the whole revelation of his will. And indee I cannot illuftrate this head better, than by reciting some of those paffages where this general and comprehenfive promife is particularly applied for the comfort of God's people, under the various trials and afflictions, to which they are expofed in this world. All who are acquainted with their Bibles, will remember to have read fuch paffages as thefe: "When "thou paffeft through the waters, I will be "s with thee; and through the rivers, they "fhall not overflow thee: when thou walk"eft through the fire, thou shalt not be burnt, "neither fhall the flame kindle upon thee; "for I am the Lord thy God."-" When "the poor and needy feek water, and there " is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, "I the Lord will hear them, I the God of "Ifrael will not forfake them. I will open "rivers in high places, and fountains in the "midft of the vallies: I will make the wil"derness a pool of water, and the dry land

fprings of water."-" The Lord will be a "refuge for the oppreffed, a refuge in time of "trouble."-" The Lord will not fuffer the "foul of the righteous to famifh."-" He

"fhall

"fhall dwell on high, his defence shall be "the munition of rocks. Bread shall be gi66 ven him, his water fhall be fure."-" The "Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of "languishing. Thou wilt make all his bed "in his ficknefs."-" A father of the father

lefs, a judge of the widows is God in his "holy habitation."-" Fear not," faith he, "for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for "I am thy God. I will ftrengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold "thee with the right hand of my righteouf "nefs."

I might quote many other texts, where God promiseth to be with his people in every case of distress that can be fuppofed; but I fhall have faid enough to give you fome notion of the vast extent of this comfortable promife, when I have added, that it reacheth beyond the grave, and comprehends no lefs than eternity itself. As God will not leave his people in life, as he will not forfake them at death; fo he will at laft receive them into glory, and make them to dwell for ever in his immediate prefence. But who are his people? Who are the happy perfons that may apply

the

the comfort of this promise to themselves?

This is the

Second thing I proposed to inquire into. And, in general, this promife is addreffed to believers in Chrift Jefus, and to them only, exclufive of all others: for this is the order which God hath established. He first gives us his Son; and when this "unspeakable gift" is thankfully received, then, together “with him, he freely gives us all other

things." Men may fancy themselves in good terms with God upon account of some moral qualifications of which they are poffeffed; and I greatly fufpect, that many among us are ruined by this mistake: but I am not afraid to affirm, that no moral qualifications whatever can reconcile a finner to God, or entitle him to plead any one promise from the beginning of the Bible to the end of it. The reafon is plain: All the bleffings promised in the gospel were purchased by Chrift with the price of his own blood. To him they belong of right; for in regard of "his humbling "himself, and becoming obedient, unto death, even the death of the cross, God hath highVOL. III.

"ly

ly exalted him," and "hath put all things “under his feet, and hath given him to be "head over all things to the church." Accordingly Chrift himself fays (Matth. xi. 27.), "All things are delivered unto me of "ther ;" and (Matth. xxviii. 18.), "All pow

my

Fa

er is given unto me in heaven and in

earth." Every good and perfect gift, therefóre, must be conveyed to us through his hands; and it is not only a vain, but I may even call it an impious attempt, to addrefs God immediately for those bleffings which he hath already given to his Son, and committed to his difpofal as King of Zion, for the behoof of his true and fpiritual fubjects. All the promifes in Scripture must neceffarily be explained in a confiftency with this great fundamental truth: and when the perfons to whom they are addressed are described by any moral qualification, fuch as righteousness, mercifulness, and the like, it must always be underftood, that they are previously in a ftate of friendship with God; and that thefe qualifications are mentioned, not as the terms of their acceptance with him, but only as the fruits and evidences of that faith which unites them

to

to Christ, in whom all the promises are “Yea

Would any then know, whether they may apply to themselves the gracious and comfortable promise in my text, they must first of all try their relation to Christ. If they are ftill unacquainted with this great and only Mediator between God and man ; if they have never fled to him as their city of refuge, -nor accepted of him as the "Lord their righ"teousness and their ftrength;" it is certain that they have no part nor lot in this matter. For nothing can be more express than those words of John the Baptift (John iii. 36.), "He that believeth on the Son, hath everlast

ing life; but he that believeth not the Son, "fhall not fee life, but the wrath of God "abideth on him." Whereas, on the other hand, if, from a deep conviction of your guilt and misery, you have cordially accepted the Lord Jefus Chrift for all the purposes of a Saviour; if you can fay without any known guile, that, renouncing all other grounds of confidence, you depend on him alone for pardon and peace, for grace and glory, and every good thing; if you have the evidence of