fign; and, "Whofo is wife, and will obferve these things, even he fhall understand the loving-kindness of the Lord." Therefore, as he is ftill a comer, be you flill an obferver of his motions.

6. The fixth advice, to add no more, is, that you remember that his coming is ftill over fome mountain or other, and with a defign to move or melt down fome mountain between him and you. When he comes,

in a fmiling way to you, it is to level fome mountain of defpair, defpondency, or difcouragement. And when he comes in any frowning difpenfation, it is to level fome mountain of pride, prefumption, or ingratitude. Our Lord Jefus, when he came in the flesh to the work of our redemption, he came leaping and skipping over the mountains of the wrath of God, and the wrath of men and devils; and, indeed, when he comes in the Spirit, to vifit with his falvation, he fill comes over mountains of one fort or another; and fometimes over the mountain of wrathful-like difpenfations. As to the mountain of man's wrath, it is not a mote in his way, even when they have gone to their uttermoft, and made the objects of their wrath as odi. ous as they can, and the mountain of feparation between them and us, as high as they can; yet there is no danger, if the mountain of fin and feparation betwixt God and you be removed; he can foon make you thresh all the other mountains; yea, beat them fmall, and make the hills as chaff. However, mind that his coming is ftill to level fome mountain or o ther. And therefore, the believer, whofe fpiritual ears and eyes are open, may ftill have occafion to fay, The voice of my Beloved! bebold, he cometh, leaping upon the mountains, and skipping upon the hills.

SERMON

SERMON CXLV.

CHRIST'S LOVE-SUIT reinforced and repeated: Or, His kindly GOSPEL-CALL renewed. *

F

IF

SONG ii. 13.

Arife, my love, my fair one, and come away.

our Lord Jefus Chrift is come here this day to court a bride, in the terms of this text, they show, that never was there fuch an affectionate or importunate Suitor his affection will appear in the kindly names he here gives her, which how what a loving and kind heart he has; My love, my fair one; his importunity appears in the fuitable call and invitation he gives her, which fhows what a lazy and loitering cafe he is in; Rife, and come away. More fweet compellations cannot be given to a loathfome bride; My love, my fair one more meet invitations Cannot be given to a lingering and backward bride; Arife, and come away: and more documents of his being in good earnest cannot be given, than in his reapeating these kindly words, and ending his arguments with them here: fo he begins with, ver, 10. Rife up, my love, my fair one, and come away; where the church and fpoufe of Chrift relates the gracious words he spoke to her, and is a faithful recorder of what he faid to her foul, and a faithful relater thereof, for the encouragement of others; My Be

* This Sermon was preached immediately before the celebration of the facrament of the Lord's fupper, at Dunfermline, on Sabbath, July 21ft, 1751.

loved Spake and faid unto me, Rife up, my love, my fair one, and come away. And having told how kindly he invited her, fhe next tells how ftrongly he urged the invitation, with motives and arguments, faying, "For lo, the winter is paft, the rain is over and gone; the flowers appear on the earth; the time of the finging of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; the figtree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the the tender grape, give a good fmell," ver. 11, 12, 13. q. d. If thou wilt hearken to my call, and come to me, thou fhalt be delivered from that fad winter-like cafe and condition thou haft been in, and have a pleafant delightful life, a flourishing fpring-tide of spiritual joys, which fhall be ftill on the growing, hand, until it end in a harvest of glory: thou fhalt have advantages beyond all the rest of the world; thy walk fhall be in the garden of the Lord, where the fweet promifes, and the precious bleffings thereof, are as fo many fruitful trees, pleasant to the eye, favoury to the tafte, delightful to the ear, with the finging of birds upon the branches thereof; and in all refpects, ravishing, melodious, and commodious. I now invite thee to come, and fhare of the sweet fpring I have brought along with me. It is a pleasant feafon: "The voice of the turtle is heard in our land, the flowers appear on the earth :" a fragrant and fruitful feafon, "The fig-tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape, give a good fmell," ver. 12, 13. The fpiritual flourishing and fruitfulness is reprefented by thefe various fimilitudes; all which fhow how, that as Chrifl's abfence makes a winter, his prefence makes a fummer; yea, he brings a fpring with him, were it even in the midst of winter. Sad and heavy times may pafs over the Lord's people; yet his approach and return can make a winter-like difpenfation heartfome, with abundant up-making.

