I. What we are to underftand by the Bethel-vifits, that God may allow his people.

II. Confider fome of the dark days that may follow upon these Bethel-interviews.

III. Confider and explain the promise here made, that he will not leave them, till he hath done that which he hath fpoken to them of, notwithstanding of the dark days that may interveen between the promise and the accomplishment.

IV. Offer fome grounds upon which the believer may be affured, that God will not leave him, till he hath done that which he hath fpoken to him of.

V. Deduce fome inferences for the application.

I. The first thing propofed was, To fhew what we are to understand by the Bethel-vifits God may allow his people. In order to this, I premife, it is fure none are acquaint with what we call a Bethel-vifit, except thefe that are in a peculiar manner bieffed of the Lord, as Jacob was, of whom his father Ifaac faid, "I have b'effed him, and he fhall be bleffed," Gen. xxvii. 33. They are the bleffed objects of God's love, and the bleffed heirs of the promifes; brought into covenant with God, and joined to the Lord by converting grace and faving faith. And as none are acquainted with Bethel. vifits but thefe that are thus bleffed; fo it is with great variety, that the Lord's people do enjoy fuch appearan ces of God. Though they have not all experience of Bethel-interviews with God, of the fame measure and degree with that of Jacob; yet they have fuch experience of meeting with God as are fubftantially the fame. Whatever difference there may be in circumftances, yet they are fuch, as they may call the place BETHEL, the houfe of God, the gate of heaven.

In the illustration of this point, I fhall here observe, 1. The fubftance. 2. The ordinary circumftances of fuch interviews with God as may be called Bethelvifits.

ift, The fubflance, or fubftantial part thereof, is God's gracious meeting with them, fo as they may have it to fay, "The Lord God of the Hebrews met with us,"

Exod. iii. 18. And that either in public ordinances, or in fecret duties, by night or by day, in the city or in the field; and this meeting hath thefe two things cfpecially in it, which we find was in Jacob's meeting with God here in Bethel, the one is the manifeftation of his glory, and the other is the communication cf his

mind.

1. This Bethel-vifit includes a manifeftation of his glory. Jacob here fees the glory of God in Chrift reprefented as the ladder reaching between heaven and earth. Why then you may call that a Bethel whereever it hath pleafed God to reveal Chrift in you, and to open your eyes to fee his glory in the face of Jefus Chrift, as the way to the Father, and as the ladder by which you may afcend up to heaven. Have you feen at this, or any former occafion, Chrift to be, as it were, the ladder fet upon the earth, in his humiliation, and reaching unto heaven, and fo that all the rounds and steps of the ladder are compleated in his incarnation, life, death, refurrection, afcenfion and fitting at the righthand; " By him do we believe in God, who raifed him from the dead, that our faith and hope might be in God?" 1 Pet. i. 21. And have we thus, by faith, ftept up the ladder, the only way? Hath thus the God that commanded light to fhine out of darknefs, fhined into our hearts, not our heads only, but our hearts, to give us the light of the knowledge of his glory in the face of Jefus Chrift, fo as cur hearts have gone out after a revealed Chrift? Well, this is one fubftantial part of a Bethelvifit, the manifeftation of his glory.

2. This Bethel vifit includes a communication of his mind. Jacob here not only hath God manifefling his glory to him, but alfo communicating his mind as a promifing Ged, faying, I am your father's God, "The God of Abraham and Ifaac:" and in teftimony that I will be your God alfo, I will do fo and fo to you: and thus he communicates his mind to him by promifes of grace. Why then, you may call that a Bethel vifit, when God comes and intimates his love, or communicates his mind, and fpeaks into your heart by fame word of

grace

grace and promife, opening up fome fecret truth of the gofpel to you, and opening your understanding to apprehend, and your heart to apply it, and caufing you to hope in his word, as Yea and Amen in Chrift. If God hath fpoken a word to your heart, and made you take him at his word, fo as you can look to him, and fay, "Remember the word on which thou haft caufed me to hope," wherever it was, you may fay the name of the place was BETHEL, and that you found him in Bethel, and there he spake to you, Hof. xii. 4. Now, concerning thefe vifits, we may remark four things.

(1.) That the Lord may allow a Bethel-manifeftation and communication to his people, and yet they may not know that God is prefent with them, in fuch a manner as he is, till an after-reflection thereupon. Hence faid Jacob here, ver. 16. when he awaked out of his fleep,

Surely God was in this place, and I knew it not." God's people may be furprifed with his vifits, that tho' they cannot but be confcious of his coming, when he approaches to them, yet they may not be fure about the qualities of that vifit, whether it was a faving divine manifeftation, till they come to examine and reflect upon it, and find that it was none other but the powerful prefence of God: for, they carry their own evidence along with them; Surely he was here.

