evidence the univerfality of this fin: No man remembered the poor wife man. Now confider here,

4. The reafon of this forgetfulness. And there is these four following reafons we fhall affign for it.

(1.) It flows from the univerfal depravation of our nature: the memory, with all the reft of the faculties of the foul, got a dash by the fall of Adam; our heads were dashed to pieces, when we fell from fuch a height of happiness to such a depth of misery.

(2.) It flows from the little esteem and value that people have for the poor wife man, and his great works of redeeming and delivering us. It is ftrange to think, how much the works of men will be admired, and the works of God flighted. If a phyfician fhall perform a cure upon a man that is defperately difeafed, and dangeroufly ill, the man will be more taken up with the physician's work than with God's work; he will pay his phyfician, but never thank his God. Many will read the works of men with admiration, and read hiftory with rapture; but they will read the hiftory of the life and death of Chrift without ever being moved.

(3.) It flows from this that the memory is ftuffed with other things, even with the trafh of hell; there is no room for Chrift and his works of wonder: it was a bafe treatment of Chrift when he was fent out to the ftable, laid in a manger, no room for him in the inn. But it is a thousand times worfe, when your heart is fo full of the world, lufts, and idols, that there is no room for Christ.

(4.) It flows from the little impreffion that Chrift and his.redeeming work takes upon us. Naturalifts give this as a reafon of remembrance, when a thing makes a mighty impreffion on the brain. But, alas! the works of God flee over our heads, like a fhadow, and fo are forgotten. The best thing for the memory is the Spirit of God coming with life and power to the foul: "I will never forget thy words, fays David; why? for by them thou haft quickened me." It left an impreffion, and therefore abode. When the word of God, the works of God, have no impreffion, no wonder they are foon forgotten : there is a fowl of the air, the prince of the power of the.

your

air, the devil, he picks away every thing you hear, if hearts be not clofets for Chrift. If he were your treafure, your hearts would be the cabinets; " Where the treasure is, there the heart is alfo."

V. The fifth and laft thing propofed, was, The application of the fubject. And this we fhall effay in an ufe of information, lamentation, trial and exhortation.

We are, Firft, to deduce fome inferences for information. Is it fo, as has been faid, hence fee,

1. The defpicable cafe of the church of God in this world; it is but like a little city, and a few men in it. It is a defpifed city. The world calls it an outcast, saying, "This is Zion whom'no man feeks after," Jer. xxx. 17. As Chrift was defpifed and rejected of men; fo are his friends and followers: they are a little flock, and a defpifed flock. Whatever be the fate of the church vifible; fometimes when it appears fair as the moon, clear as the fun, and terrible as an army with banners; and when her vifible glory, the doctrine, worship, difcipline, and government is not defaced; yet the church invifible, in this world, is for ordinary, a poor, fmall, defpifed company; of whom it is faid, Zeph. iii. 12. "I will leave in the midft of thee, an afflicted and poor people, and they fhall truft in the name of the Lord."

2. Hence fee the dangerous circumftance of the church of God in this world. It is a city befieged by a great king, building great bulwarks against it. The church is like a bufh burning in the midst of the flames: it is in a dangerous militant ftate. The church of God is the manchild, which the red dragon ftands ready to devour, as foon as it is born, Rev. xii. 4. What a helpless cafe is the church of God into, in outward appearance! A great city cannot fland out well against a great king, and great bulwarks; far lefs a little city, and few men within it.

3. Hence fee the marvellous grace of God in finding out a Saviour, and a great one, to fave the little city; and, behold, "The grace of the Lord Jefus Chrift, that tho' he was great and rich, yet for our fakes he became poor;" and in the capacity of a poor man, tho' yet infinitely wife, being God as well as man, he delivered the

city, and raised the fiege. O fee and admire his wisdom, by which he delivered the city?

4. Hence fee the matchlefs ingratitude of the vifible church, where fuch a great deliverance is wrought; that no man fhould remember the poor wife man; that they fhould be guilty of fuch univerfal oblivion. Unbelief 'diftovers itself by unmindfulnefs; the life of faith is a life of fpiritual remembrance: but unbelief appears by forgetfulness by faith we remember Chrift, but by unbelief we forget him, and all his acts of kindness and love, though a ftanding ministry be appointed to help our memory; and, Oh! what a horrid ingratitude is it to forget him that minded us? Forgetfulnefs is the fpring of that deluge of atheifm and wickednefs that over-runs the world, and the prefent generation; people forget Ged and Christ. If men did but remember there is a God in heaven, that notices what they do, they could not practife as they do men have their minds fo funk in a prefent world, that they mind no other world; they forget him that came to redeem from this present evil world, and to provide a better: while we mind only earthly things we neglect the great falvation, and the great Saviour and Deliverer.

