own due time; died for the ungodly. He loved us fo as to give himself for us. O what manner of love is this! What was Jacob's love to Rachel, in comparifon of the love which JESUS bore to a perishing world! He became a curfe for us. For it is written, "Curfed is every man that hangeth upon a tree." What Zipporah faid to her husband improperly, JESUS may fay properly to his spouse the church, "A bloody wife hat thou been to me, because of the crucifixion.". For he has purchased her with his own blood. And having once loved his people, he loves them unto the end. His love, like himself, is from everlasting to everlasting. He hates putting away though we change, yet he changeth not: he abideth faithful. When we are married here, there comes in that shocking claufe, to use the words of holy Mr. Boston, "Till death us doth part ;" but death itself fhall not separate a true believer from the love of GOD, which is in CHRIST JESUS, his Lord for he will never ceafe loving his Bride, till he has loved her to heaven, and prefented her before his Father; without fpot or wrinkle, or any fuch thing. Nay, his love will, as it were, but be beginning, through the endlefs ages of eternity:

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And now, Sirs, what fay you? Shall I put that question to you, which Rebecca's relations, upon a propofal of marfiage, put to her? Will ye go with the man?" With the God-man, this infinitely great, this infinitely powerful, this all-wife, all-holy, altogether lovely, ever-loving JESUS ?: What objection have you to make against fuch a gracious offer? One would imagine, you had not a single one; but it is to be feared, through the prevalency of unbelief, and the corruption of your defperately wicked deceitful hearts, you are ready to urge feveral. Methinks I hear fome of you fay: within yourselves, "We like the propofal, but alas!: we are poor." Are you fo? If that be all, you may, notwithstanding, be welcome to JESUS: "For has not GoD chosen the poor of this world, to make them rich in faith, and heirs of his everlafting kingdom?" And what fays that Sa-: viour, to whom I am now inviting you?" Bleffed are the, poor in Spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." And what fays his Apoftle concerning him?" Though he was fich, yet for our fakes he became poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich. But fay you, "We are not N 2 only

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only poor, but we are in debt; we owe Gop ten thoufand talents, and have nothing to pay;" but that need not keep you back for GOD the Father, from the LORD JESUS, his dearly beloved Son, has received double for all believers fins: the blood of JESUS cleanfeth from them all. But you are blind, and miferable, and naked; to whom then should you Ay for fuccour, but to JESUS, who came to open the eyes of the blind, to feek and fave the miferable and loft, and cloath the naked with his perfect and fpotlefs righteousness. And now, what can hinder your efpoufals with the dear and everbleffed Lamb of GOD? I know but of one thing, that dreadful fin of unbelief. But this is my comfort, JESUS died for unbelief, as well as for other fins, and has promised to fend down the Holy Spirit to convince the world of this fin in particular: "If I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you ; but if I go away, I will fend the Comforter, and he will convince the world of fin." What fin? of unbelief; "because they believe not on me." O that this promife may be fo fulfilled in your hearts, and JESUS may fo be come the author of divine faith in your fouls, that you may be able to fend me the fame meffage as a good woman in Scotland, on her dying bed, fent me by a friend: "Tell him, (fays the) for his comfort, that at fuch a time he married me to the LORD JESUS." This would be comfort indeed. Not that we can marry you to CHRIST: No; the Holy Ghoft muft tie the marriage knot. But fuch honour have all God's minifters; under him they efpoufe poor finners to JESUS CHRIST. "I have espoused you (fays St. Paul) as a chafte virgin to JESUS CHRIST." O that you may fay, We will go with the man; then will I bow my head, as Abraham's fervant did, and go with joy and tell my Mafter, that he has not left his poor fervant deftitute this day: then fhall I rejoice in your felicity. For I know, my Mafter will take you into the banqueting-house of his ordinances, and his banner over you shall be love. That this may be the happy cafe of you all, may the glorious God grant, for the fake of JESUS his dearly beloved Son, the glorious bridegroom of his church; to whom, with the Father, and the Holy Spirit, be all honour and glory, now and for evermore. Amen, and Amen.

SERMON

SER MON

The Potter and the Clay.

XIII.

JER. Xviii. 1-6.

The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, faying, Arife, and go down to the potter's boufe, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. Then I went down to the potter's house, and behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hands of the potter, fo be made it again another veffel, as feemed good to the potter to make it. Then the word of the Lord came to me, faying, O boufe of Ifrael, cannot I do with you as this potter? faith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, fa are ye in mine band, O bouse of Ifrael.

