ME,

O take my heart, fays the man in the day of power; take it, and a thousand bleflings with it. It is true, there is no gathering, no approaching to him, without a draught of omnipotency; yet there is no violence in it, no force or compulfion, but when power comes, it takes away the backwardnefs and unwillingness; "Thy people thall be willingneffes," Pfal. cx. 3. Never did a mariner draw near to a fhore with better will after fhipwreck, than the foul comes to Chrift, in the day of power: the perfon being drawn, yields neceffarily and willingly both : Draw me, we will run after thee;" DRAW there is the almighty power exerted, in its irresistible operation; we WE WILL RUN, there is the voluntary motion of the foul. So that this gathering does not deftroy, but establish the liberty of the will of the rational agent.--Reafon is not hoodwinked; the perfon approaches to a God in Chrift, upon the moft rational grounds, feeing and apprehending his misery while far from God, and the happinefs of nearness to him in Christ. And this gathering is as cordial as it is voluntary; as the will is inclined, fo the heart is inflamed. Hypocrites may gather to ordinances, and gather to a communion table with the outward man: they may draw near to God with the mouth, and honour him with the lip, while the heart is removed far from him: this is what God complains of, "Their heart is far from me." But what do I regard a gathering of dead corpfes about my table and ordinances, a gathering of bodies, while there is no gathering of hearts? But in this gracious gathering, the language of the foul is, O many a time I have given my heart away to the devil; I gave my heart and affections away to lufts; I gave my heart away to the world; and now, fhall I give Chrift lefs than I gave them? It will be a miracle if he accept of it, after my manifold departures; but, O if I had as many fouls as I had fins, I would give them to him! O if I could believe in him with the whole heart, pray to him with the whole heart, ferve him with the whole heart; and that all my affections, that have been ftruggling among the creatures, may be gathered to him, and centred in him! Yea, in the day of power, a man

finds himself fo willingly and freely to come to Chrift, that he is rolled upon him, as if he were carried on a wave of the sea, or rather in a chariot paved with love: formerly he found believing hard; yea, that it was impoffible for him to come to Chrift: but now, he finds it impoffible for him to ftay away from Chrift. Believing is fo fweet and eafy then, that, as if he had wings, he flees for refuge to the hope fet before him, Heb. vi. 18. Though, as a great divine, (viz. Dr. Owen) expreffes it, "Faith is in the understanding, in refpect of its being and fubfiftence; yet it is in the will and heart, "in refpect of its effectual working. As to its effence, "it lies in affent, but the faving quality of this affent is, that it is cordial; and it is not true faith, if it be "not a cordial affent to God's teftimony concerning "Chrift." And indeed there is a great difference betwixt a dead affent, and a cordial hearty affent to any truth; 66 Suppofe, fays one, you were in a foreign "land, and that you got a fure account, that the Turks "have got a victory over the Perfians; and at the "fame time you hear, that your beloved fpoufe is re"covered of a dangerous difeafe, that all your family "is well, and your affairs profper: there is a great dif"ference betwixt the way of affenting to these two; "you believe the former, but it hath no impreffion on your heart, it is only a naked, heartlefs, unconcern"ed affent; but you would believe the other cordially "and gladly, because you are much concerned there"in: hence you would welcome the meflenger." Thus the gospel is not only a faithful faying, but worthy of all acceptation and in gathering to Chrift, in the day of power, the foul acts cordially.

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6. In this gathering of the people to Shiloh, they are made to act humbly and reverentially: the man comes with a "What am I? and what is my father's houfe? Behold I am vile!" and if the Lord fhall have mercy on me, it is well; grace fhall have the glory: but if not, I may even preach his righteoufnefs in hell, and declare he never wronged me; he is a juft God. O the foul acts humbly, in the day of powerful gathering; "That thou mayeft remember, and be confounded, and never open thy

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mouth, because of thy fhame, when I am pacified towards thee for all that thou haft done," Ezek. xvi. 63. O but a foul, convinced of its own unworthinefs, and defert of hell, and that fcarce can expect any thing but utter damnation; how does the first dawning of mercy melt and humble it! O whence is this to fuch a worm as I! He ftands behind Chrift weeping and washing his feet with tears. When one of the firft works of the Spirit in converfion, is, to give the foul a light in its hand, to go down into the dark cellars of his heart, and make discoveries, fo as he stands amazed, trembling at the fight of himself; and the next work of the Spirit, is, to lead him to the lightfome chamber of the King of glory, to bring him from darkness to light: O how is he melted with a fenfe of mercy, and humbled with a fenfe of his own monftrous vilenefs! "Now mine eyes fee thee; wherefore I abhor myfelf." Oh! in fuch a day, the man fees his heart vile, his lips vile, his practice vile, his righteoufnefs vile and filthy rags; he fees, in his bofom, as it were, a hell of devils and unclean fpirits; that when he thinks on himself, it makes him loath and fcunner, as it were, like a man ready to bock or vomit, when he fees fome filthy nafty thing, efpecially among his meat; or as a man's flesh will creep, when he fees fome venomous toad or viper: fɔ it is with thefe that fee themfelves in the Lord's light, in the day of their gathering to Shiloh. They that were never humbled, were never gathered; and they that have been deeply humbled, have come to God with ropes about their necks, as worthy to be caft over the gibbet, and hanged over the fire of God's everlafting vengeance: they have been humbled to the duft; yea, humbled to nothing before the Lord; and to a thoufand times lefs and worfe than nothing; yea, they cannot fee fuch vile monfters among all the devils in hell as themfelves; they come therefore with humility, reverence, and godly fear.

