he receive it into his hand; fo this general declaration, That Chrift gave himself for finners, will not enrich you, but by a particular application: all that is needful, is that thro' grace, you receive in your heart what is revealed in the word. O Sirs, look for the Spirit to concur with the call and offer of the word; for, as "Faith comes by hearing, fo, "The Spirit works by faith," by opening up the ground and warrant of faith: therefore, as Christ applies himself to you by his word; so seek he may apply himself to you by his Spirit, that you may be quickened and revived, as Elifha revived the Shunamite's child; 2 Kings iv. 34. "He lay upon him, put his mouth to his mouth, his eyes to his eyes, his hands to his hands, and ftretched himfelf upon him, till the flesh of the child waxed warm, and he revived:" fo vou are dead in fins and trefpaffes; dead fpiritually and lifelefs: but, that you may recover, O intreat the Lord of life, the true Elias, who only can raise from death to life, to apply his person and paffion to you, even his body ftretched on a crofs to your body, his head to your head, his eyes to your eyes, his hands to your hands, his heart to your heart, that you may receive warmth from his blood, health from his wounds, and fpirit from his Spirit, and grace from his grace, that you may live before him; receiving out of his fulness grace for grace, and life for life. What fhall I fay? O! if the Spirit of Chrift would speak into your heart. Here is a glorious Lover courting your love, O vile finner! déclaring in his word, that though you hated him, yet he loved you, and urging you to love him, because he firft loved you. Here is a glorious Giver, declaring in his word, that he died for your fins according to the fcripture, and gave himself for you on the cross, and evidencing this love by giving himfelf to you in this gofpel-offer, as the great gift of God, and the great Giver of it himfelf: oh! is there no heart here to embrace fuch a glorious Lover? Is there no hand here, to receive fuch a glorious and gracious Giver? It is the person of Christ, as prefented in this gofpel, that now you are called to receive and embrace; and it is pardoning love and mercy in his blood, that you, guilty finner, finner, are called here to believe and accept of from him, that juftifieth the ungodly, Rom. iv. 5. But, fay you, believers are godly, they are holy, "but I am black like hell." Well, but were they not as black as you before they believed? Yea, when they were in their blood, the Lord made up the match, and faid to them, Live; and then afterwards he wafhed them: even fo, you must marry Chrift firft, believing that he makes love to you, and then he will do that for you.. Take no thought, how fuch an Ethiopian fhall be made clean, how fuch a naked foul fhall be adorned; only welcome this glorious Lover into your heart, and he will take all the thought of that himlelf; for, he is not come here to find you beautiful, but to make you fo; not to find you holy and godly, but to make you fo. Alas! is there any filthy bride here, ready to receive him on thefe terms? "Alas! fay you, but I cannot win to think, that he "is thus making. love to me, to me in particular?" Why, is not this general equivalent, "Go, preach the gospel to every creature?" Surely, you are in that number: and this word was confirmed with a miracle; tho' it was wrought long ago, yet the word and the miracle went together: therefore, it is the fame for confirming faith, as if it were wrought before your eyes. And when, together with the word, you have the call, "Whofoever will, let him come;" and together with the call, the promise, "Him that cometh, I will in no wife cast out." Say not, your fins are great and numerous; you can. not believe his love and pardoning mercy toward you: for, as God's great mercies are greater than your great fins, and his multitude of mercies greater than your multitude of fins; fo this fin of putting away his mercy, grace, and love from you, thro' unbelief, and rejecting his love offers, and the bleffings of his blood, is a greater fin than all the reft; for thus you will bring not only your own blood, but the guilt of the blood of God upon your head. As the danger is great, if you refuse this glorious match match offered to you, fo neceffity hath no law: you must come to him, or perifh.-There is a neceflity of love on his part toward thefe whom he courts, and will not want; he hath faid, "Thefe I must bring; and they shall hear my voice:" and now he is come here, faying, Man, woman, I must have your heart; I muft have your confent; though you should not be a fuitor to me, yet behold, I am in fuit of you, and I must have you.