Ifrael; he crushed the head of the old ferpent that had bruised his heel, and enflaved his elect; and he put all his other enemies to flight!

A ftrange fight you have feen to-day, God coming over the greatest mountains of difficulties, to pardon and fave finners! taking rebels to be his children and favourites; and exalting them above angels that never finned! You have feen the King of Glory courting poor flaves, black Ethiopians, and inviting them with outstretched arms to come and match with him, and fealing the marriage covenant with his blood! You have feen him make a rich feast to them, and welcome them to feed on a crucified Chrift, and all his purchase! Behold the heavenly pelican that feeds his young ones with his blood! How amazing is the fight, that God fhould not only feast, but feal a marriage covenant with you, whofe descent is base, whose perfon is ugly, whofe portion is nothing but difeafes and mifery! O what ftrange fights you have feen to day! you have seen the love of Chrift, the worth of fouls, the price of pardon, an emblem of the higher table, to which many of your friends and acquaintances are gone, where the feaft will never end!

You have feen, to day, a ftrange act of mercy to guilty and ill deferving creatures, who have eat and drunk before the Lord, and yet on them he hath not laid his hand; he hath made no breach upon any, as on Uzzah, Nadab, Abihu, or the men of Bethfhemesh! He hath not struck any dead with the bread in their mouths, or cup in their hands: nor fent any from the table to hell, though you must acknowledge you deferved rather to have had a cup of wrath put in your hand, than a cup of blefling! A ftrange fight! that gofpel offers are still continued to thofe who have abufed many facraments and fermons ! that Chrift fhould be stretching out the fceptre of grace, and offering pardon and mercy to those who have crucified him afresh, and trampled his blood under foot.

Have you feen evidences of gracious changes wrought

on hearts and wills by the word, fecure fouls awakened, blind eyes opened, proud creatures humbled, carelefs finners made to cry, " Away with the world, and "give me Chrift, none but Chrift. I count all things. "but lofs and dung in comparison of Chrift and his " righteousness." Thefe are ftrange fights, with which you should be much affected fo as to hate fin, love Christ, bless God, and glorify him with your hearts, tongues and lives. It is the end of all God's works, that we should glorify him. Oh! the best have reason to lament that they are fo little affected with the marvellous things fet before them in the word and facrament! Surely when you compare the rock whence you are hewn, and that on which God fets you! and when you confider the low ftoop Chrift has made to purchase. fuch clods of earth and fins with his blood, you have cause to be amazed at his love, and confounded at your own ingratitude, in being fo little affected with his mar vellous loving kindnefs, or melted for fin that was the caufe of all his fufferings! O let the ftrange and wonderful tokens of Chrift's love, you have been feeing and fharing of in the facrament, engage you to more thankfulness in heart and life. Have you been wafhing your robes white in the blood of the Lamb? Be careful to keep them clean, and do not defile them again in the mire of fin; remember your vows, and keep your face ftill towards your Father's houfe, which is a pure and undefiled dwelling: you cannot take filthy hands or feet thither, for no unclean thing enters there, Pfal. xciii. 5. Holiness becometh thine house, O Lord, for ever.

ADVICE XXII.

From Luxe vi. 21. Bleffed are ye that hunger now, for ye ftall be filled

IN Scripture, hunger and thirst, when applied to fpiritual things, imports the fame thing, to wit, a ftrong. defire after fpiritual and heavenly good things; which

defire implies fpiritual life, a feeling fenfe of want, and a longing for food to the foul, together with the ufe of all proper means to obtain it. Now, the main object of this hunger or thirst is Jefus Chrift, or God in Chrift, Pfal. xlii. 1, 2. lxiii. 1. Now there are many things in Chrift which the hungry foul doth defire; as, 1. Chrift's blood as the foul's ranfom and cleansing fountain. 2. Chrift's Spirit, as the foul's quickener, comforter, and guide. 3. Chrift's righteoufnefs, as the foul's clothing and protection. 4. Chrift's word, as the foul's daily food and cordial. 5. Chrift's fupper, as the foul's feaft and pledge of heaven. 6. Chrift's grâces, as the foul's riches and ornaments. 7. Chrift's way, or holiness in heart and life, as the foul's path to heaven. 8. Chrift's day, as the foul's weekly market day, for getting in provifions neceffary for working, journeying, fighting, &c. 9. Chrift's manfions above, as the soul's dwelling place for eternal communion with God and his faints. Now, if ye would be truly bleffed, ye muft hunger and thirft for these things, firmly believing that in thefe your true happiness doth lie, and not in the world of fenfual things.

