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lood upon the head of the old ferpent, red inheritance of eternal life;

ly to put your trust in dnefs, O God! (fays it their truft under the iy God, but man; the ath made ftrong for himlory in our redemption. manage our affairs, so he the prefence of God for and rofe again for our justi1, before the high bar, as our od whatever bufinefs we have court, he is always prefent to it when the caufe is called; and clients fo much at heart, that he being touched with the feeling of and manages the caufe of the offfe gratis, without any money or er the needy when he crieth: the ath no helper," Pfal. lxxii. 12. "He ad of the poor, to fave him from thofe is foul," Pfal. cix. ult. Let thefe or engage your firm truft in the glorious

efe, confider what advantage shall accrue utting all your trust and confidence in him. Je kept in perfect peace amidst all the fhaeld, If. xxvi. 3. You fhall hereby be filled ce, yea," with joy unfpeakable, and full of fhall be rendered immoveable like the rock, of trouble and temptation are overthrowing uild upon the fand. In a word, your trust in Je great Manager, fhall be followed with an exeternal weight of glory; none perifh that trust in Whofoever believeth in him, fhall not perish, but flafting life."

clude at prefent with that word, If. lxiv. 4. "From ginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived e ear, neither hath the eye feen, O God, befides thee, A he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him."

derations. Confider, then, in the first place, That as God the Father reposes a full trust and confidence in him, and has hung upon him all the glory of his houfe, fo he calls and commands all mankind, particularly the children of the family, 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 alfo. He cries from heaven," Behold my fervant whom I uphold, mine elect in whom my foul delighteth." And for what end doth he thus commend him, but that we may make him the object of truf and confidence, as he doth? There is not one duty in all the word of God, that is fo much, or fo frequently inculcate, as that of faith in Chrift, or a firm trust in him, for all the eads of his incarnation; yea, this is the great end of the whole revelation, John xx. ult. "Thefe things are written, that ye may believe in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

There is no pleafing of God, no way to avert his wrath and displeasure, but by trufting the great Manager of his houfe; without faith in Chrift it is impoffible to please him, even though you were capable to perform all the other du ties enjoined in the holy law, which yet is impoffible through the want of faith in the promised Meffiah. All the fplendid fervices of Ifrael were rejected as an abomination, I. i. 10-12. although commanded in the law. But, on the other hand, the weakest mint at commanded duty, though attended with many infirmities, is accepted of God, if done in faith. And the reafon of this is, because faith hangs the whole glory of the foul's acceptance upon the nail fastened in a fure place, and not upon any work or duty done by us. The language of it is, "I will go in the ftrength of the Lord God, and I will make mention of thy righteoufnefs, even of thine only."

Truft the great Manager, for he is "the mighty God," If. ix. 6. Take his own teftimony as to this, Rev. i. 8. " I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, faith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty." 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 fame in fubftance, equal in power and glory. Let this engage your truft in him, for this he gives as the ground and reafon why he fhould be the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are afar off upon the feas: If. xlv. 22. "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else."

The great Manager is your near Kinfman, bone of your bone, and flesh of your fleth, and has acted the Kinfman's part,

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by avenging your blood upon the head of the old ferpent, and by redeeming the mortgaged inheritance of eternal life; and therefore it is natural and kindly to put your truft in him: "How excellent is thy loving kindnefs, O God! (fays David), therefore the fons of men put their truft under the fhadow of thy wings." He is not only God, but man; the man of God's right hand, whom he hath made ftrong for himfelf, i. e. for the purposes of his glory in our redemption. As he hath authority and ability to manage our affairs, fo he is gone to his Father to appear in the prefence of God for As he died for our offences, and rofe again for our juftification, fo he hath ftated himfelf, before the high bar, as our Advocate with the Father. And whatever business we have in dependence before the high court, he is always prefent to look after it, and never abfent when the caufe is called; and he hath the concerns of his clients fo much at heart, that he reckons them his own. Being touched with the feeling of our infirmities, he agents and manages the caufe of the offfpring and iffue of the houfe gratis, without any money or price." He fhall deliver the needy when he crieth: the poor alfo, and him that hath no helper," Pfal. lxxii. 12. “He ftandeth at the right hand of the poor, to fave him from thofe that would condemn his foul," Pfal. cix. ult. Let thefe or the like confiderations engage your firm trust in the glorious Manager.

