rocks, but upon loose and unsettled substances. And were we, or could we, be perfectly fixed upon the Rock of Ages, as we shall be hereafter; not all the powers of earth or hell could affect or perplex us. Our wretchedness comes hence; we cannot give up all contentedly or resignedly to God's disposal and management, at the bottom; and this is the true though secret cause of all our trouble. For could we rest upon God, as we are warranted to rest upon him, in spiritual things, without disturbing our own minds with those whys and wherefores, which, for the trial of our faith, are concealed from us; we should then find him an unshaken foundation, and, in the very act of faith, enough to assure us, that we do not trust him in vain. So, in temporal matters, did we cast all our care, or carefulness, upon God, according to his precept, and and commit the times and the seasons entirely to bis own power, as they are indeed, and must be whether we trust him or not, we should find much smoother work within, and abundantly less perplexity from without. The unhappiness rests here; we cannot trust God nakedly, without a view or probability of our own; and so we carve out to him our own ways of relief, instead of following bis will into the disposals of his providence. We argue for him, as well as for Ourselves; and hence come all our fallacies and disappointments. If we left it to his wisdom to arrange the argument for us, and only follow, as that led, with our own; we should find a most happy and invincible conclusion in our behalf, at the sum. To use a familiar phrase; we want to be masters, when we ought to be journeymen, and are always setting up for ourselves, before we have learned our trade: And the consequence is, a temporary bankruptcy. Do we not frequently see artificers performing things in their business, which we cannot account for; and do we dispute their conduct because of our own ignorance? They cut down, hew, throw about, mingle, and perplex the various parts of a frame or machine, as it seems to our apprehension; but yet all goes on with a design in their minds, which we are not masters of. At length, when they have put the several particulars into their appointed places, and combine all the parts into a compiete whole; we see order, beauty, and use, arise out of a very complicated and (to our view) a very confused scene. We could not investigate the artifice; but we can perceive the end. In like manner, comparing small things with great, God deals with the individuals among his people, and with his temple the church in general. He permits the world (as it appears) to fall into a multitude of cross purposes, strange circumstances, and perplexing events, by which his people and church, together with the world, are disordered and affeated. Private affairs and public concerns, may seem confu

sed beyond the skill or power of men to unravel, or explain them. But when the believer shall reach his home, and much more when the end of all things shall appear; God's design in all will break forth illustrious, and create astonishment, admiration and praise, at his complications of wisdom and grace, through beholding worlds.-Learn then, believer, to consider his arrangements of providence and mercy in this view; and then nothing in the short scene of things below will trouble thee much or long. Leave God's secrets to himself, and say with good Salvian, "I do not understand them; I dare not investigate them; I even tremble to attempt it. The day will soon appear; and then the shadows of the night shall flee away; while the objects of truth and glory shall arise to view, without number or end.

"But (says the Christian, hath not God promised the seal of the Spirit, in order to assure me of my salvation; and may I not expect this? May I not be deceived, if on the one hand I content myself without it, or if on the other I presume only that I have it?"-God hath promised this seal in or upon believing, and when thou didst believe thou wast sealed; but not with visions or revelations, but with a conviction of the truth of God, and with gracious comfort flowing from that conviction. The Spirit of promise applies the word of promise to the soul, acts by that word usually as its medium, gives the believer power to rest upon it, and in that power conveys a demonstration of his own presence and of the Christian's title to salvation. The seal, however, is not always in comfort immediately, though always in grace, which connects the heart and life by love, and informs the mind with wisdom. The inscription of this seal, to be known and read of thee and of all men, is, Let every one, that nameth the name of Christ, depart from iniquity. Let thy conscience. make thy appeal to this, and carefully read this golden legend every day. It is a true phylactery, or inscribed frontlet ; and the plainer it is written, the better. And be assured of this, that if heart, head, and life, be framed according to the word, and depend upon the truth of God, and wait for the salvation of God; it is a further proof that the Spirit hath sealed thee to his eternal redemption. Thou art not to go on contented without this testimony; and much less with a contrary testimony: For, believe what thou wilt, unless this seal be upon thee; thou hast no proof to thyself of thine own sincerity, nor to others, that thou art not an hypocrite. As to visions be contented without them: The prophets, who had them, called them a burden; and thousands who have pretended to have them, have followed their own delusion and enthusiasm to their cost. Pray God to teach thee by his word, and according to his word: Thou wilt find

wisdom in safety there, and more wisdom in depth than in this life thou fully canst know. And if a word, apparently in season, come home to thy heart; there is also a rule, by which thou mayest judge whether its application be from the tuition of God, or from the mere elevation of thy own mind. If the thought humble thee in thy own sight, while it warm thee with love to Christ; and if it fill thee with meekness and submission, as well as complacency and comfort; thou mayest be assured, that (as the devil never deals in this way) the Lord is thy belper. But if the idea excite a swelling (as it were) of the mind, a delight in its own excellence for the thing spoken or conceived, a consciousness or desire of superiority in the heart over others, a languid notion of the intervention of God, and especially if it end in high words, and strong passions towards men; thou mayest justly fear, however ingenious or devout the cogitation may be in shew, that it is but the ebullition only of the human understanding, unaided and uninfluenced by the grace of God. What God sends to man humbles him in himself and lifts him up in another, What man conceives from within, exalts self, and leaves God out of sight.- -If this rule were duly attended to; we should probably see fewer presumptions of self-importance, and more real concern for the edification of others, in the professing world.

