O wonderful Jefus, that he fhould wash the feet, he knows will be fo foon in the puddle again! But whatever fhould come about, though Satan, through his temptations fhould hurry you into the mire of fin; yet beware of being hurried on the back of that into the depth of defpair; for that is what the devil drives at, that he may make you affront both the law and the gafpel of God at once; that having tempted you to difhonour his name, by breaking his commandments in the law, he may thereupon tempt you to difcredit his grace, by defpairing of any good from him by the promife of the gofpel: therefore, O believer, fee the need of waiting and watching every moment, and the need of the Lord's wafhing and watering every moment, according to the promife, Ifaiah xxvii. 3. "I the Lord do keep it, I will water it every moment." Think not that one washing or watering now will do your businefs; though, through the Lord's fhining upon you, you were in a heaven of joy and confolation this moment, you know not but, through his hiding and withdrawing, you may be in a hell of fin and forrow the next moment; and though our glorious Lord were washing your feet this moment, I cannot promife, but, before the cock crow twice, your feet will be as dirty as ever they were therefore, O wait and depend upon him, for washing and watering you every moment.

O beware of fecurity; for you never got fo much of his grace and fulness one moment, as fhall allow you liberty to flacken your dependence upon him in the next. In this way of waiting upon him, though now you know not what he doth, yet you fhall know hereafter; and he will give you occafion to fee him bring his work, though it fhould be through terrible ways, to an amiable iffue, and give occafion to fay, as Pfalm Ixvi. 5, 6. "Come and fee the works of the Lord; he is terrible in his doings towards the children of men; he turned the fea into dry land, and there did we rejoice in hi." He turned a fea of tribulation into a dry land of confolation; and verfe 10. "Come and hear all ye that fear God, and I will tell what he hath done for my foul." What he doth now, by all the blinks and fhowers,

the

the viciffitudes and changes, the ftorms and calms of your cafe, the dark and myfterious ways he takes you through, he will come, foon or late, afterwards and explain to you, faying, as it is, Pfalm lxxxi. 7. " Thou calledft in trouble, and I delivered thee; I answered thee in the fecret place of thunder; I proved thee at the waters of Meribah."-Ifaiah xlv. 5. "I girded thee, though thou didft not know me.-What I do, thou knoweft not now." It may take fome days or years to explain what he now doth: however little or much you know, perhaps a day of approaching trial will make you know more; a day of death may make you know it bet ter; but the day of glory beft of all. You fhall know hereafter, believer, partly on earth, and perfectly in heaven; graciously in time, and glorioufly thro' eternity.

I fhall now conclude with a word to enemies, to finners, that are yet utter firangers to our Saviour Jefus Chrift. O ye that are defpifers of the Lord of glory, though he hath been fet forth evidently crucified before you at this occafion, What fhall I fay to you? May not I tell thee, O finner, how this text may be applied to you? Chrift is faying even to thee, "What I do, thou knoweft not now; but thou fhalt know hereafter." He hath been doing fomething before your eyes, at this occafion, and you know it not; yea, he hath been do-. ing fomething to you that you do not know and confider; though he hath not been wafhing your feet, yet he hath been offering to wash you, and not your feet only, but your head and hands; for the believer that is wafhed already by regenerating grace, needeth not, fave to wash his feet; but you need that your head and heart be washen, as well as your hands and feet. need to be wafhen from the filthinefs of your state, as well as from the filthinefs of your ways: but whatever washing you need, he hath been offering it, and himself to be the doer of it, faying, "If I wash thee not, thou haft no part in me." And to this moment he is offering himfelf to you, faying, "Wilt thou be made clean ?" Wilt thou let me wash thy heart, and hands, and feet? No, no, fays unbelief; thou fhalt never wash my feet, it

You

is too much for Chrift the Son of God to do; I will wafh myself, and repent, and turn religious against fome other time; for the prefent, I am otherwife taken up. Will you refolve to put no employment in Chrift's hand? Is that the way you treat his kindly offer, when he opens the door of mercy to you, and calls you by this minifter and that minifter, and the other minifter, all telling you, that you fhall be welcome for all your fins, and faying, "Him that cometh, I will in no wife caft out? Be who you will, young or old finner, behold the humble Jefus makes the moft condefcending offer to you, that ever men or angels heard. O filthy finner, will you let me wash you; "For, if I wash you not, you have no part in me," nor ever fhall?

