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feeking in other things. Now, though I judge it would ftraiten the gofpel-call there, to confine it only to the first fenfe; yet I reckon the first to be fo much imported, that feeing fuch perfons as find a load of fin and wrath upon them, are readieft to exclude themfelves, therefore they are exprefly called. Thus again, they that fee themfelves defitute of all good qualifications, have no money nor money-worth; nothing but poverty, and want, and worthleffnefs: thefe are ready to exclude themselves, as being broken and loft; therefore they are particularly encouraged, as Ezek. xxxiv. 16. Again,

(2.) They that are excluded by men; yea, whom minifters are ready to exclude, yet the call reaches them. Men are ready to exclude from the call of the golpel, fuch as refufe the call, and pour contempt upon it, viz. Mockers and fcorners; yet we find fuch are called, Prov. i. 22, 23.-Men are ready to exclude from the call of the gospel, or the invitation to come, and gather unto Shiloh, fuch as are not fenfible of the want of him, and think themselves happy enough without him.--Men exclude unfenfible finners, that have no thirsty defire after Christ, but are fatisfying themselves with other things; yet these are particularly called, as you may fee in thefe two paffages, Ifa. lv. 1, 2. "Ho, every one that thirfteth, come ye to the waters; and he that hath no money, come ye; buy and eat, yea, come, buy wine and milk without money, and without price. Wherefore do ye fpend your money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which fatisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your foul delight itfelf in fatnefs." Now, you may notice, that the thirfting here is no defirable quality; it was a thirsting for that which did not fatisfy, and a labouring for that which was not bread; and yet they are invited to come to him, as one that hath a variety of fupply; water, to refresh; wine, to cherifh; milk, to nourish; and all offered freely; "Without money, and without price:" fo that here, even thefe that are thirsting after their lufts, and after the world, and unfa tisfying vanities, are called. See alfo, Revel. iii. 18.

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"I counfel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayelt be rich; white raiment, that thou mayeft be clothed; and eye-falve, that thou mayeft fee." But who are they that are thus called? Even thefe, that in the preceeding verfe, faid they were rich, and increafed with goods, and flood in need of nothing; even thefe that had no fenfe of their need of Chrift: true, thefe that do not fee their need, will not come; but whether they fee it or not, they are called and obliged to come.

Now, men are ready to exclude from the call thefe that are unhumbled, unfenfible finners, that are not convinced of their fin and mifery; but because God's free and gracious call can effectually work upon unfenfible, ftupid, brutish finners, as well as upon the obje&is that we reckon moft prepared; therefore finners want of fenfe, and due conviction, is brought in as a reafon why they are called to come to Chrift: "I counsel thee to buy of me tried gold, white raiment, eye-falve:" why, becaufe thou fayeft, "I am rich, and encreafed with goods, and ftand in need of nothing; and knoweft not that thou art wretched, miferable, poor, blind, and naked."-Let none think then, becaufe they do not fee their wretched and undone state without Chrift, therefore they are not concerned with his call: nay, upon that very account you are concerned, fays the Spirit of God; and you may object what you will, but you will not get it put by you. Shift this call as you will, it will rife up in judgment againft you, if you do not answer it. If you are an unfenfible finner, not knowing that you are poor and miferable, thinking that you are rich enough already, and does not fee that you are wretched, blind, and naked, you have the more need to come to Christ, that he may give you eye-falve, that you may fee your mifery without him, and your remedy in him. Thus we are warranted to open the mouth of the gofpel-net : and I hope, by this time, you may fee, that you are all concerned with this call. And, what do you think we intend by this univerfal call? Why, there is one of two things will follow; either, to the glory of God's juftice we get you all left inexcufable; or, to the glory of his mercy, we get you all gathered into Chrift; and

if there be fome of both forts, then both thefe ends are reached. But, O to fee the laft efpecially, even a happy gathering of the people to Shiloh!--Thus you fee who are the people, of whom it is faid, the gathering fhall be to the Meffias. None are excluded, all are invited, and warranted to affemble to him; and when God fays, To bim fhall the gathering of the people be, all the people fhould lay, AMEN.

III. The third thing propofed, was, To fhew to whom fhall the gathering of the people be; or what is the gathering place, and where is the gathering to be. Here we may enquire, 1. What place there is in Chrift for the people to gather? 2. In what refpect the gathering of the people is to him?

