new heart also will I give you," ifcc. 4. JVhat is
man ? It implies, that God has no need of man, nor of any
of his services ; Job xxii. 2 : " Can a man be profitable unto
God, as he that is wise may be profitable unto himself? Is
it any pleasure to the Almighty that thou art righteous ? or
is it gain to him that thou makest thy ways perfect?" From
whence it is plain, that God makcth not account of man. as
that he could be profitable or advantageous to him. Oh,
sirs ! let us not fancy that God is obliged to us for our pray-
ing, reading, hearing, obedience, or communicating : no, no ;
XXXVII.] god's regard to worthless man. 157
God needs neither us nor our services, &c. 5. What is man?
It implies, that God's mercy and love to man, and the son of
man, is of a preventing nature : man is not seeking after God
when he takes knowledge of him in a way of mercy. What
knowledge was the poor infant taking of the Lord, when the
Lord took knowledge of it, Ezek. xvi. 4 — 6 ; Is. Ixv. 1 : " I
am sought of them tliat asked not after me, I am found of
them that sought me not." Oh, sirs, ! none of Adam's race
would ever look after God, did not God look after us : yea,
so far are we from seeking after God, that we are running
farther and farther away from him, until he seek and find us,
Is. Ixii. 12 : " Thou shall be called sought out." God sought
out and prevented Paul in the way to Damascus, when he
had little tjioughts of the Lord : he sought out Zaccheus, and
every soul is sought out by preventing grace, &c. 6. What
is manl It implies, that Whatever man be, however despi-
cable, low, and inconsiderable, yet God treats him as if he
were some great and considerable person. Hence he is said
to magnify him in that forecited. Job vii. 17: " What is man
that thou niagnilicst him?" he makes an account of him, as
if he were something worth. But this leads me to,
III. The third thing in the method, which was to show,
wherein God discovers such a regard to maji and the soti of
man ? And here, as matter of praise upon a thanksgiving day ;
let us coiVixAQT first, The regard that God shows to all men in
common ; seco?2cUij, The regard he shows to his chosen gene-
ration, his peculiar people.
First. I say, let us take a short view of the regard that
God shows in common to all men, and that both in creation
and providence, l^^, Let us observe what regard God showed
to man, the petty, poor creature, at his creation. He builds
a stately hou^e, and provides it with all necessary furniture,
before he gave him a being. He rears up the beautiful fabric
of heaven and earth for his use. He " gives the sun to rule
by day, and the moon to rule by night," that by these lumi-
naries he might see about him, and behold the other works
of God. He spreads out the heavens as a curtain and canopy
over his head, and studs and embellishes it with an innume-
rable multitude of glittering stars, like so many stones of fire.
He plants the garden of Eden with all manner of trees, and
plants, and fruits. He calculates and adjusts the creation, to
gratify both his sensitive and rational appetite: he makes co-
lours to please his eye, sounds to please his ear, delicious fruits
and meats to gratify his taste, and savoury smells his scent :
he frames wonders in heaven above, and earth below, for his
reasonable soul to pry and wade into with pleasure and de-
158 god's regard to worthless man. [ser.
light. Thus, I say, God discovers his regard to man, by
building and furnishing a lodging for him, belbrc he had given
him a being. But, 2dly, Let us consider the rcgard^God
shows to man in the course of his common providence, and
that notwithstanding his apostacy from the state in which he
was created. 1. Then, although we be all transgressors from
the very womb, yet he continues a succession of men upon the
face of the earth : what a wonder was it, that upon the first
sin of Adam, he did not hew down the root of mankind, and
throw him into hell, in order to prevent the sprouting up of
so many branches that have sprung off him, bearing the bit-
ter fruits of sin and rebellion against God'? and yet, in his
wonderful patience and long-sufJering, he continues a race of
mankind upon earth, when he could, with so much ease, rid
himself of his adversaries, and avenge himself of his enemies.
O ! rohat is man ? 2. Let us see the wonderful care that God
has in and about the formation of man in the womb. What
accession had you, or I, or yet our parents, in giving us these
hands and feet, and other bodily members? how came it
about, that these members^and bodily parts are so well shaped,
and that we were not born monsters? why, it is the hand of
Providence that moulded and fashioned us after this manner.
David, Psal. cxxxix. 14, observes this with praise and grati-
tude ; "I am fearfully and wonderfully made." 3. When-
ever man is brought into the world, although he is the most
helpless creature in himself, yet he has provided the best of
help to cherish and preserve him He not only helps us into
the world, and keeps us from being stifled in the birth, but
he provides the knees to dandle, and the breasts to suckle us.
He not only inspired our parents with tender care and aflfec-
tion towards us in our non-age and infancy ; but he himself,
as a tender parent, nourished and brought us up, preserving
and providing for us, giving us our daily bread, and all the
necessaries and conveniences of life. Have any of us com-
fortable dwellings in a family capacity ? why, it is " God that
sets the solitary in families." Have any of you a stock of
"children like olive plants round about your table?" why,
" children are God's heritage, and the fruit of the womb his
reward." Have you riches and worldly substance? why,
this is of the Lord, as he tells Israel : " It is his blessing that
maketh rich?" it is the Lord that giveth you power to be
rich. lias he given to any worldly honours and preferments?
it is " God that setteth up one, and castcth another down."
Oh ! how does God follow man with goodness and mercy
every year, and every day and moment ! How quickly would
all flesh be starved to death, if he did not open his large
granaries every year, causing the earth to produce the grain
XXXVII.] god's regard to worthless man. 159
that nourishes us, and other creatures ! The psalmist David
observes this as a matter of praise, Fsal. cxlv. 15, 16 : " The
eyes of all wait upon thee, and thou givest them their meal
in due season; thou openest thy hand, and satisliest the de-
sire of every living thing." Oh, how wonderful is it, to be-
hold the connexion of causes that God has established ! how
he has linked heaven and earth together, by his povi'erful
hand, in order to the maintaining of man upon earth ! Hos.
ii. 21, 22: "And it shall come to pass in that day, I will
hear, saith the Lord, I will hear the heavens, and they shall
hear the earth, and the earth shall hear the corn, and the
wine, and the oil, and they shall hear Jezreel." Oh ! what
is ma?i, or the son of man, that the great wheels of the crea-
tion should be carried about for his benefit and sustenance?
And, to conclude this head of common providence, and the
kindness God shows to man there, let us observe, how the
innocent creatures that never sinned against God, nor vio-
lated the laws of their creation, are every day slaughtered
for the use of rebel nothing man ; the fishes of the sea, the
fowls of the air, the beasts of the field, their lives sacrificed to
sustain the life of man, who has forfeited his title to all good
things, either in this world or the world to come. Oh, what
a favourite must man be above the rest of the creatures?
And, so valuable is the life of man, that he has made it one of
the ten commandments of the moral law, binding to all gene-
rations, that none shall kill man, or take away his life, till his
own immediate hand put an end and period to it. Life shall
go for life ; " Whosoever sheddeth man's blood, by man shall
his blood be shed :" and that for this good reason, because that
" after the image of God created he him." Oh, may not this
short hint of the kindness of God to man, running out in the
channel of common providence, make us to cry with David
here in the text. Lord, zchat is ma?j ? &c. But, to pass this
head of God's common goodness to man, in creation and
providence :
Secondly, Let us next take a view of the good of his chosen,
that we may triumphantly praise with his inheritance upon
a day of thanksgiving. And here, believers, worthy commu-
nicants, let me turn even the doctrine into a word of exhorta-
tion, and call you, in the words of the psalmist, upon a thanks-
giving day. " Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, and
give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness." And, to
excite and engage you to this duty, you will consider with
me a little, what knowledge the great God has taken of you,
and what account he has made of you by the outgoings of
his love. 1. Before time. 2. In time. 3. After time ends,
in eternity.
160 god's regard to worthlkss man. [seb.
1. I say will you take a view of his love and kindness to-
wards you before lime, and let that engage you to cry, What
is man that thou takest knowledge of him, and of me in par-
ticular? (I.) Then I say, Let us run l)ack to the ancient
years of eternity, and see how the kindness and love of God
to man, did appear then; " when God looked upon you in
your blood, he said unto you, Live, and your lime was a time
of love." Oh! is it not wonderful to see electing love, pass-
ing by the fallen angels, and resting upon such a poor pitiful
creature as fallen sinful man? And when he passed by kings
and princes, noble, and wise, and rich, and many thousands
that the v^orld would think would have been the objects of
his love, he passed by them, and pitched upon thee, a poor
creature that nobody regards. Oh 1 is not thy soul saying,
"What am I, that God has taken such knowledge of me?
that he should have loved me with an everlasting love? that
he should l)ave chosen me before the foundations of the world?
and predestinated me to the adoption of children, by Jesus
Christ to himself?" (2.) The decree of electing love being
past, a method must be found out for thy salvation, consistent
with the honour of the law and justice of God : and, there-
fore, as if ma?i, and the so?i of man, had been some great
creature, and thou in particular, believer, a council of the
Trinity must be called to advise the matter; and thus the
plan of thy salvation was laid. — ' Oh,' says the eternal Fa-
ther, ' my love is set upon a remnant of Adam's family, and
I have |)roposed to save them, and to bring tliem to glory :
but oh, how shall 1 put them among the children? I see that
they will violate my law, and become liable to my wrath
and justice, and my love to them cannot vent in a prejudice
to justic(!: and therefore. O Son of my eternal love, I set
thee u|), and ordain thee to assume their nature in the ful-
ness of lime: a body for this end have I piepared for thee,
that thou mayest, as their Surety and Redeemer, fulfil my
law in their room, and satisfy my justice, by the sacrifice of
thy death: and liereupon I promise, that I will stand by thee
in the work; mine arm shall strengthen thee; I will raise
thee from the dead, and set thee on my right hand ; and I
will give them as seed to serve thee, thou shalt be their Head,
their Husband, their Advocate, and Mediator, and thou shalt
reign over them as a peculiar kingdom, ibr ever and for ever.'
— ' I agree with my whole heart to the overture,' says the
eternal Son;' " Lo, I come; in the volume of thy book it is
written of me: I delight to do thy will, O my God; yea,"
this law of redemption " is within my heart;" it is seated in
the midst of my bowels.' — ' Agrees to it,' says the Holy
Ghost : ' I will form his human nature, by my overshadow-
XXXVII.] god's regard to worthless majt. 161
ing power, in the womb of the virgin : I will sanctify his hu-
man nature, and make it a fit residence for the fulness of the
Godhead to dwell in, that, out of that fulness, they may re-
ceive grace for grace : I will take of the things that are his,
and show them unto them; and carry on the work of sancti-
fication in them, till they be brought unto glory.' — Thus, I
say, the plan and method of thy salvation was laid, believer,
in eternity, before the foundations of the world were laid. O
then, shall not the consideration of all this make us cry. Lord,
what is ma?i, that thoii lakest laiowledge of him ? or the son of
man, that thou makest account of him 1
2. Let us come down from eternity to time, and see what
work is made, in the execution of this glorious project of free
grace and love towards man. This world being created, as a
theatre upon which the glorious scene was to be acted ; man
is brought forth into the stage ; a covenant of works transact-
ed between God and him, by the breach of which man is
plunged into an abyss of misery and sin. But no sooner is
he fallen, but the eternal purpose and project of infinite love
and wisdom begins to break forth ; and so the scene of grace
begins to be acted. When man is trembling at the appre-
hensions of being stricken through with the flaming sword of
justice, a promise of relief and deliverance breaks out from
under the dark cloud of wrath, " That the seed of the wo-
man should bruise the head of the serpent." An angry and
otFended God on a sudden becomes Immaivuel, God with us, to
avenge the quarrel upon the old serpent, for the hurt he had
done his viceroy and representative in this lower world.
This grace contained in the first promise, is gradually opened
in promises, types, and prophecies, during the Old Testament
economy; until, according to the concert in the council of
peace, and declared resolution in paradise, the great and re-
nowned champion, the Son of God, actually takes the field;
and having put on the coat of the human nature that his Fa-
ther had provided for him, he works wonders in it for that petty
creature man, that he might bring about his salvation. What
did he '( say you. Ans7o. Oh ! what did he not, that was ne-
cessary to break up the way, and clear the passage to glory
and eternal life, for man ? Why, in so many words (for I can-
not insist on particulars,) by his obedience to the death, " He
finishes transgression, and makes an end of sin ; he makes
reconciliation for iniquity : he brings in an everlasting right-
eousness." He " confirms a new covenant with many : he
makes the sacrifice and oblation to cease," and unhinges the
Mosaic economy; he reveals the council of God concerning
redemption ; opens up the mystery of salvation in his doc-
trine ; confirms it from heaven by a multitude of miracles ;
VOL. III. 15 t
162 god's regard to worthless man. [ser.
" he magnifies the law and makes it honourable ;" he " spoils
principalities and powers, and Iriiimphs over them in his
cross; through death he destroys death, and him that had
the power of death;" he wrests the keys of death out of the
devil's hand, and takes them into his own custody, that he
might make it a passage to glory, instead of being a passage
to hell; he dies for our offences, and rises again for our jus-
tification ; he ascends up to heaven with a shout of triumph
and victory ; and sits down on the " right hand of the Majesty
on high," as the public Head and Representative of his friends
on earth, and to " appear in the presence of God for them."
A httle after he is set down upon the throne, he pours down
his Spirit, like " the rushing of a mighty wind, upon his disci-
ples at Pentecost, and gives gifts unto men ; gives some apos-
tles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors, some
teachers;" and sends them abroad, with a power of working
miracles, and of speaking all languages ; to proclaim the
glory of his finished salvation to every creature under heaven :
" That whosoever believeth in him might not perish, but have
everlasting life." And oh ! may not a reflex view of all this
work about man make us cry, Lord, zohat is man, that thou
iakest knowledge of him ? or zrhat the son of man that thou
inakest so great account of him ?
Well, is that all ? No ; for he doth yet more for man in
time. Having finisiied the salvation of man in a way of pur-
chase, his voice is to men, and the sons of men ; he proclaims
his salvation to the ends of the earth, and causes the joyful
sound of the gospel-trumpet to be heard to the world's end.
And what wonders does he work here to make way for the
salvation of poor man ! A throne of grace is reared, to which
man may have recourse with boldness, " that he may obtain
grace, and find mercy to help him in every time of need.'*
Acts of grace are emitted from this throne, indemnities, pro-
mises, and proclamations of grace : " Ho, every one that
thirsteth, come ye to the waters : and he that hath no money,
let him come," &.c. Heralds arc sent abroad to proclaim the
grace of God through Christ to man, and to lift up their
voice in the tops of the high places; a word of reconciliation
is committed to them ; and they, as ambassadors for Christ,
pray men, and the sons of men, to be reconciled to God :
" because Christ was made sin for us, that we might be made
the righteousness of God through him." The great store-
houses of grace are opened; his righteousness and salvation
brought near to every one's door in a dispensed gospel, with
a voice from heaven. Come and welcome to Christ, and all
his fulness. He stands with the outstretched arms of redeem-
ing love, crying, " Behold me, behold me ! O how would I
XXXVII.] god's regard to worthless man. 163
gather you, as the hen gathers her chickens under her wings !"
O what is man, that he is thus mindful of him ! — But then,
what work is he at with man after all this, in order to the ef-
fectual application of the purchased and exhibited salvation?
The hammer of the law must be applied, in order to break
the rocky heart in pieces ; the fallow ground must be ploughed
up, to prepare it for the reception of the incorruptible seed
of gospel truth ; the strong-holds of Satan must be pulled
down i the high imaginations of the heart levelled ; Satan
and proud self must be dethroned. The sinner is dead, bu-
ried, and stinking in the grave of sin ; the " stone must be
rolled away from the sepulchre," and " wonders must be
shown to the dead," the Spirit of life must " breathe upon
the dry bones :" the sinner is blind, and he must have his
eyes opened : he is a prisoner, and his chains of captivity
must be loosed ; the obstinate iron sinew of his will must be
bended by the almighty power of God, and " he persuaded
and enabled to embrace Christ, and salvation through him, as
he is freely offered in the gospel." The sinner, being thus
translated from death to life, from darkness to God's marvel-
lous light, in effectual calling, O what work does the Lord
make about the poor inconsiderable creature ! how does he
heap favours and privileges, one after another, upon him !
He betroths the poor forlorn creature to himself, as if it had
been a chaste virgin, makes it the bride, the Lamb's wife,
and says to it. Now, " thy Maker is thine husband, the Lord
of hosts is his name," &c. He takes away the " filthy rags,"
and clothes it with change of raiment, even the white linen
of his own everlasting righteousness, and makes it to sing
that song, Is. Ixi. 10 ; "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my
soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with
the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe
of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with orna-
ments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels ;" he
takes the burden of all the debt it owed to justice upon him-
self, and stands between it and all charges that law and jus-
tice had against it, enabling it to say, " Who can lay any
thing to my charge! it is God that justifieth, who is he that
condemneth 1 it is Christ that died, yea, rather, that is risen
again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh
intercession for us :" he becomes an " everlasting Father," to
the poor creature, and puts it " among the children," making
it an " heir of God, and a joint heir with" himself, and says
to it, " Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me. My Father,
thou art the guide of my youth." He puts the beauty of his
own holiness upon the soul, and makes it like *' the king's
dayghier, all glorious within," like the embroideries of needle-
164 god's regard for worthless max. [ser.
work; he makes it " like the wings of a dove, covered with
silver, and her feathers with yellow gold :" he visits the soul
frequently, and manifests himself to it, " as he does not mani-
fest himself to the world;" he waters it with the dew of his
Spirit, like the vineyard of red wine : he breathes on it by
his Spirit, makes the north and south wind to awake, come
and blow on it, by which the graces of the Spirit, like so
many spices, are made to send forth a pleasant smell : lie
bears it company through fire and water, and never leaves it:
he makes the man to dwell "in the secret of his presence"
and " under his shadow," and as the mountains are round
about Jerusalem, so his atti-ibutes pitch their tents on every
hand of it for its defence ; he plants a guard of angels about
his bride, for her honour and safety, as a lifeguard, Heb. i. 14;
and, in a word, he "keeps it by his power through faith unto
salvation; makes goodness and mercy to follow it;" and at
last divides Jordan, and brings it home, under a guard of an-
gels, to the promised land of glory, and presents it before his
Father " without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing." And,
upon a review of all this that he does befoie lime, and in
time, may we not justly cry out in a rapture of admiration,
Lord, what is man !
3. If we follow the Lord's way with men, from an eternity
past, through time, to an eternity to come, we shall see just
cause to cry, what is maii ? — But here a veil lies between us
and that glory and happiness that God has ordained and de-
signed for man in the world to come. And the things there
ordained for man are so great, that "eye hath not seen,. nor
ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man to con-
ceive, the things which God hath prepared for them that
love him," 1 Cor. ii. 9. What thinkest thou, believer, of be-
ing "for ever with the Lord," and of having " places among
them that stand by," and beholding the glory of God and
of the Lamb? what thinkest thou of coming in person to
" Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jeru-
salem" above, described Rev. xxi., whose " wall is of jasper,
and the city itself of pure gold, like unto transparent glass;
where there is no need of the sun, neither of the moon," nor
of these ordinances, word and sacraments, and ministers, " be-
cause the glory of the Lord doth lighten it, and the Lamb is
the light thereof?" what thinkest thou, believer, of coming to
the "general assembly, and church of the first-born, which
are written in heaven ?" what thinkest thou of joining an
"innumerable company of angels, and tiic spirits of just men
made perfect," who sing a new song, crying, " Salvation to
our God, and to the Lamb, for ever and ever?" Rev. vii. 10:
" Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power, and
sxxvii.] god's regard to worthless man. 165
riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and
blessing!" what thinkest thou of "coming to God the judge
of ail," as thy God and Father 1 what thinkest thou of
coming " to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant ;" and
of seeing him no " more darkly as through a glass, but face
to face, seeing him as he is, and beholding the glory that
his Father hath given himl" what thinkest thou of setting
down at the table that shall never be drawn, and of eating
and drinking with him, and the ransomed company, in the
kingdom of heaven? Matth. xxvi. 29: "I will not drink
henceforth," said he, at the institution of the supper, before
he died, " of the fruit of the vine, until that day, when I drink
it new with you in my Father's kingdom." What thinkest
thou of these new scenes of glory, wisdom, power, holiness,
justice, mercy, grace, and love, and faithfulness, that will be
opening through eternity, in the immediate vision of God,
and in the works of creation, providence, and redemption;
every one of which will fill thy soul with a new rapture of
wonder and praise? what thinkest thou of "sitting down
with Christ" victoriously "upon his throne, as he also over-
came, and is set down with his Father upon his throne?"
what thinkest thou of possessing these thrones in glory, that
became vacant by the apostacy of the angels that fell ? what
thinkest thou " of ruling the nations with a rod of iron ? of
binding their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters
of iron? yet this honour have all the saints," 1 Cor. vi. 2:
'• Do not ye know, that the saints shall judge the world ?"
ver. 3 : " Know ye not that we shall judge angels ?" what
thinkest thou of eating of the hidden manna, and the fruits of
that tree which grows " in the midst of the paradise of God :
which beareth twelve manner of fruits every month, and
whose leaves are for the healing of the nations ?" what think-
est thou of entering into these ivory palaces of glory, with
joy and triumph, on every side, the house of many mansions,
the house of Christ's Father, " whose builder and maker is
God?" thou shalt be satisfied then, to the full, with the flat-
ness of his house, and drink of the rivers of his pleasures.
What thinkest thou of becoming a pillar in the temple of
God, where thou shalt go no more out, and having Christ's
name, his Father's name, and the name of the city of our
God written on thee for ever? v^'hat thinkest thou of being
for ever freed and delivered of all these burdens under which
thou groanest? of all these fiery darts by which thou art now
hai'assed? of all these oppressing fears and challenges? of
all these tears, sorrows, and aflflictions, which make thee go
through the world with a bowed down back, hanging thy
" harp upon the willows ?" what thinkest thou of these eter*-
15*
166 god's regard to worthless man. [ser.
nal things, that are shortly to be possessed ? of an eternal
God, an eternal life, an eternal light, eternal love, eternal
rest, eternal vision and fruition, eternal likeness and confor-
mity to the Lord, that are abiding thee? what thinkest thou
of the " crown of glory that fadeth not away?' what think-
est thou of *' a kingdom that shall never be moved : an inhe-
ritance that is incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth
not away ?" what thinkest thou of having these twilight blinks
of glory through the veil, turned into an eternal day of glory?
for there the Sun of righteousness shall never set, never,
never be eclipsed. O sirs, all this, and ten thousand, thou-
sand, thousand times more than I can tell you, is prepared
for you on the other side of death : and after all, have we not
reason to sing and say, as in the text. Lord, ivhal is man that
thou takest k?ioicledge of him ? or zchat the son of man, that thou
makest such account of him ?
IV. The fourth thing in the method was, to shoiv, That it is
truly wonderful and surprising, that God, the great God, should
have such a regard to man, that he should take such kiwuledge,
and make such great account of him.
I need not stay upon this, after what has been said; only
in a few words. (1.) It is surprising, if we consider God's
infinite and amazing greatness and glory. Oh! who can
think or speak of him in a suitable manner? He that shows
such a regard to man, is " the high and lofty One that inha-
biteth eternity, and dwelleth in the high and holy place, to
which no man can approach :" he that " dwelleth in jight
that is inaccessible, and full of glory." He whose " throne
is high and lifted up," above all the thrones of heaven and
earth. He before whom angels and archangels are stand-
ing, with their " faces and their feet covered with their wings,"
crying, " Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of hosts :" he who
" stretched out the heavens, and laid the foundations of the
earth :" he who " weighs the mountains in scales, and the
hills in a balance, takes up the waters of the ocean in the
hollow of his hand, and doth whatsoever he pleaseth in the
armies of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth."
O! is it not surprising and wonderful, that this great and in-
finite Jehovah, who has all being, life, light, glory, and per-
fection, inherent in himself, and stood in no need of man nor
angels, that he should take such knowledge of man, or the
son of man ? Lord, what is man ?
(2.) It is surprising, if we consider what man is, what a
poor inconsiderable, contemptible creature he is, both as a
creature and as a sinner, of which I spake in the entry upon
the first head, in answer to that question, JVhat is mani &c.
XXXVII.] god's regard to worthless man. 167
(3.) It is surprising and wonderful, because it cannot be
conceived or expressed, it runs beyond all thought and all
words; "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it
entered into the heart of man to conceive," all the kindness
and condescension of God to man : so much is clearly im-
ported in the psalmist's way of speaking, of the goodness of
God in the text ; Lord, xvhat is man that thou takest knowledire
of him ? Hence are these or the like expressions of wonder
and amazement, " How excellent is thy loving-kindness, O
God 1" " How great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up
for them that fear thee I" " Oh the height, the depth, and
breadth, and length, of the love of God, which passeth know-
ledge !" These expressions are just [puzzling] and putting
our finite minds to an eternal stand : and therefore we must
stop, for what can we say more?
V. The Jiflh thing was the AppUcalio7i. And because I
have been all along practical in the doctrinal part, therefore
I shall conclude with a few inferences.
\st, See hence the folly of all such as are taken up in ad-
miring any created excellency, either to be found in them-
selves, or others of the human race, without running up to
the fountain head, an inhnite God, from whom all being,
beauty, glory, and excellency flows. The Spirit of God
speaks of it as a piece of brutish folly, for man to look at the
creature, without tracing it and all its excellency to God, as
its original : Psal. xciv. 8 : " Understand, ye brutish among
the people ; and, ye fools, when w-ill ye be wise? he that
planted the ear, shall he not hear? he that formed the eye,
shall he not see?" ver. 10: "He that teacheth man know-
ledge," shall not he know? These are questions that may
confound all the. atheistical fools in the world, who say in
their hearts or practice, " There is no God;" and at the same
time discover to us, that man is but a poor dependent crea-
ture, deriving all his powers in soul and body from an infinite
God: hence is that challenge. Is. ii., at the close, " Cease ye
from man, whose breath is in his nostrils; for wherein is he
to be accounted of?" This challenge, together with the
words in my text, are enough to stay the pride of all glory-
ing in man ; Lord, what is man, for wherein is he to he ac-
counted of? Especially when balanced with the excellency of
his glorious Creator, he just vanishes into nothing. You
heard, upon the first head of doctrine, what man is in gene-
ral, as a creature and as a sinner. Now, let us take a view
of him in his best excellencies and qualifications, and see
what they will amount to in God's reckoning, or compared
with the infinite excellency of his infinite Creator? What
168 god's regard to worthless man. [ser,
account is to be made of Iiis being before God ? why, he is
not, for it is God only whose name is, I AM. What ac-
count is to be made of man in his pedigree, which some,
Hke the princes of Zoan, boast of? wliy, he is the " degene-
rate plant of a strant,a; vine." What account is to be made
of his riches? why, these take the wings of the morning, and
fly away, and cannot " profit man in the day of wrath."
What account is to be made of his honours? they cannot
" descend to the grave after him." What account* is to be
made of all his projects and schemes? why, that day " his
breath departs, his thoughts perish," and are all disconcerted
and dashed in pieces. What account is to be made of his
beauty? it is quickly turned into rottenness and deformity.
The vvisdom of man before God is but folly; his knowledge
specious ignorance, his strength and power 'is but impotency.
What is his life in the world, but a vapour which the wind
of sickness and death blows away, out of time into eternity ?
Upon the whole, then, may we not well cry. Lord, zvhat is
mtifi, and zvherein is he to be accounted of? Let us cease from
trusting in man ; for " cursed is the man, that trusteth in
man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth
from the Lord : but blessed is the man, that trusteth in the
Lord, and whose hope the Lord is," Jer. xvii. 5, 6.
2dlii, See hence the horrid ingratitude of sinners, in vvaging
war against that God, who is so good and so kind to man.
Oh, what tongue can express, or what heart can conceive,
the monstrous ingratitude of sinners, in rejecting his laws,
trampling on his authority, aflronting him every day to his
face ? May not the Lord say to us, " Do ye thus requite the
Lord, oh ye foolish people, and unwise? Oh, my people, what
have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee ?
testify against me; was I ever a barren wilderness, or a land
of darkness unto vou ?"
3%, See hence the way and method that God takes to
"lead sinners to repentance :" why, he just pursues them with
his kindness, and draws them "'with cords of a man, with
bands of love; knovvest thou not, O man, that the goodness
of God leadeth thee to repentance?" The first thing that
melts and thaws the heart of a sinner, in a kindly way, is
an uptaking of the love and kindness of God to man, espe-
cially as it vents throu<:h the death and blood of Christ, in
the free pardon of sin, and acceptance through Christ. When-
ever thesoul comestosee that love, that grace, that mercy and
bowels, that it has been spurning against, it begins to smite
upon it^ thigh, with Ephraim, saying, " What have I done?"
and with David, " Against thee, ihee only, have I sinned, and
done this evil in thy sight." And this it "is that influences the
XXXVII.] god's regard to worthless man. 169
turning of the soul from sin to God, with full purpose and
endeavour after new obedience ; saying, with Job, " That
which I see not, teach thou me; if I have done iniquity, I
will do no more:" the soul is just killed and melted with a
sense and uptaking of the love of God.
4t/dy, Is God so good and so kind to worm man ? then see
hence, what a reasonable command the first command of the
law is, " Thou shalt have no other gods before me:" that is,
' Thou shalt know and acknowledge me as God, and as thy
God, and shalt worship and glorify me accordingly.' Oh !
shall we give any thing, any creature, any lust, any idol, that
room in our hearts, that is due to such a kind Lord I shall
we not say with Ephraim, " What have I to do any more
with idols? O Lord, our God, other lords besides thee have
had dominion over us, but by thee only will we make men-
tion of thy name. All people will walk in the name of their
God ; and we also will walk up and down in the name of the
Lord our God. Whom have ice in the heavens but him ? and
there shall be none in all the earth whom we desire besides
him ?"
5lhly, See hence the criminal nature of the sin of unbelief,
which is a saying, upon the matter, God is not to be trusted,
notwithstanding all his kindnesses, pity, and love to man.
He calls him a liar: and says there is no good to be got at
his hand ; that he is a hard master, and his words are no in-
dication of his mind: "an evil heart of unbelief turns us
away from the living God:" why, what way does it this?
It just acts the part of the false spies that went up to Canaan,
and brings up an ill report of a good God, of a true and faith-
ful God: it says, " His mercy is clean gone, he will be favour-
able no more, his promise fails for evermore :" and as Israel
turned back to Egypt, wlien they heard the ill report that
the false spies brought of Canaan ; so the soul, when it hears
the ill report, that unbelief brings up of God, the heart turns
away from him. O sirs ! take heed of" an evil heart of un-
belief," especially after you have been at a communion table.
There is nothing that the devil more cherishes and fosters
folk in, than in their unbelief: this was the way that he
ruined man at first; he made our first parents, first to con-
ceive harsh thoughts of that good God who had been so kind
to them, and then he quickly ruins them ; and this is the very
way that he still goes to work with his posterity; he tells
you, that whatever God has done in sending his Son, what-
ever he has said in his word, whatever experience of his love
you have met with, yet you have no ground upon which to
trust him, his promise fails, he has forsaken and forgotten.
If he once brings you this length, I know not how far God
1*^0 god's regard to worthless MAIV. [SER.
may be provoked to give you up to the will of the roaring
lion.
Glhhj, Is God so kind to man ? worm, worthless man? Is the
regard that he shows to us so surprising and wonderful? then
let us discover a regard to him, and to every thing that be-
longs to him.
I shall instance in a few particulars, in which we are to
discover our regard to him and for him.
1. Let us regard him even in the works of nature; the
works of creation in heaven above, and in the earth below.
This is a large volume, opened and spread out before all man-
kind: it was a book in which David was frequently reading,
and he took great pleasure to see God there: "O Lord my
God, how great and manifold are thy works ! In wisdom
hast thou made them all." The whole 104th psalm is a lecture
upon the works of creation, and the order God has established
among the creatures. See, also, the beginning of the 8th and
lOth psalms.
2. Let us regard him in his works of providence, in the go-
vernment of the world, and in the government of his church,
through all periods of time; and let us regard him in all the
dispensations of his providence towards the land we live in,
and to our families and ourselves in particular; Psal. cvii., at
the close: " Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even
they shfill understand the loving-kindness of the Lord." When
he is trying us with favourable dispensations, let us observe
this with praise: and when he is trying us with afflictive dis-
pensations, let us humble ourselves under his mighty hand,
that he may lift us up, &c., Psal. xxviii. 5: "Because they re-
gard not the works of the Lord, nor the operation of his hands,
he shall destroy them, and not build them up."
3. Let us regard him in his Christ, and the glorious work
of redemption through him, and, beholding him, lift up the
everlasting doors of our hearts to " the Lord of hosts, the
Lord mighty in battle." It is the great sin of Scotland, for
which the Lord is contending, that "Christ has not been re-
ceived and regarded, cither in his prophetical, priestly, or
kingly ofhces. You know what came of them who did not re-
gard the Lord, and reverence him, in the person of his Son:
he "sent forth his armies, and miserably destroyed them." I
fear armies of men, whoso language we do not understand,
shall travel through our land, and avenge the quarrel of a de-
spised, contemned, and atliontcd Christ, &c.
4. Let us regard him in bis hook of the scriptures. We call
the scriptures the book of God; and so it is, for it is given by
the ins[)irationof the Holy Ghost; and therefore let us regard
it, by reading and searching and diving into it, till we find
XXXVII.] god's regard to worthless man. 171
the pearl ; John v. 39: " Search the scriptures, foi* in them ye
think ye have eternal life; and they are they which testify of
me." And, to encourage a regard to it, see Pro v. ii. 2 — 4.
God observes what regard is paid among people to his book:
" Take heed to it, as unto a light shining in a dark place."
5. Regard him by attending his courts, I mean the ordi-
nances of his worship, word, and sacraments, especially the
word preached, where his heralds are sent to proclaim and
intimate his mind " in the high places to men, and to the sons
of men." David, though a great king, looked on it as his ho-
nour to attend the courts of the King of kings, and esteemed
" a day in his courts better than a thousand in the tents of
wickedness. God's way is in his sanctuary :" these are the
galleries where he has many a sweet interview with his sub-
jects. " One thing," says David, "have I desired of the Lord,
that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the
Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord,
and to inquire after him in his temple." These are the ban-
queting-houses, where he entertains them with " fat things
full of marrow."
6. Show a regard to his great name. This is one of the ien
commands of his moral law, " Thou shalt not take the name
of the Lord thy God in vain; for he will not hold him guilt-
less that taketh his name in vain." Oh! "sanctify that great
name, the Lord your God," and make it " your fear and
your dread." Beware of profaning it either in your common
conversation, or by your unnecessary customary swearing by
it, or by a slight mentioning of it even in religious duty ; and
always when you go to mention that name in any duty of
worship, study to fill your minds with a holy awe and dread
of it.
7. Show a regard to his day, and put respect upon him,
by remembering it, " to keep it holy." See a sweet and en-
couraging promise to them that regard God's day, Is. Iviii.,
at the close; " If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath,
from doing thy pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sab-
bath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable ; and shalt
honour him, not doing thine one ways, nor finding thine own
pleasure, nor speaking thine own words; then shalt thou de-
light thyself in the Lord, and I will cause thee to ride upon
the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage
of Jacob thy father ; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken
it." I am ready to judge, that people's acquaintance with
God himself is known by the regard they show to his holy
day.
8. Show a regard to his voice; the voice of his word ; the
voice of his Spirit; the voice of his providence; the voice of
172 god's regard to worthless max. [ser.
mercies, and the voice of afflictions : for the Lord's voice
cries in all these, and it is the man of wisdom that hears his
voice, " To-day, if ye will hear Ins voice, harden not your
hearts : be not like the deaf adder stopping her ear at the
voice of charmers, charming never so wisely." Whenever
he comes, say, " Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth." His
voice is sweeter than the melody of angels and archangels to
the soul that knows him : " It is the voice of my beloved; be-
hold he Cometh, leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon
the hills."
9. Show a regard to all his laws and commandments ; get
them engraved upon your hearts, that they may be a lamp to
your feet, and a light to your paths*
10. Show a regard to his promises and words of grace, and
any word of grace that he seals, and sends home by his Spirit
upon thy heart ; let that be a michtam or golden zcordio thee ;
and say of it, "It is better to me than gold, yea, than much
fine gold : God hath spoken in his holiness, 1 will rejoice :"
roll it like a " sweet morsel under thy tongue."
11. Show a regard to his members, by esteeming them as
the "excellent ones of the earth, and doing ail the offices of
kindness to them that you are capable of: for what says he,
Matth. XXV. 40 : " Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of
the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."
Cultivate fellowship and acquaintance with those that belong
to the Lord, and let them be the men of your counsel, and
your intimates. My " delight is with the saints." Tell them
that fear the Lord, what he has done for your soul.* .
12. PcCjTard him in his messenn-ers and ambassadors, his sent
servants, who act for their great jSIastcr; and faithfully declare
his mind, and contend for his cause in a day of defection and
backsliding, especially any that he has set, as it were, in the
front of the battle, to bear the shock of the enemy; they
have many against them, and therefore they need your sym-
pathy and countenance, who "love the Lord." A kindlj'
M'ord or look from a member of Christ will do more service
to a minister of Christ than people are aware of: Paul, in his
bonds, was refreshed and comforted with the sympathy of
believers.
13. Show a regard to him, by espousing his cause, the in-
terest of his house and kingdom. Sirs, the cause of Christ is
upon the field at this day; the covenanted statidard of Scot-
land is displayed, in opposition to that coiKse of defection
which the whole land is gone into, and which the judicatories
* But let it be done in a judicious way, tliat they may be excited to join
\vilh you in celebrating' his praises.
xxxvit.] god's regard to worthless man. 173
of the established church are carrying on, with might and
main. The cry is given, " Who is on the Lord's side?" let
them " come up to the help of the Lord, to the help of the
Lord against the mighty." Some, both ministers and Chris-
tians, profess friendship to the cause of Christ, his covenanted
doctrine, discipline, worship, and government; but they love
to dwell at ease, and, like Issachar, to couch under the bur-
den : but I have little skill if that be the Lord's way, and the
Lord's call, when others are jeoparding themselves "in the
high places of the field," for the cause and testimony of Je-
sus, I may say to such, be who they will, as the prophet said
to Israel, in a day of defection from the Lord, " How long
halt ye between two opinions'? If Baal be God, serve him,
and if Jehovah he God," then serve and follow him. If the
judicatories of the church be fighting the cause of Christ, and
building the Lord's house, then cleave to them, and good rea-
son : but if they be building Jericho, instead of Jerusalem;
if they be pulling down the work of God, instead of building
it up; if the ark of God, his covenanted cause and testimony,
be carried without the camp, it is time to follow it; let "us
go out, therefore, unto him without the camp, bearing his re-
proach." And if folk shift following Christ, his cause and
sworn testimony, especially when it is espoused by a handful
upon all hazards, they need to consider upon it in time, lest
that sentence go against them ; " Curse ye Meroz, curse ye
bitterly the inhabitants thereof, because they came not to
the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the
mighty." Christ and his cause will carry the day without
you; but take heed that he do not resent it, ere all be done;
his frowns and down-looks are heavier than the frowns of all
the men on earth, or angels in heaven, or devils in hell.
SERMO]\ XXXVill.
THE HUMAN NATURE PREFERRED TO THE ANGELIC.
For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the
seed of Abraham. — Heb. n. 15.
The apostle, ver. 10, had spoken of Christ as the Captain
of our salvation : he shows, ver. 14, and 15, how, according
VOL. in. 16
174 THE HUMAN NATURE [sER/
to the first promise, Gen. iii. 15, he had taken the fields and
bruised the head of the old serpent; why, says he, ver. 14:
" He took part of the children's flesh, that through death he
might destroy him that had the power of death," &c. The
legal power of death fell, by virtue of the sentence of a bro-
ken law, into the hand of the devil, as God's executioner;
and it had continued there, unless law and justice had been
satisfied by the death of the Surety; but Christ, "through
death, destroyed him that had the power of death ;" that is,
he sapped the foundation of his authority and power, by his
justice-satisfying blood : he, as it were, wrung the keys of
hell and death out of the devil's hand, upon Mount Calvary,
and so " spoiled principalities and powers, and made a show
of them openly." The use that we, law-condemned sinners,
are to make of this, is (verse 15,) to pull up our sinking
spirits, and triumph over death as a conquered and slain ene-
my, saying, " O death, where is thy sting ? O grave, where is
thy victory ?" for he did all this " to deliver them, who, through
fear of death, were all their lifetime subject to bondage." Now
the apostle, in the words of my reading, gives a good reason
why Christ, as the Captain of our salvation, destroyed death,
" and him that had the power of it," and delivers poor men
from the sting and fear of it. Why, says he, he is our kins-
man, to whom the right of redemption belonged ; for verily he
took not on him the nature of a?igels, &c.
Where we have,y/>i/, a negation or denial of a great dig-
nity to the angelic nature ; he look not on him the nature of an-
gels, or, as it reads in the margin, he taketh not hold of angels :
when an innumerable company of them fell from the state
in which they were created, he took not hold of their na-
ture, to recover them from wo and misery ; it is plainly sup-
posed, that they were not the objects of his love, and there-
fore he did not become a God-angel, as he became a God-
man.
In the words following, we have, secondly, an affirmation of
this honour to the human nature, which he denied to the an-
gelic ; he took on him the seed of Abraham, in the margin,
of the seed of Abraham he taketh hold ; that is, he joined the
human nature, in the seed of Abraham, to himself, in a per-
sonal union, that so, being our Kinsman, he might become
our Redeemer and our Husband. The apostle, when he is
writing to the Galatians, who were Gentiles, tells them. Gal.
iv. 4, that he was " made of a woman," according to the
first promise. Gen. iii. 15: but when he writes to the He-
brews, he speaks in the style of the promise made to Abra-
ham, " in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;"
by telling them, that, according to that promise, he took oa
acXXVIII.] PREFERRED TO THE ANGELIC. 175
liim the seed of Abraham, that so they might be encouraged
to believe in him ; for ministers, in preaching Christ, are to
bring the sinner and the Saviour as near to one another as
possible.
Thirdly, In the words we have a strong asseveration, show-
ing the certainty and importance of this matter, that he took
not on him the nature of a?igels, but the seed of Abraham : Ve-
rily, says he, it is so ; it " is a faithful saying, and worthy of
all acceptation ;" and therefore, let all the seed of Israel, or
Abraham, believe it, and set to their seal of faith to it.
Observ. " That it is a truth of the greatest certainty and
moment, that the Son of God, when he passed by the nature
■of angels, took on him the human nature, in the seed, or fa-
mily, of Abraham."
The doctrine is clearly founded upon the words, For verily
Jie took not on him, tJie 7iature of angels, but he took on him the
seed of Abraham.
In discoursing upon the doctrine a little, I shall, through
divine assistance, make it evident, i
I. That the Son of God took not on him the nature of an-
gels.
II. Make it appear, that he has taken to him the human
■natitre, and is become one of our tribe and family.
III. Show what may be imported in his taking on him the
seed of Abraham, or his taking hold of it as in the margin.
IV. Show what is the importance of this truth, implied in
the asseveration verily.
V. Apply.
I shall endeavour brevity on these heads.
I. The first thing is, to make it evident, that Christ, the
Son of God, took not on him the nature of angels.
Of all created beings, angels are the most excellent, they
being pure immaterial spirits, approaching nearest to the na-
ture of God, who is the infinite, eternal, and uncreated Spi-
rit, Psal. civ. 4 : "He rnaketh his angels spirits, his ministers
a flaming fire ;" and yet when they fell from their first state,
and so needed a'Saviour as much as fallen man, yet the apos-
tle here tells us, with a verily, that he took not on their nature,
or did not catch hold of them, to save them from ruin. This
is clear and evident from the terms in which the first promise
is uttered, Gen. iii. 15 ; where, at the same time that the re-
Wiedj and relief is promised to fallen man, vengeance and
176 THE HUMAN NATURE [SER.
wrath is denounced against Satan, " It shall bruise thy head,"
says the Lord to Satan, namely, the " seed of the woman."
This is upon the matter repeated, Is. Ixiii. 4 : " The day of
vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is
come;" as if he had said, 'The old quarrel with Satan, the
enemy of man's salvation, is still in mine heart, I am to exe-
cute vengeance upon him when I come in the flesh, to re-
deem my people from his slavery and bondage.' And, ac-
cordingly, we are told. Col. ii. 15. That he " spoiled princi-
palities and powers," and triumphed over them in his cross.
Eternal war is proclaimed from heaven against the fallen
angels: hence we are told, Jude 6, "The angels which kept
not their first estate, he has reserved in everlasting chains
under darkness, unto the judgment of the great day." From
all which it is clear, that he is so far from showing such a
regard to the fallen angels, as to take their nature upon him,
that he has taken up, and will pursue an everlasting quarrel
against them. And 1 make no doubt but it fills those evil
spirits with horror and torment, to hear these tidings told in
this assembly, where we are met together to commemorate
the love of God, in taking on the human nature, and giving
it a sacrifice for the sin of man.
I know some divines pretend to assign some reasons, why
God passed by the nature of angels, when he took on him
the human nature: but seeing the Spirit of God is silent as to
this matter, it is safest for us to resolve it into the will of that
sovereign Lord, '* who doth in the armies of heaven, and
amongst the inhabitants of the earth," what pleascth him ;
and to say with Christ, Matth. xi. 26, " Even so, O Father,
for so it seemeth good in thy sight." And therefore I pro-
ceed to
II. The seco?}d thing proposed, which was, to prove, that
the glorious Son of God, who thinks it not "robbery to be
equal with God," has indeed taken upon him the human na-
ture, although he has passed by the nature of angels.
Sirs, we need all much to be established in the faith of this
glorious and fundamental truth. A flaw in our faith as to
this, makes the whole building totter; and I am afraid that
they who think it an easy matter to believe it, never yet saw
the infinite distance between the nature of God and the na-
ture of man; for, without controversy, this is a great myste-
ry, ''God made manifest in the flesh." And the truth and
certainty of it may be cleared and confirmed,
1st, From scripture prophecy concerning him, Psal. xxii.,
where he speaks of his hands and his feet being pierced :
of his being cast upon his Father's care from the womb:
StXXVIII.] PREFERRED TO THE ANGELIC. 177
•" Thou art he that took me out of my mother's womb." So,
Is. liii., through the whole, the prophet speaks of his being
wounded and bruised for our iniquities, of his death and re-
surrection, which all plainly suppose his taking on our na-
ture.
2dly, Scripture history makes it evident, that he took on
him our nature in the seed of Abraham, particularly his ge-
nealogy, Matth. i., and Luke iii. Yea, the whole history of
the four evangelists concerning his birth, life, death, resur-
rection, and ascension, in our nature, into heaven, proves,
that verily lie look on him the seed of Abraham : how could his
hands and his feet be pierced with nails, and his side with a
spear? how could blood and water issue forth at the wound?
if he had not verily taken on him the seed of Abraham.
2dly, This is clear from plain scripture testimony. I only
mention these two or three : The testimony of the apostle
here, in the 14th verse of this chapter : " Forasmuch, then,
as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also
himself likewise took part of the same." Rom. i. 3 : " Jesus
Christ, who was made of the seed of David, according to the
flesh." Rom. ix. 5: "Of whom, as concerning the flesh,
Christ came, who is over all God blessed for ever." John i.
14: '* The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us; (and
we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the
Father,) full of grace and truth."
4:thly, Take the testimony of angels to this great truth:
the angel Gabriel attests it, when he said to the virgin Mary,
Luke i. 30 — 32 : " Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favour
with God : and behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and
bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus ; he shall be
great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest." So in
the 2nd chapter, 10th verse, the angels tell the shepherds,
"We bring you good tidings of great joy; for unto you is
born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ
the Lord."
bthly. He goes yet higher, and gives you the testimony of
the " three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word,
and the Spirit." The Father attests it by preparing a body
for him. The Son attests it by putting it on; he took on him
the seed of Abraham ; he wore it on earth for about thirty-
three years, and from hence has carried it away to heaven
with him, and from heaven declares the truth of his incarna-
tion and death, saying, " I am he that Uveth, and was dead ;
and, behold, I am alive for evermore, and have the keys of
hell and of death," Rev. i. 18. The Holy Ghost attests it, by
his forming the human nature in the womb of the virgin, by
his overshadowing power. But I do not insist. The titles
16*
178 THE HUMA.V NATURE [SER.
that are every where given hnn from his human nature, make
this evident: he is calied " a Man," and " Ihe Son of man,"
a title in which he himself delights, and repeats every now
and then ; he is called frequently " the seed of the woman,"
'• the seed of Abraham," " the seed of David," " a branch
that sprung out of the root of Jesse." From all which we
may conclude, with the apostle, in the words of my text, that
xerilij he took on him the seed of Abraham.
III. The third thing was, what may be imported in the
expression of the text, of his taking 07i him the seed of Abra-
ham!
I cannot enlarge upon such a subject ; only it imports,
I5/, That the human nature was upon the point of perish-
ing with the fallen angels, till Christ took hold of it.
'2dly, It implies his pre-existence, as God, to his actual in-
carnation, by which the Socinian error falls, who assert, that
he had no being till he was born of the virgin ; for if so, how
could he take to him the human nature? Sirs, let Arians and
Socinians be for ever confounded : for our Immanucl was
God, co-equal with his Father, from eternity ; and, in the
fulness of time, seventeen hundred and forty-two years ago,
was " made of a woman :" " In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
2dly, It implies the verity and reality of his incarnation, of
which 1 spoke already. His human nature was no phantom,
or appearance, but the real human nature, and the whole
nature of man, consisting of a true body and reasonable soul ;
for, says the apostle, heverili/ took on him the seed of Abraham.
4lhl!j, The expression implies, that it was a voluntary deed ;
he took on him ; as a man puts on his clothes with his own
hands, so the Son of God voluntarily put on the human na-
ture; voluntarily agreed to it in the council of peace, Psal.
xl. 8, and from eternity, rejoiced " in the habitable parts of
the earth," and he was a volunteer when it came to the exe-
cution.
bthly, It implies, that the assumption of the human nature
terminates in the person of the Son of God. Although the
other persons. Father and Spirit, had their own peculiar
agency, in forming and preparing the human nature; yet it
is the Son, the second person of the glorious Trinity, that
wears it: so that it cannot be said of the Father or Holy
Ghost, but only of the Son, that he " took unto him the seed
of Abraham :" so that is not an essential, but a jicrsonal union,
between the divine and human nature.
Gthly, It implies, that lliough the union be personal, yet it
is without any confusion of the two natures: they still remain
XXXVIII.] PREFERRED TO THE ANGELIC. 179
essentially distinct, although, indeed, through the intimacy
of the union, the properties of each nature are frequently
ascribed to the whole person.
llhhj, It implies, that it was an act of amazing love,
grace, and condescension, that he took our nature upon him.
Hence the apostle cries out with wonder, 1 Tim. iii. 16,
"Without controversvj great is the mystery of godliness;
God was manifest in the flesh." This is such a depth, that
the angels desire to look into it. Hence the cherubims were
made -with their flaces pointing towards the mercy-seat.
Sthly, It implies, that the human nature did not constitute
the person of Christ : for here we see that he, as a person,
took the human nature to himself, or took it into his own
person. If the human nature were a person, then he would
have two persons, as well as two natures: but this is an er-
ror long since condemned ; and the expression in the text
bears, that it was only the nature, therefore called the seed
of Abraham; agreeably to this is that, Luke i. 35: "That
holy thing which shall be born of thee :" it is not that holy
person, but " that holy thing," namely, the innocent nature
of man, consisting in a true body and reasonable soul. So
much for what is imported in the expression.
IV. The fourth in the method was, To touch a little at the
importance of this matter pointed at in the word of assevera-
tion, Verilv, Verily he took not on him the nature of ans;els, hut
the seed of Abraham.
It is observed in the history of the evangelists, when our
blessed Lord is to declare any doctrine that is of great con-
sequence and moment, to arrest the attention of his au-
dience, he ushers it in with a Verily, and sometimes he
doubles it with a " Verily, verily, I say unto you ;" as
in His discourse to Nicodemus, concerning the necessity of re-
generation, John iii. 3 : " Verily, verily, I say unto thee, ex-
cept a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God ;"
so, here, the apostle, after his example, when he is asserting
the doctrine of the incarnation of the Son, ushers it in with
a Verily, that we may advert to it as a thing of the last
moment. The importance of it will appear, if we consider
that this paint of the incarnation, or union of the two natures,
was the main leading matter that was [under consideration,]
in the council of peace, between the Father and the Son : it
was the hardest thing to be determined and effected ; and
that without it, nothing could be done, for the redemption
and salvation of lost sinners of Adam's family. There were
three things that justice demanded, in order to the salvation
of lost man: \st, That the human nature be presented to
180 THE HUMAN NATURE [SER.
God, ill its original purity, without spot or blemish. 2dly,
That the holy law be perfectly obeyed, and the honour of it
maintained. 'Sdly, That seeing the law is broken, the pe-
nalty of it, or its curse, be endured by one in man's nature,
whose blood must be of infinite value for the satisfaction of
justice. Well, in this case, the eternal Son of God looked,
and " there was none to help or uphold, and therefore his
-own arm brought salvation." ' Come,' says he to his Fa-
ther, ' since there is no sacrifice nor oflering that will please,
Lo, I come; I delight to do thy will; a body hast thou pre-
pared for me, in the seed of Abraham ; I will put it on, and
satisfy all these hard demands of justice : I, as a second Adam,
a public head and representative of the seed thou hast given
me, will present the human nature entire in my own person ;
and will, through my sanctifying Spirit in them, present them
also unto thee, at the end of time, without spot or blemish, or
any such thing. I also, as their Covenant-head and Surety,
will, in their nature, fulfil the whole law as a covenant, and
bring in an everlasting righteousness for their justification,
and write it as a rule upon their hearts, and, by my Spirit
put within them, will cause them to walk in my statutes.
And because justice demands that the same nature that
sinned should also suffer, therefore I will give my human
nature a sacrifice for their sin ; I will be wounded for their
transgressions, bruised for their iniquities : of my hand shalt
thou require the debt that they owe to justice.' In a word,
(for I cannot insist,) the incarnation of the Son of God is such
a material and important matter, that without it the whole
business of man's salvation and redemption ceases for ever ;
all the other supernatural mysteries of our holy religion turn
upon it, as a hinge: take this away, and immediately the
doctrine of his obedience to the law, and death upon the cross ;
his resurrection, ascension, and intercession; all fall to •the
ground together: but the apostle here, to certify usof it, tells
us, Verllij, he took not on him the nature of a?igels, but he took
on him the seed of Abraham.
V. Theffth thing was to make some improvement of this
doctrine. It would admit of a large application ; but I must
needs cut short, because of the work that we Imve before
us.
Use first shall be of information, in the few particulars fol-
lowing. Is it so, that when God passed by the nature of
angels, he took on him the seed of Abraham! Then,
\si, See hence the wondrous love of God to mankind-sin-
ners, that he preferred our nature to the nature of angels;
he passed them by, and i)itchcd upon the human nature, and
XXXVIII.] PREFERRED TO THE ANGELIC. 181
joined it to himself, in the person of his eternal Son. There
is such an amazing and astonishing love here, as would fill
our hearts with wonder, and our tongues with hallelujahs of
praise, if we hut saw it in the light of the Lord, and had it
" shed abroad upon our hearts ;" surely God is love ; " for he
so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have ever-
lasting life."
2dly, See hence how unjust and unreasonable the enmity
of the heart of man against God is. Shall we hate that God
who passed by the nature of angels, and took on him the seed
of Abraham? It cannot be supposed that the fallen angels
would have treated him so, if he had passed by our nature,
and pitched upon their nature, and become a God-angel, in-
stead of a God-man; yet this folly is in the heart of every
sinner by nature; " the carnal mind is enmity against God."
3c/ly, See hence the monstrous ingratitude of Arians, So-
cinians, and others, who take occasion from his assumption
of the human nature, and becoming his Father's servant in
the great business of man's redemption, to disparage him, as if
he were but an inferior deity, not one and the same God, in
essence and substance with the Father. Oh ! " Tell it not in
Gath, publish it not in the streets of i^skelon," that such blas-
phemies have been vented against the great God our Saviour,
and so little resentment discovered against the blasphemer, in
the supreme ecclesiastical court of this national church, con-
stituted in his name and authority. But whatever others do,
let us this day acknowledge, that Jesus Christ is the Lord
Jehovah, to the praise and glory of his eternal Father, who
sent him, not to take o?i him the nature of aiigels, but the hu-
man nature, in the seed of Abraham.
4thly, See hence to what a pitch of honour the human na-
ture is raised, by its standing in a personal union with the in-
finite Jehovah, in the person of the Son of God. When we
take a view of our nature as it stood in the first Adam, even
in innocence, why, the Spirit of God declares by the psalmist,
that even in its best estate it was altogether vanity, being but
a fallible creature : but view the nature of man in his fallen
state, we see him lying in a " horrible pit, and miry clay," an
object of abhorrence to God and all his holy angels ; he is
wholly "corrupt and filthy," fit for nothing but to become
fuel for the fire of divine wrath : and yet for an infinitely holy
and righteous God to take that .nature out of the dunghill,
and join it into a personal union with his eternal and only be-
gotten Son, why, this is a brighter crown of glory by far set
upon the human nature, than ever Adam wore in innocency ;
yea, a greater honour than ever was conferred upon the na-
182 THE HUMAN NATURE [SER.
ture of angels. Oh ! how may this make every one of us to
cry, " What hath God wrought 1 O what is man, that thou
art so mindful of him ? and what the son of man, that thou
art so kind unto him."
5thlij, See hence the excellency of the person of our glorious
Redeemer, whose death we are this day called to commemo-
rate. I remember the daughters of Jerusalem put a question
to the spouse, Cant. v. : "What is thy beloved more than an-
other beloved ?" Why, sirs, there is something in the person
of Christ, that is not to be seen in any person in heaven or
in earth. What is that ? say you : Why, in his person is to
be seen God and man linked in a personal union; " God ma-
nifested in the flesh, is the great mystery " of the Christian
religion. Look to God in the person of the Father, look to
God in the person of the Holy Ghost, and you see indeed the
great God, who is infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in his
being, wisdom, power, holiness, Slc. But then, look to God
in the person of the Son, who is the same God with both, and
you see the human nature; there you see "Immanuel, God-
man, God with us, God reconciling the world unto himself,
not imputing their trespasses unto them, but pardoning ini-
quity, transgression, and sin." O sirs, a God in Christ will
be the admiration of saints and angels through eternity ; and
it is a view of this person that tills the mouths of all the saints
with praise, saying, " Thou art fairer than the children of
men; grace is poured into thy lips; he is white and ruddy,
the chief among ten thousand," &c.
Gthly, See hence the criminal nature of the sin of unbelief,
which rejects him who took ?iot oti him the nature of angelsy
hut the seed of Abraham. Unbelief upon the matter denies this
glorious truth, and says, 'No thanks to God for taking hold
of the seed of Abraham ; he might as well have taken on the
nature of angels, for 1 will not be obliged to him for salva-
tion.' The unbeliever chooses rather to go to hell with his
lusts, than to go to heaven with Christ : he crucifies " the Son
of God afresh, and puts him to an open shame :" he tramples
the blood of Christ under his feet ; for which reason Christ de-
clares, that he " that belicveth not is condemned already, and
the wrath of God abidelh on him," John iii. 18, 36.
Ithltj, See, from this doctrine, the great difTerence between
the first and the second Adam ; the head of the covenant of
works, and the head of the new covenant. Why, the first
Adam, as the apostle tells us, was but a made creature, and
he " was made a living soul ; but the last Adam is a quicken-
ing spirit : the first Adam was of the earth, earthy ; but the
second Adam is the Lord from heaven;" who took not on him
the nature of angels, hut took on him the human nature, in th^
XXXVIII.] PREFERRED TO THE ANGELIC. 183
seed of Abraham. O what a blessed exchange does the sinner
make, when he quits the first Adam and his covenant, and
betakes himself to the second Adam, and takes hold of him as
the head of the covenant of grace ! when he does so, he quits
the foundation of sand, and builds upon that " rock of ages,
against which the gates of hell shall never prevail." The first
Adam is a fountain of death to all his posterity, Rom. v. 12;
"By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin ;
and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned ;"
but the second Adam is the fountain of life to all his seed;
"I am the resurrection, and the life; and he that believeth
in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live :" and this w^c
are assured of by the record of a glorious Trinity, 1 John v.
11 : "This is the record, that God hath given to us eternal
life, and this life is in his Son."
Wily, See, from this doctrine, what is the great work and
business of those who sit down at a communion table; what
it is that makes a worthy or unworthy communicant. That
which makes a worthy communicant, is a " right discerning
of the Lord's body;" and when this is wanting, a man becomes
" guilty of the body and blood of the Lord, and so eats and
drinks judgment to his own soul." Now, what is it to dis-
cern the Lord's body? it is just an insight into this doctrine,
or text, that the eternal So?i of God, took not o?i him the na-
ture of ansels, but the seed of Abraha.m. More particularly, I
will tell you two or three things included in discerning the
Lord's body.
(1.) It is to have the mind enlightened with a saving know-
ledge of the mystery of salvation, as the plan of it is laid out
before us in the word, or in the person and mediation of Je-
sus, 2 Cor. iv. 6 : " God, who commanded the light to shine out
of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the
knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."
(2.) It is to see the love and wisdom of the Father, in
preparing a body for his eternal Son, in which the fulness of
the Godhead should dwell, as in a temple.
(3.) It is to see the Holy Ghost forming that body, by his
overshadowing power, in the womb of the virgin, so as that
it might be free of original sin, and might be a sacrifice
without spot or blemish, to be offered up to God.
(4.) It is to see the eternal Son of God wearing that body
in a personal union with himself, in order to his giving an
infinite value to what he was to do and sufi^er for us.
(.5.) It is to see him offering up that body and blood, which
he had thus assumed, in our room and stead, a sacrifice for
the satisfaction of justice for our sin; for he ofFered up himself
for us " a sacrifice and offering of a sweet-smelling savour;" to
184 THE HUMAIT NATURE [SER.
see the just suffering for the unjust, to bring «s to God. Now,
when the soul thus discerns the body of Christ, or the mystery
of the incarnation of the Son of God, then faith cats his flesh
and drinks his blood, like " fat things full of marrow, wines
on the lees, well refined." Oh sirs! see if, like Samson, you
can this day find the honey-combs of salvation, and the great
and precious promises, in the carcass of the slain " Lion of the
the tribe of Judah," for this " is meat indeed, and drink in-
deed."
Use second may be of Trial. Oh sirs ! what think you of
Ilim wJw took ?wt on him the nature of angels, bat the seed of
Abraham; have you given him his errand into the world, by
believing in him f Is thy soul crying, " Hosanna to the Son
of David; blessed is he that comelh in the name of the Lord,
to save us:" " this is a faithful saying, and worthy of all accep-
tation, that Christ came into the world to save sinners, of
whom I am chief?" Is thy heart glowing with love to him,
who is altogether lovely I and saying Oh, " Whom have
1 in heaven" but him? — " Yea, doubtless, I count all things
but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus
my Lord." Well, if this be the disposition of thy soul, I in-
vite you to come and feast with him. " Eat, O friends, drink,
yea, drink abundantly, O beloved !" " Eat ye that which is
good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness, and I will
make an everlasting covenant with you, well ordered in all
things, and sure:" the whole good of the covenant is before
you.
Use third of Exhortation, to all hearing me, young and old,
great and small, rich and poor. Whosoever you are, if j'ou
be of the human kind, men and women, sprung of Adam;
Oh ! will you answer the design of the Son of God, his taking
on our nature, when he passed by the nature of angels, by
believing in him ? The Father presents him to you, as the ob-
ject of his delight, that you may believe in him, Isa. xlii. 1 :
" Behold my servant whom I uphold, mine elect in whom
my soul delighteth," &c. Christ himself invites and calls us
to this, Isa. xlv. 22 : " Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the
ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is none else."
Qiics. AVhat will we behold, or see, in an incarnate God?
In him who took oti him the seed of Abraham, when he passed
by the nature of angels? Ansze. There are wonders to be
seen in him, which the standing holy angels behold with
admiration and eternal wonder. 1. O come and see an
angry God reconciled; God looking out with a smile upon
the guilty sinners, through the veil of the human nature,
2 Cor. V. 19: " God was in Christ reconciling the world to
himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them ;" crying,
XXXVHI.] Sf'RfirERRED tX) THE ANteELlC 185
<« Fury is not in me " for the sake of him in whom 1 am
well pleased, Isa. xii. 1, 2; Luke ii. 10 — 12, &c. 2. In him
you may see God dwelling with man upon earth, and " the
whole earth filled with his glory." 3. In him you Will see
the great God, that gives laws to angels and men, made
under his own law, that he might magnify it, and make it
honourable, that so " the righteousness of the law might be
fulfilled in us," who had broken every command of it. 4. In
him you will see " the hand-writing which was against us,"
and bound us over to wrath, wo, and misery, cancelled and
torn ; so that you may cry, who can lay any thing to your
charge? 5. In him you will see the brandished and flaming
sword of justice, that was ready to be soaked in the blood of
the guilty sinner, awakening against the man who is God's
fellow, Zech. xiii. 7; and having drunk of his royal blood,
the sword is again put up in its scabbard, and the white flag
of peace cast out with this motto : " He hath made peace
by the blood of his cross." 6. Here you will see the head of
the old serpent bruised, and the Lamb of God overcoming
him by his own blood. " Through death he destroyed him that
had the power of death." 7. In him you will see the two in-
superable mountains of natural and moral distance between
God and man removed, and made as a plain. The natural
distance is removed in his incarnation, and the moral distance
in his satisfaction. All bars and impediments that stood in
our way from law and justice removed, which Could never
have been effected by all the angels in heaven, or men upon
earth ; and yet this is done, and done by him, toho took not on
him the nature of angels, bid the seed of Abraham. 8. Here
you will see " the veil of the temple rent from top to bottomj ,
and the way to the holiest of all opened ;" so that we may
now " enter in with boldness by the blood of Jesus." The
veil of the ceremonial law is rent, the veil of the curse of the
moral law is rent, in the rending asunder of the soul and
body of Christ upon Mount Calvary. 9. In him you may see
God, first marrying our nature into a personal union with him-
self, and then, having come upon a level with us, or having
become one of our tribe, or family, presents himself as a
Bridegroom, proffering marriage with our persons ; for this is
the voice of Immanuel God-man, Is. liv. 5: "Thy maker is
thine husband (the Lord of hosts is his name ;") or, Hos. ii.
19: "I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will be-
troth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in
loving-kindness, and in mercy : I will even betroth thee unto
me in faithfulness, and thou shalt know the Lord," namely, in
a way of conjugal love and communion. 10. Here you will
see him confirming the covenant of grace and promise, and
voiv III. 17 t
186 THE HUMAN NATURE [SER.
turning it into an inviolable testamentary deed, which no
man can disannul. Dan. ix. 27 : " He shall confirm the cove-
nant with many." Heb. ix. 16, 17: "Where a testament
is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator,
for a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it
is of no force at all while the testator livelh." Sirs, this is
what we are to present you with in this holy ordinance of
the supper, even the confirmed testament of him who took
on him //le seed of Abraham ; Luke xxii. 29. "This cup,"
says Christ, "is the new testament in my blood," Matth. xxvi.
27, " drink ye all of it."
Seco7idly, Another word of exhortation is this. I call you
who are the sons and daughters of Zion, not only to " go
forth and behold king Solomon," and the wonders of his per-
son and mediation, but I call you to be his bride and spouse,
by giving the heart and hand to him as the bridegroom. Let
there be a match this day made up betwixt Christ and your
souls. Has the glorious Son of God, " the brightness of his
Father's glory," taken hold of your nature in the family of
Abraham ? O then take hold of him as your Kinsman; and
say, as Ruth did to Boaz, " Spread thy skirt over me," and
perform the Kinsman's part by marrying me. Sirs, I tell
you, that our blessed Goel and Kinsman, as he took part of
your flesh, so he wears your nature, that he may wed you,
and betroth you unto hmiself for ever. Oh i will you go
with the man, " Immanuei, God with us?" His hand is
stretched out, while I am speaking, saying to every one in
this company, "Behold me! behold me!" O! subscribe the
contract with heart and hand, saying, 'I am the Lord's; I
will be for thee, and not for another, who took not on thee
the nature of angels, but took on thee the nature of man, or
the seed of Abraham. Oh ! that this may be the wedding-day.'
"All things are ready, O come to the marriage." 1. The
Bridegroom is ready, the matchless Inunaniicl: behold he
standeth behind your wall. "Behold the Bridegroom Co-
meth," yea he is come; he "stands at the door and knocks,
saying, Open to me," Rev. iii. 20, &c. 2. The Bridegroom's
Father is ready; he consents that there should be a match
between you and his eternal Son ; he cries from heaven,
"This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, hear
ye him. This is his commandment, that ye believe in him,"
and so take him as my unspeakable gift, 8. The Spirit, the
third person of the glorious Trinity, is ready, as the minister,
to cast the everlasting knot between you and him, Rev. xxii.
17 : " The Spirit says, Come." Heb. iii. 7, 8. The Holy
Ghost says, " To-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not
your hearts." Many a kind motion does the Spirit of God
XXXVIII.] PREFERRED TO THE AXGELIC. 1^
make on your souls, in order to carry on the match. 4. The
friends of the Bridegroom, all faithful ministers and Chris-
tians, are ready : they rejoice " greatly because of the Bride-
groom's voice " in the gospel, offering marriage to you. Oh
to hear the voice of the bride also saying, " My beloved is
white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand— His
countenance is as Lebanon ; excellent as the cedars— My be-
loved is mine, and I am his; he feedeth among the lilies; un-
til the day break, and the shadows (lee away." 5. The con-
tract is ready, I mean the covenant of grace. The draught
of it was made at the table of the council of peace from eter-
nity, and the extract of it is in the Bible you have amongst
your hands: and we bring it forth to you in the preaching of
the gospel, and present it to every one, saying, " To you,"
and you, and you, " is the word of this salvation sent." " The
promise is to you, and to your seed." Oh! "let us fear, lest
a promise beino; left us, of entering into his rest, any of us
should come short of it through unbelief." 6. The marriage-
house is ready, both the loweV and the higher stories of it are
ready: and that moment you believe, you enter into the rest
of the blessed Bridegroom; you enter into the house which
Wisdom hath built with seven pillars, and shall ere long be
transported to the upper house of many mansion?, where you
shall behold his face, and " be with him for ever." The mar-
riage-supper is ready; for Wisdom has not only builded her
house of mercy, but* "she hath killed her oxen and fatlings;
she hath mingled her wine, and furnished her table," Prov.
ix. 2 — 5: "Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn
out her seven pillars. She hath killed her beasts, she hath
mingled her wine ; she hath also furnished her table. She
hath sent forth her maidens, she crieth upon the highest
places of the city. Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither :
as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him,
Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have
mingled." 7. iThe marriage-robe of righteousness, and gar-
ment of salvation, is ready ; for the " righteousness of God is
revealed in the gospel." The Lord is crying to this company,
" Hearken unto me, ye stout-hearted, that are far from right-
eousness, 1 bring near my righteousness." — " I have placed
salvation in Zion, for Israel my glory."
Well then, sirs, since all is readv," there is nothing wanting
but the bride. O come, and be' the bride of the glorious
Bridegroom ; and let us all cry one to another, as Rev. xix.
7, " Let us be glad and rejoice, for the marriage of the Lamb
is come, and his wife hath made herself ready." Amen,
Amen, Amen.
iSS THE ftROKEN LAW [SBR.
8£K]V10I\ XXXIX.
THE BROKEN LAW MAGNIFIED AND MADE
HONOURABLE, &c.
The Lord is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; he will magnify the
law, and make it honourable. — 'Isa. xlii. 21.
THE FIRST SERMON ON THIS TEXT.
This chapter, you see> is ushered in with a solemn call
from God the Father of all the world, hoth Jews and Gentiles,
to take notice of Messiah the Prince, the eternal Son of God,
whom he was, in the fulness of time, to send into the w.orld,
upon the great errand and business of the ledemption of lost
sinners of Adam's family : and, to arrest their attention and
admiration to this extraordinary person, many great and
glorious things are said of him ; as, that he was his Father's
honorary servant, his elect, the darling and delight of liis
soul ; that he is qualified, and fitted, and called to his work.
And, having spoken of the base treatment he was to meet
with from the Jewish nation, the prophet comes, in the words
of my text, to declare what account his own Father made of
his person and undertaking. Whatever base and low thoughts
his friends and countrymen may have of him, yet he "is glo-
rious in the eyes of the Lord ;" God's sentiments of him are
quite different from theirs, for the Lord is zcell pleased for his
righteousiiess' sake; as if he had said. However he be "de-
spised and rejected of men, as a root sprung out of a dry
ground," however you may make no more account of him
than if he were deaf, blind, and dumb, yet " he is my beloved
Son, in whom I am well pleased." Observe, from this con-
nexion, that God's thoughts of Christ are very different from
the thoughts that an unbelieving world iiave of him; an un-
believing world, with Herod, and his men of war, set him at
naught, but his Father reckons him the " brightness of his
glory," and calls him his elect.
The words then, in general, are, Jehovah's verdict concern-
ing the righteousness brought in by the great Messiah, with
the ground of it ; ihe Lord is nell pleased for his righteousness'
sake.
Where we may notice, 1. The great and glorious party
here spoken of, and that is Oiq LordyQn:, as ip the original, /e-.
XXXIX.} MAGNIFIED AND MADE HONOURABLE. ISt'
hovah, the righteous Judge, the ©ffended Lord and Lawgiver,
to whose wrath all mankind are obnoxious and liable, through
the breach and violation of the first covenant.
2. Something asserted concerning him, which may arrest
the attention of all mankind, and fill their hearts with joy,- and
their mouths with praises, and that is, that he is well pleased.
Whenever man had sinned, the anger and wrath of God was
kindled against him, and his fury was breaking out like fire,
and nothing remained for poor man, but "a fearful looking
for of wrathy and fiery indignation," to consume hm and all
his posterity, as a company of traitors and rebels ; but here
is a surprising declaration, that though he " was angry, yet
his anger is turned away," his frowns are turned into smiles*
the Lord Jehovah is zvell pleased. Again,
3. We have the cause and ground of this surprising decla-
ration. Why, what is the cause of his being well pleased?
It is for his righleousness'' sake; not for the sake of any ran-
som, atonement, or satisfaction, that the sinner could make,,
for " no man can by any means redeem" his own or his bro-
tlier's soul, " nor gire unto God a ransom for it," " The re-
demption of the soul is precious, and ceaseth for ever " as to
him ; but it is for his righteousness'' sake, who finished ti ans-
gression, and made an end of sin," who makes " reconcilia-
tion for iniquity," and so brings in an " everlasting righteous-
ness;" the " righteous Lord loveth righteousness," and with-
out it he cannot look with pleasure on any oif Adam's race ;
while Christ becomes the '^ end of the law for righteousness,"
he fulfils the precept, and undergoes the penalty of it, upon
which the ]^ord declares iiimself to be well pleased for his
nghleo'/sness^ sake.
4. We have the reason why the Lord Jehovah sustains the
righteousness of the Surety in the room of the sinner, or why
he is SO' zvell pleased for his righteousness^ sake ; why fhe shuU
magnify the laic, and make it honourable, J the holy law of God,
given to man in innocence as a covenant, or an eternal rule
of righteousness, was violated, and broken, and the authority
of the great Lawgiver affronted and contemned by man'^s
disobedience: but Christ, as our Surety, is "made of a wo-
man, and made under the law j" and,, by bringing in everlast-
ing righteousness, he not only fulfilled the Faw,. both in its
precept and penalty, but he magnifies it, and. makes it ho-
nourable ; he adds a new lustre and glory to the law,, which
it never had before, through the dignity of his person who
obeys it.
Some read the latter clause of the verse thus>- He shall mag-
nify the laWf and make (him) honourable : and so the meaning
is this: L Christ shall not only repair the hoinour of the law,.
17*
190' THE BROKEN LAW fsBR-..
but restore honour to God the great Lawgiver; and, indeed,,
never was there such a revenueof glory and honour brought
in to the crown of heaven, as by the obedience and satisfac-
tion of Christ : " Now," says Christ, " is the Son of man glo-
rified, and God is glorified in him." Through Christ, God
can save sinners, and give vent to his love, grace, and mer-
cy, upon terms that are honourable to his law, justice, holi-
ness, severity, and other perfections, that were [obscured]
and injured by the sin of man. Or, 2. He shall magnify the
law, and make him (that is, Christ) honourable; and so the
latter clause of the verse is a promise of the Father to the
Son^ that, upon his repairing the honour of the law by his hu-
miliation, he would make him honourable by a glorious exal-
tation, he would give him " a name above every name." But,
in my subsequent discourse, I shall follow the reading in the
translation, and the sense already given of it.
From the words thus opened, I observe this comprehensive
doctrine, almost the same with the words :
"That Christ, as our glorious Surety, having magnified
the law, and made it honourable, the Lord Jehovah declares
himself to be well pleased for his righteousness' sake."
But I shall divide this doclrine into these two:
First, " That Clurist, as our Surety, has magnified the law,
and made it honourable, by his obedience to the death."
Secondly, " That however God was displeased and provoked
with the sin of man, yet he is well pleased for the righteous-
ness' sake of the blessed Surety."
1 begin with iho first of these, namely, "That Christ, as.
the Surety of lost sinners, has magnified the law, and made
it honourable."
I only quote two scriptures for the confirmation of this;
the one you have, Rom. viii. 3, 4; where the apostle tells
you, that through the sacrifice and satisfaction of Christ,
" sin is condemned, and the righteousness of the law is ful-
filled in us ;" and Rom. x. 4 ; Christ is there said to be " the
end of the law for righteousness unto every one that belie-
veth."
Now, in discoursing on this doctrine, or this branch of the
complex doctrine, I shall,, through divine assistance, observe
the order and method following : —
XXXIX.] MAGNIFIED AND MADE HONOURABLE. 191
I. Suggest a few things concerning the law, and how it
was disparaged by the sin of man.
II. Speak a little of the glorious person who undertakes
the reparation of it as our Surety.
III. Inquire what may be imported in the expression of his
magnifying the law, and making it honourable.
IV. How he magnifies the law, and what way he takes to
make it honourable.
V. Give the reasons of the doctrine.
VI. Make some application.
I. The first thing is, to suggest a few particulars concern-
ing the law of God, which is debased and disparaged by the
sin of man.
\st, Then, You would know, that the law here principally
intended is the moral law of the ten commandments, at first
engraved upon the hearts of our first parents at their creation,
and afterwards, because that edition or copy of it was much
obliterated and defaced by the fall, published to Israel from
the mouth of God upon Mount Sinai, and written upon tables
of stone, and laid up in the ark for the use of Israel. This,
1 say, is the law here intended. The ceremonial and judicial
law were things peculiar to the Jews, or commonwealth of
Israel ; but the moral law had a being so soon as man was
created, and is binding upon all nations. For the breach of
this law man was condemned, and all his posterity laid under
the curse: and therefore this must be the law which Christ,
as our Surety, came to magnify and make honourable. And
concerning it, I ofTer,
'2dlyy That the moral law is nothing else but a transcript
of the original holiness and purity of God's nature. God's
essential holiness and righteousness was too bright and daz-
zling a pattern for man, even in a state of innocence; and
therefore he transcribes a copy of it, and pictures it out upon
the heart of man, that he might make it the rule of his obe-
dience in heart and in life, requiring him to be " holy as he
is holy."
3rf/y, The law being a copy or emanation of God's holiness
and righteousness, it must be dearer to him than heaven and
earth, or the whole frame of nature. Hence is that [declara-
tion] of Christ, Matth. v. 17, 18: "Think not that I am
come to destroy the law and the prophets ; I am not come
to destroy, but to fulfil. Verily I say unto you, Till heaven
and earth pass, one Jot or one tittle shall in no ways pass from
the law, till all be fulfilled." Sirs, whatever mean or low
thoughts we may have of the law, through the blindness of
our minds, yet I can assure you, that it is such a sacred
192 THE BROKBX LAW [SER.
thing with God, that he will sooner unhinge the frame of
nature, and reduce it to its original nothing, than suflTev it to
be trampled upon by sinners, without showing a suitable re-
sentment.
4ihly, This law was given to our first parents under the
form of a covenant ; a promise of life being made to them,
upon condition of their yielding a perfect obedience ; and a
threatening of death added, in case of disobedience, "In the
day thou eatest, thou shalt surely die." In this covenant
Adam stood as the public head and representative of all his
posterity : had he continued in his obedience to the law of
that covenant, eternal life had been conferred on him, and
all his posterity, by virtue of the promise of God ; the sum
and substance of that covenant being, as the apostle tells us,
" the man who doth these things shall live by them."
[)tkly, Man being left to the freedom of his own will,
through the flattering hisses of the old serpent, " did break
the law of God," and so forfeited his title to life by virtue of
that covenant; and brought himself, and all his posterity,,
under the curse or penalty of death temporal, spiritual, and
eternal, Rom. v. 12: "By one man sin entered into the
world, and death by sin ; and so death passed upon all men,
for that all have sinned."
6thly, The law being broken and violated by sin, the ho-
nour of the law, and the authority of God, the great Lawr
giver, are, as it were, laid in the dust, and trampled under
foot, by the rebellious and disobedient sinner. Wiien man
sinned, he, upon the matter, denied that the law was holy,,
just, and good ; and, at the same time, disowned God for a
sovereign, sa}Mng, with proud Pharaoh, " Who is the Lord,
that 1 should obey him ?" " I myself am Lord, and will come
no more unto thee." In a word, every sin, every transgres-
sion of the law, is a breaking Goal's bands, and a casting his
cords from us, and a saying practically, " Let the Almighty
depart from us, for we desire not the knowledge of his ways."
And what an insufferable affront and indignity is this, for
worm man to offer to the " high and lofty one that inhabiteth
eternity?" and what a wonder is it, that " indignation and
wrath, tribulation and anguish," do not pursue every sinner
through eterniiy ?
Ithly, The law being violated, and the Lawgiver affronted,,
in such a way as has been hinted, the salvatioivof sinners by
the law, and the works of it, becomes utterly impossible, un-
less the honour of the law, and of the great Lawgiver, be-
repaired and restored somehow or other. It is among the
irreversible decrees of heaven*, that " in his sight no flesh
living shall be justified," unless the holiness of the law be
XXXIX.] MAGNIFIED AND MADE HONOURABLE. 193
vindicated by a perfect obedience to its precept, and a com-
plete satisfaction be given to justice for the injuries done to
the honour of the great Lord and Lawgiver : without this,
" he will by no means acquit the guilty." Thus matters stood
with Adam before the first promise of Christ, and thus mat-
ters stand with all his posterity, until we fly to him, who is
*' the end of the law for righteousness to every one that be-
lieveth."
IL The second thing was to inquire, Who is he that under-
takes to magnify the law, and make it honourable, as our Surety?
I answer, it is none othe-r than Messiah the Prince, of
whom you were hearing from Daniel ix. 24, the eternal Son
of God, who voluntarily offered himself as a Surety and Sa-
viour of lost sinners, and who gave bond from eternity to his
Father, that, in the fulness of time, he would not only assume
our nature, but repair the honour of the law, and satisfy jus-
tice to the full, saying, as Psal. xl. 7, 8 : " Lo, I come, in the
volume of the book it is written of me: I delight to do thy
will, O my God ; yea, thy law is within my heart." Now,
this is the person who magnifies the law and makes it ho-
nourable; and concerning this glorious person we find many
great things said in this chapter. As,
1. That he is his Father's servant, as ver. 1 : " Behold my
servant whom I uphold." He is essentially considered " in
the form of God, and thinks it no robbery to be equal
with God," and yet " he made himself of no reputation,
and took upon him the form of a servant ;" and, as a ser-
vant, he had both his work and his wages appointed him by
his Father. His work was, to redeem the lost sinners of
Adam's family, by his obedience to death; and his wages or
reward was, his own and his Father's glory, and our salva-
tion: and for this "joy that was set before him, he endured
the cross, despising the shame," thinking his thirty-three
years' service but a little time, for the love he bore to his
Father's honour and our salvation, alluding to Jacob's ser-
vice for Rachel.
2. We are here told of him, that he is his Father's elect,,
ver. 1 : " Behold my servant whom I uphold, mine elect,""
that is, my chosen one, according to that, Psal. Ixxxix. 19 :
" I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted
one chosen out of the people." He was elected by his Fa-
ther, and we are elected in him, Eph. i. 4 : " He hath chosen
us in him, before the foundation of the world." Oh, sirs ! let
God's elect, or chosen Redeemer, be our choice also. The
reason why his Father chose him, and set him up from ever-
lasting, was, none other was fit for the undertakiog, none
194 THE BROKEN LAW [SEB.
olher was capable to bear the weight of that service, but he
alone.
3. We are told that he is his Father's darling or delight,
ver. 1: " Behold my servant whom 1 uphold, mine elect in
whom my soul delighteth." Agreeably to this is that which
Christ, under the notion of the wisdom of God, tells us con-
cerning himself, Prov. viii. : " I was by him as one brought
up with him, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always
before him." Oh, sirs ! let it till us with wonder and admi-
ration at the love of God to lost sinners, that he should take
his beloved Son, his only Son, the Son of his bosom and de-
light, and give him to the death for us sinners, that he might
repair the honour of the law, at the expense of his blood,
that so we might be saved in a consistency with the law and
justice of God ; " this is the Lord's doing," and may justly be
" marvellous in our eyes."
4. We are told concerning this person, who magnified the
law as our Surety, that he is qualitied by his Father for the
work and service of redemption, by the anointing of the
eternal Spirit, ver. 1 : " I will put my Spirit upon him, God,
even his God, hath anointed him with the oil of gladness
above all his follows." There is a fulness of the Spirit in
him, as the head of the mystical body, that out of his fulness
we might receive grace for grace, and because of the sa-
vour of this good ointment, his " name is as ointment poured
forth. "
5. He is one whose commission is very extensive; for we
are told in the close of ver. 1, that he shall " bring forth judg-
ment to the Gentiles." The eternal counsels of heaven, here
called judgment, were to be published, not only to the Jews,
but even to the Gentiles, who were " aliens to the common-
wealth of Israel," for many himdred years. I will not only
give him " to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the
preserved of Israel :" but also to be '• a light unto the Gen-
tiles, and to be God's salvation unto the ends of the earth."
Oh ! that now, when this prophecy is turned into history,
there may be a flocking of the poor Gentiles into this " en-
sign, that is set up unto the nations ; Christ preached unto
the Gentiles " is a part of the incredible " mystery of godli-
ness."
0. We are told of him, that he was to be a meek and lowly
Saviour, and that he would manage and carry on his work
without much noise, ver. 2: "He shall not cry, nor lift up,
nor cause his voice to be heard in the street."
7. That he was to be very tender and compassionate to-
wards his poor people, particularly the weaklings of his flock,
ver. 3, " a bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking
XXXIX.] MAGNIFIED AND MADE HONOURABLE. 195
flax shall he not quench ;" he will not discourage or despise
the least degree or beginnings of faith, love, or obedience ;
no, " he shall feed his flock like a shepherd, he shall gather
the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and
shall gently lead those that are with young."
8. That he would be victorious and successful in his work,
mauger all the opposition that should lie in his way, either
from heaven, earth, or hell, ver. 3, 4: "He shall bring forth
judgment unto truth. He shall not fail, nor be discouraged,
till he have set judgment in the earth."
9. We are told of him, that he would bear his Father's
commission, and be sustained in his work by the right hand
of his power, ver. 6 : " I the Lord have called thee in right-
eousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee." He
did not intrude himself into the work of the ministry, or run
unsent. No, but he was " called of God, as was Aaron," and
being called, he was not left alone.
10. We are told of him, that he is the free gift of God to
a lost v>7orkl, in the close of ver. 6: " and give thee for a co-
venant of the people," insomuch, that whosoever believes in
him, has a saving interest in the covenant of grace and pro-
mise, and in all " the sure mercies of David." Whosoever
believes in him, and trusts and credits him \vith his eternal
all ; whosoever receives him as the unspeakable gift of God,
may travel through the wide covenant, and pick up there
whatever he finds for his use, saying, 'This is mine, and that
is mine, and all is mine, becauSe Christ is mine, as the free gift
of God.'
11. We are told of him, that he would be the light of the
world, and particularly a light to the poor Gentiles, who had
so long sat in the regions and shadow of death, ver. 6, at the
close, I will give him " for a light to the Gentiles," ver. 7, •' to
open the blind eyes." Christ is the true " Sun of righteous-
ness, the light of the world," and every man has as good a
title to make use of him for all the ends of his salvation, as he
has to make use of the light of the sun in the firmament, to
which every man is born heir, be he rich or poor, noble or
ignoble, saint or sinner. Oh sirs, take in the light of the Sun
of righteousness into your understandings, and you will find
" healing under his wings."
12. We are told of him, that he would loose the devil's
prisoners, ver. 7. He shall " bring out the prisoners from the
prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison-house."
Sinners are the lawful captives of hell, and the devil has law
and justice on his side against all mankind, to detain, them in
the bonds of iniquity, as God's jailer: Well, but Christ " mag-
nifies the law, and makes it honourable," and the great judge
196 THE BROREN LAW [SKR»
b " well pleased for his righteousness' sake ;" and therefore
lie says, in a day of power, to the poor prisoners, •' Go forth."
and thus you see who and what he is, from the context, who
is here said to magnify the law.
III. The third thing proposed, was to inquire what is
imported in his magnifying the law, and making it honour-
able.
Ansro. There are these few things supposed or implied in
the expression : — ,
First, As you were hearing, it supposes that the law is bro-
ken, and thus the greatest indignity done to it, and to him
who gave it. Hence sin, which is a transgression of the law,
is called a casting of God's counsel behind our backs, as we
do with a thing that we nauseate and disdain. The sinner
disdains to be under the government of ihe law of God, but
sets up his own lusts and corrupt inclinations in the room of
it, and what greater ignominy and disgrace can be put upon
the royal law of heaven.
Secondly, The expression implies or supposes, that God
the great Lawgiver, stands upon reparation; he will have
his law vindicated, and the honour of it repaired, otherwise
no flesh living can be saved. Oh that this w'cre but duly
weighed by sinners who have broken the law times and ways
without number! If reparation be not made to the holylaw,
for the transgression of it, it stands as an eternal bar in the
way of our salvation. Now, fire you capable to yield it a
perfect obedience after you have broken it? or can you sa-
tisfy the penalty of it, and make an atonement to justice?
Thirdly, It implies, that man, who has broken the law, is
utterly incapable to repair its honour, or to satisfy justice.
Indeed, every legalist is attempting it, but, alas, he " walks
in a vain show," he " walks in the light of his fire, and in the
sparks that he has kindled," and then " lies down in sorrow,"
He but " wearies himself in the greatness of his way," for
" his webs cannot become garments, neither shall he cover
himself with his works;" for " by the works of the law shall
no flesh be justified."
Fourthly, It implies, that God, the great Lawgiver, admits
of the "substitution of a Surety in the room of the sinner,"
otherwise he could not magnify the law in our room and
stead. Sirs, if God had stood to the rigour of his law, ac-
cording to the tenor of the flrst covenant, " In the day thou
eatest thereof thou shalt surely die," he would have exacted
reparation of us in our own persons ; in which case, we should
have fallen an eternal sacrifice into the hands of avenging
wrath and justice : but, glory to his name, he dispenses with
XXXIX.] MAGNIFIED AND MADE HONOURABLE. 197
the rigour of his law, and admits a Surety, and not only ad-
mits of a Surety, but provides a responsible one too for us.
"I have laid help upon one that is mighty: 1 have found
David my servant."
Fifthly, It implies, that Christ, as our Surety, actually put
his neck under the yoke of the divine law. Though he was
no debtor to the law, either as to its precept or penalty, yet
he bowed his glorious head, that that heavy yoke might be
wreatfied about his neck for us. Hence is that of the apos-
tle. Gal. iv. 4, 5, " made of a woman, made under the law,
to redeem them that were under the law."
Sixlkly, It implies, that the holy law is no loser by Christ's
substitution in our room ; no, it has all that it demanded in
order to its satisfaction. Did the law demand holiness, and
perfect holiness, in our nature? Well, it has its demand in
Christ, for he was originally holy ; he is without the stain or
defilement of original sin: "That holy thing which shall be
born of thee shall be called the Son of God," Luke i. 35 :
" He was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners."
Did the law demand perfect obedience to its commands'?
Well, that it has in Christ; for he "fulfilled all righteousness."
'•' He did no violence, neither was guile found in his mouth."
Did the law demand satisfaction to justice, or the execution
of its penalty? Well, it has its demand in him: for "he was
wounded for our transgressions; the just suffered for the un-
just, that he might bring us to God." Thus, the law loses
nothing by Christ's substitution, but has all that it required.
Seventhly, It implies, that the holy law, instead of being a
loser, gains an additional honour and glory by the righteous-
ness of the Surety. Never had the law such a subject be-
fore as its own Lord who made it. Suppose the sinless obe-
dience of Adam and all his posterity, and the obedience of all
the angels in heaven, and of all creatures were put together,
and this obedience continued through eternity, yet this could
not magnify the law, or make it honourable; because the
obedience of creatures is nothing but what they own in jus-
tice to the law of their great Creator. But here we have
the great Lord of angels and men, whose will is a law to
them all, yielding obedience to the law in our room. Thisi,
surely, adds a new lustre and an additional glory to the law
which it never had before. And thus you see what is im>-
plied in Christ" s magnifying the law, and making it honouf-
ahle.
VOL. 111. 18 ' t
198 THE BROKEN LAW [SER-
THE BROKEN LAW MAGNIFIED AND MADE HONOURABLE.
The Lord is well pleased for his righteousness' sake ; he will magnify the
law, and make it honourable. — Isa. xlii. 21.
THE SECOND SERMON ON THIS TEXT.
IV. The fourth thing in the method was to inquire, How
is it that Christ mag?]ifies the law, and makes it ho?wurable.
Now, for clearing this matter, I would have you to consider,
that the moral law comes under a twofold consideration ; it
may be considered as a covenant, and as a rule of life. As a
covenant, promising the reward of hfe eternal to every one
that yields a perfect obedience to its commandments, and
threatening death eternal to every one that fails in the per-
formance of this condition ; or it may be considered as a rule
of obedience, simply prescribing the duty which the rational
creature owes to God, its great Creator, and Preserver, and
Benefactor, without any promise of life or threatening of death
annexed to it, which gives it its covenant form. Now, Christ
magnified tiie law, and made it honourable, under both tliese
views and considerations.
First, As a covenant, he magnifies it, and makes it honour-
able; and this he did, by fuifilling all its demands. As I
hinted already, there were three things which the law insists
upon from fallen man, by virtue of the covenant-transaction
between God and Adam in a state of innocence. I. Holiness
of nature. 2. Righteousness of life. 3. Satisfaclion for sin
and disobedience : none of which we arc in the least capa-
ble to afford; but every one of them is completely afforded
in Christ.
1. I say, the law, as a covenant, demands of us a perfect
holiness and rectitude in our very natuies. This God gave
to Adam in innocence; for he made him upright after his own
image. This uprightness and integrity of nature was quite
lost by the fall; we are "conceived in sin, and shapen in ini-
quity:" "the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint:
from the sole of the foot, even unto the head there is nothing
but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores." Hence we
arc "by nature the children of wrath :" so that the law can-
not find a holy, pure, and innocent nature, among any sprung
of Adam by natural generation. But this demand of the law
is fulfilled in Christ, the second Adam, as the public head and
XXXIX.] MAGNIFIED AND MADE HONOURABLE. 199
representative of his spiritual seed ; for " he was conceived
by the power of the Holy Ghost, in the womb of the virgin,
Jind born of her without sin :" Luke i. 35 : " That holy thing,
which shall be born of thee." That holy thing, that is, that
innocent human nature which shall be born of thee. Heb.
vii. 2G. He is " holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sin-
ners," The law requires of every Son of Adam, that he
should have a nature as upright and holy as that which he
received from God, the great Lawgiver, at his creation. This
is absolutely impossible for us to give, but it is found in Christ;
for in him the human nature is also restored to its integrity and
perfection; and every believer being in him, as their public
head and representative, they are in the reckoning of the law
born holy in Christ, the second Adam, even as they were
created lioly in the first Adam. Hence believers are said to
be complete in him, Col. ii. 10. They have a complete ho-
liness of nature in him. This, according to the demand of
the law, is continued in Christ: for the law not only demands
that our nature should be holy, but that we should persevere
and continue in this condition. Now, this demand of the law
is fully answered in Christ ; for in him our nature continues
to be perfectly holy for ever, however unholy it may be in us,
personally or abstractly considered : and God looking upon
our nature, as it is in him, not as it is in us, sees us altogether
fair and perfect in holiness in him, not in the least marred :
according to what we have. Cant. iv. 7: "Thou art all fair,
my love, there is no spot in thee." And thus, this tirst de-
mand of the law is fultilled in Christ, as to the perfect holi-
ness of our nature.
2. The law not only demands a perfect holiness of nature,
but also a perfect and sinless obedience of life. The language
of the law as a covenant, to all the sons of Adam, is, " He that
doth these things shall live by them. If thou wilt enter into
life, keep the commandments." We must " continue in all
things wliich are written in the book of the law to do them."
But now this demand of the law cannot be answered or ful-
tilled by us; for ' no mere man, since the fall, is able perfectly
to keep the commandments of God, but doth daily break them
in thought, word, and deed.' Our nature, as you were hear-
ing, being wholly corrupted, every thought and imagination is
evil, only, and continually. Now, although this active, perr
feet obedience by the iaw, cannot be yielded by any of man-
kind, descending from Adam by natural generation, yet it has
its demand from Christ, our glorious Surety, Head, and Re-
presentative. The law required of us, that our obedience
should be universal, perfect, and constant: these are all to be
ifgun4 in the obedience our Surety yielded to it. For,
200 THE BROKE\ LAW [sER.
(1.) His obedience to the law as our Surety is universal;
all things written in the book of the law must be obeyed : if
there be the least failure of obedience as to any one jot, or
any the least of its commandments, it lays the man imder the
curse. Now, I say, Christ did every thing that the law re-
quired; he "fulfilled all righteousness;" he did "no violence,
neither was guile found in his mouth."
(2.) His obedience to the law was every way perfect as
to the manner. The law required that we not only do every
thing that it requires, but that we " love the Lord, avd serve
him, with all the heart, and with all the &oul, and with all
the strength, and with all the mind, and our neighbour as
ourselves." Oh ! who among all Adam's race can obey and
love the Lord after this manner? Well, but this is done in
Christ: love to God and man shined to its perfection in him,
and in the whole course of his obedience.
(3.) His obedience was constant, and continued to the very
end. Thus the law required that we should not only do all
things, but "continue in all things which are written in the
book of the law to do them." Man " being in honour con-
tinueth not;" and in the best state, in his best frames, cannot
continue in such a universal and perfect obedience, as the
law requires, for one moment; but Christ, our glorious Sure-
ty, continued in a universal and perfect obedience to the very
end; from his birth to the grave; from his womb to the tomb.
Hence we are told, Philip, ii. 8, that he was obedient to death:
and John xvii., that hejinished the uork which the Father gave
him to do. Thus, you sec the law is magnified and made
honourable, as to this demand of righteousness of life, in
Christ our glorious Surety : and this is what divines commonly
call his active obedience.
3. Another thing that the law demands of fallen man, is a
complete satisfaction to justice, in consequence of (he penalty
or sentence of the law; "Li the day thou eatcst thereof, thou
shalt surely die." The veracity and faithfulness of God was
engaged in this threatening, and justice stood upon its execu-
tion, insomuch that without death, or " shedding of blood,
there could be no remission of sin." Now, suj)posing that the
threatening of death temporal, spiritual, and eternal, had
been executed upon Adam and his posterity for ever, the law
and justice of God would have been glorified in our ruin ; but
yet it could never have been said, that the law and justice of
God were satisfied, far less could they have been magnified
and made honourable: but by the death and sufferings of the
Son of God in our room and stead, the penalty of the law is
so fulfilled, and the justice of God so fully satisfied, that the
Lord Jehovah declares himself xcell pleased for his righteous-
SCXXIX.] MAGNIFIED AND MADE HONOURABLE. 201
7iess'' sake, the laio being thereby magnified arid made honoura-
ble. It was the man who is God's fellow, and who thinks
" it not robbery to be equal with God," who became a curse
and a sacrifice for us. The best blood of the whole crear
tion goes for the satisfaction of law and justice. And thus
you see how all the demands of the law are satisfied to the
full in Christ : and thus he magnifies the law to the full as a
covenant.
Secondly, Christ magnifies the law, not only as a covenant,
but likewise as a rule of life; and this he does several ways,
1. By writing a fair copy of obedience to it, in his own ex-
ample, Yor the imitation of all his followers. Christ calls the
law, as a rule of obedience, his yoke, " Take my yoke upon
you ;" and, to make (he yoke easy to his friends, he first wears
it, and smoothes it himself, that it might not gall their necks;
hence we are told, that he has left '"us an example that we
should follow his steps;" and we are so to walk even as he
walked, to follow him, and to run our race looking to him, as
our glorious Pattern of obedience. We must be holy, " as
he that hath called us is holy."
2. By explaining it in its utmost extent, for as David tells
us, " it is exceeding broad." The Jewish doctors, in order
to establish a righteousness of their own, pared off the spirit-
uality of the lavi% and confined the meaning of it to the bare
letter; but Christ, in his sermon upon the mount, vindicates
the law from these narrow and corrupt glosses, and lays it
open in its extent and spirituality, showing, that the law of
God not only concerned the external man, or overt acts of
the life, but reached the heart, and the innermost recesses
of the soul, as you see, Matth. v., where he tells them, that
rash anger was murder in the eye of the holy law, and that
a lascivious look towards a woman was heart-adultery, and
the like.
3. By. establishing the obligation of it as a rule of obe-
dience to all his followers. Although indeed he dissolves the
obligation of it as a covenant to all believers, so as they
are neither to be justified nor condemned by it, yet he estab-
lishes it, I say, as a rule of duty even to believers, as well as
others: "Think not that I am' come to destroy the law or
the prophets, nay, I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil it,"
Matth. v. 17; Rom. iii., at the close; "Do we then make
void the law through faith ? God forbid : yea, we establish
the law." The law is now delivered to us in the hand of a
Mediator; it has lost nothing of its original authority as
coming from a God-creator, but this law of the Creator re-
ceives an additional authority, as being issued to us through
a God-redeemer.
18*
'"'^02 THE BROKEN LAW [sER.
4. By writing it upon the heart of all hl.s followers, by the
finger of his eternal Spirit, according to that promise, Jer.
xxxi. 33: "I will put my law in their inward parts, and
write it in their hearts, and will be their God, and they shall
be n)y people." Whenever a soul is called elfcctually by
the word and Spirit of Christ, he, that moment, inlays a prin-
ciple of holiness, or conformity to the law, in its heart : hence
are these breathings of soul after obedience to it, that we
find so frequent among the saints; " Let my heart be sound
in thy statutes; O that my ways were directed to keep thy
statutes : Hold up my goings in thy paths; that my footsteps
slip not."
5. By enforcing obedience to the law amons all his fol-
lowers, by stronger motives than the law itself, abstractly
considered, could atlbrd. Death, hell, and ruin are the prin-
cipal motives that the law makes use of in exacting obedience
from fallen man: "In the day that thou eatest thereof, thou
sbalt surely die:" " The soul that sinneth it shall die :" " In-
dignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every
soul of man that doth evil." But now Christ in the gospel
does not drag, but draws the soul sweetly into the ways of
obedience, by the consideration of redeeming love ; he draws
tbem with the "cords of a man, and witlt the bands of love:
The love of Christ constrains me," says Paul. "If ye love
me, keep my commandments." He sets them at liberty from
wrath, and the curse, and then calls them " to serve him
without fear, in holiness and righteousness all the days of
their life;" aiid so he makes his yoke easy, and his burden
light.
6. By actuating them in their obedience to the law by his
own Spirit, according to that promise of tlie covenant, Ezek.
xxxvi. 27 : "1 will put my Spirit within you, and cause you
to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and
do them." Hereby they are made to study holiness-" in all
manner of conversation," and the light of their obedience
and holiness in their walk shines forth, so as others seeing
their good works, are made to glorify " their Father w hich
is in heaven."
Thus you see how Christ magnifies the law, and makes it
honourable, as a covenant, fullilling the righteousness of it in
his own person, as our Surety, and as a rule of obedience in
the hearts and lives of his followers; though, indeed, I think
it is in the first sense that the words are principally to be
understood, I mean the law as a covenant, as seems plain
from the oth6r clause of the verse compared with this. The
Lord is v:ell pleased for his righteovsjKss'' sake ; not for the sake
XXXIX.] MAGNIFIED AND MADE HONOURABLE. 203
of our obedience, but for the sake of his righteousness, the Lord
is zcell pleased.
V. The Jifth thing in the method was, to inquire into the
reasons of this doctrine: why is it thai Christ magnifies iJie late,
and makes it honourable ?
To this I answer in these particulars : —
1st, He did it from the regard he had to his Father's ho-
nour and authority, affronted in the violation of the law.
The sovereignty, holiness, justice, and other perfections of
God, were despised, his government disturbed in the breach
of the law. Now, that he might- restore that honour to God
which he took not away, he would magnify the laze, and
make it honourable : hence he could say to his Father, when
he had finished his work, "Father, I have glorified thee upon
earth," where he was dishonoured by the sin of man,
2dlij, He did it out of love that he bore to our salvation,
which could not be accomplished, unless the penaltv of the
law had been endured, and the precept of it obeyed. The
law and justice of God was ready to fall upon us, but he sea-
sonably interposed, saying, " Lo! I come," &c.
Sdly, Because he was ordained of God from eternity for
this work and service, he was set up for it by the decree and
ordination of heaven, and he did always those thino-s that
pleased his Father.
4thly, Because he had given his engagement in the council
of peace; he entered his name in the volume of God's book,
and had his ear bored as his Father's servant for this work ;
and having sworn or promised to his own hurt, he would not
change. It was upon the credit of this engagement of Christ
to satisfy law and justice, that all the Old Testament saints
were admitted into heaven; and if he had not fulfilled his
undertaking, they had been turned out of heaven ao-ain, in
among the damned : but his Father knew that he was match
for his work, and that he would not "faint nor be discou-
raged, till he had set judgment in the earth."
5thly, He magnified the law as a covenant, that " we
might be freed from it," in its covenant-form, and curse, Gal.
iv. 4 : He was " made under the law to redeem them that
were under the law." Rom. vii. 4 : " Ye are dead to the
law by the body of Christ."
Gthly, He magnified the law, and made it honourable, as a
covenant, that we may obey it as a rule, and serve the Lord
without fear of the curse and condemnation, " in holiness
and righteousness all the days of our lives." If Christ had
not repaired the honour of the law, we had been in bondage
through fear of the law's penalty taking place upon us every
moment.
204 THE BROKEN LAW [sER.
llhly, To procure and confirm his own right of governnnent
as Mediator, Rom. xiv. 9 : " To this end Christ both died,
and rose, and revived, that he might be l^ord both of the
dead and living." He was resolved to be Lord, not only by
right of creation, but by the right of redemption; iiot only
the Lord that made us, but the Lord that bought us; and
therefore he magnifies the law.
Slhly, That he might " still the enemy and the avenger,"
and outshoot the devil in his own bow. Satan's usurped king-
dom and dominion in the "W'orld stood upon the violation of
the law; the law being broken, the devil got his power from
God, as his jailer and executioner over poor man: but now
Christ, as a Surety kinsman, having fulfilled the law, and
satisfied justice, the bottom falls out of the devil's kingdom,
his head is bruised, and " through death he that had the
power of death is destroyed." When Satan had got man to
break the law, and so brought under the penalty, (" the soul
that sinneth it shall die,") no doubt the devil would say, ' Now
the day is mine own, God cannot save man in a consistency
with his own holiness and faithfulness engaged in the penalty
of the law.' He thought, no doubt, that he had God at a
disadvantage, being boimd to destroy his own viceroy, that
bore his own image in this lower world. But Infinite Wis-
dom outwits the enemy, he " takes the wise in his own crafti-
ness, and tiu'ns the counsel of that forward" spirit headlong:
' My Son,' says God, ' sliall take on man's nature, and in his
room and stead "shall magnify the law and make it honour-
able," by obeying the commands and enduring the curse :
and so, upon that ground, he shall bring about the salvation
and freedom of man, in a consistency with my holiness and
faithfulness too:' 1 .John iii. 8: " For this purpose the Son of
God was manilested, that he might destroy the works of the
devil." Thus you see the reasons why Christ magtijfied the
law, and made it ho7wuruhle.
Vi. I proceed now to the sixth thing I proposed, which
was the application of this doctrine.
And the frst use 1 shall make of this doctrine, shall be by
way of inference in the particulars following: —
1st, Is it so that Christ, as our Surety, lias magnified the
law, and made it honot/rable ? then see hence the excellency
of the law of God, and the sacred regard that God bears to
it. Why, if ever man, who had violated the law, be admit-
ted to the presence of God, or the enjoyment of him, either
here or hereafter, it shall be in such a way as the honour of
the law shall be saved and repaired. Oh sirs ! beware of
diminutive thoughts of the holy law of the ten command-
SXXIX.] MAGNIFIED AND MADE HONOURABLE. 205
ments, for God thinks honourably of it, and will have the
honour of it maintained at any rate. If the righteousness of
it be not fulfilled in you by imputation, the penalty of it shall
be fulfilled in your eternal condemnation. The great plot of
Infinite Wisdom, in the work of redemption, was to have the
law magnified and made honourable, in the salvation of the
lost sinner; and because this could not be done another way,
the eternal Son of God must be " made of a woman," that
he might be " made under the law," that so the honour of the
holy law might be maintained and preserved. Oh does not
this say, that God has a sacred regard to the honour of it?
And yet, alas ! how few are there among professed Christ-
ians, who discover any regard to its honour, w'hile they tram-
ple it every day under their feet, by their disobedience to it,
in thought, word, and deed 1 No man is a Christian indeed,
until he come., in some measure, to have honourable thoughts
of the law as God hath, saying, with Paul, " The law is holy,
just, and good." David had such honourable thoughts of it,
that he meditated in it day and night, and esteemed all its
commandments concerning all things to be right.
2dhj, See hence the evil of sin, and why Christ came to
tinish transgression, and make an end of it. Why, sin is a
transgression of the law, which Christ will have magnified
and made honourable. God, the righteous Judge, has such
a quarrel against sin, for the violation of his law, that he has
denounced " indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish,
against every soul that doth evil :" And his quarrel against
it will be prosecuted to the lowest hell, against a wicked un-
believing world. He has determined, that "the wicked shall
be turned into hell, and all the nations of the earth that forget
God," and cast his law behind their backs. Yea, when sin
was laid by imputation upon him, who had no sin of his own
to answer for, even the eternal and beloved Son of God; yet
the raging sword of justice awaked against him, and bruised
him for our transgressions. Why, sirs, does not all this dis-
cover the evil and malignity that is in sin, as it is a trans-
gression of that law which God will at any rate have mag-
nified and made honourable 1 Oh, ye that love the Lord,
hate it, for h is the abominable thing that his soul hates, &c.
'Sdbj, Did Christ magnify the lcm\ and make it honourable?
Then see hence the dreadful situation of every sinner that is
out of Christ, destitute of his righteousness. Why, the law
of God, which denounces death to every transgressor, stands
in its full force against them : it still insists upon the debt of
perfect and sinless obedience against you ; and because you
cannot give that, it denounces the curse of God upon you;
" As many as are of the works of the law are under the
206 THE BROKEN LAW [SER.
curse," Gal. iv. 10. The law will have its curse executed
and fulfilled, either in the Surety or the sinner.
4:thly, See hence the wonderful love of God to lost sinners,
in sending his own Son to magnify the law, after we had vio-
lated and broken it ; and at the same time it discovers the
grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, though he be
supreme Judge, King, and Lawgiver, yet was v\'ijling to be
" made under the law," and to obey it as a subject, that we
might be delivered from law- vengeance, and have the right-
eousness of it fullilled in us thiough him, Rom. viii. 3, 4.
"What the law could not do, in that it was weak through the
flesh, God sending his own Son, in the likeness of sinful flesh,
and for sin condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteous-
ness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after
the flesh, but after the Spirit."
5//;///, See hence the ignorance and error of those who are
prejudiced against the doctrine of imputed righteousness, and
justification by faith, as if it were prejudicial to the holy law,
or derogated any way from its honour and authority. Why,
it is so far from derogating from the law, that it is the only
way in which it can be fulfilled and magnified. Christ does
not destroy the law, but fulfils its righteousness, in his own
person, by an active and passive obedience, and in all his
members, by imputation : hence Christ is said to be " the end
of the law for righteousness." The law gets what it seeks
in Christ; and whenever a sinner believes in Jesus, the law
ceases its pursuit against that man, crying, 'There is no con-
demnation for him, because I have got what I craved in his
Surety, who has brought in an everlasting righteousness,
whereby I am honoured.'
(jlhly, See hence the error of those who assert, that a justi-
fied believer is still liable to the curse, or penal sanction of
the law. Seeing the law is satisfied, both as to precept and
penalty in Christ the Cautioner, how can the believer be lia-
ble still to its curse? This doctrine derogates from the excel-
lency of that law-magnifying righteousness, which is imputed
to believers in their justification. If Adam had continued
yielding a perfect obedience to the law, neither he, nor an}'-
of his posterity, would have been liable to the curse or penal-
ty ; how much less is the believer liable, who is adorned with
the righteousness of God by imputation ? That word may
strike terror into those who advance such doctrine, Rom. vii.
33: " It is God that justifielh, who is he that condemnethf
It is God that acquits the believer from the curse, who then
dare to make him liable?
llhhi, See the error and folly of those, who go about to
" establish their own righteousness " as the ground of theiv
XXXIX.] MAGNIFIED AND MADE HONOURABLE. 207
justification and acceptance, and " refuse to submit to the
righteousness of God," Hke the Jews, Rom. x. 3. Oh, how
niuch do men disparage the law, and despise the righteous-
ness of Christ, who do so ! for in efllect the self-righteous per-
son says, ' That he is more capable to magnify the law by his
own obedience than Christ.' For this slight the Jews put
upon the righteousness of Christ, God slighted and rejected
the whole Jewish nation ; and for this sin every self-righte-
ous person shall be rejected of God.
Qthhj, This doctrine lets us see the error of those, who,
though they will not absolutely reject the righteousness of
Christ, yet will venture to mingle something of their own
with it. Oh, say some, ' Christ and my faith, Christ and my
good works, Christ and my prayers, my repentance, my tears
and good qualifications, will justify me.' Why, this way,
whatever you may think of it, is a disparaging of the right-
eousness of Christ, as though it alone did not fully answer the
law. Sirs, remember that faith is a resting on Christ alone,
and his righteousness, to the exclusion of every thing in you,
and about you, as the ground of your acceptance: it is
Christ's righteousness alone, that magnifies the law ; and
therefore there is no need of any thing of ours : yea, if you
" seek righteousness " but in part " by the law, you are l^allen
from grace," and Christ shall profit you nothing; and there-
fore say with the church, Is. xlv. 24: "In the Lord alone
have I righteousness," and with David, Psal. Ixxi. 16 : I will
go on in the strength of the Lord God, I will make mention of
thy righteousness, even of thine only."
Qthly, See the error of those who deny Christ's active obe-
dience to the law to be any part of our justifying righteous-
ness ; alleging, that it is only his passive obedience, or his suf-
fering the penalty, that is imputed to us for justification. Why,
when it is said here, that Christ magnified the law, and made
it honourable, it must needs be understood of his obedience
to the precept, and that principally, because the precept or
command only is the law ; the penalty is not essential to it,
but only a thing consequential in case of disobedience; so that
his magnifying the law mu!>t needs have a respect to the pre-
cept; and his obedience to the precept of the law, is properly
his righteousness, which is imputed to us, Rom. v. 19: "By
the obedience of one shall many be made righteous;" and it
is upon this that our title to life stands, as Adam's title in the
covenant of works stood upon his own perfect and persona!
obedience to the command.
10 thly, See hence how little reason even believers, who are
justified before God, have to be proud of what they are come
to. They are, indeed, accepted in the Beloved, and they are
208 THE BROKEN LAW [sER.
highly dignified and exalted ; but then it is not in their own^
but in their Surety's righteousne.ss, that they are exalted; it
was he, not they, that magnified the law, and made it ho-
nourable : hence the saints in glory will cast their crowns at
his feet, saying, " Thou hast loved us, and washed us — in
thy blood ;" and therefore, " worthy is the Lannb thai was
slain."
THE BROKEN LAW MAGNIFIED AND MADE
HONOURABLE, &c.
The Lord is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; he will magnify the
law, and make it honourable. — Isa. xlii. 21.
THE THIRD SERMON ON THIS TEXT.
Use second of this doctrine may be of Trial, whether the
righteousness of the law be lulfiiled in us, througfi the impu-
tation of iiis righleousness, who has magnified the law, and
made it honourable.
For your Trial, as to this matter, I offer the few following
marks : —
\sl, I ask, has the law slain you, and put you out of con-
ceit of your own righteousness f Paul, before his conversion,
was a mighty man for the law, and he thought himself alive
because of his obedience to the law, and his zeal for it, being
" touching the law blameless :" But oh ! when the command-
ment came, in its spirituality, sin revived, and he died ; he
saw that, notwithstanding all his pretended obedience to the
law, and his zeal for it, he v^-as but a dead man ; and then,
what thiniis were gairi to him, these he counted loss, and par-
ticularly he saw that his own righteousness was but dung and
loss. Oh ! says he, '• I through the law am dead to the law,"
and to all righteousness by the works of the law. Now, try
yourselves by this; has the law come with such power upon
thy conscience, as to break all these rotten planks of Ihe co-
venant of works to pieces, on which you were swimming for
your life?
2dlij, I ask you. Where have you sot down your stand for
eternity, and for an awful tribunal ? I am sure, if the right-
eousness of the law be fulfilled in you through faith in Christ,
XXXIX.] MAGMFIED AMD MADE HONOURABLE. 209
you have set it down only upon the foundation of the law-
magnifying righteousness of Christ, saying with the church,
"Surely in the Lord only have I righteousness;" and in this
only will ye be confident, as the ground of your acceptance
here, and of your through-bearing before the bar of the great
God. When you look to the holy law, and your own per-
sonal obedience to it, you will be ready to cry, ' Away with
it, it is but as filthy rags;' "if thou, Lord, shouldest mark
iniquities; O Lord, who shall stand '!" But when you look to
the law, as magnitied and made honourable by Christ, you
will be ready to say, ' In this, and in this alone, will I be con-
fident ; in him will I be justified, and in him alone will I glorv,
as the Lord my righteousness.' And whenever the law or
conscience charges you with a debt of obedience to it, as the
condition of life, you will be ready to say, ' 1 indeed own rav-
self a debtor to thee in point of obedience, as a rule, but in
point of righteousness and justification, I owe thee nothing at
all; no, I am dead to the law, through my better Husband,
who has in my name " magnified and made it honourable,"
and therefore to him thou must go for payment of that debt.'
^dlij. If you be under the covering of that righteousness
which magnifies the law, I am sure you will put all the ho-
nour 5"ou can upon the law as a rule of obedience; and your
gratitude to him who fulfilled the law for you as a covenant,
will be as oil to your chariot wheels in running the ways of
his commandments. Your hearts will be so enlarged in love
and gratitude, that his commandments will not be grievous to
you; no, but you will "delight in the law of the Lor(J, after
the inward man." His yoke will be easy, and his burden
will be light to you.
You to whom the way of holy obedience is a burden, and
who are never in your element but when you are "fulfilling
the lusts of the flesh," by lying, swearing, drinking. Sabbath-
breaking, do not imagine that ever you have come in under
this law-magnifying righteousness: Why? because the law,
as a rule, is none of your delight.
Alhly, You will be concerned to magnify him, who mag-
nified the law as your Surety. The high praises of the Re-
deemer will be much in your mouth ; you will think and
speak honourably of him, upon all occasions, like those who
are clad with the white livery of his righteousness. In Mount
Zion they cry, " Worthy is the Lamb that was slain. Salva-
tion to our God, and to the Lamb, for ever and ever." Oh,
men are blessed in him with a perfect righteousness, and.
therefore let all nations and generations call him blessed,
Psal. Ixxii., at the close.
bthly, You will be on all occasions improving the right-
voL. HI. 19 t
210 THE BROKEN LAW [SBE>
eousness of Christ by faith, for all the ends and uses of it
■which I mentioned, when discoursing of the excellency of this
righteousness. You will improve it as a ransom to justice,
to deliver you from going down to the pit; you will improve
it as a laver, to wash you from sin and from uncleanness ; as
a spiritual banquet, on which you will feed your hungry
souls, for it is meat indeed and drink indeed ; as a robe to
cover your nakedness, and the best robe by which to appear
in the presence of God ; as a shade to defend you from the
scorching heat of (he fiery law, or an awakened conscience;
as a refuge to shelter you when pursued by avenging justice ;
as a ladder by which you will ascend to communion with
God, here and hereafter; and as the only title and founda-
tion of your claim to eternal life. Thus, I say, you will be
constantly improving the righteousness of Christ by faith, for
some of these ends and uses ; and in this sense we may under-
stand that word of the apostle, Rom. i., "The righteousness
of God revealed from faith to faith." It is that which faith
fastens upon at (irst for justification, and it is that which faith
is continually afterwards applying for some good use or other,
in the soul's progress in the way to glory.
6thly, If the righteousness of the law be fulfilled in you,
through the righteousness brought in by the Messiah, you
will have many an inward battle with sinful and legal self.
The apostle Paul, who gloried in the righteousness of Christ,
and preached the mystery of justification to others, more than
ever any mere man did, yet we find he has many an internal
combat with self, Rom. vii. 23: "But I see another law in
my members warring against the law of my mind, and bring-
ing me into captivity to the Inw' of sin which is in my mem-
bers: O wretched man that T am, who shall deliver me?"
You, who say that you submit and trust to the righteousness
of Christ, as the only giound of your justification and accept-
ance, and yet have no struggle with this home-bred enemy,
and are not laid in the dust before the Loid because of its
prevalence, I dread, whatever orthodox heads you may haTC,
yet your hearts are not soundly settled upon the foundation
of the law-magnifying righteousness of Christ; and my rea-
son for it is, because in every believer there is, through the
remains of indwelling corruption, such a strong bias towards
the law as a covenant, and towards sin, as gives him conti-
nual matter of exercise, insomuch that his heart is just like
a field of battle, where two armies nieet, and contend for the
victory one against another? "What will you see in the
Shulamite'/ As it were the company of two armies?" " (he
flesh lusting against the spirit, and (he spirit against the flesh ;
and these are contrary, the one to the other. The motions
XXXIX.] MAGNIFIED AND MADE HONOURABLE. 211
of sin which a man finds in his members are continual matter
of humiliation to him, and set him at work to mortify the deeds
of the body, to crucify the flesh, with the affections and lusts
tliereof; and the strong bias that he finds in his soul towards
the law as a covenant fills him with fears and jealousies, lest
he never yet in reality submitted to the rii!;hteoasness of Christ,
which sets him at work to examine and prove himself, whe-
ther he has ever yet won Christ, and is found in him, having
that "righteousness which is through the faith of Jesus
Christ." You that never knew any thing of this, and the
like exercise of spirit in your souls, 1 dread that you are yet
strangers to a real closing with tlie righteousness which is
brought in by the great Messiah.
Ithly, When conscience is bleeding through some wound.
that you have got from an arrow of law- terror, or when the
guilt of sin is staring you in the face, and an angry and frown-
insj God, " whither do you fly, or run for ease and relief?"
As for the desperate sinner, he drowns the voice of conscience
with diversions and recreations. They will, like Saul, some-
limes take up the timbrel and harp; or, like Cain, when God
and conscience were crying for vengeance against him for the
blood of his brother Abel, he goes into the land of Nod, and
diverts himself v,'ith building cities and houses. As for the
hypocrite, he wraps himself up in his profession, and feigned
graces, and there he finds ease. As for the legalist, when he
is wounded with the terrors of God, being married to the law,
he runs to the duties and works of the law, and studies to
please God, and satisfy the cries of his conscience with these.
But as for the believer, the whole creation cannot give him
ease, till, by a renewed act of faith, he get in under the sha-
dow of that everlasting righteousness, by which the law is
magnified and made honourable, and till he sees God well
pleased for this righteousness' sake, and sensibly smiling on
his soul again through this righteousness; this, and nothing
but this, can yield comfort. And oh ! when he sees God
smiling on him through this righteousness, this puts gladness
in his heart more than when corn, wine, and oil, abound.
Try yourselves by this.
In a word, if the righteousness of the law be fulfilled in
you through the righteousness of the Messiah, the life you live
in the world will be by faith in the Son of God, and you will
not reckon so much that you live, but that Christ liveth in
you. Many a flight will your soul be taking to him upon
the wings of faith and love, as tlie Lord your righteousness.
