faith, it can flee from earth to heaven in a moment. But this fpeedy gathering, I understand especially in oppofition to delays, which are dangerous in religion: to delay coming to Chrift one half-hour, is dangerous exceedingly; for, if you die within that half-hour, you are undone to eternity. Now, in a day of powerful gathering, the foul makes no longer delay: but it is in an holy hafte; "I made hafte and delayed not to keep thy righteous judgments." The man is made to flee with speed, and to run with hafte out of Sodom.

(4.) When there is a gathering to Shiloh, the regular approach and addrefs to him is made deliberately; tho' it is with speed, yet it is with deliberation; tho' none can believe too foon by a faving faith, yet fome believe too foon by a temporary faith, never having weighed matters in the balance of the fanctuary. The true approacher puts the matter in a fair balance: he puts the difadvantages in one fcale, faying, What will be my fare, If I come not to Chrift? Why, "They that are far from him fhall perish:" he puts the advantages in another fcale, and comes at length to that conclufion, Pf. Ixxiii. 28. "It is good for me to draw near to God." O! of all the gatherings, the gathering to Shiloh is beft: "To whom fhall I go? he hath the words of eternal life." The man is not affected only with a tranfient flash; no, by no means: he fees the wicked oft in profperity, and the godly in adverfity; he sees the large and alluring offers that fin, Satan, and the world make; and yet after all, he deliberately affirms, It is good for me to draw near to God and Chrift: Let others fay, as Pfal. iv. 6. Who will fhew us any good! But my SAY fhall be, Lord lift thou up the light of thy countenance on me.

(5.) When there is a gathering to Shiloh, the regular approach and addrefs is made chaftly and uprightly: the foul views the faying, that Chrift came to fave finners from fin and wrath, not only as a faithful faying, but as worthy of all acceptation; because the beauty of Chrift is difcovered. Some have their reafon conquered, but not their love; and, therefore, they come to Christ feignedly, and not with the whole heart: their judgment draws one way, and their affections another;

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for their judgment is gained, but not their affections; as if one fhould marry a woman, not because of her beauty, but because of her patrimony; not from a regard to her perfon, but love to her portion. Some take on with Chrift, and take hold of the fkirt of this Jew, who yet fee no form or comelinefs in him, for which he fhould be defired. But as it is faid, "The upright love thee;" fo they that in gathering to him act chailly and uprightly, they come to him out of pure love, not for fervile ends not to gratify a natural confcience, not for fear of hell only, but from a great love to him, and a juft efteem of him, and a firong defire of fellowship with him.--The man is content to come to Chrift on mount Calvary, as well as on mount Tabor; when going to Golgotha in ignominy, as well as when riding to Jerufalem in triumph: he cleaves to him; when people cry, Away with him, away with him ; crucify him;" as well as when they cry," Hofannah to the fon of David." He loves him when lying in the grave, as well as when mounted on a throne. The chafte and upright comer cleaves to him, when kings and princes are against him, when laws and governments are against him, when potentates and parliaments are against him, as well as when they feem to be upon his fide. It is true, indeed, that there are many unchafte thoughts, and looks, and luftings after idols in the hearts of true believers, and many defections and declinings may take place; but thefe are wreftled with and oppofed by them, and that not only by their light and confcience, but by their love and affection to the Lord Jefus, faying, Ob! fhall I thus requite the Lord? So that in the main they are upright. But, to the fame purpose,

6. When there is a gathering of the people to Shiloh, the right and regular approach and address to him is made intirely and undividedly. Falfe and hypocritical comers, they come with a divided heart to a divided Chrift; but true comers, with a whole heart to a whole Chrift. The legalift would marry Christ, while yet his other husband, the law is not dead to him, nor he dead to it: but it is an adulterous and

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unlawful match, to join with another husband while the first is living: hence true. believers in Christ are faid to be dead to the law by the body of Chrift, that they might be married to another, even to him who is raifed from the dead, Rom. vii. 4. And God throws down the old building, turns him out of that fhelter, lets him fee all his legal duties, beft performances, and moft glaring graces, are but fig-leaves, infufficient to cover his nakedness; and difcovers the neceffity, excellency, and glory of Chrift's righteoufnefs: and the man fubmits cordially to it, renouncing all hope and expectation of life, favour, and juftification by the deeds of the law. The carnal man would have Chrift and his lufts too: But, If you feek me, fays Chrift, let thefe go their way. Gathering grace makes 'the man fay, What have I to do any more with idols?—The covetous man would have Chrift and the world too: Chrift fatisfies his confcience, and he flies to him for that; the world fatisfies his heart, and he cleaves to it for that but in the day of gathering power, the emptinefs of the world is difcovered, and the man fells all for the pearl of great price.