But, befide all these, confider what advantage fhall accrue to yourselves, by putting all your trust and confidence in him. Hereby you fhall be kept in perfect peace amidst all the fhakings of this world, If. xxvi. 3. You fhall hereby be filled with joy and peace, yea," with joy unspeakable, and full of glory." You shall be rendered immoveable like the rock, when ftorms of trouble and temptation are overthrowing others who build upon the fand. In a word, your trust in and upon the great Manager, fhall be followed with an exceeding and eternal weight of glory; none perifh that truft in him: "Whofoever believeth in him, fhall not perish, but have everlasting life."

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I conclude at prefent with that word, If. lxiv. 4. the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye feen, O God, befides thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him."

that will put their trust in him." (3.) Study to know the near relation he ftands under to you, both by his human nature, and by his offices as Mediator, Redeemer, Prophet, Priest and King, Head and Hufband, for the knowledge of these breeds trust and confidence. A wife trufts in her bufband, a child in his parent, the members truft their head. (4.) Be well acquainted with the great and precions promises of the covenant of grace, and how the condition of them all is fulfilled to your hand by Christ, as a fecond Adam, in his fulfilling the do and die of the covenant of works. Legal conceptions of the covenant of grace, as if our faith, love, obedience, repentance, were the condition of the covenant, brangles faith in the free actings thereof on Chrift and the covenant of grace. We must come without money or price to take hold of the covenant, and to apply the bleffings there of, becaufe Chrif has already paid the money and price that juftice demanded. (5.) Pray much for the Spirit of faith; and, under the conduct of the Spirit, habituate yourselves to a frequent acting of faith, that fo the life you live in the flesh may be "by faith on the Son of God."

I come now to offer a word to believers, under the notion of veffels hanging upon the nail which God has faftened in a fure place. And here I might, (1.) Offer a word to the oef fels of cups. (2.) To the veffels of flagons, or believers of a higher ftature. (3.) A word to both in common.

1. A word to weak believers, who are defigned veffels of cups. I only fuggeft thefe two or three things unto you. (1.) It is a high privilege to occupy the least room in the houfe of our God. The prodigal fon, when he came to himfelf, only begged of his father that he might have the place of a hired fervant; he was glad to be under his father's roof, and to eat in his father's house, at any rate. (2.) God has fervice for the leaft veifel of his houfe, as well as for the largeft. God never made an useless creature, and he does not form any useless veffels; no, every veffel is formed of himfelf, to fhew forth his praife. (3.) The leaft veffel is God's property, and he will not difown, but maintain his property, and own it before nien and angels, faying, "They are mine," in the day when he makes up his jewels. (4.) The bands, by which you hang upon the nail faftened in a fure place, are as frong as thofe by which the veffels of flagons are fecured; for he has faid as to both, 66 They fhall never perish, neither fhall any pluck them out of my hand." (5.) The weakest meature of grace is a pledge of more; for "to him that hath fhall be given." What grace you have got is the arles-pen

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ny 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 juft is as the thining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day." The least meafure of grace has glory connected with it, according to the order of the covenant, Pfal. lxxxiv. 11. "The Lord God is a fun and fhield, he will give grace and glory;" firft grace, and then glory.

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I next offer a word of advice unto the veffels 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 veffels 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 Jefus Chrift." In order to which, be humble under a fenfe of your own weakness and emptinefs; for "he giveth grace to the humble." Be diligent in the improvement 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 ftone,ye also as lively stones, are built up," &c. Improve all the means of God's appointment for your edification, fuch as, the word, facraments, prayer, Chriflian conference, that you may add to your faith, virtue; to virtue, knowledge; to knowledge, temperance; to temperance, patience; to patience, godlinefs; to godlinefs, brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness, charity; for if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye thall neither be barren, nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jefus Chrift, 2 Pet. i. 5-8.

2. A word to the vessels of flagons, believers of a higher ftature. To you I would fay,

ft, Be not proud of grace received, but walk humbly with your God. "Who made thee to differ? and what haft thou that thou haft not received? His foul that is lifted up is not apright in him." True grace, where it is genuine, the more a man receives of it, he is always the more humble and empty, as you fee in Paul, Eph. iii. 8. "Lefs than the least of all faints." To keep your fails low, co fider that the most eminent faints have difcovered the greatest weakness, even in the graces wherein they most excelled; as we fee in the cafe of Abraham, Mofes, David, Peter, and others. They that have the greatest measure of grace, they get as much to do with it; ftrong corruption, ftrong temptation, and strong trials to grapple with: and the more talents that a man doth

receive,

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