and for confirming our

it fhould be good news to us faith herein, take thefe fix grounds and reafons for it. 1. There must be a gathering of Gentile people to him, for filling up the room which the Jews left: Chrift came to his own, and his own received him not.-And fince the Jews rejected him, and caft out themselves by unbelief, the Gentiles are taken in, to fucceed to them in their church-privileges; "Through their fall, falvation is come to the Gentiles," Rom. ix. 11. And ver. 19. "Thefe branches were taken off, that the Gentiles might be grafted in." The room which the Jews left vacant must be filled up with Gentiles, Luke xiv. 15,-24. where the gofpel-entertainment is com pared to a great man's fupper, to which many are invited; fome reject the invitation, particularly the Jews, that had the firft honour of being invited to the banqueting-house; that is, to partake of Christ and his gofpelbleffings: others embraced the gracious offer, particularly the poor, defpifed, out-caft Gentiles, even thefe who were without the law. Hence fee and read ver. 21, 22, 23.: there you fee the Gentiles called, to fill up the room that the Jews left vacant.

2. There must be a gathering of the people, the Gentiles, to reprove and punish the unbelief of the Jews, from whom the fceptre is departed, and to provoke them to jealoufy, Rom. xi. 11.: for, as becaufe of unbelief they were broken off, ver. 20. fo for the punishment of their unbelief. See what God fays to them, Deut. xxxii. 21. compared with Rom.. x. 19. "I will provoke them to jealoufy, by them that are no people." The Jews had the firft offer, Acts iii. 26.; and the Gentiles. had but their leavings. But what a provocation it was to the Jews, to fee the Gentiles taken into favour, is reprefented in the parable, Luke xv. 11,--32. where the elder brother envied the reception and entertainment of the prodigal Gentiles; and more plainly, Acts xiii. 49. where you fee how the Gentiles were received, ver. 46, &c. Thus, whenever the Jews heard that the apostle Paul had a commiffion to go to the Gentiles, fee how they were provoked, A&ts xxii. 21, 22. It was their fin that they were thus inraged; and God makes often

times peoples fin their punishment: a man needs no greater plague, than to be left to the impetuous rage of his own lufts. However, in gathering of the Gentiles, God fhews his anger and difpleafure at the unbelief of the Jews; and, to this day, their pofterity, fcattered up and down the earth, are under the difmal effects of this anger; for, ever fince Shiloh came, the Jews have been fet to the door, and the Gentiles gathered in. Yea,

3. There must be a gathering of the people, the Gentiles, to pave a way for the glorious gathering of the Jews again, Rom. xi. 23,-26. Here is a twofold

myftery, namely, that the gathering of the Gentiles will make way for the renewed gathering and converfion of the Jews. I fhall read you fome promifes you have thereof, Ifa. xi. 10,-12. Jer. xxii. 3,—6.——These, you may fee, have evidently a further look than their deliverance from Babylon, Zech. xii. 10. and xiii. 1. As we have encouragement to pray for the converfion of the Jews; fo if there were a Spirit of prayer to a God in Chrift among us, in their behalf, who were his ancient people, we might then think, the happy day were haftening, wherein it is promifed, that the Gentiles. fhall further the gathering of the Jews, Ifa. xlix. 22. and lx. 9, 10. and lxvi. 18,—23. See Zech. ii. 10,— 12. and viii. 21,-23. Again,

4.

There must be a gathering of the people, the Gentiles, to fhew the fovereignty of his grace, and freedom of his mercy, Rom. ix. 15. "That he will have mercy on whom he will have mercy, and compaffion on whom he will have compaffion." The Jews expected to monopolize this privilege, of being God's people and church, continually to themfelves; and few thought, that the Gentiles fhould become fellow-citizens of the faints, and of the houfhold of God: but God's thoughts are not our thoughts; he fhews his fovereignty, in pitching upon what nation of the earth it pleafes him; "The potter hath power over the clay, of the fame lump to make one veffel to honour, and another to dishonour." The great Creator of the ends of the earth does thus fhew his power and authority, in making

making these a people that were no people, and these his people that were not his people, Rom. ix. 25, 26. This therefore was one of the great myfteries of godlinefs, "Chrift preached unto the Gentiles, and believed on in the world," I Tim. iii. 16. This was a great myftery, that with great difficulty could be received, and believed by the apoftles; for when Peter was perfuaded, by the vifion of a fheet knit at the four corners, wherein was all manner of four-footed beafts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air, not to defpife the Gentiles as common and unclean, and accordingly had preached the gofpel with fuccefs to them, he was accufed by the reft of the apoftles, Acts xi. 2, 3. till Peter making his defence, "They held their peace, and glorified God, faying, Then hath God granted to the Gentiles repentance unto life," ver. 18. And in all this the Lord acted in a fuitablenefs to his ancient promife, concerning the calling and inbringing of the Gentiles. It is long fince God promised by Noah, faying, "God fhall enlarge Japhet, and he fhall dwell in the tents of Shem," Gen. ix. 27. Now, of Japhet came the Gentiles, Gen. x. 5. and of Shem came the Jews; fo that by this prophecy, there is a clear prediction of the converfion of the Gentiles, and their inheriting the pri vileges of the Jews, to the praise of fovereign grace.