Again, fee that your hunger be of the right kind, that it be infatiable, fo that nothing can put it off or fatisfy it but Christ: the truly hungry foul will not be pleafed with the best duties, ordinances, minifters, fermons, facraments, or any thing without Chrift. The hungry foul will adventure on the greateft difficulties for Chrift; he will part with any thing for him: All the treasures, honours, mufic, or comforts of life, cannot fatisfy him, none but Chrift the foul's food. True hunger will put him upon the ufe of all means, and make him content to take Christ on any terms, and put a blank in his hand, and fay, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? I'll fubfcribe to any thing, only give me Christ, give me food to my starving foul.

Such hungry fouls are bleffed, because he hath promifed to fatisfy and fill them. It is God that creates the appetite and excites the hunger, and therefore he

will fatisfy it. The hungry are the most earnest and importunate beggars at the throne of grace; and fuch he hath promifed to hear, Luke ii. 9. The hungry will wait at God's door for an alms, and he promises that those who wait for him fhall not be afbamed, Ifa. xlix. 23. The proud, the rich, the full, and felf-righteous will go away, if the door be not prefently opened, but the hungry will ask, frek, knock, and knock again, and wait till God think fit to open and grant an alms. Thefe God is bound by his word to fatisfy. He is their Father, and hath the bowels of a father to pity his chil dren. He hears the ravens and young lions when they cry, and feeds them, and will he not hear his own children, and fill their hungry fouls? Yea, he hath promifed it.

But what is that fill he promifes to the hungry? Anf. He fills them with divine difcoveries, as with the knowledge of God's greatnefs and majesty, fo as to make them fenfible of their own nothingness! and with the knowledge of God's goodness and free love to finners in Chrift, fo as to make them fall into raptures of admiration, and cry, Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity? Micah vii. 18 He fills them with

a difcovery of the excellency of the gofpel remedy for perishing fouls, fo as to make them fay it is a device every way worthy of God. Chrift's Mediatory offices, his covenant, his righteousness, his blood, his purchase, and fulness, do nobly answer all our fouls' wants and neceffities they deliver us from fin and mifery, and they bring us grace and glory. He fills his hungry people with gofpel promifes, by letting them fee their name in them, and giving them faith to take hold of them and apply them. Many a fweet fill do they get from fuch promifes as thefe, Jer. xxxii. 40. Ezek. xxxvi. 26, 28. Jer. iii. 22. 1 John ii. 1. Rom. xvi. 20. Heb, xiii. 5. He fills them with the intimations of the pardon of their fins, and with peace and joy in believing, Rom. xv. 10. fo as to banish their doubts and fears. What a fweet fill doth Chrift's voice give them, such

as that in Matth. ix. 2. Luke xxiv. 36, 38. John xiv. 27. Rom. viii. 1. He fills them with refolution and ftrength to conquer fin, perform duties, refift temptations, and bear afflictions: when he fpeaks to them as to Paul, 2 Cor. xii. 9. or as in Ifa. xli. 10. and xlii. 2. He fills them by giving them fweet returns of prayer, affurance of his love, and of his gracious prefence with them. He fills them by making over Chrift's fulhefs and purchase to them, and by giving thein Pifgah views of the promised land, and will at last fill them with glory.

It is only the hungry that shall be filled, the needy, the humble, and felf-denied, for the rich are fent empty away, Luke i. 53. the rich, that is thofe who are filled with a conceit of their own ftrength and fufficiency, their gifts and performances, and go about to establish a righteoufnefs of their own, and fee not their need of Christ. These fhall go empty away, for they do not prize Christ, nor are willing to come up to his terms. They go away empty of Christ and his riches; but alas, they go away filled with pride and self-conceit, filled with love to fin, love to the world, and love to their own righteoufnefs. Oh this is a miferable fill!

O hungry fouls, blefs God that gives you this appetite when others are rich and full in their own conceit, labour to preserve this appetite, and wait about God's house and table, where foul food is to be had; and blefs him even for the smalleft crumbs, as when he gives you a greater hatred of fin, a higher efteem of Chrift, a great defire after heart holiness, a restlesness without Chrift, a willingness to part with all for Chrift, or ftronger refolutions to cleave to Chrift and duty. Thefe crumbs are worthy of thanks, though you be not filled with joy and peace in believing. Wait on the Lord, and wait for him in every ordinance and duty of his appointment, believing him to be faithful who hath faid, They fhall not be afhamed who wait for me.

Object. Some may fay, We have waited long, and have not got a crumb. Anf. Some eminent faints have