Imatges de pàgina
PDF
EPUB

Well, if Chrift's neceffity and your neceffity meet together; that he must have you, and you mult have him, then you will come down joyfully to him. Hear him then in his promife; and let your faith be founded, upon his word of promife, and not upon this or that good in you; for this is to ftay up, instead of coming down. It is a piece of pride, as if you fcorned to come to him in rags, like beggars; but down, down, man, upon your knees, before him.Be content to come to him in rags, that he may clothe you; in your poverty, that he may enrich you; and with all your plagues, that he may heal you.

Faith muft ftand upon God's great and precious promife. Some will fay, If I had faith, I would believe. But, what fenfe is here? This were to build your faith upon your faith. O my dear friends, confider this, for your eternal good; is it not more reasonable to fay, If I had good fecurity, I would believe; if I had God's bond, his word, his promife, I would believe? Now, God has given to the whole vifible church many gracious promifes: "To them belongs the covenant.The promise is to you, and to your children :" and your right thereto is fealed in baptifm; and upon these promises you are to build your faith and hope. And if thus you hear him calling, and hear him promising, then it is impoffible you can ftay any longer away from him. You will come down fpeedily, and entertain him in your heart, and houfe; and walk humbly with him all your days, till he take you up to walk with him in white, in the higher house.

May the Lord blefs his word, and to his name be praise.

[merged small][ocr errors]

SERMON

CXLIV.

MOUNTAINS OVERLEAPED; or, CHRIST's Coming to his PEOPLE, LEAPING and SKIPPING on the MOUNTAINS and HILLS in his WAY. *

SONG ii. 8.

The voice of my Beloved! Behold, he cometh, leaping upon the mountains, and skipping upon the bills!

MY

Y friends, if we fhall have any communion with God this day, it will be only in Chrift, who is the way to the Father; for, "No man cometh to the Father but by him." If we have communion, it will be by two means, namely, by his voice and by his vifit; that is, by his word and by his Spirit.

1. If we have communion with him by his voice, it will readily be fuch a kindly voice, fuch a kindly word, as to surprise your heart with the sweetness of it, and to make you break filence with fuch an abrupt fpeech of foul as this, The voice of my Beloved! The voice of Chrift in the gofpel is the voice of a friend, a beloved, of whom God fays, "This is my beloved Son;" and of whom the believer fays, "This is my Beloved, this is my friend!" I hear his voice.

2. If we have communion with him by his vifit, and by his coming in the power of his Spirit, his motions will readily be fo remarkable, that the fenfe of the great distance that hath been betwixt him and you, will

*This Sermon was preached immediately before the celebration of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper at Dunfermline, July St, 1750. To which is fubjoined, the Difcourfes before and at the Service of the firft table, and at the Conclufion of the Solemnity.

make

make his gracious approach to be very welcome and wonderful, fo as to produce fuch language as that of the church and spouse of Chrift here; "Behold, he cometh! leaping upon the mountains, and skipping upon the hills!"

In the preceding part of this chapter, we have the bride of Chrift, feafting fweetly under his fhadow, brought to the banquetting-houfe, with his banner of love over her, and her foul wrapt up in his kindest embraces, and in all circumstances of happiness; and evidencing the deepest concern to be fafely kept from every thing that might create difturbance to her Beloved, or marr the fweet communion fhe had with him, from verfe 3. to this. But here, there feems to be a diftance between him and her, and fuch a diftance as that there are hills and mountains interveening betwixt them. The sweetest circumstances the Lord's people can be in here, are not permanent, but variable; juft now they may think their mountain ftands ftrong; by and by, the Lord may hide his face, and they are troubled.

But now, in the words of the text, there is a blessed discovery fhe gets of his return to her; and that, 1. By hearing his voice; and, 2. By obferving his motion: "The voice of my Beloved: behold, he cometh!"

