and neceffity: he hath bought and paid the price of all; and therefore we have nothing to pay; all is given freely and it is fuitable to the ftate of a king to give gifts and prefents.

III. I come now, in the laft place, to the application. If he be fuch a Giver, as we have been reprefenting him, then we ought to be receivers. We fhould meet his giving hand with our receiving hand. O Sirs, are you for great gifts to-day? You may be made up with free gifts, if you be not fools; and, if hitherto you have been fuch fools, and lack wifdom, you may now feek and get enough: "If any man lack wifdom, let him afk it of God, who giveth to all liberally, and upbraideth none; and let him afk in faith of getting, nothing doubting." Doubt not of his readiness to give; for giving is his trade, it is his office, which he executes both in his ftate of humiliation and exaltation. O! you have come to a good market this day; and if you go away without making a bargain, whom can you blame?

O Sirs, what came you here for? If you came for any good, here is all, and you may be fupplied. If you come for no good, yet here you may be pitied and prevented, and get the good you was not feeking: as Saul went out to feek his father's affes, and found a kingdom; fo, though you had fome poor trifling errand, yet here you may get a kingdom for the tak ing. ノ

What want you for yourself, for your family, for your children, for the land, for pofterity? Want you knowledge, faith, pardon, healing! O! his love is a giving love!" Whofoever will, let him come, and take. Ho, every one that thirfteth, come to the waters." Ho, every one that needs a drink; ho, every one that is guilty, come and take remiffion; ho, every one that is filthy, come and be washed.-O poor, mortal, dying finner, here is life and immortality brought to light by this gofpel, and brought to your door, as a love-gift to you in Chrift Jefus, who gives himself to you in this word; take him, and God's bleffing with him, if you will take him wholly; for he will not be divided. He gives himself

for

for fanctification as well as for juftification; for falvation from fin now, as well as falvation from hell afterwards. Will you clofe with this bargain? You have nothing to object; for all is given. If you fay you have no power, he hath power to give; "He giveth power to the faint." If you fay you have no will, he hath the will to give; Thy people fhall be willing in the day of thy power.' Are you content? Is it a bargain?-An everlasting bargain be it, never to be forgotten.

Come not ye to give, but to get: for you must be humbled to be receivers, he exalted as a Giver.

QUEST. How fhall I know whether he be giving all thefe things to me, and whether I have a warrant to take and accept?

ANSW. You may be fure of this, if these two things concur, namely, if he be offering, and you be needing thefe things; if you want, and he have, and be faying by this golpel, Come and fhare; if you be needy and. deftitute of all these things, fo as there is none of them with you, nor to be had any where elfe, then you may look for them here, and expect them, according to the promife, Ifa. xli. 17, 18. "When the poor and needy feek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the Lord will hear them; I the God of Ifrael will not forfake them. I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land fprings of water." By the water here, you may understand the water of life, comprehending all the bleffings of the covenant. Now, are you poor and needy, feeking life, and there is none to be had among creatures; feeking righte oufness, ftrength, grace, and there is none? "The Lord will hear; the God of Ifrael will not forfake." *

* In the first impreffion of this Sermon, we are told, that a fubject confequential to this was spoken upon at Burntifland, viz. That God in Chrift is a loving God, and a giving God; but the notes were not extended.

SERMON

I 2

SERMO NCXIII.*

GAL. ii. 20.

The life which I live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave bimself for me.

WE

[The fourth Sermon on this Text.]

E have already elsewhere infifted on these words at confiderable length, in an exegetical, doctrinal, and applicatory manner: there is however one obfervation farther, that we have not yet touched at, that we intend, at this time, to illuftrate from them, viz.

DOCT. "It is the property of true faith to entertain "the giving love of Chrift, revealed in the gospel, "with a me, me, by particular application."

This me was very familiar with Paul; He loved me, and gave himself for me. Gal. i. 16. "He revealed his

Son in me. 2 Tim. iv. 8. He hath laid up a crown of righteousness for me. I Cor. xv. 10. His grace was beftowed upon me." Thus it was with David, Pfal. iii. 3"Thou, O Lord, art a fhield for me. Pfal. Ivi. 9. This I know, God is for me. Pfal. lvii. 2. It is God that performs all things for me. Pfal. Ixi. 3. Thou hast been a fhelter for me. Pfal. cix. 22. Do thou for me,-deliver thou me. Pfal. xl. 17. I am poor and needy, yet the Lord thinketh upon me. Pfal. xiii. 6. He hath dealt bountifully with me. Pfal. xxiii. 6. I will fear no evil; for thou art with me, &c. 2 Sam. xxiii. 5. He hath made with me an everlasting covenant," [or, given to me.]

