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of these words, the laft words, the dying words, of your father, brother, friend; O never let their found depart from your ears. These attended to, thefe rightly understood, the believer may answer, I will not only fay, all the objections of fin and fatan, but even of the righteous law, and the inflexible juftice of God itfelf. Live therefore on the fulness there is in Jefus, die to fin, die to felf, and live by faith in the Son of God.

Laftly, Does precious faith lay fo faft hold on Chrift, that the smallest degree thereof will never quit it's hold, but will finally derive from Jefus, everlasting felicity to the foul? let this animate and encourage the weak believer under all his droopings and defpondencies, that all the powers of the lowest hell, fhall never be able to tear him from his hold of Jefus ; let him comfort himself with the affurance of the Redeemer's care of him, and love to him; if it were poffible he could ever lofe his hold of Jefus, yet will Jefus never lofe his hold of him, for he has loved him with an everlasting love, and has difcovered his affection for him, and his gracious purposes toward him, in that with loving kindness he bath drawn him.

But again, as weak faith often leaves the foul expofed to manifold temprations from the devil, and deprives the heart of that confolation it might otherwise enjoy; labour for an increase of faith; it is the gift of God, in every meature and degree thereof; and as weak faith has accefs given to God in and through the mediator, ask. that more may be given you, seek that ye may find; you have now the way open to a tender and indulgent father, who will give all neceffary good

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things to his adopted children in Chrift Jefus, and will not withold his holy fpirit in all his quickening and enlivening influences from thofe that I add no more, May the God of all grace follow with his bleffing, what has been delivered to the ear, and cause it to fink deep into your hearts, iffuing in a holy conversation, to the happiness of your fouls, and the honour of God in Chrift Jefus. Amen. Amen.

SER

SERMON X.

REVELATIONS

xxii, 17.

Whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely.

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HEY who are fent to preach the everlafting gospel, have full authority given in the difcharge of their function, to lay open the whole counfel of God as therein contained, and by using all poffible arguments compel finners to come in.

Hence the apoftle, of the gentiles knowing the terrors of the Lord, and how fearful a thing it is to fall into the hands of the living God, labours to perfuade men, 1 Cor. v, 11. And as an ambaffador of Chrift, he at other times affectionately intreats and befeeches them to be reconciled to God, ver. 20. Minifters of the gofpel of Jefus Christ, are therefore to unlock the cabinet of jewels, open the rich treasury of God, and bring to light in the publication of the everlafting gofpel, the dark counfels, and fecret purposes of their great mafter, which were hidden from the ages toregoing. Paul efteemed it a great honour that the Lord had conferred upon him, in that he had

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put him into the ministry, and commiffioned him to preach among the gentiles the unfearchable riches of Chrift.

The bleffed gofpel contains a full declaration of the good-will, and gracious purposes of God, towards finners, in giving his fon for a covenant of the people, and eternal life in him to all that believe, John iii, 16. These glad tidings of life and salvation, are to be published in all the world, and preached to every creature, Mark xvi, 15, and although the bare hearing of the gospel doth not effectually fave the hearer, yet the application of the gofpel by the irresistible fuafion of the holy fpirit doth infomuch that be who believes, bath everlafting life, is paffed thereunto from a state of spiritual death, and shall not come into condemnation, John v. 24. By whatever means the Lord may bring finners to himself, (for all things are poffible to him,) the preaching of the gofpel is the most ordinary, for faith comes by bearing, and hearing by the word of God, and how shall they believe in him, of whom they have not heard. Any one finner that hears the gofpel, has as great a right to appropriate the benefits, and bleffings holden forth therein, as any other finner in the world; for although it is a fcriptural, and therefore a truth not to be controverted, that Chrift fuffered and engaged in every other refpect, for the elect only; yet, who thefe are, is a fecret hid in the bofom of God, until made manifest by their effectual calling; and one perfon has equal reafon to conclude in favour of himself, as any other, seeing the bleffings of the gospel are to be received without any previous worth or merit in the recipient; or

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as in the language of my text, whofoever will, let bim take of the water of life freely.

I purpose to enlarge on thefe words in order to your profit and edification in the most natural and familiar way, opening,

ift, The bleffing invited to, (viz.) the water of life.

2d, The terms of receiving it, freely.

3d, The invited, whofoever will.

The chapter from whence is my text, opens with a furprizingly grand and fublime defcription of the new Jerufalem, with fome of thofe peculiar bleffings which render it desirable, and constitute it a land of pure delight." And he fhew"ed me a pure river of water of life clear as cryftal, proceeding out of the throne of God, and "of the lamb. And in the midft of the street "of it, and on either fide of the river, was there "the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of "fruits, and yielded her fruit every month, and "the leaves of the tree were for the healing of "the nations, &c." I fhould go on with the defcription of this unparallelled place; but me. thinks fome of you interrupt me with the enquiry, what muft I do to obtain that heavenly country, to be made free of that holy city, and have access to the fruit on that fair tree, and to the cryftal ftreams that water its root?

I must beg your patience and attention a little, 'till I open and unfold more at large the bleffing fpoken of under the metaphor of the water of life, and in my laft head I hope to give you a full, and may the good fpirit of God make it a fatis

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