(4.) The winter-time of defertion and hiding, hath been fometimes a gathering feafon let not the deferted foul be too much difquieted, the valley of Achor may be a door of hope; you may have occafion to fay, as Pfal. cxvi. 6. "I was brought low, and he helped me:" you may be brought to the brink of defpair, that you may have occafion to fay, as Pfal. xl. 2, 3. "He brought me out of the horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and fet my feet upon a rock, and eftablifhed my goings: and he hath put a new fong in my mouth, even praise unto our God." When Jacob was in great diftrefs, God met with him at Bethel, Gen. xxviii.; and when he was in great fear that God would not accomplish his promife, he was prevented by another vifit, Gen. xxxii.; and it was the most remarkable night that ever he had: he calls the place PENIEL; for he faw God face to face; and he had told him before what he had been, and would be to him, faying, I am the God of Bethel.

(5.) The winter of downcafting hath been a time of reviving; "O my God, my foul is caft down within me; therefore I will remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar." And,

Deep calleth unto deep, at the noise of thy waterfpouts; all thy waves and billows have gone over me: yet the Lord will command his loving-kindness in the day-time, and in the night his fongs fhall be with me, and my prayer to the God of my life," Pfal. xlii. 6,7,8. Thus he gives fongs in the night, infomuch that the darkest night hath ushered in the cleareft light, according to that promife, Zech. xiv. 7. " It fhall come to pafs, that at evening-time it fhall be light." Again,

(6.) The winter-time of outcafting hath been a gathering time; for, "He gathers the outcafts of Ifrael," Ifa. lvi. 8. "I faid, I am caft out of thy fight; yet will I look again to thy holy temple," Jonah ii. 4. There, you fee, was a gathering time by faith unto Chrift, when he was caft out into the very belly of hell, as it is called, ver. 2. You, whofe name is a CASTOUT, may then expect that your name may be turned to a SOUGHTOUT, Ifa. lxii. 12.

(7.)The

(7.) The winter-time of fears: "What time I am afraid, I will truft in thee: fear not, for I am with thee; be not difmayed, for I am thy God; I will ftrengthen thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right-hand of my righteoufnefs." The time of hopeleffnefs and helpleffnefs hath been a time of fpiritual gathering to the people of God; "I looked on my right hand, and beheld; but there was no man that would know me; all refuge failed me: then I cried to thee, O Lord, and faid, Thou art my refuge, and my portion in the land of the living," Pfal. cxliv. 4, 5. When their hope is perished, and nothing but the fentence of death paffing, then the Lord hath been gathering: "We had the fentence of death in ourfelves, that we fhould not truft in ourfelves, but in God, which raifeth the dead," 2 Cor. i. 9. Yea, when the foul hath not only been fentenced, but flain in a manner, and laid in the grave, then hath it been a time of gathering: "Our bones are dried," fays the church; "our hope is loft; we are cut off for our parts:" But, "Behold, faith the Lord, I will open your graves, and caufe you to come up and I will put my Spirit in you, and ye fhall live," Ezek. xxxvii.11,12.

(8.) Yea, a winter-time of finning, and declining, and departing from the Lord, hath been a time of gathering of his people; and this is most wonderful of all, as I faid before of a backfliding time: O! that is a strange word, Ifa. xliii. 23, 24, 25. "Thou haft made me to ferve with thy fins, and wearied me with thine iniquity yet I, even I am he, that blotteth out thine iniquities for my name's fake." There is one of the bittereft challenges for fin, and that backed with one of the sweetest promifes of pardon and pity, and of gathering and restoring mercy will this encourage a believer to fin, because the time of your falling down, may be a time of God's gathering up? Oh! no; nothing will humble and melt the believer's heart for fin more, than to think of the riches of divine mercy, and fovereign grace: when he ftoops down to gather you out of the mire that you fall into, and recovers your foul and your graces. Some tell us that mufk, when it hath loft its fmell and fweetnefs, if it be put into a fink among

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filth,

filth, it recovers it; fo when the believer's graces have loft their flavour and favoury exercife, the Lord, in a manner, lets them fall into the mire, that their decaying graces may be recovered and revived. Thus Peter was fuffered to fall into the mire of dreadful finning, and then his graces were revived; his humility revived, he was humbled to the duft; his repentance was revived, He went out and wept bitterly; his spiritual remembrance was revived, for he remembered the words of Chrift to him; and all flowed from this, that it was even Chrift's gathering time; for while he was yet among the dung, into which he fell, Chrift looks upon Peter, with a gracious gathering eye, Luke xxii. 61, 62. Let the believer then, for the up flirring and encouragement of his faith, know, that his faddeft winter-time may be God's gathering time to Shiloh.Your halting time may be his gathering time: when your decriped feet make you go halting in the way of the Lord; "I will affemble her that halteth, and gather her that was driven out," Micah iv. 6.-Your falling time may be his rifing and up gathering time; your perifhing time may be his faving time; for his thoughts are not as your thoughts, nor his ways as your ways.And his taking fuch a time, makes his interpofal at fuch a juncture the more wonderful, and the more wel. come. But now, as, in thefe inftances, God is pleafed to glorify his fovereignty, and fhew that he does not confine himself to means, in thefe progreffive gatherings of believers, any more than he did in the initial gatherings of unbelievers to himfelf; fo, to glorify his holinefs, and to put honour upon the means of his own appointment, you would know alfo, that,

