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Abraham's bofom, Luke xvi. 22. Yea, himself is ever with them in life and in death, till he bring them where they shall be beyond hazard, Pfal. xxiii. 4. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the bhadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Mot. 3. Confider the mighty price paid for the redemption of finners, to make way for them into God's family, Gal. iv. 4. 5. When the fulness of the time was come, God fent forth his Son made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of fons. There was no hope of this till the Son of God undertook the work of redemption. And by his precious blood he purchased it for us. O, trample not on the price and purchase of blood.

Mot. 4. Confider what a wonderful thing it is, that there is a poffibility of it, that children of Satan may become the children of God. Whofo confider their own vilenefs and God's greatnefs, muft cry out with wonder, Is this the manner of men!

Mot. ult. It is this day in your offer. The Lord fays to you, even to all of you, as in the text, I will be a Father unto you, &c. And ye may have it, and have it fealed to you. But it will not always be fo. The day of grace will come to an end.

Cafe 1. But will ever God fet fuch a finful and vile wretch as me among his children? Anf. Yes, if ус make not yourselves more vile, by rejecting of Jefus Christ. I know nothing can hinder you from adoption but that; John iii. 19. And this is the condemna tion, that light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. The greatnefs of your fin will not do it, If. i. 18. Come now and let us reafon together, faith the Lord: though your fins be as Scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimfon, they shall be as wool. The multitude of them, If. lv. 7. Let the wicked forfake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and

let him return unto the Lord, and be will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. Your frequent backflidings, Jer. iii. 1. 4. They fay, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man's, fhall he return unto her again? Shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, faith the Lord. Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My father, thou art the guide of my youth? Come to Chrift, unite with him by faith, in the way of the covenant, and God will pardon and adopt you.

Cafe 2. But I fear I never will be able to carry as a child of God. Anf. Is it thy fincere purpofe to labour to conform thyfelf to the manners of God's house? then he bids thee welcome into his family. He can do for his children, what no other father can do, even transform them into his own image and likenefs, and preferve them by his mighty power through faith unto falvation.

The divine Call to leave the Devil's Family explained and urged *.

2 CORINTHIANS VI. 17. 18.

Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, faith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my fons and daughters, faith the Lord Almighty.

THE

HE facred feast before us the Lord makes for his own children in the lower houfe, and for them only. His children that are above need it not. The children of the devil, which all in the state of nature are, will not get the welcome of the Mafter of ⚫ This difcourfe was preached at Ettrick, June 8. 1718, immedi ately before the celebration of the Lord's fupper. Ñ n

VOL. II.

the feast to it, for he has made it only for thofe of his own family. But there is another family that bears the greatest bulk in the world, and that is Satan's: and all the world belongs to one of the two. The apostle tells us there can be no communion or agreement be twixt these two families, ver. 14. 15. 16. But God making up his family of fuch as are brought out of Satan's, the gofpel is fent into the world to invite finners to defert their natural father's houfe, promising them thereupon a kindly reception into the family of God, both which we have in the text. Wherein is,

1. The gofpel-call to finners. And that is to come out from among them, &c. And here is,

( The substance of the duty, Come out from among them. This black fociety, which ye are called to come out of, is that of unbelievers, unrighteousness, darknefs, idolaters, headed by Belial, the devil. That is, in a word, the world lying in wickedness; all the unconverted world, which the text and context reprefents as the devil's family, to which the family of God is oppofed. To come out from among them, is to come out of your natural ftate, to renounce the devil, the world, and fin, and to come to Chrift by faith. And that the text aims at no less than this, (though it is pertinently enough applied to renouncing external visible church-communion with idolaters), I think is evident from this, that adoption into God's family is propofed and promifed on compliance with this call, ver. 18. And let men feparate as they will, till they make this holy feparation, that they can never have.

(2.) The manner of the duty. [1] Ye must come away freely, and for all together: Be ye feparate. A withdrawing for a time while the relation ftands betwixt you and them, will not do; there must be a total feparation, by going to the contrary fide, and fetting up in oppofition to them. Be ye Separate. Thus the apoftle explains If. lii. 11. whence this is taken. [2] Ye must come away cleanly and honeft

ly, taking up nothing of theirs to carry away with you, as Rachel did her father's images. Touch not the unclean thing. Thus God himfelf calls you away; faith the Lord,

2. The gofpel-offer and promife, on compliance with the call, I will receive you. I will take you in, namely, into my house and family; namely, as children by adoption, having left your natural father the devil. Compare ver. 18, which we explained before. I obferve from the words the following doctrine, viz. DOCT. The Lord calls to finners to come freely and cleanly away out of the devil's family, promifing thereupon to take them into his own family, as children of his boufe by adoption.

Having at large explained the doctrine of the divine adoption from ver. 18. and applied it in the way of trial, I have chofen further to purfue that defign in a way of ex bortation, in the words of this text. To prepare which for application, I fhall only,

I. Shew you a few things implied in this call.
II. What this coming out from among them is.

I. I fhall fhew you a few things implied in this call. 1. Sinners naturally are of the devil's family, John viii. 44. Ye are in among them, elfe there were no need of coming out from among them. The family of Satan confiits of devils, damned fpirits of men, and all the unconverted world lying in wickedness; in a word, of all thofe that are not of the family of God. All these are under one head, the prince of devils. And accordingly, when time is at an end, they fhall all be houfed under one dreadful roof for ever, Matth. xxv. 41. O unconverted finner, thou art a fon of the house of hell (whatever blood run in thy veins), a prifon houfe, a dark houfe, a dreadfullymiferable houfe, Matth. xxiii. 15. Never was a child liker a father than thou art like the devil. He is a fallen creature; lying in wickness; his nature is eRN na

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mity against God and his holy law; fo art thou and thine. And though thou put a fair face on it by a form of godliness, that will not make thee unlike him, who can transform himself into an angel of light. So thou art among them.

2. It is poffible thou may get out from among them. Satan has a great family, one part whereof he has in the lower houfe, in hell; thefe are devils and damned fpirits. If once he get you down among them, ye cannot get out from among them again, but muft abide among them for ever and ever. So this call has nothing ado with that part of the devil's family; they are paft hope. But there is another part of it in his upper houfe of this world, who as really belong to his family as the other, 2 Cor. iv. 4. with this difference, that as long as they are there, he is never quite fure of them, that as fons they fhall abide in his houfe for ever. The elder brother of the family of heaven, the Lord of his Father's houfe, has his lower house in this fame world, where Satan has his upper one; and he has his Father's commission to fill it out of Satan's family, thofe of them in his upper houfe. And for this caufe he fends out his ambaffadors, minifters, to call in the name of the Lord to them as in the text, Come out from among them, &c. Forget thine own people, and thy father's houfe, Pfal. xlv. 10. They must be in earneft with that part of the family, and give them no reft, because there is yet hope, Luke xiv. 23. and he has a Spirit that can draw them out effectually, that are fartheft in in the hofe.

3. Ye will not be carried away from among them against your will. Ye muft come away voluntarily, fetting down your own feet to make your escape, Pfal. cx. 3. There is a generation that make the doctrine of man's impotency to good a pillow for their floth: they fay they can do nothing, and they will do nothing. But if ye were willing to come away, ye would do fomething for that end; ye would

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