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convince us of our need of him as one mighty to fave. To talk of an eternal falvation from fin and fatan, death and hell, by a creature, is mere nonfenfe vain is the falvation of man, Pfa. lx. II. He that is our God is the God of falvation, and unto God the Lord belong the iffues from death, Pfalm lxviii. 20. And this God of falvation is Jefus ; for there is falvation in no other name, A&ts iv. 10— 12. Thefe elders know what they are about; all the hofts of heaven pay divine worship to him, though there are fo many in this world that withhold it, being wifer in their generation than the children of light, Luke xvi. 8. When he bringeth in the first-begotten into the world, he faith, And let all the angels of God worship him, Heb. i. 6. and the command is the fame to Zion, He is thy Jebovah, and worship thou him, Pfalm xlv. 11.

I will never believe that there ever was an Arian that could give any true account of a work of regeneration on his foul, or of his being born again of the Holy Ghoft; and as they are fenfual men, having not the fpirit, nothing can be expected from them but lies and confufion; the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, neither can he know them, because they are Spiritually difcerned, Rom. ii. 14. The Saviour will ever be glorified by the Holy Ghoft whereever that Spirit comes; and he will be glorified as God and Saviour by no other fpirit, nor by any but those that have the Spirit: When the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all

truth:

truth: For be fhall not speak of himself, he shall glorify me, John xvi. 13, 14.

The first powerful command that was attended with a divine ray to my foul was this, "Go and pray to Jefus Chrift;" I went in obedience to the heavenly vision, and in answer to the first extempore prayer put up to the name of the Lord Jefus, I came out of as much real and imaginary horror as any mere mortal could bear up under. I would bear this teftimony, and fwear to it with my dying breath. He that denies the Saviour's being the felf-exiftent and independent Jehovah, is in his natural state, in a state of unbelief, and in a fair way for a fhare in the damnation of hell: If ye believe not that I Am ye fhall die in your fins, John viii. 24. and if they die in their fins where Chrift is they cannot come, ver. 21. This I fee, that the faints of God are every way instructed, and the word of God is every way fulfilled; evil men and feducers fhall wax worse and worfe, deceiving and being deceived, 2 Tim. iii. 13.

It is clear, from the chapter out of which my text is taken, that thefe fpiritual worshippers worship the Lamb with equal adoration to that of the Father; And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and fuch as are in the fea, and all that are in them, beard I, faying, Bleffing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that fetteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. And the four beafts faid Amen, Rev. vi. 13, 14. For the Father judgetb no

man,

man, but bath committed all judgment to the Son: That all men should honour the Son, even as they bonour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son, bonoureth not the Father which bath fent him, John V. 22, 23.

Having treated briefly of the object of their worship, the Lamb, I come now to fhew why he is fo called.

First, Because of his innocency; he having done no fin, neither was guile found in his mouth, 1 Pet. ii. 22. yet it pleafed the Lord to bruise him; be bath put him to grief, Ifa. liii. 10.

Secondly, Becaufe of his meekness and gentleness in the hands of his enemies, and fubmiffion to their cruelty and rage. A lamb makes little refiftance in the hands of a butcher, and lefs in the hand of its fhearer; no animal of its fize fo paffive and meek. There is nothing about it but is ufeful; nor any thing in its nature that is voracious, cunning, fly, or favage; to which the Saviour is compared in his meek and gentle deportment-He was oppreffed, and he was afflicted, yet be opened not his mouth: He is brought as a lamb to the flaughter, and as a sheep before her fhearers is dumb, fo be opened not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment, and who shall declare bis generation? For be was cut off out of the land of the living; for the tranfgreffion of my people was he stricken, Isaiah liii. 7, 8.

Thirdly,

Thirdly, He is compared to a lamb on account of his usefulness. There is nothing about a lamb but is ufeful. It is excellent food, if not the very best of animal food; hence the Saviour fays, My flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed, John vi. 55. whofo eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, bath eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day, verfe 54. This fpiritual eating and drinking fhews the myfterious union there is between Chrift and the believer; for as food received, digefted, and concocted, nourishes every part of the body, and increases it, fo the foul who receives the Saviour by faith into his heart, as crucified for him, finds the fentence of death, his foul-deadnefs removed, and life divine communicated; He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me and I in him, verse 56. All other food perifhes; but this food is fpiritual and divine; and is no less than an eternal feast of fat things, intended to entertain a troubled mind, quicken and nourish a perishing foul, and fatiffy the boundless defires of it with the love of God. Such fouls fhould live above the fear, as they shall surely live above the power, of all that is called death-He that eateth of this bread fhall live for ever, John vi. 58.

The wool of the lamb is excellent for cloathing, as well as the fkin for other ufes-The lambs are for thy CLOATHING, and the goats are the price of the field, Prov. xxvii. 26. And I believe there is fome fweet meaning in this text: I will lay

finews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with SKIN, and put breath in you and you shall live, Ezek. xxxvii. 6. However, the Saviour is not only the food of our fouls, but our cloathing alfo-Put ye on the Lord Jefus Chrift, Rom. xiii. 14. and walk in him, Col. ii. 6. He is our covering-Bleffed is the man whofe fin is covered, Pf. xxxii. 1. The Lord hath covered me with the robe of his righteousness, Isa. lxi. 10. and unless he does we shall be found naked, Rev. xvi. 15. In fhort, we must feed on him, or die; we must be found in his righteousness or be damned, and that is the truth of it.

Fourthly, There is no other fountain opened for fin but the Lamb's blood. All that are in heaven washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, Rev. vii. 14. and if he wash us not we have no part in him, John xiii. 8. No cleansing but this can purge the conscience from the fting of guilt, the curfe and wrath of the law, or from dead works, that we may ferve the living God, Heb. ix. 14. He that is a stranger to the blood of the Lamb, is pursued and haunted by the wrath of God, the fentence of death, and a guilty confcience; no fountain but the blood of the Lamb of God can fprinkle the heart from an evil confcience, Heb. x. 22. No peace, no reconciliation or friendship, with a fin-avenging God, but by an application of this atoning blood; this is the blood of Sprinkling that Speaks better things than that of Abel, Heb. xii. 24.

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