you and I, my dear Friendly, to folemn acts of thankfulness, and renewed obedience, Pfal. xxxiii. 1, 2, 3. I will bless the Lord at all times; his praife shall be continually in my mouth: my foul fhall make her boaft in the Lord; the humble shall hear thereof and be glad: O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.

Friendly. But is it not faid at the clofe of the prophecy, they that believe fhall not make hafte?

Truth. Yes, but this not making hafte, is not to be underftood of the foul's acceleration to duty and gratitude, for that is always to be done with spiritual precipitation and alertness, for faith the Apostle, I conferred not with flesh and blood; and fays the inspired prophet, I made hafte, and delayed not to keep thy commandments. Some by making not hafte, underftand the believer feeing fuch a glory, fafety, and fecurity, in this foundation which God hath laid in Zion, that they hafte not there from, or make any attempt to lay another. But I rather

think, that it denotes, that timidity and fearfulness of mind, which takes place in the foul, from a fense of guilt, that is thereby kept back, from acting faith upon the LORD JESUS CHRIST, notwithstanding the LORD hath laid fuch a folid foundation, as the perfon, blood, and obedience of the MES SIAH for the foul to trust upon, and feconds this encourgement with exceeding great and precious promises; yet at first, fuch is the ponderous weight of guilt upon the mind, that the believer cannot make hafte to embrace that confolation and pardon that is exhibited in the word of God for it, which made CHRIST fay to his difciples, O fools and flow of heart to believe, &c. But the Apoftle Peter thus explains, shall not be confounded, Pet. ii. 6. And the Apostle Paul faith, shall not be afbamed, Rom. x. II.

Friendly. But what folid proof do you give, why a foul that trufteth upon CHRIST, as its alone foundation, shall not be confounded, or as Paul faith, not ashamed?

Truth. Because God hath promised it: Hath he said it, and fhall he not do it? Hath he not spoken, and shall it not come to pafs? There is fuch veracity in his word, fuch ftability in his promife, that Heaven and earth may pass before one tittle of his word can fail.

Secondly, The glory of the death and fufferings of CHRIST depends upon the falvation of those that truft therein; and will CHRIST lose the honour of his own blood! God forbid!

which he must do, if those are confounded that confide therein: But for our prefent joy I might add, it is not possible for a foul to be afhamed that believes in JESUS, because the MESSIAH has ftaked the honour of his incarnation, obedience, death, interceffion, and mediatorial glory thereupon: In fhort, the praife of all the divine perfections, the eternal honour of the GoDHEAD, FATHER, SON, and SPIRIT, ftand engaged to fave that foul that believes in JLSUS; therefore we may, with the ftrongest affurance, fay, if all heaven can fave that foul that trufteth in CHRIST, it shall never be loft, because GOD hath faid, Ifa. xlv. 17. Ifrael fhall be faved in the Lord with an everlasting falvation; yea he shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end.

The next prophecy we find Ifa, xxxii. 2. And a man shall be a hiding place from the wind, a covert from the tempeft, as rivers of waters in a dry place, as a shadow of a great rock in a weary land.

Friendly. But where doth it appear that the MESSIAH IS called a Man?

Truth. In this character and form, the MESSIAH took a peculiar pleasure to make himself known to the fons of men in the Old Teftament difpenfationn, Gen. xxxii. 24. And Jacob was left alone, and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the morning; and that this man was a divine perfon (undoubtedly the LORD JESUS) is manifeft ver. 29. And Jacob afked him, and faid, I pray thee tell me thy name; and be faid, wherefore is it that thou dost afk after my name? And he blefjed him there; and Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: (that is the face of God) I have feen God face to face, and my life is preferved.

We likewife find that the MessIAH appeared to Joshua, in the likeness of a man, Job. v. 13. And it came to pass, that when fofhua was by Jericho, that he lift up his eyes and looked, and behold there flood a Man over-against him with a drawn fword in his hand; and Fafbua went unto him, and faid unto him, art thou for us, or for our adverfaries? and he jaid, nay, but as the Prince of Jehovah's Hoft am I now come. And fofbua fell with his face unto the earth, and did worship, and faid unto him, what faith my Lord unto his fervant, &c. And to we find that David had a prophetic view of the MESSIAH, under this character, when he faid to GOD, let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, whom thou haft made ftrong for thyself. And fays the Prophet Behold the man whofe name is the Branch. Thus it appears, that the Old Teftament Saints knew the

MESSIAH under this character; and to make it manifeft that this prediction hath its accomplishment in him, as the true MESSIAH, he bears the fame character in the New, Heb. vii. 24. But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable Priesthood. Likewife he retains the fame character in glory, when he made his vifion or appearance therefrom, unto John upon the Ifle of Patmos; we find he thus defcribes him, Rev. i. 13. And in the midst of the feven golden candlesticks, one like unto the fon of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot. And I apprehend the reafon why the MESSIAH fo frequently bears this character is, because he took a delight to manifeft his love to us in our nature, and to fhew that near relation that he ftands in unto us, as our Husband and Elder Brother. Friendly. But wherein does it appear that the MESSIAH, as a man, is a hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest?