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T fundry times, and in divers manners, GoD was pleafed

to speak to our fathers by the prophets, before he spoke to us in these last days by his Son. To Elijah, he revealed himfelf by a small still voice. To Jacob, by a dream. To Mofes, he fpake face to face. Sometimes he was pleased to fend a favourite prophet on fome efpecial errand; and whilft he was thus employed, vouchfafed to give him a particular meffage, which he was ordered to deliver without referve to all the inhabitants of the land. A very instructive inftance of this kind we have recorded in the paffage now read to you. The first verse informs us that it was a word, or meffage, which came immediately from the LORD to the prophet Feremiah, At what time, or how the prophet was employed N 3 when

when it came, we are not told. Perhaps, whilft he was praying for those who would not pray for themselves : Perhaps, near the morning, when he was lumbering or mufing on his bed. For the word came to him, faying, "Arife." And what must he do when rifen? He muft "go down to the potter's house" (the prophet knew where to find it)" and there (fays the great Jehovah) I will cause thee to hear my words." Jeremiab does not confer with flesh and blood, he does not object that it was dark or cold, or defire that he might have his meffage given him there, but without the least hesitation is immediately obedient to the heavenly vision. "Then (fays he) I went down to the potter's houfe, and behold he wrought a work upon the wheels." Juft as he was entering into the house or workshop, the potter, it seems, had a yeffel upon his wheel. And was there any thing fo extraordinary in this, that it fhould be ushered in with the word BEHOLD? What a dreaming vifionary, or fuperftitious enthufiaft, would this Jeremiah be accounted, even by many who read his prophecies with foeming refpect, was he alive How? But this was not the first time Jeremiah had heard from heaven in this manner. He therefore willingly obeyed; and had you or I accompanied him to the potter's houfe, I believe we fhould have feen him filently, but intenfely waiting upon his great and all-wife Commander, to know wherefore he fent him thither. Methinks I fee him all attention. He takes notice, that "the veffel was of clay;" but as he held it in his hand, and turned round the wheel, in order to work it into fome particular form, "it was marred in the hands of the potter," and confequently unfit for the ufe he before intended to put it to. And what becomes of this marred vefiel? Being thus marred, I fuppofe, the potter, without the least imputation of injustice, might have thrown it afide, and taken up another piece of clay in its room. But he did not. "He made it again another veffel." And does the potter cali a council of his domeftics, to enquire of them what kind of veffel they would advife him to make of it? No, in no wife. He made it again another veffel, as feemed good to the pot ter to make it."

"Then," adds Jeremiah, whilft he was in the way of duty then whilft he was mentally crying, LORD what would't

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thou have me to do?" Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, O house of Ifrael, cannot I do with you as this potter? faith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the hands of the potter (marred, and unfit for the first designed purpose) fo are ye in mine hand, O houfe of Ifra 1." At length, then, Jeremiah hath his fermon given to him: fhort, but popular. It was to be delivered to the whole houfe of Ifrael, princes, priefts, and people: fhort, but pungent, even sharper than a two-edged fword. What! fays the fovereign LORD of heaven and earth, muft I be denied the privilege of a common potter? May I not do what I will with my own? "Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hands, fo are ye in mine hands, O houfe of Ifrael. I made and formed you into a people, and bleffed you above any other nation under heaven: but, O Ifrael, thou by thy backflidings hast destroyed thyself. As the potter therefore might juftly have thrown afide his marred clay, so may I justly unchurch and unpeople you. But what if I fhould come over the mountains of your guilt, heal your backflidings, revive my work in the midst of the years, and cause your latter end greatly to increase? Behold, as the clay is in the hands of the potter, lying at his difpofal, either to be deftroyed or formed into another vefel, fo are ye in my hands, O houfe of Ifrael: I may either reject, and thereby ruin you, or I may revifit and revive you according to my own fovereign good will and pleasure, and who shall say unto me, what doft thou?”

This feems to be the genuine interpretation, and primary intention of this beautiful part of holy writ. But waving all further enquiries about its primary defign or meaning, I shall now proceed to fhew, that what the glorious Jehovah here fays of the houfe of Ifrael in general, is applicable to every individual of mankind in particular. And as I prefume this may be done, without either wire-drawing fcripture on the one hand, or wresting it from its original meaning on the other, not to detain you any longer, I shall, from the paffage thus explained and paraphrased, deduce, and endeavour to enlarge on these two general heads.

First, I fhall undertake to prove, that every man naturally engendered of the offspring of Adam, is in the fight of the all-feeing, heart-searching God, only as a " piece of marred clay."

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Secondly,