from me, ye curfed; Then fhall they be punished with everlasting deftruction from the prefence of the Lord, and the glory of his power." Oh! finner, flee, flee to Shiloh; let the gathering of the people be to him now, that you may fhare of the glory of the confummate gathering of the faints. After judgment, the gathered faints, will return, and come to Zion with fongs. God having in that day gathered together, and made up all his jewels, what a bright conftellation will thefe jewels make, when they fhall be all gathered together in the firmament of glory! Yea, they will fhine as the brightness of the firmament, and as the ftars for ever and ever, Dan. xii. 3.

Then, fays Chrift, fhall the righteous fhine as the fun in the kingdom of their Father," Mat. xiii. 23.; that is, even all these poor creatures that have been gathered to Shiloh, as the Lord their righteoufnefs and ftrength.

O Sirs, this glorious gathering day will be upon you, before we be all gathered together on earth again. Some that were at the last years gathering here, are now gone to eternity; and you will never fee them again, till you and they be gathered together before the awful tribunal of God: and, without all peradventure, there are here that will never fee another facrament at Airth: it may be you, man; it may be you, woman; it may be fuch a minifter, or fuch a private perfon; it may be fuch a gentleman, or fuch a lady, fuch a youth or fuch a girl, as have little thoughts of death at prefent. O Sirs, I am looking to you, and you to me; but we will never all fee one-another, till we fee the Son of man, the Son of God, coming in the clouds of heaven, and gathering all the world before him; and therefore in the view of that gathering day, O let not this gathering of people here, part from one another and difmifs, till once there be a gathering unto Shiloh. "Now, we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of the Lord Jefus Chrift, and by our gathering together unto him, at the great day of his appearance," that you confent to be gathered, and that this prefent gathering be not diffolved, till your hearts and affections be gathered to Shiloh, and centered in him. Oh! choufe rather to die upon the fpot, than not be gathered unto him this

day

day. Many a gathering word and call you have got thefe days bygone, and Chrift is faying, "How oft would I have gathered you, yet ye would not!" O! is he faying, I would gather you, man, woman? Then, what would you? Have you no will to be gathered out of the flinking prison of your lufts and idols, your felf and felf-righteoufnefs, your worldly-mindednefs, and covetoufnefs, your pride and vanity! Whatever be the filthy flinking prison that you are like to perish in, he is faying, I would gather you out of it: And, O man, woman, would you rather be gathered unto the devil, than be gathered unto Shiloh? Would you rather be gathered to a tavern of drunkennefs, lewdnefs and carnality, than gathered to the temple of grace and glory? Would you be gathered to Shiloh, or not? It is come just to this, man, "What would you that I fhould do unto you?" Would you that I fhould gather you? Behold he is declaring his will in this gospel. Is he faying, The gathering of the people fhall be to him? Does he fay, It fhall be? Then, O fay, AMEN, Lord; So let it be.

The ftrength of unbelief lies in your unwillingness to be gathered and if the will were once broken, it would be a day of power; "Thy people fhall be willing in the day of thy power," Pfal. cx. 3. O! has there any power been here to make you willing? Willing to be gathered to him as a Prieft, and a Prince both? Willing to be gathered out of the prifon of fin, as well as out of the prifon of hell and wrath? Willing to be gathered to him for wifdom, righteoufnefs, fanctification, and complete redemption: and to be indebted to him for all and every part of his falvation? Willing to have all from him for nothing, fo as the praife and glory of all may redound to himself? O Sirs, are you thus willing to be gathered under his wings of grace and glory? Then, glory to God for the power that hath made you willing or, if you cannot fay, that that power is what you have felt, yet is it that will-breaking power you would be at, faying, O let this gathering power be exerted? There is hope in Ifrael concerning you.

O may finners be gathered to and close with him!

This is God's defign by the gofpel; and, we hope, it is our defign in preaching it, to get finners gathered. And, O let me tell you, that there is fuch a glorious gathering of excellent things in him, as may engage the hearts of all the finners here to gather unto him, and all the believers here to be ftill gathering to him. more and more.

