Comfort in what you want; fince you have God's love, you fhall not want.-Comfort in what you fear; You need fear no evil.-Comfort in what you do; All- your fervices will be accepted; all your fins pardoned, tho' he fhould take vengeance on your inventions.-Comfort in what you fuffer; you fhall be fuflained and fupported; and though you may fuffer the lofs of gifts, goods, liberty, life, yet you cannot lofe God, Chrift, the Spirit, grace, heaven, or God's everlasting love.O go away with the comfortable fenfe of his diftinguishing love!

In a word, Are you lovers of God? O go away rejoicing in it, that he first loved you; he is not behind hand with you; "He loved you before you loved him." You were elected by the grace of God from eternity; you were redeemed by the blood of Chrift, you are certainly effectually called; "For they that love him, are the called according to his purpofe;" and the day comes, when you fhall enjoy the object of your love in a full manner. If you be true lovers of Chrift, I certify you, the time is coming, when you fhall fee Chrift as he is, and be for ever with the Lord, and enjoy him for evermore; and love without decay, and love without wearying fhall be your everlasting exercise you fhall rejoice in an immediate enjoyment of him. You were upon his heart from eternity; you are upon his heart this day in heaven; for you his eternal Son came to the world; for you he lived, for you he died; your love to Chrift is a refix of his and his Father's love to you; and there is not a true lover of Christ here, but hath as good ground to fay as ever Paul had, "He loved me, and gave himfelf for me." Your love to him is an infallible pledge of his ancient love to you, a pledge of his prefent love to you, and a pledge of the future enjoyment of him. O let your heart, and life, and tongue, and all that is within you, and about you, vent love to him, and fay, "We love him, because he firft loved us!"

SERMON

SERMON XIX*.

The MILITANT's Song; or, the BELIEVER'S Exercife while here below.

PSALM ci. I.

I will fing of mercy and judgment: unto thee, O Lord, will

I

I fing.

HOPE, the fubject I am here in providence directed to, will natively lead us, if the Lord blefs it, to a fuitable exercise upon a thanksgiving-day after a communion; even with gratitude of foul to fing the praises of a God in Chrift, and that whether we have met with a fmile or a frown from heaven, or both, at this occafion. If any here have got a fmile, or found him to be a fmiling and a prefent God, they may fing of mercy; if any here have got a frown, or found him to be a hiding God, they may fing of judgment; or, if any here have got both a fmile and a frown, they may fing of both, and fay, "I will fing of mercy and judgment: unto thee, O Lord, will I fing."

The words contain the Pfalmift's holy refolution to praife and glorify God for all his difpenfations towards him, now that he was advanced to the kingdom of Ifrael; and in them you may fhortly notice, 1. The fweet work that is refolved upon, namely, To fing. 2. The fweet finger that thus refolves, namely, DAVID;

*This fermon was preached at Carnock, on Monday, July 1723, being a thanksgiving day, immediately after the celebration of the facrament of the Lord's fupper there. +E

VOL. II.

"I

"I will fing." 3. The fweet fubje&t of the song, namely, mercy and judgment. 4. The fweet object of this praife, and the manner in which he would fing it; Unto THEE, O LORD, will I fing."

1. The fweet work that is refolved upon, namely, to fing. It is the work of heaven, and a very fit work after a communion, to fing a fong of praife to God, in the manner which we may afterwards explain.

2. The fweet finger; "I will fing." The title of the pfalm fhews it was David's, the man after God's own heart; the man anointed by the God of Jacob, and the sweet pfalmift of Ifrael; for fo he is called, 2 Sam. xxiii. I.

3. The fweet fubject of the fong, or the matter of it, namely, mercy and judgment. God's work towards his people is chequered work; a mixture of mercy and judgment and when he exercifes us with both, it is our duty to fing of both, and to be fuitably affected with both; whether our circumflances be joyful or forrowful, ftill we muft give glory to God; and, in every thing give thanks: neither the laughter of a prof perous condition, nor the tears of an affl'ted condition mul put us out of tune for the facred fongs of praife.

