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Another part of his name is, Rom. iv. 17. " The God that quickens the dead, and calls the things that are not as though they were." Now, O dead and lifelefs foul! if you have but ears to hear this gofpel, do you know that this is the name of God? I afk not, if you think and fancy fo; but do you know and believe that he is the God that quickens the dead, and quickens whom he will, and is able to quicken you? Do you know and believe that he is the God that calls things that are not, as though they were: who with his bare word can give a being to that which is nothing, and create light and life, where there was nothing but darknefs and death, faying, "Let there be light :" let there be life? Now, if you know your own name to be darknefs and death; and if you know this name of the Lord to be, The Lord of light and life; the God that quickens the dead; then I know there will be fome ftirring among the dead and dry bones and hearts here: "Ye fhall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, and shall put my Spirit in you, and ye fhall live," Ezek. xxxviii.

13, 14.

There is no room then for any to object, Why is the minifter calling us all to come to Chrift, and take of this water of life? How can one come to Chrift for life, that hath no life enabling him to come? Indeed, I could not well anfwer that, if it were only the word of the minifter that was calling: but he calls you who hath the words of eternal life, and whofe word creates life, whofe word recovers life, whofe word maintains life, whofe word perfects life, quickening whom he will to everlafting life, and whofe words are Spirit and life; infomuch, that one drop of this river of the water of life, mixed with this word, will make it a life-giving word: Therefore, in his great name, who fays, "I am the refurrection and the life, he that believeth on me, tho' he were dead, yet fhall he live;" in his name and authority, we fay, O dead and dry bones, rife and live; for, the God that quickens the dead calls you. O lame and difeafed fouls, that cannot ftir, rife and come, for the Lord of life calls you. O dead finner, dead Lazarus, that hath been fo long rotting

rotting in the grave of fin and floth, come forth, come forth; for he that is the refurrection and the life calls you. However long or fhort time you have been dead in fins and trefpaffes, and ftinking in that filthy fepulchre, yet if there be any ftream of the water of life running from the throne this moment, any motion of the living Spirit about your heart, then a quickening voice from the throne of God and of the Lamb is calling you. Words without power will not do with you; the words of men and angels cannot give you the leaft degree of life, nor quicken that dead heart of yours; but," Where the word of a king is, there is power." Rife then, dying, drooping foul, the Mafter calls you. The King of glory, that fits upon the Father's throne, is fpeaking to you, and saying, Rife up, my love, my fair one, and come away:" however foul and filthy, black and ugly in thy felf. Lo! "The winter is past, and the rain is over and gone;" the ftorm of divine wrath, that should have fallen on thee for ever, is over thy head, and hath fallen on my head, when I fwate in the garden, and hang upon the crofs; and now I have mounted my Father's throne, to draw thee up to me, and to fend down my Spirit as the river of life, to run into thy heart, and quicken thee to hear my voice, and anfwer my call. call. Come then, though you see yourself black like hell, and like a devil; "Rife my love, my fair one, and come away. Come with me from Lebanon; from the lions dens, and mountains of leopards." Come away from this vain world, this vile world, this venomous and viperous world; come and fhare of my grace in time, and my glory for ever after time." Bleffed are they that hear his voice, and open to him.. If the river of life that proceeds out of the throne of God and of the Lamb be running thro' any heart here, the work is done, life is begun, and open doors are made for the King of glory: if it be otherwise, I have no more to fay, but, Glory to God and the Lamb, that "As many as were ordained to eternal life fhall believe," and live for ever.

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SERMON

XCIX.

THE COMER'S CONFLICT: Or, The BEGINNER'S BATTLE with the DEVIL, when effaying to come to CHRIST by Faith *.

LUKE ix. 42.

And as he was yet a-coming, the Devil threw him down,

and tare bim.

