obedience and death. His fecond and last coming, at the end of the world, will be `to folemnife the marriage, and to fetch the bride home to the royal palace, the house of many manfions that he is preparing for her reception, when the shall be made fully ready. I fay, I do not at this time fpeak of either of these, however the laft may be intended in this parable. At prefent I fhall fpeak a little of thefe intermediate vifits that the Bridegroom makes unto his bride during the time of efpoufals, before he come at the last day to folemnife the marriage before men and angels.

ft, The Bridegroom comes and vifits his church and people in the chariot of providence; I underftand his favourable difpenfations when he comes to build up Zion, he appears in his glory, and regards the prayer of the deftitute. Thus when the Lord brought Ifrael out of their Egyptian bondage, with a high hand and outstretched arm, plaguing Egypt, flaying their first born, and at length bringing his church and people through the Red fea, while, at the fame time, he overthrew Pharaoh and his hoft, on which occafion Ifrael fang that fong, Exod. xv. through the whole: So likewife, when he turned back their captivity from Babylon, and fettled them again in their native land, and caused the city and temple to be rebuilt, and daily facrifice and oblation to be offered, this was a favourable vifit in the chariot of providence. Much like unto this, was the visit the Lord made in his providence to this poor land, when, at our reformation from Popery, he fpirited our nobles, gentry, and commons, to fhake off the yoke of Popish tyranny and idolatry, and to embrace the gospel of Chrift, and authorife the true reformed. religion, by laws and acts of parliament, which ftand in force to this day, and were adopted by this church in the year 1638, and again authorised by law at the revolution, and fince that time. Thefe, I fay, were gracious vifits that the Lord made to this church, riding in the chariot of providence, with the bright fide towards her; and how often doth he vifit particular believers, by favourable difpenfations of providence, when they expected nothing but death and deftruction. He has interpofed mercifully for their deliverance, and made them to fing with David, Pfal. cxvi. "I was brought low, and he helped me." And Pfal. ciii. "He redeemeth my life from deftruction, and crowneth me with loving kindnefs and tender mercy."

Sometimes again the dark fide of the chariot appears in gloomy and wrathlike difpenfations, as when he fets up the right hand of the cruel enemy over them, gives them like

"Sheep

"fheep to the flaughter, to be killed all the day lohg:" When he breaks them with breach upon breach, and rushes upon them like a giant ;" as in the cafe of Job: when he caft the three children into a fiery furnace, and Daniel into the lions. den. Thefe and the like difpenfations have a very black and dismal aspect; and in this case the church and people of God are ready to cry out with Jacob, "All these things are against us." And yet the black chariot of providence is bottomed and lined with love, grace, and mercy, as appeared in the cafe of Job, Daniel, the three children, and Jacob; and fo the fcripture comes to be fulfilled, that "all the ways of the Lord are mercy and peace to them that love him," Pfal. ciii.; and Rom. viii, 28. "All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpofe."

But I do not at prefent fpeak fo much of the vifits that the Lord Chrift makes unto his people in the chariot of providence, as the vifits he makes to them in the chariot of the gofpel revelation, and ordinances of his appointment, fuch as word, facrament, prayer, meditation, Chriftian conference, and the like, which are fo many tryfting places, in which the Bridegroom comes and vifits his bride, manifefting forth his glory to her, fpreading his banner of love over her. Now, as to the vifits that Chrift makes to his bride of this kind, in the chariot of the gofpel revelation, there are thefe few things I would remark concerning them.

1ft, The firft vifit of diftinguifhing love that he makes to the bride is in the day of converfion, when he draws by the veils of ignorance, unbelief, error, and prejudice, and manifefts himself to her in his divine glory, fulnefs, fuitableness, and excellency, in fuch a way as ravishes her heart with his love and loveliness. This is called the time of espousals, Cant. iii. laft, because then it is that the confent of the bride is gained, and her heart drawn after the bridegroom with the irrefiftible cords of victorious love. Of this the Lord puts Ifrael in mind, when he fays, "I remember thee, the kindnefs of thy youth, the love of thine efpqufals, when thou wenteft after me in the wildernefs, in a land that was not fown," Jer. ii. 2.

2dly, The heart of the bride being thus hanked or catched with the glory of the Bridegroom, he, for holy and wife ends, withdraws commonly his fenfible prefence, and leaves her with a promife of his returning in due time; like that, John xiv. 18. "I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you;" or that, John xiv. 21. 23. "He that loveth me

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fhall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and manifeft myself unto him," &c. or John xvi. 22. "I will fee you again, and your hearts fhall rejoice," &c. You know it is not usual for the bridegroom to stay or cohabit with the bride, even after the efpoufals, until the marriage be folemnised, and then they take up house, and dwell together; but until that time come, he makes only paffing vifits, or comes and goes; only when he goes, he leaves her with a promise of coming back. Juft fo is it in the present cafe, Christ leaves his people with a promise to fupport them in his abfence.

3dly, I remark, that Chrift is many times prefent with the bride and spouse, when she is not aware of it. An instance of this we have in the cafe of Jacob, Gen. xxviii. 16. The Lord there appears to him in a dream, and when he awakes, he fays, "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not;" and Mary, John xx. 14. fhe is weeping, and saying, They have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him." She was fpeaking to Chrift himself, but knew not that it was Chrift, but fuppofing him to be the gardener, faid to him, "Sir, if thou haft borne him hence, tell me where thou haft laid him, and I will take him away," &c. So we fee the fame in the cafe of the difciples going o Emmaus, Luke xxiv. Chrift was converfing with them, and opening unto them the fcriptures, reproving them for their unbelief; and yet they did not know that it was he, until, upon reflection, they say one to another, "Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked with us," &c.

