God will treat with you no more, when a gulph shall be fix· ed betwixt him and you for ever, Luke xvi. 26. O what will you do when the feafon of mercy, and all hopes of mercy, fhall end together! When God thall become inacceffible, inex orable, and unreconcilable to you for evermore.

O what wilt thou do, when thou fhalt find thyfelf fhut up under eternal wrath when thou shalt feel that mifery thou art warned of! Is this the place where I must be! Are these the torments I must endure! What, for ever! yea, for ever: Will pot God be fatisfied with the fufferings of a thoufand years? no, nor millions of years! Ah finners, did you but clearly fee the prefent and future mifery of unreconciled ones, and what that wrath of the great and terrible God is, which is coming as falt as the wings of time can bring it upon you, it would certainly drive you to Chrift, or drive you out of your wits. O it is a dreadful thing to have God for your eternal enemy: to have the great and terrible God caufing his infinite power to avenge the abufe of his grace and mercy.

Believe it, friends, it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God: knowing the terrors of the Lord we perfuade men: an eternal weight hangs upon an inch of time.

O that

you did but know the time of your visitation! That you would not dare to adventure, and run the hazard of one day more in an unreconciled state.

Thirdly, and laftly, This point fpeaks to thofe who have be lieved our report, who have taken hold of God's ftrength, and made peace with him: who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy: who once were afar off, but now are made nigh by the blood of Chrift: with you I would leave a few words of exhortation, and I have done.

Firth, Admire and ftand amazed at this mercy. " I will "praife thee, O Lord, (faith the church, Ifa. xii. 1.) Though "thou waft angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and "thou comforteft me." O how overwhelming a mercy is here before you! God is at peace, at peace with you that were "enemies in your minds by wicked works," Col. i. 21. At peace with you, and at enmity with millions as good by nature as you at peace with you that fought it not: at peace for ever; no diffolving this friendship for evermore. O let this con

fideration melt your hearts before the Lord, and make you cry, What am I, Lord, that mercy fhould take in me, and thut out fallen angels, and millions of men and women as capable of mercy as myfelf! O the riches! O the depths of the mercy and goodness of God!

Secondly, Beware of new breaches with God: God will fpeak peace to his people, and to his faints: but let them not tura again to folly," Pfal. lxxxv. 8. What tho' this ftate of friendfhip can never be diffolved, yet it is a dreadful thing to have it clouded: 1: you may lose the sense of peace, and with it all the joy of your hearts, and comforts of your lives, in this world.

Thirdly, Labour to reconcile others to God: efpecially those that are endeared to you by the bonds of natural relation: When Paul was reconciled to God himself, his heart was full of heavinefs for others that were not reconciled; for his "bre "thren and kinsmen according to the flesh," Rom. ix. 2, 3, When Abraham was become God's friend himself, then, "0 "that Ifhmael might live before thee!" Gen, xvii. 18.

Fourthly and laftly, "Let your reconciliation with God re"lieve you under all burdens of affliction you fhall meet with "s ia your way to heaven :" Let them that are at enmity with God droop under croffes and afflictions; but do not you do fo. Tranquillus Deus tranquillat omnia, Rom. v. 1, 2, 3. Let the peace of God keep your hearts and minds. As nothing can comfort a man that must go to hell at last, so nothing should deject a man that shall, through many troubles, at last, reach heaven.

Explaining the Work of the Spirit, as the internal, and moft effectual Means of the Application of CHRIST.

JOHN vi. 44. No man can come to me, except the Father which hath fent me, draw him.

UR laft difcourfe informed you of the usefulness and influence of the preaching of the gofpel, in order to the ap plication of Christ to the souls of men. There must be (in God's ordinary way) the external ministerial offer of Christ, before men can have union with him.

But yet, all the preaching in the world can never effect this union with Chrift in itself, and in its own virtue, except a fupernatural, and mighty power, go forth with it, for that end and purpose. Let Boanerges and Barnabas try their ftrength, let

the angels of heaven be the preachers; till God draw, the fou cannot come to Chrift.

No faving benefit is to be had by Chrift, without union with his perfon, no union with his perfon without faith, no faith, or dinarily wrought, without the preaching of the gospel by Christ's ambaffadors, their preaching hath no faving efficacy, without God's drawings, as will evidently appear, by confidering these words, and the occafion of them.

The occafion of these words is found (as learned * Cameron well obferves) in the 42d verfe. "And they faid, is not this Jefus "the fon of Jofeph, whofe father and mother we know?" Christ had been preffing upon them in his miniftry, the great and ne ceffary duty of faith; but notwithstanding the authority of the preacher; the holiness of his life; the miracles by which he confirmed his doctrine; they still objected against him, "is not this "the carpenter's Son?" From whence Chrift takes occafion for these words; "No man can come unto me, except my Father "which hath fent me, draw him," q. d. In vain is the authority of my perfon urged; in vain are all the miracles wrought in your fight, to confirm the doctrine preached to you; till that fecret, almighty power of the Spirit be put forth upon your hearts, you will not, you cannot, come unto me.

The words are a negative propofition.

In which the author, and powerful manner of divine operati on in working faith, are contained: there must be drawing be fore believing, and that drawing must be the drawing of God: every word hath its weight: we will confider them in the order they lie in the text.