-There is a neceffity of want and abfolute need on your part. You need wisdom, righteoufnefs, fanctification, and redemp tion; and I am made of God all these for you; and without me, you have none to teach you, none to justify you, none to fanctify you, none to redeem you. And there is no time to lofe; yet a little while, and time is gone, and you change the place of your dwelling for But, how will you go any where without him? How will you go to a communion-table without him? How will you go to death without him? How will you go to the judgment-feat without him? How will you face infinite juftice and holinefs without him? No, no; there is a neceffity; you must have him: and, if any heart here be saying, Oh! I muft have him: I will tell you good tidings, it is a fign, he is faying, I must have you, for I loved you, and gave myfelf for you. And, O! if his love be fo kind, that it points you out with a you, you; I loved you, and gave myself for you; then your faith may be fo bold, as to come out with a me, me; He loved ME, and gave himself for ME. ever. SERMON SERMON GAL. ii. 20. CXII.* The life which I live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. [The third Sermon on this Text.] HAVING, in fome former difcourfes, explained the words at confiderable length, and made fome ap. plication of them; we now proceed to profecute the following cbfervation from them. DOCT. "That the love of Chrift, manifefted in the word to finners, is a giving love." 66 Chrift's love is manifested by gifts, even as his covenant is a giving covenant, giving all the fure mercies of David, Ifa. lv. 3. Acts xiii. 34. We fhall endeavour here, the illuftration, the confirmation, and the application of this doctrine. I. We are to effay the illuftration of the doctrine. As God's love is a giving love, John iii. 16. " God fo loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son," &c.; fo Chrift's love is a giving love; He loved me, and GAVE bimfelf for me. On the cross, he gave himself FOR us; and in the gospel, he gives himself to us; even to these that refufe the gift, he gives himself to be received, John vi. 32. He gives himfelf to be light to the dark; "I am the light of the world, a light to lighten the Gentiles," &c. He gives himfelf to be fight to the blind, eye-falve; he gives himself to be raiment to the naked; to be riches to the poor, and tried gold.—He gives himself to be life to the dead; "I am the way, the truth, and the life; the * This fermon was delivered on a facramental occafion at Kinclaven, Sabbath July 30th, 1739. And in the first edition of it, we are told, that it contains the fubftance of more difcourfes than one, tho' written only in fhort heads by the Author, thro' want of time. refur refurrection and the life; the God that quickens the dead." He gives himself to be a covenant of the people: the old covenant being broken, he gives himself to be the Mediator, the Teftator, Surety, Meffenger, and all of the covenant; to be a covenant of grace, of juftifying grace, to the guilty; fanctifying grace, faving grace, drawing grace: to be a covenant of peace, a covenant of mercy, a covenant of falt, an everlafting covenant, a well-ordered covenant; a fure covenant; or, as it may be read, a KEPT Covenant.-He gives himself to be a witness, Ifa. lv. 4.; the true and faithful witness; a witnefs to the truth, particularly of his kingly office and authority; for this end was he born: O Sirs, it is a great honour to be an honeft witness, for fo was Chrift.Happy thefe, whom he honours to be faithful to the death in witneffing for him! But it must be given.— He gives himself to be a Leader; a Leader of the blind, Ifa. xlii, 16.-He gives himfelf to be a Commander, a Captain-general, to command the field against the enemy; to command the bleffing to his people; to com mand the devil to come out; "Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee to come out; thou unclean fpirit, I charge thee to come out:" to command peace. He gives himself to be a Laver, an open fountain, for fin and for uncleannefs. He gives himself to be a Ladder, by which we may afcend up to heaven; all the rounds are complete. He gives himfelf to be "A hiding-place; and a covert from the tempeft; to be as rivers of water in a dry place; to be a fhadow of a great rock, a fhadow from the heat," Ifa. xxxii. 2.-He gives himself to be wisdom, to be righteousness, to be fanctification, to be complete redemption. He gives himself to be meat indeed, and drink indeed. He gives himself to be a propitiation, whom God hath fet forth to be fo; a ranfom, a facrifice, an atonement.-He gives himself to be a pattern; "He hath given us an example, that we should follow his fteps:" but this is not all, as Socinians alledge; for, befides this, he gave himself to be a curfe for us, and to be fin for us; a facrifice for fin.He gave himself to be the ftrength of the poor weak creature to be the confolation of the difconfolate; forhe is the Confolation of Ifrael: to be not only the Saviour, --- but |