HERE is the hiftory of Chrift's healing a lunatic child, whofe father came to the difciples, and they could not cure him; and now he cometh to Christ. As we ought to come to Chrift ourselves for healing, fo we ought to bring our children to him; and when fervants and other means can do us no good, we ought to go to the mafter, and look over the head of all ministers and fervants. After Christ had reproached the difciples for their unbelief, he gives the_poor man an encouraging word concerning his fon; "Bring thy fon hither," ver. 41. Bring him to me. We ought to bring our fons and our daughters to Chrift; to bring our difeafes and all our various cafes to Chrift. But after this encouragement, follows a trial in the text: As be was yet a-coming, the Devil threw him down and tare bim.

In which words we have three things obfervable, namely,

* This Subject was handled in two Difcourfes: The firft was delivered at an evening exercise, on Saturday, July 19. 1735. before the celebration of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, at Kinglaffic, on the 20th. The fecond was preached on the Monday, after the administration of that ordinance,

1. An excellent duty; that is, coming to Chrift. 2. An eminent trial and heavy difpenfation that befel the comer; The devil threw him down and tare bim.

3. The time and jun&ture when this heavy trial and great affliction befel him, namely, As he was yet a-coming.

Hence we may obferve the three following particu

lars.

(1.) The best courfe that any can take for relief from whatever afflicts them, is to come to Jefus the Savi

our.

(2.) They who come to Chrift for help, will be an eye-fore to hell and the devil; he will be fure to fly upon

them.

(3.) They who come to Chrift for help and healing, though they may be fure he will help and heal them, yet they may find their cafe worse, before the relief come; they may be thrown down, and torn, as it were, to pieces by the way. Or thus, Chrift may undertake to deliver people, and yet their diftrefs may grow upon

their hand before their deliverance come. Here is Chrift's undertaking, "Bring him hither to me." Here is the perfon coming with hope of deliverance, he is on his way coming to Jefus; and yet, behold, here is a dreadful dafh, a mighty trial to faith and hope, both in the father and fon: yea, after he was come to the phyfician, and the healing word fpoken, as you fee, Mark ix. 25, 26. where this fame hiftory is recorded, with other circumstances, "The fpirit cried, and rent him fore, before he came out of him, and fo he was as one dead, infomuch, that many faid, He is dead."

Well then, the doctrinal obfervation, we would incline. briefly to profecute from thefe words, may be framed as follows.

Decr. That people, who come to Christ, and whom he undertakes to heal and help, may have their dif tress growing on their hand, before the deliverance come, which yet will certainly come.

SER. XCIX. It is in this cafe, as it was with Ifrael in Egypt, "God faw their affliction," and undertook to come and fave them; and yet, behold, before their deliverance comes, their bondage becomes heavier than before.The darkest time of the night may be before day-break. Thus it was with Ifrael, in returning from Babylon, to rebuild the temple in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah. The king gives commandment to go and build; God ftirs up the civil authority to give encouragement to them but quickly the haters of Zion, mifreprefenting the work, procure an order to cause them defift from it. This doctrine then is verified both with relation to God's public work towards a church, and his particular work on the fouls of his people, as you fee it was with the ruler of the fynagogue, Mark v. 23. that applied to Chrift in behalf of his daughter at the point of death, that he might come and heal her. Chrift went with him; but fee what fad news he gets from his house, "Trouble not the Mafter, for your daughter is dead," ver. 35. And now they looked upon the matter as hopelefs, tho' yet Chrift was on his way to fave her.

The method we would lay down, for the farther profecuting this fubject, through fupernatural aid, fhall be the following.

I. We will speak a little of coming to Chrift.

II. Enquire in what refpects matters may grow worfe with people, even when they are thus coming to Chrift.

III. Enquire into the reasons whence it is that people who come to Christ for help, and whom he undertakes to help, may find their diftrefs grow before their deliverance come.

IV. Make fome Application of the whole.

I. We are to speak a little of coming to Chrift.— There are only two things I would obferve here.

1. Coming to Christ imports a view that vain is the help of man; vain is the help of the creatures; vain is the help of minifters, means, and ordinances of themfelves. Thus it was here with the father of the child;

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