going-when some disease or danger brings a man to the gates. of the grave.—See 2 Cor. i. 8-10. So Deut. xxxii. 39; 1 Sam. ii. 6; Ps, cxvi. 3-6. When friends and relations have been past hope; when the skilful physician hath been non-plust, and life hath been given for gone; then in the moment, the Lord has been seen: he has said, Live;-he loves to help at a dead-lift -perhaps some of you have experienced it.

7. God is the sovereign Lord of life.-The life of all the creatures is entirely at the disposal of the living God. He who gives may surely take away, when and how he pleases. Christ, as God, is the "Prince of life," Acts iii. 15; and it appeared, by his laying down of his own life, which he had power to do.John x. 18. Christ, as God, had a special power over his own any creature hath.

life

more than

God is also Lord of the life of all the creatures.-Ps. civ. 29. Some of this honour he put upon man.-Gen, ix. 3. Man has commission from the Lord of life to kill and eat the creatures; with a restriction from blood. He is the sovereign Lord of man's life, and,' therefore, could commission Israel to kill and slay the Canaanites, which without such commission it had been sin to have done. He could also command Abram to kill his son. He disposes of all our lives. In his hand our breath is, &c., Dan. v. 23; Job xii. 10; our times are in his hand, Ps. xxxi. 15, to lengthen or shorten as he pleases. Life's duration is uncertain to us, but appointed by God.-Job xiv. 5; vii. 1.

Application:

The explication and illustration of such truths as these doth all aim at the application of them. What fruit, then, may we gather from this tree of life?

I. BY WAY OF INFORMATION.

1. The greatness and goodness of God.-If God be our life, then he is a great God. He must needs be a glorious Being that is the fountain of all other beings. Those are reckoned great men that have many dependencies: how great then is he on whom all the creatures, even the highest and most noble, de

pend for their existence! 'Tis spoken of as an evidence of Nebuchadnezzar's greatness, that he had the disposal of lives, and was purely arbitrary in it.-Dan. v. 19. Much more true of God: he hath the absolute power of life and death in a stricter sense than any man or company of men in the world hath it. "Tis the royal prerogative of his providential kingdom. Well may it be said that he is a great King.-Ps. xcv. 3. Fear before him then, for his power commands it.-Luke xii. 5. Then he is a good God-good, indeed, who gives and preserves to us the greatest good, life.—Acts xvii. 28. There is not a creature in heaven or earth but subsists every day upon God's goodness; and its being is a demonstration of it.-Ps. cxlv. 9-16. If God be the sovereign Lord of life, he is certainly a very good God, or else he would never bear with provoking sinners as he doth. Many bear with those that offend them, and no thanks to them; 'tis because they have not power to punish; but with God it is not so: the suspending of his power and of his providence puts a period to the being of any of his creatures.—What! and yet, are there any of his enemies alive? Yes!-Job xxi. 7, &c. Is not he a patient God then? That he who can speak the proudest of men into nothing, should continue them in their being who deny his being, is such a proof of the patience of God, as doth not only evidence the truth of it, but bespeaks it truly wonderful. Never any man had so much patience, vested with so much power; but he is God and not man, Hos. xi. 9, can do what he will, and yet will not execute the fierceness of his anger. Wonder at his patience!

2. The wisdom and happiness of the saints.-Their wisdom, to choose this God to be theirs, and to be solicitous to keep themselves in his favour. Sure they are a wise and understanding people, to have the God of life so near them.-Deut. iv. 6, 7. The fear of the Lord is upon this account the truest wisdom.Job xxviii. 28. And saints, however branded with the ignominious brand of fools, will be found the only wise men-wise to seek to please him on whom they so much depend, and to prize and be ambitious of that favour which is the root upon which all desired good grows. See Prov. xxix. 26; xix. 6.

Their happiness, in having God for their God, according to their choice-it cannot but go well with them, who can call the Lord of life theirs. Life! a word inclusive of all good. See Psalm cxliv.; they that have God, have enough, nay, they have all. Gen. xxxiii. 9, 11.

3. The evil of sin, and misery of sinners.-The evil of sin-which we should look upon to be against God.-Gen. xxxix. 9. And is God our life then? Consider what a foolish thing sin is 'tis forsaking the fountain of living waters.-Jer. ii. 13. Is it not folly for a man to cut the bough he stands on, and provoke him in whose hand his life is? What an ungrateful thing it is to sin against God, who has given, maintained, preserved, and sweetened life; to use the members of the body, and powers of the soul, to the dishonour of him that gives them, aggravates sin with this consideration; as Dan. v. 23. See Isa. i. 2. 'Tis an ill requital.-Deut. xxxii. 6. Do ye thus requite the Lord, O foolish people and unwise? and Job xxii. 17, 18.-The misery of sinners. If God be our life, then woe to those that have no interest in him, nay, to whom he is an enemy; they are miserable in reference to their temporal, as well as spiritual and eternal concerns; they have no covenant right to any of their enjoyments, and therefore can have no comfortable use of them.

