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are the true Ifrael of God, O Ifrael! thou haft deftroyed byfelf. And though. God had no other controverfy against Scotland, than even the iniquities of fons and daughters, it is enough; their unwatchfulness, their untenderness, their neglect of a gofpel-conversation, neglect of relative duties; their deteftable neutrality in the matters of God; their grievous infenfibility of the difhonours done to Chrift; their little love to, and fympathy with one-another; their bitterness and preju dice against one-another; their felf feeking, and selfpleafing, and preparing their own houfes, building to themfelves ceiled houfes, while the houfe of the Lord lies wafte; their carnal eafe, when they fhould be fighting the Lord's battles, and following him without the camp. When David would perfuade Uriah, 2 Sam. xi. 11. to go to his houfe, and enjoy the lawful pleasures of his bed, he refufed it, faying, "The ark, and Ifrael, and Judah, abide in tents, and my lord Joab, and the fervants of my Lord, encamp in the open fields, and fhall I go home and eat and drink, and ly in my bed of eafe and pleasure? As the Lord liveth, I will do no fuch thing." This looked like a man truly concerned for the ark and Ifrael of God. Many of us do not fo much as forbear our unlawful pleasures of pride and wantonnefs. Though the ark of the Lord abide in tents, and though the church be going to the wilderness, or encamp in the open fields, yet many remain loitering in their beds of ease, and pleasure, and floth: but God loves not jollity, when he calls for mourning; nor floth, when he calls for watching, and appearing for him.

Again, The godly fometimes have deftroyed themfelves by their divifions among themfelves. May I not fay with the apostle, a Cor. xi. 18. "I hear that there are divisions among you, and I partly believe it?" and we know fome evident effects of it. But, O my dear friends, what a reproach is it to your Chriftian profeffion, to hear of praying focieties divided against praying focieties? It was obferved by enemies themselves, to the commendation of the primitive Chriftians, "Behold! how they love one another." Alas! how reproachful is it, if the contrary be faid of you, Behold, how

they

they hate one-another; how they bite and devour oneanother. What a miferable thing is it, if in matters that either might be accommodated, or born with, Chriftians fhuld deftroy themfelves, and destroy oneanother? How is our God thus difhonoured, the gofpel difcredited, religion wounded, and the hands of witnesses for reformation weakened !

In a word, The children of God themfelves have, at this day, deftroyed themfelves, by leaving their firft love, by their carnality in their work and walk, and their evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God by these things they deftroy themselves, destroy their peace, deftroy their comfort, deftroy their affurance, deftroy their freedom in coming to God, destroy their name and credit. They deftroy their beauty and livelinefs, and provoke God to write bitter things against them. Yea, the children of grace may, by their uncircumfpect walk, provoke their heavenly Father to break them with breach upon breach, and to bring heavy ftroaks both temporal and fpiritual, upon them, Deut. xxviii. 58, 59. Let none of God's people therefore fay, fuch and fuch inftruments have deftroyed us, minifters and judicatories have deftroyed our churchprivileges and liberties, and robbed us of our fpiritual rights. Whatever truth be in this, that way of speaking looks not like due humiliation before God, for thefe are but the fruits of God's anger against us for our fin; "Behold thou art wroth, for we have finned," Ifa. Ixiv. 5. It is an angry God that leaves a generation of finners that are felf-deftroyers, to be also destroyers of one-another; and therefore let us blame ourselves, because we have finned, and brought on all this deftruction upon ourselves. It would look like kindly humiliation, if every one were faying, I am the Achan that hath troubled the camp of Ifrael; I am the Jonah that hath raised this ftorm of wrath; I am the finner that hath provoked God to leave minifters and judicatories to themselves; and to leave his houfe defolate; it is I that have provoked him to fend the loofe, lax, and corrupt miniftry here and there through the land; it is I that have provoked him to leave fome good

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minifters to make fad defection; for it is poffible Ifrael's fins may provoke God to leave a miniller, as good as Aaron the faint of God, to fet up a golden calf in Horeb. Let every one of us not only bear the charge, O Ifrael! thou haft deftroyed thyfelf; but let us take with the charge, faying, I am the perfon that hath deflroyed myfelf, and deftroyed the generation, and my fin may juftly provoke him to fend more heavy deftruction yet, and terrible defolation: for, if every fin deserves God's heavy wrath, what may my aggravated fins provoke him to? We never ly open to mercy, or to gospel. grace, fo much as when we take with the law-charge, and answer to the voice of God, O Ifrael! thou baft deftroyed thyself; Truth, Lord, I have deftroyed myfelf. And if brought to this, then hear and confider

The fecond branch of the text, In me is thy help: importing, that our relief and deliverance is only owing to God, and his fovereign mercy; "To the Lord our God belongs mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against him," Dan. ix. 9. And fince all have deftroyed themselves, none can be faved but in a way of free mercy, as God fays to Mofes, Exod. xxxiii. 19. "I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and fhew mercy to whom I will fhew mercy." He might justly fuffer all to go on in ruining themselves eternally; but as he proclaims mercy in the gofpel, fo to whomfo ever he extends mercy, he must do it by an act of fovereign grace, delivering them out of their own murdering and deftroying hands.