Whenever you look towards the majesty of God, and view his
unspotted holiness and unbiassed justice ; whenever you look
upon the fiery law, or hear a thunder clap from Mount Sind ;
212 THE BROKEN LAW [SER.
whenever you look into another world, or an awful tribunal ;
whenever you look to the depravation of thy nature, and the
innumerable evils that compass thee about; v^'henever you
look to the melancholy aspect of providence, your soul will
always be taking the other flight by faith to Christ, as your
Surety and Redeemer; and the viewing the law magnified,
and justice satisfied, and God reconciled in (he person and
undertaking of Christ ; and whenever you look to him, you
wilt find your Spirit lightened and eased, and be ready to say
with David, "Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the Lord
hath dealt bountifully with thee." So much shall serve for a
use of Trial. I proceed now to,
III. The third use of this doctrine, which may be of terror
io all the ungodly loorld, that are living in the open or
secret violation of the holy law of God.
Has God magnified the law, and made it honourable, at
the expense of the humiliation, incarnalion, obedience, death,
and sufferings of his eternal Son ? Oh, how dreadful and dis-
mal is the condition of those, who, instead of yielding the obe-
dience of faith to this law, are daily in their practice tram-
phng the authority of the law under their feet, breaking God's
bands, and casting the cords of his law from them, and yet
will needs pretend to and profess the name of Christ, as if
Christ had magnified the law and made it honourable, that
they might have a liberty to break it, and to follow the swing
of their own carnal and corrupt hearts. The apostle Jiide,
ver. 3d of his epistle, when speaking of such licentious Chris-
tians, calls them " ungodly men, turning the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ into lasciviousness, of old ordained to this con-
demnation." O sirs! do not mistake it, Christ has magnified
the law., and made, it honourable, not to loose but to estab-
lish the obligation of it as a " rule of obedience, he gave him-
self for us, that he might redeem us from all ini(|uity, and pu-
rify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works,'-
Tit. ii. 14. He hatli delivered us from the hand of all our
enemies, that we " might serve him without fear, in holiness
and righfeousness before him all the days of our life," Luke
i. 74, and that we may by his grace be (aught to deny all
" ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to walk soberly, right-
eously, and godly, in this present world," Tit. ii. 12. So (hat
you who draw encouragement fi'om (lie doctrine of Christ's
magnifying the law, and making it honourable, to violate and
dishonour the law of God, you are just coun(crac(ing the de-
sign of the obedience of Chris( (o (he dea(h, and, like (he filthy
wasp, sucking poison out of (he gospel of salvation. And do
you expect to be justified by the righteousness of Christ, and
XXXIX.] MAGNIFIED AND MADE HONOURABLE. 213
eternally saved by his blood in such a way as this? no, no;
you have " neither part nor lot in this matter." As sure as
God lives, you are under the law as a covenant, and there-
fore under the dominion of sin, and the curse of the broken
law is upon you ; you are " condemned already, and the
wrath of God abideth on you." And to you, God says,
" What hast thou to do to make mention of my righteousness,
or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth, seeing
thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee."
And therefore consider your danger in time, before you come
in before the awful bar of God, lest, when you arrive there,
he tear you in pieces, when there is none to deliver you out
of his hand. But I turn me again from Mount Sinai to
Mount Zion, and go on to, the
IV. Fourth use of this doctrine, by way of eficouragemeni
to conv'mced and aioakened sinners, and to doubting and trem-'
blincr heUexers.
We have a commission *' to bind up the broken-hearted, to
comfort them that mourn in Zion, to strengthen the weak
hands, and confirm the feeble knees, to say to them that are
of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not ; we bring to you good
tidings of great joy," tidings that may make your hearts tri-
imipli, and leap for joy within you, as the babe leaped in
Eh'zabeth's womb, at the salutation of Mary. Here, I say,
is the best news that ever was heard to law-condemned sin-
ners, that Christ, as our blessed Surety, has brought in ever-
lasting righteousness, by which he has magnified the laic, and
made it honourable.
There are these following topics, or grounds of Encourage'
ment and Coiisolation, springing out of this doctrine.
\st, Is the law magnitied by the Surety, which was broken
by the sinner? Hence it follows, that the great Lawgiver is
satisfied and well pleased, as it follows in the text, The Lord
is zvell pleased for his right€ous7iess^ sake ; that which displeased
and provoked the majesty of God, was the breach of his
law, but since the law is again magnified, surely he cannot
but be a well pleased Deity.
Upon this ground it is, that such declarations are issued out,
" Fury is not in me," I was angry, but mine " anger is turned
away : As I live, 1 have no pleasure in the death of the
wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and
live. Turn ye, turn yc, why will ye die?" Oh sirs! that
which scares you from coming back to God is the apprehen-
sion, that because of the breach of the law, God is implaca-
ble, and will never be reconciled. But we tell you, for your
encouragement, that a God in Christ is zcell pleased for his
19*
214 THE BROKEN LAW [SER.
righteousness' sake, because he hath magnified the laze, and made
it honourable. *' God was Christ," not pursuing the world as
an avenging enemy, but " reconciling the world to himself."
And, therefore, let not an evil heart of unbelief turn you away
from the living God, as though he were not zcell pleased for
Christ's righteousness' sake. It was not for naught that that
proclamation was made three times with an audible voice
from heaven, " This is my beloved Son, in whom 1 am well
pleased." O it is glorious encouragement to a lost sinner,
hanging over the mouth of hell, that God is well pleased in
his Christ.
2dly, Is the law magnijied and made honourable? then it
follows, that the great bar that lay in the way of our salva-
tion is removed. Upon the first Adam's violation of the holy
law, mountains of wrath were rolled in the way of salvation;
the way was so filled with briers and thorns, w'oes and curses,
that it became altogether impassable for any of Adam's race.
Hence came that horror and despair that was seated in the
hearts of our first parents immediately after they had sinned.
The sight of the cherubim, and the flaming sword turning
every way, to keep the way of the tree of life, had a dismal
signification: Well, but Christ, the second Adam, has mag-
nified the law, and made it honourable, and tlierefore it must
needs follow, that all these impediments and bars in the way
of our salvation are now removed, and the way is clear to
every soul that has a mind to enter in by faith, John x. 9:
"I am the door; by me, if any man enter in, he shall be
saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture." All legal
impediments arising from law and justice, in the wav of sal-
vation, are now taken out of the way, and there is a free call
to every man to enter in and be saved; in which case no-
thing can hinder but unbelief, which is a refusing to enter
in by Christ, and they that do so, how shall (hey escape'?
Sdly, Is the law magnified and made honourable ? Then here
is encouragement, that "sin is finished, and transgression
ended." The very essence of sin Jics in a transgression of
the law. Well, but if the law be again magnified, then where
is sin? It is surely buried in the obedience of Christ to the
death, by the righteousness of the Surety. The guilt of it is
taken away, ami (he power and dominion of it is broken in
every believer, and the very beginning of it shall be de-
stroyed, ere it be long. So that 1 may say. to believers un-
der the covert of Christ's righteousness, as Moses said to Is-
rael, with respect to the Egyptians, that were pursuing them
for their lives, Exod. xiv. V.\ : " Fear ye not, stand sliil, and
see the salvation of the Lord, which he will show you to-day,
for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to-day, ye shall see
XXXIX.] MAGNIFIED AND MADE HONOURABLE. 215
them no more again for ever." Poor believer, thou art afraid
of these innumerable sins, which compass thee about, lest
they pursue thee, and take away thy life ; but stand still,
and see the salvation which God has wrought; all thy sins
are buried for ever out of God's sight, and shall be buried
out of thy sight also, in the Red sea of a Redeemer's blood,
and under the covert of his law-magnifying righteousness, by
which he hath made an end of sin.
4:thly, Is the law magnified and made honourable 1 Then the
hand-writing of the curse that was against us, and contrary
to us, is cancelled and discharged. Upon the footing of the
righteousness of Christ, which magnifies the law, it is, that
that gracious declaration is issued out, John iii. 17 : *' God
sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but
that the world through him might be saved." Christ has
retired the bond that lay in the hand of justice, and had it
discharged in his resurrection from the dead; and upon this
ground it is declared, that •' there is now no condemnation
to them that are in Christ Jesus." And if you ask the rea-
son of this interlocutory, here it is : Christ " hath magnified
the law, and made it honourable :" therefore the penalty of
the law cannot take place against any soul under the covert
of his righteousness. No, no ; " Christ hath redeemed us
from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us."
5thly, Is the law magnified and made Jionoiirable 1 Then it
follows, that grace and mercy reign through righteousness,
and that the law and justice can be no impediment in the
way of pardoning mercy. The poor sensible sinner, whose
eyes are fixed upon his own sin, and the holiness of the law,
is many times ready to say and think with himself, ' Oh ! God
can never extend mercy to the like of me, in a consistency
with his law and justice. He is obliged to take vengeance
on me, by virtue of his justice.' But, sirs, consider that the
Surety, Jesus, Christ has magnified the law, and made it ho-
nourable, that mercy and grace might have an unrestrained
current, even towards the guiltiest sinners that believe in
Jesus. Hence is that of the apostle, Rom. iii. 24 — 20 : " Be-
ing justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that
is in Jesus Christ, whom God hath set forth to be a propitia-
tion through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness
for the renjission of sins. To declare, I say, at this time his
righteousness ; that he might be just, and the justifier of him
who believeth in Jesus." And, therefore, let this encourage
you to pursue after the pardon and remission of sin on this
account, that the law is already magnified and made ho-
nourable in the Surety's righteousness. God exalts and glo-
rifies his name gracious and merciful, when he blots out ini-
216 THE BROKEN LAW [SER.
quity, upon this footing ; yea, glorifies the law and justice
also, more than if he would pursue the quarrel against thee
to the lowest hell through eternity.
Gihly, Is the law ma^wfied and made honourable ? Then
hence it follows, that the condition of the covenant of grace,
properly so called, is already fulfilled. Since the fall of Adam,
God never entered into covenant with man himself directly
and immediately: no, the covenant of grace is made with us
in Christ, as our Surety, Head, and Representative. As the
covenant of works was made with the first Adam, as our
natural and federal head, and with us in him ; so the cove-
nant of grace is made with us in the second Adam, as our spi-
ritual Head, and the condition of the covenant was fulfilled
hy him. And if you ask me, ' What is the proper condition
of the covenant of grace?' I answer, ' It is just this, that
Christ should be made under the law, and by his obedience
to the deaih magnify it, and make it honourable.^ Upon
this condition eternal life, and all the appurtenances of it,
wei*e promised to him and his seed. Now, when any of the
lost race of Adam believes in Christ, they do not, by that
act of faith, fulfil the condition of the covenant of grace, but
only take hold of the condition of it, fulfilled by Christ, and.
in so doing, they become " heirs of God, and joint heirs with
Christ Jesus." And so they may travel through the large
field of the covenant, and pluck this, and that, and the other
blessing of the covenant, saying, ' This is mine, and that is
mine, and the whole of the covenant is mine, because I have
the condition of the covenant in my new spiritual Head, Jesus
Christ, he has mai^nified the law and made it honoura-
ble.'' Oh ! with what courage might the believer go to work,
in laying claim to the covenant, and the blessings of it, if he
had but this view of matters, in the light of the Lord?
llhlij, Is the law mngnijied and made honourable by Christ
as our Surety ? Then it follows, that whatever was lost in the
first Adam, is now recovered by the second Adam. By the
first covenant, if we had continued in it, we had a title to
God as our God, a title to his favour and fellowship, a title to
the creatures, all tilings being put under our feet, and a title
to a happy eternity, alter the course of our obedience in this
world had been fullilled. By Adam's fall we lost all this,
and more than I can name. But all is again recovered in
the new covenant Head, by his magnifying the law and
making it honourable; and the soul united to him, has all its
losses repaired with advantage, in him ; we have God in him
as the Lord our God, for God is in Christ, our God, and our
Father. " I ascend," says Christ " to my Father and your
Father, to my God and your God." We have the image of
XXXIX.] MAGNIFIED AND MADE HONOURABLE. 217
God fully restored in him, and going on gradually in us. We
have a complete stock of knowledge, in him, "who of God is
made unto us wisdom," and a beam of that knowledge that
is in the Head shines into the heart of every believer. We
have a complete righteousness in him, and we are made the
righteousness of God in him. We have a complete holiness
of nature in him; for, for our sakes he sanctified himself, that
we also might be sanctified through the truth; and, through
the hohness of Christ the Head, God looks upon all the mem-
bers, and says, " Thou art all fair, my love, there is no spot in
thee." We have a perfect and complete heaven of glory,
and eternal life in him ; for he that believes in the Son hath
everlasting life: and this we are assured of by the faithful
M'ord of the Trinity, 1 John v. 11: "This is the record that
God hath given to us, eternal life: and this life is in his Son.
He that hath the Son, hath life." Thus, I say, all that we
lost in the first Adam is regained in Christ, the second Adam,
and all upon this ground, that the second Adam, as our Sure-
ty, has magnified ihe law and made it honour ahlel
8thl.y, Has Christ magnified the lazo, and made it honourable?
Then the intercession of Christ for us, in heaven, goes upon a
solid ground, and shall be prevalent on our behalf. Why, it
goes upon the ground of that everlasting righteousness which
he has brought in, by which he has magnified the laic, and
made it honourable. Hence he is called " Jesus Christ the
righteous," 1 John ii. 1, 2: " If any man sin, we have an Ad-
vocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous ; and he
is the propitiation for our sins." Believer, do not fear, that
thy case, committed to the hand of thy Advocate, in the high
court above, shall miscarry: no, he never lost a poor man's
cause, for the Father always hears him. Thy Advocate is
not only well skilled in the laws of the court, but in pleading
thy cause : he pleads it upon the footing of a law-magnify-
ing righteousness, and therefore he must prevail in thy be-
half.
Qthly, Has Christ magnified ihe lazo, and made it honourable?
Then there is good ground of boldness in coming " to the
throne of grace, for mercy and grace to help in time of
need." Why, believer, that righteousness which magnifies
the law, and makes it honourable, is imputed to thee, and by
faith thou shouldst go with this surety-righteousness upon
thee ; and this is the ground of thy confidence in all thy deal-
ings with God. We are ready to think, ' 0 my prayers will
be rejected of God, he will never hear them, because I can-
not order my cause before him : I cannot reach this or the
other frame'or enlargement of heart.' Why, believer, that
is but a [remnant] of the old legal Adam in thee, that ima-
218 THE BROKEPr LAW [SER.
gines that God regards thy person, from thy frames and en-
largements. No, no ; " he liath made us accepted in the
beloved." You, and your best frames, graces, and enlarge-
ments, would be driven away out of the presence of an inti-
nitely lioly God, if it were not for this cause, that Christ has
magnijied the laze, and made it honourable : and therefore let
this be thy only ground of boldness before the Lord. " Having
a great High Priest, who is passed into the heavens, Jesus the
Son of God; let us come boldly unto the throne of grace,
that we may obtain mercy, and tind grace to help in time of
need."
lOthh/, Has Christ magnified the laic, and- made it ho?wtira-
ble? Then it follows, that failures of obedience, on the be-
liever's part, do not make void the covenant of grace, or the
believer's title to the blessings and privileii;es of the covenant.
Why, the whole law as a covenant, and all the righteousness
and obedience that it demands, is perfectly fulfilled in bis head
Jesus Christ : and therefore the believer cannot fall out of the
covenant, through the imperfections of his obedience. I own,
indeed, that a believer should aim at, and endeavour no less
than perfect obt^dicnce, in his own person, and for failures in
obedience he shall smart: "God will visit his transorressions
with the rod, and his iniquities with stripes." But observe
what follows, " JVIy loving-kindness I will not take from him,"
namely, Christ, with whom the covenant is made, and who
has fulfilled the condition of it by his perfect righteousness;
and therefore, "my covenant I will not break" with them,
nor alter the word of promise, " that is gone out of my lips."
llthly, Has Christ mugnfied thelazo, and made it honourable?
Then believers have matter of everlasting triumph and re-
joicing in Christ, and cannot receive " the spirit of bondage
unto fear, except in a way of correction. Believers are com-
manded to rejoice evermore, to shout for joy; and when they
see how matters are stated in the new covenant Head, they
will, accordingly, rejoice in Christ always, even when they
have no confidence in the flesh. Why, what should discou-
rage them, who have " the righteousness of the law fulfilled
in them " through Christ ; yea, who are the righteousness of
God in him 1 That which brings the believer at any time
under a " spirit of bondatje again to fear," is the unbelief and
legality of his heart, which turns away his eyes from Christ
and the righteousness of the law fulfilled and magnified in
him; and then, indeed, the terrors of the law covenant, and
of an angry God, fall upon him, " He remembers God, and is
troubled," and the arrows of the Almighty are within him.
But while the believer can, by faith, see the law magnified
in his Head, and the Lord Jehovah well pleased for his right-
XXXIX.] MAGNIFIED AND MADE HONOURABLE. 219
eousness' sake, his heart will rejoice, and his joy will no man
take from him.
12////?/, Has Christ magnified the laiv, and made it ho-
nourable 1 Then see upon what an advantageous ground the
believer stands in encountering his spiritual enemies. Why,
through the law-magnifying righteousness of Christ, he has
God on his side, he has the law on his side, and justice on his
side, yea, Omnipotence on his side, and therefore he may lift
up his head in the day of battle, and go on with courage
against all his enemies.
To instance, (1.) When he is molested with the insurrec-
tion of indwelling sin, or of any particular lust, the believer
may take courage in mortifying and crucifying it, because
through the righteousness of Christ, sin has no law right to
reign over the believer as it has in other men, who are un-
der the law as a covenant. " Sin," says the Lord, " shall not
have dominion over you ; for ye are not under the law, but
under grace."
(2.) Does Satan harass and molest thee with his fiery
darts? Why, believer, take courage, for through Christ's
magnifying the law, Satan's head is bruised, and he has no
more right in law to molest or trouble thee, than he has to
molest thy glorified Head above; and therefore put on the
breast-plate of his everlasting righteousness, and resist him,
" steadfast in the faith."
(3.) Art thou assaulted with the law coming into thy con-
science, craving of thee the debt of perfect obedience, as the
condition of life? Why, hene is a ready answer to this enemy.
Tell the law and conscience, that the law, as a covenant,
has got its due, and more than it demanded, in thy new co-
venant Head; for he has not only obeyed it to the full, but
has magnified il, and made it honourable.
(4.) Art thou at any time brought under bondage through
fear of death? Why, here is encouragement for encounter-
ing that king of terrors. That which gave death its power
and sting, was the violation of the law : but, may the belie-
ver say, ' Here is the law again magnified and made ho-
nourable, and therefore, O death, what hast thou to say? It
is true, indeed, I must put ofTthis clay tabernacle for awhile;
but this I do, not as a debt due to the law, or the curse of it,
but at the will of my God and Father, I lay down my body
in the grave, that I may receive it again, without any tinc-
ture or smell of sin or death about it, in the morning of (he
resurrection. Death, may the believer say, is no death to
me; no, to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain; because
Christ, my Head, has magnified the law and made it honoura-
ble, and therefore has swallowed up death in victory ; death
220 THE WISE VIRGINS GOING FORTH, &C. [SER.
and hell, through the righteousness of my Head, are now cast
back into the lake from whence they came.'
Thus you see what unspeakable encouragement and con-
solation springs out of this doctrine, that Christ has magni-
fied the law, and made it honourable.
THE WISE VIRGINS GOING FORTH TO MEET THE
BRIDEGROOM.
And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold the Bridegroom cometli, ^o
ye forth to meet him. — Matth. xxv. 6.
THE FIRST SERMON ON THIS TEXT.
These words that I have read arc a part of the famous
parable of the ten virgins; for clearing of which, you would
carefully advert to these two or tliree things: —
Is/, The Bridegroom here spoken of is none otiicr than
Christ Jesus the Lord, the eternal Son of God, who, from
all eternity, rejoiced in the habitable parts of the earth, and
whose deliirhts were so much with the sons of men, that he
first married our nature into a personal union with himself,
that so there might be some sort of equality in the bargain;
and having made himself of our tribe, comes to betroth us to
himself for ever in a marriage-relation.
2f7//y, The viriiiiis hcie siioken of are the prolbssors of reli-
gion, members of the cliiuch visible. The church is called
the bride, the Lamb's wife. Rev. xix. 7 — U; particularly pro-
fessors, saints, and believers, at least in profession, are so
called virgins, because of the beauty of holiness that should
adorn them.
3ri'/!/, The office of these virgins is to m.eet the Bride-
groom. This alludes to a common custom among the Jews,
who consummated their marriages at night; when the bride-
groom was on his way to the place of marriage, the bride
with so many virgins that attended her, went forth with
lamps to meet him, in order to conduct him to the bride's
XL.] TO MEET THE BRIDEGROOM. 221
chamber. Now, with allusion to this custom, professors of
religion are said to go and meet the Bridegroom.
'ithly, Notice the difTerent characters of these virgins, five
were wise, and five foolish. The foolish represent the case
of nominal or hypocritical professors, who have the lamp of
a profession, and content themselves with a name to live,
while destitute of the life and power of religion: and, by
wise virgins, we are to understand real saints, or believers
indeed, who not oidy profess Christ and Christianity, but are
Christians indeed, having the oil of his grace and spirit with-
in them.
5/A/y, We have the comnion fault of both, these sorts of
virgins; while the Bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and
slept ; together with the surprising summons they all get to
attend the Bridegroom, ver. 6: Behold the Bridegroom
cometh, go ye forth to meet him. It is the last clauseof
this verse that I intend to insist upon, namely, Behold the
Bridegi^oom cometh^ go ye forth to 7neet him.
We have a key given us, ver. 13, for opening of the gene-
ral scope of this parable, " Watch, therefore, for you know
neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man
cometh." Which words, though they chiefly and particu-
larly relate to the coming of Christ by death, or his coming
at the last judgment; yet, as Mr. Shepherd and other inter-
preters are agreed, they do not exclude, but include, his
other intermediate comings, whether in the dispensation of
the word and sacraments, of ordinances, or providences, it
is the duty of all to prepare for his reception and entertain-
ment.
The v^'ords read, ver. G, are a surprising summons or ad-
vertisement to the church in general, and every individual
member of it, to make ready for his entertainment, because
he is at the door. Jlnd at midnight there ivas a cry made,
&c., where we may notice the particulars following: —
(1.) To whom the advertisement is given. It is to all in
general, both to the wise and foolish virgins. The gospel
is preached to a promiscuous multitude of good and bad,
gracious and graceless, according to Christ's command, " Go
ye into all the world, and preach the gospel unto every crea-
ture."
(2.) We-have the manner in which the advertisement is
given. It is by a cry, so as all might hear and take warning,
Is. Ivii. 1: "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a
trumpet." Ministers are God's criers or heralds. It is said
of John the Baptist, that he was " the voice of one crying in
the wilderness," &c. Whatever be the message God puts in
our mouth, whether it be of mercy or of judgment, we are
VOL. in. 20 j-
222 THE WISE VIRGINS GOIWG FORTH, [SER-
not to whisper it in a corner, but to publish it as upon the
house-top, Prov. i. 20 — 24 : " Wisdom crieth without the city,
she uttereth her voice in the streets, she crieth in the chief
place of concourse."
(3.) We have the time when the summons or advertise-
ment is given. At midnight, when they all slumbered and
slept, and had given over hope and expectation of his coming:
both the wise and foolish virgins were saying, " The Lord
delayeth his coming;" and therefore, "Yet a little sleep, a
little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep." In this
case, even at viidnight, in a surprise, the cry is made. Be-
hold the Bridegroom cometh.
(4.) We have the summons or advertisement itself, Be-
hold the Bridegroom, cometh, go ye forth to tneel him.
These are the words I intend particularly to insist upon, and
in them we may notice these following particulars: —
1. The solemnity of the warning in the word Behold,
which may be taken there as a note of attention or admira-
tion. ]t is like the warn-word when the King's proclama-
tion is issued forth by the herald ; he cries, Oyes, to arrest
the attention of the audience, like that. Is. Iv. 1 : " Ho, every
one that thirsteth," &c. Or we may take it as a note of ad-
miration, Behold (indi wonder at the glory of the Bridegroom,
who is coming. We find, commonly, when the Messiah is
spoken of by the prophets under the Old Testament, they
usher in their prophecies respecting his coming, with a note
of admiration; Behold! Is. vii. 14 : " Behold a virgin shall con-
ceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel ;" Is.
xlii. 1 : " Behold my servant whom I uphold," &c. ; Is. Iv. 4 :
"Behold I have given him for a witness to the people, a lea-
der and commander to the people:" Zech. ix. 9: "Rejoice,
O daughter of Zion, Behold thy King cometh unto thee,"
&c. ; signifying that Christ is a wonderful person, and his
coming to us in mercy is wonderful.
2. We have the character of the person concerning whom
this intimation is made. He is called (he Bridegroom, and (he
Bridegroom in a way of eminence, because there is none that
ever bore this character that can be compared to him. When-
ever we hear the name of a bridegroom, we presently con-
clude there is a marriage in hand; so, here, when Christ
takes this amiable character and title to himself, wc should
presently conclude there is a match or marriage in hand,
that Christ is a lover, and (hat he has a bride, and a pur-
pose of marriage with her, according to that you have, Hos.
ii. 19, 20: "I will betroth you unto me for ever," &c. But
more of this afterwards, if the Lord will.
3. In the words, we have the approach of the Bridegroom,
XL. TO MEET THE BRIDEGROOM. 223
Behold the Bridegroom comelh. There are various comings of
Christ we read of in scripture. There is his first coming in
the flesh, and his second coming to judgment, either general
or particular. There are his typical and prophetical com-
ings to the church, in the Old Testament, and his actual
coming in person to fulfil and accomplish the great work of
redemption, by his obedience, death, and resurrection. There
is his coming, in the dispensation of the gospel, to a church
or nation. There is his coming in the power of his word
and Spirit in a day of conversion to a church, or to a parti-
cular soul, as when he said to Zaccheus, " This day is salva-
tion come to this house." And, lastly, there is his coming in
word or sacrament with the renewed manifestations of his
love, or the renewed influences and communications of his
Spirit of grace ; as when it is said, Psal. Ixxii. G : " He shall
come down like rain upon the mown grass; as showers that
water the earth :" or Hos. vi. 3 : " His going forth is pre-
pared as the morning ; and he shall come unto us as the rain ;
as the latter and former rain unto the earth." Now, 1 do
not, in my intended discourse upon these words, exclude any
of these comings of Christ that I have mentioned. But at
present I understand them of his approach in a way of grace
and love, in the dispensation of word or sacrament, or any
other ordinance of his appointment, in which he uses to mani-
fest himself, and impart the fruits of his dying love to the
souls of his people.
And one reason why I choose to discourse on the words in
this view, is, because he here presents himself in the quality
of a bridegroom, coming with a design of marriage or espou-
sals; and so we have a word much parallel to this. Cant.
iii. 11: " Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold King
Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him
in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of
his heart."
4. We have the duty incumbent upon all the virgins, on
the approach of the Bridegroom. Go ye out to meet him. This
alludes, as was hinted before, to the practice or custom in
marriages among the Jews, in the time of our Saviour's be-
ing upon earth. The bride and her maids, under night, went
forth to meet him with lighted lamps, in order to attend him
to the place of marriage, with some sort of nuptial solemnity.
In allusion to this custom, the church in general, and all par-
ticular professors, under the notion of i!irg-i7j5, are commanded
and called to go out and meet Christ, when he is coming in
the dispensation of his word and ordinances, or when he
comes at death or the last judgment. But the import of this
224 THE WISE VIRGINS GOIiVG FORTH [SER.
expression may occur afterwards, in the prosecution of the
following doctrine : —
DocT. — " That it is the indispensable duty of all and every
one, when Christ, the glorious IJridegroom of souls, is coming,
to go out and meet him, by giving him a suitable reception
and entertainment." Behold the Bridegroom coineih,goije out
to meet him.
I shall only adduce two places of scripture for the proof
and confirmation of this doctrine. The one you have, Psal.
xxiv., at the close, where Christ, under the notion of some
great person, is represented as drawing near to the gates or
dooi's of some great house or city; upon which a summons is
issued out, ' Cast open the gates, and make room for his en-
tertainment.' " Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye
lifted up, ye everlasting doors, and the Kins: of glory jhail
come in." And when the question is put, " Who is this King
of glory ?" the answer is made, ver. 8 : " The Lord strong
and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle." The summons is
again renewed ; " Lift up your heads, oh ye gates, even lift
them up, "ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall
come in." Another text you have to this purpose. Cant. iii.
9, and downwards, where Christ, under the notion of King
Solomon, who made to himself a chariot of the wood of Le-
banon, the pillars of which were of silver, the bottom of gold,
the covering of purple, being paved with love, for tlie daugh-
ters of Jerusalem. This chariot of state is none else tlian the
chariot of the everlasting gospel, in which Christ, like a bride-
groom, goes forth, manifesting the glory of his person, and
the glorious device of Intinite Wisdom for the salvation of
sinners. And in the last verse aery is made, like this in my
text, to all professors of religion, who are designated the daugh-
ters of Zion : " Behold King Solomon with the crown where-
with his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals, and
in the day of the gladness of his heart."
But now, in discussing this doctrine, I shall, through di-
vine assistance, observe the following method : —
L I would premise a few things with relation to the spiri-
tual marriage spoken of in this parable.
II. Give some account of the Bridegroom, and his excel-
lent engaging qualities.
III. Give some account of the bride, and the vast disparity
of the match.
IV. Speak a little of the comings of the Bridegroom, and
gracious approaches to his people.
jfL.] TO MEET THE BRIDEGROOM. 225
V. Speak of the import of the duly requh'cd upon his ap-
proach, in these words, Go ye out to meet him.
VL Give the reasons of the doctrine, why we are to go
out and meet him, and give him a suitable reception.
VII. Make some practical improvement of the whole.
I. The/r5^ thing in the method is, to premise a few things
respecting the spiritual marriage; for, as 1 said in the expli-
cation, a bridegroom supposes a marriage in hand.
Is/, God the Father, from all eternity, had a purpose of
marriage betwixt his own beloved Son, and a select company
of the fallen race and posterity of Adam : hence Christ tells
us, Matth. xxii. 2 : " The kingdom of heaven is like unto a
certain King who made a marriage for his son." The mar-
riage was made in the purpose of God from eternity, and the
bride was given to the Bridegroom before ever she had a
heing. " Thine they were, and thou gavest them me," John
xvii. 8. Psal. ii. : " I will give thee the heathen for thine in-
heritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy posses-
sion." And that they were given him in a design of marriage,
is plain from what the Lord says to and concerning the church
of the Gentiles, by the spirit of prophecy, long before they
were called by the gospel. Is. liv. 1,5: "Sing, O barren,
thou that didst not bear ; for more are the children of the
desolate, than the children of the married wife." And, ver.
5 : " Thy Maker is thine Husband, the Lord of hosts is his
name."
2dly, This proposal of marriage with a bride of Adam's fa-
mily was graciously received and entertained by the Son of
God before the world was made," Prov. viii. 3. He rejoiced
" in the habitable parts of the earth, and his delights were
with the sons of men.— I delight to do thy will, O my God,"
says he, Psal. xl. 8. As if he had said, " I consent to, and am
heartily willing and content ; a bargain be it, let it be regis-
tered in the volume of thy book ;" that is. Let it be entered
into the records of heaven, and an extract of it be given out
in the scriptures of truth to sinners of mankind, that they
may have their thoughts about it.
Sdly, So much was the heart of the Bridegroom set upon
the match, that he undertook to remove all impediments that
lay in the way : and, indeed, the impediments w^ere so great
and insuperable, that nothing but almighty power, inspired
with infinite and amazing love, could remove them ; and yet
they are all rolled away by the wisdom and power of the
Bridegroom.
The Jirsl impediment was the inequality of the parties as
to their nature. We may easily suppose that the question
20*
226 THE WISE VIRGINS GOmO FORTH [sER.
"would be put upon the first proposal of the marriage, How
shall God and man, the Creator and the creature, be ever
brought into a conjugal relation? The distance of natures
is infinite, and therefore there can be no marriage. ' Well,'
says the Son of God, the brightness of the Father's glory,
and tiie express image of his person, he takes care to remove
that, 1 will assume the human nature into a j)ersonal union;
I will become the seed of the woman, the seed of Abraham:
I will be God manifested in the fle.sh; I will become Imma-
WUEL, God with them, and so that natural impediment shall
be removed; 'I will come upon a level with the bride, and so
I will be a help meet for her.'
(2.) There is another impediment arises from the law: O,
says the Law, ' 1 have an action against the supposed bride.
She was once married to me, and I promised her tlie inheri-
tance of life, upon the condition of her fulfilling perfect
obedience to my commands ; but she disobeyed, and played
the harlot, and she is under the curse; and therefore there
can be no marriage.' ' Well, but (says the Bridegroom,) I
^vill remove this impediment also; I will be made a curse for
her, and so redeem her from the curse; I will cancel the
hand-writing that is against her, and contrary to her.'
(3.) ' Well, but (says justice,) I stand upon a complete sa-
tisfection; for without death, and the shedding of blood,
there can be no remission of sin.' ' Well,' says the Bride-
groom, '1 will die for the bride, and in her room and stead;
the sword of justice shall be soaked in my blood instead of
hers; my life shall be a ransom for hers; 1 will be wounded
for her transgressions, and bruised for her iniquities; I will
be made sin for her.'
(4.) There is another impediment yet that must be remo-
ved: The bride hates the Bridegroom; she is wholly averse
from the match; and what will be done in this case? 'Well,'
says the Bridegroom, *I will undertake to gain her affection.
Psal. ex. 3: "Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy'
power." " I will draw with the cords of a man, and with the
bands of love:" and then her allcctions shall be gained, and
she shall call me Ishi.
(5.) Another great impediment in the way of the marriage
is, that the bride is a lawful captive to sin and Satan : ' Now.*
says Satan, ' shall the lawful captive be delivered : both law
and justice have put her in my power; and therefore I will
not part with my prisoner.' 'Well, but.' says the blessed Bride-
groom, ' it is true, Satan, thou hast law and justice on thy
side: but I will fulfil the law and satisfy justice; and, in so
doing, thy head shall be bruised, and the lawful captive shall
be delivered, and the prey shall be taken from the terrible. I
XL.] TO MEET THE BRIDEGROOM. 227
will redeem her by purchase and by power.' And, according-
ly, he spoiled principalities and powers, and took the bride by
main force out of the devil's prison, saying to the prisoners,
Go ye forth, &c.
From what is said, it appears, that the heart of the Bride-
groom is exceedingly set upon the match, with desire he de-
sired to be baptized with his own blood, that he might tinish
her redemption ; and, having completed her redemption, he
longs for the day of espousals, when he gains the love and
affection of the bride. So much was the heart of the Bride-
groom set upon the match, that, when he saw the bride in
danger of perishing, he flew, as it were, from his Father's
bosom, left all the glories of heaven behind him, and tra-
velled through the armies of hell and earth, yea, encountered
the legions of his Father's wrath, in order to accomplish her
deliverance. Hence is that of the church. Is. Ixiii. 1 : " Who
is this that cometh from Edom? with dyed garments from
Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the
greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness."
And, ver. 3 : " I have trodden the wine-press alone, and of the
people there was none with me."
4lhli/, A fourth promise is. That the covenant of grace is
the contract of marriage, the plan of which was agreed upon
in the council of peace, betwixt the father and the Son, from
all eternity : Psal. Ixxxix. 3: " I have made a covenant with
my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant." It was
originally made with the Bridegroom, as the Head, Husband,
and Representative of the bride, by which he undertakes that
the grace of God shall reign and be glorified through his own
righteousness, to her eternal life and salvation. As Surety of
the covenant, he undertakes to fidlil the condition of it, by
his own obedience to death, to buy his bride from the hands
of justice, by paying a ransom of his own blood for her,
and to buy, at the same time, all the blessings and goods
of the covenant for her use ; and that, by the power of his
word and Spirit, he will make her to take hold of his cove-
nant, bring her within the bond of it, and make an effectual
application of it in due time, according to the order of the
covenant; and that he will betroth her to himself for ever,
in righteousness, and in judgment, and in loving-kindness,
and in mercies; yea, that he will betroth her to himself in
faithfulness, and that she shall know the Lord, IIos. ii. 19, 20.
^thhj. In the day of his espousals all this is fulfilled. The
Bridegroom presents himself to the bride in his divine and
human glories, fulness, and excellencies ; he makes the " light
of the knowledge of the glory of God," in his own person,
to shine in her heart; with which she is made to see him, and
228 THE WISE VIRGINS GOING FORTH [SER.
fall SO much in love with him, that she cannot but cry out,
O ! he is infinitely " fairer than the sons of men, he is as the
apple tree among the trees of the wood, the chicfest among
ten thousand, white and ruddy, his countenance is as Lebanon,
excellent as the cedars ; his mouth is most sweet ; yea, he is
altogether lovely." O! this is my Beloved, this is my Friend:
if I had ten thousand hearts and hands to give, he should have
them all. I am well pleased with his person ; well pleased
with the contract he has made, and signed with his blood ;
well pleased with all the promises, which 1 see to be yea and
amen in him; well pleased with his law: "I will follow him
whithersoever he goeth." And in this way the marriage is
concluded and agreed upon ; " I will make an everlasting
covenant with them, even the sure mercies of David," Is. Iv.
3; Jer. xxxii. 40: " I will make, (or establish,) an everlasting
covenant with them. That I will not turn away from them
to do them good, but I will put my fear in their hearts, that
they shall not depart from me. I will never leave thee, nor
forsake thee." So much for the tirst thing.
II. The second thing in the method is, to speak a lUtle of
the blessed Bridegroom, who is here said to be comi?ig. Behold
the Bridegroom cometh.
But oh! Who can speak of him to any purpose? we but
darken counsel by words without^ knowledge, when we speak
of him ; and no wonder, for he is the unspeakable gift of God.
All the saints that ever were on earth, and all faithful minis-
ters, martyrs, and witnesses, that ever appeared in the church
militant, have been always speaking to his commendation,
but they always acknowledged he was above all their praises ;
the most that they could say of him was, that 'he is altogether
lovely,' and that there is none in heaven or in earth that is to
be in the least compared to him. Ask the " innumerable
company of angels, and the spirits of just men made perfect,"
who "see him as he is, and know him as they are known of
him," what is their estimate of him? All they can say of
him is, Rev. v. 1) : " Worthy is he to take the book, and to
open the (seven) seals thereof" "Worthy is the Lamb that
was slain." But how worthy is he they cannot tell ; his praise
is in all the churches, both militant and triumphant. But
their praises are nothing but a profound silence, in comparison
of what he is and deserves, Psal. Ixxxv. 1: " Praise waiteth"
or is silent " for thee, O God, in Zion — Go forth, O ye daughters
of Zion, and behold him ;" for behold he cometh, go out and
meet him.
All I shall say respecting him, shall be comprised in the
answer of a few questions, that some poor soul may be ready
XL.] TO MEET THE BRIDEGROOM. 229
to put concerning the blessed Bridegroom. They that love
Christ, and have a mind to match with him, have commonly
a great deal of questions to put concerning him.
Quest. 1. Will you tell us, if you can, what is the Bridegroom's
name? Anszo. That is not easily answered, for it is a part of
Agur's confession of faith, Prov. xxx. 4 : " Who hath ascend-
ed up into heaven, or descended? What is his name, and
what is his Son's name, if thou canst tell?" And when Ma-
noah asked the angel what was his name ? (that he might
do him honour,) He (namely, Christ the angel of the covenant)
answers, " Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is
secret?" or, as in the margin, seeing it is Wonderful. Such
a secret is his name, that no man can call him Lord, bat by
the Holy Ghost; you may read his name in your Bibles, and
still his name will be a secret, till the Spirit of the Lord open
it to you by glorifying his person in your eyes, and then,
and never till then, will you cry out, O ! " his name is like oint-
ment poured forth ;" O ! "he has a name above every name
that can be named, whether in this world or that which is to
come:" " Every knee must bow unto this name, and every
tongue must confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of
God the Father."
I will just tell you of a few of the scriptural names of the
Bridegroom. And O ! look up to him for a glimpse of his
glory in them.
His name is Jesus, Matth. i. 2L Now, what think you of
that name ? for the sound of sah^ation is in it : " Thou shalt
call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their
sins." O, lost sinner, roll the name of the Bridegroom, as a
sweet morsel under thy tongue. His name is Christ, or the
renowned Messiah, the a-nointed One of God. " Grace was
poured into" his <' lips, for God, even " his "Father, anointed
him with the oil of gladness above" all his "fellows." His name
is the Lord, for he is Lord of all ; Lord of lords. He is God's
first-born, whom he hath made higher than the kings of the
earth : yea, all the kings of the earth must do homage to
him, some time or other ; and no wonder, for by him " kings
reign, and princes decree justice." What is his name? Llis
name is Immanuel, God-man, or God with us, to stand in our
quarrel : to take our part against the old serpent ; and accord-
ingly, he has bruised his head, and through death has destroyed
him that had the power of death.
See a whole cluster of the names of the Bridegroom toge-
ther. Is. ix. 6. Where the bride, the Lamb's wife, glorying
in her beloved consort, cries out, in a holy triumph, " Unto
us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government
shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Won-
230 THE WISE VIRGINS GOING FORTH [SER,
derful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the everlasting Father, the
Prince of peace."
Isl, His name is a great, glorious, and renowned name,
a name above every name, Philip, ii. 9—11: "God hath
highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above
every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the
earth. And that every tongue should confess thatJesus Christ
is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." So, Eph. i. 20—22,
God " hath set him at his own right hand in the heavenly
places, and exalted him far above all principality, and power,
and might, and dominion, and every name that is named,
not only in this world, but also in that which is to come."
2cUy, His name is a savoury name : Cant. i. 3 : " Because
of the savour of thy good ointment, thy name is as ointment
poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee." Oh sirs,
there is such an odoriferous perfume in the name of Christ,
that when once a poor soul gets a scent of it, it can never for-
get it, and the remembrance of it is a feast and banquet to
the soul. Is. xxvi. 8, 9 : " Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O
Lord, have we waited for thee ; the desire of our soul is to thy
oame, and to the remembrance of thee." " With my soul
have I desired thee in the night: yea, with my spirit within
me, will I seek thee early."
3dli/, His name is a medicinal name. If faith be but acted
upon his name, it makes the bones that were broken to re-
joice; makes "the blind to see; the deaf to hear; the lame
man to leap like a hart, and the tongue of the dumb to sing,"
Acts iii. 6, 7, 16. So, Acts iv. 12, &c. - ■
4ihli/, His name is a sheltering and hiding name: when
storms are blowing, whether from heaven, earth, or hell,
Prov. xviii. 10: "The name of the Lord is a strong tower,
the righteous runneth into it, and is safe." It is not only a
tower, but a strong and impregnable tower, and the gates of
hell shall never prevail against that soul that has fled for re-
fuge to it.
5thly, His name is an attractive name, it draws the heart
and soul to him : it is by the sound of this name that the ga-
thering of the people is to him as the blessed Shiloh. What
is it that makes " tlie gospel the power of God unto salvation ?"
Why, it is just the displays of the glory of his renowned name,
" If 1 be liifted up from the earth," says Christ, " I will draw
all men unto me."
Gihly, His name is an enlightening name to the poor soul
that is walking in darkness ; hence, Is I. 10 : " He that walk-
eth in darkness, and hath no light, let him trust in the name
of the Lord, and stay upon his God :" plainly intimating, that
XL.] TO MEET THE BRIDEGROOM. 231
a glance of the name of Christ, by the eye of faith, will make
light to spring out of darkness, to the soul, under the darkest
clouds of desertion : and no wonder, for he is the " light of the
world, the true light, the Sun of righteousness."
iMy, His name is a quickening and enUvening name. By
the name of Jesus the dead are raised to life; and no wonder,
for this is one of his names. The Life, John xiv. 6, and John
xi. 25, The Resurrection and the Life. Let but a languishing
saint, when he is crying, with the eunuch. Is. Ivi : " I am a
dry tree," let him but hear the name of the Lord Jesus, let
him but get a ghmpse of the glory of his person, he will be
ready to cry with the apostle, Col. iii. 3, I am " dead, but
my life is hid with Christ in God." Or, with Paul, Gal. ii.
20 : "I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live ; yet not
I, but Christ liveth in me : and the life which I now live in
the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me,
and gave himself for me."
Sthly^ His name is a prevalent name in heaven, insomuch,
that, if this name be set in the front of our prayers and peti-
tions, they will prevail, and obtain a hearing, and a gracious
answer and return, John xiv. 13: "And whatsoever ye shall
ask in my name, that will I do," &c. This name perfumes
our prayers like incense.
Qthhj, It is a worthy name, James (ii. 7,) speaking of the
rich man with the gold ring and gay clothing, tells us, they
" blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called ;"
the triumphant company in heaven know it to be so, for they
warble forth the praises of his name, saying, " Worthy is the
Lamb that was slain," Rev. v.
lOthiy, It is a durable and everlasting name, Psal. Ixxii.
17 — 20 : " His name shall endure for ever, his name shall be
continued as long as the sun ; for men shall be blessed in him,
and all nations shall call him blessed :" and therefore " blessed
be his glorious name for ever, and let the whole earth be
filled with his glory." This name will make sweet melody in
heaven, through all eternity.
Now, sirs, what think you of the Bridegroom, when you
hear of his name? will you match with him? Vi^ill you marry
him? if thy heart can say, " O, if I had ten thousand hearts
and hands, I would give them all to him." Well, if this be
the language of thy heart, it is a done bargain ; he is thy
Bridegroom, and thou art his bride, the Lamb's wife.
Quest. 2. Oh I would hear more about him ! Will you tell
me what is the Bridegroom's pedigree and parentage? of whom
is he descended ? Afisw^ I can tell you some things about his
genealogy: "He is of the seed of"^ David according to the
flesh," he is the offspring of ancient kings, as you may see
232 THE Wise virgins goiptg forth [ser*
from his genealogy, Matth. i., and Luke iii. If you ask re-
specting his divine pedigree, he "is the only begotten of the Fa-
ther, and the brightness of his glory, and the express image
of his person." But as to the manner of his generation, who
can declare it ! this is a secret, and " secret things belong unto
the Lord." Only from this hint you may see, the Bridegroom
is so honourably descended, that it is a wonder he should
match with any of the fallen tribe of Adam.
Quest. 3. What is the Bridegroom's personal worth and ex-
cellency? Amv\ There is such a divine glory in his person,
that the lustre of it darkens the sun in the firmament, that it
appears to be as sackcloth and darkness. Such glory is in his
person, as dazzles the eyes of angels to behold him, Is. vi.
They cover their faces with their wings, crying, one to ano-
ther, " Holy, holy, holy is (he Lord of hosts," &c. All the per-
fections of the Deity shine with a meridian lustre and glory in
the person of our glorious Bridegroom. "The fulness of the
Godhead dwells in him bodily." He is "in the form of God,
and thinks it not robbery to be equal with God." So glorious
is the person of the Bridegroom, that he captivates every eye
and heart that beholds him, and imparts in"s glory, in some
measure, to every soul that looks on him by the eye of faith,
-2 Cor. iii. 18 : " But we all, with open face, beholding, as in a
glass, the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image,
from glory to glory," &c. The bride, by looking on the glory
of the Bridegroom, is made like the "king's daughter, all glo-
rious within," and to look forth as the morning, fair as the
moon, clear as the sim, and terrible as an army with ban-
ners: O go forth, ye daughters of Zion," and behold his glory.
Quest. 4. What are the endowments and qualilications of
the Bridegroom ? Jinszo. His qualifications are so rare and,
singular, that tongue cannot tell them, nor heart conceive
them. Only, to commend him to your esteem, love, and af-
fection, there are these few qualilications (hat may recom-
mend him to any rational soul : —
L For beauty, "he is white and ruddy, the chiefest among
ten thousand, liis countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as
the cedars, Aiircr than the children of inen, and altogether
lovely."
2. For wisdom, "all the treasures of wisdom and know-
ledge are hid in him :" he is wise in heart, and mighty in
counsel. So wise, that he has outwi((ed all the power and
policy of hell and earth: although his enemies dig counsel as
deep as hell, yet, as " hell and destruction arc naked before
him," he just "takes (he wise in (heir own craftiness, and the
counsel of the froward he carrieth headlong;" and he im-
parts wisdom to the simple bride, making her " wise unto
XL.] TO MEET THE BRIDEGROOM. 233
salvation," acquainted with the mysteries of the kingdom,
which are hid from the wise and prudent of the world.
3. For riches, the Bridegroom that offers to match with
you is immensely rich ; he is a man of substance indeed, and
he causes those that love him to inherit substance ; " his riches
are unsearchable," Eph. iii. 8 ; his " riches are durable," Prov.
viii. 18.
4. For honour, he is renowned in heaven and earth, having
" a name above every name that can be named ;" Prov. viii.
18: "Honour and riches are with me." Honour and ma-
jesty are before his face ; and he makes all that believe on
him honourable, Is. xliii. 2: "Ever since thou wast precious
in my sight, thou hast been honourable," &c.
5. For strength, he is " the man of God's right hand, whom
he hath made strong for himself." The strength of omnipo-
tence is in him ; for he is " the mighty God," Is. ix. G, and
" the Almighty," Rev. i. 8. He came from Edom, and from
Bozrah, " travelling in the greatness of his strength," show-
ing himself " mighty to save."
G. For authority he has " power over all flesh, that he may
give eternal life to as many as the Father hath given him."
"All power is his in heaven and in earth; things in heaven,
and things in earth, and things under the earth," yea, "every
knee must bow unto him, and every tongue must confess, that
Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
7. For meekness and lowliness, he is incomparable, and
proposes himself as the great pattern of it for our imitation,
Matth. xi. 29: "Learn of me, for I am meek and lowh^"
8. For constancy in his love, in his promises, and in all his
amiable excellencies, he is " Christ Jesus, the same yester-
day, to-day, and for ever." His name is, " I AM ;" " he rests
in his love, and changes not, therefore the sons of Jacob are
not consumed." His promises are not like the promises of
men, yea to-day, and nay to-morrow ; no, but " all the pro-
mises of God are in him yea and amen ;" " one jot or tittle of
what he says shall never pass away;" "the mountains shall
depart, and the hills be removed ; but my kindness shall not
depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be
removed, saith the Lord, that hath mercy on thee." These
are some, and but a small part, of the qualifications of the
blessed Bridegroom : " Go forth, then, ye daughters of Zion,
and behold him."
VOL. III. 21
234 THE WISE VIRGINS GOING FORTH [sER.
THE WISE VIRGINS GOING FORTH TO MEET THE
BRIDEGROOM.
And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold tlie Bridegroom cometh, go
ye out to meet him. — Matth. xxv. 6.
THE SECOND SERMON ON THIS TEXT.
The third thing proposed in the general method was, to
speak a little of the Bride; for where there is a bridegroom,
there must of ne.cessity be a bride. And here the bride of
Christ may be viewed in a three-fold situation; either 1. As
in a state of nature; 2. As in a state of grace; or, 3. As in
a state of glory.
(1.) Let us view her as in her natural state, and so we
shall find her in a doleful and deplorable condition, (I speak
of the elect, whether personally or collectively considered.)
If we view her in her natural descent and pedigree, she is a
corrupt branch, sprung of the rotten root of the first Adam,
conceived in sin, brought forth in iniquity, altogether as an
unclean thing, black like the Ethiopian, by lying among the
pots of hell, Ezek. xvi. Christ there puts his church and
people in mind of their natural condition, ver. 3 — 6; where,
by a lively metaphor of a new-born infant, the Lord repre-
sents the condition of all mankind.
1. " Thy navel was not cut ;" that is, just feeding and living
upon things below, for "that which is born of the flesh is
flesh." Man's nature sucks in the poison of carnal things,
and to be carnally minded is death.
2. "Thou wast not salted at all." Salt preserves from pu-
trefaction. The spirit and grace of God is sometimes likened
to salt, "have salt in yourselves." Now, man by nature is
quite destitute of this salt, and so must be wholly putrefied
and corrupted, therefore likened to a putrefied carcass, Rom.
iii., or an open sepulchre.
3. "No eye pitied thee, to do any of these things unto
thee," &.C. Man, of all creatures, is the most helpless when
he is new-born, especially if "cast out in the open field."
What can a sinner do for himself? or what can angels or
men do for him? The whole creation stand aloof, and cry,
' We cannot help you out from under the curse of the law, or
the wrath of ;m angry God.' And therefore he must inevita-
bly perish, like the new-born infant, cast out in the open field,
unless some one take it up.
XL.j TO MEET THE BRIDEGROOM. 235
Now this is the condition of Christ's bride when he sets his
iove upon her, as you see in the 6th and 8th verses of the
same sixteenth chapter of Ezekiel, and " when I passed by
thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto
thee, when thou wast in thy blood. Live," &c. We have
another very clear description of man in his natural state,
Eph. ii. 5 — 12 : " And you hath he quickened who were dead
in trespasses and sins,"&c.; and Titus iii. 3: "For we our-
selves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived,
serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy,
hateful and hating one another." Thus you see how the
Spirit of God describes the natural condition of all mankind.
Oh how may it till us with admiration, to think that such a
creature should become a bride to the Son of God ! and yet
his love surmounts all ; " O the height, the depth, the breadth,
and length of the love of God."
(2.) Let us view the bride as in a state of grace, and see
what a strange alteration free grace makes upon her. This
is also set forth in Ezek. xvi., by an elegant metaphor, from
ver. 6 — 14.
1. He quickens her and gives her life, ver 6, " I said unto
thee, Live."
2. He casts the skirt of his everlasting righteousness over
her, ver. 8.
3. He takes her into a marriage-relation with himself, with-
in the bond of the covenant, ver. 8.
4. He washes and cleanses her with " the washing of rege-
neration," ver. 9.
5. He anoints her with the oil of his Spirit.
6. He decks and adorns her with the ornaments of holi-
ness, the graces of his Spirit, ver. 11, 12.
1. He confers royal dignity upon her, ver. 12, at the close;
puts a crown upon her head.
8. He makes her perfect and complete in himself, through
the comeliness he puts upon her, ver. 14. Thus you see what
the love of Christ does for his bride, while yet only in time
of espousals.
(3.) We might also view her in a state of glory, when
the marriage shall be consummated at Christ's second coming,
but this is what ''eye hath not seen, nor ear heard," nor
hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive. Only I
refer you to two or three texts, that give us a glimpse of the
glory that Christ will then confer upon his bride, Matth. xiii.
43: "They shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of
their Father." Dan. xiL 3: " They that be wise shall shine
as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many
to righteousness, as the stars for ever and ever." Col. iii. 4 :
236 THE WISE VIRGINS GOING FORTH [sER.
"When Christ also who is our life shall appear, then shall ye
appear with him in glory." 1 John iii. 2: "Beloved, now
are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we
shall be; but we know, that when he shall appear, w'e shall
be like him, for we shall see him as he is," &c. Thus I have
given you a short account of the bride in her natural state,
and in a state of grace and glory.
IV. The fourth thing was to speak a little of the coming of
the Bridegroom. BeJiold the Bridegroom cometh.
Now to clear this matter, I would have you to know, that
I do not at present speak either of Christ's first coming in the
flesh, or of his second coming to judgment. His first coming
in the flesh was to purchase a bride for himself by his obe-
dience and death. His second and last coming, at the end of
the world, will be to solemnize the marriage, and to fetch the
bride home to the royal palace, the house of many mansions
that he is preparing for her reception, when she shall be made
fully ready. I say, I do not at this time speak of either of
these, however the last may be intended in this parable. At
present I shall speak a little of these intermediate visits that
the Bridegroom makes to his bride during the time of espou-
sals, before he comes at the last day to solemnize the marriage
before men and angels.
1st, The Bridegroom comes and visits his church and peo-
ple in the chariot of providence ; I understand his favourable
dispensations when he comes to build up Zion,he appears in
his glory, and regards the prayer of the destitute. Thus when
the Lord brought Israel out of their Egyptian bondage, with
a liigh hand and outstretched arm, plaguing Egypt, slaying
their first-born, and at length bringing his churcl) and people
through the Red sea, while, at the same time, he overthrew
Pharaoh and his host, on which occasion Israel sang that song,
Exod. XV., through the whole : So likewise, when he turned
back their captivity from Babylon, and settled them again
in their native land, and caused the city and temple to be
rebuilt, and daily saciifice and oblation to be olfered, this
was a favourable visit in the chariot of providence. Much
like to this, was the visit the Lord made in his providence to
this poor land, whcji, at our reformation from Popery, he
spirited our nobles, gentry, and commons, to shake otf the
yoke of Popish tyranny and idolatry, and to embrace the
gospel of Christ, and authorize the true reformed religion, by
laws and acts of parliament, which stand in force to this day,
and were adopted by this church in the year 1038, and again
authorized by law at the revolution, and since that time.
These, I say, were gracious visits that the Lord made to this
XL.] TO MEET THE BRIDEGROOM. 237
church, riding in the chariot of providence, with the bright
side towards her ; and how often does he visit particular be-
Uevers, by favourable dispensations of providence, when they
expected nothing but death and destruction. He has inter-
posed mercifully for their deliverance, and made them to sing
with David, Psal. cxvi. : " I was brought low, and he helped
me." And Psal. ciii. : "He redeemeth my life from de-
struction, and crowneth me with loving-kindness and tender
mercy."
Sometimes, again, the dark side of the chariot appears m
gloomy and wrath-like dispensations, as wdien he sets up the
right hand of the cruel enemv over them, gives them like
" sheep to the slauijhter to be killed all the day long :" When
" he breaks them vvith breach upon breach, and rushes upon
them like a giant;" as in the case of Job: when he cast the
three children into a fiery furnace, and Daniel into the lions'
den. These and the like dispensations have a very black
and dismal aspect; and in this case the church and people of
God are ready to cry out with Jacob, " All these things are
against us." And yet the black chariot of providence is bot-
tomed and lined with love, grace, and mercy, as appeared in
the case of Job, Daniel, the three children, and Jacob; and
so the scripture comes to be fulfilled, that " all the ways of
the Lord arc mercy and truth to them that love him," Psal.
ciii.; and Rom. viii. 28: " All things work together for good
to them that love God, to them who are the called accord-
ing to his purpose."
But I do not at present speak so much of the visits that
the Lord Christ makes to his people in the chariot of provi-
dence, as the visits he makes to them in the chariot of the
gospel revelation, and ordinances of his appointment, such
as word, sacrament, prayer, meditation, Christian conference,
and the like, which are so many meeting places, in which the
Bridegroom comes and visits h'is bride, manifesting forth his
glory to her, spreading his banner of love over her. Now,
as to the visits that Christ makes to his bride of this kind, in
the chariot of the gospel revelation, there are these few things
1 would remark concerning them : —
Isl, The first visit of distinguishing love that he makes to
the bride is in the day of conversion, when he draws by the
veils of ignorance, unbelief, error, and prejudice, and mani-
fests himself to her in his divine glory, fulness, suitableness,
and excellency, in such a way as ravishes her heart with his
love and loveliness. This is called the time of espousals, Cant,
iii., last, because then it is that the consent of the bride is
gained, and her heart drawn after the Bridegroom with the
irresistible cords of victorious love. Of this the Lord puts
21*
238 THE WISE VIRGINS GOING FORTH [SER.
Israel in mind, when he says, " I remember thee, the kind-
ness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou
wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that w^as not
sown," Jer. ii. 2.
2dly, The heart of the bride being thus won or caught with
the glory of the Bridegroom, he, for holy and wise ends,
withdraws, commonly, his sensible presence, and leaves her
with a promise of his returning in due time ; like that, John
xiv. 18: "I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to
you;" or that, John xiv. 21, 23: " He that loveth me shall
be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and manifest
myself unto him," &c., or John xvi. 22: "I will see you
again, and your hearts shall rejoice," &:c. You know it is
not usual for the bridegroom to stay or cohabit with the
bride, even after the espousals, until the marriage be solem-
nized, and then they take up house, and dwell together; but
until that time come, he makes only passing visits, or comes
and goes ; only, when he goes, he leaves her with a promise
of coming back. Just so is it in the present case, Christ
leaves his people with a promise to support them in his ab-
sence.
^dlij, I remark, that Christ is many times present with the
bride and spouse, when she is not aware of it. An instance
of this we have in the case of Jacob, Gen. xxviii. 16. The
Lord there appears to him in a dream, and when he awakes,
he says, " Surely the Lord is in this place, and I knew it
not;" and Mary, John xx. 14, is weeping, and saying. " They
have taken away my Lord, and I know not where tJiey have
laid him." She was speaking to Christ himself, but' knew
not that it was Christ, but supposing him to be the gardener,
said to him, " Sir, if thou hast borne him hence, tell me
where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away," &.c.
So we sec the same in the case of the disciples goingto Em-
maus, Luke xxiv. Christ was conversing \vi(h them, and
opening to them the scriptures, reproving them for their un-
belief; and yet they did not know that it was he, until, upon
reflection, they say one to another, "Did not our hearts burn
within us while he talked with us," &c.
Aihhj, Every visit the Bridegroom of souls makes to his
bride is an assured pledge of after visits, until he come to
consummate the marriage at the end of the day; for, as we
are told, Hos. vi. 3: "His going forth is prepared as the
morning." As the break of day is a pledge of the sun's rising,
and his rising is a pledge of his ascending to the meridian or
mid-day ; so every visit that Christ makes to the soul makes
way for farther discoveries of his sjlory, until the day of glory
break, and all shadows for ever flee away.
XL.] TO MEET THE BRIDEGROOM. 239
blhly, The Bridegroom loves sometimes (o surprise the
bride with his visits, he comes even at midnight, when she
is httle looking for him, Cant. vi. 12 : " Or ever I was aware,
my soul made me like the chariots of Amminadib;" or, as it
reads in the margin, " set me on the chariots of my willing
people." So Isa. xlix. 14, 15. Zion is there saying, under
a dark cloud of desertion, " The Lord hath forsaken me, and
my Lord hath forgotten me:" But, all on a sudden, the Lord
comes, and says, "Can a woman forget her sucking child,
that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb?
Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee."
Qlhly, These sensible surprising visits of the Bridegroom,
are but rare, and of a short continuance : they are like
a bright blink of the sun from under the cloud, which, in a
little, is suddenly overcast with a new cloud, like that of the
disciples upon Mount Tabor, at Christ's transfiguration, when
they saw his countenance to shine as the sun, his raiment
white as the light, and a voice saying, " This is my beloved
Son, in whom 1 am well pleased :" but ere ever they were
aware, a dark cloud intercepts all. Quest. Why are the
Bridegroom's visits so rare, and of a short continuance ? Ansu:
The Lord will have it so, to let the bride know that the mar-
riage is not yet consummated, and she is only yet in a state
of espousals: cohabitation only follow^s the consummation of
the marriage in heaven. Again, the bride, while here, in a
state of imperfection, is not able to bear a constant fellow-
ship with the Bridegroom, I mean bright sensible manifesta-
tions, the old bottles cannot bear much of that new wine.
Paul himself was in danger of being lifted up with pride,
through abundance of manifestations; and therefore a mes-
senger of Satan was sent to butiet him. And, again, by this
way he makes them long for heaven, where the Bridegroom
and the bride shall meet, never to part, saying;, " I desire to
depart, and be with Jesus, which is best of all."
Ithly, The Bridegroom may, and frequently does, intermit
his visits for a very long space of time ; he may absent him-
self not only for days, or weeks, or months, but for years, and
many many years together. It is thought, that long twenty
years intervened between Jacob's Bethel visit. Gen. xxxviii.
18, and his visit he got, chap. xxxi. 13. When the Lord
appeared to him, saying, " I am the God of Bethel, where
thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow
unto me." It is no strange thing for the saints to be walking
in darkness, and seeing no light: and, in this case, they are
ready to cry with David, Psal. xiii. 1 : " How long, how long
wilt thou hide thy face from me ;" Psal. Ixxxix. : " Where are
thy former loving-kindnesses ?' &c. : Psal. Ixxvii. " Hath
240 THE WISE VIRGINS GOING FORTH [SER.
God forgotten to be gracious ? will he be favourable no more ?"
&c. The reason of this withdrawing is either some idol
harboured, or to hide pride from their eyes, or to quicken
the soul's longing after himself, or to teach and train them
up to a life of faith upon the promise; for here " we walk by
faith and not by sight."
Slhly, Although the Bridegroom may be long absent, yet he
will return at length, when his own time comes, which is al-
ways best both for her glory and her good. " He wdl not con-
tend for ever, neither will he be always wroth, lest the spirit"
of the poor bride should fail within her: " Weeping may endure
for a night, but joy cometh in the morning," Psal. xxx, 5 :
So Is. liv. 5 — 8: "Thy Maker is thine Husband. For a
small moment have I forsaken thee, and in a little wrath have
1 hid my face from thee for a moment : but w'ith great mercy
will I gather thee, and with everlasting-kindness will I have
mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer."
9tkly, Let him come when he will, or how he will, he is
always welcome; for he brings all good with him. Quest.
What does he bring with him? A?isw. 1. He brings his Fa-
ther with him, John xiv. 23 : "My Father will love him, and
we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." 2.
He brings the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, along with
him; and then the soul is anointed as with fresh oil, which
makes the heart glad, and the countenance to shine. 3. He
brings peace and joy with him, a " peace that passeth all un-
derstanding, a joy that is unspeakable, and full of glory." 4.
He brings victory over sin, Satan, death, and hell, along with
him; and, in a word, he brings pardon of sin, and all manner
of salvation, along with him. And therefore, 1 say, let him
come when or how he will, he is always welcome. But I
pass this, and should now go on to —
V. The fifth thing proposed in Ihe method, which was to
speak to the duty called for in all the virgins, upon the inti-
mation and warning given them, Go ye out lo meet him. But
this I refer to another occasion.
XL.] TO MEET THE BRIDEGROOM. 241
THE WISE VIRGINS GOING FORTH TO MEET THE
BRIDEGROOM.
And at midnight tliere was a cry made, Behold the Bridegroom cometh, go
ye out to meet him. — Matth. xxy. 6.
THE THIRD SERMOX ON THIS TEXT.
Having in some former discourses spoken of the Bridegroom
and of the bride, and of the coming of the Bridegroom, I now
proceed to speak of the call and summons given to the vir-
gins, both wise and foolish, Go ye out to meet him. And this
I shall endeavour to discourse by resolving the few following
questions that may be put by the professed virgins that are
heai'ing me: —
1. What is supposed or implied in the duty, Go ye out to
meet him ?
2. What is the motion of the soul in going out to meet
him?
3. For what end and purpose are we to go out and meet
the Bridegroom?
4. Where may we expect to meet him ?
5. Who are they that stand fairest for a meeting with him
m love and mercy ?
G. What sort of a meeting have the wise virgins with the
Bridegroom, when they go forth to meet him in a way of be-
lieving 1
Quest. What is supposed or implied in the duty, Go ye out
to meet him ?
Isl, It supposes a present distance between them and the
Bridegroom. There was a total distance between him and
the foolish virgins; they had heard of him by the hearing of
the ear, but their eyes had never seen him, the light of the
knowledge of his glory had never shined in their hearts. Oh !
how many such have we in our Christian assemblies, "whom
the god of this world has blinded, lest the light of the glorious
gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto
them?" And as there was a total distance between Christ and
the foolish virgins, so there was a partial distance between
him and the wise virgins, otherwise they had not been slum-
bering and sleeping.
2dly, Go ye out to meet him. It supposes, that it is the work
and business of God's heralds to prepare the way for a meet-
242 THE WISE VIRGINS GOING FORTH [sER.
ing between Christ and sinners, to bring Christ near to sin-
ners, and sinners near to Christ. When Christ was coming,
yea actually come in the flesh to the Jewish nation, John the
Baptist cried, " Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight
in the desert a high-way for our God." We, as ambassadors
for the Bridegroom, come to beseech and entreat sinners to
go out and meet the Bridegroom in a way of beheving, and
saints (wise virgins) to go out and hold communion with him
in the renewed actings of faith. Wisdom crieth to all pro-
miscuously, " Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine
which 1 have mingled."
3f//?/, Go ye out lo meet him. Jt implies, that the Bride-
groom is not far off, but that he is nigh at hand. It is the
■way of unbelief, and a deceitful heart, to say, " The Lord de-
]ayeth his coming;" he is behind the mountains, while yet he
is at the door: Rev. iii. 20: "Behold, I stand at the door and
knock ; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will
come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." And
therefore, " say not in thine heart. Who shall ascend into hea-
ven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above) or, who shall
descend into the deep? (that is, to bring Christ again from
the dead) — For the word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and
in thy heart ; that is, the word of faith, which we preach,"
Rom. X. 6—8.
4thli/, Go ye out to meet him. It says, tliat the Bridegroom
is a person of note and merit, that he is worthy of all recep-
tion and entertainment: 1 Tim. i. 15: "This is a faithful-
saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came
into the world to save sinners." Sirs, we tell you, that the
Bridegroom is worthy of the greatest welcome : his person is
worthy, for he is the Son of God ; and he comes upon a wor-
thy and wonderful errand, even to save sinners, and not only
so, but to wed them for a bride; for he is saying, " i will be-
troth thee unto me for ever."
5thli/, Go ye out to meet him. It implies that the Bridegroom
is not to be found within, but without. Go ye out to meet him.
Quakers and Enthusiasts boast of a Christ within them; but
though Christ, by his Spirit, dwells in the heart of a true be-
liever, yet the first meeting that faith has with Christ, is by
going out to meet him : It is a Christ outwardly revealed in
the word that true faith deals with: the grace of faitli is in-
deed seated in the soul, as the eye is in the body, but then,
like the eye of the body, it is wholly taken up with objects
without itself. Faith lies in a continual outgoing toward
Ciirist revealed and exhil)ited in the word. Isi^ael had never
found the manna, unless they had gone out to gather it; and
they had never been healed of the stings of the fiery serpents,
XL.] TO MEET THE BRIDEGROOM. 243
except they had looked without to the brazen serpent : so we
shall never meet the Bridegroom, except we go out and meet
him.
Gthly, Go ye out to meet him. It says, that in believing in
Christ, in receiving him, there is a disbanding of other lovers;
for " no man can serve two masters." Sin, Satan, and the
world, have dominion over the man, while in a natural and
Christless state; he is playing the harlot with other lovers;
some lust or idol he is liugging in his bosom, that is as dear
to him as a right hand or right eye. But now, whenever he
goes out to meet the Bridegroom, he cries with Ephraim,
Hos. xiv. 8, "What have 1 to do any more with idols'? O
Lord, our God, other lords, besides thee, have had dominion
over me ; but by thee only will I make mention of thy name,"
Is. XX vi. 13.
Ithly, Go ye ont to meet him. It says, that the soul, in be-
lieving or receiving Christ, quits all false confidences, and
arises out of these beds of sloth and security, upon which it
was stretching itself. The vii-gins, here, were all slumber-
ing and sleeping, some of them upon one bed of sloth, and
some upon another. But the cry comes at mid?nght, Behold
the Bridegroom comelh, goye out to meet him; which says plain-
ly, that they behooved to quit their short beds, and cast away
their narrow coverings, if they would meet the Bridegroom,
and have fellowship with him. 1. There is the bed of spi-
ritual death and security, Eph. v. 14: "Awake, thou that
steepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee
light." 2. We must quit the bed of church privileges, and
go forth from these; and beware of saying, "The temple of
the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are
these." 3. The bed of civility and moral honesty: the young
man in the gospel could say, " All these things have I kept
from my youth up," and yet was a stranger to Christ, and to
the new birth. 4. The bed of a legal righteousness ; we must
arise out of that, for by " the works of the law no fle>h living
can be justified." 5. The bed of evangelical righteousness;
this also must be quilted, if ever we would go forth and meet
the Bridegroom. Some seek righteousness not directly by
the law, but, " as it were, by the works of the law." They
make their faith, love, repentance, and obedience, to a pre-
tended new gospel-law, a sort of righteousness to (hemselves,
and upon this build their fiiilh and hope of the imputation of
the righteousness, which is nothing but a subtle way of sub-
verting the whole gospel of Christ, and the method of free
justification by the righteousness of Christ alone, buildint; the
imputation of Christ's righteousness upon straw and stubble,
and, at best, a profane jumbling of Christ's righteousness and
244 THE WISE VIRGINS GOING FORTH [SEa.
our own together, an error against which the apostle de-
nounces an anathema, Gal. i. G — 8.
Sthlij, Go ye out to meet 1dm. It implies some knowledge of
the Bridegroom, accompanied with an assent of the mind to
the report of the gospel, and the record of God concerning
him; for we do not go out to meet strangers, of whom we
have no knowledge, or of whom we have never heard : the
soul that goes out to meet Christ, is made to know him. By
"his knowledge shall my righteous Servant justify many:"
and, from the knowledge it has of his person and mediation,
it assents to what is recorded of him in the word, and report-
ed of him in a preached gospel; and is ready to say, as the
Queen of Sheba, when she saw the glory of King Solomon,
and heard his wisdom, "The half" (what I heard at a dis-
tance) " was not told me, to what I now see and know."
" This is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only
true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent."
^iJdy, It implies a high esteem and heart}- approbation of
the person of Christ, and the method of justification, sancti-
ficalion, and salvation, through him. Oh! will the soul say,
he is " worthy of all acceptation" indeed; " AVhom have I in
heaven but thee, and there is none upon earth that I de-
sire besides thee." " Yea, doubtless, and I count all things
but loss, for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus
my Lord: that 1 may win Christ, and be found in him;" and
" unto you who believe he is precious."
lOthly, Go ye out to meet him. It implies an outgoing of the
whole soul, m all its powers and faculties, after the Bride-
groom, and an actual subscribing the contract of the new co-
venant, with heart and hand, according to what is prophesied
and promised, Is. xliv. 3: "One shall say, I am the Lord's;
and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and an-
other shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lord, and sur-
name himself by the name of Israel." And, from that time
forward, the bride is betrothed to the Bridegroom, according
to Ilos. ii. 11), 20. She now begins to call him Mi; my hus-
band being the echo of the bride's voice to the words of the
Bridegroom, Is. liv. 5: "Thy Maker is thine Husband; the
Lord of hosts is his name."
llthly, Go yc out to meet him. It implies, that it is the
duty, and will be the desire of the soul espoused to Christ to
pursue after the enjoyment of him, and fellowship with him,
in all the duties and ordinances of his appointment, while in
a state of espousals, till the marriage be consummated at the
end of time, Psal. xxvii. 4: "One thing have I desired of the
Lord, that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of
the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the
XL.] TO MEET THE BRIDEGROOM. 245
Lord, and to inquire in his temple." Tt is but a [desolate]
house to the bride when the Bridegroom is absent; and
therefore, when she misses him, she goes mourning without
the sun, crying, "O that I knew where I might find him;
saw ye him whom my soul loveth," &.c. So much for the
first question. 1 now proceed to.
The second question; What is the motion of the bride? or
how docs she move when she comes out to meet the Bride-
groom? For going out to meet him implies motion. I an-
swer,
I5/, It is not a carnal or corporeal, but a spiritual and a
soul motion: " O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, (hou
art my Lord," Psal. xvi. 2: "Return unto thy rest, O my
soul," P>al. cxvi. 7; Is. xxvi. 9: " With my soul have I de-
sired thee," &c.
2dly, It is not a blind, but a rational and understanding mo-
tion: he " draws with the cords of a man, and with the bands
of love." The entrance of God's word having given light
to the mind, he has got " an understanding to know Him
that is true." So that the mnn in going out to meet the
Bridegroom, knows well what he is doing, for he knows the
Lord, and therefore follows on to know him more and more.
3c//y, It is not a forced, but a free and voluntary motion
the soul has, when it goes out to meet the Bridegroom, Psal.
ex. 3: " Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power."
He rejoices to meet the Lord in his ways, &,c.
4ithly, It is not a cold, but a most atFectionate motion. All
the aiiections of the soul are taken up with the glory of the
Bridegroom, such as love, delight, d(,'sire, that before were
pursuing other lovers, now centre upon him alone.
blhly, It is not a slow, hut a swift and speedy motion: "I
made haste, and delayed not to keep thy righteous judg-
ments." Like the flight of a dove to its windows, when pur-
sued by the birds of prey, or that of the man-slayer to the
city of refuge.
Qlhly, It is not a careless, but a careful and resolute mo-
tion. The man, in going out to meet the Bridegroom, is re-
solved to be at him, and with him, whatever bars or impedi-
ments be in the way: he will not say, " there is a lion in the
way, a lion in the streets:" no; although lions and leopards
be in his way ; though all the armies of hell, and showers of
fiery darts be in his way, he will break through them all.
Ithlij, It is a praying, importunate, and wrestling motion.
The man in going out to meet the Bridegroom, is crying, "O
when wilt thou come unto me? And O that I knew where I
might find him," &,c.
9lhly, It is a very mysterious motion : the soul is carried
VOL. III. 22 I
246 THE WISE VIRGINS GOING FORTH [SER.
out after Christ, and it knows not how: like the wind which
blows where it listeth, we hear the sound of it, " but cannot
tell whence it cometli, or \vhitl)er it goeth."
9thli/, It is a joyful and cheerful motion. O with what
alacrity does the soul receive and embrace the Bridegroom,
in the day of espousals! the soul is just filled " with joy and
peace in believing; yea, a joy unspeakable and full of glory,
sayinsr, " Let us be glad and rejoice, for the marriage of the
Lamb is come."
The third question, For what end and purpose are we
called to go out and meet the Bridegroom?
Is/, We are to go out and bthoid him, and contemplate his
glory, Cant. iii. last, "Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and
behold King Solomon," &c. Is. xlii. 1 : " Behold my servant
whom I uphold, mine elect in whom my soul delighteth," &c.
The Lord, by (he prophet, had been reproving (he nations for
their idolatry, in the close of the [)recediiig chapter, ver. 29:
"Behold they are all vanity, their woiks are nothing, (heir
molten images are wind and confusion." Well, to take their
hearts off their idols, he presents them with an object worthy
of their looks. It is as if the Lord had said, Turn away your
eyes from beholding vanity, and behold " mine elect in whom
my soul delighteth," &c. As if he had said. He is worthy to
be beheld, and, if yon knew him, you woukl think little of all
other objects that take up your mind.
2(Ili/, We are to go out, and admire and wonder at the glo-
ry of his person and mediation; for one of the names of the
Bridegroom is Wonderful, Is. ix. 6. Admire the union of the
two natures in him, " for without controversy great is the'mvs-
tery of godliness, God was manifested in the flesh; admire the
height, the depth, the brcadlh, and the length, of the love of
God," in matching with our nature, that he n)ight be a fit
Bridegroom for us, and match with our persons; '' Verilv he
took not on him (he na(ure of angels, hut he took on him the
seed of Abraliam." Admire the exploits he has wrought in the
great work of our redemption; he has brought over an angry
and oflended (lod, to he a God with us. Admire how he
has bruised (he head of the serpent, finished transgression,
made an end of sin, made reconciliation for iniquity, brought
in an everlasting righteousness, and confirmed the covenant
with many, and made the sacrifice and oblation to cease. Oh !
how should these things make us cry out, vvidi admirntion,
as the church does. Is. Ixiii. 1, " Who is this that cometh from
Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah," &c.
3dli/, We should go out and meet him so as to match with
him, for he is the Bridcirroom, and wants a bride among the
sons of men, Prov. viii. 30. The day of his espousals with anj
XL.] TO MEET THE BRIDEGROOM. 247
poor soul is the day of the gladness of his heart; he just rejoices
over that poor soul that gives its consent to take hinn for a
Husband, as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, and the
report of it reaching heaven, makes all the angels and spirits
of just men made perfect to rejoice with him. Othen go out
and meet him, and present yourselves as chaste virgins to this
one Husband.
4.lhly, Go out and meet him, and feast with him, and feed
upon him, for the Bridegroom and his royal Father have pro-
vided a banquet for every one that will come to the marriage,
and he has sent forth his servants, saying, " Tell them who
are bidden, Behold I have prepared my dinner, my oxen, and
my fatlings are kdled, and all things are ready: come unto
the marriage," Matth. xxii. 4; Is. xxv, 6: "And in this
mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast
of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full
of marrow, of wines on the lees well retined," Prov. ix. 1 — 3,
&c.
bthlij, Go out and meet him, and enlist with him, for the
Bridegroom is a " man of war, and the armies which are in
heaven follow him," Rev. xix. 14. Virgin souls are said to
" toUow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth," Rev. xiv. 4 ; and
all they that follow him, he makes conquerors, yea, more
than conquerors, and admits them as such to sit with him
upon his throne, as he also overcame, and is set down with the
Father upon his throne, Rev. iii., at the close. Sirs, we are
the recruiting otlicers of the Bi'idegroom, the Captain of salva-
tion, who leads many sons unto glory. We want you to take
on in the service of the King of kings, and Lord of lords,
that under his victorious banner, you may wage war against
sin, Satan, and the world, which he came to destroy.
Quest. 4. You call us to go out and meet the Bridegroom,
Where may we meet him 1 Oh ! may some poor soul say,
'That I knew where I might find him. Oh! tell me where
he feedeth, and where he maketh his flocks to rest at noon.'
Answ. Although the Bridegroom, as to his human nature, be
in heaven, and in this respect the heavens are to " receive
him until the times of restitution of all things;" yet he is to
be found any where upon earth as to his divine, spiritual,
gracious presence, by those who are really seeking after
fellowship and communion with him by faith, in the ways
and means of his owm appointment: and (his is what he has
proaiised to his church, " Lo, I am with you alway, even
unto the end of the world. In all places where I record my
name, I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee." " Where
two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I
in the midst of them." So that I say there is as real com-
248 THE WISE VIRGINS GOING FORTH [SER.
munion and fellowship to be had wilh Christ now, (hough
ascended, as ever his disciples had when he was going out
and in amonir (hem, in a slate of humihation here upon ear(h ;
hence says (he apostle John concerning Christ, after he was
gone away (o heaven, 1 John i. 3: " Truly our fellowship is
with the Father, and wi(h his Son Jesus Chris(."
But oh, say von, Will you tell me more particularly where
I may meet him and find hitn? J]nsw. He is so fond of a
meeting with sinners, that he is sometimes, yea, many times
found of them that seek him not, as in the case of P;»ul going
a black errand to Damascus, and poor Zaccheus upon the sy-
camore tree, seeking only to sadsfy his curiosity ; and, if so,
much more will he be found of them that se(;k him in the
ways of his appointment; for he has said, " He meeteth him
that rejoiccth and worketh righteousness, those that remember
him in his ways."
Quest. What are these ways and means of his appoint-
ment where 1 may meet the Bridegroom, and have fellowship
with him ?
A?isw. He is sometimes found in the mount of secret medi-
tation; " while I was musing, the fire burned," says David.
Many a sweet interview have the souls of believers with
Christ in meditation, Psal. Ixiii. 6: " When I remember thee
upon my bed, and meditate upon thee in the night watches'*
ver. 5: " My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fat-
ness." He IS to be met with in secret prayer; " Then shall
ve find me, when ye seek me, and search after me with all
vour hearts." In this duty Jacob found the Lord, and wres-
tled for the blessing till break of day, and like a prince "pre-
vailed, Hos. xii. 3, 4 : "He took his brother by the heel, in
the womb, and by his strength he had power with God : Yea,,
he had power over the angel, and prevailed : he wept, and
made supplication unio him: He found hini at Bethel," &c.,.
compared with Gen. xxxii. 24— 2G: "And Jacob was left
alone; and there wrestled a man with him, until the break-
\n<^ of the dav. And when he saw that he prevailed not
against him, lie touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow
of Jacob's thi'j;li was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.
And he said, I^et me go, for the day brcjikelh: and he said, I
will not let thee go, except thou bless me." He is to be met
with in the duty of personal, family, or public f.isting and
humiliation, " But (o (his man will I look, who is poor, and
of a contrite spiri(, and Irembleth at my word." He is (o be
met with in the duty of Christian conference and fellowship,
when (hey (ha(" feared the Lord spake often one to another,
the Lord hearkened and heard." He is to he met with in
readin<» and searching the scriptures, John v. 39 : " Search
XL.] TO MKET THE BRIDEGROOM. 249
the scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and
they are they which testify of me." While the Ethiopian
eunuch was reading his Bible, the Lord met him in the minis-
try of Philip, insomuch that he " went on his way rejoicing."
Many a sweet glimpse of the glory of the Bridegroom has the
bride, while she is looking after him, through the glass of the
revelation, 2 Cor. iii. 18: " We all with open face, beholding
as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the
same image, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the
Lord." He is especially to be found in the gates of Zion, the
public ordinances of his worship, where his people attend
upon him in their assemblies, for prayer, for praise, for
preaching and hearing the gospel, and for the celebration of
the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's supper in a solemn
manner; " the Lord loves these gates of Zion more than all
the dwellings of Jacob." These are the streets and broad
ways where the spouse sought him, Cant. iii. It is true she
missed him for awhile, but, at length, she met the Bride-
groom, and was in case to say, " I found him whom my soul
loveth, I held him and would not let him go." David saw
his power and glory in his sanctuary; hence Psal. Ixxxiv., he
declares how amiable his tabernacles were to him : " A day,"
says he, " in thy courts is better than a thousand ; I had
rather be a door-keeper in the house of my God, than to
dwell in the tents of wickedness,"
He is especially to be met willi in the breaking of bread at
the comrrmnion table: for "the cup which we bless, is the
communion of the blood of Christ; and the bread wiiich wc
break, is the communion of the body of Christ." Here the
blessed Bridegroom is to be seen in his dyed garments ; for,
out of love to his bride, he trod "the wine-press alone, when
of the people there were none with him." If that question
be put to him, " Why art thou red in thine apparel, as one
that treadeth the wine fat?" He may well answer, It is no
wonder my apparel be red, for I was " wounded for thine
Lniijuities, and bruised for thy transgressions."
22*
250 THE WISE VIRGINS GOING FORTH [SEK.
THE WISE VIRGINS GOING FORTH TO MEET THE
BRIDEGROOM.
And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold the Bridegroom cometh, go
ye out to meet him. — Mattii. xxv. 6.
THE FOURTH SERMON ON THIS TEXT.
The ^///j question was, Who ore (hey tliat sfand fairest
for a meeting wiih the Bridegroom in love and mercy.
Annv. What God may do, in a way of sovereign grace, for
Chrisllcs.s, unbelieving, and profane sinners, who are in cove-
nant with death, and at agreement with hell, we know not,
for he can pluck a brand out of the fire, and take the prey
from (he mighty, when and how he pleases. He catches the
wild ass in his mouth, tiiat is, snuffing up the east wind of sin
and vanity. Ordy when you are running in the broad way
to hell, you have no reason to look for any thing but that in-
dignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, that is de-
nounced against every soul that worketh evil. You that are
among the rank of the foolish virgins, that are contenting
yourselves with the empty lamps of a profession, and sleeping
and slumbering away the day of grace, without buying the
oil of grace for your lamps ; you see, in th(; clo>c of this para-
ble, what you are to look for, even to meet with a shut door,
and when you shall cry out of time, Lord, Open to us, he an-
swers, Depart, I know you not.
But I do not speak of you, or the like of you, at present:
but poor souls that are really exercised aI)out soul matters,
and are taken up with the Bridegroom and fellowship with
him. I will tell you of some that stand fair for a comforta-
ble meeting with the blessed Bridegroom in the ordinances
and means he has appointed for that end and purpose.
1. You who, like the wise virgins, are not satisfied with
the lamp of a profession, but are buying oil for your vessels,
while the market of grace is standing. You see the wise
virgins go out and meet the Bridegroom, and enter into (he
marriage with hii^i.
2. Vou who love the Bridegroom, and remember his words
with pleasure, rolling them like a sweet morsel under your
tongue, he has promised that ye shall have a meeting with
him, Joiin xiv. 23: " If a man love me, he will keep my word,
XL.] TO MEET THE BRIDEGROOM. 251
and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him,
and make our abode with him."
3. You that quit and renounce the covenant of works,
made with the first Adam, and are taking hold of a covenant
of grace and promise, made with a second Adam, you stand
fair for a meeting with the Bridegroom. I give you his promise
to lean upon, Is. Ivi. 4, 5 : " For thus saith the Lord unto the
eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that
please me, and take hold of my covenant: even unto them
will I give, in mine house, and within my walls, a place and
a name, better than of sons and of daughters. 1 will give
them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut ofl!" And
it is again repeateti, ver. 7 : " Even them will I bring to my
holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer ;
their burnt-otlerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted
upon mine altar: for mine house shall be called a house of
prayer for all people." And therefore, Go ye out and meet
him.
4. You that are waiting with hope and expectation for a
visit of the Bridegroom, you stand fair for a meeting with him,
" for he is goodto them that wait for him, to the soul that
seeketli him:" " lie taketh pleasure in them that fear him;
in them that hope in his mercy." " It is good for a man to
hope, and patiently wait."
5. You who are poor and needy, and who are longing for
a supply of soul-needs, out of the supply that is in Christ: for
he has said, that " the needy shall not be forgotten ;" that he
will "supply all your need," Is. xli. 17: " When the poor
and needy seek water, and theie is none, and their tongue
faileth for thirst, I the Lord will hear ; I, the God of Israel,
will not forsake them."
6. The importunate beggar who hangs on at a throne of
grace, and the door of the house of mercy, and will not take
a nay-say, shall meet the Bridegroom, and get its errand, for
he has said, that " to him that knocketh, it shall be opened."
" Then shall ye find me, when ye seek me with all your
heart."
7. The poor wearied and burdened soul, that is crying,
" Mine iniquities have gone over my head;" " 0 wretched
man that 1 am, who shall deliver me from this body of sin
and death," — » for it is a burden too heavy for me to bear."
The Bridegroom says to such, " Cast thy burden upon the
Lord, and he shall sustain thee: Come unto me, all yethat
labour and are heavy laden, and 1 will give you rest."
8. The poor deserted soul that is walking in darkness, and
sees no light, crying, " O when will he come unto me?" " the
Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me."
252 THE WISE VIRGINS GOING TORTH [SER.
The Bridegroom hears thy moans after him, and is saying,
as Is. xlix. 15, "Can a woman fi)rget her sucking chikl,'that
she should not have compassion on the son of her womb?
Yea, they may forget, yet will 1 not forget thee," or Is. liv.
7, 8: " For a small moment have I forsaken thee, hut with
everlasting kindness will 1 have mercy upon thee." Ver, 10:
"The mountains shall depart, hut my love shall never depart
from thee." Thus you see who they are that may look for
a meeting with the Bridegroom.
The sixth and last question was. What sort of a meeting
is it, that is between the bride and the Bridegroom.
A7im\ 1. It is a real meeting, though, indeed, it be of a
spiritual nature. A graceless world, that knows nothing of
this matter, looks upon all relitjion, all fellowship with Christ,
as a fancy. But they that have the knowledge and expe-
rience of it can say, in some measure, "Truly our fellowship
is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ." There
is a far greater reality in it, than is in all the pleasures of sin
and sense. Hence says David, Psal. iv. 7: "Thou hast put
gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn
and their wine increased," Psal. Ixxxiv. 10: "A day in thy
courts is better than a thousand in the tents of wicked-
ness."
2r//y, It is a most friendly and familiar meeting. The
Bridegroom and bride converse and open their hearts to one
another, with the most unreserved freeclom. Christ imparts
his secrets to the bride ; " the secret of the Lord is with them
that fear him," P^al. xxv. and John xv. 15: "All things that
I have heard of my Father, I have made known unto you."
And, on the other hand, the bride imparts her mind with an
unhampered freedom to the Bridegroom, and tells him all that
is in her heart, even secrets she would not tell all the world
besides.
odUj, It is a most joyful meeting upon both sides. As for
the Bridegroom, it is " the day of his espousals, the day of the
gladness of his heart." Whenever he meets his bride, he
cries, "Thou hast ravished mv heart, niv sister, my spouse;
thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one
chain of thy neck," Cant. iv. 9. And then he adds, ver. 10:
" How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse ! How much bet-
ter is thy love than wine!" Ver. 1*1 : "And the smell of thy
garments is like the smell of Lebanon." And, on the other
hand, the bride, the Lamb's wife, rejoices with joy unspeak-
able and full of glory, llev. xix. 7 : "Let us be glad and re-
joice, and give honour to him, for the marriage of the Lamb
is come."
4//i/y, It is an honourable and dignifying meeting on the
IL.] TO MEET THE RRIDEGROOM. 253
bride's part. Believers espoused to the Son of God are highly
advanced indeed, to become the Lannb's wife, a greater honour
than ever was conferred upon the highest angel in heaven,
w^ho are made ministering spirits to the heirs of salvation, Is.
xliii. 4: "Ever since thou wast precious in my sight, thou
hast been honourable."
5thly, It is a meeting that shall never end in a total part-
ing, and is a prelude of that everlasting meeting they shall
have with him at his second coming, when the marriage is
solemnized before men and angels. 1 proceed now to,
VI. The sixlh thing proposed, which was to give the rea-
sons of the doctrine. Why is it the duty of all the virgi7is, both
wise and foolish, to go out and meet the Bridegroom! 1 answer,
\st. Because this is a falling in with the great design of
God, in sending his beloved Son into the world. Why did
he send him but that he might be received? He is called the
sent of God, to engage us to believe in him.
2dly, Because God has commanded it. His authority is in-
terposed, that sinners of mankind entertain him in a way of
believing, 1 John iii. 23: " This is his commandment, that we
should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ," &c.
Hear ye him, and that soul that does not hear him, " shall be
cut off" from among his people, and the wrath of God abideth
on him."
2dly, Because the Bridegroom himself calls that we should
go out and meet him. Come unto me. Behold me, behold me,
&.C.
4thly, Because the Holy Ghost calls in the word, and by all
his motions and operations, to go out and meet the Bridegroom.
"The Holy Ghost saith. To-day, if ye will hear his voice,
harden not your hearts," Heb. iii. 7. The Spirit saith. Come,
Rev. xxii. 17. And what a dangerous thing is it to resist
the Spirit, when he glorifies ChrisI, and testifies of him?
5thly, Because the bride, the spouse of Christ, all true be-
lievers, that are best acquainted with him, call upon all others
to come and match with him. She does not love to enjoy
him alone; no, she would have all to be as happy in him as
herself: hence they cry, " Oh taste and see that the Lord is
good. Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will de-
clare what he hath done for my soul," Psal. Ixvi. 16. Hence,
when the daughters of Jerusalem asked, " What is thy be-
loved more than another beloved?" She runs out in com-
mendation of him. Cant. v. 10 — 16.
6/A/y, This is the design of the record of God concerning
him in the word: Why has God set forth in the word, and
given him his testimonial, but to engage the world to fall in
254 THE WISE VIRGIiVS GOING FORTH [SER.
love with him, as the Bridegroom of souls? This is the design
of all faithful ministers and friends of the Bridegroom, to make
a match between Christ and you; and, sirs, you will never
give us our errand, or answer the design of our commission,
as ambassadors of Christ, until you go forth and meet him,
and give heart and hand to him, so as we may be in case
to say, as Paul did to the Corinthians, 2 Cor. xi. 2, " I have
espoused you to one husband, that 1 may present you as a
chaste virgin to Christ. But more of this afterwards. I pro-
ceed now to,
VII. The seventh thing in the method, which was ihe ap-
plication of the (locirijw.
Use first, shall be of information in the few following parti-
culars :
1st, See hence the unspeakable and amazing love of God to-
wards lost and undone sinners of Adam's family : for he had
a marriage plot in his mind from all eternity, "with our tribe
and family. No sooner had God made man, and breathed
into his nostrils the breath of life, but he was so much in love
with the work of his own hand, that he enters into a contract
of marriage with him, upon condition of perfect obedience to
the law, saying, " Thy Maker is thy Husband," and all I
require of thee is to yield obedience to my commands, which
he gave him power to do. Yea, after man had violated this
contract, and prostituted himself to the devil, the world, and
his own lust, gone astray after other lovers, (hat God should
so love him, even then, as to match, first with his nature, by
taking it into a personal union with him, in his eternal Son,
and then to come and say, " Thy Maker is thine Husband, I
will yet betrolh thee unto me, in righteousness, faithfulness,
mercy, and loving-kindness." O who can think of this love
but must be stricken with wonder? and cry, O the height,
the depth, the breadth, and the length of it ! for it passeth the
knowledge of men or angels. How excellent is this loving-
kindness! Lord, what is man, that thou shouldest thus remem-
ber him? or the son of man, that thou shouldest be so kind to
him?
2dly, See hence, that God's ways are not as our ways, nor
his thoughts as our thoughts. We would think it a strange
disparagement for a person of high rank and station, suppose
a gentleman, a nobleman, a duke, a king, or great emperor,
to fall so much in conceit with a poor forlorn miserable beggar,
all full of sores, from the crown of the head to the sole of the
foot, as to marry her, and make her his wife, his consort, and
queen, and set her upon the throne with himself. I say, we
would think it very strange, because of the inequality of the
match. But oh, sirs, there is an infinitely greater inequality
XL.] TO MEET THE BRIDEGROOM. 256
between the Son of God, and a poor filthy guilty sinner, than
between the greatest king that ever swayed a sceptre, and
the most ahject creature that ever sprang of Adam's race.
To this purpose is that of the apostle Paul," Ye know the grace
of our l^ord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for
your sakeshe became poor, that ye through his poverty might
be rich." And how docs he make us rich, but by taking us
to a conjugal relation to himself: for all is ours by contract
when married to the Heir.
^dkj, From this doctrine see the wondrous affinity between
Christ and his church, and every particular believer: why, he
is the Bridegroom, and they are both collectively and singu-
larly considered the bride, the Lamb's wife: and "as the
Bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall the Lord thy God
rejoice over thee." There is a threefold mysterious union
we read of in scripture.
1. The mysterious union of the three Persons in one es-
sence. Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, three in one, and one in
three.
2. There is the mysterious union of the two natures, namely,
God and man in one person, 1 Tim. iii. last," Without contro-
versy, sreat is the mystery of godliness, God was manifest in
the flesi)."
3. There is the mystical, or mysterious conjugal union
between Christ and believers, Epb. v. 32: "This is a great
mystery (says the apostle,) but I speak concerning Christ and
the church ;" and, ver. 30 : " VVe are the members of his body,
of his fiesh, and of his bone^." Oh, what a strange nearness
is this, between Christ and us! The apostle, from ver. 25,
had been discoursing on the relative duties between husband
and wife; and enforcing this duty, from the consideration of
the close and intimate union between husband and wife; "they
are no more twain, but orle flesh." And then presently adds,
" This is a great mvstery, but i speak concerning Cbri.st and
the church." By which he gives us to understand, that the
natural marriage between Adam and Eve, or other husbands
and their wives, is a faint shadow and representation of the
spiritual marriage between Christ and the church.
There is such a depth of infinite wisdom in the works of
God in this visible world, that they serve as a glass to lead
the spiritual mind to another world, and the hidden mysteries
of our holy religion. Hence it is, that the scri[)tures of truth,
which are a revelation of the mind of God, abound so much
with parables and metaphors, which are nothing else but a
revelation of divine supernatural mysteries, by expressions
borrowed from the things of this world, which are obvious to
our external senses. The apostle, Rom. v. 14, tells us, that
256 THE WISE VIRGINS GOING FORTH [SER.
the first Adam was the figure or representation of him that
was to come, that is, of a second Adam, and new covenant
Head: I might state the similitude, and also the dissimilitude
in many respects, which I do not stand upon at present: but
I confine myself to the point in hand, namely, that of mar-
riage between man and woman, particularly between Adam
and Eve, as hearing a manifold similitude to the marriage
between Christ and the church. This 1 shall endeavour to
illustrate in these particulars: —
1st, When God made our first parent Adam, he gave the
whole earth to him, for his inheritance: he set him in a pa-
radise of pleasure, and made him lord of all the works of his
hand, so that he wanted for nothing to make him happy.
It was some abatement and diminution of his happiness, when
he wanted one like himself, as a consort to enjoy the same
happiness with him. For it is the observation, even of a hea-
then philosopher, there is no pleasant or comfortable enjoyment
of any happiness alone: and therefore God himself said con-
cerning Adam, " It is not good that the man should be alone ;"
thereby intimating, that it would add to his happiness if he
had a creature of his own stamp and mould to converse with,
and share his happiness. JVovr, in this, " the first Adam was
a figure of him that was to come;" the blessed Bridegroom of
souls, Christ Jesus, was happy from eternity, and possessed
all divine perfection and glory. But he resolves to have a
bride, a consort for himself, that might share with him of the
same happiness and glory, which he himself VAas possessed
of. And for this end, he casts his eyes upon the fallen tribe of
Adam, lying in their blood, and chooses a i)ride and spouse
for himself there. Hence, Prov. viii. 30, he is said, before the
creation of the world, to rejoice in the habitable parts of the
earth, his delights were with the sons of men; the desire of
his eyes and heart was among them, in prospect of a marriage
union with them.
2dli/, The first woman, you know, was taken out of Adam's
side, when he was cast into a deep sleep : hence, says the apos-
tle, "the man is not of the woman, but the woman of the
man." Just so, in the spiritual marriage, the bride and spouse
of Christ, is (as it were) taken out of his side, when he slept
the sleep of death upon the cross, and in the sepulchre. The
church is just founded in the blood of Christ. His death was
her life ; the price of our redemption is not by " silver or
gold, or such corruptible things, but the precious blood of
Christ," the Lord.
3(Hij, The man and the woman are of one common nature-
Just so is it in the spiritual marriage, Heb. ii. 11 : " Both he
that sanctifieth, and they that are sanctified, are all of one,
XL.] TO MEET THE BRIDEGROOM. 357
wherefore he is not ashamed to call them brethren." The
Bridegroom, indeed, as to his divine nature, is the Son of God,
the second Person of the glorious Trinity, and so of a nature
quite different from ours, and so infinitely above us, that there
could be no marriage between him and us ; but in the fulness
of time he was made of a woman, made under the law, that
so, being upon a level with us, he might be made " like unto
us in all things," and betroth us to himself as his beloved
spouse and bride.
4,Lhly, We are told, in Gen. ii. 22, that when God had
formed the woman of a rib taken out of the man's side, he
brought her to the man; she did not know that there was
such a creature as Adam in the world ; and therefore could
never have come to him unless she had been brought : just
so the bride and spouse of Christ, the second Adam, is by
nature ignorant of God, and his Son Christ Jesus, and would
never come to him, unless she were brought to him by the
power of God, John vi. 44 : " No man," says Christ, " can come
unto me, except the Father, which hath sent me, draw him."
To the same purpose is ver. 4, 5: "Every man, therefore,
that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto
me." Quest. What way is that ? Answ. ' He enlightens the
mind in the knowledge of Christ, renews the will ; and so
persuades and enables us to receive the Bridegroom, as he
is freely presented in the gospel,'* Psal. ex. 3.
bthlij, Whenever Eve was presented to Adam, he gladly
and joyfully received her, and expressed his satisfaction with
her ; saying, " This is bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh."
Just so, whenever a poor sinner is determined by the Father
to come to Christ, O how does he rejoice, and how gladly
does he entertain him ! This is " the day of his espousals, and
the day of the gladness of his heart." " All that the Father
giveth me shall come unto me, and him that cometh to me, I
will in no wise cast out." This is signified by the reception
of the prodigal, Luke xv.
6//i./y, In marriage between man and woman, both parties
quit their former relatives in some respect, that they may
cleave to one another; "For this cause shall a man leave
father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife;" and the
wife, on the other hand, does the same. Just so is it between
Christ and his bride. Christ, the blessed Bridegroom, when
he had his bride to redeem and purchase, left the bosom of
his Father, and the glory of the higher house, that he might
accomplish our redemption, at the expense of his death; and
when he had a mind for a bride among the Gentiles, he for-
• See Shorter Catechism, Q. What is effectual calling ?
VOL. III. 23 t
258 THE WISE VIRGINS GOING FORTH [SER,
sook his mother's house, namely, the Jewish church, that he
might betroth her to himself ibr ever. It is with a particu-
lar view to the Gentiles, that he says. Is. liv. G : " Thy Maker
is thine Husband." And, on the other hand, the sou! truly
espoused to Christ, the Bridegroom, is said to forget her own
people and her Father's house, Psal. xlv. 10: "Hearken, O
dauorhter, and consider, incline thine ear; forget also thine
own people, and thy Father's house." Tiie meaning is, that
she gives up with the devil, the world, and the lusts of the
flesh, or the law as a covenant, to which she had been
cleaving, and says, " O Lord, other lords besides thee have
had dominion over me;" but now I will be under the law
to Christ, as my only Lord and Lawgiver.
Other particulars of this nature might be added, but some
of them may occur afterwards; those that 1 have named are
sufficient to show, that there is a wonderful affinity between
Christ in heaven, and the church of believers on earth, and
that Infinite wisdom has seen fit to paint out and decipher
the marriage union between Christ and his church, by the
relation between the husband and the wife; which made the
apostle say, v/hen discoursing of the relation between husband
and wife, Eph. v. y2 : " This is a great mystery ; but I speak
concerning Christ and the church."
/;?/". 4. See from this doctrine, what happy and honourable
persons believers are, and why they are called the excellent
ones of the earth, with whom is all Christ's delight. Why,
they are the bride of an honourable Bridegroom. Oh ! who
is so well matched? Every believer is married to his Maker,
to the Prince of life, the Lord of glory, the Heir of God ;" and
he makes his bride also an heir of (jod, and a joint heir of
all things with himself. There are two or three mysteries,
or seeming contradictions about the bride of Christ, (L) She
is basely, and yet honourably descended. If we view the be-
liever as to his natural birth and pedigree, he is " a child of
the devil," and an heir of hell ; and O ! what a wonder is it,
that ever the Son of God should matcii with such a creature?
But, by her new birth and adoption, she has the blood royal
of heaven in her veins, John i. 13: "Born not of blood, nor
of the will of the llesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."
(2.) Christ's bride is black, and yet beautiful, " I am black,
but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Ke-
dar, as the curtains of Solomon." View her in her natural
state, or as she is harassed with Satan, the world, and in-
dwelling corruption, she is black and ill-favoured ; but yet
she is comely, through the comeliness of the Lord her God :
he says of her, " Thou art all fair, my love ; there is no spot
in thee." (3.) Christ's bride is naked, and yet well arrayed ;
XL.] TO MEET THE BRIDEGROOM. 259
naked in herself, and quite destitute of all righteousness:
" There is none righteous ; no, not one." But the Bride-
groom decks her with the garments of salvation, and with a
robe of righteousness, Is. Ixi. 10. (4.) She is poor, and yet
possessed of great riches. In herself considered, she is poor,
and has nothing but poverty, wretchedness, and misery, yea,
drowned in debt to law and justice ; but yet, by virtue of her
marriage relation to the Bridegroom, she is possessed of" un-
searchable riches," and gold better than the gold of Ophir.
In a word, she is condemned in the court of law, justice, of
conscience ; and yet, by virtue of her relation to Christ the
Bridegroom, she is absolved and discharged, and can lift up
her head and say, " Who can lay any thing to my charge? It
is God that justitieth, who is he that condemneth ?" Thus
you see what happy and honourable persons believers are,
by virtue of their marriage relation to Christ.
Inf. 5. From this doctrine we may see the folly, madness,
and misery, of a carnal, Christless, and unbelieving world,
(who fall in among the rank of the foolish virgins.) Why,
although they be called, as well as the wise virgins, to go out
and meet the Bridegroom, they yet lie still slumbering and sleep-
ing in their beds of sloth, saying, " yet a little sleep, a little
slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep," neglect to buy
oil for their vessels, and so do not go out to meet the Bride-
groom, but lie still in the embraces of some lust and idol or
other, which they prefer to Christ, the glorious Bridegroom:
Oh ! " be astonished, O ye heavens at this, and be horribly
afraid, be ye very desolate," at the folly of sinners, who for-
sake their own mercy for " lying vanities that cannot profit"
them. You prefer a soul-murdering lust to the glorious
Bridegroom, like the Jews, who preferred Barabbas to Jesus.
" This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world
and ye choose darkness rather than light." And you have
reason to fear, lest the Lord say to you, as he did to Ephraim,
" He is joined to his idols, let him alone."
Inf. 6. See the good office of the Spirit of God : whv, he
it is that testifies of the glory of the Bridegroom, and enlight-
ens the eyes of the poor sinner to take up the glory of his
person and mediation, and so gains the consent of the bride;
yea, he is the leading band of union between the parties, for
" he that is joined to the Lord is one spirit."
////. 7. See the usefulness of a gospel ministry: why, they
are the friends of the Bridegroom, and come, by commission
from him, to court a bride for him among the sons of men.
A faithful minister travels as in birth till the match be made
up ; and, oh ! when the match is made, this is the joy and
rejoicing of their hearts, for they are their crown and re-
260 THE WISE VIRGINS GOING FORTH [SEB.
joicing in the day of the Lord. They that are won to con-
sent to the Bridegroom, and to go out and meet him, will be
ready to say, •' How beautiful, upon the mountains, are the
feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad
tidings of good things."
Inf. 8. See the excellency of the grace of faith. It is the
band of union, by whicii we are married to Christ, as our
Husband; for it includes the assent and consent of the soul
to this better Husband, by which we come to be " betrothed
to him for ever." Not to insist upon particulars, it is by faith
that we put on Christ as " the Lord our righteousness." By
faith the bride receives out of Christ's fulness grace for grace,
by which the heart is purified, the old man crucified, and the
body of sin destroyed, that we may not serve sin. By faith
we overcome the world, 1 John v. 4: "This is the victory
that overcomcth the world, even our faith." By A^ith we
resist the devil, and quench his fiery darts, Eph. vi. 12. And
if you ask, how is it that faith does this? I answer, (L) Faith
brandishes the sword of the Spirit in the face of the enemy,
as Christ did, Matth. iv., saying. Thus and thus it is written.
(2.) Faith takes up the blood of the Lamb, and presents it
to the enemy; at the sight of which he flics, remembering
that by this blood his head was bruised upon Mount Calvary,
and therefore cannot endure the sight of it. Hence is that
word, Rev. xii. 11 : "They overcame him by the blood of
the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony." By faith
we receive the " great and precious promises," whereby we
are made partakers of the divine nature. All manner of
grace is laid up in the promises, for the babes of grace, like
milk in the breast; and faith is the mouth of Ihe soul, which,
when applied to the soul, sucks in the sincere milk of the
word, and of the grace of God by the word, whereby the
soul is made to grow in grace, like a babe thriving upon the
breast. But I pass this use.
THE WISE VIRGINS GOING FORTH TO MEET THE
BRIDEGROOM.
And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold the Bridegroom cometh, go
yc out to meet liim. — Matth. xxt. 6.
THE FIFTH SERMON ON THIS TEXT.
1 GO on to a second use of this doctrine, namely, by way
of Trial and Examination. And heie there are two questions
XL.] TO MEET THE BRIDEGROOM. 261
that naturally arise: 1. Have you matched with the Bride-
groom ? are you espoused to that one Husband ? 2. Have
you gone out and met the Bridegroom? have he and you had
any pleasant and comfortable interviews?
Quest. 1. Whether are you the bride? are you married to
Christ, the blessed Bridegroom of souls? I offer the following
marks to clear you as to this : —
\st, The true bride of Christ has the Bridegroom in great
admiration ; her esteem of him is such, that she just admires
every thing in him and about him. She admires his personal
glory, as Immanuel; she wonders that ever the second Per-
son of the glorious Godhead should ever have passed by the
angelic nature, and joined himself in a personal union to the
human nature, out of love to her, that he might be a help
meet for her. Hence that word of the apostle is much in
her mouth and heart, 1 Tim. i. 3 : " Without controversy,
great is the mystery of sfodliness," God was manifest in th^
flesh. Oh, he is just a Nonsuch! " as the apple tree among
the trees of tlie wood. The chiefest among ten thousand."
And when the bride thinks of the love he bore to her before
the world was made; and how, in the fulness of time, he
came and spent his blood for her redemption; how in time
he " drew her with the cords of love," conquered her enmity
by shedding abroad his love upon her heart; she is just swal-
lowed up with admiration, and is ready to cry out, " O, what
am 1, or my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto!" " Is
this the manner of men, O Lord God?" O, " what hath God
wrought !" " O the heij^ht, the depth, the breadth, and the
length of his love! It passeth all knowledge."
2r//y, The true bride of Christ knows the voice of the Bride-
groom, and is much delighted with the words of his mouth,
" My sheep hear my voice," John x. You see, Cant. ii. 8,
how her heart flutters at the first opening of his lips, " It is
the voice of my Beloved:" It is sweeter to me than the me-
lody of angels or archangels. Every word of the Bridegroom
creates admiration in her heart, and she remembers them
with delight and pleasure, Cant. ii. 10: " My Beloved spake,
and said unto me. Rise up, my dove, my love, my fair
one, and come away." Such words make her heart to
glow and burn within her. Job savs, " 1 have esteemed the
words of his mouth mote than my necessary food ;" and, says
David, " The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thou-
sands of gold and silver; more to be desired arc they than
gold, yea, than much fine gold; vea,sweeter also than honey,
and the honey-comb." "• O," says Jeremiah, " thy words
were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me
the joy and rejoicing of my heart."
83*
262 THE WISE VIRGINS GOING FORTH [SER.
3dly, Not only every word, but every thought of the Bride-
groom, is a banquet to the soul of the bride ; " How precious
also are thy thoughts unto me, O God. My meditation of
him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the Lord." So David,
Psal. civ. 34, and Psal. Ixxiii. 6 : " When I remember thee
upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches;"
ver. 5: " My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fat-
ness." Many a sweet interview has the bride with Christ,
upon the mount of meditation, with which strangers do not
intermeddle.
4lhly, The true bride of Christ hates all his rivals. She
is dead to the law, her first husband, and is ready to say, " I
through the law, am dead to the law." She is dead to .sin,
and crucifies the flesh, with the affections and lusts, though
as dear as a right hand, or a right eye. She is dead to the
world, and counts all its profits, pleasures, and honours, no-
thing but a mass of vanity. "I am crucified to the world,
and the world to me." Thus, I say, the ti'ue bride of Christ
hates all Christ's rivals; "I count all things but loss for the
excellency of the knowledge of Christ, and do count them but
dung," &c. Yea,. she is ready to part w'ith all relations what-
ever for him, father, mother, wife, children, let Ihcm all go
for him; yea, if her life comes in competition with Christ, she
will be ready to say, " I am ready not to be hound only, but
to die," for the glory of the Bridegroom: "They loved not
their lives unto the death," for the love that they bore to the
Lord Jesus.
5thly, The bride of Christ has much trust and confidence
to put in the Bridegroom, and by trusting in him is kept in
perfect peace, and is filled with joy and peace in believing.
She dares venture upon the greatest dangers when called,
upon the credit of his word, " Fear not, for I am with thee;
be not dismayed, ior I am thy (iod," Sic. The ver\^ name of
the Bridegroom is the gi'ound of her trust, and is to her like
a strong tower, where she flies and is safe. The language of
the bride's confidence towards the Bridegroom is that, Psal.
xxxvi. 7: "How excellent is thy loving-kindness, O God!
therefore the children of men put their trust under the sha-
dow of thy wings;" and, Psal. xxvii. 5: "For in the time of
trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion; in the secret of his
tabernacle shall he hide me," &c.
(jlhly. The bride of Christ has a great regard for his com-
mands, and is ready to follow him whithersoever he goes.
The Bridegroom says to the bride, " If ye love me, ye will
keep my conmiandments," .rohn xiv. 15; and ver. 21: "He
that hath my commandments, and kee|)cth them, he it is that
loveth me." The wise virgins will keep themselves chaste
XL.] TO MKET THE BRIDEGROOM. 263
for the service of the Bridegroom, and will not defile them-
selves with " the corruption that is in the world through lust."
Hence is that, Rev. xiv. 4, speaking of the hundred forty and
four thousand, that stood with the Lamb upon Mount Zion:
" These are they who were not deiiled with women, (that is,
with the errors, idolatry, and abominations of Antichrist,) for
they are virgins: These are they who follow the Lamb
whithersoever he goeth."
Ithly, The true bride of Jesus holds fast the testimony of
Jesus, in opposition to the devil, and the world, and all errors
and corruptions that are cast out of hell in order to obscure
his declarative glory, Rev. xii. 17. There we are told, that
the dragon " was wroth with the woman, and went to make
war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the command-
ments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ."
And if it be asked. What is the testimony of Jesus'? it is an-
swered. Rev. xix. 10. For " the testimony of Jesus is the
spirit of prophecy ;" that is, the " word of God, which holy
men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."
Now, the true bride of Christ " contends earnestly for this
testimony or faith which was once delivered to the saints,"
and will receive no doctrine, no practice, no decision, though
it were of the general assembly of angels, but what quadrates
or agrees with, and is founded upon this testimony and word
of Jesus ; and this is what Christ has given in charge to his
bride, the church, and to every believer in particular, Ls.
viii. 20 : " To the law and to the testimony, if they speak
not according to this word, it is because there is no light in
them."
Sthly, The bride of Christ is very fond to bring forth a
seed to serve him ; and for this end she studies to bring him
to her mother's house, and the ordinances of his appointment.
It as only his presence in the church that makes the word ef-
fectual for the conversion of sinners and the edification ot
saints ; and therefore they that are married to the Bride-
groom are fond to see his power and glory in the sanctuary,
that so it may be "said of Zion, This and that man was born
in her," Psal. Ixxxvii. 4, and " who hath begotten me these?"
Is. xlix. 21.
9thly, The bride of Christ longs sometimes for the consum-
mation of the marriage at death, especially at the last judg-
ment, when the collective body of Christ shall be made fully
up, and when the Bridegroom shall present his bride to hi
Father, " not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing," and
when she "shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of her
Father." Paul had this in his eye, when he said, "There is
laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the
264 THE WISE VIRGINS GOING FORTH [SER.
righteous Judge, shall give me at that day, and not to me
only, but unto all them also who love his appearing;" and
the church, when she said. Cant. viii. last verse, " Make haste,
my beloved, and be thou like to a roe, or to a young hart upon
the mountains of spices."
Second question for trial is, Have you had any meeting
with the Bridegroom ? Have he and you had any pleasant and
comfortable interview? Did he draw near and manifest him-
self to you, as he does not unto the world. 1 do not insist on
this. Only, in a few words:
I5/, A meeting with Christ, the Bridegroom, puts life, new
life, into the languishing soul and spirit of the bride; and no
wonder, for he is " the resurrection and the life. He that
hath the Son hath life."
'idltj, A meeting with Christ, the Bridegroom, gives light
to the bride when sitting in darkness ; and no wonder, for he
is the bright and morning Star that brings day with him. He
is the true light, and darkness vanishes before him.
3c//y, A meeting with the Bridegroom fires the heart with
love, that many waters cannot quench, and all floods are
not able to drown. His banner is love, and the bride will
follow the banner through life and death, Rom. viii., at the
close.
Alfily, A meeting with the Bridegroom brings liberty and
enlargement of soul with it. 'ilic soul that was in bonds is
made free by the Son ; and then the soul sings, as in Psal.
cxvi., " 0 Lord, truly I am thy servant, and the son of thy
handmaid: thou hast loosed my bands:" and then it runs the
way of his commandments, he having enlarged it.
^thly, A meeting with the Bridegroom quickens the long-
ings of the soul for another meeting : for the bride never
tires of his company ; and when he is making as though he
would withdraw, she hangs upon him to detain him, saying,
Oh I " Why shouldst thou be as a stranger in the land, and
as a wayfarinj:c roan that turneth aside to tarry for a night?"
And when he is withdrawing, " O," v^-ill she say, " that I knew
where I might iitid him ! I charge you, O daughters of Jeru-
salem, if you find my Beloved, that ye tell him, that I am sick
of love."
Glhly, If you have met the Bridegroom, you will study (o
keep his room for him, until he return again. Christ's bride
will not play the harlot, or take up with other lovers in his
absence; and when enticed by the devil or the world, (o join
with them in sin, the true bride of Christ will be ready to
say, with David, "Depart from me, evil doers, for I will keep
the commandments of my God;" or as Joseph, when tempted
by his adulterous mistress, "How can I do this great wick-
SL.] TO MEET THE BRIDEGROOM. 265
edness, and sin against my Lord," my blessed Bridegroom,
to whom I have given heart and hand : And hence the true
bride of Christ is ready to " resist even unto blood, striving
against sin ;" she would rather venture upon the anger and
displeasure of all the world, than endure one frown of the
Bridegroom's face ; and therefore, having presented herself
as a chaste virgin unto Christ, she studies to maintain her
chastity and purity.
Ithhj, Every meeting with the Bridegroom adds a new
print or lineament of the beauty of the Bridegroom upon the
soul of the bride. For, by " beholding of his glory, we are
changed into the same image." Hence the world about them
are ready to take knowledge of them, that they have been
with Jesus ; the light of Christ's bride borrowed from the
Bridegroom's company, shines before men ; so that others
seeing her good works are made to glorify the Bridegroom,
in the way and deportment of the bride.
^thly, Every meeting with the Bridegroom fills the soul of
the bride with a holy blush at the thoughts of her own un-
worthiness, and the undeserved love and kindness of the
Bridegroom : insomuch that she is ashamed, yea even con-
founded when she sees that he is pacified towards her, not-
withstanding of all her strayings and elopements, Ezek. xvi,,
at the close ; and this makes her to cry out with Job, chap,
xiii., when the Lord manifested himself to him in a way of
love, "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear; but
now mine eyes see thee ; wherefore I abhor myself, and re-
pent in dust and ashes." So much by way of trial.
Use third shall be by way of Consolation to believers, who
are the true bride of the blessed Bridegroom.
And well may we speak comfort to the bride, for he him-
self just joys over her with singing, and says, (hat " her heart
shall rejoice, and her joy no man taketh from her."
To help on the joy of the soul espoused to this one Husband,
I shall only touch a little upon two scriptural expressions, in
which the closest union and most intimate communion be-
tween Christ and his spouse is held forth : in one place, Christ
is said to have them, and, in another, they are said, to have
him. The first you have, John iii. 29 : " He that hath the
bride is the Bridegroom ;" the second you have, John v. 12,
where it is said of believers, the bride of Christ, " He that
hath the Son hath life ;" so that they mutually have one ano-
ther. And therefore upon scripture ground we may safely
say, that the Bridegroom has the bride, and the bride has the
Bridegroom. But now that I may open this twofold spring
of consolation, I shall essay to draw a little water out of
266 THE WISE VIRGINS GOING FORTH [sER.
them, for the consolation of the bride, the Lamb's wife : I be-
gin witii
The//-5/, John iii. 29: "He that hath the bride is the
Bridegroom." Now Christ has the bride in these following
respects: —
1st, By eternal donation and gift from the Father, The
Father of the Bridegroom gifted the bride to his beloved Son,
John xvii. : "Thine they were, and thou gavest them me."
They were the Father's by electing love : he chose them from
among the mass of corrupted mankind, and he makes a prof-
fer of them to his eternal Son, that he might redeem them
with his blood, and call them in due time by his grace, jus-
tify them freely, sanctify them throughout, and save them
eternally.
2dli/, The Bridegroom has the bride by purchase. She is
by nature the law's debtor, justice's prisoner, and the devil's
slave. Christ takes a view of her in this deplorable condi-
tion; the justice of God pursuing lilce the avenger of blood;
the devil, as God's executioner, ready to haul her to the pri-
son of hell. ' O,' says Christ, ' I have loved her with an ever-
lasting love, and my heart is so much set upon a marriage
with her, that I am content to satisfy the law and justice in
her room ; let the curse of the law due to them fall upon me;
let the awakened sword of justice rage against me, that they
may escape; I will be wounded for their transgressions, and
bruised for their iniquities,'
Sdlij, He has the bride by conquest. Although law and
justice be satisfied, yet, the devil havinc; got possession, he
will not quit the prisoner, unless she be taken out of his cus-
tody by main force. Well, says the Bridegroom, ' I will lead
captivity captive, I will bruise the liead of that old serpent,
the devil, spoil principalities and powers; and so the lawful
captive shall be delivered, and the prey taken from the
mighty,'
4tkli/, He has the bride by her own consent, in a day of
power, Psal. ex. 3. He conquers her enmity against him by
discoveries of his love and loveliness, Hos. xi. 4 ; Jer. xxxi.
3: "I have loved thee with an everlasting love; therefore
with loving-kindness have 1 drawn thee:" and thereupon the
bride signs the contract. Is. xl. 3, 4: "One shall say, I am the
Lord's, and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the
Lord," &c. And so the espousals are made, and the Bride-
groom has the bride. But it may be asked, ' Where has lie
the bride V Answer,
1st, He has her in his house: for as King Solomon built a
house for Pharoah's daughter ; so Christ, the true Solomon,
builds a twofold house for his bride, a house on earth, and
XL.] TO MEET THE BRIDEGROOM. 267
another in heaven. We read of a house that Wisdom hath
buih, Prov. ix. 5, " with seven pillars, for the entertainment
of his bride, and the stones thereof are laid with fair co-
lours, and the foundation thereof of sapphire ;" and this is
that house of mercy, which God will have built up for ever :
and then he has prepared a house, yea, a " city which hath
foundations, whose builder and maker is God ;" John xiv. 2,
3: " In my Father's house, are many mansions," &c.
