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come from above upon the church, and an out-pouring of the Spirit, then many prifoners fhall be fet at liberty, many bonds fhall be loofed, many a cord broken, that is fettering the people of God: therefore, we are to wait the Lord's time of giving needful help, and be thankful for needful fupports, though we yet want fenfible comforts; needful waterings fhall not be with-holden in the mean time, unless we in our petted humour will not be content with fupport and help, nor will bless him for it, and fo provoke God to let us feel our own weight, that we may be humbled, and learn to gather our comforts among the midft of our croffes, and our mercies among our miferies, and pleasures among our preffures.

[4] Has your time been a time of love, of God's love to you? Then, let all your time be a time of love to him. "O love the Lord, all ye his faints," and let his love constrain you to his fervice: and for this end, maintain a deep fenfe and impreffion of his love to you. -Mind how ancient his love to you was, even prior to your being, from eternity; on the mere forefight of your fin and mifery, his eyes affected his heart, and provided a cure before you got the wound.-Remember how free and generous his love is; how he loved you, not only when you was a ftranger to him, a mean person, infinitely below him, a worthless perfon, having no good quality to recommend you, and endued with many odious qualities, but an enemy, a defperate rebel, mere grace only could draw out this love.Recollect how unchangeable and everlasting it is, fo as he will never caft you out of his affections, however deferving to be rejected; "He is God, and changes not, therefore the fons of Jacob are not confumed." He is ftill overcoming evil with good; as he injoins us to do it, fo he is always doing it himself.-Call to mind how diftinguishing it is, not only when he paffed by angels that finned, but many of your fellow-creatures.-Remember how very fympathizing it is, caufing him who fuffered for you on earth, to fuffer with you in heaven; for, "In all your afflictions, he is afflicted."-Mind I how

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how manifold it is: it is a love of defire after you; he defires fellowship with you, and will never reft nor reckon himself a complete Chrift, as to his mystical body, till you be with him together with the rest of his members myftical. It is a love of delight, he takes pleafure in your company; "O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, and in the fecret places of the ftairs, let me hear thy voice, let me fee thy countenance; for, fweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely. The Lord takes pleasure in his people."-It is a love of beneficence, always doing good; and fhall not love work love? O let your time be a time of love to him. You that expect an eternity of love, let it be evident to the world, that your time is a time of love.

SERMON

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SERMON XCVI.

SENSIBLE PRESENCE, SUDDEN ABSENCE; or, The Believer's most comfortable Interviews, but of fhort Duration *.

GEN. XXXV. 13.

And God went up from him, in the place where be talked with him.

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HOPE fome, at this occafion (however few they may be) have had fome accefs to God, and fellowship with Chrift Jefus; yet fuch are to remember, and confider that it needs not be thought ftrange, tho' they fhould fenfibly enjoy him, and lofe him in a moment, as Jacob here; He went up from him, in the place where be talked with him. What intercourfe was between God and Jacob, you have an account of, from the 9th ver." And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padan-aram; and bleffed him." God met with him in this place, viz. BETHEL, and bleffed him, and he appears again to him. Thofe to whom God has once manifefted himself, may expect a new vifit of him. At this time, there are two notable effects of the appearance God made unto him.

Ift, God confirms the name, he had formerly given unto him, calling him ISRAEL. As God gives to all his people, to whom he favingly manifefts him

* This fermon was preached at Orwell, on Monday, August 5th, 1734. after the celebration of the facrament of the Lord's fupper there. In the first edition of this fermon, we are told, it was printed, not from the Author's manufcript, but from the short-hand notes of one, who wrote it down in the time of the delivery. On this account, probably, it is neither fo complete in itself, nor yet, perhaps, appears with fuch advantage as it would have done, had it been copied from the original.

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felf,

felf, a new name; fo he loves to call them by that new

name.

2dly, He confirms the promife he had made unto him of his own name EL-SHADDAI, the Almighty God; the God that, when he pleafes, can give a being to his word, and will make his promise effectual in his own time and way.There are two things God promifes unto Jacob.

1. That he fhould be a father of many nations, and great kings; and a nation and company of nations fhould be of him, and kings fhould come out of his loins.

2. That he fhould be the poffeffor of a good land, viz. the land of Canaan. Thefe two things had a spiritual fignification; and we now, who live under the gofpel-difpenfation, if our eyes be open, may fee the meaning of them, perhaps, better than Jacob could, under this typical reprefentation: the promifed feed, pointed at, was CHRIST himfelf, the Great King of Zion, who was to come of Jacob: and the promised land pointed at, was Heaven itfelf, the heavenly kingdom. The former was the foundation, and this the top-ftone of the building of mercy that we were hearing of. Here then is the promife that God makes unto him. God, when he favingly manifefis himself to his people, he comes to them as a promifing God in Chrift Jefus.

But then, in the words of the text, you have an account how this intercourfe is interrupted, and marred at prefent, "God went up from him, in the place where he talked with him."--Where we may obferve two things. 1. How he left him. And, 2. Where he left him.

1. How he left him, "God went up from him." It was by fome vifible appearance, that had hovered over him, while God talked with him. God may go up from his people in fovereignty, when he does not go away from them in anger. However, we are carefully to

*Alluding to the action-fermon, preached on thefe words, Palm ixxxix. 2. Mercy fall be built up for ever.

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obferve, that it is not vifible appearances of God that now we are to expect, God is a Spirit, and invifible; and as we are to worship him fpiritually, fo we are to fee and enjoy him fpiritually.

2. Obferve where he left him; it was in the place where be talked with him. The name of the place is BETHEL; and you fee that Jacob here fets up a pillar, as a memorial of the communion he had with God there, and calls the name of the place BETHEL; he confirms the name formerly given to the place, when he had met with God there, he calls it BETHEL, the houfe of God: it was even here, in this very place, the houfe of God, that he went up from him, where he talked with him.'

The doctrine, that I propofe to fpeak a little unto, is the following.

DOCT. That they who have had communion and converfe with God, may mifs him in the very fpot where they enjoyed him. God went up from him, in the very place where he talked with him:

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Thus it was with the difciples at Emmaus, Luke xxiv. 31. their eyes was opened, fo as they knew him, "And he vanifhed out of their fight;" or, as it is in the margin of fome of your Bibles, 'He ceafed to be seen of them: They enjoyed his prefence, and yet inftantly he ceafed to be feen of them. Again, you may obferve, the paffage in the mount of transfiguration, where Peter fays unto Jefus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here ;” and then it follows in the next verse, While he yet fpake, behold a bright cloud overshadowed them," Mat. xvii. 4, 5. A cloud may quickly intervene between God and the foul that has communion and fellowship with him.

In handling this fubject, I propofe, as the Lord fhall be pleafed to affift, to obferve the following me

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