out the gospel, and the power of godlinefs. Some have crept into the church, who, instead of preaching the gofpel, entertain poor people with empty harangues of morality, or fomething wore, even in the hearing of our national affembly; and yet fuch things pafs without cenfure. Does not this fay that the enemy is coming in like a flood, and the Spirit of the Lord departed?

3. There is a flood of fuperftition, and fuperftitious worfhip, running in our land at this day, and multitudes of the higher rank carried away with the flood. A flood of churchtyranny is broken out. God has indeed delivered us from open Popish and Prelatic tyranny and perfecution, under which we groaned for many years: but another fort of tyran ny is broken in among us, under a mask, whereby the poor people of God are oppreffed in their Chriftian rights and privileges; particularly in the choice and election of their own paftors. How are the fheep and flock of Chrift bleating and mourning through feveral corners of the land, who find themfelves peeled and spoiled by patrons, and others joining hands with them? There is a flood of profanity broken out in our day; fome arrived at that pitch of wickednefs, as to turn every thing serious and facred to matter of laughter and ridicule. O what a flood of curfing and fwearing, lying, murdering, cheating, stealing, backbiting, malice, envy, covetousness, Sabbath-breaking, does prevail among us! What a flood of neutrality prevails about the things of God! how many Gallios, who are easy whether the intereft of Chrift fink or swim, if it go well with their own worldly and civil concerns! What a flood of prevailing unbelief; not only infidelity, rampant among that fort of men that I was fpeaking of, but a flood of unbelief among the profeffors of the name of Christ! May not that old complaint be renewed at this day, "Who hath believed our report?" How many are they, who make God a liar, by refusing to fet to their feal to the record God has given of his Son? What a flood of hypocrify! men carrying the mask or appearance of religion, who are ftrangers to the life and power of it; "have a name to live, yet dead in trefpafles and fins!" What a flood of apoftafy and backfliding; fome who, through the knowledge of Chrift, feemed to " escape the pollutions of the world, returning with the dog to their vomit, and with the fow that was wafhed, to wallow in the

ire!" Thus you fee, there are many dangerous floods a-running in our day. Does not all this fay, that our blessed Standard-bearer, the Spirit of the Lord, is in a great measure departed?

As

As a further evidence of his departure, I will tell you in a few words, how far the enemy is come in.

1. He is come within our borders; many, if not all of these floods, are already within our borders. Indeed the flood of Arian heresy staid for a while in England and Ireland; but now it is within the borders of Scotland, and of the church of God therein it was never heard of, fince the reformation, to be within our borders, till now; and ufually, when an enemy is at or within the borders of a land, the inhabitants take the alarm.

2. But, Sirs, I will tell you more, that the enemy is not only come into our borders, but he has entered the palaces, and, fome fay, the pulpits of our Zion. How much of fin, Satan, and of the world, do we that are minifters bring along with us, even when we come forth to people in the name of God! Yea, it is to be feared, that that word is too much verified in our day, cited already, Judê 4. I have heard it affirmed, and that very openly, that Arian doctrine was taught and vented from fome pulpits of the kingdom.

3. I will adventure to fay more, that the enemy is come in the length of our judicatories, thefe thrones of judgement. Has not the Arian heresy been before the bar of our national affembly, and a procefs upon that head been under the confideration of all the prefbyteries of the kingdom? It would have been thought a ftrange thing for that damnable heresy to fet up its head once a-day within the borders of our Zion; far more to have fuch a thing before the fupreme judicatory of this national church, without the heavy fentence of depoûtion or excommunication pronounced against the guilty perfon; and yet all the cenfure in this cafe is only a fufpenfion, and a door left for an after affembly to take it off. Does not this fay, that the enemy is come in like a flood?

4. The enemy is come into the dwellings of our Zion. How many families are there, where there is not the least shadow of the worship of God? Does not that fay, that the devil has his feat there; the god of this world reigns in thefe families, where he prevails fo far, as to juftle God out of that worship that is due unto him?

5. Has not the enemy come into the closets; yea, to the fecret chambers of the heart, which God challenges as his due? As for the wicked, there is no doubt but the devil is within their heart; the god of this world rules in the hearts of the children of difobedience; fin, which is the first-born of the devil, has an abfolute command over them; every thought and imagination of their heart is evil. As for the work, Solomon tells us, that it is fet in the heart of the wick

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ed and ungodly. Yea, where thefe enemies have loft their power and dominion, I mean, in the hearts of the godly, yet are they making ftrange inroads, to the difhonour of God, to the difcredit of religion, and the breaking of the peace and quiet of the gracious foul.

Thus then you fec, there is fad ground of lamentation, that the enemy is come like a fiood: and what is the reafon of all this? the Spirit of the Lord, which should lift up his standard, is departed.

Quest. Why does not the Spirit of the Lord lift up a standard against the enemy? I answer, Because his standard when lifted up is not followed. We do not follow the standard of the word, in the administration of the affairs of Chrift's kingdom, but the ftandard of carnal policy, ftudying to please this and the other gentleman that is patron of a parish: we are broken in judgement, becaufe we willingly walk after the commandments of men. And the Spirit of the Lord leaves us, and does not lift up his standard, because we do not obferve his motions and operations upon our fouls; we do not cherifn his influences; we walk in darkness, and fee no light, becaufe we do not follow the light when we have it. And is it any wonder then though he depart from us?