2dly, He has the bride not only in his house, but in his
hand; Deut. xxxiii. 3: "All his saints are in thy hand," that
is, in the hand of the Bridegroom; John x. 28: " I give unto
them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall
any pluck them out of my hand." O believer, is not this a
glorious spring of consolation, that thou art contjnually in the
hand of thv glorious Husband and Bridegroom ? He keeps
his bride in the hollow of his hand, the hand of his power
and providence. o • i
Sdly, What more? 1 can tell you more yet. The Bride-
groom has the bride in his arms and bosom ; Is. xl. 11 :" He
shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his
bosom?" &c. O what a sweet lodging is this, to he in the
bosom of him, who lav from eternity, and will lie to eternity,
in the bosom of the Father, encircled with the everlasting
arms of the eternal God ! O blessed lodging ! Psai. xci. 1 :
" He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High, shall
abide under the shade of the Almighty."
Atfily, The Bridegroom has the bride continually in his eye :
such is the love that he bears her, that his eye can never be
off her; wherever she is, his eye follows her, and his eyes
run to and fro through the whole earth to show himself strong
in her behalf .
5lhly, The Bridegroom has the bride continually in his very
heart. Oh, " savs the spouse, set me as a seal upon thine
heart, as a seafupon thine arm." As the priest had the
tribes of Israel upon his breast, so Christ has his people set
as a seal upon his heart ; she can never be out of his mind.
Now, is not this a glorious spring of consolation to the soul
espoused to Christ ; that thy Bridegroom, believer, has thee
in his house, in his hand, in his arms, and bosom, and set m
his eye, and on his very heart? But,
Secondly, As the Bridegroom has the bride, so the bride has
the Bride'iiroom; for "he that halh the Son hath life." If
thou art a believer, thou hast the Son, who is the Bridc-
<rroom. Take this in these particulars: —
" Is/, If thou art the bride, and hast received him by faith,
thou hast the person of the Son for thy HusbantI and Bride-
groom, " Thy Maker is thine Husband." You know, that in
268 THE WISE VIRGINS GOING FORTH [silR.
marriage the relation is between the person of the man and
woman ; so, in the spiritual marriage, it is the person of Christ
and the person of the believer that are married. And what
thinkest thou, believer, of being married to the second Person
of the glorious Trinity? To which of the angels did he ever
Sfiy, Thou art " the bride, the Lamb's wife?"
2dly, Being married to the Son of God, thou art a par*
Iraker of the divine nature, as he is a partaker of the human, 2
Pet. i. 4: "The beauty of the Lord thy God is upon thee."
The Bridegroom imparts and communicates his beauty to
the bride ; and then she looks " forth as the morning, fair as
the moon, clear as the sun ;" and he says, " Thou art all fair,
my love; there is no spot in thee."
2(lly, The. Bridegroom's Father is thy Father ; John xx.
17 : "I ascend unto my Father and your Father, and to my
God and your God." Christ, as the second Adam and new
covenant f^ead, says for himself, and all believers who are
his bride, Psal. Ixxxix. : "Thou art my Father, my God, and
the Rock of my salvation." And the Father of Christ al-
lows and requires his Son's bride to come to him with holy
and humble confidence, and cry, Abba, Father, unto him:
"Doubtless thou art my Father." "Wilt thou not from this
time cry unto me, my Father? thou art the guide of my
youth."
Athly, The Holy Ghost is thy Comforter, to encourage and
comfort the bride in the absence of the Bridegroom; John
xvi. 6: "It is expedient," says Christ, "for you, that I go
away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come:
but if I go away, I will send him unto you," and he shall
dwell in you, and abide with you forever. The Spirit of the
Bridegroom abiding with the bride is far better than if she
enjoyed his bodily [)resence.
bihlij, The very life of the bride is hid in the Bridegroom,
Col. iii. 3: "Your life is hid with Christ in God. Because I
live, ye shall live alsc)." Perhaps, poor believer, to thy own
sense and feeling, thou mayest be brought to that pass, as to
say, "My life (bawelh nigh unto the grave, I am free among
the dead:" I am a dry tree, and like Ezekiel's dry bones:
but remember, that the fountain of life is with thy Head.
Husband, and Bridegroom; "because I live, ye shall live
also."
Qlldy, Know, for thy comfort, that the contract of the co-
venant stands fast; he has betrothed thee to himself, not for
,'i day, for a month, or a year, or an age, but for ever: "I
will make with them an everlasting covenant." The cove-
nant stands fast with him: "My covenant I will not break,
nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips."
XL."] TO MEET THE BRIDEGROOS. 269
Ithly, Having the Son, thou hast all the promises of the
new covenant, as so many wells of salvation, out of which
thou mayest draw waters with joy ; for all the promises of
God are in him, and in him they are to the bride of Christ
yea and amen. Oh ! how great and precious are these pro-
mises !
8thl.y, Having the Son for thy Bridegroom, the law, nor
justice, nor the world, nor life, nor death, have any action or
process aj^ainst thee. You know, in law, the wife cannot be
pursued for debt : the husband is liable for her debt ; and if
the husband pay the debt, the creditors have nothing to say
against the wife. Well, this is the case with thee, O be-
liever, who hast the Son for thy Husband: he has cleared
scores with law and justice, and was discharged of it in his
resurrection, wherefore " he was taken from prison and from
judgment;" and therefore the soul married and betrothed to
him, being under his cover, may lift up the head and cry,
Rom. viii. 33, 34, ^' Who can lay any thing to my charge?
It is God that justilieth, who is he that condemneth ?"
9lhly, Whatever deep seas or Jordans of trouble thou
mayest have before thee, the Bridegroom has passed his
word for it, that he will be present with thee in them. Is. xli.
10; Is. xliii. 2: "When thou passest through the waters, I
■will be with thee," &c. When thou art laid upon a sick-
bed, or a death-bed, the Bridegroom will attend thee; for he
has said, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee: yea,
when thou liest down in the grave, thou shalt sleep in his
bed and bosom ; " Them that sleep in Jesus, will God bring
with him,"
lOthhj, Thy Bridegroom, believer, when thou art giving
up the ghost, and thy soul departing from thy body; he,
with a guard of angels, will be ready to receive thy spirit,
John xiv. 3: " 1 will come again and receive you unto myself,
that where i am there ye may be also." O what comfort is
it to a dying saint or believer, that no sooner he is absent
from the body, but he is present with the Lord; and may
welcome the wagon of death, that is come to fetch the bride
home to the house of the Bridegroom, saying, with dying Ste-
phen, " Lord Jesus, receive my spirit !"
Ulhly, Though thou drop the carcass of the body into the
grave, where it sleeps quietly until the morning of the resur-
rection, yet the Bridegroom says, I will raise them up at the
last day. This promise he frequently Repeats, particularly
John VI., " I will raise him up at the last day." O lift up thy
head, believer; for the day of thy complete redemption, even
the redemption of thy body from the power of the grave,
draweth nigh. Thy beloved Bridegroom will, as it were,
VOL. HI. 24 t
270 THE WISE VlROmS GOING FORTH [SER.
come to the bed-side of the grave, and cry, " Awake and
sing, ye that dwell in the dust:" and then the dew of the
Holy Ghost, that quickened thy soul when dead in trespasses
and sins, shall also quicken thy dead body, and thereupon the
earth shall cast out the dead, Is. xxvi. 19, compared with
Rom. viii. 11. Then, O then, believer, thou shalt "shine
forth like the sun in the kingdom of thy Father ;" thy vile
body shall be made like unto the glorious body of the Bride-
groom ; upon which the nuptial solemnity will begin, which
shall never have an end, each one crying to another, as Rev.
xix. 7: "Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him;
for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made
herself ready."
Thus you see what unspeakable ground of consolation and
eternal triumph there is for the soul that is espoused to Christ :
but the ten thousandth thousandth part of it cannot be told:
for eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor hath the heart of
man conceived, what is laid up for her in Christ.
Object. 1. Oh ! may some poor soul say, these are great
things indeed ; but I am afraid they do not belong to me ; I
am afraid I am not the bride ; he is such a great and glorious
person, and I am such a poor despicable worm, so guilty, so
filthy, that 1 am afraid the match was never made bctw^ecn
him and me ; and therefore I am afraid to apply all that com-
fort that belongs to the bride of Christ.
Atisw. It is one of the properties of the bride of Christ to
be humble, and lowly, and self-denied, and to be admiring
the infinite distance between the Bridegroom and her. She is
never taken up with admiring her own gifts and graces, her
own beauty and excellence, but the beauty, glory, and excel-
lency of the Bridegroom. She docs not boast of what she has
received, but all her boasting and glorying is in the Lord:
And the more humble and denied the bride of Christ is, the
more amiable and desirable she is in the eyes of the Bride-
groom, Is. Ivii. 15, and Ixii. 2.
Object. 2. I am so pestered with a body of sin and death,
carnality, unbelief, and pride, and other heart plagues, that I
doubt if my spot be the spot of Christ's bride.
A71SW. You see how much the great apostle Paul was dis-
tressed with the law of sin which was in his members, Rom.
vii. : "Wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from
this body of death." Christ says of his bride, Cant, vi., " What
will you see in the Shulamite I as it were the company of two
armies;" grace and corruption continually struggling together;
the flesh lusting against the spirit, and the sj)irit against the
flesh : and therefore do not draw rash conclusions upon this
account.
XL.] TO MEET THE BRIDEGROOM. 271
Object. 3. I once thought my heart could rejoice in him as
my beloved ; and I thought his left hand was under my head,
and his right hand embraced me, and I could say, " My be-
loved is mine, and I am his." But, alas! he is gone; "The
Lord hath forsaken me, my Lord hath forgotten me."
A?isw. " Why sayest thou, O Jacob, my way is hid from
the Lord ? Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she
should not have compassion on the fruit of her womb 1 yea,
they may forget, yet will I not forget thee." And therefore
wait upon the return of thy Bridegroom, " as they that watch
for the morning, yea, more than they that watch for the
morning:" for as sure as the morning light will arise, after a
dark night, as sure will he return to thy soul in a way of
grace. And therefore live by faith ; and let Israel, the true
bride of Christ, hope in the Lord. And I give you his word
as the ground of your sure hope. Is. liv. 7, 8: " For a small
moment have I forsaken thee, but with great mercies will I
gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee, for
a moment ; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy
on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer."
Use fourth of this doctrine shall be by way of reproof and
terror to all those, who, instead of closing the bargain, and
going forth to meet the Bridegroom Christ Jesus, continue
married to other husbands. But more particularly.
First, Some, yea multitudes of gospel-hearers, are married
to the law as a husband ; and this is the case with all lega-
lists, and self righteous persons, that are seeking life, right-
eousness, and acceptance with God, by their own personal
obedience, their prayers, and repentance, mortification, and
this and that good thing that they have done, or some good
qualification that they find in themselves. If this be the case
with you, you never yet went out to meet the Bridegroom,
you were never married to the better Husband, but continue
married to the law.
Here I would do two things, Jirst, Show who they are (hat
are yet married to the law ; secondly, Discover to you your
miserable condition while it is so.
L I say, I would show who they are that are married to
the law; for all mankind are married to it in Adam, and all
mankind continue under Adam's covenant, until the power of
grace make a divorce.
1st, If the law never slew you, you are yet married to it
as a husband. Gal. ii. 19 : "I through the law am dead to the
law ;" Rom. vii. 9 : " I was alive without the law once, but
when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died."
Every man by nature sits mounted upoh the throne of an
imaginary righteousness, he thinks himself a hving man, ana
27a THE WISE VIRGINS GOING FORTH [sER-
that he can do well enough hy his own endeavours for life ;
like the Jews spoken of, Rom. x. 3, who were ignorant of
the righteousness of God, and went about to establish their
own righteousness.
2dly, You that never knew what it was to mourn over, and
wrestle against the legal set and bias of your hearts towards
the law as a covenant, you remain yet married to it as a hus-
band. A believer that is married to Christ, through the re-
maining legality of his heart, is many times looking back to
his old husband, and ready to rest upon duties done by him,
and his own frames and enlargements, as the ground of his
acceptance w-ith God, which is a putting these things in the
room of Christ; and this is sad matter of mourning and hu-
miliation to him : and if you know nothing of this exercise, it
is a shrewd evidence that you are not married to Christ, but
under the law as a covenant.
'Sdly, When you are in any distress or perplexity of mind,
where is it that you find rest, ease, and quiet ? For you know
it is but natural for a poor woman in her distress to run to
her husband for relief Just so is it with the believer that is
married to Christ; when he is weary and heavy laden, he
can never rest till he come to Christ, and then he " sits down
under his shadow with great delight." But if you find rest in
your own works, duties, qualifications, your personal cove-
nants, your vows, repentance and reformations, it is a sjgn
you are yet married to the law.
Alhly, You that can be grieved for your gross sins and out-
breakings, that perhaps wound your reputation before the
world, but never yet had a sore heart for the corruptions of
your nature, and the internal plagues of your heart, such as
unbelief, enmity, pride, ignorance, and carnality ; it is a sien
that you arc yet married to the law as a husband: and the
reason is; because, if ever the law had come home in its ex-
tent and spirituality, it would have been "quick and power-
ful, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the di-
viding asunder of soul and spirit, and discovering the secret
thoughts and intents of your hearts, which are only and con-
tinually evil.
2. I come to tell you of your misery while married to the
law, and not to Christ.
1^'/, You are married to a very rigorous husband, who de-
mands nothing less than a jtorfecl and every way complete
obedience, and that under the pain of death; like the Egyp-
tian task-masters, the law, to which you are married, requires
brick, but neither can nor will afford any straw. My mean-
ing is, that it requires [)erfcct working, but gives no grace, np,
^trength^ by which to obey. Yea,
XL.] TO MEET THE BRIDEGROOM. 273
2dly, You are married to a cursing husband, Gal. iii. 10 :
"Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which
are written in the book of the law to do them." Observe the
expression, if you do not continue in all things, the law curses
and condemns you. Some folks fancy, if they do as well as
they can, they answer the demands of it, and God, the great
Lawgiver, will be satisfied with what they do, and forgive
their defects and short-comings. Well, you may go on, and
foster yourselves up in this fancy : but in the name of the Lord
I warn you, " You shall lie down in sorrow."
2dly, You are married to a weak husband, Rom. viii. 3:
" What the law could not do, in that it was weak through
the flesh." This is not to be understood as if the law had
lost any of its authority to require obedience, or to condemn
the sinner for disobedience : not at all, the law is as strong
as ever, and as sacred as ever. But the law is weak ; it has
lost its covenant power to confer life upon the sinner that has
once broken it ; it is weak to redeem or save the sinner ; it
cannot justify ; it cannot pardon ; it cannot afford life to any
springing of Adam by ordinary generation, because " all have
sinned, and come short of the glory of God." It is weak
through the flesh, that is, through the corruption of our nature,
and our inability to obey it; for, if w^ could yield perfect
obedience to the law, the law would be as strong as ever to
save us, according to that word, •' He that doth these things
shall live in them," but he that doth them not shall die.
AitJily, You are married to a dead husband, Rom. vii. 6,
speaking of the law, says the apostle, " That being dead
wherein we were held." What help can a woman's husband,
that is dead and buried in the grave afford to her? She may
go and weep upon his grave, and cry ; but he no more hears
her than the grave-stone. Just so is the case : The law to
which we were married in the first Adam is dead, and its vo-
taries may work, and sigh, and cry, and do as they will for
help by the works of the law : It no more regards all that
they can do, than a dead carcass regards when you speak to
it ; for "by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified."
But still, indeed, the law is alive to curse and condemn, as
was just now said.
Thus you see what a miserable husband you are married
to, while married to the law ; but, that you may yet better
know your misery, there are these things I have to tell you
from the Lord : —
\st, While married to the law, you are farther off from
heaven than the grossest of sinners. Hence Christ tel s the
Pharisees, who w^ere touching the law blameless, but because
they rested upon the works of the law as the ground of their
34*
274 THE WISE VIRGINS GOING FORTH [SBR.-
justification and acceptance, Christ tells them, that " publi-
cans and harlots should enter into the kinfrdom of God be-
fore them." Quest. Are not publicans and harlots, continu-
ing so, in the broad way to hell ? Ansiv. A^o doubt of that;
but there were more of the publicans and harlots converted
by Christ's ministry, than of the Scribes and Pliarisees. And
how came that about? Why, the publicans and harlots were
more easily convinced that they were in the high way to
ruin, and so more easily turned from the evil of their ways,
than the Pharisee, who wrapt himself up in the garment
of his own obedience and righteousness, and so under that
covering screened himself against all the arrows of convic-
tion.
2dly, While married to the law, you are under the domi-
nion and power of sin, Rom. vi. 14: " Sin shall not have do-
minion over you, for ye are not under the law, but under
grace;" plainly importing, that while a man is married to the
law, sin is in its reigning power, for " the strength of sin is
the law." The law irritates corruption, but does not mortify
it ; it condemns a man to lie under the dominion of every lust
and idol.
2dly, You are "aliens from the commonwealth of Israel,
strangers from the covenants of promise." Yon have a right
of access, indeed, by sitting under the drop of the gospel, but
no saving interest in it ; you have no more right of possession
than the devils have.
4.lhlij, All your worship and service is rejected of God, be-
cause you reject his beloved Son, whom he has given for a
covenant to the people. While a man is upon a law bottom,
all he does is an abomination to God, Is. i. 11 — 13.
5lhly, All the attributes of God are armed against you:
His holiness hates you as unclean : his justice condemns you,
because "all" your " righteousness is as filthv rags;" his wis-
dom devises an evil device against you ; and his power will
execute all the thrcatenings of the law upon you: "They
shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the pre-
sence of the Lord."
Thus you see v.hat a dangerous condition you are in, while
married to the law."
Seco7i(!/i/, I should now speak a word to those who are
married to their lusts, and arc cleaving to the world's trinity,
the lusts of the ilesh. the lusts of the eye, and the pride of
life. The prophet Hosea speaks of some who were "joined
to their idols;" they are so wedded to their sinful prolits and
pleasures, such as the lust of drunkenness,, the lust of un-
cleanness, the lust of covetousncss, that they never yet went
QUt to meet the Bridegroom in a way of believing. What
XL.] TO MEET THE BRIDEGROOM.. 275
shall I say to all such profane sinners, that are hugging their
Delilahs in their Idosoiti, and giving them that room that is
due to the Lord Jesus Christ? I have only a word or two to
you.
Is^ You are in love and league with that which God hates ;
for every sin and lust in heart or hand, in life or lip, is the
abominable thing which God hates.
2c//i/, You are married to that which Christ came to de-
stroy and condemn. Christ's great errand was to finihh trans-
gression, and make an end of sin. " He condemned sin in the
flesh," or by the sacritice of his flesh or human nature. Can
you expect to be saved by Christ, while you harbour that
condemned traitor.
Sdly, You are married to a soul-murderer, that is stabbing
you to your very heart, and the life of thy soul must go for
it, if you iiold it fast, though as dear as a right hand.
4thlij, You are married to that which the holy law of God
condemns. The law pours out its anathemas against every
sin, because sin is a transgression of the law. Gal. iii. 10:
"Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which
are written in the book of the law to do them."
5thlij, If you continue married to your lusts, you must bed
with them in hell, where your present lusts will be found so
many vipers to sting you to the heart for ever. Your meat
will then be turned in your bowels, and will be as the gall of
asps within you. In a word, snares, fire, and brimstone, and
a horrible tempest of wrath and vengeance, shall be the por-
tion of your cup, if you continue married to your lusts.
Perhaps some may be saying in their hearts, " I hope I am
married to Christ, and shall be saved by him, though I con-
tinue in my old way of lying and drinking, cheating and
whoring, and overreaching my neighbours ; I hope God will
pardon these, and the like failings and infirmities." Well,
you may foster yourselves up in these vain hopes; but what
says Christ? " No man caA servo two masters," he must give
up with either the one or the other. 0 " shall the throne of
iniquity have fellowship with God?" and shall sin, and self,
and the world, have the throne of your hearts, and the obe-
dience of your lives, and yet think you to have fellowship with
God? "What communion hath light with darkness? What
concord hath Christ with Belial ?" And what agreement hath
the temple of God with idols? 2 Cor. vi. 14, 15. And there-
fore I say, if ever you go out to meet the Bridegroom, you
must let these go, and say with Ephraim, What have I to do
any more with idols? So much for reproof.
276 THE WISE VIRGINS GOING FORTH [SER,
THE WISE VIRGINS GOING FORTH TO MEET THE
BRIDEGROOM.
And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold the Bridegroom coraetli, go
j'e forth to meet him. — Matth. xxv. 6.
I
THE SIXTH SERMON ON THIS TEXT.
The fifth use of this doctrine I shall endeavour to manage
in an address to two sorts of persons : First, To all in general.
Secondhj, To helievers in particular.
First, 1 say, I would address myself to all in general.
Sirs, you have been hearing of Christ in the quality of a
Bridegroom, and how he is not only come in the flesh, but ac-
tually come in the dispensation of the gospel, to court a bride
for himself among the sons of men. He who married our
nature to a personal union with himself, when he passed by
the nature of angels, that he might be upon a level with us,
is now actually presenting himself to us in this gospel, as the
Bridegroom of souls, and saying, with his hand stretched out,
" Behold me, behold me ;" I will be for you, if you will be for
me, and not for another : " Behold I stand at the door and
knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door of his
heart to me, and consent to the bargain, 1 will come in to him,
and will sup with him, and he with me : I will betroth thee
unto me for ever."
Now, I say, seeing this is the case, my call and exhorta-
tion to all is, to give the assent and consent of faith to the
bargain. I, as a friend of the Bridegroom, have a commis-
sion to court for him, and to say to you, as Kebekah's friends
said to her, upon a proposal of marriage with Isaac, " Wilt
thou go with this man?" the Man ImiManuel, God-Man; the
Man of God's right hand ; the Man whose name is the Branch,
who builds the temple, and bears all the glory; the Man who
has all power in heaven, and on earth ; who is King of kings,
AND Lord of lords. O, will you sign the contract of the
new covenant with the hand of faith, and say, " I am the
Lord's; my Maker is and shall be my Husband, whose name
is the Lord of hosts, and my Redeemer, the Holy One of Is-
rael." O, what a happy day would it be to this assembly, if
every individual soul would give Rcbekah's answer to the
proposal, with the same allection and resolution, ' I will go
XL.] TO MEET THE BRIDEGROOM'. 27?
with the man. I will follow him whithersoever he goes ; his
God shall be my God, his Father shall be my Father, where
he dwells there will 1 dwell ; neither death nor life, nor things,
present, nor things to come, shall ever se[)arate between him
and me.' Now, because it is Christ's way not to drag witb
violence, but to draw his bride to him with the cords of a
man, and the bands of love, therefore I shall essay to enforce
the exhortation with a few motives or arguments.
Mot. 1. Shall be taken from the glory and excellency of
the blessed Bridegroom. And here it is fit you remember
what was said of him in the doctrinal part. As to his name,
he has a " name above every name that can be named." As
to his pedigree who can declare his generation ? As to his
personal worih and excellency, his qualities arc every way
incomparable. Now, seeing such a liridegroom offers to be-
troth you to himself, O let it be a bargain; give your consent
to him, that the everlasting knot may be cast between you
and him.
Mot. 2. To engage you to match with the Bridegroom, O
consider how fond he is of the match, how much his heart is
set upon it. This will appear, if you consider,
1. That he had it upon his heart from all eternity, before
the world was made: " I have loved thee with an everlasting
love," Jer. xxxi, 3. Before we had any being, save in his own
purpose, when he saw us in our blood, his time, even then,
was a time of love, Ezek. xvi.; and the accomplishing of
that project of love was the joy of his heart, Prov. viii. 30.
He rejoiced " in the habitable parts of the earth, and his de-
lights were with the sons of men."
2. He was so fond of the match, that though he be God's
fellow, " and thinks it not robbery to be equal with God," yet
he consented voluntarily to become his Father's bond servant
out of love to us. This is the import of that word, " Mine
ear hast thou bored, Lo, I come ; I delight to do thy will, O
my God ! yea, thy law is within my heart." As Jacob be-
came Laban's servant for fourteen years, out of love he had
to Rachel ; so did Christ become his Father's servant in the
great work of redemption, out of love ho had to the bride,
that his Father promised him, in Adam's family.
3. Because he was none of our kindred, therefore he be-
came our Kinsman, by manifesting himself in the flesh, or
taking part of our flesh, Heb. ii. 14, John i. 14 : " The Word
was made flesh;" he became as one of us, that so the natu-
ral distance being removed, the marriage might be accom-
plished.
4. Because the bride was a bond slave to law and justice,,
and could not be redeemed but with a ransom of infinite va-
278 THE WISE VIRGINS GOING FORTH [SER.
lue ; therefore the Bridegroom dies for the bride, and redeems
her, not with silver and gold, but with his own precious blood :
he gave his life a ransom for many.
5. Because she was a prisoner to Satan, and a lawful cap-
tive to her greatest enemy, who was ready to devour her;
therefore he comes in the quality of a victorious and renown-
ed conqueror, and travels in the greatness of his strength,
spoils principalities and powers, makes a show of them open-
ly, and " through death, destroys him that had the power of
death," setting the captives of the mighty at libertN^.
6. Because the bride was as black as hell, by lying among
the pots; therefore he undertakes to wash and cleanse her,
and to put his own beauty upon her, by which she should be
as the wings of a dove, covered with yellow gold.
7. Because the bride was naked, the devil having run away
with her beautiful ornament of original righteousness ; there-
fore the bridegroom undertakes to clothe her with white rai-
ment so as the shame of her nakedness might not appear:
the Bridegroom is made of God to her, *' righteousness and
sanctification," &.c.
8. So fond is the Bridegroom of the match, that he de-
spatches his heralds to make open proclamation of his purpose
of marriage to her, and he gives it us ministers in our com-
mission, to insist upon it, and not to take a refusal : 2 Cor, v.
20: " Now, then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though
God did beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ's stead "be
ye reconciled to God," by embracing his beloved Son, and
consenting to him as your Head, Husband, and Bridegroom.
9. So fond is he, that he waits for a good answer from the
bride ; he waits, that he may be gracious, and he exalts him-
self, that he may show mercy ; he stands at the door and
knocks, till his head is tilled with dew, and his locks with the
drops of the nii^lit.
10. Hi; is grieved at the heart when he gets a refusal. How
did he weep over Jerusalem, saying, O, " If thou hadst known,
even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong
unto thy peace!" " How shall 1 give thee up, Ephraim ? How
shall I deliver thee, Israel? Mine heart is turned, within me,
my repentings are kindled together."
11. How glad is his heart when the consent of the bride is
gained? He is so glad, that he calls heaven and earth to re-
joice with him : for there is joy in heaven when but one sin-
ner repeiiteth." O then the cry is given. Rev. xix. 5 : " Let
us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him, for the mar-
riage of the Lamb is come, and his bride hath made herself
ready." The joy of that day is expressed by the joyful so-
lemnity of a king's coronation, Cant. iv. last, " Go forth, O ye
XL.] TO MEET THE BRIDEGROOM. 279
daughters of Zion, and behold King Solomon, with the crown
wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals,
and in the day of the gladness of his heart."
Now, is Christ so fond of a match with you, and will you
be cool, careless, and averse 1 especially, if you consider by
way of —
Alot. 3. The vast disparity and disproportion between you
and him. Never was there such an inequality in marriage
between parties as here ; and yet his love and kindness to-
wards the bride makes him come over all inequality. O let
heaven and earth, angels and men, stand amazed ! He who
is the Lord, the Creator of all the ends of the earth, oflers to
match with his creature, the work of his own hand, Is. liv. 6 :
" Thy Maker is thine Husband." He who is the Ancient
OF Days, the Everlasting Father, offers to match with a
forlorn infant cast out into the open field. He who is the most
noble Branch of heaven or earth, offers to match with a vile
prostitute, who had played the harlot with many lovers, whose
father was an Amorite, and her mother a Hittite. He who
is the Heir of God, Heir of heaven, the Heir of all things, of-
fers to match with the children of Satan, and heii's of hell.
He who is the greatest beauty of heaven and earth, the bright-
ness of the Father's glory, offers to match with a bride, black
as the Ethiopian, and spotted like the leopard, who is full of
wounds and bruises, and putrefying sores. O let heaven and
earth stand amazed at the condescension of the Bridegroom,
and the folly of sinners in refusing such a match!
Mot. 4. To win your hearts to the Bridegroom, consider how
much it will turn out to your advantage, if you take on with
him as your Husband. View this in these following things:
1. The Bridegroom will clear, and ease you of all your
debts. As for temporal and worldly debts, he has a thousand
ways to rid you of these, if he see it for his glory, and your
good : for " the earth is his, and the fulness thereof," and he
bids you " cast all your cares upon him, for he careth for " his
bride; he that paid a ransom for your souls, how will he not
with " that, " freely give you all things'?" But as to the debts
you owe to law and justice, which, indeed, of all are the
greatest and heaviest, heavier than you can bear, the least
farthing of which you could never have paid, either by an
eternity of obedience, or an eternity of punishment, that mo-
ment you close with Christ, you are cleared and discharged;
the Bridegroom stands between you and all your creditors.
You know the wife is not sueable at law while clothed with a
husband ; he answers for all. Just so, when you close with
Christ, the better Husband, who is raised from the dead, you
S80 THE WISE VIRGINS GOING FORTH [sER.
ibecome dead to the law," Rom. vii. 4; that is, you have no
more concern with the law, and the debts you owe to it as a
covenant, either for obedience or punishment, than if they had
never been ; insomuch that, with joy and triumph you may
lift up you heads in the presence of all your creditors or ac-
cusers, and say, ' Who can lay any thing to my cliarge? for
it is Christ that died for my otlences, and rose again for my
justification and acquittance : I am under his covering, I
am with him in the bride-chamber, where law and justice
have no action against me.' O then, poor [insolvent,] broken
and bankrupt sinner, go out and match with the Bridegroom,
and that moment, "It is God that justifies you," saying, "I,
even J, am he that blotteth out your transgressions,"
2. O sirs, go out and meet the Bridegroom, and take on
with him, and all your wants shall be supplied, be they ever
so great and many, Phil. iv. 19: " My God shall supply all
your need, according to his riches in glory, by Christ Jesus."
The Bridegroom, as you have heard, has unsearchable riches :
all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, of grace and of
glory, are in him; and out of his fulness you shall receive
grace for grace ; quickening grace, for he is the Resurrec-
tion and the Life ; enlightening grace, for he is the Sun of
Righteousness, the bright and the morning Star; strengthen-
ing grace, for he giveth power to the faint, and increaseth
strength to them that have no might. In a word, he ".will
give grace and glory, and no good thing will he withhold"
from the soul that consents to marry him.
3. The Bridcgi'oom will heal all your soul maladies: for
he is well skilled in phvsic ; he is the Phvsician of value, and
there is no disease so obstinate, but he will cure it with a
word speaking. Hast thou a hard heart? he will soften it,
and turn it into " a heart of flesh." Hast thou a withered
hand, that cannot work? well, he strengthens the weak and
withered hand. Hast thou lame feet, that cannot walk?
well, he " makes the lame to leap like a hart." Hast thou
a blind eye? or wast thou born blind ? well, he has eye-salve
to make the blind to see clearly. In a word, the first moment
the soul matches with Christ, he begins the cure, and, against
the day of consummation of the marriage, the bride will
be fully ready, the good work will be perfected, and the bride
will be presented " without spot or wrinkle, or any such
thing."
4. O go out and meet the Bridegroom, and match with
him, and he will bear all your burdens, let them be ever so
heavy: "Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sus-
tain thee." Christ is the most sympathizing Husband that
XL.] TO MEET THE BRIDEGROOM. 281
ever was. If he see his bride or beloved spouse oppressed in
spirit with any sort of trouble, be what it will, "■ he is af-
flicted in all her afflictions;" and he will be with her in the
fire and in the waters, that the fire may not burn, nor the
waters overwhelm her. See how he speaks to his beloved
spouse in her tossings. Is. liv. 11 : " O thou afflicted, tossed
with tempest, and not comforted, behold,! will lay thy stones
with fair colours, and thy foundations with sapphires."
5. O match with the Bridegroom, and he will subdue all
thy enemies, and make thee a conqueror, yea, more than a
conqueror over them. They that match and take on with
Christ, must indeed lay their account to have the armies of
hell upon their top: The old serpent casts out water like a
flood " against the woman, and the remnant of her seed, that
keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of
Jesus Christ." Rut be not discouraged, poor soul ; thy Bride-
groom has already braised the head of the old serpent, and,
ere it be long, will also make thee to tread Satan under thy
feet. He that stood between thee and avenging justice, will
likewise stand with and for thee, in opposition to all enemies
whatever. Let men and devils curse the bride of Christ, he
will bless her. Let her be excommunicated, or cast out of
the church into the devil's common, Christ will not affirm,
but make void such sentences. In the ninth chapter of John,
we read of a poor man born blind, whose eyes Christ had
opened upon the Sabbath day, by making a little clay, and
putting it upon his eyes. The Jewish Sanhedrim met; and,
under a very religious pretence of zeal for the Sabbath day,
they convene the man before them, who professed Christ, in
as far as he knew him; upon which they excommunicated
him, and cast him out of the church, and held him as a Hea-
then man and a Publican. Well, was this sentence bound
in heaven? No; so far from that, that (ver. 35,) when Christ
heard they had cast him out (or excommunicated him, as in
thcimargin,) Christ seeks him out, and finds him, and mani-
fests himself the more to him, as you may see, ver. 35 — 38:
and, in the 39th verse, he passes a heavy doom and sentence
upon them that had cast him out : " For judgment I am come
into this world, that they who see not might see, and that they
who see (or imagine that they are the only men that sec
things, or know them in a better light,) might be made blind.-'
Thus Christ will take up and defend his bride, to the confu-
sion of them that do her hurt.
6. O match with the blessed Bridegroom, and he will ma-
nage all your concerns for you, and that both in heaven
above, and earth below ; for he has " all power in heavea
and in earth." Thy Bridegroom, believer, will manage all
VOL. ni. 25 t
282 THE WISE VIRGINS GOING FORTH [SER»
thy business for thee on earth ; for all the wheels of provi-
dence are rolled in subserviency to his designs of love to-
wards his beloved spouse and bride, Rom. viii. 28 ; Deut.
xxxiii. : " He rides upon the heavens in thy help, and in his
excellency on the sky." And as for thy concerns in the high
court of heaven, he is thy Agent and Advocate there, 1 John
ii. 1, 2: "If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the
Father, even Jesus Christ the righteous."
7. O match with Christ the Bridegroom, for he provides
his bride in a large jointure. Although she contracts no-
thing with him but debt, and want, and poverty; yet he, in
away of free grace and love, contracts all things with her.
See the tenure of the contract, 1 Cor. iii. 21: " All things
are yours, whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world,
or life, or death, or things present, or things to come ; all are
yours, for ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's." Oh ! how
well is the spouse of Christ provided, by virtue of the con-
tract of the new covenant 'I He provides his bride with a
crown, and *' a crown of glory that fadeth not awvay." He
provides her with " a kingdom that cannot be moved, an in-
heritance incorruptible, undcfiled, and that fadeth not away."
He provides her with " a city that hath foundations, whose
builder and maker is God ;" and a jointure house " not made
with hands eternal in the heavens." In a word, he contracts,
that his own God and Father shall be her God and Father
for ever. What more can the most enlarged heart desire?
More " eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it en-
tered into the heart of man to conceive."
Mot. 5. To win your hearts to the blessed Bridegroom,
consider the excellency of the contract he makes v»ith his
bride. I told you in the [entrance to the subject,] the con-
tract is the covenant of grace and promise, transacted in
eternity between the Bridegroom and his eternal Father, on
the behalf of those whom the Father gave him, Psal. Ixxxix.
3: " I have made a covenant with my chosen." And, in a
day of power, when the bride gives her consent, that same
covenant is made and established with her. Is. Iv. 3 : " I will
make with them an everlasting covenant, even the sure mer-
cies of David." 1 shall name a few properties, and you have
them all in a bundle together, Hos. ii. 19, 20: "And I will
betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee
unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in loving-
kindness, and in mercy. T will even betroth thee unto me
in faithfulness, and thou slialt know the Lord."
1. It is an everlasting contract ; lor thus says the Bride-
groom ; " I will betroth thee unto me for ever." As the
contract bears date from the ancient years of eternity, so it
XL.] TO MEET THE BRIDEGROOM. 283
runs forward to an eternity to come ; and, oh ! who can form
a right thought of never-ending eternity 1 Oh i it is a great,
but comfortable word to the bride of Christ, " I will betroth
thee unto me for ever. I will make an everlasting covenant
with them, that I will not turn away from them to do them
good." Death breaks all contracts between man and wife,
and nullifies the relation ; but " neither death nor life, nor
things present, nor things to come," shall separate between
Christ and his spouse.
2. It is a just and righteous contract ; for it stands bot-
tomed upon the everlasting righteousness brought in by the
Bridegroom, " I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness."
The righteousness of Christ is the condition of the contract
of the new covenant. By his " obedience unto death," he
confirmed the covenant to many; and he gives this right-
eousness to his bride as her wedding garment, and puts it on
her with his own hand. Hence she sings. Is. Ixi. 10 : "I will
greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God :
for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he
hath cov^ered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bride-
groom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorn-
eth herself with her jewels."
3. It is a wise and well ordered contract ; for, says the
Bridegroom, " I will betroth thee unto me in judgment," that
is, with great wisdom and understanding. This chariot of
the wood of Lebanon, namely, the covenant of grace, was
made by a greater than Solomon, in whom " are hid all the
treasures of wisdom and knowledge." It was the result of
the council of peace, between the Father and the Son, from
all eternity, and therefore cannot but be " well ordered in all
things." It is " the wisdom of God in a mystery, even his
hidden wisdom," " which none of the princes of the world
knew." In other contracts between man and wife, there are
sometimes very intricate and perplexing clauses, which occa-
sion law-suits and vexations ; but no such thing here, every
thing is clear.
4. It is a most loving contract ; for, says the Bridegroom,
*' I will betroth thee unto me in loving-kindness." The love
that Christ bore for his bride from all eternity is the source
and original of the whole of the match. The chariot of the
wood of Lebanon is " paved with love for the daughters of
Jerusalem." Love makes him to choose her for his bride
from eternity ; " I have loved thee with an everlasting love."
Love made him lay down his life a ransom for his bride; " He
loved me, and gave himself for me." Love made him draw
her within the bonds of that covenant, of which he is the
Head ; and love made all the promises of the contract ; and
love obliges him to fulfil them.
284 THE WISE VIRGINS GOING FORTH [SER.
5. It is a gratuitous and free contract that he makes with
her; for, says the Bridegroom, "I will betroth thee unto me
in mercies;" and it is observable, that it is in the plural num-
ber, because t^cre are a multitude of tender mercies with
the Bridegroom towards his bride. She was in misery when
he looked upon her, wallowing in her blood, without any eye
to pity, or hand to help ; but his tender mercies made him
to spread his skirt over her, and to say unto her, Live ; and
thus his " mercy is from everlasting to everlasting upon them
that fear him," His tender bowels yearn towards his be-
loved spouse, "when he sees her in any distress and trouble ;
for, " in all her afflictions he is afflicted ;" and although her
afflictions be many% yet at length he relieves her out of them
all.
6. It is a faithful and true contract ; for he says, ver. 20,
" I will betroth you unto me in faithfulness." The very name
of the Bridegroom is faithful and true, Rev. xix. 11. He is
"the Amen, the faithful and true witness." " He is not man,
that he should lie, nor the son of man that he should repent;"
and therefore the contract of the covenant is more sure than
heaven and earth : his " covenant he will not break, nor
alter the thing that is gone out of his lips." Is. liv. 10 : " The
mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my
kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the cove-
nant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord, that hath
mercy on thee."
7. It is an additional clause of the contract, Hos. ii. 20 :
("And thou shalt know the Lord.") " I will give them a
heart to know me, that I am the Lord." The Bridegroom
manifests himself to the bride in another manner than he does
to the rest of the world, Is. xxxiii. 17: "Thine eyes shall
see the King in his beauty." Hos. vi. 3: "Then shall we
know, if we follow on to know the Lord." This is the lead-
ing blessing in the contract of the covenant, and therefore
called life eternal, John xvii. 3 : " And this is life eternal, that
they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ
whom thoii hast sent." To see the glory of Christ, and to be
with him, is just the [terminating] or consummating point of
the happiness of the saints in heaven, John xvii. 24. But
that which seems especially to be im|)orlt'd in the expression,
"Thou shalt know the Lord," is. That the bride shall be ad-
mitted into the most intimate fellowship and communion witli
the Bridegroom. As, upon the consummation of the mar-
riage, the bride and the bridegroom know one another, in
a way of conjugal union and communion; so the bride of
Christ shall enjoy the sweet communion with the Lord, so as
to be in case to say, with the spouse, " His left hand shall be
under my head, and liis right liand shall embrace me ; and
XL.] TO MEET THE BRIDEGROOM. 285
as a bundle of myrrh is my well-beloved unto me, he shall
lie ail night betwixt my breasts." Thus you see what an
excellent contract it is that Christ makes with the bride.
Now, this contract we bring to you in a preached gospel, re^
quiring you in God's great name to take hold of it, and sub-
scribe it by the hand of faith, according to that prophecy and
promise. Is. xliv. 5: "One shall say, I am the Lord's, and
another shall call himself by the name of Jacob, and another
shall subscribe with his hand to the Lord, and surname him-
self by the name of Israel."
Mot. 6. To engage you to go forth and meet and match
with the Bridegroom, in a way of believing, consider, that,
by the command of the Bridegroom, proclamation is made of
the purpose of marriage with the bride, and no lawful objec-
tion or impediment is or can be made against the design. O,
sirs, we who are the friends and heralds of the Bridegroom,
by commission from the Bridegroom and his eternal Father,
have proclaimed, and continue to proclaim, from the tops of
the high places, in the chief places of concourse, " Whoever
will, let him come, and be the bride, the Lamb's wife. Unto
you, O men," says he, " I call, and my voice is to the sons of
men." And what is his voice? See it. Is. Iv. 1 — 3: "Ho,
every one that thirsteth, come, &c. Incline your ear, and
come unto me; hear, and your soul shall live, and I will
make with you an everlasting covenant." Now, shall pro-
clamation of marriage be made, and yet shall the bride draw
back, and make the proclamation of none effect.
Mol. 7. Consider, that if you be pleased with the match,
all parties are pleased.
L The Father of the Bridegroom is pleased. The first mo-
tion of the bargain was made by him ; he tirst proposed the
match for his beloved Son, in the council of peace, saying,
'O my Son, wilt thou match with yon company of Adam's
family, and buy them off from the hand of justice, and be-
troth them unto thee for ever? Mine tl;iey are, and I give
them unto thee.' And as the Father proposed the match, so
he presents his beloved Son to the bride, saying, " This is
my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased ; hear ye him,
Behold my Servant whom I uphold, mine Elect in whom
my soul delighteth." For what end does the Father thus
commend him to you, if he be not pleased with the match?
Yea, he commands and requires you to take him by the hand,
1 John iii. 23: " This is his commandment, that we should be-
lieve on the name of his Son Jesus Christ."
2. As the Father of the Bridegroom is pleased, so is the
Bridegroom himself; yea, as you heard in ten or twelve par-
ticulars, he is exceedingly fond of it. " His delights were "
25*
286 THE WISE VIRGINS GOING FORTH [sER.
and are " with the sons of men ;" he rejoices over the soul that
comes to him, "as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride.'*
' 3. The friends of the Bridegroom, all faithful mini.'stcrs,
are pleased, yea, they travail as in birth, till they gain your
consent to take your Maker for your Husband; and that day
your consent is gained, they rejoice, and forget their sorrow,
like a travailing woman when a man-child is born into the
world.
4. Fellow virgins, all true believers, are well pleased and
rejoice when a poor soul gives heart and hand to the Bride-
groom, Psal. xlv. 14, 15: "The virgins her companions that
follow her shall be brought unto thee: with gladness and re-
joicing shall they be brought." Thus, I say, all parties are
pleased. O, then, let it be a bargain, and go forth and meet
the Bridearroom.
Mot. 8. As all parties on the side of the Bridegroom are
pleased, so all things are ready, and therefore come to the
marriage. The Bridegroom is ready, as the woi-ds of the text
declare. Behold the Bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet him ;
yea, he stands at the door, and knocks. The Holy Gliost,
the Comforter, is ready to cast the everlasting knot^ ■'^ftying,
^'To-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts." lie
is ready to give the bride " the oil of joy for mourning, and
the garment of praise for a heavy spirit." The contract of
the covenant is ready, being signed by the Father, saying, Is.
xlii. 6: "I will give thee for a covenant unto the peoptc;"
and the Bridegroom has signed it with his own blood, Dan.
ix.; Heb. ix. The marriage house is built, and ready for the
reception of the bride, Prov. ix., at the beginning, "Wisdom
hath builded her house, she hath hewn outlier seven pillars."
The marriage supper is ready, "My oxen and my failings are
killed," Matth. xxii.; and Piov. ix. 2: "Wisdom hatirkilled
her beasts, she hath mingled her wine, she hath also furnished
her table," &,c. In a word, all the angels and saints in hea-
ven, all ministers and Christians upon earth, are ready to clap
their hands, and to tune their harps, and there will be jov both
in heaven and in earth, at your going forth to meet the Bride-
groom.
Mot. 9. Go forth, and meet the Bridegroom in a wav of
believing; for sad, sad, will be the event, if you do not. after
all that has been said. Why, say you, What will be the
event? or what will follow?
1. You will sadden the heart of the Bridegroom, who is
the joy of heaven and earth. How sad a heart got he from
the Jews, when he grieved for the hardness of their hearts,
and when he Avept over them? And will you follow their
footsteps, and grieve the heart of your God also?
XL.] TO MEET THE BRIDEGROOM. 287
2. If you go not forih to meet him, he will depart from
vou, and give you up, Gen. vi. 3: "My Spirit," says he, "shall
not always strive with man." Psal. Ixxxi. 11 : " My people
would not hearken unto my voice; Israel would none of me,
so I o-ave them up to their own hearts' lusts; and they walked
in th'eir own counsel." Many a sad wo will befall you upon
his departure, Hos. ix. 12: "Yea, wo also to them, when 1
depart from them."
3. He will go to his Father that sent him, and enter a com-
plaint against vou, saying, ' O Father, according to thy com-
mand, I went and proposed myself as a Bridegroom to such
a people or person, but thev refused the match, they cast the
barc^ain.' And O how will God the Father resent the indig-
nitv^? John iii. 18, 3G : "He that believeth not, is condemned
already, and the wrath of God abideth on him." " There re-
maineth no sacrifice for" such a "sin:" for, in so doing, you
trample the blood of the Bridegroom under your feet, Heb.
X. 26, 29.
4. Heaven and earth, and the whole creation, will be asto-
nished, and horribly afraid at you, in preferring other lovers
to him, who is altogether lovely, Jer. ii. 12, 13.
5. Sin, Satan, and the world, will pick you up, and lead
you captive, and God will sav. They are joined to their idols,
let them alone, Hos. iv. 17; seeing they continue in covenant
with death, and at agreement with hell. Is. xxviii. 15. Let
them go, and see what the end will be: "I have purged
thee, and thou wast not purged, and therefore thou shalt not
be purged from thy filthiness any more," Ezek. xxiv. 13.
G. Pvemember, despised love issues out in flames of wrath
and resentment, Prov. i. 24: " Because I have called, and ye
refused, I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;"
ver. 2G, " I also will laugh at your calamity, and mock when
your fear cometh."
Sirs, I am afraid, that some, if not many of you in this
place, are more taken up in drinking, caballing, and canvass-
ing about your ensuing elections, than you are about this im-
portant affair of having your own souls, and the souls of
others, matched to the Son of God. Your heads and hearts
are so filled with these sinful and trifling matters, that the
Bridegroom cannot get a hearing. Yea, you are " like the
deaf adder, that stoppeth her ear, which will not hearken to
the voice of charmers," Psal. Iviii. 4, 5. But, dear friends,
allow me to reason the matter with you, in the name of
God, Is. Iv. 2: "Wherefore do you spend your money for
that which is not bread, and your labour for that which
satisfieth not?" What will the gain of the election, or the
288 THE WISE VIRGINS GOING FORTH [SER.
the gain of the whole world avail, if you lose your own souls,
by not going forth from these things to meet the Bridegroom?
For the Lord's sake, remember, that if you do not go forth,
and meet him, and match with him by faith now, you shall
meet with him and see him shortly upon the back of death,
and at the last judgment, Rev. i. 7: "Behold he cometh with
clouds, and every eye shall see him," and you also that
pierced his heart by unbelief, and then you will wail because
of him: O how will you look him in the face, whose ofl'ersof
love you despised? What will you do? and what blushing and
confusion of face will fly up to your breast and countenance,
when you shall see your despised lover sitting upon his white
throne, with all his holy angels, " ten thousand times ten thou-
sand, and thousands of thousands, ministering unto him ?" Ob,
" to whom will ye then fly for help, and where will ye leave
your glory?" Is. x. 3. How will you choose, rather, if possi-
ble, to be buried under rocks and mountains, than appear be-
fore the face of him (Rev. vi. 16,) who once courted your
aflections and consent to be his bride, but was maltreated,
rejected, and despised by you? You said by your practice,
'• We will not go with this man," Gen. xxviii. 58. " We will
not have him to rule over us," Luke xix. 14. " Let God de-
part from us, for we desire not the knowledge of his ways;
what is the Almighty that we should serve him?" Job. xxi.
14. Therefore the dreadful and awful sentence shall go forth
against you, Mat. xxv. 41 : " Depart from me, ye cursed, into
everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." Upon
which you shall be huri'ied by legions of devils into ever-
lasting torments. O "consider" these things in time, "ye
that forget God," and make light of the offijrs of the Bride-
groom's love, " lest he tear you in pieces, when there is none
to deliver."
'2db], But I do not love to conclude with the thunders and
lightnings of Mount Sinai, but choose rather to turn again to
Mount Zion, and to cry again, and again. Behold ihe Bride-
groom Cometh, ffo ye oitl to meet him. «Go forth, O ye daugh-
ters of Zion, and behold the beauty and excellency of the true
King Solomon, Cant. iii. 11. O that this may be "the day of his
espousals, and the day of the gladness of his heart." Behold
how glorious " he is in his apparel," and how he comes "tra-
velling from Edom, and from Bozrah, in the greatness of his
strength, in order to tneet you ; and will not you go forth and
meet him ? The Bridegroom began his journey towards you.
from the early ages of eternity, Mic. v. 2. For " his goings
forth were of old, from everlasting." He left the glory he
had with his Father before the world was, and travelled up
and down this world for his spouse, for about the space of
XL.] TO MEET THE BRIDEGROOM. 289
thirty-three years, in poverty, reproach, and persecution ; he
travelled through seas of wrath, and the Jordan of death, and
then back again to heaven, in order to bring about the match ;
and, since his ascension, he has been travelling in the chariot
of the everlasting gospel, first among the Jews, and then among
the Gentile nations; and he is come even unto these isles of
the seas, and utmost parts of the earth ; he has been long
stretching out the arms of redeeming love to Scotland, and
to the inhabitants of Stirling, crying. Behold me, behold me.
How gladly would I gather you unto me, as the " hen ga-
thereth her chickens under her wings!" Matth. xxiii. 37. How
would my soul rejoice over you, as the bridegroom rejoiceth
over the bride, if you would but entertain and embrace me as
your Bridegroom? I who am your Maker will be your Hus-
band, and betroth you unto me for ever. Well then, sirs,
take on with the best of husbands, and say with thy whole
heart and soul, " Thine are we, O David ; and on thy side,
thou Son of Jesse," 1 Chron. xii. 18. 0 let it be an ever-
lasting bargain, that shall never be dissolved.
Oh ! may some poor soul say, gladly would I go forth and
meet the Bridegroom, and present myself as the bride, the
Lamb's wife; but when I begin to think of it, there are a
thousand obstacles cast in my way, which 1 know not how
to surmount.
Well, let us hear what either the devil, the world, or an
evil heart of unbelief, has to say; for there is no objection
they can offer, that is of any relevance; the blessed Bride-
groom has removed all impediments on the side of law and
justice, by his obedience unto death; and he stands ready to
answer, and we in his name and authority are ready to an-
swer, whatever may come from any other quarter.
Object. 1. Oh ! may some poor dejected soul say, ' The dis-
tance between the Bridegroom and me is so great and infi-
nite, that I can never think it will be a bargain ; he is God's
"first-born, higher than the kings of the earth;" will he ever
match wath me, a poor despicable worm, who am but nothmg,
yea, less than nothing and vanity.'
Atiszo. It is true, the distance between him and you is great,
as he is the Son of God, God co-equal with the Father ; and
if he had not removed this bar, by taking the human nature
into a personal union with himself, there could never have
been any such thing as a spiritual marriage between him and
any of Adam's race : " But though he be in the form of God,
and thinks it not robbery to be equal with God," yet he has
become our equal also by the assumption of the human na-
ture; that so, being upon a level with us, he might betroth us
to himself for ever. Since he has come over the mountain
290 THE WISE VIRGINS GOING FORTH [SER.
of infinite distance, both natural and moral, let not the dis-
tance of parties be any innpediment on your side ; but con-
sider the greater the inequality of the match be, the more
are the riches, freedom, and sovereignty, of the grace of God
exalted, and this is the great plot of heaven. Is. Ivii. 15:
" Thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity,
whose name is Holy, I dwell in the high and holy place "—
To which no man can approach, 1 Tim. vi. 16 : " With him
also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spi-
rit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite
ones." God would have us, and all the world, to know that
his " ways are not as our ways, nor his thoughts our thoughts ;
but as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are his ways
higher than our ways, and his thoughts than our thoughts."
It is God's way to pass by the great, the rich, and the wise
and noble, and to pitch upon the weak, the poor, and con-
temptible things of the world, " that no flesh may glory in
his presence."
Object. 2. May another say, 'lama poor deformed crea-
ture; there is nothing desirable in or about me, I am a trans-
gressor from the womb, conceived in sin, and shapen in ini-
quity, altogether as an unclean thing; will ever the glorious
Bridegroom match with the like of me !'
A?i.m\ If Christ stood upon this objection, he could never
have a bride among the race of Adam ; he never married any
of Adam's race because of their beauty or comeliness, but that
he might make them beautiful, through his comeliness, that
he puts upon them, Ezek. xvi. 8 — 12.
Object. 3. But oh ! ' My trangressions are multiplied, in-
numerable evils compass me about, and my sins have been
highly aggravated against light, against love, against cove-
nant vows and engagements : I gave my consent unto Christ,
but I have slidden back, and therefore Christ will never look
upon me.'
Answ. Be it so as you say ; yet, if you will return, he will
receive you graciously, Jer. iii. 1. Though " thou hast played
the harlot with many lovers, yet return again to me;" and
Is. i. 18: "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the
Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white
as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as
wool." Remember the example of Manasseh, Mary Magda-
lene, Paul, and many others; the same mercy and grace that
saved them, is as able to save you : " his hand is not short-
ened that he cannot save, nor his ear heavy, that he cannot
hear."
Object. 4. ' I am lying in a dunghill of sin and misery, the
Bridegroom will never look upon me.'
XL."j TO MEET THE BRIDEGROOM. 291
Answ. " He raiseth the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the
needy out of the dunghill, and sets them with princes." See
what a dunghill the poor Israelitish infant was lying in, when
the Lord passed by, and said unto it, Live, Ezek. xvi.:
" Though ye have lien among the pots, yet will I make thee
as the wings of a dove, covered with silver, and her feathers
with yellow gold."
Object. 5. ' I am so miserable, the Bridegroom will never
look upon me.'
Atiszo. That is a mistake, for the Bridegroom's name is mer-
ciful, and his mercy is in the heavens.
Object. 6. ' I am blind,' says the sinner. Christ answers,
" I recover sight to the blind;" Christ says to blind " Laodi-
cea, I counsel thee to buy of me eye-salve that thou mayest
see."
Object. 7. 'I am naked, have no robe of righteousness to
cover me.' ' Ay, but,' says the Bridegroom, ' give but thy con-
sent, and I will bring forth the best robe in heaven, and cover
the shame of thy nakedness, that it may not appear.'
Object. 8. ♦ 1 am poor, and so poor, that I have no desira-
ble qualification to recommend me.' Amw. The Bridegroom,
*' thouc^h he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor, that,
we through his poverty, might be made rich." He has abun-
dance of gold, "gold tried in the fire, unsearchable riches;"
and all his riches are thine, that moment you consent to
him.
Object. 9. ' I am dead, there is not the least spark ol spiri-
tual "life in me, and therefore the Bridegroom will never look
upon me.'
A71S7V. "Hear," says the Bridegroom to the dead, "and
your souls shall live,'' Isa. Iv. 3 : "And I will make an ever-
lasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David,"
"he that>believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he
live, for I am the resurrection and the life." And if thou be
but groaning under a sense of thy deadness, it is a sign of
some life, for the dead do not use to tell any such tales of
themselves. See what Christ does to the dead, Eph. lii. 1 :
" You hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and
sins," Ezek. xxxi.: "The spirit of life quickeneth the dry
bones."
Object. 10. ' I do not know if ever the Bridegroom loved
rne, or chose me.'
Answ. He has revealed his love in the proposal of marriage
that he makes to you in the gospel of his grace. He has said
that he is willing; and he svvears by his life, that he has "no
pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they
would turn unto him and live." He declares, that he hates
292 TH2 WISE VIRGmS GOING FORTH [SEB.
putting away; and that hin:i that comes to him, he will in no
wise cast out, that " the promise is unto you, and to your
children, and to all that are afar off."
Now, your way is, to take him by his word, and to judge
of his thoughts and purposes by his word ; for " those things
which are revealed belong to us, and to our children for
ever." I illustrate the case in hand, by a familiar similitude
of a proposal of marriage made to a woman; the man that
is in suit of her, not only proposes and proffers love to her,
but he solicits and courts her consent; he forms the contract
to the greatest advantage; he makes over himself and his
whole estate to iier, and confirms his ingenuousness by his
oath, that she may not have any doubt of his love and affec-
tion.
Now, if after all, the woman should say, ' I will not coo-
sent to marry this man, because I do not know if he really
loves me;' would not every body look upon the woman as
most ridiculous and unreasonable? and, in this case, does she
not charge the man with the most horrid disingenuousness?
Well, (his is the very case: how should you know the love of
Christ to you, but by his offers, promises, entreaties, and de-
clarations of his love; and to doubt of his love, is to charge
him foolishly with deceitful dealins;: and O! do not treat him
so any more, but believe, and see his salvation.
Object. 11. ' Oh ! God is angry with me, I think I see frowns
in his countenance, when I begin to think of matching with
his beloved Son,'
AiisvK You arc in a great mistake; for the main ground of
his controversy with you is, because you do not go forth to
meet his beloved Son ; and that moment you receive him by
faith, you shall find him a well pleased God; for to as many
as received him, as their Saviour, Husband, King, Priest, and
Prophet, John i. 12, " to thein gave he power to become the
sons of God."
Ohjecl. 12. 'You urge mc to wed by faith the Bridegroom,
and gladly would 1 do it, but I find an entire impotency, and
inability in myself, and it is only the power of (u)d that must
do the work; and therefore, all you have said is in vain, till
a " day of power" come.'
J]/nic. It is true, it is " the power of God " that must malve
a sinner willing; but the way that this power is exerted is,
by convincing the sinner of his own inability either to will or
to do, that so he may j)ut the whole work in the Lord's hand.
And if this be your case, the good work is already begun ;
and he that has begun to convince you, and humble you
under a sense of your own impotency, will carry it on, and
finish the matter; for he has said, Psal. ex. 3: "Thy people
XL.] TO MEET THE BRIDEGROOM. 293
shall be willing in the day of thy power," Isa. xl. 29 : " He
gives power to the faint, and to them that have no might he
increaseth strength."
I conclude this exhortation with two or three advices: —
1. Be convinced and persuaded of your dangerous and de-
plorable case, while married to the law, and your lusts; for
which see the use of reproof and lamentation.
2. Conceive and entertain hopes o'f getting the match be-
tween Christ and you accomplished and brought about. A
hopeless despair as to this matter cuts the sinews of all ac-
tivity : '• There is no hope ; I have loved strangers, and after
them will I go," Jer. ii. 25 ; and therefore, " it is good that a
man should hope," Lam. iii. 20.
3. Be much in studying the love of God in providing such
a help every way meet for you. It was an evidence of God's
kindness to Adam, when he said, " It is not good that the
man should be alone," Gen. ii. 18. I will make " him a
help meet for him." Much more is it an evidence of the
love of God to lost man, that he has laid help for him upon
one that is mighty, Psal. Ixxxix. 19.
4. I recommend to you to be much in studying the love of
the eternal Son of God, in marrying the human nature to a
personal union with the divine, that he might act the part of
a Kinsman Redeemer. Oh ! think what he has done in order
to get a bride for himself in Adam's family, for one love
kindles another, and " we love him because he first loved us,"
1 John iv. 19.
5. Be much in viewing the glorious fulness and suitableness
of the Bridegroom through the lattices of the word read and
preached ; " For we all, beholding as in a glass the glory of
the Lord, are changed into the same image, from glory to
glory," 2 Cor. iii. 18.
6. Oh ! cry and plead much for the purchased and pro-
mised Spirit, that he may glorify Christ, and testify of him
to your souls, according to the promise of the Bridegroom,
before he left this world, John xvi. 14: "He shall glorify
me, for he shall receive of mine, and show it unto you."
7. In matching with the Bridegroom, disband all other
lovers, saying with Ephraim, Hos. xiv. 8 : " What have I
any more to do with idols." Is. xxvi. 13: "O Lord my
God, other lords besides thee have had dominion over me,
but henceforth by thee only will I make mention of thy
name." If you be for me (says Christ,) let these soul-mur-
dering lusts go; let go your lust of covetousness, your lust of
uncleanness, your lust of pride, malice, revenge, your lust of
drunkenness and gluttony; for as no man can serve two mas-
ters, Matth. vi. 24, so can no man be, at the same time, mar-
voL. III. 26 t
294 THE NEW TEST AME.\T, ARK OPENED [SER.
ried io Christ and these lusts; Christ says, Destroy these.
Crucify them, " Mortify the deeds of the body," Rom. viii. 13 :
" Fornication, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which
is idolatry," Col. iii, 8. 1 came to destroy these works of the
devil, John iii. 8. And, therefore, give a bill of divorce to
them, if you would follow me.
I close this discourse with a word of counsel and advice to
believers, who, through the power of grace, have been deter-
mined to go forth and meet the Bridegroom.
Oh! bless the Lord that ever gave you counsel to do so,
for this was never eifected by the power of nature, but only
by the power of victorious grace, Psal. ex. 3: " Thy people
shall be willing in the da^^ of thy power." Thou wast dead
in sin, Eph. ii. 1 ; but he " passed by thee, and said unto thee.
Live," Ezek. xvi. 6. Thou wast full of enmity against God
and his Anointed, Psal. ii. 2; hut he captivated thy heart
with his own love and loveliness. Who made thee to differ
from olhers that are left behind, " in the gall of bitterness,
and in the bond of iniquity V Why, it was the blessed Bride-
groom that drew thee to him with the cords of his own love;
and therefore let the high praises of the Bridegroom, and of
his eternal Father, be continually in thy mouth. Psal. cxlix.
16. John vi. 44. " No man can come to me, except the
Father which hath sent me draw him." Let the bride, the
Lamb's wife, put much confidence in the Bridegroom ; and
•well may she do it, for he is " the confidence of all the 6nds
of the earth, his name is Faithful and True," Rev. xix. 11.
THE NEW TESTAMENT ARK OPENED AGAINST THE
DELUGE OF DIVINE WRATH.
By fuith Noah, being' warned of God of tilings not seen as yet, moved with
fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house. — Heb. xi. 7.
THE FIRST SERMON ON THIS TEXT.
In the preceding chapter, the apostle, in the close of it, had
exhorted the believing Hebrews to persevere in the faith ;
and, to enforce the exhortation, he demonstrates, in this chap-
XLl.] AGAINST THE DELUGE OF DIVINE WRATH. 295
ter, the excellency of the grace of faith, and that, first, Ab-
stractly in itself considered, ver. 1 — 3; secondly. By laying
before them the example of their believing ancestors, both
before and after the flood.
This verse which I have read, contains the example of the
faith of Noah, who was the last patriarch of the old world,
and the first of the new world ; 1 mean the last before, and
the first after the flood. More particularly, in the words you
have these things: —
1st, An alarm sounded, (warning is given of God of things
not seen as yet.) The party who gives the warning is God.
And when God speaks or warns, well does it become all the
inhabitants of the earth to listen, Psal. 1. 1 : " The mighty
God the Lord hath spoken, and called the earth, from the
rising of the sun unto the going down thereof." When the
lion roars, the beasts of the field tremble. The subject mat-
ter of the warning is about thitiiJ-s not seen as yet ; that is, the
approach of the general deluge, or destruction of the whole
world by water, of which there was not the least visible ap-
pearance, when the warning was given of God. Sirs, the
word of God deals mostly about things that are not seen,
things invisible and eternal, which as yet lie behind the cur-
tain; hence faith, that believes the word of God, is called,
ver. 1, of this chapter, "the evidence of things not seen;"
a " setting to the seal" to what God says, though not obvious
to sense.
2dly, In the words we have the person, and the only per-
son, that took the alarm in all the old world, namely, Noah,
whose character we have, Gen. vi. i), " a just man, and per-
fect in his generation." He was a just man, being justified
by faith, in the promised seed of the woman ; and he was a
holy man, whose walk and conversation justified his faith, in the
view of the ungodly inhabitants of the old world. And being
such a person as lived near God, God takes him upon his
secrets, and imparts that to him, which was hid from all the
world besides. " The secret of the Lord is with them that
fear him, and unto them will he show his covenant." Yea,
sometimes he not only imparts to them the secrets of his co-
venant, and the mysteries of his kingdom ; but also the se-
crets of his providence, what he is about to do in the world:
so did he to Noah; and so did he to Abraham, when he was
about to destroy Sodom : " Shall I hide from Abraham the
thing that I do?' The Lord will do nothing, but he will re-
veal it to his servants, the prophets. It is dangerous to pry
curiously into the secrets of God's purpose or providence;
but when he is pleased to reveal them, they are welcome.
3dly, We have the w^ay in which the warning was taken
296 THE NEW TESTAMENT ARK OPENED [SER.
by Noah. It was by faith ; that is, he believed the word of
God, that the flood would come: and the ground of his be-
lieving was the faithfulness and power of God; his faithful-
ness, " for it is impossible for God to lie ;" and his power,
that was able to give being to his word of threatening, as well
as his word of promise.
4.tldy, We have the affection of Noah's soul, that was
stirred or exercised by this awful warning of the approach-
ing deluge ; he was moved n-ith fear. When faith sees a
smiling and reconciled God in Christ, it moves the soul with
joy and gladness, yea, a "joy unspeakable, and full of glory."
But when faith sees a frowning or a threatening God, then it
begets fear, not a slavish, but a filial fear ; like a dutiful
child, that falls a trembling when he sees the rod in his Fa-
ther's hand, and anger in his countenance. Such was the
fear of Noah; and God declares, that he has a particular
regard to the soul that thus fears him. Is. Ixvi. 2 : "To this
man will I look, who is poor, and of a contrite spirit, and
who trembleth at my word."
5thly, We have the wise improvement that Noah made of
God's warning concerning the deluge : why, his faith and
fear excited him to prepare an ark: "-The wise man," saith
Solomon, " foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself" True
faith of God's operation is a sagacious grace : it takes up
things not as yet seen, dangers that are out of the view of
the rest of a blind world, and provides for safety against ap-
proaching dangers. So here, Noah's faith engages him to
prepare an ark against the deluge. Noah had not the ark
to build when the deluge came; no, it was ready for use,
when tlic windows of heaven, and the fountains of the great
deep, were opeiicd ; and (he fruit and etfect of his faith and
fear, and diligence in preparing of the ark, was the saving of
himself and his house.
Now, I do not stand so much upon the literal, as the mys-
tical and spiritual intendment of all this. The history and
mystery of the Old Testament is opened and unvejled in the
Nev\' Testament. It is granted by all, tliat the deluge of
water, by which God destroyed the old world, was a typical
representation of the wrath of God that is revealed from
heaven against all the wickedness and ungodliness of the
children of men, which will infallibly sweep away the wicked,
and all the nations that forget God, into hell: and that Noah's
ark was a type of Christ, and of that salvation that believers
have in him, from the wrath of God, and the curse of the
broken law ; for " whosoever believeth in him, shall not pe-
rish, but have everlasting life." The apostle Peter gives us
a hint, and that not an obscure one, of what I am saying,
XLI.] AGAINST THE DELUGE OF DIVINE WRATH. 297
concerning this typical design of the deluge and ark, 1 Pet,
iii. 19 — 21 :- " By which also he went and preached to the
spirits in prison : which some time were disobedient, when
once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah,
while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls,
were saved by water. The like figure whereunlo, even bap-
tism, doth also save us (not the putting away of the filth of
the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience towards God,)
by the resurrection of Jesus Christ." Where, by the spirits in
prison, we are to understand the inhabitants of the old world ;
who, in the days of Peter, were imprisoned in hell, but, in
the days of Noah, they were alive in their bodies. Noah, by
the direction of the Spirit of Christ, went and preached to
them, and warned them of the approaching deluge; but they
never regarded him, but went on in their sinning trade, until
the water came, and carried them away, except eight souls
that were saved in the ark. Now, there is the type, and
then follows the antitype, ver. 21 : " The like figure where-
unto, even baptism, doth also now save us," &c.
The main doctrine that I have in view from the v/ords, is
as follows : —
DocT. — " That Christ is the great New Testament Ark into
which sinners must enter, if they would be saved from the
deluge of divine wrath."
The method, through divine assistance, shall be as fol-
lows : —
I. I would speak a little of the wrath of God, with allusion
to the universal deluge.
II. or the warnings God has giv^en, and is still giving, ot
the deluge of his wrath.
III. I would speak of Christ as the only ark in which safe-
ty is to be found.
IV. Speak of the access that sinners have to this New
Testament Ark.
V. How it is that a sinner enters into this ark, so as to be
saved from the delude.
VI. Deduce some inferences, and make some appUcation
of the whole.
I. The first thing is, to speak a little of the wrath of God,
with allusion to the universal deluge in the days of Noah.
1st, Then, The sin and wickedness of the old world was
the procuring cause of the deluge. Gen. vi. 5—7: " And God
saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and
20*
298 THE NEW TESTAMENT ARK OPENED [sER.
that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only
evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made
man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the
Lord said, I will destroy man, whom 1 have created, from
the face of the earth, both man and beast, and the creeping
things, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I
have made them."
Now, I say, as the sin of man procured a deluge of water,
so does it procure the deluge of the wrath of God, that is or
has been revealed against all the wickedness and ungodliness
of the children of men. Before sin entered into the world,
God and man lived in perfect amity and friendship. Man
was the darling of heaven, God's viceroy ; and he gave him a
sovereignty over all the works of his hands, Gen. i. 28. But
no sooner had man sinned, but a dismal cloud of wrath began
to hover over man's head, which had dissolved in a shower
of snares, tire, and brimstone, to the destruction of all man-
kind, had it not been for the interposition of a second Adam,
the eternal Son of God, who undertook to take away the sin
of the world. For his sake, and upon the account of his sa-
tisfaction to justice, a stop is put lo the execution of divine
vengeance. But that same flood of wrath will run with the
greatest violence against all unbelievers, who reject him, and
his great salvation, Heb. ii. 3, and x. 28, &c.
2dhj, God did not take the inhabitants of the old world in
a surprise; but gave them warning before the flood came and
destroyed them: he dealt with them by the ministry of JVoah
for the space of one hundred and twenty years, (Gen. v. 32,
compared with vi. 11,) in order to reclaim them, but all in
vain.
Just so, God is long-suffering, and slow to wrath, towards
the children of men. He docs not speedily execute judg-
ment, like man, in a fury and rage: no; but he waits to be
gracious; he warns of the wrath to come, and beseeches and
entreats them to turn from their evil ways. Forty years was
his Spirit grieved with that generation of Israel in the wilder-
ness, until at length he sware in his wrath that they should
never enter into his rest; but many a time he turned away
his wrath, Psal. Ixviii. 38, before it came to that.
2dly, When the appointed time for the execution of the
threatening against the old world came, God made the hea-
vens and the earth to combine for their destruction; for both
the fountains of the great deep from below were broken up,
and the windows of heaven above were opened upon them,
Gen. vii. 11.
Just so, God, who is " the Lord of hosts," and " doeth ac-
cording to his will in the army of heaven, and among the in-
XLI.] AGAINST THE DELUGE OF DIVINE WRATH. 299
habitants of the earth," Dan. iv. 35, can and will arm the
whole creation against impenitent sinners : he can command
the earth to open its mouth, and swallow up its inhabitants,^
as it did Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, Nnmb. xvi. 31, 32;
and he can call for hosts of angels, and celestial luminaries,
to avenge his quarrel upon rebellious sinners, as he did in the
case of Sennacherib, 2 Kings xix. 35, and the inhabitants of
Canaan, Exod. xxxiii. 2.
4lhly, The waters of the flood were irresistible. All the
inhabitants of the old world, with their united force, though
many of them were giants, men of huge stature and strength,
Gen. vi. 4, yet they were not capable of stopping the current
of the flood.
Sirs, the wrath of God, when it breaks out upon Christ-
despisers, cannot be stopped by all the power of angels or
men : " Who hath hardened himself against God, and hath
prospered?" Job ix. 4: "Who would set the briers and
thorns in battle against him 1 He would go through them, he
would consume them together," Is. xxvii. 4 : " The stout-
hearted are spoiled, and none of the men of might have found
their hands. At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob, both the cha-
riot and horse are cast into a dead sleep," &c. Psal. Ixxvi. 5.
5lhly, The waters of the deluge overflowed all the refuges
that the inhabitants of the old world fled to for shelter. We
may easily imagine, that they would fly to the highest rocks
and mountains to save themselves from the waters; but the
waters swelled and rose, until it covered all the high hills and
mountains on the face of the earth, under the whole heaven,
Gen. vii. 18 — 20; there was no shelter left them.
Just so is it in the case before us. Sinners, when they hear
of the wrath and vengeance of God pursuing them on ac-
count of sin, fly to the hills and mountains of their own
making. Some fly to the mountain of general mercy: but
God sweeps away that; for "he that made them will not
have mercy on them, and he that formed them will show
them no favour," Is. xxvii. 11. Some fly to the refuge of an
outward profession of religion, and think to find shelter there;
but the water of God's wrath pursues them there, as it did
the foolish virgins with their empty lamps, Matth. xxv. 6.
Others fly to the mountain of the works of the law ; but the
deluge pursues them there, " for by the works of the law
shall no flesh be justified," Gal. ii. 16. Thus, God makes
" the hail to sweep away the refuge of lies," Is. xxviii. 17.
Gthly, The flood was universal ; it spared none but those
that were in the ark. In like manner, the flood of God's
wrath will destroy all that are out of Christ; "for there is none
300 THE NEW TESTAMKNT ARK OPENED [SER.
other name given under heaven among men, whereby we
must be saved, but the name of Jesus," Acts iv. 12.
II. The second thing was, to speak of the warnings that God
gives of the deluge of everlasting wrath that is to come upon
all Godless and Christless sinners; for as God warned the
old world of the deluge of water, 1 Pet. iii. 20; so does he
warn the inhabitants of this world, particularly of the visible
church, of the wrath to come.
I shall not stay upon this, having lately had an occasion,
from Job ix. 4, to present before you a great many beacons
of divine wrath, that he has set up in the scriptures of truth,
to warn sinners, that they split not on the same rocks on
which others dashed their souls into a hell of eternal wrath
and misery. No man can read his Bible, or hear the gospel
preached, but he must hear of a " wrath to come" from God
upon impenitent sinners: "Except ye repent," says Christ,
"ye shall all likewise perish," Luke xiii. 3. God "shall
wound the head of his enemies, and the hairy scalp of such
a one as goeth on still in his trespasses," Psal. Ixviii. 21 :
" The wicked shall be turned into hell with all the nalions
that forget God," Psal. ix. 17. And, of all sorts of sinners,
the wrath of God will burn hottest against gospel and Christ-
despisers: " It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom
and Gomorrah, in the day of judgment, than for such," Matlh.
X. 15. A notable word to this purpose you have, Heb. x.
28: "If they that despised Moses' law died without mercy,
under two or three witnesses, of how much sorer punishment,
suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden
under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the
covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and
hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace."
XLI.] AGAINST THE DKLUGE OF DIVINE WRATH.
301
THE NEW TESTAMENT ARK OPENED AGAINST THE
DELUGE OF DIVINE WRATH.
By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with
fear, prepared an ark, to the saving of his house.— Hkb. xi. 7.
THE SECOND SERMON ON THIS TEXT.
Having spoken to the first two heads of the method, I now
go on to
III. The third tiling proposed, which was, to speak a little
of Christ, as the great New Testament Ark, that God has
provided for saving sinners from the deluge of his wrath.
l5/. The ark was a mean of God's preparing for the salva-
tion of Noah and his family. It is true, Noah built the ark ;
but it was entirely at God's order and direction. It would
never have entered into Noah's head or heart to build the
ark, if God had not given him the plan of it-
Just so, Christ is a Saviour of God's providing and ap-
pointment. The plan of man's redemption by Christ was
laid in the heart of God ; it is " the wisdom of God in a mys-
tery.*' Men and angels would have been at an eternal stand,
if it had been put to them, how man should be saved from
the wrath of God, and the curse of the law, in a ^ons.stency
with the justice, holiness, truth, and faithfulness of God. 1 he
whole creation cried. Your help is not in us. Well, but God
devises a way; the Son of God shall be incarnate, and be
substituted in the room of sinners ; and, by his obe^dience to
death, justice shall be satisfied, and the honour of the law
repaired, and " whosoever believeth in him shall not perish,
but have everlasting life," John iii. 16. Psal. cxviii. 23 :" 1 his
is the Lord's doing, it is wondrous in our eyes." We hnd
God glorying in it as the chief of his ways, Psal. Ixxxix. IJ,
20 : "I have laid help upon one that is mighty, I have tound
David my servant," &c. . ,
2dlij, the ark was very large and capacious, as is clear
from the account that we have of it, Gen. vi. 14—19. And
it was necessary it should be so, considering that it was the
common receptacle, not only of Noah and his family, but ot
all sorts of beasts, birds, and living creatures, that were upon
earth, and necessary provision for their subsistence, lor the
space of about a whole year.
302 THE NEW TESTAMENT ARK OPENED [SER.
But, sirs, the New Testament Ark is far more large and
capacious than Noah's ark ; for he is none other than the
infinite and incomprehensible God, in the person of the eter-
nal Son, who made all things, John i. 3, compared with Heb.
i. 3 : " and upholds them by the word of his power." As
there were room and provision in the ark for all the living
creatures of every kind that entered into the ark ; so there
is room in Christ for all that will come, be they Jew or Gen-
tile, Barbarian, Scythian, bond or free, male or female, it is
all one. Ye are welcome to enter into the New Testament
Ark, John iii. 16, and x. 9.
3r//y, All that entered into the ark were saved, but all that
did not enter in perished. Gen. vii. 21 — 23. Just so is it here,
Mark xvi. 16 : " He that believeth in Christ shall be saved,
but he that believeth not shall be damned."
4thly, Noah's ark was a piece of grand folly to the wits of
the world: no doubt they would flout him and mock him as
a fool, while he was " preparing the ark, to the saving of his
house." Just so Christ, and the way of salvation through his
death, " is to the Greeks foolishness, and to the Jews a stum-
bling-block," 1 Cor. i. 23.
5thly, Hence it came that few," only eight souls, entered
into the ark, and were saved. Gen. vii. 18. Just so is it here;
Christ "is despised and rejected of men," Is. liii, 3; and
therefore few come to him. Matth. xxii. 14: " Many are
called, but few are chosen." Chap. vii. 14: "Strait is the
gate, and narrow is the way that leadeth unto life, and few
there be that find it."
Glhlj/, Although there were but few saved in the ark, yet
it was a great evidence of God's love and kindness to man,
(hat any of them were spared, when they all deserved to die,
Gen. vi. 5, 11, 12. Just so here, although there are but few
that are saved, yet his providing a Saviour, and saving a
remnant of mankind by Christ, is a wonderful instance of his
love and kindness to mankind. 1 John iv. 9: "In this was
manifested the love of God towards us, because that God
sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might
live through him." See John iii. 16: "God so loved the
world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life."
7lhli/, The ark, after it had been tossed upon the waters
for about seven months, at length rested upon the mountains
of Ararat, Gen. viii. 4. So Christ, our New Testament Ark,
after he had been tossed in this world, and torn in his name,
person, miracles, and ministry, rested from his work and war-
fare, in his resurrection and ascension ; after he had sulii?red,
XL!.] AGAINST THE DELUGE OF DIVINE WRATH. 303
he entered into his glory. Luke xxiv. 26: having finished the
work the Father gave him to do, he rested in heaven, and is
repossessed of that glory he had with the Father before the
world was, John xvii. 4, 5.
Slhly, They that were saved in the ark (namely, Noah and
his children) became heir? of a new world, Gen. ix. 10, &,c.
So all that are saved by faith in Christ become heirs of God,
and of glory, and are " begotten unto the lively hope, to an
inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not
away," 1 Pet. i. 3, 4.
9thly, Noah and his family, after they were saved by the
ark, got a promise. That the 7cater should 7iever more destroy
the earth, Gen. ix. 9 — 11 ; and in token thereof, the bow was
set in the clouds, ver. 12 — 17.
So all that fly to Christ are secured by God's covenant
and promise from the wrath and curse of God, Rom. viii. 1 :
" There is therefore now no condemnation to them who are
in Christ Jesus." See Is. liv. 10 — 12: "For the mountains
shall depart, and the hills be removed, but my kindness shall
not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace
be removed. 0 thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not
comforted, behold I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and
lay thy foundations with sapphires. And I will make thy
windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy
borders of pleasant stones." We read. Rev. iv. 3, of a
rainbow about the throne of Christ, which alludes to the
transaction with Noah respecting the flood.
lOthly, All sorts of creatures, clean and unclean, were ad-
mitted into the ark, without distinction. Gen. vii. 8, 9. The
ark was open to them all.
Just so is it now, under the New Testament, since the
coming of Christ in the flesh, the gospel of the grace of God
is preached promiscuously to Jews and Gentiles, without any
distinction. It is true, before the death of Christ, and during
his personal ministry on earth, the poor Gentiles were ex-
cluded, and the disciples, when sent to preach the gospel, it
was only to the cities of the Jews, but they were charged to
" go not into the way of the Gentiles, or to enter into any of
the cities of the Samaritans," Matth. x. 5. But after his
death and resurrection, their commission was enlarged, and
the door was cast open to all nations, Mark xvi. L5: " Go ye
into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature."
It is true, the apostles, even after the resurrection of Christ,
and the down-pouring of the Spirit in his extraordinary gifts,
could not receive this commission of preaching the gOspel to
every creature ; they continued preaching it to the Jews only.
Acts X. 19, until they were cured of their mistake, by Peter's
304 THE NEW TESTAMENT ARK OPENED [SER.
vision of beasts, clean and unclean, Acts x. 11 — 16 ; and the
Holy Ghost falling down upon the Gentiles, as well as upon
the Jews, ver. 44 ; upon which they began, according to their
commission, to preach the gospel to all without any distinc-
tion; and when the Jews refused the gospel, the apostles
turned themselves to the Gentiles, Acts xiii. 43 — 49. So that
I say, as Noah admitted of beasts clean and unclean into the
ark, in order to their being saved from the deluge; so our
great New Testament Ark is opened to sinners of all sorts
and sizes; if they be descended of the first Adam, they are
all welcome to a second Adam, Prov. viii. 4: " Unto you, O
men, I call, and my voice is to the sons of man." But this
leads me to
IV. The fourth thing in the method, which was to speak a
little of the door of access to the New Testament Ark.
Noah's ark stood open until all the creatures that could
not subsist in the waters had entered in, and until the deluge
broke out. Gen. vii. 7 — 9; for, if it had been shut, no crea-
ture could have entered into it, or been saved.
Just so, if there were not a way or door of access to Christ,
" no flesh could be saved." But " we bring you good tidings
of great joy," Luke ii. 10. Christ is a common Ark, a com-
mon Saviour, to sinners of mankind : And, to encourage poor
perishing sinners to come to him, I will tell you of several
doors by which entrance by faith is to be had into the "New
Testament Ark, that you may not perish in the deluge.
1st, The door of the revelation of Christ, as a Saviour
come info the world. What is the design of the whole scrip-
tures of truth, from the beginning to the ending, but to make
Christ known to the sons of men, in order to their believing
in him, that they may be saved from the wrath to come?
John XX. 31 : " These things are written, that ye might be-
lieve that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that be-
lieving ye might have life through his name." John v. 39:
" Search the scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal
life, and they are they which testify of me." Sirs, Christ is evi-
dently set forth before you in the word read and preached, his
whole righteousness and salvation is set before you, and brought
near to you; and, pray, for what end ( but that you may im-
prove him to all the ends of his saving oflices. They that
want the Bible and a preached gospel will have far more to
say for themselves, than you to whom the word of God and
the gospel of salvation is sent, John xv. 22, compared with
Matth. X. 15 : Rom. x. 14 ; " for how shall they believe in him
of whom they have not heard '? and how shall they hear
without a preacher ?" This is not the case with you ; for
XLI.] AGAINST THE DELUGE OF DIVINE WRATH. 305
*' Christ is nigh to you, in your mouths and hearts, even in
this word of faith which we preach," Rom. x. 8. So that
the very revelation of Christ is a door of faith, especially
when we declare to you, from Christ's own mouth, that " he
came not into the world to condemn the world, but that the
world through him might be saved," John iii. 17.
2dlij, The incarnation of the Son of God, or his assuming
our nature into a personal union with his divine nature, is a
blessed door of faith for any poor perishing sinner of Adam's
family. This we find is set forth for a ground of faith through
the whole scriptures of truth : It was the first thing proposed
to Adam and Eve immediately after the fall, when they were
under awful apprehensions of present death, Gen. iii. 14, 15,
(namely, the seed of the- woman) shall bruise thy head,
(namely, of the serpent.) They were to believe, that the Son
of God, who was speaking to them, would, in the fulness of
time, become " the seed of the woman," or be incarnate, and
avenge their quarrel; and the faith of this eased and quieted
their spirits, because in this they saw that God was upon their
side. So in the promise made to Abraham, the incarnation
of the Son of God v.'as presented to him and his posterity,
Gen. xxii. 18: " In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth
be blessed." Upon which the apostle. Gal. iii. 16, gives the
following commentary : " He doth not speak of seeds as of
many, but as of one, and to thy seed, which is Christ." In
the rest of the scriptures, where these two promises are more
fully opened, we find the incarnation of the Son of God pre-
sented as a ground of fiaith and hope to the church of Grod.
David, in the Psalms, frequently speaks of him as man, Psal.
viii. 4, compared with Heb. ii. 6, the Son of man, and the
Man of God's right hand, Psal. Ixxx. 17. Isaiah speaks of
him as a child born to us, although at the same time his name
is The Mighty God, chap. ix. G, and, liii., as " a Man of sor-
rows, and acquainted with grief." Jeremiah, as a " Branch
of righteousness," chap, xxxiii. 15; that was to "spring
out of the root of Jesse," Is. xi. 1. And every where, almost,
in the Nevv? Testament, he is presented as " the Word made
flesh," John i. 14; " made of a woman," Gal. iv. 4: "the
seed of the woman," Gen. iii. IG ; " born of a virgin," Matth.
i. 16; who "took not on him the nature of angels, but the
seed of Abraham," Heb. ii. 16. And, commonly, when he
speaks of himself through the evangelists, he denominates
himself by the human nature, rather than by the divine, " The
Son of man." One special reason of which is, as I think,
because the faith of sinners could not terminate or fix upon
his divine nature, but by virtue of his human nature. The
hand of faith lays hold upon the skirt of the human nature,
VOL. III. 27 t
306 THE NEW TESTAMENT ARK OPENEU [sERv
that it may thus draw, as it were, the divine nature along
with it, knowing that the personal union between these two
natures cannot be dissolved. Now, that there is here a gene-
ral ground of faith laid for all mankind that hear tell of this
great mystery of godliness, " God manifested in the flesh,"
appears, if we consider, that it was not the person, but the
nature of man that Christ assumed. And the nature of man
is equally related to every man and woman, who possesses
'a true body and a reasonable soul.' Insomuch that every
one that hears of him is warranted to say. This is my brother,
" bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh," Gen. iL 23, as
Adam said of Eve when presented to him, and therefore a
help meet for me, ver. 20. O sirs, consider this, and dwell
upon it. Christ, by virtue of his incarnation, is our Goel or
Kinsman, he is our blood relation, and he took part of your
flesh, that so he might be capable to act a part for you,
which none else of the human race was capable of doing,
even to redeem you by his blood, and by death to bruiivc the
head of the serpent. And is not this a noble ground of faith^
trust, and confidence in him? O sirs! enter in and take pos-
session of the New Testament Ark, by this door of his incar-
nation, and claim him as yours, by an appropriating faith,
saying with the churth, Is. ix. 6, " To us" (or to me) "is this
child born, unto us this Son is given." This doctrine was de-
livered by the angels at the birth of Christ, as " good tidings
of great joy unto all people," Luke ii. 10, 11, where they
say to the shepherds, (not to us, but) "To you is born this
day, in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the
Lord."
3dly, Another passage by which faith may enter into the
New Testament Ark, is Christ's obedience to the law, which
was violated, broken, and dishonoured, by the sin of the first
Adam, and of all his [)ostcrity. For understanding of this,
you would know, tliat the condition upon which life was pro-
mised to Adam, and to all mankind in him, was perfect obe-
dience to the command of the law, " He that doth these things
shall live in them," Lev. xviii. 5, compared with Gal. iii. 12.
And if Adam had continued in his obedience, he and his pos-
terity might have claimed temporal, spiritual, and eternal life,
as a debt due to them (though not upon account of the in-
trinsic merit of his obedience, yet) by virtue of the [compact]
in the covenant of works. Well, " man being in honour, con-
tinued not," Psal. xlix. 12, compared with Gen. iii. G. He
broke the covenant by eating the forbidden fruit ; and all his
children's teeth ever since have been set on edge against God.
their carnal minds being enmity against God, are not subject
to the law of God, Rom. viii. 7, by which means they have
SLI.] AGAINST THE DELUGE OF DIVITTE WRATH. 307
lost their title to that life promised in the first covenant, and
are fallen under the sentence of death ; and without the ho-
nour of the law be repaired by a perfect obedience yielded to
it by man, or one in man's nature, it stands as an eternal bar
in the way of life and salvation unto all mankind. Well,
Christ, the eternal Son of God, as man's Kinsman and Sure-
ty, undertakes to repair the broken law, saying to his Father,
•*' Lo, I come, in the volume of the book it is written of me;
I delight to do thy will, O my God.; yea, thy law is within
my heart," Psal. xl. 7, 8, compared with Heb. x. 7: as if he
had said, ' Let my ear be bored to thy service in this matter;
for it is the firm purpose of my heart to fulfil all righteous-
ness that the law requires of mankind sinners.' And, accord-
ingly, in the fulness of time, he is not only made of a woman,
but made under the law, Gal. iv. 4, and in our stead and room
magnifies the law and makes it honourable. Is. xlii. 21. By
which means, 'ail legal bars and impediments lying in the
way of salvation and life, from the part of the command of
the law is made up again, and the law as fully satisfied as
though it had never been broken, and the title to the life pro-
mised in the covenant of works comes to stand in the person
of our common Kinsman and blood-relation ;' upon which ac-
count, his righteousness and salvation is published and brought
near to all; yea, even to them that are stout-hearted and far
from righteousness, Isa. xlvi. 13, And you see in the fortieth
psalm, after he had said to his Father, in the council of peace,
^' I delight to do thy will, O my God ; yea, thy law is within
my heart," immediately he adds, ver. 9, 10 ; " I have preached
righteousness in the «;reat conwresration ; I have not refrained
my lips, O Lord, thou knowest; I have not hid thy righteous-
ness within my heart," &c. Thus, you see, that all who have
the gospel preached to them have a right of access to his
righteousness or perfect obedience to the law: and whoever
they be that believe in him as the Lord our righteousness,
Jer. xxiii. 6, they enter into the New Testament Ark, and are
saved from the deluge of God's w^rath. For "there is no con-
demnation to them that are in Christ Jesus," because the
righteousness of the law is fulfilled in them, Rom. viii. 1, 3, 4,
and X. 4. Christ becomes " the end of the law for righteous-
ness " to them. Hence is that of the apostle, 2 Cor. v. 19 — 21,
•^' God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself not
imputing their trespasses to them ; for he hath made him to
be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the
f ighteousness of God in him."
308 THE NEW TESTAMENT ARK OPENED [sER.
THE NEW TESTAMENT ARK OPENED AGAINST THE
DKLUGE OF DIVINE WRATH.
By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with
fear, prepared an ark to the saving of liis house. — Heb. xi. 7.
THE THIRD SERMON ON THIS TEXT.
After resuming what is above, I go on to tell yon, —
4lhly, The death of Clirist, or his anointing blood, is ano-
ther door by which poor sinners enter into the New Testa-
ment Ark, and are saved from the deluge of divine wrath.
We are said to come by faith to " the blood of s^prinkling,"
Heb. xii. 24, " and to enter into the holiest by the blood of
Jesus," chap. x. 19. Christ as crucified is evidently set forth,
Gal. iii. 1, before all, in the dispensation of (he gospel ; hence
the apostle Paul tells the Corinthians, I'hat he "determined
not to know any thing among them, save Jesus Christ, and
him crucified," 1 Cor. ii. 2. Christ says, speaking of his death,
"And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men
unto me," John xii. 32. And, accordingly, when the apostles
went through the nations preaching the gospel, what was
the great theme they continually [insisted and dwelt] upon?
"We," says Paul, " preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a
stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness: but unto
them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the
power of God, and the wisdom of God," 1 Cor. i. 23, 24.
For clearing this matter, of the death of Christ as a ground
of faith, you would know that there is a threefold sufficiency
in the death of Christ.
1. An intrinsic sufficiency arising from the infinite dignity
of his person who su tiered, being the infinite God in the per-
son of the Son, clothed with a veil of flesh; and in this re-
spect, there was such a value in his death and blood, that it
was sufficient, not only to redeem all mankind, but ten thou-
sand worlds, supposing their existence and fall too, if it had
been so ordained. But,
2. There is an ordinate sufficiency, by which the death
and satisfaction of Christ is limited to the elect, and in this
respect Christ declares that he " laid down his life for the
sheep," John x. 15.
XLI.] AGAINST THE DELUGE OF DIVINE WRATH. 309
3. There is a legal sufficiency, by which the law and its
penalty is fully answered ; insomuch that neither law nor
justice is any obstruction or bar in the way of a sinner's sal-
vation, that believes in him ; but, on the contrary, that mo-
ment a sinner believes in him, * all the charges that the law
and justice had against the poor sinner, are all cancelled,'
Gal. iii. 10; Col. ii. 14; Rom. viii. 1, 33, 34.
Now, when we speak of the death of Christ as a ground of
faith, we abstract entirely from the ordinate sufficiency of it
for the elect; for that being among the secret things that be-
long unto the Lord, Deut. xxix. 29, it can never be a ground
of Axith to any man, no, not to the elect themselves, that Christ
died for the elect; otherwise a man behooved to know his
election, before he ventured to believe, which is a thing abso-
lutely impossible, as our election of God is a thing that can
only be known by obeying the call of the gospel; hence we
are commanded, 2 Pet. i. 10, to give all diligence to make our
calling and (then) our election sure. And, therefore, seeing
it is not the ordinate sufficiency of the death of Christ that
we are commanded to preach, u'hich would lead us in among
the secret decrees of God, which do not belong to us, it
must needs be the intrinsic and legal sufficiency of the
death of Christ, that is to be held forth, as the ground
and foundation of faith to sinners of mankind. Hence are
these universal and extensive expressions in scripture, John i.
29 : "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins
of the world." 1 John ii. 2: " He is the propitiation for our
sins, and not for our .sins only, but for the sins of the whole
world." 1 Tim. iv. 10: " He is the Saviour of all men, espe-
cially of those who believe." All mankind have such an in^
terest in the death and satisfaction of Christ, as the devils
have not. Yea, considering that it v/as the human nature, that
was the sacrifice, and that all mankind are related to him,
through his taking hold of the human nature (as was said,)
it is impossible to conceive how all mankind, especially gos-
pel-hearers, should not have an interest in his death, I mean,
such as warrants them to say, in faith, " He loved me, and
gave himself for me," Gal. ii. 20 : " He was delivered for
our offiinces," Romans iv. 26 : " He was wounded for our
transgressions, bruised for our iniquities ; the chastisement of
our peace was upon him, that by his stripes we might be
healed." Is. liii. 5. And upon this account I conceive that
the death of Christ, and the benefits flowing from it, are said
to be " a feast made unto all people, of fat things full of mar-
row, of wines on the lees well refined," Is. xxv. G. This is
the carcass to which all the hungry eagles of mankind should
gather, and feed to the full, Matth. xxiv. 28. Hence it is,
27*
310 THE NEW TESTAMEN'T ARK OPENED [SER.
Luke xiv. 21, 23: "The poor, the maimed, the halt, and the
bhnd, that he about the hedges and high-ways, are called,
yea compelled, to come in," and feast with him.
bthly, The great and precious promises of the covenant of
grace, especially the absolute promises (which have no man-
ner of condition annexed to them,) are another door by which
faith enters into the New Testament Ark, and saves the soul
from the deluge of divine wrath. A promise of Christ was
the first door opened to Adam and Eve, immediately after the
fall, Gen. iii. 15. It (namely, the seed of the woman) shall
bruise thy head, (namely, the serpent*^) after the same man-
ner the door of faith was opened to Abraham, Gen. xxii. 18:
" And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed."
And (in that promised seed>) " I will be a God unto thee,
and to thy seed after thee," chap. xvii. 7. All the other pro-
mises are so many streams and little rivulets of grace that
flow out of the womb of these two promises; such as that, Is.
xliv. 3: "For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and
floods upon the dry ground," Jer. xxiv. 7 : " I will give them
a heart to know me, that I am the Lord," Ezek. xxxvi. 25 —
27: "Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye
shall be clean; and Irom all your filthiness and from all your
idols will I cleanse you ; a new heart also will I give you,
and a new spirit will I put within you : and I will take away
the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart
of flesh." " And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause
you to walk in my statutes," Hos. xiv. 4. " I will heal their
backsliding, I will love them freely." Now, it is by virtue of
these "great and jirecious promises" of the new covenant,
that we receive and apply ('hrist, and his righteousness and
fulness, as our excellent confession of faith well expresses it;
and therefore I call this promise of God a door by which' we
enter into the New Testament Ark.
For farther clearing of this matter, you should know and
consider these few following particulars: —
1. Ever since the fall of man, and the discovery of his pur-
pose of grace, (iod has dealt with him in the way of a free
and gratuitous promise, as has been just now cleared.
2. The truth and faithfulness of God is engaged in his pro-
mise, first, to Christ immediately as the covenant Head, and
dispensed and given out to us in him, by him, and through
him. God had never made a pronn'sc to anv of the race of
Adam, if he had not undertaken to fulfil the broken law, and
satisfy justice for the sin of man; and upon that cone! tion,
God becomes a promising God to Christ, and to us on his ac-
count; hence all the promises of God are said to be in him.
Christ has fulfilled the condition of all the promises, and hence
XLI.] AGAIXST THE DELUGE OF DIVINE WRATH. 311
they come out to us freely, without money and without price,
Is. ir. 1.
3. The very end of a promise is, that it may be believed
and rested upon as a security to those to whom it is made and
granted. If it be believed, and rested upon, we receive the
benefit of it; but if it be not believed, it is rejected, and the
promisor is not bound, but is loosed from any obligation by
his promise. If you or I grant a bond or a bill to another for
the payment of a sum of money, in case he to whom the bill
or bond is granted, will not receive the money, in that case
the grantor of the bond or bill is free, and is under no more ob-
ligation. Just so in the case in hand, God grants us the bene-
tit of his promise, and registers it in the scriptures for the
greater security, and is bound by his faithfulness to fulhl his
promise, to every one \Aho accepts of his bill, and sues for
payment at a throne of grace, employing Christ as his Advo-
cate for a forth-coming. But the man (who either) refuses
God's promise, rejects it as an insuthcient security, or neglects
to seek payment, or does not [accept] Christ as his Advocate,
he loses the benefit of the promise, and affronts a God of
truth, as if his promise were [utterly worthless ;] and is it any
wonder that God makes such a one to "know his breach of
promise ?" And yet his faithfulness is not made of none effect ;
"God will be true, and every man a liar," Horn. iii. 4.
4. To cut olf all handle from unbelief, the promises of God
carry a general endorsement or direction to all the race of
Adam, and especially to all the visible church, Luke ii. 9 ;
" I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all
people." Wisdom's promising voice is to men, and to the sons
of men : " To you is the word of this salvation sent." The
apostle Peter, Acts ii. 38, when he is preaching to a company
of men who had imbrued their hands in the blood of Christ,
calls them to repent, " repent, every one of you, and be bap-
tized, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins;"
and, to lead them to repentance, he discovers to them the
mercy of God in Christ, bv presenting to them the promise
of pardon in the blood of the Messiah, which they had shed,
saying, ver. 39, " The promise is unto you, and to your chil-
dren, and to ail that are afar off, even as many as the Lord
our God shall call." And, that which Peter said to his hear-
ers, that I say unto every one of you. " The promise is unto
you, and to your children." And as the apostle Paul tells
the Hebrews, chap. iv. 1, The promise is left to you as God's
charter for the good land of glory, as God's promise was given
to Israel as a security or charter for the land of Canaan;
so God's promise is our charter for eternal life, and, " there-
fore, let us fear, lest a promise being left us of entering into
312 THE NEW TESTAMENT ARK OPENED [SER.
his rest, any of us should seem to come short of it." But as
that generation of men that came out of Egypt " could not
enter in, because of unbelief;" just so, there are many, many,
that shall never enter into the land of glory above, because
of their unbelief; they have a good right, but they lose the
benefit of their right by unbelief, as Israel did, who, " be-
lieved not in God, and trusted not in his salvation," Psl. Ixxviii.
22 ; so that you see the promise is a door for entering into
the Ark. O, do not shut the door of faith upon yourselves,
lest God shut it also, and swear in his wrath that you shall
not enter into it, but be left to perish in the deluge, Psal.
xcv. 7.
Object. ' I still doubt if I have a right to close with the pro-
mise; I am afraid I should be but guilty of presumption.'
Answ. h can never be presumption to do what God com-
mands you, "and this is his commandment, that we should
believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ." And if the
promise does not belong to you, and to all to whom it is re-
vealed, as a ground of faith, it is impossible to conceive, how
it is that an unbeliever " makes God a liar," John v. 10, by
disobeying it ;' for no man is obliged to believe a promise that
is not made to him.
Gtklij, Another door by which faith enters into the New
Testament Ark, is (he Father's gift of Christ to lost mankind.
'There is such a gift of Christ in the word as warrants any
man that reads it, to receive, appropriate, and apply Christ
and all his purchased salvation to himself in particular, and
to rejoice in him as his own property. Is. Iv. 4: "Behold I
have given him for a Witness unto the people, a Leader and
Commander unto the people." Is. xlii. 6: " I will give thee
for a covenant of the people, for a light to the Gentiles. Chap,
xlix. 6: "1 will also give thee for alight to the (jentilcs, that
thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth." John
iii. 16: "God so loved the world that he gave his only begot-
ten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish,
but have everlasting life." John vi. 32: "My Father giveth
you the true bread from heaven." Is. ix. 6: "Unto us a child
is born, unto us a son is given." From these, and many other
])laccs, it appears, there is such a universal gift or grant of
Christ to sinners of mankind, as makes it lawful and warranta-
ble for every one to receive, use, and apply him, for all the
ends for which he is given; for wisdom, righteousness, sancti-
fication, and redem])tion. No man doubts of his right to take
or receive a gift when it is held out to him, and he bidden
take i( ; and we have a common proverb among us, 'Have
or take will make a deaf man hear.' It argues a very strange
infatuation among men and women, that they should so rea-
XLI.] AGAINST TFJE DELUGE OF DIVINE WRATH. 313
dily grasp at a gift of this world's good, and yet be backward
in receiving God's unspeakable gift, that would make them
up in time and through all eternity. If I had this house full
of gold and silver to distribute and scatter among you, and
were calling every man and woman, young and old, to come
and get as much as they want, I am sure there would be few
or none in that case that would draw back, every one would,
be more forward than another, to receive or gather. Well,
.sirs, why so forward to receive worldly " riches, that take
wings and fly away?" and yet refuse to receive Christ and
his " unsearchable riches," which we are scattering among
you in the dispensation of the word! Here is the great gift of
Heaven, without money or price. Here is the gift of life,
"for he that hath the Son hath life," 1 John v. 12. Here is
the gift of righteousness, that will entitle you to God, to hea-
ven, and glory, and all the good of the covenant. Here is
given gold, tried in the fire. Rev. iii. 18, that moth and rust
cannot corrupt, Matth. vi. 20. Here is the best robe, Luke
XV. 22. White raiment. Rev. iii. 18. Clothing that does not
wax old. Here is the merchandise of wisdom, that is better
than the merchandi.se of silver, and her gain, which is better
than fine gold, Prov. iii. 1, 1.
You particularly that are young children and [youths] you
are perhaps longing for to-morrow, being the first Monday,
and the first day of the new year 1750, that you may go to
your friends and acquaintance to ask your new year's gift.
I would give you my advice before it come, and that is, that
before ever you go to man or woman to ask any thing, go
first to God, " who giveth liberally to all men, and upbraideth
not," James i. 5, and ask your new year's gift from him.
Quest. What shall we ask from him 1 will you put words in
our mouth! Ansio. I will tell you what to say and ask as
your new years gift from God. Go to God, and say, " Lord,
give me grace to improve this new year to thy glory, and
my own eternal good and advantage, if thou spare me. Lord,
give me thyself, to be my God and portion for ever ; for thou
hast said, I am the Lord thy God, Exod. xx. 2. Lord, give
me Christ, and let him be my Prophet, Priest, and King,
Surety, Mediator, and Advocate. Lord, give me thy Spirit,
for thou givest thy Spirit to them that ask him, Luke xi. 13.
Lord, give me the new heart, and the new spirit ; for thou
hast promised it, Ezek. xxxvi. Lord, give me a heart to know
thee, that thou art the Lord. Lord, put thy fear in my heart,
that 1 may never depart from thee, Jer. xxxii. 40. Lord,
forgive me all my sins, and lead me not into temptation, but
deliver me from all evil, Luke xi. 4, especially from the evil
of sin, which is the abominable thing which thy soul hates.
314 THE NEW TESTAMENT ARE OPENED [SE2l,
Lord, teach me how to answer my chief end, how to glorify
ihee here, so as 1 may enjoy thee eternally hereafter."
Now, I say go to God in the morning of the new year's
day, and seek these and the like things from him, as your new
year's gift. And, to enconrrage you to be in earnest, con-
sider, (1.) These soul gifts are far better than any thing your
friends can give you. (2.) Your God is liberal, and more
ready to give than you are to ask. Johnxvi. 24: "Hitherto,"
says Christ, " ye have asked nothing in my name ; ask, and
ye shall receive." Your heavenly Father has a full hand and
a free heart, Matth. vii. 7: "Ask, and it shall be given you;
seek, and ye shall find ; knock, and it shall be opened unto
you." (3.) The Lord loves young children to be about his
hand, Psal. xxxiv. 2: " Come, ye children, hearken unto me,
I will teach you the fear of the Lord," Prov. viii. 17: "I
love them that love me, and they that seek me early shall
find me." (4.) God's new year's gift will make you up for
all your days, yea, for all eternity ; and what he gives of
saving grace, he vvill never take it back again, "for the gifts
and calling of God are without repentance," Rom. xi. 29.
Only be importunate with the Lord, and do not take a nay-
say; say, as Jacob, Gen. xxxii. 26, Lord, 1 will not let thee
go, except thou bless me; and whatever you ask of God, seek
it all for Christ's sake; for, sa3's Christ, John xiv. 14, " If ye
shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it;" and tliough
you get not what you ask at first, yet be not discouraged,
but go to him again, and again. If you get not your new
year's gift the first day, go again the next day, and the next
day, and continue in prayer, and you shall find the Lord;
for he has said, Jer. xxix. 12, 13: "Then shall ye call upon
me, and ye shall go and pray imto me, and I will hearken
unto you, and ye shall seek me, and ye shall find me, when
ye shall search ibi- mc with all your heart," and with all your
soul.
Now, before we part, I have a word to say to you that are
old people, and of a riper age: —
'i'he first day or first week of the new year, I understand
uses to bo very ill-spent in eating and drinking, and that, per-
haps, to excess. I would give you that caveat or warning
that Christ gives to all that profess his name, Luke xxi. 34:
"Take heed, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged
with surfeiting and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and
so that day (the day of death and judgment) come upon you
unawares." It is a bad requital to God for his goodness these
by-gone years, to begin the next year with an abusing your-
selves, and abusing the good creatures of God with any man-
XLI.] AGAINST THE DELUGE OP DIVI\E WRATH. 315
ner of excess; and therefore, let your moderation appear in
all things, for the Lord is at hand, Philip, iv. 5.
THE NEW TESTAMENT AUK OPENED AGAINST THE DELUGE
OF DIVINE WRATH.
By faitli Noah, being warned of God of thing's not seen as yet, moved with
fear, prepared an ark, to the saving of his house. — Heb. xi. 7.
THD FOURTH SERMON ON THIS TEXT.
We read, Deut. xxvii. 11, 12, and downwards, of two great
mountains, namely. Mount Ebal, and Mount Gerizim ; the one
was a mount of cursing, and the other of blessing. Upon
these two mountains God sets a twofold throne; upon Moinit
Ebal he places a throne of justice, and on the other, a throne
of grace. From Mount Ebal there is an eruption of woes
and curses against all mankind, which, like the deluge, over-
spreads the face of the whole earth, " for all have sinned and
come short of the glory of God, Rom. iii. 23, and therefore
the wTath of God, like the swelling deluge, pursues them
wherever they go, until they fly to the mount of blessings.
Mount Gerizim, or Mount Zion, where stands the covenant
of grace, the New Testament Ark, Jesus Christ, from which
there comes a cry to the poor sinner, that knows not what to
do to be saved from the curse of the law, and tlie wrath of
the Lawgiver, " Turn ye to your strongholds," Zech. ix. 12,
enter into the Ark; and whosoever does so, "shall not pe^-ish,
but have everlasting life," John iii. IG.
I have been essaying to cast up the doors of the New Testa-
ment Ark, that poor law-condemned, justice condemned, and
conscience-condemned sinners may take the benetil of it, and
be saved from the deluge. I have named and cast open six of
them. (1.) The door of the revelation of Christ in the word,
for he is revealed that sinners may believe in him and be saved,
(2.) The door of the incarnation, bv which God becomes our
Kinsman in the person of his Son, that we may " take hold of
the skirt of him that is a Jew," Zech. viii. 23, •' and go with
him," and be saved. (3.) The door of his perfect obedience to»
the law, in the room of the first Adam, by which the title to
316 THE KEW TESTAMENT ARK OPENED [sER,
eternal life, which was lost by the disobedience of the first
Adam, is again recovered ; and thus he has power to give
eternal life to whom he will, as we see he himself declares,
John V. 21, 22. (4.) The door of his satisfaction, by which
the hand-writing of the curse, " that was against us, and con-
trary to us, is cancelled, and the bond lying in the hand of
justice, which bound us over to wrath, is [satisfied,] Gal. iii.
13: "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law,
being made a curse for us." (5.) I told you, that the great
and precious, especially the absolute unconditional promises
of the covenant of grace (every one of them,) is a door of
entrance into the New Testament Ark ; all which promises
come endorsed to sinners "that are afar ofi", and to them that
are near," Is. Ivii. 19 ; Acts ii. 30, for their encouragement
to take hold of them as ropes of salvation, by which they
may be drawn up out of the ruining deluge of wrath, into
the Ark Christ, in whom all the promises of God are yea
and amen, 2 Cor. i. 20. (G.) The last door that I named was
the door of God, the Father's donation or gift of his Son as
a Saviour, by price and power ; by the price of his blood,
and the power of his Spirit. He has given him to be a Sa-
viour, a Witness, Leader, Commander. And for what end is
a gift given and tendered, but that it may be received ? Of
these 1 have already spoken.
Ithly, I proceed now to open a sevenlh door by which faith en-
ters into the New Testament Ark, and that is, the name of God,
as it is revealed through Christ in the glorious gospel: "The
name of the Lord is a strong tower, unto which the righteous
runneth," Prov. xviii. 10, and to which the sinner may run,
and be saved. Psal. ix, 9: "They that know^ thy name will
put their trust in thee :" he that " walkcth in darkness, and
liath no light," is called to " trust in the name of the Lord,
and to stay himself upon his God," Is. 1. 10. From these,
and the like scriptures, you see, that the name of a God in
Christ is given as a blessed ground of faith, trust, and con-
iidence: and no wonder, considering that God is in Christ re-
conciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses
unto them," 2 Cor. v. 19.
But I shall at present insist a little on that name of God
which he revealed and proclaimed to Moses, when he con-
descended, at his request, to make all his glory to pass before
him, Exod. xxxiv. 6, 7 : " And the J^ord passed by before him,
and proclaimed, 'i'he Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gra-
cious, long-suHering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and trans-
gression and sin, and that will by no moans clear the guilty."
Now, let us consider this name of the Lord a little, and
XLI.] AGAINST THE DELUGE OF DIVINE WRATH. 31'f
see whether there be not enough in it to put unbelief for ever
out of countenance.
It is a most certain truth, that ignorance of God, and of
what he is in Christ, is the very mother of unbelief, by which
we are turned away from the living God as an enemy. Sa-
tan knows this very well; and therefore his great [aim] and
cunning is, to fix the eye of a sinner, whose conscience is
awakened, upon its sinful, miserable, and deplorable condi-
tion, and represents God to him as a God of inexorable jus-
tice, an avenging enemy, a consuming fire, that so he may
fill it with desperation, and put it in the same case wnth him-
self; and he endeavours with might and main to hide and
conceal the revelation that God has made to us through
Christ, according to what the apostle says, 2 Cor. iv. 4, " The
God of this world hath blinded the minds of them that be-
lieve not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who
is the image of God, should shine unto them." But in spite
of the devil, and all his art and cunning, to smother the name
of our God in Christ, let us study to display the name of the
Lord, as he has himself proclaimed it in that place just now-
cited, and see if there be not a noble and glorious ground of
faith and confidence for the sinner, however desperate and
deplorable his case may appear to be in his own sense.
1. You see that his first name is a name of glory, greatness,
and majesty. The Lord, The Lord God. This, I say, is a
name of great and glorious majesty, and is premised or set
forth in the front, to let us know what God is in himself;
that he is the infinite, eternal, and unchangeable Being ; that
"he fills heaven and earth," Jer. xxiii. 24; that "he has
heaven for his throne, and the earth for his footstool," Is. Ixvi.
1; that "all the inhabitants of the world are reputed" be-
fore him " as nothing," Dan. iv. 35, yea, " less than nothing
and vanity," Is. xl. 17. God, in the first place, I say, will
have us to know what he is in himself, and how we, and all
creatures, "live, and move, and have our heing in him," Acts
xvii. 28, These, and the like impressions of the glorious
majesty of God, are the foundation of all true faith, and of all
religious worship and adoration. The soul gets such views
and discoveries of the glorious majesty of God, as strikes it
with a becoming awe and reverence of him ; so that the
soul cries out, as Moses, Exod. xv. 11 : " Who is like unto
thee, O Lord, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in
hohness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?" Oh! who "shall
ascend his holy hill, or abide in his tabernacle ?" And like
the poor publican, under a sense of sin, and apprehensions of
the infinite majesty of God, stands afar off, smites on his breast,
and cries, " God be merciful to me a sinner," Luke xviii. 13,
VOL. in. 28 f
318 THE NEW TESTAMENT ARK OPENED [SER.
But now, though this name of majesty, power, and greatness,
is first presented to humble and abase the soul in its own
eyes ; yet see Vv^hat a glorious train of amiable names follow
it, in order " to revive the heart of the humble, and the spirit
of the contrite one ;" " The Lord, the Lord God, merciful,
and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and
in truth ; keeping mercy for thousands, pardoning iniquity,
transeression, and sin : who will by no means clear the
guilty." It is pleasant to observe how every one of his re-
lative names answers the soul's case and necessity.
2. Merciful. The case of the poor soul is such, that it is
crying out, ' Oh ! I am wretched and miserable beyond ex-
pression or conception : I am, indeed, a pitiful object: I am
brought low by my sin in Adam, and in my own person ;
Psal. Ixix. 2: "I sink in deep mire, where there is no stand-
ing." I know and believe, indeed, that Jehovah, the strong
and almighty God, is able to help and deliv^er me: but what
says that to me, since I do not know but his almighty arm
may exert itself in my destruction as readily as in my salva-
tion?' Well, to this the Lord answers, in that name, "I am
the Lord God, Merciful." ' If thou be miserable, 1 am mer-
ciful as well as strong: justice is my strange work, my
strange act. Is. xxviii. 21 ; but I delight in mercy, Mic. vii.
18: "My bowels are turned within me, and my repentings
are kindled together,'' Hos. xi. 8, until I get a vent to my
mercy V Pray, sirs, what is mercy ? but a strong bent and
inclination in God to do good to and help a sinner in misery.
Misery is the very proper object and subject upon which
mercy works; and, therefore, 'O miserable sinner! trust in
my mercy flowing out through the blood of my eternal Son.'
But a third title is the name,
3. Gracious. May the poor guilty and convinced sinner
say, ' I am one of the most miserable creatures upon earth;
I am destitute of all grace, of all goodness; I have no quali-
fications to commend me to a God of mercy.' ' Well, but,' says
the Lord, ' I am Gracious. I do not seek any grace, good-
ness, or qualifications, in the sinner, to commend him to me;
but I would have the poor, blind, naked, miserable sinner, to
come to get, and not to give ; to come and get gold tried in
the fire, white raiment, eye-salve, Rev. iii. 18, milk and
honey. Is. li. 1, and all grace and goodness from me, gratis,
freely, " without money, and without price." Do not seek
for faith, repentance, love, humility, brokenness of heart, as
a price to purchase grace and favour at the hand of God :
but come, destitute of all grace, " to the throne of grace, that
ye may obtain mercy, and find grace," Heb. iv. 16. But,
4. May the poor convinced and awakened sinner say, * I
I
XLI.] AGAINST THE DELUGE OF DIVINE WRATH. 319
have been a presumptuous sinner, and have gone on so long
in a [course and practice] of sin and rebellion against God,
that I am afraid God will endure me no longer ; my day of
grace is over and gone.' ' Well, but,' says the Lord, ' I am
LONG-SUFFERING. Mj paticncc towards sinners is not soon
worn out. It is true, indeed, I did not suffer long the indig-
nities that were done to me by the angels that fell ; for that
very moment they sinned they were turned out of heaven,
and laid up in everlasting chains of darkness, in which they
are " reserved unto the judsjment of the great day," Jude 6.
But this is not my method of procedure towards sinners of
Adam's family, whose nature I have assumed, when I passed
by the angels that fell. I am " not willing that any" of them
*' should perish, but that all should come to repentance," 2
Pet. iii. 9 : " I have no pleasure in their death, but rather
that they turn unto me and live," Ezek. xxxiii. 11. And,
therefore, " I wait that 1 may be gracious," Is. xxx. 18. I
stand yet at the door and knock ; and if any man, be what
he may, will " hear my voice, and open the door, I will come
in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me," Rev. iii.
20. What is long-suffering ! but patience extended and
stretched out beyond all expectation, and beyond all de-
serving. ' If I had had a mind to cut thee off, and cast thee
into hell, T have not wanted occasion and opportunity ; but I
have hitherto borne with all thy folly and wickedness, and
to this dav " I stand with the outstretched arms of love and
mercy, crying. Behold me, behold me," Is. Ixv. 1 : " Turn ye,
turn ye, why will ye die ?" ' Ezek. xxxiii. 2.
5. May the poor doubting soul say, 'There may, has been,
and is, such an abounding of sin and wickedness with me,
that my sin is like to the great mountains ; it is gone up to the
heavens, and cries for wrath and vengeance like the sin of
Sodom ; and therefore I need look for nothing but indignation
and wrath.' ' Well, but,' says the Lord, ' Let it be so that
thou art abundant in wickedness, my name is Abundant in
Goodness.' As if he had said, 'Thy wickedness and sinful-
ness, though it be great, yet it is but the wickedness and sinful-
ness of a finite creature ; but my goodness is the goodness of an
infinite God, that can never, never be exhausted ; and there-
fore come to me, and get all thy wants supplied, according to
my riches in glory, by Christ Jesus. My goodness is such,
that I am good even to the evil and unthankful : I make the
sun to rise, and the rain to fall, on the evil and on the good,
upon the just and unjust, Matth. v. 45. My goodness ex-
tends to all ; and therefore come, O come, open thy mouth
wide, and I will fill it, Psal. Ixxxi. 10. Oh ! taste and see
how good 1 am, Psal. xxxiv. 8. My treasures are full, and
320 THE NEW TESTAMENT ARK OPENED [SER.
they are open : O, therefore, whosoever will, let him take of
my goodness freely. Oh ! eat ye that which is good, and
let thy soul delight itself in the abundance of my goodness,
Is. \v. 2. "I satisfy the desire of the longing soul,"' Psal.
cvii. 9.
6. May the poor soul say, ' I can receive no good at the
hand of the Lord ; for 1 have an evil heart of unbelief, that
calls his truth and faithfulness in question. I see, indeed,
great and gracious promises in the word, but 1 dare not
lay claim to them : I doubt and fear that I may not meddle
with them ; and when I presume to meddle with them,
my unbelieving heart draws back my hand, saying, " His
promise fails for everm.ore:" and thus I lose the benefit of
God's promise.' ' Well,' says God, ' To cure thee, O man,
of thy unbelief, 1 present my name to thee, not only as
abundant in goodness, but in truth. My name is faithful
and true, Rev. xix. 11. '"Righteousness is the girdle of my
loins, and faithfulness the girdle of my reins," Is. xi. 5. " It
is impossible for me to lie," Tit. i. 2. " My faithfulness is
established in the very heavens," Psal. xxxvi. 5. Yea, " hea-
ven and earth shall pass away ; but one jot, or one titde, of
my word shall not fall to the ground," Matth. v. 18, and
therefore thou mayest, with the greatest safety, trust my
word of promise. It is not a thing that I can come and go
upon ; it is not yea to-day, and nay to-morrow ; but it is al-
ways yea and amen, 2 Cor. i. 17, 18. And therefore believe
the promise; set the seal to it; for thou canst not put a
greater honour upon me, than to set to the seal that I am
true, John iii. 33. Therefore, " Believe and see the salva-
tion of God," ' Is. lii. 10.
7. O, may the poor trembling soul say, ' What if God has
shut up his lender mercies in his wrath, and so will be fa-
vourable no more? Psal. Ixxvii. 7, 9. To this it is answered,
I KEEP MERcy fOR THOUSANDS; as if he had said, * I have ex-
tended mercy to thousands, that is, innumerable multitudes;
and yet my treasures of grace and mercy are as full as ever,
and I am as ready to extend my mercy to thousands of per-
sons, yea, thousands of generations, as ever: "Whosoever
believelh in me, shrdi not perish, but have everlasting life,"
John iii. IG. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so
are my thoughts higher than your thoughts," ' Is. Iv. 9.
8. Might the sinner say, * My sins are so many, they have
been so multiplied and highly aggravated, that I fear he will
never forgive me.' To this the Lord answers, I pardon ini-
quity, transgression, AND SIN, (hat is, all manner of sin and
provocation that can be thought of; and, though your sins
laered as scarlet and crimson, I will make them as white as
XLI.] AGAINST THE DELUGE OF DIVINE WRATH. 321
snow, and as wool, Is. i. 18. There is plenteous redemption
with me that I may be sought unto; and therefore tear not,
only believe ; for this is my prerogative, that I love to dis-
play, " 1, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions
for my own sake, and will not remember thy sins," Is. xlui.
25.
Thus, you see what a wide door is opened in the New Tes-
tament Ark, or what a noble ground of faith is laid in that
name of God proclaimed to Moses.
