adherence to, and discharge of their work, put by their Mafter into their hands. This is the import of the particle, and which knits the work and the encouragement together, ver. 19. Go ye, &c. If they fhall quit their Master's work, they forfeit his promised prefence. If they turn fervants of men, they must look to them, and not to Chrift, for their protection and affistance. If they receive their inftructions from another than our royal Mafter, they must bid farewell to their part in the lot of his fervants. Men that take upon them to teach what Chrift never commanded, bringing in error in doctrine, fuperftition and the inventions. of men in the worship of God, fuch have need of temporal power and force with them, feeing the have no ground from the word to expect Chrift will be with them.-Confider,

3. The encouragement promifed: I am with you, &c. It is Chrift's prefence that is with them in their work, and who would refufe to go a journey where Chrift himself will be companion in travel? if the work be hard, his prefence is sweet. Chrift lays in here a fufficiency for the fupport of his fervants against all the difcouragements they may meet with in his work. And there are four things to be noticed in this.

(1.) There is but one encouragement proposed, their difficulties were many. If they looked to their work, it was very hard; they were fent out to grapple with the powers of darkness, to overturn the devil's kingdom, to reform the world funk in idolatry and monftruous profanity, and to refcue the prey out of the mouth of the roaring lion. If they looked within themselves, they might fee there a mafs of emptinefs, weakness, wants, and nothingnefs, unable of themselves to refift the leaft temptation. If they looked abroad,

into the world, they might fee that the venturing out into it, on fuch a defign, was a running themfelves into a manifeft hazard; the wits of the world would treat them as a company of fools, the powers of the world as a company of feditious and peftilent fellows; the multitude of the world would cry," Away with them, it is not meet that they fhould live on the earth." But go they muft; and here is one anfwer to all their objections, I am with you; that is fufficient, be againft you w who will, I am with you, to affift, protect, and bear you through in the work, and to make the word in your mouths do execution; I defign to raife up, by your means, a kingdom to myself, maugre all the oppofition of men and devils. He does not promise to send armies with them, but to go with them himself.-His prefence,

(2.) Is proposed as a prefent thing, an encouragement in hand: I am with your to the end; not I will be. The exprellion is emphatical.

[1] According to the prophetic ftyle, it denotes the utmoft certainty his fervants fhall have his prefence in his work to the end of the world, as furely as if it were already done.

[2] It denotes Chrift's prefence with his apoftles, to be, by his own allowance and appointment, a pledge of his prefence with these that, being called, follow out the work that they began in their day Tam with you; and let thefe that follow take it as a certain pledge, I will be with them too. Let the church be ever fo low, there was never any glorious appearance Chrift made for her, but the may call it Jofeph, for the Lord fhall

add another.'

[3] It denotes, that Christ's fervants, though they should be full of eyes behind and before, yet their eyes are often dim, that they even mifs Y 2

Chrift

Christ when he is really with them, and fo are dejected, because they fee not their own mercy: I am with you, &c.-His prefence,

(3) Is promifed to be with them without interruption, always, all days, every day; it is an Old-Teftament phrafe, denoting the continuance of a thing without interruption; as Gen. vi. 5. “And that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." He will not leave his fervants at his work at any time; they may fometimes want the fenfe of his prefence, but he is with them always, every day, in lightfome days, alfo in dark and gloomy days, whatever be their cafe, however hard their lot may be, their peace may be interrupted, but not their Mafter's prefence with them. While they keep at his work, he will be upon their head. His prefence,

(4) Is promifed to be with them without end, till the end of the world; not that he will forfake them then; no, he will then give his faithful fervants a place in the upper houfe, among them that are pillars in the temple of their God; they will enter into the joy of their Lord. But the work of the miniftry, as it will continue to the world's end, fo then it will be honourably laid by, and Chrift will deliver up the kingdom to the Father; fo that as long as the work lafts, the encouragement will go along with it.

4. There is in the words the note of attention prefixed, Lo! Hereby Christ stirs up and directs his fervants to eye his promised prefence as their encouragement: Say not ye are left alone; fee,

I am

with you; look not to earth, or to an arm of flefh, for your fupport, but look upwards to heaven; let not unbelief thut your eyes, but while you have one eye on your work, fix another on your Mafter, and then you will go on chearfully. Now, you

fee

fee that Jefus Chrift, the alone King and Head of his church, as he has appointed a miniftry in his church, and carved out their work for them, and peremptorily appointed them to fet about it, fo he has promifed them his prefence with them always to the end of the world, in the faithful discharge of the work he has put in their hands; and whatever be the oppofition and difcouragement they may meet with in it, he wills them to eye his promifed prefence as fufficient to bear them through in the work, against all discouragements whatsoever. This is the purport of the words of the text, which being thus explained, I fhall now apply it.

I. HAS Jefus Chrift promifed his prefence: to his fervants in their work? Let us, then, my Fathers and Brethren, cleave to our great work, to which we are called of the Lord. Let us ftedfaftly pursue the ends of our miniftry, the advancing of the kingdom of Christ, and the pulling down the kingdom of Satan, according to the commillion we have from cur Lord and Master. Let us follow our work faithfully, over the belly of all difcouragement or eppofition which we may meetwith it in it. Our day is a dark day, and like to be darker; the Lord is angry with the generation, the plague is begun, and it is to be feared there will be a miferable face on this church and land ere it end. A door, we fee, is opened, whereby errors in doctrine may crowd in, and fet up their heads without controul, and fuperftitious worfhip and ceremonies, mere inventions of men's own. hearts, may be, and are introduced, to mar the beauty of this church in the fimplicity of gofpelworship, to the difhonour of God, to whom alone. it belongs to appoint what way he will be worfhipped; and the difcipline and government of his houfe are left to be trampled under foot of profane

Y. 3

profane men, for any affiftance we can expect now, but from him whofe inftitutions they are; which furely calls us to lift up our eyes unto the heavens, from whence our help is promifed. Qur times are like to be enfaring and very trying times to all forts. The Lord's hand is very heavy by a great fickness and mortality; but the face of the generation looks as if the time were coming, when men fhall think thofe happy who get to their grave in peace. If it fhould be fo, we need not wonder at it.--Allow me to say in favours of the holy providence of God,

1. Providence (if it be fo) has not stolen a march upon us; we have had fair warning, both from the word, and particular difpenfations, whereby we have been brought, as it were, to the brow of the hill, and the Lord has brought us back, as with that, Hof. xi. 8. " How fhall I give thee up, Ephraim? how fhall I deliver thee, Ifrael?" Yet have we not returned to the Lord; we have had the Lord's talents among our hands in peace now these two and twenty years; can it be but God will put both minifters and people to the trial, what they have made of the many preachings, communions, and other means of grace they have enjoyed. I think the light has fhone very bright in our day; I dare not fay our facred heat has been proportionable; but ordinarily the faddeft ftrokes follow hard at the heels of the cleareft difpenfa

tions.

2. Many there are, who have the root of the matter in them, who need to have it awakened with a storm; many fleeping Jonahs in our ship, that are as yet fighing and going backward, much filthinefs and blood gathered on the daughters of Zion, to be purged with the fpirit of judgement and burning.

३. There