Our Lord having given the call, and urged it with motives drawn from the heartfome fpring-time he brought along with him, in fo many parts of it, (all which I have formerly spoke to at large,) he comes in the clofe of this verse, to renew the former invitation, faying, Rife, my love, my fair one, and come away.

In which words you have three things to be confidered: 1. The kindly compellation; My love, my fair one. 2. The earneft invitation; Arife, and come away. 3. The words confidered in connection with ver. 10. and the arguments intermixed between that verfe and this, are a repetition of the fame call from this affectionate Suitor, who will not take a refufal, nor a nay-fay; Rife up, my love, my fair one, and come away; and again, Arife, my love, my fair one, and come away.

Having fpoke formerly to the context, and particularly fome months ago to these words as they stand in the 10th verfe *, as I need not enlarge upon them now; fo my efpecial defign is to confider them as a repeated call, and a renewed invitation, a courtship earnestly infifted upon; Arife, my love, my fair one, and come away. From which words we may obferve the following doctrine.

OBSERV. That the repeated call, and renewed invitation of our Lord Jefus Chrift, to his drowzy and difconfolate people, whom he names his love and fair one, is, that they rife, and come away with

him.

You fee here, that the vifion is doubled; the truth of the doctrine is established, by the repetition of the fame words, and the renovation of the fame fuit.

In fpeaking to it, I would, through fupernatural aid, obferve the following method and order.

I. Premise a few things with relation to the party here, to whom the invitation is directed.

II. I would open up a little the import of the titles here given to that party; My love, my fair

one.

III. The import of thefe calls; Rife, and come a

way.

IV. I would point out what may be implied in the

* What our Author delivered on the context, and this verfe, was never emitted to the public.

répe

repetition of thefe words; and why the call and invitation is thus renewed:-and then,

V. Deduce fome inferences for the application.

I. We would premife a few things relative to the party to whom the call and invitation is directed.And,

Ift, In fome fenfe it may be viewed as directed even to finners who are dead in trefpaffes and fins, whom Chrift hath a mind to quicken by his kindly voice in the gofpel: "You hath he quickened who were dead in trefpaffes and fins," Eph. ii. 1. It is true, it is not the immediate intent of this text to call the unconverted; yet it may be ufeful for engaging and bringing in strangers to Christ, as well as for recovering and roufing these that are brought in already. He fpeaks to finners, that are the objects of his benevolence and good-will, as well as he fpeaks to faints, that are already the objects of his complacence and delight. Even as the facramental fupper, tho' it is not, in its immediate defign, a converting ordinance, for bringing in finners; but a confirming one, for establishing faints; yet God may blefs a facramental occafion, as often he has done, for bringing in ftrangers to a faving acquaintance with Chrift. Thus the call given to Chrift's dull and drowzy bride, to rife and come away to him, may be useful for rousing dead finners out of their natural fecurity: yea, the general call of God in the gospel being directed to mankind finners, on account of his partia, Philanthropy, or mankind love, Tit. iii. 4. may be supposed to be in these terms, My love, my fair one, rife, and come away: for he calls them by names which are not their natural names, when he is courting their heart; but courting them by kindly and winning names, which will be truly applicable to them, whenever they answer his call.

There are two forts of names he gives men whom he courts: 1. Some names from what they are in themfelves 2. Some names from what they are in his purpofe and defign.

:

1. The names he gives them as fecure finners, lying

fleeping