But now, because sinners are ready, like the spider, to suck
poison out of this rich declaration of the name of God, mer-
ciful and gracious, and to turn his grace to wantonness, say-
ing, ' If this be the case, we will sin, that grace may abound,
Rom. vi. 1. We need not fear the wrath of such a mercilul
God :' Therefore observe what an awful word immediately
follows, Who will by no means clear the guilty; as it he
had said, ' The design of all this grace and mercj which 1
have proclaimed, is to lead sinners to repentance, through an
apprehension of my mercy in Christ; but if any shall abuse
my name. Merciful and Gracious, to encourage themselves m
a way of sin and rebellion against my authority, let them
know that I will by no means clear such persons: JNo,^no, he
" is condemned already, and my wrath abideth on him, John
iii. 18, 36. And when "he turns this grace to wantonness,
he but treasures up wrath against the day of wrath, and the
revelation of the righteous judgment of God." Kom. n. 5.
And, therefore, " Let the wicked forsake his way, and the
unrighteous man his thoughts," Is. Iv. 7 ; " and let huji return
unto the Lord," from this consideration, that "I am the Lord,
the Lord God, merciful and gracious; fury is not in me. K
xxvii. 4. I do not delight in the death of sinners, Lzek
xxxiii. 2 ; but am ready to show mercy to thousands. Lut it
he will harden himself in sin because I am merciful and gra-
cious, he will do it to his cost ; for " who would set the briers
and thorns against me in battle] I would go through them,
I would burn them tooether," Is. xxvii. 4 : " But let him take
hold of my strength," the man of my right hand, " that he
may make peace with me, and he shall make peace with me,
Is. Iv. 7.
28*
^2
THE NEW TESTAMENT ARK OPENED [sER.
THE NEW TESTAMENT ARK OPENED AGAINST THE
DELUGE OF DIVINE WRATH.
By faith Noali, being warned of God of tiling's not seen as yet, move ^Hittp
fear, prepared an ark to the saving of liis house. — Heb. xi. 7.
THE FIFTH SERMON ON THIS TEXT.
• I AM speaking of Christ, the New Testament Ark, into
which sinners are to enter, in order to their being saved from
the deluf^e of divine wrath and ven<ieance. Sirs, I would not
wish to have the blood of any sotd in this audience, or under
my charge, upon my hfead: and therefore I have been essay-
ing to show you a way of escape ; and for this end, I have al-
ready essayed to open seven doors by which you may enter
by faith into this New Testament Ark. I have yet a few
more to open : and O that, while 1 am opening them. God
may persuade and enable you to enter in and be saved!
Is/, Then, The commission Christ got from his Fatlier, to
save and redeem lost sinners of Adam's family, is a pleasant
door by which entrance is to be had into the New Testament
Ark. He did not take this office to Inmself, but was called
of God, as was Aaron, Heb. v. 4; Is. xlii. 6: "I the Lord
have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand,
and will help thcc."' You know, when a man is regularly
called or [appointed] to any of^ce, it is a sufficient warrant
for any man to emi)loy him in his office; and when he is em-
ployed, he is obliged to discharge the duties of liis office to
those that employ him. Well, sirs, this is the very case
with Christ. And, to clear this, consider these parti-
culars : —
1. He was elected to his office as a Saviour, Is. xlii. 1:
"Behold my servant whom I uphold, mine elect in whom
my soul delighteth." Hence he tells us, Prov. viii. 23, that
he '' was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever
the earth was."
2. He was anointed, fitted, and furnished, with all gifts^
graces^ and endovt'ments, necessary for the discharge of his
saving work. Hence he himself declares, Is. Ixi. 1, "The
Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord hath
anointed me to preach good tidings to the meek." Is. xlii.
5 : " I have," says the Father, " put my Spirit upon him, he
shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles: and, according-
ly, the Spirit was given him without measure, John ill. 34, and
XLI.] AGAINST THE DELUGE OF DIVINE WRATH. 323
he received gifts for men, when he ascended up on high, Psal.
Ixviii. 18.
3. His Father actually sent him into the world upon the
great errand of redemption, Is. Ixi. 1 : "He hath sent me to
proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison
to them that were hound ; to proclaim the acceptable year
of the Lord." A jubilee of release to all the captives' of
sin and Satan, and the day of vengeance of our God, namely,
vengeance upon the old serpent whose head he came to bruise;
for " for this purpose he was manifested, that he might de-
stroy the works of the devil," 1 John iii. 8.
4. He voluntarily accepted of his Father's commission, to
come upon our errand ; and with alacrity and cheerfulness
came " leaping upon the mountains, and skipping upon the
hills," Cant. ii. 8. He set his face like a flint. Is. 1. 7, against
all storms that blew upon him, from heaven, earth, and hell:
and "fainted not nor was discouraged," until he had " finished
the work which his Father gave him to do."
5. He opens his commission, and declares himself to be
the Sent of God, the great ambassador of heaven, to negotiate
in the great affair of peace, pardon, and salvation to lost sin-
ners. John iii. 17: " God sent not his Son into the world to
condemn the world, but that the world through him might
be saved." John iv. 34: " My meat is to do the will of him
that sent me, and to finish his work." John xii. 44, 45: " Je-
sus cried, and said. He that believeth on me, believeth not on
me, but on him that sent me ; and he that seeth me, seeth
him that sent me."
6. He not only opens his commission, but shows his Fa-
ther's seal appended to his commission, John vi. 27 : " Him
hath God the Father sealed." He was solemnly sealed at his
solemn inauguration, when baptized by John in Jordan, Matth.
iii. 17; when the heavens opened, and the Spirit of God de-
scended in the likeness of a dove, and his Father testified con-
cerning him, with an audibie voice, saying, " This is my be-
loved Son in whom I am well pleased." Every miracle he
wrought, in raising the dead, opening the eyes of tlie blind,
opening the ears of the deaf, cui-ing all manner of diseases
by a touch of his hand, or word of his mouth, his resurrection
from the dead, and pouring out of his Spirit upon his disciples
in the day of Pentecost, endowing them with power from on
high, &c., all these, and many other things, were solemn seals
appended to his commission.
7. As he himself was sent and commissioned by his Father,
so sends he his apostles and other ministers to proclaim and
publish the gospel of the grace of God to all the world. " As
my Father hath sent me, even so send I you^" John xx. 21.
324 THE NEW TESTAMENT ARK OPENED [SER.
And what commission gives he them? Mark xvi. 15: " Go ye,"
says he, " unto all the world, and preach the gospel to every
creature," Matth. xxviii. 19, 20 : " Go ye, therefore, and teach
all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy Ghost ; teaching them to observe all
things whatsoever I have commanded you : and lo, I am with
you alway, even unto the end of the world." Hence " we
are ambassadors for Christ, we pray you, in Christ's stead, as
though God did beseech you by us, be ye reconciled to God,"
2 Cor. V. 20. Now, I say, is there not in all this a clear
and fair ground laid for your believing, or entering into the
New Testament Ark? O sirs, ponder Christ's commission from
the Father; for this " is the work of God, that ye believe in
him whom he hath sent," John vi. 29. " See that ye do not
refuse him that speaketh from heaven," Heb. xii. 25 ; for it is
his Father's solemn command, " Hear ye him," Matth. iii. 20;
that is, believe in his name, for they that turn a deaf ear to
him shall perish in the deluge.
2dlij, Christ's declared ability and sufficiency to save is an-
other door for faith to enter into the New Testament Ark.
No man will readily enter into the ocean upon an insufficient
bottom. If one that is on a voyage to a foreign country get
the least notice or advice, that such a ship is insufficient, or
if he have but a suspicion that it is so, he will turn away
from her, and will neither venture his person nor his goods
in her. This is the case v/ith every legalist and unbeliever :
he has a secret suspicion in his heart, that Christ alone is not
sufficient lo save him: and therefore he will rather venture
his eternal life upon the general mercy of God, or upon the
law, and the works of the law, upon his own inherent grace,
his duties and good qualifications, than upon Christ ; or if he
does not set Christ aside altogether, he will venture partly
upon Christ, and partly upon something done by himself;
' Christ and my faith, Christ and my works and duties, Christ
and my obedience, Christ and my tears, prayers, will, I hope,
do my business, and save me from the deluge of God's wrath.'
Now, I say, whence comes all this, but from a secret jealousy
and suspicion of Christ's ability and sufficiency, and that he
alone is not to be [relied u[)on?] and hence, through an evil
heart of unbelief, they turn away from him, and lay the stress
of their salvation upon this, and that, and tiie other broken
plank of their own making and devising, saying with those in
Micah vi. 6, " Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, or
bow myself before the Most High? Shall I come before him
with burnt-olferings, with calves of a year old? Will the
Lord be pleased vvith thousands of rams?" In a word, until
the sinner be fully and thoroughly convinced of the absolute
XLI,] AGAINST THE DELUGE OF DIVINE WRATH. 325
sufficiency of the New Testament Ark, and of his full ability
to save, he will never " believe in him to the saving of his
soul."
Now, to convince you of his ability and sufficiency, will you
take the following testimonies concerning him ? (1.) Take the
testimony of God the Father, Psal. Ixxxix. 19 : " I have laid
help upon one that is mighty. (2.) Take Christ's own testi-
mony. Is. Ixiii. 1 : " I speak in righteousness, and am mighty
to save." (3.) Take the testimony of the Holy Ghost, whose
office it is to testify of him : '• He," says Christ, " shall glorify
me, for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you,"
Johnxvi. 14; that ye may believe in me. (4.) Take the testi-
mony of all these three witnesses in heaven together, 1 John v.
10, 11: " This is the record," (namely, of the three in one, and
one in three,). " that God hath given to us eternal life, and
this life is in his Son." (5.) Take the testimony of the apos-
tle Paul, speaking by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, Heb.
vii. 25 : " Wherefore he is able to save them to the uttermost
that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make
intercession for them." (6.) Take the testimony of the fein-
somed in glory, who tell, from their experience, that he alone
undertook and accomplished their salvation. Rev. v. 9 : "Thou
art worthy to take the book, and to open the seven seals
thereof; for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by
thy blood." Thus you see there is sufficient ground for our
faith to rest upon Christ's ability to save; and to dispute or
doubt of it is to " call God a liar," 1 John v. 10, and to call
all men liars that ever knew him.
But a little farther to illustrate this ground of faith, I will
tell you of a fourfold ability and sufficiency that there is in
Christ.
1. An ability of merit for the obtaining of pardon and ac-
ceptance through his obedience unto death. As was already
shown, there are two things the sinner wants in order to re-
store him to the favour of God, and to his title to eternal life,
which were forfeited by his breach of the covenant of works:
(1.) Pardon of sin; and, (2.) A perfect law righteousness.
Now, both these are to be found in Christ. As to the first,
namely, pardon ; this we have in him, for he hath finished
transgression and made an end of sin, Dan. ix. 24. As to its
condemning power, " he is the Lamb of God, which taketh
away the sin of the world, John i. 29 : " We have redemption
in his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according tophe riches
of his grace," Eph. i. 7. Hence the apostle John declares,
chap. i. 7 : " The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us
from all sin;" and it is upon the ground of the satisfaction of
Jesus that God declares himself to be the " Lord pardoning
326 THE NEW TESTAMENT ARK OPENED [sER.
iniquity, transgression, and sin," Deut. xxxiv. 7, and promises
to be merciful to our unrighteousness, Heb. viii. 12. As to
the second, namely, A perfect law righteousness, this is to be
had to the full in Christ, for he is " the end of the law for
righteousness unto every one that believeth," Rom. x. 4. " He
IS made sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made
the righteousness of God in him," 2 Cor. v. 21. " The right-
eousness of the law is fulhlled in us," Rom. viii. 4. This is
that best robe that is put on the poor prodigal when he comes
home, Luke xv. 22, whereby the shame oif his nakedness is
covered ; this is the wedding garment that fits for commu-
nion with God, and entitles the soul to that " inheritance
which is incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away,"
1 Pet. i. 4. So that there is in Christ a fulness of merit "for
justification.
2. There is in Christ a fulness of wisdom for the soul's in-
struction and direction in all cases : " for in him are hid all
the treasures of wisdom and knowledge," Col. ii. 3. By his
Spirit of wisdom and understanding he gives to fools and
babes the knowledge of the "deep things of God, which are
hid from the wise and prudent of the world," Matth. xi. 25,
compared with 1 Cor. ii. 10. And by his skill and wisdom
he directs and guides his poor people through all the dark
and difficult steps in their way, until he brings them to glory,
and so accomplishes that promise, " 1 will bring the blind-by
a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they
have not known; I will make darkness light before them, and
crooked things straight," Is. xlii. 10.
3. There is in him a fulness of strength and ability to bear
up the poor soul under all the work and warfare in which it
is called to engage. Sometimes the poor believer, looking
to the poor weak fund of grace within him, is ready to [de-
spair,] and cry out, 'Alas! such and such work as the Lord
carves out for me will be marred in my hand ; I am not suf-
ficient to think, to will, to do.' But here, believer, lies an all-
sufl^cient fund of ability, " Thy God commands thy strength,"
Psal. Ixviii. 28. Then may est thou " be strone; in the Lord,
and in the power of his might," Eph. vi. 10. " He gives power
to the faint, and he increaseth strength to them that have no
might," Is. xl. 29. Sometimes, again, the poor weak believer
is ready to faint, because of the many and mighty enemies
with which he has to grapple ; ' Alas !' will he say, ''l have no
might to subdue this or the other strong lust and corruption ;
it will master me ; one day or other I shall fall into the hand of
the enemy. Satan supports the power of indwelling sin, so
that I have not only flesh and blood, but principalities and
powers, spiritual wickedness in high places to contend with,
XLl.] AGAINST THE DELUGE OF DIVINE WRATH. 327
Eph. vi. 12. I know not what to do.' Well, poor believer,
here lies the glory of thy strength, Psal. Ixxxix. 17, even in
Christ, who has already, in his own person, destroyed sin and
Satan, and who has also said, that he v^'ill subdue thine ini-
quities, Mic. vii. 19: " Sin shall not have dominion over you,"
Rom. vi. 14. And, as for Satan, " the God of peace will
shortly bruise him under thy ket," Rom. xvi. 20, and in the
mean time, his grace shall be sufficient for thee, 1 Cor. xii. 9.
4. There is in him an all-sutficient stock of grace for the
supply of all thy wants; for "it hath pleased the Father that
in him should all fulness dwell," Col. i. 19, " that out of his
fulness all we might receive grace for grace," John i. 16.
The grace that is in him, as Mediator, is not in him for him-
self, but for us poor needy sinners, 1 Cor. i. 30: " He is made
of God unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification,
and redemption." " He received gifts for men," Psal. Ixviii.
18, that men might be " blessed in him with all spiritual bless-
ings in heavenly places," Eph. i. 3 ; and therefore men, and
the sons of men, are invited to come to him and get their
own : for he and all that he is, or has, as Mediator, is for us.
Oh then, " Come, come, come, and take of the water of life
freely," Rev. xxii. 17.
sJly, There is another door of access to the New Testa-
ment Ark ; that is, the door of his good-will which he bears
to fallen man beyond the fallen angels (who are by nature
creatures of a higher rank than man ; for God makes man a
" little lower than the angels," Psal. viii. 5.) When the an-
gels left their tirst state, there was no good-will discovered
towards them, yea, on the contrary, they are shut out of hea-
ven to hell, where " they are reserved in everlasting chains
under darkness, unto the judgment of the great day," Jude 6.
But when man sinned, and fell from the state in which he
was created, what strange work is made for his recovery 1
Hence is that declaration of the angels at the birth of Christ,
**0n earth peace, good-will towards men," Luke ii. 14. He
" is not willing that any should perish, but that all should
come to repentance," 2 Peter iii. 9.
Quest. Wherein does this good-will of God towards man,
fallen man, appear ? Ansio. In these few things : —
1. Does it not appear in his remembering us in our low
estate, Psal. cxxxvi. 23, when we were like the infant cast
out into the open field, none to pity, or help, yet even then
he looked upon us, and our time was the time of love, Ezek.
xvi. 5, 9 ?
2. How did his good-will appear, when, immediately after
the fall, the remedy was discovered. Gen. iii. 15. It (namely,
the seed of the woman) shall bruise thy head, (namely, the
328 THE NEW TESTAMENT ARK OPENED [sER.
serpent's?") the plaster is at hand to be applied, even before
the wound was given by the serpent?
3. Was it not good-will to men upon earth, that he would
not trust any angel or archangel with his salvation, but com-
mits it to his OWN Son, his beloved Son, " who is in the form
of God," Philip, ii. 6, and is fully able for the work?
4. Was it not good-will in the Son of God not only to as-
sume the human nature, hut to take our law-place, that law
and justice might reach him for our debt? For he " was
made of a woman, made under the law," Gal. iv. 4. He was
made sin for us, 2 Cor. v. 21 : "And he was numbered with
the transgressors. Is. liii. 12.
5. Was it not good-will in him to die for our offences, and
to rise again for our justification? Rom. v. 25. " Greater love
than this hath no man, than that a man lay down his life for
his friends :" " But God commendeth his love to us, in that
while we were yet enemies, Christ died for us," John xv. 13,
compared with Rom. v. 6, 8.
6. Is it not good-will to man, in that, when he had finished
our redemption upon earth, that he should ascend into hea-
ven, to appear in the presence of God for us, Heb. ix. 24. As
an Advocate at the high court of justice. Is. liii. 12: "He
was numbered with the transgressors, and he bare the sin of
many, and made intercession for the transgressors," Luke
xxiii. 34; 1 John ii. 1 : "And if any man sin, we have an Ad-
vocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous."
7. Is it not good-will to man upon earth, that he commands
the white flag of peace to be lifted up in the view of mankind,
and "creates the fruit of the lips, peace, peace to him who is
afar oft' and to him who is near?" Is. Ivii. 19.
8. Is it not good-will to man, that he makes offer of him-
self, and of his whole salvation, to sinners? Is. xlvi. 12, 13:
" Hearken unto me, ye stout-hearted, and far from righteous-
ness, I bring near my righteousness unto you: it shall not be
far oir, and my salvation shall not tarry."
9. Is it not good-will to man, that when he sees them run-
ning to their ruin, in the broad w-ay (hat leads to eternal de-
struction, he pursues them, crying, O " turn ye, turn ye, for
why will ve die? for, as I live, I have no pleasure in the death
of the wicked, but rather that he should turn," Ezek. xxxiii.
11. Oh, how many a cry gives he after Israel! Jer. iii. 1 :
" Thou liast played the harlot with many lovers, yet return
again unto me, saith the Lord," and, verse 14: "Tui'n, O
backsliding children, saith the Lord, for I am married unto
you."
10. His heart is glad, and even rings with joy when a pro-
digal returns, Luke xv. 23, 24 : « Let us eat and be merry :
XLI.] AGAINST THE DELUGE OF DIVIIVE WRATH. 329
for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost,
and is found." There is joy in heaven among the angels
over one sinner that repenteth," chap. xv. 7, 10.
11. His good-will appears in his behaviour when sinners
continue obstinately to refuse the offers of his grace, Psal.
Ixxxi. 13 ; " O that my people had hearkened unto me." He
wept over Jerusalem, saying, Luke xix. 42 : " O, if thou hadst
known, even thou at least in this thy day, the things which
belong unto thy peace !" He enters a protest before heaven
and earth, that their blood did not lie at his door, but at their
own, Jer. ii. 12, 13: "Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this,
and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, sailh the Lord :
for my people have committed two evils; they have for-
saken me the Fountain of living waters, and have hewed
them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water."
Thus you see what good-will Christ and his Father bears to-
wards your salvation : and is not this a door by which you
may enter into the New Testament Ark, and be saved from
the deluge? Oh how justly shall the sinner perish for ever,
that despises this good-will, and receives all this grace in
vain!
Athly, The command of God, that is laid upon every one
that hears the gospel, to believe in Christ, is a blessed door
of access into the New Testament Airk, John iii. 23 : " This
is his commandment, that Vv^e should believe on the name of
his Son Jesus Christ." Sirs, God has such a good-will to-
wards our salvation, that he has concluded us under a law,
and has interposed his authority, enjoining us to believe in the
name of his Son ; and he has fenced this law with the most
awful and terrible threatening in case of disobedience; " He
that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath
not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God,"
John iii. 18 ; Heb. ii. 3 : " How shall we escape if we ne-
glect so great salvation?" chap. x. 28, 29: "He that de-
spised Moses' law died without mercy, under two or three
witnesses ; of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall
he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son
of God," chap. vi. 5, " crucified unto themselves the Son of God
afresh, and put him to an open shame?" Thus, you see that the
command is peremptory, that you must believe in the name
of Christ : you must receive him as the gift of God, other-
wise you shall sink in the mighty waters of the deluge of eter-
nal wrath and vengeance, and Christ himself will resent it
to the uttermost, if his salvation be slighted; for he will come
in flaming fire to take vengeance on all them who know not
God, and who obey not this great command of believing in
the name of the only begotten Son of God, 2 Thess. i. 7, 8.
VOL. in. 29 t
330 THE NEW TESTAMENT ARK OPENED [SER.
Object. 1. ' I am afraid it would be presumption in me to
believe in and apply Christ.'
A?2sw. It can never be presumption to obey an express and
positive command of God. Is it presumption to pray ? Is
it presumption to read the word ? Is it presumption to hear the
word 1 Is it presumption to sanctify God's name ? and is it
presumption to remember the Sabbath ? You do not reckon
it presumption to do any of these, because you are command-
ed of God ; as little can it be presumption to " believe in
Christ, seeing this is his commandment," 1 John iii. 21.
Object. 2. ' I am such a great sinner, that I am afraid it is
not I who am commanded to believe.'
Answ. The command of believing is to all without excep-
tion, great sinners, and sinners of a less size. Is. i. 8 : " Come
now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord : Though
your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow :
though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."
If the command of believing were not to every one, then un-
belief would not be their sin; for "where there is no law,
there is no transgression," Rom. v. 13. But unbelief is a sin
of the deepest dye, and makes every sin else unpardonable,
by rejecting the only remedy.
Object. 3. ' You toil us, That we are commanded to believe ;
and yet at the same time tell us that we want power to believe ;
that it is the work of God, John vi. 29, and that it is the exceed-
ing great and mighty power of God, that raised Christ from
the dead, that [alone will enable] us to believe,' Eph. i. 19, 20.
Ansvu It is very true, you caimot believe; "No man can
come to Christ, except the Father draw him," John vi. 44 ;
and yet you are commanded to believe, not by us, but by that
God who commands "things that arc not, as though they were,"
Rom. w. 17. And he commands you, impotent sinners, " dead
in sin, to believe in the name of his Son;" that, from a sense
of your own impotency, you may turn the work upon him-
self, as " the Author and Finisher of faith," Heb. xii. 2, and
his command is the veliicle of power. As when he com-
manded the man with the withered hand, " Stretch forth
thine hand," Matlh. xii. 13; the poor man endeavoured to
obev, and in the ellbrt at obedience he got power to stretch
out his hand as he was commanded : So, after his example
do you. Endeavour at the duty, depending on the power of
him who commands yo>i to believe, that he may " fulfil in
you all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of
faith with power," 2 Thess. i. 11.
Object. 4. ' I have essayed and endeavoured to believe, in
obedience to the command, and yet, alas ! I am just where I
was ; I do not find the power of God coming along.'
XLI.] AGAIHTST THE DELUGE OF DIVINE WRATH. 331
Answ. Continue in the use of the means of God's appoint-
ment, to aim at believing. Continue to hear the word, and
try to mingle faith with it. Continue in prayer ; and aim at
beUeving that God will hear you ; and in this way wait on
the Lord. Remember the poor man that lay at the pool,
John v. 5—9, for thirty-eight years, waiting for the troubling
of the waters, and at last the Lord came and healed him :
So do you; for "blessed are all they that wait on him,"
Psal. xxxvii. 9.
Object. 5. ' But all my labours will be in vain if I be not
elected ; for it is only they that are " ordained to eternal
life" that will believe,' Acts xiii. 48.
Answ. It is true, " the election shall obtain," Rom. xi. 7,
though others be hardened ; but let me tell you, in the mat-
ter of believing, you have no more concern with the secret
counsels of God, than you have in buying or selling, eating
or drinking, or such like common actions of life. If any man
should say, I will not open my shop-door, because I do not
know if God has decreed that I should sell any wares; or, I
do not know if God has ordained that any man should buy
them. Or, if a man should say, I will neither eat nor drink,
because God has fixed the term of my life ; I am sure I shall
live as long as God has ordained, whatever I do, &c. Or, I
may cast myself down a precipice, or attempt to walk upon
the waters, because I shall not perish till God's appointed
time come: I say, would you not reckon that man mad, or
distracted, that would argue at that ratel Yet the case is the
same, when he argues, That he needs not fly to Christ, or
enter into the New Testament Ark, because if he be elected
to eternal life he shall never perish, whether he believe or
not. Sirs, let not the devil and a deceitful heart lead you
in among the decrees of God, which are secret ; for " the
secret things belong unto the Lord our God ; but those things
which are revealed unto us, and to our children," Deut. xxix.
29. Follow commanded duty : believe in the Son of God ;
and then you shall know your election of God.
332 THE NEW TESTAMENT ARK OPENED [sER.
THE NEW TESTAMENT ARK OPENED AGAINST THE
DELUGE OF DIVINE WRATH.
By faith Noah, being' warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with
fear, prepared an ark, to the saving of his house. — Heb. xi. 7.
THE SIXTH SERMON ON THIS TEXT.
The doctrine taken from the words, in their, typical and
spiritual meaning, was as follows: —
" That Christ is the great New Testament Ark, to which
perishing sinners must betake them.^elves, that they may be
saved from the deluge of God's wrath."
The method was :
I. To speak of the deluge of God's wrath, with allusion to
the deluge of waters that destroyed the old world.
II. To speak of the warnings that God gives of the dread-
ful deluge of his wrath.
III. To speak of Christ as the great New Testament Ark,
typified by the ark of Noah.
IV. To cast open the doors of the New Testament Ark.
V. To show how it is that a sinner actually enters into
this Ark by this door.
VI. Proceed to the application of the doctrine.
Having spoken to the first four, I proceed to
V. Tho Jif I h thing in the method, which was, to speak of
the soul's actual entering by these doors into the New Tes-
tament Ark.
I find faith sometimes expressed in scripture under the no-
tion of entering, John x. 1): "I am the door: by mc if any
man enter in, he shall be saved," and Ifcb. iv. 3 : " For we
who have believed do cntcM* into rest ;" and vcr. 7 : " Let us,
therefore, fear, lest a promise being left us of entering into
his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it." Of the
same import is that expression of turning to Christ as a Strong-
hold or Refuge, Zech. ix. 12.
All I shall say upon this head is, to illustrate a little the
nature of faith, under the similitude of Noah's entering into
the ark, and the creatures that were saved there with him.
XLI.] AGAINST THE DELUGE OF DIVINE WRATH. 333
1. Then, we see in the text, that Noah was warned of God
of his danger before he prepared an ark, or fled to it.
Just so is it with sinners in the matter of believing in Christ ;
God gives the sinner warning of the danger he is in of the
wrath to come. As God gave public warning to the old
world, by the ministry of Noah, of the approaching deluge;
so by the word read and preached, particularly by the preach-
ing of the law, there is warning given to all sinners of the
danger they are in of perishing for ever. The voice of God
in the law to sinners is, Gal. iii. 10: "Cursed is every one
that continueth not in all things whioh are written in the
book of the law to do them." R-om. ii. 8, 9: "Indignation
and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man
that doth evil." Psa!. ix. 17: "The wicked shall be turned
into hell, and all the nations that forget God." — " The wages
of sin is death." Now, these and the like warnings are car-
ried in and brought home to the soul in particular, by the
power of the eternal Spirit, before the sinner enter into the
New Testament Ark ; and the sinner is made to believe the
truth of these thrcatenings, for there is a law of faith, and a
particular application of these and the like thrcatenings, be-
fore there be a true gospel faith of the remedy. Hence,
2. You see that Noah was " moved with fear " before he
" prepared an ark," or entered into it. What was he afraid
of? say you. I answer, He was afraid of perishing in the
deluge with the rest of the wicked world. (See the text.)
Just so is the case with sinners in the matter of believing,
or flying to Christ; they are moved with the fear of an an-
gry God, against whom they have sinned. And hence it is,
that the sinner, through the terror of God, and of an awa-
kened conscience, falls a trembling, with the jailer. Acts xvi.
30 : and cries, " What must I do to be saved 1" Oh 1 to whom
shall I fly for help, Isa. x. 3. "Who among us shall dwell
with the devouring fire? and who among us shall dwell
with everlasting burnings V Is. xxxiii. 14. This is what is
commonly called a law-work, which every one who believes
has either in a greater or less degree : for " The law is our
schoolmaster to lead us to Christ, that we might be justified
by faith," &c. Gal. iii. 24.
3. Noah renounced all the false confidences that the men
of the old world betook themselves to for shelter against the
deluge. There is no doubt, but the inhabitants of the old
world, when they saw the " windows of heaven opened, and
the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the waters
increasing and swelling," would fly to the highest houses or
mountains, to save them from the waters of the deluge, in
hopes that the waters would stay before they came up where
29*=
334 THE NEW TESTAMENT ARK OPENED [SER.
they were. But Noah knew other things ; he knew that these
were but lying refuges, and that the waters would overtop
the highest mountains in the world : and therefore he re-
nounced these vain refuges, and betook himself to the ark.
Just so is it in the matter of believing in Christ, the poor
soul is made to see that " in vain is salvation hoped for from
the hills, and from the multitude of mountains," Jer. iii. 23.
That " the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies," Is.
xxviii. 17. And the waters shall overflow all these hiding
places, to which hypocrites, the carnal worldling, or legalist,
betake themselves : and therefore it flies for refuge to Christ,
that blessed hope set before it, Heb. vi. 18, in the gospel,
knowing that there is no name given — whereby to be saved,
but by the name of Jesus.
4. Noah believed that the ark (being God's ordinance) was
sufficient to save him and his family from the deluge.
So, in the matter of believing, Christ is taken up as an all-
sufficient Saviour, " able also to save unto the uttermost, all
that come unto God by him," Heb. vii. 25; and as he is ap-
pointed and ordained of God to be a Saviour every way qua-
lified for the salvation of lost sinners, and made of God " unto
us, wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemp-
tion," 1 Cor. i. 30.
5. God gave to the living creatures (that were to be saved
alive in the ark) a certain instinct, which made them to move
from all parts of the earth towards the ark, and at last to
enter into it.
Just so is it in the matter of believing. God gives an in-
stinct, a supernatural instinct, to the poor sinner, that makes
him restless, until he " win Christ, and be found in him," Phil,
iii. 8, 9. This is nothing else but that drawing power of the
word and Spirit of God, by which the sinner is led to the
Rock that is higher than all other refuges; John vi. 44: "No
man," says Christ, " can come unto me, except the Father,
which hath sent me, draw him;" Hos. xi. 3: "I drew them
with cords of a man, with bands of love." You know the
bees, before a shower, by a certain instinct, fly into the hive :
just so is it here.
6. Noah's faith rested (not in the boards of the ark, but)
in God who had appointed him to prepare it.
So, in the matter of believing, true faith terminates upon
"God — in Christ, reconcijinii; the woiid to himself," 2 Cor. v.
19. The great design of (iod in manifesting himself in the
flesh, is not that our faith should terminate upon the Man
Christ Jesus, but upon God in him. You have a word to
this purpose, 1 Pet. i. 21 : " Who by him do believe in God,
that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory, that
XLI.] AGAINST THE DELUGE OP DIVINE WRATH. 335
your faith and hope misjht be in God." So that you see, the
scope of the whole work of redemption (through Christ) is to
bring us to trust in God, and to place our confidence in him,
as a God with us. Sirs, remember that God alone is the ob-
ject of faith ; and if your faith terminate upon any thing in-
ferior to God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, it is not saving
faith, for it does not answer the very tirst command of the
law, " Thou shall have no other gods before me," Exod.
XX. 3.
7. When Noah entered into the ark, it was with a reso-
lution to abide there, until the waters of the deluge were
abated.
Just so is it here ; when a sinner comes by faith to Christ
for refuge, he comes with a design to abide in him, not (like
Noah with his ark) for awhile, but for ever. The soul in
believing cries concerning Christ, " This is my rest for ever,
here will I dwell," Psal. cxxxii. 14. It is the will of Christ
that we should abide in him, 1 John ii. 28. " And now, little
children, abide in him, that when he shall appear, we may
have confidence, and not be ashamed, befoi'e him at his co-
ming ;" John XV. 4 — 7 : " I am the vine, ye are the branches :
he that abideth in me, and 1 in him, the same bringeth forth
much fruit : for without me ye can do nothing. If a man
abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered,
and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they
are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you,
you may ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you."
VI. The sixth thing in the method was to apply this doc-
trine.
And the only uses I make of the doctrine shall be in a word
of trial and exhortation.
Use first shall be in a word of trial and examination.
And that which I would have you to try, is. Whether have
you got into the New Testament Ark Christ, where alone a
sinner can be in safety from the deluge of divine wrath. I
remember John the Baptist says to the Scribes and Pharisees,
Matth. iii. 7: " O generation of vipers, who hath warned you
to flee from the wrath to come ?" So say I to you ; have you,
upon God's warning, by the word of the law, fled for refuge
to Christ, and taken up your residence and abode in him? I
otler these few remarks for trial : —
1. If ever you fled to the New Testament Ark, you have
seen the devouring deluge of God's wrath ready to swallovf
you up, and you have seen yourselves upon the very brink of
perishing for ever in the deep waters, so that you have been
made to cry out. Oh " what shall I do to be saved ?" Acts
xvi. 30.
336 THE NEW TESTAMENT ARK OPENED [SEH.
2. God has broken all your false props and confidences,
and made you see they are nothing but lying refuges that
would betray you. So was it with Paul at his conversion,
what things were gain to him, these he counted loss for Christ,
Philip, iii. 7; " Ashur shall not save us," Hos. x'lv. 3.
3. You have (by the light of the word and Spirit) got such
a discovery of the glory, structure, beauty, and excellency,
of the New Testament Ark, as has filled you with wonder
and admiration at the love, mercy, and grace of God, in pro-
viding such an Ark, such a Saviour. 2 Cor. iv. 6: " For God,
who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined
in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory
of God, in the face of Jesus Christ." Oh, will the soul say,
at the sight of the Ark Christ, " What hath God wrought?'
Numb, xxiii. 23. " This is the Lord's doing, it is wondrous in
our eyes," Psal. cxviii. 23. " Without controversy, great is
the mystery of godliness, God was manifest in the flesh !"
&c, 1 Tim. iii. 16.
4. If ever you entered into the ark, you have seen a re-
conciled God in the Ark Christ, " For God is in Christ, re-
conciling the world unto himself," 2 Cor. v. 19. This is the
very thing that induces and encourages the soul to enter into
it. The poor soul, before, could see nothing but God as a de-
vouring tire to consume it; but, looking to Christ, it sees a
smiling God, saying, '-This is my beloved Son, in whom I.am
well pleased," Matth. xvii. 5. O sirs, this is the very thing
that begets faith, love, hope, and confidence, God's love in
giving Christ, .lohn iii. 10: "God so loved the world, that he
gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him,
might not perish, but have everlasting life." Now, have you
seen God to be love ? and have you seen his love manifested
in this, that he sent his only begotten Son into the world, that
we might live through him ? 1 John iv. 9, and has the faith of
this love killed your enmity 1
5. If you have fled to the New Testament Ark, you will
be so well pleased with your new lodging, and your safety
therein, that your hearts will be filled with gratitude, and
your tongues with the high praises of the Lord, that ever
provided such an Ark, and that ever brought you into it.
You will sing and say with the church, JNIicah vii. 18: *' Who
is a God like unto thee, who pardoneth iniquity, and passeth
by the transgression of the remnant of thine heritage ;" and
with David, Psal. ciii. at the beginning, " Bless the Lord, O
my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name: Bless
the Lord, O my soul; and forget not all his benefits:" and
with Israel, when God had brought them through the Red
sea, and delivered them from the hand of the Egyptians,
XLI.] AGAINST THE DELUGE OF DIVINE WRATH. 337
Exod. XV. 11: "I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath tri-
unnphed gloriously," &c,
6. If you have ever fled into the Ark, then you will be
new creatures ; for if any man be in Christ, he is a new crea-
ture, old things will pass away, 2 Cor. v. 17. You have got
new light in your understanding, a new will and affections,
you will not walk according to your old lusts in the flesh, nor
"according to the course of the world;" no, but as the ark
and they that were in it were lifted up above the earth upon
the waters, towards heaven, so you will not lie grovelling
upon the earth, but seek things that are above, where Christ
is," Col. iii. 1.
7. You have got something of the Spirit of Christ: for "if
any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his," Hem.
viii. 9. But " he that is joined unto the Lord, is one spirit with
with him," 1 Cor. vi. 17. And his Spirit wHl be in you as "a
well of water springing up unto everlasting Hfe," John iv. 14.
The Spirit will convince you of sin, of righteousness, and of
judgment."
8. If you have fled to the x^ew Testament Ark, you v/ill
be "concerned to get as many as possible into the Ark with
you; and for this end you will be telling them of their dan-
ger while out of Christ, and of the great salvation that is to-
be found in him. How active was Paul, after he cam.e to
know Christ, to recommend him to others ! Acts ix. 20, &c.,
compared with Gal. i. 23.
Use secojid shall be of Exhortalion to all in general.
Is it so that Christ is our great New Testament Ark, to
save from the deluge of divine wrath ? O then, sirs, let me
beseech and entreat you to consult your own safety, by fljing
into this blessed Ark, before the waters of the deluge sweep
you away into a miserable eternity.
I offer a few motives to stir you up to fly into the Ark : —
1. Consider, That there are innumerable multitudes of man-
kind that are already lost irrevocably in the deluge of God's
wrath, through their not entering into the Ark. The inhabi-
tants of the old world, to whom Noah preached, are said to
be in prison. O what innumerable numbers of men and wo-
men have gone down to the sides of the pit since sin entered
into the world! "Broad is the way that leadeth unto destruc-
tion, and many there be that go in thereat," Matth. vii. 13.
Now, is it not your interest to" take warning from the ruin of
so many?
2. Consider, That you must inevitably go the same way, I
mean, perish in the deluge, except you enter into the Ark ;
" For there is none other name under heaven, given amongst
338 THE NEW TESTAMENT ARK OPENED, <fec. [SER.
men, whereby we must be saved, but by the name of Jesus
Christ," Acts iv. 12. It is not your broken planks of a pro-
fession of religion, hope in the general mercy of God, your
civility, morality, or legal righteousness, that will do ; God's
wrath will stave all these broken planks in pieces : and there-
fore repair to the Af.k Jesus Christ.
3. There is a fixed day, a time set for your entering into
the New Testament Ark, which if it be let slip, there will be
no entrance into the Ark, but you shall infallibly perish in the
deluge. " He that liveth for ever, has sworn with his hand
lifted up to heaven," that there shall be no more entrance into
the Ark. Quest. What is the fixed time? Answ. It is the
day of grace, the day of life, the day of salvation ; if that
pass, you are gone for ever : and therefore, " To-day, if you
will hear his voice;" Psal. xcv., and Heb. iii.
4. The Ark is prepared of God for you, and that at an in-
finite expense. God has provided a Saviour, Psal. Ixxxix-
19: "Help is laid upon one that is mighty," John iii. 16:
" God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish." The
Ark is finished, and perfected, and made ready for you: "All
things are ready," Matth. xxii. 4.
5. The Ark is at hand, it is near to us. Is. xlvi. 13: Be-
hold, " I bring near my righteousness, it shall not be far off,"
and my salvation shall not tarry; and 1 will place salvation
in Zion," &c. " The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth,
and in thy heart; that is, the word of faith which we preach,"
Rom. x. 8.
6. The Ark is ordained for men and women of our stamp,
I mean men and women of the human nature: and therefore
the call is " to men and the sons of men," Prov. viii. 4. Christ
is a Saviour, not for the fallen angels, but for us: "Unto us
is this child born," Is. ix. G; he "is made of God unto us wis-
dom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption,"
1 Cor. i. 30.
7. Many have already entered, and are saved ; an innume-
rable company, " which no man can number," Rev. vii.
8. The doors of the Ark are cast wide open to you also,
together with a promise of safety ; " Whosoever believeth
shall not perish, but have everlasting life," John iii. 16.
0. The great God commands you to enter into the Ark, 1
John iii. 23: "This is his commandment, that we should be-
lieve in the name of his Son Jesus Christ."
I conclude with a word to believers who have fled into
the Ark.
(1.) By way of comfort,
XLII.] THE PLANT OF RENOWN. 339
1. God is with you in the Ark, "For God is in Christ," 2
Cor. V. 19; and he will never leave you, Heb. xii. 5.
2. " Your life is hid with Christ in God," Col. iii. 3 : « Be-
cause I live, ye shall live also," John xiv. 19.
3. You are freed from condenrination. The law cannot
curse you ; though man naay, yet God will not curse you,
Rom. viii. 1.
4. The waters of affliction shall not overwhelm you, Is.
xliii. 2, 3 ; the waves may dash, but they will turn into foam
like the waves of the sea.
5. Death and the grave cannot harm you, " I will ransom
them from the power of the grave, I will redeem them from
death." Hos. xiii. 14.
(2.) A word of counsel to you that are in the Ark.
1. Bless God who provided the Ark.
2. Bless God who brought you into it.
3. Rejoice and glory in the Lord, triumph in him.
4. Live upon Christ, and the provision you find in the Ark.
5. " Walk worthy of the Lord, unto all well-pleasing," Col.
i. 10.
THE PLANT OF RENOWN.
And I will raise up for them a plant of Renown. — Ezek. xxxiv. 29.
THE FIRST SERMO.V ON THIS TEXT.
If we cast our eyes back upon the foregoing part of this
chapter, we shall find a very melancholy scene casting up;
we shall find the flock and heritage of God scattered, robbed,
and peeled, by the civil and ecclesiastical rulers that were in
being at that day; a day much like to the day in which we live:
the ruin of the church of Christ, in all ages, and periods of the
world, has been owing to combinations betwixt corTupt church
men and corrupt statesmen. And so you will find it in the pre-
ceding part of this chapter; there is a high charge brought
in against the shepherds of Israel, and a terrible and awful
threatening denounced by the great and chief Shepherd
against them, for the bad treatment that the flock of Christ
340 THE PLANT OF RENOWN. [SER.
had met with in their hands. However the sheep of Christ
may be fleeced, scattered, and spoiled, yet the Lord looks on
them : and many great and precious promises are made for
their encouragement in that evil day ; you may read them
at your own leisure, for I must not stay upon them just now.
But among all the rest of the promises that are made, Christ
is the Chief, Christ is the [Resort] of the church, whatever
trouble she is in. In the 7th chapter of Isaiah, the church
had a trembling heart, God's Israel was shaken as ever you
saw the leaves of the wood shaken by the wind, by reason of
two kings combining against them : well, the Lord tells them,
a virgin shall conceive and bare a son, and shall call his
name Immanuel. But might the church say. What is that to
us? what encouragement does this afford in the present dis-
ti'ess ? Why, the Messiah is to come of the tribe of Judah, and
the family of David; and therefore that tribe and family must
be preserved, in order to the accomplishment of that promise.
Whatever distance of time, suppose hundreds or thousands of
years may intervene before tlic actual coming of the Messiah,
yet the promise of his coming, as it is the ground of your
faith for eternal salvation, so it is a security for the present,
that the enemy shall not prevail to the total ruin of Judah,
and the royal family of David. In all the distress of the
church, Christ is always presented to her in the promise, as the
object of her faith, and the ground of her consolation; and,
accordingly, *' they looked to him " in the promises, " and were
lightened, and their faces were not ashamed." He is here
promised under the [name] of David ; he is promised under
the [name] of God's Servant; and in the words of the text,
he is promised as a renowned Plant, that was to rise in the
fulness of time. And blessed be God he has sprung up, and
is in heaven already, and has overtopped all his enemies, and
" all his enemies shall be his footstool."
Here, then, you have a comfortable promise of the Messiah;
where, again, you may notice, 1st, The Promiser, flj I
7viU raise up, Sic. It is a great ClJ indeed, it is Jehovah in
the person of the Father, it was he that in a peculiar manner
sent him ; " God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not
perish, but have everlasting life." In the fulness of time he
sent forth his Son, " made of a woman, made under the law,
to redeem them that were under the law, that we might re-
ceive the adoption of sons." God promised to send him, and,
accordingly, he has actually fulfilled his promise. Again,
2dli/, We may notice the blessing promised, and that is, a
PlaJit of renozvn: Christ gets a great many metaphorical
names and descriptions in scripture; sometimes he is called a
XLII.] THE PLANT OF RENOWN. 341
Rose, sometimes he is called a Sun, and sometimes he is called
a Door, sometimes he is called the Tree of life ; sometimes
he is called one thing, and sometimes another, and he is con-
tent to be called any thing to make himself known to us ;
and here he is called a Plant, and a renowned Plant; but
more of this afterwards. But then, Sdlij, We have the pro-
duction of this Plant, / will raise him vp. Hell will endea-
vour to keep him down, the devil and his angels will endea-
vour to smother him when he sets his head above ground.
So we find Satan sends Herod, and Herod sends the bloody
dragoons to murder him when he came into the world. But
let hell do its utmost, as it has done in all ages, and is doing
this day to smother that Plant, up it will be ; / icill raise him
up; and therefore he shall prosper. But then, again, Athly,
We may notice here for whom, or for what end, for whose
use and benefit it is ; / tjoHI raise vp (for them) a Plant of
renown. Who these are, you will see by casting your eye on
the former part of the chapter, it is for the Lord's flock, his '
oppressed heritage, who are borne down by wicked rulers,
civil and ecclesiastical, I ivill raise up for them a Plant of re-
nown, and he will be their Deliverer.
The doctrine that naturally arises from this first clause of
the verse is in short this : —
" That Christ is a Plant of renown, of God's raising up, for
the benefit and advantage of his people, or for their comfort
and relief in all their distresses ; he is a renowned Plant of
God's raising up."
Now, in discoursing this doctrine, if time and strength
would allow, I might,
I. Premise a few things concerning this blessed Plant,
n. I might inquire why he is called a Plant of renown ?
ni. Speak a little to the raising up of this Pla?it.
IV. Show you for whom he is raised up. And,
V. Show for what end he is raised up. And then,
Lastly, Apply.
I. As to the frst of these, namely, to premise a few things
concerning this blessed Plant.
1st, I would have you to know, what is here attributed and
ascribed to Christ, is not to be understood absolutely of him
as God, but — officially, as he is Mediator and Redeemer.
Considering him absolutely as God, this cannot be properly
VOL. III. 30 t
342 THE PLANT OF RENOWN. [SERr
said of him that he was raised up; for he is God co-equal
and co-essential with the Father : but, viewing him as Medi-
ator, he is a Pla?it, as it were, of God's training. You will
see from the context, all that is said of Christ has a respect
to him as Mediator ; that he was to be God's Servant to do
his work; in consideration of that, he is here called a Plant,
and a Plant of Penozrn : Hence Zacharias, when speaking of
him, has a phrase much to the same purpose : " He hath
raised up a Horn of salvation for us in the house of his ser-
vant David."
Again, 2dly, Another thing I would have you to remark is,
that this Phmt is but small and little in the eyes of a blind
world. He was little looked upon when he sprang up in his
incarnation, and when he was here in a state of humiliation :
Men looked upon him as a root sprung up out of a dry ground :
they saw no comeliness in him why he should be desired :
and, to this day, though he be in a state of exaltation at the
right hand of God, yet he is little thought of, or looked upon
by the generality of mankind, and the hearers of the gospel;
" He is despised and rejected of men."
But then, 3c/ly, Another thing I would have you to remark
is, that however contemptible this Plant of renoiai is in the
eyes of a blind world, yet he is the tallest plant in all God's
Lebanon : There is not the like of him in it ; he is fairer than
the children of men, and he is as the apple tree among the
trees of the wood ; if ever you saw him, you will be ready
to say so too, "Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there
is none upon the earth that I desire besides thee."
Again, AtJiUj, Another thing I remark is, that this blessed
Pla7U of remmn, was cut down in his death, and sprung up
gloriously in his resurrection. The sword of divine justice
hewed down this plant upon Mount Calvary, but within three
days he sprung up again more glorious, and more beautiful
and amial)le than ever, and he was " declared to be the Son
of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by his
resurrection from the dead."
Lastly, I would have you to remark, that all the little
plants in the garden are ingrafted in this Plant of renown ; " I
am the vine, ye are the branches : he that abideth in me,
and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fiuit : for with-
out me ye can do nothing. I am like a green lir tree, from
me is thy fruit found." [{ you be not ingrafted, sirs, in this
Plant, you will never grow, and all the trees that arc not
planted in him are all but weeds. There is a time coming
when all the weeds will be plucked up : and therefore take
heed that you be ingrafted in him by a " faith of God's ope-
ration." So much for the frst thing I proposed.
XLII.] THE PLANT OF RENOWiV. 343
II. The seco?id thing was lo show, that he is a renozoned
Plant : He is renowned in heaven, and he is renowned on
earth, and will be so ; " For his name shall endure for ever,"
Psal. Ixxii. 17.
0 he is renowned ! for what, say you, is he renowned ?
1 might here enter upon a very large held ; 1 shall only tell
you, that he is renowned in his person. There was never the
like of him ; the two natures God and man are joined together
in one in him. Did you ever see that 1 If you have not seen
that, you have not seen " the mystery of godliness :" He is
the most renowned Person in heaven ; but he is Immanuel,
"God manifested in the flesh." Then he is renowned for
his pedigree ; " Who shall declare his generation ?' Consi-
dering him as God, his eternal generation from the Father
cannot be told. We can tell you he is the only begotten of
the Father, but we cannot tell you the manner of his genera-
tion: it is a secret that God has drawn a veil upon, and it is
dangerous to venture into a search of it ; and they that have
attempted it, have commonly become bogged in Arian, Ar-
minian, or Sabellian errors. Considering him as man, he is
sprung of a race of ancient kings, a famous catalogue of
them you read of in Matth. i. And who can declare his ge-
neration even as man ? For he was born of a virgin, and
conceived by the overshadowing power of the Highest. Then
he is renowned for his name ; " he hath a name above every
name that can be named, whether in this world, or in that
which is to come." He is renowned for his wisdom ; for all
the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are in him. He is
renowned for his power ; for he is not only the wisdom of
God, but the power of God ; he is the Man of God's right
hand, even the Son of man, whom he hath made strong for
himself He is renowned for his veracity and fidelity; for
*' faithfulness is the girdle of his reins, and righteousness the
girdle of his loins." Have you got a word from him 1 depend
upon it, it is a sure word ; it does not fail ; " the word of the
Lord endureth for ever," when heaven and earth shall pass
away. He is renowned for his righteousness; for he has
" brought in an everlasting righteousness," by which the law
is magnified and made honourable, and by the imputation of
which the guilty transgressors are acquitted ; " he was made
sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the
righteousness of God in him ;" that is " his name. The Lord
our righteousness." He is renowned for his fulness ; for all
the fulness of the Godhead dwells bodily in him; he is full of
grace and truth ; full of all created and uncreated excellen-
cies. He is renowned for his love ; what but love brought
him out of the bosom of the Father to this lower world ? what
344 THE PLANT OF RENOWN. [SER.
but love made him lay down his life for his people ? He is
I'enowned for his liberality ; he has a full hand and a free
heart, as we use to say ; he gives without money, and he in-
vites all to come and share of his fulness. He is renowned
for his constancy ; he is Jesus, " the same to-day, yesterday,
and for ever:" the best of men will fail us when we trust
them, they will run like splinters into our hands when we
lean upon them ; but, sirs, you will tind Christ always the
same, " yesterday, to-day, and for ever." And then he is re-
nowned for his authority and dominion ; it is great, and ex-
tends far and wide, whether in heaven above, or in the earth
beneath; and his dominion reaches " from sea to sea, and
from the river unto the ends of the earth ;" and all the kings
of the earth are only his vassals. Thus, I say, Christ, in eve-
ry respect, is renowned.
But, here, to keep by the phraseology of the text, he is a
re7702i'ned Plant. Wherein is he renowned ?
First, I say, he is renowned for his antiquity; "I was set
up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth
was," &c. All the plants in the higher and lower gardens of
God are but just upstarts in comparison of him; angels and
archangels, and the grcKtcst seraphims, are but of yesterday
in comparison of this plant. He is renowned for his anti-
quity ; for he is " The Ancient of dajs, and the everlasting
Father," Is. ix.
N. B. Here [the author] was desired to conclude his discourse, in respect
the work in tlie church was over, and that he miglit give way to another
minister that was to preach the evening sermon.
And I will raise up for them a Plant of renown. — Ezek. xxxit. 29.
THE SECOND SERMON ON THIS TEXT.
I HAD occasion,, upon a solemnity of this nature, not long
ago, to enter upon these words, but had not lime to go far
into the import of them. After I had traced the connexion
of the words a little, I took them up in the few following par-
ticulars : —
1. We have here a great blessing promised to the church,
and that is none other than Christ under the notion of a
Prince, and a Plant of rcnoxon.
2. W^e have the party by whom this promise is made in
XLII.J THE PLANT OF RENOWN". 345
the pronoun (I,) I Jehovah, the eternal God, I will raise up
for them a Plant of re?iozm.
3. We have the way how this Plant of renown is raised ;
andlzoill raise him up, I that am the great Husbandman of
the vineyard, / will raise up for them, a Plant of renown.
"then,
4. I noticed the persons to whom the promise is made : /
7vill raise up for them ; that is, for his church, for his people
that are broii2;ht into a very low condition, as you will see by-
reading the preceding part of the chapter ; the flock of Christ
was scattered by tiie shepherds of Israel ; they were torn,
they were devoured, and under manifold trials ; well, what
will the Lord do for his flock in that condition X He says, /
will raise up for them a Plant of renown, and they shall hunger
no more.
The observation is much the same as the words them-
selves : —
Namely, " That our Lord Jesus Christ is a Plant of renown,
of his Father's upbringing ; / idll raise up for them a Plant of
reno'wn.
In the prosecution of this doctrine, I propose to observe the
order and method following : —
L To premise a few things concerning this blessed Plant.
II. To show that he indeed is a Plant of renoro7i.
III. To speak a little concerning the raising up of this
Plant.
IV. Show for whom he is raised up,
V. Show for what good, or what benefit and advantage is
he raised up. And then.
Lastly, Apply the whole.
As to the first, I spoke to it ; I premised a few things con-
cerning this blessed Plant, and I shall not stay to resume
what was said on that head.
I likewise entered upon the second, and showed that Christ
is a Plant of renown in several respects. I mentioned eleven
or twelve particulars in which Christ is renowned, but nei-
ther shall I resume these.
I shall only tell you a few things in which this blessed Plant
is renowned.
1. In the first place, this blessed Plant is renowned for his
antiquity. There are many other plants in God's garden, as
30*
346 THE PLANT OF RENOWIV. [SER
angels, seraphims, cherubims, saints militant and triumphant,
which are all plants of God's garden ; but they are all up-
starts in comparison with him ; for he was set up " ere ever
the earth was ;" you will see, that one name of this Plant of
renown is, " the everlasting Father," or the Father of eternity,
as it may be rendered.
2. As he is renowned for his antiquity, so for his beauty,
he is the most beautiful Plant in ail the garden of God ; *' I
am the Rose of Sharon, and the Lily of the valleys ;" he is " as
the apple tree among the trees of the wood." He is renowned,
I say, for his beauty, and his glory, for the glory of a God is
in him. Is there any glory in his eternal Father ? Why, that
glory shines in our Immannel in the very brightness of it,
Heb. i. 3. He is the " brightness of the Father's glory, and
the express image of his person." Now, sirs, if ever your
eyes were opened by the Spirit of God, to take up the glory
of this Plant, his glory has just dazzled your very eyes; you
that never saw any glory in him, you never saw him to this
very day. Pray that " the light of the glory of God in the
face of Jesus Christ may yet shine into your hearts ;" it would
make a heartsome sacrament, if this Plant were displayed in
his glory among us. Sirs, have you come to see him in his
glory ? O give God no rest till he make a discovery of him-
self to your souls.
3. Then, He is renowned for his verdure, for his perpetual
greenness. Other plants are fading, you and I are fading
plants; ''All flesh is grass, and all the goodlincss thereof is as
the flower of the field." He is a tree ever green ; he never
fades summer nor winter, and shall be ever a green Plant to
the saints as it were to eternity. When millions of ages, yea
myriads of ages, arc passed in heaven, he will be as fresh
and green to the believer, as when he first saw him, or the
first moment the saint entered into gloiy. Therefore it is,
that the songs of the redeemed in glory, are always new
songs, and through eternity will ever be new songs; because
they will always see matter of a new song, and the more
they see, they will more wonder at him through eternity.
Again,
4. This plant is renowned not only for his verdure, but for
his virtue. We read in llev. xxii., that " the leaves of the
tree of life, were for the healing of the nations," that tree of
life is the very same with this Plant ofrenoim; the leaves of
this Plant are for the healing of the nations; and we that are
ministers are come this day to scatter the leaves of this tree
of life, of this Plant of renoicri ; try, if you can get a leaf of
it applied and set home upon your souls, depend upon it, there
is virtue in every word of his. Sirs, mingle faith with a word,
XLII.] THE PLANT OF RENOWN. 347
and you will find it will have the same efficacy with you as
it had with the poor woman with the bloody issue, that was
healed with a touch of the hem of his garment, who had spent
all her living on doctors. O see if you can find him ; I assure
you he is here, he is behind the door of every man's heart,
Rev. iii. 20: "Behold," says he, "I stand at the door and
knock, if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will
come in lo him, and will sup with him, and he with me :" and O
let him in; there is virtue in him for curing you all; though
there were ten thousand millions of you more than there are,
there is virtue in him for healing-every one of you. But then,
5. This blessed Plant is not only renowned for his vir-
tue, but likewise for his fertility. He is not a barren plant ;
he would not be renowned if he were barren ; he " brings forth
all manner of fruit every month ;" yea, I may add, every
day, every moment. You read in Rev. xxii., of the tree of
life, that brings forth twelve manner of fruits every month ;
that is to say, he brings forth all manner of fruit that is neces-
sary for a poor soul ; whatever thy soul stands in need of is
to be found in him. See then, and gather ; see if you can
gather some of it. There is the fruit of his incarnation ; there
is the fruit of his death; there is the fruit of his resurrection;
there is the fruit of his ascension ; there is the fruit of his
intercession, and sitting at the right hand of God ; there is the
fruit of his prophetical office ; there is the fruit of his priestly
oflice ; there is the fruit of his kingly oflice ; there is the fruit
of his appearing within the veil ; there is the fruit of what
he did without the veil, and " without the camp." O what
fruit is here ? Here is wisdom for fools ; here is justification
for the condemned soul ; here is sanctification for the polluted
soul, and clothing for the naked ; riches for the poor, bread
for the hungry, drink for the thirsty ; all manner of fruit is here,
and we are trying, sirs, to shake the tree of life among you,
and blessed be God they may be gathered. O sirs, they are
dropping among you! O gather, gather, for salvation is in
every word that drops from him, for his words are the words
of eternal life. But
6. This blessed Plant is renowned for his scent, and plea-
sant savour. O sirs, there is such a blessed savour in this
Pla7it of renon-ji, as has cast a perfume through all the para-
dise above ; he has cast a perfume through all the church mi-
litant, which, in Is. v., is called God's vineyard. O sirs, do
you find any thing of the scent of this Plaiit; I can tell you,
if ever you have Ijeen made to know him, it will be so. Cant,
i. 2 : " Because of the savour of thy good ointment, thy name
is as ointment poured forth ; therefore do the virgins love thee."
The believer finds a scent about him, he draws a savour from
848 THE PLANT Or RENOWN. [SER.
him. What is the design of us ministers but to cast abroad
his scent ? and it is by this we win souls : and they that cast
out and drop the Plant of renown out of their sermons, no
wonder their sermons stink, and they shall stink to eternity
that throw Christ out of their sermons. The great business
of ministers is to cast forth ihe scent of Christ to people. I
shall read you a word to this purpose, in 2 Cor. ii. 14 — 16:
" Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to tri-
umph in Christ :" the apostle triumphs in him, and all other
honest ministers will just triumph in him too, and all Chris-
tians triumph in him that know him ; " And maketh manifest
the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. For we
are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved,
and in them that perish." To the one we are " the savour of
death unto death, and to the other the savour of life unto life,
and who is sufficient for these things ?" Who is able to tell
the sweet savour that is in him? But then, again,
7. This blessed Plant (in my text) is not only renowned
for his savour, but likewise for his shadow. Cant. ii. 3: "I
sat down under his shadow with great delight," the shadow
of the Plant of renown. You are all sitting there or standing,
but are you sitting under the PlaiH of renoim 1 Jonah's gourd
did him service against the scorching heat of the sun that
w^as like to take away his life : but, alas, that soon failed him ;
for God sent a worm and smote it, that it withered ; and the
worm of death will soon smite and wither you and me ; O
get in under the shadow of this Plant of rcnoivn, and you are
secured against death and vindictive wrath for ever; get in
under his shadow, the shadow of his intercession, the shadow
of his power, the shadow of his providence, the shadow of
his faithfulness ; O sit down under his shadow, and you will
find shelter there against all [dangers;] whatever blasts come,
you will find safety there ; v/ould you be shadowed from the
king of terrors? death is a terror to many. O if you would
be shadowed against the awful terrors of death and God's
vengeance, get in under this shadow, and you are safe.
Again, 8. This Plant is renowned for his stature ; he is a
high Plant, he is a tall Plant. You see the heavens above
you, but they are but creeping things in comparison with him,
but this glorious Plant " is the high and lofty one that in-
habits eternity ;" you can never see his height. Your eye
will look high, and your thought will reach higher ; but nei-
ther your eye nor your thought will reach to him. He is
taller than all the cedars in the l^ebanon of God; "Eye hath
not seen, nor hath ear heard, neither hath it entered into the
heart of man to conceive " of the height and glory of this
Plant of renown. But then,
XLII.] THE PLANT OF RENOWN. 349
Lastly, This Plant is renowned not only for his extent, but
for his stature, he is a broad Plant. He was planted in the
first promise in Paradise, he spread through the Old Testa-
ment church, he came the length of filling the land of Judea,
but at length this Plant has spread among us, — O that I could
spread him among you ! — O that I could open the leaves of
this Plant to take you in ! He is a broad Plant ; he will serve
you all. We read of the tree of life being on every side of
the river. There is a great river betwixt us and heaven,
and that is death, and we are all running to this river of death.
As one well observes on the place, this tree is in the middle
of the river, he is on this side of time, and he is on that side
of time. Now, this Plant is on both sides of the river. Though
you were going to the wastes of America, you will find him
there as well as here, if you have but the art of improving
him. And this Plant will spread himself through all king-
doms, Habak. ii. 14: "The earth shall be filled with the
knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover
the sea." He will not only fill the earth, but the whole hea-
vens throughout eternity. O he is a broad Plant that will
extend himself both to heaven and earth ! And this shall
serve for the second thing proposed, namely, to show, that this
Plant is indeed a renowned E^lant.
HI. The third thing I proposed in the prosecution of this
doctrine was, concerning the raising or up-bringing of this
Plant. You see it is no other than the great God that raised
up this Plant. I find the great Jehovah glorying in his skill
and wisdom, in the raising up of this Plant for the use of the
church, Psal. Ixxxix. 19. Says the Lord, " I have laid help
upon one that is mighty, I have exalted one chosen out of the
people. I have raised up David my servant; with my holy
oil have I anointed him." He just glories in it, that he has
raised up this glorious Plant of rejioimi.
I will tell you a few things with reference to the raising up
of this blessed Plant : —
\st. He was raised up in the counsel of God's peace from
eternity. The Trinity sat in council respecting the up-
bringing of him, " The council of peace was between them
both," Zech. vi. 13. The Father and the Son agreed upon
it, that, in the fulness of time, the Son should come into the
world. But then, again,
2dly, He was raised up in the first promise to Adam and
Eve. Until this Plant was discovered to them, they were
like to run distracted. And indeed, sirs, if Christless sinners
saw where they were,*and the wrath of God that is hanging
over their heads, they would be ready to run distracted, till a
revelation of Christ was made to them. All the promises, all
350 THE PLANT OF RENOWX. [SER.
the prophecies, all the types, and all the doctrines of the Old
Testament, were the gradual springings of this Plant. But
it was under ground, until,
Sdlij, His actual manifestation in the flesh, when, in the
fulness of time, he appeared : " In the fulness of t'me, God
sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
to redeem them that were under the law, that we might re-
ceive the adoption of sons." And then, again,
4thl>/, This Plant was raised up, even in his death. He was
cut oft" from the land of the living, yet even then he was
raised up, even in his very death; when this Plant was cut
down on Mount Calvary, his scent and savour ran to the ut-
most ends of the earth. And what is it, to this very day,
but the doctrine of the cross of Christ, that catches sinners'?
Those ministers, who, instead of preaching a crucified Christ,
entertain their hearers with harangues of Heathenish mora-
lity, flourishes of rhetoric, the doctrines of self-love as the
principles of religious actions, and the like stuff, must be the
devil's ministers, and not the ministers of Christ. Will ever
these feed the soul, or convert a soul to Christ? Such ways
of preaching may tickle the ear and please the fancy, but can
never be " the power of God to salvation." I say, it was the
doctrine of the cross of Christ that subdued the nations, and
which to the end of the world shall be the method of winning
souls to Christ. " God forbid," says Paul, " that I should glory,
save in the cross of our Lord .fcsus Christ, by whom the
world is crucified to me, and I unto the world." And, writing
to the Corinthians, he says, " I desire to know nothing among
you but Jesus Christ, and him crucified;" and that will be
the way of every faithful minister of Christ. But then, again,
5t/ily, This plant was raised up in his resurrection from the
dead. For in his resurrection from the dead he was " de-
clared to be the Son of God with power by the Spirit of ho-
liness." By the up-springing of this Plant after it was cut
down, our hopes began to spring up again : And, sirs, if this
Plant had not sprung up again, our hopes had perished for
ever.v But " blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Je-
sus Ou-ist, which, according to his abundant mercy, hath
begotten us again unto a lively hope," by the up-springing of
this Pla?it of raum'n, after he was cut down. A living Christ,
sirs, is no small matter, a living Redeemer, our life is just
bound up in this IHunt of renown; "because 1 live, ye shall
live also." But then, again,
Glhly, This Plajil ofrenoim was raised up higher in his as-
cension into heaven, when he was set " down on the right
hand of the Majesty on high," after he had, by himself,
purged our sins. This Plarit ofrenow?i, though preached to
XLII.] THE PLANT OF RKNOWN". 351
US Gentiles in fhe church militant ; yet he is now, in person,
received up into glory, 1 Tim.iii. ; and is up above in the
church triumphant, he " is gone up with a shout." O let us
sing praises to the Plant of renown, for he is gone up on high
as our Head, as our God, as our great High Priest, in the
higher house. And then,
7lhly, He is raised up likewise in the revelation of the ever-
lasting gospel. And thus we are endeavouring to raise him
up in the word and sacrament this day, as " Moses lifted
up the serpent in the wilderness," John iii. 14, so we are en-
deavouring to lift up the Plant of renown, " That whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life,"
John iii. 16. O sirs! I bring this Pla?it of renozcn to you, I
offer him to every one of your hands, and say. Will you have
him! O will you take this Plant, and spread his savour
among you'? He is the Father's elect and delight, and shall
not all this company say. It is he in whom my soul delighteth ?
And O, that every one of this company were saying it from
the savoury sense of it upon their hearts ! O carry him away
with you; carry him in your hearts and foreheads, and let
all the world know he is yours : " My beloved is mine, and I
am his." But then again, farther,
Sthlij, This Plant of reyiown is raised up in the day of the
church's reformation. When the fallen tabernacle of David
is reared up, then this Plant appears glorious and beautiful.
It is for the honour of Christ that the church be reformed.
Alas ! we heard a noise of great reformation of late ; but
where is it 1 or to what does it amount? What is there done
for Christ T Is there any plant plucked up that he hath not
planted? Are any intruders upon Christian congregations by
presentations, or sham calls, turned out/ Is there any thing
done with erroneous professors of divinity, when error is run-
ning through the land 1 O ! there are. few to stand up for the
truth this day, when such persons are let go without a re-
buke; yea, without so much as a protest taken by them,
who, I am persuaded, are lovers of Christ. Alas! it appears
there is little courage for Christ, to whom we owe our all. I
say, this Plaiit of re?iozv?i is raised up in the church's reforma-
tion ; may it not be said, " This is Zion whom no man seeketh
after ?" Civil and ecclesiastical authority are studying to bear
down Christ, but this Plant will be upon them, let them tread
upon him in his members as they will. His supreme Deity
and sovereignty in his church will yet appear; for his Father
has said, " Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine ene-
mies thy footstool." But then I might tell you,
9thly, That this Plant of renown will be raised up at his
second coming : And, O sirs, this Plant of renown will then
352 THE PLANT OF RENOWN. [SER.
appear in different views, and in different lights ! To the
saints he will appear in glory, they will lift up their heads
and sing: but as for the wici<ed world, they will see him all
in red flames, ready to destroy and devour them. " Behold,
he will come in the clouds, and every eye shall see him ;
they that have pierced liim" by error; they that have
pierced him by robbing and spoiling his people of the privi-
leges with which he hath made them free ; those that spoil
them of their valuable privileges which he has bought for
them with his blood, will howl and cry in that day ; " they
who pierced him, and all kindreds of the earth shall wail be-
cause of him." And then,
Lastlij, This Phmt of renown will be raised up in the songs
of the redeemed through endless eternity. The work of all
the ransomed in glory will be to raise up the glory of this
Plant of renown in the highest hallelujahs : " Worthy is the
Lamb that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wis-
dom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing, to
endless evermore." Every b,ird in every bush will theresing
of the glory and beauty"' of the Pla?it of renoivn, and he
will draw all the millions and myriads that are the inhabit-
ants of the higher house after him; they wall be continually
highly praising him. Thus you see Christ is a Plant of re-
nown, and what way he is raised up.
IV. The fourth thing 1 proposed was, for whom it is that
this Plant is raised up?
O, may some poor sinner say, was he ever raised up for mc?
I tell you, sirs, he was never raised up for the fallen angels ;
"For he took not on him the nature of angels, but he took
on him the seed of Abraham." Our nature was highly ho-
noured at first, but it soon sunk below the beasts that perish.
But the second Adam took our nature upon him, and he has
raised it to a higher dignity than the very angels; for to which
of the angels did this honour appertain to be united to the
eternal Son of God ? So that I say, that this Plant of renown
is raised up for mankind sinners, not for angel-kind sinners,
and every mankind sinner that hears tell of him, should lay
claim to him, as in Is. ix. 6. And I advise every one of you
mankind sinners to apply it; " Unto us a child is born, unto us
a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder:
and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The migh-
ty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace;" to us
he is given ; unto us he is born. I remember the angel, at
the birth of Christ, told the shepherds, " I bring you good
tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people; for unto you
(sinners, not unto us) is born this day, in the city of David, a
Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." O sirs, let all this com-
XLII.] THE PLANT OF RENOWIT. 353
pany receive it as glad tidings of great joy ; for I tell you,
that this Plant of renown is raised up for you, if you have but
a heart to use him. As the firmament is for you, if you will
open your eyes, so the Sun of righteousness is for you, if you
will open your hearts to him: for the Lord's sake do not re-
fuse him, or else it will not be telling you; you will rue it to
eternity. But say some. Are you telling us, that Christ was
raised up for all mankind 1 That is not what I say : but I say,
that Christ was revealed to all mankind : I abstract from se-
cret things. Our duty is to go and " preach the gospel to
every creature ;" therefore, according to our commission, we
bring this Plant of renown to every creature, whether young
or old, every rational creature here ; we command you (as
you will answer at the bar of the great God, as you will an-
swer at the day of judgment,) that you receive this Plant of
renown. For the Lord's sake do not refuse him ; for this is
the condemnation, that this Plant is brought into the world,
and the world will not receive him. Let not the devil nor an
unbelieving heart knock off your hands from embracing and
receiving him, as offered in this gospel we are preaching.
The devil and an unbelieving heart will tell you, your sins are
so many, and you have run on such a course of sin, that he
cannot belong to you ; but the very thing which makes you
need Christ is, because you are great sinners. Any of you
that needs this Plant of renown, I invite not only to take him
home in your hands, in your Bibles; but, for the Lord's sake,
take him home into your hearts, and let him lie there all
night between your breasts, saying, " This God is our God for
ever and ever, and will be our guide even unto death." If
you have got this Plant of renown, you will at death just go
to God with a shout, with a song, and say, O death, I defy
thee: "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy
victory?" what harm canst thou do to me? "For to me to
live is Christ, and to die is gain," gain for endless evermore ;
because I will [arrive at] the immediate enjoyment of God,
and abide for ever under the refreshing shadow of this Plant
of renoiKU.
N. B. I thought to have gone through what I designed on this subject, but
time and strength will not allow; 1 shall rather return afterwards, if there be
occasion for it. r
The Lord bless his word.
VOL. III. 31
354 THE PLANT OF RENOWIT^ [SER-
The plant of renown.
And I will raise up for them a Plant of reno\t^n. — Ezek. xxxit. 29,
THE THIRD SERxMON ON" THIS TEXT.
V. The Jiflli thing is, Why is he raised up, or for what ends
and uses is this Plant of renown raised up by Jehovah ?
Answ. \st, He is raised up as a Redeemer to set the cap-
tives of the mighty at liberty. It was a puzzling question,
that would have silenced all mankind, which we have, Is.
xlix. 24: " Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the
lawful captive be delivered?' Well, Christ being raised up for
this very end, solves the hard question, in the words immedi-
ately following, ver. 25 : " Thus saith the Lord, even the cap-
tives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the
terrible shall be delivered." And if you ask, How does he
this? You have an answer to it, Heb. ii. 14; Col. ii. 14, &c.
2dhj, He is raised up as a Mediator of the new covenant,
to make peace between an olFended God, and otiending re-
bellious man, he " makes reconciliation for iniquity," Dan. ix.
24. " God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself,
&c. " When we were enemies, we were reconciled unto
God by the death of his Son." And O what a great matter
is it to be restored to the favour and friendship of that glo-
rious Majesty, to whose wrath we were lying obnoxious, &.c.
3c//j/, He is raised up as a Surety, to pay the debt of a com-
pany of broken debtors, and to bind himself under a bond to
satisfy justice for their crimes, and that he should reduce
them to obedience to their offended Lord. Hence he is
called, Heb. vii. 25: " The Surety of a better testament;'^
and as our Surety he fulfils the law which we had broken, as
a covenant, both in its do and die, in our room and stead, and
then engages he (by bis Spirit) would write the law in their
hearts, as a rule, and, by putting his Spirit within them,
would cause them to walk in God's statutes.
4</t/y, He is raised up as a renowned Healer, a non-such
Physician, Exo^. xv. : " I am the Lord that healeth thee."
Man, through sin, is become a leper from head to foot, full
of wounds, bruises, and putrefying sores, which renders him
unfit for any good service, unfit for answering the ends of his
creation, to glorify God, or to enjoy him for ever. Well,
Christ is raised up for the recovery and health of diseased
XLII.] THE PLANT OF RENOWN. 355
souls; he has opened up a medicinal well, Zech. xiii. 1, that
washes from sin and from uncleanness, and, whatever be
your malady, we invite you to come to this well, and wash
and be clean, like Naaman in the waters of Jordan ; 0 he is
all over virtue ! his " leaves are for the healing of the nations."
And, in a particular manner, his commission carries him to
heal the broken in heart, and to bind up all their wounds.
bthly, He is raised up as a Witness to tell the truth, or as
a Prophet to reveal it. We have by the fall lost the know-
ledge of God, and of his truth, and any knowledge of the
truth that remains with us by nature, is detained in unright-
eousness. Well, Christ comes to make a revelation of God,
and of the things of God to us ; that Christ was raised up for
this end, see Deut. xviii. 18: "I will raise them up a Prophet
like unto thee, from among their brethren, and will put my
words in his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I
shall command him." But see the awful certification that
follows, ver. 19 : " Whosoever will not hearken unto my
words, that he shall speak in my name, I will require it of
him."
Qlhly, He is raised up as a Leader to the people. We
have lost our way to heaven, and Satan was leading all
mankind to hell blindfold. But Christ came to show us the
path of life, and to lead us into it, and, by his leading, he
causes the wayfaring man to walk without erring, " I will
bring the blind by a way they know not," &c.
Ithly, He is raised up as " a Commander unto the people,"
as " the Captain of salvation," to tight our battles for us, and
to head the armies of God's Israel in their way to glory :
and, by his skill and conduct, he makes them all conquerors,
vea, more than conquerors, at the end of the day.
I might tell you, farther, that he is raised up as the great
*' High Priest of our profession, that, by one oflering, he might
for ever perfect them that are sanctified :" As our Advocate
with the Father, to plead our cause, and to [manage] our
business in heaven. As a shepherd, to feed his church and
people in the wilderness : "He shall feed his flock like a
shepherd," &c. As a prince, to rule them by his word and
Spirit ; he is the " Prince of peace, and of the increase of his
government and peace there shall be no end." As an ever-
lasting Father, in whom the fatherless family of Adam find
mercy, &c. As a wonderful Counsellor, to give counsel in
all dark and difficult cases, &c. As a Husband and Bride-
groom, to cherish and comfort his church and people, and,
accordingly, he betroths her to him for ever. But these
iiiings I do not insist upon. I hasten forward to
356 THE PLANT OF RENOWN. [SER.
VI. The sixth thing, which was the application of the doc-
trine. Is it so that Christ is a Plant of renou-n, raised up by
Jehovah. Then,
I5/, See hence the iniquity and wickedness of those men,
who study to derogate from the glory of this renowned Plant.
The Arians would darken the renown of this blessed Plant,
by denying his supreme Deity, and making him an inferior
and dependant being; the Socinians, by denying he had any
being before his actual incarnation ; the Arminians, by deny-
ing his righteousness, and by making the efficacy of his
grace to depend upon the will of man and the power of de-
praved nature. O, sirs, Christ is not renowned in Scotland
this day, either among ministers or professors, as he has
sometimes been. " The Head-stone of the corner is rejected,"
the Pliait of rejionm is cast aside, by many ministers in the
land ; and he is rejected by all who do not really believe in
him, &c.
2dly, See hence how to know a true and faithful minister
of Christ. Some at this day make it a question, whom they
shall hear, when there are such divisions, and such a flood
of corrupt ministers getting into a church. Why, sirs, you
may know a true minister of Christ; he will have a smell of
the Plant of renown abqut him ; whether he be in the pul-
pit or out of it ; whether he be in a judicatory, or whatever
he be, his great business is to advance the glory of the Plant
of renoivn, the smell and savour of his Master will be about
him, which the true disciples of Christ will discern.
^dly, See hence Vi'hence it is that believers flock to gospel
ordinances, where they can get them dispensed by those whc>
bear Christ's commission to dispense them. Why, it is the
smell of the Plant of renown that draws them thither:
hence it is that his tabernacles are amiable, " and a day in
his courts is better than a thousand;" why, his scent per-
fumes these prdaces of Zion, "• as with myrrh, aloes, and cas-
sia."
Alhhj, See hence why God the Father is called a Husband-
jTian. He is so called with reference to his raising up this
Plant of renown, John xv. 1 : " I am the true Vine, and my
Father is the Husbandman;" he raised him up as the root,
and upheld him, and takes branches of the wild olive, and
ingrafts them into him, and makes them fruitful, &c.
5//i/y, See hence the regard that God has for his church
upon earth as his own garden. Why, he plants this Tree of
life in her, by which she became a new pai-adise. The tree
of life that grew in the earthly paradise, which was the seal
and sacrament of the covenant of works, is long since wi-
thered and gone ; but the tree of life, in the new garden, of
SLIT.] THE PLANT OF RENOWX. 357
God's planting, of which even a sinner may eat, and live for
ever, will never wither. O let us admire God's way of grace I
for it is full of wonder, in providing this renowned Plant, this
new Tree of life, for us. His fruit is so far from being forbid-
den, that it is God's great commandment to all sinners, " to
come and eat, and live."
Gthlu, See hence the excellency of Christ, in his person,
nature, offices, and appearances. Why, he is the Plant of
renown. O sirs, Christ is such an excellent person, that he
is the Renown of the family of heaven and earth; he is the
Renown of his Father, for he is " the brightness of his glory."
He is the Renown of earth, for by him the human nature is
raised up to a higher glory than that of angels ; for, even as
Mediator, he " hath by inheritance obtained a more excel-
lent name than they." O should not every one of mankind-
sinners be ready to cry, " O let his name endure for ever, let
his name be continued as long as the Sun; for men are
blessed in him : and O, blessed be his glorious name for ever,
and let the whole earth be filled with his glory ?"
Ilhly, See what makes a land or a church pleasant, a
Hephzibah or a Beulah to the Lord. Why, it is the Plant
of renown that makes any church or land delectable. If
the Plant of renown and his interest be thriving in a land
or church, it makes her " beautiful for situation, the joy of
the whole earth," &c.
^ihlij. See when it is that a church loses her beauty and
glory, and makes defection. Why, it is when Christ loses
his savour among her ministers and professors. And when
this Plant of renown is rejected, God rejects that church,
and gives her to the spoil. Sirs, Chi'ist has been long preached
in Scotland, but [we] have not entertained him by faith, and
therefore the Lord, at this day, is threatening to take his
Christ altogether away from among us.
Stilly, See hence how a person may know' whether mat-
ters be right or wrong, whether he be thriving and prosper-
ing in grace, or if he be decaying and going backward. Why,
it is always right with the soul, in whom and with whom
Christ is in the ascendant. Is the Plant of renown rising
or going back with you? If he be rising, then, (L) He witl
be raised up in your esteem, as with David, Psal. Ixxiii. 25,
and Paul, Philip, iii. 8, 9. (2.) In your affection and love,
" Whom having not seen, we love," &c. " Lord," says Pe-
ter, " thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee."
(3.) He will be raised up in our meditation; every thought
will be a captive to his obedience, and our " meditations of
him will be sweet, and our souls satisfied as with marrow
and fatness, when you remember him, and meditate upon
31*
358 THE PLANT OF RENOWN. [SER.
him." (4.) He will be raised up in your talk and walk, they
will have a savour of the Plant of renown, and the chat
and common talk of the world will be tasteless, like the white
of an egg, to you. But, talking of Christ, and of his truths,
and of the concerns of his glory, will be highly agreeable to
you. (5.) He will be raised up in your religious worship,
both public and private, when you go to prayer, when you
go to hear the word, or when you go to a communion table,
nothing Mill please but Christ himself." " O that I knew
where I might find him.— One thing have I desired, and that
will I seek after, that all the days olf my life I may dwell in
the house of the Lord." (6.) He will be raised up in your
wishes and endeavours for the advancement of his kingdom
and glory, in as far as your power can go. And whenever
his cause comes upon the tiekl, or the cry is made, " Who is
on the Lord's side?" You will always study, in your sphere,
to take that side where you think Christ stands,*and contend
and witness for him, his truths, his ways, and worship, ac-
cording to your power.
lO/A/y, May be by way of lamentation. If Christ be the
Plant of renown, raised up hy his eternal Father, may it not
be for matter of lamentation that the Plant of renown is in
so little request among us at this day, and that there is such
a plucking away of the glory of this blessed Plant. Some
plucking away the glory of his supreme Deity, as you were
hearing, and studying to reduce him to the rank of created
and dependant beings: some plucking at his sovereign(v and
supremacy, as the alone Head and King of his "church ;
enacting laws inconsistent with, and directly opposite to (hose
laws that he has given in his word: some plucking at the
^' liberty w herewith he has made his people free," by violent
intrusions of ministers upon congregations, contrary to scrip-
ture pattern, and the covenanted sworn principles of the
church of IScolland, inserted in her books of discipline.
O sirs, if the Playit of rcnoum were flourishins: in the land,
there would not be ^o many unsavoury plants allowed to <:;row
or come up in his vineyard, as there arc at this day. ~The
plant of Popish idolatry is connived at, and on the growing
hand, both through Scotland, England, and Ireland. The
Plant of prelacy, error, and superstitition, tolerated, contrary
to solemn covenant engagements, which the land lies under;
the plant of unsound professors of divinity, poisoning our
fountains of learning, and seminaries for the holy ministry;
the plant of lax erroneous ministers and preachers, are grow-
ing up apace, and tilling the land every day. The plant of
old malignancy against the power of religion and a covenanted
reformation is growing up, especially among a set of pretended
XLII.] THE PLANT OF RENOWN. 359
Presbyterians, falsely so called. The plant of profanity is
flourishing apace, men abandoning themselves to wickedness,
and giving themselves loose reins in drinking, swearing, riot-
ing, whoredom, drunkenness, Sabbath-breaking, and all man-
ner of abominations, burlesquing the scriptures, ridicuUng the
worship of God, and breaking their profane jests upon the sa-
cred things of God. The plant of ecclesiastical tyranny,
which seemed to be nipped a little these two years by-gone,
is sprouting again as fast as ever, notwithstanding the great
cries of a pretended reformation that we heard among a
great many ministers and professors in the established church ;
witness the proceedings of the last Assembly, in the case of
Dennie and Traquair, and the entertainment of the petition
of the parish of Stow. 1 say, all these, and many other
things that might be insisted upon, evidently declare that the
Plant of renown is not raised up among us, but rather that
his flavour and savour is gone away, in a great measure,
from amongst magistrates and ministers, from judicatories
and assemblies for worship, and from among the generality
of professors and inhabitants of the land. Yea, many come
that length, that, like the Gadarcnes, they would be well con-
tent that Christ were quite departed out of our coasts, that
they might with freedom enjoy their swinish lusts; and, in-
deed, he seems to be taking his leave of us. But O, what
will follow upon his departure? "Wo, wo, also unto them,
when I depart from them." See what comes of the vineyard
of the Lord of hosts. Is. v, (from the beginning,) when he de-
parts he takes away the hedge, &c.
llthly, Is in a word of exhortation. Is it so that Christ is
a Plant of renozon raised up by JtiHOVAH? Then let all that
bear the name of Christ, especially you who have been en-
tertained at his table, and tasted of his special love and good-
ness, study to answer God's design, in raising up for us this
Plant ofreno-d'n.
Take this in the following particulars, with which I con-
clude. (1.) Sit down, and rest your weary souls, under the
shadow of this renowned Plant, after the example of the
spouse. Cant. ii. : "I sat down under his shadow with great
delight." When you find no rest in the world, by reason of
temptations, afflictions, and the working of indwelling corrup-
tion, and when j^ou are crying, " O tell me where he maketh
his flocks to rest," let your recourse be always to the Plant
of renown, for , to him " shall the Gentiles seek, and his rest
shall be glorious." (2.) I invite you to come and behold the
glory and beauty of the Plaiit of renown : O " look unto him,
and be saved, all ye ends of the earth," God the Father
thinks so much of this Plant of his own raising, that he invites
360 THE PLANT OP RENOWN. [SER.
the whole world to behold him as the delight of his very soul,
Is. xlii. 1 : " Behold my Servant whom 1 uphold, mine Elect
in whom my soul delighteth." It is by beholding of his glory,
that the work of sanctitication, and conformity to the divine
image, and the life of religion is maintained and kept up, 2
Cor. iii. 18: "All we beholding, as in a glass, the glory of
the Lord, are changed into the same image. (3.) Come and
feed upon the fruit of this Plant of renovm ; " For his flesh is
meat indeed, and his blood is drink indeed." You have been
at his table, and perhaps got a meal there ; but, sirs, you
should be continually feeding upon him. You see, in the
close of the verse, this Plant is raised up to be food to the
hungry; "I will raise him up for them, and they shall hun-
ger no more," or be consumed with hunger no more; and
therefore be always feeding upon his fruits, for they are
" sweet to the taste, and make the lips of them that are asleep,
to speak, like the best wine that goeth down sweetly." (4.)
Whenever you find yourselves wounded by temptation, or
corruption, or the world, come to the Plant of reiioim for
healing, for his " leaves are for the healing of the nations."
You have a sweet promise to this purpose, Mai. iv. 2 : "To
you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise
with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow
up as calves of the stall," &c. (5.) Let me exhort you, in
your sphere, ministers and private Christians, and I would
fain take home the exhortation to myself O let us all join
issue with the Father of Christ, in studying to raise up this
PUvit ofreno-cm, and to make him more and more renowned:
this will be the ambition, and resolution, and endeavour, of
all that knovv him. Psal. xlv. (at the close,) says the church
there, "I will make thy name to be remembered in all gene-
rations, therefore shall the people praise thee, O Lord, for
ever and ever." Let us (that are ministers) preach and pro-
claim his righteousness and renown, and the £;lory of his per-
son, in the great congregation. And you (that are the peo-
ple.) O study to command him by your walk and talk, and
the holiness of your conversation, upon all occasions; and,
when his cause and interest in the land are in such a sinking
condition, let us take a lift of it. Let us lie at a throne of
grace, pleading, that God would not forsake the land ; but
that he would yet return, and be " the glory in the midst of
us," Zech. ii. 5.
XLii.] god's doves flying to his windows. 361
SERMOrV XL.11I.
GOD'S DOVES FLYING TO HIS WINDOWS.
Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as doves lo their windows ? — Is. lx. 8.
In the last verse of the precedhig chapter, God had made
a promise of the continuance of the church upon earth to the
uttermost ages of time : " As for me, this is my covenant,"
&.C. Here, in the beginning of this chapter, we have a pro-
mise concerning the enlargement of the church under the
New Testament, to the uttermost ends of the earth : Ver. 3,
4: "And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to
the brightness of thy rising. Lift up thine eyes round about,
and see ; all they gather themselves together, they come to
thee, thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall
be nursed at thy side." We are likewise told, how the church
shall be affected with this increase of her numbers and en-
largement of her borders. (1.) She will be in a transport of
joy upon this account; ver. 5: "Thou shalt see and flow to-
gether," &c. (2.) There will be a mixture of fear with this
joy ; " Thine heart shall fear," as though it were a thing un-
lawful to join with the Gentiles, &c. (3.) She shall be en-
larged with love, so as to leave room for all the Gentile con-
verts. (4.) She shall be struck with surprise and wonder,
saying, IVho are these thai JIij as a cloud, and us doves to their
windozvs ?
Where four things are worthy of consideration. 1. We
have a sweet sight that the Old 'I'estament church gets of the
state of matters under the New Testament, upon the revela-
tion of Christ in the gospel among the Gentiles. Why, she
sees poor souls upon the wing", in great multitudes, flying to a
Saviour; and a sv/eeter sight cannot be seen upon earth.
2. Notice the manner of their flight; they Jly as a cloud or as
doves: Of which more particularly afterward, when we come
to prosecute the doctrine. 3. Notice the term or object of
their flight; they fly to the windows for their relief. Like
the windows of the ark of Noah, at which the dove entered,
when she could find no place for the sole of her foot, because
of the deluge. 4. Notice the pleasant surprise that the pro-
phet of the Old Testament church is put into at this sight.
This is implied in the manner of the speech, (Who are these?)
She is struck with a pleasant astonishment, to see the sinners
of Gentiles, "aliens to the commonwealth of Israel, strangers
to the covenant of promise," flocking in to Christ ; Christ
362 god's doves flyiivg to his wiivdows. [ser,
preached to the Gentiles, and the Gentiles believing in Christ,
being a branch of the great mystery of godliness, 1 Tim.
iii. 16.
Obs. That the flight of sinners to a Saviour is a sweet and
surprising sight. Who are these thai jiy as a cloud? and as
doves to their ivlfuhzvs ?
The method, through divine assistance shall be,
I. To speak a little of this flight of the sinner to Christ, and
show what it imports.
II. I would speak a little of the manner of their flight:
They fly as a cloud, and as doves. What may be couched in
these metaphors.
III. Speak a little of these windows to which they fly.
IV. Show that this is a sweet and surprising sight.
V. Apply the whole.
I. The flrst thing is, to speak a little of the flight of a sin-
ner to Christ, the Saviour.
l5^ Then, This flight supposes that some spiritual life and
sensation is given to the sinner; for there can be no flying
without life. The sinner is by nature dead in sin, legally-
dead, and spiritually dead; Eph. ii. 1 : «' You hath he quick-
ened, who were dead in trespasses and sins." The Spirit of
life that is in Christ Jesus enters into the dead soul, and quick-
ens, and gives it at least a [sense of its condition,] otherwise
there can be no flying to Christ.
2dly. This flisiht supposes or implies an apprehension and
fear of danger from a pursuing enemy. The poor soul is
made to see danger from the broken law, danger from the
sword of justice, the avenger of blood; upon which he falls
to tremblint;, like the jailer, [saying,] " Sirs, what must I do
to be sa vcd V
3dly, This flight of the soul to Christ implies a renuncia-
tion of relief from those lying refuges, in whirh it had for-
merly been trusting. The man,* in flying to Christ, renounces
an empty profession, his common gifts, his common graces,
his gospel advances, his law works, his own holiness and right-
eousness, his tears and prayers; his righteousness cannot pro-
fit him, therefore he cries out, "Ashur shall not save us;
we will not ride upon horses, neither will we say any more
to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods; for" in thee the
fatherless lindcth mercy,'' IIos. xii. 3. "In vain is salvation
hoped for from (he hills, and from the multitude of moun-
tains; truly in the Lord our God is the salvation of his people."
4thly, It implies a discovery and uptaking of Christ and of
his salvation, as he is held out in the gospel. A beam of di-
vine light shines into the heart. " even the light of the know-
ledge of the glory of God in the face (or person) of Jesus
XLiii.] god's doves flying to his windows. 363
Christ," by which the man sees him to be indeed what the
o-ospel represents him to be, a non-such and incomparable Sa-
viour; one who is the man of God's right hand," Psal. Ixxx.
17 : " the Man that is God's fellow," Zech. xiii. 7 ; and there-
fore mighty to save, &c.
5lhly, This flight of the soul to Christ implies the soul's
hearty approbation of Christ, and of the way of salvation
through Christ, as an ordinance of God calculated for his
glory, as well as for his own safety and happiness. O, says
the man, " It is, indeed, a faithful saying, and worthy of all
acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save
sinners." 1 see this method of salvation through the new
and living way to be every way worthy of the wisdom of
God, and calculated for the manifestation of the glory of his
holiness, justice, sovereignty, faithfulness, and every other at-
tribute of God, that was [obscured] by the sin of man : there-
fore the man approves of it with his soul, and blesses God that
ever found out such a device.
etklij, This flight has in it a strong and ardent desire to be
at this Saviour, and to be found in him. " O that I knew
where I might find him!" O to be washed with his blood,
clothed with his righteousness, sanctified by his Spirit ! " Yea,
doubtless," says Paul, " I count all things but loss, that I may
win Christ, and be found in him."
Ithly, It implies a hope of winning him, and of being shel-
tered and saved in him; for, if there be no hope of safety,
the man will never flee, and this hope is founded upon the
design of the incarnation, &c. the design of the revelation
of him in the word, &c. the gracious grant made of him in
the word, (fee. the free promise of life and pardon through
him, (fee. the calls, and offers, and commands of God to
come to him, and the redemption that others have met with.
8lhly, A resting and trusting in him, and in him alone, for
righteousness, life, peace, pardon, and salvation, to himself in
particular. The man does not simply believe that Christ is a
Saviour, and that salvation is to be had in him for the elect,
or for believers, but he believes in him and on him for his
own salvation, Acts xv. 11: "We believe," or we are per-
suaded, " that, through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we
shall be saved even as they/' We find faith or trust in scrip-
ture commonly expressed in words of approbation and appli-
cation. The man looks upon Christ as given and offered by
God in the gospel ; and he says, with Thomas, " My Lord,^
and my God ," or with Paul, ""^He loved me, and gave himselt*
for me ; he is our Lord Jesus Christ." He looks to the God
and Father of Christ, and says, " He is my God, and my Fa-
ther, and the Rock of my salvation," &c. He looks to the
364 god's doves flying to his wmoows. [ser*
covenant of grace and promise sealed with a Redeemer's
blood, and cries with David, " This is all my salvation;" that he
has (in Christ, made or established j "with me an everlasting
covenant, ordered in all things, and sure." I own, indeed, that
this applying faith is not alike strong in all believers, or yet
alike strong in the selfsame believer at all times ; for sad ex-
perience makes it evident, that the confidence of faith may
be sadly shaken and staggered through unbelief, temptation,
and desertion, as to cry out sometimes, " Is his mercy clean
gone? Hath God forgotten to be gracious; 1 am cast out of
his sight." But then it should be remembered, that although
these fits, fears, and staggerings, be in the believer, they are
not in the faith, yea, his faith is opposite to these doubts and
fears, and is still fighting against them, " Why are ye fearful,
O ye of little faith? Fear not, only believe." And in as far
as faith gets the mastery over these doubts and fears, so far
will we have of this confidence, as to his own particular claim.
Let faith get up its head, and it will speak its own particular
leed, [Its specific language, or proper and native dialect]
"Abba, Father, doubtless thou art our Father, and our Re-
deemer, and thy name is from everlasting." Thus you see
what this flight is.
II. The second thing in the method, is to speak a little to
the manner of the soul's (light to Christ. And this is held
out here in the text, under a twofold metaphor: 1st, They Jly
as a cloud. 2dly, They fly as doves to their windoxos.
Ist, They are here said to fly as a cloud. Take this in the
particulars following: —
1. This points to the multitude of those that should be con-
verted to the faith of Christ, under the New Testament dis-
pensation : For we find a cloud is sometimes expressive of a
multitude. Ileb. xii. 1: " Seeing we are compassed about
with so great a cloud of witnesses," that is, such a great mul-
titude of them, let us lay aside every weight, w'itb the sin
which doth so easily beset us." So here, ]Viio are these that
fly as a cloud? It says, (hat as there are innumerable drops
of rain, or particles of mist and vapours in a cloud; so under
the New Testament, there would be vast numbers and innu-
merable multitudes, that would take a flight by faith, to Christ,
Rev. vii. We shall find, according to the calculation there
made, that under the Old Testament they could be summed
up; and they are reckoned in whole, out of all the tril)es of
Israel, to be "a hundred and forty-four thousand." But when
he comes to speak of the converts among other nations, they
arc called " an innumerable company which no man can num-
ber," ver. 9. This was what the prophet Isaiah foresaw in
XLiii.] god's doves flying to his windows. 365
the verse immediately preceding my text ; and likewise, chap,
liv. 1: " SincT, O barren, thou that didst not bear, break forth
into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with
child : for more are' the children of the desolate, than the
children of the married wife, saith the Lord." O what a
cloud of saints have gone away to heaven since the gospel
came to be preached among the Gentiles? And what a cloud
of them have gone to heaven out of Scotland, since about
two hundred years after the death of Christ, when the gospel
came first to be preached among us? It is a sad matter that
there should be so few in this generation, in comparison of
what was in former days, when the Spirit was poured out from
on high ! though, blessed be God, there is a pretty goodnum-
ber, ttiough few, few, in respect of those that are posting to
hell.
2. They Jly as a cloud. It may signify the unanimity of
these converts ; they take all one way, like a cloud flying
along the heavens; they are all joined to one Head Christ
Jesus ; they are all knit together in one bond of Christian
love ; they are all actuated by the same Spirit of God and of
glory resting on them ; they are all clothed with the same
robes of imputed and inherent righteousness ; they have all
one character, they are all heirs of the same inheritance, and
they all travel in the same road, the " strait and narrow way
that leads unto everlasting life."
3. The cloud flies upon the wings of the wind, and what
quarter soever the wind carries them, thither do they go. So,
all believers are actuated, moved, and carried on in their
course, by the wind of the influences of the Spirit. Wlien the
wind blows, then the clouds accelerate their motion. Just so
is it with the believer : If the Spirit be suspended, they lie
like a ship wind-bound, they cannot move ; but whenever the
gale of the heavenly wind blows, then they run the way of
God's commandments ; hence is that prayer of the spouse,
Cant. iv. 16, " Awake, O north wind, and come, thou south ;
blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flov/ out."
It was by a gust of this heavenly wind, that the church was
made to cry, " Ere ever I was aware, my soul made me as
the chariots of Amminadib."
4. They fly as a cloud. It says, that there is much of the
sovereignty of God, and of the irresistibility of his grace, in
the flight of a sinner to Christ. The clouds are said to be
God's chariots, and God's chariot cannot be stopped or hin-
dered in its motion. Who can hinder the motion of the cloud
along the heavens? No, not all the powers of hell and earth
can hinder it. So the work of divine grace in bringing a sin-
VOL. III. 32
366 god's doves flying to his windows. [ser.
ner out of a state of nature into grace, is the fruit of adora-
ble sovereignty, and he will go on with his work, let devils
and men rage, and corruption within do their utmost to mar
and hinder his procedure. " I will take away the stony
heart, and I will give thee a heart of flesh. And who hath
resisted his will ?" His own arm, that brought about salva-
tion, in a way of purchase, until he could say, " It is finished,"
will also carry it on in a way of powerful application ; "Thy
people shall be willing in the day of thy power: all that the
Father giveth me, shall come to me." The work cannot be
[prevented] which he takes in hand, for the Lord " is a rock,
and his work is perfect."
5. Who are these that jly as a cloud? It implies, that God's
work of grace is of a secret and mysterious nature. It is
usual in scripture to express dark and mysterious dispensations
by a cloud, " clouds and darkness were round about him,"
that is, his dispensations were mysterious. So here, Who are
these that Jly as a cloud? that is, it is wonderful and myste-
rious to see how the Lord brings the sinner to take a flight
to Christ by faith ; God's way in this is " a great deep " that
cannot be searched out : Hence is that [saying] of Christ to
Nicodemus, John iii. 8 : " The wind blovvelh where it lisleth,
and thou hearcst the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence
it Cometh, and whither it goeth,'' &c.
6. The clouds are exhaled out of the earth by the heat of
the sun, and raised up above the earth, and mount up towards
heaven. Just so, by the warm influences of divine grace,
(which are the beams of the Sun of righteousness) the sinner
who is lying in " the horrible pit, and in a miry clay," and
licking up the dust of the earth, is elevated and raised to
God and heaven-ward, and made to seek things that are
above. Is. xl. 31 : "They mount with wings as eagles:" Heb.
xi. 14 : " They seek a better country, that is, a heavenly."
7. The clouds, when raised up by the heat of the sun, are
kept up by the mighty power of God. So, believers being
brought into a state of grace, are kept in it " by the power
of God, through faith unto salvation." It is he who preserves
them in that state ; hence believers are called " the preserved
in Christ Jesus." And as the clouds arc in the hand of the
Lord, so are all his saints, Dcut. xxxiii. 3: " All his saints are
in thy hand;" John x. 28: "No man shall pluck them out of
my hand ;" ver. 25) : " My Father, who gave them me, is
greater than all, and none is able to pluck them out of my
Father's hand," &c.
8. Although the clouds have a lowering and dark aspect
to the eye, yet, they have a blessing in them ; they sift down
XLiii.] god's doves flying to his windows. 367
rain upon the earth, which contributes to its fertility. So
God's work of grace on the soul, although it have a dark as-
pect at the beginning, yet there is a blessing in it in the event ;
a blessing to the soul when it is landed in Christ ; and belie-
vers, however ill the world like them, yet they are a blessing
to the world, and contribute to its preservation and fruit-
fulness. The clouds, you know, pour down rain upon the
earth: so believers wherever they come, study to drop the
knowledge of Christ; for the lips of the righteous feed ma-
ny: hence is that [declaration] of the prophet, Micah v. 7:
"The remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many peo-
ple, as a dew from the Lord, as the showers upon the grass,
that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men."
And thus you see why they are said to Jiy as a cloud.
2dly, They are said to fiy as doves to their ivindoios. Take
the similitude in the following particulars : —
1. The dove, you know, is a timorous creature, it is easily
frightened. So, believers are timorous of sin, timorous of
offending the majesty of God ; and therefore they are com-
monly described to be such as fear the name of the Lord.
They are afraid of Satan, that " roaring lion," as the doves
•are afraid of the birds of prey, which would devour and tear
them; they are afraid of the snares of the world, and occa-
sions of sin ; and therefore they hate the very " garments
spotted by the flesh."
2. The wings of the dove are its only weapons ; it cannot
fight ; and therefore it flies from the enemy to its windows.
So the flight of faith to Christ is the only safety of a believer.
Hence they are said to fly " for refuge to the hope set before
them." And when the poor believer is tossed with the tem-
pests of affliction, temptation, desertion, persecution, and the
workings of a body of sin and death, he is ready to say with
David, Psal. Iv. 6, " O that I had wings like a dove, for then
would I fly away and be at rest."
3. The wings of the dove are very beautiful ; they are said
lobe "covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold."
So the flight of faith to Christ is pleasant and delightful to
Christ. He declares himself to be just ravished with it. Cant,
iv. 9 : " Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse,
thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one
chain of thy neck." When the disciples returned from preach-
ing the gospel among the cities of Israel, and told Christ of
many that believed, it is said, he rejoiced in Spirit. It is the
pleasure of Christ's heart to have sinners flocking in under
the shadow of his wings, and there is joy in heaven, when
but one soul flies to him by faith.
368 god's doves flying to his windows. [ser.
4. The clove is a mournful creature, the remnant of Israel
are said to be like cloves in the valley, mourning every one
for his iniquities. The flight of faith to Christ is penitential,
an(3 with weeping for the oflbnce the soul has clone to a God
of love. The eye of faith is a weeping eye, Zech. xii. 10:
" They shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and
mourn."
5. The dove is a simple creature, without art or cunning;
we read of the dove's simplicity, and of the serpent's subtlety.
So faith is accompanied with a great deal of simplicity ; it is
the single eye that tills the whole body with light; and be-
lievers, when they betake themselves to Christ, lay aside the
wisdom and policy of the flesh. Whenever Paul became a
believer, he consulted no more with flesh and blood : they
study " with simplicity and godly sincerity (not with fleshly
wisdom) to have their conversation in the world." Alas!
there is little of this at this day, among ministers and profes-
sors: little of it among judicatories, where all afliiirs are
managed with carnal policy and wisdom, for pleasing men,
especially great men, whatever becomes of Christ's little
ones.
6. The dove is a cleanly creature, and delights much in
clean waters and clean places. And so it imports that the
flight of faith to Christ, is of a purifying and sanctilying na-
ture. When the soul flies to him, it flies to him to be cleansed
from sin, both in the guilt and filth of it. And when the prin-
ciple of faith is implanted in the soul, it is always working
and wrestling acainst sin, wherever it finds it, particularly in
the heart; and, like the living spring in the well, it is conti-
nually working until the mud and tilth of sin is wrought out
Acts XV., "purifying their hearts by faith."
7. The dove is a social creature, it loves to be in company
■with its own kind; hence, commonly, you shall see them fly-
ing in flocks. So believers fly and flock together. They do
not love to fly wilh the vulture, the hawk, or the raven, but
with their own fraternity. The saints love to be in one an-
other's company ; they that fear the Lord associate together,
" they spake often one to another," Mai. iii. G.
8. The flight of the dove is swift: and what is swifter than
the wings of faith and love, by which the believer in a mo-
ment will mount from earth to heaven l " and enter within
the veil, where the Forerunner is for us entered," &c.
9. The dove is a very innocent and harmless creature ; it
does injury to none of the other birds; so believers study to
*' be harmless and blameless, the sons of God without rebuke,
in the midst of a crooked and perver.se generation." This
XLin.] god's doves flying to his windows. 369
much for the second thing, namely, The manner of the flight,
&c.
III. The third thing in the method was, to offer a few thoughts
respecting the icindows to which the believer flies.
And there are these few things I offer on this head :—
\st, That God has provided a house for his doves ; for win-
dows' belong to a house. And what sort of a house, God in
his infinite wisdom and love has provided, you may see, Prov.
ix. f , 2 : " Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn
out her seven pillars." God took up house with man at his
creation, but that house fell with the fall of Adam, and the
breach of the first covenant ; and God and man parted house.
But God's heart being full of love to man upon earth, he could
not think of a total parting : and therefore, though he broke
up family with them for awhile, yet he sends his own Son
to build him a new house, in which he might take up family
again with man ; for " he rejoiced in the habitable parts of
the earth, and his delights were with the sons of men." And,
accordingly, Christ comes into the world, and lays the foun-
dation of a nev*f house, and it is founded in Zion, and he him-
self is laid as the foundation of the house, " a tried stone, a
precious corner stone, a sure foundation." And this is a house
not for the merit of works, but a house of free mercy, Psal.
Ixxxix. 3 : " 1 have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever,"
A/C.
2dly, I remark that there is bield [shelter or defence] in
this house of mercy that wisdom has built for lost sinners of
Adam's family: And therefore the doves here are said to/y
into their zdKdcii^s. See what bield there is for a sinner here,
chased for his life by the law, justice, and the devd, Is. xxxu.
2 ; " a Man," (namely the Man'Christ Jesus, the Man of God's
right hand, the Master of the house) shall be as a hidmg-
place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest ; as the
shadow of a great rock in a weary land." O sirs, by the
revelation of Christ in the church, salvation is placed in Zion,
and hG*bids all the aflrighted doves " look unto him and be
saved ; for he is God, and beside him, there is none else.''
Sdly, I remark that there is light in the house, that God
has provided for his doves; for one great use of windows in
a house is for lettini^ in the light. The church, the house of
God, is a lightsome house, therefore called a valley of vision.
Wherever "God sets up a church, " the people wdio sat in
darkness see great liijht: and to them who sat in the land of
the shadow of death,'light springs up." The light of the Sun
of righteousness shines in the church; it shines m the dis-
pensation of the word, and it shines in the manifestation of
32*
370 god's doves flyixg to his wir'dows. [ser.
the Holy Ghost into the hearts of the inhabitants : and there-
fore all the indwellers of the house are called the *' children
of the light, and of the day."
4.lhlij, I remark that the windows of this house are open ;
for the doves do not fly into the windows of a house that are
shut. O sirs, God keeps open doors, and open windows in his
house for all comers. Let a sinner come by day or night to
Christ, he is always welcome : " Come to me " who will, " I
will in no wise cast out."
^ihly, That sinners have a claim and title to the Saviour
and his salvation, dispensed in the ordinances of the gospel:
for they are here said to Jhj as doves to their zchidozcs. O sirs,
we tell you, that Christ is your Christ ! As the angels, when
they preached Christ to the shepherds, they said to them,
" Unto you is born a Saviour ; not to us, but unto you is be
born ; he has not taken our nature upon him, but yours: and
therefore he belongs to you, that you may believe, and apply,
and use him. Hence the church. Is. ix. 6, cries, " Unto us a
child is born, unto us a Son is given," &c.
GtJdy, That in God's house of mercy, or in the church of
Christ, there are a variety of ordinances, in which the souls
of believers may have access to fellowship and communion
with him. For it is not here said in the singular number,
that they shall Jly as doves to their wiiidozv, but, they hhnll Jly
as doves to their icindon-s.
Now here I will tell you of a few of these windows, by
which believers, who arc God's doves, enter upon the wings
of faith, to fellowship and communion with the Lord : and
these windows are of two kinds, either more private and se-
cret, or more open and public.
\. I say, There are some more private and secret windows
of the house, by which the doves enter into fellowship and
communion wiih the Lord, even in the worst times, when the
public doors of the sanctuary are shut, that they can have no
access to them, either through corruption or persecution.
(1.) Then, there is the secret window of meditation. God's
doves will enter into his house of mercy here, and have sweet
fellowship with him, when none of all the world know any
thing about it. David, Psal. Ixiii., when driven into the wil-
derness of Judah, when he was driven into a dry and thirsty
land, far from the sanctuary or public ordinances, yet he flees
into this privy window, and linds sweet entertainment to his
soul, ver. 5 — 7: "My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow
and fatness, and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips.
When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee
in the night watches : because thou hast been my help, there-
fore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice," &.c.
XLiii.] god's doves plying to his windows. 371
(2.) There is the privy window of secret prayer whether
it be occasional, ejaculatory, or stated prayer. At this win-
dow the believer enters into communion with the Lord, many
a time, and is sweetly fed. We find the saints delighting
much in this window. No sooner is Paul converted, but im-
mediately it is observed of him, "Behold he prayeth," Acts
ix. 1 1 ; and David, when speaking of God's doves, Psal. xxiv.
6, calls them the "generation of them that seek the face of
Jacob's God." And David himself frequented this window of
secret prayer much ; seven times a day he would be ho-
vering about it; and O, but God loves to hear the voice of
his doves in prayer ! Cant. ii. 14 : " O my dove, that art in
the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me
see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice ; for sweet is thy
voice, and thy countenance is comely !" He invites his doves
to come here frequently to this window, and he promises to
entertain them, Matth. vii. 7 : " Ask, and it shall be given
you ; seek, and ye shall find ; knock, and it shall be opened
unto you."
(3.) There is the window of praise, thanksgiving, and sing-
ing of psalms, not only in public, in concert with others, but
even in private and secret, Eph. v. 19: "Be ye filled with
the Spirit: speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and
spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to
the Lord: Giving thanks always for all things unto God and
the Father, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." O this
window of praise is a pleasant window to the believer, espe-
cially when he has met with the Lord, and has been libci-ally
dealt with there, in private or in public ordinances. Then
he is ready to say, with David, Psal. ciii. 1 — 4, '• Bless the
Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy
name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his be-
nefits. Who forgiveth all thine iniquities: who healeth all
thy diseases. Who redeemeth thy life from destruction : who
crowneth thee with loving-kindness and tender mercies."
(4.) There is the private window of reading the scriptures.
This Christ has recommended to his doves, and to all men,
John V. 39, " Search the scriptures, for in them ye think ye
have eternal life, and they are they which testify of me."
Many a sweet meal the believer gets, in reading of the word
of God, either alone, or in family worship : in this ordinance
of God, the Ethiopian eunuch found the Messiah. When the
Spirit of the Lord glances into the heart of the believer by
any truth or doctrine, or history of the word, he can, in that
case, say, that the word of God is " better to him than gold,
yea, than much fine gold, sweeter also than honey, and the
honey-comb ;" as David declares from his experience, Psal.
372 god's doves flying to his vvindows. [ser,
xix. : and, Jer. xv. 16 : " Thy words were found, and I did
eat them, and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of
my heart."
(5.) There is the private window of personal or family fast-
ing and humihation, which has been much owned of the Lord.
This we find recommended by Christ to his friends and fol-
lowers, Matth. vi. 17, 18: "But thou, when thou fastest,
anoint thine head, and wash thy face, that thou appear not
unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret:
And thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee
openly."
(6.) There is the private window of Christian commu-
nion and fellowship for conference, and prayer, and mutual
edification. This has been much owned of the Lord ; and
God's doves, we find in scripture, assembling themselves toge-
ther after this manner frequently, in dark, cloudy, and evil
days of general defection, Mai. iii. 16. When men were
calling the proud happy, and robbing God, and spoiling his
house, it is said, " Then they that feared the Lord spake of-
ten one to another, and the Lord hearkened, and' heard it;
and a book of remembrance was written before him for them
that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name."
Thus you see some private Vv'indows, &c.
2. There are some of them more open and public windows
of God's house, to which God's doves use to resort in great
flocks and companies, which are sometimes called the gates
of Zion, or the courts of the great King, where liis subjects
pay liim a public tribute of worship before the world.
(1.) Then, there is the large and open window of preach-
ing the everlasting gospel, calculated for gathering doves to
God's house of mercy : "Go ye into all the world," says Christ,
"and preach the gospel to every creature." Apostles, ])rophets,
evangelists, pastors, and teachers, are all set at work to open
this window, and to invite and call sinners to come flocking
into Christ by it. By this ordinance of preaching of the gos-
pel, the sound of the voice of Christ is gone to the uttermost
ends of the earth ; and what arc all ministers but the voice (of
Christ) crying in the wilderness of this Vv'orld, to fly into him
for safety from the wrath that is to come. Wisdom (Prov. ix.
3 — 5,) crieth in the tops of " the highest places. Whoso is sim-
ple, let him turn in hither. As for him that wanteth under-
standing, she saith to him. Come, eat of my bread, and drink
of the wine which I have mingled," &c. Sirs, there is a
goodly company of souls gathered at present to this window of
gospel preaching. O that all this multitude would rise like a
cloud, and fly like doves to Christ, through the window of a
preached gospel ! We read of three thousand souls added
XLiii.] god's doves flying to his windows. 373
to the church by one sermon, Acts ii. 41. The residue of
the Spirit is with Christ ; and if there would come the rushing
of the mighty wind of the Spirit among this company, there
would be a pleasant flight of a cloud of souls to the blessed
Mediator.
(2.) There is the public window of baptism, that initiating
ordinance, ' which signifies and seals our ingrafting into
Christ, and our partaking of the benefits of the new covenant,
and our engagement to be the Lord's.' * Sirs, you are all
entered into God's outer house by this window. O do not
stay there, but fly in a little farther, even into the chambers
of presence. The outward seal of God's covenant gives you
a right to take hold of the covenant, and of Christ the cove-
nant Head ; and I may say to you (who have come in at this
window of the visible church,) what Paul says concerning
the Jews, Rom. ix. 4, " To you belongs the adoption, and the
glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the
service of God, and the promises ;" and therefore take care
that you do not forsake your own mercy ; never rest until
you get the baptism of the Spirit, as well as the baptism of
water, by which ye shall be " sealed unto the day of re-
demption."
(3.) There is the public window of the sacrament of the
Lord's supper, where there is a feast provided for the friends,
the doves of Christ. This is the window which we are met
here to open for all, who by faith have taken a flight to Christ,
offered and presented to them, either in the word read or
preached ; and therefore we call to all the Lord's doves,
" Come and eat, O friends ; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O
beloved." Here, at this ordinance of the supper, there is
meat indeed, and drink indeed, provided ; even the flesh and
blood of Immanuel, God-man ; all the blessings of the ever-
lasting covenant. You see the institution of this ordinance,
1 Cor. xi. 23, &c.
(4.) I might tell you of the window of public prayer, in
which the ministers offer up the joint prayers of the church,
or God's people unto the Lord ; he being God's mouth to
them in preaching, and their mouth to God in prayer.
(5.) The window of public praise and thanksgiving, when
all God's doves join together in offering up the tribute of
thanksgiving to him with one mouth, and with one voice and
consent, which is an emblem of the work of the triumphant
company in glory, who are continually warbling forth the
praises of the Redeemer in high hallelujahs, every one cry-
ing, " Worthy is the Lamb that was slain."
• See Assembly's Shorter Catechism, Quest. " What is Baptism."
374 god's doves flying to his windows. [ser.
(6.) There is the window of public fasting and humiliation
before the Lord, for public sins, and personal failings and
backslidings. Thus we find God's doves frequently employed,
especially when there has been grievous provocations in a
church, and signs of the Lord's anger and displeasure gone
forth. Joel ii. 15 — 17 : " Blow the trumpet in Zion, sancti-
fy a fast, call a solemn assembly. Gather the people: sanc-
tify the congregation : assen)ble the elders : gather the chil-
dren, and those that suck the breast: let the bridegroom go
forth of his chamber, and the bride out .of her closet. Let
the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch
and the altar, and let them say. Spare thy people, O Lord,
and give not thine heritage to reproach," &c.
Thus I have given you six private and secret, and six pub-
lic windows of the house of God, to which God's doves should
be frequently flying, upon the wings of faith, for a meeting
with Christ.
IV. The fourth thing in the method was to show% that it is
a pleasant and surprising sight to see sinners flying to Christ
as a cloud, and as doves to their zmidozvs.
Here 1 would show, 1st, That it is pleasant : 2dly, That it
is surprising.
Is^ That it is a pleasant sight. It is pleasant to God the
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and to all the angels and glo-
rified saints ; for there is joy in heaven, when a sinner on
earth takes a flight to Christ by faith. It is pleasant to all
honest ministers who travail in birth till Christ be formed in
sinners ; and it is pleasant to God's whole family ; all his
house rejoices when the prodigal comes home.
I will tell you some things that make it a pleasant sight to
see sinners fly to Christ as doves to their wj/k/otw. 1. It cannot
but be pleasant, because it is a fulfilling of God's purpose of
grace and love from all eternity. He has loved his own
" with an everlasting love ?" he loved them when he saw
them " in their blood." Now, must it not be pleasant to see
the election of God obtaining and taking place; to see his
everlasting love breaking out in the drawing of his own with
loving-kindness? 2. It must be pleasant, because the flight
of sinners to Christ is just the travail of Christ's soul, Is. liii. :
" He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied."
It is a satisfaction to Christ to sec the fruit of his sore travail,
when he said, " Now my soul is exceeding sorrowful, even
unto death;" and what is so pleasant to Christ himself, can-
not but be pleasant to all that love him. 3. It is " the day of
his espousals," the day of Christ's marriage and coronation,
XLiii.] god's doves flying to his windows. 375
and therefore must be very pleasant to the bride, and the
friends of the Bridegroom, Cant. iii. 11: "Go forth, O ye
daughters of Zion, and behold King Solomon with the crown
wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espou-
sals, in the day of the gladness of his heart." 4. Because then
the prisoners are released, " the captives of the mighty are
taken away, and the prey of the terrible is delivered," &c.
5. It is pleasant, because then the head of the old serpent
gets a new bruise, and his works are destroyed more and
more, " The strong man is then bound, and spoiled of his
goods."
2dly, I come to tell you, that the flight of the sinner to
Christ is not only pleasant, but surprising and amazing. And
this will appear, if we consider,
1. The state and condition in which the sinner is before he
flies to Christ. He is dead in sin, wholly destitute of any
principle of spiritual life. Now, is it not surprising to see
God showing wonders among the dead ? to see a dead sinner
rising, and taking a flight to Christ within the veil ? The sin-
ner is afar off; and is it not surprising to see the man that
was " afar off, made nigh by the blood of Jesus ?' The sin-
ner is by nature full of enmity against God and his Christ,
yea, enmity itself: and is it not surprising to see the enmity
of the heart broken, and the man brought to a state of peace
and reconciliation with God.
2. The flight of the sinner to Christ is surprising, consider-
ing the strong opposition that arises against it from within.
The ignorance of the mind lies in the way ; for we are " alien-
ated from the life of God, through the ignorance that is in us,"
and it is impossible, while this stands in its power and reign,
that ever the sinner can fly to Christ, because faith is founded
in knowledge, even " the light of the knowledge of the glory
of God in the face of Jesus Christ." The obstinacy and hard-
ness of the heart stand in the way. The will is inflexible,
and will bend to nothing but the almighty power of God ; and
is it not surprising to see this iron sinew bended fyid made
pliable by the rod of the Mediator's strength ? The legal bias
of the heart opposes the sinner's flight to Christ : the man is
married to the law as a covenant, and nature can never
think of another way of acceptance before God than by doing
or working ; and is it not surprising to see the sinner who
was wedded to the law, and to his own righteousness, crying,
" I through the law am dead to the law, that I may live unto
God," through the righteousness of Christ ; and saying with
Paul, " What things were gain to me, these I counted loss
for Christ ; yea, doubtless, I count all things but dung, that I
376 god's doves flying to his windows. [ser.
may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine own
righteousness," &c. Again, the guilt that is upon the con-
science opposes the sinner's flight to Christ; for we find a
guiUy Adam flying from the presence of God ; and the natu-
ral language of a guilty conscience, when it is awakened, is,
O there is no mercy for me, there is no hope of acceptance.
Now, is it not surprising to see the sinner, that was flying
from God under a sense of guilt, flying to him through Christ,
and crying, " Pardon mine iniquity, for it is great," &c.
Again, the carnality of the affections lies in the way of the
sinner's flight. The man was flying after vanity, and crying,
" O, who will show me any good V who wall give me riches,
honours, pleasures in a world ? This is the natural run of the
afl^ections; they spend themselves upon things that cannot
profit ; and is it not surprising to see the man turning his
back upon all these things'? saying with Solomon, "All is
vanity," and seeking and " setting his affections on things that
are above, where Christ is at the right hand of God."
3. The flight of the sinner to Christ is surprising, if we con-
• sider how active Satan is to keep the sinner under his power.
He is called the strong man, and he keeps the house ; he
rules in the hearts of the children of disobedience, and leads
them about in the chains of their own lusts. Now, is it not
surprising to see Christ coming in a day of his power, " spoil-
ing the strong man of his prey ;" and not only so, but arming
the poor captive of the devil as a soldier under his own ban-
ner, to resist that enemy, and put him to flight, and by the
shield of faith quenching the fiery darts of the enemy 1
4. It is surprising, if we consider the entanglements of an
insnaring world. The devil is called the god of this world,
because ever since the entrance of sin, Satan has got so
much power over the good things and bad things of it, as
that they arc all his tools for ruining the souls of sinners,
and for detaining them in his service. Hence is it that we
see most part of the world dancing to the devil's pipe, and
selling their souls for profits, for pleasures, for riches, for
honours, and the like. These are just the devil's baits, by
wdiich he trains men and women on, until he has brought
them to hell, where lie is sure he has them fast through
eternity. Now, is it not surprising to see a sinner that has
been decoyed and deceived all his days with the things of
the world, casting them all behind his back, and trampling
on them like the woman. Rev. xii. 1, who hath " the moon
under her feet," &.c.