5. Hence fee what is here inferred, ver. 16. that wifdom is better than firength: Chrift is frequently here, and in the Proverbs reprefented under the name of Wisdom; and furely the wifdom of Chrift is better than the firength of man; better than the firength of carnal policy; better than the strength of human reafon; better than the ftrength of armies: yet the poor man's wifdom is defpifed, and his words are not heard; Chrift is defpifed, and his gofpel neglected and rejected.

Ufe 2. Let us then apply this doctrine for lamentation over the befieged city; particularly the church of Scotland. Let us take a view of the church, and then of the profeffors therein.

First, Of the church of Scotland, more generally as a city befieged, and a city delivered; and yet a city most ungrateful and unmindful of the Deliverer.

ift, As a city many times, and many ways befieged,

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efpecially by the devil and his inftruments; whom God, in righteoufnefs, fuffered to vex and difturb the city, and build great bulwarks against it.

I might here begin with the firft foundation-ftone, laid in the church of Scotland, more than 160o years ago, even a few years after Chrift's afcenfion, when God, by means of perfecution, fent Chriftians and gospel-profeffors firft among us; and we were, in a literal fenfe, a little city and few men in it. How many great bulwarks of pagan darkness, and heathen idolatries, were built in oppofition to the little city, and the little flock that were the followers of Chrift, when there was here a temple for Apollo, and there a temple for Diana; one for Jupiter, and another for Juno; one for Mercury, and another for Venus; one for the Sun, and another for the Moon; one for this god and goddefs, and another for that; and alfo many temples for the devil, for offering fo many bloody inhuman facrifices upon? We may think, how could the little city ftand when furrounded with fuch great bulwarks against it.

I might go forward to the fifth century, when the little city was firft formally befieged, and the great bulwark of popifh darkness, and anti-chriftian fuperftition built against it. When Palladius was fent from the Pope of Rome to Scotland, the little city did hold out against Rome, for a long time, but the fiege continued. against the city for no lefs than ten centuries; for, from the time of Palladius, to the Reformation, was about a thousand years; for, till the fifteenth century, the little city was covered with that dark cloud, over-run, opprefsed, and almost wholly destroyed; only amidst these difmal days, God had his witneffes, from time to time, that teftified against Rome and hell, even when they were carrying all before them.

Again, I might defcend to later times, when the little city was again attacked, and had the great bulwark of prelatical tyranny, and arbitrary power built against it; when the inhabitants of the city were hunted, pursued, yea, perfecute to death, imprifoned, fined, confined, banifhed, martyred and murdered, becaufe of their adhering to the rights and royalties of the glorious Lord

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and King of the city. Once and again the city was thus molefted before the late Revolution; and many witnelles are yet living, that can atteft the grievous trials of the late reigns *.

Further, I might here obferve how the city has been befieged and attacked feveral ways in our own time, and within our remembrance, as well as at this prefent time; partly without doors, by late foreign invafions, and a late unnatural rebellion †, wherein a popish faction have attempted to ruin the city in all her most valuable and facred concerns; and thofe attempts favoured under-hand, by parliamentary acts, tolerating errors, and reftoring patronages; and partly within doors, while unnatural citizens feek in a manner to fap the foundations thereof.

QUEST. Who are thefe within the little city that dif turb the peace, and destroy the foundations of the city.

ANSW. Surely, if there be any party within the city, that are thieves and robbers, not coming in by the doors and gates of the city, but climbing up fome other way; if there be who feek themselves, and not the welfare of the city; or, that lift up hammers and axes against the carved work, the doctrine, worship, difcipline, and government of the city; if there be any that ftand not to condemn gofpel-truth, and tolerate damnable errors; if there be any that ftand not to offend the generation of the righteous, and to wound the citizens, and fmite them, and take away the vail from them; if there be any that violently thruft in paftors upon congregations, or officers upon the city over the belly of the citizens, and that discourage a holy and pious set of officers, and encourage a loofe, legal, erroneous, and fcandalous fet; thefe are furely the diflurbers of the peace of the city; thefe are building up great bulwarks against it.

2dly, Take a view of the church of Scotland not only as a city befieged, but as a city hitherto delivered by the wifdom of the poor wife man, the glorious Lord Jefus Chrift. By

*Alluding particularly to the twenty-eight years perfecution, `under Charles II. and James VII. between 1650. and 1683.

+ Our Author here has his eye probably upon the intended-invafion by France, in favour of the Pretender, Anno 1703. and upon the actual invasion and Rebellion in the year 1715.