Ouders No Man] not one, let his natural qualifications be what they will, let his external advantages, in refpect of means and helps, be never fo great: it is not in the power of any man: all perfons, in all ages, need the fame power of God, one as well as another; every man is alike dead, impotent, and averfe to faith in his natural capacity. No man, or-not one, among all the fons of men.

Δυναται,

Avvaras,--Can] or is able: he fpeaks of impotency to fpecial and faving actions, fuch as believing in Chrift is: no act that is faving, can be done without the concurrence of special grace. Other acts that have a remote tendency to it, are performed by a more general concourfe and common affiftance; fo meu may come to the word, and attend to what is fpoken, remember, and confider what the word tells them; but as to believing or com

Cameronis Myrothee. p. 139.

ing to Chrift, that no man can do of himself, or by a general and common affiftance. No man can. Εχθείν προς με, -Come unto me] (i. e.) believe in me unto falvation. Coming to Chrift, and believing in him, are terms aequipollent, and are indifferently used to exprefs the nature of faving faith, as is plain ver. 35. "He that cometh to me, fhall "never hunger, and he that believeth on me fhall never thirst:" it notes the terms from which, and to which the foul moves, and the voluntarinefs of the motion, notwithstanding that divine power, by which the will is drawn to Christ.

Ear μno Пary-Except my Father] not excluding the other. two perfons; for every work of God relating to the creatures, is common to all the three perfons: nor only to note that the Father is the first in order of working: but the reafon is hinted in the next words.

● Deμ‡as μe,——who hath sent me,] God hath entered into covenant with the Son, and fent him, ftands obliged thereby, to bring the promised feed to him, and that he doth by drawing them to Chrift by faith: fo the next words tells us the Father doth.

Ελκυση αυτόν.- -Draw him.] That is powerfully and effectually incline his will to come to Chrift: "+ Not by a violent "coaction, but by a benevolent bending of the will which was "averfe ;" and as it is not in the way of force and compulfion, fo neither is it by a fimple moral fuafion, by the bare propofal of an object to the will, and fo leaving the finner to his own electi on; but it is fuch a perfuafion, as hath a mighty overcoming efficacy accompanying it: of which more anon,

The words thus opened, the obfervation will be this:

Doct. That it is utterly impoffible for any man to come to Jefus Chrift, unless he be drawn unto him by the fpecial and mighty power of God,

No man is compelled to come to Christ against his will, he that cometh, comes willingly, but even that will, and defire to come, is the effect of grace, Phil. ii. 13. "It is God that work"eth in you, both to will, and to do, of his own good pleasure." "If we defire the help and affiftance of grace, (faith ‡ Ful

+ Non violenta coactio immediata, fed voluntatis a Deo averfæ benevola flectio. Glaf. Rhet. Sacra p. 236.

Ut ergo defideremus adjutorium, hoc quoque eft gratia; ipfa namque incipit effundi, ut incipiat pofci. Fulgen. Epift. 6. ad Theod.

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gentius) even the defire is of grace; grace must first be shed "forth upon us, before we can begin to defire it:" "By grace "are ye faved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is "the gift of God," Eph. ii. 8. suppose the utmost degree of natural ability; let a man be as much difpofed and prepared, as nature can difpofe or prepare him, and to all this, add the propofal of the greatest arguments, and motives, to induce him to come; let all these have the advantage of the fitteft season to work upon his heart; yet no man can come till God draw him : we move as we are moved; as Chrift's coming to us, fo our coming to him are the pure effects of grace.

Three things require explication in this point before us.
First, What the drawing of the Father imports.
Secondly, In what manner he draws men to Christ.

Thirdly, How it appears that none can come till they be fo drawn.

First, What the drawing of the Father imports.

To open this, let it be confidered, that drawing is usually diftinguished into phyfical and moral. The former is, either by co-action, force, and compulfion: or, by a fweet, congruous efficacy upon the will. As to violence and compulsion, it is none of God's way and method, it being both against the nature of the will of man, which cannot be forced, and against the will of Jefus Chrift, who loves to reign over a free and willing people, Pfal. cx. 5. "Thy people fhall be willing in "the day of thy power." Or, as that word may be rendered, they fhall be voluntarineffes, as willing as willingness itfelf. It is not then by a forcible co-action, but in a moral way of perfuafion, that God the Father draws men to Jefus Chrift: He draws with the bands of a man, as they are called, Hof. xi. 14, fi. e.) in a way of rational conviction of the mind and confcience, and effectual perfuafion of the will.

But yet by moral perfuafion, we must not understand a fimple and bare propofal, or tender of Chrift and grace, leaving it ftill at the finner's choice, whether he will comply with it or For though God does not force the will contrary to its nature, yet there is a real internal efficacy implied in this draw

We do not fee God preaching, writing, and teaching, yet we believe as if we saw thus; for all truth hath a power of inclining the mind to affent; the greater truth, the greater power, and the greateft truth, the greatest power of all; But why then do not all believe the gospel? I anfwer, because all are are not drawn by God, Bape ift Mantuanus de patientia, lib. 3. cap. 2.