the womb, and even to hoary hairs will I bear and deliver thee.

“Therefore hear now this, thou afflicted and drunken, but not with wine: I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth; for the spirit would fail before me, and the soul which I have made. I turn the water of affliction into the wine of consolation. Behold, I take out of thy hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury : thou shalt no more drink it again; I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thy soul: and in the room of it, I give thee the cup of the New Testament in my blood, shed for the remission of sins: It is now ready, draw near, drink thou of it, and taste that I am gracious.

"Come near that I may speak a word in season to thy weary spirit. Why standest thou afar off ? Come near, I say, that my soul may bless thee. Let me shew thee my glory, and proclaim my soulreviving name: The Lord! The Lord God! merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, and forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin! Let me wash thy heart from iniquity, guilty sinner; for unless I wash thee, thou hast no part with me. Unless thou art born again of water and of the Spirit, thou canst not see the kingdom of God. But this is the covenant of promise which I make with thee : I will sprinkle clean water upon thee, and thou shalt be clean; a new heart will I give thee, and a new spirit, even my own Spirit, will I put within thee, and thou shalt be completely born of God; and at that day thou shalt know that I am in the Father, and thou in me, and I in thee.

"Who is he that condemneth? It is I who died for thy sins, yea rather, who rose again for thy justification, who am even at the right hand of God, who also make intercession for thee. The same compassionate love, that made me weep over un

grateful Jerusalem, and groan over dead Lazarus, made me bleed and die for thee. O that in this thy

day, thou mayest know the things that belong unte thy peace, and the efficacy of that sacrifice, by which I have for ever perfected them that are sanctified ! O that unbelief, so injurious to me, and so pernicious to thee, may no longer hide my love from thine .eyes!

"What! afraid of my purity, art thou ready to ery out as my apostle; Depart from me, O Lord, for I am a sinful man? And dost thou tremble at my words as a criminal at the sentence of his judge? O be of good cheer, it is I be not afraid. Am not I thy light and strength, thy shield and buckler, thy tower and resting place, thy strong-hold whereunto thou mayest always resort, thy castle and fortress, the horn also of thy salvation and thy refuge? as for thy sins, if thou desirest to part with them, they will no more hinder me from visiting thee, than the sickness of a patient prevents a physician from giving him his attendance.

"I know thou_art a sinner....a great sinner: For this cause came I down from heaven to Bethlehem.... to Gethsemane....to Calvary. I know thine iniquities are more in number than the hairs of thy head; like a sore burden, they are too heavy for thee to bear; and therefore have I borne them for thee in my own body on the tree. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance: I am the man that receiveth sinners, and eateth with them: I am the friend of returning publicans and harlots; all manner of sins and blasphemies shall be forgiven them through faith in my blood: God was in me reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them and now, I beseech thee, be thou (for one) reconciled to God; for in me God is reconciled to thee, thy sin is covered, and thine iniquity forgiven.

"Great as thy crimes are, poor mourner in Zion, I upbraid thee not with them; my infinitely meritorious sacrifice hath long ago atoned for their heincousness, and now I cast the mantle of my pardoning love over their multitude: Thou art ashamed of them, and shall I be ashamed of thee?....Far be the thought from thee....I glory in extending my boundless mercy to such miserable objects as thou art. This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all mento be received, that I came into the world to save sinners: and if with my servant Paul, thou seest thyself the chief of them, let me do the chief part of the errand, on which I came; look unto me....partake with him of my richest salvation....lose thy cares in the bosom of my mercy....and receive the atonement Í made for thee, but receive it now; for I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: Behold, now is the accepted time; Behold, now is the day of salvation, the day in which I bind up the breach of my people, and heal. the stroke of their wound.

"Whence arise, O poor sinner, thy backwardness and misgivings! I have ransomed thee from the power of the grave, and thou art mine: I come to heal thee, and reveal to thee the abundance of peace and truth: I bring thee a cure for thy wounded conscience, and saving health for thy sin-distempered soul !

"In a little wrath, and for a small moment, I have hid my face from thee; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee; for I am the Lord thy Redeemer. Believe it, and faith will work by love, and love will cast out fear: Thus shalt thou take hold of my strength, that thou mayest make peace with me, and thou shalt make peace with me; for I am a strength to the needy in his distress, an hiding place from the wind, a covert from the tempest, as rivers of water in a dry place, and as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.

"Come, then, be not of them that draw back from me to perdition, but of them who believe to the saving of the soul. Far from casting away thy little confidence, which hath great recompence of reward, hold it fast; resist even unto blood, striving against the damning sin of unbelieve ; trust in me for ever, for in me Jehovah thy righteousness, is everlasting strength; and let me no longer complain that thou, (one of my oppressed people in spiritual Egypt) wilt have none of me, and wilt not even come to me, that thou mightest have life more abundantly.

"Not by works of righteousness which thou hast done, but according to my mercy I save thee. I am the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. What my gracious purpose planned before time, I have executed in time. My life and death have completed the wonderful bridge, by which thou canst go over the great deep fixed between an holy God, and thy sinful soul. Concerning a main arch of this mighty work, with one of my last breaths, I said 'It is finished;' and I now confirm the glad tidings with regard to the whole. With my right hand, and with my holy arm, I have gotten myself the victory, and parted for thee, not the waves of the red sea, but the dreadful billows of the fiery gulph. And now I return to see thee safe over. Leave only the world and sin behind, and walking by faith, follow me through the the regeneration to a throne of glory....

"Whence arises, sinner, this backwardness to trust in my promise, and venture after me? Dost thou suspect the sincerity of my tenders of grace? And by thinking, that I secretly except thee from my mercy, when I offer it thee openly, dost thou still make me a dissembler, a lyar? O wrong me not so far. I am the truth itself: 1 abhor dissimulation in my creatures: and I, that say, a man should not use deceit, shall I use deceit? Shall I have concord with Belial? Shall there be an agreement between the faithful Witness, and the father of lies? Shall I sentence him, that

T

loveth a lie, to the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone, and be guilty of one myself? Horrible to suppose! Reject the blasphemous thought, Sinner, it wounds me in the tenderest part.

"No, no, I do not put on a mask of pretended love, to hide a rancorous, unforgiving temper: The general invitation that formerly passed my lips, is still the very language of my heart, Whosoever will, let him come and take of the water of life freely; and the promise, which I formerly madé, is still firmer than the pillars of heaven, Him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out. Let these words, like incorruptible seed, beget thee again to a lively hope, and help thee to stir thyself up to lay hold on me and my great sal

vation.

"I grant that no man cometh unto me except the Father draw him: But does he not say; I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore with lovingkindness, with the cords of a man, with bands of love have I drawn thee? Does he not draw thee even now? Who stirs thee up to repentance? Who raises in thee a desire of coming unto me by prayer? Who indulges thee at times with sweet hopes and alluring joys, to encourage thee to come? Is it not my Father, and thine, thou poor starving prodigal? And that nothing may be wanting on his part to make thee come, to drawing does he not add driving? Does he not obstruct all thy prospects of creature-happiness, and blast all thy worldly, yea and all thy self-righteous schemes? And while he touches thy heart with the rod of distress, does he not lay the scourge of affliction on thy back, and put this gracious invitation in thy hand? Away then with thy hard thoughts of my Father: He and I are a flame of eternal love: I and the Father

are one.

Neither say thou in thy heart, This is a day of trouble, rebuke, and blasphemy; the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth. Shall I bring to the birth, and not give strength