perished. Renew, my worthy friend, the ardor of your prayers, that the God of the Spirits of all flesh may every where excite a multitude of enlightened and animated witnesses, to these vital truths of his everlasting gospel; and that his blessing may attend every effort for the advancement of this sacred cause. and particularly, that it may, notwithstanding all its imperfec tions, attend this humble attempt, from the hand of,

Reverend and dear Sir,

Your affectionate brother

in the work of the christian ministry,

and ever faithful friend and servant,

P. DODDRIDGE.

Northampton, Sept. 18, 1748,

Our Lord speaks of the Spirit here: But we must remember that it is not in an abstracted view, as separate from, but as in conjunction with the other blessings of his gospel, and as preparatory to a state of eternal happiness. And therefore these words in which the blesssed Jesus expresseth his ability and readiness to bestow the Spirit, do evidently imply that he is both able and willing to impart all the blessings of this gospel, to all those who do sincerely desire them; and this without any exception. A glorious truth! The epitome of the gospel, and the hope and life of our souls! Which in an humble dependance on divine influences I shall now endeavour to illustrate and confirm. I will

I. Shew you that the springs of the most valuable blessings are in Christ.

II. Prove that he is not as a fountain sealed, but diffuses these streams with a divine freedom, and in the richest abundance, for the relief of every thirsty soul.

III. I shall add some practical reflections.

I. I am to shew you, that the springs of the most valuable blessings are in Christ; so that he is abundantly able to refresh the thirsty soul.

My brethren, I may say in the name of my great Master, as was said to Israel of old, Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it *. Extend your desires to the utmost boundaries, that are consistent with reason, and piety, and from him you may receive the most copious supply; for he Is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or think +.

I will not enlarge on the general proof of this fundamental truth, which so often occurs. I will not speak particularly of The fulness of Godhead which dwells in him bodily ‡; nor of that communicated Fulness which is treasured up in him as Man and Mediator, by the pleasure of the Father §, of which we have all received, even grace for grace, i. e. an abundance of grace. I aim, in my present discourse, not so much at enlightening the understanding in the evidence of a doctrine so universally allowed amongst all professing christians; as at affecting your heart, and my own, with a sense of what, even while we acknowledge, we are all so prone to forget.

*Psal. lxxxi. 10.
Col, i. 19.

† Eph. iii. 20.

John i. 16.

Col. ii. 9.

reveals himself under so endearing a character! Happy creatures indeed, that can go out, and come in, that can lie down, and rise up, under the impression of this glorious transporting thought, God is ever surrounding us with his favourable presence, is ever with us as a father and a friend? Oh that this happiness were mine! How rich should I be in such a portion, though I were stripped of my earthly all, and sent out hungry and hardly bestead, to seek my bread in desolate places! Let unthinking wretches Say, who will show us any temporal good; but while I have a voice to express, and a soul to form a desire, this shall be its language, Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon me* !"

This, my friends, is the tendency of the soul to its proper centre; and as it is of all others the most natural, so in a sanctified heart it is of all others the most forcible and lively. Therefore this kind of desires is represented in scripture, by the most eager and impatient thirst, even that of a hunted deer after refreshing streams: As the hart panteth after the water-brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God; My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God; when shall I come and appear before God! And elsewhere, My soul thirsteth for God: my flesh longeth for thee, as in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is: "The thirsty pilgrim cannot long more for cooling streams, when parched up in a sandy desart, than I for thee." Nay, the ardor of his desire is represented as extorting a passionate cry, My heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God §.

Do you, my friends, feel any such holy breathings? Can you adopt these pathetic words of David, as expressive of the inward sentiments of your soul? Blessed be God, they are not hopeless desires! The Lord Jesus Christ is the sacred channel, through which the waters of life flow, from the everlasting, inexhaustible fountain! It was the very business which he came into the world about, to establish a friendship between God and his apostate creatures. Therefore we are expressly told, that God Hath made us accepted in the beloved : And our Lord assures us, that he can introduce us to so great an intimacy with him, that it may properly be said, that he even dwells in our souls: If any man love me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him ¶.

