off." The promise is left to you, and we that are ministers are fent to open the contents of it; to tell you of its freedom, of its fulness, of its comely order and stability, and to lay it in broad band before you, requiring you to fubfcribe with the hand of faith, faying, "I am the Lord's.'

Mot. 7. Confider, that you have fo far given your confent already to this glorious Kinfman, that he should be your Hufband, and you his spouse and bride, that you cannot retract without perjury and adultery. When a woman has given her hand to a man before witneffes, and faid with her mouth, that The takes such a man for her husband, promising to be faithful to him unto death; we reckon that woman married in the fight of the world; and it is not lawful for her to dispose of herself to another man, without being guilty of perjury in breaking the marriage-oath; and if the join herself to another, the is an adulterefs. Well, Sirs, thus far is the bargain gone between Chrift and every one of you (I pray you confider it, for this is a matter of the greatest moment), you are already married unto Chrift. You have confented to be his, and not another's, in baptifm, you was then dedicated and devoted to him; and have you not many times made open profeffion of the name of Chrift? Do you not all own him as your Saviour, as your Prophet, Prieft, and King, before the world? Have you not been at a communion-table? Are you not called

Christians after him, as a woman is called by the name of her husband? Well, do not all these make marriage between him and you? Are you after all this at liberty to follow other lords and lovers? I own indeed, that many, many multitudes in the vifible church, go all these lengths, who yet are never married to him in their hearts, and who are joined to their idols inwardly. But whether you faid it with your hearts or not, you have before the world profeffed, that he, and he only, thall be your Lord, and that other lords fhall not have dominion over you; and if your heart did not go along with your profeffion, you are rank hypocrites. But your profeffed confent makes marriage before the world, fo that you ftand bound by the oath of God, to be for him and not for another; and if you go after other lovers, and prostitute your fouls to them, you play the harlot, as the Lord fays to Ifrael, Jer. iii. 1. And we find this profeffed and declared confent unto Chrift, is called marriage with the Lord in fcripture, Jer. iii. 14. and urged by the Lord as an argument for their return to him; "Turn, O backfliding children, faith the Lord, for I am married unto you." And upon this ground, their idolatry and other fins fall under the charge of fpiritual fornication and adultery, yer. 2. "Thou haft polluted the land with thy whoredoms, and

with thy wickednefs." Thus you fee, that there is already a marriage-relation between Chrift and you, and you cannot retract without whoredom and adultery. And feeing you have already figned the contract of the covenant profeffedly before the world, why will you not fign it with your heart alfo, by which a man believes unto righteoufnefs? If you do not, you deal deceitfully with God, and "curfed is the man that doth the work of the Lord deceitfully."

Mot. 8. Confider how mightily the heart of our glorious Kinsman, and Avenger of blood, is set upon a match between you. So much was his heart fet upon it, that the very thoughts of it were matter of rejoicing to him before the world was made; he "rejoiced from eternity in the habitable parts of the earth," that is, in these parts of the earth where he faw he would get a bride to himself among the pofterity of Adam. His heart was fo much upon this match, that he came, "travelling in the greatnefs of his ftrength," in order to rescue and deliver his bride; when he faw her lying with the chains of hell upon her, he flees, as upon the wings of the wind, for her relief, crying, The day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. So much is his heart fet upon this match, that he is the most earnest fuitor to you that ever was; he invites, he befeeches, he intreats, and obtefts finners to give the confent of the heart, as well as of the mouth; and when finners refuse to give the confent of their hearts to him as their Husband, his very heart is like to burft within him; My bowels are turned within me, and my repentings are kindled together.'

"

Mot. 9. This is all the reward that he feeks of you for his hard and fore travel, in spending the blood of his heart for the fatisfying of juftice, and in avenging your quarrel upon the powers of hell, namely, that you give the confent of your fouls to be his, and not another's. O let him fee the travel of his foul, that he may be fatisfied.

Mot. 10. All parties are pleased, if you be but content. Our Kinfman's Father is pleased; he first proposed the match to his own Son, in the council of peace; and he also propofes it to us in the word; he fends forth his fervants, inviting all to the marriage-fupper of the King's Son, faying, "Behold, I have prepared my dinner : my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage:" fo that God the Father is pleafed with the match. Our Kinsman Chrift, the glorious Meffiah, he is pleased, and fo well pleased, that, when a finner gives his confent to marry him, he reckons it his coronation day and the day of the gladnefs of his heart, Cant. iii. 11. The friends of the Bridegroom are

pleafed,

pleafed, all faithful minifters are pleased, for they travel in birth till you confent to marry this creditable Kinsman of ours. Fellow virgins, all true believers, are pleased, and rejoice when Christ gets a new bride. In a word, the whole family of the church militant and triumphant rejoice when a finner is betrothed unto the Son of God. Now, feeing all parties con cerned are pleased with the bargain, Oh fhall there be any more ftop in it?

Here we ftand ready, in his name, to answer all imaginable objections that unbelief may offer against your marrying the Avenger of your blood.

Object. 1. The distance is so great between him and me, that I cannot think he will ever look on me; I am unworthy of any body's notice, much more of his, who is "the Prince of the kings of the earth." Anfw. Since he does not stand upon the inequality of the match, do not you object it; for the odds lies on his fide. Again, the greater the inequality be, the more is the glory of free grace manifefted, and that is his plot, that grace may reign, and not merit, And then remember it is God's ordinary way, to pass by the great, rich, honourable, and to pitch upon the bafe, foolish, mean things of the world, "that no flesh may glory in his presence.”

