Having thus discovered the stability of the covenant, and that it is in all respects such a stronghold as we need, the such is our disaffection to the great God, | promises are yea and amen; " here the that even when aid appears necessary, we soul finds something to lean upon; its would rather be indebted for it to any anxious fears begin to vanish; it now other than to him. I believe I may ven- knows with certainty where relief is to be ture to affirm, that the gospel sanctuary is found. always the sinner's last resort; and it is not till we are "shut up unto the faith," as the Apostle expresseth it, that is, hedged in on every side by an absolute despair of relief from any creature, that we come to think in good earnest of seeking it from Christ. This then is the first thing implied in turning to the stronghold, that we turn our back upon every thing else. It further imports in the 2d place, That we turn our eyes to this stronghold, and narrowly examine the security it affords. The true flight of a soul to the Lord Jesus Christ, is not a rash and precipitate adventure, but the result of serious and mature deliberation: it is not curiosity, but pressing necessity, that sets the soul in motion. The awakened sinner sees the avenger of blood ready to seize upon him; and hearing of a stronghold, erected by infinite wisdom and grace, for the protection and safety of persons in his situation, he anxiously inquires into the truth of this report, and useth every means in his power to get certain information of it. This, my brethren, is an essential part of the duty here enjoined. I cannot tell you of what importance it is to get clear and distinct apprehensions of the gospelcovenant, that stronghold pointed out to us in my text. 3d, and principal thing required is, That we actually flee to it, and improve it for all the purposes for which it was intended. The two former advices I gave you, were only preparatory to this last and most important step, which is the sum and substance of the duty here enjoined, Turn ye to the stronghold, ye prisoners of hope. You who are lying in the prison of an unconverted state, come hither to this sanctuary, whose gates stand open to receive you: "It is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners: He hath shed that blood which "cleanseth from all sin," and hath sealed that gracious and well-ordered covenant, which offers pardon and eternal life to every penitent, believing sinner. And now "all things are ready" for your reception and entertainment: The Father is ready to embrace you; Christ is ready to wash you in his blood; the Spirit is ready to heal your diseased natures; angels are ready to rejoice at your return; and we, as the servants of this King of Zion, are ready to welcome you into the family of God, and do now exhort and pray you, in Christ's stead, to flee for refuge, "to lay hold on the hope set before you.' This is the call of my text to un As to the other prisoners of hope I spoke of, who, though they are rescued from the pit wherein is no water, yet find their souls cast down within them, and, by reason of various discouragements, cannot enjoy "the liberty wherewith Christ has set them free;" We should not only endeavor to know what we are allowed to expect from it, but likewise to see the firmness of that foundation upon which our faith and hope must stand. A wavering hope may bal-converted sinners. ance a wavering apprehension of danger, but will not answer the necessities of an awakened sinner. But when we come to see that this stronghold is built upon the Rock of ages, and suported by pillars of invincible strength, even all the perfections of an unchangeable God; or, to drop the allusion, when we see that this covenant, which promises every blessing we need, is a sure, a permanent, and irrevocable deed, confirmed by the oath of the great I AM, and sealed with the blood of his own dear Son, "in whom all the The call to you is, Turn again to the stronghold, and once more look to "the Rock that is higher than you." The Redeemer, in whom you trust, is mighty to save; "all power is committed to him in heaven and in earth;" and he is constitu ted "head over all things for his church." siah's office, which I formerly quoted; "It hath pleased the Father, that in him "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,' all fulness should dwell;" and the whole &c. The redemption of the Jews from the fulness of the Godhead is treasured up in Babylonish captivity, and their return to him, for this very end, that he may dis- their own land, appear from the sequel of pense to his people such gracious supplies the chapter to have been the events which as their various cases and circumstances the Prophet had more immediately in his may require. You are not straitened eye. But we shall not be able to doubt in him, be not "straitened in your own that he looked a great deal farther, even bowels." to that spiritual redemption which Christ was to achieve for his church, if we turn over to the 4th chapter of Luke, 21st verse, where our blessed Lord, after reading this passage in the synagogue at Nazareth, made particular application of it "This day is the Scripture fulfilled in your ears. Hence it is obvious, that what the Prophet says in the 7th verse, viz. for "your shame ye shall have double," &c. falls to be understood in a spiritual sense too; and the meaning of it is, that the ransomed of the Lord shall not only be freed from bondage, and rescued from the hands of their spiritual enemies, but shall likewise be advanced to such honor and happiness, as shall wipe off all the shame of their servitude, and fill them with the most transporting joy. Might I stay to examine your particular complaints, I believe I could show you that there is something in the covenant to answer them all. He who brought you out of the pit of an unconverted state, can easily deliver you from every other to himself, in these remarkable words: prison. What furnace can consume those who are sprinkled with that blood which hath already quenched the fire of incensed justice? He who "bore your sins in his own body upon the tree," will not suffer you to sink under the weight of them: He who "suffered, being tempted," will certainly succor you who are tempted! He who, under the hidings of his Father's face, cried out upon the cross, "My God! my God! why hast thou forsaken me?" cannot fail to sympathize with his people in the like circumstances; and he whose own "soul was exceeding sorrowful, even unto death," will, in due time, communicate that joy to you, the want of which was so painful to himself. If Christ is indeed precious in your esteem; if you can say without known guile, that your whole dependence is upon him, and him alone; then know, that he is equal to all the trust you can put in him, and he is faithful who hath said, Even to day do I declare, that I will render double unto thee. And this is the Third and last branch of the text. Upon which I shall offer a very few remarks, and then conclude. 