heart and life: they fhall fee him to be of such infinite perfection, excellence,moral excellence, and glory, that he cannot but be angry with finners, as fuch; and angry with them every day; nor do other ways than act as a conluining fire to the workers of iniquity.

Was this the whole, their feeing God could only wound, diftrefs, diftract, and drive them to hopelesness and despair: for none, in this fenfe, can fee God, and live. But the promife carries in it, their feeing him alfo as gracious. Accordingly, under the influence of it, finners fhall fee God as reconciling the world unto himself, in Jefus Chrift, not imputing to them their trefpaffes; as not only merciful, but juft, in justifying even the ungodly who believe; as acceffable by finners, the chief not excepted; and placable toward them in the way of his appointment by the gofpel: they fhall fee him, as calling, warranting, encouraging, commanding them, whatever they have been, done, deferved, to return to him; as revealing, exhibiting and offering peace and pardon, life and falvation, grace and glory, to the hearers of the gofpel; and declaring his willingness they should be faved, his unwillingness they should perish they fhall fee him as particularly exalted in the difpenfation of eternal life to finners, and wonderfully glorified in their enjoyment of it: they fhall fee him, as ufing every argument for prevailing with men to believe, and to make their calling and election fure: and, to crown all, they Thall fee him as exhibiting his free, gracious, abfolute promife," to work in them the whole good "to pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power," 2 Theff. i.. 11.

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SECT. III.

Another bleffing here promifed, is, "They "thall fear." As the bleffing reprefented in the preceding fection refpects the finner's understanding, fo this has a regard to his affections, the proper feat of fear. Under the influence of this promife, finners fhall be made anxious and thoughtful about falvation; fhall dread the confequence of abiding in their natural ftate; fhall be apprehenfive of perifhing under the load, of divine wrath; fhall become reftlefs, as long as they are far from God, and his righteoufnefs; fhall not be eafy at a distance from Jefus Chrift, the only ordinance of heaven for faving finners; shall forebode a peculiar degree of mifery, in the event of dying in their fins, after all the means, toward their recovery, they have enjoy. ed; shall despair of help from themselves, or other creatures; and may labour under fome degree of uncertainty, that ever the Lord will interpofe in their behalf, or come for their falvation. According to the degrees of this legal fear, they fhall read of no threatening, in the whole book of God, and fhall hear of no terror, in the application of fcripture doctrine, without confidering the whole as addres fed to them. It is in this way that the arrows of the Almighty drink up their fpirits; that the terrors of the Lord make them afraid; that they feel the fentence of death in themfelves; that their confciences are wounded, their peace broken, their falfe hopes overturned, the foundations of their · former reft entirely fapped, and all their wounds made to wear an incurable afpect. Thus far finners my fear, thus far numbers have feared, without going farther, without being faved.

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But, where the Lord has gracious designs upon the foul, he leaves them not in this lurch, forfakes them not in this labyrinth; but makes an evangelical and laving exercife to follow this of a common and legal kind; and makes that law-work conducive toward their future experience of gospel grace. Wherefore, under the influence of this promife, they fhall be made to fear in a filial, as well as in a legal manner; they fhall be put among the children of God, as a neceffary pre-requifite to their having, and exercifing the temper of children; fhall, in confequence of their union to Jefus Christ, have interest in God as their Father, and in all the privileges and bleffings-arifing from that relation, connected with it, and infeparable from it. They fhall belong to his family, not only as creatures, but as renewed and redeemed creatures; not only, as he is the great Parent of mankind, but as he is a God of grace, and Father in Chrift. This endearing relation, as to their enjoyment of the fruits and effects of it, commences at converfion, and continues to eternity: "Ye are all the

children of God (fays the apoftle to the Galatians) by faith in Chrift Jefus," Gal. iii. 26. and, to the Romans, he fpeaks" of the glorious liberty "of the children of God," Rom viii. 21. Befides this tranflation into the family of God by converfion, they fhall, under the influence of this promife, be animated with the Spirit,the living Spirit of Jefus Chrift, as equally neceffary toward the fuitable exercise of this holy fear. For, when the Lord promifes the effect, it implies his promifing likeways the caufe from whence fuch effect can only flow: "And because ye are fons (fays the apoftle, to the believers at Galatia) God hath fent forth the Spirit of his Son into your heart," Gal. iv.

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2

6. Moreover, under the influence of this promife, they fhall have a holy and confcientious refpect to the authority and law of God: "Then fhall I not "be afhamed (fays the pfalmift) when I have a re

fpect unto all thy commandments," Pfal. cxix. 6. They fhall, from a principle of love to God, be tender of offending him, at any time, in any way, to any degree. They fhall be as cautious of incurring fatherly displeasure, or fubjecting themselves to the difcipline of the new covenant, as, under the influence of legal fear, they were of falling under the divine wrath, and bearing the penalty of the covenant of works: they fhall entertain a holy jealoufy and fufpicion of themselves; and, convinced of the deceitfulness and defperate wickednefs of their own hearts, ftudy a habitual watchfulness against backfliding from the Lord, in heart or way: they fhall thence be particularly concerned, that the Lord would "hold up their goings in his " paths, that their footsteps flip not," Pfal. xvii 5. Thus, by Solomon, the holy Ghost represents the man as "happy, that feareth alway," Prov. xxviii. 14. and the man as wretched, who is a stranger to that fear; "For he that trufteth to his own heart, "is a fool," Prov. xxviii. 26.

The laft bleffing mentioned in this promife is, that they "fhall truft in the Lord."-Upon gofpel principles, the object of the finner's truft must be a God in Chrift; a God revealing himself to men, in the person of Chrift, "who is the brightness of "his glory, and the exprefs image of his perfon," Heb. i. 3. in fo much, that "he who hath feen"the Son, hath feen the Father." John xiv. 9.—

I must be a God revealing himself in the doctrine of Christ, which thews the divine perfections, and the harmony of them, in the falvation of finners ;revealing himself in the obedience of Chrift, as in which the divine law, however holy, however extenfive, was magnified and made honourable;and in the death of Chrift, as what Juflice requir ed, and with which Juftice was fatisfied. The object of their truft, is a God well pleafed with finners through Jefus Chrift; pleafed with their perfons, as reprefented by him; and pleased with their performances, as flowing from vital union with him, and influence derived from him; and a God, glorified in the falvation of finners, through the mediation of Chrift; a God, providing, allowing, difpenfing, commanding their falvation in that channel, and doing fo, without the leaft dishonour to any of his perfections, Juftice and Truth themfelves not excepted. David calls pardoned finner S give.thanks at the remembrance of God's ho"linefs;" Pfal. xxx. 4.—and the apostle speaks of God's being juft, and the juftifier of him which "believeth in Jefus," Rom. iii 26. None doubts, that mercy and goodnefs fhine in the difpenfation of grace and glory to finners; but, as the object of their truft, the, 'feemingly jarring, attributes of the Divine Nature, are all reconciled and celebrated in the fame difpenfation.-The righteoufnefs of Jefus Christ, called in fcripture the righteoufnefs of God, is particularly comprehended in this object of truft; our Lord's righteoufnels, being the price of redemption, the condition of falvation, is to be leaned unto, by all who need fuch bieffings, and have no pertonal righteousness, by which to procure them:

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This is the name where with he fhall be called, "The Lord our righteoufnefs," Jer. xxiii. 6. And (fays the apoftle, fpeaking of Jefus Chrift)