Against the finning angels God was fo provoked, that he refolved within himself, and hath kept his refolution ever fince the beginning of the world, and will keep it to all eternity, that he will not fo much as enter into a parley with these creatures, however glorious they once were, nor be reconciled to them upon any terms; yea, that he will hear of no terms, but will revenge himself upon them to all eternity. May not then the hearing of this caufe us to quake and tremble? for why might not the Lord have dealt with us in the fame manner, who were far more wretched and miferable creatures than angels? Surely if a king be fo angry with an offending nobleman, that was once his fpecial favorite, as to banish him from court, and afterwards. hear of no terms of reconciliation with him; would not a footman, or mean fervant, that had offended, when hearing of this, begin to dread and fay, O what will become of me a poor man, when the king treats his peers fo feverely? I may furely defpair of remiffion or reconciliation with him. So, in like manner, we poor clay worms, upon hearing of God's feverity to fallen angels, might have been overwhelmed with fear, if the Bible had not told us, that the Son of God his delights were with the fons of men; that verily he took not on him the nature of angels, but he took on him the feed of Abraham, Heb. ii. 16, and that he gave himself to be a fin offering and facrifice for men! Aftonishing news! Glory to God for thefe glad tidings of great joy!

O admirable love to Adam's rebellious offspring? Haft thou, Lord, paft by angels, and remembered us in our low estate! and in thy infinite compaffion become our furety, to appeafe divine juftice for our heinous fins, when no other facrifice could do it! O what fhall we render to thee for this distinguishing love! Surely our condition in Adam was no better than that of the angels who left their firft eftate. By nature we were in a moft dreadful cafe, lying, like Ifaac, bound on the altar, to be a facrifice to the juftice of God, and the fword of juftice lift up to give the killing blow, until the Son of

God discovered himself as the ram caught in the thick. ets, and calling to justice, hold thy hand, loose them, and bind me in their room; I will be the facrifice for them. In choofing fallen men, and not angels, God gave an amazing inftance of the fovereignty of his grace, that he would be merciful to whom he would be merciful; would pafs by the fuperior nature and choose the inferior; prefer veffels of clay to veffels of gold! What can we fay? Nothing, but wonder at God's free grace! -Unspeakable love! Lord, it had been much if thou hadft provided an angel to mitigate our fufferings in hell, by giving us drops of water to cool our tongue; but that thou fhouldft have condefcended to come and change rooms with us, lie in hell for us, and fuffer the very pains and agonies due to us, is love that paffeth knowledge.

Lord, when I confider thy diftinguifhing pity, and low ftoop, to purchase and recover fuch clods of earth and fin with thy blood and agonies, I am amazed at thy love, confounded at my own ingratitude, and ashamed at the coldness and hardness of my heart! Oh! was Christ willing to change rooms with the like of me, and fhall not I be willing to change rooms with him, and at his demand to part with the filthy rags of my fins, and take on the robe of his righteoufnefs? Ó fhall not this amazing love of Chrift conftrain me to love him again, and live to him that died for me? fhall it not constrain me to think on him? constrain me to clofe with and trust in him? constrain me to commend him? constrain me to hate and avoid his enemy, fin ? constrain me to adhere to Christ's truths and ways? to perfevere in prayer, praife, and holy walking?

Are fallen angels left, and fallen men pitched upon to be the monuments of free grace, to fill up the vacant rooms which angels fell from? What fhall I fay to this, but, even fo, Father, for fo it pleafed thee; let thy fovereign free grace be the eternal fong of both men and angels. Not unto us, not us, but unto thy name be the glory.-Bleffed be God, that I hear this joyful found of

reconciliation with fallen men, and of a treaty of peace carried on with them: The devils never heard, and never fhall hear fuch news. But Oh, if I come not in, and accept of the terms and offers made to me in the gospel, I'll put myself in a worse case than the devils: For it cannot be charged upon fallen angels, as on fallen men, that God was willing to be reconciled to them, and they would not. Now then, when the gofpel treaty is proclaimed, God forbid I be found guilty of refufing his terms, fcorning his offers, and defying his threatnings. O how fhall I escape, if I neglect fo great and wonderful falvation as is tendered to me? Neglect it, Lord, I dare not, I will not. Lo, I come, I accept, I embrace, I take hold of thy covenant, and the feal of it tendered to me: I renounce the old covenant, I break league this day with all thy enemies, I proclaim war against them; I close with Chrift Jefus, both as my righteoufnefs and ftrength: I make a full and free furrender and refignation of myfelf unto the Lord, to be his and his only, in all I am, and in all I enjoy, to be ordered and difpofed of for his glory and fervice. Lord, I am thine; I will not be my own, I will not be the world's, but I'll be thine, thine only, and thine wholly; thine to love thee, serve and obey thee without referve; fince thou wouldst have no nature but mine, I will have no will but thine. I renounce my own will, and take thine for my rule. Lord, I am thine, O fave thou me; and I will trumpet forth the praises of free grace and redeeming love for Amen.

ever.

