wager upon his head, that fin fhall not have dominion over me; I will wager upon his head, that I fhall per. form duty, and do all things through him ftrengthening me; I will wager upon his head, that my fins fhall be forgiven me as the Jews, you know, confeffed their fins upon the head of the facrifice fhadowing Chrift; and what was the gospel of it? Why, when it was done in the faith of Chrift, the great facrifice, it was in effect to fay, I will wager upon the head of this facrifice, that as it is fufficient for the expiation of my fins, fo all my fins fhall be pardoned upon this ground. What fay you, man? Will you venture all that concerns your holiness and happinefs, grace and glory, duty and dignity; will you venture all upon Chrift? Will you wager and engage upon his head? Then in God's name you fhall gain the day. But here alfo is a test of right approach. ing to God in all duties and ordinances, and at a communion-table; why, it is juft, as it were, a coming to the chamber of divine prefence, fo as to come in at Chrift's back, fetting him before you, as the first Ap proacher to ufher you in; "I am the way: and no man cometh to the Father but by me." It is to come to God in the faith of Chrift's having approached to him before you, and to come boldly, never fearing that his infinite. holinefs fhall dafh fuch a filthy finner, nor that his infinite juftice fhall confound fuch a guilty finner. Why, your Ufher, that hath gone before you, to the presence of this holy and juft God, hath gratified his holiness, and fatisfied his juftice both. Here, I fay, you see the right engaging and right approaching.

4. And laftly, Paffing all other inferences that might be drawn from the doctrine; hence fee the duty of all that hear this gofpel, and what the Lord is calling you to this day it is even this, that your heart be engaged to approach unto him, whofe heart was engaged to ap proach unto God in your room; that fo, approaching heartily to Chrift, you may approach confidently to God in him; for there is no approaching to God, but by taking Chrift by the way. O then, let your hearts be engaged to approach unto Chrift; this is the very defign of all that we have been faying, even to engage

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And, O Sirs, what in

your hearts to the Son of God. all the world will engage your hearts, if the engaged heart of Chrift do it not? He is come here this day to court your hearts; the very heart of a Saviour is come down to court the heart of a finner, and to court you with this argument, That his heart is fo much upon you, that he engaged his heart to approach unto God in your room. Away with the devil's logic, May be it was not for me that Chrift engaged, nor for me that he approached unto God; for there is but a felect number, that were elected from eternity, for whom he engaged and approached.' In order to fhut this objection out of the way, let me tell you, man, that "Secret things belong to God, but to us the things that are revealed.” Let an infinitely wife God anfwer for his own decrees, as well as he can; but you dare not be anfwerable to God for meddling with them; and you meddle too far, if the thoughts thereof difcourage you from coming to Chrift this day. Will it be a good answer for you, before the bar of God? Lord, I thought, perhaps, I was not elected, and therefore my heart could never be engaged to Chrift. What anfwer can you expect from God, but the like of this? Wretch that thou art, had you not my revealed will to be a rule of your duty? And did not I reveal, That upon the peril of damnation you was to close with my Chrift? And what had you to do with my fecret decree? How durft you attempt to be wife above what is written? Who but the devil could fuggeft that to your heart, that you was not an elect? And he was a liar for faying fo, for he told you what he did not know himfelf. How does the devil act herein like himself, while he would carry you up to the pinnacle of the temple of eternal predeftination at the firft inftant, that you may thence throw yourfelf down from the battlement of heaven to the bottom of hell, which was the way himself went; and he would have you along with him? O! will you regard the ruining fuggeftions of a black devil, more than the kindly motions of a Saviour? O! will you rather outfhoot the devil in his own bow, and draw an argument for faith, from what was done from all eternity? Titus i. 2. Was eternal life promised

