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of diftrefs, the darkness of a fick-bed, or a death-bed, the darkness of death itself, the darkness of a judgmentday. If you would have darknefs to be light before you, O Sirs, give him glory before he caufe darkness. O feek to be regenerate; for you cannot pleafe God while you are in the flefh: "Who can gather grapes of thorns?" Seek acquaintance with Chrift and union to him; you cannot glorify God but in Chrift: be acquainted with the rule whereby we glorify God and enjoy him. Seek to have the word hid in your heart, and particularly to be well acquainted with the gofpel-covenant: plead the promises thereof: "For the promises are Yea, and Amen, in Chrift, to the glory of God, 2 Cor. i. 20.

SERMON

SERMON

CV.

THE GREAT RUIN, AND THE GREAT RELIEF; . or, Help from HEAVEN to SELF-DESTROYERS on EARTH *.

HOSEA xiii. 9:

O' Ifrael thou haft deftroyed thyfelf; but in me is thy

Ho

belp.

OWEVER uneafy it is for men to hear of their fin and danger, from the word of God, yet it is necessary they hear of both, as long as fin may be repented of, and danger may be prevented. Here in this chapter, the children of Ifrael are,

1. Reproved and threatened for their idolatry, notwithflanding the provifion that God made to prevent their falling into it, ver. 1,-4.

2. They are reproved and threatened for their wantonnefs, pride, and luxury, and other abufes of their wealth and profperity, ver. 5,-8. And though the wrath that is threatened, as a coming upon them, for thefe and other fins, is very terrible, yet, "In the midft of wrath, he remembers mercy;" and therefore, in the midst of words of wrath, he forgets not to intermix words of mercy; O Ifrael! thou baft deftroyed thyself; but in me is thy help.

There are two fprings of gofpel-repentance; one is, a true fenfe of fin; and another, the apprehenfion of the

*This fubject was handled in two fermons. The firft was preached at Braid Craigs, on Wednesday, March 22, 1738. being a day ap pointed for foleinn Fafting and Humiliation, by the Affociate Prefbytery, at the earnest defire of the Societies for Prayer, in and about Edinburgh. The fecond was delivered on the Sabbath thereafter, at Linton.

mercy

mercy of God in Chrift: both thefe we are led to in thefe words. That we may have a true fenfe of fin, we are here taught how we have deftroyed ourselves by it: that we may have an apprehenfion of mercy in Christ, we are taught, that in him is our help.

In these words you may obferve two things.

1. The perfons or people to whom God fpeaks, and how he speaks to them, O Ifrael. It is with affectionate concern, that God deals with finners for their conviction and converfion.

2. The thing he fpeaks to them, Thou haft deftroyed thyfelf; but in me is thy help. Here is,

(1.) The fpring of their RUIN, it is of themfelves; O Ifrael! THOU haft deftroyed thyself? or, it hath deftroyed THEE, O Ifrael! that is, thy fin and folly, thy own wickednefs hath deftroyed thee. Wilful finners are self-deftroyers. Obftinate impenitence is the groffeft felf-murder; thy blood is upon thine own head.

(2.) The fpring of their RELIEF, But in ME is thine Lelp. Here is a plank thrown out after fhipwreck.There is help even for felf-deftroyers in me the Saviour and Salvation.

The words may be read, Q Ifrael! thou haft destroyed thyfelf, FOR in me is thy help: q. d. Say not, that I, who thus threaten wrath against thee, have destroyed thee; thy fin hath done it. It is the rebel that destroys himfelf, though he fall by the fword of his provoked fovereign. Thou art the caufe and author of thy own ruin; "For in me is thy help." I was always able and ready to help thee, and would have certainly faved thee, but thy fins and wickedness carried thee to other helps, which were but lies and vain confidences. I would have helped thee, and healed thee, but thou wouldft not. Thus it is a proof of their deftroying themfelves. Thou art thy own deftroyer; for I am thy helper, that have been offering thee my help, which thou haft put away from thee, and fo deftroyed thy felf by refufing my help, and rebelling against me, thy help. In God alone, and not in us, is our help; and therefore, in ourselves alone, and not in God is the cause

