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God in Chrift, you claim him as fuch, without doubting of your title. I gave two observations. on this, but it is too weighty a point briefly to pass over. It is a pity that a believer fhould fo long ftand afar from God, with his wishes, O that he were mine! and that he should not draw near with full aflurance, and fay, He is mine in Chrift.To promote this exercife, I would have you to attend to the following confiderations.

(1.) God allows you to claim him as your God. Satan, and an unbelieving heart, may contradict the claim, but God will never do it. The covenant runs in thefe terms, "I will be your God," Heb. viii. 10.; and will he ever resist you when you plead his covenant? Did he not allow Thomas, formerly an unbeliever, to claim this, and fay, "My Lord, and my God?" John, xx. 28. Seeing, therefore, you may do it, it is folly to flight fuch a glorious privilege.-Confider,

(2.) That God is well-pleafed with you if you make this claim: Jer. iii. 4. " Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My Father, thou art the guide of my youth ?" Is not a father well-pleafed to hear his child call him fo? God is more loving than any father or mother upon earth. Though they may forget, yet he will not forget us, Ifa. xlix. 15. 16. The Son of his bofom, who best knows what pleases him, teaches us to pray, Our Father; his Spirit, who fearcheth the deep things of God, teaches the children to cry, Abba, Father. It is true, that he is not pleased when carnal profeffors claim him as their God, Hof. viii. 2. 3. Pfal. 1. 16. 17. But why fhould the children ftart back from their food, because the dogs are boafted away? If you are cafting off the thing that is good, and are hating inftruction, I am not advifing you to call him Father; but have you taken

him in Chrift for a rest to thine heart, to make thee holy, as well as happy? then claim him as thy God: Hof. ii. 23. "And they shall say, Thou art my God."--Confider,

(3.) That the faints of God, in former ages,

have claimed God as their God: Pfal. xvi. 2. "O my foul! thou haft faid unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord."-Song, ii. 16. "My beloved is mine, and I am his." And it is the ufual way of fcripture-faints, to plead their intereft in God by faith. These things are written for our imitation. I observe the faints in fcripture not only claiming God as their God in the funfhine days of their profperity, but also in deep affliction; when the hand of God lay heavy on them, they expected good from him : Pfal. xlii. 6. "O my God! my foul is caft down within me, therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar." Was ever any more afflicted than Job, tempted even by his friends to quit his claim? yet he refolutely maintained it. The faints have done this alfo in deep defertion: Thus, Pfal. xxii. 1. "My God, my God, why haft thou forfaken me?" The 88th Pfalm begins with a believing claim. Why should it not be fo, feeing afflictions and desertions are the trial of faith? nay, what is more, they claim God as their God in the time when fin, guilt, and backfliding, are ftaring them in the face, Ezra, ix. 6.-10.; for this opens the heart to kindly forrow for fin, while unbelief locks it up. When the claim is altogether given up with, the heart may be broken into a thousand hard pieces, but it will never melt into godly forrow. Confider,

(4) That this claim honours God. Abraham was ftrong in faith, giving glory to God, Rom. Faith honours the blood of Chrift, the

iv. 20.

blood

blood of the everlafting covenant, when the foul, over the belly of felt unworthiness, claims God as its God upon the title given by this blood. It gives Chrift the honour of the infinite virtue, value, and efficacy of his blood. Faith honours the truth of God in the promises of the gospel, when the foul, in view of the infinite difproportion betwixt God and his finful creature, yet, on the credit of the word, puts in its claim to God himself.- Confider,

(5.) That it is in the strength of faith by which perfons draw near when taking God as their God, but they come ftill nearer when claiming him asfuch Job, xiii. 15. 16. "Though he flay me, yet will I trust in him. He also shall be my falvation." The ftronger that the man is, he holds the harder, and the stronger that faith is, it comes the farther forward in the houfe of God. When Thomas got in his fingers, he cried, "My Lord, and my God," John, xx. 28. for then his faith was as a giant refreshed with wine.- Confider,

(6.) If you dare not claim God as your God, how will you claim any benefit of the covenant? There is guilt lying on your foul, you come and claim a pardon; there is a luft too ftrong for you, you claim ftrength against it; in difficulties you feek light and direction. Now, how can you of these, if you claim not God himself

claim any

as your God? Can a man who has no claim to a woman, claim the benefit of a contract with her? "I will be their God," is the great promise of the covenant, on which all the rest depend; give up your claim to this, and you can lay claim to none of the reft. If God be not your God in Christ, you have no right to pardon, peace, strength, &c. -Confider,

Laftly, That faith greatly adyances fanctifica

tion.

Faith is the great promoter of holiness. Acts, xv. 5.9. " Purifying their hearts by faith." So the more faith which a man has, he will be the more holy; and with the more full affuránce that he can claim God, he has the more faith, and fo will be the more fanctified. Thus it is certain, that that claim which does not advance holiness, is but a delufion; for the claim of faith is ftill of this nature, Pfal. xvi. 2. 3. Exod. 15. 2. " The Lord is my strength and my fong, and he is become my falvation; he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation: my father's God, and I will exalt him." This is a great gospel-truth; I fhall not launch forth into it now, but only men. tion you three things upon it.-I obferve,

(1.) That the way to attain true holiness is, by drawing it from its fountain, God in Chrift, Heb. viii. 10. 1 Cor. i. 30. " But of him are ye in Christ Jefus, who of God is made unto us wifdom and righteousness, and fanctification, and redemption." There is a baftard fanctification, confifting of fome acts of external obedience, wrought out of our own natural powers; but true fanctification is by improving thofe treasures of holiness which are in Chrift, or God in Christ: John, i. 16. "And of his fulnefs have all we received, and grace for grace." Now, how can we improve or make use of those treasures which are in God, if we cannot claim him for our God? But if we cannot claim him as such; we can come boldly to his throne to find mercy and obtain grace to help us in time of need, Heb. iv. 16. If the foul can say, God is mine, then may the person say, Light, life, and ftrength are mine, the promifes are mine. 'They may fuck freely at the breafts of all the gracious promises on record. In a word, when the foul can claim God by faith, it can come

freely

freely to him for fanctification, and improve him for that end. I observe,

(2.) That love to God is the fulfilling of the law; and the more love, the more holiness. Now, to claim God in Chrift as our God, is the true way to attain true love to God; for it is faith which fets love a-going. Faith worketh by love, and so it sets all the graces of the Spirit in motion. Mine is a kindly word; though you live in a cottage, if you can fay, It is mine, it will be fweeter to you than the king's palace, because it is not yours. See how the love of God is kindled in the breast of a guilty creature, 1 John, iv. 19. "We love him, because he firft loved us." It is a hard work (to say no more) to love a God not believed in, not embraced as our God; for the greater and more glorious he is, he is the more dreadful an enemy. It is the word of the gofpel which brings the glad news of the love of God in Chrift. Is it not plain, then, that the more this be believed with application, the more will that love to God be inflamed, and consequently the foul more fatisfied.-I obferve,

(3.) That our hearts must have fomething of their own to fatisfy themfelves with. The greater part of the world hang on about the door of the empty creation, and fuck the breafts of their fulfome lufts. Why do they this? Becaufe God is not theirs, and they cannot want altogether. But let the heart once take God in Chrift, and claim him as its own God, then it has enough. And the more the foul is perfuaded of this, the less it' will care for other things, but fays, in effect, "I have all, and abound." A man will keep in his candles, if he be not perfuaded the fun is up; but if the windows be opened, and he fees the

fhining

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