your faith in Chrift, and of your union to him, which arifes from the fanctifying power of the Holy Ghoft oti your tempers and your lives, determining you to deny ungodlinefs and worldly fufts, and to live foberly, and righteously, and godly, in the world; then are you the friends of God, and may lawfully confider yourselves as the perfons to whom he hàth faid, "I will never leave thee nor for"fake thee."" And, for your farther encou ragement, I shall now go on to the

Third general head, and briefly fuggeft to you fome of those grounds of affurance upon which you may confidently rely for the accomplishment of this promife. Confider, then,

ft, Who he is that hath faid this. "He is

not man, that he should lie, nor the son of man, that he should repent." These are the words of God himself, who is incapable of deceit, and with whom " there is no variable"nefs, neither fhadow of turning."-" He is "the rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are judgment, a God of truth, and tc without iniquity, just and true is he." "The mountains fhall depart, and the hills

"be

"be removed; but my kindness fhall not depart from thee, neither fhall the covenant "of my peace be removed, faith the Lord "that hath mercy upon thee." And is not the word, the promise of fuch a God, a fufficient ground of truft? Yea, he hath not only said it, but he hath alfo fworn it. "For God "being willing more abundantly to fhow to "the heirs of promife the immutability of his

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counsel, hath confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it was impoffible for God to lie, they might have a ftrong confolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope fet before "them." And can our fouls defire a better fecurity? What can eftablish our faith, if this, * doth not establish it?

2dly, Believers in Chrift Jefus are the children of God, adopted into his family, and beautified with his image: and this is another pledge of his gracious promife; for furely he will ne ver abandon his own offspring. "Can a mo "ther forget her fucking child," faith God, "that the fhould not have compaffion on the "fon of her womb? Yea, the may forget, yet " will not I forget thee." The affection and tenderness

Z3

tenderness of an earthly parent are but faint refemblances of God's paternal love. In him, love is an infinite overflowing fountain of beneficence. And then his love is as permanent as it is extenfive. He is always in one mind, and therefore can never leave nor forfake his people.

dwell in his

3dly, The conftant interceffion, of our glorious High Priest effectually fecures the accomplishment of this promife. By his death, he obtained the Holy Spirit to people, and to abide with them. This he intimated to his difciples for their comfort and encouragement, when they were about to lofe his bodily prefence (John xvi. 7.), "It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will fend him unto you." And, in another place, "I will

not away,

pray the Father, and he shall give you an"other Comforter, even the Spirit of truth, "who fhall abide with you;"-who shall abide with you, and that not for a season only, but " for ever.'

With what tenderness did he recommend them to his Heavenly Father, in his last inter

ceffory

ceffory prayer upon earth (John xvii. 11.), "And now I am no more in the world, but. "these are in the world. Holy Father, keep "through thine own name thofe whom thout "haft given me. Is it poffible, then, that

God fhould forfake thofe for whom his wellbeloved Son pleads with fuch carneftness and affection? Efpecially if it be contidered, in

the

4th and last place, That his own glory is interested in the accomplishment of this gracious promife. I mean that glory which confifts in making effectual the purposes of his grace towards thofe whom he hath chofen out of the world. For were he to leave or forfake his people, they muft fall a prey to their spiritual enemies, and yield to the adverfary of God and man, that triumph which he hath fought from the beginning. That apostate fpirit never deferts his purpose of ensnaring and deftroying the fouls of men. He is ever on the watch to feize them in a defencelefs moment; fo that, were God to leave them without his protection, they would fall eafy victims to his artifices. And will, he fuffer his purposes thus to be baffled by his declared foe?

It cannot be; and therefore he never will

leave nor forfake his people.

I fhall now conclude this difcourfe with a.

fhort practical improvement, addreffed to two different claffes of people. And the

ift Sort of perfons to whom I will addrefs myself, are those who are yet in a state of a lienation from God. It is poffible, that, at present, you may not fee the value of this promife which I have been unfolding. You have never, perhaps, been fenfible of the vanity of earthly enjoyments; or, if you have been wea

ry of fome of them, you promise yourselves a more permanent fatisfaction in others. Alas! this is a delufive expectation; for happiness never can be extracted from the creatures. God hath pronounced an irreversible decree of vanity upon them all. Ye are therefore purfuing what will for ever fly from you;-ye are feeding upon mere husks, which can neither nourish nor fatisfy you. But though you should even be contented with this poor and empty portion, yet you cannot always enjoy it; for what will you do when every earthly prop is tottering and ready to fink under you? What will ye do at that period,

when