hath to us. God is love; he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him."

Now, the object of faith is Jesus Christ held forth in the word of the gospel, in whom the fulness of the Godhead dwells bodily, that is to say, God in Christ. See the sum of the gospel, 2 Cor. v. 18, 19, "And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the mystery of reconciliation : to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation." Faith does not stand still in the vail, that is, his flesh, but goes through the vail, Heb. x. 20, to the Godhead, that is, within it, and there, only there, it rests, or can rest. Now, the persons of the Trinity being one, he who believeth in Christ the Son, believeth in the Father and the Holy Ghost: John xiv. 9, "He that hath seen me," said Jesus, "hath seen the Father." More particularly, that you may take your aim right in this matter, I think drawing near by faith lies in three things, namely,

1. It lies in accepting God for our God in Christ. I say in Christ, for no other way have we him offered to us, nor can a soul in any other way accept him; out of Christ he is a consuming fire. Thus, from the mercy-seat in Christ he offers the covenant, which faith accepts Heb. viii. 10," For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord: I will put my laws in their mind, and write them in their hearts; and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people." And there, even in Christ, the soul takes him for its God, and gives itself away to him: Isa. xliv. 5, " One shall say, I am the Lord's, and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lord, and surname himself by the name of Israel." Thus the sinner is joined to God in Christ by a marriage-union: Isa. liv. 2, "For thy Maker is thy Husband." (Heb. thy Makers is thy husband). 2 Cor. vi. 16, " For ye are the temple of the living God as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people;" and then we are near indeed.-Drawing near by faith lies,

2. In claiming God for our God in Christ. This is the very proper work of faith: Psalm xvi. 2, "O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord," at all times, but especially at a communion-table. What says the Lord to the soul then, but as he did to Thomas? John xx. 27, "Be not faithless, bnt believing." Let us draw near, then, by faith, and answer, ver. 28, "My Lord, and my God." Faith has the word of the everlasting covenant to bear

it out in its claim; it has the Redeemer's blood, which is the blessed cement to knit a believer to a holy God. In the sacrament, the body of Christ, in which dwells the fulness of the Godhead, is really and truly presented to their faith, by and with the sacred symbols. Is any thing more natural than that faith should claim as its own the gift which is thus put into its hand?-Drawing near by faith lies, 3. In improving according to our necessities, for time and eternity, the interest in God thus claimed, is in Psalm cxix. 94, "I am thine, save me," and throughout that psalm. Thus the soul feeds by faith, when persons suck in the sap of the fruits growing on the tree of life, when by faith they sit under his shadow; and this plainly lies in confidence and trust in our God for all, according to his word. It lies in believing the promises of the everlasting covenant, founded and ratified in the blood of Christ; not as devils may believe them, namely, that they shall be made out to some person, but believing them with application, namely, that they shall be made out to me, believing over the belly of devils, and all the mass of vileness, filthiness, and unworthiness, which hangs about me. Believers should say, as in Gal. ii. 20, "I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me," &c.

It is the two last of these, I think, that the apostle here chiefly aims at, supposing the first as the attainment of his Christian Hebrows.

In discoursing farther on this subject, I intend to offer some directions to propose some cases and questions, and to offer suitable answers.

As to the directions, I begin with this :

:

1. "Draw near with a true heart" to God. If we come not with the heart, we do not come to God in a suitable manner. To draw near to God, is soul-work, heart-work; if, therefore, we come not with a true heart, we come not at all to him. A false heart in the matter of covenanting to God, is no heart, is at best but a halfheart to it; and this is no heart in God's account: Prov. xvii. 16, "Wherefore is there a price in the hand of a fool to get wisdom, seeing he hath no heart in it?" If you have not a heart for God in Christ, you will not get near him. Before Julius Cæsar was murdered, having slain a fat ox for a sacrifice, the heart was not to be found among the entrails. That communicant in whom a heart for the Lord is wanting, will doubtless be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord this day. Heartless sacrifices involve murder. A true heart is not a sinless heart, but a sincere heart. Let us draw near, then, with a sincere heart. Sincerity is not a single grace, but it is the sum and soul of all the graces. Take it away from faith

itself, and it is but a dead grace, as in Simon Magus, and those in John ii. 23, 24, "Now, when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast-day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. But Jesus did not commit himself to them, because he knew all men." Sincerity is like the string in the beads about a person's neck; when this is broke, then they fall all to the ground. We need not, however, seek this truth of heart through all the graces, for it is principally the truth of faith which is here meant ; it is believing, which is in its nature our drawing near to God; and so it may be explained by what you have in Rom. x. 9, 10, "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved; for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Poor soul! if thou be coming back to thy great Master, though even laden with the stolen goods you ran away with from him, though you dare not say you are an honest servant, yet if you dare say before the Lord you are honestly returning back again, then we may say to you, Draw near, and welcome.-But here, perhaps, some will propose this

QUESTION. In what does the truth of our drawing near to God, or the sincerity of faith, consist? For answer, I would observe a few things.

