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like the Gadarenes, they would be well content that Chrift were quite departed out of our coafts, that they might with freedom enjoy their fwinish lufts; and indeed he seems to be taking his leave of us. But O, what will follow upon his departure? "Wo, wo, alfo unto them, when I depart from them." See what comes of the vineyard of the Lord of hofts, If. v. from the beginning, when he departs he takes away the hedge, &c.

11thly, Is in a word of exhortation. Is it fo that Chrift is a Plant of renown raised up by JEHOVAH? Then let all that bear the name of Chrift, efpecially you who have been entertained at his table, and tafted of his special love and goodness, study to answer God's defign, in raifing up for us this Plant of renown.

Take this in the following particulars, with which I conclude. (1.) Sit down, and reft your weary fouls, under the fhadow of this renowned Plant, after the example of the spouse, Cant. ii. "I fat down under his fhadow with great delight." When you find no rest in the world, by reafon of temptations, afflictions, and the working of indwelling corruption, and when you are crying, "O tell me where he maketh his flocks to reft," let your recourse be ay to the Plant of renown, for to him "fhall the Gentiles feek, and his reft shall be glorious." (2.) I invite you to come and behold the glory and beauty of the Plant of renown: "O look unto him, and be faved, all ye ends of the earth." God the Father thinks fo meikle of this Plant of his own raifing, that he invites the whole world to behold him as the delight of his very foul, If. xlii. 1. "Behold my Servant whom I uphold, mine Elect in whom my foul delighteth." It is by beholding of his glory, that the work of fanctification, and conformity to the divine image, and the life of religion is maintained and i kept up, 2 Cor. iv. laft. "All we beholding, as in a glass, the glory of the Lord, are changed into the fame image. (3.) Come and feed upon the fruit of this Plant of renown; "For his flesh is meat indeed, and his blood is drink indeed." You have been at his table, and perhaps got a meal there, but, Sirs, you would be continually feeding upon him." You fee, in the clofe of the verfe, this Plant is raised up to be food to the hungry; "I will raife him up for them, and they fhall hunger no more," or be confumed with hunger no more; and therefore be ay feeding upon his fruits, for they are "sweet to the taste, and make the lips of them that are afleep, to speak, like the best wine that goeth down fweetly," &c. (4.) Whenever you find yourfelves wounded by temptation, or corruption, or the world, come to the Plant of re

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nown for healing, for his "leaves are for the healing of the nations." You have a fweet promife to this purpose, Mal. iv. 2. "To you that fear my name hall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye fhall go forth, and grow up as calves of the ftall," &c. (5.) Let me exhort you, in your fphere, minifters and private Chriftians, and I would fain take home the exhortation to myfelf. O let us all join iffue with the Father of Chrift, in ftudying to raise up this Plant of renown, and to make him more and more renowned, this will be the ambition, and refolution, and endeavour, of all that know him. Pfal. xlv. at the clofe, fays the church there, "I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations, therefore fhall the people praife thee, O Lord, for ever and ever." Let us (that are minifters) preach and proclaim his righteousness and renown, and the glory of his perfon, in the great congregation. And you (that are the people) O ftudy to commend him by your walk and talk, and the holiness of your converfation, upon all occafions; and, when his caufe and intereft in the land is in fuch a finking condition, let us take a lift of it. Let us lie at a throne of grace, pleading, that he would not forfake the land; but that he would yet return, and be "the glory in the midst of us," Zech. ii. 5.

GOD'S DOVES FLYING TO HIS WINDOWS.

Is. Ix. 8.-Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as doves to their windows?

IN

N the last verse of the preceding chapter, God had made a promise of the continuance of the church upon earth to the uttermoft ages of time: "As for me, this is my covenant," &c. Here, in the beginning of this chapter, we have a promife concerning the enlargement of the church under the New Testament, unto the uttermoft ends of the earth: Ver. 3. 4. "And the Gentiles fhall come to thy light, and kings to the brightnefs of thy rifing. Lift up thine eyes round about, and fee; all they gather themfelves together,

they

they come to thee, thy fons fhall come from far, and thy daughters fhall be nurfed at thy fide." We are likewife told, how the church fhall be affected with this increase of her numbers and enlargement of her borders. (1.) She will be in a tranfport of joy upon this account; ver. 5. "Thou shalt fee and flow together," &c. (2.) There will be a mixture of fear with this joy; "Thine heart fhall fear," as though it were a thing unlawful to join with the Gentiles, &c. (3.) She fhall be enlarged with love, fo as to leave room for all the Gentile converts. (4.) She shall be struck with surprise and wonder, faying, Who are thefe that fly? &c.

Where four things are confiderable. 1. We have a sweet fight that the Old Teftament church gets of the state of matters under the New Teftament, upon the revelation of Christ in the gospel among the Gentiles. Why, fhe fees poor fouls upon the wing, in great multitudes, flying to a Saviour; and a fweeter fight cannot be feen upon earth, &c. 2. Notice the manner of their flight; they fly as a cloud, and as doves : Of which more particularly afterward, when we come to profecute the doctrine. 3. Notice the term or object of their flight; they fly to the windows for their relief. Like the windows of the ark of Noah, whereat the dove entered, when fhe could find no place for the fole of her foot, because of the deluge. 4. Notice the pleasant furprise that the prophet or the Old Testament church is put into at this fight. This is implied in the manner of the fpeech, (Who are these?) She is ftriken with a pleasant astonishment, to fee the finners of Gentiles," aliens to the commonwealth of Ifrael, ftrangers to the covenant of promife," flocking in to Chrift; Chrift preached unto the Gentiles, and the Gentiles believing in Christ, being a branch of the great mystery of godlinefs, 1 Tim. iii,

and last.

