have been a preiumptuous inner, a me demes t ment of the great day," Je 6. Bung procedure towards finners of Aurban Thave affumed, when I pled by the ones than t their death, but rather that they tom Ezek. xxxiii. 11. And, therefore, gracious," If. xxx. 18. 1 ftad y z te for and crane: nd if any man, be what he w, mi“ pen the door, I will come in to him, and w and he with me," Rev. iii. 20. Wasp atience extended and fretched cat beyond al expec, nd beyond all deferving. If I had sad a mat to turn ff, and caft thee into hell, I have not wanted sooooon and e portunity; but I have hitherto born with a raft wickedness, and to this day "I and with the curb boned arms of love and mercy, crying, Bebold me, betono me f. lxv. 1. "Turn ye, turn ye, why wil ye de?" inc. xxiii. 2. But, 5. May the poor doubting foul fay, There may, fas been, and is, fuch an abounding of in and wel with me, that my fin is like unto the great mountains, gone up into the heavens, and cries for wrath and vengeance like the fin of Sodom; and therefore I need lock krém but indignation and wrath. Well but, fays the Lord, La be fo that thou art abundant in wickednels, my ABUNDANT IN GOODNESS. As if he had fad, 17:00 nefs and finfulness, though it be great, yet its bottle wicked nefs and finfulness of a finite creature, but my goode's £ the goodness of an infinite God, that can never rever be exhaufted; and therefore come to me, and get all thy re fupplied, according to my riches in glory, by Conte My goodness is fuck, that I am good even to the end I make the fun to rife, and the rain to n the good, upon the jud and unf is cancelled, and the bond lying in the hand of justice, which bound us over to wrath, is retired, Gal. iii. 13. "Christ hath redeemed us from the curfe of the law, being made a curfe for us." (5.) 1 told you, that the great and precious, especially the abfolute unconditional promises of the covenant of grace (every one of them), is a door of entrance into the New Teftament Ark; all which promises come indorsed to fingers that are afar off, and to them that are near, If. lvii. 19. A&s ii. 39. for their encouragement to take hold of them as ropes of falvation, whereby they may be drawn up out of the ruining deluge of wrath, into the ARK Chrift, in whom all the promises of God are yea and amen, 2 Cor. i. 20. (6.) The laft door that I named was the door of God, the Father's donation or gift of his Son as a Saviour, by price and power; by the price of his blood, and the power of his Spirit. He hath given him to be a Saviour, a Witness, Leader, Commander. And for what end is a gift given and tendered, but that it may be received? These I have already spoke to. 7thly, I proceed now to open a feventh door by which faith enters into the New Testament Ark, and that is, the name of God, as it is revealed through Chrift in the glorious gospel : "The name of the Lord is a ftrong tower, unto which the righteous runneth," Prov. xviii. 10. and to which the finner may run, and be faved. Pfal. ix. 9. Pfal. ix. 9. "They that know thy name will put their truft in thee:" he that walketh in darknefs, and hath no light, he is called to "trust in the name of the Lord, and to ftay himself upon his God," If. 1. 10. From thefe and the like fcriptures you fee, that the name of a God in Chrift is given as a blessed ground of faith, trust, and confidence and no wonder, confidering that God is in Chrift reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their tref paffes unto them," 2 Cor. v. 19. But I fhall at present infist a little on that name of God which he revealed and proclaimed unto Mofes, when he condefcended, at his request, to make all his glory to pass before him, Exod. xxxiv. 6. 7. " And the Lord paffed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-fuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and tranfgreffion and fin, and that will by no means clear the guilty." Now, let us confider this name of the Lord a little, and fee whether there be not enough in it to put unbelief for ever out of countenance. It is a moft certain truth, that ignorance of God, and of what he is in Chrift, is the very mother of unbelief, by which we are turned away from the living God as an enemy. Satan knows this very well; and therefore his great flight and cunning is, to fix the eye of a finner, whofe confcience is awakened, upon its finful, miferable, and deplorable condition, and reprefents God unto him as a God of inexorable justice, an avenging enemy, a confuming fire, that fo he may ill it with defperation, and put it in the fame cafe with himself; and he endeavours with might and main to hide and conceal the revelation that God has made of his name to us through Chrift, according to what the apostle fays, 2 Cor. iv. 4. "The God of this world hath blinded the minds of them that believe not, left the light of the glorious gospel of Chrift, who is the image of God, fhould thine unto them." But in fpite of the devil, and all his art and cunning, to fmother the name of our God in Chrift, let us study to display the name of the Lord, as he has himfelf proclaimed it in that place just now cited, and fee if there be not a noble and glorious ground of faith and confidence for the finner, however defperate and deplorable his cafe may appear to be in his own fenfe. 1. You fee that his first name is a name of glory, greatnefs, and majefty, THE LORD, THE LORD GOD. This, I fay, is a name of great and glorious majefty, and is premied or fet forth in the front, to let us know what God is in himelf; that he is the infinite, eternal, and unchangeable Being; that he fills heaven and earth," Jer. xxiii. 