being under their head, and his right-hand embracing them. Sweet intimations of peace and pardon; "Son, be of good cheer, thy fins are forgiven thee." Sweet cordials, with kindly words, looks, and finiles: He Speaks comfortably to Jerufalem. Sweet communications of his mind, and of the fecrets of his covenant; "Shall I hide from Abraham the thing that I do?" He fpeaks no more in parables, but plainly; giving them. to know the myfteries of the kingdom.-Then the righteousness of Zion goes forth as brightnefs, and the falvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. Then his people, being brought out of the horrible and miry clay, have their feet fet upon a rock, and their goings established, and a new fong put in their mouth, even praises to their God, Pfalm xl. 2, 3.-Then doth the day break, and the fhadows fly away, in a great measure, and the tabernacle of God is with men. Holinefs and comfort

take place, inftead of fin and forrow.

Thefe are the effects of his remembering mercy, by pardoning, healing, and reviving his people; and allo reafons for feeking this mercy.

III. The next general head of method was, To enquire what is imported in the Lord's remembering mercy, and our praying that he would do fo. Here we may confider the import of it in a threefold view.1. Actively, as it is God's act. 2. Objectively, as it is our plea. 3. With, reference to the feafon, viz. God's remembering mercy in the midst of wrath.

If, We may view the import of it actively confidered, as it is God's act. What is it for God to remember mercy? It doth not fuppofe oblivion, or forgetfulness in God, as if he was capable of forgetting the perfection of his nature; no: he can no more forget mercy, than he can forget himfelf. But there are three ways he may be faid to remember mercy..

I. When he hath thoughts of mercy; I know the thoughts that I think towards you, faith the Lord; thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” And then it follows alfo, " Ye fhall call upon me, and ye

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hall go and pray unto me; and I will hearken unto you," Jer. xxix. 11, 12. In time of wrathful difpenfations, we are ready to think that God hath no thoughts of mercy: but even then he faith, My thoughts are not your thoughts, Ifa. lv. 8.-For I will reftore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, faith the Lord; because they called thee an outcaft, faying, This is Zion whom no man feeketh after," Jer. xxx. 17.

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2. He may be faid to remember mercy, when he fpeaketh words of mercy: tho' he bringeth to the wildernefs, yet he fpeaketh comfortably, Hof. ii. 14. members when he speaks comfortably to Jerufalem, and cries to her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned, Ifa. xl. 2. When the Lord remembers mercy, he fpeaks it both outwardly into the ear, and inwardly into the heart; "God hath fpoken once; yea, twice have I heard this, that power belongeth unto God: alfo unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy," Pfalm lxii. 11, 12. He speaks it once into the ear, by the word; but he speaks it again, and that is twice, when, by his Spirit, he fpeaketh it into the heart: then, indeed, the heart rejoiceth; "God hath fpoken in his holiness, I will rejoice."

3. He may be faid to remember mercy, when he doth acts of mercy; fuch as thefe I have mentioned already, in the inftances of his pardoning and healing mercy. Thus he remembers mercy when he fhows or manifefts mercy; and when he exercifes mercy in manifold acts, fruits, and effects of his mercy. Now then, the prayer, that he would remember mercy, refpects his merciful thoughts, merciful words, and merciful acts in the midst of wrath.

2dly, We may confider the import of it objectively; as it is our plea; Remember mercy. Many deceive themfelves with a falfe hope in the general mercy of God, and are ignorant of mercy, as it is the plea of faith. There are these twelve things contained in the plea of faith, when we plead that God would remember mer cy.

1. We plead he would remember the place of mercy: what place it hath in his heart, and what place it hath

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in his Chrift.-Hath it not fuch a place in his heart, that it is his delight? "He retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy," Mic. vii. 18. As we are by nature children of wrath; fo he is by nature merciful: his mercies are called his bowels, Luke i. 78. "Thro' the tender mercies of our God;" in the margin it is, Thro' the bowels of God.' Thus, James v. II. he is called, worúonhayxvosi full of bowels. Mercy is moft natural to him; and therefore it is most natural for him to fhew mercy.-Hath it not fuch a place in Chrift, that he is faid to be the ftore-boufe of mercy and grace? My faithfulness and my mercy fhall be with him, Pfalm lxxxix. 24. God was in Chrift," 2 Cor. i. 19. And of all the attributes of God in Christ, mercy is mentioned as the moft triumphant, rejoicing over judgment: "God was in Chrift, reconciling the world to himself mercifully.-This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleafed; or, merciful, and mercifully appeafed," Mat. iii. 16.-When we plead he would remember mercy, in his heart and in his Chrift, who is the darling of his heart, in whom his foul delights.