(2.) Bethel-visits fill the foul with a holy awe of God, ver. 17. How dreadful is this place? They that fee God will fee caufe of holy trembling and blufhing before him, and the fight will humble and fill them with holy awe and reverence. Saving difcoveries do not elevate and puff up with pride, but imprefs the foul with holy dread. The fweet pleasure and joy that attend the dif covery is tempered with holy fear and awe, in fo much, that they fear the Lord and his goodness, and rejoice with trembling. The place where God manifefts himself is both a joyful and a dreadful place. Praife is the most joyful and heartfome exercife; yet God is faid to be fearful in praises, because of the dread and awe of God that is on the heart of thefe that praise him; for, Great is the glory of the Lord which they fee who fing in the ways of the Lord.

(3.) Divine

(3.) Divine vifits are not excluded from any place; even here, where Jacob little thought of meeting with God, here he meets with him, he finds him in Bethel, and fays, "This is the house of God, and the gate of heaWherever we are, in the houfe or field, if we meet with God there, we may call it the houfe of God, and the gate of heaven: for, heaven is in his gracious prefence.

ven."

(4.) Divine vifits are quickening, ver. 18. He rifes early in the morning, and fets about folemn worthip of the God that appeared to him. He fets up the ftone for a pillar, and anoints it as a memorial of what past, and gave the place a new name. As fweet communion we have with God ought to be remembered; fo his grant of mercy calls for our return of duty, Jacob is here alfo quickened to vow himfelf away to the Lord, and promife to ferve him; and, indeed, our vows and promifes are then regular and evangelical, when they are the fruit of God's manifefting himself in the covenant of promife to us, and to Jacob here: for, whatever we promife, we can perform nothing but in virtue of his promife to us.

2dly, As to the ordinary circumftances of fuch Bethelinterviews with God. Several of thefe may be gathered from the hiftory of Jacob, and will be found to correfpond with the believer's experience, as in thefe following particulars.

1. That in the Lord's ordinary way of dealing, when he deals effectually with poor fouls, and when he hath a mind to bring them to a Bethel, he readily brings them to a wildernefs, and there deals powerfully with them, and fpeaks kindly to them; or, to their heart. Thus here Jacob is in the wildernefs, being banished from his father's houfe. Though he was a fon of the promife, yet he was forced to run to a frange country. God allures his people, and brings them to a wilderness, and then speaks comfortably; gives them the valley of Acher for a door of hope. Some here rea.. dily have come to this communion, or the like, and have found themfelves in a wildernefs of confufion, darkness, and defpondency, and yet had, ere all was

done,

done, ground to call the place BETHEL, by reafon of his meeting with them, and fpeaking kindly to them.

2. The sweeteft difcoveries of God are readily ushered in with the darkest nights. God's vifit is ordinarily like the break of the day upon the back of a dark night. And, indeed, " Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning," Pfalm xxx. 5. As it was literally in the dark night that God vifited Jacob here; fo you will fee what a dark night of trouble, diftress, and perplexity, Jacob was in when he met with God at Peniel, and wrestled with the angel and prevailed; "Jacob was left alone; and there wrefiled a man with him till the break of day," Genefis xxxii. 24. He had been before this compaffed with clouds of fear on the account of Efau, who was meeting him with four hundred men. You that are in a dark night of fear and diftrefs may be encouraged to wait on, for readily the Lord ufhers in manifeftations of himfelf with the darkest nights.

3. As the Lord is pleased to usher in fweet manifeftations of himself with a dark night: fo readily a dark night follows upon their sweet manifeftations.And many times they are as a blink before a ftorm; and the people of God often find this to their fad experience, making them fee ground to be fober after their fweet experiences. Jacob had a good night in Bethel; but new ftraits followed upon it, particularly in the hard fervice and harsh treatment he met with from Laban. Here is a vifit; and presently follows a night of trouble again. We mention this, not for your difcouragement, but that you may not be furprised; for, there may be a fudden turn in your fpiritual affairs: "I faid, my mountain ftands ftrong; but thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled.”

4. Sometimes the night that follows upon the Lord's manifefting himfelf may be darker, and the darkness of it greater than the night they had before their Bethelmanifeftation. Jacob was in a ftrait before the Bethelvifit, through the fear of Efau; but after that kindly vifit, the ftrait was greater, and the night darker, while

he