neither is he that watereth, but God that gives the increase." As if he should say thus: Here is divisions among you; and one says, I am for Paul; and I am for Apollos: oh! but get your heart settled in this truth, that all is of God, and all is of Christ, and all is in a way of receiving; and then divisions will be no more; there will be no more such sayings as these, I am for Paul, and I am for Apollos.

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And again, would your endeavours be for the performance of what is good? The consideration of this truth that is now before you, is of great avail this way too. Says Paul, “I have laboured more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of Christ in me," 1 Cor. xv. 10. Mark, "yet not I, but the grace of Christ in me." Laboured more than they all, more abundantly than all, yet all from Christ, and yet all from grace, and yet all in a way of receiving. Surely, there is no such way to gracious and blessed endeavours, as the serious consideration of this truth that is now before you. I will give you two reasons for it:

All actions are carried upon two wheels, fear and love. As a cart moves upon two wheels; so every action is carried upon these two, fear and love. The more ye love, the more ye move towards a thing: the more ye fear, the more ye move to avoid it fear and love the two great wheels of every motion. Now as for love, what greater love than this: that Jesus Christ hath died for us, and worketh all our works for us, and in us; and love causeth love. As for fear, ye know there are some children, so long as they are kept in dependance upon the father, the father having not given them portions, they are obedient to him; but if once the children have gotten their portions, and are come to live by themselves, then no more obedience. If you have a man by the wrist, and he knows that if let him you he falls down into some go, great river, and there he is lost for ever: will not this man that you have by the wrist, will not he be afraid now to offend you, knowing you have him thus by the wrist? Beloved! this doctrine tells us that the Lord hath us all by the wrist; we live in a continual dependance upon Him; and all is in a way of receiving, will not this make us to fear the Lord then? The Prophet Jeremiah, in the vth chap. 24th verse, he wonders that the people should not fear the Lord upon this ground, That the Lord gave them the former and the latter rain. "And,"

says he, "they have not feared the Lord, that hath given them rain, the former and the latter rain." As if he should say thus: These poor people they depend upon God for rain, and is it not a strange thing that they should not fear him? Why, beloved, there is not one drop of spiritual rain or dew of grace that falls upon the heart, but we live in dependance upon God for it; shall not this make us fear?

Again, besides, Whatsoever service you tender unto God on this side heaven, it is all a waiting upon God. And therefore, the saints that serve God, in Scripture they are said to wait on God. Mark I pray you, our service is a waiting upon God: "But those that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength," says Isaiah xl. 31. Now if a man hear that if he have no oil in his lamp, he is lost for ever; and there is no way to get oil, but by setting his vessels under God's spout, and God's ordinance: will not this make a man to wait upon him? Some there are that defer their repentance, and they think to repent afterward, they think they shall be able to repent afterward: but now, when a soul shall hear that all is in a way of receiving; he must take it, therefore, when God does offer it; then he concludes thus ; is it so indeed, that all is in a way of receiving? strength to repent, it is by receiving, then will I take, while the Lord offers me strength. Oh! I will never defer my repentance again, I will now wait upon God, and now while the Lord offers, now I will take it. Thus you see this doctrine is a friend unto all endeavour. All is in a way of receiving; no such friend unto good endeavour as this doctrine.

But you will say unto me, Why hath the Lord cast things into this mould, that all should be in a way of receiving?

Besides the reason, that mercy may be sure unto all his servants, which they would soon spend if it were in their own keeping. Mark I pray, there are these two or three reasons of God's proceeding this way, that all grace should be in a way of receiving.

I. And the first is: That all boasting, rejoicing, confidence in one's self may be taken away. "If Abraham (says Paul in the ivth of the Romans) were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory, though not before God:" he hath whereof to glory. But now, when all is in a way of receiving, there is no room for boasting. Mark therefore,

what is said in 1 Cor. iv. 7. "Who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? Now if thou didst receive it, why doest thou glory as if thou hadst not received it?" God cannot endure boasting, cannot endure self-confidence, God cannot endure that a man should glory in any thing in himself: therefore all, all is in a way of receiving. This is God's reasoning.

II. Again, God hath so ordered things in the dispensations of his grace under the gospel, that Jesus Christ may be fully honoured, exalted. No such way to honour Christ as this, that all should come out of his hands, to be received from him. Pray, was it not a great honour to Joseph in the time of the famine in Egypt, that no bread, but should come through his hands? not a corn of grain, but should come through his hands? So here: when no grace, no strength, no aid, no assistance, no supplies, but all through the hand of Christ, all in a way of receving: does not this glorify Christ much? What is it, I pray, that makes the sun so glorious a creature, above all the creatures in the world; but this, that all the creatures depend upon him for light and for warmth? This is that which makes the Lord Jesus Christ glorious, that all must be in a way of receiving from Jesus Christ.