in Chrift before the world began; was all engaged for from eternity? Then there is the lefs ado for me, when this promife of eternal life comes directed and offered; for, "To you is the word of this falvation fent," that Chrift hath engaged for all that concerns our falvation; and we have nothing ado, but, through grace, to confent that this Engager be ours, to do all for us. From all eternity the Mediator's heart was engaged to the work of our redemption; and from this infinitely high and eternal tower there are ropes of divine promifes hanging down, for us to lay hold on with our hearts: "For the promise is to us and to our children, and to all that are afar off." And when our. hearts embrace any of these promises that are fastened to Chrifl's engaged heart, then our hearts are carried up, in God's order, to the knowledge of the divine counfels, and go up the fcripture-ftair; while Satan would have us begin at the top, that we may fall down head-long. Now, among these promises that are let down from Chrifl's engaged heart, for us to embrace with our heart, there is one, Jer. xxxi. 2. "I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore with loving-kindness will I draw thee." O Sirs, here is a cord of love let down, and the upper end of it is fastened to Chrift's heart, and the lower end of it hanging down the length of your hearts: And, O! fhall not Chrift's heart and yours be knit together this day? Here is a cord to bind his heart to your heart, and your heart to his heart. O! ftrong cord, of God's making! O! fhall not the Saviour's heart and the finner's heart meet together this day? Will the heart of Jefus gain no. heart in this houfe to-day? Yea, we hope there fhall be a meeting of hearts betwixt him and a remnant here. O then, finner, come into his heart, for his heart is open; and I have a commiffion to tell you, that his heart is open to you, and opened fo wide, that you may all go in to his opened heart. It is not a hard heart like yours: No, no: If he had been as hardened against you, as your hearts were hardened against him, he would never have engaged fo heartily to approach to God for you, nor ever fent us to tell GC 4 you

you his heart's love towards you. O believe it upon his word, Jer. xxxi. 20. He is not hard-hearted; no, his heart is a melting heart, faying, "I do earneftly remember you ftill; my bowels are troubled for you; I will furely have mercy upon you." From the very time that I engaged for you, which was from all eternity, I do earnestly remember you ftill; and now the time of love is come, the time of letting out my heart toward you my bowels are founding for you, and my heart is melting over you, and warm drops of love are falling down from my melted heart to your hard hearts, that they may be melted and diffolved, fo as both mine and yours may be melted into one; and being run together with the fire of my everlasting love, they may be engaged to each other for ever. O Sinner! finner! finner! O enemies! enmies to God, enemies to Jefus ! O hard-hearted finner! Words and rods, calls and threatenings, fermons and facraments have not melted your heart; and if you go to hell, the flames of hell will never melt your heart: but here are the flames of infinite love from the heart of a God-man; what will this do? A God of love is come down, and muft not the mountains melt before him? Yea, mountains of enmity and unbelief, and the hard flinty heart will melt like wax before him. A live coal from the flaming altar of Chrift's engaged heart, is come down to put fire to your cold-rife heart. O! is the bleffed fire kindled? Is your heart engaged to him or not? If not, will you confider,

(1.) What a fad thing it is, if your heart fhall not be engaged to approach unto him: It fays, the heart is engaged to fome others than to Chrift, that your heart is engaged to idols and lufts, and you cannot find in your heart to fign a bill of divorce from thefe.But, O! will you tell me, if your heart be engaged to the devil, engaged to the world, engaged to the flesh, and the lufts thereof, engaged to wicked company, engaged to corrupt courfes, and that you cannot be difengaged from them, nor break thefe engagements, nor your covenant with hell? O! will any of thefe lovers to whom your hearts are engaged, will any

of

of them engage to approach to God in your room, as Chrift hath done? Will any of them engage to bring you to heaven, or to keep you out of hell? Nay, are they not engaged rather to ruin your fouls for ever, if they can? And why fhould your hearts be engaged to your greatest enemies, that would lead you to deftruction; and not engaged to Chrift, who engaged his heart to approach unto God for your falvation and redemption? If your hearts be not engaged to Christ, it fays you are, at beft, married and engaged to the law; you are going about to establish a righteousness of your own; hoping to please God, and procure falvation to yourselves by your prayers and good duties: Your language is like that of the wicked fervant, that faid, Have patience with me, and I will pay you all." You are not yet pleased to have one to undertake for all in your room; and therefore, O fad is your flate! for. you ftand under a perfonal obligation to pay all indeed: You are a debtor to do the whole law; and yet, because of your failure, you are under obligation to bear the whole curfe of the law. O terrible! If you stay there, you must approach to the tribunal of God, in your own perfon. O! how will you approach to God without him! You will find God out of Chrift a confuming fire.

(2.) Confider how fweet it is to have your hearts engaged to him, whofe heart was engaged to approach to God for you: his heart was engaged to you before ever yours were engaged to him; yea, from all eternity; and you may rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. Though your debt be never fo great, he is engaged to pay it; though your fins be never fo heinous, he is engaged to pardon them; though your corruptions be never fo firong, he is engaged to fubdue them; though your enemies be never fo mighty, he is engaged to conquer them; and though the promifes be never fo precious in themselves, and unlikely to be accomplished to you, yet he is engaged to fulfil them; only, while you are here, on this fide Jordan, he will accomplish them in his own time, and in his