Truth. As his perfon, blood, and obedience, are every way as extenfive as the law can demand, they must prove a fure hiding place, from all its ftorms and accufations; from every fentence, curfe, and condemnation it exhibits against the finner; on which account the fenfible finner finds a fure retreat and afylum in the MESSIAH; for an hiding place denotes a place of fafety and fecurity. And as the MESSIAH's being an hiding place from the wind, denotes a fhelter from the condemnation of the law, fo his being a covert from the tempeft, points out his precious blood and atonement, as the foul's fecurity from the wrath that is to come; for it is fin against GOD, that expofeth us to divine vengeance; but the covert of the MESSIAH'S blood and righteousness, is the foul's divine protection therefrom; that when the ftorm of divine wrath falls upon the wicked, the righteous fhall be as fafe as Heaven can fecure him, Ifa. iii. 10. Say to the righteous it shall be well with him.

Friendly. But wherein doth it appear that the MESSIAH is as rivers of water in a dry place?

Truth. Water in a dry place is a metaphorical description of the boundless bleffing of his grace to thirty fouls; therefore he fays, if any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. How feafonable is water to the dry and parched earth! In like manner how fuitable is the water of life to a dry and barren foul, whofe mind is, as it were, burnt with the fiery tempeft from Mount Sinai! How feasonable then are the sprinklings of the blood of JESUS to the mind! O what refreshment fprings

therefrom! that fpiritual deadness which was upon the mind before, is thereby removed, and peace, joy, and fruitfulness abound. But rivers of water evidently denote the redundancy of grace that there is in the MESSIAH; not a small rivulet, nor a fingle river, but rivers, which metaphorically enhance the fuperaboundings of divine grace in CHRIST the MESSIAH for loft finners; that there is a confluence of grace in him for every want; rivers of kindness to fupply us in every time of need; and to manifeft that this prophecy hath its accomplishment in him, he faith, Rev. xxi. 6. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end; I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

Friendly. But wherein might the MESSIAH be compared to a fhadow of a great rock in a weary land?

Truth. A fhadow, especially in the eastern country, is exceeding delightful, cooling and refreshing, as it is a fhade from the heat. So the perfon of CHRIST is a delightful shade, as he interpofeth between GoD and the foul, and by his blood and obedience, fcreens the foul from every fcorching beam of law, wrath, and death; or it may denote the delightful fhadow of his prefence, as faith the Spouse, Cant. ii. 3. I fat under his fhadow with great delight, &c. As fhades and fhady places are of fuch a refreshing nature, that we find the fheep as naturally go for reft there in time of heat, as into the paftures to feed, fo the flock of Gop, of which the MESSIAH is the Shepherd, go for reft and divine refreshment from the heat of temptation, perfecution, or affliction, to the fhade of his perfon, blood, and obedience, and that in a weary land. This denotes that this world is a weary place to the chriftian, on account of the temptations he finds therein, the interruptions he meets with therefrom, and the unfatisfyingness of every enjoyment it affords, together with the ungodly conversation of the wicked, which grieves his righteous foul from day to day. But amidst all these trying circumstances of foul, the chriftian refresheth himself under the fhade of his dear SAVIOUR, viz. under the fhade of his promifes, which afford him fatisfaction of better things to come; under the fhade of his bleffings, which point forth distinguishing love to his foul; under the fhade of his perfon, which engages the delight of his mind, that he shall one day fee him as he is, and be for ever with the LORD; under the fhade of his righteoufnefs, when he fhall appear therein without fpot or wrinkle, or any fuch thing; under the fhade of his blood, which cleanseth him from all fin, and therefore he fhall appear without fault before the

throne of God. Thus the MESSIAH, the CHRIST of GOD, the SAVIOUR of finners, is as a shadow of a great rock in a weary land; and which may afford,

First, Some folemn enquiries, viz. Dear reader, what place of retreat haft thou for thy foul? What afylum has thy mind fixed upon? Where does thy foul flee for fafety? The text faith, a man fhall be a hiding place from the wind, a covert from the tempeft; is he thy hiding place? Let conscience speak'; deal faithfully with thy foul; know this, that let a benefit be what it may, nothing like propriety and intereft therein, and that there is no argument like matter of fact: If thy foul has made the blood, perfon and obedience of the MESSIAH its continual refort, it cannot be entirely ignorant of it: But if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our hearts and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our hearts condemn us not, then have we confidence towards God.

Secondly, If the MESSIAH be as rivers of water in a dry place, then what occafion is there for fo many fears and diftreffes? Though our wants may appear to be many and great, they cannot be fo boundless as the grace of CHRIST, which is exceeding abundant. What part of the earth was ever fo dry and barren, but what rivers could water it and make it fruitful? In like manner the fulness of grace that there is in CHRIST can enrich the most barren, foften the most obdurate, and supply the most boundless wants that an immortal foul can be in. It is not a small rivulet, a purling brook, or a fingle river, but as rivers of water in a dry place; which fhould command life and joy in the most difconfolate season, when the foul meditates that there are rivers of grace, mercy, and peace in the MESSIAH, in whom it hath pleafed the Father all fulnefs fhould dwell.

Thirdly, Is the MESSIAH as the fhadow of a great rock in a weary land? Then how chearful and joyful fhould the chriftian live! Hath he trials and afflictions? Yes, he has; but what then, hath he not likewife a fhade of refreshment where to rest? We think too much upon our trials, and that makes them fo heavy; and too little upon our comforts, and that makes them fo fmall to us; we refide too little under the shadow of our beloved, Ifa. xxxiii. 21. There the glorious Lord will be unto us a place of broad rivers and ftreams.

We now proceed to the next prediction of the MESSIAH, Ifa. xl. 10, 11. Behold the Lord God will come with a strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him; behold his reward is with