Firft, What place there is in Chrift for the people to gather to? Chrift is the temple to which we ought to refort; he is the only refuge and fanctuary of poor miferable fouls; and there is room enough in the temple and fanctuary, for all that fhall gather into it. In general, the very PERSON of Chrift is the gathering place, the meeting place, to which people fhould gather.They that come to Chrift, are to clofe with his perfon, and then they are interested in all his purchase; hence the many calls to come to him, to receive him, to reft on him, to truft in him, to flee to him, and fo to God in him; for a God in Chrift is the throne of grace, to which the gathering of the people fhould be, Heb. iv. 16. "Let us come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in the time of need." More particularly, there is a fix-fold place or chamber in the Lord Jefus, that I fhall mention, for the gathering of the people into.

1. There is the chamber of his righteousness; no doubt this is one of the chambers fpoken of, Song i. 4. The King bath brought me into his chambers: and Ifaiah xxvi. 20. Come my people, enter into your chambers, and bide yourself, till the indignation be overpaft. Indeed there is no efcaping of divine wrath and indignation, but by gathering into this chamber of Chrifi's righteousness. It is one of the moft fplendid and welladorned

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adorned chambers that ever was: for it is hung with the red and white hangings which God himself wrought I mean, with the fair and white obedience, and the red bloody fuffering and fatisfaction of the Son of God. Guilty finners cannot be faved without a law-fulfilling, juftice-fatisfying righteoufnefs: but when they gather into this chamber they are abfolutely fafe, and may fay," Surely in the Lord have I righteoufnefs and ftrength, Ifa. xlv. 24. The Lord is well-pleafed, for his righteoufnefs fake;" infomuch, that none can lay any thing to their charge, Rom. viii. 33. They may laugh at all challenges, while they fhut their chamber-door upon themselves; they are then chambered, like Noah in the ark, which was pitched within and without, Gen. vi. 14. fo as no drop of water could come in : so here,

2. There is the chamber of his name, for the gathering of the people into; "The name of the Lord is a ftrong tower, to which the righteous run, and are safe,” Prov. viii. 10. He is the ftrength, as well as the righteoufnefs of Ifrael and to this chamber, in which there is everlasting ftrength, we ought to throng. Many a clofet there is in this chamber: if we fhould mention all his titles, all his offices, all his relations, all his divine attributes and perfections which belong to his name, there would be no end of telling; but every one, and any one of them, is a fit place for gathering to; every corner of this chamber is perfumed, infomuch, that none are gathered into it, but they are ravished with the sweet finell thereof; "Becaufe of the favour of thy good ointment, thy name is as ointment poured forth." His name is, Cbrift the Anointed; and every name he hath is an anointed name: He is an anointed Jefus, an anointed Surety, an anointed King. And when any of his names are cleared up, and opened, it is like the opening of a box of ointment; it is like the opening of a chamber-door, full of ravishing perfumes.

3. There is the chamber of his bofom, for the gathering of the people into; He gathers them with his arms, and carries them in his bofom, Isa. xl. 11.; his kind and merciful bofom and bowels, which yearn toward finners,

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Jer. xxxi. 20. This is a large chamber, James v. 11. The Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy; the original is, vos he is of LARGE BOWELS, or FULL OF BOWELS: there is place enough in thefe bowels of infinite mercy for finners to gather in into; and this chamber of his bofom is flanding open for all comers. The chamber-door of his heart is open, that the gathering of the people may be in to it and as it is a large chamber, that can contain you all, being as broad and wide as the infinite mercy of a God in Chrift; fo it is a warm chamber: O it is a warm and heartfome chamber, to get into the heart and bofom of Chrift. They that gather in there, will fit under the warm and benign influence of God's love and grace in Chrift: their hearts are warmed, and made to burn within them; "Did not our hearts burn within us, when he talked with us by the way, and opened to us the fcriptures ?" Luke xxiv. 32. While he was opening the fcripture, he was ftirring up the fire of love; they were in the chamber of his warm heart and bofom, and it made them to have a warm heart too: furely, believer, you know what a fweet chamber that is.

4. There is the chamber of fulnefs, to which the gathering of the people fhould be. This is a chamber that comprehends all the reft of the chambers within it; but because it is fo notable and glorious, we name it among the reft. It is the beft furnified chamber that ever you heard tell of; for, all the fulness of the Godhead is in it: "It pleased the Father, that in him should all fulnefs dwell," Col. i. 19. and ii. 9, 10. “In him dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily; and ye are complete in him." To this chamber fhould all poor beggar and bankrupt finners, that have loft their ftock in the firft Adam, gather together, that out of his fulness they may receive, grace for grace, John i. 16. In this chamber are hid all the treafures of wifdom and know. ledge, all the treasures of grace and glory, all the trea-. fures of God's perfections, and all the treasures of the Spirit's graces. Your great want is the want of God; and you may find him in this chamber: your next want

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