this fimilitude and refemblance? Why, the reafon is, he is their refurrection and life; the fame life that is in the head is in the members; the fame fap that is in the root is in the branches and little twigs; the fame Spirit of life that is in Chrift goes through all the members of his mystical body; that is the reason of the fimilitude between him and them. And then, 7. In the feventh place, from this doctrine we may likewife fee the ground and reason of the perfeverance of the faints, and the recovery of believers from their difmal fits of unbelief they fall under. Why, what is it that makes the righteous grow stronger and ftronger? what is it that recovers the believer from these defperate fits of unbelief, which make him to cry, "I am caft out of thy fight, I am free among the dead, my bones are withered, my life is gone;" yet he reverts ay? What is it that brings him back, and reftores his foul? Why, Chrift is the refurrection and the life, a new ftream of life comes from his glorious head, and then he begins to "revive as the corn, grow as the vine, and his fcent is as the wine of Lebanon. They that dwell under his thadow, who is the refurrection and the life, they fhall revive as the corn," &c. Again, 8. In the eighth place, from this doctrine we may fee whereaway our eyes fhould be turned, in fuch a day as this, in order to the refurrection of a dying church. There is a melancholy complaint at this day through the land, of dead minifters and dead people, dead ordinances, dead hearing, dead reading, dead praying, and dead facraments; where fhall we go for help? Let us look to him who is the refurrection and the life; it is he only that is the resurrection of minifters, refurrection of judicatories, the refurrection of doctrine, the refurrection of difcipline, and the refurrection of government; he is the refurrection and the life of them all; if he would come back, we would "look forth as the morning, be fair as the moon, clear as the fun, and terrible as an army with banners." I remember Jehoshaphet, in a perplexing time, when he was troubled, and knew not what to do, he turns his eyes to the Lord, and cries, "() our God, wilt not thou judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do, but our eyes are upon thee." Well, Sirs, when all things are like to turn to wreck and confufion, let us look to him who is the refurrection and the life, that he may raise us from the grave of apoftacy and backfliding to which we are fallen, by the very breath of his mouth he will make them live; and if he fay but to minifters, “Go prophefy upon these dead and dry bones," when minilters are VOL. II. 4 F faying faying, O! "how can thefe dry bones live?" immediately joint comes to joint, and finew to finew, and life enters into them, and a great army will ftand up for the Lord. In the mean time, until he be pleased to come, let us ply the oar of duty at his command; let us put up the request of the church in a day like this, "Wilt thou not revive us again, that thy people may rejoice in thee? Awake, O north wind, and come thou fouth, and blow upon our gardens, that the fpices thereof may flow out." But again, 9. In the ninth place, if it be fo that Chrift is the refurrection and the life, then certainly it is matter of fad regret and lamen. tation, that there fhould be fo many dead finners, when Chrift is prefented to them in the everlafting gofpel. - Indeed it is to be regretted, though the words of life be proclaimed, though the words of the Spirit of life are scattered, fo few are quickened by them. What way does that appear? fay you. Ianfwer, it appears by many things, that there are a great mul titude of dead finners among us. It appears from the want of a right colour. O Sirs, the pale and wane colour of death is ftaring out of the countenance and converfation of the greateft part; there is little or nothing of the lively colour of true holiness among us, and the want of it is a fign of death. The want of appetite after food is another fymptom of death. The bread of life, the everlafting gofpel of Chrift is naufeate and loathed, as the manna was by Ifrael. The preaching of a crucified Chrift is foolifhnefs to fome, and a ftumbling-block to the worldly wife: whatever reckoning fuch may make of themselves, God reckons them fools and dead men; God's wifdom is folly to them, and their wifdom is folly to the Lord. And then the want of motion is another fign of death. Indeed the dead may be moved from without, by external force, but not from within; there is fomething of mo tion they may feem to have, in attending upon ordinances; but, O Sirs, is it from a principle of fpiritual life ye attend upon thefe ordinances? is it from a defire to fee him who is the refurrection, and the life. O let us lament over the mifery of the dead in the valley of vifion; if it were poffible to found an alarm, and ftartle and awaken the dead that are before me; this indeed is God's work, who "quickeneth the dead, and calls things that are not as if they were;" however, by his appointment, we muft ufe the mean. There are these few words I would fay to the dead, if they would give ear and hear. ift, The dead are loathefome to the living. Ye know when. ever the foul departs from the body, it becomes loathefome, it corrupts, it finks. Hence Abraham fays concerning Sarah, when when he was dead, "Bury my dead out of my fight," though he loved her well when he was alive. Sirs, ye are loathefome, ye are abhorred of the living God while out of Christ, and abhorred by all living faints: "O my foul, come not thou into their fecret; unto their affembly, mine honour, be not thou united." 2dly, As they are loathefome, fo they are frightfome. People are frighted to fee the dead; fo believers they are frighted when in the fociety of the wicked, left they be corrupted with their contagion: and indeed it is hard to be amongst the dead, and not to be infected by them, and not to be fome way partakers of their fin. Then the dead must be buried, and caft into the grave; fo, dead finners, you must be buried. Where will ye be buried? Your bodies will go to the worms, but your fouls to hell. The Hebrew word, Sheal, it fignifies both the grave and hell, becaufe the grave is the very mouth of hell to the wicked. "The wicked fhall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God." Confider this, O dead finners; let this engage you to improve him that is the refurrection and the life. And this leads me to another inference, or use from the doctrine. 