4. The fweet object of this praife, and the manner in which he refolves to fing it, "Unto THEE, O Lord, will I fing." It is in the moft folemn manner that he addreffes the Lord JEHOVAH, Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft, and dedicates his fong to the praife of a God in Chrift; "Unto THEE, O LORD, will I fing." But I refer the further explication to the profecution of a doctrine from the words.

OBSERV. That, as the people of God hath both mercy and judgment in their lot in this world; fo, from both they may have matter of a fong of praife unto God.

They have occafion in this world to fing both of mercy and judgment. We find the pfalmift frequently finging both of mercy and judgment; as Pfalm xxx. 6.-9. Pfalm xlii. 7. 11. You have an elegant deffcription

cription of the lot of God's people, while here, as confifting both of mercy and judgment, and fo affording occafion to fing of both, 2 Corinth. vi. 8, 9, 10.; where you will fee the blink and the fhower; the mercies and judgments that are in their lòt; how God hath fet the one over against the other; by honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report, &c. Thus they have occafion to fing both of mercies and croffes, while they find the Lord fupporting them under trials, and remembring mercy in the midft of wrath, and making all things work together for good to them; "I will fing of mercy and judgment; unto thee, O Lord, will I fing." The Chaldee paraphrafe of this text is remarkable, and fuitable to the doctrine I have raised from it, namely, it is as if the pfalmift had faid, If thou beftowelt mercies upon me; or if thou bringeft any judgment upon me; before thee, O Lord, will I fing my hymn for all.'

The method I propofe, for profecuting this doctrine, through divine aid, is the following.

I. I would speak a little of the mercies that the people of God meet with; and what it is in thefe that af fords them matter of a fong of praife.

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II. I would fpeak a little of the judgments they are trifted with; and what it is in judgment that may be matter of a fong of praife to God. III. What this finging imports; and how we are to fing of mercy and judgment: where we may notice what is imported in the Pfalmift's refolution, and the manner of expreffing it; "I will fing of mercy and judgment; unto thee, O Lord, will I fing." IV. Why it is fo ordered of the Lord, that his poople are made to fing, both of mercy, and of judg

ment.

V. Draw fome inferences for the application.

I. I am first to speak a little of mercy, of which they ought to fing; and here I would fhew, 1. What this mercy is; and, 2. What it is in mercy that may be matter of a fong, or afford ground of finging.

E 2

ift, What

ift, What this mercy is. Mercy, in God, fignifies a propenfity or readiness of mind to help and fuccour fuch as are in mifery and it carries in it an inward commotion and moving of bowels, as God fays of Ephraim, " My bowels are troubled for him; I will furely have mercy upon him," Jer. xxxi. 20. God, to accomodate himself to our capacity, fpeaks after the manner of man, afcribing human affections to himself. I might here fpeak of the general mercy of God towards all, both juft and unjuft: for, "He is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works," Pf. cxlv. 9. He makes his fun to fhine, and his rain to fall upon good and bad: and all fhould fing of his mercy, if it were no more but for life, and health, and strength from him. There are fome common gifts that all men have from him, and fome common graces that fome have more than others; but I fpeak efpecially of fpecial mercies; and indeed there are of thefe, that the vifible church hath, befides the reft of the world, even the wicked among them; and, if they could, they fhould fing of these mercies; fuch as, their hearing the gospel, and the joyful found; their getting the offer of Chrift, and falvation through him: but I fpeak mainly of the special mercies, that bear the ftamp of his everlafting love towards his chofen and hidden ones: mercy bred in God's breaft from all eternity, whereby he made choice of fome of the fallen mafs of mankind in Chrift, who is the channel wherein this mercy does flow in various ftreams: and I fhall mention a few of thefe, for there would be no end of speaking, to mention all that might be faid, or yet to enlarge upon all that may be mentioned.

1. There is the mercy of God, in fending Chrift to be the Saviour. We find the angels finging of this mercy, Luke ii. 11. 14. faying, "To you is born in the city of David, a Saviour: Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, and good-will towards men." Good-will and mercy towards man, because there is peace on earth, and reconciliation thro' Chrift, who brings in glory to God in the highest; "God fo loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whofoever believeth in