་

Father, those who are acquainted with the ufage of words among the Hebrews give us a good one. Abbi, my father, was a title of respect and honour; and commonly ufed in addreffing fuch as were thought worthy of fuch reverence. But

Abba was never made ufe of, unless to, or fpeaking of, one's natural father. And thus the Apostle tells us, that they who are adopted, and have the Spirit of the Son given them, address their great creator as their own father. And there is this fpecial reafon for it, that though adoption is a mere act of grace, it never goes alone; for all who fhare in the privilege are really and truly born of God. Thus our Lord told Nicodemus, "that they are "born of the Spirit," John iii. Thus the Evangelift John i. 13. "that they are born, "not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, 66 nor of the will of man, but of God." And to mention no more, the Apostle Peter fays exprefsly, "they are made partakers of "the divine nature," 2 Peter i. 4.

Thus the Apostle has carried every believer in Christ as high as a creature can poffibly go. They are all the children of God: and we need no more but a view

of

of the provifion made for the children of the family. And this the Apostle gives us, verf. 7. they are no more fervants but children; and if children, then heirs of God. The Apostle makes the fame conclufion, Rom. viii. 17. And it must be fo: for we fhall fee by and by, that the inheritance is of fuch a nature that it cannot admit of a partition; fo that all the children are joint heirs of the whole, one as well as another.

They are heirs of God. How can this be? fay the wife men of the world. God cannot die, and how then can he have heirs? Not as men have, that we may be very fure of: but even in this view, if we remember what was faid upon a teftament, and how the conveyance of the inheritance is made by Jefus Chrift, the original and natural heir, Heb. i. 2. this can be no objection, as it imports no more but the way the great proprietor of all has chosen and appointed.

But when the Apoftle tells us, that all the children are heirs of God, it will be found, that he intends to direct us to the inheritance itself, wherein it lies, and whence the heirs are fupplied with the fuftenance,

fuftenance, and all the comforts of life, fo as neither the one nor the other fhall ever fail. The whole creation cannot furnifh out fuch a provifion: nor is it any where to be found, but in the fullness and all-fufficiency of the eternal creator. Could we know how unembodied fpirits live, we would fee the thing. They cannot live on grofs material food as we do: and yet they are no more self-sufficient, or capable of having life in themselves, than we are; and there is nothing beyond the creature to live on, but the fame power of God which gave being. Thus they may, with great propriety, be faid to live on God; with greatly more propriety then we can be faid to live on our daily food. And thus we find the end of all that Chrift did and fuffered, was to bring his people to God; and when that was done, the work was finished.

But the way that pure fpirits live, we

can form no direct notion of; nor fhall we ever be able to do it, until we are fitted for feeing face to face, and knowing even as we are known. And yet right Christians, the fons and children of God, live on him as really, though not so fen

fibly,

fibly, as they do. The Pfalmift under stood it right, Pfal. xvi. 5. “Jehovah is the portion of mine inheritance, and of my " cup." And thus we find all the Old as well as New Teftament believers lived; as much in dependence and confidence on God, as the men of the world do on fenfible fupports. It is true, they walk by faith, not by fight: but when we confider the foundation which faith stands on, the one is as real and as fure as the other. Our Lord gives us a fine image of it in his eafy familiar way, which falls every day under our obfervation. It is that of little children, who neither can nor care to .do any thing for themselves; yet live quite eafy, by a perfect confidence of faith in their parents; and never fail of competent provifion, fo far as their fathers abilities go.

But at the fame time that we are never

to lofe fight of the free fovereign grace of God, and his astonishing love and kindnefs to man, we must be very careful to keep Jefus Chrift as conftantly in view; as without him, neither the one nor the other can be seen in their full strength and endearing beauty. The Apostle will not

fuffer

fuffer us to forget him: for when he has carried the Christian as high as a creature can be carried, to be a child, an heir of the inheritance, an heir of God, who is the very fubftance of the fpiritual world, he tells us, it is through Jefus Chrift. By him all the bars that ftood between God and us were removed; by him a fure foundation was laid for our faith and hope in God; and by him a new and living way was opened into the holieft; a way that infallibly leads to a throne of grace. In him all the fullness of grace fufficient for the worst of finners in the most defperate-like cafe that a creature can poffibly be in, dwells; and through this fame Jefus all Chriftians "have access to the "Father by one Spirit ;" the Spirit of the Son, given to all the children of God.

very