* This Sermon was preached at a facramental folemnity at Burntiftand, August 13th, 1739

Many

Many of faith's me's you may read in fcripture; and who, can tell how many my's of faith are there? "My Lord and My God: I know that мY Redeemer liveth." See a cluster of them, Pfal. xviii. 1, 2. "I will love thee, O Lord, my ftrength. The Lord is my rock, my fortrefs, and my deliverer; my God, my rock, in whom I will truft; my buckler, and the horn of my falvation; and my high tower. Pfal. cxliv. 1, 2. Bleffed be the Lord my ftrength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight; my goodnefs, my fortrefs, my high tower, &c. My Beloved is mine, and I am his," &c.

For the profecuting of this subject, we fhall endeavour to do these things following.

I. Enquire what is imported in this particularizing property of faith entertaining Chrill's giving love with a me, me.

II. How, and upon what grounds faith makes this particular application, and ventures to fay, Me,

me.

III. Name the reafons why faith hath, and must have, this appropriating property.

IV. Deduce fome inferences for the application.

I. What is imported in this particularizing property of faith, in entertaining this giving love of Chrift, with a Me, me? It may fuppofe and import these following things.

Ift, It fuppofes, that while unbelief reigns and rules, the foul fpeaks in a quite other ftrain; unbelief puts away the love of Chrift from itself, faying, If he hath a loving heart, it is not to me; if he hath a giving hand, it is not to me: unbelief fays with Peter, "Depart from me, for I am a finful man;" furely it is not to me thou art making love. Yea, the language of unbelief is like that of of the devil," What have we to do with thee? Art thou come to torment us before the time?" What have we to do with thee? Thou art not come to fave us. Indeed, he came not to fave finning angels, but he came to fave finning men; and the devils would have men to think and speak, as they did, What have we to do with thee? And Satan gains his point, fo long as he can tempt men

to continue in unbelief, and to fay, There is an offer of Chrift; but, what have I to do with it? it is not to ine: there is love; but, it is not to me: there is Christ giving himself, but not for me; I cannot take it to me; I cannot believe it is for me: what have I to do with it? Thus the devilish unbelieving heart makes God a liar, by putting away the giving love of Chrift, that he manifefts to mankind finners by the everlafting gofpel.

2dly, It fuppofes, that fo far as unbelief is broken, in its reign and rule, fo far does the foul bring home to itfelf this giving love of Chrift. There are various degrees (when unbelief gets a dafh) whereby the finner is brought to this particular application. Conviction of unbelief, is, I think, the firft degree, namely, when the foul is convinced of the fin of not believing the love of Chrift, faying, "Wo is me, that I, who am convinced

of fin and wrath by the law, cannot be convinced "of the love, and grace, and good. will of God mani"fefted in Chrift by the gofpel! Oh! that I could

'

get this love believed, and applied to myfelf."—Conviction of righteoufnefs is another degree; when the glory of Christ's righteoufnefs, as full and all-fufficient, is discovered to the foul, and the foul enabled to take hold of it for its own juftification, pardon, and reconciliation with God.-Conviction of judgment is a third degree; or of Chrift's being a king to fubdue fin and Satan in the foul, as he hath done in his own perfon: and fo the foul is made to fay in effect, "I receive and "reft upon Chrift, as a Prophet, Prieft, and King, for complete falvation, as he is offered to me in the word, prefented to me in the promife, or given to me in the gofpel." This is the fubftance of the thing relating to faith's Me, though fometimes it is uttered more, and fometimes lefs confidently: fometimes it is faid with a figh, a wo's me, that I cannot fay, He loved me: fometimes with a ftruggle and a battle with unbelief; I believe thy love to me; Lord, help my unbelief: and fometimes with a bold affeveration, as here, without any fear or doubt, He loved me, and gave bimfelf for me. Thus, fo

far