Till this is thy happy experience, pray (as the drawings of the Father, and convictions of the Spirit will enable thee) earnestly pray for living faith, for a faith that may be to thee the substance of the pardon thou hopest for, and the evidence of the great sacrifice thou dost not see, but which our divine surety really offered upon the cross for thee. Consider how deplorable a thing it is, that thou shouldest be prevented from claiming, receiv-ing, enjoying the delightful knowledge of thy interest in the Redeemer's death; when his pardoning love, and the word of his grace, offer it thee without money and without price, and absolutely nothing but infatuating unbelief or spiritual sloth, keeps thee from the invaluable blessing. Be not satisfied idly to wait in the divine ordinances, till thou seest the kingdom of God come with power; but as the violent do, take it by force: Prisoner of hope, be strong, be bold, Cast off thy doubts, disdain to fear, Till I thy name, thy nature know. Be attentive to the calls of the Spirit, and follow the drawing of the Father, till they bring thee to the Son; and keep thine eye upon the dawning light of the gospel, till the morning-star arise in thy heart. Venture confidently venture upon the boundless mercy of God in Jesus Christ. If a spirit of infirmity bows thee down, yield not to it, seventy times seven times, try to arise and look up calling aloud for help against it. Say, if possible with tears, as the distressed father in the gospel, Lord I believe, or, Lord I would believe, help thou my unbelief: Or with tempted Job, though thou slay me, yet will I trust in thee. In this manner knock with the earnestness of the importunate widow, till the door of faith open, and thou begin to see the salvation of God; but stop not here at the threshold of christianity. Have boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. Go on from faith to faith, till thy day of Pentecost is fully come, till thou art endued with power from on high, baptized with the Holy Ghost and with fire, and sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, which Christ received of the Father, and abundantly shed on his servants and handmaids, when he was glorified. Compare Matt. iii. 11. Eph. i. 13. John vii. 39. Acts i. 5, 8, and ii. 33, 39, and viii. 15, and xix. 2. John vii. 39. - Tit. iii. 6. In the mean time, use all the means of grace with an eye to their end; stir up the gift of hope that is in thee; and to raise thy drooping expectation, receive the encouraging testimony of God's redeemed, praising people, whose hearts and tongues are ready to testify to thy ears what the following lines declare to thine eyes. V. That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that you also may have fellowship with us, and truly our fellowship. is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and is manifested unto us. Yes, we have found him, of whom Moses and the prophets did write. From blessed experience we declare, that the Messiah is come, that his essence is Love incarnate, his name free Salvation, and his delight the eternal happiness of the children of men. He is the chief among ten thousand prophets, priests, kings and saviours; he is altagether lovely. We staked our souls upon his eternal truth, and it was done to us, both according to his word and our faith: Therefore with humble joy we declare, that he answers the prayers, and delivers the souls of perishing sinners, as graciously as he did in the days of his flesh. 195 into heaven, or descend into the deep to get me the seed of faith? But let St. Paul shew thee the new and living way. The word is nigh thee, says he, even in thy mouth and in thy heart, that is the word of faith which we preach; that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thy heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved; for we are saved by faith, faith cometh -by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Hear then the word of the Lord. Are thy sins really grievous to thee? Is the burden of them intolerable? wouldst thou part with it at any rate? Dost thou fully renounce thy speculative and barren faith? Hast thou received the sentence of eter nal death in thy conscience, acknowledging thy case. (for any thing thou canst do without Christ) helpless, hopeless, desperate? and art thou truly brought to the grand inquiry, what must I do to be saved? See, feel, confess, that thou standest in absolute need of a divine physician, an Almighty Redeemer; and, that the Godman Jesus Christ, joins both those extraordinary characters in his wonderful person. Submit to be saved by grace, by free grace, through his infinite merits, and not thy wretched deserts; and instead of opposing, continually study God's wonderful method of saving sinners, the worst of sinners, by faith in his blood. There is no name but his under heaven, whereby we must be saved; neither is there cure, or salvation in any other, Acts iv. 12. As by him all things were created, so by him they subsist, and by him they must be restored. The power of his word and breath, made man a living soul; and now that we are dead to God, the same power, applying his blood and righteousness, must create in us clean hearts, and renew right spirits within us. This, and this only, heals wounded consciences, washes polluted souls, and raises the dead in trespasses and sins. Wouldst thou then be made whole? Determine, as St. Paul, to know nothing but Christ, and him cruci 196 AN ADDRESS TO EARNEST fied: aim at believing, realizing, applicatory views of what he is, and what he has done and suffered for thee. Through all the clouds of thy guilt and unbelief, which will vanish before our Sun of righteousness, as mists before the material sun, behold him as the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world, and thine ....See the immense dignity of his person: he is God over all blessed for ever; and yet he condescends to be Emmanuel, God with us, flesh of our flesh and bone of our bone....Consider the inexpressible value, and inconceivable efficacy of his precious, all-atoning blood. It is the blood of the sacred body, assumed by the eternal Logos, when he appeared in the likeness of sinful flesh, both as a victim and a priest, to suffer the penalty of his own righteous law for us, and to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself....the blood of the lamb of God, slain to sprinkle many nations....the blood of that mysterious Being, who fills the bosom of the Father, and the everlasting throne, at whose feet all the heavenly powers cast their crowns; and to whom, in the midst of the acclamations and adorations of an innumerable company of angels, in the midst of sounding trumpets, thunderings, lightnings, and voices, the spirits of just men made perfect ascribe salvation, free, full, immensely dear-bought salvation: and to say all in one word, it is the blood of God manifest in the flesh. Acts xx. 28. 1 Tim. iii. 16. For Jehovah our righteousness is the seed of the woman and the Son of man: The God-head and the manhood are wonderfully joined in him and in consequence of this mysterious union, he is not only a proper mediator between God and man, but the sole medium of reconciliation and union, between the offended Majesty of heaven and the rebellious sons of Adam. As the brazen serpent lifted up in the wilderness, when viewed by the wounded Israelites, was the only means by which the poison of the fiery serpents could be expelled, and health restored to their tortured, dying bodies: So Jesus lifted up on the cross, when beheld by the eye of faith, as bleed : tender mercies, and be indulged with the light of hea ven, when we go through the dreary valley of the shadow of death, to reap the joys of eternal life. ........................................Survey this wond'rous cure: And at each step let higher wonder rise ! Yet for the foulest of the foul he dies. But this is not all: Having through the grace of God tasted death for every man, and perfumed the grave for believers, He rose! He rose! He broke the bars of death. Oh the burst gates, crush'd sting, demolish'd throne, Last gasp of vanquish'd death! Shout, earth and heav'n, This sum of good to man; whose nature, then, Took wing, and mounted with him from the tomb ! Then, then, we rose; then first humanity Triumphant, pass'd the crystal gates of light. YOUNG. O the depth of the mystery of faith! O the breadth, the length, the height of the love of Christ! All his stupendous humiliation from his Father's bosom, through the virgin's womb, to the accursed tree; all his astonishing exaltation, from the dust of the grave, and the sorrows of hell, to the joys of heaven, and the highest throne of glory; all this immense progress of incarnate love....all, all is ours! His mysterious incarnation re-unites and endears us to God; his |