dernefs, where they found no city to rest in, no refting-place on this fide Jordan; no, they "defire a better country, that is an heavenly."

2. That they are in motion, or making progrefs towards their reft; for they are paffing on, as it is faid of the travellers to Zion, Pfal. Ixxxiv. "They go from ftrength to strength, every one of them appeareth before God in Zion."

3. That their King and General on their head is well acquainted with their ways, for he paffes on before them, as their Leader and Commander; however ignorant or unskilful they are in themfelves, yet their Head and King has all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hid in him, and therefore he will know the way that they take, and the course that they steer; he will not leave them to their own conduct in the wilderness, no, but he will guide them by his counfel, till he hath brought them to glory.

4. That Jehovah, their Head and King, marches in the front, to encounter all oppofition, and to rid the paffes of their way; and O what enemies dare ftand up to oppose them, when Jehovah paffes on before them as their King! Surely in him they fhall be "conquerors, yea, more than conquerors: Their bow fhall abide in its strength, for Jehovah is the strength of Ifrael, who can neither lie nor repent," 1 Sam. xv. 29.. 5. That the church and people of God, while keeping his way, is under his particular protection; he will "hide them in the fecret of his tabernacle; they fhall abide under the fhadow of the Almighty; he fhall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings thalt thou truft; his truth fhall be thy fhield and buckler.

6. That there is fomething of particular greatnefs and majefty in the Lord's appearances in the behalf of his people. Hence they are likened to an army, with an invincible general on their head, which made Balaam to cry out, "How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob! and thy tabernacles, O Ifrael! He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who fhall ftir him up?"

Thus you fee what glorious encouragement springs out of this word, to animate and hearten believers, in their spiritual warfare, Their King shall pass before them, and Jehovah on the head of them. But the eye of faith will fee infinitely more in them, than any thing that I have faid, or can fay.

I conclude with a few advices, in order to your fuccessful march towards glory, under the conduct of your glorious King and Head, that pafles on before you, as the Captain of your falvation.

ift, Then, Study to be well acquainted with the glorious Breaker that has come up before you, and keep him ever in your view; for the very fight of the Captain infpires the fol diers with courage and valour, that, if he be in their view, they go on their way rejoicing, though hell and death, and armed legions of devils and men were in their way. Hence it is, that the faints are called fo frequently to look to him in their Chriftian course and warfare. He calls on them fo to do, If. xlv. 22. "Look unto me, and be ye faved." They encourage one another to this, Heb. xii 2. "Let us run with patience the race that is fet before us, looking unto Jefus, the Author and Finisher of our Faith." And we find them de claring their experience of the profit and advantage of so doing, Pfal. xxxiv. 5. "They looked unto him, and were lightened, and their faces were not afhamed." A fight of him infpired them with fuch undaunted boldness, that they could look all their enemies in the face, without being in the leaft difmayed.

2diy, Study to be well acquainted with the way that he has broken up before you. You have an account of the way by the prophet Isaiah, chap. xxxv. "A high-way shall be there, and a way, and it fhall be called the way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it, but it shall be for those; the way. faring men, though fools, fhall not err therein." This is none other than the cleanly way of juftification and acceptance by faith in the Lord Jefus Chrift, which vents and discovers it felf in the study of holiness, both in heart and life: So that Chrift himself improved by faith, both for juftification and fanctification, for righteousness and ftrength, is the high way caft up for us to walk in. "I am the way (fays Christ, John xiii. 6.); no man cometh to the Father but by me." Study, I fay, to be well acquainted with this way of accefs, this way of falvation. It is not the way of works, but the way of grace: " By grace are ye faved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God: not of works, left any man fhould boaft." It is not the nafty way of fin, but the cleanly way of obedience to the law of God; and when you have obeyed, even in the ftrength of the Lord, you must make mention of his righteousness, even of his only.

3dly, Seeing Jehovah is on your head, put on Jehovah's ar mour, "Put on the whole armour of God," fays the apoftle, Eph. vi.; where you have alfo an account of the several pieces of the Christian armour, fuch as the fhield of faith, the hel met of falvation, &c. This is fometimes called the armour of light, because it comes from the Father of lights, the Author of every good gift, and perfect gift; and, becaufe all the pieces

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of the Chriftian armour, fuch as faith, hope, fincerity, and truth, are all founded in light, even "the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jefus Chrift;" and because, like bright fhining armour, it is beautiful in the eyes of the world; their light fhines before men, fo that others, seeing their good works, glorify their Father which is in hea ven. And, particularly, I would recommend a holy dexterity in handling the fword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; becaufe, by this weapon, your glorious Captain-General baffled the enemy, in his encounter with him in the wilderness; and therefore ftudy, like the valiant of King Solomon, to have this "fword girded on your thigh, because of fear in the night."

4thly, Obferve carefully Jehovah's orders, feeing Jehovah your King is on your head. By the martial law, it is death for a foldier to difobey the orders of his leader and commander. What anarchy and confusion would there be in an army if it were otherwife! O Sirs, feeing your King paffes before you, and Jehovah on your head, be fure to do whatever he commands you: He has given forth " his good, his perfect and acceptable will; he hath fhewed thee what is good, and what the Lord thy God requires of thee:" And if kings, parliaments, magiftrates, minifters, or be who they will, command or require you to do otherwife than Jehovah has directed you, you have an answer ready at hand, "Whether it be right, in the fight of God, to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye."