The man that comes to Chrift, he comes for all thefe four things, 1 Cor. i. 30. for wifdom, righteoufaefs, fanctification, and redemption: He comes to him as a Prophet, for wifdom; as a Prieft, for righteoufnels; as a King, for fanctification; and as his all in all, for complete redemption: and he can want none of these, because he knows his own foolishness, guiltinefs, filthinefs, and mifery. The true believer dares not divide righteoufnefs from fanctification, nor pardon from purity; yea, he comes to Chrift for remiffion of fin for the right end. What is that? namely, that, being freed from the guilt of fin, he may be freed from the dominion of it. Knowing that there is forgiveness with him, that he may be feared, he does not believe remiffion of fin that he may indulge himfelf in the commiffion of it; no, no: the blood of Chrift, that purges the confcience from the guilt of fin, does alfo purge the confcience from dead works, to ferve the living God, Heb. ix. 14. They that come to Chrift regularly then,

they

they come fo to him for righteoufnefs, that they may have him alfo for fanctification; otherwife the man does not really defire the favour and enjoyment of God, or to be in friendship with him who is a holy God. As the true lover loves him, not only because he is good and merciful, but becaufe he is a pure and a holy JESUS; fo the true believer employs Chrift for making him holy as well as happy and hence draws virtue from him for killing of fin, and quickening the foul in the way of duty. And the faith that can never keep you from a fin, will never keep you out of hell: and the faith that cannot carry you to a duty, will not carry you to heaven. Juftifying faith is a fanctifying grace; it improves Chrift undividedly. It is true, as it fanctifies, it does not justify; but that faith that juftifies, does alfo fanctify as the fun that enlightens hath heat with it; but it is not the heat of the fun that enligh. tens, but the light thereof: fo that faith that justifies hath love and fanctity with it; but it is not the love and fanctity that juftifies, but faith as clofing with Chrift.

(7.) When there is a gathering of the people to Shiloh, the regular approach and addrefs to him is made exclufively; excluding all other faviours, all other helps, all other props, faying, "I will make mention of thy righteoufnefs, and of thine only," Pfal. Ixxi. 16. To depend partly on Christ, and partly on our own righteoufnefs, is to fet one foot on firm ground, and another on quick fand. If a man fet one foot upon a rock, and another upon the deep water, and lean to them both with equal weight; yea, if he give any of his weight to the foot that is on the water, he will be fure to fink into the deep; fo here: these who rely partly upon the merits of Chrift, and partly upon their own good works for juflification, will inevitably perish in the iffue: therefore in the day of gathering to Chrift, the foul is brought to fay, "Surely in the Lord only have I righteoufnefs and ftrength," Ifa. xlv. 24.Thus Paul excludes the beft righteoufnefs that ever he had, either before or after converfion, from the matter

of his juftification, Phil. iii. 8. When he compares his best righteousness with Chrift's, he looks upon it as a dunghill, a flinking dunghill, where there is no pleafure; and a finking dunghill, where there is no ftanding. Such is our righteoufnefs, if it be not excluded from our juftification before God, and acceptance with him. If we go about to eftablifh cur own righteoufnefs, it ftinks in the divine noftrils as dung: and not only fo, but it is a finking ground to ftand upon, there is no firm footing; the more a man leans to it, the more he finks in it. Chrift's blood is the only facrifice of a sweet fmelling favour to God; every facrifice ftinks, that is not perfumed therewith:-Chrift's righteoufnefs is the only fure foundation and firm ground for ftanding on before God. As the way of fin is a finking way, fo the way of felf-righteoufnefs is little better; for the fin that is in man's beft righteoufness trips up his heels, and lays him in the mire, where he finks to hell, if he be not brought to build upon a furer ground, and to take a better way.

(8.) When there is a gathering to Shiloh, the regular approach and addrefs to him is made progreffively, as alfo peremptorily and irreverfibly, faying, as Pfalm lxxx. 17. "Henceforth we will not go back." O! after we have tafted of the bitternefs of fin, and the bitternefs of wrath; after the wings of our fouls have been finged with the flames of hell; after the arrows of conviction fhot out of the bow of omnipotence have pierced our fouls, fo as no man, minifter, or angel, could pull them out; Chrift did it, with his own hand, and therein manifefted his powerful grace, as being the Man of God's right-hand. Shall we again turn our back upon him? No; Henceforth, through grace, we will not go back. The true believer comes to Chrift, fo as never to part with him, faying, as Ruth to Naomi, Ruth i. 16. "Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee; for whither thou goeft, I will go; and where thou lodgeft, I will lodge; thy people fhall be my people, and thy God my God. Nothing fhall part thec and me." Yea, the man, having once come to Chrift, is ftill coming nearer and nearer to him; "To

whom