virtue thereof, fhall be fure to enjoy the benefit of it to eternity; "Yea, furely goodnefs and mercy fhall follow you, all the days of your life, and you fhall dwell in the houfe of the Lord for ever." 10. The laft Inference is, Hence fee the duty of all that hear and know this joyful found: Never was there a fweeter found in heaven, or in earth. And what is the duty of all you that hear it? Surely the news of fuch a glorious and harmonious meeting of the divine perfections, about the falvation of finners, in and by Chrift Jefus, fhould be joyfully received. Here is the good tidings of great joy unto all people, Luke ii. 10. When Elizabeth, the mother of John, and Mary, the mother of Jefus our Lord, met together and faluted each other, the babe leapt in Elizabeth's womb for joy. Behold, here is yet a more wonderful meeting, and falutation among the jarring-like attributes and perfections of God; and furely if the babe of grace be in your heart, it will leap for joy, when you perceive fuch a bleffed meeting and falutation. O! may it not bring our heart to our mouth, and make it flutter within us, when we hear of fuch a falutation as this, Mercy and Truth are met together, Righteoufnels and Peace have embraced each other."-And again, What is your duty, believer, who not only bears, but knows this joyful found? Your duty is, not only to rejoice, in this matchlefs harmonious conjunction of divine attributes in Chrift; but to examplify the fame, by an harmonious conjunction of graces and holy virtues in you. Let Mercy and Truth meeting together, as divine attributes, in Chrift, be examplified by Mercy and Truth meeting together, as divine virtues in you: Let Righteoufnefs and Peace kiffing each other in him, be examplified by Righteoufnefs and Peace kifling each other in you. Let the meeting of Mercy and Truth engage you to be merciful and true; "Merciful, becaule your heavenly Father is merciful; and true, because he defires truth in the inward parts." Let the embraces of Righteoufnefs and Peace engage you, to be righteous and peaceable; that is, to be ftudents of Purity and Peace; M 2 Peace; "For the wifdom that is from above, is first pure, and then peaceable," James iii. 17. It is declared in the verse following our text, that it is the defign of thefe perfections of God, looking down harmoniouslyfrom heaven, to make fuitable graces fpring up from the earth" Truth fhall fpring out of the earth, andRighteousness fhall look down from heaven.” When the Sun of righteoufnefs, in whom all the excellencies of God do fhine, looks down; then as the natural fun fhedding its influences, makes fruit to fpring up from the earth: fo the Sun of righteoufnefs looking down and: fhedding abroad his influences, makes Truth, and all the reft of the fruits of the Spirit, to fpring out of the earth, out of the heart, the foil where they are fown, in regeneration. O! does Mercy look down from heaven to you, in friendfhip with Truth? Shall not this Mercy make you merciful to the bodies and fouls of others, by doing them all the temporal and fpiritual good that you can? And fhall God manifeft his Truth, in conjunction with Mercy towards you; and will you not be a friend to Truth, even to all the precious truths of his gofpel? Shall not Truth, in oppofition to hypocrify, be your fludy; and Truth, in oppofition to error, be your concern? And this Truth, in conjunction with Mercy : For, when Truth is in any hazard, thould not Mercy to your own foul, and the fouls of others, make you zealous for it; and mercy to your children, and the generation that is to come after you, on whom we fhew no mercy, if truth be not transmitted purely to them, as it was by our forefathers to us, at the expence of their blood; however, now, the waters of the fanctuary are ́ puddled?-Again, does Righteoufnefs and Peace look down from heaven, kindly embracing each other in your behalf, believer? And fhall not you be a student of Righteoufnefs, in oppofition to all unrighteous and unholy ways; and of Peace, in oppofition to contention and difcord: "As much as poffible, follow peace with all men; and holinefs, without which, no man fhall fee the Lord." Does God glorify his righteoufnefs towards you? And will you ftudy no righteoufnefs in your converfation towards God and man? Does God fpeak peace to you, and you will be at war with him; and love to live in war with any of his? Shall that be the difpofition of any, with whom God is at peace? "O tell it not in Gath!” Surely there is none here, that have tafted of this fweet peace of God; but they would defire to live at peace with all men; and particularly with all the faints.--They would defire to. fee all the honeft minifters of Sc land, meeting together more kindly than they do, and embracing each other. Some, indeed, are at this time reproached, as enemies to peace in the church*;' but the matter is, Peace mult not be ftudied feparately from Righteoufnefs, or Mercy feparately from Truth; but all as meeting, and embracing one another: for Mercy and Peace, without Truth and Righteousness, is a cruel confpiracy against God and man. ་ Now, certain things have past concerning the Truths of God, and the Righteoufnefs of Chrift in our day, which fome think will ftand infamous till the judgment of the great day; and this Truth and Righteousness, being the great minifterial truft, fome chufed rather to be reproached by the world, than be challenged by God and their own confcience, as betrayers of the truft. However, O believer, ftudy you through grace, to get a match made up between Mercy and Truth, Righteoufnefs and Peace in you, feeing there can be no merciful Peace to the prejudice of righteous Truth: and ftudy to get all these attributes of God, examplified in your heart and life; and the feal and imprefs thereof upon your foul; you being united to Chrift, in whom all these glorious excellencies of God do meet together, with harmonious embracements. "Out of Chrift's fulncfs, do you receive, and grace for grace:" as the child receives member for member from the father, and * See the reafon of this affigned, Sermon IV. intitled, Chrift the People's Covenant, in a foot note.