3. There are spring-times of fpiritual duty and gospeldiligence, which believers have, which are allo God's gathering times, with refpect to their progreffive gathering to Shiloh.. (By the bye, neglect not means, on pretence that grace must do all; it were an ill argument, water only refreshes, therefore cut off all cocks and pipes.) But to return; fuch a spring-time as this you read of, Song ii. 10,-13. "My beloved fpake, and fid unto me, Arife my love, my fair one, and come

away:

away: for, lo! the winter is paft, the rain is over and gone the flowers appear.-Arife, my love, my fair one, and come away." Why, it is a gathering time, therefore come away. Now, what are thefe fruits and flowers that appear in the fpiritual fpring-time which prognofticates a gathering-time to be at hand; yea, that it is a gathering time at prefent? There are feveral fruits of the Spirit, that appear in the gofpel fpringtime, which betoken a gathering time: As,

(1.) A believing time is a gathering time: faith is one of the fruits and flowers that appear in this fpring. A believing time is fo much a gathering time, that God's gathering, is his giving faith; and our gathering, is our exercifing faith. But a believing time is alfo a prognofticating time, betokening a further progreffive gathering, fo as to be brought to more and more nearnefs to the Lord Jefus: hence believing times are glorious times; "Said I not unto thee, If thou wouldst believe, thou shouldft fee the glory of God?" John xi. 40. When God's children are in the exercife of faith, then the Lord is pleafed to make known his goodness. Believing times are fealing times; "In whom, after ye believed, ye were fealed with the holy Spirit of promife," Eph. ii. 13. Believing times are rejoicing times; "In whom, though now we fee him not, yet believing, we rejoice, with joy unfpeakable, and full of glory," 1 Pet. i. 8. There is joy and peace in believing. Faith ordinarily brings in fenfe; fpiritual fenfe and feeling is the fruit of faith; though, by the bye, I muft tell you, what is the fault and folly of the moft part even of believers themselves, from whence it flows that they feel fo little of the fweet fruits and advantages of faith, making fenfe and feeling the root and ground of faith; whereas it is only the fruit and effect of faith. But know, that when fenfe is made the fupport of faith, it frequently leaves faith in the mire; for when fenfe, which they made the ground of their faith, fails, then their faith fails with it. The only fure ground of faith is God's word, his truth, his faithfulnefs, which is an unchangeable ground. Now, if you make God's work upon you, fuch as fpiritual fenfe, graces, experience, or the like, the ground

than

if

your

of your faith, you will find thefe to be fuch changeable grounds, fo much up and down, that your faith muft be up and down with them, and you will totter fooner are aware: or, you build you faith partly upon fenfe, feelings, &c. and partly upon God's truth, you are then like a man that fets one foot upon a firm ground, and the other upon a floating board: when the loofe floating board fails or flips, you will hardly ftand faft, however firm the other foot ftands. Who

among all ordinary believers knows not the ebbings and flowing, the ups and downs of frames and fpiritual feelings? They may rife and fall ten times in an hour, as the wind blows. Now, if your faith be built upon thefe love-tokens, and depend upon them; then, as your faith muft be very wavering, fo God, feeing him. felf robbed of the dependence due to him, may purposely with-hold thefe things from you, that you may learn not to truft in uncertain experiences, but in the living God. Why, fay you, when I get these lovetokens, it is not upon thefe that I truft, but on the God that fent them. Well done, if it be true: but I fear it is otherwife; for if Chrift himself and his truths be the ground of your faith, when you get thefe love-tokens, then how comes it, that when these love-tokens are gone, and when fenfe and feeling is gone, your faith is to feek? I fuppofe, when feeling is up, then your faith is up; and when feeling is down, your faith is down. Now, if the whole building of your faith were upon the unchangeable Rock, you would fee no more cause of doubting, when the changeable feeling is gone, than when it is prefent; and therefore, I fear it be your fault, believer, as well as mine, that many times we lay too much weight upon that thawing ice, and make fenfe and feeling the ground of our faith. But if God make you a believer at all, man, he will bring you off gradually from this evil: and if you never believe till you get spiritual fenfe, you will never be a believer; for feeling follows believing, and therefore believing muft be before feeling. To build faith upon fenfe then, is like a man fetting up the couples of a houfe, and then beginning at the rigging or roof of the

house,