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of our ruin. In our reading, Bur in me is thy help, it seems not to run argumentatively, but adversatively, as the oppofite of the former claufe of the verfe: yet it hath the fame import with the other reading, and magnifies not only the power of God, that can help, when things are at the worst, and help these that cannot help themselves; but alfo the mercy and grace of God that will help thefe, that have deftroyed themfelves, and have no will to be helped, but have long refused his help. And, indeed, our cafe were miferable for ever, if God were not better to us than we are to ourselves.

From the words, there are these fix general obfervations we may make.

1. That, as fin is a ruining thing, fo it brings ruia not only upon perfons, but upon nations and churches that are guilty; O Ifrael! thou baft DESTROYED thySelf.

2. God's dealing with men for their conviction is very home and clofe; O Ifrael! THOU baft deftroyed thyfelf: and as God, when he makes conviction particular, and perfons make clofe application, thou man, thou woman haft done fo and fo, and deftroyed thyfelf by thy fin; fo he wills nations, and churches, and cities to be convinced and humbled for their particular fin and guilt; O ISRAEL! thou haft destroyed thy felf.

3. God's method of grace toward felf-deftroying finners, having once difcovered their fin, is next to reveal his thoughts of love: his words are a proper fence against two ruining extremes, prefumption and despair. To prevent prefumptions, he fays, O Ifrael, thou bast DESTROYED thyself: to prevent despair, he adds, But in me is thy HELP. With the fame breath he tells us of the ruin and of the remedy; and, with the fame hand, reaches the blow and the bleffing; or, gives the wound and the

cure.

4. Such is the unfpeakable mercy of God, that he hath more pity and kindnefs for us, than we have for ourfelves.. Our unnatural cruelty to ourfelves is as the foil to fet forth the riches of God's mercy: "When no

eye pitied thee;" no, not thine own eyes, "I faid unto thee, when thou waft in thy blood, Live," Ezek. xvi. 5,6. When thou waft in thy blood, wallowing in thy own blood, and hadt brought thy blood upon thy own head, then I pitied thee. Men ufually fay, if a man will be wilful, let him be fo, but God fays, I will pity him.

5. Nothing ruins finners fo much as their flighting the mercy of God, their oppofing his offer, and refufing his help. As God offers his help, which he hath laid upon One that is mighty, infomuch, that the cause of our deftruction is not in God, but in ourselves; fo the chief thing, by which we ruin and deftroy ourfelves, is our refufing God's help, rejecting his Chrift, in feeking help and happinefs elfewhere than in him;" O Ifrael! thou haft deftroyed thyself; but in me is thy belp. And thou haft rejected me, and run away to creature helps, and creature - fupports, and creaturecomforts, and forfaken me the fountain of living wa

ters.

6. The fixth obfervation we make from the words, is, what we shall speak to, and it is this; That as man's ruin and deftruction is only of himself, and his own fin; fo his relief and deliverance is only owing to God, and his fovereign grace and mercy.-O Ifrael! thou haft deftroyed thyself; but in me is thy help.

This text and doctrine is a tree which hath two branches. I fhall endeavour therefore, First, To confider the former branch, viz. That man's ruin and deftruction is only of himself, and his own finfulness; and what fruit may be gathered from this branch of truth, for our ufe and improvement fuitable to the defign of the day. Secondly, I fhall go on to the other branch of the text and doctrine, namely, That our relief and deliverance is owing only to God, and his fovereign mercy; and confider what fruitful leffons may be gathered thence for our ufe and improvement thereof.

First then, That man's ruin and deftruction is only of himself, and his own finfulness. This is plain from fcripture; Jer. ii. 17. 19. "Haft thou not procured this unto

thy.

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