* Psal. iv. 6, 7.

+ Psal. xlii. 1, 2.

Psal. Ixiii. 1.

§ Psal. lxxxiv. 2.

Our Lord speaks of the Spirit here: But we must remember that it is not in an abstracted view, as separate from, but as in conjunction with the other blessings of his gospel, and as preparatory to a state of eternal happiness. And therefore these words in which the blesssed Jesus expresseth his ability and readiness to bestow the Spirit, do evidently imply that he is both able and willing to impart all the blessings of this gospel, to all those who do sincerely desire them; and this without any exception. A glorious truth! The epitome of the gospel, and the hope and life of our souls! Which in an humble dependance on divine influences I shall now endeavour to illustrate and confirm. I will

I. Shew you that the springs of the most valuable blessings are in Christ.

II. Prove that he is not as a fountain sealed, but diffuses these streams with a divine freedom, and in the richest abundance, for the relief of every thirsty soul.

III. I shall add some practical reflections.

I. I am to shew you, that the springs of the most valuable blessings are in Christ; so that he is abundantly able to refresh the thirsty soul.

My brethren, I may say in the name of my great Master, as was said to Israel of old, Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it *. Extend your desires to the utmost boundaries, that are consistent with reason, and piety, and from him you may receive the most copious supply; for he Is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or think +.

I will not enlarge on the general proof of this fundamental truth, which so often occurs. I will not speak particularly of The fulness of Godhead which dwells in him bodily ; nor of that communicated Fulness which is treasured up in him as Man and Mediator, by the pleasure of the Father §, of which we have all received, even grace for grace, i. e. an abundance of grace . I aim, in my present discourse, not so much at enlightening the understanding in the evidence of a doctrine so universally allowed amongst all professing christians; as at affecting your heart, and my own, with a sense of what, even while we acknowledge, we are all so prone to forget.

Psal. lxxxi. 10. § Col, i. 19.

+ Eph. iii. 20.

John i. 16.

Col. ii. 9.

Let me entreat you then to reflect, on this occasion, what are those blessings which a rational soul would most eagerly desire, most ardently thirst after. You will immediately reply, if you know God and yourselves, "We are guilty creatures, and we need a pardon; so need it, as to be for ever undone without it. We are naturally indigent and dependant, and we need an interest in the constant paternal care of the great Author of our being. We are polluted, weak and disconsolate, and we need the energy of the divine Spirit, to purify, to strengthen, and to revive us. We are immortal creatures, on the borders of the grave, through which we are shortly to enter on the eternal world; and therefore we need, and cannot but earnestly desire an interest in that future and unchangeable happiness." My friends, if this be your judgment, it is according to truth; may these desires be continually growing in your souls! for, be the thirst ever so impatient, the streams which flow from this living fountain are abundantly sufficient to relieve it.

1. Do you thirst for the pardon of sin? From the Lord Jesus Christ you may receive a supply.

Inconsiderable as this may seem to the careless sinner, whose eyes are sleeping the sleep of death, to the enlightened soul it cannot but appear of infinite importance. When once convictions take hold of the heart, when the sacred law of the eternal God is thrown open in all its extent and all its purity; and conscience charges us with our violations of it; when that awful hand appears to write Tekel against us, Thou art weighed in the balance and found wanting, no wonder if trembling and astonishment seize us; no wonder if even our joints are loosed, and our knees smite one against another *; when angry Omnipotence appears, as it were, rising against us in all its terrors, and hell seems to open its mouth to devour us. Well may other cares and passions be lost in this, as the rustling of a leaf in the report of thunder. Accordingly the awakened sinner is represented as enquiring, not after a blessing out of the cornfloor and the wine-press, not saying, what shall I eat, and what shall I drink, and wherewithal shall I be cloathed? but as possessed by other thoughts, which now appear of infinitely greater moment, Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the most high God. He is represented as willing, if possible, to purchase a pardon, not only at the expence of the most costly offerings, With thousands of rams,