Object. 2. I am black and ugly, and deformed, will he ever join hands with me, he whofe "countenance is as Lebanon ?" Anfw. He never took any of Adam's race to him in fuch a relation because they were beautiful, but because he defigned to make them beautiful "through his comeliness." But, Oh! my fins are of a deep dye. Anfw. This fhall be no ftop, lf. i. 18. "Come now, and let us reafon together, faith the Lord though your fins be as fcarlet, they fhall be as white as fnow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."

Object. 3. I am a dead finner, will ever the Lord of life match with me? Anfw. Hear himself anfwering the objec tion, If. lv. 3. "Hear, and your foul fhall live." Give thy confent to him by faith, and though thou wert dead, yet fhalt thou live.

Object. 4. I do not know if ever the Bridegroom loved me, or defigned that I fhould be his bride. Anfw. If a man fhould propofe and promife marriage to a woman, and fhe fhould refufe her confent, under a pretence that fhe did not know the defign of his heart, would not this be to charge her courtier with difingenuity? So here the cafe is the fame; we are to judge of the Lord's heart and defigns by the words of his mouth; and faith holds him by his word and at his word.

Object. 5. I want a will to give my confent to him. Anfu.

Put

Put thy will in his hand, and he promises to make thee "willing in a day of his power." And if the enmity and averfation of thy will be really thy exercife, it is an evidence that the rooted confent of thy heart is already gained; for I never defired a greater evidence of true love to Chrift, than to be groaning under the enmity of the heart against him: fo it is a gn that the will is really bowed to him, where the remaining corrupt will is the foul's burden and exercise.

if

Now, I fhall conclude this exhortation with a few advices; you, indeed, have a mind for this match with our Goel, our glorious Kinfman, who has avenged our quarrel upon hell, fin, and death. And for your direction, I recommend the practice of Ruth, or her earriage till the accomplishment of her marriage with Boaz, her kinfman or redeemer; for in the Hebrew language the fame word fignifies both a kinfman and redeemer, as you will fee by noticing the margin of your Bibles, Ruth iv. 14. Now, I fay, obferve Ruth's management in this matter, and follow her example; for "these things are written for our learning."

1. You will find, that Ruth fhe clave faft unto her mother Naomi, and fhewed great kindnefs to her, fo that fhe would by no means part with her, when returning to her own country, to “ dwell under the wings of the God of Ifrael.” We are told, that Orpah "kiffed her mother-in-law," and then left her, returning again unto her own people in the land of Moab, but Ruth would by no means part with her, Ruth i. 16. 17.

So

my advice to you is, to cleave to your mother, the church, in her returning to the Lord God of Ifrael. I do not advise you to cleave to our mother in her backflidings from the Lord, but cleave to her in fo far as the returns to the Lord God of Ifrael, to dwell under his fhadow. If Ruth had left her mother Naomi, as Orpah did, fhe had never been married to her kinfman Boaz, fhe had been quite out of the way to it: fo my advice to you, in order to a marriage with Chrift your bleffed Kinfman, is to cleave to your mother-church, the church of Christ, in her returning to the Lord, and do her all the kindness that you can. Boaz took it kindly that Ruth had dealt with her mother-in-law, and fhewed her kindness in a strange land, and came along with her unto the land of Ifrael: fo Chrift he takes it kindly when any fhew kindness unto his church, and cleave to her when in a strange land, or among the midft of enemies. Say with the pfalmift, Pfal. cxxxvii. 5. 6. "If I forget thee, O Jerufalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerufalem above my chief joy." Oudy to keep by the poor church of Christ, ef

pecially.

pecially in her returning to the Lord. I confefs there are many things wrong in the church at this day, but yet we must not leave her for that, we must not, like Orpah, kifs her, and bid her adieu; no, we must cleave to our mother, and yet feparate ourfelves from her defects, by giving due teftimony against what is wrong about her.

2. Ruth, you will find, according to the advice of her mother Naomi, went and gleaned in the field of Boaz her kinfman; and she was discharged by Boaz, as well as her mother, from going to glean in another man's field. Do you the like, glean the field of our bleffed Kinfman, Jefus Chrift, and keep by his reapers, I mean the faithful minifters of Chrift; this is the advice given to the spouse, Cant. i. 7. 8. "If thou know not, O thou faireft among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids among the shepherds tents. Why fhould I be as one that turneth afide by the flocks. of thy companions ?" Do not turn afide unto the fields of frangers, deceivers, erroneous teachers, hirelings, who have the theeps clothing, but " inwardly are ravening wolves." Keep by Chrift's green paftures, his field; for there you may expect to have fomething dropt for your encouragement, by the order of the great Mafter of the field; as Boaz ordered his reapers to let handfuls fall to Ruth, when the kept by his field; fo if you keep by the pure field of the preaching of the word and ordinances, as he has commanded them to be dif penfed, you may expect that our kind Kinfman will let fomething fall for your encouragement.

So

3. Ruth, the improved every hint of Boaz's kindness and good-will, to cleave to him as her kinsman; and the more that the obferved his kindness, the more fhe was encouraged. I would have you to encourage faith and trust in our Goel and Kinsman, from every hint of his good-will and kindness manifested in his word. Do as the fervants of Benhadad did, who catched at every favourable word that dropt from the mouth of the king of Ifrael. Gather up the fheaves, or the handfuls that he orders his reapers to let fall to you; and when he bids you come at meal-time, and eat of his bread, and dip your morfel in his vinegar, or wine, be fure to do his bidding, and take it as a token of his kindness; for his heart is full of love, being love itself.

4. We are told, that Ruth did creep down at her kinfman's feet, chap. iii. 7. and under his covering, being encouraged thereunto by the relation he bore her, as a kinfman, by the kindly words and acts that he had fhewed her. So my advice to you is, to lie down at the feet of our kind Kinsman, and creep under the covering of his righteoufnefs; for he is "clothed