ty of grace turn the scale in their favour, no bleffing can be granted to them, or enjoyed by them. So much is comprehended in the higheft boldness, affurance, and confidence of faith, that was ever exercised, by any heir of promife, in his dealings with God. But our Lord, even in the days of his flesh, fometimes pled in a strain very different; in a ftrain unprecedented, inimitable, and peculiar. "Father, I will (faid he) that they alfo whom "thou haft given me, be with me," John xvii. 24. Strange! I will! and not, If thou wilt! Yes; our Lord, having the Father's everlafting obligation to him, for that purpose, in his hand, makes a demand on the promifer, for the accomplishment of his promife; there is an immediate requifition in this cafe. Nay more, the Redeemer fpeaks in ftrains of his divinity; and fpeaks his purpofe into being; fpeaks as co-equal with the Father, refpecting the crowning mercy he intended to perform toward all his fpiritual feed.

SECT. IV.

What beauty, fimplicity, and grandeur, appear in the Redeemer's character, as represented? What an amiable, fignificant, and important picture does it fet before us? Never was the exercife of patience fcrewed up to fuch an amazing pitch; never did the grace of patience fhine with equal fplendor, advantage and glory. Never did that divine virtue receive fuch honour, or appear with fuch magnificence, as in the humiliation of Jefus Chrift, his people's Lord. Compared with this, the patience of Job, what is it? to what fum total does it amount? Compared with this, even the patience of Job is as a twinkling taper, to the fun in his brightnefs; weighed in the fcales of the fcripture, lighter than nothing, abfolute vanity. Here is patience

without

without a spurn, beauty without a blot, and perfection without the smallest flaw. What, but Divine Wisdom, could have formed fuch a grand defign? what, but Divine Love, could have execute fuch a coftly plan? God manifested! manifested in the flesh manifested in the likeness of finful flesh! manifefted in the character of a fubject; under authority as a fon; in waiting as a fervant ! However low this grace of our Lord Jefus Chrift in the view of naughty mortals, it is celebrated in the highest ftrains of angelic praife, heavenly wonder, and feraphic joy. Though small and despifed, without form and comelinefs, in the eyes of unbelievers, and partly too in the eyes of militant faints themselves; the Jerufalem above is filled with ceaseless hofannahs unto this fon of David; as once humbled, though now exalted; once obedient, though now obeyed; wounded, though now healed; dead, though now alive; entombed, though now enthroned. As the circumftance of his former humiliation gives peculiar life to the whole confort within the vale; it fhould excite the wonder, as well as command the attention, of the churches below, and encourage the travellers of hope to effay the exercise of humble patient waiting for God. What a diftinguishing gracedoes it give to this path of the faints, that it was trode before them by the King of faints? In the exercise of believing patience, holy obedience, may they not trade the prints of their Redeemer's feet, as the Divine Forerunner? may they not fee the way all along paved by himfelf? And what encouragement is afforded to the enemies of Jesus Christ, to fall in with the gospel design of faving finners; fince, in order to win, gather and ranfom their fouls, he humbled himfelf; and to them fends this

word

word of falvation, for their improvement; in the way, for the ends, to the praise of Divine Grace ?

Did Jefus Chrift, the New Testament Jacob, cry? then all the true Ifrael of God will be praying and wrestling perfons. Wherever the fame fpirit directs, wherever the fame motives prevail, wherever the fame practice appears, though mixed with numberless, namelefs, imperfections and difcouragements, there is reafon to conclude, you belong to. Christ's family, make a part of his little flock. Do ye find it a relief, under preffures, afflictions, and temptations, to retire from fociety, and pour out your hearts to God? without fuch opportunity of retirement, for that purpose, are your hearts as bottles like to burft, and your feelings too big for mortality to endure? Is any place a palace to you, where liberty to draw near to the Lord's feat, and to fill your mouths with arguments, is commanded and enjoyed? have you fecret, fenfible, unutterable uneafinefs, when your clofed lips are not opened, your languid hearts not enlarged; but when lifelefsnefs and formality are written upon all your praying feafons? Is it your ambition to have your chains broken, your fetters knocked off, and your fouls taken out of prison, that you may glorify the name of the Lord? or, is the felt or feared want of fuch concern, matter of exercise and bitterness to you? Then it would feem you were animated with the Spirit of Chrift. And therefore, whatever arguings against yourselves prevail, you are furely Galileans, your fpeech bewrayeth you.

Nor are your privileges lefs diftinguishing, than is your character; fince our Lord cried, and cried for you, in the days of his humiliation. Had he not cried, our crying would have been in vain, our prayers ineffectual, and all our expectations as the giving up of the ghoft. But did the Redeemer

cry?

cry? were fuch petitions offered up by the bleffed Immanuel? and did the hearer of prayer himself become a fupplicant? Then all hail, my praying friends! it is the fureft earnest, your cry is heard, and your tears are come up before God. Nor is this all, for our dear Lord continues to act in the capacity of an Interceffor within the vail, until all the ends of his cries and groans are fully reached, in the final falvation of your fouls. However diftant in refpect of comfortable enjoyment from the Lord as your God, the Redeemer abides in the divine Prefence, and abides for your behoof. Put honour therefore upon him, by prefenting his cry to the Father, as your plea for accefs and acceptance. Put honour upon him, by committing your wants, weakneffes and requests, into his hand, who has fo much to say with the hearer of prayer; nay, who in his Divine Nature, is the hearer of prayer himself. Nor give place to difcouragement, fince you have fuch a noble, generous, and prevalent friend at the court of heaven.

Prayerlefs perfons, however, have no pretenfions to the character and privileges of Chriftians. You who can be whole days and nights, without bow'ing a knee at the throne of grace; who can ly down, and rife up, without praying to the God of your life, the length of your days, and the rock of your falvation; who can find and take time for every thing else but devotion; who prefer any employment to that of prayer, any fociety to that of folitude, any enjoyment to that of fecret intercourfe with heaven; who can make public, or at moft family prayer fuffice, without ftudying closet devotion; who can enter your families, your fhops, your barns, your folds, and even your churches, day after day, as prayerlefs as the grovelling little animals that follow you; and who, whatever

fafhion

fashion you may make of prayer, enter not at all into the fpirit of it, know nothing beyond the external performance, fkim on the furface of that important duty: What are you? are you young and gay? are you rich and wealthy? are you wife and penetrating? are you admired and efteemed? It matters not, though you had all the beauties, the grandeurs, and the advantages, the creation itfelf can give; you are prayerlefs wretches, graceless perfons, Chriftlefs fouls; you have no intereft in the Redeemer's cry, no part in his interceffion, and, for any thing appears, fhall have no lot in the inheritance of the faints in light. Rouse, awake, up, fleepers! arife, fhake off thefe guilty, thefe deadly, thefe accurfed flumbers; cry, now cry unto God, as a God in Chrift, that ye perifh not: if not interested in the merit of Immanuel's cry, if not followers of him in his prayerful character, you shall not only cry and not be heard, but fhall roar under the load of unmendable, unbearable defpair, in that place where horror, everlafting horror and anguifh, reign and dwell.

Of the Meffiah's paffive obedience, or his being in "the horrible pit and miry clay.”

PRELIMINARY.

S a common perfon, our Lord lived, died, and rofe again; as reprefenting others, he humbled himfelf; and in the fame capacity he was exalted by the Father; fo that believers may look

upon