breathings are of this kind, the nearer it is to perfect health and cure.

IV. The last and finishing step of the diseased foul's cure is at death; it is only then that the foul is made perfectly whole. Then it is that our great Physician, by his Spirit, pulls up all the roots and feeds of the difeafe, and makes the foul perfect in holinefs, and meet for entering into heaven, where only a ftate of perfect health is enjoyed. It is in heaven only that fin and mifery, difeafes and complaints, can find no place, and all pain, forrow and crying, fhall pafs away. There, all Crift's recovered patients fhall have perfect and uninterrupted health through all the ages of eternity. May we then have grace to be always looking out and longing for that happy ftate and healthful place, where the inhabitants fhall never fay they are fick, being all for given and healed of their fin and iniquity! May our bleffed Phyfician fit us for that place, by beginning, carrying on, and completing our cure from the disease of fin, by all those ways and means of healing which he hath appointed, that to his name may be afcribed gloxy in the highest, through endless ages. Amen.

I

SERMON VI.

On Jerem. viii. 22. Is there no balm, &c.

NOW proceed to the last thing propofed in the method I laid down, viz.

THE APPLICATION.

I. This doctrine ferves to inform us of the amazing riches of divine love in providing a Phyfician for our difeafed fouls, and fuch a Phyfician as Jefus Chrift the eternal Son of God! One that hath infinitely more knowledge and skill than all the angels in heaven: One that hath infinite compaffions wrapt up in human bowels: One that hath both a tender heart and a tender hand,

Pfalm

Pfalm cxlvii. 3. One that fuffered his fide to be opened and his heart to be pierced, that his blood might become balm for our wounds Behold an aftonishing cure! a matchlefs Phyfician! Other phyficians are prodigal of their patients blood, but fparing of their own; but our glorious physician faves his patient's blood, and pours out his own: And of it he makes an incomparable balm for our wounds.

Again, we may fee what cause we have to blefs God for his diftinguishing goodness to Adam's diseased family in general, and to our difeafed land in particular. The angels that finned had no physician fent to them, but we have a matchlefs one fent to us the fons of men. There are many opulent nations in the world who never heard the news of this Phyfician, and his healing balm but they are proclaimed in all corners in Scotland! These have the gold and riches of the Indies, but want the balm of Gilead, which is of infinite more value than all they have.

II. We may improve this doctrine in an ufe of lamentation for the fick and diftreffed cafe of our land, and multitudes of fouls therein dying of their wounds, notwithstanding the gofpel-offers of the glorious Phyfician, and his excellent balm,which they have in plenty. Need I to fay any thing to inftruct our diftreffed and mournful condition? Surely, if the abounding of infidelity and immorality, excefs and extravagance, error and fchifm, divifions and breaches, jealoufies and animofities, complaints and grievances; if divided minds and disjointed hearts; if reelings and staggerings, if altar against altar, if doctrine against doctrine, if worship against worship, if poft by poft, and threshold by threshold,-be fymptoms of a difeafed land and church that needs the balm of Gilead, then may we conclude our cafe is bad, and our need great. Ah, now it is a fickly time with the land, and multitudes are fo diftreffed, every corner is like an hospital or infirmary, and few of them are cured. How many are languishing and dying around us, of one difeafe or another, either of the plague of unbelief, the ftone of the heart, the giddiness of the head, the gangrene of error, the falling fickness

of apoftacy, the palfy of unsteadiness, the lethargy of security, the tympany of pride, the frenzy of paffion, the cancer of envy, the leprofy of vice, the dropfy of drunkenness, the fever of luft, the running ulcer of outbreakings, inward decays, confumption of spiritual strength, or fome other spiritual distemper! Ah, our diseases are paft reckoning. What numbers about us are feized with feebleness of knees, and weakness of hands, so that they can neither bow down the one nor lift up the other in prayer to their Maker, and yet never are fenfible of their mifery, nor enquire for the balm of Gilead, or the Phyfician there.

We may take up a lamentation over the fick and dying among us, as the prophet did over the Jews, in the verfes following my text, Jer. ix. 1. "O that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the flain of the daughters of my people." Oh! what flaughter doth the plague of fin make in houfes and families both in city and country! There is reafon for a greater cry among us, than that in Egypt, when their first born were flain: Of which it is faid, Exod. xii. 30. "And there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead." But ah! Our cafe is worse, for we have many houfes where there is not one alive, but all dead fpiritually, and ready to die eternally. This alas! is the cafe of this poor land, notwithstanding the fovereign balm that abounds in it.