If you are fo wedded to your filthy lufts, that you are not willing to be wafhen from them, I must tell you, that you know not what you are doing, and know not what Chrift is doing; but you shall know hereafter, either in a way of wrath, to your great confufion; or in a way of mercy, to your deep remorse.

1. What he doth by this offer to wash you, you fhall know hereafter to your confufion. Perhaps, when you are gafping for breath upon a death-bed, and conscience awaking, fhall begin to fay, O many a fweet offer of Chrift and mercy did I get, and flighted, and this amongst the rest, when he offered to wash my feet, and I refufed and rejected his offer! You fhall know hereafter, when you shall hear the awful doom pafs against you, "Depart from me, ye curfed, into everlafting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels; and when, with weeping and gnashing of teeth, you fhall fee Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, apoftles, and followers of the Lamb in the kingdom of heaven, and yourfelf fhut out;" and when thou fhalt think and fay, "O "vile wretch that I was, I might have been yonder in "glory; but I was taken up with the vain world, and

my vile lufts, and was unwilling to be wafhen from "them, and now I must be lodged in hell among de"vils and damned reprobates for ever." Oh! think upon this before it be too late!

2. If mercy prevent you after this refufal: What he now doth, you fhall know hereafter to your bitter remorfe. If ever the Lord have mercy on you, and manifeft himfelf to you, oh! how will it go like a fword to your heart, and pierce you to the quick, when he fhall fay, I am Jofeph your brother, whom you fold into Egypt!' I am Jefus your Saviour, whom you flighted! I am he whole cries you contemned, and whofe kind offers you difregarded when I offered to wash your feet, you lifted up your heel against me; and now, "How fhall I put thee among the children?" How fhall I deliver thee, that haft fo undervalued my kindness, and trampled on my blood, wherein I offered to wash you? What a knell will this be to your heart, if he have mercy upon you afterwards: and, O that the bitter remorfe were begun in your bofom this moment, with a wo is me that I have flighted fuch an offer fo long. O! is he faying to the vilet finner in this company, Come and let me wafh you! O then, were your heart saying, Lord, come, and welcome! O come and wash my confcience from the guilt, and my heart from the filth of fin; it were good. Are you cordially willing, and prefently willing, and univerfally willing to be wafhen in his blood from all your filthinefs, and from all your idols? Why then? I hope he is doing fomething upon your heart and will, which, tho' now you cannot underftand, he will explain mercifully in due time; for it is his own promife: What I do, thou knoweft not now; but tbou fhalt know hereafter.

SERMON

CII.

THE GREAT TRUMPET OF THE EVERLASTING GOSPEL.*

ISA. xxvii. 13.

And it fhall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet fhall be blown, and they fhall come which were ready to perifh in the land of Affyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and fhall worship the Lord in bis boly mount at Jerufalem.

MY

Y friends, it is only the trumpet of common providence that hath, perhaps, gathered you together to this place, you hearing the news go through the country, that the facramental feaft was to be kept here, and fo you have come along with the reft; but it is the great trumpet of fpecial powerful grace that can gather perifhing finners together to Chrift, and make them come to him for life and falvation, liberty and redemption from their fpiritual captivity. And, O may the found of this trumpet be fo heard, as many may come to Jefus at this occafion, that they may worthip the Lord fpiritually in his holy mountain!

Thefe words are to be confidered, firft in their literal, and then in their typical and spiritual meaning, in order to deduce a fuitable doctrine from them.

Ift, As to the literal import of the words, they relate to the church of Ifrael that was fcattered, their be

*This Sermon was preached at Abernethy, upon Saturday, Julv 24th, 1736. being the preparation-day before the administration of the facrament of the Lord's fupper.