Happy, only happy, are they, who wait on the Spirit of promise to seal and to accomplish all the promises for their souls!, Happy they, who meditate on his word for this end, who love his commandments, and delight in his ways. This happiness is the privilege of every believer, the undoubted portion of the children of God. How happy would these be, if they knew their own happiness! How content, if they considered God, as their manager, their friend, their father! How satisfied about worldly things, if they duly lived in expectation of heaven as their home. Whatever was disordered about them, they could not be touched; nor, in worlds of ruin, can these be lost. Their anchor cast, within the veil, cannot fail; because the promise is its hold: Their vessel of grace shall never be wrecked, for the Spirit of promise is at the helm. This spirit shall preserve them by day and by night, amidst the storms of life, and the loudest horrors of death: He will carry them safely into the haven of felicity, and give them an inheritance among them, who, from all past ages, do now through faith and patience inherit the PROMISES,

L

LOVE.

OVE, as it exists in human nature, is the inclination or affection of the mind to some object, which it conceives to be valuable in itself or proper for its own welfare: And, if sin had brought no darkness or error into the mind, this faculty of love would apply itself only to what is truly valuable and good.

In rational creatures, this affection should be directed to God as the only fountain of good, and to created good objects, as they relate to him or may be enjoyed with him.

With respect to God, there can be no cause of his love beyond himself or out of himself; and therefore this affection or attribute exists, independent of all other objects, within himself; for which reason, He is revealed under the name of LOVE, being the true essence or source of all that faculty or disposition, which we can strictly comprehend by this

term.

From hence it seems evident, that, as enmity and hatred are diametrically opposite to this benign character of the divine nature, they must proceed from some other cause: And as whatever is thus contrary to God, must be a revolt from Him, and a departure from the proper end of its own creation, it is therefore justly denominated sin, which, again, being repugnant as well to the good of the creature, as to the source of all good, bears both the name and the nature of evil. Enmity, consequently, as it appears in the creature towards God himself, or to what is of God in other objects, is but another word for evil and sin.

The revelation of God informs us, how all this depravity came into our nature, which was originally created upright. Since that awful event, it is in human experience to say, that the inclinations of the soul have naturally contradicted the mind and will of God, have wandered wide from his love and purity, and so far departed from the pure rectitude of a perfect creature, as to have this character stamped by unerring truth upon the mind from which they flow, that it is enmity itself, enmity in the abstract, against God. Rom. viii. 7.

God is love; pure, perfect, and incorruptible love: But the carnal mind, the mind of every man by nature, the mind which is under the dominion of his flesh and makes this flesh his only end, is corrupted, debased, and absorded with enmity.

From this direct opposition of God and man, which is forcibly expressed by these opposite terms, we may perceive the use and design of the Bible; for the blessed volume describes this opposition in its nature and effects, and points out from thence both the necessity and the method of reconciliation.

The Bible describes the nature of this enmity to be rooted in sin, and this sin to consist in transgression or disobedience of God's law. The Bible also states, that this holy law was communicated to man, both in precept and sanction. By keeping it, which in his perfect state he was easily able to do, he was to live, or (in more extended phrase) to live hapРУ and blessed; but in transgressing it, he was surely to die, or be cut off from the source of all life and happiness in body and soul. He broke this law, and plunged himself into rebellion: And this rebellion (as was before observed) is the principle and ground of all his enmity, or sin, against his Maker. The effects of this apostasy are clearly seen in his ruin. As he became opposite to the love of God, he became possessed with enmity; being contrary to the holiness of God, he was filled with sin; repugnant to the goodness of God, he was seized with evil; and cut off from the life of God, he inherited death spiritual, temporal, and eternal. The divine nature could not be contaminated by nor hold communion with a sinful nature: And therefore there ensued a separa, tion of God from man, which, having every dreadful consequence to the latter, is expressed by the wrath, abhorrence, vengeance, judgment, &c. of God-Terms adapted to the workings and capacities of the human mind, and used to mark out its entire alienation (with the sad effects of it) from its maker. There is no wrath in God, as wrath; because He is wholly love: But his separation of man from the participation of his love, with all its various blessings, operates upon the human passions, now defiled with enmity, under the notions and impressions of anger and indignation, Thus God's love, being pure and unapproachable by sin, becomes a most dreadful and even horrible attribute to a sinner; be cause, as a sinner, he can never come nigh to God, never hold communion with him, nor receive delight or blessedness from him. And if divine wisdom had not found a method of reconciliation; human nature would and must have sustained whatever can be conceived under the awful idea of damnation, or the state of absolute rejection from the presence of GOD.

By these considerations it might appear, were it necessa ry to extend them, that enmity, sin, wrath, and misery, with other words of the like import, are all correlative terms, which only variously express the nature or effects of man's