? In Ifaiah's offering himself fo readily, to go upon fuch an errand, as foon as it was moved, he was a wonderful type of the Son of God; wherefore, in like manner he was sent to the people, to carry to them upon his lips, the Spirit of burning, the fire of the altar, (i. e.) the doctrine for which Jefus Chrift died; which could not fail to make him a facrifice; and which, being a favour of death in them who believe not, muft reduce fuch a people, as this to whom he was fent, to a remnant; and even they must be brought to the lowest ftate of humiliation, and be faved in fo mysterious a way, as by fire; but, for his reward, he was promifed Levi's portion, the bleffed reward of the fanctuary; he fhould have the tenth; which fhould be brought in, found and good; fo that it fhould be, for fubftance, as the whole product of the field and vineyard; like, as the weight and subftance of the teil tree, and the oak, remain in them when they have caft their leaves; for, fuch fhall be the holy feed, promised to Christ.

And he faid, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but underfland not; and fee ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their cars heavy, and shut their eyes; left they fee with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed. Then faid I, Lord, How long? And he answered, until the cities be wafted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly defolate.-And the Lord have removed men far away, and there be a great

forfaking in the midft of the land. But yet in st fhall be a tenth, and it fhall return, and fhall be eaten as a teil tree, and as an oak, whofe fubftance is in them, when they caft their leaves: fo the holy feed shall be the substance thereof.

The prayer of Agur, Give me neither poverty nor riches; which, indeed, is the height of natural wildom; fhews the truth of his confeffion, how much he was lacking in the knowledge of the Holy: The foaring fpirit of Ifaiah could not flop at fuch a mediocrity; but, like the chriftian foldier, he fought for riches, he reached for glory, the twofold glory of the crofs and crown: like bleffed Paul, he afpired to know Chrift, and the pow er of his refurrection, being made conformable unto his death: in the view of a service, which would make him poor, very poor; and a reward, which would make him rich, very rich; he faid, Here am I; fend me! this, in reality, was faying, Give me both poverty and riches! And, like the Lord of Glory, for the joy that was fet before him, at the right hand of the throne of God, he would gladly endure the cross and despise the fhame.-Blessed are the Sons of God!-Yea, faith the Spirit, I know thy poverty; but thou art rich.

If any of these obfervations are fuppofed to be fomewhat afide from the fubject: it will, however, be acknowledged, that the paffages which have directed them, are among the molt remarkable relative to the doctrine of the Father and the Son, and afford the beft illuftrations of the truth of the divine

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neration, which are to be found in the ancient fcriptures.

4. A fellowship, wherein two or more parties become united in one common intereft, is another thing by which the divine principle is much illuftrated in the fcriptures: two parties may compose a fellowship, but an intereft, common to both, is neceffarily fuppofed in such a community; which, as has been fhewn, may also be a party: in this cafe, as already illuftrated, the interest is the Holy Ghoft; and it will be kept in mind, that this is the fame thing which has been pointed out, as the intereft in the eternal covenantthe gift which God has bestowed upon us, or that commandment of the Father which embraces the divine favor, by which is the eternal generation of the Son of God, and the regeneration of his people.

Whatever be the concern; whether in fome bufinefs of manufacture, of farming, or of trade, a fellowship is ufually denominated and diftinguished by the nature of the intereft; fo this matter of the divine glory is ftyled the fellowship of the Spirit, or the communion of the Holy Ghoft.-The confolation in Chrift, which is the gift of love, or the comfort of love, from the Father, is ftyled the fel lowship of the Spirit; and, therefore, in this one thing, The grace of the Lord Jefus Chrift, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghoft, is fummed up the golpel benediction.

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The Father is known in this fellowship, if be allowed the ufe of the common ex

may

preffion, by his advancing the capital: The Son is known in it, by his taking charge of the invaluable property, to occupy it, improve and difpenfe it, to the greatest advantage; fo that it fhould yield a vast profit, and produce an immenfe income and revenue: and the Holy Spirit is in it by his proceeding freely from the Father to the Son, to be appropriated under his hand, and difpenfed abroad for the common intereft, (i. e.) for the glory of the Father, and of the Son, which is infeparable from his own glory; and, as this matter has been laid down, it may be seen that this, in its nature, is a common intereft; for, the glory of the Father cannot be feparated from the glory of the Son, and the glory of the Son cannot be feparated from that of the Father, and the glory of the Holy Ghost cannot be feparated from either. This fellowship, then, confifts of both the inheritance and the family of God; it is composed of the Giver of the eternal life, of the inheritance itself, and of the inheritors of the cternal kingdom.

But, how are men brought into this holy and bleffed fellowship? Here is the manifold wifdom of God! Here are the riches of his glory-the exceeding riches of his grace!— That which we have feen and heard declare we unto you, that ye alfo may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jefus Chrift. 1 John i. 3.The fellowship of the faints generally is here carried up to the highest fource; for, they have received the word of life, which has

been delivered unto them by the particular difciples of Chrift, who have declared and witneffed unto them this truth; and fo, coming into fellowship with them, all believers have fellowship one with another: And these difciples, receiving the commandment, which is eternal life, as it was manifefted and witneffed unto them by the Lord himself, came into the holy fellowship with him; and as this is" that eternal life which was with the Father;" even his kingdom, his power, and his glory, in which the fellowship of the Father and Son confifts; it may be faid, that truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jefus Chrift.

This diftinction among the faints, of particular and general, is founded in the covenant made with Abraham: He was taken into this blessed and holy fellowship, by an explicit covenant, wherein God promised to be a God unto him and to his feed; by which he became intitled to this eternal inheritance, and was made the heir of the world, But, by an article inferted in this ancient charter of the inheritance of the faints, given to Abraham and his feed, viz. That in him, &c. fhould all the families of the earth be blessed; the door was opened for the poor Gentiles, who were far off, to come in and partake of the infinite bleffing: Wherefore, in or by Jefus Chrift, who was of the feed of Abraham, the word of life was fent to the Gentiles: He directed, he commanded, that the Gospel, the unfearchable riches of his grace, fhould be preached unto us, that we alfo might know

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