In a word, is it not surprising to see the dry bones getting
life, and flesh, and strength 1 to see the Ethiopian washed
XLiii.] god's doves tlying to his windows. 377
and made whiter than snow 1 the seed of the serpent that
licked the dust taking a flight from earth to heaven?
V. Hhe fifth and last thing in the method, was the Appli-
cation.
Vsefirst shall be of inference, in these following particulars :
l5/, From what has been said, we may see the usefulness
of gospel ordinances, when dispensed in their purity and
power. Why, they are just the windows of wisdom's house,
by which the soul enters 'into the presence of God, and enjoys
fellowship and communion with him. David, upon this ac-
count, esteemed gospel ordinances under the Old Testament,
and longed for them, Psal. Ixxxiv. 1 : " How amiable are thy
tabernacles, O Lord of hosts ! My soul longeth, yea, even
fainteth, for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh
cry out for the living God." Ver. 10 : " A day in thy courts
is better than a thousand: I had rather be a door-keeper in
the house of my God, than dwell in the tents of wickedness."
2dly, See hence whence it is that the saints, who have
" tasted that the Lord is gracious," frequent the ordinances
of God's appointment. Why, they are God's doves, as they
are frequently called in the book of the Song; and is it
strange to see doves flocking to their windows 1 Indeed, the
world thinks it strange to see some travelling far to a sacra-
ment, and are ready to sneer at them as fools for their pains ;
but let a blind world do their utmost, God's doves will not be
scared from the windows of his house.
3dly, See hence the attractive virtue that is in Christ.
Why, when he lets out his grace, and love, and glory, he
garrs [makes] sinners come flying like a cloud, and like flocks
of doves after him, to the windows of his house. " If I be
lifted up," says Christ, " I will draw all men unto me." O,
sweet and victorious is his way of drawing ! He " draws
with the cords of a man, and the bands of love." No won-
der, when all is considered, though the gathering of the peo-
ple be to the blessed Shiloh.
4.thly, See hence what is the great work of faithful minis-
ters of the gospel. Why, it is just to open the windows of
gospel ordinances, and to invite the simple doves, exposed to
the fowls of the air, and ravenous birds, to turn in hither to
Christ, who is a hiding-place, &c.
5thly, See the folly of sinners, yea, of the generality of gos-
pel hearers, who come flying about the windows of gospel
ordinances, and yet do not fly in at the windows to Christ
himself, by a real faith closing with him. How niany come
to hear the gospel of Christ, who do not close with Christ!
and how many come to a communion table, who do not feed
VOL. III. 33 t
378 god's doves flying to his windows. [ser*
upon Christ himself! The folly of such is great, when salva-
tion is near to them, and they so near to salvation, and yet
come short of it through unbelief.
Gihly, See the madness and wickedness of some in our day,
who scare God's doves from his windows, and who make the
ordinances of God to be abhorred. Some do this hy offering
the doves unwholesome food of error or heathenish morality,
or truth unskilfully prepared. Some scare the doves by their
immoralities, and untender walk, like the sons of Eli, &-c. ;
and judicatories, at (his day, are scaring and scattering the
Lord's doves from their windows, by violent intrusions, by
which they shut both doors and windows of the sanctuary,
and then exclaim against the poor doves, that they do not
haunt their usual windows. God sees well how his doves,
his little ones, are guicicd at this day ; and he knows how to
provide his doves, and reckon with those that scatter and
fright them. He will, in his own time and way, take these
foxes and vultures, which men and judicatories are letting
slip through their fingers. The day of vengeance is in his
heart, and the year of his redeemed is coming, Is. Ixiii. 4.
Ithly, See the use both of law and gospel, and how they
stand in sweet subserviency to the salvation of a soul. Why,
by the noise, and thunders, and terrors of the law, God's doves
are waked and set to the flight from the wrath to come ; and
this being done, the gospel opens the windows, and casts open
the door of access to Christ, crying, " Turn ye to your strong-
holds, ye prisoners of hope," Zech. ix. 12 : So that Christ be-
ing discovered in the gospel, the law becomes a schoolmaster
to bring sinners lo Christ, that they may " be justified by
faith," Gal. iii. 24; " from all things from which they could
not be justified by the law of Moses," Acts xiii. 39. This
much by way of inference.
Use second may be of Trial.
Have you fled to Christ as doves to their ^nndorcs 1 Many fly
to Christ in a way of profession ; but, if ever thy soul really
took a flight to him upon the wings of faith and love, you
may know it by these or the like things: —
\sl, Did ever a thunder-clap from Mount Sinai startle you,
and raise you out of your natural security, and put you in a
consternation, like a heap of doves at the sight of a gun? So
that you was wild, and laiew not what to do, or whither to
fly for help, like those converts. Acts ii. 37, and the jailer,
Acts xvi. 27, and Paul at his conversion, &c.
2c//j/, When, like Noah's dove, you was wandering up and
down in your thoughts for a place of rest, got you a disco-
very of the Ark Christ, and did you come hovering about
the Ark ? Our great Noah opened the windows of the Ark,
XLiii.] god's doves flying to his windows. 379
and took thee in with himself, and became a hiding-place to
thee, &,c.
Mly, If this be the case at thy entrance at the window of
the Ark, thou hast been made to sing, Psal. cxvi. 7, " Return
unto thy rest, 0 my soul ; for the Lord hatli dealt bountifully
with thee ;" or that, Psal. ciii. 4 : "He redeemeth my life
from destruction, he crowneth me with loving-kindness and
tender mercies. Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is
within me, bless his holy name."
Alhly, If so, when you took your flight to Christ, you left
all idols behind you, crying with Ephraim, " What have T to
do any more with idols?" Those things you counted gain,
will be loss in your view. As for sins, even your dearest
sins, your right hands and right eyes, you will be careful to
cut them oft", and pull them out. As for the world,^ with
which you was taken up, you will cry. Away with it; it is a
mere mass of vanity, all " vanity and vexation of spirit." As
for the law, you will be dead to it as a husband. " I through
the law am dead to the law." As for your works of right-
eousness, in which you gloried, you will count them dung,
and loss, filthy rags. As for the wisdom of the flesh, you
will reckon it stark folly and madness. As for your own
strength, you will see it to be weakness. " I am not sufiicient,
of myself, to think any thing as of myself." As for your own
fulness, you have found it to be nothing but emptiness ; and
that, instead of being rich and increased with goods, you
have seen that you are " wretched and miserable, blind and
naked."
bihly, If you have really fled to Christ a.s doves to their win-
dows, there are some things you have found in him, which you
could never find any where else. L Thou hast found the
hfe of thy soul in him: Our " life is hid with Christ in God:
He that hath the Son hath life, and shall never come into
condemnation." 2. Thou hast found rest to thy soul in him :
Thou triedst to find this and the former in lying refuges, but
was always disappointed in thy expectation ; but now, now,
thou hast found it according to his promise, Matth. xi. :
" Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest," O glorious rest ! Is. xi. 10. 3.
Thou hast found soul health in him, like the woman that
spent all her means upon other physicians to no purpose, till
she came and touched the hem of Christ's garments, and then
the bloody issue was stayed. So cannot thou say upon thy
coming to Christ; thou foundst his countenance to be thy
health; healing is under his wings, Mai. iv. 2; Psal. ciii. 3.
He healeth all my diseases, &c. 4. Thou hast found food to
thj soul in him : His " flesh is meat indeed, and his blood is
380 god's doves flying to his windows. [ser.
drink indeed, &,c. O taste and see that the Lord is good "
&c. 5. Thou hast found clothing to thy naked soul in him.
You was trying, like our first parents, to cover thy nakedness
with fig leaves ; but now thou castest these away, and, taking
the skin of the word to cover thee v\'ith, which God provided,
and upon thy being thus clothed with the righteousness of
Christ, thou hast been made to sing that song, Is. Ixi. 10 :
*' He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath
covered me with the robe of righteousness," &c. G. You
have found riches, and unsearchable riches, in him, that do
not rot in the grave, gold better than the gold of Ophir, to
make you up for all eternity. 7. In one word, you have
found your God in him, whom you lost in the first Adam; for
God is in Christ, and you have found him as your own God,
And now you will be ready to say, He is " my God, and I
will prepare him a habitation, even the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ; and therefore I will exalt him."
" Our God is the God of salvation," &c.
Use third may be of Covsolalion to God's doves in this dark
and evil day, in which their usual windows to which they
used to flock, are like to be shut by a set of men and judi-
catories who should open them, and who should gather God's
do^s, instead of scattering them.
There are these few things I ofler for comfort in an evil
day like this: —
\st, Know for your encouragement, that, when the win-
dows of public ordinances are shut up, cither by persecution,
violence, or defections, or when you are scared away from
them by vultures, or birds of prey, that have got into the
house, yet God can let you in to communion with him, by the
private and secret windows I mentioned in the doctrinal part.
God's doves, though they may be shut out of the church, yet
they shall not be shut out from fellowship with him, one way
or other; no, he will gather unto him them that are sorrow-
ful for the solemn assembly,
2dly, God hears the mourning of his doves even when they
are driven to the " clefts of the rock, and secret places of the
stairs," Cant. ii. 14, &,c.
3f////, God's eye is upon his doves, and he " tells all their
wanderings; — the eyes of the Lord arc upon the righteous, —
and they run to and fro, to show himifclf strong in behalf of
them that fear him."
^thly. His heart and his atlections are set upon his doves,
even to a ravishment, Cant. iv. 0 : " Thou hast ravished my
heart, my sister, my spouse." And this affection is invaria-
ble, for he "rests in his love."
blhly, The arms of his power and providence are about
XLiii.] god's doves flying to his windows. 381
his doves, and " He covers them with his feathers, and he
will hide them in (he secret of his tabernacle, when thou-
sands shall fall at their side, and ten thousand at their right
hand." " Come, my people, enter into your chambers, shut
the doors about thee," &c.
Glhhj, Ere it be long, thy soul will take a flight out of this
ill world, into the land of rest, the house of many mansions,
where thou wilt be at rest for ever.
Use fourth might be of Terror to all those who are doing
hurt to God's doves at this day.
Some are scaring and frightening them, some are scatter-
ing them, some are plucking at their gospel-rights and pri-
vileges, some plucking at their name with slander, some pluck-
ing them out of their dwellings, because they cannot commit
themselves into the hands of the birds of prey. I shall only
say to you, if there be any such hearing me, as I doubt not
but there may be some of them to spy out our liberty on this
occasion, 1. " God is jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with
a great jealousy," Zech. i. 14. 2. He is sore displeased with
you for the injuries that are done to them in helping on their
affliction, Zech. i. 15. 3. God is preparing a cup for you to
drink, and a bitter one, Psal. Ixxv. 8: "In the hand of the
Lord there is a cup, and the wine is red," &c. He "will
render tribulation to them that trouble" his doves. God's
doves, that are mourning now, shall sing when you shall
mourn ; they will be singing in heaven, when you shall be
morning and howling among devils, &c.
Vse Jif/h shall be of Exhortation: 1st, To all in general;
2dlij, To God's doves in particular.
\st, A word of exhortation to persuade sinners to rise out
of the earth like a cloud, and fly like doves to Christ. O
that all this company before me would clap their wings,
and take a flight, and never rest until they had fled for re-
fuge to this hope set before them in the gospel! To set
you all a flight, if possible, let me deal with you in a rational
way.
1. God commands you to fly to Christ, " This is his com-
mandment. That we should believe on the name of his Son
Jesus Christ."
2. He invites you to fly to his Christ, " Behold my servant
whom I uphold, my elect in whom my soul delighteth."
3. He entreats and beseeches you to fly to him, " We pray
you in Christ's stead, as though God did beseech you by us,
be ye reconciled to God."
4. He expostulates with you, because of your backslidings,
to fly to him, " O my people ! what have I done unto thee,
and wherein have I wearied thee ?"
33*
382 god's doves flying to his windows. [ser.
5. He assures you of welcome by his promise, '* Come to
me " who will, " I will in no wise cast out." And by his oath,
*' As I live, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but
rather that the wicked turn from his way and live."
6. All things in his house are ready to give entertainment
to you, behold, " all things are ready, come to the marriage,
Proverbs, 8th and 9lh chapters.
7. Fly, the windows are open, the heart of Christ is open.
His arms are open and stretched out. His covenant is open
to you to take hold of it.
8. Consider what is behind you. (1.) The roaring lion,
ready to devour you. (2.) The curse of thfe broken law is
behind you. (3.) The wrath of God is behind you. O! who
knows the power of it?
9. There is no safety for you in heaven nor earth, if you do
not fly from sin : " There is no other name under heaven,
given among men, whereby we must be saved." " How shall
we escape if we neglect so great a salvation. They that
despised Moses' law died without mercy," &.c.
10. The time of flying will be gone within a little; no fly-
ing out of hell ; none to come to you tliere to cry, " Turn ye
to your strong-holds, ye prisoners of hope." " He that liveth
for ever and ever, hath sworn, with his hand lifted up to
heaven, that time shall be no longer." "And therefore to-
day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.".
11. Fly, or else you will lose your soul for ever ; " He that
believeth not shall be damned." And "what is a man pro-
fited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own
soul."
Object. 1. 'You bid us fly, but to what purpose? you tell
us we are dead in sins?' Afiszv. It is the glory of sovereign
grace, to ".show wonders to the dead:" see what he did
among the dry bones, Ezck. xxxvii. 3 : " Can these dry bones
live?" Yea, if the Spirit of the Lord breathe upon them, God
has bidden us to prophesy upon the dry bones, to cry to the
dead, to arise and fly' and therefore we must do it. ' And if
God would bid me say to the mountains, licmovc, to the rocks
and trees and grass piles, Arise and live, I would do it, and I
would believe that God would make it cflectual.
Object. 2. • You bid me fly, but, alas ! I want win^s (o fly,
" O that I had wings like a dove, for then would I fly." A7}sn:
If there be a will to fly, and a hearty desire to fly, thou hast
got wings: and if you want even that, seeks wings from him
that bids you fly, for he " giveth power to the faint," and then
they mount up with wings as eagles, &c.
Object. 3. ' I have a load of sin upon my back, I cannot get
up.' Answ. ''Cast thy burden upon the Lord," and if you can-
XLiii.] god's doves flying to his windows. 383
not fly, rest you with your load upon him ; for as faith is a
flying, so it is a resting.
Object. 4. ' Christ is so far away, that I will never reach
hinn.' Answ. Do not say so, for he is near, Rom. x. 8.
Object. 5. ' When I attempt to fly, the devil and the world,
and my own heart, pull me back again into the mire, and
then I am just where 1 was,' A7isii;. From that moment that
thou makest an attempt to fly to Christ, the devil, the world,
and corruption, will be upon thee to harass thee. But though
they may do thee many an ill turn, yet they shall never pull
thee out of Christ if once thou hast fled to him, no man
" shall pluck them out of my hand, my Father who gave
them me is greater than all," says Christ, " and none shall
pluck them out of my Father's hand," Many a pluck the
enemy gives at Christ's doves, but they shall never pluck them
away from him.
Quest. You bid me fly like a dove to Christ, and his win-
dows ; but will you give me your advice in order to it 1 Answ.
1. Be much in viewing the holiness of the law, and of the
Lawgiver, " for it is a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ,"
&c. 2. Be much in viewing your danger while out of Christ,
condemned already. 3. Be much in studying the gospel,
Christ in his person, nature, and ofticcs ; the freedom of the
covenant, and the fulness and suitableness of the gospel re-
medy. 4. Be persuaded of the Lord's willingness to take
you in to himself, at his windows, his bowels sound towards
sinners. 5. Cry for the wind of the Spirit to blow, that thus
you may be set a-flight ; for he testifies of, and joins the sin-
ner to Christ. 6. Make a desperate attempt to be at Christ,
through the window of prayer, and of faith in prayer; wres-
tle, cry, seek, and knock ; for to such it shall be opened.
2dly, The second sort I would speak to are believers, who
have jled like a cloud, and as doves to Christ's rnndous.
1. Bless the Lord that gave you counsel, and did not allow
you to sit still in a natural state, within the sea-mark of his
wrath, but chased you with his law terrors, and drew you in
at his windows to himself Sing his praise, saying, " Bless
the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benetits." " He
broua;ht me up also out of a horrible pit, and out of the miry
clay."
2. Have you fled to Christ? Abide in him as in a lodging
and dwelling-place: just as the man-slayer was to abide in
the city of refuge, after he had fled to it, and was never to
go out of it, until the death of the high priest: and your
High Priest never dies ; and therefore you are never to be
found out of your gospel-refuge.
3. Frequent the windows of his ordinances, both the more
284 god's doves FLVmO TO HIS WINDOWS. [sER.
secret and retired windows of prayer and meditation, read-
ing, fasting, Christian conference ; and these that are more
solemn and pubHc, such as word and sacrament, when you
can have access: for there it is that Christ feeds his doves,
and gives them interviews with himself; and when the pub-
Hc windows are shut, or defiled, or haunted with foxes or
birds of prey, that Iright, scatter, or tear the doves, be the
more frequently resorting to the more private or secret win-
dows.
4. Have you fled to Christ like doves to their windon-s, and
taken up your rest in him : never look back to your old
houses, and resorts, your lying refuges, nor look to the gene-
ral mercy [of God,] &c. Never look to an empty profes-
sion, &c.; never take up again with the works of the law,
&c. ; bid all these adieu, never to come back to them again,
&c.
5. When like the dove, you come to pick up any thing
that is necessary for you upon earth, do not sit still upon the
earth, but away again to your windows, and soar upward to-
ward Christ. " Set your affections upon things above, where
Christ sitteth at the right hand of God."
6. Invite others to your windows where you have been en-
tertained, and do what you can to recommend Christ and his
way and word and ordinances to them, "O taste and see that
the Lord is good," says David.
7. When the Lord has taken you " from among the pots,"
and " made you like the wings of a dove covered with the
silver and yellow gold" of his own Spirit and righteousness.
O do not defile your feathers, do not tarnish and blacken your
profession with the filth of sin. Do not lie down in the pud-
dle with the men of this world : " Be not conformed to this
world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your
good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."
8. Let God's doves drink the pure and running water of
the sanctuary, I mean, keep by the pm-e word, worship, and
ordinances of his appointment, the river of divine truth, gos-
pel doctrine and worship, dispensed in gospel ordinances.
Alas ! the streams of these rivers do not make glad the city
of God, at this day, through many corners of the land. Why,
the waters arc fouled with the feet of a set of hirelings, in-
truders, and corrupt and lax ministers, that are forced in upon
them ; men that are unskilful in the law, men that want the
dove-like spirit of Christ, and therefore are incapable of feed-
ing God's doves. Let God's doves be aware of them that
foul the waters of the sanctuary, who corrupt the doctrine,
discipline, worship, and government, which we in these lands
XLIV.] CHRIST SET UP FROM EVERLASTING. 385
are sworn to maintain and preserve in their purity, Philip,
iii. 1 : " Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of
the concision."
SERMO]^ XLIV.
CHRIST SET UP FROM EVERLASTING.
i was set up from everlasting, from tlie beginning, or ever the earth was. —
Phov. VIII. 23.
There are such evident rays of the eternal and suprenne
Deity of Christ, as also of his personality and essential one-
ness with the Father, in this passage, as looks the Arians and
Socinians, these blasphemers of the Son of God, quite out of
countenance, and obliges them, though with great absurdity,
to allege, that what is spoken of and by Christ in this chap-
ter, and particularly from ver. 22, to ver. 31, is to be under-
stood of wisdom as one of the attributes of the divine nature.
But it is beyond controversy, among all orthodox interpreters,
that it is Christ, the second person of the glorious Trinity,
under the notion of wisdom, who here speaks, as might be
cleared from many personal properties, personal acts, and
personal words, that are ascribed to him in this passage of
scripture, which, for brevity's sake, I cannot insist upon at
this time.
The penman of this book was Solomon, " But behold a
greater than Solomon is here," even Christ, " the wisdom of
God, and the power of God, in whom all the treasures of wis-
dom and knowledge are hid." As Solomon had all his wis-
dom out of this treasure; so being under the conduct of the
Spirit of wisdom and revelation, is led, as a type, to speak in
the person of his glorious anti-type, as his father David does
frequently in the book of the Psalms, particularly in Psal.
xvi. and Psal. xl. 1 — 17. Christ recommends his dictates in
the word to the children of men, and shows what advantage
will accrue to them by the study of the scriptures ; agreeably
to what he says, John v. 39 : " Search the scriptures, for in
them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they which
testify of me." From the 22d verse to the 31st, in order to
engage our faith and trust in him, he elegantly describes the
386 CHRIST SET UP FROM EVERLASTING. [SER.
glory of his person, that so we beholding as in a glass, his
glory, may be changed into his image. More particularly,
(1.) He shows how, from all eternity, he lodged in his Fa-
ther's arms and bosom, as his beloved Son, in whom he was,
and is well pleased, ver. 22 : " The Lord possessed me in the
beginning of his way, before his works of old." (2.) He speaks
of his eternal designation to the great work and service of
our redemption," in the words of my text, Izoas set up from
everlasting, &lc. Where we may notice,
1. The divine person, who is the speaker, in the pronoun,
(/.) I, the eternal Son of God, the glorious Immanuel, the
faithful and true Witness. I, who am God co-equal with the
Father; and who sat as a constituent member of the council
of peace, respecting the great affair of man's redemption, and
therefore cannot but be well acquainted with what was trans-
acted there.
2. The result of that eternal transaction declared with re-
lation to himself, I ivas set tip, that is, I was, by an act of the
divine will, common to all the three persons of the glorious
Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, elected, set apart, or
foreordained to the great service of man's redemption. A
word parallel to this, and which casts a light upon the text,
you have, Psal. ii. 7: "Where Christ, speaking of himself,
says, " I will declare the decree : the Lord hath said unto me,
Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee." This is
called the Father's will, Psal. xl. 7, 8: "Lo! I come, in the
volume of the book, it is written of me ; I delight to do thy will.
3. In the words we have the date of the divine council
and decree, with relation to our lledeemer, or when he was
set up for that service. It bears date from the ancient years
of eternity, 1 was set up from everlasting, from the begiiunngy
ere ever the earth was. Here are words that swallow up all
finite thought and consideration, it leads us back to an eter-
nity past, and who could ever have told us what was acted in
the divine mind and council from all eternity, but he only
who is the Alpha, and the Omega, from everlasting to ever-
lasting, God, He 7vas set up from everlastitig, from the bcgin-
ni?ig, ere ever the earth zoas. So much for explaining the
words.
DocT. " That as Christ is the everlasting God ; so, from all
eternity, he was foreordained and set up for the great service
of man's redemption. / luas set up from everlasting,^ &c.
To this purpose is that of the apostle, 1 Pet. i. 20 : " Who
verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world,
but was manifest in these last times."
XLIV.] CHRIST SET UP FROM EVERLASTING. 387
The method, through divine assistance, I shall observe, is
as follows : — /^ n j ^i. * u
I. To prove that Christ is the everlasting God, and that he
was from the beginning, ere eDer the earth was.
II. Show what is imported in his being set up from everlast-
ing.
III. For what ends and purposes was he set up.
IV. Why he, and none else, zvas set up for this end.
V. Make some application of the whole.
" I. The Jirst thing is to prove, That Christ is the everlast-
ing God, and that he was from the hegbrning, ere ever the earth
The Socinians affirm. That he had no being before his ac-
tual incarnation. And the Arians, Though they allow that
he had a being before his incarnation ; yet deny his eternal
existence, and, consequently, make him but a nominal deity,
and reduce him among the" rank of created beings. Now, m
opposition to both these damning heresies, I shall endeavour
to trace a Httle, the scriptural account of the eternal existence
of the Son of God, our glorious Redeemer,
And frst, that he existed before his incarnation, or his be-
ing born of the virgin, is evident from the appearance he
made to our first p'arents in paradise, after the fall, Gen. iiL
15. It, namely, the seed of the woman, shall bruise thy head,
namely, the serpent's, explained by the apostle, Heb. ii. 14.
That this was God in the person of the Son, intimating Jus
future incarnation, and the design of it is evident ; for God,
absolutely considered, is not a promising but an avenging God,
a consuming tire to the workers of iniquity. And nil the
promises in him are vea and amen. It is only the Lion ot
the tribe of Judah, and none else, that opened the book of the
divine council, respecting our redemption. And therefore it
was he, and none else, that broke up (his seal, and disclosed
this secret to our first parents in paradise.
In like manner, it was he that preached the gospel to Abra-
ham, saying, " In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth
be blessed," as is clear from Gal. iii. 8. a- u
We find hirn executing his threefold mediatorial offices, be-
fore ever he came in the tlesh. We find him, as a prophet,
preaching righteousness to the great congregation, Psal. xl.
9: "I have preached righteousness in the great congrega-
tion: Jo, I have not refrained my lips, 0 Lord, thon knowest?"
And by his spirit in Noah he preached to (he old world, who,
because of their disobedience, were shut up in (he prison of
hell ; as we see in 1 Pet. iii. 18—20. We find him acting as
the great Priest of his church, before his actual appearance
388 CHRIST SET UP FROM EVERLASTING. [SER.
in the flesh, Psal, ex. 4: " The Lord hath sworn, and will not
repent, Thou art a Priest forever after the order of Melchise-
dek," and his royal and kingly office is asserted by God the
Father, before ever he appealed in the flesh, Psal. ii. : •' Yet
have 1 set my King upon my holy hill of Zion :" 1 have done
it ; it is not a thing to do, but it is done already ; I have set
him King, &c. And he speaks to him as a person actually
existing : " Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for
thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy
possession." Thus you see him executing all his offices be-
fore he was incarnate.
But I need not stand upon this point, in opposition to the
Socinians, seeing we have it from Christ's own mouth, who
is the faithful witness. John viii. 58, says he there to the
Jews, " Before Abraham was, I am," alluding probably to
that same name he took to himself, when he appeared to
Moses in the bush, and sent him to bring Israel out of Egypt:
" Go," says he, " and tell them, I am hath sent me unto you,"
Exod. iii. 14 ; a name equivalent to the name Jehovah, which
signifies past, prese?it, and to come, and distinguishes him from
all the dunghill deities of the nations.
But then, secondly, let us go back farther, even to the cre-
ation of the world, and we shall find his existence and agency,
in the production of all created beings, John i. 2, 3: " In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with
God. All things were made by him ; and without him was
not any thing made that was made." He must needs be the
everlasting God, who is the Creator of all the ends of the
earth. Gen. i. 1 : " In the beginning, God created the hea-
vens and the earth;" hence, Ps;al. cii. 25 : "Of old hast thou
laid the foundation of the earth ; and the heavens arc the
work of thy hands," &-c. Which words are applied to Christ,
Heb. i. 10 — 12: "Thou, Lord, in the beginning, hast laid the
foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of
thine hands. They shall perish, but thou remainest : and they
all shall wax old as doth a garment; and as a vesture shall
thou fold them up, and they shall be changed. But thou art
the same, and thy years shall not fail."
Again, thirdlij, Let us [revert back] to the endless ages be-
fore the creation of the world, and wc find him existing "or
ever the earth was," John xvii. .'">. He prays that he might
be glorified with his Father, with the same glory that he had
with him before the foundation of the world. Hence he is
not only called the mighty God, but the everlasting Father,
or the Father of eternity ; and Micah v. 2 : " His goings forth
were from of old, from everlasting." But 1 need not stand
XLIV.] CHRIST SET UP FROM EVERLASTING. 889
upon this, seeing the very words of the text are so clear as
to this matter. Iroas set up from everlastifig, from the begin-
nmg, or ever the earth was. If he were not the everlasting
God, he- could never have been set up from everlasting. So
much for the first thing.
II. The second thing proposed v^^as, to inquire what is im-
ported in his being set up from everlasting.
And there are these few things that I take to be imported
in this expression : —
Isl, It supposes the council of peace, or an eternal trans-
action between the Father and the Son, concerning the re-
demption of lost sinners; for this is the result of the council
here declared by the Son, Iwas set up from everlasting. Zech.
vi. 13: "The council of peace shall be between them both."
2c/ly, It implies the infinite complacency that the Father
and Son had in each other from all eternity. This is more
clearly expressed in the verse inmiediately preceding the text,
" The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his ways, before
his works of old ;" and yet more clearly, ver. 29, 30 : " When
he appointed the foundations of the earth, then I was by him,
as one brought up with him ; and 1 was daily his delight, re-
joicing always before him." So Is. xlii. 1 ; Matth. iii. 17;
chap. xvii. 5.
Sdly, It implies a divine ordination and decree, by which
he was from eternity elected to the great service of man's re-
demption. Hence he is called his Father's Elect, Is. xlii. 1:
"Behold my Servant whom I behold, mine Elect, in whom
my soul delighteth." So, Psal. Ixxxix. 19, says God the Fa-
ther, " I have laid help upon one that is mighty, 1 have ex-
alted one chosen out of the people ;" and, with an eye to this
decree of the election of Christ is that forecited of the apostle,
1 Pet. i. 20: "Who verily was foreordained before the foun-
dation of the world," &-c. Though he be God coequal with
the Father, yet he voluntarily came under a decree of elec-
tion, that so he might be the head of the election among
mankind sinners, in whom they are elected to everlasting life.
Eph. i. 4 : " He hath chosen us in him, before the foundation
of the world."
4thly, I nHis set up from e'cer/a^'/j/?^, implies, that, in con-
sequence of the decree, he was called of God to undertake
the work of redemption, Is. xlii. 6 : " I the Lord have called
thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep
thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light
of the Gentiles." Heb. v. 4,5: "No man taketh this honour
unto himself, but he who is called of God, as was Aaron : so
also Christ glorified not himself to be made a high priest,
VOL. III. 34 t
890 CHRIST SET UP FROM EVERLASTING. [SER*
but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, this day have I
begotten thee."
bthly. It impHes his own voluntary consent to, and com-
phance with his Father's call. Of so great moment is this,
that it is registered in the volume of the book of God, Psal.
xl. 7,8: " Tnen said I, Lo, I come ; in the volume of the
book it is written of me : I delight to do thy will, O my God ;
yea, thy law is within my heart." Upon which words the
apostle Paul comments, Heb. x. 5 — 10, applying them to the
purpose in hand.
And, upon this voluntary consent of the Son of God fol-
lowed a multitude of great promises that the Father made to
him. The Father promised to fit him with a human nature,
to be personally united to his divine nature ; " A body hast
thou prepared me ;" a promise of all needful furniture and
assistance in the undertaking, that an immeasurable fulness
of the Spirit, and all his gifts, graces, and qualifications, should
rest upon him, Is. xi. 2, 3, chap, xlii., liii. 10 — 12 : " The plea-
sure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. I will divide him
a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with
the strong :" That he should see his seed ; a seed should
serve him, that should he accounted to him for a generation.
Psal. xxii., at the close: That he would make his enemies
his footstool, and greatly plague all that hated him: And
that, when he had drunk of the brook that ran in the way,
he should again lift up the head, and be repossessed, even in
the human nature, of all " that glory which he had with the
Father before the world was." Thus you see what is implied
in his being set up from everlasting.
But now, before I go on to the third general head, I would
here show, how (in consequence of all this, which was done
before the f-^undation of the world was laid) he was actually
.set up in time, in the view of lost sinners of Adam's family,
"whom he came to save and redeem. And,
1. His first appearance was in the promise made to our
first parents, of his future incarnation, already mentioned,
Gen. iii. 15, which was the only foundation of fiiith the church
had, until the days of Abraham, to whom that promise w^as
renewed, "In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be
blessed," Gen. xxii. 18.
2. He was set up typically, in the view of the church,
under the old Testament. What was the meaning of the ta-
bernacle and temple, of all the sacrifices and ceremonies of
that economy ? They were all intended as shadowy represen-
tations of good things to come, u{)on the actual appearaiice of
the Son of God in our nature.
3. He was set up prophetically, in the prophecies of the
XLIV.] CHRIST SET UP FKOM EVERLASTING. 391
prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the rest ; for " all the prophets
prophesied of him." " To him they all bore witness," and
every one of them successively spoke more clearly than an-
other, till John the Baptist came " in the spirit and power of
Elias," pointing him out with the fin2;er, saying, " Behold the
Lamb of God."
4. He was set up personally and actually, in his incar-
nation, obedience, and death. His birth was celebrated and
intimated by a company of angels, saying, " Unto you is born,
in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord,"
and that heavenly anthem, " Glory to God in the highest, and
on earth peace, good-will towards men." His inauguration
to his mediatorial work, at his baptism, was celebrated by
the opening of the heavens, the descent of the Spirit upon
him in the likeness of a dove, and a voice coming from his
Father, from heaven, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in
whom I am well pleased ;" wliich voice was again repeated at
his transfiguration and his passion. His death was celebrated
by the rending of the veil of the temple from top to bot-
tom, a quaking of the earth, a rending of the rocks, and a
darkening of the sun in the firmament; all importing, that
now the finishing stroke was given to the head of the old ser-
pent, and that principalities and powers were spoiled, and
the prince of this world cast out of his usurped authority and
government.
5. He was set up in a glorious and triumphant way and
manner, in his resurrection and ascension ; for then he was
" declared to be the Son of God with power, according to
the Spirit of holiness, by his resurrection from the dead." And
when he ascended up "on high, he led captivity captive, and
sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high ;" and
things in heaven, and things on earth, and things under the
earth, being ordered to bow at the name of Jesus, and every
tongue to confess, that he is the Lord, to the praise and glory
of his Father.
6. He was and is set up declaratively, in the preaching of
the everlasting gospel ; which is like the pole upon which the
brazen serpent was lifted up in the wilderness, by looking to
which the Israelites were cured of the sting of the fiery ser-
pents. John iii. 14, 15, says Christ there, "And, as Moses
lifted up the serpent in the vi'ilderness, even so must the Son
of man be lifted up; that whosoever believes in him should
not perish, but have eternal life."
7. He is set up sacramentally, in the sacraments of bap-
tism and of the supper, particularly in the last of these, which
we are about this day to celebrate. In these symbols and
g^cran^entcil acts of bis own institution, he j,s evidently set
392 CHRIST SET UP FROM BVERLASTIXe. [SER-
forth crucified before you ; and in it we may, as in a glass,
discern the Lord's body, which was broken for us, and his
blood of the New Testament, which was shed for us. There
he is present, though not in a corporeal and carnal manner,
yet in a symbolical and spiritual manner, saying to his peo-
ple, " Eat, O friends ; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O be-
loved."
8. He is set up in an efficacious way and manner, in a
day of conversion, and in the renewed manifestations of him-
self to the souls of his people, by the power of his word and
Spirit. When he draws by the veil, and makes the light of
the knowledge of his glory to shine into the heart, then, O
then, Christ is set up in the heart of the sinner ; he gets the
throne of the heart, and every thought is brought into cap-
tivity to his obedience. What a pleasant upsetting of Christ
and his kingdom would it be, to see him going forth, with his
bow and sword, in the gospel, "travelling in the greatness of
his strength," making all the inhabitants of the land to fall
under him, every one crying, "The Lord is our Judge, the
Lord is our King, the Lord is our Lawgiver !" O then cove-
nanting work would go on apace, and every one would say
to another, "Come, and let us join ourselves unto the Lord,
in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten," Jer 1. 5.
9, Christ will be set up in a glorious and remaikable way
and manner, at his second coming, " without sin, unto the sal-
vation "of his people; for then he will "descend from heaven,
with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and the trump
of God, when he shall come with clouds, and every eye shall
see him." Then shall he be "glorified in his saints, and ad-
mired in all them that helicve," while all the wicked unbe-
lieving world, and " kindreds of the earth, sliall wail because
of him, crying to the rocks and mountains to fall on llicm, and
hide them from the face of him that sitteth upon the throne,
and from the wrath of the Lamb;" and the " heavens passing
away with a mighty noise, the elements melting with fervent
heat." So much for the second thing proposed; for all these
were in view, when Christ was set up from everlasting.
III. The third thing proposed in the method was, to show
for what ends and purposes Christ was sd up from everlasti?)g,
from the begbming, ere ever the earth was. I answer in the
following particulars: —
1st, He was set up from everlasting, as a Sun to give light to
this lower world, which (through the sin of man) was become
like a dungeon of darkness. No sooner had man sinned, but
his mind (which before was like a lamp of light, as to the
knowledge of God, and of his mind and will,) became dark,
XLIV.] CHRIST SET UP FROM EVERLASTINa. 393
yea, darkness itself. " Once were ye darkness," says the
apostle, speaking of man in his natural state. There is " the
face of a covering cast over all people," and the veil that is
spread over all nations ; and, upon this account, this world is
called a dark place; and, again, those parts of the earth,
where Christ is not known, are called the dark places of the
earth. But now Christ is and was set up, as a glorious Son,
to enlighten the world in the knowledge of God, and of the
way of salvation, hence called the Sun of righteousness, the
Light of the world; because he spreads " the light of the
knowledge of the glory of God " among lost sinners of Adam's
family by his word and Spirit. Hence, when the gospel of
Christ, which is the lamp of God's anointed, comes to a peo-
ple, they " that sat in darkness see great light, and to them
that sat in the region and shadow of death light doth spring
up."
2dly, He is set up as a second Adam, the Head of a new
covenant of grace and promise. All mankind were lost and
ruined in the tirst Adam, and by the breach of the covenant
of works which was made with him as their federal head
and representative; so that the curse of that covenant was
the only legacy he could bequeath to his posterity, and under
-this curse we had lain through all eternity, if God had not
raised up for us " a Horn of salvation, in the house of his ser-
vant David." Sirs, God had a purpose of love and grace,
from all eternity, toward a select company of Adam's famil}^
he pitches upon his own beloved Son, as a new covenant
Head, and enters into a covenant of grace with him, to de-
liver them out of a state of sin and misery, and bring them
to a state of salvation through him, Psal. Ixxxix. 3: " I have
made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David
my servant," &.c. Accordingly, Christ, as the second Adam,
steps in the room of the first Adam, and fulfils the covenant
of works, both as to its precept and penalty ; by which the
promise of eternal life made to him, upon condition of per-
fect obedience, devolves upon him as a second Adam, and he
becomes the righteous heir of everlasting life, not only by
birth, but also by purchase; and all the promises of the cove.-
nant, and all the salvation of the covenant, stands in him.
And the moment a sinner quits his hold of the first Adam,
and of the law as a covenant, and, by a faith of God's ope^
ration, is determined to take hold of Christ, and the cove-
nant of which he is Head, that moment, I say, he is brought
into the bonds of the covenant of grace and promise, accord-
ing to that which you have. Is. Iv. 3: "Hear, and your souls
shall live, and I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
even the sure mercies of David."
34*
394 CHRIST SET UP FROM EVERLASTING. [sER.
3dly, He " was set up from everlasting," as a repairer of
breaches between God and man. When man sinned, and
joined himself in a confederacy with Satan, the god of this
world, the breach between God and man became wide like
the sea: death and hell were the penalty of the law^; the
faithfulness of God was engaged, that " without the shedding
of blood there could be no remission of sins." And though
all the angels of heaven, and men upon earth, had been sa-
crificed, and their blood shed, in order to satisfy justice, it
would have been rejected ; the offence was infinite, with re-
spect to the object of it, and therefore a satisfaction of infinite
value behooved to be ofifered, Psal. xl. 6; Heb. x. Sacrifices
and offerings thou wouldst not, namely, of man's providing.
Well, then. How shall the breach be repaired? How shall
the different claims of mercy and justice be reconciled, with
respect to the guilty criminal? Lo, I come, says Christ, 1 will
assume the human nature, and in that nature I will die in the
room of the criminal ; and in this way will I makb peace
through the blood of my cross. I will be wounded for their
transgressions, and bruised for their iniquities; the chastise-
ment of their peace shall be upon me, and by my stripes they
shall be healed; and so justice shall be satisfied, and mercy
shall be for ever magnified. 1 Pet. iii. 18: "Christ also
hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, (that he
might bring us to God.") Thus he is set up as "the Repai-
rer of breaches;" hence called "the Mediator between God
and man :" and there is " no Mediator between God and man,
but the man Christ Jesus."
4t/dij, He is set up as the true temple where God sets his
name, and in which alone God is to be worshipped in an ac-
ceptable way and manner. The Old Testament tabernacle
and temple were but the shadows of Christ, "in whom the
fulness of the Godhead dwells bodily." And, as all the wor-
ship of Israel was to be performed in the temple, so all our
sacrifices and services are to be offered up in the name of
Christ; for "he hath made us accepted in the Beloved." In
him, as our New Testament Temple, is to be seen the true
Shekinah, "the brightness of the Father's glory, and the ex-
press image of his person." Here is the true oracle by which
the mind of God is conveyed to us; "For no man hath
seen God at any time; the only-begotten Son, who is in the
bosom of the Father, he hath declared him." Here is the
true ark where the tables of the law are kept, and in whom
the law is " magnified and made honourable." In him we
have the true mercy-seat and throne of grace, to which we
are called to come with boldness, that we may obtain grace,
and find mercy to help in every time of need. Here we
XLIV.] CHRIST SET UP FROM EVERLASTING. 395
have " the High Priest of our profession " ministering in the
the holy of holies, and appearing in the presence of God for us.
5lhly, He is set up as a bridge of communication between
God and man, between heaven and earth, by which God
comes down to us, and we come up to him, notwithstanding
of the two infinite gulfs of natural and moral distance ; bet-
ween him and us. These gulfs were impassible, until Christ,
by his incarnation, took away the natural distance ; for in
him, as Immanuel, God and Man meet together in one person:
and by his death and satisfaction he removed the moral dis-
tance, by taking away the sin of the world ; " for this end
was he manifested," to take away our sin. Now, these two
infinite gulfs being removed, God and man meet together in
a blessed amity and friendship; and "we have boldness to
enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus." Hence is that
[declaration] of Christ, John xiv. 16: "I am the way, and
the truth, and the life; no man cometh to the Father, but by
me." This was shadowed by Jacob's dream of the ladder,
reaching from heaven to earth, and the angels of God ascend-
ing and descending upon it; signifying that, through Christ
(in whom all the rounds and steps of the ladder are finished)
the angels are " ministering spirits unto the heirs of salva-
tion," upon the footing of Christ's mediation; and that we
have access to God through him. Through him we ascend
to God's holy hill, and abide in his tabernacle.
Glhly, He is set up as the great gospel city of refuge, ty-
pified by the cities of refuge under the law, to which the
manslayer was to fly for safety from the avenger of blood.
Heb. vi. 18. Believers are said to " fly for refuge, to lay
hold upon the hope set before them :" justice cries for ven-
geance: God's broken law cries for vengeance: conscience
cries for vengeance : the devil, as God's executioner, cries
for vengeance. O the deplorable case and condition of the
poor guilty criminal before the revelation of Christ ! All re-
fuges fail him: for the hail sweeps away all his " refuges of
hes," and in this case his hope and strength perishes from the
Lord, until God makes a discovery of Christ as the city of re-
fuge which he has set open, with a cry from heaven, " Turn
ye to your strong-holds, ye prisoners of hope :" Then, O
then, tlie soul flies for refuge as a dove to its windows, and
gets in to the clefts of the rock, and abides in the secret place
and shadow of the Almighty, saying, " This is my rest, and
here will I dwell for ever ;" for " there is no condemnation to
them that are in Christ Jesus." Here the poor soul can turn
about to law, to justice, to conscience, to the devil, and the
world, and say, " Who can lay any thing to my charge ? It
is God that justifieth, who is he that condemneth ?'
Ithly, He is set up as a mystical brazen serpent in the
396 CHRIST SET UP FROM EVERLASTING. [sER.
camp of Israel, in the camp of the visible church, that the
poor sinner, finding himself stung by the fiery serpents, sin
and Satan, may, by lookine; to him, be healed. Hence is
that [declaration] of Christ, John iii. 14, 15 : " As Moses lifted
up the serpent in the v^iiderness, even so must the Son of
Man be lifted up ; that whosoever believcth in him should not
perish, but have eternal life." The gospel is the pole upon
which he is lifted up, in the view of all mankind : for by his
commission we preach the gospel to every creature; and the
cry goes forth to the ends of the earth, " Look unto me, and
be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there
is none else." Sirs, the venom of the old serpent has diffused
itself through all the powers and faculties of the soul and
body ; and it is worming out your life ; and die you must, un-
less yon cast the eye of faith upon Christ, as the only ordi-
nance of God for your salvation. As the stung Israelite had
infallibly died, unless he had looked to the brazen serpent;
so the sinner who does not look by faith to Christ, the true
brazen serpent, shall infallibly die, not the first death only,
but also the second : for there is no name, under heaven,
given among men, whereby a poor sinner " can be saved, but
bv the name of Jesus: but whosoever believeth (in the name
of Jesus) shall not perish, but shall have everlasting life."
Stilly, He is set up as a foundation of hope and help to the
lost family of Adam, to build upon for their eternal salvation:
Is. xxviii. 16: " Behold, I lay in Zion, for a foundation, a
stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure founda-
tion: He that believeth shall not make haste, shall not be
ashamed or confounded." All other foundations are only
foundations of sand, and the house built upon the sand will
fall, and great will be the fall thereof; " for other foundation
can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ."
Adam, in innocency, did indeed stand upon another founda-
tion ; and, if he had continued there, he would have had ob-
tained life and happiness, by way of pactional debt; but there
is no other foundation for a lost sinner to build upon, but the
foundation Christ.
iilhlii, He is set up as " the end of the law for righteousness
to cvcrvone that believeth." He has, by his obedience unto
death, and the perfect holiness of his nature, brought in an
everlastin<T righteousness, for the justification of the ungodly
sinner that believes in him : " This is his name, whereby he
shall be called, The Lord our Righteousness," Jer. xxiii. 6 :
and " what the law could not do, in that it was weak through
the flesh, God, sending his own Son, in the likeness of sinful
flesh, for sin, condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous-
ness of the law might be fulfilled in us." This is that white
raiment Christ counsels us to buy of him, that the shame of
XLIV.] CHRIST SET UP FROM EVERLASTING. 397
our nakedness may not appear. And see how he sets up, or
sets out this righteousness, even to the stout-hearted, and far
from righteousness. Is. xlvi. at the close, " I bring near my
righteousness; it shall not be far otf, and my salvation shall
not tarry," &c. And the language of the soul, when it puts
on that robe, is that which you find. Is, xlv. at the close,
" Surely, shall one say. In the'Lord have I righteousness and
strength: In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified,
and shall glory."
lOthly, He is set up as a storehouse, out of which the bank-
rupt and beggared sinners of Adam's family may be supplied
with every thing they need: "For it hath pleased the Father,
that in him should all fulness dwell ; and that, out of his ful-
ness, all we may receive grace for grace." We who are his
ministers and ambassadors, are authorized to cast open the
gates of this storehouse, and give full liberty to all wretched,
miserable, blind, poor, and naked sinners, to come and take
what they want, " without money and without price," Is. Iv.
1 ; Rev. xxii. 17.
llthly, To conclude this head at present, he is set up as
the salvation of God to all lost sinners. Christ, in scripture,
is frequently called "The salvation of God." Jacob, Gen.
xlix. 19, when he is blessing his children, makes a pause,
casting his eyes upon the Shiloh who was to spring out of the
tribe of Judah, and cries, " I have waited for thy salvaiion,
0 Lord." Old Simeon gets Christ, when a babe, in his arms,
Luke ii. 29: "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in
peace, according to thy word ; for mine eyes have seen thy
salvation." In him, he who is our God, is the God of salva-
tion. He has wrought, and still works, manifold salvation in
the midst of the earth; salvation from sin, Matth. i. 22; sal-
vation from the curse of the broken law. Gal. iii. 13; salva-
tion from Satan, for he through death destroyed him, Heb.
ii. 14 ; salvation from the sting of death, 1 Cor. xv. 55 ; salva-
tion from hell, and the wrath that is to come, 2 Thess. i. 10.
So that, whenever a sinner looks to him by the eye of faith,
he may sing that song. Is. xii. 1, 2: "I will praise thee; for
though thou v\'ast angry with me, yet thy anger is turned
away, and thou comfortedst me. Behold God is my salvation:
1 will trust, and not be afraid ; for the Lord Jehovah is my
strength and my song, he also is become my salvation."
Thus you see some of these ends and uses for which Christ
was set up from everlasting.
Many more particulars might be insisted on, if time and
strength would allow. I only name some of them.
1. He was set up as our Redeemer, to pay the ransom jus-
tice demanded, that we might not go down to the pit.
398 CHRIST SET UP FROM EVERLASTING. [SER.
2. As a Surety, to pay the debts of bankrupts; therefore
called, Heb. vii. 22, " The Surety of a better testament."
3. As a Physician, to heal us of all our diseases. With him
is the balm in Giiead, and he is the Physician there.
4. As a Shepherd, to gather his Father's flocks to his
fold: Is. xl. 11 : " He shall feed his flock like a Shepherd."
5. As a wonderful Counsellor, to give advice in all doubtful
cases. Is. ix. 6. So, David, Psal. xvi. 7: " I will bless the
Lord, who hath given me counsel."
6. As an everlasting Father, in whom the fatherless orphans
of Adam's family lincl mercy. Is. ix., Hos. xvi.
7. As the mighty God, that was able to encounter princi-
palities and powers, and to spoil them on his cross. Is. ix.
8. As the Prince of peace, the King of Salem, " I create
the fruit of the lips, peace, peace, to him that is afar off,
and to him that is near."
9. As the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, by whose
declaration all controversies are to be decided between God
and man, and man and man.
10. As a Guide and Leader, to guide the blind by a way
they know not, by his word and Spirit.
11. As a Captain of salvation, or Commander, under whose
banner we are to fight our way to heaven, through the armies
of hell and earth.
12. As a Bridegroom, with whom we are called to make
a match. Is. liv. 6; Hos. ii. 19, 20.
IV. The fourth thing in the method was, to inquire into the
grounds and reasons why Christ was set up from everlasting,
for the great work and service of redemption.
AnsiD. 1. Here we must have recourse to adorabhi So-
vereignty, because it was his will and pleasure, and say, as
Christ said in another case, Matth. xi. 2G, " Even so, O Father,
for so it seemed good in thy sight !"
Answ. 2. Because of the good-will he bore to man upon
earth. Hence this was one of the notes of the song of an-
gels at his birth, Luke ii. 14: " Glory to God in the highest;
peace on earth, good-will to man."
Answ. 3, Because of his ability for the undertaking: Psal.
Ixxxix. 19: " I have," says the Lord, " laid help upon one that
is mighty." He is the man of God's right hand, and the arm
of Jkhovah was in him and with him.
Ans7o. 4. Because he voluntarily ollered himself to the work
and service, as you heard in the first head of the doctrine, Psal,
xl. 8, he had a heart to the work : " Thy law," says he, " is
within my heart," Is. 1. 5.
Anszv. 5. Because of his undaunted courage to encounter
XLIV.] CHRIST SET UP FROM EVERLASTIIVG. 399
all difficulties and opposition in the way ; hence called " The
Lion of the tribe of Judah." See his courageous behaviour,
Is. 1. 7—9.
Answ. 6. Because from everlasting God foresaw what a re-
venue of glory would accrue to the crown of heaven, through
his mediation, even a greater glory than by all his other
works of creation and providence. Hence the first note of the
song of angels, Luke ii. 14, is " Glory to God in the highest."
As if he had said, Ail the other works of God praise him ; but
now we see the highest revenue of glory levied out of the
strange work of God, in uniting the divine and human natures
in that Child that is born in the city of David. And I con-
ceive it was with an eye to this, Is. vi., when they are viewing
the personal glory of our Redeemer, they cry out, " The whole
earth is full of his glory." As if they had said, ' It is no sur-
prise to us angels to see his glory shining in the heavens ; but to
see the glory of the only begotten of the Father made flesh,
and dwelling among men upon earth, a theatre of sin, rebellion,
and misery; this, indeed, is what strikes us with astonishment
and admiration.' I might here let you see how all the di-
vine perfections are glorified to the full in the work of re-
demption, for which Christ was set up from everlasting. But
I haste to the
V. And last thing proposed, which was the application of
the doctrine.
Use fiirst shall be of Informalion, in the following particu-
lars : —
Is it so that Christ was set up from all eternity, for the
great work and service of man's redemption 1
\. Then, see hence the antiquity and eternity of the love
of God towards lost sinners of Adam's family. His love must
be from everlasting, because Christ was set up from everlasting,
as a help meet for us, Psal. Ixxxix. 19 : "I have laid help upon
one that is mighty." 1 have done it in eternity, before the
world was. Hence the eternity of his love is asserted, Jer.
xxxi. 3 : " I have loved thee with an everlasting love." Run
back the love of God, [far as we may,] we shall never find
the beginning of it.
2. See hence, not only the eternity, but the activity of the
love of God. It was not an indolent, but an operative love:
it was such a love as set his power, his wisdom, and other
perfections at work ; and all the persons of the glorious Tri-
nity at work, to accomplish his purposes of grace and love
towards sinners of mankind. So that if the question be put,
What was God doing from all eternity before he created
the world \ Here you have an answer : The Father and the
Son possessed one another, " In the beginning of his way, be^
400 CHRIST SET UP FROM EVERLASTING. [sER*
fore his works of old:" and Infinite Wisdom, inspired by infi-
nite and amazing love, set him at work to lay the plan of our
salvation, through his beloved Son: as you see here, / rta5
set up from eve7-lasling.
3. See hence that Christ is the great Secretary of heaven,
who is intimately acquainted with the mind of God, which is
unsearchable by any other but himself For you see here,
that he brings forth things that were done in eternity, before
ever man or angels had any being, I zvas set vpfrom everlast-
ing. There is a word to this purpose, Matth. xi. 27 : " All
things are delivered unto me of my Father; and no man
knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man
the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will
reveal him." Sirs, would you know the secrets of heaven,
the mysteries of the kingdom, that were hid in God from eter-
nity ? Then come to Christ : hear ye him, and he will tell
you things, that none in heaven or earth can tell you, but
himself: "No man hath seen God at any time; the only be-
gotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath de-
clared him."
4. See hence the stability and perpetuity of the covenant
of grace. Why, Christ was set up from everlusli?ig, as the new-
covenant Head. The covenant was ti'ansacted with him, as
second Adam, from everlasting, Psal. Ixxxix. 3. And the
covenant derives its stability from the covenant Head, Psal.
Ixxxix. 28: "My covenant shall stand fast with him:"" and
this is the very thing that makes it a sure covenant to us.
Hence, Psal. Ixxxix. 3:i, 34: "I will visit their transgression
with the rod ; nevertheless, my loving-kindness will I not take
from him:" and therefore, "my covenant will I not break
(viz. with them,) nor alter the thing that is gone out of my
lips." Is. liv. 9, 10: "For this is as the waters of Noah unto
me: for as I have sworn that tlie waters of Noah should no
more go over the earth ; so have I sworn (hat I would not be
wroth with ihce, nor rebuke thee. For the mountains shall
depart, and the hills be removed, but my kindness shall not
depart from thee," &c
5. See the great ground and reason of the stability and per-
petuity of the church. Why, it is founded upon the everlast-
ing mountains of the divine decrees and perfections, whereby
Christ zras set up from everlasting, as the basis and foundation
upon which she stands. This is the rock upon which he
builils his church, and the gates of hell shall never prevail
against her. Storms and tempests are raised against her :
Tempests of persecution ; tempests of error ; tempests of di-
visions and delusions. But what do they all come to in the
issue ? Why, they are just like the billows of the sea break-
XLIV.] CHRIST SET UP FROM EVERLASTING. 401
ing upon a rock dashing themselves into foam, while the rock
stands immoveable.
6. Was Christ set up from everlasting ? Then see hence a
good reason why all hands should be at work to exalt him,
and set him on liigh. Why, in so doing, we join with a whole
Trinity.; whose purpose it was to set him up from everlasting.
Though he be rejected by the generality of builders through
England, and Ireland, and in Scotland also, there is no mat-
ter of that: God, who set him up from everlasting, has made
him the Head Stone of the corner ; and therefore, however
weak and impotent they be, that are bearing testimony for
him and his cause, yet they shall prevail. Christ and his cause
will always be uppermost at the end of the day ; for he that set
him up from everlasting, will have him set up, and his cause
maintained through all periods of time, in spite of all the
powers of hell and earth.
7. See how it is, that faith pleases God, insomuch that,
without it, " It is impossible to please him." Why, faith ex-
alts Christ, whom God set up from everlasting : It falls in with
the great plot of Heaven, and cries, O precious Christ ! pre-
cious Christ ! none but him. Psal. Ixxiii. 25 : " Whom have
I in heaven but thee ? and there is none upon earth whom I
desire besides thee." O says faith, he is " my Lord and my
God." He is " my God, and I will prepare him a habitation ;
mv Father's God, and I will exalt him." He is, indeed,
"fairer than the children of men." "As the apple tree
among the trees of the wood." " The chiefest among ten
thousand; and altogether lovely." "This is my Beloved,
and this is my Friend, 0 daughters of Jerusalem." Now, I
say, such language of faith cannot but be pleasing to God,
who set him up from everlasti?ig. Hence faith is called the
"work of God,"" John vi. 29: "^This is the workof God, that
ye believe on him whom he hath sent."
8. See the reason why God has such an implacable quar-
rel against the sin of unbelief, as to declare, John iii. 18, " He
that believeth not is condemned already." Why, the reason,
is, it counteracts the work of God from eternity. God set
him up from everlasti?}g : but unbelief is for pulling him down,
and tramples his blood under foot; crucifies him afresh; it
despises and rejects him whom God set up from everlasting:
And is it any wonder, then, that God is so much oflended at
the unbeliever'? O sirs, you that reject Christ, and continue
in your unbelief, remember that the arrows of God's ven-
geance will be made drunk with your blood through eternity,
for the indignities done to him whom God set up from ever-
lastiiig.
9. See the reason why the pleasure of the Lord has pros-
VOL. III. 35 t
402 CHRIST SET UP FROM EVERLASTING. [SER.
pered, and shall prosper in his hand, mauger [in spite of] all
the opposition of hell and earth. Why, God set him up from
everlasting, and therefore he has upheld, and will uphold,
him. As he has finished redemption in a way of purchase,
so he shall finish it in a way of power. " All his enemies
shall be made his foot-stool," Psal. Ixxxix. 23.
" I will beat down before his face,
all his malicious foes;
I will them greatly plague who do
with hatred him oppose."*
His victorious arms shall prosper; he shall ride forth in glory
and in majesty ; and they shall bow under him, because God
has set him up from everlasting. Who, then, shall ever be
able to shake his throne and government, Psal. xi. 1 — 6, &c.
10. See what good reason we have to celebrate our
Christian passover, and to set him up sacramentally, by per-
petuating his memory upon earth, until his s-econd coming.
This sacrament of the supper is a public owning and confess-
ing him, and his dying love, and glorious achievements in
the work of redemption, before God, angels, and men. It is
putting honour upon him, and avouching him as our Re-
deemer, our Mediator, our Prophet, Priest, and King, in the
face of the devil and his angels, who are looking on us vvith
vexation. It galls the devil, and stills that enemy- and
avenger, to see Christ, who bruised his head upon Mount
Calvary, exalted and set up among the children of men, at a
communion table, Heb. ii. 14: " Through death he destroyed
him that had the power of death," and *' spoiled principali-
ties and powers." How tormenting then must it be to the
devil, to see Christ at his table, dividing the spoils among a
company of poor sinners, who once were his vassals and
bond slaves?
But now let us go on to celebrate actually Ihe memorials
of the death of our glorious Immanucl, and to divide the spoils
of his victory over sin, and Satan, death, and hell, which is
the great work of the day.
* Metre translation received by the church of Scotland.
XLV.] ABRAHAM REJOICING, &C. 403
ABRAHAM REJOICING TO SEE CHRIST'S DAY AFAR OFF.*
Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw It, and was glad.—
John viii. 56.
The Jews, as you will see in the preceding part of the
chapter, valued themselves exceedingly upon this account,
that they were the natural seed and posterity of Abraham,
the father of the faithful; and they were offended at our
Lord, for comparing himself to Abraham, ver. 52, 53. Our
Lord, in the words that I have read, proves, that he vyas
crreater than Abraham ; namely, because Abraham, having
received a promise of the Messiah to come of his lineage,
earnestly desired to see that happy day : and, accordingly,
thou<yh he did not see the real incarnation of the Messiah, yet
he got a sight of it by faith, to the unspeakable joy and ad-
miration of his soul : Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my
day: and he saio it, a?id zoas glad. In which words we may
notice,
1st, Abraham's ambition and desire ; he rejoited to see my
day-
2dly, Abraham's sight, by faith ; he saw the day of the
Messiah. r- v • r • u
3f%, Abraham's frame, which was the fruit of his taith ;
he was glad.
\st, 1 say, we have the height of Abraham's ambition and
desire expressed in these words, Abraham rejoiced to see my day.
The word jjyaAAj^rasro signifies, he leaped at it. Though the
word is commonly put for rejoicing, yet here, it must rather
signify a transport of desire, than of joy : otherwise there
would be a tautology in the latter clause of the verse, where
it is said again, He saiv it, and zoas glad. The notices he had
received of the Messiah to come, had raised in him an expec-
tation of something, which was so exceedingly great, that he
reached out, and stretched himself forth to see it. He never
leaped so much to see the promised land, that God was to
give to his posterity, as to see the day of the Son of man.
Observe, That they who observe the dawnings of the Sun
of righteousness, cannot but wish to see his rising. The
mystery of redemption, is that which angels desire to look
• A Thanksgiving Sermon.
404 ABRAHAM REJOICING [sER.
into ; much more should we, that are more immediately con-
cerned in it.
2dly, We have Abraham's sight of faith ; he saw it, that is,
he saw the day of the Messiah ; he saw it by the spirit of
prophecy, he saw it by the eye of faith acting upon that pro-
mise, " In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed."
And he had his faith confirmed by the sight of Melchisedec,
one " made like unto the Son of God, the Priest of the most
high God, and King of peace, and of righteousness." He saw
the angel of the covenant, with two other angels, in the
plains of Mamre. And in offering Isaac, and the ram in the
room of Isaac, he saw a double type of the great sacrifice
that was to be offered up in the fuhiess of time. And his
calling the place Jehovah Jireh, " In the mount of the Lord
it shall be seen," says, that he saw something more in it, than
others did, which time would produce.
^dhj, We have Abraham's frame as the fruit of his faith;
he zvas glad. He teas glad of the Lord's favour and kindness
to himself, and of the mercy, grace, and love, which he saw
God had in store for all the nations of the earth, in the pro-
mised seed. But the words will be farther cleared, in taking
notice of the following observations from them: —
Obs. 1st, That the time of the gospel is the day of Christ,
in a way of eminency and excellency.
2dly, That the Old Testament saints breathed and longed
much for a sight of the gospel day, and for the actual coming
of the great Messiah. Abraham here leaped, as the word sig-
nifies, through the strength of desire after it.
3dly, That even the panting desires of the soul after Christ,
though he be not enjoyed in a sensible way, are accompanied
with a great deal of joy. So Abraham rejoiced to see my day ;
or his desire after it was that which filled him with a holy
AtJdy, That the breathing or longing desires of the soul after
Christ shall not be disappointed. Abraham, though he did
not see the Messiah actually manifested in the flesh, yet he
got such a sight of him, and his day, as yielded a great deal
of satisfaction and joy.
5//;///, That faith is the eye of the soul, by which it takes
up Christ, and the glorious blessings that come along with
him, as held out in the revelation of the word. So here
Abraham saw the day of Christ, by faith acting upon the
promises and types of him, that were presented before his
view.
GtJdy, That faith acting upon the promise, will see Christ
through many veils, and at a prodigious distance. Thus we
are told, Heb. xi. 13, that Abraham, and others, saw the pro-
XLV.] TO SEE Christ's day afar off. 405
mises of Christ afar off, and they emhraced them. Faith is
a quick-sighted grace, it takes up things at a vast distance.
Itlily, That faith's views and uptakings of Christ fill the
soul with joy and gladness. " Whom, having not seen, ye
love ; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye
rejoice with joy unspeakable, and full of glory," 1 Pet. i. 8.
I shall abstract from all these doctrines, and discourse a
little upon the words themselves. And speak a little,
• I. Of the day of Christ.
II. Of faith's views and sight of this day.
III. Of the joy and gladness arising from a sight of this
day.
IV. Whence it is, that a sight of Christ, and of the day of
Christ, brings such joy and gladness.
V. Apply.
I. The^rs^ thing is to discourse of the day of Christ. And
here I will tell you.
Is/, Of some notable days of the Son of man. 2dly, Give
you some qualities of the day of Christ. 'Mly, Some notable
sights that are to be seen in his day.
\sl, I would tell you of some notable days of the Son of
man.
1. There is the day of his eternal destination to be your
Redeemer. This is a day of a more ancient date, than the
day of the world's creation;' for he was verily foreordained
before the world was made. " I was set up from everlast-
ing, from the beginning, ere ever the world was." Of this day
the psalmist speaks, Psal. ii., "Thou art my Son, this da}^ have
I begotten thee. I will declare the decree ; the Lord hath
said unto me." Which decree was fully manifested in his
resurrection from the dead, as the apostle Peter shows, Acts
ii. All the prophecies, promises, and types of the Old Testa-
ment, were nothing else but so many gradual openings of
what was concerted in the council of peace from eternity.
2. There was the day of his actual incarnation, or mani-
festation in the flesh. When the eternal Son of God was made
of a woman, made under the law. This was the most sur-
prising day that ever the world had seen ; a more remarkable
day than that, when the foundations of the world were laid.
This was a day in which a host of angels was despatched
from the throne of glory, to proclaim the glad news to the
shepherds, Luke ii. : " I bring you good tidings of great joy,
which shall be to all people: for unto you is born this day,
in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."
3. The day of his solemn inauguration and instalment into
35*
'^^^ ABRAHAM REJOICING [SER.
his mediatory office. This was a day of great solemnity ;
then the heavens were opened to him, and a voice issued out
from heaven, saying, " Tliis is my beloved Son, in whom 1
am well pleased :" and the Spirit of the Lord descended on
him, in the likeness of a dove. Never such an ordination of
a minister as this of Christ ; for that day he was " anointed
with the oil of gladness above his fellows."
4. Another notable day of Christ was the day of his obla-
tion or death, when " by one oflering he for ever perfected
them that are sanctified." That day the work of our re-
demption was perfected in a way of purchase. Hence it was,
he cried out, " It is finished, and bowed his head, and gave
up the ghost." This day, the little stone cut out of the moun-
tain, which broke in pieces the kings and kingdoms of the
earth, was himself broken in pieces, by the heavy hammer
of his Father's wrath. Oh ! was it not a notable day, when
the Father drew his glittering sword against his only and be-
loved Son, and bathed it in his blood for our sins ; wounded
him for our iniquities, and cried, " Awake, O sword, against
the man that is my fellow ?"
5. The day of his resurrection was a notable day; for then,
and thereby, was fulfilled the sign of the prophet Jonas, which
was the consummating evidence of his Messiahship, Rom. i. 4.
He was "declared to be the Son of God with power, accord-
ing to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the
dead." Was it not a remarkable day, when Christ as our
Surety having descended into the grave, he came forth again
as our Surety, like Samson, carrying the gates and bars of the
prison along with him, crying to his friends, " I am he that
liveth, and was dead, and behold I am alive for evermore,
and have the keys of hell and death." " And because I live,
ye shall live also." His resurrection is our discharge of the
debt, and we are " raised up together with him." Christ's re-
surrection was a greater miracle, than if all the race of Adam
had been brought out of the grave in a moment : for he had
the heavy stone of the curse of God, and of our sins lying
upon him. And who could roll away this "stone from the
door of the sepulchre?" and yet it was not possible that he
should be held therein. " He was taken from prison and from
judgment."
6. The day of his solemn ascension into heaven, and his
sitting " down on the right hand of the majesty on high," Heb.
i. 3. There was but little of the solemnity of that day seen
by the inhabitants of this world ; only the disciples, when upon
Mount Olivet, in company with him, stood gazing up into hea-
ven as he passed out of their sight. But O ! it was a day of
great solemnity in the eyes of the invisible world of spirits !
XLV.] TO SEE Christ's day afar off. 407
All the trumpets of heaven sounded, and all the fiery chariots
of angels attended him in his passage ; " God is gone up with a
shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. Sing praises to
God, sing praises : sing praises unto our King, sing praises,"
Psal. xlvii. 5, 6: and Ixviii. 17: " The chariots of God are
twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among
them as in Sinai, in the holy place."
7. The day of Pentecost was a remarkable day, when, like
a mighty Prince newly come to the throne, he scattered his
gifts among his subjects; when, like "The rushing of a mighty
wind," the Spirit was poured out from on high, in his miracu-
lous and extraordinary gifts, endowing the apostles and others
with the gift of tongues, in order to propagate and spread the
gospel among all nations of the world ; and when some thou-
sands of sinners (several of whom had their hands dipped in
the blood of Christ) were converted to his obedience.
8. The day of his manifestation by the gospel, especially
among the Gentile nations, is a notable day of the Son of
man. When the partition wall between Jew and Gentile
was broken down, Eph. iii. 14; the Old Testament economy
unhinged, and the waters of the sanctuary, which were pent
up in the typical temple, began to run down to the valley of
Shittim, and water the uncultivated nations, that were " aliens
to the commonwealth of Israel ;" the preaching of the gospel
to the Gentiles was such a notable day of the Son of man,
that it is made a great branch *' of the mystery of godliness,"
1 Tim. iii. 16. This day was fulfilled the old prophecy of
Jacob, that to " Shiloh should the gathering of the people be,"
and the promise made to Abraham, "In thy seed shall all
the families of the earth be blessed." And that of Isaiah,
chap. xi. 10: "There shall be a root of Jesse, which shall
stand for an ensign to the people; to it shall the Gentiles
seek."
9. The day of his marriage and coronation is a remarka-
ble day of Christ, when the poor sinner, who was " in cove-
nant with hell," " lying among (he pots," under the sentence
of death, and the curse of the law, is taken and betrothed to
the Son of God ; and he says to it, " Thy Maker is thine
Husband, (the Lord of hosts is his name.") That day there
is a new crown of glory set upon his head, and a royal diadem
put in his hand ; " Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and be-
hold King Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother
crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in a day of the
gladness of his heart." This day makes little noise in this
world, but it makes a great noise in heaven ; " for there is
joy in heaven at the conversion of one sinner."
10. The day of the renewed visits that he makes to the
408 ABRAHAM REJOICING [SER.
soul, in the ordinances of his appointment, word, sacraments,
prayer, or meditation ; when the soul is made to say, " I sat
down under his shadow with great dehght. He brought me
to the banqueting-house, and his banner over me was love."
11. Again, The day of his appearing in the power of his
Spirit, in the dispensation of the everlasting gospel, when he
goes forth with his bow, and with his sword, " conquering and
to conquer;" "pulling down the strong-holds of Satan;" "de-
stroying the works of the devil," and rearing up his [own]
kingdom; reviving and reforming his churches; and sinners
flocking in to him, " like doves to their windows," and " like
dew from the womb of the morning."
12. Again, The day of the believer's death is a notable
day of Christ; for then it is that he comes with the keys of
hell and death in his hand, to usher the poor soul into the
" house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens;" the
" house of many mansions ;" according to his promise, "I will
come again and receive you to myself; that where I am,
there ye may be also."
Lastly, The day of his second coming will be a notable
day ; for then he " will come without sin to the salvation " of
all that believe in him. Of this day Christ speaks, when he
says, " Look up, and lift up your heads, for your redemption
draweth nigh." That day he will " descend from heaven
with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and w-ith the
trump of God ;" and " the earth will cast forth the dead, and
the sea will give up the dead which are in it;" and a separa-
tion will be made for ever between the sheep and the goats;
the wheat and the chafL Oh, the awful solemnity of that
day of Christ ! when " the heavens, being on lire, shall be dis-
solved, the elements shall melt .with fervent heal, the earth,
and the works that are therein, sh;ill be burnt up." Thus I
have given you some notable days of Christ. I shall not po-
sitively determine which of these days Abraham had in his
view, when he saw the day of Christ: f)erliaps all of them
together: but especially the day of his incarnation, death, re-
surrection, ascension, and manifestation by the word and Spi-
rit, for the salvation of souls.
2dly, I come to give you some of the qualities of the day
of Christ.
1. Then, You sec in the text, that it is a day of joy and
gladness ; Abraham rejoiced lo see my day : and he sazo it, and
ruas glad; and no wonder, for he is the consolation of Israel,
and '• gives the oil of joy for mourning." Whenever the day
of Christ breaks on a poor soul, though formerly it had been
sitting in the region and shadow of death, it lays aside its
sackcloth, and girds itself with gladness ; so soon as ever he
XLv.] TO SEE Christ's day afar off. 409
appears, " the shadows of death are turned into the morning."
And it cannot miss to be a day of gladness ; for,
2. It is a day of light ; and '' truly light is sweet :" the dark-
ness of unbelief, the darkness of ignorance, the darkness of
error, the darkness of despondency, vanishes, when the day
of Christ breaks, just as the clouds and darkness of the night
vanish at the appearance of the sun. And no wonder, for he
is the " Light of the world ;" " the Sun of righteousness ;"
" the bright and the morning Star," given for " a light to en-
lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of his people Israel."
3. His day is a day of life from the dead. Death spiritual
and eternal, as well as death temporal, had been the heritage
of all the race of Adam, if Christ had not come; but when
he comes, he brings life to a lost world. When he comes in
the day of conversion, the soul is " quickened, which was
dead in trespasses and sins." And after the dark night of de-
sertion, when he returns to pay a new visit, by the refreshing
influences of his Spirit, it is " like life from the dead :" " I will
be as the dew to Israel:" And what thenl "They shall re-
vive as the corn." When he comes in the power of his Spi-
rit, the dead " are made to hear the voice of the Son of God."
When he comes at the last day, it will be a day of reviving
to the bodies of his saints ; for he will cry, " Awake and sing,
ye that dwell in dust: thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and
the earth shall cast out her dead."
4. The day of Christ is a day of vengeance upon sin, Sa-
tan, and the world. Our glorious Immanuel, with a view to
the day of his appearing in the flesh, and in the power of his
word and Spirit, for the ruin of Satan's kingdom, cries, " The
day of vengeance is in mine heart:" and, accordingly, when
he comes, he takes vengeance on the old serpent, " spoils
principalities and powers;" and " for this end is he manifested,"
and manifested in the gospel, and manifested savingly to the
soul, " to destroy the works of the devil."
5. The day of Christ is a day of jubilee: it is a " year of
release." Numb. xxv. 10; Deut. xv. 2; in which he causes
the prison gates to be opened, and cries " to the prisoners.
Come forth; and to them that are in darkness. Show your-
selves," Is. xlix. 9. Whenever he comes, and makes day-
break upon a poor soul, though formerly it was bound that it
could not move ; yet, whenever he comes, I say, the bonds of
sin, ignorance, and unbelief drop ofl^, " the lame man is made
to leap like a hart, and the tongue of the dumb to sing."
6. It is a day of love, Ezek. xvi. 8 : " When I passed by
thee, thy time was the time of love," By his appearing in
the flesh, and his manifestation in the gospel, the kindness and
love of God our Saviour toward man have indeed appeared
410 ABRAHAM REJOICING [SER.
in a surprising way. <' Herein is love, not that we loved God,
but that he loved us," 1 John iv. 10. Whenever he draws
near to the soul, he causes a kindly glowing and warnning of
heart towards himself; " Did not our heart burn within us,
while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to
us the scriptures?" Luke xxiv. '62. If he but speak a word
to a poor soul, or call it by its name, as he did to Mary, im-
mediately the poor soul will fall under the bonds of his love,
and be ready to cry, as she did, llabboni, my Master; or with
Thomas, My Lord, and my God.
7. The day of Christ is a day of peace, it is prophesied,
that, " in his day, the " very " mountains should bring peace
to the people." Psal. Ixxii. 3. That " men should beat their
swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks ;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall
they learn war any more." Is. ii. 4. His name is " the Prince
of peace :" and " peace on earth, and good- will towards men,"
was proclaimed by the angels, whenever he set his foot in
this lower world ; and whenever he comes and visits a poor
soul, he brings in peace- with him, and a "peace that passeth
all understanding." It is "peace like a river:" It is "right-
eousness like the waves of the sea." " Peace I leave with
you, my peace I give unto you :" " Of the increase of his go-
vernment and peace there shall be no end."
8. It is a day of salvation : he is given for salvation to all
the ends of the earth. When he comes into the woi^ld, he
proclaims, "I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save."
The day of his death was the day of purchased salvation.
The day of the gospel is the day of proclaimed salvation.
This is the day of salvation, this the accepted time : " To-day,
if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts." The day
of conversion is the day of applied salvation; Luke xix. 9:
"This day is salvation come to this house." And the day of
death, and of his second coming, is the day of completed and
perfected salvation.
9. The day of Christ is an everlasting day, a durable day,
in which " the sun shall not go down." Indeed, in the day of
Christ the sun may be ecli|)sed, but it shall never set with re-
spect to any poor soul, whom he has visited with distinguish-
ing love. No, the day of grace is but the beginning of the
day of glory. " The Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting
light, and thy God thy glory." So much for the qualities of
the day of Christ.
3i/lij, 1 would tell you of some wonderful and surprising
sights that are to be seen, and some great works that are
done in the day of Christ.
You have a cluster of the great works that are done in the
XLV.] TO SEE Christ's day afar off. 411
day of Christ, Daniel ix., from verse 24th to the end of the
chapter.
1. A stop is put to the mighty torrent of sin, that had been
overflowing the face of the world, like a mighty deluge. We
are told, verse 24th, that the Messiah " shall finish transgres-
sion." The word in the margin is, He shall restrain trans-
gression. Ignorance, atheism, infidelity, and all manner of
wickedness, had overflown Jews and Gentiles ; as the apostle
shows, Rom. i., ii., and iii. Now, by the coming of Christ a
stop was put to this flood of sin : for, by the preaching of
Christ crucified, the Jewish errors and superstitions, and the
idolatries and abominations of the Gentile w6rld, are over-
thrown; and the kingdom of Satan falls down before him,
through the nations of the earth, Psal. cxiv. 3, 7 : " The sea,
fled, Jordan was driven back ; at the presence of the Lord ;
at the presence of the God of Jacob."
2. In the day of the Messiah, transgression is ended, verse
24 ; or, as it reads in the margin, it is sealed up, hid, or co-
vered, out of the sight of God. By sin there is a separation
between God and us. Well, Christ comes to make an end of
it: to take it out of the way, that so there might be a meet-
ing betwixt God and us again ; and he seals it up. He covers
it with his blood ; so as, though it be sought for, yet it shall
never be found : and O, is not this a great work done in the
day of Christ.
3. In the day of Christ, verse 24, there is " reconciliation
made for iniquity ;" " For God was in Christ, reconciling the
world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them,"
2 Cor. V. 19; Rom. v. 10: "When we were enemies, we
were reconciled to God by the death of his Son." No soon-
er had man sinned, but red war commenced between God
and man, Psal. vii. 2. "God is angry with the wicked," and
their hearts are " enmity against God." And the war had
lasted through eternity, if Christ had not come and " made
peace by the blood of his cross."
4. In the day of Christ, " everlasting righteousness is
brought in," verse 24. By the sin of Adam, and the breach
of the first covenant, righteousness before God was gone quite
out of the world. There was, indeed, something, and that
very little, of a moral righteousness to be found in or among
some of the heathens ; but, as one says, ' All their shining
virtues were but splendid sins.' There was nothing of a
law-righteousness to be found among all the race of man-
kind ; nothing that could answer the law in its spirituality :
hence say the psalmist, and the apostle, "There is none
righteous, no, not one." But now, Christ " brings in an ever-
lasting righteousness" into the world, by his obedience unto
412 ABRAHAM REJOICING [SER.
the death. He " magnifies the law, and makes its honoura-
ble ; and the Lord is well pleased for his righteousness' sake,"
Rom. viii. 3, 4.
5. In the day of Christ the vision and the prophecy are sealed
up: that is, the canon of the scripture is completed ; with an
awful advertisement to the world, to take care, that none
add to, or diminish and take from, the words of the book ;
under the pain of the wrath of God, Rev. xxii. 18, 19. There
you see with what an awful solemnity the vision and pro-
phecy is sealed. — Read, " For 1 testify unto every man that
hearelh the words of the prophecy of this book, if any man
shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the
plagues that are written in this book : And if any man shall
take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God
shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of
the holy city, and from the things which are written in this
book."
6. In the day of the Messiah the most holy is anointed ;
that is Christ himself, who is the holy One of God, Acts iv.
27. " The holy one of Israel is anointed with the oil of glad-
ness above his fellows." And Christ may be called the most
holy, with allusion to the place in the temple of Jerusalem,
called the "Holy of holies;" in which was the Shekinah,
the visible appearance of the divine presence, from between
the cherubim, Exod. xxv. 22. He is our New Testament
Holy of Holies, into which, as kings and priests unto God, we
are allowed to enter, and participate of his anointing; I mean,
of the Spirit of Christ.
7. In his days the covenant is confirmed with many, verse
25. By his death and blood, the covenant of grace and all
the promises of it are so ratified and confirmed, that we, with-
out fear of vicious [intrusion,] may intermeddle with the
blessings of it, as goods disponed by a testamentary deed,
Heb. ix. 16, 17 : " Where a testament is, there must also, of
necessity, be the death of the testator. For a testament is
of force after men are dead ; otherwise it is of no strength at
all, while the testator liveth."
8. He has " made the sacrifice and oblation to cease,"
verse 27 ; that is, he has put an end to those typical sacrifices
which were of divine appointment, during the standing of the
Old Testament economy, the sacrifice of his own death having
come in the room of all these.
Besides those mentioned by Daniel, I will tell you of some
other great and wonderful things, that are done in the days
of the great Messiah : And O, let all the world vv'onder at
them !
1. In his day the glory of heaven is brought down to earth !
XLV.] TO SEE Christ's day afar off. 413
And O what a wonder is here ! Christ is the brightness of the
Father's glory : and, to be sure, the brightness of the Father's
glory must be the brightest and most glorious thing in hea-
ven : yet this is brought down to the earth, and seen by men
upon earth, John i. 14 : " The word was made flesh, and we
beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Fa-
ther !" Sirs, whatever you think of this, yet I can tell you,
that this is the admiration of angels; see how they fall a won-
dering at it. Is. vi. 3. The seraphim, while they are behold-
ing the glory of God, in the face or person of Christ, are so
stricken with wonder, that they cry, " Holy, holy, holy is the
Lord of hosts !" And observe what is added in the close of
the verse; " The whole earth is full of his glory!" The sera-
phim do not say, The whole heaven are full of his glory ;
for that is no wonder to them, " seeing there can in no wise
enter into heaven any thing that deti'eth :" but that the whole
earth should be filled with the glory of an incarnate Deity ;
that he should come down from heaven, and manifest his
glory to a lost world, full of sin and misery, through a veil of
iflesh, is that which strikes the inhabitants of heaven with
wonder. O sirs! "The tabernacle of God is whh men!" In
the days of the Messiah, the glory of heaven is brought down
to earth ; and is not this a great thing done, in the Messiah's
days?
2. In the days of Christ, " the temple of God is opened,
and the ark of his testament is there to be seen," Rev. xi. 19.
O sirs! We who live in the days of Christ, have a far better
and more glorious temple than ever the church of Israel had,
even when their material temple \va.s in its greatest splen-
dour: Christ is the temple ! and " God is in his holy temple ;"
yea, " the fulness of the Godhead dwells in him bodily !" And
the temple is opened in the dispensation of the everlasting
gospel ; and we have free access into this temple ; every bar
and impediment that stood in our way of communion with God
is now removed ; and we have " boldness to enter into the ho-
liest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which
he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say,
his flesh," Heb. x. 19, 20. And here is to be seen the ark of
hi,s testament ; the ark was a chest, in which the two tables
of the law were kept, written upon stone. Well, Christ is
the true Ark, in whom the law is kept, and kept for ever.
The honour, beauty, and glory of it are maintained and pre-
served by Christ ; for he has " made it honourable," and
m.agnified it by his obedience unto the death. Oh, is not this
a great thing done in the days of the Messiah !
3. In his day paradise is opened ; and the new Jerusalem
is brought down from God out of heaven, Rev. xx. 10. W^
VOL. HI. 3(1 f
414 ABRAHAM REJOICING [SER.
lost an earthly paradise by the sin of the first Adam, but we
regain a heavenly paradise by ihe righteousness of the second
Adam. Yea, the new Jerusalem is sent down ; all the glory
of heaven and of a happy eternity are wrapped up in a word
of grace ; in a covenant of grace, and brought down to us,
that we by faith may possess them.
4. A bridge is laid over the infinite gulf of natural and
moral distance, between God and man, and the gulf of di-
vine wrath, that cut ofl:' our communication with heaven !
And by this bridge, a free passage and communication are
opened, between God and man ; by the bridge of the human
nature, united to the divine, ofTered as a sacrifice to justice,
we may pass and repass, or " go in and out, and find pasture."
"The just sufiered for the unjust, that he might bring us to
God." He is the way to the Father, and there is no coming
to the Father but by Christ. This is the ladder that Jacob
saw, passing between heaven and earth, and the angels as-
cending and descending upon it. It is upon the footing of the
mediation of the Son ol God, that the "angels are ministering
spirits, sent forth to minister for them who are the heirs of
salvation."
5. In the day of the great Messiah, a throne of grace is
reared, and proclamations issued out to all the ends of the
earth, to come to it with boldness, for " mercy and grace to
help in time of need," Heb. iv. 16 ; Is. Iv. 1 : " Ho, every one
that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hiuh no
money, come, buy and eat, yea, come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price." O sirs, is it not a hap-
piness to live in such halcyon days, that whatever we need,
we have it for the asking? For now, since the tribunal of
justice is sprinkled by the l)lood of the Lamb, and turned to a
mercy-scat, it is nothing but ask and have, with the King
that sits on the throne: "Ask, and it shall be given you;
seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto
you." For " this is the confidence that we have towards him,
That if we ask any thing according to his will, he hcareth
us." So forward and liberal is he, that he even prevents us
with his mercy, before we ask it of him : " Before they call,
I will answer; and whilst they arc yet speaking, I will hear."
And, again, " Hitherto have ye asked nothing ; ask, and ye
shall receive, that your joy may be full."
6. In the days of the Messiah the true manna is rained
upon the children of Israel, in the wilderness of this world.
It was a real and continued miracle which God wrought for
Israel, in the wilderness, when, instead of feeding them with
the product of the earth, he made the heavens to rain down
bread among them, about their tent doors, till they came to
XL V.J TO SEE Christ's day afar off. 415
the promised land. But, O sirs, this was but a faint shadow
of the miraculous way that God takes of feeding our souls,
while travelling through the wilderness of this world, to the
promised rest that is above : " My Father," says Christ,
" giveth you the true bread from heaven." And what is that
true bread 1 It is the flesh and blood of his eternal Son :
" This is meat indeed, and drink indeed: and except we eat
the flesh, and drink the blood of the Son of man, we have no
life in us." This true manna is rained down upon us, in the
dispensation of the everlasting gospel. The preaching of an
incarnate and crucified Redeemer, brings Christ and his sal-
vation as near to us as ever the manna was brought to Israel,
when it fell about their tent doors: yea, we have it in our
hands; we have it in our mouths: we have it in our hearts;
"in the word of faith which we preach."
7. In this day the mystical brazen Serpent is lifted up upon
the pole of the everlasting gospel; that poor sinners, who are
dying of the sting and poison of the old serpent, may be healed
by looking to it. John iii. 14, 15: "As Moses lifted up the
serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be
lifted up; that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish,
but have eternal life."
8. In the day of the Messiah, the wells of salvation are
opened. " Waters break up in the wilderness, and streams in
the desert." It was prophesied, Is. xii. 3, (of the day of Christ,)
" With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation :"
And I would fain hope, that, even in this place, and upon this
occasion, that promise has been fulfilled to not a few. The
Rock has followed them, and been " like rivers of waters in
a dry place" to their souls; passing through the valley of
Baca, (hey found it a well, the rain also came down and filled
the pools of ordinances; according to that promise, Psal. Ixxii.
6 : " He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass, as
showers that water the earth."
9. In his day, beggars are taken from the dunghill and set
among princes. This is what is foretold by the prophet Da-
vid, upon the humiliation of the most high God, Psal. cxiii.
7, 8 : " He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the
needy out of the dunghill, that he may set him with princes,
even with the princes of his people." O what a surprising
scene is it, when Christ, " the Prince of the kings of the earth "
comes, in a day of power, and takes the poor soul, lying in
the dunghill of a natural state, wrapped up in sin and misery,
decks it with his own beauty, makes it, like " the king's
daughter, all glorious within," and verifies that word upon it,
Psal. xlv. 9 : " Upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold
416 ABRAHAM REJOICING [SER.
of Ophir V The poor soul, when it looks " unto the Rock
whence it was hewn, blushes even to think of its preferment,
to what it is to come."
10. In the day of the Messiah " the barren woman is made
to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children," Psal.
cxiii. 9. The poor Gentile world was a poor barren woman
during the Old Testament dispensation ; but now, in the day
of the Messiah, she keeps house ; or, as it is in the Hebrew,
"she dwells in a house;" she is brought in under the roof of
the house of mercy, which " shall be built up for ever." And
she is "made a joyful mother of children:" hence is that call
given to the church of God among the Gentiles, under the
New Testament, Is. liv. 1 : " Sing, O barren ; thou that didst
not bear, break forth into singing ; and cry aloud, thou that
didst not travail with child ; foi' more are the children of the
desolate, than the children of the married wife, saith the
Lord." The converts to the Christian faith under the New
Testament, among the Gentile nations, are far more numerous
than the converts that were made to him among the Jews,
under the Old Testament. E.ev. vii. 4 — 9. Mention is there
made only of twelve thousand out of every tribe; but among
the rest of the nations and languages of the world, there is
"an innumerable company which no man can number,"
clothed with the white robes of the imputed and implanted
righteousness of Christ, crying, "Salvation to our God, that
sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever."
11. In the day of the Messiah, not only is the head of the
old serpent bruised, but death, the king of terrors, is vanquished
and his destroying or stinging power is removed !. The death
of Christ was the death of death; his burial and resurrection
was the destruction of the grave, Hos. xiii. 14: "I will ran-
som them from the power of the grave." Our gloriou;? Re-
deemer, having spoiled death and ihe grave, proclaims the
victory, saying, "I am he that livetli, and was dead; and be-
hold I am alive for evermore, and have the kevs of hell and
death," Rev. i. 17.
Thus much for ihe first thing, namely, the day of Christ.
II. The second thing in the method was, to speak a little of
faith's view, or sight of the day of Christ. — For clearing of
this, I would have you to know,
\sl, That it could not be a sensible corporeal sight of the
day of Christ that Abraham had, like that of Simeon, when
he " took him up in his arms and blessed God, saying. Lord,
now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to
thy word; for mine eyes have seen thy salvation." For in
XLV.J TO SEE Christ's day afar off. 417
Abraham's time Christ was not yet come in the flesh, nor
dead: he came not for many hundreds of years after Abra-
ham's days. And therefore,
2dly, It must needs be a sight of his day by faith, which
" is the evidence of things not seen, and the substance of
things hoped for." Faith is frequently expressed in scripture
under the notion of seeing, or believing in Christ, John vi. 40 :
" He that seeth the Son, and believeth on him, hath everlast-
ing life." Is. xlv, 22 : " Look unto me, and be ye saved, all
the ends of the earth ;" and in many other places. What
the eye of the body is to the visible frame of nature, that is
faith to the new world of a gospel revelation ; for as it is by
the natural eye that we behold the heavens and the earth,
sun, moon, stars, and all other material objects, and the glory
of God in them ; so it is by faith that we take up the new
heavens and the new earth, of which Christ is the glorious
Sun of righteousness; hence is that of the apostle, 2 Cor. iii.
18: "All we beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord,
are changed into the same image."
Now Abraham's sight of Christ, and of the day of Christ, I
conceive carries these things following in it: —
1. It plainly supposes, that Abraham had a revelation of
Christ, and of what was to be done in his day, revealed to
him in the promise, Gen. xxii. 18: " In thy seed shall all the
nations of the earth be blessed." lie had it revealed to him
in his type Melchisedec: and in that remarkable trial of his
faith, in oifering up his son Isaac. Sirs, without a revelation
of Christ, fliith could never take him up. The revelation of
Christ is to the eye of faith just what the light of the sun is to
the eye of the body; take away the light, a man cannot see
any thing that is about him ; so take away the revelation of
the word, we can never see Christ, or the things of Christ.
Hence the word is called •' a light shining in a dark place" —
until the day dawn. So then, Abraham, seeing the day of
Christ, supposes he had a revelation of Christ. But, O sirs,
there is a vast difference between the revelation that Abra-
ham had of Christ, and that which we now enjoy under the
New Testament ! There is as arreat an odds as there is be-
tween break of day and the sun shining in his meridian
height and light. But what a shame is it to us, that there
should be such a difference between his faith and our faith ?
Though the discovery he had of Christ was so faint in respect
of ours, yet we are told, "That he staggered not at the pro-
mise of God through unbelief;" whereas we are staggering
almost every step.
2. Abraham's seeing of the day of Christ implies an act of
the understanding, or a knowledge and uptaking of Christ,
36*
418 ABRAHAM REJOICING [SER.
suited to the revelation of him. His seeing of the day of
Christ, says, that the light of the revelation had not staid
without him, but it had entered into his heart ; according to
that which the apostle says, 2 Cor. iv. 6: "God, who com-
manded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our
hearts." God, by his Spirit, " takes the things of Christ, and
shows them unto" us. " Unto you it is given to know the
mysteries of the kingdom of heaven."
3. Abraham's seeing the day of Christ, has in it an act
of delectation. He saw my day, and rcas glad. He was de-
lighted at the sight of the day of Christ, Zech. ix. 0 : " Rejoice
greatly, O daughter of Zion, shout, O daughter of Jerusalem ;
behold thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and having salva-
tion !" &c. Oh, with what triumphant delight does the spouse
express her sigiit of him ! Cant. ii. 8 : "It is the voice of my
beloved: behold he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skip-
ping upon the hills."
4. An act of application and improvement. To be sure,
when Abraham got that promise of the Messiah, to come of
his loins, " In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be
blessed," he would be ready to say as Jeremiah did, chap.
XV. 16 : " Thy words were found, and I did eat them ; and
thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart."
He would, no doubt, bring it home with particular applica-
tion to his own soul, saying. Surely in this blessed seed " have
I righteousness and strength; in him will 1 be justified, and
in him alone will I glory." " This is my beloved ; and this
is my friend."
5. I think it may have in it, also, an act of wonder and ad-
miration. He saw the day of Christ, and was surprised with
the sight, saying with the apostle, " Without controversy,
great is the mystery of godliness, God was manifest in the
flesh." Thus, you see what is implied in that sight that
Abraham had of the day of Christ ; but especially, 1 think, it
points at the two principal acts of faith, namely, knowledge
and application.
QtiesL Wiiat are the grounds of the metaphor? or why is
faith represented in scripture imder the notion of the bodily
sight? — I shall endeavour to clear this in the few following
particulars: —
1. The eye, you know, is a passive recipient kind of an
organ. My meaning is this : the eye does not send out a
light from itself, nor does it give and communicate any thing
to the object that it beholds. What do you give or add to
the sun, moon, or stars, when you behold them? Your eyes
only receive the print or image of them into your mind, with-
out adding any thing to them.
XLV.] TO SEE Christ's day afar off. 419
Just so is it with faith ; it does not give or communicate
any thing to God, or Christ, or to what it beholds in the
world of grace; but it just takes them up, or takes them in,
as they are presented to the soul's view in the light of reve-
lation. What did the Israelites give to the brazen serpent,
when they looked to it and were healed 1 As little do we give
or add to Christ, when we *' look unto him and are saved."
2. The eye of the body is a very assuring sense. What
are we more sure of, than of what we see with our eyes? If
a man see the light of the sun, all the world will not persuade
him that it is not day, or that the sun is not up.
So faith is a grace that carries a great deal of certainty in
the very nature and bosom of it, Heb. xi. 1 : " Now, faith is
the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things
not seen." And, ver. 13, it is said of the worthies, that they
saw " the promises afar off, and were persuaded of them, and
embraced them."
3. The eye is a directing organ. The man that has the
light of the day, and his eyes open, will know his way, and
he is not so ready to stumble and fall into ditches and over
precipices as a blind man, or one that walks in darkness.
So faith is a directing grace ; when by faith we " look unto
Jesus, then we run the race that is set before us." We are
said " to walk by faith, and not by sight." 2 Cor. v. 7.
4. The eye, though little, is a very capacious organ. The
man that has the light of day, and his eyes open, will see
every thing visible ; it takes up the whole visible frame of
nature.
So faith is a most capacious grace, extending itself to every
thing that lies within the vast circuit of revelation. I own,
indeed, there may be a true faith which takes up but little of
the light of revelation at first. Like the eye of an infant, it
really takes in the light, and perceives external objects; but
with a great deal of weakness and confusion, until it come
gradually to more strength ; and then it widens and extends
itself farther and farther. Just so is it with the eye of faith:
At first the light of knowledge is dim ; the man, like an infant,
does not see far ; but " the path of the just is as the shining
light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day,"
Prov, iv. 18. As the light and strength of faith grows, it
widens itself to take in more of God ; more of Christ; more
of things that are above, where Christ is. It wades deeper
and deeper into the mysteries of the kingdom, until it come
to be at last swallowed up in immediate vision.
5. The eye is an impressing organ ; what we see with
our eyes leaves an impression upon our minds. If a man
look upon the sun for awhile, he will find the impression of
420 ABRAHAM REJOICING [SER.
the sun in his eye, even thongh he shut it, or though he turn
his eye away from it.
Even so faith leaves an impression of the glory of the Sun
of righteousness, 2 Cor. iii. 18: '• All we, beholding as in a
glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same
image."
6. The eye is a very quick sort of an organ, taking up
things at a great distance : it will run from the one end of the
heavens to the other, in a moment, it will mount up to the
heavens among the stars, and in a moment will view the
whole circuit of the heavens.
So faith is such a quick-sighted place, it takes up things
at a great distance, as the faith of Abraham did here, when
he saw the day of Christ afar off. It will in a moment, as it
were, look back to an eternity past, and view- the everlasting
springs of electing and redeeming love, before ever the foun-
dations of the world were laid ; and then, at the same breath,
turn itself towards an eternity to come, and take a view of
the hidden glories of the invisible world that are within the
veil.
7. The eye is a curious piece of w'ork. Naturalists tell us,
it is the most curious part of the whole body of man : There
is much of the glory, wisdom, and power of the great Crea-
tor, to be seen in the formation of the eye of the body.
So faith is a grace that is curiously wrought in the soul.
There is more of the power and wisdom of God discovered
in the formation of the grace of faith, than in any other part
of the new creature. Hence it is he takes one of his blessed
names from it, and styles himself " The Author and the Fi-
nisher qC faith." Heb. xii. 2. And as " he fulfils in us all the
good pleasure of his goodness," so in a particular manner the
" work of faith with power," 2 Thess. i. 11. Yea, that same
"exceeding great and mighty power of God," which w'as put
forth in the resurrection of Christ from the dead, is said to be
exerted in them that believe, Eph. i. 19.
8. The eye of the body is a very tender thing ; it is soon
hurt and injured. Very little will do it hurt, and if it be liurt
it will soon weep. And this is the way how it comes to
health; it weeps out any dust or mote that gets into it.
Just so is it here, faith is a very tender kind of grace, it
thrives best in a pure conscience. Hence the apostle speaks
of " keeping the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience."
The lively actings of faith are marred by the dust of sin, or
the vanities of the world getting into the mind where it is
seated. And wherever true faith is, if it be hurt by sin, it
vents itself in a way of godly sorrow and repentance, Zech.
xii. 10: "They shall look on him whom they have pierced,
XLV.] TO SEE Christ's day afar off. 421
and mourn." And as long as there is any thing of the dust
of sin cleaves to the soul, faith will be venting itself in a way
of repentance, and mourning, saying, " Wretched man that 1
am, who will deliver me from the body of this death V Rom.
vii. 24. Thus I have given you some account of Abraham's
faith, by which he saw the day of Christ.
III. The third thing in the method was, to speak a little of
his joy, which was the fruit of his faith. He saio his day, and
■was glad. For clearing of this, I offer the fevi' following pro-
positions : —
1. There are several sorts of joy incident to man.
\sL A natural joy, common to all, with the rest of the
affections, and is in itself neither good nor bad, and is com-
monly raised by the actual enjoyment of something loved or
desired.
2dly, There is a sensual joy ; when the heart is, as it were,
soaked and drenched with the delights and pleasures of a pre-
sent life. Such a joy was that of the rich man, Luke xii.
16 — 20: who cried, "Soul, take thine ease, eat, drink, and
be merry; for thou hast goods laid up for many years." See
James v. 5.
Sdly, There is yet a more criminal, or rather I may call it
a devilish joy: when men are so far abandoned of God, as
to take pleasure in sin, that abominable thing which God
hates ; like those who are said to " drink iniquity like water,"
Job XV. 16. To "draw iniquity with cords," Is. v. 18. We
are told of some who not only commit sins, but " have plea-
sure in them that do them." Rom. i. 32.
Alhly, There is a spiritual joy and gladness; so called, be-
cause the Spirit of God is the author of it, and spiritual things
the object thereof. " Light is sown for the righteous, and
gladness for all that are upright in heart." Ps. xcvii. 11.
And it is of this last kind of joy that I now speak.
Prop. 2. This spiritual joy is a thing proper and peculiar
to believers in Christ: it will not, it cannot grow in any
other soil, than a believing heart. The rest of the world are
strangers to it, and strangers do not intermeddle with their
joy. Indeed, a believer may want the exercise of this holy
joy; his harp may (through prevailing troubles, temptation,
unbelief, and despondency) " be turned into mourning, and
his organ into the voice of them that weep." Job xxx. 31.
Hence David cries out, " Restore unto me the joy of thy
salvation, that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice,"
Ps. li. 8, 12. But though a believer may want the exercise
of this holy joy, yet,
\st, He has always ground of rejoicing ; while Christ live
422 ABRAHAM REJOICING [SER.
while the covenant stands, while the love of God lasts, he
can never want ground and matter of rejoicing. Hence,
2dly, He has always God's call and warrant to rejoice :
"Rejoice evermore. Rejoice in the Lord always, and again,
1 say, rejoice. Rejoice in the Lord, ye righteous, and shout
for joy, all ye that are upright in heart." 1 Thes. v. 16 ; Ps.
xxxii. 11 ; xcvii. 12.
'Sdly, He has always the promise of joy: "Your hearts
shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you," John
xvi. 22. The redeemed of the Lord shall return and come
to Zion with singing, and everlasting joy shall be upon their
heads: " They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and
sighing shall flee away," Is. xxxv. 10. He lias promised the
oil of joy for mourning.
4:lhbj, They have always the seed of joy in the soul. The
seed of God is the seed of joy ; yea, their very tears of godly
sorrow are the seed of joy : " They that sow in tears shall
reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing pre-
cious seed, shall doubtless come again rejoicing, bringing his
sheaves with him," Psal. cxxvi. 5, 6.
Prop. 3. This spiritual joy has several ingredients of which
it is made up: As,
\sl. It includes in it some measure of spiritual health and
soundness of mind and spirit. A sick man may have the ha-
bit of joy, but the want of health will restrain the exercjse of
it. Where this joy is. the Sun of righteousness has arisen,
with some measure of healing under his wings, upon the
soul ; the broken bones are restored, and set in their joints
again.
2dly, It includes some measure of satisfaction, arising from
a supply of spiritual wants. Where there is nothing but
want, there can bo but little of this holy joy. Prov. xiii. 12:
" Hope deferred maketh the heart sick." If thy soul be re-
joicing in the Lord, it is a sign thou hast got a taste of the
marrow and fatness that are to be found in the house of God.
3r////, It has in it a dilatation or eidargement of the heart,
that was under bonds and fetters. With respect to a man
under the bonds and fetters of darkness, unbelief, and de-
spondency, his joy is marred. But oh ! when his fetters arc
knocked off, and he brought out of prison, he " leaps like a
hart." " I will run the way of thy commandments, when
thou shall enlarge my heart," Psal. cxix. 32.
4//i/j/, It has in it something of an internal peace, quiet,
and serenity of mind : for where there is no peace, there
can be no true joy. The storms of an awakened conscience
must be hushed into a pleasant calm, where this joy is, through
the discovery of a reconciled God, or some beams of his fa-
XL v.] TO SEE Christ's day afar off. 423
vour ; and then the soul cries, as in Psal. cxvi. 7 : " Return
unto thy rest, O my soul, for the Lord hath dealt bountifully
with thee."
5thli/, It has in it an elevation of the heart and soul after
the Lord Jesus, and things that are above; by which the soul
gets above this weary land, and all the storms, clouds, and
tempests of it. The man mounts up as upon eagles' wings ;
and the' higher he ascends, like the lark, he sings the sweeter
notes of praise and thanksgiving.
Prop. 4. Of all other joy, this joy of faith is the most
glorious and excellent: which will appear from the following
qualities of it: —
1st, It is a cordial joy: it pervades the heart, and all the
recesses of the soul ; " Your heart shall rejoice, and your
joy no man taketh from you. My heart is glad." The joy
of the wicked is but skin-deep; it is superficial: "In the
midst of laughter the heart is sorry;" but the joy of faith is
like the " best wine, that goeth down sweetly, causing the
lips of those that are asleep to speak," Song. vii. 9.
2f////, It is a hidden and a secret joy. Many a joyous heart
has the believer in secret, of which the world knows nothing.
His life is a hidden life, " hid with Christ in God ;" and his
joy is like his life. The springs of this joy are hidden, it
flows out of a secret fountain, even from the throne of God
and of the Lamb. The channel of it is iiid, even the cove-
nant of grace and promise: The actings of it are hid, and
the subject in which it resides.
Sdly, It is a strengthening joy. Neh. viii. 10: "The joy
of the Lord is your strenj^th ;" and no wonder, for faith brings
in strong consolation, Heb. vi. 18. This spiritual joy is health
to the navel, and marrow to the bones. What appeared in-
supportable before, now appears to be easy; duties are easily
performed, and difficulties in the way are easily surmounted;
when the joy of faith comes, the feeble then becomes as Da-
vid, Zech. xii. 8: and the poor soul becomes like a giant, re-
freshed with new wine, hearty and strong for battle.
4thh/, It is a glorious and unspeakable joy. 1 Pet. i. 8 :
"Whom having not seen, ye love: in whom, thouuh now ye
see him not, yet believing ye rejoice, with iny unspeakable
and full of glory." There is only a gradual dilFerence be-
tween it and the joy of heaven ; and it is so great, that the
tongue cannot make language of it; as Paul said of the lan-
guage of the third heaven, it is unutterable.
5//i/y, It is a permanent and abiding joy ; a joy which the
world cannot give, and which the world cannot take away ;
no, not the severest tortures and persecutions of the world.
Hence it is, that the saints have gone to the stake, fire, and
424 ABRAHAM REJOICING [SER.
gibbet, with an air of heavenly grace about them. *' Your
joy no man taketh from you," says Christ. It is but the davvn-
ings of that eternal joy and triumph which the saints shall
have above, through eternity.
(StJdy, It is a matchless, and transcendent, and incompre-
hensible joy. There are several joys that we read of in scrip-
ture, but the joy of faith transcends them all.
1. There is the nuptial joy. The day of marriage is called
a day of gladness.
2. There is the joy of children : there is joy when a man
child is born into the world. It was, and is still reckoned a
valuable mercy, because children are a heritage of the Lord."
3. There is the joy of conquest and victory : " They shall
rejoice as men when they divide the spoil," Is. ix. 3.
4. There is the joy of harvest : " They joy before thee ac-
cording to the joy in harvest." But now, I say, the joy of
faith surpasses them all ; for it is unspeakable, and full of
glory. "Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in
the time that their corn and wine increased," Psal. iv. 7.
This much for the third thine; in the method.
IV. The fourth thing was, to inquire whence it is that a
sight of Christ, and of his day, by faith, fills the soul with joy
and gladness.
A?}s. 1st. This flows from the excellency that faith sees in
the day of Christ : " This is the day which the Lord hath
made; we will be glad, and rejoice in it." Psal. cxviii. 24. It
is a day of light, of life, of salvation, &-c., as you heard in the
doctrinal part.
2(Uy, Because of the many great and excellent things it sees
to be done in his day, which arc all matter of joy and glad-
ness. In his day the glory of heaven is brought down to
earth ; the New Testament temple is reared and opened, &c.
(for which see the fn-st head.)
'Sdli/, Faith applies Christ, and all the creat blessings of
tiisday. It sits down under his shadow, and tastes the sweets
of his fruits; and hence it is that it tills the soul with joy and
gladness. Whatever great things we see or hear tell of, we
will not be much moved, except we have an interest and con-
cern in them. Now, faith interests the soul in Christ, and all
(he blessings of his kingtiom and administration; and hence
it is, that it brings such gladness; the language of faith is,
"This is our Cod ; we have waited for him, and he will save
us."
4thli/, Faith is the parent of hope, and is " the substance
of things hoped for," and so it (ills with joy. " We rejoice in
the hope of the glory of Cod."
XLv.] TO SEE Christ's day afar off. 425
V. Thejiflh thing is the use of the doctrine.
Vsejirst. " It serves for Liformation, in the few following
particulars: —
1st, From what is said, we may see from whence it was
that the Old Testament saints longed so much for the coming
of Christ, and the days of the New Testament. O, says the
spouse, " Until the day break, and the shadows fly away,
turn, my Beloved, and be thou like a roe, or a young hart
upon the mountains of Bether." All that they had in the
type, promise, or prophecy, were but shadows and expres-
sions of what was to come.
2dhj, See hence of what a privilege and happiness we are
possessed, whose lot is cast in the day of Christ, the gospel-
day, which Abraham and other saints rejoiced to see at such
a great distance. Christ says to his disciples, while here on
earth, " Blessed are your eyes and ears, for they see and
hear those things, which many prophets and righteous men
desired to see and hear, and did not see nor hear them." — But
yet we, who live in the day of the gospel, see and hear more
than the disciples did themselves. They saw the Messiah
only in a state of humiliation at that time, like a prince in
disguise; but now we see him upon the throne, vested with
" all power in heaven and in earth." Upon this account,
Christ says, that the least in the kingdom of heaven, namely,
in the kingdom of the New Testament church, is greater
ihan John the Baptist, who was greater tlian any that had
been born of a woman since the fall of Adam, because he
was put in a condition to say, " Behold the Lamb of God,
which taketh away the sin of the world."
Sdly, See hence the misery of unbelieving sinners under
the New Testament dispensation. Wliy, the day is broken,
and yet they never saw day-light, " The light shineth in
darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not." There
is an awful word that points at you, 2 Cor. iv. 3, 4: " If our
gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost : in whom the
god of this world hath blinded the minds of them that believe
not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the
image of God, should shine into them:" And that word of
Christ, John ix. 39: "For judgment I am come into this
world ; that they who see not might see, and that they who
see might be made blind."
4thly, See hence whence it is that there is such opposition
by hell, and its agents, at this day, to the settlement of an
honest ministry in vacant congregations. Why, they see
plainly that, if an honest ministry get into a congregation, the
day of Christ would break there, and that would break Sa-
tan's kingdom, and his works of darkness, in which the un-
VOL. in. 37 t
426 ABRAHAM REJOICING [sER.
godly world delight; and in ihcm is literally fulfilled that
word of Christ, John iii. 20 : " Every one that docth evil
hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds
should be reproved." They know very well that a faithful
minister would lift up his voice like a trumpet, and reprove
their deeds; and therefore it is that they cannot endure a
man that has any thing of the savour of God or religion about
him: a hue and cry will presently be raised against him, as
a dangerous and turbulent person, one that will make a rent
in the church, or turn the world upside down.
bthly, Sec hence whence it is that believers are called the
"children of the light, and of the day." Why, because they
not only live in the day of .Christ, but the Day-spring has
visited them in a saving way ; the day has daw-ned, and the
day star has arisen in their hearts, "even the light of the
knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Jesus Christ."
And this is the reason why there is a divine light that shines
in the way and walk of the believer, which is not to be seen
about others: Their " light so shines bcfdre men, that they,
seeing their good works, glorify their Father which is in
heaven."
Use secojid may be of Trial.
Sirs, since it is your privilege to live iinder the day of
Christ, I ask you. Has the liglit of the day ever dawned
savingly? If so, then,
1.9/, The light of it has darkened the light of this world,
and all the transient vanities of it, discovering them to be
vanity and vexation of spirit; and you will look "not at the
things which are seen, but at the things w-hich are not seen."
2dly, The light of it has discovered the abominable nature
of sin, so that you will abhor it, and abhor and loathe youri
selves because of it, saying, " Behold I am vile." The light
of the dav of Christ is of an humbling quality, Is. vi., ttc.
3f//y, If the light of the day of Christ has arisen on you in
a saving way, your eyes will be turned towards the sun that
makes day, 1 mean Christ, the glorious Sun of righteousness;
and you will be so much taken up with him, that you will
account all things but loss for his sake.
Alldij, The light of the day of Christ has warmed thy soul
with love to the Lord ; love to his ordinances, a day in his
courts will be better than a thousand ; love to his people: they
are my delight, the excellent ones of the earth.
Use third shall be of Exhorladon.
Sirs, has your lot fallen in the day of Christ, which Abra-
ham saw by faith, and was glad? Then,
\st, Receive the light of the day; entertain the light of the
Sun of righteousness. O behold that glorious Sun, that is
XLV.] TO SEE Christ's day afar off. 427
shining upon you in the dispensation of the gospel ! You are
as much warranted to make use of the hght of the Sun of
righteousness, to direct you to glory, as you are warranted to
make use of the natural sun, to direct you in your way home
to your several abodes. What is freer than the light? The
beggar has as good a right to use it as the prince upon the
throne. So the day-Hght of the Sun of righteousness, and
the blessings of his day, are as free to you as to any man ;
and therefore, do not shut-i'out the light, but entertain and
receive it, John viii. 13: " I am the light of the world," says
Christ; " he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but
shall have the light of life."
2dlij, Is this the day of Christ t O then, " work while it is
day," work out the work of your salvation while the day last-
eth, " for the night cometh, wherein no man can work." And
if you ask, " What is the work of God ?" I give you the
same answer that Christ gave, and I cannot give you a bet-
ter: " This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom
he hath sent." The everlasting gospel is " preached to all
nations, for the obedience of faith." O, for the Lord's sake,
believe on the name of the Son of God, for this is his great
commandment; this is the foundation of all obedience, and
without it you cannot obey one commandment of the law, for
" whatever is not of faith is sin," Rom. xiv. 23.
2dUj, Is this the day of Christ? O then, "let us be glad,
and rejoice in it." This was the practice of Abraham, the
father of the faithful, and this will be the practice of all the
genuine true-born children of Abraham, Psal. cxviii. 24:
" This is the day which the Lord hath made, we will rejoice
and be glad in it." O let us rejoice in his person ; for he is
the glory of mankind, as well as " the brightness of the Fa-
ther's glory." Let us rejoice in him, saying, " To us a Son
is given," Is. ix. 6. Let us rejoice in his fulness, suitableness,
and excellency, " For such a High Priest became us, who is
holy, harmless undefiled, separate from sinners," Heb. vii.
26; " who is made of God unto us wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification, and redemption." Let us rejoice in the great
things that we see actually done in his day, that he has fin-
ished transgression, made an end of sin. Let us rejoice to see
the glory of heaven brought dywn to earth, " the Word made
flesh, and tabernacling among us." O rejoice and wonder,
that the tabernacle of God is with man, that the temple of
God is opened ; and in view of all this together, let us join
issue with the church, Is. xii. ^: "Behold, God is my salva-
tion; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is
my strength and my song, he also is become my salvation ;
428 THE BREAKER OPEMNG UP [sER.
therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of
salvation."
CHRIST, AS THE BREAKER, OPENING ALL PASSES TO
GLORY, THAT WERE LMPASSABLE.*
The breaker is come up before them; tliey have broken up, and have
passed Uiroiijjh tlie gate, and are gone out by it; and their King shall pass
before them, and the Lord (or Jehovah) on tiie head of them. — Micah
11.13.
THE FIRST SERMON OiV THIS TEXT.
Whatever literal respect these words may have to the
return of the chilciren of Israel, from their Babylonish capti-
vitv, through the instrumentality of Cyrus, yet it is generally
agreed, not only by Christian, but even by some Jewish inter-
preters, that they have a principal and ultimate view to the
glorious Messiah, and the great work of salvation that he was
to accomplish in the fulness of time.
The pr()])het tells us, in the preceding verse, that Christ, as
the great Shepherd of Israel, was to gather together the lost
sheep of the house of Israel, and would gather a New Tes-
tament church to himself: and, by reason of the multitude of
converts that should floclc to the ever-blessed Shiloh, the
noise and report of their gathering should be heard far and
near through the earth. But sense and reason might look on
this as a thing altogether impracticable, because of the strong
barrier that stood in the way, and the great opposition that
would be made by hell and earth, to the rearing and gather-
ing the New Testament church: therefore the prophet here
prophesies, that Christ should rid the way, and clear the pas-
saye, and make mountains as a plain.
In which words we have these three things: —
1,9^ The way of the Lord's ransomed opened up by the
great Iledcemer, The breaker is amie up hcftwe them.
2dlij, The escape of the ransomed by this way, or the im-
• Three sacramental sermons.
XLVI.] ALL IMPASSABLE PASSES TO GLORY. 429
provement they make of it by faith. This is held forth in
three expressions, They have broke?i tip — They have passed
through the gate — They have gone out by it.
2dli], We have the glorious march of the ransomed under
the Redeemer's conduct, as their renowned general, Their
King shall pass before them, and Jehovah on their head.
1st, I say, we have the passage opened up by the great
Redeemer, The breaker is come up before them. Where, again,
we have, —
1. The designation given to the glorious Messiah, he is
called the Breaker. Cyrus was an instrument in the hand
of God, for breaking the Babylonish yoke, and so paving a
way for the return of Israel to their native land; and in this
he was a type of Christ, by whom the yoke of our spiritual
captivity under sin and Satan is broken, and a way paved for
coming up to the land of rest and glory that is above, of
which the earthly Canaan was a corruptible type. Some
think that in this expression, there is an allusion to the he-
goat, or the ram, which in a storm breaks the way to the
rest of the flock. Christ is "given for a leader and com-
mander to the people," and he it is, that opens the passage
to glory for us, through the storms and tempests of his Fa-
ther's wrath, and the rage of men and devils. Whatever al-
lusion there may he in tin's name, yet it is abundantly plain,
that it is Christ that is intended ; for he that is called the
Breaker in the beginning of the verse, is called their King,
and Jehovah, in the close of it; their King shall pass before
them, and Jehovah on the head of them : and who can bear
this name, or wear the weight and worth of it, but he who
has " a name above every name."
2. We have the courageous appearance of the glorious Re-
deemer in his l)reaking work. He comes u[), he appears upon
the field with an undaunt(;d and heroic courage, to encoun-
ter enemies and opposition that stood in the wa}'-, he sets his
face to it, and is not afraid to meet the enemy in the tield of
battle.
3. We have the party that he heads, or those in whose
quarrel this Breaker appears; He comes up before them. This
being a relative, leads you back to the preceding verse, where
we find them set forth under the notion of a flock of sheep j
silly, weak, and timorous creatures, that can do nothing in
their own defence; the bark of a dog will make ten thousand
of them to run. Such weak, helpless creatures are we, when
Christ appears for our relief. The breaker is come up before
them. As for the other particulars in the verse, it is Hkely we
may have occasion to point at them in the sequel of the dig.,
course ; at present, 1 offer this doctrine from the words*
37*
430 THE BREAKER OPEMNG UP [sER.
Observe, That as Christ is the Breaker up of our way to
glory, so he comes up before us, for our encouragement, as
the renowned Captain of salvation.
In discoursing on this doctrine, I shall endeavour, through
divine assistance,
I. To inquire upon what account Christ is called the
Breaker.
II. Speak of the coming up of this Breaker.
III. Inquire into the import of his coming up before his
people.
IV. Show why he acts the part of a Breaker.
V. Apply.
1. Theyjrs^ thing is, to inquire into the reason of this name,
Why is Christ called the Breaker 't
A?7szv. 1. In general he is so called, because of the great
opposition he had to break through, in the glorious under-
taking of our redemption, both in the purchase and applica-
tion of it. The eternal Son of God had a spiritual kingdom to
rear up jn this lower world, among the lost family of Adam ;
but before he could effect his design, he must break in upon
the powers of hell, and overthrow the usurped kingdom of
the devil, who, because of the universal empire that he had
obtained, is called " Tiie god of this work)." Accordingly,
the first work that the Son of God undertakes, is, to bruise or
break the head of the serpent, Gen. iii. 15; that is, to destroy
his power, or to wrest the government out of his hand; ac-
cordingly, when he had finished the work of our redemption
upon the cross, he is said to liave " spoiled principalities and
])0wers, and made a show of them openly, tiiumpliing over
them in it."
2. Having broken the head of the serpent, he breaks open
his prison, and proclaims fiecdom and liberty to his prison-
ers. Had that question been put to all the angels in heaven,
and men upon earth, which you have. Is. xlix. 24: "Shall
the prey be taken from the mighty, or shall the lawful captive
be delivered T it would have silenced them, and put them
to an eternal stand. Well, who answers the question? The
blessed Breaker, that is come up before us, steps in, ver. 25:
"Thus saith the Lord, Even the captives of the mighty shall
be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered ;
for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I
will save thy children." O sirs, we had remained eternal
captives to Satan, unless the Son of God had undertaken our
deliverance, and broken the chains of our captivity, Zech. ix.
XLVI.] ALL IMPASSABLE PASSES TO GLORY. 431
11 : " As for thee, also, by the blood of thy covenant, 1 have
sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit, wherein there is no
water."
3. He is fitly called the Breaker, because he breaks up a
new and living way, by which we have access to God and
glory. The old way of the covenant of works was obstructed
with so many obstacles, thorns, woes, and curses, that it was
become impassable; none of the fallen race of Adam could
enter by that road : but our blessed Goel, our kind Kinsman,
comes, and by his obedience to death, opens up a new en-
trance or passage, by which we have access to God; and
Christ himself is that way, John xiv. 6: "I am the way, and
the truth, and the \\(e ; no man cometh to the Father, but by
me." Of this new way, cast up by the Breaker that is come
up before us, the prophet Isaiah speaks, chap. xxxv. 8 — 10:
" A high-way shall be there, and a wav, and it shall be called
the way of holiness: the unclean shall not pass over it, but
it shall be for those; the wayfaring men, though fools, shall
not err therein : no lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast
shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the re-
deemed shall walk there. And the ransomed of the Lord
shall return and come to Zion with songs, and everlasting joy
upon their heads ; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and
sorrow and sighing shall flee away."
4. He is called the Breaker, because he breaks through the
storms of divine wrath, the rage of men and devils, in order
to accomplish our redemption. The justice of God stood in
his way, with a flaming sword, read}'' to be sheathed in his
bowels; the curse of the broken law rolled mountains in his
way : the armies of hell were combined to oppose him in his
work, many bulls compassed him, the strong bulls of Bashan
surrounded him ; a sea of blood and suft'erings presented him
upon his undertaking: but such was the love of his iieart,
that he breaks through, he forces his way, setting his face as
a flint against all discouragements.
5. He may be called the Breaker, because in a day of power
he breaks the enmity of our hearts against him ; " pulls down
the strong-holds of iniquity," that Satan has reared up in our
hearts, " bringing every thought into captivity unto his obe-
dience." The hearts of the children of men are, by nature,
hard as leviathan's, Job xli. 24; but he breaks it by the ham-
mer of his law. The heart is bolted against him with enmi-
ty, unbelief, pride, and prejudices, but Uiese bars he breaks
in pieces, by the power of his victorious all-conquering grace.
6. He may be called the Breaker, because those who will
not bow to his royal authority, he breaks in pieces: accord-
ing to what you have, Psal. ii. 9 : " Thou shalt break them
432 THE BREAKER OPENING UP [SER.
as with a rod of iron, thou slialt elfish them in pieces like a
potter's vessel." And Psal. Ixviii. 21 : "He will wound the
head of his enemies, and the hairy scalp of such a one as
gocth on still in his trespasses." Proud Pharaoh refuses to
bow to his word and commandment, and the Lord breaks
him, and his numerous host, and sinks them like lead in the
mighty waters. He has many breaking judgments at hand,
by which he can destroy whole nations and kingdoms, when
they rebel against him, as we see in the ten ])lagues of Egypt.
