would carry him through, as he did Elijah before him. So he fmote the waters. He 2. We have what he faid when he fmote the waters: Where is the Lord God of Elijah? It is a vehement exclamation for the prefence of that God that was with Elijah: Where is, &c.; or a moft ardent prayer for it: Where art thou? as fome read it; for neither is nor art is in the original. He inquires no more after Elijah, he has no petitions to that faint when once he was departed; that had been impious; what he had to afk of him, he asked while he was on earth. does not fit down and weep, and pore on the lofs of Elijah, as if there had been no more hopes of good days fince he was gone; but he betakes himfelf to Elijah's God. Though Elijah was gone, his God ftill remained. Elijah's experience of good from Elijah's God, kindled in Elifha's heart a furprising defire after him, and fills him with hope of good entertainment at that door where Elijah had come fo good fpeed; for these are not words of diffidence, but of mighty earnestness, and strong faith; as appears by confidering, 3. The iffue of the whole, which was according to his with. God was prefent with him the fame way he had been with Elijah before, Jordan is divided, &c. Thele words (he alfo) fome make Elifha's answering to himself, and read them, even he, viz. Elijah's God, yet endures; but though there is no doubt Elifha believed this, yet that reading does violence to the points and ftops, without regarding of which there can be no certain fenfe of any language; therefore our tranflation is preferable; and these words (he alfo) are emphatical, to fhew the freedom of God's grace, which is tied to none, but open and free to to all that come to him for it in the way that others received it. From these words, I take this DOCTRINE, That the confideration of God's prefence with his people in former days, fhould bring the fucceeding generation to the fame. God for the fame entertainment. In fpeaking to which, I fhall, I. Inftance a few of these experiences of God's people in former days. II. Show how we fhould come to God for the fame entertainment III. Give the reasons of the doctrine.-And, I. I fhall inftance a few of the fweet and defirable experiences of the Lord's people, which fhould bring us to the gracious Giver for the fame, and fuch like; and I fhall instance none but these of Elijah, who, you must remember, was a man fubject to like paffions as we are, James, v. 17. and to these I think the text leads me. Some instances of sweet entertainment this holy man had; fuch as, 1. The God of Elijah gave him the sweet experience of keeping warm and lively in a very cold and dead generation; fo that he was best when others were worft. His zeal for God burnt most vigorously when the generation was turned moft coldrife, halting betwixt God and Baal, like true fire that burns most keenly in the winterfroft, when a chill and cold air was the only air about him. By the warm blowings of the Spirit from above upon him, he was kept warm within. When nothing but deadness was on every hand, the Spirit of life from above kept him lively. So it was with Noah in the old world: Gen. vi. 9. "Noah was a just man, and perfect in his generation." And Lot, 2 Pet. ii. 8. "For that righteous man dwelling among them, in feeing and hearing, vexed his righteous foul from day to day with their unlawful deeds." But where is the Lord God of Elijah in these dregs of time, wherein profeffors generally are carried away with the ftream of impiety from all their liveliness and tenderness that sometimes have been among them, when the more wickedness fets up its head, piety is made to hide its head the more? a fad evidence that God is gone from us, when the standard of wickedness makes such advances, and that of fhining holiness is retreating, and can hardly get hands to hold it up. I will tell you two fad experiences, common at this day. (1.) The fulfilling of that fcripture, Matth. xxiv. 12. "And because iniquity fhall abound, the love of many shall wax cold." It is a time when atheism, deism, and immorality, make prodigious ad-vances, and practical godliness is under a deep decay. I doubt if ever Satan had more hands at work to overthrow revealed religion, and to raze the foundations of it, than at this day; and this effort of Satan's against the church, has joined with it a moft lamentable decay of the vitals of practical religion in thofe that are called by the Lord's name; fo that we are like to be expofed to this furious attack, wanting the best piece of our armour against it; that is, an experience and feeling of the power of truth on our own fouls: Ah! where is the Lord God of Elijah? (2.) What heat there is, ftrikes all outward, while in the mean time folks are key-cold within; a fad fign of a distempered body. It is not hard to to difcern feverals fhewing a great deal of concern in the lamentable occurrences of our day; but how hard is it to find a man that is truly awakened to the exercife of godlinefs by all the alarming difpenfations of our day, that is moved with fear, and busy preparing an ark for the evil day, labouring to get the particular controversy between God and his foul removed, putting out of his way the ftumbling-block of his iniquity, and fetting mat, ters in order for the day of the Lord? Nay, Sirs, though fome talk in their fleep, it seems we will all fleep together, till God's heavy hand give us a fearful awakening: Where is the Lord God of Elijah? 2. The God of Elijah gave him the sweet experience of the power of prayer: James, v. 17. "Elias was a man subject to like paffions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and fix months; and he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit." He was mighty in prayer; by his prayers the bottles of heaven were opened, the key of the clouds turned, nay, the bands of death loofed, 1 Kings, xvii. He was a great favourite of Heaven, whofe cries pierced the clouds, got in to the throne, and returned, like Noah's dove, with an olive-branch of peace in his mouth. Such experience of the power of prayer had Jacob: Hof. xii. 4. " Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed," Gen. xxxii. Many times the Lord's people, when clofed up on every fide, have found a sweet outgate, their fouls flying upward in prayer. The prayers of the faints have been the great ordinance of the church, have fruftrated the plans of enemies, and turned them back on their own heads. But . But where is the God of Elijah, while the trade with heaven by prayers is so very low? Alas for the dead, cold, and flat prayers, that come from the lips of profeffors at this day! fo weak and languishing, that they cannot reach heaven. Sometimes the Lord lets loofe enemies on his people, toffes them from veffel to veffel, and then the way betwixt heaven and them was well occupied. They had still some particular fuits lying before the throne, and they could have given a good account of their receipts. But long eafe has made them lose their tongue; fo that the experience of many in that point now can hardly be named, unlefs they turn back to former days. There is one experience of Elijah's, which, I fear, is not uncommon among praying folk at this day, and that is, a reftraint laid on them, that they cannot wrestle with God for the averting of wrath from the generation of God's wrath, 1 Kings, xvii. 3. 9. Such a fad experience had Jeremiah alfo, before the Babylonifh captivity, Jer. xiv. 11. and XV. I. And though God doth not fo reveal his mind now in particular cafes, yet I fuppofe that it will be found, that those who live near God, and have the spirit of prayer in fuch cafes, may find fomething equivalent thereto in their liberty and confidence with the Lord, and that according to the subject of their requests: Ezek. xxxvi. 37. "Thus faith the Lord God, I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Ifrael, to do it for them." 3. The experience of the sweet fruits of dependance on the Lord, and of a little going far, with his bleffing Kings, xvii. 16. " And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the crufe of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord." Elijah faw fo very few for God in his day, that he thought he |