--The hearty friends to the doctrine of grace, in thofe days, were very unjustly accused with Antinomianism; and the ftrenuous fupporters of the doctrine of free juftification, through the imputed righteoufnefs of Chrift, without the works of the law, were injuriously calumniated as enemies to boliness, and as difiurbers of the peace of the church.-This matter is further cleared up, in a note, about the middle of thefe Sermons, intitled, Law-death, and Gofpei-life. the M 3 out of the paper letter for letter from the prefs: fo beholding his glory, be you changed into the fame image, by receiving mercy for mercy, truth for truth, righteoufnefs for righteoufnefs, and peace for peace; his fulness, do you receive grace for grace, holinefs ter holinefs, and an holy virtue fuitable to every holy perfection, that is in him; and all these harmoniously meeting together, and kiffing each other in you. Let no heavenly grace, or holy duty be excluded out of the meetings: Let faith and repentance meet together; let love and new obedience kifs each other; let knowJedge and practice meet together, and prayer and praises embrace each other; yea, let oppofite like graces meet harmonioufly in you; let humility and boldnefs meet together; let godly forrow and holy joy embrace each other. Here is the gofpel-holinefs we call you to, in a fuitablenefs to thefe harmonious attributes of God in Chrift, If the world call you Antinomians, know it is the will of God, that by well-doing, you put to filence the ignorance of foolifh men, 1 Pet. ii. 15. Let the mouth that reproaches the gofpel, be flopt by the power of it, in your walk-The world will furely reckon you the greatest ftars that give the greatest light; "Therefore let your light fo fhine before men, that others feeing your good works, may glorify God;" even the works of Mercy and Truth, Righteoufnefs and Peace, hand and hand together; and thus, for the fake of the glory of God, the honour of Chrift, and the credit of the gospel, let the world know, that you have seen the glory, and felt the virtue of thefe perfections of God, harmonioufly meeting and embracing each other in Chrift. Here is your duty and work, believer, in the wilderness; and now in all your fhort-comings therein, fill look again to God's holy temple, to Chrift, the meeting-place of thefe divine perfections. This is the mercy-feat, of which God fays, Exod, xxv. 22. "There will I meet with thee, and commune with thee, from between the cherubims:" And every new meeting with God there, will bring in new ftrength, for all your work and warfare in time, till God and you meet together, and embrace one-another, in glory, through eternity. And And now, believer, I know you would defire, that others fhould fhare of the fame happiness with you; and therefore, pray, that a fhort concluding word may be bleffed with power, to thoufands that hear me.O ye that are by-ftanders and hearers only, in whatever corner of this house, round about me, whether you be in my view or not, you are in God's view; and I have a word from him to you all: And as I have told you, what a terrible thing it is, to live and die in unbelief, with respect to this glorious device; fo now I would tell you your duty, in this matter; and how you may fhare of the bleflings and benefits in time, and for ever, that flow from this glorious meeting and embracement; and it is by kifling the Son of God, in whom all the attributes of God do kits, and embrace each other; "Kifs the Son, left he be angry, and ye perifh from the way; when his wrath is kindled but a little: bleffed are all they that truft in him," Pfal. ii. 12. Bleffed are all they that kifs and embrace him. Would you then fhare of the grace and glory, that iffue from this wonderful meeting, and ineffable embracement among the divine perfections, in Chrift the Son of God? O then! come and kifs the Son: O down, down with carnal thoughts! carnal kiffing, caroufing, and cajolling; here, here is an object worthy of the moft endeared embraces of the immortal foul.-O come! and kifs the Son, by believing in him, and applying the benefits of this glorious tranfaction, to yourfelf: and be who you will, if you kifs and embrace the Son, you fall find thefe glorious attributes of God, kiffing and embracing you, and hugging you in their arms, as a darling of heaven, and a favourite in the house of God: Are the attributes of God, embracing one-another. in Chrift? O flee in to their embraces, by fleeing in to Chrift: 66 Say not, Chrift is in heaven, how fhall I embrace him? For the word is nigh, even in your mouth, and in your heart," Rom. x. 8. q. d. So near is he in this word, that you may kifs him with your mouth, as it were, and embrace him in your heart and to take in this word of grace, and Chrift in it, is to embrace him. What do you fay againft Chrift, M4 inan, |