24.; that "ite hath heaven for his throne, and the earth for his footftool," If. lxvi. 1.; that "all the inhabitants of the world are reputed before him but as nothing," Dan. iv. 35. yea, "lefs than nothing, and vanity," If. xl. 17. God, in the first place, I fay, will have us to know what he is in himself, and how we, and all creatures," do live, and move, and have our being in him," Acts xvii. 28. Thefe, and the like impreffions of the glorious majesty of God, are the foundation of all true faith, and of all religious worthip and adoration. The foul gets fuch views and difcoveries of the glorious majeity of God, as ftrikes it with a becoming awe and reverence of him; fo that the foul cries out, as Mofes, Exod. XV. 11. "Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holinefs, fearful in praifes, doing wonders?" Oh! who "fhall afcend his holy hill, or abide in his tabernacle?" And like the poor publican, under a fenfe of fin, and apprehenfions of the infinite majety of God, ftands afar off, fmites on his breaft, and cries, "God be merciful to ne a finner," Luke xvi. 13. But now, though this VOL. III. Sf name. name of majesty, power, and greatnefs, be firft presented to humble, and abafe the foul in its own eyes; yet fee what a glorious train of amiable names do follow it, in order to revive the heart of the humble, and the fpirit of the contrite one; "The Lord, the Lord God, merciful," &c. It is pleafant to obferve how every one of his relative names do answer the foul's cafe and neceffity. 2. MERCIFUL. The cafe of the poor foul is fuch, that it is crying out, Oh! I am wretched and miferable beyond expreffion or conception: I am indeed a pitiful object: I am brought low by my fin in Adam, and in my own perfon; Pfal. Ixix. 3. "I fink in deep mire, where there is no fanding." I know and believe indeed, that Jehovah, the ftrong and almighty God, is able to help and deliver me: but what fays that to me, fince I do not know but his alnighty arm may exert itself in my deftruction as readily as in my falvation? Well, to this the Lord anfwers, in that name, "I am the Lord God, MERCIFUL." If thou be miferable, I am merciful as well as ftrong: juftice is my strange work, my frange act, If. xxviii. 21. but I delight in mercy, Mic. vii. 18. "My bowels are turned within me, and my repentings are kindled together," Hof. xi. 8. until I get a vent to my mercy? Pray, Sirs, what is mercy? but a strong bent and inclination in God to do good to and help a finner in mifery. Mifery is the very proper object and fubject upon which mercy doth work; and therefore, O miferable finner! truft in my mercy flowing out through the blood of my eternal Son.' But a third title is the name, 3. GRACIOUS. May the poor guilty and convinced finner fay, I am one of the moft miferable creatures upon earth; I am deflitute of all grace, of all goodness; I have no qualifications to commend me unto a God of mercy.' Well but, fays the Lord, I am GRACIOUS. I do not feek any grace, goodnefs, or qualifications, in the finner, to commend him to me; but I would have the poor, blind, naked, miferable finner, to come to get, and not to give to come and get gold tried in the fire, white raiment, eye-falve, Rev. iii. 18. milk and honey, If. li. . and all grace and goodnefs from me, gratis, freely, "without money, and without price." Do not feck for faith, repentance, love, humility, brokenness of heart, as a price to purchafe grace and favour at the hand of God: but come, deftitute of all grace," to the throne of grace, that ye may obtain mercy, and find grace," Heb. iv. 16. But, . May the poor convinced and awakened finner fay, 'I har have been a prefumptuous finner, and have gone on fo long in a tract and trade of fin and rebellion againft God, that I am afraid God will endure me no longer; my day of grace is over and gone.' Well but, fays the Lord, “I am LONG-SUFFERING: My patience towards finners is not foon worn out. It is true indeed I did not fuffer long the indignities that were done to me by the angels that fell; for that very moment they finned they were turned out of heaven, and laid up in everlasting chains of darknefs, in which they are " referved unto the judgement of the great day," Jude 6. But this is not my method of procedure towards finners of Adam's family, whose nature I have affumed, when I paffed by the angels that fell. I am not willing that any of them fhould perish, but that all should come to repentance, 2 Pet. iii. 9. "I have no pleasure in their death, but rather that they turn unto me and live,” Ezek. xxxiii. 11. And, therefore, "I wait that I may be gracious," If. xxx. 18. 1 ftand yet at the door and knock ; and if any man, be what he will, will "hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will fup with him, and he with me," Rev. iii. 20. What is long-fuffering! but patience extended and ftretched out beyond all expectation, and beyond all deferving. If I had had a mind to cut thee off, and cast thee into hell, I have not wanted occafion and opportunity; but I have hitherto born with all thy folly and wickedness, and to this day "I ftand with the outstretched arms of love and mercy, crying, Behold me, behold me," If. lxv. 1. “Turn ye, turn ye, why will ye die?" Ezek. xxxiii. 2. But, 5. May the poor doubting foul fay, There may, has been, and is, fuch an abounding of fin and wickednes with me, that my fin is like unto the great mountains, it is gone up into the heavens, and cries for wrath and vengeance like the fin of Sodom; and therefore I need look for nothing but indignation and wrath.' Well but, fays the Lord, Let it be fo that thou art abundant in wickedness, my name is ABUNDANT IN GOODNESS. As if he had faid, Thy wickednefs and finfulness, though it be great, yet it is but the wickednefs and finfulness of a finite creature; but my goodness is the goodness of an infinite God, that can never never be exhausted; and therefore come to me, and get all thy wants fupplied, according to my riches in glory, by Chrift Jefus.. My goodness is fuch, that I am good even to the evil and tinthankful: I make the fun to rife, and the rain to fall, on the evil and on the good, upon the just and unjust, Matth. v. 45 My |