my voice, let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my fupplications.

There is in the words a general application made in a tendency unto relief; wherein is first to be confidered, to whom the application is made, and that is Jebovab. I have cried unto thee, JEHOVAH. God gave out that name to his people to confirm their faith in the stability of his promifes, Exod. iii. He who is Being himfelf, will affuredly give being and subsistence to his promises. Being to deal with God about the promises of grace, he makes his application to him under this name, I call upon thee, Jehovah.

In the application itself may be observed,

First, The anthropopathy of the expreffion, he prays. that God would caufe his ears, to be attentive; after the manner of men, who feriously attend to what is fpoken to them, when they turn afide from that which they regard not.

Secondly, The earnestness of the foul in the work it hath in hand; which is evident both from the reduplication of his request, Lord, hear my voice, let thine ears be attentive to my voice, and the emphaticalnefs of the words he maketh ufe of. Let thine ears, faith he, be, (in the Heb.) diligently attentive. The word fignifies the most diligent heedfulness and close attention; let thine ears be very attentive; and unto what? (in the Heb.) to the voice of my fupplications; deprecationum mearum, generally fay interpreters, of my deprecations; or earnest prayers for the averting of evil or punishment. But the word is from the Hebrew, Gratiofus fuit, to be gracious or merciful; fo that it fignifies properly fupplications for grace. Be attentive, faith he, O Lord, unto my fupplications for grace and mercy, which, according to my extreme neceffity, I now addrefs myfelf to make unto thee. And in these words doth the pfalmift fet forth in general the frame and working of a gracious foul, being caft into depths and darkness by

fin.

The

The foundation of what I fhall farther thence purfae, lies in these two propofitions.

FIRST, The only attempt of a finful intangled foul for relief, lies in application to God alone. To thee, JEHOVAH, have I cried, Lord hear.

SECONDLY, Depths of fin-intanglements will put a gracious foul on intenfe and earneft applications unto God. Lord hear, Lord attend. Dying men do not use to cry out flothfully for relief.

What may be thought neceffary in general for the direction of a foul in the state and condition described, fhall briefly be spoken unto from these two propofi

tions.

FIRST, Trouble, danger, difquietment, arguing not only things evil, but a fenfe in the mind and foul of them, will of themselves put those in whom they are upon feeking relief. Every thing would naturally be at reft; a drowning man needs no exhortation to endeavour his own deliverance and fafety: And fpiritual troubles will, in like manner, put men on attempts for relief. To feek for no remedy is to be fenfelefly obdurate, or wretchedly defperate, as Cain and Judas. We may fuppofe then, that the principle business of every foul in depths, is to endeavour deliverance. They cannot reft in that condition wherein they have no reft. In this endeavour, what courfe a gracious foul fteers, is laid down in the first propofition, negatively and pofitively. He applies himself not to any thing but God, he applies himself unto God. An eminent inftance we have of it in both parts, or both to the one fide and the other, Hof. xiv. 3. Afhur, fays these poor diftreffed returning finners, ball not fave us, we will not ride upon borfes, neither will we fay any more to the work of our bands, Ye are our gods; for in thee the fatherless findeth

mercy.

mercy. Their application unto God is attended with a renunciation of every other way of relief.

Several things there are that finners are apt to apply themselves unto for relief in their perplexities, which prove unto them as waters that fail. How many things have the Romanifts invented to deceive fouls withal? Saints and angels, the bleffed Virgin, the wood of the crofs, confeffions, penances, maffes, pilgrimages, and dirges, purgatories, papal pardons, works of compenfation, and the like, are made entrances for innumerable fouls into everlasting ruin. Did they know the terror of the Lord, the nature of fin, and the mediation of Chrift, they would be afhamed and confounded in themfelves for thefe abominations, they would not fay unto these their idols, Ye are our gods, come and fave us. How fhort do all their contrivances come of his, that would fain be offering rivers of oil, yea, the fruit of his body for the fin of his foul, his first born for his tranfgreffion, Micah vi. 7. who yet gains nothing, but an aggravation of his fin and mifery thereby: Yea, the heathens went beyond them in devotion and expence: It is no new enquiry what courfe fin-perplexed fouls fhould take for relief. From the foundation of the world, the minds of far the greatest part of mankind have been exercised in it: As was their light or darknefs, fuch was the course they took; among those who were ignorant of God, this enquiry brought forth all that diabolical fuperftition which fpread itself over the face of the whole world. Gentilifm being deftroyed by the power and efficacy of the golpel, the fame enquiry working in the minds of darkned men in conjunction with other lufts, brought forth the papacy. When men had loft a fpiritual acquaintance with the covenant of grace, and mystery of the gofpel, the defign of eternal love, and efficacy of the blood of Chrift, they betook themselves, in part, or in whole, for relief under their entanglements, unto the broken cifterns mentioned. They are of two forts; felf, and other things, for

