. rife up as violently as ever: A luft that lay long dead may revive again, and therefore you little need to be secure, but much need to be fober and watchful, and still going on in the warfare, ftill depending on the Lord for new fupplies of ftrength against new affaults. After one victory obtained, make ready for battle immediately; when fomething is done, look to the Lord to do more: After one stroke, seek another to be given for it is by little and little the victory is obtained. Think not ftrange, therefore, though the nations rally their forces again and again, and be not difcouraged thereupon; but learn a daily, momentary, clofe and conftant dependence upon the captain of falvation, the Lord Jefus Chrift, that through him you may do valiantly. It is be that girdeth you with firength, and fubdues the nations under you. 8. In order to purfue the nations to death, purfue the claim you have to the victory over them, in the use of all appointed means, with an entire dependence upon the Lord; not depending upon means, nay, nor yet depending upon fenfible manifeftations, nor relying even upon the graces of the fpirit, but upon the God of all grace; pleading your right and claim, by virtue of the divine promife, faying, Lord, haft thou not interpofed thy faithfulness, thy word, thy oath; and is not thy promise sealed, fealed by the blood of Chrift, fealed in the facrament of the fupper? Haft thou not faid, Solomon fhall reign? though now, behold, Adonijah ufurps the throne: Haft thou not faid, grace fhall reign, and Sin fhall not have the dominion? Behold how it ufurps. Well, put him to his word, and purfue your claim. Surely the Lord will not deny deny himself, nay, JEHOVAH-JIREH, In the mount of the Lord it shall be feen: Though you have no ftrength, no might against this great multitude; yet let your eyes be towards him, who is mightier than the noife of many waters, and who hath wrapt in your intereft with his own glory, his own faithfulness and truth. Let your difficulties be never fo great, your enemies never fo many, and their power never fo invincible; it is not you they have to do with, but Chrift: And can any thing be too hard for him? Wait on thy God continually who hath here promised to accomplish the warfare gradually; The Lord thy God will put out these nations before thee by little and little. The rainbow of the covenant furrounding the throne of grace. BEING The fubftance of fome SERMONS preached at the facrament of Muckart, June 23, 1728. By the Rev. Mr. EBENEZER ERSKINE. REV. iv. 3. And there was a rainbow round about the throne, in fight like unto an emerald. No WOT to ftand in the entrance of this difcourfe, we may observe here three things, which John faw in the vifion. ft, A Throne fet in heaven, in the clofe of the fecond verfe. 2dly, The glorious majefty that fat on the throne, who was like a fafper and Sardine ftone for brightness. 3dly, The canopy of the throne, a rainbow round about it in colour like an emerald. I understand the whole of this to have a refpect immediately to the church militant here upon earth, and the glorious difpenfation of the grace of God under the new-teftament œconomy; and that which inclines me to understand it in this view is because this is prophetical, and has a refpect to things that that were to be done afterward, as you fee in the firft verfe. Come up hither, and I will fhew thee things that must be hereafter, that is, things which are to be tranfacted in the church in the fucceed 1 ing ages and generations of the world; and therefore by the throne here that was fet in heaven, I understand the throne of grace, to which we are invited to come with boldness for grace and mercy to help in time of need, Heb. iv. 16. The throne which hath justice fatisfied and judgment executed upon the fon of God, for its bafis and foundation, Pfal. xxxix. 14. The throne of God and of the Lamb, from which proceeds a pure river or water of life, clear as chryftal, Rev. xxii. 1. And this throne is faid to be fet in heaven, not as if God's throne of grace were only in heaven properly fo called; for we find the church militant on earth frequently expreffed by heaven in fcripture, Heb. xii. 20. She is called the heavenly Jerufalem, to wit, the church, Pet. ii. 2. the heavenly nation; and therefore by heaven here, we may understand the church of God in general: and it is fo called to fhew that the hearts of believers even while here upon earth, are in heaven, they are defiring a better country, that is an heavenly, and when they addrefs a throne of grace, they have their eyes upon an exalted Chrift, who is fet down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, and his miniftry in the heavenly fanctuary. By him that fits on the throne, I understand Chrift or God in our nature, not excluding the Father and the Holy Ghost; for it is the throne of God and of the Lamb. Ezek. i. 26. we have the fame defcription of a throne in a vifion, and we are told that above upon the throne was the appearance of a man, which can be applied to none other than the man Ii4 Chrift Chrift Jefus; and there is no doubt but it is the fame throne and the fame perfon fitting on it, that was feen both by Ezekiel and the apostle As for his posture, he is reprefented as fitting up the throne. This points at the perpetuity of his government, that he is in the quiet poffeffion of it, it being for ever out of the power of his enemies to difturb his adminiftration. We are told here further, that his appearance upon the throne was like a Jasper and a Sardine ficne. Thefe ftones being unknown to us, we shall not take up time in telling you what is faid about them by naturalifts and fome curious interpreters, only we are told, in fhort, the Jafper is a bright tranfparent ftone, reprefenting to the eye a variety of the moft vivid or lively colours; the Sardine is faid to be red. The Scope is plainly this, to point out the admirable and inconceivable glory and excellency of an exalted Chrift. Such is the brightness of the Father's glory fhining in him, now when he is upon the throne, that all the precious things on earth put together, are but faint fhadows and reprefentations of his divine glory and excellency; The brightnefs of the Jafper and the rednefs of the Sardine ftone are put together, to fhew that he is white and red, white in his divine, red in his human nature, white in his holiness, red in his fuffering; the bright and glorious perfections of God fhining through the rent vail of his human nature, do as it were receive a tincture of red from the vail through which they are transmitted, Ifa. lxiii. 1. he is faid to be glorious, and yet red in his apparel, and his appearance in the midst of the throne is as it were of a Lamb flain, having the fprinkling of his blood about him, which was fhed upon mount Calvary, |