1st. I would observe, that the promise itself is most gracious, I will render double unto thee. We meet with the same expression, (Isaiah lxi. 7.) where I think the meaning of it is plainly ascertained: For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion therefore in their land they shall possess the double everlasting joy shall be unto them." The chapter is introduced with that grand description of the Mes : In the 90th Psalm, at the 15th verse, Moses, the man of God, prays for the church in these terms: "Make us glad, according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen grief." He only asks joy in proportion to the grief they have felt; but the bounty of our gracious Lord doth far exceed the prayers and expectations of his servants; for here he says I will render unto thee, not barely according to, or in proportion to thy former sufferings, but I will render double unto thee. Even in this life, he may pour into your souls such measures of joy and consolation, as shall not only balance your past sorrows, but far outweigh them, and cause them to appear very light and inconsiderable. At any rate, he will render unto you double in another world; all tears shall there be wiped away from your eyes; your light afflictions, which are but for a moment, are, in the mean time, working for you a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; and, ere long, "you shall return and come to Zion, with songs and everlasting joy upon your heads; then shall you obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. I would further observe to you, in the 2d place, That the comfort of this promise is greatly heightened by the manner of publishing it; Even to-day do I de clare. It is uttered with great solemnity, and expressed in the most resolved and peremptory manner. I do not say it slightly I declare it; I pledge the credit both of my power and faithfulness to make it good. The circumstance of time, too, makes a remarkable addition. I declare it even to day; in this dark and cloudy day, when your misgiving minds are meditating nothing but terror. Even on this day, when the event is most unlikely, I give you the promise of complete deliverance; to-day, when your hearts are emptied of self-confidence, when every other refuge fails, I give you my word, my oath, to lay hold upon; and I do it to-day, whilst your feelings are most painful, that the depth of your distress may help you to form some conception of the high joy that awaits you. at that happy time when I shall render double unto thee. But I apprehend there is still an emphasis on these words to-day, beyond any thing I have yet mentioned. Here God, as it were, prefixes a date to his promise, which, in human obligations, has always been judged an essential formality: as if he had said, let it be recorded, that on this day I have passed my word for your salvation; for though I need no tokens to remind me of my everlasting purposes of grace, yet, as you need them to strengthen your faith and hope, therefore, in pity of your weakness, I give you every kind of security you can ask from one another. Let it then be remembered, that to-day, I declare I will render double unto thee. comfort of the Scripture, might have hope." The promise, though addressed to believ ers many ages ago, extends even to us; because he who made the promise is always in one mind; "the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever." Nay, so great is his condescension, that he is just now wil ling to have it dated afresh under one of the authentic seals of his covenant. Let us then, my brethren, humbly adore the goodness of God which hath provided so liberally for the relief and comfort of the prisoners of hope; and in the entrance to the solemn service of this day, let us look up to him who is "the God of hope;" praying, in the words which his own spirit hath indited, that he would "fill us with all joy and peace in believing, that we may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost." Amen. 1 SERMON IX. THE WANDERER, AND HIS RETURN. PETER II. 25.--"For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls." HUMILITY is both the strength and beauty of the soul; it is its best defence, as well as its fairest ornament. "Happy is the man that feareth always; but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief; " "“for God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble." No sooner had David said, "I shall never be moved, than he suddenly experienced a sad reverse of fortune, and found cause to utter that mournful complaint, "Thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled.' This Various means have been employed in every age of the church, to banish pride UPON the whole, then, let me once more from the hearts of men, and to beget and repeat the call in my text, Turn ye to the cherish that lowliness of mind which bestronghold, ye prisoners of hope. Bring comes dependent, guilty creatures. all your cares, your doubts, your tempta- was the obvious tendency of the most sotions, to that mighty Saviour on whom lemn rites under the old dispensation. your help is laid. He hath declared to The annual sacrifice of the paschal lamb, you in his word, that he will render unto besides its typical use, or reference to the you double; "for what things soever were great atonement, had likewise an imporwritten aforetime, were written for our tant moral signification; and the lessons learning, that we, through patience and lit taught were humility and gratitude. that misery into which we had plunged ourselves by our fatal apostacy; so that our triumph in the great salvation, by recalling to our minds the low and helpless state in which mercy found us, gives check to every self-exalting thought, and constrains us to ascribe to the free and unmerited favor of God, the sole, the undivided praise of all that we have, or hope to enjoy. "It shall come to pass," said Moses, by | only discover the unsearchable riches of the command of God, "that when your divine love, but we likewise behold the children shall say unto you, What mean full demerit of sin, and all the horrors of you by this service? ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the Lord's passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses." In like manner, when they brought the first fruits as an offering to the Lord, which was another solemnity that returned every year, the form of dedication was prescribed in these words: (Deut. xxvi. 5, 6, &c.) "A Syrian ready to perish was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous. And the Egyptians evil entreated us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage. And when we cried unto the Lord God of our fathers, the Lord heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, and our labor, and our oppression. And the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt, with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders. And he hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land that floweth with milk and honey. And now, behold, I have brought the first fruits of the land, which thou, O Lord, hast given me.” Thus did God train up his ancient people "to serve him with reverence, and to rejoice before him with trembling." Their thank-offerings, as well as their oblations for sin, obliged them to recognize the meanness of their original, and the ignominious servitude from which God had redeemed them; and every act of worship taught them to say, "Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto ?" The ordinances of grace in the New Testament church breathe the same spirit, and dictate the same language; nay, they do it with greater force and energy. To those views, and to this becoming exercise, we are naturally led by the words of my text; which have frequently occurred to me as a most proper form of address for introducing communicants to the table of their Lord. Ye were as sheep going astray, but are now returned to the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls. These two widely different states, what you once were by nature, and what you now are by grace, I propose to illustrate in the sequel of this discourse; from both which we may, with ease and certainty, discover what frame and temper of heart best suit our attendance upon this great Christian solemnity. Let me then call upon believers in Christ; for to them, and to them only, such language can be addressed; let me call upon them, in the First place, Seriously to review their former condition, when they, as well as others, were as sheep going astray. The fitness of this similitude, to exhibit the natural state of mankind, may justly be inferred from the frequent use that is made of it in the sacred writings. I shall not attempt to trace out the resemblance in all its extent; but some parts of it are so striking and expressive, that to overlook them altogether, or even slightly to regard them, would either betray very gross insensibility, or a perverse contempt of the divine condescension. Thus, a sheep that hath forsaken the The gospel-passover, which we are this good pasture, and strayed into the parchday to celebrate, commemorates a delivered and barren wilderness, presents to ance from spiritual thraldom; of which us, in the strongest and most affecting the release of the Jews from the Egyptian light, an emblem of indigence, perplexity, yoke affords but a faint and imperfect em- and disappointment. Now, such is the state of every natural man; vanity and vexation of spirit" are his portion; he resembles one who dreameth, and be blem. In those complicated sufferings which were the price of our redemption, we not hold he eateth, but he awaketh, and his soul is empty." Disappointed in every pursuit, he goes from place to place, ever repeating the anxious question, Who will show me any good? There is a void within him that the world cannot fill; the flesh, after all the provision he can make for it, still cries with "the horse-leech, Give, give;" and like "the fire or the grave, never saith, It is enough." All the creatures are to him what the husks were to the prodigal; they yield a momentary relief, but no real nourishment; he endeavors to feed upon them, "but still he hath appetite, his soul is faint," and he perisheth with hunger. part of the verse; where, speaking of the "It In all these particulars, the resemblance can be traced with a critical exactBut still there remains one other Again, this figurative representation denotes a state of danger as well as of indigence and dissatisfaction. Few animals | are beset with more enemies than sheep; and perhaps none are possessed of less cunning to elude, or of less courage to resist them. Their safety depends entirely upon the shepherd's care; for if they wan der beyond the reach of his protecting arm, they become at once, to every raven-ness. ous beast, not only a tempting but an easy ingredient in man's apostacy from God, prey. With what awful precision doth to which the similitude, comprehensive as this part of the similitude exhibit to us it is, cannot be extended; the fatal ingrethe state of unconverted sinners! Their dient I mean is guilt. spiritual enemies are both numerous and mighty; and the subtlety of the serpent and the strength of the lion are but faint representations of their craft and power; yet such is the presumption of carnal men, so fatal the security of those who are far from God, that instead of avoiding their blood-thirsty foes, they roam without fear through their most frequented haunts, and rush headlong into those snares that are laid for their destruction. Once more;-Though sheep are not the only creatures that are prone to wander, yet it may justly be affirmed of them, that they, of all others, discover least sagacity in finding the way back to the place from whence they strayed; so that in them we likewise behold a proper and most descriptive emblem of man's help lessness and impotent state by nature, and of his utter inability, by any efforts of his own, to regain his primeval happiness and glory. That the apostle intended to convey this idea is more probable, from the form of his expression in the latter A sheep gone astray is an object of pity rather than of blame; the owner feels no emotion of anger against the simple wanderer; he doth not view it as faulty; but as unfortunate: he therefore seeks it with anxiety; and when he hath found it, so far is he from punishing it as a criminal, that he cherisheth it as a sufferer, takes it tenderly into his arms, and brings it home with joy. Whereas, in our departure from, God, evey crime is united that render us loathsome and odious in his sight. Man's apostacy was the effect not of weakness, but of wilfulness: the guilt that lieth upon us is nothing less than proud and obstinate rebellion: rebellion blackened with the vilest ingratitude; unprovoked rebellion against the Father of our spirits, and the former of our bodies, the God in whom we live, the generous author of those distinguished gifts, which, by the most impious abuse, we have turned into hostile weapons against him self. Such monsters, my brethren, are all un |