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shall be seasonably and suitably supplied out of his treasures. They never faw the prince, they know nothing of his treasures, but by the teftimony of his word fent to them. The heralds commend the prince, they aver it is the fureft way of fupply to these who are poor. Some of these poor count these things idle tales, and go their way, one to his day-labour, to earn a penny, another to the begging through the country. When the supply comes to the country, have these any ground to expect a share? No; they did not believe his proclamation. But as for those who were fo foolish in the eyes of their neighbours, but fo truly wife, as to believe the proclamation, and venture their fupply upon an unfeen provider, and an unseen treasure, it lies on his truth and honour to fee them abundantly fupplied. I fhall no further apply this, than to fay, that God's truth and honour is most undoubted fecurity: Rom. ix. 33. " As it is written, Behold, I lay in Zion a ftumbling stone, and rock of offence; and whofoever believeth on him fhall not be afhamed."

To conclude, think not that I have been teaching you to prefume, nay, but to draw near with a true heart, in the full affurance of faith; not to lay aside humility, for the greateft humility is to deny ourfelves, and obey the call of God, though it be an high calling. It is not humility, but unbelief, which is the fpring of the true heart's doubtings in drawing near to God. They are but warts and moles in the face of Chrift's bride, and fo far mar her beauty; though he does not caft her off for them, if faith do but peep, as it were, out among the crowd of these deformities, as if fhe could fee only with one eye: Song, iv. 9. "Thou haft ravished my heart, my fifter, my spouse; thou hait ravished

ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck." Matth. xiv. 31. “ And immediately Jefus ftretched forth his hand, and caught him, and faid unto him, O thou of little faith! wherefore didft thou doubt?" The rule is, "According to thy faith, fo be it unto thee." So little faith, little comfort; but, what is worse, little faith, little fanctification. Amen.

THE

THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED *.

SERMON XXXVI.

HEB. X. 22.-Let us draw near with a true heart, in full affurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil confcience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

IT

T is by no means only at a communion-table that we are to draw near to God, but also in all other parts of his worship; yea, in the whole of our converfation we must be drawing near, and keeping near to God, till we at length appear before him in heaven: I say keeping near; for certainly, the text points not merely to a drawing near, just for a start, and away again; but it is to draw near to the house over which Chrift is set, as a house where we are to abide; and it is such a drawing near, fo as not to draw back.

You may remember, I told you, drawing near to God is by faith, and that this lies principally in three things. 1. Accepting God as our God in Christ. 2. Claiming God for our God in Christ.

* Delivered, June 1715.

3. Improving, according to our neceffities, for time and eternity, the intereft in God thus clained. Ye have had two directions offered for the right managing of this: 1. That you fhould draw near with a true heart; 2. With full affurance of faith; which I explained to confift in, (1.) Taking God for your God in Chrift, without doubting of your welcome; (2.) Claiming God in Chrift as your God, without doubting of your title; (3) Improving your intereft claimed, without doubting of fuccefs. I fpoke upon the first of these three largely, namely, the taking God for your God in Chrift, without doubting of your title. Upon the other two, little was faid. I fhall now speak to a cafe which I fhall propofe, and fo proceed.

Cafe. How fhall I know that I have drawn near to God in Christ with a true heart, and fincerely taken him for my God in Chrift? Anfw. The difference between the true and false, heart in this point, may be difcerned in the following particulars, viz.

1. The falfe heart draws near to God, as a neighbour only, as it were, to pay a visit, stays a little, and then goes its way again: Ifa. xxvi. 16. "Lord, in trouble have they vifited thee; they poured out a prayer when thy chaftening was upon them." The hypocrite never takes up his everJaffing reft in God. Though he leaves his own house to come to the houfe of God, yet he leaves - his heart behind him; and fo he cannot stay. With the mixed multitude who came out of Egypt, Num. xi. 5. "They remember the fish which they did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick ;" and they found the retreat to go back from whence they came.

2. The true heart draws near to God in heaven, VOL. II.

A a

as

as the new-married wife comes home to her hufband's houfe to dwell there all her days, never to go back again to her father's houfe: Pfal. cxvi. 7. "Return to thy reft, O my foul! for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee." It was a cuftom among the ancient Greeks, to burn, at the bridegroom's door, the axle-tree of the coach in which the bride came home, to fhew fhe was never again to go away; and if ye have drawn near to God with a true heart, taking him for your God in Chrift, I will not fay, that the axle-tree of the chariot in which you came to God is as yet burnt to afhes, but fure I am, there is a fire fet to it; and if it is once fet in a flame at the door of the houfe of your new Hufband, it is fo because you had no mind to go again back. And whether this be fo or not, you will know,

(1.) By the fmoke which will be rifing there. There will be a threefold smoke rifing at the door of the houfe you have come to, if the axle-tree be on fire, and you have determined not to go back again to your former house.

[1.] There will be the fmoke of fear as to drawing back. I mean not a faithless fear, which feizes thofe who look to the duties to which they are bound, but not to the ftrong God, whofe ftrength is engaged by covenant to his people, for the performance of them. This is the fear which takes heart and hand from people, making the heart quaver, like a candle burnt to the focket, till at last it expires with a stench. This is the fmoke of a fire from hell, blown up with hard thoughts of God, and of the fweet yoke of Chrift, Matth. xxv. 24. 25. Rev. xxi. 8. It is the forerunner of apoftafy; but there is a fear of circumfpection in the true heart, in oppofition to that felf-confidence with which hypocrites are blown

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