Well, what-for a gathering is there in him? O! there is a gathering of all glories in him; the glory of faints, the glory of angels, the glory of God is in him : fo that he is altogether lovely.The gathering of all perfection is in him, and all divine attributes and fulness; for," It pleafed the Father that in him fhould all fulness dwell:" So that he hath all fulness of ability and authority to fave.-The gathering of all righteousness and frength is in him; therefore, "To him fhould men come," Ifa. xlv. 24.-The gathering of all the promises is in him; for, "All the promises are Yea and Amen in him" There is no promife out of him.-The gathering of all graces is in him, that out of his fulness we may come and receive grace for grace: And to whom should the gathering of the people be, but to him that hath all grace for them?-The gathering of all bleffings is in him; for, all spiritual bleffings in heavenly places are only in Christ Jefus, Eph. i. 3. And to whom should the gathering of the people be, but to him, of whom it is said, that "Men fhall be bleft in him, and all nations fhall call him. bleffed?" Pfalm lxxii. 17.: and no bleffing is to be had out of him. The gathering of all mercy is in him; and therefore all the mercies of the everlafting covenant are called, The fure mercies of David. All the mercy of God is in Chrift; and there is no mercy in God, out of Christ, towards any finner.-The gathering of all gifts is in him; "He hath received gifts for men, even for the rebellious, that God the Lord might dwell among them." The gift of the Spirit efpecially; for he hath received the Spirit above measure; and fo hath all the influences of the Spirit to give. He received gifts for men: all is for men, and for the people: all the promised righteoufnefs, graces, bleffings, mercies, and gifts that he hath received, as Mediator, and that are gathered in him,

is for the people, that the gathering of the people may be to him.-There is a gathering of all things in him; for he is all in all; and all things are yours, if once you be gathered to him; whereas you have nothing at all but fin, death, and mifery out of him.-In a word, there is a gathering of all the treafures of wifdom and knowledge, and all unfearchable riches in him, for making you up, and making you happy for ever: 'and to whom fhould the gathering of poor ignorant people be, but to him?--What fhall I fay? There is a gathering of all faving offices in him; he is a Prophet, Priest, King, Mediator, Redeemer, Surety, and all offices in one : whatever be your want, he hath an office for fupplying it; whatever be your debt, he hath an office for paying it; whatever be your difeafe, he hath an office for curing it for difeafes in the mind, he is a Prophet; for difeafes of the confcience, he is a Prieft; for difeafes of the will, he is a King. And for all other maladies that can be named, he hath all other healing offices, that can be named: yea, for wonderful maladies, he hath wonderful offices; for wonderful fins, he hath wonderful pardons; for wonderful plagues, he hath wonderful balfams and plaifters.

O Sirs, is there fuch a gathering of all good things in him for the people! and fhall there be no gathering of the people to him? Chrift hath no other ufe for thefe things that are thus gathered in him, but for the behoof of the people that are gathered to him; and they would all be ufelefs, if there were no gathering of the people to him. Alas! fhall he be an ufelefs Shiloh for you? And have you no need of him, no ufe for him? Oh! dole and mifery! Will you ftand at a distance from him, as if he were an ufelefs Chrift? But if you have any ufe for him then, all that he wants is to have your employment: to believe, is to employ him to do all your work in you and for you. Doing and believing are very different things: if you be for doing all yourself, in order to your own falvation and justification, then you make Chrift ufelefs, and his death vain; "If righteoufnefs come by the law, Chrift is dead in vain," Gal. ii. 21. But if you be for believing,

then

then know what believing or faith is. Faith doth nothing, but gives Chrift all to do, and lets him have the glory of doing all that belongs to his office, faying, Lord work; work for me, and work in me. And hence, though believing be not doing, yet the beft believer is the best doer; in regard the work that is put in Christ's hand is beft done; and becaufe, while faith does nothing, but only employs the ftrength of Chrift to do all, then, through Chrift's ftrengthening, it can do all things. Now, O Sirs, fhall Chrift get no employment here? Will there be no gathering to him for righteousness and ftrength? I hope fome have been gathered and drawn to him, and can fay, "The Lord God of the Hebrews met with us," and made a foul-gathering influence run through, yea, thoroughly through our hearts. O Sirs, let the whole of your life be a gathering to Shiloh, and a living upon him. And, now the great gathering of the people here may be joyfully dif miffed, though they fhall never all meet together again in time, if this promife of Chrift hath taken effect, To him all the gathering of the people be *.

VI. The Sixth general Head was, To give you the Reafons of the Doctrine. And here I am to fhow you, 1. Why there must be a gathering of the people, the Gentiles? 2. Why to Shiloh muft the gathering be?

Why to him?

1ft, Why are the people, the Gentiles, to be gathered? For this part of the text concerns the Gentiles, in contradistinction from the Jews; To him fhall the gathering of the people be, the Gentile people. It was in pursuance of this defign that the apostle Paul was called the apostle of the Gentiles: and he magnifies his office, and boafts of it, faying, "To me, who am lefs than the leaft of all faints, is this grace given, that I fhould preach among the Gentiles the unfearchable riches of Chrift," Eph. iii. 8. This is a queftion of the greateft concern to us Gentiles: Why, is our name put in Chrift's commiffion? O Sirs,

*What follows, to the end, was delivered in two difcourfes, at a facramental occafion at Carnock, July 4th. and 5th. 1725.