5thly, In following Jehovah as your renowned King and General, be fure to keep the rank and sphere wherein he has put you; for Jehovah is not the author of confufion, but he is a God of order. So foon as an army in battle begins to break their ranks, and to fall into diforder, it is an evidence that they are worsted by the enemy, and therefore great care is taken, by a skilful general, to keep the foldiers in their proper rank and order: So here, the Captain of faivation will have every one to abide in the vocation in which he is called; he will have magiftrates to act under him in their sphere, minifters in theirs, and private Chriftians in their capacity; and if every one thus ftudy to ferve the Lord in their proper itation, the whole body of believers fhall be edified and built up, and the very women, though they tarry at home, yet they shall divide the fpoil.

6thly, Whenever you find yourself diftreffed by the attacks of the enemy, fin, Satan, or the world, be fure to cry to Jehovah for help, for he is on your head, and pafles on before

you.

you. This has been the practice of the followers of the Lamb in all ages of the world, Pfal. xxxiv. 6. "This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and faved him out of all his diftreffes." You have Jehovah's command fo to do, "Call upon me in the day of trouble, I will deliver thee," &c. I can affure you that the cry of one of his foldiers, in diftrefs by the enemy, goes to his heart, and awakens his resentment; how much more when the whole church is crying to heaven, becaufe of the injuries that are done her, either by the wild boars, or elfe by wolves in fheeps clothing? I can affure you, that the Breaker will come up at the cry of his poor people, when they are oppreffed, either in their civil or spiritual rights and privileges. I read a lecture to you to that purpose, Pfal. xviii. 6. "In my distress I called upon the Lord,” (viz. when floods of ungodly men made him afraid, ver. 4.) Well, the Breaker takes the field, and fee what awful work follows, from ver. 7. to ver. 14.

7thly, Seeing Jehovah is on your head, as your King and the Captain of your falvation, let never his ftandard fall, if you can keep it up. Jehovah has lifted up his ftandard in Scotland, beyond many nations of the earth, a standard of pure doctrine, difcipline, worship, and government. Attempts are made at this day to pull down this ftandard, though we lie under the strongest ties, both national and perfonal, to ftand by it.

Some are attempting to pull down the standard of doctrine, particularly by denying the felf-existence and fupreme deity of the Son of God, our renowned King and Head.

Others are attempting to strike at the government of the church, by a tyrannical and lordly ufurpation upon the rights of the Lord's people, in choofing their own paftors.

And fome talk of a bill preparing in the parliament of Bri tain, whereby a deeper wound is yet to be given to the church of God in this matter; and fome fay that the hand of J—b is in it.

But be who they will, that act fuch a part against the known rights and privileges of the fubjects of the King of Zion, I pretend to be no extraordinary prophet, yet I think I may warn them, in the name of God, that the Breaker will take the field against them in his own time and way, and recompenfe tribulation to them that trouble his people.

Meantime, let me exhort the Lord's people, "to ftand fast in the liberty wherewith Chrift hath made them free, that they be not entangled again with any yoke of bondage," that men would wreathe about their necks; and, in fo doing,

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you have this for your encouragement, the Breaker is come up before you; your King paffeth before you, and Jehovah on your head; and, if the Lord be for you, who can be against you?

ACTION SERMON.

ETHIOPIA STRETCHING OUT HER HANDS TO GOD.

PSAL. Ixviii. 31.-Ethiopia fhall foon firetch out her hands unto God.

HIS pfalm was penned, probably, upon the occafion of David's carrying up the ark from the houfe of Obededom, to the tent he had pitched for it in Mount Zion, whereby was typified the afcenfion of Chrift, and the erection of his fpiritual kingdom and government in the world, by the preaching of the everlafting gofpel. You fee his afcenfion. and exaltation fpoken of, ver. 18. "Thou haft afcended on high, thou haft led captivity captive, thou haft received gifts for men, yea, for the rebellious alio, that the Lord God might dwell amongst them." And in the following part of the pfalm is foretold the erection of his kingdon, over the belly of all oppofition that should be made thereunto, either by hell or earth.

The words read (not to infift in the entry) are a declaration of the fuccefs of the gofpel among the Gentile nations: Ethiopia, Egypt, and other places of the world, would submit unto his royal fceptre, when it fhould be fwayed among them in the difpenfation of the gofpel, Princes hall come out of Egypt, Ethiopia fhall foon stretch out her hands unto God. It is only the latter claufe I am to fpeak to: Where,

ift, We have a folemn act of divine worthip, and that is, the ftretching out of the hands. The actions of the body are the expreffions of the actions of the foul or mind, Pfal. exlii. 6. fays the pfalmift, "I ftretch forth my hands unto thee, my foul thirfteth after thee, as a thirsty land, Selth." So Pfal. cxli. 2. "Let my prayer be fet forth before thee as incenfe, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening facrifice." So VOL. III.

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