1. The soul draws near to God with a true heart, when it comes to God only in the true way, through the rent vail of Christ's flesh; that is, when the soul has no confidence in believing, but in the blood of Christ; Phil. iii. 3, "For we are the circumcision which worship God in the Spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh." The person will stop eyes and ears, and say, I cannot look on God but as in Christ, I desire to hear none other, I have nothing whatever of my own to recommend me to Christ. Though perhaps the beggar-raiment of their reformation of life, what they have done and suffered for the cause of Christ; their earnest prayers, deep exercise, bitter tears for sin, and the like, look as well, and probably better than those of many of their neighbours; yet they dare not for their souls bring a rag of them with them, to cover or commend them before the Lord; but they leave them, yea, flee out of them, and from them, as absolutely naked, to the Lord Jesus himself, to get a covering under his righte

ousness.

2. The soul draws near to God with a true heart, when, upon a discovery of the glory of the Lord, it is thus subdued to this obedience of faith: Psalm ex. 3, "Thy people shall be willing

in the day of thy power;" when the practical understanding casts the balance on the Lord's side, so the heart says, "He is better to me than thousands of gold;" or as in Phil. iii. 8, "Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ, my Lord;" in a word, when the soul draws near to God, to take up its everlasting rest in him, as its portion, to take him for all, and instead of all. With the heart man believes, when the person takes God for his God in Christ, not only for a rest to the conscience, that it thus may be quieted in him, but also for a rest to the heart, that thus it may be satisfied in him; and the person can accordingly say, Farewell, vain world; farewell, sinful lusts; farewell, empty creation; welcome, welcome, God in Christ, for a covering to mine eyes, and a rest to mine heart: Psalm 1xxiii. 25, " Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none on earth that I desire besides thee." The gospel holds out Christ as the only satisfying portion; faith first believes this testimony, then embraces him as such. They who are only acquainted with terror as dealing with them, may be driven to God, but do not draw near to him with a true heart.-To illustrate this, I would propose the two following cases :—

CASE 1. What will become of those, then, who are driven to the Lord by terror? ANSW. What becomes of a ship which is drove into an undesirable harbour by stress of weather? When the storm is calmed, she even leaves it, and puts to sea again, as you see in Psalm cvii. 24-30. Terror may begin the work, which a willing choice may crown. The poor soul may be like Noah's dove, drove away to the ark by a restless conscience; but when it comes there, the Lord may open a window, by which it may get such a view as to be drawn into it, though it was before only drove. Though the storm at first drove thee to the harbour, yet if thou be now captivated by the beauty of the place, so as that you are heartily resolved to make it the place of thy abode for ever, in fair weather or foul, and would, with a thousand good-wills, that the vessel was burnt, that so you might never be in hazard of going again to the sea of this world; all is well, you are welcome to the shore of Immanuel's land: Hos. ii. 14, "Therefore, behold I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her."

CASE 2. But, alas! I cannot purge myself of backwardness in coming to the Lord. ANsw. Is that backwardness truly the burden of your spirit? do ye loathe yourself on account of it? Our Lord allows you to draw near with your burden on your back. The great Physician knows his patient comes to him with heart and

good will, though his sickliness makes him come very slowly, drawing, as it were, his legs after him: Matth. xxvi. 41, " Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." Psalm lxv. 3, "Iniquities prevail against us as for our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away."-I now go on to observe,

3. That the soul draws near to God with a true heart, when it comes to him for sanctification, as well as justification, to be freed from the reigning and indwelling power, as well as from the guilt of sin: 1 Cor. i. 30, "But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." This is the sign of that heart which is a true heart, a heart truly divorced and alienated from sin, though the poor soul cannot be wholly freed from it; an heart true to the great end of the mystery of Christ, his death, and his sufferings, which was "to redeem us from all iniquity, and purify us unto himself, a peculiar people, zealous of good works." Tit. ii. 14;-true to the great end of all gospel-institutions, Acts xxvi. 18, "To open their eyes, and turn them from darkness unto light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them who are sanctified by faith in Christ Jesus ;"-true to the great end of faith, which is "to purify the heart," Acts xv. 9; true to its own best interest, and the honour of God, which commences in time, and terminates in heaven in likeness to God: 1 John iii. 2," But we know, that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is." When this is obtained, the mystery of Christ is finished. Whosoever come in any other way, come with a false heart. They who have only use for the blood, and not for the water, which came out of Christ's side; who do not heartily desire universal holiness, but wish to conceal some secret morsel under their tongue; who come to God to bind themselves to holiness, if he will but save their souls, and pardon their sins, as if they could make themselves holy, if he would but make them happy; the faith of such persons is but a dream.

Thus the truth of faith is made out, the soul draws near with a true heart; for thus it comes away from self, the world, and sin, and draws near to God in Christ, and thus obeys the gospel-call. As another direction, I would mention,

2. "Draw near to God in full assurance of faith." Are you put upon the right road, having a true heart? then advance forward, without doubting or wavering. Is your heart true? let it next be wrought up to full assurance, for in this lies all the importance of this second advice. It is a metaphor taken from a ship, carried with