7. He may be called the Breaker, because of the breaking
trials that he many times brings upon his own people, and
children in this world. " Thou breakest me," says Job (chap.
xvi. 14,) " with breach upon breach, and runnest upon me
like a giant." Psal. xliv. 19: "Thou hast sore broken us in
the place of dragons," &c. And, indeed, escape who will,
they shall not, if they offend him : " You only have 1 knov^^n
of all the families of the earth, therefore I will punish you
for all your iniquities," Amos iii. 2. "If his children forsake
my laws, and walk not in my judgments, if they break my
statutes, and keep not my commandments, I will visit their
transgressions with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes,"
Psal. Ixxxix. 30 — 32. And O! how breaking is the rod of a
father to his own dear children, w^ien they have provoked
him by sin ! David was so broken with a sense of God's anger
against him, Psal. li. 8, that he is made to complain, that his
bones were broken : " Make me to hear joy and gladness,
that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice."
8. He may be called the Breaker, because of his breaking
judgments and calamities that he brings on a sinful or oflend-
ing church and nation: such as sword, famine, pestilence,
desolation by lire or water, the withdrawing of his Spirit, the
withdrawing of the means of grace. You see how the Lord
breaks his barren vineyard, Is. v. 1 — 7.
II. The scco?i(l thing was, to speak of the upcoming of
Christ as the Breaker. I understand it of his coming up to
avenge the quarrel of his children and people. Like a mighty
champion he lakes the (ield, and enters the lists with the
powers of hell and earth, in order to avenge the quarrel of
his Israel.
You have a description of this renowned Champion, and of
his coming up in his church's cause and quarrel. Is. lix. 10 —
18: "And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that
there was no intercessor. Therefore his arm brought sal-
vation unto him, and his righteousness, it sustained him. For
he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of
salvation upon his head ; and he put on the garments of ven-
XLVI.] ALL IMPASSABLE PASSES TO GLORY. 433
geance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak. Ac-
cording to their deeds, accordingly he will repay; fury to
his adversaries, recompense to his enemies; to the islands he
will repay recompense." Here I will tell you of some sea-
sonable appearances of the blessed Breaker, for the help and
relief of lost sinners ; and then tell you of the manner of his
coming up.
I5/, The blessed Breaker came up seasonably, and ap-
peared in our quarrel, in the council of peace. When the
question was put, Who will take the field against the old ser-
pent and his seed, for the help and relief of lost sinners of
Adam's family 1 presently the blessed Breaker appeared in
our quarrel, saying, " Lo, I come," send me, and I will " bruise
the head of the serpent," and set the captives at liberty, to
the glory of divine justice, and to the eternal honour of his
law.
2c////, He came up seasonably upon the field, immediately
after the fall of man. The prey had no sooner fallen into
the hands of the mighty, but the mighty Redeemer enters into
conflict with the enemy, given him a deadly thrust: With
the word of his mouth he slays the wicked one, saying, " It
shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel," Gen.
iii. 15 ; which at once gave a deadly wound to the enemy,
and saved the poor prisoner " out of the pit, wherein there is
no water." All the appearances of Christ for his church
during the Old Testament dispensation, were founded upon
the grace of this first promise.
Sdlij, In his incarnation he came up really and personally.
What was his whole life in this world, but a continued bat-
tering and breaking down of the kingdom of dai'kness 1 This
was the design of his doctrine, miracles, life, and death ; by
the preaching of his gospel through the cities of Israel, he
saw " Satan fall like lightning from heaven;" by a word spo-
ken, he, in a miraculous manner, threw him out of the souls
and bodies of men at once; and by his death he destroyed
" him that had the power of death, that is, the devil :" Heb.
ii. 14. And with a view to this, he tells his disciples, "Now
is the judgment of this world come; now shall the prince of
this world be cast out," John xii. 31 : And by his resurrec-
tion from the dead, and his ascension into heaven, he came
up as a victorious and renowned Conqueror from the field of
battle, carrying the spoils of sin and Satan, hell and death,
along with him : " God is gone up with a shout, the Lord with
the sound of a trumpet; twenty thousand chariots of angels
attending him, as at Sinai. He ascended up on high, and led
captivity captive," Psal. Ixviii. 17 — 18.
4thly, He may be said to come up, or to take the field against
434 THE BREAKER OPENING UP [SER.
the enemy, when he appears in the power of his Spirit in the
dispensation of the gospel, when he girds his sword on his
thigh, and rides prosperously and successfully upon his cha-
riot of truth, dividing a portion with tfie great, and sharing
the spoil with the strong. Oh how terrible is this Breaker to
the powers of hell, when he sends the rod of his strength out
of Zion, making a willing people in the day of his armies!
When the " armies which are in heaven follow him, whose
name is. The Word of GodI" When he "smites the nations
with the sharp sword that goeth out of his mouth !" While
every one that runs may read his name "on his vesture, and
on his thigh. King of kings, and Lord of lords!" Rev. xix. 16.
blhlij, He may be said to come up in the outward dispensa-
tion of his providence, for the relief and deliverance of his
church and people, when they are harassed or oppressed in
their temporal or spiritual privileges, by men of malignant
spirits, who bear rule over them. Thus the Breaker came up
seasonably for the relief of Israel in Eijypt, when they were
groaning under their Egyptian task-masters, breaking their
oppressors and enemies with plague upon [)]ague. Thus he
many times came up for their relief, during the government
of the judges and kings of Israel. Thus he came up after
the seventy years' captivity, and broke the Babylonian empire
in pieces, to make way for the return of his people to their
native land.
QlhUj, Me comes up as a mighty Breaker, when he tinds
religion depressed, and undertakes to revive his own work in
a backsliding land and church. He comes first and breaks
down, before he begins to build up. There is commonly a
shaking of nations, before "the Desire of all nations" come,
for the building up of Zion. See in what awful majesty the
Breaker appears, Hab. iii., in order to the reviving of his work
in the midst of the years. The prophet, ver. 2, puts up a
prayer, " O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years;
in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember
mercy." Well, his prayer is heard; God comes for the re-
vival of his work; but his glorious march was so awful, as
made the prophet himself to fill to trembling, ver. 16 : " When
I heard, my belly trembled, my lips quivered at the voice;
rottermess entered into my bones. When he comcth up unto
the peoi)le, lie will invade them with his troops." And yet
how sweet and glorious is the issue of that awful dispensation ?
as you see in the verse following.
lihlil, He may be said to come up in every display of his
grace and love to a particular believer, when he seasonably
interposes for the relief of a poor soul, sinking under the bur-
den of sin, temptation, ailliction, and desertion. The Breaker
XLVI.] ALL IMPASSABLE PASSES TO GLORY. 435
comes up seasonably, when he dispels clouds, and lifts up the
light of his countenance; when he rebukes the roaring lion,
and blunts and breaks his fiery darts ; when he says to the
poor soul, " Fear not, for I am with thee ;" when he heartens
or animates the poor soul for its work or warfare, saying,
'* Fear not, thou worm Jacob — I will make thee a new sharp
threshing instrument, having teeth." " My grace shall be suf-
ficient for thee."
Slhly, And O how seasonably does he come up at death,
when the poor soul is trembling at the thoughts of going
through Jordan, and launching out into a wide eternity ?
What a sweet up-coming is it, when he says to the soul, as
Rev. i. 17, " Fear not, for I am he that liveth and was
dead, and behold I am alive for evermore." Thus I have
given you some of the seasonable up-comings of the blessed
Breaker.
Quest. In what manner does he come up in our quarrel, to
the help of the weak against the mighty ?
Answ. 1. He comes up seasonably. All his appearances
for the help and relief of his people have ever been well
timed. O how seasonably did he interpose immediately after
the fall, when the roaring lion was about to tear the prey,
saying as Pharaoh, in another case, " I will pursue, 1 will
overtake, I will divide the spoil?" Then, indeed, he came up
and bruised the head of the serpent. How seasonably did he
deliver Israel out of Egypt? How seasonably did he turn
back their captivity? How seasonably did he interpose for
our relief in this land, at the late glorious revolution, when
we were upon the point of being swallowed up with Anti-
christian tyranny and darkness? O how seasonably does he
come up to the help and relief of the poor soul, when it is
upon the point of being swallowed up with temptation, de-
sertion, and affliction? Deut. xxxii. 36: "The Lord shall
judge his people, and repent himself for his servants, when
he seeth that their power is gone, and there is none shut up,
or left."
2. He comes up for the help of his church and people soli-
tarily; or he alone comes up. It is his own arm that brings
salvation. He stood alone in the glorious work of redemp-
tion ; " He trod the wine-press alone, and of the people there
was none with him:" and therefore he alone must bear the
glory of it ; " Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy
name give glory." And w^hen he comes up for the deliver-
ance of his church and people from tyranny and oppression,
whatever instruments he may make use of, yet he alone must
have the glory, because they are only instruments, and can
do no more than the tool without the hand of the workman.
436 THE BREAKER OPENING UP [SEK.
Hence says the church, Psal. xliv. 3 : " They got not the land
in possession with their sword, neither did their own arm save
them ; but thy right hand, thine arm, and the light of thy
countenance."
3. He comes up in our quarrel with the greatest alacrity
and cheerfulness. He " rejoiced in the habitable parts of the
earth, and his delights were with the sons of men." The
Sun of righteousness rejoiced to run his race ; and like a
giant or strong man, refreshed with new wine, he gave a
shout when he came up into the field of battle : " I have a
baptism," says he, " to be baptized with, and how am I strait-
ened till it be accomplished !"
4. He comes up speedily: he did not linger nor tarry
when he came upon his redeeming and saving expedition;
no, he flew as it were upon wings. Cant. ii. 8 : " Behold he
Cometh, leaping upon the mountains, and skipping upon the
hills."
5. He comes up courageously to his breaking work, chal-
lenging all the powers of hell, as it were, to the combat.
With what undaunted magnanimity did he set his face to the
cause, when he is entering the field ! See Is. 1. 8, 9 : '• He is
near that justifieth me, who will contend with me? let us
stand together; who is mine adversary? let him come near
to me. Behold the Lord God will help me, who is he that
shall condemn me? lo, they all shall wax old as a garment;
the moth shall cat them up,"
6. He comes up victoriously, distributing death and ruin
amongst all his and his church's enemies. Victory follows
him whithersoever he goes ! his enemies being to him but as
briers and thorns entering the lists with a consuming fire.
When he whets his glittering sword, and his hand takes hold
on judgment, he ''renders vengeance unto his enemies, and
a reward unto all them that hate him."
7. His up-coming to his breaking, work is irresistible. Who
can stay his hand, or stop him in his march ? When Red seas
and Jordans of wrath and vengeance were in his way, this
Breaker broke through them : when the armies of earth and
hell were in his way, he " trod them in his anger, and tram-
pled them in his fury, and stained all his raiment with their
blood." And hence it follows,
8. That the up-coming of the Breaker is with much awful
majesty, and astonishing greatness. When he came up upon
the field of this world, he struck terror amongst the powers
of hell. When they saw the divine majesty and greatness
that was about him, they cried, " What have we to do with
thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? art thou come to
torment us before our time ?" When he comes up to plead
XLVI.] ALL IMPASSABLE PASSES TO GLORV. 437
the controversies of Zion, the proud and wicked of the earth,
who carried it with a high hand against his cfiurch and
people, would then be content to creep into the clefts of the
rocks, and caves of the earth, " for fear of the Lord, and for
the glory of his majesty," Is. ii. 19. And when is it that
they are thus struck with terror? It is vi'hen the Lord comes
up to his breaking work, as you see in the close of that
verse, when he arises terribly to shake the earth. So much
for the second thing, namely, the up-coming of the Breaker.
III. The third thing in the method was, to inquire what
may be implied in his coming up before them'l
But before I go on to this, you may readily ask, to whom is
it that he comes up '\
I answer, L As the Shepherd of Israel, he comes up to
the sheep of his pasture, to preserve or deliver them from
wolves or foxes, that would tear them.
2. He comes up as a Captain to his soldiers, to head and
lead them on against the armies of the aliens; for he is given
for a " Leader and Commander to the people."
3. He comes up as a King to his subjects, or on the head
of his armies, to rule and defend, to restrain and conquer all
his and their enemies ; as in the close of the verse, their K ng
shall pass before them, and Jehovah on the head of them. T.ius
you see the Breaker comes up to his sheep, his soldiers, and
subjects; and whoever they be that are not of that number,
the Breaker comes up against them ; for they are not on the
Lord's side.
Now, to come to the question, what is imported in his coming
up to them ?
\st, It imports, that he has them and their case deepl}'' at
heart, that he is heartily engaged in their quarrel ; otherwise
how would he come up to them as a Breaker. Many that
bear the name of shepherds of the flock now-a-days, have
the case of Christ's sheep, his little ones, so little at heart,
that they are very easy what becomes of them, if they get
patrons and the great ones of the world pleased. But, how-
ever little account they make of them, and their rights and
privileges, yet the great Shepherd has them so near at heart,
that he has declared, that it were better for such that " a mill-
stone were hanged about their necks, and they cast into the
midst of the sea, than that they should offend or hurt one of
these little ones." At the coming up of the Breaker, the
weight of this wo will be felt, however little account some
may make of it now, while they are tearing the flock of Christ
in pieces, and forcing them to send up many a heavy com-
plaint to heaven.
VOL. III. 38 t
438 THE BREAKER OPENING UP [SER»
2dhj, His coming up to them implies, that their passage is
hard and difficult, that their way is lined with many hard-
ships, enemies, and difficulties ; otherwise why would he come
up as a Breaker to them ? Some think that there is an allusion
here to the custom of sending pioneers before the army, to
level the way, and to make rough places plain, that the
march of the army may not be retarded. Sirs, the way to
heaven is an up the hill way ; it is a thorny and rough
way, where we may lay our account with many difficulties
and trials: " In the world," says Christ, "ye shall have tribu-
lation." It is not a peradventure, but a shall be, Rev. vii.
14 : " These are they who came out of great tribulation."
But here is your comfort, the Breaker has gone up before
us; he has rolled the insuperable mountains of law and jus-
tice, sin and wrath, out of the way ; and he has left nothing
behind to impede our march to glory, but " a few light atilic-
tions which are but for a moment," and shall (through his
overruling providence) "work for us a far more exceeding
and eternal weight of glory."
2dly, His coming up to them implies his authority and right
to rule and govern ihem, as a captain-general has pov/er and
authority in the army. I remember what the Lord said to
Joshua, chap. v. 14, \vhen appearing in the form of a man.
Joshua asks him, "Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?"
Nay, says he, " But as Captain of the host of the Lord am I
now come." So here, the Breaker is come up to them ; it im-
plies, that he is a head of government to them, and so it is
implied in the close of the verse, their King shall pass before
them, and the Lord on the head of them. God has set his
Christ as his " King upon his holy hill of Zion ;" he has given
him to be " Head over all things to the church;" and his
name is. The King of kings, and Lord of lords: and, ac-
cordingly, they acknowledge his authority, saying, " The
Lord is our King, the Lord is our Judge, the Lord is our
Lawgiver; he will save us."
4thly, It implies not only authority, but strength and ability
to support it. The Breaker that goes up before them is the
mighty, yea, the almighty Cod: his name is Jehovah that is
on the head of them : he rides in the heavens by his great
name Jah, for the help of his Israel, and in his excellency on
the sky. This is he that " weighs the mountains in scales, and
the hills in a balance; who metes out the heavens with a
span, and comprehendeth the dust of the earth in a measure."
Oh ! who is able to stand before this mighty Bicaker that is
come up before them '?
5thly, It implies their ignorance and inability to break up
their own way. There are two things in which believers are
XLVI.] ALL IMPASSABLE PASSES TO GRORY. 439
exceedingly defective, while on their journey towards Im-
manuel's land.
1. They are ignorant of the way, as Thomas said, John
xiv. 5: " How can we know the way?" It is a way which
lay hid in God, and which none was able to discover, unless
Christ had done it. The Breaker is that Lion of the tribe of
Judah, that breaks open the seven seals of the book of God's
councils concerning our redemption. He breaks the seals of
the book doctrinally, by revealing the will of God, and bring-
ing life and immortality to light: and practically, by the
powerful working of his Spirit, giving us an understanding to
know him, that he is the way, the truUi, and the life ; and in
this way, the wayfaring men, though fools, should walk and
not err, when the Breaker goes up before them.
2. Inability is another thing incident to the saints while on
their way. They want strength to walk in the way, when
it is revealed. Well, but the Breaker goes up before them,
and " he gives power to the faint, and increaseth strength to
them that have no might."
Gthbj, The Breaker is gone up before them; it implies, that
he has paved the road, and travelled the way before them,
as their Leader and Commander. And there are three
things especially, in which Christ goes before his people.
1. In obedience. 2. In suffering. 3. In going through
death to glory.
1. He goes before us in obedience, for he himself was made
under the law. Although, as to his ov^^n person, he was
above the law, being the great Lawgiver, yet he submitted
to obey it : as a Surety, he submitted to obey it as a covenant ;
and as a pattern of holiness and obedience, he submitted to
it as a rule. Hence he calls us to learn of him, and to take
his yoke upon us, particularly the yoke of obedience to the
law! for, says he, my "yoke is easy, and my burden is
light." A green yoke is galling and uneasy to the cattle, till
it be well worn and used. ' Well,' says Christ, ' the yoke of
my law, I have made easy, by using or wearing it before
you. I have fulfilled it as a covenant, and obeyed it as a
rule, that it may not be uneasy.'
2. He goes before us in suffering. " Christ," says the
apostle Peter, " has suffered for us, leaving us an example,
that we should follow his steps." 1 Pet. ii. 21, and chap. iv.
1 : " Forasmuch as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh,
arm yourselves likewise with the same mind ;" namely, that
ye may follow him in the same road of suffering. Hence also
is that of the apostle, Heb. xii. 2, 3: " Looking unto Jesus
the Author and Finisher of our faith ; who, for the joy that
was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame."
440 THE BREAKER OPENING UP [SER»
" Consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners
against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds."
3. The Breaker comes up before us through death, and by
entering into glory as our Forcruimer. Death, the king of
terrors, sometimes looks with such an awful aspect, that the
very thoughts of its approach, is enough to overwhelm us
with fear and terror ; and the apostle tells us of some, " who^
through fear of death, are all their lifetime subject to bon-
dage." Well, but how may a poor soul be delivered from
the fear of death ? Why, here is the antidote ; the Breaker
has come up before us through " the valley of the shadow of
death;" he has brokey the strength, and pulled out the sling
of that formidable all-conqucriug monarch, by his death and
resurrection from the dead. He has shown us, that death is
not the end of our course, but a passage into a happy immor-
tality. Hence he promises, that whosoever believes in him,,
"though he were dead, yet shall he live." And again, he
shall not so be devoured of death and the grave, but " he will
raise him up at the last day." Thus the apostle argues at
large, 1 Cor. xv. 12 — 21. Christ has gone before us through
death, ver. 20, and become the " first fruits of them that sleep."^
Had Christ passed into heaven before he died, as Enoch and
Elias, we had wanted the great pledge and evidence of a
future immortality. But Christ, as the great Captain of our
salvation, sullcred, died, and then entered into his glory; to
assure us, that in this road we are to follow him, that we
may be with him.
llJihj, The Breaker is come t/p before them ; it implies his
routing and discomfiting all those enemies tliat stood in the
way of our salvation.
The principal enemies that the believer has to grapple with
are tiiese : 1. Satan ; 2. Sin ; 3. 'I'lic world ; and, 4. Death.
Now, the Breaker, by going up before us, routed and broke
the strength of all these enemies.
1. As for Satan, he has bruised his head, and through
death destroyed him.
2. As for the world, he has vanquished both its smiling and
frownings: " Be ye of good comfort," says he, " I have over-
come the world."
3. As for sin, he has " finished transgression, and made tin
end of sin: condemned sin in the tlesh." By his sacrifice on
the cross, he condemned it as an arch-traitor against Hea-
ven.
4. As for death, he entered the territories of the grave, and
spoiled it of its power and strength : " O death, 1 will be thy
])lague; O grave, I will be thy destr etion." These ene-
mies made an attempt upon the Son of God, but they were all
XLVI.] ALL IMPASSABLE PASSES TO GLORY. 441
foiled in the enterprise. — The Breaker that went up before
lis has broken and shattered them, so that we have no cause
to fear them. We see by what Christ has done, that these
enemies are not invincible ; that their power is not uncon-
trollable ; they were conquered by him as our Head and
Representative in our cause and quarrel ; and therefore we
may, by faith, take up and divide the spoils, saying, " Thanks
be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ;"
for what was done by the Head, in his own person, shall
shortly be done in all the members.
But farther, I say, that Christ, by engaging with these ene-
mies, has quite maimed and disarmed them, and taken away
their right to hurt any of his friends and followers. By the
breach of the covenant of works, these enemies have a law-
right over all the children of men: the curse of the broken
law gave Satan a law-right to rule, the world to vex, sin to
enslave, death to destroy us, and give us up to hell. All this
was contained in that " hand-writing which was against us,
and contrary to us." But now, 1 say, Christ upon the cross
tore and cancelled that hand-writing, by satisfying justice,
and becoming a curse for us; and ever since, the devil has
no law-right to tempt or molest; the world has no law-right
to trouble or molest ; sin has no legal dominion, nor death
any right to sting or frighten any member of Christ. The
inroads which these enemies make upon the believer, are
nothing else, if duly considered, but illegal invasions and
usurpations ; and a believer in Christ, viewing the death and
satisfaction of Christ, by which he cancelled that hand-writing,
whenever any of these enemies attack him, he may warrant-
ably look them in the face, and say, Where is your warrant
in law to trouble or molest me ? Your law-right fell to the
ground, when my Head and Surety tore the hand-writing that
was against me. And you know, whatever powder or strength
an enemy may have, yet it weakens and dispirits him ex-
ceedingly when his law'-right is challenged, and he cannot
show it; because, in this case, his actions are but vicious [in-
trusions,] and he may be treated as a thief and robber. So,
then, learn to deal with your enemies upon a law-ground,
upon the fooling of the death and satisfaction of Jesus Christ;
this would both inspire you with courage in your resistance,
and dispirit them in their attacks.
8thly, The Breaker is gojie up before them; it implies, the
way to heaven is patent,"and that there is no legal bar or im-
pediment to stop or hinder their passage to the land of glory,
whither the Breaker is gone up. Christ has come up to us,
as a Surety and Representative, and by his obedience to the
death, has given complete satisfaction to the law and justice
38*
442 THE BREAKER OPENING UP [sER.
of God, and so has cleared the way of all legal impediments,
arising from the breach of the first covenant. Hence it is,
that believers, through the death and resurrection of Christ,
are put in a capacity to challenge all adversaries and accu-
sations, saying, as Rom. viii. 33, 34: " Who shall lay any
thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth,
who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather
that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who
also makelh intercession for us." As if the apostle had said.
The Breaker is come up before us ; and, therefore, what have
we to fear from hell or earth, if the great Judge be satis-
fied?
Qlhhj, The Breaker is come up before them ; it implies, that
whatever dangers, or dithculties, or opposition, be in their
way, yet they are in absolute safety under his guidance.
When their king passelh before them, and Jehovah oji the head
of them, what have thev to fear? For when he arises, all
their enemies are scattered. Hence it is, that the Lord so
frequently checks the unbelieving fears of his people, upon
account of those dangers and enemies they are threatened
with in their way, Is. xli. 10: "Fear thou not, for I am with
thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God: I will help thee,
yea, I will strengthen thee, yea, I will uphold thee with the
right hand of my righteousness." Accordingly, when faith
views the presence of a reconciled God in Christ, it conJemns
and despises the most threatening dangers, Psal. xxiii. 4:
" Yea, though I pass through the valley of the shadow of
death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me."
IV. ^he fourth thing was, to inquire into the grounds and
reasons of this dispensation, why does Christ break up the
way to his people? wliy does he come up upon the lield in
their quarrel \
A?iszL\ 1st, Because they were given to him of the Father,
as a heritage or possession, Psal. ii., John xvii : " Thine thev
were, and thou gavcst them me." Now, Christ makes very
much of his Father's gift, they are beloved of him for his Fa-
ther's sake ; and for the sake of his Father who gave him
them, lie will break up the vay before them.
'idltj, Because they arc the purchase of his blood; he has
bought them from the hand of justice, at a dear rate. The
blessed Breaker was broken in their quarrel, "He was wound-
ed for their transgressions, and bruised for their iniquity;" and
therefore it is no wonder that he comes up in their cause, and
opens the way to them tlirough the armies of hell.
2dly, Because his faithfulness is engaged to lead them in
their way through all the difficulties of their pilgrimage, " 1
XLVI.] ALL IMPASSABLE PASSES TO GLORY. 443
will bring the blind by a way they knew not, I will lead them
in paths which they have not known." " I will never leave
thee, I will never forsake thee; I will contend with hinn that
contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children."
4thhj, Because he is to give an account of thenn to his Fa-
ther, who gave them to him. The day comes, when Christ
will" deliver up the kingdom to the Father, that God may be
all in all." When the present administration of Christ, as
Mediator, comes to an end, Christ will "gather all his elect
together," and say, " Here am I, and the children whom thou
hast given me." Now, that he may make a faithful account
of them, he will break uj) their way before them.
5thly, Christ breaks up their way, because they cannot
break up their own way;" While we were yet without strength,
in due time Christ died." Believers are a feeble folk, in-
sulTicient of themselves to think or do any thing of themselves :
Now, the Lord loves " to perfect strength in their weakness,"
and out of weakness to make strong, for " he is a strength to
the poor, and a strength to the needy, in their distress."
Gthlij, He breaks their way, and comes up before them, be-
cause they trust in him as their Leader and Commander ; and
he will not betray their trust : no, he will ansvi'cr the expecta-
tion of the poor: " This poor man cried, and the Lord licard.
They looked unto him, and were lightened."
llhlij, He comes up before them as a mighty Breaker, that
he " may still the enemy and the avenger;" that he mav »^et
amends of Satan for di^sturbing the creation of God, disorder-
ing his works, striking at his Father's image, and ma kins; an
attempt upon man, whom he had planted as his vicerov in
this lower world. Therefore, immediately after the fall,'the
Lord tells that enemy, that he would bruise his head, break
him, and all his works in pieces, and so avenge our quarrel
\ipon that usurping enemy; *' The day of vengeance," says he,
" is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is conie."
SiJily, He comes up as a Breaker in their quarrel, because
of the near and dear relation that he has come under unto
them. Lie is their Redeemer, and will he not come up in the
quarrel of his ransomed ones ? He is their everlasting Father,
and will he not come up bt^fore his children, his seed that the
Lord hath given him ? " Like as a Father pitieth his children,
so the Lord pitieth them that fear him." He is their Shep-
herd, and will he not break the way to his flock to follow
him 1 Yes, surely, for he leads " Joseph as a flock : — He shall
gather the lambs with his arm, he will carry them in his
bosom ; and shall gently lead those that are with 3'oung."
He is their Husband and Bridegroom, and will he not take
the way through all opposition of hell for his beloved bride,
444 THE BREAKER OPENING UP [sER,
whom lie has betrothed to himself for ever? He is their
King, Captain, and General, and will he not appear in the
quarrel of his soldiers, and head them in their march to glory 1
Yea, their King shall pass before them. Thus much for open-
ing the words in a doctrinal way.
CHRIST, AS THE BREAKER, OPENING ALL PASSES TO
GLORY, THAT WERE IMPASSABLE.
The bre.'iker is come vip before them; they liave broken up, and have passed
through the gate, and are gone out by it; and their king sliall pass before
them, and tiie Lord (or Jehovah) on the head of them. — Micah ii. 13.
THE SECOND SERMON ON THIS TEXT.
V. Having discussed the doctrinal part in a former dis-
course, I now proceed to the AppUcalion.
And the Jirsi use shall he of Information.
From vi'hat has heen said we may see, —
1. Whence it is that the true church of Christ is " terrible
as an army with banners." Why, the Breaker is in the midst
of her, and comes up before her. When Jehovah is on her
head, she cannot miss to be a terror to the gates of hell, and
all its auxiliaries. You have a passage to this purpose, in
Psal. Ixxvi. 1, 2, compared with verses 3, 5, 6, 7: " In Judah
is God known; his name is great in Israel. In Salem also
is his tabernacle, and his dwelling-place in Zion. There brake
he the arrows of the bow, the shield and the sword, and the
battle. Selah. The stout-hearted are spoiled, they have
slept their sleep; and none of the men of might have found
their hands: At thy rebuke, O God of Jact)b, both the cha-
riot and horse are cast into a dead sleep. Thou, even thou,
art to be feared ; and who may stand in thy sight when once
thou art angry 1"
2dh), See hence whence it is, that God's Jerusalem proves
a burdensome stone, and I hey that hurt her, do it to their own
cost in the issue. Why, the Breaker comes up, and appears
in the quarrel, in his own time. Some bold strokes are given
at this day at the carved work of God's temple, invasions
made upon the fundamental rights and privileges of the church,
and of God's people particularly, in choosing their own pas-
XL VI.] ALL IMPASSABLE PASSES TO GLORY. 445
tors ; patrons and corrupt clergymen, and their followers, are
peeling and spoiling the spouse of Christ, and " taking away
her veil from her." But wait a little, till the Breaker come
up, till Jehovah enter the field, and then we will see breach
for breach. I read you a word for this, Is. xli. 11 — 13, 16:
"Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be
ashamed and confounded; they shall be as nothing, and they
that strive with thee shall perish. Thou shalt seek them,
and shalt not iind them, even them that contended with thee;
they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing
of naught. For 1 the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand,
saying unto thee. Fear not, 1 will help thee."
3dly, See hence whence it is that the true church of God
at any time falls into the hand of the enemy, though Jehovah
be her Head, her Patron, and Protector. Why, the mystery
of it lies here, she sins away her Breaker, by not following
him in the road that he has broken up to her. Christ has
travelled the road, he has shown us the way both as to doc-
trine, discipline, worship, and government. Now, when a
visible church does not follow him, but vvill needs, like Israel,
follow other leaders, and walk after the commandments of
men, and manage the affairs of Christ's kingdom, according
to the plan of worldly politics, by which the kingdoms of this
world are ruled and governed; in that case, she does not fol-
low her King, she practically disowns Jehovah for her Head,
and thereupon she is dismantled of her walls of salvation, her
chariots and horsemen are gone, and in that case, the " boar
out of the wood doth waste her, and the wild beast of the
field devours her." The church of Christ can never thrive
but by treading the footsteps of Christ, the Breaker, who has
gone up before us, he having " left an example, that we should
follow his steps."*
4t/ilij, See hence the most effectual way to slop the course
of defection that we have been going into for a considerable
tract of time, when religion is very low and languishing;
when a corrupt party, or a church are prevailing; when
error like a gangrene is prevailing, and the foundations going
out of course; what is the best method in that case to stop
the enemy that comes in like a flood ? Why, in that case,
we should call the mighty Breaker, that he may come back
again to us, for whenever he appears, then the enemy that
comes in like a flood is driven back, Psal. cxiv. 3, 4: "The
sea flies, Jordan is driven back, the mountains skip like rams,
• See more on this subject in my father's Synodical sermon, from Psal.
cxviii.: "The Stone which the Builders refused, the same is become the
Head of the Corner. "
446 THE BREAKER OPENING UP [SER.
and the little hills like lamhs." Yea, ver. 7, the very " earth
falls to trembling at the presence of the God of Jacob." Ver.
11: "He turns the rock into standing water, and the flint
into a fountain of waters."
5//i/y, See hence whence it is that " the righteous holds on
his way, and waxes stronger and stronger," notwithstanding
of his having to wrestle with the powers of hell, the world,
and indwelling corruption. Why, here is the reason of it:
the Breaker is gone jtp before him, he has opened his way, he
has Jehovah on his head, as the Captain of his salvation : and
hence it is, that " (hough the archers shoot at him, and grieve
him, yet his bow abideth in its strength, and the arms of his
hands are made stronc;, by the hands of the mijrhty God of
Jacob."
Use second of this doctrine Is of Trial.
Is it so that the glorious Redeemer is the Breaker up of
the way to glory, and that he comes up as a mighty Cham-
pion to fight their battles against the powers of hell and earth?
Then, sirs, may we not cry on this occasion, "Who is on the
Lord's side ?" Are you for this Breaker, or are you against
him ? The whole race of Adam are divided between Christ
and the devil; they must either be of the seed of the woman,
or the seed of the serpent; it will not prove you to be on the
Lord's side that you are called Christians; for many that bear
that name were never anointed with his Spirit; and " if any
nnan have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his." It will
not prove you to be on his side, that you have been admitted
to the communion table; for many will plead on the day of
accounts, "Lord, Lord, we have eaten and drunken in thy
presence ;" yea, some will be capable to say more, namely,
that they " have prophesied in bis name, and in his name
done many wonderful works;" and yet he will utterly disown
them, saying, "Depart from me, ye that work inic|uity; I
never knew you." And therefore you need some other things
to distinguish you from others, or to prove that you are on
the side of this mighty Breaker, who came up before the ar-
mies of Israel.
Quest. How shall I know whether I be on his side, or
against him? In answer to this question, I shall go no farther
for marks than the text itself.
l.<^/. Then. I ask you for trial, have you broken up from
your natural bondage and captivity? Every sinner is, by na-
ture, a captive, a prisoner in chains, held fast in the "gall of
bitterness, and under the bond of iniquity." Now, Christ,
having purchased liberty with his blood, he conies in a gos-
pel-dispensation, and " proclaims liberty to the captives, and
the opening of the prison to them that are bound.*^ Now,
XLVI.] ALL IMPASSABLE PASSES TO GLORY. 447
the question that I ask is, Whether has the Lord ever, by
the power of his Spirit, determined you to break up, and
shake off your spiritual fetters'? Has the chain of spiritual
darkness been broken by the Hght of the Lord shining into
your hearts? Has the chain of enmity been broken by the
love of God shed abroad in your hearts by the Holy Ghost?
Has the chain of unbelief been broken off, so that now you
would give a thousand worlds to be rid of an evil heart of un-
belief, that causes you to depart from the living God ? Have
you broken up from all the unfruitful works of darkness, and
been made to say with Ephraim, " What have I to do any
more with idols ("
2rf/y, 1 ask for trial. Have you passed through the gate?
For they that follow the Breaker, as they break up, so they
pass through the gate. And 1 will tell you of a two-fold
gate you have readily passed through, if you be lollowers of
Christ.
L The law-gate. And, 2. The gospel-gate.
(1.) Many pass through the law-gate of conviction, who
yet never pass through the gospel-gate of believing in the
Son of God. But I do not think there are any adult persons
that shall ever pass the gate of the gospel, without passing
the gate of the law, " lor the law is our school-master to bring
US to Christ." So then, I ask you, have you passed the law-
gate of conviction, terror, and humiliation? Has Christ, the
mighty Breaker, taken the hammer of his law, and broken
the rock in pieces? Has he made thee even to fall to trem-
bling with the jailer? and made you to cry, " What must I
do to be saved ?" I do not limit the holy One of Israel to any
stinted measure of law-work. He acts as a Sovereign, both
in dispensing the terrors of his law, and the consolations of the
gospel. But this, I think, I may say with safety, that no sin-
ner will ever fly to a Saviour, till he see, that if God mark
his iniquity, according to the tenor of his law, he cannot stand
before him. But, as I said, many go through this gate of
law-terrors and conviction, who never go farther. Cain, Ju-
das, Felix, and many others, are standing witnesses of the
truth of this. And therefore,
(2.) The main inquiry is, whether you have really passed
the straight and narrow way of believing in the Son of God?
Christ is the only gate and door of salvation for a lost sinner,
John X. 9; Heb. x. 19, 20; and a believing in him is an en-
tering in at God's door, an entering into God's rest, a state of
peace, favour, and fellowship, with God. Now, I say, have
you entered in at this door by believing in the Lord Jesus
Christ? I remember Christ says, " Straightis the gate, and
narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be
that find it."
448 THE BREAKER OPENING UP [SER'
And if you be among these few, I will tell you of two or
three things you have left behind you; *' For it is easier for a
camel to go through the eye of a needle," than for a man to
carry them along with him, in his pas>age through this " gate
of believing in the Lord Jesus Christ."
I5/, You have left self behind you ; for, says Christ, " if any
man will come after me, let him deny himself," particularly,
self-righteousness, or the works of the law, in point of justiti-
cation, and acceptance. This can never go in through the
gate; no, no, "Publicans atfd harlots," says Christ to the
self-righteous Pharisees, "go into the kingdom, of God be-
fore you." So soon as ever Paul passes through this gate,
though before he was, " touching the righteousness which is
in the law, blameless," yet then he reckoned it but dung.
2diij, You have left your sins and lusts behind you. The
narrow gate of salvation will not admit of these, neither: so
soon as ever a man enters this gate, he cries with Ephraim,
"What have 1 to do any more with idols? if 1 have done
iniquity, I will do no more." Yea, though they were as
dear and near to him as his right hand, and his right eye, he
will not spare them. No, he casts them all to the moles and
bats, and wages war for ever against every known sin.
'6diy, You have left the love of the world ; for " if any man
love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." "The
friendship of this world is enmity with God." The love of
God and the love of the world cannot reign in the same heart ;
"No man can serve two ma.stcis, we cannot serve God and.
Mammon." So soon as ever a man passes through this gate,
he gets the eye of his understanding opened, to see that God's
verdict of it is true, that it is all vanity and vexation of spi-
rit. And then as he falls out of conceit with the things of this
world, as his portion, so he quits the ways and courses of this
world, according to that exhortation of the apostle, "Be not
conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the re-
newino'of your mind." And |)articularly he quits carnal rea-
son and policy, as his guide, in the things of Christ, and mat-
ters that concern the glory of God, and salvation of his soul.
As you see in the apostle Paul, so soon as " it pleased God,"
says he, " to reveal his Son in me, immediately I conferred
not with llesh and blood."
Alhlij, VVc are told here also, that the followers of Christ,
the glorious Breaker, "go out at the u;alc that he breaks up
to them." An expression like this we have, John x. 9: "1
am the door: by me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved,
and shall go in and out, and lind pasture." So soon as the
poor soul passes through the gate, he hnds some things with-
out the gate as it were, which he could never find before. I
XLVI.] ALL IMPASSABLE PASSES TO GLORY. 449
shall instance a few, anaong many things, he goes out to, when
" he paisses through the gate."
1. He goes out from darkness to light; "Ye were some-
times darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord." He gets
the "eyes of his understanding opened, to know what is the
hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his
inheritance in the saints." The man begins to see things that
were not seen by him before : He sees (he holiness of the
law, the majesty of the Lawgiver, the exceeding sinfulness of
sin, the glory of Christ, the beauties of holiness, the nothing-
ness of things temporal, and the importance of things eter-
nal.
2. He goes out from death to life. The man, before' he
passed this gate, was dead, legally dead, spiritually dead, and
every moment in danger of going down to the second death;
but now he enters into life, into a life of justification, having
the hand-writing cancelled and cross-scored by the blood of
the Lamb : " There is no condemnation to them that are in
Christ Jesus:" No, they are alive unto God through Christ.
He enters into a life of sanctification and holiness. The man,
who before was wallowing among the pots, gets the beauty
of the Lord his God put upon him ; by which he is made to
shine like the wings of a dove. He enters into a life of con-
solation, arising from the intercourse and fellowship that he
now finds with the Lord. The light of God's countenance
puts more gladness in his heart, " than when corn, and wine,
and oil, doth abound." In a word, a man no sooner goes out
by this gate, than he enters into life eternal : " For he that
hath the Son hath life. He that beiieveth in the Son hath
everlasting life." And, like an heir of such inheritance, he
carries himself •' like a stranger in the earth, looking for a
city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is
God."
3. The man goes out from bondage : the bondage of sin,
Satan, and the curse, to " the glorious liberty, of the children
of God :" so that the man does not look on it any longer as a
piece of thraldom, like Doeg, to be " detained before the
Lord," in his ordinances. No, no, he is ready to say, Psa!.
xxvii. 4: "One thing have I desired of the Lord, and that
will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and
to inquire after him in his temple." Psal. Ixxxiv. 10: "For
a day in thy courts is better than a thousand : I had rather
be a door-keeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in
the tents of wickedness." It is no bondage to him to walk in
the strict and cleanly ways of holiness. No, he finds sin and
the ways of it to bring him under a spirit of bondage ; but, as
VOL. III. 39 t
450 THE BREAKER OPENING UP [SER.
for the ways of the Lord, they are his dehght. He rejoices
to work righteousness; and he is ready to say with David,
" O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes! My
soul breaketh with the longing that it hath unto thy right-
eous judgments at all times." J3ut 1 do not insist farther on
this use.
CHRIST, AS THE BIIEAKER, OPENING ALL PASSES TO
GLORY, THAT WERE IMPASSAFiLE.
The breaker is come up before them; tliey Iiave broken up, and have passed
througli the gate, and are gone out by it; and tiieir king shall pass before
them, and the Lord (or Jehovah) on the head of them. — Micah ii. 13.
THE THIRD SERMON ON THIS TEXT.
Thirdly, A third use I make of the doctrine, may be by way
of Terror lo all the wicked and ungodly world, who are living
in a state of sin and rebellion against God.
This mighty Breaker will take the field against you, and
O, when he whets " his glittering sword, and his hand takes
hold on judgment, he will render vengeance unto his ene-
mies."
Quest. Who are they that may be ranked among the num-
ber of the enemies of Christ, whom he will break, as with a
rod of iron ? I answer,
1st, The great potentates of the earth, who do not employ
their power in the service of his kingdom ; or who employ
their power to the hurt and prejudice of iiis cause and inte-
rest in the world : they are not exeniplcd from his authority,
no, they must stand on a level with others before this awful
Breaker; Psal. ii. 9: " Thou shalt break them with a rod of
iron, thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Be
wise now, therefore, O ye kings, be instructed, ye judges
of the earth." When men of ]iower and authority begin to
kick against him, he can, with the greatest case, be avenged
on them, for he " shall cut oll'the s])irit of princes; he is ter-
rible lo the kings of the earth ; he |)ours contempt upon princes,
and strikes through kings in the day of his wrath."
2dlij, This mighty Breaker will, in his own time, take the
field against all unfaithful ministers, and shepherds, who, in-
stead of feeding the flock of Christ, " feed themselves with
the fat ;" and who, instead of gathering, scatter the Lord's
flock, and rule them with rigour and cruelty. To this pur-
XL VI.] ALL IMPASSABLE PASSES TO GLORY. 451
pose you may read the whole 34th chapter of Ezekiel, from
the beginning to the end, at your leisure ; and see whether or
not that passage be applicable to any of us, who are called
shepherds at this day.
Hdly, The Breaker will take the field against all ignorant
persons, who live in darkness in the midst of light ; " It is a
people of no understanding; therefore he that made them
will not have mercy on ihem, and he that formed them will
show them no favour.
4:lkhj, Against all unbelievers, who reject the offers of his
grace through Christ : " He that believeth not is condemned
already, and the wrath of God abideth on him." He will
come "in tlaming fire, taking vengeance on all that know
not God, and ol)ey not the gospel."
blhly, Against all nominal professors, who rest satisfied with
a name to live, whilst dead in sin.
Qtldy, Against all covenant breakers, who deal deceitfully
with God or man in the matter of solemn vows, whether na-
tional or personal; a heavy charge, which we in this land
may take home, and for which, it is to be feared, God will be
avenged on us: " Shall he break the covenant, and be deli-
vered'?" 'No,' says the Lord, "I will bring a sword upon
you, which shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant."
Ithlij, He will come up as a Breaker against all apostates
and backsliders, who seemed to run well in the ways of God,
but quickly turn aside, like a deceitful bow, to crooked ways.
Many of you have been lifting up your hands to the most
high God at a communion table, making a solemn profession
to God, angels, and men, that you will follow the Lord, whi-
thersoever he goes. Oh, for the l^ord's sake, beware of act-
ing a perfidious part with God, like those, Psal. Ixxviii. 35:
" Who remembered God as their Rock, and the high God as
their Redeemer, but whose hearts were not right with him,
neither were they steadfast in his covenant," ver. 37. For
" backsliders in heart shall be filled with their own ways."
"No man putting his hand to" God's " plough, and looking
back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
Slhly, Against all unclean persons who wallow in the pud-
dle of (heir abominable lusts, Heb. xiii. 4: "Whoremongers
and adulterers God will judge." You are by name and sur-
name excluded out of the kingdom of heaven, 1 Cor. vi. G — 8.
i)thly, Against all the proud and haughty ones of the earth,
who carry themselves insolently towards others; as if they
were not their fellow creatures, or worthy to be set with the
dogs of their flock. All who pride themselves in their riches,
ornaments, wisdom, honours, or preferments, and are lifted
up in their hearts with these or the like things ; the Breaker
452 THE BREAKER OPENING UP [sER.
will be upon you with his rod of iron: Is. ii. 11, 12: " The
lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of
men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be ex-
alted in that day : for the day of the Lord of hosts shall be
upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one
that is lifted up, and he shall be brought low."
lOlhhj, The Breaker will come up against magistrates and
elders that do injury to the Lord's vineyard, and spoil his
poor people of any rights or liberties he allows them, whether
as men or Christians. See to this purpose, Is. iii. 14, 15:
"The Lord will enter into jud-iment with the ancients of his
people, and the princes thereof;" that is, the great men that
bear rule, and have authority in their hand; -'for ye have
eaten up the vineyard, the spoil of the poor is in your houses.
What mean ye, that ye beat my people (o pieces, and grind
the flices of the poor, saith the Lord of hosts ?" Some vvim are
guilty this way, may perhaps screen themselves with some
colour of law : but if any such be hearing me at present, I
warn them, in the name of God, that their cob-web pretences
will stand them in no stead, when the Breaker takes the field
against them.
Wthlij, The Breaker will come up against all such as de-
clare their sin as Sodom, and who, instead of taking with the
reproofs of the word, the reproofs of conscience, the reproofs
of providence, do harden their hearts as if they would bid
Heaven defiance, and, like swine, turn about and rend those
who cast the jewel of a reproof before them; "He that
being often reproved, hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be
destroyed, and that without remedy." O! " consider this, ye
that forget God, lest he tear you in pieces, when there is
none to deliver" you out of his hand.
And because all this and many other evils are prevalent in
the day and generation in which we live, we have reason to
fear, that some breaking calamity or other is at the door;
and let none such promise themselves imjiunilv, for there is
no escaping the stroke of this awful Breaker ; no, no, whither
will ye tlee from his presence? See an awful lecture to this
purpose, Amos ix. 2 — 0, ttc.
That I may, if possible, strike terror into the hearts of a
wicked and ungo(!ly world, that (hey mav awake, and tlee
from the wrath that is to come. 1 shnll take notice of a few
breaking engines thai Ibis mighty ihcaker has at hand, with
which he can reach a blow to lluun.
1. He has a breaking aru). Who has an arm like God ?
" His right hand and his holy arm has gotten him the victory"
over all his enemies, and will do so to the end of the world.
2. He has a breaking countenance. When he frowns upon
XLVI.] ALL IMPASSABLE PASSES TO GLORY. 453
a person, or when he lifts up his reconciled countenance upon
a soul, he puts more gladness into it, than when corn and
wine and oil did abound. But, oh! when he casts down his
countenance, and frowns, who is able to bear it? Psal. Ixxx.
16 : " They perish," says the church, " at the rebuke of thy
countenance :" and no wonder, for "the pillars of heaven
tremble and are astonished at his rebuke."
3. He has a breaking word ; " Is not my word a hammer
that breaketh the rock in pieces ?' Indeed, his promising word
yields comfort, and is the savour of life. But, oh ! his threat-
ening and condemning word, "it is a breaking hammer and
u piercing two-edged sword," and by this sword of his mouth
he will slay the wicked. "I have hewed them bv liie pro-
phets, I have slain tliem by the words of my moudi."
4. He has a breaking voice. " Who can thunder with a
voice like him ? " The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars,
the Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon." Oh, when this
mighty Breaker shall, at the last day, '' descend from heaven
with a sliout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the
trump of God," how will the wicked appear? they will fall
" to wailing because of him, and begin to cry to the rocks
and mountains to fall on them, and cover them from the face
of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the
Lamb."
5. He has a breaking wind ; " With the breath of his lips
shall he slay the wicked," Is. ix. 4. Psal. xviii. 8: "There
went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and tire out of his mouth
devoured ; coals were kindled by it." And by this breath
of the Almighty, hell-(ire is kindled, which can never be
quenched. Is. xxx. 33: " Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for
the king it is prepared; he halh made it deep and large;^
the pile thereof is tire and much wood, the breath of the Lord
like a stream of brimstone doth kindle it."
(i. He has at hand breaking bolts of thunder, by which he-
can strike the sinner dead in a very moment; and if he let
fly one of these bolts, who is able to withstand it, Psal. Ixxviii..
4'2. He sent hot thunder-bolts amongst the rebellious -Egyp-
tians.
7. He has many breaking armies of angels, stars, and
plagues at his command, by which he can punish a rebellious
church or nation. If he but hiss for the fly, the locust, the
caterpillar, or such like inconsiderable insects, how speedily
will they rim to avenge his quarrel T as you see in the case of
Egypt. Thus, I say, this mighty Breaker does not want
abundance of engines; and, therefore, "let not the rebellious-
exalt themselves" against him^ but " let the wicked forsake
his way."
39*
454 THE BREAKER OPENING UP [sER,
VsefoiMh of this doctrine may be by way of Consolation
and Eticouragement to believers, under all the discourage-
ments and difficulties in their way through the waste how-
ling wilderness. There is no dark or diflicult step in the way
that Christ has not beaten and travelled before you; and
therefore has sanctified it to you. I shall instance in a few
particulars: —
1st, In general, here is comfort under a multiplicity of trou-
bles and sorrows, like so many billows breaking upon you.
The Breaker is come up before you in this road. Christ " was
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief: he was op-
pressed and afflicted;" and therefore, in bearing the cross,
look to him, and consider him, — " lest ye be wearied and faint
in your minds." And know, for thy encouragement, " that
thy light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for
thee a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Christ
suffered, and then entered into liis glory:" and so those must
"enter into the kingdom through many tribulations."
2dly, And, more particularly, here is comfort in case of
temptation. Perhaps the roaring lion seems to be let loose
upon thee, his fiery darts of temptation fly thick about thy
head, and thou art ready to say, I shall now perish one day,
by the hand of Saul;" here is comfort; the Breaker is come t/p
before thee in (his road; " he was in all points tempted like
as" thou art. You see, Matth. iv., what furious onsets he met
with from the tempter; and had he the boldness to make an
attempt upon the Leader and Commander, and should the
soldiers, the followers, think it strange (hat he attacks tlrem
with the same or (he like temptations? And know, for thy
comfort, that the enemy had his head bruised, his kingdom
and strength ruined, in the attempt he made upon Christ;
and he has also promised, Rom. xvi. 20, to tread Satan un-
der thy feet: and'thcrefore be of good comfort, and hold on
thy way.
Sdly, Hast thou a load of sin and guilt lying on thee, per-
haps crying, " Mine iniquities have gone over mine head, as
a heavy burden they are too heavy for me" to bear? Why,
here is comfort, the Breaker has gone up before thee, he has
the experience of this weight, for " the Lord laid upon him
the iniquity of us all," and he has such a tender sympathy
with the poor soul that is groaning under a load of sin and
guilt, that he l)ids you "cast thy burden upon the Lord, and
he will sustain thee." "Come unto me, all ye that labour and
are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
4lhly, Here is comfort in case of desertion.
O, may some poor soul say, God withdraws his graciouH
XLVI.] ALL IMPASSABLE PASSES TO GLORY. 455
presence from me, " the Comforter, that should relieve my
soul, is far from me."
Here is relief, the Breaker is come up before thee in this
way. What dark clouds were about him, when he cried,
" My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me ?" And such
is his sympathy with his poor people in that case, that he
has left a promise for their encouragement, that though he
may hide himself "for a small moment, and in a little wrath,
yet he will return w^ith everlasting kindness." " Weeping may
endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning."
5lhly, Here is comfort in case of reproach. Perhaps thy
name is pierced through with the sharp arrows of reproach
and calumny. Why, the Breaker has travelled this road ;
he was called " a blasphemer, a wine-bibber, a friend of pub-
licans and sinners," and charged with a correspondence with
Beelzebub. What worse can be said of thee ? But, besides,
let the world blacken thee as they will, the day comes when
he will openly acknowledge and acquit thee, and thy name
shall be had in everlasting remembrance with him : he will
one day bring forth " thy righteousness as the light, and thy
judgment as the noon-day."
Qlhly, Art thou deserted and betrayed, forsaken by friends
and familiar acquaintance, in whom thou trustedst? Why,
the Breaker has gone up before thee in this road also: he
was betrayed by Judas, and forsaken by all his disciples ; they
"that did eat bread with him, lifted up their heel against him:"
But he has told thee, for thy encouragement, that, desert or
betray thee who will, he will never do it, " I will never leave
thee, nor forsake thee;" flames of fire and floods of water
shall never separate thee and him.
Ithly, Perhaps thou meetest with hard justice, yea, with
the greatest injustice from men. Well, the Breaker is come
up before thee in this road also ; for though " he did no vio-
lence, nor was any deceit in his mouth," yet "he was num-
bered amongst transgressors," the vilest malefactors, and con-
demned as such. Although he showed all loyalty to the
powers of the earth, and gave the most shining pattern and
example of it; yet he was condemned as an enemy to Ceesar,
\ and so he has sanctified that lot to his followers also.
\ Stilly, Perhaps thou art afraid to look death, the king of
V^rrors, in the face; thy heart and flesh shrink when thou
tiknkest of going through the dark valley into an unknown
woi'd, a bottomless and awful eternity. Well, take courage,
the Breaker is come up before thee, and in his up-coming, he
has pliigued death, and destroyed the grave, Hos. xiii. 14; so
that the very nature of it, is, as it were, altered ; that cup of
trembling given him of the Father, is turned into a cup of
456 THE BREAKER OPENING UP [SER,
consolation, by his "tasting of death for every" man; and
therefore, believer, thou nriaycst lift up thy head, when thou
seest death making his approaches, and invading that taber-
nacle of clay; "for the day of thy redemption draweth nigh."
Thus you see there is no road thou canst travel, in thy jour-
ney through this weary wilderness, but the way is already
prepared or rendered passable by thy glorious Head and
King. And the experience that Christ had of these things
unavoidably brings along these two things with it : —
1. A tender svmpathy with his people in the like cases.
He knows "the heart of a stranger," for that he himself was
a " stranger in the earth ;" " in all their afflictions he is af-
flicted ;" he is " touched with the feeling of our infirmities,
being in all points tempted like as we arc." And, O ! how re-
Heving is it to a poor creature in affliction, to have a tender
sympathizing friend, to sustain a part of its burden?
2. His experience of this evil brings forth speedy succour;
for in " that he himself hath suffered, being tempted, he is
able to succour them that are tempted."
But O, say vou, the succour is long delayed.
Atiszv. It shall not tarry a moment longer than he sees it
for his glory and thy good ; and therefore take good heart;
it shall come in the best time, and thou shalt be convinced of
it, when it comes, that it is so : " The vision is yet for an ap-
pointed time, — thougli it tarry, wait for it ; for at the end it
shall speak, and not lie; because it will surely come, it will
not tarry." Do not say, that the Lord has forgotten to be
gracious, because he delays the promised relief: no, "a wo-
man may forget her sucking child," says he, " yet will I not
forget thee : Tiiou art engraved upon the palms of his hands,"
&c.
Vscfflh of this text and doctrine shall be oi Exhortation.
\sl, To sinners, to the captives of hell, who are yet under
the chains of their spiritual captivity.
Has Christ broken in u])on the powers of hell? broken up
Satan's prison? and broken up the way to heaven and glory?
removed all legal bars and im|)cdiments out of the way of
salvation? Oh ! then, let me exhort and call you who are yet
in "covenant with death, and in an agreement with hell," to
shake oft" the fetters of sin ; for this mighty Breaker calls you
to come up to him in the way that he has opened, he calls '• to
the prisoners to come forth, and to them that are in darkness
to show themselves," Is. xlix. 9.
[The prosecution and enforcements of this exhortation are
wantinf, but may be supjilicd from the |)receding uses of ter-
ror to sinners, and encouragement to saints to follow Christ
XLVI.] ALL IMPASSABLE PASSES TO GLORY. 457
in the character of a Breaker. The reverend author had
prepared about a quarter of a sheet to insert here, but his
sickness and death ensuing, I was thereby cleprived of the
same by certain unexpected incidents, which I shall forbear
to mention.]
A second word of exhortation is to believers, especially to
believing communicants, who have been getting the seal of
the covenant, the pledges of his love, at a communion table.
Is it so that Christ has broken up the way to glory '! has
he taken the field as our renowned General, to fight our bat-
tles against all the opposing powers of hell and earth, and
their auxiliaries?
Then let me exhort you to raise your drooping spirits : take
courage and hold on your way, and march to glory; fight the
good fight of faith, and persevere therein to the end, notwith-
standing all the opposition you may meet with from your spi-
ritual enemies.
I need make use of no other motive to engage your com-
pliance with my exhortation, than what the words of my
text aflford, The Breaker is come up before you; and if you re-
quire an authentic commentary upon this, you have it in the
close of the verse. Their Ki7is; shall pass before them, a?id Je-
hovah o?i the head [or at the head] of them. There seems to
be an allusion to the march of an army, with their general at
their head ; or the march of Israel through the wilderness,
"with the pillar of fire and cloud before them: where four
things may be noticed for your encouragement in your march
through the wilderness of this world.
1st, Observe your General's name; it is Jehovah.
2dlij, His royal ofiice and relation; he is their King.
Sdlij, His proximity or nearness to the army — he is at their
head.
4ihli/, His majestic mein, conduct, and behaviour, suited to
his office and relation.
1st, I say, for thy encouragement in thy march and jour-
ney to Immanuel's land, through the howling wilderness,
take a view of your General's name; it is Jehovah: The
Lord (or Jehovah, as it is in the original) is at the head of them.
This is not the name of any inferior dependant being; no, it
is a name peculiar to the most high, to the supreme, and self-
existent God, Psal. Ixxxiii. 18: " That men may know that
thou, whose name alone is Jehovah, art the Most High over
all the earth." It is by this name, that he " rideth upon the
heaven in thy help, and in his excellency on the sky," Deut.
xxxiii. 28. The name of a successful and victorious general
458 THE BREAKER OPENING UP [sER.
will inspire the wliole army with courage, and strike a terror
into the hearts of the enemy. Well, believer, the name of
thy General, and the Captain of thy !«alvation, is Jehovah, a
name at which every knee must bow, of things in heaven,
and things in earth, and things under the earth. All the de-
vils in hell tremble at the greatness of this name; and there-
fore take courage, hold on thy way, and resist even " unto
blood, striving against sin," under the conduct of such a re-
nowned name, saying with the church, Psal. xx. 5, " We will
be joyful in thy salvation, and in the name of our God we
will set up our banners."
And because we are called and commanded, in our work
and warfare, to trust in the name of the Lord, and to stay
ourselves upon him, as our God ; therefore, to encourage faith
in this name, I will only give two or three additional epithets
(hat I find affixed to it in scripture.
1. J (ind him called Jehovah-Tsidkf.noo, "The Lord our
Righteousness ;" Jer. xxiii. G : " This is his name, whereby he
shall he called. The Lord our Rich rEOusNESs." He has, by
his active and passive obedience to the law, brought in ever-
lasting righteousness for our justification, by which right-
eousness the law is "magnified and made honoural)le," and
we through faith in him, have "the righteousness of the law
fulfilled in us;" and therefore, whenever the law, as a co-
venant, comes to demand the debt of obedience, as the con-
dition of life, or bends its curse against thee, for the violation
of its precepts, thou art to improve the name of thy General,
by an applying faith, saying. He is the Lord my righteousness,
"he was made sin for me, who knew no sin, that I might be
made the righteousness of God in him."
2. I find him sometimes called .Tk.iiovah-Rophrkcha, The
Lord thy Healer or Physician, Exod. xv. 20; and, therefore,
whenever thou lindest thyself wounded by the fiery darts of
Satan, or the pestilence or contagion of sin, in any shape, af-
fecting thy soul with deadness, darkness, weakness, unbelief,
enmity, or be what it will, presently have recourse to thy
General; for he is the Captain of salvation, and by looking
to him thou shalt be healed, as Israel was healed in the wil-
derness, by looking lo the brazen serpent.
3. I find him sometimes called Jkhovah-Shammah, "The
Lord is there," Ezek. last chapter, last verse ; which points
at his gracious presence in his church, and among his people:
" He is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; the Lord
will help her, and that right early." l^y his essential |)resence
he fills heaven and earth; and he is present in his church, in
a way of special grace ; for he says of Zion, " This is rny
XLVI.] ALL IMPASSABLE PASSES TO GLORY. 459
rest for ever, here will I dwell ; the Lord is there sitting upon
a mercy-seat, to hear, help, and give out liberally to his sub-
jects.
4. He is sometinnes designated Jehovah-Jireh, "The Lord
will see or provide," Gen. xxii. 14. This name is a glorious
encouragement under any want or strait, whether as to the
soul or body; for we are thus assured, that, " when the poor
and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue
faileth for thirst, the Lord will hear them, the God of Israel
will not forsake them," Isa. xli. 17.
5. I tind him called Jehovah-Nissi, " The Lord my Ban-
ner," Exod. xvii. 15; "because he gives a banner unto them
that fear him," and they display it because of truth ; and
when they are allowed access to him in his ordinances, " they
sit down under his shadow with great delight, and his banner
over them is love." His name is a banner of war, a banner
of victory, a banner of triumph, to them that trust in it.
2dlii, We have in the words not only Christ's name, but
his ofhce and relation to his people ; he is their King, the Cap-
tain of their salvation; he is a person of royal authority, and
he is appointed King of Zion by his Father, Psal. ii. 6: " Yet
have I set my King upon my holy hill of Zion :" " He hath
on his vesture, and on his thigh, a name written. King of kings,
and Lord of lords," Rev. xix. 16; that you may admire, and
trust, and honour him as a mighty King,
1. Consider the height of his throne ; it is the very same
throne that the Father sits upon, hence called " the throne
of God and of the Lamb." When he overcame, he sat down
with the " Father on his throne," Rev. iii., at the close; and
this throne of his is so high and lifted up, that when the an-
gels look up to its height and glory, they are so dazzled that
they cover their faces with their wings.
2. Consider the magnificence of his dwelling-place. Other
kings have their royal palaces; but what are they, with all
their splendour, but piles of dust? Zion's King inhabits eter-
nity ; " he dwelleth in the high and holy place," and " in light
that is inaccessible and full of glory, which no man hath seen,
nor can see." O " who shall dwell with him in his taberna-
cle?" See an answer, Psal. xxiv. 4.
3. Let us take a view of the splendour of his retinue, " The
armies which are in heaven follow him," armies of angels,
and the armies of the saints. His court is crowded with at-
tendants, " Thousand thousands, ten thousand times ten thou-
sands, stood before him."
4. Consider the vastness of his revenues; he levies tribute
from heaven, earth, and hell. All creatures whatsoever pay
a revenue of praise to him, as their great Lord, Rev. vii. 10.
460 THE BREAKER OPENING UP [SEB.
The church triumphant cries, " Salvation to our God, who
sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb, for ever and ever."
The church mihtant adores him, saying, " Let the whole earth
be filled with his glory. Yea, hell itself must pay a tribute
of praise to his justice, and acknowledge the equity of his
administration.
5. Consider the largeness of his dominion, in respect of all
persons and places; " His kingdom ruleth over all," Psal. ciii.
19. His kingdom of grace, under the New Testament, ex-
tends to the heathen, and the uttermost parts of the earth.*
And, in respect of duration, his kingdom is an everlasting
kingdom. In a word, he is the " King of kings, and Lord of
lords, the Prince of the Kings of the earth ; by him kings
reign, and princes decree justice." O who would not follow
such a King? who would not desire to be amongst the num-
ber of his subjects ? who would not desire to espouse his cause
against all that dare to invade his prerogatives, as many are
doing at this day, by encroaching on the immunities and li-
berties of his subjects'? Do it who will, it will be to their
own cost in the issue.
3dty, Another thing here, highly encouraging to the sub-
jects and followers of this mighty Prince, is his proximity or
nearness to his subjects or soldiers, " He is on the head of
them." He is not only a Head of government, or a King,
but he is also a Head of influence, such a head as that of the
natural body to the members, which cannot be separated,
but must always be where the members are. "God hath
given him to be Head over all things unto the Church, which
is his body." He and they are "joined together by one Spi-
rit," Rom. viii. ; Col. ii. 19: "Not holding the Head, from
which all the body, as by joints and bands, having nourish-
ment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the in-
crease of God."
O what a great matter is this ! and how may it inspire be-
lievers to hold on their way, and maintain their warfare, that
(he Lord, or Jehovah, is on the head of them ! There are two
or three mighty encouragements that arise hence.
1. If Jehovah be at thy head, he knows well how^ matters
go with his militant members in the field of battle. Do not
say, therefore, "My way is hid from the Lord, and my judg-
ment is passed over from my God, for his eyes run to and fro
through the whole earth." A hair of your head cannot fall
to the ground, without his knowledge and permission.
2. If Jehovah be at thy head, thou shalt not want what is
* We are not, however, to understand the author as maintaining that the heathen can
be in the hivgttmn oi grace, without the means of grace. His meaning doubtlft-s is, that
Christ has full power to send the means of grace among the heathen, and establish his
spiritual dominion in their hearts. — Am. £d.
XLVI.] ALL IMPASSABLE PASSES TO GLORY. 461
needful to bear thy charges in thy journey and warfare.
The whole army here is provided and maintained at the ex-
pense of thfe General. More particularly,
(1.) The army must be provided with meat and drink:
well, Jehovah at the head of them will see to this, " Thy
bread shall be given thee, and thy water shall be sure." Thy
wants shall all be supplied by thy God, " according to his
riches in glory, by Christ Jesus."
(2.) The army must have clothing: well, Jehovah at their
head will see to that also; he has provided an armory, in
which hang the shields of the mighty men of war, Eph. vi.
You see there what a vast complete stand of armour Jehovah
has provided for his soldiers, the shield of faith, the helmet of
salvation, the breast-plate of righteousness, the girdle of truth,
the sword of the Spirit; nothing is wanting there, to attack
the enemy, or defend the soul in its warfare.
(3.) The army must have their garrison for winter quar-
ters, where they may be sheltered from stormy wind and tem-
pest: well, Jehovah at the head of them, has provided this;
yea, he himself is their garrison, their dwelling-place in all
generations : He is a hiding-place from the wind, and a covert
from the tempest
(4.) The army must have their orders and directions how
to direct their motions, especially in a march : well, Jehovah
at the head of them, will not let this be wanting, either; his
'* law is a lamp to their feet, and a light unto their path."
" He hath showed thee, O man, w^hat is good, and what the
Lord thy God requireth of thee."
(5.) The sick and wounded in the army must be seen to:
well, Jehovah at the head of them is an*^experienced Physi-
cian, and a tender-hearted Shepherd ; he gathers the lambs
with his arm, he tenderly bindeth up the wounds of them that
are broken in heart, and grieved in spirit. Thus you see
what glorious encouragement arises from this, that Jehovah
is at the head of them.
4thly, We have here their glorious and victorious march,
under the conduct of Jehovah : he passes on before them ;
where these things are implied : —
1. That here, [on earth,] believers are not at home, for
they are but on a journey; they are like Israel in the wil-
derness, where they found no city to rest in, no resting-place
on this side Jordan ; no, they " desire a better country, that
is, a heavenly."
2. That they are in motion, or making progress towards
their rest ; for they are passing on, as it is said of the travel-
lers to Zion, Psal. Ixxxiv. ; " They go from strength to strength,
every one of them appeareth before God in Zion."
VOL. III. 40 -j-
462 THE BREAKER OPENING UP [sER.
3. That their King and General, at tiieir head, is well ac-
quainted with their ways, for he passes on before them, -
as their Leader and Commander; however ignorant or un-
skilful they are in themselves, yet their Head and King has
all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hid in him, and
therefore he will know the way that they take, and the
course that they steer; he will not leave them to their own
conduct in the wilderness, no, but he will guide them by his
counsel, till he has brought them to glory.
4. That Jehovah, their Head and King, marches in the
front, to encounter all opposition, and to rid the passes of their
way ; and O what enemies dare to stand up to oppose them,
when Jehovah passes on belbre them as their King ! Surely
in him they shall be " conquerors, yea, more than conquerors.
Their bow shall abide in its strength, for Jehovah is the
strength of Israel, who can neither lie nor repent," 1 Sam.
XV. 29.
5. That the church and people of God, while keeping his
"way, is under his particular protection; he will " hide them
in the secret of his tabernacle ; they shall abide under the
shadow of the Almighty ; he shall cover thee with his feathers,
and under his wings shalt ihou trust; liis truth shall be thy
shield and buckler."
6. That there is something of particular greatness and ma-
jesty in the Lord's appearances in behalf of his people. Hence
they are likeno<l to an army, with an invincible general at
their head, which made Balaam to cry out, " How goodly
are thy tents, O Jacob ! and thy tabernacles, O Israel ! He
couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion : who
shall stir him up?"
Thus you see what glorious encouragement springs out of
this word, to animate and encourage believers, in their spirit-
ual warfai"e, Their King shall pass before them, and Jehovah at
the head of i hem. But the eye of faith will see infinitely more
in them, tlian any thing that I have said, or can say.
I conclude with a few advices, in order to your successful
march towards glory, under the conduct of your glorious
King and Head, that passes on before you, as the Captain of
jour salvation.
\st, Then, Study to be well acquainted with the glorious
Breaker that has come up before you, and keep him ever in
your view ; for the very sight of the Captain inspires the sol-
diers with courage and valour. If he be in their view, they
go on their way rejoicing, though hell and death, and armed
legions of devils and men were in their way. Hence it is,
that the saints are called so frequently to look to him in their
Christian course and warfare. He calls on them so to do, Is.
XLVI.] ALL IMPASSABLE PASSES TO GLORY. 463
xlv. 22: " Look unto me, and be ye saved," They encou-
rage one another to this, Heb. xii. 2 : " Let us run with pa-
tience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the
Author and Finisher of our faith." And we find them de-
claring their experience of the profit and advantage of so do-
ing, Psal. xxxiv. 5: " They looked unto him, and were light-
ened, and their faces were not ashamed " A sight of him
inspired them with such undaunted boldness, that they could
look all their enemies in the face, without being in the least
dismaj'ed.
2dhj, Study to be well acquainted with the way that he has
broken up before you. You have an account of the way by
the prophet Isaiah, chap. xxxv. : " A highway shall be there,
and a way, and it shall be called the way of holiness; the
unclean shall not pass over it, but it shall be for those; the
wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein." This is
none other than the cleanly way of justification and ac-
ceptance by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, which disco-
vers itself in the study of holiness, both in heart and life:
so that Christ himself, accepted by faith, both for justifica-
tion and sanctification, for righteousness and strength, is the
highway cast up for us to walk in. " I am the way," says
Christ, John xiii. 6; "no man cometh to the Father, but by
me." Study, I say, to be well acquainted with this way of
access, this way of salvation. It is not the way of works,
but the way of grace: "By grace are ye saved, through
faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God: not of
works, lest any man should boast." It is not the filthy way
of sin, but the cleanly way of obedience to the law of God;
and when you have obeyed, even in the strength of the Lord,
you must make mention of his righteousness, even of his only.
'Sclly, Seeing Jehovah is at your head, put on Jehovah's
armour. " Put on the whole armour of God," says the apostle,
£ph. vi. ; where you have also an account of the several
pieces of the Christian armour, such as the shield of faith, the
helmet of salvation, &c. This is sometimes called the ar-
mour of light, because it comes from the Father of lights, the
Author of every good gift, and perfect gift; and, because all
the pieces of the Christian armour, such as faith, hope, sin-
cerity, and truth, are all founded in light, even " the light of
the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ ;"
and because, like bright shining armour, it is beautiful in the
eyes of the world; their light shines before men, so that
others, seeing their good works, glorify their Father which
is in heaven. And, particularly, I would recommend a holy
dexterity in handling the sword of the Spirit, which is the
word of God ; because, by this weapon, your glorious Cap-
464 THE BREAKER OPKMNG UP [sER.
tain-General baffled the enemy, in liis encounter with him
in the wilderness ; and therefore study, Hice the vaHant [hfe
guards] of King Solomon, to have this " sword girded on your
thigh, because of fear in the night.".
Alhly, Observe carefully Jehovah's orders, seeing Jehovah
your King is at your head. By the martial law, it is death
for a soldier to disobey ihc orders of his leader and comman-
der. What anarchy and confusion would there be in an
army, if it were otherwise ! O sirs, seeing your King passes
before you, and Jehovafi at your head, be sure to do whatever
he commands you. He has given forth "his good, his perfect,
and acceptable will; he has showed thee what is good, and
what the Lord thy God requires of thee." And if kings, par-
liaments, magistrates, ministers, or be who they Mill, com-
mand or require you to do otherwise than Jehovah has di-
rected you, you have an answer ready at hand, " Whether it
be riijht, in the sight of God, to hearken unto you more than
unto God, judge ye."
bthly, In following Jehovah as your renowned King and
General, be sure to keep the rank and sphere in which he
has put you; for Jehovah is not the author of confusion, but
he is a God of order. So soon as an army in battle begins
to break their ranks, and to fall into disorder, it is an evi-
dence that they are worsted by the enemy, and therefore
great care is taken, by a skilful general, to keep the soldiers
in their proper rank and order. So here, the Captain of sal-
x'ation will have every one to abide in the vocation in which
he is called; he will have magistrates to act under him in
their sphere, ministers in theirs, and private Christians in their
capacity; and if every one thus study to serve the Lord in
their proper station, the whole body of believers shall he edi-
fied and built up, and the very women, though they tarry at
home, yet they shall divide tlic spoil.
(Slhly, Whenever you -find yourself distressed by the attacksof
the enemy, sin, Satan, or the world, bo sure to cry (o Jehovah
for help; for he is on your head, and passes on before you.
This has been the practice of the followers of the Lamb in
all ages of the world, l^sal. xxxiv. (5 : " This poor man cried, and
the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his distresses."
You have Jehovah's command so to do: " Call upon me in the
day of trouble, I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me."
I can assure you that the cry of one of his soldiers, in distress
by the enemy, goes to his heart, and awakens his resentment;
how much more when the Vhole church is crying to heaven,
because of the injuries that are done her, either by the wild
boars, or else by wolves in sheep's clothing '( I can assure
you, that the Breaker will come up at the cry of his poor
XLVI.] ALL IMPASSABLE PASSES TO GLORY. 465
people, when they are oppressed, either in their civil or spi-
ritual rights and privileges. I read a lecture to you to that
purpose, Psal. xviii. 6: "In my distress 1 called upon the
Lord," (namely, when floods of ungodly men made him afraid,
ver. 4.) Well, the Breaker takes the field, and see what
awful work follows, from ver. 7, to ver. 14.
ItJdij, Seeing Jehovah is on your head, as your King and
the Captain of your salvation, let never his standard fall, if
you can keep it up. Jehovah has lifted up his standard in
Scotland, beyond many nations of the earth, a standard of
pure doctrine, discipline, worship, and government. Attempts
are made at this day to pull down this standard, though we
lie under the strongest ties, both national and personal, to
stand by it.
Some are attempting to pull down the standard of doctrine,
particularly by denying the self-existence and supreme deity
of the Son of God, our renowned King and Head.
Others are attempting to strike at the government of the
church, by a tyrannical and lordly usurpation upon the rights
of the Lord's people, in choosing their own pastors.
x\nd some talk of a bill preparing in the parliament of
Britain, by which a deeper wound is yet to be given to the
church of God in this matter.
But be wlio they will, that act such a part against the
known rights and privileges of the subjects of the liing of
Zion, I pretend to be no extraordinary prophet, yet I think
I may warn tl^em, in the name of God, that the Breaker will
take the field against them in his own time and way, and re-
compense tribulation to them that trouble his people.
Mean time, let me exhort the Lord's people, " to stand fast
in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made them free, that
they be not entangled again with any yoke of bondage," that
men would wreath about their necks; and, in so doing, you
have this for your encouragement, the breaker is come up
before you; your King passes before you, and Jehovah on
your head ; and, if the Lord be for you, who can be against
you t
40*
466 ETHIOPIA STRETCHING OUT [SEB.
SERMO]\ XL VII.
ETHIOPIA STRETCHING OUT HER HANDS TO GOD.
Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God. — Psal. lxviii. 31.
THE FIRST SERMON ON THIS TEXT.
This psalm was penned, probably, upon the occasion of
David's carrving up the ark from the house of Obededom, to
the tent he had pitched for it in Mount Zion, by which was
typified the ascension of Christ, and the erection of his spi-
ritual kingdom and government in the world, by the preach-
ing of the everlasting gospel. You see his ascension and ex-
altation spoken of, ver. IS: "thou hast ascended on high,
thou hast led captivity captive, thou hast received gifts for
men ; yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might
dwell amongst them." And in the following part of the
psalm is foretold the erection of his kingdom, notwithstand-
ing all the opposition that should be made to it, either by hell
or earth.
The words read (not to insist in the entrance) arc a decla-
ration of the success of the gospel among the (i^Dntilc nations :
Ethiopia, Egypt, and other places of the world, would sub-
mit to his royal sceptre, when it should be swayed among
them in the dispensation of the gospel, Pmices shall come
out of Egypt, Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God.
It is only the latter clause of which 1 am to s[)eak : Where,
\st, We have a solemn act of divine worship, and that is,
the stretching out of the hands. The actions of the body
are the expressions of the actions of the soul or mind, Psal.
cxiiii. 6, says the ))salmis(, "I stretch forlh my hands unto
thee, my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land, Selah."
So Psal. cxli. 2 : " Let my prayer be set forth before thee as
incense, and the lifting up of my hands as (he evening sacri-
fice." So that the internal w'orship of the soul is the thing
intended by the lifting up of the hands. And in every act of
worship, faith, which is the hand of the soul, is the leading
and principal part, insomuch that, " without faith, it is impos-
sible to please God."
2dly, We have the object of this worship, or to whom the
hand is to be lifted up : it is to God ; to " God in Christ, re-
conciling the world to himself, not imputing their trespasses
XLVII.] HER HANDS TO GOD. 467
unto them." An absolute God cannot be the object of a sin-
ner's faith, hope, trust, and confidence; but, on the contrary,
the object of his terror and amazement. Hence, Hke our fa-
ther Adam, before the revelation of the promised seed, we fly
from him, and do not love to retain the knowledge of him in
our thoughts ; as it is said of the heathen world, Rom. i. 28,
who want the knowledge of Christ.
3f////, In the words we may notice, who they are that stretch
out their hands unto God ; Ethiopia, which may be under-
stood either literally or fii^urativelv. If we take it fijTurative-
ly, it IS to be understood of the Gentile nations in general, a
part being put for the whole. God the Father had said to the
Son, Psal. ii., " Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen
for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for
thy possession." And, accordingly, upon his resurrection and
ascension, the gospel came to be preached to the Gentiles,
according to the commission given to the apostles, Mark xvi.
15: " Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel unto
every creature " under heaven ; that is, to all nations of the
world, without distinction. And thereupon Ethiopia, with
the rest of the Gentile nations received the word of the gos-
pel, and did obeisance to the Son of God. And how the lea-
ren of the gospel came to be spread unto Ethiopia, in particu-
lar, w^e have some account. Acts viii. 27, to the close, where
W'e are told of the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch, by the
ministry of Philip, who, after a confession of his faith in Christ,
being baptized in his name, went on his way towards his own
country, rejoicing; and, no doubt, would' spread the glad
tidings of salvation through Christ in his own country, some
of the fruits of which are said to remain amongst the Abys-
sinians of Inner Ethiopia to this dav.
4thly, We have the ready and cheerful obedience that is
given by Ethiopia, or the Gentile nations, to the call of the
gospel; they soon "stretch out their hands unto God ;" that
is, they will do it without delay, and with readiness of mind ;
a literal accomplishment of which you will see, Acts xiii. 40,
47, 48 ; where, when the Jews rejected the gospel, the apos-
tle tells them, that seeing they put the word of God from them,
*' Jo, we turn to the Gentiles, for so hath the Lord command-
ed us ; saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles,
that thou shouldst be for salvation to all the ends of the earth."
And then it is added, " And when the Gentiles heard this, they
w^ere glad, and glorified the word of the Lord ;" that is, they
entertained it with a ready mind.
5thly, We have the certainty of the event, they " shall
stretch out their hands unto God :" As if he had said. How-
ever firmly they were rooted in their ignorance and idolatry.
468 ETHIOPIA STRETCHING OUT [SER.
and other wickednesses, for many ages and generations, yet
such shall be the efficacy of the gospel, and the victorious
power of grace accompanying it, that they shall give up with
their idols, and stretch out their hands, in a way of worship
and obedience, to the only living and true God. Much to this
purpose is that word, Psal. ex. 3: "The Lord shall send the
rod of thy strength out of Zion. Rule thou in the midst of
thine enemies. Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy
power ;" or (as it is in the original,) " in the day of thy ar-
mies."
From the words thus briefly opened, I offer the following
doctrine ; —
Observe, That when the gospel is the power of God among
a people, they soon stretch forth their hands to a God in Christ,
as their God.
This text, as I told you, is a prediction of the success of
the gospel amongst the idolatrous Ethiopians, and other Gen-
tile nations, who had, for many generations, been stretching
out their hands to strange gods, dunghill deities; yet, when-
ever the gospel light comes among them, with the power of
the Spirit, they turn to the true and living God, and stretch
forth the hand to him. Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her
hands unto God.
In discoursing on this doctrine, I shall, through divine "as-
sistance, observe the following method : —
I. 1 would take a view of the condition of sinners without
the gospel, or before the grace and power of the gospel reach
their hearts.
II. I would speak of the power of the gospel by which
they are made to stretch out their hands to God.
III. Of that hand that is stretched out to God, when they
are converted to him.
IV. Why, or for what end, the hand is stretched out to
God.
V. I would inquire whence it is, that the hand is soon
stretched out to God, when the heart i« effectually touched
by the power of gospel grace.
VI. Make it evident, that, when the heart is touched by
the power of the gospel, the hand is soon, or without delay,
stretched out to God.
VII. And, lastly^ Apply.
I. The first thing is, to take a view of the condition of sin-
XLVII.] HER HANDS TO GOD. 469
ners without the gospel, or before gospel grace has reached
their hearts.
To clear this I refer you to that description of the state of
the Gentile nations, before the gospel came among them,
given by the apostle Paul, Eph. ii. 1—3, 11, 12: "And you
hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins:
wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of
this world, according to the prince of the power of the air,
the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
among whom, also, we all had our conversation in times past,
in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and
of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even
as others." Ver. 11: "Wherefore, remember, that ye in
times past being Gentiles in the flesh, who are called uncir-
cumcision, by that which is called circumcision in the flesh
made by hands," ver. 12: "That at that time ye were with-
out Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel,
strangers from the covenant of promise, having no hope, and
without God in the world." From which it appears, that
Ethiopia, Scotland, and all the Gentile nations, and every in-
dividual among them, is, by nature, in a most dismal and de-
plorable condition, without God, the chief good, without
Christ, the only Saviour, without hope of salvation, without
the true church, where life and immortality alone is brought
to light ; without God's covenant of promise, which is the only
charter of salvation ; under the power of sin and Satan, the
great enemy of their salvation ; and, consequently, in a state
of hostility against God. But these things I cannot now stand
upon, and therefore proceed to —
II. The second thing, which was, to speak of the power of
gospel grace, by which sinners, like the Ethiopians, are made
to stretch out their hands to God.
There are only these few things I offer upon this bead : —
1st, The preaching of the everlasting gospel is the great
means, of divine institution, for the conversion and salvation
of sinners, Rom. i. 16: "The gospel is the power of God to
salvation. It hath pleased God, by the foolishness of preaching,
to save them that believe."
2dli/, This power of God, in and by the gospel, is an ex-
ceeding great and mighty power, Eph. i. 18 — 20, hence called
the revelation of his arm, Is. liii. 1 ; while the creation of the
world is but the work of his fingers, Ps. viii. 3.
3dly, The way of exerting this power, in and by the gos-
pel, upon the hearts of men, is very deep and mysterious.
There is a glorious mystery in the contrivance, a mystery in
the purchase, and as great a mystery in the application of
470 ETHIOPIA STRETCHING OUT [SER.
our redemption. Hence it is compared to the motion of the
wind about us, which we cannot see, John iii. 8: "The wind
bloweth where it listeth; thou hearest the sound thereof, but
canst not tell whence it comelh, and whither it goeth."
4lhly, It is wholly supernatural. However Arminians and
others may boast of their natural powers, yet He who knows
what is in man better than man himself, declares. That " it
is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, l)ut of God
who showeth mercy," Rom. ix. 16. "No man," says Christ,
John iv. 44, " can come to me, except the Father, which hath
sent me, draw him."
5lhli/, This power is irresistible, nothing can stand against
it. When God works, who can let, or hinder him? All the
power of corruption must give way before this power; the
darkness of the mind, the obstinacy of the will, the carnality
of the affections, the gates of brass and bars of iron, give
way at the presence of the Lord, 2 Cor. x. 4, 5: " The wea-
pons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God,
to the pulling down of strong-holds."
Gthly, Though it be irresistible, yet there is no violence
done to the natural powers of the soul. It is true, there is
violence done to the strong man of sin and corruption, when
a stronger than he binds him, and spoils him of his goods ; but
no violence is done to the natural powers of the soul by the
power of gospel ijrace. What violence is done to the un-
derstanditig to till it with " the light of the knowledge of the
glory of God ?" What violence is done to the will, to re-
store it to liberty? What violence is done to the affections of
the soul, to have them turned away from vanity, to centre
upon a (lod in Christ, who is the proper object of love?
llhly. The power of God, in the gospel, eflccts a universal
change upon (he soul, without any noise or din. Hence the
kingflom of God is said to come without much observation.
Conquests among men are with " the confused noise of tht
warrior, and garments rolled in blood ;" but it is otherwise
in God's conquests of sinners, it is in a secret and silent way
that his work is done; hence it is compared to the falling of
the dew, or to the spreading of leaven in a measure of meal,
or the outgoings of the li<iht of the morning, or the growth of
the corn and grass, all which are the works of hifinite Power,
and done with the greatest silence, and vet all very visible
and discernible in their effects and fruits. But I pass this,
and go on to the third thing in the method.
III. The third thing was, to inquire a little into the import
of the phrase, strdcking out the hand to God, when the heart
is touched by the power of gospel grace.
XLVII.] HER HANDS TO GOD. 471
Now, the stretching out the hand of faith to the true and
living God, supposes or implies the things following: —
Isl, A revelation of God, and of his mind and will to the
children of men, through Jesus Christ. Whatever discoveries
God may make of himself in the works of creation and pro-
vidence, yet, without a revelation of him, through Christ, in
the gospel glass, they will never engage a sinner to stretch
out the hand of faith to him, as we see in the case of the
heathens, who, though they knew God, even his eternal power
and Godhead, in the things that were made, yet they glorified
him not as God. It is only the gospel that is the power of
God unto salvation. It is upon the preachinsj of the gospel,
which is the rod of the Mediator's strength, that Princes
come Old of Egypt, and Ethiopia stretches out her hands unto
God.
2dhj, It implies an internal illumination of the heart and
mind with the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of
Jesus Christ. This is the very spring of a saving conversion
to the true God. Hence Paul, describing his own conversion,
gives it in one word, Gal. i. IG: "When it pleased God to
reveal his Son in me," immediately his hand that was stretched
out against the Lord, in a way of persecution, is stretched
forth for the advancement of the kingdom of Christ, 2 Cor.
iv. 6 : '• God, who commanded the light to shine out of dark-
ness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the know-
ledge of the glory of God, in the face of Jesus Christ." This
is the radical act of faith ; hence faith is expressed by it. Is.
liii. 11: "By his knowledge shall my righteous Servant jus-
tify many." So, John xvii. 3: "This is life eternal, that they
might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom
thou hast sent."
Sdlij, The stretching out of the hand of faith to God im-
plies an assent of the soul to the record of God concerning
Christ. The assent of the mind to any thing is frequently
expressed by the motion of the hand; so, here, Ethiopia shall
stretch out the hand to God, implies a " setting to his seal that
God is true," in the testimony, or record, that God gives to
Christ in the word of the gospel ; they, upon the matter, say
with Paul, 1 Tim. i. 15: "This is a faithful saying, and wor-
thy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners." As the queen of Sheba said, so will the soul
say, when it beholds the glory of the true King Solomon, ' O
it is all true that I heard of Christ, and the half was not told
me.'
4thhj, A hearty approbation of the way and method of sal-
vation. When a man stretches out his hand to God, he, upon
the matter, says, ' " It is a saying worthy of all acceptation,
472 ETHIOPIA STRETCHI.VG OUT [sER.
that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners ;" O I
like it well; it is w^orthy of infinite Wisdom and Love.'
bthly, The lifting up of the hand is an act of admiration.
When any thing extraordinary occurs, or is told, we are rea-
dy to lift up the hand, and say, ' O strange ! Is it so, indeed V
O what ravishing wonder tills the soul, when it by faith be-
holds the glory of Christ's person and mediation ! O, will the
man say, " Who is this that cometh from Edom, and with dyed
garments from Bozrah ? this that is glorious in his apparel,
travelling in the greatness of his strength !" — O " who is a
God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passes by
the transgression of the remnant of thy heritage!" — "With-
out controversy, great is the mystery of godliness ! God was
manifest in the flesh !" — " What is man, that thou art mind-
ful of him !"
Qlhly, Sometimes the lifting up of the hand is an act of re-
nunciation. When a man believes, he, upon the matter, ab-
jures all Christ's rivals, that would usurp the throne of the
heart, saying w'ith Ephraim, " What have I to do any more
with idols'? O Lord our God, other lords besides thee have
had dominion over us, but by thee only will we make men-
tion of thy name." He renounces all his lying refuges and
false confidences in which he had trusted, saying, with re-
turning Israel, Hosea xiv. 3 : " Ashur shall not save us, we
will not ride upon horses, neither will we say any more to
the work of our hands. Ye are our gods; for in thee the fa-
therless findeth mercy." And Jer. iii. 23: "Truly in vain is
salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of
mountains; truly in the Lord our God, is the salvation of
Israel."
Ithly^ It implies an allegiance to him as our Lord and
Sovereign ; Ethiopia shall stretch out her ha?ids to God ; that is,
They shall, upon the discovery of God in man's nature, sub-
ject themselves to his authority, and receive the law from his
mouth, saying, " The holy One of Israel is our almighty King."
" The Lord is our Judge, the Lord is our King, the Lord is
our Lawgiver ; he will save us." They kiss the Son, and bow
the knee to him, because he has " a name which is above
every name that can be named."
8thly, The lifting up of the hand is an act of strong and
fervent affection, which is a necessary concomitant of faith.
When our ailections are moved with love, desire, delight, we
are ready to express it with the lifting up of the hand. So
here, in believing, the will and affections are captivated with
the love and loveliness of the blessed Bridegroom. O, will the
soul be ready to say, "Thou art fairer than the children of
men: He is altogether lovely." "Whom have 1 in heaven
XLVII.] HER HANDS TO GOD. 473
but thee ;" O the [exalted] esteem that the soul has of him !
and the ardency of aifection and desire that the soul has to-
wards him ! Is. xxvi. 9: " The desire of our soul is to thee;
with my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my
spirit within me will 1 seek thee early."
^ihhj. The lifting; up of the hand is an expression of confi-
dence and trust, Ethiopia shall stretch out her hands imto God;
as if he had said, They shall confide and trust in the reconciled
God in Christ: Psal. xxxvi. 7: "How excellent is thy loving-
kindness, O God ! therefore the children of men put their trust
under the shadow of thy wings." The language of the soul,
when it stretches out the hand to God, as a promising recon-
ciled God, is much like that, Is. xii. 2: "God is my salvation:
I will trust, and not be afraid, for the Lord Jehovah is my
strength and my song; yea, he also is become my salvation."
They trust in the name of the Lord, and his name is their
strong tower of defence, Prov. xviii. 10.
lOthlij, The lifting up of the hand is an act of appropriation
and application ; Ethiopia shall stretch out the hand to God, as
the Lord their God, and they shall have no other gods before
him. Faith is a grace that draws in an infinite God reveal-
ing himself in Christ, as the soul's portion and property, as
Israel did, Exod. xv. 2: " He is my God, and I will prepare
him a habitation, my Father's God, and I will exalt him."
Psal. xlviii. 14: " This God is our God for ever and ever."
See Psal. Ixxxi. 2. And this appropriation of God goes upon
the ground of the grant that is made in and through a second
Adam in the new covenant, " I am the Lord thy God. I will
sav, It is my people ; and they shall say, The Lord is my
God," Zech. xiii. 9.
Lastly, This phrase of stretching out the hand to God im-
plies an open profession of the faith in Christ, before the
world, angels, men, and devils, which is sometimes called in
scripture, an avouching of the Lord to be our God; and is
sometimes done there by a person or people, with the solem-
nity of lifting up the hand, an ancient form of swearing. Rev.
x. 5, 6, when the angel swore by him that liveth forever and
ever, he did it with his hand lifted up to heaven. So here, Ethi-
opia shall soon stretch out hands unto God ; that is, the inhabi-
tants of Ethiopia, and of the Gentile nations, shall openly pro-
fess the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ to be their
God, and they shall do it with the solemnity of an oath or co-
venant, as Israel did, Josh. xxiv. 22. When Joshua told them,
" Ye are witnesses against yourselves, that ye have chosen
you the Lord to serve him." And in this manner have we,
in this land, and neighbouring nations, lifted up our hand to
God, declaring him to be our God, and ourselves to be his
VOL. III. 41 t
474 ETHIOPIA STRETCHING OtJT [sEH*
people, although, alas! these covenants have been scandalously
broken, burnt, and in a great measure buried.
IV. The fourth thing was, to inquire, for what end, or upon
what design, sinners stretch out their hands to God, when
their hearts are touched by the power of the gospel.
Answer, in the following particulars: —
15/, They stretch out their hands to God, as helpless, losty
undone sinners, to a mighty Saviour, to help them out of the
horrible pit and miry clay into which they had fallen, by
their sin and apostacy in Adam, and in their own persons.
When a sinner believes in Christ, he is just like Peter walk-
ing upon the waters; the waves and billows of God's wrath
are just ready to swallow him up; upon which he cries,
" Lord, save me, I perish ;" stretching out the hand to Christ
for help. ' Lord,' will the poor sinner say, ' I heard thy voice
in the gospel, saying, " O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself,^
but in me is thine help." " Thou hast laid help upon one that
is mighty," and I lay my help where thou hast laid it.'
2cHy, They stretch out their hands as rebels against Hea-
ven, suing for peace at the hand of their oHended Lord and
Sovereign, All mankind commenced war against Heaven
in the breach of the tirst covenant ; every man by nature is
" enmity against God," and every sin is an act of rebellion ;
and, while sinners continue in a stale of hostility against God,
"God is angry with" them "everyday," and he says, he
" will wound the head of his enemies, and the hairy scalp of
them that go on still in their trespasses." Now, when the
sinner sees his sin and misery, and his danger of falling into
the hands of an angry God, he stretches out his hand for
peace and reconciliation, because he hears, that God is in
Christ reconciling the world to himself. He sees the white
flag cast out from heaven, with a proclamation. Is. Ivii. 19:
" I create the fruit of the lips: Peace, peace to him that is
far off, and to him that is near."
3dly, As guilty criminals, condemned in law, to receive the
king's pardon and remission, according to the promise, Isa.
xliii. 25: " I, even I, am he that blotlclh out thy transgres-
sions for mine own name's sake, and will not remember thy
sins." Oh ! will the man say with David, Psal. cxxx. 3, 4,
" If thou. Lord, shouldcst mark iniquity, O Lord, who shall
stand before thee? liut there is forgiveness with thee, that
thou mayest be feared." And therefore, "God be merciful
to me a sinner!" So David, Psal. li. 1, "According to thy
loving-kindness, blot out my transgressions."
4lhly, They stretch out the hand as supplicants, (Zeph. iii.
10,) and beggars to receive of God's alms. God says in his
XLVn.] HER HANDS TO GOD. 475
word, '' If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who
giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not." Well, when
the pride and legality of the heart is broken by the power of
the gospel, the sinner comes begging at the door of grace and
mercy, crying for a supply of all his wants. He hears God
sits upon a throne of grace, calling the poor, blind, and naked
to come " without money, and without price, to receive grace
and mercy to help in time of need ;" and therefore he
stretches put the hand in a way of supplication, that God, for
Christ's sake, may " supply all his need, according to his
riches in glory by Christ Jesus."
5lhl}j, The sinner stretches out the hand to God, as a ser-
vant, to work the work of God, and to do whatsoever he
commands him: "Lord, what wilt thou have me to dol"
Acts ix. 6.
Gfhly, As a soldier to fight the Lord's battles against sin,
Satan, and tlie world: "Oh! do not 1 hate them, O Lord,
that hate thee, and am not I grieved with those that rise up
against thee?' Psal. cxxxix. 2L
llhli/, As a blind creature, who needs to be guided in the
way that he knows not. Isa. xlii. 16 : "I will bring the blind
by a way that they know not." Well, says the poor soul, Lord,
be a leader unto me, for " good and upright is the Lord,
therefore will he teach sinners in the way," Psal. xxv. 8.
Sthlij, As the hand of a distressed child to a tender-hearted
father. No sooner is the heart of a sinner touched by the
power of gospel grace, than he begins to cry to God, Abba,
Father; Father, help; Father, heal; Father, relieve; and
this is what the Lord delights in, and desires, as you see, Jer.
iii. 4 : " Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me. My Fa-
ther;" and oh ! how sensibly are his bowels touched with
this cry ; as you see in the case of the prodigal, Luke xv.,
and of Ephraim, Jer. xxxi. 19: "Is Ephraim my dear son?
is he a pleasant child? for since I spake against him, I do
earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are trou-
bled for him: I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the
Lord God."
9Mif, The hand is stretched out as the hand of the bride
is stretched out to the bridegroom in marriage. God says in
gospel, " Thy Maker is thine Husband ; I will betroth thee
unto me for ever." Amen, says the poor soul ; a bargain be
it ; from this time forward, I will call thee Ishi, my husband,
Hosea ii. 16. And thus that prophecy is fulfilled, Is. xliv. 5:
"One shall say, I am the Lord's; and another shall call him-
self by the name of Jacob ; and another shall subscribe with
his hand unto the Lord, and surname himself by the name of
Israel."
476 ETHIOPIA STRETCHING OUT [sER.
V. The ffth thing was, to inquire whence it is that this
hand is soon stretched out to God, when the heart is effectual-
ly touched by the power of gospel-grace.
Answ. \st, Because the command of believing, or of stretch-
ing out the hand of faith unto God, is peremptory, and admits
not of the least delay, 1 John iii. 23 : " This is his command-
ment, that we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus
Christ." From the first moment that this command of the
King of kings and Lord of Lords was intimated, there has
never been one moment of time allowed you to continue in
your unbelief; no, "To-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden
not your hearts," Psal. xcv. 7, compared with Heb. iii. 7, and
iv. 7.
'Hdly, The sinner, whose heart is touched, is aware of the
dangerous condition he is in, before the hand be stretched
out to God in a way of believing. He is convinced that
he is " condemned already," and that " the w'rath of God
abideth on him ;" he sees the avenger of blood pursuing him,
and ready every moment to seize him, and therefore he will
lose no time, but, like Ethiopia, soon stretch out his hand to
God.
2dly, They soon stretched out their hands to God, because
God has been long stretching out his hand to them, Horn. x.
21, " But to Israel he saith, (namely, by Isaiah, chap. Ixv. 2.)
All day long have I stretched out my hands unto a gainsay-
ing and disobedient people." 'O,' will the soul say, 'has
God's hand been stretched out all day long to me, and have
I been disobedient, and pulled back my hand from him ? O,
if I have done so wickedly and foolishly, through grace, I will
do so no more.'
Alhly, Because much precious time is already lost in the ser-
vice of sin, and the time to come is so uncertain and short, that
it cannot be trusted to, Rom. xiii. 12, 13: " And that, know-
ing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep.
The night is far spent, the day is at hand ; let us therefore
cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour
of light."
5//)/y/, They soon stretched out their hand to God, because
Christ has made them willing in the day of his power; he
has made a discovery of his glory, beauty, and excellency, to
their souls, by which their hearts and wills are sweetly in-
clined to fall in with his own call, PsaL ex. 3: " Thy people
shall be willing in the day of thy power;" and then it imme-
diately follows, "In the beauties of holiness from the womb
of the morning ; thou hast the dew of thy youth."
(Slhly, They soon stretchout the hand to God, because they
are made to see, in gospel light, God's glory, and their own
XLVII.] HER HANDS TO GOD. 477
salvation, concerned in the matter. By fiiith in Jesus Christ,
or a ready compliance with the gospel call, we at the same
time glorify God's faithfulness, power, wisdom, and other per-
fections; and likewise secure our own eternal salvation: for
"whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have ever-
lasting life," John iii. 16.
VI. I might here also touch upon the certainty of the event.
For here it is not said, Peradventure Ethiopia mny stretch out
her hands unto God; no, but it shall be so, Ethiopia shall
stretch out her haiids unto God.
Now, the certainty of the event turns upon these four
things : —
1st, Upon the purpose of God, which can never miscarry;
" for the counsel of the Lord standeth for ever, the thoughts
of his heart unto all generations." His decrees are like
mountains of brass that are immoveable; and therefore, says
the apostle, Rom. xi. 7, " The election hath obtained it, and
the rest were blinded." " As many as were ordained to
eternal life " shall believe, " shall stretch out their hands unto
God."
2dlij, Upon the purchase of Christ. God the Father gave
a select company of Adam's posterity to Christ, whom he
redeemed, " not by corruptible things, such as silver or gold,
but by his own precious blood;" and of all that the Father
gave him, whom he has bought with such a valuable ransom,
he vi'ill lose none, but will present them to his Father at the
end of the day, saying, " Here am I, and the children whom
thou hast given me," Isa. viii. 18; and Heb. ii. 13.
3dUj, Upon the promise of God recorded in his word,
which is nothing else than the extract of the purpose of his
heart. He has said, Ethiopia, and the Gentile world, shall
stretch out their hands unto God. " Thy people shall be wil-
ling in the day of thy power." "All that the Father giveth
me shall come unto me." And has he pledged his fliithful-
iiess in the promise, and " will he not do it 1 Hath he spoken
it, and shall it not come to pass ?"
4th/y, Upon the power and efficacy of divine grace, the
iron sinew of the obstinate will is bended to fall in with the
offers of Christ, and of salvation through him; and there-,
fore it is, that they quickly and readily stretch out the hand
to God.
Vn. The seventh thing is the use of the doctrine.
Use first shall be of Information.
See hence, first, the deplorable condition of sinners by na-v
ture, before the gospel is preached to them, and before gospel
41*
478 ETHIOPIA STRETCHING OUT [SER.
grace calls them effectually. Why, like the Ethiopians, they
were sitting in darkness, and in the region and shadow of
death. Yea, not only they that want the gospel altogether,
but they that have it, and do not believe it, do not improve
the means of grace and salvation, are compared to the Ethio-
pians, Amos ix. 7: "Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians
unto me, O children of Israel 1 saith the Lord ;" no better than
heathens and barbarians.
2clh/, See hence the efficacy and power of the gospel, when
accompanied with the Spirit of God. Why, it, as it were,
washes and changes the Ethiopian ; it makes the sinner, who
was stretching out his hands to strange gods, to stocks and
stones, to stretch out his hand to the only living and true God.
It changes the nature of the sinner, and " turns him from
darkness unto light and from the power of Satan unto God,"
Acts xxvi. 18.
Sdly, See hence that God had an ancient kindness for the
Gentile nations, and that he had a mind to erect a church
among them under the New Testament. Why, here is a pre-
diction of it ; Ethiopia shall stretch out her hcwds mito God.''
God's design of love to us Gentiles broke out, immediately
after the flood, in the prophecy of Noah, " God shall enlarge
Japhet, and he shall dwell in the tents of Sliem ;" and in the
words of dying Jacob, Gen. xlix. 10, that, upon the coming of
Shiloh, unto him should the gathering of the people be. He
is given to be "a light to enlighten the Gentiles, and for sal-
vation unto all the ends of the earth." " Pie is set up for an
ensign to the nations; to him shall the Gentiles seek, and his
rest shall be glorious.*' O what manner of praise is it, that
this, and the like ancient prophecies, are now fulfilled, and
that our lot is cast in the days of the New Testament, in
which the tabernacle of God is set up among the Gentiles,
who were "aliens from the commonwealth of Israel" during
the whole Old Testament dispensation, and that even these
isles of the sea are made to wait for his law; and that, this
day, we have opportunity of keeping the solemn feast of his
supper ! O let us stretch out our liands unto (Jod in a way of
praise and thanksgiving; and let "songs be heard from the
ends of the earth, even glory," glory to Jesus Christ " the
righteous," Is, xxiv. 10,
4:thli/, See from this text and doctrine, that the door of
faitli and salvation stands wide open to all sorts of sinners,
even though they shall be as black as Elhiopians, through
their lying among the pots of sin, yet the grace of the gospel
casts a favourable look towards von, as you see, ver. 13, of
this psalm where my text lies, "Though ye have lien among
the pots, yet (if ye stretch out the hand of faith to a God in
XLVII.] HER HANDS TO GOD. 479
Christ) shall ye be as the wings of a dove covered with silver,
and her feathers with yellow gold." See, to this purpose, Is.
i. 18 ; Jer. iii. 1. And, therefore, let no sinner give way|to
despairing though's. as if the grace and call of the gospel
did not concern them : for sinners of all sorts and sizes are
called, and have been actually brought to Christ, who " came
not to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance," Matth.
ix. 13.
blhly, See from this doctrine the folly and wickedness of
the sin of unbelief, which is a drawing back the hand from
God, instead of a stretching it out to him. Hence unbelievers
are said to stop the ear, and pull away the shoulder, Zech. vii.
2 ; " and say unto God, Depart from us, for we desire not the
knowledge of thy ways. What is the Almighty that we should
serve him"?" Job xxi. 14. 0 how many such are there who
sit under the drop of the gospel ! Sirs, remember that God
will resent such treatment, Prov. i. 24 — 27 : " Because I have
called, and ye refused, I have stretched out my hand, and no
man regarded ; but ye have set at naught all my counsel, and
would none of my reproof: I will also laugh at your calamity,
I will mock when your fear cometh, when your fear cometh
as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind,
when distress and anguish come upon you." The Ethiopians
will rise in judgment against all such.
Qlhly, See from this doctrine how the covenant of peace
and friendship is established betwixt God and the guilty sin-
ner, in the day of conversion ; why, God's hand is stretched
out all the day long, in the dispensation of the gospel, be-
seeching rebellious sinners to be reconciled to him, through
the death and blood of his Son, by which his justice is satis-
fied, 2 Cor. V. 19, compared with Is. Ixv. 2. Now, in the dav
of conversion, the sinner, like Ethiopia, stretches out his hand
to God. He casts away the weapons of war against God,
and submits to the offers of peace and reconciliation made in
the gospel; he gives the hand to the Lord, as the expression
is, 2 Chron. xxx. 8 ; where good King Hezekiah, proclaiming
the passover to Judah and Israel, exhorts them to yield them-
selves unto the Lord. The word in the original is, " Give
the hand to the Lord." So that, when a sinner believes in
Christ, he, as it were, strikes hands with the Lord, upon the
footing of the great sacrifice of atonement. And this I take
to be the meaning of that word, Psal. 1. 5 : " Gather mv
saints together unto me, even those that have made a cove-
nant with me by sacrifice," alluding to the ancient custom of
cutting the sacrifice in two parts, and passing between the
parts of it, in making covenants between man and man. Gen
XV. 10, 17.
480 ETHIOPIA STRETCHING OUT, &C. [sER.
7lhly, See from this doctrine, in what the essence cither
of personal or national covenanting with God does consist.
Why, it just lies in following the example of Ethiopia, which
stretched out the hand to God, in a way of faith and solemn
profession, that the God of Christ shall he their God, and that
the Father of Christ shall be their Father; and that in the
"strength of the grace that is in Jesus," promised in a new
covenant of grace, they will cleave to him by a personal holy
walk and conversation; and that, through grace, they will
cleave to the doctrine, discipline, worship, and government,
that he has appointed in his house, in his holy oracles. It
must be a strange kind of a spirit, that either sets his people
on edge against such covenants, or turns them to be indifierent
about the public work and cause of Christ, as if it were not
worth the contending for, or suffering for; when God com-
mands us to " contend for the faith delivered to the saints,"
Jude 3, and to "stand fast in the liberty wdierewith Christ
hath made us free," Gal. v. 1. It appears evidently to be a
plot of hell, for burying a testimony for our solemn covenants,
and for the reformation of Scotland, and for our encouraging
judicatories to go on in their course of backsliding from the
Lord, and his work and way.
8thli/, See hence what is the proper duty of all, but espe-
cially of every one that is come up to keep the Lord's passo-
ver, even like Ethiopia, to stretch out the hand to a God in
Christ, reconciling the world to himself, by the death and
blood of his eternal Son. O, is there any soul in all this com-
pany, that will draw back the hand from receiving the Christ
of God, his unspeakable gift? He and his righteousness, and
whole salvation, is brought to our hand, (hat you may receive
him, as your own property, for ever. You stand absolutely
in need of him ; for, without him, you are undone. But I
cannot stand at present upon motives.
Object. I. ''You bid me stretch out my hand to God, in or-
der to receive his unspeakable gift: but, alas, I have nothing
in my hand, no good to commend me to God."
Ans. Faith, when it comes to receive Christ, is the beg-
gar's hand, which comes not to give, but to get Christ, and
all with him for nothing. Is. Iv. 1 : " Ho, every one that thirst-
eth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money ; come
ye, buy and eat, yea, come, buy wine and milk, without mo-
ney and without price." Rev. xxii. 17 : " And the Spirit and
the bride say. Come: and let him that heareth, say, Come:
and let him that is athirst come ; and whosoever will, let him
take the water of life freely."
Object. 2. " My hands are so black with sin, the abominable
thing that God hates, that I am ashamed and confounded
when I think of stretching out the hand to Christ.
XLVII.] THE KINGDOM OF GOD, &C. 481
A71S. That moment you lay hold on Christ, " ye are washed,
ye are justified, ye are sanctified in the name of the Lord
Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." See what black hands
Peter's hearers had, Acts ii, 23, and iii. 14, 15, when they
were reeking with the blood of Christ ; yet the promise of
life and salvation is tendered to them through Christ, by the
apostle, ver. 38 : " Repent, and be baptized, every one of you,
in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins; and
ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost: for the promise
is to you, and to your children."
Object. 3. " My hand is quite withered and impotent, I can-
not stretch out my hand, as you bid me."
Alls. If you imagine that it is I only, or any minister, that
bids you stretch out the hand of your soul to God, you
quite "mistake it; no, it is God himself that bids you stretch
out the hand to him, and therefore, out with the withered
hand as it is, make the effort, as the poor man did, you read
of in the gospel, and it shall be restored ; for he gives power
who commands.
Object. 4. " My heart draws back my hand ; when I would
do good, evil is present vv'ith me ; so that, " how to perform
that which is good I find not."'
Ans. If this complaint flow from a conviction of the sin of
unbelief, and the prevalence of a body of sin, it is no bad
symptom; for we find the apostle Paul, Rom. vii,, has the
same complaint concerning himself: and therefore, poor soul,
be not discouraged, for he who is the " Author and Finisher
of faith, will strengthen thy weak hands, and confirm thy
feeble knees."
SER]V10I\ XL VIM.
THE KINGDOM OF GOD WITHIN THE SOUL OF MAN.
For behold the kingdom of God is within you. — Ldke xvii. 21.
THE FIRST SERMON ON THIS TEXT.
The occasion of these words may be gathered from ver.
20 : where you see a question proposed by the Pharisees,
482 THE KINGDOM OF GOD [sER-
' When the kingdom of heaven should come V They had
an ill-grounded notion of a temporal kingdom to be reared up
by the Messiah; that he would relieve their nation from the
Roman yoke, promote the grandeur of their Sanhedrim, make
the members of it his peers and princes, his countrymen bis
life-guard, and all the nations of the world their vassals and
tributaries. This, I say, was the carnal notion they framed
in their minds of the kingdom of the Messiah; and they are
anxious to know when that happy time would commence.
To this question of theirs Christ answers, ver. 20, 21 ; where
he industriously evades their curiosity, as to the time of the
Messiah's kingdom, and makes it his business to rectify their
mistaken notion, respecting the nature of it; and for this end
he acquaints (hem,
1st., That the kingdom of the Messiah would have a silent
entrance, without worldly pomp and splendour, which was
but little regarded by God. And his " kingdom cometh not
■with observation," or outward show and pageantry, as the
word in the original may be rendered. When Messiah the
Prince comes into the world, men shall not, like the Athenian
newsmongers, be saying of him, Lo, he is here ! or Lo, he is
there ! As when a prince is going with his court from place
to place, through his territories, he is in every body's mouth,
and they are ready to make it their talk, 'The king and his
court is in this, or that, or the other place' Christ lets the
Pharisees know, that they were but feeding themselves with
mere fancies and delusions, while they imagined such tilings
concerning the Messiah and his kintrdom.
2(/li/, lie lets them know, that the Messiah's empire and
government was to be principally established in the heart and
soul, where no prince but himself can reign, Fo7- behold the
kmgdom of God is uilhin you. Where two or three things
are to be considered:
1. The designation given to the Messiah's kingdom: It is
called the kingdom of (lod. Christ, essentially considered, is
God co-equal and co-eternal with his Father; and as he and
the Father are the same in substance, equal in power and glo-
ry,* so they have one and the same kingdom, which " ruleth
over all." As Mediator, he is his Father's Viceroy ; and his
great business in this world was to reduce sinners of Adam's
family to their allegiance to God, from which they had fallen,
by the subtlety of Satan, the god of this world, who had
drawn them into a confederacy with himself against God.
2. We have the seat of this kingdom of God; it is within
you. In the margin it reads, ♦' The kingdom of God is among
• Shorter Catechism, quest. 6th,
XLViri.] WITHIN THE SOUL OF MAN. 483
you ;" and so the meaning is, as if he had said, ' You are in-
quiring after the kingdom of the Messiah, and are not aware
that it is already btigun to be erected, ever since the com-
mencement of John Baptist's ministry, who warned you that
the kingdom of God was at hand ; and now it is already be-
gun : the gospel is preached ; the truth of it is confirmed by
miracles; the Messiah is already among you, and there are
multitudes who already believe in him, and yet you take no
notice of all.'
But although this sense of the words is very agreeable both
to the original and context, yet I shall at present follow the
reading of our own translation, the kifigdom of God is within
you, which is also agreeable to the original ; and so the mean-
ing is, as if he had said, ' You foolishly dream of a temporal
kingdom to the Messiah, like that of the kingdoms of this
earth; but you mistake it: my kingdom is of a spiritual na-
ture, and it is the glory of my administration, that I do not
so much govern the bodies and outward liberties of men, as
their hearts and consciences: The principal throne of my
kingdom is in the soul, the more noble part of the man.'
3. We have the importance of this matter, in the note of
attention, Behold. As if he had said, ' Your error, with re-
spect to the Messiah's kingdom, is of a dangerous tendency,
and, if persisted in, will certainly terminate in your rejection
of the true Messiah, and the ruin of the whole Jewish church
and nation; and, therefore, attend to what I say concerning
the spirituality of my kingdom, as a thing of the last conse-
quence ; for behold the kingdom of God is rdthin you. If I do
not reign in your hearts, by the power of my grace and spi-
rit, you can have no benefit by my administration.'
The doctrine I mention is this, " That the kingdom of
Christ in this world is of a spiritual nature, and is principally
seated in the heart and soul within a man;" The kingdo))i of
God is within you. \
We find Christ asserting this, when bvfore the bar of Pi
late, to be judged for his life, John xviii. 3t) : " My kingdom,"
says he, " is not of this world. \^ my kingdom were of this
world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be
delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from
hence." As if he had said. ' Thou hast no reason to enter-
tain any jealousy of my kingdom and government, as though
it had any tendency to hurt or disturb Caesar's government;
for it is v^holly spiritual, relating to the hearts and souls of the
children of men, to reduce them to their obedience and duty
they owe, both to God and to one another.' Accordingly,
we find, that, through the wholeof the scriptures, his dealings
are with the heart or inward man, Psal. li. 6 : " Thou desirest
484 THE KINGDOM OF GOD [SER.
truth in the inward parts ; and in the hidden part thou shalt
make me to know wisdom." " My son," says the Lord bj
Solomon, " give me thine heart." He stands at the door of
the heart, and knocks; and it is the everlasting doors of the
heart that are summoned, with so much solemnity, to be lifted
up to him, Psal. xxiv. 7. liut 1 do not stand farther, at pre-
sent, in the confirmation of a truth so plain. It will be far-
ther evident in the prosecution of the doctrine, which, through
divine assistance, 1 shall attempt in the following order and
method : — ■
I. I would inquire a little into the situation and govern-
ment of the heart, before the kingdom of God come to be
erected.
II. I would inquire a little into the nature of this kingdom
of God, that is said to be within us.
III. Why it gets the designation of a kingdom, and the
kingdom of God.
IV. How, or in what way, this kingdom comes to be
erected.
V. Give some qualities of this kingdom of God.
VI. Show how much the face of affairs within is changed
to the better, when the kingdom of God is reared up.
VII. Make some application of the whole.
I. The first thing is to inquire a little into the melancholy-
situation of (he soul, or the inward man, before the kingdom
of God is reared up by the power of divine grace.
In general, then, you may know, that, belbre the kingdom
of God is set up within us, our hearts are just " a cage of un-
clean birds." I will tell you of some sad guests that are
within doors, before the kingdom of God be set up in the
heart.
1st, The devil is within. There are few bodily, but many
spiritual possessions in our day: for he rules and " works in
the hearts of the children of disobedience," Eph. iii. 2. He
sits as commander and chief (here, and says to one lust of the
heart, Go, and it goes; to another. Come, and it comes, to do
him service, and promote his interest in the world. Some,
when cast into a passion, and injured by their neighbour, are
ready to say, ' The devil is in such or such a person.' Al-
though such a way of speaking discovers litdeof the fear of
God, yet it is a certain truth, of every unconverted person,
the devil is really in him ; he reigns and rules in the hearts
of the children of disobedience. It is his mint and forge,
where he frames all his engines for dishonouring God in this
visible world. Hence he that commits sin is said to be of the
Xlviii.] within the soul of man. 485
devil. They are his brats and ofiT^pring, the seed of the old
serpent, " Ye are of your father the devil," for ye do his work,
says Christ, speaking of the Jews.
2f//y, The world and its vanities are within before the
kingdom of God is within, Eccl. iii. 11, says Solomon, con-
cerning the natural man, whose portion is in this life; "Also,
he hath set the world in their hearts ;" that is, God, in a way
of righteous judgment, gives up men to sensual and earthly
affections; so that the serpent's curse cleaves to them. Gen.
iii. 14: " Upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou
eat." The man is sensual, not having the Spirit of God, but
the spirit of this world, which makes him to lie grovelling
among the dust of the earth, " feeding upon ashes," which are
rank poison to his soul ; " for to be carnally minded is death,"
Rom. viii. 6.
'Sdiy, All the rotten stuff of a depraved nature is within ;
" every imagination of the thoughts of the heart is evil only,
and continually evil." ^Vickedness, yea, desperate wicked-
ness, is within the heart, before the kingdom of God is reared
up there. Atheism lodges there : " for the fool hath said in
his heart, that there is no God." Enmity against God lodges
there: "The carnal mind is enmity against God, and is not
subject to the law of God, neither, indeed, can be." Pride
is within, which is just the poison of the old serpent, that he
infused into our nature : " The wicked, through the pride of
his heart, will not seek after God," Psal. x, 4. What but
the pride of the heart keeps sinners from submitting to the
righteousness of Christ, and going about, with the Jews, to
establish their own righteousness? What but the pride of
the heart makes the sinner, like Laodicea, to imagine that
he is " rich, and increased with goods, and stands in need
of nothing?" What but pride makes them to "say to God,
Depart from us, for we desire not the knowledge of thy
ways? What is the Almighty that we should serve him?"
Job xxi. 14, 15. " We ourselves are lords, and will come
no more unto thee." Unbelief, which calls God a liar, is
within, in its full reign, before the kingdom of God come
to be set up. Oh, how much need of that caution ! Heb.
iii. 12: "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of
you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living
God." It is because of the universal ascendant that the sin
of unbelief has among sinners under the gospel, that the com-
plaint is so often repeated, " Who hath believed our report."
The darkness of hellish ignorance is within ; by nature " we
are alienated from the life of God, through the ignorance that
is in us."
VOL. in. 42 t
486 THE KINGDOM OF GOD [sER.
Not to multiply particulars upon this head, the heart, as
Christ informs us, is the very source of all wickedness that is
perpetrated upon the face of the earth ; for " out of it pro-
ceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries," perjury, and all man-
ner of profanity, Mark vii. 21. It is first acled in the heart,
before it be acted in the life. Hence is that exhortation to
Jerusalem, which every one may applyj " O Jerusalem, wash
thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved ;
how long shall vain thoughts lodge within thee?"
Thus 1 have given you a short view of what is within
doors, before the kingdom of God come to be within.
11. The second thing is to show, what is this kingdom of
God which he sets up in the heart and soul of man, which is
so full of wickedness by nature.
For understanding this you should know, that God is said
to have a fourfold kingdom ; his kingdom of nature ; his king-
dom of providence ; his kingdom of grace here ; and his king-
dom of glory hereafter.
\st, His kingdom of nature. When God gave a being to
this world, and all the creatures that are in it, he appointed
them certain laws, by which they were governed to the ends
he had before him, in giving them a being. Thus, as the
God of nature, he gives laws to the celestial luminaries of
sun, moon, and stars, to observe their annual and diurnal
motions : and by the same laws of nature, the " birds of the
air, the beasts of the field, the fish of the sea, and all. that
pass through the paths of the seas," are guided to their pro-
per ends, with as great order and regularity, as though they
were inspired with reasonable souls. By these laws of the
God of nature, seed-time and harvest, summer and winter,
day and night, observe their seasons: this, I say, is called
God's kingdom of nature.
2dlij, There is his kingdom of providence, by which he
upholds and governs all his creatures, and all their actions,
making them subservient to his own glorious design. And
here his government is not so tied down to the laws of nature,
but he can counteract them whenever he has a mind ; he
can invert the order of nature, and stop and countermand his
creatures from following their natural course; as when he
stopped the motion of the sun in the days of Joshua, and made
it return back in the days o< Hezekiah; when he restrained
the fire from consuming the three children, and the lions from
tearing Daniel ; and made the waters of the Red sea to stand
up in heaps till Israel passed through, and the waters of Jor-
dan to run back to their fountains. There is not any crea-
ture but is under the command of his providential kingdom
XLVIII.] WITHIN THE SOUL OF MAN. 487
and government. This, his kingdom, " ruleth over all things
in heaven, and things on earth, and things under the earth;"
angels, men, and devils, and all creatures above, or below,
do his pleasure.
Sdly, There is this kingdom of his grace, where he erects
his throne of grace, and displays the riches of his grace and
love among the children of men, which is just the church
militant.
4ihly, His kingdom of glory, or church triumphant in hea-
ven, where he reigns among saints and angels for ever.
Now, it is the //iiV(/, namely, his kingdom of grace, of which
I now speak. Now, God's kingdom of grace in this world, is
divided into that which is visible and invisible.
1. God's visible kingdom of grace is either universal, con-
sisting of all through the world that have a credible profes-
sion of faith in Christ, and subjection to him, as their Judge,
King, and Lawgiver; or it is more particular, consisting of a
society of men, professing the name of Christ in a nation, in
a province, in a country, or yet in a particular family ; for we
read of the church of God in a house or femily. But then,
2. We are to consider that God has his invisible kingdom,
made up only of real believers ; who are joined to the Lord
Jesus as their Prophet, Priest, and King, not only by the bond
of an outward profession, but by an inward participation of
his Spirit of faith. This invisible kingdom, I say, is made up
of believers only, and they are called his invisible church or
kingdom, because his government is principally seated in the
hidden man of the heart, which is not obvious to the ocular
inspection and observation, but only as the fruits of his inter-
nal government in the heart flow out in the life and walk ;
and hence it is, that Christ here says. The kingdom of God is
witlmi you. And by it I understand the work of grace in the
heart of a sinner, by which every faculty and power, both of
soul and body, which naturally were in rebellion against
God, are new-moulded, and brought into subjection to the
Lord : The darkness of the mind is made to give way to " the
light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ ;" the
rebellion of the will to yield to God's will of grace, and pre-
cept, and providence ; the affections, which were scattered
among a thousand vanities, are made to centre upon God in
Christ, as their proper and ultimate object.
Now, this kingdom within the soul, is described to us va-
riously in scripture by the Spirit of God. I shall name a few
of these scriptural characters of it, because we can have no
right notions of divine and supernatural things, except we
regulate our conceptions of them by the revelation of the
word.
