a city, and the Lord hath not done it? "The lion hath roared, Who will not fear? "The Lord God hath fpoken, Who can but prophecy?" My brethren, God has been fpeaking to us in a very awful manner for thefe fix months paft; and that we might not mistake his voice, most of the events that have fallen out in that space of time have been altogether furprising and unexpected. Our enemies themselves were amazed at their fuccefs, and afcribed it to the immediate hand of God, which favoured their enterprize; and the hand of God has been no lefs remarkably difplayed in our benign deliverance. The retreat of the rebels, immediately after a victory, without facing an army they had fo lately overcome, was fo contrary to the general opinion, that I believe the wifeft heads were afraid of fome cunning artifice, fome deep laid plot to draw our men into a fnare, from which they should not eafily escape. In a word, man's part in this whole affair has been fo fmall and inconfiderable that it is evidently the Lord's own doing; and though he has employed inftruments both to diftrefs and relieve us, yet he has done it in such a sove

reign manner, that he feems to have ufed. them upon no other defign, but only to convince us that he can work without them. I confefs, my brethren, the care which God has taken to make himself obfervable in the conduct of thefe occurrences, is one of the principal grounds of my fears at this time; nor are my fears a whit leffened by the late favourable difpenfation. I look upon it, indeed, as an intimation, that he who is a God of judgment is alfo a God of mercy; and that, notwithstanding all our paft provocations, he is yet willing to be reconciled to us, upon the terms of the gofpel; and therefore I view it in the light of an encouragement to repentance, but not at all as a sign that God's an

ger is turned away from us, or a fecurity that

our danger is over. No, my brethren, the fun rofe upon Sodom the morning of that very. day in which it was confumed by fire from heaven. We have got a breathing time, a refpite from judgment, but not a perfect deliverance; and, if we do not improve the day of our visitation, this mixture of goodness with feverity makes it only the more probable that the laft exercife of God's patience is

at

at hand, and that the things which belong to our peace are in the greateft danger of being hid from our eyes.

Thus then you fee what grounds there are to fear that the dreadful judgment threatened in the text may be inflicted upon us; and this, I hope, will difpofe us all to liften to the exhortation here given us, "Remember, therefore, from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the firft works."

This is the command of our Lord Jefus Christ, and the only way to prevent the ruin of a finful people. The fubftance of this exhortation I have frequently preffed upon you, and therefore I shall not now enlarge upon it, and every thing I have juft now delivered to you may serve as motives to induce you to comply with it. The candlestick may be removed from you. This deprivation of the gospel is the most terrible of all God's judgments; and as our fins deserve it, so God by his providence has actually been threatening us with it. O then let us be awakened from our fecurity, let us value the gospel difpenfation, and improve it to the obtaining a gospel nature. Let us not loiter while the fun fhines,

fhines, left we be benighted. It will not stand still at our pleasure, but will go its courfe according to the command of its governor, and liftens not to the follies of men, nor tarries for our delays. Let us then ftir up ourselves to call upon our Lord, who is the Lord of Zion, and the protector and fafeguard of our Jerufalem. Let us plead with him, as the disciples that were going to Em"Lord abide with us, for the evening begins to come, and the day is far spent. Our Saviour did fo, and gave them his bleffing. He may do fo with us likewife; he may return with a rich bleffing to our land and church, and abide with us and our pofterity till the day of glory break, and all the hadows fly away. Amen.

maus,

tt

SER

SERMON XI.

189

II. CHRONICLES, V. 13. 14.

It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and fingers were as one, to make one found to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord, and when they lift up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals, and inftruments of mufic, and praised the Lord, faying, For he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever, that then the boufe was filled with a cloud, even the houfe of the Lord: So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord had filled the boufe of God.

'HE day of Pentecoft excepted, when

THE

the Holy Ghoft made a visible descent upon the Apostles of our Lord, I look upon this to have been the brightest day of heaven upon earth that ever the church, of God was favoured with. It is impoffible to conceive

the