2. We plead he would remember the ground and reafon of mercy; and that is mercy itfelf God faith to Mofes, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy," Rom. ix. 15. Though the immediate ground of God's manifefting mercy, is for Christ's fake; yet the primary and original ground is for mercy's fake; for mercy provided a Chrift, a Saviour, a Redeemer: he fhews mercy for mercy's fake. The fupreme caufe of divine love, is divine love itfelf; fo God faith to Ifrael. "The Lord loved Ifrael, becaufe he loved them," Deut. vii. 7, 8.

3. We plead he would remember the channel of mercy, and how it vents through a propitiation, to the honour of justice, Romans iii. 25, 26. We may plead that he cannot wrong his juftice by fhewing mercy, fince he hath found a ranfom, and "Set forth Chrift to be a propitiation, to declare his righteousness for the remiffion of fin." Hence when we plead he would remember mercy, we plead he would remember Chrift, and a mercyfeat fprinkled with the blood of Chrift. Chrift is cal

led

led the mercy, by way of eminency; "The mercy 'promifed to our fathers," Luke i. 72. And it is a strong plea for faith, when pleading that he would remember mercy, that he would remember Chrift, and not forget what he hath done; and how he hath done and suffered, and fatisfied, and finifhed his work; and what he is ftill doing and fo that he would both remember mercy for mercy's fake, and remember mercy for Jefus' fake; yea, mercy in Jefus, fo as to accept in the Beloved; fince mercy, in this channel, brings glory to every other attribute: here is grace reigning through righteousness unto eternal life.

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4. In pleading he would remember mercy, we plead he would remember the covenant of mercy, and the promife of mercy, fealed by the blood of mercy, the Mediator of the covenant; and how he hath made a covenant with his chofen, and faid, Mercy fhall be built up for ever," Pfal. lxxxix. 2, 3. Tho' indeed, if his children break his law, he will vifit their iniquities with rods, &c. yet nevertheless he hath faid, "My loving-kindness will I not take from him," nor confequently from his feed; nor fuffer my faithfulness to fail: my covenant will I not break; nor alter the word that is gone out of my lips. Once have I fworn by my holiness, that I will not lye unto David," ver. 30,-37. And hence, when he performed the mercy promifed to the fathers, he is faid to remember his holy covenant, Luke i. 72. O Sirs, it is a ftrong plea, in the midst of wrath, that he would remember his covenant and promife; remember the word on which he hath caufed us to hope, as a word fealed by the blood of Chrift, and Yea and Amen in him. And, indeed, you cannot go fafely to a communion-table, without the plea in your mouth, in your heart. For Chrift faith of the facramental cup, "This cup is the new-teftament in my blood." It is a cup of promif ed mercy, purchafed and fecured by my blood.

5. In pleading this mercy, we plead he would remember the dignity of mercy, and the glory and grandeur of it, as what he exalts and magnifies, above every other letter of his name; Pfal. cxxxviii. 2. "I will

praife thy name for thy loving-kindness and thy truth; for, thou haft magnified thy word above thy name :" that is, thy word of grace, mercy, and loving-kindness: which truth is engaged to accomplish this mercy thou haft magnified above all thy name and dignity; as it were above all thy perfections. Though the Lord confults the honour of all his perfections, in the method of falvation through Chrift; yet he confults their honour with this view, that especially mercy may be manifested, dignified, magnified, and aggrandized: therefore, faith faith, Lord remember the dignity and grandeur of mercy.

6. In pleading this mercy, we plead the dimenfions of mercy; the height, depth, length, and breadth of mercy, as well as love, fpoken of, Eph. iii. 18. The dimenfions of our fins are great; and we cannot magnify fin too much, unless we magnify it above the mercy of God in Christ. O Sirs, this divine mercy is as high as heaven, as deep as hell, as broad as time, and as long as eternity! Here is an ocean without bank or bottom.

7. In pleading this mercy, we plead he would remember the affociates of mercy; or its companions and concomitants, with whom it hath struck hands and made up a bleffed agreement; "Mercy and truth are met toge ther, righteoufnefs and peace have kiffed each other," Pfal. lxxxv. 10. There was a feeming odds and contrariety between mercy and juftice: Mercy faying, Pity and fave the finner; Juftice faying, Damn and destroy him but now, in the death and fatisfaction of Chrift the Surety, the blood-thirfty fword of juftice hath drunk to infinite fatisfaction, and hath no more blood to demand. The truth of God, in the threatening of the law, denouncing death and damnation to the finner, is vindicated, by this fubflitution of Jefus in our room. Mercy and truth having met and kiffed each o- ther.

We have not only mercy to plead, but the affociates of mercy, and fo may plead mercy for juftice's fake, mercy for the fake of truth and holinefs, mercy for the fake of all her affociates and neighbour attributes, that they may be glorified with her.