488 THE KINGDOM OF GOD [SER.
(1.) Then it is sometimes called a being born again, John
iii. 6: "Except a man be born again, he cannot enter into,
the kingdom of God." This was such a mystery to Nicode-
mus, that he says, though a master in Israel, "Can a man be
born when he is old ? Can he enter the second time into his
mother's womb, and be born?" As in the natural birth, the
child is brought out of the dark cell of its mother's [womb,]
into this roomy and lightsome world, and that with much
pain and travail ; so in the new birth the sinner is brought
out of the dark vault of nature, where it never saw the sun,
into a world of grace, where the Lord is its everlasting light;
and this cannot be accomplished without violence done to
corrupted nature, which occasions, for the most part, violent
throes and pangs, like these of a travailing woman.
(2.) I find it sometimes called a new creation, 2 Cor. v. 17.
Our natures are so miserably marred by the fall, that when
God comes to erect his kingdom within us, he finds no pre-
existent matter out of which to form it ; and therefore the
same creating power that was put forth in framing the hea-
vens, and laying the tbundations of the earth, must be put
forth in rearing up his kingdom in the soul.
(3.) Sometimes it is expressed by a liberatuig of the cap-
tive from his bondage and prison in which he is shut up, Ts.
Ixi. 1.
The sinner is " led captive by Satan at his w-ill;" he has
the cords and bonds of iniquity wreathed about the poor soul,
and has him shut up in a dungeon of darkness, that he cannot
see his sin and slavery, or the way of his escape. Now, when
Christ, the Captain of salvation, comes by his word and Spi-
rit, to rear up the kingdom of God in the soul, he breaks in
pieces the fetters of captivity; "he says to the prisoners,
Come forth, and to them that sit in darkness, Show your-
selves?" And " whom the Son makes free, they are free in-
deed," prcfened to the glorious liberty of the children of
God.
(4.) It is called a revealing of Christ in the soul, Gal. i. 15,
16: " It pleased God to reveal his Son in me. The veil and
face of covering is rent, and the light of the knowledge of the
glory of God in the faceof Jesus Christ shines into the heart,"
by which the man, that was formerly "darkness, becomes
light in the Lord :" And in this " liiiht of the Lord," the man,
who was blind, is matle to "see light clearly," insomuch, that
he wonders at every thing in the revelation of the word, es-
pecially he wonders at the glory of Christ's person and under-
taking, saying, " Without C(jntroversy, great is the mystery
of godliness. God was manifested in the flesh." He won-
dcrii at the glory of the divine ultributes and perfections dis-
XLVIII.] WITHIN THE SOUL OF MAN. 489
played in his person and work, saying, " Who is a God like
unto thee?" Micah vii. 18.
(5.) It is called a being joined to the Lord ; he that " is
joined unto the Lord is one spirit." The man now begins to
hold Christ as a new Head of influence and government. He
quits the first Adam as a covenant head, and becomes dead
to all expectation of life and righteousness by Adam's cove-
nant, and is married to a better Husband: he quits the devil
as his head and ruler, the old head of apostacy and rebellion,
and joins himself to the Lord Jesus as his Head, and holds
him as a Head from whom, as by joints and bands, he has
nourishment ministered, by which he is made to "increase
with the increase of God," Col. ii. 19.
(6.) It is sometimes called a resurrection, Eph. ii. 1 : the
sinner is " dead in trespasses and sins," and " behold he stink-
eth," as it is said of Lazarus, John xi. 39. He is quite putre-
fied in the grave of sin, " no soundness in him, from the sole
of the foot, even unto the head," no principle of life : but
when God comes to set up his kingdom within, " the spirit of
hfe which is in Christ Jesus," enters, and makes him a par-
taker of the first resurrection ; the dry bones are made to
live, by the blowing of the four winds of the influences of the
Holy Ghost.
(7.) It is sometimes called God's workmanship; ye " are
his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works,"
Eph. ii. 10 ; and in Philip i. 6, it is called a good work : " He
that hath begun a good work in you, will perform it until the
day of Jesus Christ." The erection of this spiritual kingdom
in the soul is the work of God ; it carries the peculiar stamp
of God upon it; and it is a good work, because it is a work
by which the ruins of the fall of Adam are repaired, and the
image of God is restored.
Many other names are given in scripture to this kingdom
of God in the soul; for instance, it is called a "being dead
to the law;" and a "being married unto Christ." Some-
times a being "drawn with the cords of a man, and bands of
love." Sometimes the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Some-
times an " opening of the eyes of the blind ;" and a " turning
from darkness unto licrht." Sometimes a being " saved, and
called with a holy calling." Sometimes an opening of the
heart; a lifting up of "the everlasting gates" to Christ.
Sometimes a " circumcising the heart to love the Lord."
These, I say, and many other scriptural accounts we have of
it, and here it is called the kingdom of God mthin a man.
Which brings me to —
42*
490 THE KINGDOM OF COD [SER.
(THE KINGDOM OF GOD WITHIN THE SOUL OF MAN.
For behold the kingdom of God is within you. — Luke xvii. 2L
THE SECOND SERMON ON THIS TEXT.)
III. The third thing proposed, which was, to inquire why
this kingdom of ^race in the heart is called a kingdom, and
the kingdom of God.
\st, A kingdom, you know, is the common residence of the
king.
So the renewed heart is the residence of " the King eter-
nal, immortal, and invisible, the only wise God." Is. Ivii. 15 :
" Thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity,
whose name is holy ; I dwell in the high and holy place,"
" unto which no man can approach," and " witti him also that
is of an humble and contrite spirit ; to revive the spirit of the
humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." The
gracious soul is built up " a habitation of God through the
Spirit;" "I will dwell in them, and I will walk in them, saith
the Lord." The expression is amazing, it imports a tixed
residence, and that with wonderful pleasure and satisfac-
tion.
''Zdly, A kingdom has its laws by which it is governed.
So, in the heart of the believer, the law of God is estab-
lished ; " 1 will put my law in their inward parts, and write
it in tiieir hearts," Jcr. xxxi. 34. It is said of the righteous
man, " The law of his God is in his heart, none of his steps
shall slide," Psal. xxxvii. 31. The grace of God docs not
teach or lead to lawless liberty in sin; no, but it teaches to
deny " all ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to walk sol^erly,
righteously, and godly, in this present world." Indeed, the
doctrine of grace floating in the head, may possibly lead men
of corrupt hearts, through their own mistaken notions of the
grace of God, to argue, as some did in the apostle's days,
"Let us sin, that grace may abound:" But the grace of God,
when it fastens upon the heart, teaches us to deny all ungod-
liness. And how does it teach this ? By engraving the law
God in the heart, or by casting the heart into that mould of
of holiness that the law of God requires ; and then the man
delights " in the law of the Lord after the inward man ;"
and having a transcript of the law within, obedience to it in
the outward walk becomes just the man's element, so that
XL VIII.] WITHIN THE SOUL OF MAN. 491
he " rejoices and works righteousness, and remembers the
Lord in his ways." " My soul breaiveth for the longing that
it hath unto thy judgments at all times," Psal. cxix. 20.
3dly, A kingdom has its courts of equity, where right and
wrong are determined.
So there is a court of justice established in the spiritual
kingdom which is set up within ; I mean the court of con-
science, informed and instructed. The law of God being
written on the heart by the finger of the eternal Spirit, con-
science, God's deputy, reads and understands it, and either
accuses or excuses, according as his actions are agreeable
or disagreeable to the law of God, which he has given him
as the rule of his obedience. It is true, there is something
like this to be found in the heathen, and men who are yet in
a natural state, as you see, Rom. ii. But when the kingdom
of God comes to be set up in the soul, the great Lord of the
court purges it from dead works, by which it had been de-
filed and stupified, supports the authority of his own deputy,
renews his commission, and commands every action of the
heart or life to be strictly tried and examined at its bar;
declaring, that what conscience, according to his law, binds
on earth, shall be bound in heaven, and what it appi'oves on
earth shall be approved in heaven. And hence comes that
tenderness of heart and life that is to be found among those
W'ho are truly exercised to godliness, which the world are
ready to ridicule, under the notion of needless nicety, and
precise singularity, and what not; and are ready to think it
strange, that they " run not with them unto the same excess
of riot" or defection. Why, the matter is this; the man is
afraid, if he walk as others do, he shall transgress the law of
God wliich he finds in his heart; and so be arraigned and
condemned before the bar of his ©wn conscience, and have
the sentence ratified in heaven by the Lord of the conscience ;
and before he run the risk of a condemning conscience, and
a frowning God, he would rather have all the world glooming
and looking down ; well knowing, that the smiles of the world,
and their mirth and jollity, will do him little service when
under the challenges of an awakened conscience, and the
terror ©f an angry God ; whereas, if God and his deputy ap-
prove of him in his way, he can rejoice in tribulation, dis-
tress, famine, nakedness, and all outward misery, saying with
Paul, " Our rejoicing is this ; the testimony of our conscience,
that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not in fleshly wisdom,
but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in
the world."
4ihli/, A kingdom has its treasury and store-house.. We
frequently hear of the public treasures of the king.
492 THE KINGDOM OF GOD [SER.
So this spiritual kingdom of God which is within, has its
store-house ; but, with this difference, that the stores of other
kingdoms are within them, but the store-house of this invisi-
ble kingdom lies without it ; namely, in Christ who is the Head
of the kingdom: for, it hath " pleased the Father, that in him
should all fulness dwell, — that out of his fulness we should
receive grace for grace," Col. i. 19; John i. 16. And in this
lies one of the principal differences between God's way, with
Adam in innocence, under a covenant of works, and his way
with believers under a covenant of grace ; God gave Adam
the stock in his own hand, with a promise of life if he im-
proved it, and a threatening of death and eternal ruin if he
lost and spent it ; but, in the covenant of grace, God will not
trust man with the stock, he has laid it in the hand of Christ,
as the Head of the new covenant, and the promise of life is
not made to us directly, but to him, and all that embrace
him by a faith of his own operation ; for " this is the record
that God hath given unto us eternal life, and this life is in
his Son, and he that hath the Son, hath life," 1 John v.
11, 12.
5thly, A kingdom commonly has its enemies, both foreign
and internal, with whom it wages war.
Just so is it with the kingdom of God reared up in the
heart by the power of divine grace. It has foreign enemies
with whom it is continually grappling. Satan, the god of this
world, and all his auxiliaries, " the lust of the flesh, the lust
of the eye, and the pride of life," are continually at war" to
ruin it. Hence says the apostle, " We wrestle not against
flesh and blood only, but against principalities and powers,
against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spi-
ritual wickedness in high places." And then this kingdom is
at war with the intestiuc enemy of indwelling sin, remain-
ing atheism, remaining enmity, unbelief, pride, carnality, hy-
pocrisy; these lie lurking in the secret corners of the soul,
waiting all opportunities to betray it into the hand of the de-
vil and the world from without : and therefore the poor be-
liever is obliged to keepeven his own heart with all diligence.
Many a hot battle has the grace of God within, with indwel-
ling corruption, when none in all the world knows it; "the
flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the
flesh, and these two are contrary the one to the other;"
which made the apostle Paul to cry, " I find a law in my
members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing
me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the
body of this death?"
Gthly, A kingdom has its magazines for military provision.
XLVIII.] WITHIN THE SOUL OF MAN. 493
We read of David's armory in the kingdom of Israel, where
hung the shields of the mighty.
So this kingdom of grace within has its armory, from which
it is furnished with weapons, and all necessary provision for
carrying on the war against Satan, the world, and indwelling
corruption ; and the armory of this kingdom is none other
than the word of God, Eph. vi. 11. We read of "the whole
armour of God, whereby we are enabled to stand" against
the wiles of Satan. There we are directed, ver 14, to have
our " loins girt about with truth," God's own girdle, for "truth
is the girdle of his loins and reins ;" the righteousness of Christ
revealed in the gospel is to be our breast-plate, to defend
against all charges and accusations from the devil, the world,
or an accusing conscience. Our feet, ver. 15, are to " be shod
with the preparation of the gospel of peace, which is a pre-
paration against the rough and thorny paths we may travel
in, "following the Lamb whithersoever he goes;" and then,
ver. 16, faith freighted v\^ith the belief of the word, is a shield
that defends the soul against all the tiery darts of Satan.
"The hope of salvation," ver. 17, and "immortality brought
to light in the gospel," is a helmet that defends the head
against all the showers of temptation that may come from
the devil, and the world. And the word of God, skilfully
managed in the hand of faith, is the sword of the Spirit's
furnishing, which both defends the soul, and ofTends the ene-
my, and puts him to flight. Thus this kingdom has its ar-
mory.
Ithlij, A kingdom has its confederates, with whom it is in
league, ofiensive and defensive.
So has this spiritual kingdom of God in the soul: God him-
self in Christ is its great and glorious Confederate. At the
same time that he disannuls the man's " covenant with hell,"
and his " agreement wih death," he makes with him an
" everlasting covenant, even the sure mercies of David," Jer.
xxxii. 40. "I will make an everlasting covenant with them,
that I will not turn away from them, to do them good ; but
I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart
from me." By virtue of this covenant, he is engaged to be
their " God for ever, and their Guide even unto death ;" to go
with them " through fire and water ;" to strengthen, help, and
uphold them " with the right hand of his righteousness ;" in
whatever battle they are engaged, to stand at their right
hand, to save them " from them that would condemn their
soul;" and to whatever piece of work or duty he calls them,
to work in them " both to will and to do of his own good plea-
sure ;" and that he " will never, never, never leave nor for-
sake them." And thus you see upon what. account the work
494 THE KINGDOM OF GOD [SER.
of grace in the soul is called a kingdom. Like a kingdom, it
is the residence of the great King ; it has laws, by which it
is governed ; it has a court of equity, where all iniquity is
condemned ; it has its treasury that is inexhaustible ; it has
its wars, foreign and domestic ; it has its magazines for mili-
tary provision, and its confederates with whom it is in league,
even a reconciled God in Christ, who makes " a covenant for
them with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of
heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground," Hos.
ii. 18.
THE KINGDOM OF GOD WITHIN THE SOUL OF MAN.
For behold the kingdom of God is within you. — Luke xvir. 21.
THE THIRD SEB^MON ON THIS TEXT.
IV. The fourth thing was, to inquire how this kingdom
comes to be erected in the soul.
The apostle, we find, gives an account of this, 2 Cor. x. 4,
5, under the notion of a great king, with his armies, invading
an enemy's country, laying siege to his strong-holds, reducing
them by force of arms to his obedience : " The weapons of our
warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pull-
ing down of strong-holds, casting down imaginations, and
every high thing thatexalteth itself against the knowledge of
God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obe-
dience of Christ:" Where, to illustrate the matter in hand, we
may notice these few things: —
ist. The state and condition of the heart and soul of man,
when God, by the power of his Word and Spirit, comes to
make an attack upon it, in order to establish his kingdom: it
is in a state of hostility, fortified as with strong-holds, walls,
and high towers, and bulwarks, against all attacks that may
be made upon it. Unbelief, ignorance, pride, self-conceit,
carnal wisdom and policy, and the like, are the strong-holds
that the devil has reared up in the heart of man against God,
and against the power of his word ; through the power of
natural corruption, the sinner is so depraved, that he is whol-
XLVIII,] WITHIN THE SOUL OF MAN. 495
ly in the devil's interest, in covenant with death, and in an
agreement with hell. And hence it comes, that, when minis-
ters of the gospel, according to their commission, begin to
mount the batteries of the law against their corruptions, and
come close home to them, to hit their beloved idols, crying,
aloud, and not sparing them, they are ready to storm and
rage, accounting them their enemies.
2dly, We may notice the designation given to our work,
who are ministers of the gospel : it is called a warfare, and,
if we be true to our trust, faithful to God and to the souls of
men, we may lay our account with many a hot battle with
the lusts and corruptions of men. And hence it is, that we
shall commonly find faithful ministers of Christ, the very butt
of the malice of hell and its emissaries ; the strength of bat-
tle is against them, commonly in a day of persecution ; they
may resolve with it to have all the engines of hell employed
to ruin them and their ministry. Sometimes, and commonly,
the enemy attempts to ruin their name and character by re^-
proach and calumny, in order to render their ministry use-
less. Sometimes they contradict, and attempt to weaken
it, by nibbling at their doctrine, as the Pharisees did at the
doctrine of Christ himself. Sometimes harassing them with
prosecutions before their courts, for disobedience to their ini-
quitous laws, as the Jewish Sanhedrim did the apostles of
Christ, Acts iii. and iv. Sometimes persecuting them even
unto the very death, as we see verified in Christ, and fre-
quently in many of his prophets, under the Old, and also un-
der the New Testament. Why, what is the [reason] that
faithful ministers are thus the butt of the world's malice ?
The reason is, they are engaged in a warfare against the
lusts and corruptions of the world ; and by their testimony they
torment them that dwell upon the earth ; and therefore they
" make war against the witnesses (Rev. xi. 7,) and go about
to kill them, and cast out their names as evil, and their dead
bodies in the streets ;" that they may be rid of both them,
and of their testimony ; and because of these and the like
hardships with which they meet, they are sometimes, through
the weakness of nature, put to cry with Jeremiah, " Wo is
me, my mother, that thou hast born me a man of strife, and
a man of contention unto the whole earth," Jer. xv. 10.
Mly, We have the design of this warfare in which min-
isters of the gospel are employed. It is not to destroy the
persons, or ruin the worldly interests of men, but to save their
souls, by rescuing them from the slavery and bondage of Satan,
and their own lusts, and bring them into the " glorious liberty
of the sons of God ;" or, as the apostle expresses it in the close
of the fifth verse, " to bring every thought into captivity unto
496 THE KINGDOM OF GOD [sER.
the obedience of Christ.'^; Sinners are tiie devil's captives,
led about by iiim in the chains of their own hists; and, so
much are they in love with the devil's slavery, that " every
imagination of the thoughts of their heart is evil only, and
evil continually." Now, the design of our warfare, as mi-
nisters of Christ, is to proclam liberty to the captives, to free
them from their slavery, and (o reduce them to their ancient
allegiance and obedience unto the King of kings and Lord
of lords. And for this end we set the trumpet of the law to
our mouth, to warn sinners of their danger, if they continue
in the devil's service, and to emit the joyful sound of the gos-
pel-trumpet, proclaiming the glorious fulness, suitableness, and
excellency of Christ, and the love of God to lost sinners through
him ; that, by tliese cords of a man, and bands of love, we
may bring " every thought of their heart into captivity to the
obedience of Christ, and of God in him, as their only Judge,
King, Saviour, and Lawgiver," Is. xxxiii. 22.
4lhly, We have the weapons that ministers of the gospel
are to make use of in invading Satan's kingdom, in order to
the rescue of his prisoners and captives; negatively, they are
not carnal, not physically carnal. We are not commanded
by our great Master, to advance or carry on the warfare of
his kingdom, with the Popish and Mahometan weapons of
fire and sword : Christ never taught his followers to make use
of the force of arms, to dethrone kings, and overturn king-
doms, in order to set up his government in the world. When
Peter drew the sword on his behalf, he orders him to put it
up, for all "they that draw the sword shall perish with the
sword." And as the weapons of our warfare are not phy^
sically, so are they not morally, carnal: that is, the conquest
of souls to the obedience of Christ is not carried on by the
wisdom of words, high strains of oratory or of human elo-
quence ; like some preachers in our day, who go to the pulpit
under a pretence of preaching Christ crucified; and, instead
of that, study to tickle the cars and fancies of men with a
jingle of fine words, dry heathenish harangues of morality, or,
at best, mere legal stulT, turning the gospel of Christ, with
their conditions and qualifications, into a new-fashioned co-
venant of works; just like the Pharisees of old, who took
away the key of knowledge, and, instead of opening the gos-
pel door of salvation to poor perishing sinners, shut it up, and
would " neither enter in themselves, nor sutler others to enter
in," who had a desire after it. I say, Christ's kingdom in the
heart was never advanced by such weapons as these. The
weapons that faithful ministers make use of " are not carnal,
but spiritual ;" namely, the " word of God, which is the sword
of the Spirit," Hob. iv. 12 : " The word of God is quick and
XLVIII.] WITHIN THE SOUL OF MAtf. 497
powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing
even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the
joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and in-
tents of the heart." Both law and gospel are comprehended
under the notion of the sword, or these are the two edges
of it.
1. The law preached in its spirituality and extent, rigour
and severity, is an engine to be made use of for battering down
the devil's kingdom. Indeed, there is a way of preaching the
law, that will never harm the kingdom of Satan; Seneca's
and Plato's morals never converted any to Christianity. The
Pharisees preached the law to the people, but then they pared
off the spirituality of it, and confined themselves to the bare
letter, which made men to imagine, that they might be saved
by their own obedience, and thus tliey settled themselves upon
a sandy foundation. The way of preaching the law, so as to
pull down Satan's strong-holds, is to preach it as Christ him-
self preached, particularly in his sermon upon the mount, bv
entering into its spirituality, as ransacking the souls and con-
sciences of men, and shouing how, by the least sinful thought
or word, they thus become liable to eternal wrath and ven-
geance, according to that [denunciation] of the apostle, Gal.
iii. 10 : " Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things
which are written in the book of the law to do them." By
this way of preaching the law, men become dead to the lavv,
" sin becomes exceeding sinful," it revives and appears in its
native hellish hue, by which the sinner dies to all conceit of
his own ability, strength, or righteousness, and thus it is " a
schoolmaster to lead us unto Christ, that we may be justified
by f^iith."
2. Another weapon or edge of the sword of the word of
God, is the gospel of the grace of God through an incarnate
God, a crucilied Christ. " We preach Christ crucified," says
the apostle ; " to the Jews a stumbling block, and to the Greeks
foolishness; but to them which are called, both Jews and
Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God."
" I determined not to know anything among you," says Paul
to the Corinthians, " save Jesus Christ, and him crucified."
By this weapon it was, that the apostles of Christ invaded
the devil's kingdom of darkness, by which the idols of the
heathen nations were brought down, the devil's oracles si-
lenced, his slaves and votaries brought over to the obedience
of Christ, and (he Mosaic economy unhinged; and it is no-
thing but a vain chimera and imagination of men's brains,
destitute of the true knowledge of religion and Christianity,
who think they advance the interest of Christ in the souls of
men by any other mean. Now, we are told here, that these
VOL. III. 43 t
498 THE KINGDOM OF GOD [sER.
weapons of law and gospel are " mighty through God." It
is not, they are mighty through our eloquence, or through the
excellency of the instrument ; no, no, " Paul may plant, and
Apollos water, but it is God that giveth the increase;" all
depends upon the concurring efficacy of the Spirit of the Lord :
"Not by might, nor by power" of man, "but by my Spirit,
saith the Lord of hosts," Zech. iv. 6. " He puts the treasure
in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be
of God, and not of man," 2 Cor. iv. 7.
3. We may notice the glorious eflfects produced by these
weapons of the word, the artillery of Christ's kingdom. What
execution do they by the Spirit of God ? " They pull down
strong-holds ; they cast down imaginations, and every high
thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and
bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ."
Wniere again briefly we may notice,
(1.) The great end aimed at by the artillery of the gospel,
committed into the hands of ministers and ambassadors of
Christ. It is twofold :
[L] To convey ihe knowledge of God; and, [2.] To bring
them to the obedience of Christ.
[1.] I say. To bring them to the knowledge of God ; " For
this is life eternal, to know thee, the only true God, and Jesus
Christ, whom thou has sent." Sirmers have lost all saving
knowlege of God, of his nature, of his will, of his perfections,
insomuch, that they are alienated from the life of God, through
the ignorance that is in them. Now, the design of the gospel
revelation is, to make God known as he is '- in Christ, recon-
ciling the world unto himself;" to publish his name to be " the
Lord God, merciful and gracious, forgiving iniquity, and
transgression, and sin," that so knowing the excellency of his
loving-kindness, they may be engaged to " put their trust un-
der the shadow of his wings."
[2.] Another end of the gospel revelation is, to bring sin-
ners to the obedience of Christ, and of G(»d in him. God has
set his Christ as Kirjg; in his holy hill of Zion ; he has ap-
pointed all flesh to hear and obey him, to receive the law,
and all the discoveries of the mind of God, from him. It is
his will, " that all men should honour the Son, even as they
honour the Father ;" and, for this end, he hath " highly exalt-
ed him, and given him a name which is above every name,
that at " or in " the name of Jesus, every knee should bow,
of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the
earth ; and that every tongue should confess, that Jesus Christ
is Lord, to the glory of God the Father," Phil. ii. 9 — 11. Now,
when these designs of the gospel revelation are obtained, the
victory is the Lord's, and the kingdom of God is reared up in
the soul. But,
XLVIII.] WITHIN THE SOUL OP MAN. 499
(2.) We may notice the strong opposition that lies in the
way of sinners being brought to the knowledge of God, and
obedience of Christ. Why, there are strong- holds, imagina-
tions, high things, and swarms of disobedient thoughts.
[I.] By strong-holds, I think we are principally to under-
stand original sin, which is called strong-holds in the plural
number, because it is seated in every faculty and affection,
and because of the many fastnesses that original sin has in
the heart; so that, when it is beaten out of one lying refuge,
it retires and lurks in another ; and it is called strong, because
of its advantageous situation, even in the very heart, Rom,
vii. 20, 23, called "sin that dwells in us; a law in our mem-
bers." It is seated in the darkened mind, deceitful heart, ob-
stinate will, seared conscience, irregular passions and affec-
tions. It is strong, being founded in our natures, conveyed
by natural generation; ">I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin
did my mother conceive me:" strong, because of its impene-
trable nature, called, therefore, a heart of stone, proof against
attacks either from mercy or judgment ; " Thou hast stricken
them, but they have not grieved, thou hast consumed them,
but they refused to receive correction ; they made their faces
harder than a rock ; they refused to return," Jer. v. 3.
Again, [2.] In the heart of man there are imaginations or
reasonings that oppose themselves unto the erection of the
spiritual kingdom in the heart. When God's method of grace
and salvation is revealed ; when the mystery of a Trinity of
persons in one God, the mystery of the union of the two na-
tures in the person of Christ, the mystery of regeneration and
sanctification by the Spirit of Christ, and of justification by
imputed righteousness without the works of the law, the mys-
tery of the life of faith on the Son of God, and of union to
him by faith, and receiving out of his fulness grace for grace :
I say, upon hearing of these, and the like supernatural mys-
teries, carnal reason is ready to start up, and say, [with Ni-
codemus,] " How can these things be]" They cannot go
down with corrupt reason ; " the wisdom of God is foolishness
unto man," and hence it comes, that we have got a set of
preachers in our day, who explode all the supernatural mys-
teries of the gospel ; they make their own corrupted reason
the standard of revelation, and whatever their reason cannot
comprehend, that must be set aside as a piece of enthusiastic
nonsense, or mystical divinity, that nobody can comprehend ;
thus professing themselves to be wise, they become fools. A
rational religion, as Mr. Thomas Halyburton observes, is likely
to be the ruin of religion in our day and generation.
Again, [3.] The apostle tells us here of high things in the
heart, that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God,
500 THE KIiVGDOM OF GOD [SER.
and the entrance of this spiritual kingdom; by which I un-
derstand principally the pride, vanity, and self-conceit of the
heart of man by nature, which is ready to vent itself in lan-
guage like that of Laodicea, Rev. iii. 17: "I am rich, and
increased with ^oods, and have need of nothing;" or like that
of the proud Pharisee, Luke xviii. : "God, I thank thee that
I am not as other men are: I fast twice in the week, I give
tithes of all that J possess." Every man in a natural state
sits mounted upon an imaginary throne of self-conceit: He is
conceited of his own wisdom, though he be born like a wild
ass's colt; conceited of his own righteousness by the law,
though it be no better than filthy rags; conceited of his own
strength and ability to do what is pleasing to God, although
" not sulficient of himself to think a good thought;" conceited
of his own fulness, though wretched, miserable, blind, poor,
and naked;" conceited of his own purity and holiness, clean
in his own eyes, though not washed from his iniquity. These
are high things that stand in the way of the erection of the
kingdom of God in the soul.
[4.] There are swarms of rebellious thoughts every day,
and hour and moment working up from the source of corrup-
tion in the heart ; and these taking up their lodging in the
soul, every thought and imagination being evil only, and con-
tinually evil," every thoughTof the natural heart which is en-
mity against God, being an act of rebellion against the autho-
rity of Christ. So you see what strong opposition there is in
tiie heart against the erection of this kingdom.
(3.) We may notice what execution is done in a day of
power upon all these, when Christ comes to set up his throne:
strong-holds are pulled down, imaginings and reasonings are
cast down at thefootof divine revelation, high and proud con-
ceits are levelled, and rebellious thoughts reduced " to the
obedience of Christ." Take \\p the scope of this in the fol-
lowing particulars, relating to the way of erecting and main-
taining the kingdom of God in the souls or hearts of men.
[1.] Then, God by the power of his Spirit, accompanying
the revelation of the word, batters and shakes the foundation
of the strong-holds of sin and self in the heart; insomuch, that
the rocky heart, which betbre seemed impenetrable, begins
to shake and quake within the man, and, through a sense and
apprehension of the wrath of God, bct;ins to cry, "What shall
I do to be saved ?" " Is not my word a hammer, saith the
Lord, to break the rock in pieces'!" Jcr. xxiii, 29.
[2.] A window is openetl, as it were, in the dark vault of
the mind, through which a beam of light is let in, and there
is a two-fold beam that shines into the heart.
I. A beam of law-light, bv which the vermin of hell that
XLVIII.] WITHIN THE SOUL OF MAN. 501
are in the soul, are discovered, and the wrath of an infinite
God ready to fall down and grind it into powder.
2. A beam of gospel-light discovering Christ in his glorious
fulness and excellency, every way suited to the soul's neces-
sity, 2 Cor. iv. 6, 7 : " God, who commanded the light to shine
out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light
of the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Jesus
Christ."
[3.] Christ, being discovered, the heart is summoned to sur-
render and open to him, as " the Lord of hosts, the King of
glory, the Lord mighty in battle," Psal. xxiv. 7 ; upon which
the iron sinew of the will gives way, the gates of brass, and
bars of iron, by which the heart was shut against the Lord,
are all brokeii in pieces by the arm of Jehovah, and the soul
is so willing to entertain him, that it cries, as Psal. cxviii.
" Open unto him the gates of righteousness," for " blessed is
he that cometh in the name of the Lord to save us."
[4.] Christ, by his Spirit, comes in and takes possession of
the heart, as his tem.ple and dwelling-place, saying of it, as he
said of Zion of old, "This is my rest, here will I dwell,"
Ezek. xxxvi. 27 : " I will put my Spirit within them." And
thus we are built up a " habitation of God through the Spi-
rit :" " If any man open unto me, I will come in, and will sup
with him, and he with me."
[5.] Being come into the heart, he repairs the breaches
and ruins that had been made upon it by sin and Satan while
in their possession ; he proceeds to garnish and deck his dwell-
ing-place with his own furniture, so that the soul which had
Hen among the pots, becomes " as the wings of a dove covered
with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold ;" and, like
the " King's daughter, all glorious within," Psal. Ixviii. 13, and
xlv. 13.
[6.] Satan and sin and self being dethroned, a new govern-
ment is erected; Christ is set up and proclaimed King; his
laws intimated, and not only intimated; but, as I said before,
written and engraved on the heart, as with a pen of iron. The
law of faith to be believed, and the law of commandments to
be obeyed, as the only rule of life, to every one of which the
soul says. Amen. O this and that, and the other precept or
promise, " is a faithful saying, worthy of all acceptation," 1
Tim. i. 15.
[7.] The soul, being thus conquered and captivated to the
obedience of Christ, is admitted to new privileges and immu-
nities, some of which are immediately possessed, and others se-
cured by the oath of God and his gracious promise. Sin is
presently pardoned, its debt paid, and all former obligations
to wrath cancelled ; « I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy
43*
502 THE KINGDOM OF GOD [sER.
transgressions, for mine own sake." Tlie man's person is ac-
cepted by virtue of his union with Christ, the Lord, our
Righteousness: Eph. i. 6: "He hath made us accepted in the
Beloved:" He has a new name given him. Formerly his
name was a child of the devil, " a transgressor from the
womb;" but now he gets the new name of a son, a child of-
God, and this is an " everlasting name, that shall never be
cut off," Is. Ivi. 5: "As many as received him, to them gave
he power to become the sons of God ;" he becomes an heir of
the kingdom, " If sons, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs
with Christ." Now God says to the man, "All are yours,
and ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's. He is admitted to
fellowship and communion with God, Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost ; " I will sup with him, and he with me." The Lord
says to the man, "Eat, O friend, drink, yea, drink, abun-
dantly, O beloved." The soul is brought " into the banquet-
ing house, and God's banner over it is love;" and it can say in
some measure, " Truly, my fellowsiiip is wdth the Father, and
with the Son Christ Jesus." A royal guard is set about the soul,
the guard of the divine attributes, and a guard of angels for
his defence, " As the mountains are round about Jerusalem,
so the Lord is about that soul; henceforth, even for ever, the
angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear
him." He has the earnest and pledge of the inheritance of
glory given him, "In whom also, after that ye believed, ye
were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the ear-
nest of our inheritance."
[8.] War (as you heard) is proclaimed against all other
lords and lovers, but Christ himself, and they treated as usurp-
ers and invaders of his kingdom and privileges : " Do not I
hate them, O Lord, that hate thee? and am not I grieved
with those that rise up against thee ? I hate them wiUi per-
fect hatred; I count them mine enemies." And thus Christ,
as a glorious Conqueror, having got possession, keeps posses-
sion of the heart and soul to the very end, saying, " I will ne-
ver leave thee nor forsake thee;" be thou "confident of this
very thing; that he wliich hath begun a good work in thee,
will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ, " when he shall
present thee before his Father, without " spot or wrinkle, or
any such thing." And so much for the manner of erecting
this kingdom of God in the souk
XLVIII.] WITHIN THE SOUL OF MAN. 503
THE KINGDOM OF GOJ) WITHIN THE SOUL OF MAN.
For behold the kingdom of God is within you. — Luke xvii.
THE FOURTH SERMON ON THIS TEXT.
V. The fifth thing in the method was to give you some of
the excellent qualities and properties of this kingdom of God
in the heart.
You have four of them in a cluster, Rom. xiv. 17, where
the apostle tells us, " that the kingdom of God is not meat
and drink, but righteousness and peace, and joy in the Holv
Ghost."
\sl, He lets us understand, that this kingdom is not of a car-
nal, but of a spiritual nature : for it " is not meat and drink."
" The men of the world, whose portion is in this life," their
cry indeed, is, "What shall we eat? what shall we drink?
wherewith shall we be clothed?" — "Who will show us any"
of this world's "good?" But the man who has the kingdom
of God within him, is taken up with things spiritual and eter-
nal; he looks "not at things that are seen, but at things that
are not seen." He has meat to eat that the world knows not
of; for the food of this kingdom is the hidden manna ; he " eats
the flesh and drinks the blood of the Son of man." The glo-
rious mystery of the incarnation and satisfaction of Christ,
viewed and applied by failh, affords him many a sweet meal
of what the world knows nothing.
2dly, The apostle tells us, that it is a kingdom of righteous-
ness. Wherever God reigns, "justice and judgment are the
habitation of his throne." When he comes into the heart of
a sinner, he makes him to submit to the imputed righteous-
ness of Christ, calling and owning him by that sweet name,
Jer. xxiii. 6: "This is his name whereby he shall be called,
The Lord our Righteousness." And then, by his Spirit, he
implants a principle of inherent righteousness for sanctifica-
tion, which influences the man to the study of Itoliness in all
manner of conversation ; so that "holiness to the Lord" be-
comes the beautiful badge and livery of the kingdom, Psal.
ex. iii.
3c//y, It is a peaceable kingdom, or rather a kingdom of
peace; the " kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but right-
eousness and peace :" These are sweetly connected together,
504 THE KINGDOM OF GOD [SEH.
Is. xxxii. 17: "The work of righteousness shall be peace, and
the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever."
What a calm does it bring into the soul, when, upon the im-
putation of the righteousness of Christ, God says to the soul,
there is now " Therefore no condemnation to him that is in
Christ Jesus ; because the righteousness of the law is fulfilled
in him;" all the storms of law terrors are then bushed into
a pleasant calm ; and what serenity and tranquillity does it
yield to the soul, when it is helped, with simplicity and godly
sincerity, to have its conversation in the world, Psal. cxix.
16.5 : " Great peace have they which love thy law :" Gal. vi.
16: "As many as walk according to this rule, peace be on
them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God. Their peace
is like a river, and their righteousness as the waves of the
sea." This peace is so great a part of the kingdom of God
within, that we find the saints in scripture refusing to throw
it up ; no, to please the greatest potentates, as in the case of
the three children, Dan. iii. 4. And when through untender-
ness at any time they have been left to disturb the peace of
the kingdom of God within them, they would give a world to
have it recovered ; as we see in the case of David, Psal. li.
He had broken the peace of the kingdom of God within him,
by his murder and adultery, in the case of Bathsheba and
Uriah. Well, how does he roar and cry, as if his bones had
been all out of joint, Psal. li. 8 ; xxxii. 3, 4.
4thly, It is a very joyful kingdom ; " The kingdom of God
is not meat and drink, hut righteousness and peace, and joy
in the Holy Ghost." While this kingdom, (I mean the work
of grace in the heart,) is in a prosperous condition, and is
maintained in its purity and power, there is an air of joy and
pleasure to be seen through every corner of the kingdom,
and the joy of the soul is like the joy of harvest, or the joy
of them that divide the spoil, upon the back of a victory.
While the streams of the pure river of the water of life, that
proceedelh out of the throne of God and of the Lamb, water
the soul, the kingdom of God within is glad, Psal. xlvi. 4, and
its joy is such as adds no sorrow ; in the midst of the joy of
the wicked their heart is sorrov/ful, and their triumph is
short, for a moment. But it is otherwise here ; there is here,
perpetual e;round of joy and triumph, to them that have the
kingdom of God within them. Hence are these or (he like
commands and calls to the righteous ; " Be glad in the Lord,
and rejoice, ye righteous; and shout for joy, all ye that are
upright in heart ; rejoice evermore, and again, I say rejoice."
To these I add,
5thli/, That it is a hidden and mysterious kingdom, there-
fore called " the hidden man of the heart," 1 Pet. iii. 4. The
XLVIII.] WITHIN THE SOUL OF MAN. 505
way of its erection is a mystery, as Christ tells Nicodemus,
John iii. 8: " The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou
hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it co-
meth, and whither it goeth ; so is every one that is born of
the Spirit." The way of its subsistence and preservation is
a mystery; for it is maintained by an invisible communica-
tion between Christ in heaven, and the poor soul upon earth ;
this kingdom " holds the Head Christ, from which all the body
as by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and
knit together, increaseth with the increase of God." The
affairs of this kingdom are such a mystery to a blind world,
that they w^onder at what the believer is doing, while he is
pursuing the interests of the kingdom of God within him. " I
am a wonder unto many," says David, " but God is my strong
refuge;" and, indeed, they are set for signs and wonders in
Israel at this day, Is. viii. 18.
QtJily, It is a very pleasant and delectable kingdom, ex-
ceedingly glorious and beautiful : and no wonder, for it is
just " the beauty of the Lord our God" upon the soul, Psal.
xlv. 13. "The King's daughter is all glorious within ; her
clothing is of wrought gold." The Spirit of God takes the
glory of Christ, decks the soul with it, 2 Cor. iii. 18: " We
all with open face, beholding, as in a glass, the glory of the
Lord, are changed into the same image, from glory to glory,
even as by the S[)irit of the Lord." You have a very lofty
account of the glory of this spiritual kingdom, Is. Hv., even
w-hen it is covered with afHiction, and tossed with the winds
and waves of adversity and trouble; w'hen the world can see
no form nor comeliness about it, ver. 11, 12: "Behold I will
lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with
sapphires ; and I will make thy windows of agates, and thy
gates of carbuncles, and all tiiy borders of pleasant stones."
Itlily, It is an honourable kingdom ; and no wonder, for
it is the kins;dom of God. There is a greater tribute of ho-
nour and glory levied to him out of this kingdom, than from
all the world beside; "This people have I formed for myself,
they may show forth my praise." Hence believers are called
" trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, in whom
he will be glorified;" and that soul that has the kingdom of
God within it, becomes truly honourable. They are made
"kings and priests unto God — a chosen generation, a royal
priesthood, a peculiar people — the excellent ones of the earth,"
and more excellent by far than the rest of the world, Is. xliii.
3, 4. " Ever since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast
been honourable, and I have loved thee; therefore will I give
men for thee, and people for thy life ; 1 gave Egypt for thy
ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee."
506 THE KINGDOM OF GOD [SER.
Slhly, It is a most expensive and dearly bought kingdom to
the Son of God; it cost him " the travail of his soul," before
it could be reared up in the heart. Every [particle] of grace
wrought in the soul by the Spirit of the Lord is the pur-
chase of blood, and that not common blood, but of the best
blood of the whole creation : " We are not redeemed by cor-
ruptible things, such as silver and gold, but with the pre-
cious blood of Christ. The redemption of the soul is pre-
cious," and had ceased for ever, unless this ransom had been
found for it.
Qthly, It is a thriving and flourishing kingdom : " The right-
eous shall flourish like the palm tree ; he shall grow like the
cedar in Lebanon," Psal. xcii. 12. It is true, indeed, this
kingdom does not always flourish and grow in a sensible way
and manner; for it is most oppressed and borne down with
the strength of temptation, affliction, and trouble; hell and
earth are continually seeking to stifle and suppress it; but
yet it is habitually flourishing; for out of weakness it be-
comes strong. The great King, rules so dexterously in this
kingdom, that he makes the very attacks of the enemy sub-
servient to, yea, and all crushing dispensations to resolve in
the advantage of the true interests of this kingdom, according
to his promise, Rom. viii. 28.
lOlhly, It is a lasting, and an everlasting kingdom ; and no
wonder, for it is the kwgdom of God. The everlasting God is
the King of this kingdom, and " his kinguom is an everlast-
ing kingdom, and his dominion that which sha'i not be de-
stroyed ;" Dan. vii. It is built upon an evurh^sting founda-
tion, even Christ the " Rock of ages — a Stone, a tried Stone,
a precious corner Stone, a sure foundation;" and if this founda-
tion could be destroyed, what should the righteous do ? Its cha-
racter is an everlasting covenant, Jer. xxxii. 40: "I will make
an everlasting covenant with them." It is surrounded with
walls that arc everlasting, even the perfections of an infinite
God, which are round about it, as the mountains are about
Jerusalem, Thus, I have given you some of the qualities of
this spiritual and invisible kingdom of God that is within the
soul of the believer.
VI. The sixth thing was to show how much the face of af-
fairs is changed to the better by the erection of the kingdom
of God in the soul.
I have much prevented myself as to this, by what is alrea-
dy said upon the former head ; I only add, that, by the erec-
tion of this new kingdom, the government is quite altered
from what it was before. For,
1st, There is a new King upon the throne of the heart,
XLVIII.] WITHIN THE SOUL OF MAN. 507
Christ, " the King of kings, the Prince of the kings of the
earth," rules where Satan had his seat ; and O what a happy
change is this ! the Prince of life to reign instead of the god
of this world.
2dly, There are new laws introduced into the kingdonn ;
" the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus," instead of " the
law of sin and death." Sin gave laws to the soul, and was
wholly under its command, but now the man is " under the
law to Christ," 1 Cor. ix. 21.
^dly, New liberty is brought in, instead of former bondage.
The man was under bondage to sin, Satan, the world, the
curse, death ; but now he is made free by the Son, and so he
is free, indeed, advanced to the " glorious liberty of the sons
of God." Liberty to serve the Lord, and to run the way of
his commandments, &c, Psal. cxix. 32.
Athly, There is a new light introduced, instead of former
darkness, therefore said to be " translated from the power of
darkness into God's marvellous light;" the Sun of righteous-
ness arises, and the Lord becomes the man's " everlasting
light," and his God his glory. Is. Ix. 19.
blhly. The man gets a new spirit, " Not the spirit of the
world, but the Spirit which is of God, whereby he knows the
things that are freely given him of God ; (it is said of Caleb
and Joshua, that they were men of another spirit than the
rest of the Israelites,) " a spirit of wisdom and revelation,"
" a spirit of grace and supplication," Zech. xii. 10.
Qthly, The man gets a new will, instead of the rebellious
will and iron sinew ; he is made willing to fall in with the
will of God : " Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ?" Acts
ix. 6.
Ithly, A new object of trust and confidence is set up in
the soul. Formerly he trusted in an arm of flesh, but now
he trusts in the living God ; formerly he trusted in lying re-
fuges, but now he trusts only in the foundation God hath laid
in Zion, Is. xxviii. 16.
Wily, A new hope. Formerly he hoped in a thing of
naught, but now, with Israel, his hope is in the name of the
Lord, in a God in Christ, and he flees for refuge to the hope
set before him in the gospel, and his hope, like an anchor,
" enters into that within the veil, whither the Forerunner is
for us entered," Heb. vi. 18, 19.
2thly, He gets a new love to the Lord, instead of former
enmity against God : So that he can say in some measure of
sincerity, that he " loves the Lord his God with all his heart,
— soul, — strength, — and mind : " He himself delights in the
Lord, and the " desire of his soul is to his name, and the re-
membrance of him," Is. xxvi. 8.
508 , THE KINGDOM OF GOD [sER.
lOthhj, There is just a new heart given the man when the
kingdom of God is set up. The heart before was a stony
rocky heart, that would not yield either to the word or rod
of God : but now he has got the heart of flesh, Ezek. xxxvi.
26 : "A new heart also will I give you, and a new Spirit
will I put within you." And from hence it is, that the
thoughts of the heart take a new turn. The thoughts which
wandered after every vanity, now run after God, after the
living God : so that the man can say in some measure, " My
meditations of him are sweet, and 1 will be glad in the
Lord :" " When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate
on thee in the night watches, my soul shall be satisfied as
with marrow and fatness :" Thus you see there is a wonder-
ful change effected by the erection of this kingdom of God in
the soul.
VII. The seventh thing in the method was, the Application
of the v;hole.
And the first use may be of Information in the particulars
following : —
\st, Hence see the riches of God's love, and the freedom of
his grace in erecting his kingdom in the worst part of the
whole creation of God, even in the heart of a sinner, which is
"deceitful above all things and desperately wicked ;" the very
seat of sin and Satan, pride, enmity, unbelief. O the freedom
of his grace!" "His ways are not as our ways, nor his
thoughts as our thoughts." Is this the manner of man? No,
it is a way peculiar to God himself.
2dhi, See hence whence it is that believers are so highly
valued beyond the rest of the world in God's esteem, and why
he has such a care of them beyond others. He will reprove
kings for their sakes. He will give men for them, and people
for their life. He adjusts the whole of gospel ordinances tor
their edification; gives "apostles, prophets, evangelists, pas-
tors, teachers for perfecting them." He calculates and ad-
justs the whole of his providential administrations for their
advantage, Deut. xxxiii. 28 : " He rides upon the heaven in
their help, and in liis excellency on the sky." Why, what is
the [reason] that there is such ado about them beyond others?
Why / the reason is tbis, the kingdom of God is withifi them;
and you know a king levels the whole of his administration
for the benefit of his kingdom.
Sdli/, See hence the error of those who prefer the world's
great ones to Christ's little ones, in the administration of the
affairs of his visible kingdom upon earth. Why, it must be
a dangerous error to set aside and denude of the privileges
of the kingdom, those who have the kingdom of God within
XLVIII.] WITHirr THE SOUL OF MAN. 509
them; and prefer such as have, perhaps, the devil, and the
world, and sin reigning in their hearts, because Providence
has given them something of the pelf of this world beyond
their neighbours. Who so fit to choose officers in the king-
dom of Christ, as they that have the kingdom of God within ?
I fear there will be a sad reckoning ere all be done, for the in-
juries that are done to those whom " God has chosen, rich in
faith, and heirs of the kingdom," however poor they may be
in this world. Perhaps some may be thinking there is no
need of such discourse now, after what has been done of
late ; but, sirs, I own, I am of another mind, and will be so,
through grace, till 1 see the foxes taken that have spoiled,
and still are spoiling, the vines, Cant. ii. 15.
4thly, See hence the difference between Christ's kingdom
and the kingdoms of this world : Why, other kings rule over
the bodies and states of men ; but Christ's kingdom relates to
the spirit and conscience; and they that impose anything on
the subjects of Christ, that is inconsistent with his laws and
liberties, invade the prerogative of Christ ; they impose upon
his kingdom, and they that do so will pay for it: "It were
better for them that a millstone were hanged about their
neck, and they cast into the midst of the sea," than to offend
these that have the kingdom of God within them. He will
resent it, Luke xvii. 2.
5thly, See hence that heart religion is a thing that God
principally regards, Psal. li- 6: "Thou desirest truth in the
inward parts." Sirs, all our flourish of a profession, our read-
ing, hearing, or communicating, is but the offering of swine's
blood on God's altar, without this, see Is. i. 11 — 14; Psal.
Ixxviii. 35—37.
Gthly, See hence a good reason why the saints of God should
walk circumspectly, and " be holy in all manner of conversa-
tion." Why, they should watch and pray, and stand upon
their guard against all sin in heart and life, and avoid all ap-
pearance of evil. Why, the kingdom of God is within them;
and have they not good reason to watch and be upon their
guard against every thing that may disturb or disquiet the
peace of the kingdom. The peace of a kingdom is a most
valuable blessing. O sirs, be upon your guard against all sin,
in whatever shape it may appear and present itself: for it
will break the peace of the kingdom of God ; and if any
parley be entertained with these enemies, he will make all the
kingdom tremble with his frowns.
Ithly, See why faithful ministers do travail in birth for the
conversion of sinners. Why, they are concerned to have the
kingdom of Satan overturned, and the kingdom of God reared
up in the souls of their hearers.
VOL. III. 44 t
510 THE KINGDOM OF GOD [sEK.
Slhly, See hence whence it is that the saints and faithful
ministers of Christ will stand up for the prerogatives of Christ,
and the privileges of his subjects, upon their utmost periL
Why, the kiyigdom of God is within them, and therefore they
cannot but be zealous for their King, and his prerogatives.
Some now-a-days are come that length, as to think and say,
that those worthies who suffered in the late times of perse-
cution, died as a company of fools, when they would not re-
deem their lives, by saying, ' God save the king.' Would you
know what was the [ground of their opposition?] Why, by
acts of parliament, the prerogative of Zion's King was taken,
and set upon the head of King Charles and King James, and
they declared, ' In all causes, not only civil, but ecclesiastical,
head.' And they could not tind freedom in their consciences,
to pray that God might save a man in his usurpations upon
the prerogatives of Christ the King of Zion, whose kingdom
they had within them, especially when they knew the enemy
would interpret their praying in these terms, a praying for
their prosperity and success in such a wicked way. Sirs,
they who now talk at that rate, know little of true tenderness
of conscience, or of true zeal for the glory of Christ, as the
alone Head and King of his church.
9thly, See hence the true spring of reformation in a church
or land, and the true spring also of defection and backsliding.
Why, when the Spirit of the Lord erects the kingdom of God
within, especially in the hearts of nuigislrates or ministers,
men of power and influence; then reformation work goes on
apace, men then put to their hands heartily to the building
up of Zion; every one then is ready to lend a lift to help up
with the Head-stone of the corner : but when the kingdom
of God is not w-ithin, men lose heart and hand to the work of
the Lord, and fall at work to daub with carnal wisdom and
policy, which quite spoils and mars the building, instead of
farthering it. What was it that made parliaments, and as-
sentblies, and people of all ranks go so clean to work about
the year 1638, and the year that followed it, to advance a
work of reformation, and to engage themselves by solemn co-
venant to maintain it? And what makes the work go on so
slowly now? Why, if people, especially men of influence and
power, had the kingdom of God within them, which, alas! is
much wanting now, otherwise there would not be so much daub-
ing with untempered mortar as there is.) O sirs, if ever you
would see the Lord's work thrive again in the land, pray that
the same " Spirit may be poured out from on high," that he
may lay the foundation of the work by setting up his king-
dom in the heart of kings, nobles, gentry, ministers, elders,
and all ranks of people in the land ; and then " the hearts of
KLVm.] WITHIN THE SOUL OP MAN. 511
the children will be turned to their fathers," and we may ex-
pect to see the church of Christ in this land, " looking forth
as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and ter-
rible as an army with banners," Cant. vi. 10.
lOthly, See hence a good reason why honest people who
have a real principle of grace, cannot submit to the ministry
of intruders, who enter the house of God some other way than
by the door of a lawful call and ordination ; and why they
scruple to join with those that take such men by the hand,
or help them and encourage them in their intrusions. Why,
those -that have the kingdom of God within them, cannot
think of committing the custody of the kingdom of God, and
the concerns of it, to men who want the King's call and com-
mission; and they can never think that they who thrust them-
selves into the priest's office for a peace of bread, will be
much concerned to build up and advance either Christ's invisi-
ble kingdom within, or his visible kingdom. 1 fear there are
too many foul fingers about matters of this kind among us at
this day, and if the coat fit any that are now hearing me, let
them put it on.
1 l/Zi/y, See hence the true spring and foundation of zeal for
the public cause and interest of Christ; why, it is laid in the
erection of the kingdom of God within he soul. Whence is
it that the zeal of God's house does eat up some of the saints'?
Whence is it that they prefer Jerusalem to their chief joy,
and are ready to sacrifice their worldly all for the public cause
of Christ in the land or place where they live? Why, the
spring of their zeal lies here ; they have got the kingdom of
God within them; and, sirs, allow me freely to tell you, that
"it is good (o be zealously affected in a good thing;" it is
good to be on the Lord's side, in so far as you know his cause;
but beware of laying stress upon this, that you are upon the
right side of the question ; for [men] may have a zeal of God,
and yet that zeal not be according to knowledge, and there-
fore will but go a short way in the Lord's reckoning. [Peo-
ple] may cry, " The temple of the Lord, the temple of the
Lord, the temple of the Lord are these," and make a great
ado and noise about the public interests of the church, and
yet want an inward principle and an outward practice cor-
respondent to such a profession, the Lord declares, that such
are but " a smoke in his nose, a fire that burneth all the day."
A second use of this doctrine may be of trial and examu
nation.* .
cv.er
• For this, see Sermon on Psal. Ixxxix. 2: « Mercy shall be built up fop
S12 THE KINGDOM OF GOD [SER.
THE KINGDOM OF GOD WITHIN THE SOUL OF MAN.
For behold the kingdom of God is within you. — Lttke xvii. 21.
THE FIFTH SERMON ON THIS TEXT.
I PROCEED now to the third use of this doctrine, namely, of
Exhortation,
1st, 1 o all in general.
Is it so that God has a spiritual and invisible kingdom in ihe
hearts and souls of his people ? Then, sirs, let me exhort you
to make way for the entrance of the " Messiah, the Prince, the
Lord of hosts, the King of glory," that he may rear up the
kingdom of God within you. " His kingdom," he hath de-
clared, " is not of this world; it is seated in the heart and soul ;
and, sirs, we who are ministers of the gospel come as the he-
ralds of this great King, summoning you to surrender, and
cast open the everlasting gates of your souls to him. Perhaps
some of you may think the minister's words are but wind, it
is a vain summons without authority ; but, sirs, the sound of
our Master's feet is behind ns; and therefore, if you will not
hear us, hear himself speaking, and remember that his words
are directed to every soul, young and old, within these walls,
Psal. xxiv. 7: "Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye
lifted up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall
come in." The summons is repeated and doubled again, ver.
9. " Lift up your heads, O ye gates, even lift them up, ye
everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in." And,
in case you ask his name, in whose authority we summon
you, saying, "Who is this King?" see an answer to that in-
quiry, ver. 8, 10: "The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord
mighty in battle. The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory.
Selah." See if you dare [contemn] his summons; if you do,
remember it will be to your cost, and upon your peril.
But now, to illustrate this exhortation a little, and enforce
it, I shall obviate and answer a few questions, that may be
readily moved upon such a summons.
Quest. What is it that you call us to, when you require us,
in the name of Christ, to lift up the gates of our souls and
hearts to him ?
I answer, this lifting up the everlasting gates of the heart
to the Lord is one of the expressions of faith ; hence we are
XLVIIT.] WITHIN THE SOUL OP MAN. 513
told, when Lydia believed, the Lord opened her heart while
Paul preached, Acts xvi. 14. Rev, iii. 20, says the Lord there
to Laodicea, " Behold 1 stand at the door, and knock; if any
man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him,
and will sup'with him, and he with me." So, here, believing
in Christ is called a lifting up of the gates or doors of the
heart to the King of glory. Now, there is a two or three-
fold door that is opened to Christ, when a sinner believes in
him.
Is^ The door of the mind or understanding must be opened
to know him, and apprehend the way of salvation through
him. Hence faith is not a blind, but a seeing grace. " Look
unto me, and be ye saved. Thine eyes shall see the King in
his beauty." The eye of the mind is shut and blinded by
Satan, the god of this world, but, in believing, it is opened to
« behold the beauty of the Lord, and the excellency of our
God."
2. The door of the will is opened, so as to fall in with him
as a Prophet, Priest, and King, for " wisdom, righteousness,
and sanctification." Psal. ex. 3: " Thy people shall be will-
ing in the day of thy power." The will, in believing, em-
braces the revelation made of him, and by him, in the word ;
as a Prophet, submits to his righteousness, as its only defence
against the charge of the holy law, and receives the law from
his mouth, as its only King and Lawgiver.
3. The door of the afiections is cast open to him. The
love, the joy, the delight, and desire of the soul must centre
and terminate upon him as the supreme good, and upmaking
all of the soul, saying, " Whom have I in heaven but thee?
and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee:" so
that, when we call you to lift up the everlasting gates to the
King of yjlory, we call you to surrender your whole souls to
him, understanding, will, and affections; and, in your doing
so, he comes in, and sets up his kingdom within you.
Now, because we deal not with stocks and stones, but with
intelligent and rational beings, therefore we must deal with
you by rational arguments, to cast open the doors of your
hearts to the Lord Jesus; for it is in this way that he per-
suades and enables the soul to entertain him : and, O sirs,
look up to the Lord, that the concurring power of his Spirit;
may come along with what is said.
L Then, Will you consider who he is that calls for en.^
trance. It is none other than the " Lord of hosts, the Lord
mighty in battle ; he who does according to his will in the
army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth."
But, lest this awful and terrible name should make you afraid,
take a view of his name, as it is proclaimed, Exod. xxxiv. 6 ;
44*
514 THE KINGDOM OF GOD [SER.
" The Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord,
the Lord God merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and
abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands,
forgiving iniquity, and transgression, and sin." O sirs, that
which fortifies the enmity of the heart against God, is igno-
rance of that revelation that he has made of himself from a
throne of grace, or as he is in Christ. We conceive of him
as an implacable and inexorable Deity, and, by conceiving
of him thus, natural enmity against God is fortified, and our
minds quite alienated from him, through the ignorance of God ;
he is " in Christ, reconciling the world to himself." Sirs,
whenever God is seen, in the gospel glass, he is seen to be a
God of grace, mercy, love, and every way amiable; and it is
the view of this that makes the heart to open to him: hence
it is that God is at so great pains, in the word, to take off the
prejudices that sinners have taken up against him, by invest-
ing himself with our nature, in the person of the efernal Son,
and by declaring, under the solemnity of an oath, that he bears
no ill will to us: " As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no
pleasure in the death of the wicked."
2. Consider in what quality or capacity he comes, when
the everlasting doors of the heart are opened to him. He
comes in the capacity of a lawful proprietor. Sin, Satan,
and the world, are but intruders; the heart is God's proper-
ty; it was his abode before sin entered, why then should he
not have his own '? He comes in the quality of a Protector;
and, as a King, he is obliged to protect his kingdom in the
soul. He protects the soul a^aitist all challenges andaccu-
sations from the law, saying, there is no condemnation against
this man. He protects against the roaring lion that seeks to
devour you; "the God of peace shall bruise Satan under
your feet." He protects against the malice of the world:
*' In the world ye shall have tribulation, but in me ye shall
have peace. Be of good comfort, I have overcome the
world." He comes in the quality of a rich Provisor: "All
things are yours; my God shall supply all your need, ac-
cording to his ri<;hes in ylory, by Cbrist Jesus." He comes
in the quality of a wise Manager, bidding you cast all your
cares on him: the King takes the burden of all the affairs of
the kingdom upon himself.
3. Consider the advantages that shall accrue to you by
casting open the everlasting doors to the King of glory.
Why, he will set up his kingdom within you. I told you,
in the doctrinal part, what sort of a kingdom it is that
he rears up in the soul. In a word, the King of glory will
dwell in you, and walk in you ; he will be to you a Father,
and all the privileges of children shall be yours : " The Lord
XLVIII.] WITHIN THE SOUL OF MAX. 515
God is a sun and shield : the Lord will give grace and glory:
no good thing will he withhold from them that walk up-
rightly."
4. Consider the extreme danger of refusing to open to him,
till you get the kingdom of glory within you. (1.) You are
under the power of darkness; there is just a hell of darkness
in the soul till Christ be admitted. (2.) You are dead in sin
— inder its absolute power and reign. (3.) You are under
the dominion of Satan, the god of this world ; he has a law-
right to tempt you here, and torment you hereafter. (4.) You
are under the curse of God, and the wrath of God abides in
you; and how will you bear that burden?
5. Consider how fond he is to have his kingdom set up
within you, and how reluctant he is to take a refusal. (1.)
He calls for access. " Open unto me. My son, give me thine
heart." (2.) He knocks, and repeats his knocks and calls.
See how often they are repeated, Is. Iv. 1, 13. (3.) He waits
for a good answer from the sinner, waits that he may be gra-
cious, and waits till his " locks are wet." He, as it were, is
content to reason the matter with sinners, and to answer all
their objections.
Object. 1. Says the sinner, I am such a guilty sinner, and
my sins so aggravated, (hat he will never come in, to .set up
his kingdom in my heart." Answ. Why, says the Lord,
"■ Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as
snow ; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy tran.sgressions for mine
own sake, and will not remember thy sins."
Object. 2. Says the sinner, I am wretched, miserable, blind,
poor, and naked. Answ. Why, says the Lord, that shall be
no impediment ; " I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the
fire, that thou mayest be rich, and white raiment, that thou
mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do
not appear, and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou
mayest see."
Object. 3. To what purpose is all this; I have no power to
open my heart to him ? Answ. " It is he that works both to
will and to do." If thou wilt, thou shalt not want power.
The blame, in scripture, is laid on the will :* " I would, and
ye would not," Matth. xxiii. 37.
• Yes, and on the understanding also. In consequence of man's fall, all the powers of
the soul are deranged: hence Paul intercedes for persons at Ephesus, ' that the eyes of
their understandings might be enlightened.' The Westminsier S. Catechism, which is a
summary of Calvinistic doctrine, says, respecting effectual calling, that it consists in en.
lightening the mind, as well as in renewine the will With the sentiments expressed in
that ' form of sound words,' it is confidently believed, Mr Erskine fully accorded • but
what IB called the Hopkinsian controversy respecting the extent of our depravity and
respecting our natural ability to fulfil the divine law, was not agitated in Scotland
during the life of our author; and this circumstance will account for his seeming to limit
all blame to the will in our not opening our hearts for the reception of the Redeemer.—
Seep. oJo, a;c. — Am. Lo.
516 THE KINGDOM OF GOD [SER.
Object. 4. My will, indeed, is like an iron sinew, like a stone
that will not yield. Ans7o. Well, in this case, plead the pro-
mise, Ezek. xxxvi. 26 : "I will take away the stony heart
out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh;" and
that promise, Psal. ex. 3 : " Thy people shall be willing in the
day of thy power."
Object. 5. What if I be not elected 1 Answ. That is none of
your business; at first instance, yield your hearts to him, and
ye shall know your election, and that he has indeed " loved
you with an everlasting love."
I shall conclude this exhortation with a few advices.
Would 3fou have the kingdom of God within you 1 Then,
1. Be convinced that the devi! has his kingdom within you
by nature, and that every thought and imagination of your
heart is evil. The flaw lies here: people imagine they have
good hearts towards God, till ihey be convinced that they are
desperately wicked, and until 1 despair that ever
you will get any good by the gospel. That vain imagination
must be brought down ; and, for this end, be much in study-
ing the law in its holiness and spirituality.
2. Receive and entertain the uord of the King; for this is
the King's chariot of state in which he makes his entrance ;
we receive the Spirit by the hearing of faith; this is the
weapon by which he subdues rebels.
3. Be much in viewing the glory of Christ, for at the sight
of him the heart opens : " We, beholding as in a glass the
glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image, from
glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."
4. Put up that petition he has put in thy mouth, " Thy
kingdom come." O, he is ready to hear the petition which
he himself dictates, and believe that he will hear it, because
it is of his own compiling. O wrestle, and wrestle by faith
fixed on his promise.
5. Put the key of the heart in his own hand, and plead
earnestly, that he may give it a turn, and press and urge
him with his own word of promise, Psni. ex. 3: "Thy peo-
ple shall be willing in the day of thy power." Sirs, do not
stand out under a pretence of inability, for he is so ready to
enter into thy heart, and set up his kingdom within thee,
that he is willing to take the whole work on himself; he
makes the duty ours, but he makes the work his own:
" Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for
it is God that vvorketh in you both to will and to do of his
own good pleasure," Phil. ii. 12, 13.
Secondly, I come to oft'er a word to believers who have
the kingdom of God within them. You, who by the power
of the eternal word and Spirit of Christ, have been deter-
XLVIII.] WITHIN THE SOUL OP MAN. 517
reined to submit to the authority of him, whom God has set
as King in his holy hill of Zion, saying, " The Lord is my
King, the Lord is my Judge, the Lord is my Lawgiver."
Have the strong-holds of thy understanding, v^'ill, and affec-
tion, been brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ?
Is this the case? Then I offer you, (1.) A word of consola-
tion ; (2.) Of advice and exhortation.
1st, A word of consolation and encouragement to you who
have the kingdom of God within you. Here is ground of con-
solation, that as his visible kingdom in the world shall be perpe-
tual to the end of time ; so his invisible kingdom, or work of
grace in thy heart, is an everlasting kingdom, and " his do-
minion that which shall never be destroyed." Hell and earth
may invade it, and indwelling sin may make insurrection,
but '• the gates of hell shall never prevail against it," to de-
stroy it utterly. And I will tell you of some securities or
strong bulwarks, by which this kingdom in the heart is pre-
served.
L Then, it is secured by the unalterable love of God, "The
mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed, but my
kindness shall not depart from thee." The sense of his love
may be so far withdrawn, that the soul may cry, "The Lord
hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me;" but that
shall not be, for " he rests in his love, and chauijes not."
2. The purpose of God is a noble security for the preser-
vation of this kingdom of God zdthi?i you, Rom. viii. 28. They
are '>;aid to be called according to his purpose, the erection of
the Idngdom of God in the heart, is just the execution of the
decree, " Whom he did predestinate, them he also called."
And we are "predestinated to be conformed to the image of
God's dear Son." Now, is it possible that the purpose of God
can be frustrated ? No, no, " The counsel of the Lord shall
stand f The golden chain of salvation cannot be broken, or
one of the links of it be loosed, Rom. viii. 30: " Whom he did
predestinate, them he also called; and whom he called, them
he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glori-
fied."
3. The indenture that the Son of God entered into with his
Father from eternity, in the counsel of peace, secures this
spiritual kingdom. When God the Father gave a company
of the lost race of Adam to Christ, he engaged that he would
set up his kingdom within them, repair his image, carry on
the work of sa notification in them, till he had made them meet
for glory ; and that at the last day he would deliver up the
kingdom to his Father, and say. Here am I, and the children
whom thou hast given me ; here I present them " without
spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing." And God the Father,
518 THE KINGDOM OF GOTJ [SER.
upon this engagement and undertaking of his Son^ promised
that he should " prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord
should prosper in his hand." So that the counsel of peace
between the Father and Son must come to naught, before this
kingdom of God can be destroyed.
4. The blood and righteousness of Christ secure this king-
dom. Christ has purchased a church for himself Before he
could, by his word and Spirit, take possession of one soul in
all Adam's family, he behooved, as their Surety, to fultil the
precept, and to undergo the penalty of the law, and to pour
out his soul unto death. He comes to the kingdom and go-
vernment at the expense of his royal blood, and is it to be sup-
posed, that his kingdom, which he has bought with the blood
of his heart, shall be ruined by sin, Satan, or the world, if he
have an arm to defend it? No, no, I will give unto them
eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any
be able to pluck them out of my hand." And this he speaks
of his sheep, for whom he laid down his life; John x. 15, and
28, compared.
5. The covenant of grace and promise secures this king-
dom of God within you. This covenant is well ordered in
all things, and sure, and contains all the salvation of his peo-
ple: " The covenant of my peace shall never be removed.
"My covenant I will not break, nor alter the thing that is
gone out of my lips." See how the work of grace is secured
by this covenant, Jer. xxxii. 39: "And I will give them one
heart and one way, that they may fear me for ever." Ver.
40: "And I will make an everlasting covenant with them,
that I will not turn away from them to do them good; but
I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart
from me."
6. The effectual call that the Lord gave thee when he
called thee " unto his kingdom and glory." He called thee
from the power of darkness, and translated thee into the king-
dom of his dear Son ; and this call secures the possession of
this kingdom of God within thee, for his " gifts and callings
are without repentance ;" and how can it be otherwise, see-
ing he calls them according to his purpose?
7. Thy union with Christ, believer, secures the preserva-
tion and the perfecting of this kingdom. The whole mystical
body of Christ, and every particular member of it shall be
perfected; "neither death, nor life, nor things present, nor
things to come, shall separate " between you and him; not
one stone shall be turned off " the foundation God hath laid
in Zion;" the mortar by which the stones of the building are
knit to the foundation, is so well tempered ; he and they are
so cemented together, that hell shall never prevail to loose
XLVItl.] WITHIN THE SOUL OF MAN. 519
any one of them; no, God's building shall never be demo-
lished.
8. The new name that God has given thee secures the king-
dom of God, the vcork of grace in the soul. He has given to
you who have received him the right, power or privilege, of
being called the sons of God, and this is a perpetual name
that shall never be erased. Is. Ivi. 5, 6: " To them that take
hold of his covenant he gives a name, and a place within his
walls, even an everlasting name, that shall never be cut oti?'
" The son abideth in the house for ever ;" although the ser-
vant may be turned out at term-day, yet so shall not the son,
who is an heir.
9. The seal of the Spirit secures the kingdom of God within
you, Eph. iv. 30. Believers are said to be •' sealed unto the
day of redemption." A seal is either, (1 ) For secrecy; what
men would have kept secret they set their seal upon it; and
therefore it is a violation of the laws of society, for any man
to break up a sealed letter, but he to whom it is directed.
(2.) A seal is used for distinction ; merchants seal their goods
that they may be known to be their own. (3.) A seal is used
for security ; charters have the king's seal for farther security ;
and in this respect believers "are sealed unto the day of re-
demption," he hath sealed us, and given us the earnest of his
Spirit." So Eph. i. 13, 14: " After that ye believed, ye were
sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest
of our inheritance." Now, this security of the seal of the Spi-
rit is inviolable ; for " the foundation of God standeth sure,
having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are his."
10. The life of Christ secures this kingdom of God withi?i
you; "■ Because I live, ye shall live also." It is not so much
the believer that Hves, as Christ that lives in him. The life
of Christ in heaven is employed for the security of the work
of grace in thy soul. Believer, he lives in heaven as thy Head,
thy Husband, thy Redeemer, thy Advocate with the Father,
and he has " all power in heaven and in earth " for this end,
that he might be in a capacity to preserve his kingdom of
grace: therefore, says the apostle, " When Christ, who is our
life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory,"
Col. iii. 4.
11. The power of God secures this kingdom of God zvithin
ifou ; John x. 29 : " My Father, which gave them me, is great-
er than all ; and none is able to pluck them out of my Fa-
ther's hand." Rom. xiv. 24. He (namely, the believer, that
has the kingdom of God within him) shall be holden up, for
God is able to make him stand. As if he had said, ' The pow-
er of God is so much engaged for the preservation of the
520 THE KINGDOM OF GOD [SER.
work of grace, that it shall never perish, if God's arms be
able to maintain it. 2 Tim. i. 12: " I know whom I have be-
lieved, and I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which
I have committed unto him against that day." 1 Pet. i. 5:
" We are kept by the power of God through faith unto sal-
vation." And therefore, believer, thou mayest sing and say,
as Jude 24, " Now, unto him who is able to keep us from fall-
ing, and to present us faultless before the presence of his glory
with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory
and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever.
Amen."
But I need not insist on particulars here; all the attributes
of God, and the glory of each of them, is concerned in per-
fecting and preserving this spiritual kingdom. The mercy of
God that gave birth to it; the wisdom of God that contrived
it; the faithfulness of God, yea, his holiness is pledged for the
preservation of it; yea, the very justice of God is concerned
in the preservation of this kingdom ; for justice having re-
ceived complete satisfaction from the Surety, much obliges —
to take care for the preservation of this kingdom, for which
the ransom of blood was paid. So that you see how well this
spiritual kingdom is secured against all attempts made for
its ruin ; and is not this unspeakable ground of consolation to
you, who have the foundation of it laid in your souls by the
Spirit of the Lord? The apostle speaks of it as a glorious
ground of consolation to the Fhilippians, chap. i. 6: "Being
confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good
work in you, will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ."
2(]ly, A word of exhortation or counsel to you who have
ihe kingdom of God zoilhin you.
1. See that you answer the motto of the kingdom, Holi-
ness UNTO IHE Lord. " Let your light so shine before men,
that they may see your good works, and glorify your Fa-
ther which is in heaven." Beware of giving the enemy oc-
casion to blaspheme God, and the work of grace by your un-
tenderness.
2. See that upon every occasion, and in all societies, ye
be loyal to your King, wherever you see his laws violated,
his name profaned, bis authority invaded, or his cause tram-
pled on. Strike in for the honour of your King;" be not
partakers with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather
rei)rove them." Come up to " the help of the Lord against
the mighty."
3. Wage war with all the enemies of the King, either with-
in you or without you. Say not " a confederacy with sin
or with sinners; "for we wrestle not against flesh or blood,
but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers
XLlX.] WITHIN THE SOUL OF MAN. 521
of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in
high places." Do not fear your enemies, for they will fly,
and your King will bear the charges of the war.
4. Keep and guard all the avenues of the kingdom of God
within you : " Watch and pray that ye enter not into temp-
tation." Watch the eyes: "I made a covenant with mine
eyes." "Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity." Watch
the ears, watch the tongue, and " keep thy heart with all di-
ligence, for out of it are the issues of life." " Be sober, be
vigilant; for your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, go-
eth about, seeking whom he may devour."
5. Observe the laws of the kingdom as your rule: "As
many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and
mercy, and upon the Israel of God," GaL vi. IG.
6. Contend for the liberties of the kingdom, even of the vi-
sible kingdom of Christ without you, for the k)ss of this will
do great hurt to iJie kingdom of God within you. Gal. v. 1 :
" Stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made y^ou
free ;" freedom from sin, freedom from the law as a covenant,
freedom from the world and yoke of bondage, inconsistent
with Christian liberty, is the purchase of blood.
7. Keep a correspondence with all that are loyal to our
King, and have his kingdom within them, especially in a day
of defection and backsliding. Mai. iii. 16: "Then they that
feared the Lord, spake often one to another, and the Lord
hearkened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was
written before him, for them that feared the Lord, and that
thought upon his name."
GOSPEL-TREASURE IN EARTHEN VESSELS.
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the ,
power may be of God, and not of us. — 2 Coa. it. 7. of
^ospel
To gain time, I shall not insist upon the preceding cqgath, in
however material, but come directly to the words ther-ommand-
where we may notice the following particulars '.— rvered to the
1. The connexion of the words with what wc
VOL. III. 45
522 GOSPEL-TREASURE I\ EARTH E^ VESSELS. [SER.
the disjunctive particle but ; But we have this treasure in earthen
vessels, &c. The apostle had been speaking great and ho-
nourable things of the gospel, which he and the rest of the
apostles preached, calling it "the glorious gospel of Christ,
who is the image of the invisible God," ver. 4, 6. He had
shown that there was the same almighty power exerted in
and by the gospel in their own and others' conversion, as was
put forth in the old creation, when God commanded light to
shine out of darkness. Now, that none might attribute this
efficacy of the gospel to the apostles, or other instruments who
preached it, he immediately adds. But we have this treasure in
eartheji vessels, that the excellency of the pozcer may be of God,
and not of us. As if he said. The very reverse of this imagi-
nation is God's design in intrusting us with the dispensation of
the gospel, even that his own power might be the more illus-
triously manifested.
2. We have the designation given to the gospel of the
grace of God ; a treasure. There are two sorts of treasures
we read of in scripture, and the whole world is taken up
either with the one or the other, namely, an earthly or a
heavenly treasure; "the men of the world, whose portion is
in this life," are taken up about the first; but real converts,
or true believers, are taken up with the last, according to
that word of Christ, Matth. vi. 19, 20: "Lay not up for
yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust do
corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal. But
lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth
nor rust corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor
steal." It is the last, namely, the heavenly treasure, of which
the apostle here speaks. Why the gospel of God's grace is
expressed under the notion of a treasure, you may hear af-
terwards.
3. We have the vehicle of this treasure, or the weak means
or instruments by which this treasure is conveyed to God's
visible family; it is in earthen vesse/s. Ministers of the gospel
are so called, that none may think of them above what is
meet ; we who are earthen vessels, cry to men of the same
mould with us, as Jer. xxii. 29 : " O earth, earth, earth, hear
the word of the Lord." You and we arc earth in our origi-
nal, earth in our daily support, and earth in our end, for dust
shall return to the dust. God sees it fit that men that are
sprung of earth should be served in earthen vessels.
4. We have the reason why God will have the treasure of
the gospel conveyed in such earthen vessels, namely, " That
the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us;"
that is, in a word, that the whole glory of the conversion of
sinners, and edification of saints to eternal life, might be as-
ILIX.] GOSPEL-TREASURE IN EARTHEN VESSELS. 523
cribed, not to us, who are utterly insufficient of ourselves to
think or do any thing as of ourselves, but to God alone, who
chooses such weak means, that no flesh may glory in his
presence.
The doctrine is much the same with the words, namely,
" That God will have the treasure of his gospel conveyed to
his church and people in earthen vessels, that all men may
know, that the excellency of its power for conversion and
salvation is of himself, and not of man."
Through divine assistance, I shall observe the following
method : —
I. Speak a little of the gospel treasure.
II. Of the earthen vessels by which it is conveyed to God's
family.
III. Of the excellent power of God, which attends the dis-
pensation of this treasure.
IV. Show that the excellency of the divine power is illus-
triously manifested in the conveyance of the treasure of gos-
pel grace in such a way.
V. Make application of the whole.
I. I begin with the Jirst of these, namely, to speak a little
of the gospel-treasure. And here I shall show, 1, What is
imported in its being called a treasure. 2. Present you with
some parcels of this treasure ; for it is impossible to bring it
all forth to open view, in regard it is unsearchable.
As to the Jirst, What is imported in this designation given
to the gospel, which is called a treasure? To this I answer in
these particulars: —
1. A treasure consists of something very valuable; for
what men do not value, they do not reckon a treasure.
What so valuable as the gospel of the grace of God! O, says
David, " How precious unto me are the words of thy mouth !
they are better to me than thousands of gold and of silver."
Every precept, every promise, every truth of God, is a pre-
cious jewel which we are to buy at any rate, but to sell at
no rate. " Wisdom's merchandise is better than the mer-
chandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.'*
They that know the value of it will prefer it to all the
treasures of this world, and " take joyfully the spoiling of
their goods," rather than part with the least hoof of gospel
truth; yea, they will not love their life unto the death, in
comparison of the gospel-treasure ; hence we are command-
ed to " contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the
«aints." .
.524 GOSFEL-TREASURE IN EARTHE.V VESSELS. [SER.
2. A treasure consists in somethinc; that is very useful and
profitable to the Hfeof men in the world. Men never reckon
that to be their treasure which is of no use to them. O,
what so profitable to the immortal soul, as that which brings
life and immortahty to liglit to them! " It is profita()Ie for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in right-
eousness; and the man of God is" thus "made perfect, tho-
roughly furnished unto all good works," 2 Tim. iii. 15 — 17.
8. A treasure consists of something very rare ; what is
common to every body is not reckoned a treasure. What so
rare as (he gospel, even as to the external revelation of it?
It is not a thing common to every nation : Psal. cxlvii. 19,
20: "He showeth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his
judgments unto Israel. He hath not dealt so with any na-
tion." The greatest part of the world, at this day. know
nothing of the 2;ospel-treasure ; and among those nations to
whom it is come, how few are they that enjoy it in its puri-
ty ! There is but little gospel to be heard in many of the pul-
pits through Britain. I have lately seen sermons printed,
and highly applauded by some, where there is not one grain
weight of the gospel-treasure, from the beginning to the end,
no more than in the writings of Plato, Seneca, and Cicero.
And even where the gospel is preached in purity, how few
are they that really receive and entertain it by faith !
4. A treasure commonly lies deep and hid in the earth.
They that are in quest of the gospel-treasure must dig for it
before they find it, therefore called by Christ " a treasure
hid in the field :" The field where it lies is the word of God ;
and they who would find it, are directed to " seek it as silver,
and to search for it as for a hid treasure," Prov. ii. 4. Hence
our Lord, to tiie same purpose, exhorts us to " search the
sciiplurcs, for in them we think to have eternal life, and they
arc they which testify of me," John v. 39.
5. A treasure implies great abundance of these valuable
and profitable things; a man that has but a small quantity of
money cannot be said properly to have a treasure. David
and Solomon, and other kings, had their treasures, in which
there was great abundance of i-iches. Well, the gospel opens
a mine of riches which has no bottom : Eph. iii. 8, says
Paul, "I preach amony; the Gentiles the unsearchable riches
of Christ." Here is fulness, all fulness, yea, all the fulness
of the Godhead ; riches which eye hath not seen, ear hath not
heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man to con-
ceive: " But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit,"
says the apostle, 1 Cor. ii. 9, 10.
G. A treasure implies not only abundance of great and
good things, but that they are substantial and durable. Men
XLIX.] GOSPEL-TREASURE IN EARTHEN VESSELS. 525
make no account of the treasures of snow, which ntielt away
and perish. Such are all earthly treasures, they perish in
the very using; "riches make to themselves wings, and fly
away like an eagle," mounting up to heaven till she be quite
out of sight. *We read of a rich man in the gospel, who,
when he had filled his barns with corn, and his cotiers with
money, said to himself, "Soul, take thine ease, for there is
goods laid up for many years." But where were his trea-
sures, when God said to him, " Thou fool, this night thy soul
shall be taken from thee, and whose shall these things be?"
Yea, worldly treasures frequently melt away before they are
taken out of this world, as we see in the case of Job, who,
though to-day he was the richest man in the East, yet to-mor-
row he became poor to a proverb. But the treasures of the
gospel are durable and substantial: Prov. viii. 21, says Christ,
the essential Wisdom of God, " I will cause those that love
me to inherit substance, and I will fill all their treasures."
This is, indeed, a treasure to be desired, because it endureth
for ever; moth and rust do not corrupt it, and thieves break
not through to steal it. So much for the import of the ex-
pression, why the gospel is called a treasure.
2dly, I proceed to bring forth some of the gospel-treasure,
that you may know what it is. But here there are two things
I would advertise you of before I proceed. (1.) That it is so
great that the tongues of men or angels cannot declare it ful-
ly; " it has not entered into the heart of man to conceive"
how great it is ; so that it is only some little glimpse of it we
can give you from scripture-revelation. (2.) You must not
look upon this treasure as a thing in which you have no
concern, for it is all your own; therefore, while we are tell-
ing you of it, you must put to the hand of faith, and apply
and appropriate it to yourselves; for " things revealed be-
long to you and your children; and to you is the word of
this salvation sent : The promise is unto you, and to your
children, and to all that are afar off" And therefore mingle
faith with what you are to hear, that so you may be enriched
for eternity. Well, say you, tell us what this gospel-treasure
is, bring it out of the earthen vessels, that we may see and
know it.
Well then, first, In general, I tell you that Jesus Christ is
the Alpha and the Omega, the sum and substance of the gos-
pel-treasure. Christ is all in all ; and if you w in Christ, you
win the whole treasure of the gospel of which I speak : Says
Paul, Phil. iii. 8: "Yea, doubtless, I count all things but loss
for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord;
for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count
them but dung, that I may win Christ." And when he went
45*
526 GOSPEL- TREASURE IN EARTHEN VESSELS. [SER.
up and down the world from nation to nation, scattering the
gospel-treasure among them, what was the amount of it but
Christ? Eph. iii. 8: "Unto me, who am less than the least
of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among
the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.*' 1 Cor. i. 23,
24: " We preach Christ crucilied, unto the Jews a stumbling-
block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; but unto *hem which
are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God,
and the wisdom of God." And, chap. ii. 2: " 1 determined
not to know any thing amongst you, save Jesus Christ, and
him crucified." Col. i. 27, 28 : " God would make known
what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the
Gentiles, which is Christ in you " (margin amongst you,) "the
hope of glory ; whom we preach," &,c. Thus, I say, the sum
total of the gospel-treasure is Christ ; and no wonder, for God
is in Christ, who is the alone adequate portion of the rational
and immortal soul : " It hath pleased the Father, that in Christ
should all fulnei-s dwell, that out of his fulness all we might
receive grace for grace," Col. i. 19, chap. ii. 9, compared with
John i. 16. But, say you, we would hear something more
particularly respecting this gospel-treasure. Well, then, I
shall tell you of some rich and valuable things to be found in
the treasure of the gospel.
1. Then, Of all things in the world life is the most valua-
ble. It was a true saying of the father of lies, " Skin for
skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life." The
mariner will heave overboard into the sea all his most, valua-
ble goods and commodities that he lias with him, to save his
life. And if the life of the body be so valuable, what must
the life of the soul be? Matih. xvi. 26: " What is a man pro-
fitexl, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?" The re-
demption of the soul is precious, and ceaseth for ever as to
any ransom that man can give for it. Well, sirs, we tell you,
that the life and salvation of the precious soul is to be found
in this gospel-treasure; if a man give but the hearing of faith
to this go.sj)e!, his soul shall live. Is. Iv. ii. The gospel is
called a word of life, and a word of salvation. Acts xiii. 26,
and chap. v. 20 : " Go," (says the angel to the apostles who
were imprisoned.) " stand and speak in the temple to the peo-
ple, all the words of this life." And whoever he be that be-
lieves the report of the gospel concerning Christ, he shall not
perish, but have everlasting life, John iii. 14 — 16.
2. Next to life, light is the most sweet and valuable thing
in this world. What a melancholy unheartsome habitation
would this world be, if it wanted the sun in the firmament I
" Truly light is sweet, and it is a pleasant thing for the eyes
XLIX.] GOSPEL-TREA&URE IN EARTHEN VESSELS. 527
to behold the sun." Well, the gospel brings a more valuable
light to the world than the light of the sun in the firmannent,
even that light which discovers another world, and a far better
world than this is, " for life and immortality are brought to
light by the gospel." Wherever the gospel comes, " the peo-
ple which sat in darkness are made to see a great light; and
to them which sat in the region of the shadow of death, light
doth spring up," Matth. iv. IG; and, John viii. 12, says Christ,
" I am the light of the Vi'orld : he that followeth me shall not
walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." And
where this light of the gospel shines into the heart, it is just a
prelude of the light of glory.
3. In this gospel-treasure is to be found a treasure of wis-
dom, whereby the foolish and simple sinner is made wise to
salvation. " In Christ (whom we preach) are hid all the trea-
sures of wisdom and knowledge ;" and he is " made of God
unto us wisdom." David found such a measure of wisdom
and knowledge in this treasure, that he had more under-
standing than the ancients, and more wisdom than all his
teachers: by the gospel-revelation, these things are revealed
to babes, that are hid, from the wise and prudent of this
world. See a lecture of the excellency of the gospel-wis-
dom. Job xxviii. 12 — 2.3: "It cannot be gotten for gold,
neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof. No
mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of
wisdom is above rubies. The topaz of Ethiopia shall not
equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold. God only
understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place
thereof"
4. In this gospel-treasure, is to be found that crown of glo-
ry which fell from Adam's head the day that he sinned against
God : 2 Cor. iii. 18 : " All we with open face, beholding as in a
glass," namely, the glass of the gospel-revelation, " the glory of
the Lord, are changed into the same injage, from glory to glory,
as by the Spirit of the Lord." Christ is the image of the in-
visible God, and the brightness of his Father's glory ; and, by
beholding his glory in the gospel, we come to be renewed in
knowledge after the image of him that created us at first, 2
Cor. iv. 4 — G.
5. The gospel opens a treasure of " fine linen, pure and
white, which is the righteousness of the saints," Rev. xix. 8.
The judicious Durham upon that place observes, that by this
righteousness of the saints, is to be understood the imputed
righteousness of Christ, which he proves by several argu-
ments. This is that white raiment which Christ counsels La-
odicea to buy of him, that the shame of her nakedness might
not appear, Rev. iii. 18. This, I say, we bring forth, and
528 GOSPEL-TREASURE IN EARTHEN VESSELS. [sEK.
bring near to you in the gospel revelation : Rom. i. 16, 17:
♦'I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ : for it is the
power of God unto salvation, to every one that believeth. For
therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to
faith." Come then, O naked sinners, and buy white raiment,
robes of righteousness, garments of salvation, without money
and without price, for it is a gratuitous righteousness, Rom.
v. 17.
6. Here is a treasure of quickening, cleansing, adorning,
strengthening, and sanctifying influences of the Holy Ghost;
for we receive the Spirit, not by thfe works of the law, but
by the hearing of faith. Christ is a head of influence, who
received the Spirit above measure, that he might communi-
cate the Spirit and all his influences to his mystical body;
and the gospel is the channel of conveyance; hence, by the
great and precious promises, we are made partakers of the
divine nature. Those places of the world, where the gospel
is not preached, are like to the mountains of Gilboa, upon
which nothing of the rain or dew of the Holy Ghost de-
scends.
7. Here in this gospel is a treasure of noble securities for
every thing needful, either for life or godliness, for time or
eternity. The gospel-covenant is a large charter under the
seal of Heaven, for the whole inheritance of glory, and all
that pertains to it : and the promises of the covenant are so
many particular clauses of the charter, by which this, and
that, and the other blessing is secured, and all these "yea and
amen in Christ." It is " an everlasting covenant, well or-
dered in all things and sure." "The mountains shall depart,
and the hills be removed, but my kindness shall not depart
from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be re-
moved, saith the Lord, that hath mercy on thee," Is. liv. 10.
8. In this gospel you have a treasure of sovereign medi-
cines and anfi^otes against all these spiritual diseases to which
we are subjected since the fall of Adam. Here are the leaves
of the tree of life, which are ordained for the healing of the
nations: Psal. cvii. 20: "He sent forth his word and healed
them." We bring you glad tidings of great joy, that there
is balm in Gilead, and a Physician there of unerring skill, and
who saves to the uttermost all that come unto him, and will
employ him, let their case be ever so desperate, or the dis-
eases ever so obstinate against all other remedies; he opens
the blind eyes, he makes the lame man to leap like a hart,
and the tongue of the dumb to sing ; yea, the very dead are
made to hear the voice of Gilead's Physician, and so are
made to live, John v. 25.
9. In this gospel there is laid open a treasure of great and
XLIX.] GOSPEL-TREASURE IX EARTHEN VESSELS. 529
glorious mysteries, that were hid in God from all eternity.
The Lion of the tribe of Judah hath opened the book, and
loosed the seven seals thereof, which none in heaven nor in
earth were capable to do but himself: and now, under the
New Testament, by the commandment of the everlasting God,
these hidden mysteries are published " to all nations for the
obedience of faith," Rom. xvi. 25, 26 ; Col. i. 20, 27. In this
gospel there is a revelation of the mystery of the Trinity,
thrre in one, and one in three: the mystery of the incarnation
of the eternal Son of God ; " And without controversy great
is the mystery of godliness; God manifested in the fle.>h:"
the my.'stery of the death and satisfaction of Christ, by which
the sword of justice, being bathed in his blood, is put up again
in its scabbard, and (he anger of God turned away from us:
the mystery of his resurrection from the dead, by which he
w^as "justified in the Spirit," and the debt we were owing to
law and justice discharged: the mystery of his ascension to
heaven, as our Forerunner, by which the way to glory is
opened for us through the territories of " the Prince of the
power of the air:" the mystery of his intercession, by which
our acceptance with God is procured: and all accusations
and charges against us are repelled. The gospel brings to
light the mystery of the new birth, by which we are initiated
into the kingdom of heaven : the mystery of justification by
the imputation of his righteousness to us, by which the right-
eousness of the law comes to be fulfilled in every one that
believes: (he mystery of our adoption into God's family, by
which the heirs of hell and wrath are put among the chil-
dren : the mystery of oi ■ sanc(ifica(ion by the Spirit of Christ,
by which we are made meet to be partakers of the inheri-
tance of the saints in light. These and the like mysteries
are opened in the everlasting gospel, which flesh and blood
cannot know, and cannot receive, because they are spiritu-
ally discerned.
10. In this gospel-treasure is to be found stores of meat;
meat for the hungry, and drink for the thirsty soul," meat in-
deed, and drink indeed." The incarnation and satisfaction of
the Son of God, apprehended by faith, is that hidden manna
to which the world are strangers. Of this banquet we read,
Is. XXV. 0: " In this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make
unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the
lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well
refined." A tasting of this food satisfies (he longing soul so
much, that it hungers no more after the swine husks upon
which the world feed. See the open invitation given to all
people to come to this gospel-banquet, Is. Iv. 1 : " Ho, every
one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters," &c. Prov. viii. 4 :
530 GOSPEL-TREASURE IN EARTHEN VESSELS. [sER.
"Unto you, O men, do I call, and my voice is to the sons of
man. Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which
I have mingled:" see Prov. ix. 1 — 6.
11. Here in this gospel is a treasure of rich spoils, which
Christ the Captain of our salvation took from the enemy,
when he foiled him upon the field of battle, and triumphed
over principalities and powers. Here is the head of the dra-
gon, that old serpent the devil, the destroyer of mankind,
which Christ gives " to be meat to them that inhabit the wil-
derness." Here is the hand-writing of the curse of the law,
"which was contrary to us," and which cave Satan power
over us, cancelled, Col. ii. 14. Here are the keys of hell
and death, which Christ took by main force from the jailer:
Rev. i. 18: " I am he that liveth, and was dead ; and behold,
I am alive for evermore, Amen ; and have the keys of hell
and of death," Here is death itself disarmed of its sting,
and the grave of its victory, so as you may triumph over it
as a vanquished enemy, saying, *' O death, where is thy sting?
O grave, where is thy victory'? Thanks be to God, which
giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ." All
these spoils Christ took from the enemy, when " of the peo-
ple there was none with him ;" and yet, like the women that
tarried at home, he makes us to divide the spoil: and thus
the promise of the Father is fulfilled, Is. liii. 12: "I will di-
vide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the
spoil with the strong."
12. In this gospel are brought forth all the riches andglory
of Immanuel's land, that lies on the other side of the Jordan
of death. The new Jerusalem, with all its splendour and
glory, is brought down from God out of heaven in the dis-
pensation of the gospel, Rev. xxi. 1 — 3; and from ver. 10 —
21, we have a map of the celestial Jerusalem, to which the
redeemed from among men shall be admitted, when they have
finished their work and pilgrimage in this lower world. Thus
you see what rich treasures the gospel brings to sinners. Oh,
how fitly then is it called "The glorious gospel of the bless-
ed God, which is committed to our trust!" 1 Tim. i. 11.
Thus much for the first general head.
II. The second thing in the method was, to speak a little
of the earthen vessels, in which the gospel-treasure is brought
or conveyed to God's family; for says the apostle here, fVe
have this treasure in earthen vessels. By which, as I said in
the opening of the words, we are to understand ministers of
the gospel, to whom he says, " Go ye into all the world, and
preach the gospel to every creature." Now, as to this de-
XLIX.] GOSPEL-TREASURE IN EARTHEN VESSELS. 531
signation given to ministers of the gospel, there are only two
or three questions I would propose and answer.
Quest, 1. What may be imported in this designation of
earthen vessels '(
Answ. (1.) It says, that God is the great Potter, who forms
all the vessels of his house, whether they be vessels of cups,
or vessels of flagons, vessels of less, or of greater quantity ;
he forms them all " for himself, that they may show forth his
praise." (2.) It says, that ministers of the gospel are or-
dained not for their own use, but for the benefit of the church,
even as vessels are for the use of the family. Christ himself,
as Mediator and High Priest of our profession, is ordained for
men in things pertaining to God; and so are all ministers and
ordinances dispensed by them, for the use and benefit of the
church; Eph. iv. 11, 12: " When he ascended up on high,
he gave some apostles, and some prophets, and some evange-
lists, and some pastors and teachers, for the perfecting of the
saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the
body of Christ." (3.) While ministers of the gospel are
called earthen vessels, it says that they are but mortal men,
even as others are ; they " are sprung of earth," and " their
foundation is of the dust," and " unto dust shall they return :"
Zech. i. 5 : " Our fathers, where are they 1 and the prophets,
do they live for ever?" (4.) It says, that God will have his
church served, not by the ministry of angels, but by men of
their own mould and make, that his terror may not make
them afraid^ as when the law was delivered at Mount Sinai,
Heb. xii. 18, 19.
Quest. 2. Whence have these earthen vessels this rich
treasure of the gospel ? or how come they by it ?
Answ. The earthen vessels have all their treasure out of
the large storehouse of a Redeemer's fulness. All edifying
and saving gifts and graces are committed to Christ by his
Father, as the King, Head, and Lawgiver of his church ; he
received gifts for men ; and, accordingly, gives gifts to men,
Psal. Ixviii. 18, compared with Eph. iv. 11. When Christ
calls any man to the work of the gospel, he will not send
him " a warfare upon his own charges ;" no. When a king
sends his ambassadors to foreign courts, they are not allowed
to go upon their own private charges and expenses, but upon
the charges of the king, whose ambassadors they are. Just
so here ; the glorious King of Zion, when he sends his am-
bassadors into this lower world, bids them spend not upon
their own, but upon his credit ; and in this case they shall
lack for nothing that is needful, as the disciples found when
he sent them to preach the gospel through the cities of Is-
rael. Many a time, when we come forth to preach the ever-
532 GOSPEL-TREASURE IN EARTHEN VESSELS. [SER.
lasting gospel to people, and begin to look at the clay ves-
sels, we can see nothing there but weakness and emptiness,
notwithstanding of all our study and preparation ; and in
this case are ready to conclude, we have nothing to bring
forth to the church for its edification, and that we shall be
a discredit to the gospel and rehgion. But, O, how does our
glorious Master many times baffle our unbelieving fears, and,
for his own glory, convey in a secret way, the treasure of
the gospel into the earthen vessels, for the edification of his
members ! As the milk is put within the mother's breast for
the sake of the babe ; so is the sincere milk of the word put,
as it were, into our breasts, for the benefit of the babes of
grace. It is observable, 2 Cor. v. 19, where in our transla-
tion the words run, " He hath committed unto us the word
of reconcihation ;" on the margin, in the original, it runs,
" He hath put in us the word of reconciliation." Thus, he
puts the treasure in the earthen vessgls, in the way of trust,
for the use of others. As the king's almoner is intrusted
with the king's bounty and charity, for the use of the poor,
that he may distribute it to them according to need; so mi-
nisters are the almoners of the Kings of Zion, they have the
gospel-treasure committed to them, for the benefit of the poor;
for " to the poor the gospel is preached." And well may we
spend, when we have the unsearchable riches of Christ as
our fund to go upon : the more we spend, the more we have
to spend, for, by scattering, our stock increases.
Quest. 3, For what reason will God have the gospel-.trea-
sure conveyed in the earthen vessels?
To this you have an answer in the words of the text, We
have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the
pouer may be of God, and not of us. But this leads to,
ni. The third thing in the general method, which was, to
speak a little of that excellent power which accompanies
the dispensation of the gospel. This power is frequently
spoken of in scripture, sometimes in proper, sometimes in
metaphorical terms. So, Kom. i. 16, the gospel is called
the " power of God unto salvation." 1 Thess. i. 5 : " Our
gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power,
and in the Holy Ghost." Sometimes it is expressed meta-
phorically, and thus the gospel is called *' the rod of the
Mediator's strength," and " he makes a willing people in the
day of his power," Psal. ex. 2, 3. See Is. liii. 1 ; it is called
a revelation of ihe arm of Jehovah." Sometimes it is ex-
pressed by Christ's going forth like a mighty Conqueror,
riding upon a white horse, " conquering, and to conquer,"
Rev. vi. 2 ; Psal. xlv. 4, 5. But, to illustrate the excellency
XLIX.] GOSPEL-TREASURE IN EARTHEN VESSELS. 533
of that power of God, which is exerted towards sinners and
saints, in the dispensation of the gospel through poor earthen
vessels, 1 shall essay to do two things. 1. I shall give you
some of the excellent properties ; 2. Some of the excellent
effects of it.
l5/, Let us take a view of the qualities of this power, and
from thence the excellency of the whole will appear.
1. Then, It is wholly divine and supernatural, it is mighty
through God. Arminians may talk as they please respect-
ing their power to convert themselves: the Scriptures of
truth inform us, that the power of a whole Trinity is em-
ployed in the work of a sinner's conversion. The power of
the Father is put forth in it, as Christ declares, John vi. 44:
" No man can come to me, except the Father, which hath
sent me, draw him." The power of the eternal Son is ex-
erted, John xii. 32. " And I, if I be lifted up [from the earth,]
will draw all men unto me." The power of the Father and
the Son is exerted by the Holy Ghost, the third Person of
the Trinity: hence, Tit. iii. 5, we are said to be "saved by
the washing of regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy
Ghost." So that Arminians, who talk of the power of their
own will, to convert, believe, to repent, &c., invade the pre-
rogative of a whole Trinity, and contradict " the record of
God," by which we are assured, that " it is not of him that
willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth
mercy;" and that " it is God which worketh in us, both to
will and to do, of his own good pleasure." So that it is a
divine power. And hence it follows,
2. That it is an exceedingly creat and mighty power. A
greater power is ext*rted in the formation of the new crea-
ture in the heart, by the instrumentality of the gospel, than
in the creation of the world; hence the last is called the work of
his linger, but the other of his almighty arm. The apostle tells
us, that the same almighty power that was put forth in the re-
surrection of Christ from the dead, is exerted towards them that
believe. He " fultilh^th in ns the whole good pleasure of his
goodness, and the work of faith with power;" and the apostle,
in the place just now cited, tells us, that it is not only power,
but greatness of power, exceeding greatness of power, great-
ness of almis;h(y power, and the workingoftliis almighty power,
exerted and put forth in the resurrection of Christ from the
dead; which plainly shows the resurrection of Christ to be a
greater miracle, than if all the race of Adam had been raised
out of the grave in a moment. Christ was incarcerated, or
shut up in the prison of the grave, as our Surety, " the Lord
having laid on him the iniquities of us all;" and therefore the
grave of Christ was locked up by the hand of justice, that
VOL. HI. 46 f
534 GOSPEL-TREASURE IJf EARTHEN VESSELS. [SER.
laid him in prison for our debt. The curse of the broken law
lay as a dreadful weight upon his grave; a weight that all
men on earth, and angels in heaven, would never have been
able to poise with their united strength. O what infinite
power then did it require, to raise up Christ from the dead,
under all this weight ! Yet that same almighty power of
God, that raised up Christ from the dead, is exerted towards
sinners, in bringing them to believe ; and when brought to be-
lieve, they must be " kept by the power of God through faith
unto salvation."
3. Hence it follows, that it is an irresistible power that ac-
companies the dispensation of the gospel-treasure. There
was mighty opposition made to the work of our salvation, in
the purchase of it; hell and earth combined against the Lord
and against his Anointed : but on he went, travelling in the
greatness of his strength, through all opposition, until he
could say, " It is finished." In like manner, when redemp-
tion is to be applied, there is mighty opposition made by the
powers of hell ; the devil studies to secure his captive by
might and main, he fortifies his strong-holds against the ap-
proaches of divine grace, such as, the darkness of the mind,
the obstinacy of the will, the carnality of the affections : but
when the day of power comes, God makes all these gates of
brass and bars of iron to give way ; for who can stay his al-
mighty hand, when he says, " The lawful captive shall be
deUvered, and the prey taken from the terrible?' the strong
fetters of the soul's captivity fall off; and " whom the -Son
makes free, they are free indeed." Thus, I say, the power
of God accompanying the gospel is victorious and irresisti-
ble.
4. Although it be so, yet this power is exerted in a most
sweet and agreeable manner, without any sort of violence
done to the natural powers and faculties of the rational soul.
I own, indeed, there is violence done to the corruption of na-
ture; but no violence done to the soul, or its natural powers.
The whole powers of the soul were lamed and dislocated by
the fall; the understanding darkened; the will perverted
from its oi-iginal rectitude and conformity to the will of God ;
the allections turned awa}' from God, the chief good, and
misplaced upon the creature instead of the Creator ; and these
corruj)t inclinations of the soul rule and govern, instead of
the understanding, in all its actions. IVovv, when the power
of God is put forth by the gospel, for the soul's renovation,
" old things are done away, and all things are made new ;"
every power of the soul is set, as it were, in its proper joint ;
the mind or understanding is " delivered from the power of
darkness, and renewed in knowledge after the image of him
XLIX,] GOSPEL-TREASURE IN EARTHEN VESSELS. 535
that created him ;" the will is delivered from its enmity against
God, and brought to a due subordination to the will of God,
manifested in his promises, precepts, or providences; the affec-
tions are turned otf from following sin and vanity, and made
to centre on God himself, the adequate portion of the rational
soul ; and all the inferior powers of the soul, subordinated to
the understanding, enlightened by the word and Spirit of
God. Now, what violence is done to the soul in all this? It
is nothing but a restoring the soul, in some measure, to its
primitive rectitude, when it dropped out of the creating hand,
which cannot but be most agreeable to the natural powers
of the soul ; and therefore the bones that were broken by sin,
are made to rejoice.
5. The excellency of this power appears from this, that all
this work is done in a secret, silent, and mysterious way,
without any outward noise or observation. When men do
any considerable work, particularly when they make con-
quests, it is " with the confused noise of the warrior, and gar-
ments rolled in blood." When kings and great men are go-
ing in procession through their territories, it is with much
observation, and the common cry is, Lo, he is here, or, Lo,
he is there ; but when God sets up his kingdom within the
soul, it is with no such observation, and therefore compared
to the falling of dew, the springing of grass and corn, the
growth of trees and plants ; the almighty power of God is in
every one of these, but this power is executed without any
noise or din. Just so it is in the work of grace upon the
soul ; there is an exceedingly great and mighty power ex-
erted, but it operates in a secret, silent, and mysterious man-
ner, discernible more in its elfects, than the manner of its
■operation: hence Christ, speaking of the new birth, compares
the operation of the Spirit to the indiscernible motion of the
air or wind, John iii. 8 : " The wind bloweth where it listeth,
and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence
it cometh, and whither it goeth : so is every one that is born
of the Spirit."
2c//y, Let us take a view of the effects of the excellency
of this power that accompanies the gospel in a day of power,
which are indeed wonderful and surprising, a few of which I
shall name.
1. Such is the excellency of this power, that a new crea-
ture is thus produced and brought forth out of the barren
womb of nothing ; for creation is the production of some-
thing out of that which had no existence, which nothing but
almighty power can effect: yet by the dispensation of the
gospel-treasure this is effected ; a new creature is formed, and
brought into " a new heaven and a new earth, wherein dwell'
536 GOSPEL-TREASURE IN EARTHEN VESSELS. [SER.
eth righteousness," Eph. ii. 10: "We are his workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus ;" and all this by the word of truth,
James i. 18.
2. By the excellency of this power, life is brought out of
death; for the conversion of a sinner is the resurrection of
the dead soul: Eph. ii. 1: " i ou hath he quickened who
were dead in trespasses and sins." When we go to preach
the gospel, we find the valley of vision lying full of dry bones,
scattered about the devouring mouth of the grave, and we are
ready to put that question, '' Can these dry bones live T" Yet
the Lord sometimes lets us see that he can show wonders
among the dead ; for, by the voice of Christ in the CDspel,
dead sinners are made alive, John v. 25. If he but say to a
dead soul, as he did to Lazarus, " Come forth out of thy
grave," immediately the first resurrection is accomplished, and
so the second death shall have no power over that soul.
3. By this power of God in the gospel, light is brought out
of darkness. The mind of man by nature is not only dark,
but darkness: " Once were ye darkness, but now are ye light
in the Lord." As, in the old creation, darkness was upon the
face of the deep; so is the darkness of ignorance, unbelief,
error and prejudice, upon the face of the soul : but when
God says, " Let there be light," immediately the light of the
knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Je^us Christ,
translates the soul from darkness into a marvellous light,
2 Cor. iv. 6.
4. Such is the excellency of this power, that, as was al-
ready hinted, beauty and order is thus brought out of defor-
mity and confusion: "Though ye have lien among the pots,
yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove covered with silver,
and her feathers with yellow gold."
5. By this power of God in the gospel, a new temple and
habitation is reared out of the dark quarry of nature, and
stones raised up to be children of Abraham, Eph; ii. 22:
"Ye are buildcd together for a habitation of God through
the Spirit."
Not to multiply particulars: by this power of God in the
gospel, the enmity of the heart against God is slain, and the
sinner is so far reconciled to God, that he is made to love the
Lord his God, with all his heart, soul, strength, and mind.
By this almighty power, the prodigal that was in a far coun-
try, feeding upon husks with the swine, is brought home to
his Father's house, and reinstated in all the privileges of chil- -
dren. By the power of God accompanying the gospel, the
poor man, that was oppressed with poverty, is taken out of the
dunghill, and set among princes, and made an heir of God,
and a joint-heir with Christ. The strong man is bound by a
XLIX.] GOSPEL-TREASURE IS EARTHEN VESSELS. 537
stronger than he, and spoiled of his goods : the strong-holds of
Satan are pulled down, the high imaginations of the heart,
that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God, are le-
velled, and every thought brought into captivity to the obe-
dience of Christ; the lawful captive is delivered, and the prey
taken from the terrible. Thus I have given you a little glimpse
of the excellency of the power of God accompanying the gos-
pel, from its properties and effects.
IV. The fourth thing in the method was, to show how the
excellency of this power comes to be displayed, by the con-
veyance of the gospel-treasure in earthen vessels. In answer,
I shall not dwell upon this ; only it is to be observed, that it
is God's ordinary way to exert his almighty power in the ac-
complishment of his greatest works, by means which the ra-
tional world would think should prove utterly inetlectual.
When the great fabric of heaven and earth was brought into
being, it was done with a simple word, " By the w^ord of the
Lord were the heavens made ; and all the host of them by the
breath of his mouth." When the pride of Pharaoh and the
strength of Egypt, is to be broken, when Israel is to be brought
out of bondage, and the Red sea divided, it is effected by the
stretching out of the rod of God in the hand of Moses. When
the strong walls of Jericho are to be brought down, it shall
not be done by engines of war, such as battering rams, but
by the simple sounding of rams' horns, and a shout from the
camp of Israel. When the host of the Midianitish army is
to be discomfited, God will not have it done by thirty thou-
sand, but he will have these reduced to three hundred; and
that three hundred shall not draw a sword, but only blow
their trumpets, break their pitchers, and hold their lamps in
their hands, crying, " The sword of the Lord, and of Gide-
on;" and thereupon the Midianitish army is made to melt
away, and every man made to sheathe his sword in his
neighbour's bowels. What was the plot of Heaven in making
such insignificant contemptible means to produce such glori-
ous effects ? The plain reason is, that his own arm and pow-
er might be the more conspicuous; and that Israel might
know that it was not their own bow or sword that saved
them, but God's right hand and his holy arm that gave them
the victory. In like manner, when God is to set up the king-
dom of the Messiah in the world, and to overthrow Satan's
kingdom of darkness, he passes by the plodding politicians,
the learned philosophers, and elegant orators of the world,
and pitches upon twelve poor fishermen, who had no other
language than their mother tongue, no other education but
the making and mending of their nets ; and, in endowing
46*
538 GOSPEL-TREASURE IN EARTHEN VESSELS. [sER.
them with power from on high, by which they were made
capable of propagating the go:^pel in all the languages of the
known world, and the working all manner of miracles for the
confirmation of the truth of their doctrine, by which Satan's
kingdom was made to " fall like lightning from heaven ;" the
idolatries of the nations, in which they had been rooted for
many ages and generations; the devil's oracles amcngst them
are silenced; the Mosaical economy, which had been of di-
vine authority, is unhinged ; the Roman empire, the power of
which had been employed to extirpate Christianity, is made
to yield to the sceptre of a crucified Jesus. In like manner,
when God is to set up his kingdom in the heart, he will do it
by earthen vessels, freighted with the treasure of gospel truth
and grace. Now, what is (he design of God in all this, but
that the exceUe?icy of the pone?- may appear to he of him, and not
of manl The apostle elegantly descants upon this subject,
1 Cor. i. 26 — 31: "For ye see your calling, brethren, how
that not many wise men after (he flesh, not many mighty, not
many noble are called. But God hath chosen the Ibolish
things of the world, to confound the wise ; and God hath cho-
sen the weak things of the world, to confound the things
which are mighty ; and base things of the world, and things
which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which
are not, to bring to naught things that are." The design of
all this is, "That no flesh should glory in his presence, but
that he that glorieth, may glory in the Lord alone." And so
much shall serve for the illustration of the text and doctiine.
I proceed now to
The Applicaiio7i. And I shall endeavour to despatch all the
application I intend at this time, in a few inferences.
Inf. 1. See hence what an excellent and enriching bless-
ing the gospel is, when received in a way of believing: it is a
treasure, and the best treasure ever a people possessed; they
are, indeed, a blessed people that know God in a practical
manner.
Here it may be asked. Wherein lies the excellency of the
gospel-treasure? This was cleared in the doctrinal part; but
to what was said, I shall add.
Is/, It is a celestial and heavenly treasure; it is one of these
" good and perfect gifts that come down from above, from the
Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither sha-
dow of turning." The law is a thing known, in a great mea-
sure, by the light of nature ; but the gospel is a thing wholly
supernatural, both as to the objective and subjective revela-
tion of it.
2f//y, It is a spiritual and soul-satisfying treasure. And
O how valuable must that treasure be, that enriches the soul,
XLIX.] GOSPEL-TREASURE IN EARTHEN VESSELS. 539
and brings it to life and immortality ! Let a man possess all
the riches of the East and West Indies, yet while he is desti-
tute or ignorant of the gospel-treasure, Laodicea's character
may be affixed to him, " wretched, miserable, poor, and blind,
and naked."
3dhj, The more a man has of the gospel-treasure, he is al-
ways the more himible and denied. Q,uite contrary to this is
the effect of men's possessing worldly treasures ; no sooner do
some men get a little of the world scraped together, by hook
or crook, but they are swelled with pride, and look with an
air of contempt and disdain upon others, that are not come
their length, as to worldly substance. But, I say, the gospel-
treasure has a quite ditFerent effect; for the more a man has
of it, the less he thinks of himself, in comparison of others; as
you see it was with the great apostle Paul. Who had more
of the gospel-treasure tlian he? and yet, says he, Eph. iii. 8,
"Unto me, who am less than the least of ail saints, is this
grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the un-
searchable riches of Christ."
4thly, Though it be an humbling, yet it is really a soul-en-
nobling treasure. The man by having the gospel-treasure hid
in his heart, is lifted above the common level of mankind,
and set among the excellent ones of the earth; it sets him
among princes, and among the heirs of the kingdom of hea-
ven; it endows the man with a princely spirit, insomuch that
he looks with contempt upon this dunghill- world, and his af-
fections are wafted to things that are above, where Christ is
at the right hand of God. " We look not at things which
are seen, but at the things which are not seen : for the things
which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not
seen are eternal."
5thly, As was above hinted, the gospel-treasure is durable,
abiding, and everlasting; it goes along with a man, through
death, which deprives him of all his other worldly treasures :
Psal. xlix. 16, 17: "Be not thou afraid when one is made
rich, when the glory of his house is increased. Eor when he
dieth, he shall carry nothing away : his glory shall not de-
scend after him." But the gospel-treasure is of such a nature,
and so well secured, that neither death, nor life, — nor things
present, nor things to come, shall ever be able to spoil him of
it, Rom. viii. 38, 39.
Well then, sirs, if the gospel be such a valuable treasure,
for the Lord's sake, study to secure it, that your souls may be
enriched for ever. Quest. How shall we secure it? Answ.
It is by faith's setting its seal to the record of God concerning
his Son Jesus Christ. Quest. What is the record of God?
See this answered, 1 John v. 11 : " This is the record of God ;
540 GOSPEL-TREASURE IN EARTHEN VESSELS. [sER.
that God hath given to us (sinners of mankind) eternal life,
and this life is in his Son: and he that hath the Son, hath
life." That moment a man sets to his seal to this record of
God, as a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, he is
secured of all the riches of Christ, which are unsearchable.
Inf. 2. Has God put this treasure into earthen vessels, as
ministers of the gospel are here called ? then see hence how
worthy of reception and entertainment a faithful minister of
the gospel is : why, although he be but an earthen vessel, yet
he brings a glorious treasure along with him to the people to
whom he is sent. Solomon tells us, that "a man's gift makes
room for him ;" much more he that brings a treasure of gifts.
That minister who brings Christ, and all the treasures of hea-
ven along with him, is worthy of all reception, according to
that, Rom. x. 15: " How beautiful are the feet of them that
preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good
things !" Although ministers be spoken of by this diminutive
character of earthen vessels, yet there are several great and
honourable titles and designations given them in scripture,
which plainly show the reception of which they are worthy.
Every sent minister of Christ, is "the messenger of the Lord
of hosts," Mai. ii. 7. A messenger sent from the Lord of all
the hosts of heaven, earth, and hell, ought to be enter-
tained, and it is dangerous to maltreat him. Ministers are
called the ambassadors of Christ, 2 Cor. v. 20: "Now, then,
we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you
by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to
God." Ministers of the gospel are called ambassadors, with
allusion to the practice of princes, who sent their ambassadors
to foreign courts ; and the ambassador represents the person
of the king that sent him; and if any injury be done to the
ambassador, it is reckoned a dishonour done to his great mas-
ter. The ambassadors of kings, are sent to foreign courts,
to negotiate the affairs of peace, of trade, or of marriage;
and in all these respects ministers are ambassadors from the
high court of heaven. For,
1st, They are sent to negotiate a peace between God and
man. They preach the gospel of peace ; they hav^e the word
of reconciliation committed to them, " As though God did
beseech you by us, we pray you to be reconciled to him."
We come to cast out the white flag of peace from heaven, to
a company of rebels, and to assure you, upon the oath of God
that sent us, that he has no pleasure in your death, but lea-
ther that you turn to him and live ; and therefore we cry to
you, "Turn ye, turn ye, for why will ye die?' We come
with the olive branch in our mouths, to let you know that the
4eluge of God's wrath, which was breaking out against all
XLIX.] GOSPEL-TREASURE IN EARTHEN VESSELS. 541
mankind, has subsided, and that his anger is turned away,
through the death and satisfaction of his eternal Son ; and
therefore, he who hath created our lips, hath ordained us to
cry, " Peace, peace to them that are afar off" For this very
end, the ministry of reconciliation is committed to us, namely,
" That God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself,
not imputing their trespasses unto them ;" although, alas ! we
that are the ambassadors of peace, may apply that word
with repect to the generality of our hearers, Is. xxxiii. 7:
" The ambassadors of peace weep bitterly." And why do
they weep, but because their Master's offers of peace are re-
jected, and the ambassadors of peace are maltreated? On
this account we follow the example of Christ with respect to
Jerusalem ; when he beheld the city, he wept over it, saying,
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and
stonest them which are sent unto thee : O that thou, even
thou, in this thy day, hadst known the things which belong
unto thy peace !"
2f//?/, Ministers of the gospel are not only ambassadors of
peace, but the ambassadors for trade. In time of war between
nations, trade fails and ceases; but when peace is proclaimed,
trade comes to be open again. As we have a comniission to
proclaim peace, so likewise we are ordained to tell you, that
there is a free trade opened to Emmanuel's land; and to tell
you, that the commodities of that heavenly country arc infi-
nitely better than all the riches, commodities, or accommoda-
tions of this present world : and therefore we come to encou-
rage you to carry on a commerce, and to cry from the (ops of
the high places, that the market of heaven is opened, Is. Iv.
1 : " Ho, every one that thirst(>th, come ye to the waters, and
he that hath no money, let him come, buy wine and milk with-
out money, and without price." This is the same with Christ's
counsel to Laodicea, Rev. iii. 18: " 1 counsel thee to buy of
me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich ; and white
raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of
thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with
eye-salve, that thou mayest see." Sirs, we tell you that you
may carry on an advantageous trade with heaven, that its
commodities are cheap goods, and durable, and the King of
that heavenly country guaranties your trade against all en-
emies that may annoy you. You that are merchants, when
you trade with foreign countries in this world, your ships are
in danger of being seized by Turkish galleys, or Algerine
robbers and pirates, or the like : but you shall not be in any
such danger, if you carry on a trade with the heavenly coun-
try ; the King whose name is, " the Lord of hosts, and Lord
of glory," has given his parole of honour, that your trade shall
542 GOSPEL-TREASURE IN EARTHEiV VESSELS. [SERi
be protected by him, Is. xxxiii. 21 : " The glorious Lord shall
be unto us a place of broad rivers and streams ; wherein shall
go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ship pass there-
by." And therefore, dear sirs, we beseech you to engage in
this heavenly commerce.
2dlij, Ministers are ambassadors from heaven for carr.ying
on a marriage with the King's Son. He had a purpose of
marriage from eternity, between his own beloved Son, and a
bride that he had chosen for him in Adam's tribe and family ;
he was set up and fore-ordained as the Bridegroom of souls
" from everlasting ; from the beginning, ere ever the earth
was," the heart of the Bridegroom, and of his royal Father,
was so much set upon the match, that infinite power and wis-
dom, inspired with infinite love, are employed to remove all
impediments that obstructed the match. For,
(1.) Because there was an infinite natural distance between
the divine and human natures, therefore the Son of God came
into our tribe, and was made of a woman, his Father pre-
pared a body for him, which, accordingly, he did put on, in
the fulness of time ; and thus he comes, as it were upon a le-
vel with the bride, saying, " Thy Maker is thine Husband^
The Lord of hosts is his name. I will betroth thee unto me
for ever, yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness,
and in judgment, and in loving-kindness, and in mercies. I
will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness, and thou shalt
know the Lord," Hos. ii. 19, 20.
(2.) Because the bride was drowned in debt to law and jus-
tice, and under the curse and condemnation of the first cove-
nant, and so at an infinite moral, as well as natural distance;
therefore the Bridegroom, in order to accomplish the match,
becomes Surety for the payment of her debt; and, accordingly,
" the Lord laid on him the iniquities of us all :" and it was
exacted of him, and he answered for it, without opening his
mouth, until he could say, " It is finished." He, having paid
the debt, tears the bond and hand-writing that was against
us with the nails of his cross, and brings forth the discharge
of the debt in his resurrection from the dead ; for " he died
for our offences, and rose again for our justification."
(3.) Because the bride was a prisoner, by the order of jus-
tice, under the hand of the jailer and executioner, therefore
he comes and spoils principalities and powers, and triumphs
over them in his cross; upon the footing of his satisfactory
obedience to the death, he commands the prisoner to be dis-
missed, and the captive bride to be set at liberty : Zech. ix.
11 : "As for thee, also, by the blood of thy covenant, I have
sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit, wherein is no water."
Thus " the lawful captive is delivered, and the prey taken
from the terrible."
XLIX.] GOSPEL-TREASURE IN EARTHEN VESSELS. 143
(4.) Because the bride is in a distant country, afar oif, ig-
norant of the Bridegroom and his glory, therefore he sends
his ministers, as his ambassadors, to declare his glorious ful-
ness and sufficiency, and how willing he is to have the match
accomplished, and what he has done and suffered in order to
bring it about. Ministers are called " the friends of the Bride-
groom, who stand and hear him, and rejoice greatly because
of the Bridegroom's voice ;" and their joy is fulfilled when
the happy match takes place, John iii. 29.
(5.) Because such is the enmity and alienation of the heart
of the bride from the match, that all moral suasion proves
utterly inetiectual, therefore the Bridegroom comes in a day of
power, and by manifesting himself to her, in the glory of his
person and mediation, and by touching the iron sinew of her
obstinate will with the rod of his strength, makes her willing
in the day of his power, and thus gains the consent of the
bride ; upon which she cries out, 1 am the Lord's, an dwill be
called by his name: Hos. ii. 16: "Thou shalt call me Ishi,
and shait call me no more Baali."