4thly, Every vifit the Bridegroom of fouls makes unto his bride is an affured pledge of after vifits, until he come to confummate the marriage at the end of the day; for, as we are told, Hof. vi. 3. "His going forth is prepared as the morning." As the break of day is a pledge of the fun's rifing, and his rifing is a pledge of his afcending to the meridian or mid-day; fo every vifit that Chrift makes to the foul makes way for further difcoveries of his glory, until the day of glory break, and all shadows for ever flee away.

5thly, The Bridegroom loves fometimes to surprise the bride with his vifits, he comes even at midnight, when the is little looking for him, Cant. vi. 12. "Or ever I was aware, my foul made me like the chariots of Amminadib;" or, as it reads in the margin, "fet me on the chariots of my willing people." So Ifa. xlix. 14. 15. Zion is there faying, under a dark cloud of defertion, "The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me:" But, all on a fudden, the Lord comes, and fays, "Can a woman forget her VOL. III. fucking

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fucking child, that the should not have compaflion on the fon of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee."

6thly, Thefe fenfible furprising vifits of the Bridegroom, they are but rare, and of a fhort continuance: they are like a bright blink of the fun from under the cloud, which in a little is prefently overcaft with a new cloud, like that of the difciples upon Mount Tabor, at Chrift's transfiguration, when they faw his countenance to fhine as the fun, his raiment white as the light, and a voice faying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleafed:" but ere ever they were aware, a dark cloud intercepts all. Queft. Why are the Bridegroom's vifits fo rare, and of a fhort continuance. Anfw, The Lord will have it fo, to let the bride know that the marriage is not yet confummate, and the is only yet in a ftate of efpoufals: cohabitation only follows the confummation of the marriage in heaven. Again, the bride, while here away, in a state of imperfection, is not able to bear a constant fellowship with the Bridegroom, I mean bright fenfible manifeftations, the old bottles cannot bear much of that new wine. Paul himfelf was in danger of being lifted up with pride, through abundance of manifeftations; and therefore a meffenger of Satan was fent to buffet him. And, again, by this way he makes them long for heaven, where the Bride groom and the bride fhall meet, never to part, faying, "I defire to depart, and be with Jefus, which is best of all."

7thly, The Bridegroom may, and frequently doth intermit his vifits for a very long space of time; he may abfent himself not only for days, or weeks, or months, but for years, and many many years together. It is thought, that long twenty years intervened between Jacob's Bethel vifit, Gen. xxxviii. 18. and his vifit he got, chap. xxxi. 13. When the Lord appeared unto him, faying, "I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedit the pillar, and where thou vowedit a vow unto me." It is no ftrange thing for the faints to be walking in darkness, and feeing no light: and, in this cafe, they are ready to cry with David, Pfal. xiii. 1. "How long, how long wilt thou hide thy face from me;" Pfal. lxxxix. "Where' are thy former loving kindnefles," &c.; Pfal. lxxvii. “Hath God forgotten to be gracious? will he be favourable no more?" &c. The reafon of this withdrawing is either fome idol harboured, or to hide pride from their eyes, or to quicken the foul's longing after himself, or to teach and train them up unto a life of faith upon the promife; for here "we walk by faith, and not by fight."

81bly, Although the Bridegroom may be long abfent, yet

he

ay

he will return at length, when his own time comes, which is best both for his glory and her good. He will not contend for ever, neither will he be always wroth, left the fpirit of the poor bride fhould fail within her: "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning," Pfal. xxx. 5. So If. liv. 5.-8. "Thy Maker is thine Hufband. For a small moment have I forfaken thee, and in a little wrath have I hid my face from thee for a moment: but with great mercy will I gather thee, and with everlafting kindnefs will I have mercy on thee, faith the Lord thy Redeemer."

9thly, Let him come when he will, or how he will, he is ay welcome; for he brings all good with him. Quest. What doth he bring with him. Anfw. 1. He brings his Father with him, John xiv. 23. "My Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." 2. He brings the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghoft, along with him; and then the foul is anointed as with fresh oil, which makes the heart glad, and the countenance to fhine. 3. He brings peace and joy with him, a "peace that paffes all understanding, a joy that is unfpeakable, and full of glory." 4. He brings victory over fin, Satan, death, and hell, along with him; and, in a word, he brings pardon of fin, and all manner of falvation, along with him. And therefore, I say, let him come when or how he will, he is ay welcome. But I pass this, and should now go on to

V. The fifth thing proposed in the method, which was to fpeak to the duty called for in all the virgins, upon the intimation and warning given them, Go ye out to meet him. But this I refer unto another occafion.

ACTION SERMON.

MATTH. XXV. 6.And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold the Bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet him.

THE THIRD SERMON ON THIS TEXT.

HAVING in fome former difcourfes fpoken of the Bridegroom and of the bride, and of the coming of the Bridegroom, I now proceed to fpeak of the call and fummons given to the virgins, both wife and foolish, Go ye out to

meet