MEDITATION III.

From PSALM cxlvii. 20. He bath not dealt fo with any nation.

THE nation of Ifrael was fingularly privileged above others; they were taken into covenant with God, they had God's word and ordinances, the means of conver

fion and falvation; they had the gofpel revelation, the knowledge and promifes of the Meffiah.-But we under New Teftament times, and in Britain, are yet more peculiarly privileged with clearer light and discoveries of the Meffiah than the nation of Ifrael had. They lived under a darker and harfher difpenfation of the cove nant of grace by Mofes, whofe firft miracle was the turning of water into blood; but we live under the clearer and sweeter difpenfation of it by Chrift himfelf, whofe first miracle was the turning water into wine, that cheers the heart. The nation of Ifrael were called a people near unto God; but in golpel times we are allowed yet nearer accefs to God than they had. The children of Ifrael were not allowed fo much as to touch the mount on which the Lord came down; the men of Bethfhemifh had not liberty to look into the ark the place of his refidence :-But, behold, we are allowed to take a near view and steady look of a crucified Jefus in the facrament, who is the image of the invisible God, the brightness of his Father's glory, and the exprefs image of his perfon; yea, we have liberty not only to look to him, but alfo to touch him, handle his wounds, embrace his person, and lodge him in our hearts.

The advantage of a clear revelation of a crucified Chrift in the gospel ordinances, and particularly in the Lord's fupper, is an invaluable privilege. If the royal Pfalmift admired the divine goodness in caufing the fun, moon, and ftars to fhine in the firmament for man's behoof, and therefore cries, what is man that God is thus mindful of him? How far greater caufe have we to fay fo, when we obferve how God caufes the Sun of Righteousness to shine fo brightly in the firmament of gofpe! ordinances, and the day spring from on high to visit us with the light of faving knowledge, and of eternal falvation through him ?-Again, if the Pfalmift exalts God's goodness fo much in his giving the beafts of the field, fowls of the air, and fishes of the fea, to be food for man; what ground have we to admire and praise

God's infinite mercy, in giving us the flesh and blood of his own dear Son, to preferve the lives of our fouls! O what rare gospel feafts are these which God allows us in the land wherein we dwell? and, O! how won derfully are they preferved and continued with us, from time to time, by the miraculous working of God's mer cy and power? while others are vifited with cleanness of teeth, and a famine of the word of God. He hath not dealt with every nation as with us.

And, Lord, how distinguishing is thy goodness unto me a most unworthy creature! By thy mercy I was born in a valley of vifion; and I dwell in a lightfome Gofhen, when multitudes of others, in Pagan and Po pish nations, are covered with Egyptian darkness, and fit in the region of the fhadow of death. I hear hea ven's free market days of grace proclaimed, when others have filent Sabbaths; I am invited to a rich ban queting houfe, when others are ftarving for want of the bread of life. O that I could value my mercies aright! It is a great privilege that I am allowed to fpeak to the great God in prayer, and to hear him fpeak to me in his word! But ftill he puts a greater honour upon me, by calling me to enjoy intimate communion and fellowfhip with himself; yea, inviting me to fit down with him at his table, and feaft upon the fruits of Christ's death; and benefits of his purchase !Oh, I am not worthy of the leaft crumb that falls from the chil dren's table, and far lefs of being fet down at the table with the children to eat of their bread, and fhare of the dainties provided for them by their heavenly Father. If Peter, after having feen Chrift's glory and his own vilenefs judged himself unworthy to be in the fame fhip with Chrift, and therefore cried, Depart from me, for I am a finful man; how should I, the chief of finners, adventure to fit at the fame table with him, and feed upon his flesh and blood? Amazing condefcenfion!

O what distinction doth God make among nations, in fending the gofpel to them with clear views and