Now, Sirs, here is another root of true repentance and humiliation; the former is a true fenfe of fin, as a defroyer; the next is an apprehenfion of the mercy of God in Chrift, as a Saviour, and the only help? In me is thy help. The root of true religion lies in a right view of ourselves, and our own finfulness; and, next, in a right view of God and his grace: for clearing this matter, I offer a few remarks.

First, I remark, from the fcope of God's words here, "That he takes occafion from our fins, to fet out his

grace." Man is unmerciful to himfelf; but God is

merciful

merciful to him. So cruel is man, that he deftroys bimfelf; fo kind is God, that he offers his help, and hath laid help upon One that is mighty, upon his eternal Son, whom he hath given to be the Helper and Saviour, to fhew his mercy. And by this inftance, we may fee that God will do a thousand times more to fhew his mercy towards finners, than to fhew his wrath against them. He hath fet forth Chrift to be the propitiation, to make his fhewing mercy confiftent with the honour of justice, Rom. iii. 25, 26. It is true, some may think, how comes it then, that damned than faved; for Chrift fays, of life, and few there are that find it :" But here, concerning the paucity of the faved, it is to be confidered, that, as it is not improbable there fhall be more glory among the few that fhall be faved, than wrath among the many that fhall be damned; fo there is more mercy fhewed, in faving a few, when he might have condemmed all, than there is juftice thewed, in condemning many, when he might have damned all.

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there are more Strait is the gate

Again, mercy is abfolute, having refpect to nothing in us; but juftice hath a refpect to the demerit of sin, the wages whereof is death. God, in fhewing mercy, is himself at the whole coft: but we make way for his juftice, by provoking him. Damnation is an act of justice, that our fin obliges him to do; but falvation is an act of mercy, which he is under no obligation to pafs yet, notwithstanding all our finfulness, he proclaims his willingness and readiness to fave and help. Hence, I think, it is remarkable, that, after the greateft fios that ever were committed, there have been inftantly the greateft difplays of mercy: thus the firft fin, by which all mankind were ruined, was foon followed with the promife, wherein mercy was proclaimed.Here was the greatest fin, the root of all fin among men; and yet the greateft difplay of mercy.

Again, that fin of the Jews, in crucifying the Lord of glory, will be owned to be the greateft fin: and yet it is followed with the greatest display and proclamation of mercy therefore Chrift injoins his difciples to go and preach repentance and remiffion of fins in his

name,

name, to all nations, beginning at Jerufalem, Luke xxiv. 27. Why, begin at Jerufalem, who had just now embrued their hands in his blood! Why, they have moft need of mercy; and the offer of it to them will manifeft the fovereignty of it. O who would not then put in for a fhare of mercy in the blood of Chrift? Why fhould we refufe our own mercy? Here is water, what hinders but we are baptized? Here is blood, what hinders but we are wafhed? Nothing hinders but our own wilful refufing, and continuing to deftroy ourselves. Men will not welcome this offer of grace; they continue obftinate till God create a will, and make them willing in the day of his power: and hence all that are helped, and faved out of their own murdering hands, must be faved by an act of fovereign mercy; In me is thy help. Again,

The fecond remark I offer is, "That the nature of God requires, that in helping and faving of finners, "his mercy be free and fovereign :" because he is a fovereign God, infinitely happy in himfelf without ùs ; and it is at his option to manifeft mercy or not, to save or not, as much as it was his option to make men or not. He does what he will among the armies of heaven.Hence he exercises fovereignty in the caufe why he fhews mercy, even because he will fhew mercy; fove reignty in the perfon whom he faves; in the time when he faves them, in the inftruments by whom; and the means by which he faves them. I might fhew, at large, how he does all this according to his own will and pleafure; "Of his own will begat he us, by the word of truth," James i. 18.

Thirdly, I remark, "That the nature of man requires "this, that if he be faved, it be by the free, fovereign 66. grace, and mercy of God." What is man? He is a despicable creature, a worm; "Fear not, worm Jacob." If Ifrael, that were fuch a vaft multitude, like the ftars of heaven, the numerous offspring of Jacob, be but a worm in God's fight, then what is one man? Yea, before God all the nations of the earth are as nothing, yea, lefs than nothing and vanity, Ifa. xl. 15. What a little piece of that nothing are we, that God fhould pity us!

Man

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