(1.) She hears his voice, in his word and ordinances. Indeed, the voice of Chrift must be heard believingly, before we can have communion with him; "Behold, I ftand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, I will come in to him, and fup with him, and he with me," Rev. iii. 20. So here, she did not fee him coming, till fhe heard his voice. The word and voice of Christ never failed any that heard and trufted to it; it never put a lye in their right hand. If the bride of Christ hear his voice, and thereupon look out, fhe will fee himself: hence, after fhe hears his voice,

(2.) She obferves his motion; for, fays fhe, Bebold, be cometh! And, "Bleffed. are they that hear and believe, for they fhall fee: Said I not unto thee, that if thou wouldft believe, thou fhouldft fee the glory of God?" The word rightly underflood, will deceive none that trust

to

to it. It is a fure word of prophecy, more fure than a voice from heaven, and more free from the hazard of delufion, than if we had an extraordinary revelation on every emergent; what men or angels fay, may put a curfed cheat upon us; but what the word fays, we may venture our fouls upon, Rom. x. 8. 1 Pet. iv. 19.

Bebold, be cometh!

Here, more particularly, we may obferve these three things. 1. The motion; He cometh.

2. The

notice fhe takes of it; Bebold, he cometh! 3. The manner of it; Leaping upon the mountains, and skipping upon the bills.

ift, The motion itself; He cometh. There are feveral forts of Chrift's comings that we read of in fcripture.

1. His coming in the flesh, in his incarnation; "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; fhout, O daughter of Jerufalem; Behold, thy King cometh!" Zech. ix. 9.— Some are of opinion, that the Old teftament church here. hath a respect to Chrift's coming in the flesh, rejoicing to fee his day afar off, as Abraham did.

2. His coming in the clouds, or unto judgment, called his fecond coming; "Behold, he cometh with clouds ! and every eye fhall fee him," Revelation i. 7. This is not the coming here spoken of; but our communicating this day is to be in the faith of it: for, by the facramental fupper, we fhew forth his death till he come again.

3. His coming in the word, and in his ordinances and providences: Thefe are the outward means and chariots of falvation, Hab. iii. 8. wherein he comes for the fupport and comfort of his people; hence he says, "Fear not, be ftrong;" why? "your God cometh with falvation: I will come and fave you," Ifa. xxxv. 4.

4. His coming in the Spirit, which feems here to be fpoken of. Concerning this coming, fee John xiv. 18. I will not leave you comfortlefs: I will come unto you; I will fend the Comforter*." And it is his coming in

* This fourfold coming of Christ is more fully laid open, Vol. VI. p. 61,----63.

the

the power of the Spirit that I take to be especially here underflood..

2dly, The notice he takes of it; Bebold, be cometh! Here remark, what effect the word had, after fhe hears his voice; it roufes her to a Bebold, be cometh! As his word is a fure word, as I faid, fo it is a roufing word; yea, the word received and believed, is but the fore-runner of a more near manifeftation or approach.

[ocr errors]

Queft. But does every one that hears his word, fee him coming?

Anfw. It is not the naked word of Chrift that roufes us up, or affects us duly; but the word received and believed; and therefore many never fee him, because they do not hear his voice believingly, nor obferve it as the voice of their Beloved. His near approaches are the fruit of a tender and loving entertainment, and obfervation of his word, and not of a coldrife bare hearing, without understanding and concern. Her Bebold here, is not only,

1. A note, of certainty, denoting the reality of the thing, as when it is faid, Jude, ver. 14. "Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thoufand of his faints;" it is fure and certain: But,

2. It is a note of obfervation; Behold, be cometh! She was no idle hearer of the word; but the voice which fhe knew led her to the perfon of Chrift: in the glass of the word fhe fees himself by faith; Bebold, be cometh! And not only fo, but,

3. It is a note of wonder and admiration, as when it is faid, "Behold, a virgin fhall conceive!" &c.; it is matter of wonder: the believing foul, after distance and defertion, is always filled with wonder and amazement at his return Yea,

4. It is a note of joy and exultation; "Behold, he cometh, to feek and fave!" The foul cannot but rejoice in his falvation. Such as by faving acquaintance with. Chrift know his voice, and his approaches, are exceedingly filled with joy and gladnefs at even the diftant found, or fmall whifper of his voice, or noife of his feet upon the mountains: hence the bride here breaks

forth

« AnteriorContinua »