III. God hath so ordered things in the dispensations of his grace under the gospel, that the saints and children of God may live by faith. Good people mark it, some there are, some creatures in the world, that do live by sense: as the beasts, and beastly men. Some creatures there are that do live by reason, moral men: but the Lord would have his children to live by faith that as the men of the world do live by sense and reason; so the Lord would have all his children to live by faith. What way or means to bring a soul off for to live by faith? Establish this doctrine, let this be a statute made in the churches, all in a way of receiving: Aye, says a poor soul, is it so indeed? What? all in a way receiving? Then I see a necessity of living by faith: O Lord, teach me now for to live by faith.

Thus you see the doctrine clearly proved by reason to you. I shall not be able to reach the use of the point, so as I intended.

The doctrine is exceeding useful, full of spiritual use: yet

though I shall not be able to do what I would, give me leave for to make some application of the point; and so will I wind up all.

I. Is this doctrine true, that all, all is in a way of receiving? Then behold what infinite care the great God of heaven and earth hath of believers, of every believing soul, though he be never so mean! Would you not think, that if a mother were so tender of her child, that she would not let her child eat a bit of bread, but it should be of her own cutting; that she would not let it drink, a drop of drink but it should be of her own drawing: would you not think this mother, this woman were very careful of her child? Beloved! thus the case stands: no grace, no assistance, no help for duty, no help against sin; but the Lord Jesus Christ himself will have the cutting of it, the Lord Jesus Christ will have the giving of it out; he will have the drawing of it all; all in a way of receiving. Oh! what care! Oh! what infinite care hath God of poor believers! When the Lord would commend his care of the children of Israel unto them; pray mark what an argument he uses in Deut. xi. 10, 11, 12. "For the land whither thou goest in to possess it, it is not as the land of Egypt from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs." They fetched water out of the river Nilus, and so they watered the land of Egypt with their feet. But, says he at the 11th verse," The land whither ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven :" not taken out of the river, and watered by men's feet, as Egypt was. "A land (says the Lord) which the Lord thy God careth for:" a land which the Lord thy God careth for: he cared not for Egypt. How does he prove that the Lord cared for it? "The eyes of the Lord thy God are always on it, from the beginning of the year, even unto the end of the year." He giveth rain from heaven, and when your land wants water, it is given from heaven, it is not watered by men's feet, it is not watered as Egypt was watered, which land God cared not for. So now, there are some people in the world that water themselves, that go forth in their own strength, that have moral virtues, and they water their hearts with their own feet, as I may say, the Lord cares not for those, the Lord cares not for such.

Oh! but give me a soul that hath rain from heaven, that lives in a continual dependance, that acknowledges that all is received, that lives upon heaven; the Lord cares for such a soul. Now this is the condition of all the saints, of every believer, he hath all in a way of receiving: oh! the infinite care that the Lord hath of every believer though he be never

so mean.

II. Is this doctrine true, all in a way of receiving? Then behold, what sweet, and comfortable, and pleasant lives the saints live, believers have. When you look upon a godly man and consider what great works he does, and what hard things he bears, what great afflictions he goes through: you say, Good Lord! how is man able to do, or bear all this? Paul and Silas, singing in the stocks, when they were whipped and scourged, and the blood running down their shoulders; and yet singing: how? how are they able to do all, to bear all? Lo here, here is the reason: they have all in a way of receiving. When you see the little child run by the father in his hand, in a green meadow, you say, the child hath a fine, and a sweet time: but when you see the child coming at a high gate, or stile to get over, or dirty lane to pass over; now, ye say, how will the child do now? Why? surely the child will do as well and better now, if the father takes the child up in his arms, the dirty lane will be the pleasantest place to the child, when it is taken up into the father's arms. Thus it is with the saints: great works they do, and hard things they go through: oh! but they are taken up in Christ's arms, and they have all in a way of receiving. When you look upon a man that does keep a great table, hath many servants attending on him, his purse always full of money; you will say, surely, this man leads a fine, and a sweet life; if it do not cost him much for to receive it or get this money: but if you hear that he hath all his estate, only for telling his money, his great pains is all in receiving his money: oh! here is a blessed man indeed, and here is a happy man you think presently! Thus it is; the great pains of a christian is to receive from Christ, and to spend for Christ. Oh! what a sweet life do the saints live, that live by faith in Jesus Christ.

III. Is this doctrine true? Then what abundance are there in the world, many that live under the gospel, that