7. In this gathering of the people to Shiloh, under the influence of gathering power and grace, they are made to act boldly tho' humbly; Heb. iv. 16. "Let

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us come boldly to the throne of grace. Heb. x. 19. We have boldness to enter into the holieft by the blood of Jefus. Eph. iii. 12. In whom we have boldness, and accefs with confidence, by the faith of him." Here is the boldness of faith, in oppofition to the boldnefs of prefumption. Bold faith comes walking on a fea of blood, or rather upon the red and white pavement of the active and paffive obedience of Chrift. This boldnefs of faith's approach to a God in Chrift, is remarkable for feveral things. It is remarkable for the vehemency, that is fometimes in it: O how vehemently does the foul act when it is laying fiege to heaven, by the prayer of faith and importunate fupplication, crying, "Lord, I believe, help my unbelief: Lord, increase my faith;" Lord, give a drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem! O for a drop of the precious blood of the Lamb! O man, wcman, where are the bed-fides, and fecret corners, that can bear witness to your besieging heaven with your vehement cries!-It is remarkable for the violence that is in it; "The kingdom of heaven fuffers violence, and the violent take it by force." The man acts, as it were, violently; "If I perish, I perifh;" at Chrift I must be. It acts in a manner wilfully; "Tho' he flay me, yet will I trust in him: I will not let thee go, except thou blefs me." The foul, as it were, violently cafts itself upon the free grace and faithfulness of God, in the greatest distrefs; and here it lies, as it were, at anchor in fuch ftor. my days, Heb. vi. 19. It is remarkable for the confidence that is in it: it hath the confidence to give God a teftimonial, as it were: when faith is acted, not only does God give the man a teftimonial, Heb. xi. 5, 6. "Enoch had this teftimony, that he pleafed God; but without faith it is impoffible to pleafe him:" but what is yet more ftrange, faith not only gets a teftimonial from God, but gives a teftimonial to him, John iii. 33. "He that received his teftimony, hath fet to his feal that God is true." Here is the confidence and affurance of faith; it acts upon an infallible teftimony, the divine veracity and faithfulness; a Thus faith the Lord, is the firm foundation, upon which faith is built. It is a receiving the record of God: and all the acts of faith, without

this, are but as fo many arrows fhot at random in the open air. Many a confident addrefs does faith make; it ventures to go as far forward as the holy of holies, by the blood of Jefus; it ventures the foul upon the blood of the Son of God, and upon the promife of a God in Chrift; here is the boldnefs of faith. To gather in to Shiloh, and believe in him, is in effect to say, I adventure my foul upon nothing in the world, but upon the promise of a God, that I have provoked, and been an enemy to, all my days; I have nothing, but the word of this God; and yet I must adventure upon it, even my everlasting ALL. It is an adventuring act, like Peter upon the boisterous water, with this in his mouth and heart, Mafter, fave me. To venture upon the promise of a provoked God, and to believe him to be a God in Chrift reconciled, according to his word, upon the account of the ranfom he hath found out, and the propitiation he hath set forth; here is the boldness of faith. And again, it is remarkable for its resolutenefs the perfon, like the woman with the bloody iffue, preffes refolutely through crouds of devils and lufts; and with an irresistible intenseness of soul, forces a paffage through all obftructions, to get a touch of the fceptre of King Jefus. We are called to come with full affurance of faith, with an holy refolution and courage. When a poor trembling Roman approached the emperor Auguftus, he was in fome fear; "What," fays the Emperor, "take you me for an elephant that will tear you?" So we fhould come with boldness to Christ. He encourages the worst of finners; he hath given his word for it, which is as firm as the pillars of heaven and earth, and ftable like mountains of brafs, that him that cometh he will in no wife caft out: when he comes at firft, he will not caft him out; when he comes again afterwards, he will not caft him out; he will not caft out the vileft and moft defperate finner that comes,; he will not caft him out of his favour now; he will not caft him out of heaven at laft: no, no; "He will in no wife caft him out." We may gather to Shiloh, and come with the greatest boldness; and welcome, welcome, welcome fhall we be for ever.