Ors. That the flight of finners to a Saviour is a sweet and furprifing fight. Who are these that fly as a cloud? &c. The method, through divine affiftance fhall be,

I. To fpeak a little of this flight of the finner to Chrift, and fhew what it imports.

II. I would fpeak a little of the manner of their flight: They fly as a cloud, and as doves. What may be couched in thefe metaphors.

III. Speak a little of thefe windows to which they fly.
IV. Shew that this is a sweet and furprising fight.
V. Apply the whole,

I. The first thing is, to speak a little of the flight of a finner to Chrift, the Saviour.

ift, Then, This flight fuppofes that fome spiritual life and fenfation is given to the finner; for there can be no flying without life. The finner is by nature dead in fin, legally dead, and fpiritually dead; Eph. ii. 1. "You hath he quickened, who were dead in trefpaffes and fins." The Spirit of life that is in Chrift Jefus enters into the dead foul, and quickens, and gives it at least a fenfation of its cafe, otherwife there can be no flying to Chrift.

2dly, This flight fuppofes or implies an apprehenfion and fear of danger from a pursuing enemy. The poor soul is made to fee danger from the broken law, danger from the fword of justice, the avenger of blood, and thereupon he falls a-trembling, like the jailor, "Sirs, what must I do to be faved," &c.

3dly, This flight of the foul to Chrift implies a renunciation of relief from thefe lying refuges, in which it had formerly been trufting. The man, in flying to Chrift, renounces an empty profeffion, his common gifts, his common graces, his gofpel advances, his law works, his own holiness and righteoufnefs, his tears and prayers; his righteousness cannot profit him, therefore he cries out, "Afhur fhall not fave us; we will not ride upon horses, neither will we fay any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods; for in thee the fatherlefs findeth mercy," Hof. xii. 3. "In vain is falvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains; truly in the Lord our God is the falvation of his people."

4thly, It implies a difcovery and uptaking of Christ, and of his falvation, as he is held out in the gofpel. A beam of divine light fhines into the heart, "even the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face (or perfon) of Jefus Chrift," whereby the man fees him to be indeed what the gospel reprefents him to be, a nonfuch and incomparable Saviour; one that is the "Man of God's right hand," Pfal. lxxx. 17.; "the Man who is God's fellow," Zech. xiii. 7. and therefore mighty to fave, &c.

5thly, This flight of the foul to Chrift implies the foul's hearty approbation of Chrift, and of the way of falvation through Chrift, as an ordinance of God calculate for his glory, as well as for his own fafety and happiness. O, fays the man, "It is indeed a faithful faying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Chrift Jefus came into the world to fave finners."

I fee this method of falvation through the new and

living way to be every way worthy of the wisdom of God? and calculate for the manifestation of the glory of his holiness, juftice, fovereignty, faithfulness, and every other attribute of God, that was lefed by the fin of man: Therefore the man approves of it with his foul, and bleffes God that ever found out fuch a device, &c.

6thly, This flight has in it a ftrong and ardent defire to be at this Saviour, and to be found in him. "O that I knew where I might find him!" O to be washed with his blood, clothed with his righteousness, fanctified by his Spirit!" Yea, doubtlefs (fays Paul), I count all things but loss, that I may win Chrift, and be found in him," &c.

7thly, It implies a hope of winning him, and of being sheltered and faved in him; for, if there be no hope of safety, the man will never flee, and this hope is founded upon the defign of the incarnation, &c. the defign of the revelation of him in the word, &c. the gracious grant made of him in the word, &c. the free promise of life and pardon through him, &c. the calls, and offers, and commands of God to come to him, and the redemption that others have met with, &c.

8thly, A refting and trufting in him, and in him alone, for righteoufnefs, life, peace, pardon, and falvation, to himself in particular. The man does not fimply believe that Chrift is a Saviour, and that falvation is to be had in him for the elect, or for believers, but he believes in him and on him for his own falvation, Acts xv. 11. "We believe (or we are perfuaded), that, through the grace of the Lord Jefus Chrift, we fhall be faved even as they." We find faith or trust in fcripture commonly expreffed in words of appropriation and application. The man looks upon Chrift as given and offered by God in the gofpel; and he says, with Thomas, "My Lord, and my God;" or with Paul, "He loved me, and gave himfelf for me; he is our Lord Jefus Chrift." He looks to the God and Father of Chritt, and fays, "He is my God, and my Father, and the Rock of my falvation," &c. He looks to the covenant of grace and promife fealed with a Redeem. er's blood, and cries with David, "This is all my falvation, that he has (in Chrift, made or established) with me an everlafting covenant, ordered in all things, and fure." I own indeed that this applying faith is not alike strong in all believers, or yet alike ftrong in the felf fame believer at all times; for fad experience makes it evident, that the confidence of faith may be fadly fhaken and staggered through unbelief, temptation, and defertion, as to cry out fome times, "Is his mercy clean gone? Hath God forgotten to be gracious; I am caft

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