ON MONDAY.

ISA. lix. 19.The Spirit of the Lord fall lift up a Standard against him.

GO on now to a fourth use of this doctrine, and that is by way of Confolation to believers; particularly honesthearted communicants, who have both the public caufe of Christ, and the private cafe of their own fouls at heart. Perhaps, when they take a view of the enemy coming in like a flood upon the church, and the more private assaults made upon their own fouls, they are ready to fay with Jehoshaphat, "We know not what to do against this great company that cometh up against us." If this be thy cafe, I have good news from the Lord to tell thee, namely, that when the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the Lord fball lift up a Standard against him.

More

More particularly, Art thou perplexed and troubled in fpirit, because of the floods that are broken in upon the church of God, threatening ruin to the doctrine, difcipline, worship, and government thereof? When you look to the país that religion is brought unto, and take a view of the enemy that is come into the borders, and palaces, and affemblies of our Zion, you are ready to cry out, "By whom shall Jacob arife? for he is fmall." Here is encouragement, Jacob fhall arife by the mighty God of Jacob. I own, indeed, that I cannot give you any infallible ground of faith from the fcriptures of truth, that the Spirit of the Lord fhall lift up the ftandard for our church, more than for any particular church upon the face of the earth. We are indeed affured, that God will have a church on earth, and that "the gates of hell fhall never prevail," fo far as to raze and ruin her totally; but I know of no abfolute promife in the word of God, that he will preferve a church to himself in any particular nation, or among any fociety of men whatsoever. We fee the church of the Jews unchurched, the tabernacle of David is taken down, the natural feed and posterity of Abraham are cut off, and caft out for many hundreds of years. The once famous churches of the Leffer Afia are turned Mahometan mofques. The church of Rome, whofe faith was spoken of throughout the whole world, is now turned to the feat of Antichrift. So that, I fay, no particular church has any abfolute or infallible fecurity, that the enemy fhall not come in like a flood, and fweep away the very face of religion from among them. But yet, there are fome things from which we may adventure to gather hope, that the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard, and drive back the enemy that is coming fo far in upon the church of Scotland.

1. Is it not ground of hope, that there is a goodly number of mourners in our Zion, who are fighing and crying for all the abominations that are found in the midst of us? There are fome who yet take pleasure in our Zion, and have a kindnefs for her ftones and rubbish, and who are lifting up a prayer for the remnant that is left. God has a great regard to this remnant, to their prayers and tears; and he fays, "For the fighing of the poor, for the crying of the needy, now will I arife, faith the Lord."

2. God is here and there railing up and fending forth fome young men to the miniftry, who are endowed with his Spirit, and whom he has polifhed as fhafts for his work and fervice, in building up his own, and battering down Satan's kingdom. God ufes not to polifh inftruments for work and fervice, and then to lay them by as useless; he fendeth not forth labourers, where he has no harvest to reap.

3. There

3. There is a fpring of young converts here and there through the land, in whom fome good thing toward the Lord God of Ifrael is to be found; yea, a fpring arifen even in some places, where religion feems to be most borne down and oppreffed which fays, that the Lord will maintain his ground; and that he is like the wife hufbandman, who keeps a proper measure of feed to fow his field, a little leaven to leaven the lump.

4. Many of the dear faints of God, who are now triumphing about the throne, minifters and others, have gone off the stage, in the faith and perfuafion of it, that God would yet appear in his glory, for building up of his Zion in Scotland; and that there fhould yet be more glorious days feen in our land, than ever we or our fathers have feen. Thefe, I say, are fome grounds of hope, that the Lord will not altogether leave us to be carried down the flood, but that he will yet lift up the standard, and difplay his glory. I fhall only add, that whatever defections there may be among us, yet there is not wanting fome to give their honeft teftimony against them, and who through grace are refolved to cleave to the ftandard of the law and teftimony, which the Spirit of the Lord has lifted up; and we defire to believe, that he will not forfake those who feek him, and defire to cleave to him.

But, after all these things, there is no fecurity against fome fweeping flood or other, for which we in this land feem to be ripening apace. But though floods of error, perfecution, and public calamities fhould break loofe; yet it is ground of comfort to the Lord's people, that even by these floods God is ftill advancing and promoting his own work; the wrath and corruptions of men thall praife him, and the remainder of his wrath he will restrain.

Queft. What good work of God can be advanced and promoted, by letting the enemy come in like a flood upon his church?

I anfwer, 1. His difcovering work is advanced. By letting floods run, hereby he feparates between the precious and the vile, between the chaff and the wheat. A flood, as I was faying, in the doctrinal part, is of a sweeping nature, it sweeps away loose timber and tones, or any other thing that lies in its way, not well fastened in the earth. Juft fo is it here, with respect to these floods of error, defections, or tribulations; loofe ill-grounded profeflors are commonly carried down the fream, while they that are rooted and grounded in Chrift, and built upon the blefled foundation that God has laid in Zion, their houfe ftands, becaufe it is built upon a rock. Now, God will have the one diftinguished or feparate from the

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other,