II. BY WAY OF EXHORTATION.

1. Own and acknowledge your dependence upon God.Believe this truth with a practical application of it to yourselves, without which, general truths do us little good: do not only say in general that God hath the ordering of all events, but in particular, "My times are in thy hand," as David, Psalm xxxi. 15. Own God in daily preservations, protections, provisions, supplies. Learn to know their Author, and be not worse than the oxen.-Isa. i. 3. See God's hand spreading your table, serving, clothing, supplying you daily; know that he gives you all, not as those, Hos. ii. 8, who, like rebellious children, disowned all dependence upon their Father; which said unto God, "Depart from us. "See Job xxii. 17.-Tis natural to men to desire to be

independent, and not to care how little they are beholden to others, and it is their folly; for we are all a company of poor depending creatures, that live at the charge, and are maintained by the charity, of God Almighty every day. See your lives to be at God's disposal, as 'tis with the wisest of creatures.-Psalm civ. 29. Your time appointed by him.-Job xiv. 5. Those who deny God's providence, disown their dependence so doth the speculative Atheist, than whom, surely there is not a greater monster in the world, unless it be the practical Atheist, that lives as if he had no such dependence.

2. Make God your friend, and be very careful also to keep yourself in his love.-Do I speak to any that are to this day in a state of enmity to God? see it your interest to be reconciled-conducive to temporal, as well as spiritual advantage. See Job xxii. 21. "Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: whereby good shall come unto thee." The way-the only way to live as long, as comfortably, and as prosperously as infinite wisdom knows to be for your good and the glory of God, is to acquaint yourself with God, and to be at peace; to lay down your arms, cease your enmity, and be at peace with God in Christ take him, accept him; be persuaded to do this; do it seriously, do it speedily, and once well done, 'tis done for ever. Seek the favour of the Ruler of rulers: allude to Acts xii. 20.

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To you that can through grace call God yours, see it to be your greatest interest to keep yourself also in his love, Jude 1, 21; be very careful that you do nothing to forfeit it-fear to offend God, who is your life.

all

Let this direct your prayers, your praises, and your hopes, in your concernments. Let it direct your prayers: if God be our life, Psalm xlii. 8, then we see whither to go for food and protection: the Lord's Prayer directs us to ask our daily bread from our heavenly Father-Agur goes to him for his allowance. -Prov. xxx. 8. So the brute creatures.-Psalm cxlv. 15. See whither to go for health when we are sick-to him, to whom belong the issues from death, Psalm lxviii. 20; whither else should you go? Means are to be used-but see God's blessing upon the means to be all in all, and seek it accordingly. Seek the Lord more than the physicians, not as Asa, 2 Chron. xvi.

12, much less as Ahaziah, 2 Kings i. 2, 3. "Tis great wickedness for people, when they are sick, to go to witches that pretend to bless people, or to use such means of recovery as are not natural. If God be our life, let us not go to the devil for health. When relations are sick, bring them to God by prayer, as John xi. 3. Christ was ready to receive such prayers when he was on earth, and never was any one the worse for going to him. Yet do it with humble submission and resignation. See James v. 14.

Let it direct your praises. Give God the glory of life given, maintained, preserved, sweetened, restored, and bless his name. Call him the God of your life: remember especially signal preservations and recoveries; time should not wear out your thankful sense of special mercies. See Isa. xxxviii. 19, 20. When God said unto you, Live, was not that a time of love? Every bit we eat, every drop we drink, every step we take, every breath we draw, is more love. Unthankfulness may provoke God to

stop the current of his favours.

Let it direct your hopes. Creatures are broken reeds; therefore, trust in the living God.—1 Tim. vi. 17; Isa. xxvi. 4. Repose confidence in God, not only as to the grand affairs of the revealed salvation, but as to the petty concerns of time.—Psalm xlii.—11; xxxvii. 3. Trust God for the continuance of life, the preservation of health.

Let it direct your resignations.-Rom. xii. 1. Give up all to God,-yourself, your friends, all you have; make a virtue of necessity; all shall be as God will; be willing it should be so. Say, If the Lord will, we shall live.-James iv. 15.

If God be our life, let us live to him, while we live, and be willing to die when he will have us to die. See Rom. xiv. 7, 8. If all be from God, let all be to him.-Rom. xi.36; 2 Cor. v. 15. Spend your lives in his service, to his praise live; attend to the word of God as your only rule, to the glory of God as your ultimate end.-1 Cor. x. 31.

Be willing to die when God calls. God gave the spirit, it is fit it should return to him when he calls for it; and resign it to him-as Christ did on the cross. Do not shrink at laying down your lives for the truth and the testimony of Jesus.-Acts.xx. 24.