5. There must be a gathering of the people, the Gentiles, to fhew the extent and fufficiency of his grace, as well as the fovereignty and freedom of it: how extenfive is his grace and goodnefs, in gathering in the Gentiles, as well as the Jews, under the wings of his favour and mercy; while he fets open his entertaining room-doors to finners, out of every tongue, and nation, and kindred, where neither Jew nor Greek, circumcifion nor uncircumcifion, Barbarian, Scythian, bond or free, are excluded; but all are one and alike in Jefus Chrift, Gal. iii. 28. Col. iii. 18. Herein he appears to act with a greatnefs like himfelf, becoming his boundless infinity, and not after the manner of men, but like a God; and fo to fignalize his goodness beyond the compass of man; "For he is God, and not man," Hof. xi. 9. It were a diminution of the glory of his grace, if it were faid, This is nothing but what a man might do.-

It

It is his glory, to act in fuch a manner, as is proper to none but a God, a God of boundlefs grace and unparalleled goodnefs; that, when poor dogs, Pagans, Gentiles finding his goodness even extending to them caftaways, that were rejected of men, they may have it to fay, Is this the manner of men, O Lord!

6. There must be a gathering of the people, the Gentiles, to fhow the glory and greatnefs of Christ's kingdom: That his dominion reacheth from fea to fea, and from the river to the ends of the earth: See Pfalm Ixxii. 8. 10. As it is the glory of a king, to have many fubjects, a numerous train, and a great retinue; fo it is the glory of our Shiloh, that the gathering of the people is unto him, even Gentiles as well as Jews; and fo many the more to celebrate the praises of free grace, and to adorn the triumph of his glorious throne above, with loud acclamations of Grace, grace. Solomon tells us, Prov. xiv. 28. That "The glory of a king is in the multitude of his fubjects:" So it is the glory of King JESUS, to have a multitude of people gathered to him: And, O that he may get honour here this day, by gathering a multitude of fouls, that they may come and fet the crown upon the head of an exalted Jesus!

2dly, Why to Shiloh must the gathering of the people be? Why,

1. To him must the gathering of the people be, because to him the headship and government of the people does belong. All the people, that come of Adam, have loft their head fince Adam's fall: or, if they have no other head than the first Adam, they are no better than an headless company, yea, and worfe; for, from Adam their first head, there is nothing but fin and death conveyed, Rom. v. 12. But now, the fecond Adam, the promifed Shiloh, is conftitute the Head of the people, the Head of the body the church, That in all things he might bave the pre-eminence, Col. i. 22. And to whom fhould the gathering of the people be, but to him, who is the Head of the people, and, The Head over all things to the church? Eph. i. 22. He is the Head influential and political the Head of influences; for all the influences of light, and life, and ftrength, and comfort, come

from

31.

from him the Head of government; for, Ifa. ix. 6, 7. "The government is laid upon his fhoulders,-and of the increase of his government and peace there fhall be no end: upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom to order it, and to eftablifh it with judgment and justice for ever." The fceptre is departed from Judah; but it shall never depart from Jefus, the Lion of the tribe of Judah the fceptre is fallen into his hand; and to whom fhould the gathering of the people be, but under the feeptre of this glorious King? O that there were a flocking to touch the fceptre of King Jefus! For, For, God hath made this Jefus, who was crucified, to be both Lord and Chrift, Acts ii. 36. He hath fet his King upon his holy hill of Zion, Pfalm ii. 6. He hath exalted him, by his right hand, to be a Prince and Saviour," Acts v. The fceptre, and the law-giver is departed from Judah, from the Jews, fince Shiloh came; but the fceptre and the Law-giver is come to the Gentiles; for, "The Lord is our Judge, the Lord is our Law-giver, the Lord is our King, he will fave us," Ifa. xxx. 22.-There needs no other reafon, why the gathering of the people must be to him; for he being the Head and King of the people, by God the Father's appointment, all divine honours are owing to him: he must be the object of our faith, love, truft, obedience, and worship, as he is God-man, Mediator and it is the will of the Father, that all men honour the Son, even as they honour the Father; and to him. muft the glory of the gathering be: "Upon him muft be hung all the glory of his Father's houfe,-even all the veffels of finall quantity, as well as great, from the veffels of cups to the veffels of flagons," Ifa. xxii. 24. All the veffels of mercy, that are gathered together to God's house, they must be gathered to him, and faftened on him, as the glorious Nail in a fure place, ver. 23.; "For it is he that builds the temple of the Lord, and fhall bear the glory: for he fhall fit and rule upon his throne," Zech. vi. 13. People may gather about the throne of a king; and, O! fhould not the gathering of the people be about the throne of grace, to fee the glory, and touch the fceptre of him that fits upon the throne? VOL. IV.

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