Thus you see that faithful minister?, however they be clay
vessels, yet are ambassadors from heaven, to carry on a
peace, an advantageous trade, and an honourable match with
the King's Son. And does it not follow from ail this, that a
faithful minister of Christ is worthy of all reception and enter-
tainment?
Inf. 3. See from this doctrine, the folly and madness of a
great many professed Christians and gospel-hearers, who pre-
fer lumber and trash to the precious treasure of the gospel,
freely and fully offered to them.
Some prefer their worldly wealth, profits, pleasures, and ho-
nours of this life, to all the profits, pleasures, and honours of
reli^iion and true godliness. The cry of the generality is,
"Who will show us any of this world's goods? what shall
we eat? what shall we drink? wherewithal shall we be
clothed?" But as for the eternal treasures of the gospel, they
have no regard to them; they care for none of these things.
I have known some in this place, who some years ago had
a promising appearance of religion, and seemed to run well,
but plunging themselves in the mire of worldly affairs, and
grasping after the riches of this world, have ever since run
backward in religion, instead of going forward ; so that we
may say of them as Paul did of Demas, " He hath forsaken
me, having loved this present world;" and in such is fulfilled
that word of the apostle, 1 Tim. vi. 9, 10: "But they that
will be rich fall into temptation, and a snare, and into many
foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction
and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all
544 GOSPEL-TREASURE IN EARTHE^ VESSELS. [sER.
evil ; which, while some coveted after, they have erred from
the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sor-
rows."
Some again (and very commonly it is so with those of
whom I spoke last,) prefer a jingle of words, a flourish of
heathen morality, to the gospel of Christ; they choose rather
to have their ears tickled with the words of men's wisdom,
than to have their hearts touched, and their souls fed and
nourished, with the plain and simple truths of the everlasting
gospel. They that are of this spirit, plainly declare that their
palate is vitiated with some dreadful spiritual distemper or
other, their understandings are darkened, and their atieclions
taken up with some other thing than precious Christ, and his
unsearchable riches. And I may say of such ministers as
entertain their hearers with tlie flourishes of rhetoric and
moral harangues, instead of preaching Christ, and the super-
natural mysteries of Christianity, whatever be their charac-
ter among their votaries, they are ministers of Satan, trans-
forming themselves into ministers of Christ, and that awful
word is but too applicable to them and their abettors, Matth.
XV. 14 : " They are blind guides ; and if the blind lead the
blind, both shall fall into the ditch."
Much of a-Uin with these, are they who set a great value
upon their own righteousness by the law, preferring the
same to the imputed righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ,
and all the riches and treasures of the gospel. Many gospel
hearers, are married to the law as a husband, and, wi-th the
Jews, go about to establish their own righteousness, and will
not submit to the righteousness of God. Some, perhaps, may
have very orthodox heads, while yet they have legal hearts;
and thus they seek righteousness, not directly, " but as it were
by the works of the law," Horn. ix. o2. They were never
really "dead to the law by the body of Christ, that they
might be married to a better Husband, even to him who is
raised from the dead :" and therefore can never bring forth
fruit acceptable to (iod : but Ephraim's character is applica-
hle to them, " Th(!y are empty vines, bringing forth fruit unto
themselves."
Now, of all such 1 may say, as Christ says of self-conceited
Laodicea, w ho imagined herself to be rich and increased with
goods, and that she stood in ne(>d of nothing, that, in reality,
thev are but " wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind,
and naked:" you are feeding upon ashes; a deceived heart
hath turned you as-ide, that you cannot deliver your soul, nor
say, Ts there not a lie in my right hand ? But to what a n)e-
lancholy pass will you be reduced, when you shall be laid and
weighed in God's balances, and that awful hand-writing come
XLIX.] GOSPEL-TREASURE IiV EARTHEN VESSELS. 545
forth against you, " Mene, Tekel, Thou art weighed in the
balances, and art found wanting !" And therefore observe
how God expostulates with you, because of your folly in pre-
ferring your own counters to the gospel gold and treasure. Is.
Iv. 2: " Wherefore do ye spend your money for that which
is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not!"
And see how he appeals to the very heavens, to bear testimo-
ny for him against your madness, Jer. ii. 12, 13: "Be asto-
nished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid; be ye
very desolate, saith the Lord. For my people have commit-
ted two evils : they have forsaken me, the fountain of living
waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that
can hold no water."
Inf. 4. Are ministers of the gospel earthen vessels, by
whom the gospel-treasure is conveyed to God's family ? This
serves to inform us,
\st, Of the wonderful and ama-zing condescension of God
towards poor sinners of Adam's family. It is out of pity to
us, that he conveys the treasure in earthen vessels of the like
mould with yourselves. When God spake immediately, or by
the ministry of angels, at Mount Sinai, to Israel, the whole
camp fell to trembling, "and so terrible was the sight, that
Moses " himself " said, I exceedingly fear and quake," Heb.
xii. 19 — 21. The apo tie John, Rev. xxii. 8, 9, when he had
a message delivered to him by an angel of heaven, was ready
to fall into idolatry, or angel-Worship, until the angel said to
him, " See thou do it not ; for I am thy fellow-servant, and
of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the
sayings of this book : worship God." Thus you see, that
when God conveys the gospel of his grace to you by earthen
vessels, he thus suits himself to the weakness and imbecility
of man in his fallen state.
2dly, See hence that death is in the marriage knot be-
tween ministers and their people, as well as between hus-
band and wife. When a people get a minister from the Lord,
they are to lay their account with the want of him in God's
appointed time, the earthen vessel must return again to the
earth : "Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do
they live for ever ?" But though your faithful ministers die, yet
their words do not die with them; no, "the word of the Lord
endureth for ever ;" it takes fast hold of you, as it did of your
fathers, and will go either to heaven or hell with you ; it will
either be " the savour of life unto life, or the savour of death
unto death."
3f//y, See, also, that the ministers of Christ are but tender
ware, and had need to be tenderly handled; for an earthen
vessel is soon staved, and broken into pieces, and then it is of
VOL. III. 47 t
546 GOSPEL-TREASURE IN EARTHEN VESSELS. [SER.
no more use. Your ministers are men of like passions and
infirmities of body and mind like yourselves, and stand much
in need of your sympathy, especially considering that the
strength of battle from hell and earth is against them. What
dashing and harsh treatment some of these earthen vessels
have met with in Stirling, is pretty well known: some of them
have been stoned; some have had their lioary haiis brought
to the grave with sorrow ; and another has been cast out of
the legal synagogue and maintenance, for bearing testimony
against the sins of the place, and the tyranny and defection
of the judicatories of the church of Scotland. These things
I mention not out of resentment, but that I may be found a
faithful witness for the Lord against the sins of the place ; the
magistrates and town-council of Stirling must answer to God
for what they have done in this matter. All that I shall say
upon the head, is, with my royal Master, when they were
taking away his life, ''Father, forgive them, for they know
not what they do;" and with the proto-martyr Stephen,
when they were stoning him to death, and when he was
going out of time into eternity, " Lord, lay not this sin unto
their charge."
//j/". 5. See from this text and doctrine, what it is makes,
(L) an able, and, (2.) a successful minister of the gospel.
As to the first, the apostle says of himself, and his brethren
in the same office, that " God had made them able ministers
of the New Testament," 2 Cor. iii. G. Now, if it be asked,
What it is that makes a man an able minister of the New
Testament? The answer is. When he has his earthen vessel
well stored and replenih^hed with the treasure of that gospel
grace and truth that comes by Christ Jesus, such a one is
called, by Christ himself, "a scribe well instructed in the
kingdom of God ; he is like a householder, who brings forth
out of his treasure things new and old," for the edification
of the church of God, Matth. xiii. 52. He has " milk for
babes, and strong meat for them that are of riper age." But,
2dly, This text also lets us see vi'hat it is that makes a man
a successful minister of the New Testament. Many able mi-
nisters have had but very little success, as we see in the case
of Isaiah, chap. liii. 1: "Who hath believed our report?"
and chap. xlix. 4 : " I have laboured in vain, I have spent my
strength for naught, and in vain; for Israel is not gathered:"
and Christ himself, in the days of his humiliation, says, with
eierence to the Jews to whom he preached, " We have piped
i!:ito you, but ye have not danced ; we have mourned unto
sf u, but ye have not lamented." What then, say you, makes
laninister successful 1 You have the answer in the words of
weiglYii. it is the excellent power of God going along with
XLIX.] GOSPEL-TREASURE IN EARTHEN VESSELS. 547
the dispensation of the gospel-treasure, and the " excellency
of the power is of God, and not of us," 1 Cor. iii. 6 : " I
have planted, Apollos watered ; but God gave the increase.'*
Some people are ready to think all is well enough if they get
ministers endowed with jflourishing gifts ; but people had lit-
tle need to rest there ; for although you had Paul, or Apollos,
yea Christ himself in the flesh, to preach to you, all would
not do without " the power of God" coming along; and there-
fore, it highly concerns such, who regard the edification and
salvation of their own souls, to be much at a throne of grace,
pleading earnestly with the Lord, that he " in whom are
hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge," may not
only fill the earthen vessel with the treasure of the gospel,
but that the gospel may " come to them, not in word only, but
also in power, and in the Holy Ghost ; for the weapons of our
warfare are mighty "only "through God to the pulling down
of strong-holds," 2 Cor. x. 4, 5.
The last inference I draw from this text and doctrine, is
this : Hence we may see the nature of that work we are just
now to go about. What is the ordination of a minister, but
just the consecration or dedication of an earthen vessel, to the
service of the church of Christ, which is the house of the
living God, that in it, or by it, the treasure of the gospel may
be conveyed to the whole family? which dedication, accord-
ing to scripture warrant, is to be done by " fasting and pray-
er, and the laying on of the hands of the presbytery," Acts
xiv. 23, compared with 1 Tim. iv. 14 ; which work we shall
now proceed to, referring the farther application of this doc«
trine to some other occasion.
[The preceding Semjon was preached at the Ordination of Mr. Jajtes.
Erskixe as one of the Associate Ministers of the Gospel at Stirling, 22ndi
January^ 1752.]
548 THE CHARACTER OF A [SER.
SER]!IO]V Ij,
THE CHARACTER OF A FAITHFUL MINISTER OF CHRIST.*
Epaphras — who is for you a faithful minister of Christ. — Col. i. 7.
It tends much to the interest of rehgion, that people love
and esteem their pastors, and entertain honourable sentiments
of them ; for, if once a minister comes to be despised by his
ilock, his usefulness among them is over, and his doctrine,
however agreeable to the form of sound words, will not be
edifying to them : it is therefore the apostle's design, in the
words of our reading, to cultivate the regard of the Colossians
to Epaphras, their ordinary pastor, by giving him the just
commendation and favourable character which he deserved,
As ye have learned of Epaphras, our dear fellow-servant, uho is
for you a faithful minister of Christ.
Passing that part of the character of Epaphras, which re-
spects his relation to the apostle, as a dear fellow-servant ; in
the branch of the verse which we have read, as the subject
of discourse, namely. Who is for you a faithful minister of
Christ, you have a threefold commendation of him. 1. From
his office or calling, a minister of Christ. 2. From his fidelity
in the discharge of that office, a faithful minister of Christ.
3. From the scope and end of his ministry among the Cdos-
sians, it is for you ; that is, for your good, for your salvation.
The design of the whole of this commendation is, that the
Colossians might honour and esteem Epaphras for his work's
sake ; so that we take up the scope of the words in the fol-
lowing
DocT. That faithful ministers of Christ, wjio aim at the
edification and salvation of the people among whom they la-
bour in the work of the ministry, ought to be honoured and
esteemed by them. 1 Thess. v. 12, 13: "We beseech you,
brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are
over you in the Lord, and admonish you ; and to esteem them
very highly in love for their work's sake."
* A Sermon preached immeiliatcly after tlie foresaid Ordin.ation, by James
FisHEn, Minister of the Gospel in the Associate Congregation at Glasgow,
L.J FAITHFUL MTJflSTER OF CHRIST. 54?^
In discoursing on this subject, we shall essay,
I. To inquire into the scripture-account of the character
and duty of a faithful minister of Christ.
II. Give the reasons why such ministers ought to be ho-
noured and esteemed by the people among whom they la-
bour.
III. Deduce a few inferences for application.
I. Thejirst thing is, to inquire into the scripture-account of
the character and duty of a faithful minister of Christ.
1. He is one who speaks the things which become sound
doctrine, as the apostle exhorts Titus, chap. ii. 1 : " But speak
thou the things which become sound doctrine." That doc-
trine is sound, which is a link of that chain of truth, revealed
in the holy scriptures; for there is such a close concatenation
or linking together of the truths of God, and such a beautiful
harmony among them all, that no error whatever can possi-
bly be soldered with tliem, any more than clay can be incor-
porated with gold. We speak then the words which become
sound doctrine, vv^hen we make all the divine perfections to
harmonize in the contrivance of our redemption, when we
give to Christ in all things the pre-eminence, and when we
lay the pride of sinful men in the dust. And, in order to our
thus speaking the things which become sound doctrine, it is
necessary that we be well acquainted with the holy scrip-
tures, with approved systems of divinity, and particularly
with our own standards, our excellent Confession of Faith,
and catechisms,, which may well be called "forms of sound,
words.'-
2. A faithful minister of Christ is one, who is set for the-
defence of the gospel, as Paul was, Phil. i. 17: "I am set,"
says he, " for the defence of the gospel." Nothing is more
warmly inculcated in scripture, than the defence of gospel-
truths, Prov. xxiii. 23 : "Buy the truth, and sell it not.'"
Phil. i. 27: "Stand fast in one spirit, with one mind, striving
together for the faith of the gospel." Heb. x. 23: " Let us
hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering." Jude,
ver. 3: "It was needful for me to exhort you," says that
apostle, " that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which
was once delivered unto the saints." And, in order to the
defence of the gospel, it is necessary that wc be "established
in the present truth," as the expression is, 2 Pet. i. 12 ; that
is, in the truths presently controverted, or which are the pre-
sent subject of debate. And, indeed, it is most lamentable,
that in our day there are scarcely any of the peculiar doc-
trines of Christianity, which are not impugned and called in
question by men of corrupt minds, and destitute of tlie truth :
47*
550 THE CHARACTER OF A [SER,
such as, the divine authority of the scriptures; the imputa-
tion of Adam's first sin to his posterity ; the universal corrup-
tion and depravation of our nature; the irresistible power
and eflScacy of the grace of God ; the distinct personahty and
supreme deity of the Son and Holy Ghost ; the reality of the
incarnation of Christ, or his assuming a holy human nature
to his divine person ; the absolute perfection and infinite
worth of his satisfaction in our room ; the necessity of the
imputation of his surety-righteousness for our justification;
the free election of some to eternal life; the perseverance of
the saints; and the eternity of hell torments; with many
other important points which might be mentioned. There
are others, again, who profess to own all the above truths,
who yet so blend the law and the gospel, that they make the
covenant of grace little better than another edition [or re-
exhibition] of the covenant of works; confound the sinner's
sanctification with his justification; cry up the necessity of
previous good qualifications in order to coming to Christ;
and are for leaning on something wrought in them, or done
by them, as the ground in less or more of their acceptance
before God. And, with respect to the government of Christ's
house, alas ! the generality of the present age seem to be
agreed, that it is a matter of the merest indifference, whether
a person be of the Episcopalian, Independent, or Presbyte-
rial way of thinking about it ; although it is the declared
principle of this church, founded on the word of God, solemn-
ly sworn to and sealed by the blood of many of the Lord's
witnesses, That the spiritual power and authority, derived
from Christ the alone Head, for the edification of his church,
is lodged, neither in the hand of the civil magistrate, nor in
the community of the faithful, as they call tiiem, but in church-
oflScers, ministers and elders acting in parity, and judicato-
ries subordinate to one another. Now, we say, that a faith-
ful minister of Christ is set for the defence of the gospel,
namely, both for the defence of gospel-truth, and likewise of
the hedge of government, which the glorious Head has set
about it.
3. A faithful minister of Christ is one who does not shun to
declare to his hearers all the counsel of God, as Paul testifies
of himself to the elders of Ephesus, Acts xx. 27 : "I have
not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God." He
does not say that he actually declared to them all the coun-
sel of God, but only that he did not shun to declare it all.
For as we know only in part, and prophesy but in part, it is
not to be supposed, that all the truthsof God, which are com-
prehended in the unfathomable depth of divine revelation,
could be brought forth by any, or even by all that ever
L.] FAITHFUL MINISTER OF CHRIST. 551
preached the gospel; for if " the world itself could not con-
tain the books that might be written of Christ," as the apos-
tle John asserts, then all that ever were in the world (the
Son of God only excepted) could never exhaust all that
might be said, upon what is contained within the volume of
God's book; as may appear in some measure, from the vast
number of commentaries, treatises, and sermons, published,
and unpublished, these seventeen hundred and fifty years
past, besides all the lectures of the Old Testament prophets ;
and yet the half of what might have been said has not been
told. Well, then, not to shun to declare all the counsel of God,
is to keep back no truth which we know from our hearers ; it
is, to the utmost of our capacity and knowledge, to bring
forth, what, we think, as before God, will be most for their
spiritual profiting, in the proper season of it, either for in-
structing the ignorant, awakening the secure, strengthening
the weak, recovering those that are gone astray ; or for com-
forting the mourners in Zion, and raising up those that are
bowed under spiritual distress of any kind ; and thus study-
ing " rightly to divide the word of truth, and give every one
their portion of meat in due season," so as that none may be
soothed or flattered in their sin upon the one hand, nor that
any get occasion for desponding fears on the other.
4. A faithful minister of Christ is one that gives attendance
to reading and meditation on what he delivers, according to
the apostle's advice to Timothy, 1 Tim. iv. 13, 15: "Give
attendance to reading ; meditate upon these things ;" that is,
study them beforehand. The apostle had advised him, in an-
other place, to " stir up the gift that was in him," which
could not be done without reading and meditation ; and if
close application to study was enjoined to an evangelist of
uncommon endowments, it must be much more our dutv,
now, when the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit are ceased, "to
digest ii\to order and method what we are to deliver in pub-
lic, and not to entertain our people with that which costs us
nothing.
5. A faithful minister of Christ is one who seeks to " find
out acceptable words." This was Solomon's study, Eccl. xii.
10: " The preacher sought to find out acceptable words;"
on the margin, words of delight. We should endeavour to
deliver the truths of God in such a plain and easy manner, as
that the weak and ignorant may understand them, shunning
all [obscure] and bombastic expressions on the one hand, and
coarse and [vulgar] ones on the other. The scripture style
is by far the smoothest, and at the same time the most ele-
gant for the pulpit ; and the more fully we understand anv
doctrine, the more able will we be to"^ deliver it plainly to
others.
552 THE CHARACTER OF A [3ER..
6. A faithful minister of Christ is one who takes heed to
himself, as well as to his doctrine, lest, when he preach Christ
to others, he himself be a cast away. It is given as one of
the characters and qualifications of a minister, that he he holy,
Tit. i. 8. For a minister may have both gifts and learning,
and likewise some measure of success, and yet want grace,
as is plain enough in those who preached Christ out of envy
and strife, Phil. i. 15. And yet grace is a very material
branch of the ministerial character; for without this we can
have no experience on our own souls of the truths we preach
to others, nor can we have true sympathy with those who
are in any spiritual distress : without grace we can never
be in [a condition] to say with the apostle, 2 Cor. i. 3, 4:
" Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who comforteth us in all our tribulations, that we may be able
to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort
wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God." Again, as
a minister is to take heed to himself by inquiring into the
state of his own soul; so likewise he is to take heed to his
outward walk, to be " an example to believers, in word, in
conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity ;" as the
apostle exhorts Timothy, 1 Tim. iv. 12. Examples some-
times do good, where precepts are of little force. It were
good for us Vi'ho are ministers, if we could say in some mea-
sure with the apostle, Phil. iv. 9 : " Those things which ye
have both learned,.and received, and heard, and seen in me.
do." As we are to beseech others, that they receive not the
prace of God in vain, so we should take special care to
" give no ofTence in any thing, that the ministry be not
blamed," but essay to practice ourselves what we preach to>
others, and thus, in some degree, make proof of our ministry,
7. As a faithful minister of Christ will take heed to him-
self, so likewise to the particular flock over which the Ho!}
Ghost hath made him an overseer. For, although everv
minister has a relation to the church universal, yet he has a
more special concern in that particular flock among whom
he is called to labour in the work of the ministry. . He is to
be instant among them, in season, and out of season, spai-ing
no pains nor labour in the discharge of his ministerial duty,
being glad " to spend and be spent," " watching for their
souls, as one that must give an account;" for a faithful mi-
nister studies to give a daily account of the state of his flock
to the Lord Jesus: if they are flourishing and thriving, he
gives an account of them in a way of rejoicing, and blessing
him for the outpourings of his grace to them : if they are lan-
guishing or decaying, or guilty of any miscarriages, he gives
an account of it in a way of mourning and sorrowing before-
L.] FAITHFUL MINISTER OF CHRIST. 553
the Lord. In a word, a faithful minister of Christ is one who
endeavours singly to view the glory of his Lord and Master in
all his ministrations, to be wholly devoted to his service, and
the good of the souls committed to his trust; he carries his
people upon his breast before the Lord, and has an inw%ard
heart concern for their spiritual and eternal welfare. He is
one who " preaches not himself, but Christ Jesus the Lord,"
and who "determines to know nothing" among his people,
" save Christ, and him crucified." He is one who sees him-
self to be an unprofitable servant, and that his sufliciency
stands only in the Lord ; for, indeed, " who is sufficient for
these things ?"
n. The second thing proposed was, to give the reasons
why faithful ministers of Christ ought to be honoured and
esteemed by the people among whom they labour.
L They ought to be esteemed for the sake of him whose
message they bear. They are ambassadors for Christ, 2 Cor.
V. 20. They receive their commission and authority from him :'
John XX. 21 : "As my father hath sent me, even so send I
you." Matth. xxviii. 18, 19: "All power is given to me in
heaven and in earth. Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations :
— and lo, I am with you always." Ambassadors have their
honour and respect according to the rank of their masters who
send them ; the greater the prince be, the more honourable is
his messenger. Ministers of the gospel are the ambassadors
of the King of kings, and Lord of lords, who has a name given
him above every name ; and you cannot despise the messen-
ger, if you honour the Master that sends him : Matth. x. 40,
says Christ, " He that receiveth you receiveth me."
2. Faithful ministers of Christ ought to be esteemed for
their work's sake, or for the sake of the message itself which
they bear. It is a message of peace, Rom. x. 15 : "How beau-
tiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and
bring glad tidings of good things !" And how wonderful is it,
that the God against whom we have sinned should proclaim
peace on earth, and good will towards men! A minister's
message is a treaty of marriage with the King's Son ; and how
amazing is it, that our Maker should be our Husband, that
he should say to such guilty rebels as we are, " I will betroth
thee unto me for ever !" It is a message for a free commerce
and trade with heaven; and surely that must be a gainful
trade, which brings in the richest treasure at no expense; for
here all the riches of heaven are to be had, and yet no mo-
ney required for the purchase. Is. Iv. 1 : " Ho, every one that
thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no mo-
ney ; come ye, buy and eat ; yea, come buy wine and milk
554 THE CHARACTER OF A [SER..
without money and without price." So that faithful minis-
ters are to be honoured, both on Christ's account, who sends
them, and on account of the message which they bring from
him ; which, as it is a treaty of peace, marriage, and traffic,
you heard at large explained in the preceding discourse; and
therefore I insist not farther upon it, but proceed to deduce
a few inferences from what has been said.
1. Then, Hence see that a gospel ministry is of divine in-
stitution ; Epaphras is here called a minister of Christ, which
plainly says, that he had his 'commission from him. That a
gospel ministry is of divine institution, is plain from the ex-
press designation of some to that office by our Lord Jesus ;
he ordai?7ed tzcelve, and afterwards appointed other seve?ity also,
to labour in his harvest : and though it should be said, that
these were extraordinary officers, yet the same glorious Lord,
who gave some to be apostles, prophets, and evangelists, gave
some also to be pastors and teachers, with an express order
to " commit the word to faithful men, who shall be able to
teach others also.''
2. Hence see, that the office of the ministry is perpetually
useful and necessary. What Epaphras was to the Colossians,
other ministers will, through grace, be to other churches, till
the end of time ; he was a faithful minister for them, that is,
for their profit, for their good. Ordinances are perpetually
necessary in the church, and therefore there must be a mi-
nistry to dispense them, as is evident from the promise of
Christ's presence with his ministers, in teaching and baptizing,
to the end of the world. The ends for which a gospel mi-
nistry is appointed are perpetually necessary ; the elect are
to be gathered, the mouths of gainsayers are to be stopped,
the saints are to be edified and established, till they all come
in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of
God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the
fulness of Christ.
3. Hence see that a corrupt erroneous ministry is one of
the worst of plagues; for in this case people are destroyed
for lack of knowledge. The apostle Peter tells us, 2 Pet. ii.
1, that " there were fixlse prophets among the people, even as
there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall
bring in damnable heresies, and many shall follow their per-
nicious ways." This is sadly verified at this day, in this poor
church and land, which is now crammed with a lax and cor-
rupt ministry, intruded upon the heritage of God; and, alas!
the generality of the people are, like Issachar, "couching un-
der the burden."
4. Hence see that the removal of the gospel is a sore judg-
ment ; " Wo unto you," says God, " if I depart from you."
!L,j FAITHFUL MINISTER OF CHRISt. 555
" Where there is no vision, the people perish." " A famine
of hearing the word of the Lord " is unspeakably worse than
a famine of natural bread, Amos viii. 11.
5. If ministers are faithful in the discharge of their office,
people will have much to account for who despise their mes-
sage ; for they who despise them despise Him that sent them ;
and " how shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation ?"
Any farther application of this subject shall be in a word
of Exhortation, first, to the minister presently ordained, and
then to the people over whom he has the charge. This task
having been laid on me by your aged pastor, who, if his
strength had permitted him, should have done it, it being a
usual branch of an ordination sermon.
1st, Then, I shall essay to speak a word to the brother pre-
sently ordained.
Rev. and dear Brother,—
You are now ordained a minister of Christ, and it is your
duty and mine to study that we be faithful.
1. Be faithful, in the first place, to your Lord and Master,
whose message you bear ; see that you keep close to the in-
structions which he has given you in his word, that you may
be in condition to say to your people, what Paul did to the Co-
rinthians, " I have received of the Lord that which also I
delivered unto you." For you are to hear the word at his
mouth, and to give warning from him.
2. Let those you labour among see that you are in earnest
about your Master's business, that your heart is so intent upon
it, that nothing will give you satisfaction, unless they deal
kindly with your Master, by believing the gospel report con-
cerning him, as the gift of God for salvation to all the ends of
the earth.
3. Let nothing bribe or scare you from the faithful discharge
of your trust; let neither the fear nor favour, frow'ns or flat-
teries of people hinder you from declaring the counsel of God
unto them. See if you can attain to say, in some measure, as
it is, 1 Thess. ii. 4, 5 : " As we were allowed of God to be
put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing
men, but God, who trieth our hearts. For neither at any
time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloak of co-
vetousness, God is witness, nor of men sought we glory."
4. If you be a faithful minister of Christ, you must lay
your account with much opposition in your work; you must
not imagine that you will always sail before the wind; you
will meet v\'ith storms from Satan, from wicked men, and
even perhaps from good men themselves. Satan will be at
your right hand to disturb you, both in your closet, and in
the pulpit; at one time striving to inflate you with self-es^
556 THE CHARACTER OF A [SER.
timation, and at another, to sink you in the depth of dis-
couragement. As for wicked men, the more faithful you are,
the more of their wrath and fury will you draw upon your-
self. And even good men may have sometimes unreasonable
schemes, which they want to pursue to unwarrantable heights,
and which if you oppose, as you are bound in faithfulness to
do, you may meet with abundance of resentment from them
likewise. So that, if you are a faithful minister, you must
lay your account with opposition on all hands. " Behold," says
Christ, " I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves,"
Matth. X. 16.
5. Remember that the faithful discharge of your ministry
is a most laborious work, such labour as frequently makes old
age and youth to meet together. The Jews took Christ to
be fifty years old, (John viii. 57,) when he was little above
thirty. The most other callings are only an exercise to na-
ture, but a minister's work spends his vital spirits, and makes
him like the candle, to waste, while he is shining ; hence are
ministers compared to soldiers, and watchmen, who are ex-
posed both to hard labour and great danger.
6. As you would desire to be a faithful minister of Christ,
be sure to look for furniture, for the whole of your work,
from the hands of the glorious Head, who has " received gifts
for men." As the apostle says to Timothy, 2 Tim. ii. 1, so
say I to you, " Thou, therefore, my son, be strong in the grace
that is in Christ Jesus." Though your work be laborious and
difficult, yet he sends none a warfare upon their own charges.
In the use of appointed means, trust that his grace shall be
sufficient for you, and that his strength shall be made perfect
in weakness. Fasten, therefore, upon the promises of his pre-
sence, for your support and through-bearing, under all diffi-
culties, " Lo I am with you always. Fear not to go down to
Egypt, for I will go down with thee, and I will also surely
bring thee up again." Gen. xlvi. 4.
7. Lastly, Next to the promised presence and aid of the
glorious Head, it may be a considerable encouragement to
you, that you are called to take part of this ministry, with an
aged and experienced servant of Jesus Christ, who will al-
ways be ready to give you his best advice: and, to be sure,
your entire harmony, mutual love, and joint counsels, will
contribute much to strengthen your hands, as colleagues in
this part of the Lord's vineyard.
Dear Brother — I conclude what I have to say to you,
with repeating a few of the advices the apostle gives to Ti-
mothy- Well then, " Refuse profane and old wives' fables,
and exercise thyself to godliness. — I charge thee," says the
apostle, " before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect
L.] FAITHFUL MINISTER OF CHRIST. 557
angels, that thou observe these things, without preferring one
before another, doing nothing by partiality. — Follow after
righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight
the good tiglit of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto
thou art also called. — Be not ashamed of the testimony of our
Lord.^Hold fast the form of sound words. — Endure hard-
ness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. — Study to show thyselt
approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be
ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. — Flee also youth-
ful lusts: but follow after righteousness, faith, charity, peace,
with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. — Be
gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness in-
structing those that oppose themselves. — Preach the word,
be instant in season, out of season ; reprove, rebuke, exhort
with all long-suifering and doctrine. — Watch thou in all things,
endure afflictions, make full proof of thy ministry." And,
finally, — "Give thyself wholly to these things, that thy pro-
fiting may appear unto all. — Continue in them, for, in doing
this, thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear thee."
These and several other instructions, necessary to ministers,
both for teaching and ruling their flocks, are to be found in
the epistles to Timothy and Titus, which you and I, and every
other minister, ought to be frequently perusing, as we would
be found faithful ministers of Christ. I come now, in the
Second place. To speak a word to you of this congregation.
My dear friends. Your eyes this day see your teachers, and
I trust, that God has, according to his promise, given you
" pastors according to his heart, who shall feed you with know-
ledge and understanding." You are at present privileged with
two of them, when some corners have not so much as one ;
and, to be sure, of them to whom much is given much will
be required.
One of your pastors is stooping under the infirmities of old
age, having laboured about fifty vears in the Lord's vineyard,
and about twenty years of that time among you ; O beware
of bringing his gray hairs with sorrow to the grave, by " re-
jecting the counsel of God against yourselves," and refusing
to receive the message which he brings you from the mouth
of God. If in Christ Jesus he has begotten any of you, through
the gospel, (as I hope has been the case with not a few,) then
he will have " no greater joy than to hear that his children
walk in truth," as the expression is, 3 John 4; and if he can
say with Paul, 1 Thess. ii. 19, 20, " What is our hope, or joy,
or crowm of rejoicing ? Are not even ye in the presence of
our Lord Jesus Christ, at his coming? for ye are our glory
and joy."
Your other pastor as to years is but a youth ; and with re-
voL. III. 48 t
658 THE CHARACTER OF A [sER»
ference to him, 1 would say to you, as Paul said with refer-
ence to Timothy, " Let no man despise his youth." Remem-
ber that David was but a "youth or stripHng," (as Saul calls
him) when he encountered Goliah the Phihstine; yet because
he went out against him in the name of the Lord of liosts,
" the God of the armies of Israel," he came ofT the tield a
conqueror. Jeremiah was called to be a prophet or teacher
in his youth, as appears from the first chapter of his prophecy,
and yet the Lord fitted that young prophet for the difiicult
task that was put into his hand.
There are only a few things I would say to you with re-
spect to your duty towards both your ministers.
1. If your ministers should be faithful in declaring the Lord's
mind, then you ought to be ready and willing to believe and
practise it. It is a sad charge which the Lord lays against
Ezekiel's hearers, chap, xxxiii. 31 : "They sit before thee as
my people, and they hear thy words, but they do them not:
for with their mouth they show much love, but their heart
goeth after their coveteousness." If you remain barren and
unfruitful under such means of grace as you enjoy, it will be
more tolerable for hundreds of congregations than for you,
since they are not so highly privileged.
2. The more faithful your ministers are in point of sin and
duty, the more welcome ought their message to be to you.
Some cannot endure to be touched upon the sore heel, or to
have the sinfulness of their practices set forth plainly before
them ; but if matters be right with you, the closer your minis-
ters come to your consciences by the word, the more search-
ing and trying their sermons are, the more will you love both
their persons and doctrine: "Search me, O God," says the
Psalmist, "and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts;
and see if there be any wicked way in me," P^al. cxxxix.
23, 24.
3. Pray much for your ministers, "that utterance may be
given them, that iUey may open their mouth boldly, and make
known the mystery of the gospel." The more you pray for
them, the more profit you may expect under their ministry.
If you have any spiritual wants to supply, or soul-perplexing
doubts to solve; if irndcr the prevalcncy of any temptation,
from which you want to be delivered; in a word, if desiring
"the sincere milk of the word, that you may grow thereby;"
then you will certainly be employed in prayer, that your mi-
nisters may be directed to speak a word in season to you,
and that the power of the Lord may come along with it, for
conviction or consolation, as your need requires.
4. If you would desire the faithfulness of your ministers to
qe useful to you, be sure to keep them in their own room ;
J,,] FAITHFUL MINISTER OF CHRIST. 559
do not expect from them what you are to receive only from
the Lord himself. Remember" that the " treasure is in ear-
then vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God,
and not of us," as you were heaving by the former speaker.
But, at the same time, though you are not to idolize your mi-
nisters, yet a more peculiar love is due from you to them than
to any else. Though you ought to love all the faithful minis-
ters of Christ, yet a more special love is due to your own
pastors, who labour in word and doctrine among you, as is
clear from the forecited 1 Thess. v. 12 : " Know them that
labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and ad-
monish you ; and esteem them very highly in love for their
work's sake." And Heb. xiii. 17: "Obey them that have
the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for
your souls, as they that must give an account: that they may
do it with joy, and not with grief."
I conclude"^ with that prayer of the apostle, 2 Cor. ix. 10:
"Now he that ministereth seed to the sower, both minister
bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase
the fruits of your righteousness." Which is founded upon
that promise," Is. I v. 10, 11 : " For as the rain cometh down,
and the snow from heaven, and rcturneth not thither, but wa-
tereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it
may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: so shall
my word be that gocth forth out of my mouth : it shall not
return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I
please" or which is well pleasing to me, "and it shall pros-
per in the thing whereto I sent it."
CHRIST IN THE CLOUDS COMING TO JUDGMENT.
Then shall he reward every man according to his works. — Matth. xvr. 37.
The text gives us an account of the day of doom, which
is the last day of assize, in which every man shall be tried at
the bar of God's justice, and every man shall then and there
receive according to his works, whether they be good, or
whether they be evil.
560 CHRIST IN THE CLOUDS [SER.
I shall not trouble myself or you with the terrors of this
day, because I have not time, but will proceed —
It is most certain the day of judgment will come, and that
it will be dreadful to all the wicked. But " seeing these things
must be, what sort of persons ought we to be in all manner
of conversation? always looking for the coming of Christ," at
whose coming " the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall
not give her light, the stars shall fall from heaven, the powers
of heaven shall be shaken," " the elements shall melt with
fervent heat." Who can hear all this, and not be wonderfully
dismayed? O who dares eat, drink, or sleep, or take a mi-
nute's rest ? Be sure, that day shall come. O " awake, ye
drunkards! and weep, all ye drinkers of wine! because of
the new wine; for it shall be pulled from your mouth. Gird
yourselves and lament, ye priests ! howl, ye ministers of the
altar! Alas ! the sore terrible day of the Lord is at hand."
DocT. This is a gospel truth, that Christ, who came into
the world in the form of a servant, will one day come as a
'judge, attended wnth his holy angels.
And if this be so, then, first, for a use of exhortation.
\st, Let us all be warned, and while we have time, pro-
vide for that day; yet, the weather is fair, we may frame an
ark to save us from the flood ; yet arc the angels at the gate
of Sodom, and yet is Jonah in the streets of Nineveh; yet
the prophet laments, crying, "O Judah! how shall I entreat
thee?" Yea, the apostle prays, nay, we pray you in Christ's
stead, that ye be reconciled unto God. But here a question
will arise. How will Christ appear?
I answer, He who, as man, once appeared to be judged,
will then appear to judge ail mankind. Consider this, yc that
are going to the bar; what a dreadful sight will this be to
the faithless Jews, stubborn Gentiles, and wicked Christians,
when every eye shall see him, and they also that pierced him?
This is the man, shall they say, that was crucified for us, and
again crucified by us. AVhy, alas! every sin is a cross, and
every oath is a spear; and when that day is come, you must
behold the Man, whom you thus crucify by your daily sin;
sure this will be a fearful sight. Where is the bloody swear-
er, that can tear his wounds, heart, and blood? At that day,
all these words will appear, the heart l)e visible, and the body
and the blood be sensible of good and evil: then shall the
fearful voice proceed from his throne. Where is the blood
thou spilled? Hei'e is the woful and terrible judgment, when
thou that art the murderer, shall see the slain Man as thy
Judge. What favours canst thou think to expect at his hand,
whom thou hast so vilely and treacherously used by thy daily
LI.] 'COMING TO JUDGMEPTT. 561
sins? Be sure, the Son of man will come, as it is written, "but
wo unto that man by whom the Son of man is betravecl ; it
had been better for that man he had never been born,"
Matth. xxvi. 24.
As Christ shall appear in the form of a man, so this Man
shall appear in a glorious form. O sinner, look about you,
the Jud^iie is coming: a tire devours before him, and behind
him aflame burns: on every side the people tremble, and
"all faces shall gather blackness." Here is a change indeed!
He that was at the bar now sits on the throne, and that for
ever and ever. Then Christ stood as a Lamb before Pilate;
now Pilate stands as a malefactor before f^hrist. He that
was made the footstool of his enemies, must now judge, " till
he has made his enemies his footstool." Where shall they
run ? and how shall they seek the clefts of the rocks and hol-
low places 1 The glory of his majesty will kindle a flame,
while the heavens and the earth shall flee away from the
presence of the powerful Judge.
But if here be the Judge, where is the guard? Behold him
coming from above with great power and glory ! Would you
know his habit? He is, indeed, clothed with majesty. Would
you know his attendants? They are a host of holy angels;
nay, yet a much longer train, even the souls of the saints de^
scending from their imperial seats, and attending the Lamb
with great glory. Never was any other judge lord of such
a circuit. His footstool is in the clouds, his feet are in the
rainbow; his judges are saints, his officers angels and arch-
angels. The trumpet proclaims a silence, while a just sen-
tence comes from his mouth upon all the world. Thus you
see the assize begun. " 1 beiield till the throne was cast
down," says the prophet, " and the ancient of days did sit,
whose garments were white as snow, and the hair of his head
like pure wool ; his throne was like the fiery flame, and the
wheels as burning fire," Dan. vii. 9.
This is the Judge, whose coming is so fearful, and ushered
in by a fiery cloud, and apparelled in snow white, carried in
his circuit on burning wheels, and attended with thousands
of thousands. O, ye Jews, behold the Man whom before you
crucified as a malefactor! behold him on his throne, whom
ye said his disciples had stolen away by night out of his
grave ! Matth. xxviii. 13. Behold him in his majesty, him
upon whom you would not look in his humility ! This is he at
whose appearance the kindreds of the earth shall mourn.
Such a shout of fury follows the sight of his majesty, that the
vaults shall echo, the hills resound, the earth shall shake, the
heavens shall pass away, and be turned to confusion. Then
shall the wicked mourn, then shall they weep and wail,
48*
662 CHRIST IN THE CLOUDS [SER.
yet their tears shall not serve their turn ; their sins past be-
tray them, and their shame condemns them, and their tor-
ments to come confound them. Thus shall the wicked be-
wail their miserable, hapless, unfortunate birth, and cursed
end. O fearful judge! " terrible as an army wilh banners!"
The kings of the earth shall be astonished, and every eye
shall see this Judge, and tremble at his sight. Lo, but con-
ceive the guilty prisoner come to his trial. Will not the red
robes of this Judge make his heart bleed, for his blood shed.
Thus, have I shown you how Christ will appear in a glori-
ous manner.
1. Think now, O sinner, what shall be thy reward, when
thou shalt meet lliis Judge. The adalterer for awhile may
flatter beauty, the swearers grace their words with oaths,
the drunkards kiss their cups, and thank their bodily healths,
till they drink their souls to ruin : l)ut let them remember,
'• for all these things God will bring them into judgment." A
sad comfort in the end. How shall the adulterer satisfy lust,
when he lies on a bed of flames? The swearer^shali have
enough of wounds and blood, when the devil shall torture his
body and rack his soul in hell. The drunkard shall have
plenty of his cups, when scalding lend shall be poured down
his throat, and his breath draw flames of tire instead of air.
As is thy sin, so is thy punishment ; this judge will give just
measure in the balance of his indignation and v^q-ath.
For comfort to all that are the Judge's favourites, now is
the day (if you are God's servants,) that "Satan shall be
trodden under your feet," and you, with your Master Christ,
shall be carried into the holy of holies. You may remem-
ber, how all the men of God, in their greatest anguish here
below, have derived comfort from the eyes of faith. It
"was at this mountain Job rejoiced, being cast on the dung-
hill, that his Redeemer lived, and that he should see him at
the last day stand on the earth. So likewise the evangelist
John longed, and cried, "Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly,"
Rev. xxii. 20. "Now, little children, abide in him, that,
•when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be
ashamed at his coming. And this is the promise that he
hath promised us, even eternal life," 1 John ii. 28, 29. But
I proceed.
The persons to be judged are a world of men, good and
bad, elect and reprobate.
(1.) There is a summons, and this every man must hear,
and this shall be the voice of the last trumpet : ' Arise, ye
dead, and come to judgment.' O what a fearful and terri-
ble voice will this be to all the w-ickcd? How will they trem-
ble at that voice, which makes the earth to tremble 1 Even
U.] COMING TO JUDGMENT. 563
at this voice the graves of the dead shall be opened, and
every soul reunited to its own body ; the dark pit of hell shall
be shaken, when the dreadful soul shall leave its place of ter-
ror, and once more re-enler into its stinking carcass, to re-
ceive a greater condemnation, John v. 28, 29, The voice of
Christ is a powerful and strong voice; "The dead shall hear
his voice, and they shall come forth ; they that have done
good unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done
evil to the resurrection of condemnation."
Thus much for the summons; you hear it given, and every
man must appear. Death must now give back all tliat he
has taken from the world. What a ghastly and shocking
sight shall this be, to see all the graves open, and to see dead
men arise outof their graves, and the scattered flying on the
wings of the wind, till they meet together in one body, Ezek.
xxxvii. 6: "The dry bones shall live." Behold, the power of
God Almighty, out of the grave and the dust of the earth,
from those chambers of death and darkness, shall arise the
bodies of the buried. Rev. xx. 12, 13: "1 saw the dead," says
John, " small and great, stand before God ; and the sea
gave up the dead which were in it ; and death and hell de-
livered up the dead that were in them ; and they were judged
every man according to his works." He that said to coi'rup-
tion, " Thou art my father, and to the worm. Thou art my
mother and my sister," said Aho, " I know that my Redeemer
liveth, and mine eyes shall behold him." O good God ! how
wonderful is thy power 1 Joel iii. 11, 12: "Assemble your-
selves, and come, all ye heathen, to the valley of Jehosha-
phat; for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round
about."
Thus have you an account of the dead being raised ; they
are all brought together, and now we must put them asun-
der; the sheep shall be put on the right hand, and the goats
on the left hand. And now see the parties thus summoned,
raised, gathered, and set apart. Is not here a world of men
to be judged all in one day? All tongues, all nations and peo-
ple of the earth, shall appear in one day. We shall then
behold each son of Adam, and Adam shall then see ail his
posterity. Consider this, ye that are high and low, rich and
poor, one with another; "for with God there is no respect of
persons." Hark, O beggar! petitions are out of date, yet thou
needest not fear, for thou shalt have justice done thee this
day. All causes shall be heard, and thou, though ever so
poor, and even despised in the world, must with the rest re-
ceive thy sentence. Hark, O farmer! now are the lives and
leases together finished ; this day, is the new harvest of the
Judge, who " gathers his wheat into his garner, and burns
564 CHRIST IN THE CLOUDS [sER.
up his chaff with fire unquenchable :" no bribes, no prayers,
no tears : but as thou hast done, so thou art sentenced. Hark,
O landlord ! where is thy purchase to thee and thy heirs for
ever ? This day makes an end of all : and unhappy were thy
soul, if thou hadst not better land than a barren rock, to
cover and shelter thee from the presence of the Judge. Hark,
O captain! how vain is the hope of man to be saved by the
multitude of a host. Thou hast commanded all the armies
of the earth, and hell, yet canst thou not resist the power of
heaven. Hark, the trumpet sounds, and the alarm summons
thee; thou must appear. All must appear, the beggar, the
farmer, the captain, the prince, and the greatest polcntates
of the world; nay, all shall receive their reward according
to their deserts.
(2.) This is for terror to the wicked ; every man must ap-
pear. O that every man would but think of it! Would you
know the man that shall at this day be blessed ( It is he that
thinks on this day, and prepares for it. O then, I beseech
you, meditate every day, that you and every man must one
day appear before the Judge of the quick and dead, and re-
ceive according to your works.
And now, having brought the prisoners to their trial, I must
tell you how this trial must be; for your works: faith justi-
fies, but it is by works we are judged. Mistake me not, he
shall be judged according to his works, as being the best wit-
ness of his inward righteousness. But, the better to acquaint
you with this trial, we come to consider, —
1. How all men's works shall be manifested to us.
2. How all men's works shall be examined by God.
1. Of the manifestation of every man's works: liev. xx.
12: "I saw the dead, small and great," says John, "stand
before God: and the books were opened; and another book
was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were
judged out of those things which wx're written in the books,
according to their works." Remember this, O forgetful sin-
ner, thou mayest commit sin after sin, and multiply your sins,
but be sure God keeps a just account, and none of your sins,
though ever so secret, shall be forgotten. There is a book of
God's memory; it is called a book of remembrance, Mai. iii.
10: "A book of remembrance was written before Him, for
them that feared the Lord, and called upon his name." This
is that which manifests all secrets ; this is that which reveals
all doings, whether good or evik In these records are found
at large Abel's sacrifice and Cain's murder, Absalom's rebel-
lion and David's devotion, the Jews' cruelty and the pro-
phets' innocence. Nothing shall be hid when this book is
opened, for all may run and read it. " God will bring every
LI.] COMING TO JUDGMENT. 565
work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be
good, or whether it be evil," Eccles. xii. 14. Wail, ye wicked,
and tremble in astonishment. Now your closet sins must be
disclosed, and your private faults laid open.
Imprimis, For adultery, envy, blasphemy, drunkenness,
oaths, violence, murder, sabbath-breakin2;, lying, and every
other sin from the beginning to the end, from your birth to
your death, the total sum is eternal death and damnation.
But there is another book, that shall give a more feaiful evi-
dence than the former, [written by] the secretary in the soul
of man : no man can commit a sin, but the soul is privy to the
fact, and will write it in this book. What a woful case will
thy poor heart then be in ! with what a strong trembling of
terror must it then stand possessed, when this book shall be
opened, and thy sins revealed? This book is now, perhaps,
shut up and sealed : but in the day of judgment it shall be
opened, and what will be the evidence that will be brought
in '{ There is a private session to be held in the breast of
every sinner ; the memory is the record, truth is the law,
damnation is the judgment, hell is the prison, devils are the
jailers, and conscience both the witness and the judge to pass
sentence upon thee. What hopes can he have at the gene-
ral assize, whose conscience has condemned him belore he
appears? Consider this, O thou impenitent sinner !
But yet there is another book we read of, and that is " the
book of life," in which are written all the names of God's
elect, from the beginning to the end of the world. This is
the precious book of heaven, in which, if we be registered,
not all the powers of darkness, death, or devils, can blot us
out again. Therefore, to make some useful application,
\st. Consider now, O sinner, what books one day must be
set before thee. The time will come, when every woid of
thy mouth, every glance of thine eye, every moment of thy
time, every sermon, thou hast heard, every thing thou hast
left undone, all shall be seen, and laid open before men, an-
gels, and devils ; thou shalt then and there be horribly and
everlastingly ashamed. Never go about then to commit
sin, though ever so secretly, though at midnight, and all the
doors locked about thee, yet at this great day it shall be
brought to light.
2dly, As you intend the good of your souls, amend your
lives, call yourselves to an account, while it is called to-day;
search and examine all your thoughts, words, and deeds ;
prostrate yourselves before God, with broken and bleeding
affections; pray that your name may be written in the book
of life; and if you do so, God is not unrighteous to forget
your labour of love, and all your good works : for at that
great day, the book shall be opened, our works manifested,
566 CHRIST IN THE CLOUDS [SER.
and, as we have done, so we must be rewarded; for then
shall he " reward every man according to his works." But
a Jitde to recall ourselves: —
The prisoners are tried, the verdict brought in, the indict-
ments are found, and the Judge now sits upon life and death,
ever ready with sparkling eyes to pronounce the sentence.
The Lord grant, that, when this day comes, tiie sentence
may be for us, and we be saved, to our everlasting comfort.
O now hold up your heads, all ye " saints of the most high
God," for this shall be a blessed day for you; for then shall
ye hear the sweet heaveidy voice of Christ, sayi'^g, "Come,
ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for
you." I cannot express what joy it will be to the riiihteous,
when they shall hear Christ say. Come, ye blessed soul, who
hath been bathed in repenting tears. Here is a sentence
able to revive the dead, much more the afflicted. Are you
sorrowing for your sins, leave it awhile, and meditate with
me on this ensuing melody. Hark ! yonder is the choir of
angels sounding to the Judge, while he is pronouncing thy
sentence. Now is the day of your coronation; now shall ye
be made perfectly happy, and that for ever. Come, saith
Christ, you that have suffered for me, now you shall have
your reward; you shall have vour souls fihed to the brim
with joy, such as is " unspeakable, and full of glory."
But I must return to the left hand, and show another crew,
prepared for another sentc nee. And O what a terrible sen-
tence will that be, which will make all ears glow and tingle !
" His lips," says the prophet, " are full of indignation, and
his tongue like a consuming fire," Isa. xxx. 27. What fire
is so hot as that fiery sentence, Matth. xxv. 41 : " Depart
from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the
devil and his angels."
1. They must depart. This seems nothing to the wicked :
Now, they are content to be gone; they have much more
delight in sin, (ban in God's service. But whither must they
go? " From me." If from me, then from all my mercies, my
glory, and my salvation. But whither, O Lord, shall the
cursed go, that depart from thee? Into what haven shall
they arrive? What m;ister shall they serve? It is thought a
great punishment to be banished from our native soils ? What,
then, is it to be banished from the almighty God? But whi-
ther must they go? " hito everlasting hre." O what bed is
this? no feathers but fire, no friends but furies, no case but
fetters, no day-light but darkness, no clocks to pass away the
time, but endless eternity, lire eternal, always burning, and
never dying. O who can endure everlasting flame? "it
shall not be quenched night nor day ; the smoke of their
torment shall ascend for ever and ever." The wicked shall
LI.] COMING TO JUDGMENT. 567
be crowded together, like bricks in a fiery furnace. But for
whom was this fire prepared? For the devil and his angels.
These must be your companions. The last sentence is now
pronounced. What! Go, (Who?) ye cursed, into everlast-
ing fire, to crews of devils. O take heed, that you live in
the fear of God, lest that, leaving his service, he give you
this reward, " Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting
fire, prepared for the devil and his angels."
2. Consider, (hen, what fearful tremhiing will seize on
your souls, that have their sentence for eternal names: O
which way will they turn ? How will they escape the Al-
mighty's wrath? To go backward is impossible, to go for-
ward is intolerable. Whose help will Ihcy crave? God is
their Judge, heaven th<ir foe; (he saints deride them, angels
hate them. Good Lord, what a world of miseries hath
seized on miserable souls. Their exectutioners are devils, the
dungeon hell; the earth stands open, and the furnace burn-
ing, ready to receive you. O how will these poor souls quake
and tremble! Every part of their body will bear a part in
their doleful ditty ; eyes weeping, hands wringing, breasts
beating, hearts a( hing, with voices cryinij. Now, O man of
the earth, what shall thy wealth avui! thee? one drop of wa-
ter, to cool thy tongue in the flames, is worth more than all
the pleasures of the world.
Thus you have heard the sentence of the just and wicked ;
and the Judge is risen from his glorious seat. The saints
guard him along, and the sentenced prisoners are delivered to
the jailers; shrieks of horror ,'^hall be heaid. What woes
and lamentations shall be uttered, when devils and repro-
bates, and all the damned crew of hell, shall be driven into
hell, never to return. Down they go howling, shrieking, and
gnashing their teeth: the world leaves them, the earth for-
sakes them, hell entertains them ; (here they must live, and
yet not live nor die; but dying live, and living die.
O miserable must thojse be, if the drowning ol the world,
the swallowing up of Korah, and the burning of Sodom with
brimstone, were attended with such (error and hideous out-
cries; how infinitely, to all possibility of conceit, and trem-
bling of that red fiery day ; in a word, what wailing, weep-
ing, roaring, and yelling, filling both heaven, earth, and hell !
O most miserable wretches, Matth. xxii. 13: "Take thenfi
away, and cast them into utter darkness: there shall be
weeping and gnashing of teeth." A darkness, indeed ! They
must for ever be debarred from the light of heaven. Sun-
shine never peeps within these walls, nothing is there but
smoke and darkness; and such is the portion of sinners, and
the reward of the wicked.
568 THE WORD OF SALVATIOW. [SER.
ISERiTiOI^ L.II.
THE "VVOKD OF SALVATION.
To you Is the word of this salvation sent. — Acts xii. 16.
Paul is here preaching Christ Jesus in the chapter ; and
in this verse he makes application of his sermon to his hear-
ers, and that very close. More particularly in the \vord.s
you may notice, (1.) The nature of the gospel" described is
the word of salvation. (2.) The endorsement or direction,
showing to whom it is directed or sent, To you, &c., you men
and bi'cthren, you Jews or Gentiles, to whom it is preaclied.
Observe, That the gospel, as a word of salvation, is sent lo
every sinner who hears it.
Before I proceed to speak to this doctrine, I would obviate
an objection that may be made against it.
Object. Is not tiie go.spel-call here limited to them that fear
God in the text ?
Ansiv. 1. If by those that fear God, is to be understood re-
ligious people, into whose hearts God has put his fear, these
are the persons that will most of all welcome the word of
salvation, because they most see their need of it; but the
gospel message is not here limited to them, and others ex-
cluded; no, the apostle here speaks to all his auditory, both
gracious and graceless, as appears not only in this text,
*■ Men and brethren, children of the stock of Al)raham, to
you is the word of this salvation sent," but also in the appli-
cation of this sermon to the graceless as well as to the gra-
cious, ver. 40, 41, compared with the two preceding verses.
2. There is a fear of God that is the fruit of conviction, and
a fear of God that is the fruit of conversion : the former is
by the law, the latter is by the gospel. It is possible, that
the former is especially meant here, for at thistime the word
was with power; it struck an awe and dread upon the apos-
tle's autlitory. And though no sinner, no, not the most stu-
pid that hears the gospel, is excluded from the call of it, so as
it can be said, the word of salvation is not sent to him ; no,
no, it is sent to every one, yet none but such as fear God, so
far as to be filled with an awe and dread of God speaking
to them in the word, and with a conviction of sin, and of
their need of this salvation, none but such will receive and
LII.] THE WORD OF SALVATION. 569
welcome the word of this salvation ; for if they have no fear
of God, and of his wrath, no sense of sin, and of their de-
serving damnation, they will not value, but slight and despise
the word of salvation. ^ This text, therefore, does not limit
the word of salvation, as sent only to them that fear God, but
only points out the manner and method in which this word
of salvation comes to be received and entertained, and how
it will not be received by those that have nothing of the fear
and dread of God upon them.
3. Those that are awakened to any sense of sin, and fear
and dread of God, ai'e the persons that are most ready them-
selves, as if the word of salvation were not sent to them ;
therefore these, in a particular manner, are mentioned, and
encouraged to take it to themselves, because they are afraid
to apply the word. Others that are called will not come.
And they that have this fear upon them, have a will, but
want courage; and therefore the Lord says to them, as it
were, Fear not to come, for to ijou is the word of this salva-
tion sent.
4. That the word of salvation is sent to all, even to them,
who, through the want of the fear of God, reject it, is plain
both from this text and context, compared with other scrip-
tures. See the commission, Mark xvi. 15: "Go ye into all
the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." Is, xlvi.
12: "Hearken to me, ye stout-hearted, that are far from
righteousness." Rev. iii. 20 : " Behold, I stand at the door,
and knock : if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I
will come in to him," &c. : any man, be what he will. In
short, the word of salvation, importing all salvation necessary,
looks to all sinners that need this salvation. The gospel, if
any sinner were excluded, would not be glad news to all peo-
ple.
Hence the call is to all the ends of the earth, " Look unto
me, and be ye saved:" Hence the call also is, " Whosoever
will, let him come, and take of the water of life freel}'."
And again, " To you, O men, do I call, and my voice is to
the sons of man." " Ho, every one that thirsteth come to the
waters," &c.
In prosecuting the observation, we shall observe the follow-
ing method: —
I. I shall speak a little of (his salvation.
II. Of the word of salvation.
III. Of the sending of this word.
IV. Make application.
I. We shall speak a little of this salvation, and consider
what ii supposes, and what it implies.
VOL. in. 49 t
570 THE WORD OF SALVATION. [SER.
I5/, What it supposes, namely, misery. Our miserable
state by nature is a state of alienation and estrangement from
God. We are without God, and are "alienated from the
life of God; aliens from the commonwealth of Israel." It is
a state of enmity: "The carnal mind is enmity against God ;"
we are in actual rebellion against him. It is a state of dark-
ness and ignorance; we are "destroyed for lack of know-
ledge." A state of bondage to sin, Satan, the world, and di-
vers lusts; we are fettered and in prison, led captive. It is a
state of impotence: we are by nature without strength; we
cannot so much as ask deliverance ; we are not sufficient of
ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves. It is a destitute
state, a pit in which there is no water: a comfortless state,
a bewildered state, a cursed and condemned state ; for " he
that believeth not is condemned already." He that believeth
not the gospel is condemned already by the law : "Cursed is
every one that continuelh not in all things that are written
in the book of the law, to do them." It is a state of death,
spiritual death, and legal death.
2dly, What does salvation imply? It implies the whole re-
demption purchased by Christ, and the whole of the applica-
tion of it by the Spirit. It is salvation from a stale of estrange-
ment to a state of acquaintance with God; from enmity to
peace and reconciliation ; from darkness to light ; from bon-
dage to liberty. It includes pardon and justification, adop-
tion and filiation, sanctification of nature, heart, and way.
communion with God ; afterward a glorious resurrection of
the body, and eternal life and glory, in being for ever with
the Lord.
II. The second head proposed was, to speak of the word of
salvation, which I may do by answering tliese four ques-
tions : —
Quest. 1. What is the word of salvation?
Aris. Not the law, but the gospel ; it is that which is the
power of God to salvation, Rom. i. 10. Whatever discovers
Christ, and salvation through him, is the gospel.
Quest. 2. Why is it called the word of salvation?
A71S. Because it discovers salvation, it describes salvation,
it conveys salvation, as a charter does an estate, or as a tes-
tament does a legacy; it otfers salvation, it establishes a con-
nexion between faith and salvation to all mankind sinners ;
for " He that believeth shall be saved ;" and because it is the
organ or instrument by which the Spirit applies salvation.
Quest. 3. How does the word operate in the hand of the
Spirit, when believed to salvation ?
Ans. It operates as seed cast into the ground. It operates
LII.] THE WORD OF SALVATION. 571
as rain and dew : " My doctrine shall drop as the dew :" As
light; " They that sat in darkness saw a great light. It is a
light shining in a dark place :" As fire ; " Is not my word
like a fireT" As water, as wind, as a seal imprinting the di-
vine nature : As a glass, through which we see God's glory :
As balm for healing ; " He sent his word, and healed them."
QaesL 4. What are the qualities of this word of salva-
tion 1
Afisw. 1. It is a divine word; "the word of God." God,
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, is the Author of it. Hence
the gospel is called " the gospel of God," Rom. i. 1, and xv.
2, 16. 2. It is a word of God in Christ, Heb. i. 1, 2, and ii.
3. It is secured " in the hands of a Mediator ; yea, and amen
in him." It is given to us by Christ, and sealed in his blood ;
" This is the New Testament in my blood." 3. It is a gra-
cious word of God in Christ; ii is free ; it does not move upon
our goodness or badness; our goodness does not farther, nor
our badness hinder it. It is a word that comes from pure
grace, and springs from His free mercy, who is the God of all
grace. It is such a gracious word, that it contains all grace.
Hence, 4. It is a complete word, containing all our salva-
tion ; for it contains God in it, Christ in it, and the Spirit in
it. It contains a righteousness in it, founding a legal title to
life eternal, namely, the obedience of Christ ; and a legal se-
curity from eternal death, namely, the satisfaction and death
of the Surety. It contains all the parts of life, and may well
be called the word of life ; life in the beginning of it in rege-
neration ; " Of his own will begat he us by the word of truth."
The life of justification; we are justified in believing and re-
ceiving of Christ our righteousness, as offered in the word.
The life of sanctification, the life of consolation, the life of
glory hereafter. 5. It is a sure word; "the sure mercies of
David ;" sure, and more sure than a voice from heaven, such
as even that which the disciples heard on the mount, 2 Pet.
i. 19 : " We have a more sure word of prophecy, to which
we do well to take heed, as unto a light shining in a dark
place." 6. It is a gracious, complete, sure word of God in
Christ tosinners, as well as to saints; it is to sinners of Adam's
family, for it presents a remedy for their malady. This leads
to,
III. The third head proposed, namely, to speak of the send-
ing of this word. Here it may be inquired from whom, by
whom, to whom it is sent, and for what purpose.
1st, From whom it is sent? Aiis. It is a word of salvation,
sent from the God of salvation, to whom belong the issues
from death ; and it carries the impress of himself upon it. As
572 THE WORD OF SALVATION'. [SER.
the word is God's word, so it is of God's sending ; " He sent
his word, and healed them," Psal. cvii. 20.
2dly, By whom is it sent'? A71S. Not by angels, but by
men; "We are ambassadors for Christ," 2 Cor. v. 20. It is
true, God sent his word first by Christ ; " He so loved the
world, that he sent his only-begotten Son, that whosoever be-
lieveth upon him might not perish, but have everlasting life."
Then Christ sends it by men, that we may not be afraid at
iiis appearance, as Israel were of old ; " We have this trea-
sure in earthen vessels," 2 Cor. iv. 7.
2dly, To whom is it that he sent this word of salvation?
Ans. To all sinners that hear it. Whosoever looks to the word
of salvation, will find it looking to them, Gen. xii. 3. What
was the gospel preached to Abraham? " In thee, and in thy
seed, shall all the families of the earth be blessed." Is not
this a v^^ord of salvation to us also ? It includes all, so as every
sinner may take hold of it. See John iii. 16, 1 Tim. i. 15.
Christ came to call sinners to r(-pentance. See Prov. i. 20;
Isa. xlvi. 12. It is a word that suits tlie case of sinners; and
therefore, if it be inquired,
Alhly, For what purpose is it sent to sinners? Ans. For the
same purpose that a healing remedy is sent to [cure] a deadly
malady; for Christ comes in the word, and is presented there,
" for wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption;"
1 Cor. i. 30, and Rev. iii. 17, 18. More particularly, it is sent
as a word of pardon to the condemned sinner; "I, even I, am
he that blotteth out thy transgressions, for my own name's
sake." Hence may every condemned sinner take hold of it,
saying, This word is sent to me. It is sent as a word of peace
to the rebellious sinner saying, "Christ hath received gifts for
men, even for the rebellious." Oh! 1 am a rebel, may the sinner
say, here is a word for me : It is sent as a word of life to the
dead : "The liour comefh, and now is, when the dead shall
hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall
live:" as a word of liberty to the captives; " The Spirit of
the Lord God is upon me, because he hath anointed me to
proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the pri-
son to them that are bound," &.c. As a word of healing for the
diseased ; for the word says, " I am the Lord that healeth
thee." As a word of cleansing, or a cleansing word for the
polluted. "I will sprinkle you with clean water," &.c. As
a word of direction to the bewildered. " I will lead the blind
by a way they know not," &,c. As a refreshing word to the
w'cary. "The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the
learned, to speak ;i word in season to him that is weary." As
a comforting word to the disconsolate ; it brings in the good
news of the river, " the streams whereof made glad the city
HI.] THE WORD OF SALVATION. 573
of God," and of Christ " the consolation of Israel." As a draw-
ing word, and a strengthening word to the powerless soul, say-
ing, " He giveth power to the faint, and to them that have
no might he increaseth strength. Thy people shall be wil-
ling in the day of thy power." "And I, if I be lifted up from
the earth, will draw all men afler me." It is sent, in short,
as a word of salvation, and all sort of salvation and redemp-.
tion to the lost soul, saying, " Christ came to seek and to save
that which was lost;" and that " we are not redeemed with
corruptible things, such as silver and gold, but with the pre-
cious blood of Christ."
IV. The last head proposed was, to make application. Is
it so, that the gospel, as a word of salvation, is sent to every
sinner that hears it? Then,
1st, Hence see the kindness of God in Christ to sinners of
mankind. Why has he made such a difference between sin-
ning men and sinning angels? There was never a word of
salvation sent to angels that sinned; no, they "are reserved
in chains to the judgment of the great day;" but to you, "O
men, do I call, and my voice is to the sons of man ; to you is
the 7ford of this salvation sent."
2c/lij, See what a valuable book the Bible is, which con-
tains this word of salvation. O how ought we to " search
the scriptures ! for in them we think," and think aright when
we do so, " that we have eternal life " and salvation conveyed
to us. Why? "They testify of Christ;" and we ought es-
pecially to search out the words of eternal life, the words of
salvation that lie there.
3dU/, Hence see what a valuable blessing the gospel is, and
the dispensation of it, and how welcome a gospel ministry
should be to us; "How beautiful upon the mountains are the
feet of them that preach the gospel of pence!" Rom. x. 15,
that publish the word of salvation. How sad is it when the
gospel-ministers have not beautiful feet, when they defile their
feet by stepping into the puddle of defection and corruption,.
and so make poor souls to nauseate the very gospel preached
by them ; and how sad is it when those who profess to preach
the gospel of peace, have their feet defiled in the puddle of
error ! How desirable is it, when they have both the gospel
of peace in their mouth, and beautiful shoes upon their feet,
and are shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace,
and with a gospel conversation, declining to walk with others
in a course of defection !
4thli/, Hence see the inexcusablenessi of unbelief in reject-
ing'the gospel, since it is sent to every one that hears it. Men
have no cloak for their unbelief, no ground to say, This wqt^
49*
574 THE WORD OF SALVATION. [sER.
of salvation is not sent to me ; yea, it is sent to thee, whoso-
ever thou art ; it is a rope cast down for thy drowning soul
to grasp.
5thly, Hence see how culpable they are that narrow the
door, and hamper the call of the gospel, thus saying, in effect.
If you have not such and such marks, it is not to you ; it is
only upon such and such terms that it is to you. This is to
make the gospel no gospel. It is as if Christ came to save
saints, but not to save sinners. They contradict the very de-
sign of the gospel, which is a word of salvation to sinners of
all sorts. To you is the n-ord of this salvatio?i serit. To you,
O sinner, is the door of salvation opened. Whatever strait-
ens this door, whatever doctrines you may hear that hamper
the gospel-ofl'er, and tend to make you suppose, that there is
no room for you, no access for you, you may suspect that
either to be no gospel doctrine, or that it has such a legal mix-
ture accompanying it, as you ought to shun like the devil, be-
cause it would keep you back from Christ and salvation.
Qlhly, Hence see the ground of God's controversy at this
day, together with an antidote against the errors and evils of
the day. The great ground of God's controversy, at this day,'
with tlie generation among which we live, is their rejecting
the word of salvation. Wherefore is he now speaking in wrath
and war, but because we will not hcaiken to him speaking in
mercy. Scotland has been deaf to the word of God, and to the
warnings of God. Judicatories have been deaf to (he word of
God, to theword of salvation, calling them to reform, and return
to the Lord; deaf to any testimony lifted up for reformation:
and the whole land has been deaf lo the voice of God in the
gospel. And what if God now thunder and roar out of Zion,
saying. You shall hear at the deafest side : if vou will not hear
the voice of the word, you shall hear the voice of the sword.
O what is the quarrel ? Why, God says, " This is my beloved
Son, hear ye him." No, but we refuse to hear him. Gene-
ral assemblies have refused to hear him ; they give ear more
to a patron, or a great man, and give more obedience to him,
than to the voice of Christ. He said, " Feed mv sheep, feed
my lambs." No, say they; but let Ihem be worried with
wolves, rather than displease and oflcnd men of rank and
power. How justly may (he Lord say to such, "Go to the
gods whom ye have served," and see if they can deliver you
in the day of death, or in (he day of wrath.
See here also an antidote against many errors of the
day. Here is an antidote against enthusiastic delusions,
namely, if wc take the word of God for the rule and the war-
rant of faith, and of every pardcular duty. Some will say,
wc must wait for the Spirit being poured out ; and till the
LII.] THE WORD OF SALVATION. 575
Spirit come?, there is no doing ; therefore we may sit still,
and do nothing, either in the matter of our salvation-work,
or the work of our generation, either in- personal or public
work. Why, here is a delusion, here is enthusiasm, to make
the Spirit the rule of faith and duty, and not the word of
God. When God spake to Moses at the Red sea, saying,
" Speak to the people that they go forward." What ! go for-
ward, might unbelief say, into the sea, and be all diowned !
Nay, stay till we see the water divided. No, says God, "Speak
to the people that they go forward:" and in going forward at
the word and call of God, making his call and word the rule
of faith and duly, in this way they were to find the sea di-
vided before them. To wait upon God's working, either out-
wardly or inwardly, without answering the call of his word,
and going forward in the way of duty, is to wait without a
warrant; it is a delusion, a tempting of God. You are to
aim at believing the word of salvation sent to you. The peo-
ple we call Quakers say, they ought not to pray till the Spi-
rit move them, making the inward motions of the Spirit, and
not the word of God, the rule of duty. Thus, it is no won-
der that thev are misled by a delusive spirit; for the word
of God is " the sword of the Spirit," and though we can-
not light without the Spirit, yet the Spirit will not fight
for those, or with those, that will not take his sword in their
iiaiid; though we can do nothing without the Spirit, yet the
Spirit will do nothing without the word. But if once we take
the sword of the Spirit in our hand, I mean, take the word
for our rule, and endeavour to pei'form duty, and at the work
of believing, which is the work of God, according to the di-
rection of the word of God; then, and not till then, are you
to expect God will work powerfully; for out of his own road
he will not, namely, if you turn away your ear from hearing
his word, or if he do, he will bring you to this road before he
do any thing more.
Here, also, see an antidote against all, or most of all the
errors of the age in which we live. Here is an antidote against
all practical error, against all profanity, looseness, and luxury,
whoredom, and debauchery, that have been long running
down, like a mighty stream, through all rard<s of persons,
from the throne to the dunghill, in every corner of the land.
What would remedy these evils? Even the receiving of this
salvation that is sent in the gospel to us. Unbelief in reject-
ing this salvation, which is a salvation from all sin as well as
misery; this unbelief in slighting the Saviour and salvation,
is the root of all the looseness and profanity in the age. Men
do not see this root that lies hid under ground. Here is an
576 THE WORD OF SALVATIOX. [sER.
antidote against the deisnn of the age. Why do men under-
value the scriptures, and deny the necessity of divine super-
natural revelation? Even hecause they reject the word of
salvation, they do not see that the gospel only is the word of
salvation, and that there is no salvation but in the faith of it;
but the faith of this word would cure the deism of the age.
Here is an antidote against Arminianisrn ; for salvation comes
not of the free will of man, but of the free grace of God in a
word of salvation sent to us. Here is an antidote against
Arianism. Would any soul deny the supreme deify of Christ,
and his proper divinity, if they believed, that with him are
the words of eternal lile, and that a word from his mouth is
a word of salvation 1 Is. xlv. 22 : " Look unto me, and be ye
saved, all the ends of the earth ; for I am God, and there is
none else.'' Here is an antidote against Antinomianism ; for
by this salvation we are not saved to sin and to wickedness,
and break the law of God; but saved from sin and wicked-
ness. The gospel being a word of complete salvation, the
grace of God in it appears to all men, teaching effectively
what the law does preceptively, namely, " to deny ungodli-
ness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and
godly, in this present evil world." Here is an antidote
against legalism, or Neonomianism, as some call it, which
turns the gospel to a new law, and the covenant of grace, as
it were, to a covenant of works. This text and doctrine
show, that we are not saved bv a work, but by a word ; not
by any work of ours, but by a word sent from God to us,
even a 7cord of salvatio7i : " Not by works of righteousness
which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved
us," Tit. iii. 5. See 2 Tim. i. 9. Here, also, is an antidote
against ignorant preachers of the gospel, who confound the
marks of faith with the grounds of faith, or ihe evidences of
faith with the warrant of faith, or the condition of the cove-
nant with the qualities of the covenanted, as if the gospel
call were only to saints, or to sinners so and so qualified ;
and so, leading men in to themselves for a ground of faith,
instead of leading them out of themselves to Christ, exhibited
to them in a word of salvation sent to them. The gospel me-
thod of salvation is the reverse of all the lo^al schemes in the
world. The legal strain supposes always some good quality
about the sinner, before he be allowed to meddle with the
word of salvation, and so shuts the door of the gospel,
which it pretctids to open. But the gospel strain brings the
word of salvation freely to every sinner's door, and supposes
him to be destitute of all good qualities whatever, and leaves
no room to anv sinner to sav, I am not allowed to come in.
LII.] THE WORD OF SALVATION. 577
llhhj. Hence see how much it concerns all and every one,
to try and examine what entertainment they have given the
word of salvation that is sent to them. Have you received
it, or not, in a saving way ?
1. Have you received it as the word of God, the word by
way of eminence, the word of God in Christ, 1 Thess. ii. 13,
and " received it not as the word of man," of this or that
man; '■ but, as it is in truth, the word of God?"
2. Have you received it as a word of salvation, or " as a
faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation," both as a
truth and as a good ? This reception of it supposes a view
you have of your being a lost sinner welcoming a Saviour?
3. Have you received it as the word of this salvation, a
present salvation, a particular salvation? This particular
salvation from sin and wrath that you need, this near salva-
tion ; " I bring near my righteousness to the stout-hearted,
and far from righteousness; mv salvation shall not tarry," Is.
xlvi. 12, 13: this great salvation, this purchased salvation,
this promised salvation, this oiiered salvation, presently of-
fered. Faith fixes upon something present. You need not
say, Rom. x. 6 — 8 : " Who will ascend to heaven," &c., " the
word is nigh," &c. Again,
4. Have you received it as a sent salvation, as sent from God,
as his gift, sent by the hand of his ambassadors, sent freely
and sovereignly, without your seeking after it, sent out of the
storehouse of divine grace.
5. Have you received it as sent to sinners, to sinners in
general ? For here is " glad tidings of great joy to all people."
" Upon this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all
people a feast of fat things, of wines on the lees," Is. xxvi. 6.
6. Have you received it as sent to you in particular? To
you, sinners, says the general dispensation : To thee, sinner,
in particular, says the particular offer: " Whosoever will, let
him come." Hast thou then received it, as sent to thee,
though a guilty sinner; to thee, though a vile sinner? Hast
thou entertained it with a me, me, of particular application,
saying, Here is an ofler to me, a gift to me, a promise from
heaven to me? Hast thou found thyself called by name, and
said, I am warranted to take hold of Christ, and the salva-
tion he brings with him, in (his word of salvation ; and even
so I take him at his word, '' Lord, I believe, help thou my
unbelief?" Have you hereupon found the virtue of this word,
as a word of salvation, saving you from your doubts and fears,
saving you from your bonds and fetters, saving you from your
helpless and hopeless condition, and making you to hope for
complete salvation from sin and misery ? Have you found sal.
578 THE WORD OF SALVATIOIV. [SER.
tlon begun in the faith of the word of salvation, and thus been
begotten to a lively hope ? And does this hope begin to purify
your heart, and this faith begin to work by love to God, and
hatred of sin, and of yourself for sin? And is your continual
recourse to this word of salvation, or to the promise of God
in Christ, for all your salvation ?
Slhly, Hence see what matter of joy and praise believers
have, who have been determined thus to entertain the word
of salvation ; for when the word of salvation is receitved
through grace, then the work of salvation is begun : and you
need be in no uneasiness now, though you be called to work
out the work of your salvation with fear and trembling; be-
cause it is God that worketh in you both to will and to do.
He that hath begun the good work in you, will perfect it to
the day of the Lord. The word of salvation maybe to thee,
O believer, the word of consolation all the days of your life:
for it is a word of salvation, not only from the sinful and mi-
serable state you were in, but it is a word of salvation also,
bringing the good news of salvation in every case; salvation
from the devil, the world, and the flesh ; salvation and deli-
verance from the hands of all your enemies; salvation from
the sting of death, salvation from the terror of judgment, sal-
vation from the curse of the law, and from the guilt of all
your sins; salvation not only from all evil, but salvation to
eternal life ; for the word of salvation you have received and
entertained through grace, contains all the words of eternal
life. The word of salvation is the word of life for you,.when
under deadness, and the word of liberty for you, when under
bondage ; a word of rest for you, when under weariness ; a
word of relief for you, when under distress of whatever sort.
It is a word of salvation confirmed with the oaths of God,
" That by tw'o immutable things, in which it is impossible
for God to lie, they might have strong consolation, who
have fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before
them."
9lhlij, Hence see matter for terror to those that neglect this
great salvation that is sent to them by this word. " How
shall they escape who neglect so great salvation," and a sal-
vation come so near to them? O sinner! it is a salvation sent
to your house, and will you reject it? salvation sent to your
soul ; a word of salvation sent to your hand to receive it, and
will you reject it ? a word of i^alvation sent to your car, say^
ing, " But hear, and your soul shall live." A word of salva-
tion sent to your heart, and by it God is knocking at the door
of your heart: O will you refuse him that speaketh from hea-
ven ? Sec licb. xii. 25. If you will not hear God's word of
LII.] THE WORD OF SALVATIOX. 579
grace in the gospel, saying, " To you is the word of this sal-
vation sent ;" you must lay your account to hear his word of
wrath in the law, saying, yea, swearinginhis wrath, that you
shall not enter into his rest. If you have no fear of God, as
it is in the verse where my text lies; if you shall never be
persuaded to fear the Lord, and his goodness manifested in the
word of salvation sent to you, you must lay your account to
fear the Lord and his wrath, manifested in the word of con-
demnation, which the law pronounces against them that be-
lieve not the gospel, John iii. 18: " He that believeth not is
condemned already." And there is no escaping this sentence
of condemnation, but by receiving the word of salvation.
lOthly, Hence see how much it is the interest of everyone
to receive, and entertain, and welcome this word of salvation.
" O hear, that your souls may live." Hear the joyful sound
of salvation, O lost perishing sinner, before the door of mercy
be shut, and the day of grace be over. Consider,
1. What sort of a salvation is offered to you. It is a spiritual
salvation, the salvation of the immortal soul. " What shall a
man profit, though he gain the whole world, if he lose his
own soul 1" If you would not lose and ruin your souls, O re-
ceive the word of salvation. It is a costly salvation, it comes
running in the channel of the blood of Christ. It is brought
to your hand, and free to you, however dearly bought by the
Redeemer. You have nothing to pay for it ; the price of it
is paid already; the condition is fultilled. It is a complete
salvation : salvation from every thing which you need to be
saved; salvation from unbelief, enmity, atheism, heart-hard-
ness, heart-deadness, and every thing that you make an ob-
jection against receiving of this salvation. You say you can-
not believe, you cannot repent; but would you be saved from
your unbelief and impenitence? This, and all the other
branches of salvation is sent to you, when the word of salva-
tion is sent. Will you welcome a Saviour to save you from
all, to be wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctifica'tion, and
redemption, and all to you ? It is an everlasting salvation.
Would you be happy after death, and have an eternity of
happiness? Life and immortality are brought to light by this
word of salvation. O, poor dying sinner, consider what an
everlasting salvation this is.
2. Consider what need thou hast of this salvation. Thou
hast a dark mind, and needest salvation from that darkness
and ignorance. Thou hast a guilty conscience, and needest
salvation from that guilt. Thou hast a hard heart, and need-
est salvation from that hardness. Thou hast a powerful and
strong corruption, and from that needest salvation. Thou
580 THE WORD OF SALVATION. [sER.
hast a corrupt nature, and from that needest salvation. Thou
hast many heart-plagues, and needest salvation and healing
from these plagues. Behold, all this salvation and infinitely
more, comes with the word of salvation ; no salvation thou
needest is excepted. Thy need is great, death is at hand,
judgment at hand ; " Now is the accepted time, now is the
day of salvation." There will be no word in the day of
judgment to sinners, but a word of condemnation : " Depart
from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the
devil and his angels." But now, in the day of salvation, is
sent to you this word of salvation ; now, now is the day, and
perhaps now, or never.
3. Consider wh.it a firm ground this word of salvation is
for faith to believe upon. It is the word of God, the God
that cannot lie. It is ratified by an oath of God. It is a
word confirmed by the blood of the Son of God. It is a
word attested by the three that bear record in heaven. It
is a word spoken by the inspiration of the Spirit of God : '• He
that hath ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to
the churches. The Spirit and the bride say, Come ;" come
and hear this word of salvation ; come and believe ; come
and apply to thyself what is offered to thee.
4. Consider the good warrant you have to intermeddle
with this word of salvation. It is sent to you on purpose that
you may believe it with application to yourself; and that
every one of you, thou man, thou woman, may take it home
to thy own heart ; for to " thee is the word of salvation sent."
To thee is this love-letter sent from heaven. Read the en-
dorsement, and see if it be not to thee. It is directed to thee, 0
guilty sinner, saying, Christ came to save sinners. It is to thee,
O inhabitant of the earth, that art not yet in hell ; " Look to
me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth." It is to thee,
O scornei-, that hast hitherto been a mocker of God and
godliness, Prov. i. 20, 23. It is to thee, O rebellious sinner.
If thou v.'ert excepted, all mankind would be excepted. Be-
hold, " Christ hath ascended up on high, led captivity cap-
tive, and received gifts for men, even for the rebellious, that
God the Lord might dwell among them." It is to thee, O
black and bloody sinner, Isa. i. 18: "Come now, and let us
reason together, saith the Lord ; though your sins be as scar-
let, they shall be white as snow ; though they be red like
crimson, they shall be as wool." It is to thee, O sinner, that
art thirsting after other things than Christ, Isa. Iv. 1, 2 : " Ho,
every one That thirsteth, come. Wherefore spend ye your
money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that
which satisfieth not." Wherefore do ye thirst and pant after
til.] THE WORD OF SALVATIOIT. 581
Other things that cannot give you satisfaction ? Yea, it is di-
rected to thee, O unhumbled, unconvinced sinner. Say not.
that cannot concern thee, because thou art not convinced of
thy sin. O, the word of salvation comes even to thee also,
Rev. iii. IS : "I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the
fire," &c., even thee, that, as in the preceding verse, art say-
ing " that thou art rich and increased with goods, and stand
in need of nothing ; and knowest not, that thou art wretched,
and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked." Uncon-
cerned sinner, to thee, even to thee, is the word of this sal-
vation sent. Is this love-letter directed to thee 1 O then,
know, that though you have no will, you have a warrant to
receive it, and Christ in it. If you reject this word of salva-
tion, it is either because you will not, or dare not, or cannot
receive it.
If you say you will not take it to you, then remember
you are willingly subscribing your own doom. And 1 take
instruments against you, that you will not have salvation, you
will not come to Christ that you may have life ; you are pre-
ferring some base lust to the Lord of glory, and so preferring,
of consequence, damnation to salvation, death to life.
If it be not a will of obstinacy, but impotency, saying, O if
my will were subdued ; behold the word of salvation comes
with salvation from that plague of unwillingness, saying,
^' Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power." And
to you is the word of this salvation sent, that you may welcome
it ; and so far as you welcome it, so far are you willing.
If you say you dare not take the word to yourself as a
word of salvation to you ; why dare you not to do what God
offers you? How durst you sin against God when he forbade
you ? And now you dare not take his word for your salva-
tion, when he bids you ! How durst you venture on his fury
against his command ? And now you dare not venture on his
favour, through Christ, at his call and command. Was it not
enough to offend his justice? and will you venture now to
slight his mercy 'I This is worse than all your former sins, to
refuse salvation that he offers from the guilt of all.
If you say you cannot, because of utter impotency; that
shall be no hinderance. You cannot believe, you cannot
come to Christ; but as the word of salvation is sent to you,
so salvation is come to you, because you cannot come to it.
The Saviour is come to you, because you cannot come to
him. Are you for him? The word of salvation is a word of
power: and drawing power is in it, to draw you that cannot
tome. " When I am lifted up, I will draw all men unto me."
Are you willing to be drawn ? Then the word of salvation
VOL. III. 50
582 THE WORD OF SALVATION. [SER.
has so far taken effect upon you, as to remove your unwill-
ingness, and to make you willing. Look for another effort of
omnipotence ; for the word of salvation is a work of omni-
potence ; it is the almighty word of the almighty God.
Saving power, drawing power, is in it. Welcome it as such,
and in due time you shall be able as well as willing. Your
faith is not to be acted in the sense of self-ability and suffi-
ciency, but in the sense of self-inability, and insufficiency. Our
sufficiency is of God, salvation is of God, " All things are of
God," 2 Cor. v. 18: "who hath given to us the ministry of
reconciliation," and given to you the word of salvation ; and
it contains all your salvation. And if any part of it were
left to you, it would not contain all your salvation. What
you cannot do, this salvation can : therefore receive it, and
bless God for it, that to you is the word of this salvation sent.
END OF E. ERSKINE's SERMONS.
SOME
SIGNS OF A SAD EVENING-TIME
WITH
THE CHURCH OF GOD.
BY THE REV. RALPH ERSKINE.*
But it shall come to pass, that at evening-time it shall be light. — Zech. xiv. 7.
As the whole scriptures testify of Christ, so this text testifies
concerning the tenour of his dispensations towards liis church
and people, both in his providence and grace. — There are two
buts in tlie verse where our text lies; the one points at the wise
disposal, the other at the joyful issue of God's procedure to-
wards his church and people.
In the words themselves we observe, 1 . The saddest crosses
and calamities that befall the church and people of God in this
world, represented under the metaphor of an evening-tirae>, 2.
The sweetest comforts and encouragements that take place in
their lot, represented under the metaphor of light. 3. The sea-
son, or remarkable time, when their hope is giving up the ghost.
4. You have the infallible certainty of this happy issue, It shall
come to pass, that at evening-time it shall be light.
These things we have formerly opened up; our present pur-
pose is to evince, that the time in which we live is an evening-
time. We would have you attentively consider the signs of the
time; and surely, if you do so, it will appear too evident, that it
is an evening-time, a dark time, an evil time with the church of
God. And, to assist you in this, we would represent some of
* The following Sermon, and poetical extract, from the Works of the Rev. Ralph
Erskine, have been annexed to the present edition of E. Erskine's Works, chiefly with
the view of rendering it conformable to the terms of the Prospectus issued for the
work.— Am. Ed.
584
SIGNS OF AN EVENING-TIME
the signs of an evening-time in the church. And, seeing the
Spirit of God expresses the sad case of a people by an evening-
time, he thus allows us to allude to the phrase in representing
the same. The signs that we mention, then, shall be gathered
from that allusion, so as they may be the better fixed upon your
memories, when they are expressed by such things as are obvi-
ous to every body, who can distinguish between evening and
morning.
Now, of these signs there are two sorts: 1. Some that may be
called prognosticating signs, showing that a dark evening is ap-
proaching. 2. Some that may be called promulgating signs,
showing that the present time is an evening-time.
1st, There are prognosticating signs, that not only show forth
much darkness present, but that a darker evening-time is hasten-
ing on; such as these following: —
1. It is a sign that bodes an evening-time when the shadows
are becoming long. While the sun is high, the shadows are short;
but the lower the sun is, the longer the shadows are. — So here,
my friends, it is a sign of an evening-time coming upon the
church, when empty shadows are growing long, and of more ac-
count than substantial religion. When a man's shadow is two
or three times longer than himself, it says the sun is low, and
the night is nigh. Is it not so in a spiritual sense, when pro-
fessors have much more of the form of godliness than of the
power thereof; more of the shadow of religion than the substance
of it.^ Some, indeed, have not so much as the form or shadow of
religion either in their families or closets; which saith that it is
quite dark with them, and that they are destitute of tlie light of
the knowledge of Christ: for, where there is no light tiiere is no
shadow at all: all is black darkness there: or, they have a shadow
of devotion, and no more, or little more; which says that the
light they have is a declining light, and that a dark evening is
coming on. When the church is in a thriving case, and the sun
high in her firmament, the shadows of empty forms, superstitious
ceremonies, and human inventions are cut short; yea, and cut off,
as you know they were solemnly renounced and abjured among
us, in our covenanting days: but when the shadows are turning
long again, many standing up for them, and few appearing against
them, but rather standing for nothing but mere shadows in the
church of God, tlieniselves have a name to live, but are dead;
WITH THE CHURCH OF GOD, 585
when this, I say, universally obtains, it bespeaks an evening-
time.
2. It is a sign that bodes an evening-time, when labourers are
fast returning from their labour. If you see those who labour in
the field returning home from their work, you conclude that the
evening -time is at hand. So, when, in the church of God, many
faithful labourers in God's vineyard are fast taken home to hea-
ven, from their labour on earth, it is a sign that an evening-time
is approaching. As the removal of the godly in general is a
prognosticating sign of an evening of judgment coming, they be-
ing taken away from the evil to come j so the removal of eminent
labourers, in God's vineyard in particular, bodes an evening-
time. When Lots are taken out of Sodom, it presages a shower
of wrath. Methuselah was taken away the year before the flood;
Ambrose was removed before the ruin of Italyj Luther before
the wars of Germany; and many eminent labourers has the Lord,
of late, removed in this land, and from this country-side: we may
from thence conclude, that when Noalis are taken into their arks,
it betokens a deluge, and that God gathers his harvest before the
winter storm, and calls home labourers before the dark night
comes on.
5. It is a sign that bodes an evening-time, when men begin
generally to be heavy and sleepy-headed: for, as they that sleep,
sleep in the night, says the apostle, so, when men begin to
slumber, it shows that the night is coming on. — Thus, when
universal security, and spiritual sleep and slothfulness, begin to
seize a church, it betokens a night of judgment approaching.
We find all the virgins, both wise and foolish, to slumber and
sleep before the midnight cry was made. When people are say-
ing, " Peace, peace; then sudden destruction cometh." There
are many symptoms of sleep and security about us; and we are
not like to be, awakened till the midnight cry of the Lord's
coming, in a way of judgment: neither will that cry awaken a
secure generation, unless the Lord come powerfully with it.
4. It is a sign of an evening-time coming, when the dew be-
gins to fall. We find the Lord speaking to his sleeping church
in these terms. Song v. 2: " Open to me, for my head is filled
with the dew, and my locks with the drops of the night." In-
timating, what he suffered for her, even the dew and drops of
the night of divine wrath and vengeance. Which, by the by, is
50*
586 SIGNS OF AN EVENING-TIME
one of the grand motives why we ought to open our liearts to
him, who exposed himself to the wrath of God for us. But now,
I say, when the dew begins to fall, it betokens an evening-time.
»So, when the dew and drops of God's judgments begin to fall
upon a church, it bodes a darker evening-time approaching; es-
pecially if these smaller drops of judgment have not the proper
eifect upon them, to awaken and quicken, but they rather remain
incorrigible: for, as a physician, when less potions will not
work, prescribes a stronger; so, small judgments contemned, are
harbingers to usher in greater: " If by these ye will not be re-
formed, saith the Lord, then will I punish you seven times more
for your iniquities.*' How many drops of tlie night have been
falling, for some time by-gone, upon us, is evident to all that have
their eyes open; yea, to common observers: not only the death of
many gracious men, but also the great departure of the divine
glory; the wide rent and division of the church; beside many
temporal judgments, intestine flames, insurrections, sword, po-
verty, slavery: and more especially spiritual judgments; blind-
"ness of mind, hardness of heart, barrenness under the gospel, and
innumerable drops of dew that have fallen; do not these prognos-
ticate an evening-time?
5. It is a sign of an evening time approaching, when the air
(that was warm with the sun-bearns through the day) becomes
exceedingly cold: when the sun being away, the air grows cold, it
says the dark night is coming on. — Even so, when iniquity
abounds, the love of many waxeth cold, Matth. xxiv. 12. This
coldness of Christian love to God and men, is a certain forerun-
ner of a darker evenin.o-time of calamity. Ephesus fell from her
first love, and the candlestick was taken out of its place. Rev. ii.
4, 5. When Laodicea became lukewarm, neither cold nor hot,
then God spewed her out of his mouth; that is, rejected her with
abhorrence. Perhaps there was never a colder air than that
in which the present generation breathes; love to God and his
people, zeal for God and his glory, that some time ago warmed
the breasts of Christians, is turned to such a cool of the evenins,
that the coldness of the air prognosticates a storm.
6. It is a sign of an evening-time approaching when the clouds
and sky begin to grow ruddy and bloody, as it were tinctured
with scarlet; whatever fair days it may signify afterwards, yet it
is a sign of an evening, in the first place, to be at hand. .So, when
WITH THE CHURCH OF GOD. 58 7
dry clouds, by reflection of the sun beams, cast a dash and make
a fair appearance, and no more: I mean, when hypocrisy is uni-
versal, and professors are nothing but "clouds without water,*'
Jude, ver. 12, having a glittering, splendid outside, but empty
and destitute of the Spirit; and when, at the same time, the great
ones of the land, whether in church or state, that fly above others,
liice the clouds, instead of being useful for watering those that are
below them, are turned to nothing but red sky, bright empty no-
things, having no moisture in them, no grace: and, indeed, when
the great ones of a land are given up of God, and become gene-
rally graceless, and destitute of religion, it is a symptom of an
evening-time of wrath. When King Saul is rejected of God, and
runs to the devil, consulting with the witch of Endor; then he
and Israel fall upon the mountain of Gilboa. When Zedekiah is
given up, with his nobles, to rebel against the king of Babylon,
and break covenant^ then he and his people are carried away cap-
tive to Babylon. When David was so far left destitute of the
Spirit of God, that his heart was lifted up in pride to number the
people; then a severe stroke from God lights upon Israel. Alas!
when great men, nobility, and gentry, are left of God, and turned
*' sensual, not having the Spirit," what are they but so many rud-
dy glaring clouds, from whom God is withdrawing wholly: and
so many bloody signs of a dark night coming on?
7. Another sign of an evening-time is, when hills and moun-
tains begin to interpose between the sun and us: when they be-
gin to hide the body of the sun from us, then night comes on. —
Even so, it is a symptom of an evening-time hastening on a churcli,
when mountains of sin and guilt, great mountains separate be-
tween God and us, between Christ, the Sun of righteousness, and
his church. Who can study the circumstances of our dav, and
the abounding iniquities and profanities of all sorts, and among
all ranks, without seeing good cause to justify the Lord's with-
drawing his presence, and taking with the charge, Isa. lix. 20:
" Your iniquities have separated between you and your God; and
your sins have hid his face from you.^" The hills are come be-
tween the sun and us, and night is approaching.
8. Another sign of an evening-time is, when the light is gradu-
ally declining and departing. So it is a symptom of an evening-
time coming on a church, when there is a gradual departure of
God's glory. We read of the gradual removes of the glory of
588 SIGNS OF AN EVENING-TIME
the Lord from the cherub to the threshold of the house, and there
it stood; from thence to the midst of the city; and from thence
to the mountain, Ezek. x. 4, 18; xi. 23. Showing us, by how-
many steps and paces the Lord departs from a sinful people, as
loath to go away: and waiting to see if any will intercede with
him to return. Tlie gradual departure of God's glory is a sign
of a gradual approach of a sad evening-time.
9. Another sign of an evening-time approaching is, when sing-
ino- birds are silent, and give over their melodious notes. Now,
you know, a lightsome time of the church is represented by a
time of singing of birds, Song ii. 12. So we say, it is a sign of a
dark evening-time at hand, when the singing birds begin to cease:
I mean, when the sweet singers of Israel have lost their melody,
and are out of court: being so far discourted, that they are no more
useful in the courts of Zion. When God discourted old Eli, and
would not speak to him but to young Samuel: then a night of
wrath was near to Eli's family, to Hophni and Phinehas; yea, to
the church of God; for presently the ark of God was taken, and
left in the hands of the Philistines. When Solomon was discourt-
ed, then a multitude of enemies broke in upon him and his peo-
ple. When old professors are discourted, singing birds silenced,
and eminent servants, who have been useful through the day, are
dismissed, as if there were no more use for them, it says that eve-
ning-time is coming on. When God is saying, in his providence,
to his v\d friends and favourites, that he has no more to do with
them in this world, their singing time on earth being over: when
useful instruments are become unsavoury salt, having lost their
usefulness, their savour, and their melody, it is a symptom that
night is coming on, that the day-birds are drooping.
10. It is a sign that the evening-time is coming, when, as the
day-birds are either flying to their nests, or drooping and putting
their bills under their wings, so the night-birds are appearing and
flying abroad; when the morning birds are disappearing, and the
evening birds, such as the bat and the owl, that cannot endure
the light of day, are discovering themselves, it is a sign that night
is approaching. So, sirs, it is a sad symptom of a very dark night
coming on a church, when not only, on the one hand, the da}'-
birds, that sing sweetly in publishing the joyful sound, are either
flying away to their heavenly nest; or, if any of them are left, as
I hope many are, jet they are generally under some silencing
WITH THE CHURCH OP GOD. 589
kind of dark cloud or veil, that mars their melody and usefulness:
but also, on the other hand, when the night birds, such as here-
tics and erroneous teachers, are flying about, and discovering
themselves. If it were a clear day in the church, such evening
birds, that delight in the darkness of error, would not peep out of
their holes: but their appearing prognosticates a dark evening
time j for a deluge of errors brings on a deluge of wrath, 2 Thes.
ii. 10, 11, 12; 2 Pet. ii. 1, 2. Surely no error is more damnable
and pernicious, than that of " denying the Lord that bought them;"
and casting a cloud upon the supreme Deity of the Lord Jesus
Christ: this black cloud of Arianism, is one of the blackest that
ever covered the gospel church; and yet, besides this, many other
clouds of error have darkened our sky. However, errors and he-
resies must needs be, says the Spirit of God, " that those that are
approved may be made manifest:" and they must be also, that
approved truth may shine forth the more brightly, when it breaks
out from beneath the dark cloud of error.
11. It is a sign of an evening-time at hand, when men are ge-
nerally tired with the toil, and wearied with the work of the
day. — So, it is a sign of an evening on a church, when the gene-
rality in it are saying of the service of God, and work of the day,
" What a weariness is it?" When people are weary of Christ
and his yoke, weary of the true religion, &c., it shows that God
is weary of them; that God and they are not to keep company
long together; or that some heavier yoke is to be laid upon their
neck, to make them long for, and take the better with his light
and easy yoke. — This weariness of God's service is evident from
the general atheism and infidelity of the day; men saying to the
Almighty, "Depart from us; we desire not the knowledge of thy
ways — ^What is the Almighty that we should serve him?" Job
xxi. 14, 15. — It is evident from the stop that is put to reforma-
tion, which proves but an abortive child; it sticks in the birth, or
rather goes backward, and draws in its hand; which says, that
the child of wrath is to be brought fortii before the child of mercy;
I allude to tliat history. Gen. xxxviii. 27. — It is evident from
this, that there is none to stand in the gap, at which wrath en-
ters in, Ezek. xxii. 30, 31. When men are generally weary of
prayer, the gap is open, and judgments ready to come in. And
sometimes people are so weary of God, and so ripe for a stroke,
that though there were a praying and wrestling remnant busy in
590 SIGNS OP AN EVENING-TIME
their behalf, it would not avail. Sin may be come to such a
height, and the rectitude of God's equity and justice may be so
much concerned to punish it, in a church or nation, that the most
powerful intercession of men cannot prevail, Jer. xiv. 1. There
is a time when prayers and pleadings will not profit a people?
yea, when there is no physic operative, Ezek. xxiv. 13, 14.
12. It is a sign of an evening-time approaching, when the light
becomes uneasy, and windows become useless for letting in the
light; and when men close the window-shutters to exclude any
light that is shining: this, you know, is ordinary, when the night
is coming on. Even so, sirs, it is a sad sign of an approaching
dark night in the church of God, when the light of the gospel be-
comes uneasy to men, when they prefer the darkness of igno-
rance, to the light of knowledge; and tlie darkness of error, to
the light of truth; the darkness of legal notions, to the light of
gospel mysteries, John iii. 19. Gospel ordinances are compared
to windows for letting in the light. Song ii. 9. Now, when these
become useless for this end, and the gospel comes under general
contempt, it is a sad symptom of night coming on, 2 Chron.
xxxvi. 15, 16. Jerusalem had a signal day of the gospel; but she
fell to stoning the prophets, and did not know the time of her
merciful visitation; therefore " wrath came upon them to the ut-
termost;" and, " Behold, her house is left unto her desolate."
We have our gospel-day; and the time has been when the gospel
was highly prized and valued: but possibly thirty or forty years'
possession of the gospel lias given many people a fill of it, so as
they loathe the heavenly manna: it is become light food and un-
savoury to the most part: any thing in the world tastes better,
in their mouth, than the waters of the sanctuary. •' The light
shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not;"
yea, the darkness shuts out tlie light, or, at the same time,
" Holds the truth in unrighteousness," Rom. i. 18.
2dly, There are promulgating signs, showing that the present
time is an evening-time. Many of these things that I have men-
tioned, not only declare, that it is an evening-time, but they are
also prognostications of a darker evening approaching. And as
I have not gone out of my Bible to prophesy of what is to come;
so neither need I go far oft' to find signs and evidences that tJie
time we live in is, indeed, an evening-time, in many respects: and
while I offer these marks of an evening-time, you may, and ought
WITH THE CHURCH OP GOD. 591
to try yourselves whether it be a dark night with you, as well as
with the church of God in general, that so you may the more
deeply regret the darkness of your condition, and more vigorously
apply to Christ the fountain of light, that at evening-time he
would make light to shine. — The signs of an evening-time at pre-
sent are many: we shall mention these following, still alluding
to the metaphor of which the Spirit of God makes use.
1. It is a sad sign of a present evening-time, when the stars
only appear, and the sun disappears; when nothing but stars ap-
pear in the firmament. Now ministers of the gospel are com-
pared to stars that borrow their light from the sun; they are called
stars in his right hand; but Christ himself is the Sun of right-
eousness.—Now, is it not an evidence that it is evening-time,
when the light of the sun, the glory of Christ, cannot be seen,
and only the star-light appears? And when there is no more but
an outward objective light of a gospel-ministry, without an inter-
nal subjective light of the knowledge of the glory of God, in the
face of Jesus Christ? And when people are gazing only upon
the stars; looking merely to instruments, and taken up with them,
without looking to Christ himself?
2. It is a sad sign of an evening-time, when that which is
called the falling; of stars is discernible. — And is it not an even-
ing-time with the church, when the stars were seen to fall as it
were, from heaven to earth; when those who were eminent mi-
nisters and professors are making apostacy from the faith; and
when they are observed to make shipwreck of the faith and a
good conscience: when the dragon is pulling down the stars with
his tail, and sons of the morning falling to the ground? Surely
a time of apostacy and defection is so.
3. It is a sign of an evening-time, when wild fire casts a dash,
and false lights are followed, fancied, and confided to. — And is
it not a dark evening-time, in a spiritual sense, when tlie light of
wild nature, the light of human wisdom and carnal reason are
taking the place of spiritual, scriptural, and gospel-light; and
when men are following blind guides, false lights, that are ready
to lead them into the ditch: and especially when men are con-
fiding in their own light? There is not a greater sign of men's
being in the dark night of a natural state, without saving light,
than when they are confident of their own knowledge, and see
592 SIGNS OF AN EVENING-TIME
not their own blindness and darkness, John iii. 39, 40, 41. To-
this purpose see 1 Cor. iii. 18j viii. 2.
4. It is a sign that it is an evening-time, when artificial light
comes to be in most request; such as that of candles, torches, and
lamps, instead of day-light and sun-light. — Even so, it is an even-
ing-time in the church, when, instead of the simplicity of the
gospel, and the plain preaching of the word of God, preference is
given to the wisdom of words and of human literature. When,
on the one Iiand, candidates for the ministry, and many who are
actually invested with the ministerial function, though tinctured
with loose and legal principles, set up for a new modish way of
preaching, with flourishing harangues, without studying to preach
Christ, and the great substantial truths of the gospel ! but rather
empty speculation, and lifeless morality: and, on the other hand,
when a world of people, that come under the name of wits, and
people of a fine taste, are pleased with no sermons, but such as
are artificially decked vvith the flowers of gaudy rhetoric and
tickling oratory j and when this comes to be universally preferred
to plain, powerful, and spiritual preaching, quite contrary to the
apostle Paul's way, notwithstanding of his great attainments in
human literature and acquired abilities, 1 Cor. ii. 1, 2, 4. Now,
when these artificial lights are set up and esteemed, as the only
light in request, it speaks a dark state of the church; and espe-
cially the gross darkness they are in, that please themselves with
candles of that sort, instead of the true light, John i. 9.
5. It is a sign of an evening-time, when darkness obstructs
the light, hinders discerning, and occasions many mistakes, Isa.
V. 20. — Thus, it shows an evening-time in the church in general,
when gross darkness of iuinorance covers tliem, and when the
face of the covering remains, insomuch that there is no discern-
ing between good and evil, truth and error; and when the gene-
rality are running into mistakes. How easily are men cheated
in the dark, having bad wares put into their hands.'' ' They vent
falsities, instead of truths; formalities, instead of holiness; and
put oft' any thing to men in t!ie dark: and the deceitfulness of sin
rules over men, because they are in a state of darkness, and des-
titute of spiritual discerning, insomuch that tliey cannot receive
the things of the Spirit of God, 2 Cor. ii. 14.
6. It is a sign of an evening-time, when day-work is laid
WITH THE CHURCH OP GOD. 593
aside, and night-work is at hand. — Even so, is it not at an even-
ing-time with people when the works of darkness are generally
practised? What these works of darkness are, you may gather
from Rom. xiii. 12, IS. See Job xxiv. 17. Surely when profes-
sors turn profane, and works of darkness are generally practised,
then it is an evening-time. A sinning time is always a dark
time: profanity is the daughter of obscurity. Darkness and igno-
rance of God in Christ, is the root of all wickedness and ungod-
liness.
r. It is a sign of an evening-time, when men are generally
wandering out of the way; for people wander in the dark. — Even
so, is it not an evening-time in the church, and with the gene-
rality, when not only works of darkness are practised, by men's
doing what is evil; but also duties of piety are neglected and
omitted, by men's wandering out of the good way; and no won-
der that men break God's commands by commission, when they
wander from him by omission. But what makes wandering, ex-
cept darkness and want of understanding, which is a deadly sin?
Prov. xxi. 16.
8. It is a sign of an evening-time, when stumbling becomes
universal; for, as people wander in the dark, so they stumble in
the dark, — Alas! what a sad evidence of an evening-time, in a
spiritual sense, when men are stumbling on every stone in their
way, and running over dangerous precipices unawares; and es-
pecially when Christ himself is become a stumbling-stone, Rom.
ix. 32, 33. 0! they are in dreadful darkness that are stumbling
on the Rock of ages, on Avhich they should be building! Why,
say you, who are they that stumble upon Christ, instead of build-
ing on him? Why, even they that, like the Jews, " have a zeal
of God, but not according to knowledge, being ignorant of God's
i-ighteousness, and going about to establish their own righteous-
ness, and not submitting themselves to the righteousness of God,"
Rom. X. 2, 3. Where you see the darkness of ignorance they
were compassed with, was the cause of their stumbling. They
were not ignorant of God's law; nay, they were zealous for that:
but they were ignorant of God's righteousness, revealed in the
gospel; that is, of Christ as the end of the law for righteousness:
and hence they stumbled in the dark. Many are much enlight-
ened in the knowledge of the law, and heated also with a zeal for
the law of God; and yet are in the dark night of gross ignorance
VOL. III. 51
594 SIGNS OF AN EVENING-TIME
of Christ and God's righteousness: and so they stumble in the
dark, and fall into perdition.
9. It is a sad sign of an evening-time, when all is hushed in
silence, and the house kept in profound peace; for, in the day
time there is still ^ome noise about the house; but in the night
time there is nothing, for ordinary, but undisturbed peace, and
tranquillity. — Even so, it is a sign that it is the dark and dead
hour of the night with people, when their hearts are resting in the
beds of carnal ease and peace: it says, that the devil is lulling
them asleep in the bed of security; " When the strong man armed
keeps his palace, his goods are in peace," Luke xi. 21. Some
are ready to think, God be thanked I was never disturbed by the
devil: Yea, but man, why does he not disturb you? The reason
is, because he is sure enough of you: but if you were resisting
' him, he would give you little peace; he would set all the powers
of hell on your top. But when all is hushed into a hellish peace,
it is a black evening-time: thus many say, " We shall have peace,
though we add drunkenness to thirst."
■ 10. It is a plain sign of an evening-time; yea, that it is mid-
night with them, when all their doors are barred and bolted, and
when no knocks are heard or answered, so as to procure an open-
ing of the door: this is the case that frequently occurs in the
night-time. And now, is it not a sad evidence, that it is an even-
ing-time; yea, a midnight time with a multitude in the visible
church, when the doors of their hearts are fast shut against Christ;
and though he stand at the door and knock. Rev. iii. 20, yet they
do not hear, answer, and open to him.'^ When sinners knock at
his door, he is still ready to open, according to his word, "To
him that knocketh, it shall be opened;" but when he knocks at
the sinner-s door, he may knock a thousand times, and never be
heard or answered. Many a knock has he given, and still is
giving, at the door of this generation. — He knocks by his word of
command, Heb. iii. 7, 8; Eph. v. 14; 1 John iii. 23; by his word
of threatening, John viii. 24; I^uke xiii. 3; Mark xvi. 16; by his
word of promise and kindly invitation. Mat. xi. 28; John vi. 35;
viii. 38; by his word of expostulation, reasoning the matter, Ezek.
XXX. 11; by his word of complaint, John v. 4; and by his word of
counsel. Rev. iii. 18. — Again, he knocks by his Spirit, by con-
science, by afflictions, by common mercies, by judgments, by the
good examples and counsels of others, and foretastes of love.
WITH THE CHURCH OP GOD. 595
11. It is a sign that it is an evening-time, when the moon has
arisen, and is risen high: for, you know, as it is a sign the sun is
setting, when the moon has risen; so, for ordinary, the higher the
moon has risen, the farther on is the night, and the farther off is
the sun. When the moon is up, the sun is down. — Now, as
Christ is compared to the sun, and this world to the moon, so,
when it is day-light with the church of God, their splendour is
described by their being clothed with the sun, and having the
moon under their feet, Rev. xii. 1. And as it is a day time of
spiritual light with a person or people, when they have the sun
above their head, and the moon under their feet; so it is a night-
time of spiritual darkness with a person or people, when they
have the moon above their head, and the sun under their feet;
when men's affections are set wholly upon this changeable world,
this mutable moon: when the world is uppermost in their heart,
Christ is downmost. Are not then the worldly hearts, worldly
affections, worldly mindedness of people, who only mind earthly
things, an evidence that they are darkness.^ Some by the moon
in Rev. xii. 1, understand the moon of self-righteousness; and it
holds thus, also, that when men, instead of being clothed with the
Sun of righteousness, and having the moon of self-righteousness
^under their feet, are clothed with the moon, the spotted moon,
pf their own righteousness; then they have the Sun of righteous-
ness under their feet. They are trampling on Christ and his
righteousness, while they are exalting themselves and their own
righteousness, extolling the law of works, and not knowing that
they are thus crying down Christ, the end of the law for right-
eousness, in whom only we have righteousness and strength.
12. It is a sign that it is an evening-time, when looking-glasses
are of no use; and when, by reason of darkness, men can make
no use or improvement either of a mirror, for seeing themselves,
or of a prospect, for seeing other things. — So, it is a sign of a
very dark night, an evening-time of gross darkness, when God's
two glasses are of no use; I mean, neither law nor gospel: when
people can neither see themselves in the glass of the law, as Paul
did, Rom. vii. 9; and also when they cannot see Christ, and the
glory of God in him, in the glass of the gospel, as Paul and others
did, 2 Cor. iii. 18. But it is a time of darkness with the church,
and with particular souls, and a sad evidence, a certain sign of
their total want of saving light, when the law is unserviceable for
596 SIGNS OP AN EVENING-TIME, &C.
discovering their sinful nature, hearts, and lives; and the gospel
unserviceable for discovering the glory of God, in the method of
salvation through Christ: when they are neither convinced of sin
and misery, by the Spirit opening the command, and applying
the threatening of the lavi^j nor convinced of righteousness and
judgment, by the Spirit coming as a Spirit of wisdom, and reve-
lation in the knowledge of Christ, as the Lord our righteousness.
Now, tell me, after you have heard these signs of an evening-
time, if there be not much matter and ground of deep regret and
lamentation over the present time? Are not the generality in the
visible church, yea, the most part here, under gross darkness?
Is it not a black evening with you, man: with you, woman? If
God woul(| convince you by these signs of it, you would see that
you are enveloped and surrounded with the clouds and thick
darkness of hell; and see your need to cry, Lord, enlighten; Lord,
send forth thy light and truth.
597
THE
BELIEVER'S JOINTURE.
The Believer's perfect beauty, free ac-
ceptance, and full security, through
the imputation of Christ's perfect
righteousness, though imparted
grace be imperfect.
O Happy soul, Jehovah's bride.
The Lamb's beloved spouse,
Strong consolation's flowing tide
Tliy Husband thee allows.
In thee, though, like thy father's race.
By nature black as hell;
Yet now, so beautified by grace.
Thy Husband loves to dwell.
Fair as the moon thy robes appear.
While graces are in dress:
Clear as the sun, while found to wear
Thy Husband's righteousness.
Thy moon-like graces, changing
much,
Have here and there a spot:
Thy sun-like glory is not such,
Thy Husband changes not.
Thy white and ruddy vesture fair
Outvies thfe rosy leaf;
For 'mong ten thousand beauties rare.
Thy Husband is the chief.
Cloth'd with the sun, thy robes of
light
The morning rays outshine;
The lamps of heaven are not so
bright.
Thy Husband decks thee fine.
Though hellish smoke thy duties
stain,
And sin deform thee quite.
Thy Surety's merit makes thee clean,
Thy flusband's beauty white.
Thy pray'rs and tears, nor pure, nor
good.
But vile and loathsome seem;
Yet gain, by dipping in his blood,
Thy Husband's high esteem.
No fear thou starve, though wants be
great.
In liim thou art complete :
Thy hungry soul may hopeful wait.
Thy Husband gives thee meat.
Tliy money, merit, pow'r, and pelf.
Were squander'd by thy fall;
Yet, having notliing in thyself,
Thy Husband is thy all.
Law-precepts, threats, may both be-
set
To crave of thee their due;
But justice for thy double debt
Thy Husband did pursue.
Thougli justice stern as much belong-
As mercy to a God;
Yet justice suffered here no wrong,
Thy Husband's back was broad.
He bore the load of wrath alone,
That mercy might take vent;
Heav'n's pointed arrows all upon
Thy Husband's heart were spent.
No partial pay could justice still,
No farthing was retrench'd;
Vengeance exacted all, until
Thy Husband all advanc'd.
He paid in liquid golden red.
Each mite the law requir'd.
Till, with a loud, 'Tis finished,
Thy Husband's breath expir'd.
No process more the law can 'tent;
Thou stand'st without its verge.
And may'st at pleasure now present
Thy Husband's full discharge.
Though new-contracted guilt beget
New fears of divine ire;
Yet fear tliou not, though drown'd in
debt.
Thy Husband is the payer.
God might in rigour thee indite
Of highest crimes and flaws;
But on thy head no curse can light.
Thy Husband is the cause.
598
THE believer's JOINTURE.
Christ the Believer'' s Friend, Prophet,
Priest, King, Defence, Guide,
Guard, Help, and Healer.
Dkar soul, wlien all the human race
Lay welt'ring' in their fcore,
Vast numbers in that dismal case
Thy Husband passed o'er.
But pray, wliy did he thousands pass,
And set his heart on tliee?
The deep, the searciiiess reason was,
Thy Husband's love is free.
The foi'ms of favour, names of grace,
And offices of love,
He bears for thee, with open face,
Thy Husband's kindness prove.
'Gainst darkness black, and error
blind.
Thou hast a sun and sliield;
And to reveal the Fatlier's mind.
Thy Husband-Fropiiet seal'd.
He likewise, to procure thy peace,
And save from sin's arrest.
Resigned himself a sacrifice;
Thy Husband is thy Priest.
And, that he miglit thy will subject.
And sweetly captive bring,
Thy sins subdue, his throne erect.
Thy Husband is thy King.
Thougii num'rous and assaulting foes.
Thy joyful peace may mar.
And tliou a thousand battles lose.
Thy Husband wins the war.
Hell's forces, which thy mind appal.
His arm can soon despatch;
How strong soe'cr, yet for them all
Thy Husband's more tlian matcii.
Thougli secret lusts witli liid contest.
By heayy groans reveal'd.
And devil's rage: yet, do their best,
Thy Husband keeps the field.
When in desertion's ev'ning dark.
Thy steps are apt to slide.
His conduct seek. Ills counsel mark,
TJiy Husband is thy guide.
In doubts, renouncing self-conceit.
His word and Spirit ijrize:
He never counsell'd wrong as yet,
Thy Husband is so wise.
When weak, thy refuge seest at hand,
Yet cannot run the length;
'Tis present pow'r to understand
Thy Husband is tliy strength.
When shaking storms annoy liiy heart.
His word commands a calm:
When bleeding wounds, to ease thy
smart.
Thy Husband's bipod is balm.
Trust creatures, nor to help thy
thrall.
Nor to assuage thy grief;
Use means, but look beyond them all.
Thy Husband's thy relief.
If Heav'n prescribe a bitter drug.
Fret not with froward will:
This carriage may thy cure prorogue;
Thy Husband wants no skill.
He sees the sore, he knows the cure
Will most adapted be;
'Tis then most reasonable, sure,
Thy Husband choose for thee.
Friendship is in his chastisements.
And favour in his frowns;
Thence judge not then, in heavy
plaints.
Thy Husband thee disowns.
The deeper his sharp lancet go,
In ripping up thy wound.
The more thy healing shall unto
Thy Husband's praise redound.
Christ the Believer's loonderful Phy-
sician and wealthy Friend.
KijfD Jesus empties whom he'll fill.
Casts down whom he will raise;
He quickens whom he seems to kill;
Thy Husband thus gets praise.
When awful rods are in his hand.
There's mercy in his mind; ■
When clouds upon his brow do stand.
Thy Husband's heart is kind.
In various changes to and fro.
He'll ever constant prove;
Nor can his kindness come and go.
Thy Husband's name is Love.
His friends in most afilictcd lot
His favour most have felt;
For .when they're tried in furnace hot,
Thy Husband's bowels melt.
When he his bride or wounds or
heals.
Heart-kindness does him move;
And wr.aps in frowns, as well as
smiles.
Thy Husband's lasting love.
In 's liand no cure could ever fail,
Though of a hopeless state,
He can in desperate cases heal,
Thy Husband's art's so great.
The medicine he did prepare
Can't fail to work for good:
O balsam pow'iful, precious, rare.
Thy Husband's sacred blood;
THE believer's JOINTURE.
599
Which freely from his broached
breast
Ckish'd out like pent-up fire:
His cures are best, his A\ages least,
Thy Husband takes no hire.
Thou hast no worth, no might, no
. g-ood.
His favour to procure:
But see his store, his povv'r, his blood.
Thy Husband's never poor.
Himself he humbled wondrously
Once to the lowest pitch.
That bankrupts through his poverty
Thy Husband mig-ht enrich.
His treasure is more excellent
Than hills of Ophir gold;
In telling' store were ages spent.
Thy Husband's can n't be told.
All things that fly on wings of fame,
Compar'd witli this are dross;
For searchless riches in his name
Thy Husband's doth engross.
The great Iimmanuel, God-Man,
Includes such store divine;
Angels and saints will never scan
Thy Husband's golden mine.
He's full of grace and truth indeed.
Of Spirit, merit, might;
Of all the wealth that bankrupts
need
Thy Husband's heir by right.
Tiiough heav'n's his throne, he came
from thence
To seek a'nd save the lost:
Whatever be the vast expense.
Thy Husband's at the cost.
Pleased to expend each drop of blood.
That filled his royal veins.
He frank the sacred victim stood;
Thy Husband spared no pains.
His cost immense was in thy place,
Thy freedom cost his thrall;
Thy g'lory cost him deep disgrace,
Thy Husband paid for all.
The Believer's safely under the co-
vert of Christ's atoning blood and
powerful intercession.
When Heav'n proclaim'd hot war and
wrath.
And sin increas'd the strife;
By rich obedience unto death.
Thy Husband bought thy life.
The charges could not be abridg'd
But on these noble terms;
Which all that prize are luigg'd
amidst
Thy Husband's folded arms.
W!>en law condemns, and justice too
To prison would thee hale;
As sureties kind for bankrupts do,
Thy Husband offers bail.
God on these terms is reconcil'd,
And thou his heart hast won;
In Cin-ist thou art his favour'd child.
Thy Husband is his Son.
Vindictive wrath is whole appeas'd,
Thou need'st not then be mov'd;
In Jesus always he's well pleas' d,
Thy Husband's his Beltw'd.
What can be laid unto tliy charge,
Wiien God does not condenm?
Bills of complaint though foes enlarge.
Thy Husband answers them.
When fear tliy guilty mind confounds,
Full comfort tliis may yield;
Thy runsom-bill with blood and
wounds
Thy Husband kind has seal'd.
His promise is the fair extract
Thou iiast at hand to show;
Stern justice can no more exact,
Thy Husband paid its due.
No terms he left thee to fulfil,
No clog to mar tliy faith;
His bond is sign'd, his latter-will
Thy Husband's seal'd by death.
The great condition of the band
Of promise and of bliss.
Is wrought by him, and brought to
hand.
Thy Husband's righteousness.
When, therefore, press'd in time of
need
To sue the promis'd good,
Thou hast no more to do but plead
Thy Husband's sealing blood.
This can thee more to God com-
mend,
And cloudy wrath dispel.
Than e'er tliy sinning could offendj
Thy Husband vanquish'd hell.'
When vengeance seems, for broken
laws.
To light on thee with dread.
Let Christ be lunpire of thy cause;
Thy Husband well can plead.
He pleads his righteousness, that
brought
All rents the law would crave}
Whate'er its precepts, threat'nings,
sought.
Thy Husband fully gave.
600
THE believer's JOINTURE.
Did holiness in precepts stand,
And for perfection call,
Justice in threat'nings death demand?
Thy Husband gave it all.
His blood the fiery law did quench.
Its summons need not scare;
Tho't cite thee to Heav'n's awful
bench.
Thy Husband's at the bar.
This Advocate has much to sa}'.
His clients need not fear;
For God the Father hears him aye.
Thy Husband hath his eai".
A cause fail'd never in his hand,
So strong his pleading is;
His Father grants his whole de-"
mand,
Thy Husband's will is his.
Hell-forces all may rendezvous.
Accusers may combine;
Yet fear thou not who art his spouse.
Thy Husband's cause is thine.
By solemn oath Jehovah did
His priesthood ratify;
Let earth and hell then counterplead.
Thy Husband gains the plea.
THE END.
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