10. If it be fo, that Chrift is the refurrection and the life of a loft world, "dead in fin," then, in the name of this great Lord, as one of his meaneft heralds, I proclaim life unto the dead. It would be in vain to speak to the dead, if it were not by order from him who "quickeneth the dead, and who calleth things that are not as though they were." Can the dead praise him? If God were giving me a commiffion to fpeak to the very ftones in the field, I would do it, believing that the ftones would live and praife him; and when the Jews were forbidding the people to praife Chrift, he fays, "If thefe fhould forbear, the very stones would ery out; for out of the ftones can God raife up children to Abraham." Sirs, ye are not yet naturally dead, ye are not eternally dead; therefore there is hope. O here is a living Saviour; here is the fountain of life among you; I cry, "Whofoever will, let him come, and take of the water of life: O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord." Comply with the word of the King eternal and immortal; it is his voice coming through an earthen trumpet, that the excellency of the power may be of him. O that this may be the hour wherein the dead may hear the voice of the Son of God, and live. O Sirs, ye are reasonable men and women, ye have rational faculties; will you confider, , That this very name of Chrift invites you to come to him. Why hath he taken this name to himfelf, the refurrec tion, and the life, if there were not dead finners to quicken? Why Why hath he registrate it in his word, but that the dead finner may lay his finger on that name, and carry it to a throne of grace, faying, O let him be the refurrection and the life to me? O let the fpirit of him that is the refurrection and the life quicken me, and make me free from the law of fin and death! 2dly, Confider he who is the refurrection and the life is given unto you in the difpenfation and grant of the everlasting gofpel; the life that is in him is yours. Now I fcarce think you will believe me; I affirm it, he is yours in the revelation; he is yours as he is held out in the Bible, the book of God; he is yours as he ftands in this gofpel; and he is yours in the gift and grant made by himself in the word. There is an authentic grant made by the Father of Christ, in this Bible; and this is the ground of the commiffion we have to preach to every creature. All mankind, every creature come of Adam, are dead in fin; and yet we are commiffioned to go and preach and prophefy unto thefe dead and dry bones. Now, upon what ground does this commiffion go? Why, you will fee, 1 John v. 11. that it goes upon a gift or grant of life that God has made to mankind finners, in a fecond Adam, a new cove nant head: "This is the record of God, that God hath given to us (finners of Adam's race) eternal life, and this life is in his Son" and our preaching the gofpel is just a publication of this authentic grant of life to the dead, made by God in the word, when the dead hear this, their fouls live, If. lv. I 3. remember, in John vi. Christ there the refurrection, and the life, is preaching unto dead finners; because he had fed them with loaves, they had a hankering after him; they all forfook him when he began to preach faith in his blood to them; yet what fays he, ver. 32.-"My Father giveth you the true bread from heaven." The manna was given to Ifrael in the wilderness; every man in the camp of Ifrael had a right to it, because God gave it to them, and brought it down from heaven to their tent-doors. Well, fays Christ, "I am the bread of life," the true manna, I am given by my Father, that " whofoever eateth me, may live by me.' ." The gift or grant of Chrift in the word is juft the very foundation that faith goes upon. Why, we durft not bid you meddle with him unless he were given. It is theft and robbery to meddle with that which doth not belong to us. Our offer of Chrift, and the call to receive him, it certainly fuppofes he is given, or else we durft not bid you meddle with him. Unbelief is the great fin of the bearers of the gospel, that the Lord threatens moft to refent; but unbelief would not be your fin, if Chrift were not given. Now, believe this, that Chrift is given, offered, and presented prefented in this gofpel, even to you who are rotting in the grave of fin, that he may, through faith of God's operation, be the refurrection and the life to your fouls in particular. Then, 3dly, Confider that Chrift, the refurrection and the life, he is willing to give the life that is in him to you; he willingly died, he willingly came into this world, and he willingly went about the work his Father fent him to do. What way does that appear? fay you. An/w. It appears from his folemn and repeated calls, "Hear, and your fouls fhall live;" and he offers and bodes himself upon the dead, and complains that the dead will not come to him for life, John v. 40. " And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. How often would I have gathered you (fays Chrift), as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, but ye would not !" So then, remember Sirs, it is not your impotency that will excufe you; some people fancy, that it will excufe them, because they are dead; remember, Sirs, that God will not condemn you so much for your impotency, as for your unwillingness to come to Chrift: if ye had willingnefs, ye would find the Spirit of life entering into you, and quickening you; he is fo willing, that he complains of the folly and diftraction of finners, he appeals to the heavens and the earth to judge betwixt him and them for their madnefs, Jer. ii. 12. 13. "Be aftonifhed, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be very defolate, faith the Lord. For my people have committed two evils: they have forfaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cifterns, broken cifterns, that can hold no water." Now, let these things be pondered by you that are dead; the Lord is willing to give life to you, and will you not be willing to take fuch an unipeakable blefling off his hand? For the Lord's fake confider what will follow if you do not embrace the Son of God, out of one death you will go to another, out of the grave of fin you will be tumbled into the grave of hell ere it be long; it is only thete that hear the voice of the Son of God that fhall live. O, tay you, will you give the dead your beft advice what to do! (1.) Be convinced that you are dead in trefpaffes and fins, Alas! there lies the great difliculty, finners cannot be perfuaded but they have lite already, at least as much of it as will bring them into heaven. We cannot get people beat off this delufion. (2.) Another advice I would give you is, Be perfuaded there is no life in and by the works of the law for you: "By the works of the law thall no flesh be justified." And then ye must be perfuaded, that there is life in Chrift for you, and |