Quelt. Whence is it that fo few are healed, when the balm and Phyfician are so near?

Ans. The caufe is furely in us: For, 1. Many are not fenfible of their diseases, nor feel their wounds: They want a principle of fpiritual life, and have no fenfe of pain; and hence they complain of their inward plagues or ill hearts. The dead have no feeling, no cure, no fear. And therefore many ignorant people fay, they have good hearts to God, and do thank God for it. Alas! the moft part are dead, fee no need of this balm, and will not apply it.

2. Many are in love with their disease, more than with the Physician. They may perhaps fpeak againft

fin, and even pray against it, but in their hearts they defire not that God fhould hear them. God may fay to them as in Pfal. lii. 3. "Thou loveft evil more than good." And how can fuch expect to be healed?

3. Many neglect the feafon of healing, and do not feek after the Physician and his balm in due time. They flight Chrift and his gofpel-offers, in the days of youth and health, and never begin to enquire for him till it be too late.

4. Many will not trust Christ wholly for healing, but have a squint eye to other physicians, as to their duties, prayers, tears, &c. But, my friends, either Chrift mult have the fole honour of your cure, or he will not be your Physician.

5. Many will not submit to Chrift's prescription for healing; they will not take the bitter potion of felffearching, or repentance, or contrition, or godly-forrow; nor fwallow the pill of mortification, or felf-denial and therefore they remain unhealed. O that we could lament over them, and bewail their cafe before the Lord.

III. A 3d use of this doctrine may be of confolation: And furely the news it brings of the incomparable balm of Gilead, and the phyfician there, may afford comfort to the fick church and land wherein we dwell, however diftreffed her cafe be. Though it is our duty to bewail it, yet we are not to mourn as those who have no hope. Her wounds indeed are deep, and her breaches wide, yet her cafe is not defperate while there is balm in Gilead, and a phyfician there. Surely the balm hath not loft its virtue, nor the Physician his compallion towards us; nay, we ftill have pregnant inftances of his mercy and pity, amidst the wrath-like dif penfations towards Scotland, which are figns that our good Samaritan hath not paffed by us on the other side, like the Levite, but keeps in the way where we are, and looks with pity on our wounds, willing to apply his baim to them. Yea, his bowels do ftill yearn to us, as of old to Ephraim, and make him fay, "How fhall I give thee up, O Scotland? How fhal I deliver thee?

My

My heart is turned within me, my repentings are kindled together."

Object. Seeing it is notorious that the Phyfician hath given up many famous churches, when their diseases were defperate; what ground have we under fuch dangerous fymptoms to expect he will pity us, and apply his balm for our recovery?

Anf. We have ftill feveral grounds of hope; fuch as, 1. Seeing the Lord hath begun to pour out his vials upon Antichrift, we may conclude he will not ceafe till they be all poured out; and feeing thereby Antichrift hath been in a deadly confumption thefe 200 years paft, he must furely expire at length. And tho' fometimes he may feem to recover a little, yet the Lord affures us, that he will at length "confume him with the fpirit of his mouth, and deftroy him with the brightnefs of his coming." 2 Theff. 8. By which he means his coming in the brightnefs of gofpel-light, attended with the down pouring of his Spirit. Now, when we hear of the Lord's caufing his gofpel fun-fhine to arife and fpread in any place, with the out pouring of his bleffed Spirit, for convincing and converting of fouls, the Lord encourages us to look out for the coming of his kingdom, and the downfal of Antichrift.

2. We have encouragement to hope from that prophecy in Rev. xvii. 16. which foretels that the ten horns or kingdoms which formerly supported Antichrift, fhall be inftruments of his deftruction: it is faid, "They fhall hate the whore, and make her defolate." Now, the Lord hath made Britain one of thofe ten kingdoms that hate her, and therefore he will ftill preferve (as formerly he hath done in the most perilous times) a goodly remnant that fhall be the prevailing party there, to accomplish that grand defign. And feeing the Lord is raifed up out of his holy habitation, and hath already begun the work, he will furely carry it on, finish it at laft, however it be interrupted, and things appear unlikely for a time.

3. We may draw hope from the fecond pfalm, and other fcripture-texts, in which God the Father promifeth to "give his Son the uttermoft parts of the earth

for