thofe

thofe other things which belong unto their falfe worthip, being abominated by all the faints of God, I fhall not need to make any farther mention of them. That which relates unto felf, is not confined unto popery, but confines itself to the limits of human nature, and is predominate over all that are under the law; that is, to feek for relief in fin-diftreffes by felf-endeavours, felf-righteousness: Hence many poor fouls in ftraits apply themselves to themselves. They expect their cure from the fame hand that wounded them. This was the life of Judaism, as the apostle informs us, Rom. x. 3. and all men under the law, are still animated by the fame principle. They return, but not unto the Lord. Finding themselves in depths, in diftreffes about fin, what courfe do they take? This they will do, that they will do no more; this fhall be their ordinary course, and that they will do in an extraordinary manner; as they have offended, whence their trouble arifeth, fo they will amend and look that their peace fhould fpring from thence, as if God and they flood on equal terms. In this way some spend all their days, finning and amending, amending and finning, without once coming to repentance and peace. This the fouls of believers watch againft. They look on themselves as fatherless, in thee the fatherless findeth mercy, that is helplefs; without the leaft ground of hopes in themselves, or expectation from themfelves. They know their repentance, their amendment, their fupplications, their humiliations, their fastings, their mortifications, will not relieve them: Repent they will, and amend they will, and pray, and fast, and bumble their fouls, for they know thefe things to be their duty; but they know that their goodness extends not to him with whom they have to do, nor is he profited by their righteoufnefs: They will be in the performance of all duties, but they expect not deliverance by any duty. It is God, fay they with whom they have to do; our business is to hearken what he will fay unto us:

There are alfo other ways whereby finful fouls de

stroy

ftroy themselves by falfe reliefs. Diverfions from their perplexing thoughtfulness pleaseth them: They will fix on fomething or other that cannot cure their disease, but shall only make them forget that they are fick. As Cain under the terror of his guilt, departed from the prefence of the Lord, and fought inward reft in outward labour and employment, he went and built a city, Gen. iv. 6. Such courfes Saul fixed on; first music, then a witch. Nothing more ordinary than for men thus to deal with their convictions. They fee their fickness, feel their wound, and go to the Affyrian, Hof. v. 13. and this infenfibly leads men to atheifm. Frequent applications of creature diverfions unto convictions of fin, are a notable means of bringing on final impenitency. Some drunkards had, it may be, never been fo, had they not been first convinced of other fins: they strive to stifle the guilt of one fin with another. They fly from themselves unto themselves, from their confciences unto their lufts; and seek for relief from fin by finning. This is fo far from believers, that they will not allow lawful things to be a diverfion to their diftrefs: Ufe lawful things they may and will, but not to divert their thoughts from their diftreffes; these they know must be iffued between God and them: Wear off they will not, but must be taken away. These rocks, and the like, whereof there are innumerable, I fay, a gracious foul takes care to avoid. He knows it is God alone who is the Lord of his confcience where his depths ly; God alone against whom he hath finned; God alone who can pardon his fin. From dealing with him, he will neither be enticed nor diverted. To thee, O Lord, faith he, do I come; thy word concerning me muft ftand; upon thee will I wait; if thou haft no delight in me, I muft perish Other remedies I know are vain: I intend not to spend my ftrength for that which is not bread; Unto thee do I cry. Here a fin-intangled foul is to fix itfelf: Trouble excites it to look for relief; many things without it prefent themselves as a diverfion; many things within it offer themselves for a remedy: For

get