Thou hast a few names even in Sardis, which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with V. The 21 X V. The harmony of the divine attributes displayed, in the redemption and salvation of finners by Jefus Chrift. In a fermon on PSAL. lxxxv. 10. Mercy and truth have met together : righteousness and peace have kissed each other. By Mr. RALPH ERSKINE. VI. 244 The best bond, or surest engagement. In a fermon on JEREM. XXX. 21. For who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto me? faith the Lord. And a DISCOURSE after the folemn work. By Mr. RALPH ERSKINE. VII. 316 The gradual conquest: Or, heaven won by little and little. In two sermons on DEUT. vii. 22. And the Lord thy God will put out these nations before thee by little and little. By Mr. RALPH ERSKINE. VIII. 390 The rainbow of the covenant surrounding the throne of grace. Being the substance of fome fermons on REV. iv. 3. -And there was a rainbow round about the throne, in fight like unto an emerald. By Mr. EBENEZER ERSKINE. 486 [1] God's little remnant keeping their garments clean in an evil day. BEINGA SERMON preached at the Sacrament of Strathmiglo, June 3, 1714. By the Rev. Mr. EBENEZER ERSKINE. REV. iii. 4. Thou hast a few names even in Sardis, which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white; for they are worthy. T HE first six verses of this chapter contain an epistle sent by Jesus Christ unto the Church of Sardis; where we have, first, the preface, and then the body of the epistle. In the body of the epistle we may notice these three things, (1.) An accusation or charge in the close of the first verse. (2.) An exhortation unto several duties, such as, repentance, watchfulness, and the like, v. 2, 3. (3.) We have a commendation given to this church in the words of my text, Thou bast a few names even in Sardis, &c. Where, more particularly, we have, 1st, The commendation itself, Thou hast a few names even in Sardis, which have not defiled their garments. ward, they shall walk with me in white. VOL. II. B 2dly, A re3dly, The reafon reason and ground of this, for they are worthy. First, I say, we have the commendation itself, where we may notice the commender, the commended, and the ground on which the commendation runs. 1. The commender, who he is may be gathered from the connection: It is he that hath the seven spirits of God, and the seven stars, v. 1. It is Christ himself; and his commendation may be depended upon; for he trieth the heart and reins, and needs not that any should testify of man unto him, because he knows what is in man. 2. The party commended; who are described, (1.) From their designation, they are called names, God had given them a new name, a name better than of fons and daughters, even a name among the living in Jerufalem ; they were marked among the rolls of his chofen, redeemed and sanctified ones; by their zeal, uprightness, integrity, and their honest appearance for God, in that degenerate day and place, they had diftinguished themselves from others, and so purchased a name to themselves, and they were known to men as well as unto God: The Lord knoweth the righteous, and he knows them by name, they are marked out from among others. (2.) They are described by their paucity, they are a few names; they were comparatively few, when laid in the balance with the multitude and bulk of carnal secure professors in this church; there was but a small part of them, that had kept themselves free of the corruptions and defections of that church, and that had not bowed the knee unto Baal. (3.) They are defcribed from the place of their residence, Sardis, one of the seven churches of the Leffer Afia. The expreffion here is observable, a few names even in Sardis. Christ's character of this church, in the close of the first verse, |