too juft ground to fear, that God is about to take away his king'dom from us alfo, and to give it unto the American world, who are receiving it with joy and gladnefs. He has ordained how long the gospel and a faithful miniftry fhall stay in any parith or congregation alfo.

3. He has ordained what fouls or perfons fhall be converted, edified, or built up, by the gofpel: when he fends it unto any nation or congregation of Zion (that is, the place where the gofpel-lamp is fet up), "it fhall be said this man and that man was born there," &c. The election of grace fhall obtain, when others are hardened. To the one it is the favour of life unto life, and to others the favour of death unto death. He will order a beam of this lamp to fine into one heart, in hearing the goffel, when it paffes by twenty, thirty, or an hundred, or a thoufand, who lie as fair as to the external means as others.

4. ile ordains by what inftrument or minifter the gospellamp fhall be brought unto a people or particular perfon. Paul is ordained for the Gentiles, Peter for the Jews, and every one of the apoftles and other minifters, led by the ruling hand of the fovereign Lord, to labour in this, or that, or the other spot of his vineyard; for the ftars are all in his right hand; and he ordains them to fhine in this or the other orb of his church; and, whenever he pleafes, he removes them from one place to another of his church militant, where he has any work for them; or elfe, when their work is ended upon earth, he removes them to the church triumphant, where they that have " turned many to righteousness, shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and like the ftars for ever and ever."

5. He ordains what fruit and fuccefs a minifter with his lamp fhall have, what number of fouls fhail be edified, and who thall be hardened and blinded by his light. It is not always the greatest and brighteft minifters that are molt fucceísful; for Chrift and his apoftles, when lifting up the lamp amongst the Jews, were put to complain, "We have laboured in vain," &c. "Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced," &c. So much for the third thing propofed, namely, concerning God's ordination of this lamp..

IV. The fourth thing in the method was, to give the reafons why God has ordained this lamp for his Anointed. And,

1. In the first place, it is ordained for the honour of God's Auointed; for it is the will of God, "That all men fhould

honour

honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son, honoureth not the Father which hath fent him," John v. 23. He will have him highly exalted both on earth and in heaven.

2. God has ordained this lamp for his Anointed, that his name may be remembered through all nations, and to all generations. God has ordained that "his name fhail endure for

ever, that his name fhall laft like the fun." When Paul got his commiffion, the Lord tells him, that he was to "carry his name among the Gentiles, and kings," Acts ix. 15. It is by the gofpel-lamp, that the church caufes his name to be remem bered to all generations.

3. He has ordained the gofpel-lamp for his Anionted, that the gathering of the people may be unto the bleffed Shiloh, according to the ancient prediction of Jacob upon his death-bed, "The fceptre fhall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come, and unto him fhall the gathering of the people be," Gen. xlix. 1o. The perfume of the name of God's Anointed has fuch a drawing and gathering virtue with it, that whenever finners get the smell of it about their hearts, they "fly as a cloud, and as doves unto their windows."-Other reafons might be added; but I do not infift further upon the doctrinal part. I proceed now to,

V. The fifth thing in the method, which was the Applica

tion.

Ufe firft fhall be in two or three inferences at prefent.

Inf. 1. See how dear Chrift is in his Father's eye, how warmly and affectionately he fpeaks of him here, and every where in fcripture. He, as it were, glories in him, and in his relation to him before all the world. Oh! fays he, he is mine Anointed; he is my fervant; he is mine elect: he is my fellow, and mine equal. Why doth God fpeak fo affectionately of him unto a world of loft finners, but that they may fall in love with him, and fay as he fays, by an applying faith, as the fpoufe doth, "My beloved is mine, and I am his? This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerufalem ?" or, as Thomas, "My Lord, and my God?"

Inf. 2. See from what has been faid, the amazing love of God towards loft finners of the tribe and family of Adam, in giving and fending the Son of his love to be our Mediator and Redeemer, and in his anointing and fitting him for the fervice of our redemption with an unmeafurable meafure of the Holy Ghoft and then in ordaining the lamp of the gofpel, for dif playing his glory and excellency through all the world, and

unto

unto every creature. Does not this argue ftrange love that God has unto loft man?" God fo loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son," &c. Oh Sirs! admire the height and breadth, and length and depth, of this love.

Inf. 3. See hence the melancholy and deplorable condition of thefe who want the lamp of the gofpel, or who have provoked God to lift his lamp, and to leave them in darkness. Solomon tells us, that "where no vision is," i. e. where the gofpel-lamp is not, "the people perifh." Their destruction is unavoidable, feeing they want the only means of falvation, there being "no name given under heaven among men whereby to be faved, but by the name of Jefus." Thus the apostle argues. It is only they that "call upon the name of the Lord, that fhall be faved. But how fhall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how fhall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how fhall they hear without a preacher? and how fhall they preach except they be fent?" Rom. .x. 14. 15. By all which the apoftle feems plainly to make it appear, that the falvation of finners is impoffible, without the lamp of gofpel-light to fhew them the way to it. This fhould ftir our bowels on the behalf of the blinded nations who inabit the dark places of the earth, which are full of the habitations of horrid cruelty, where poor fouls are juft flaughtered and butchered by the roaring lion for want of the gofpel, &c.

