you, the more will you hasten down to hide yourself in the dust; especially if you look up, and see how high and lofty his throne is, and what a glorious, rich, and opulent Lord he is. Here I may allude to what Joseph said to his brethren, Gen. xlv. 9. "Haste you, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt, come down unto me, tarry not." O sirs, look up, and see how high Christ is now; "God hath made him both Lord and Christ;" Lord of heaven and earth, and all things; therefore, down to him, and tarry not. "Make haste, Zaccheus, and come down."

2. Study to open your ears and hear him: hear him calling to you, as he did Zaccheus, " Make haste, and come down ;" and hear him promising, as he did to Zaccheus," To-day I must abide at thy house."

(1.) Hear him calling you particularly, as he did Zaccheus, "Make haste, and come down:" who, whenever he heard Christ calling on him in particular, then he came down. O then, hear him calling you man, you woman, whether old or young, though he does not give you your particular name, John, James, or Mary; yet, if your general name, a guilty sinner, be also your particular name, then you guilty sinner, in particular, are called upon to make haste, and come down to him, quitting hold of all your vain confidences, and false rests, and carnal refuges. On these heights you will not see Christ, so as to entertain him in your heart and house. Therefore, hear the call: O hear him calling on you in particular, and then you will come down. And, again,

(2.) Hear him promising, as he did to Zaccheus, "Today I must abide at thy house." O sirs, whenever Zaccheus heard him thus promising, he speedily came down; and so will you, if you hear him promising, and found your faith upon his promise. Well, sirs, the Lord is in haste, speaking to you; "To-day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts." Why, to-day, I must be in your house, in your hearts; there is a blessed necessity on my part and yours both. I must be in, and you must make open doors unto me. Ano

ther promise of this sort you have, John x. 16. "Other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: those also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice." I must bring them, and they shall hear my voice. O sirs, hear then a promise with a promise, importing the necessity of the accomplishment. Do you hear him saying, in effect, O poor sinful creature, many a call you have sitten and slighted; but now I will not take one refusal more; to day I must be in; this day, this hour, this moment, I must be in; I must have your heart.→→ Well, if Christ's necessity and your necessity meet together; that he must have you, and you must have him, then you will come down joyfully to him. Hear him then in his promise; and let your faith be founded upon his word of promise, and not upon this or that good in you; for this is to stay up, instead of coming down. It is a piece of pride, as if you scorned 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 must stand upon God's great and precious promise. Some will say, If I had faith, I would believe. But, what sense is here? This were to build your faith upon your faith. O my dear friends, consider this, for your eternal good; is it not more reasonable to say, lf I had good security, I would believe: If I had God's bond, his word, his promise, I would believe? Now, God has given to the whole visible church many gracious promises; "To them belongs the covenant. The promise is to you, and to your children;" and your right thereto is sealed in baptism; 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 impossible you can stay any longer away from him. You will come down speedily, and entertain him in your heart, and house; 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 bless his word, and to his name be praise.

SERMON CXLIX.

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

SONG ii. S.

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

My friends, if we shall have any communion with God this day, it will be only in Christ, 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 visit; that is, by his word and by his Spirit.

1. If we have communion with him by his voice, it will readily be such a kindly voice, such a kindly word, as to surprise your heart with the sweetness of it, and to make you break silence with such an abrupt speech of soul as this, "The voice of my Beloved!" The voice of Christ in the gospel is the voice of a friend, à beloved, of whom God says, "This is my beloved Son ;" and of whom the believer says, "This is my Beloved, this is my friend!" I hear his voice.

2. If we have communion with him by his visit, and by his coming in the power of his Spirit, his motions will readily be so remarkable, that the sense of the great distance that hath been betwixt him and you, will make his gracious approach to be very welcome and wonderful, so as to produce such language as that of the church and spouse of Christ here; "Behold, he cometh! leaping upon the mountains, and skipping upon the hills

* This Sermon was preached immediately before the celebration of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper at Dunfermline, July 8th, 1750. To which is subjoined, the Discourses before and at the Service of the first table, and at the Conclusion of the Solemnity.

A a 3

In the preceding part of this chapter, we have the bride of Christ, feasting sweetly under his shadow, brought to the banquetting-house, with his banner of love over her, and her soul wrapt up in his kindest embraces, and in all circumstances of happiness; and evidencing the deepest concern to be safely kept from every thing that might create disturbance to her Be loved, or mar the sweet communion she had with him, from verse 3. to this. But here, there seems to be a distance between him and her, and such a distance as that there are hills and mountains intervening betwixt them. The sweetest circumstances the Lord's people can be in here, are not permanent, but variable; just now they may think their mountain stands strong; 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 she gets of his return to her; and that, 1. By hearing his voice; and, 2. By observing his motion; "The voice of my Beloved: behold, he cometh!"

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

(2.) She observes his motion: for, says she, "Behold, he cometh!" And," Blessed are they that hear and believe, for they shall see: Said I not unto thee, that if thou wouldst believe, thou shouldst see the glory of God?" The word rightly understood, will deceive none that trust to it. It is a sure word of prophecy, more sure than a voice from heaven, and more free from the hazard of delusion, than if we had an extraordinary revelation on every emergent; what men or angels say, may put a cursed cheat upon us; but what

the word says, we may venture our souls upon, Rom. x. 8. 1 Pet iv. 19. "Behold he cometh !"

Here, more particularly, we may observe these three things. 1. The motion; "He cometh." "He cometh." 2. The notice she takes of it; "Behold, he cometh!" 3. The manner of it; "Leaping upon the mountains, and skipping upon the hills."

1st, The motion itself; " He cometh." There are several sorts of Christ's comings that we read of in scrip

ture.

1. His coming in the flesh, in his incarnation; "Re joice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem; Behold, thy King cometh!" Zech. ix. 9. -Some are of opinion, that the Old-testament church here hath a respect to Christ's coming in the flesh, rejoicing to see his day afar off, as Abraham did.

2. His coming in the clouds, or unto judgment, called his second coming; "Behold, he cometh with clouds ! and every eye shall see 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 sacramental supper, we shew forth his death till he come again,

3. His coming in the word, and in his ordinances and providences: these are the outward means and chariots of salvation, Hab. iii. 8. wherein he comes for the support and comfort of his people; hence he says, "Fear not, be strong;" why?" "your God cometh with salvation: I will come and save you," Isa. xxxv.

4.

4. His coming in the Spirit, which seems here to be spoken of. Concerning this coming, see John xiv. 18. "I will not leave you comfortless: I will come unto you; I will send the Comforter. And it is his coming in the power of the Spirit that I take to be especially here understood.

2dly, The notice she takes of it; Behold he cometh!" Here remark, what effect the word had, after she hears his voice; it rouses her to a " Behold, he cometh!" As his word is a sure word, as I said, so it is a rousing word; yea, the word received and believed,