p.P.9ར་ར་ར་

it. "Call upon me, and I will anfwer thee, and fhew thee great and mighty things, which thou "He knoweft not." Our gracious Redeemer fays, that loveth me fhall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifeft myself to him." This is a fufficient warrant for our prayers and expectations in God's way. We have the divine precept to direct and regulate our defires, and the promife of grace to encourage our hope of fuccefs.. God has promifed great things to those who seek him, and his promifes have been made good in inftances without number.

What that token for good was, for which holy David prayed, Pf. lxxxvi. 17. I will not pofitively determine; but without doubt it was some evidence of God's favour to him, in his ordinances, or by his providence, for the confirmation of his faith,. the quickening of his foul, and the comforting of his heart.

It must be owned, if this man after God's own heart, had fome fpecial ground to expect extraor-, dinary manifeftations of divine power in his favour, in a miraculous way, it becomes not us to follow his example in this inftance. We have no fuch ground to go upon as he might have. Let us adhere to the law and to the testimony, and look for fuch tokens of the divine favour as God has promifed to afford.

The

《ར་ར་ར་་

The ordinances of God are tokens of his favour. He gave the fabbath to Ifrael as a fign of his being their fovereign, as a nation. The ark was a token of his prefence, as the word and ordinances are among us. God forbid that we should be deprived of these indications of his mercy. A famine of the word would be a fore calamity indeed. The people of Antioch were so sensible of the privilege of fitting under the lively and fervid ministrations of the gospel, that they once faid, in the warmth of their zeal, "We had better be deprived of the light of the fun, than of the preaching of Chryfoftom.

It is a token of God's favour when the word and ordinances are rendered efficacious. When this and that man are born in Zion, it is a fign of his mercy to her, and that the Moft High will establish her. O that the Spirit of the Lord may be poured forth on his ministers and churches in this our day! Where is the Lord God of Elijah? It is a rich and great mercy to see a day of his power, when finners are made willing in the beauties of holiness.

It is a token of God's favour when the Spirit of fupplication is plentifully bestowed, and his people stirred up to earneftness in seeking him. When he prepares the heart to pray, it is an indication that he will cause his ear to hear. A lukewarm and flothful difpofition is a fad token of God's anger and abfence. "There is none that calleth upon thy

name,

*》*》*、《**༠《་་

name, that firreth up himself to take hold on thee: for thou haft hid thy face from us, and haft confumed us because of our iniquities.".

It is a token of God's regard when he bestows a penitent heart, and a deep concern for reformation. This is apparent in the cafe of the Ninevites. O that God may pour upon us his Holy Spirit, in his humbling, quickening, and fanctifying influences. This will be a token indeed of our intereft in his favour.

The heavenly Comforter bearing witnefs with our fpirits that we are the children of God, is a bleffing of unspeakable value, and greatly to be defired. "I entreated thy favour," fays the Pfalmift, "with my whole heart," the comfortable sense and enjoyment of it, the fweet affurance of intereft in it. This is life indeed. Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us! fhed abroad in our hearts the love of Chrift, by the Holy Ghoft given unto us, that we may no longer anxiously doubt of our fafety, but, according to the command of our divine Redeemer, rejoice that our names are written in heaven. Let the Holy Spirit of promise feal us, by way of fecurity, to the day of redemption, that we may know, with heart-felt fatisfaction, that when the earthly house of this tabernacle is disfolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens!

....》《་བར་

The Holy Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance. An earnest is a part of the payment, of the fame nature with that which we hope hereafter to receive. His graces and comforts are the grapes of Canaan, morfels of the upper table, preludes and foretaftes of eternal enjoyments. How much are these to be defired!

Suppose we were in the ftate of condemned malefactors; the king, our offended fovereign holds out unto us a fealed pardon, and declares, at the fame time, that fuch as have not the great feal to fhew, must suffer for their crimes; but fuch as have it, must be acquitted, and received to his royal faYour. What folicitude fhould we feel in fuch a cafe as this, that we might have a fealed evidence of the king's pardon! What diligence fhould we ufe, what pains should we take! And can we be indifferent in a matter of infinitely greater moment, when, not the life of the body only, but the eternal falvation of the foul is depending? When our offended Judge faith, Only acknowledge your offences, and feek ye my face," fhall not our hearts echo to the gracious overture, Thy face, Lord,

will we feek?"

66

Reader, this is the defign of the small treatise which is now put into your hands; and O that it may please God to fucceed our endeavours, and accompany our preaching and our printing with his

bleffing!

..1.9nར་�་

bleffing! A match is propofed between Jefus Chrift, the heavenly bridegroom, and your poor fouls. He hath drawn up the articles, and propounded them to you by us. His facred words speak his willingness; nothing is wanting but your confent; and the match is made. We bring you letters of love and kindness from the divine Saviour, who is ready to betroth you to himself for ever. We endeavour to fhew you the large dowry he pro poses to give, and the glorious mansion prepared for you, in which you fhall dwell with him for ever. We tell you of the pains he has endured, and the coft he has been at, to make you his own. Whether all this will prevail upon you, whether it will win your hearts to him or not, the event muft declare. But if this were the laft fentence I muft write, or you read, I do hereby fummon you to answer to this addrefs before that awful tribunal, where you and I must shortly appear. If you reject the gospel of falvation, and persevere in your rebellion against God, undoubtedly the minifters who have tenderly and faithfully warned you, will be witnesses against you. But O! how earneftly do I wish that it may be otherwife! It is our work to preach and write, your's to hear and read; but the Father of mercies alone can give fuccefs. We therefore follow thefe poor endeavours with our hearty prayers to him, that he may be graciously pleafed to bestow upon you, converting or confirming grace; that you may experience

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