Inf. 4. See hence what reafon we have to contend earneftly for the faith once delivered unto the faints, and to be valiant for the truth. Why, if the gofpel-lamp be taken away out of the land, we are unchurched, and left among the dark places of the earth, and our houfe is left unto us defolate. What would this earth be, if that great luminary, the fun, were taken out of the heavens? We would be ftumbling and breaking our necks upon every thing in our way; it would be a moft doleful and melancholy habitation. But far better want the fun out of the firmament, than the gofpel-lamp out of the land. Strong efforts have been ufed by hell and earth in all ages, to put out the lamp of God's Anointed, that his foulcaptivating glory might not be feen by the fons of men. This is, and has been, the defign of all the errors that were ever broached fince the Chriftian church and the gofpel-lamp was fet up in the world. The Arian herefy is defigned to darken the glory of his fupreme Deity. The Socinian error agrees with the Arians, and alfo overclouds, or rather obliterates, his fatisfaction. The Arminian error darkens the freedom and efficacy of his grace, by exalting the freedom of man's will in his depraved ftate. Papifts and Legalifts, of whatever denomination,

1

r

mination, they impugn and difparage his everlafting righteouf-
nefs, by fubftituting fomething of their own legal workings,
doings, or perfonal qualifications, in the room of it. And
now-a-days, the idol of felf-love is fubftitute in the room of
the glory of God, &c. All the fe, and the like errors, are just
like fo many damps or mifts caft out of hell, through the ma-
lice and fubtlety of the old ferpent, in order to darken and ob-
fcure the lamp of gofpel-light, that men may not perceive
the glory, fulness, and fuitablenefs of Chrift, and fo believe in
him, to the falvation of their fouls. However, through the
over-ruling hand of God, thefe mifts and clouds have only
ferved in the iffue to make the gofpel-lamp, and the glory
of God's Anointed, to fhine with the greater luftre; like the
clouds in the air, which you obferve have juft now overcaft
the fun in the firmament, they obfcure his light for a while,
and yet ferve only, in the event, as a foil to fet off the glory
of the fun, when he breaks through thefe clouds, and darts
his beams down upon this earth among the children of men,
&c.

Inf. 5. See from this doctrine, what we are to think of the
conduct of the judicatories of the established church at this
day, and for many years by-paft, who feem to be upon a con-
fpiracy to put out the gofpel-lamp, which God lighted at our
reformation from Popery. Perhaps fome hearing me may
think this charge both heavy and calumnious, and fay, Now
you are turned very uncharitable. But if it be not fo, I would
have you to folve thefe few plain questions. What means the
bleating of the sheep? What means that fwarm of lax, legal,
and erroneous minifters that are to be found almost through
all the corners of Scotland? What means that violent way
in which men are obtruded upon Chriftian congregations by
prefentations or fham calls, without the call, and against the
inclinations, of the Christian people? What means the abuse
of church difcipline, whereby the erroneous are fcreened from
cenfure, truth falls in the ftreets, and error patronized? What
means their fufpending, outcafting, and depofing seven men
from the holy miniftry, for no other caufe but their bearing
up the gofpel-lamp, and witneffing for God's anointed Pro-
phet, Prieft, and King, in oppofition unto the prevailing de-
fections and corruptions of the day? What can we think of
thefe things, efpecially when they have flain the witneffes and
condemned their teftimony, but conclude that they have reject
ed the ftone which God has ordained to be the head flone of
the corner? And because they have rejected him (I do not
fpeak of every individual), therefore God has rejected th. m,
and is faying of the judicatories and miniftry of Scotland,
"Because

"Because ye have rejected knowledge, I will alfo reject you, that ye fhall be no priefts to me; feeing ye have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children," Hof. iv. 6.

Inf. 6. See what good reafon we of the Affociate Prefby-. tery have for the work we are about at this day, in licenfing and ordaining minifters through feveral corners of the land, in a way of feceffion from the prefent judicatories, however irregular it may appear in the eyes of fome men. Why, the gospellamp must by no manner of means be loft or extinguished. By the attempts that have been made to put it out, or make it ufelefs, we are driven to preferve it in a way of feceffion from the judicatories, and we can fee no other way of keeping up the gospel-lamp in the land, than by fulfilling that command given by Paul unto Timothy, "The things that thou haft heard of me among many witneffes, the fame commit thou to faithful men, who fhall be able to teach others alfo," 2 Tim. ii. 2.

And in regard the lamp-bearer at Kinclaven is thruft out of his ftation there, through ecclefiaftical and civil violence; therefore we are this day to change his ftation, and fet him up at Glafgow, upon a cali given him by the diffenting congregation in and about this place.

After pfalms, proceeded to this purpose.

"You in this correfpondent congregation having a confi "derable time ago petitioned the Affociate Prefbytery for "the moderation of a call, they accordingly appointed myfelf. "Which appointment I accordingly obeyed. And you may "remember, by a great majority of votes, the call came out for "the Reverend Mr James Fifher, minifter of the gospel at Kin"claven; and was most harmonioufly fubfcribed for him even "by the few who had voted otherwife.

His call being attefted, was prefented unto the prefby"tery, and fuftained as orderly proceeded in. Together "with the call, reafons of tranfportation were offered by you "of the correfpondence of Glafgow. The parish of Kinclaven "were fummoned, compeared, and heard, and the matter "fully reafoned on both fides. After fome confiderable de"lay, the prefbytery, which met at Abbotfhall, taking to con"fideration the whole affair, together with the conduct of "holy providence, which plainly cleared their way, they "tranfported him to be minifter of this correfpondent con

gregation,