joyment of the divine favour, pour out your hearts before God, that others may also find mercy with him. Thus Abraham, the friend of God, interceded for his fon, "Oh that Ifhmael might live in thy fight!" When you have fweet intercourfe with the Father of mercies, plead with him for others. It was the request of a certain perfon to his intimate friend (cum fic tibi fuerit, memento mei) ' when it shall be thus with you, remember me.'

It becomes you to long, to hope, and to wait for the full enjoyment of God's favour in heaven. The fweet and comfortable affurance of his love to you, in your prefent ftate of distance from him, fhould make you restless till you are advanced to the full and final fruition of it in glory. Let the taftes you have of it here, quicken your defires after a full draught of the fountain of life and bliss in the upper world. In the morning of the refurrection, when you awake in the divine likeness, you fhall be fatisfied. Be conftantly looking for the coming of the day of God, and haftening to it. Wait on the Lord, and he will fave you, and preserve you to his heavenly kingdom. The righteous go from diftant communion with their Redeemer on earth to intimate fellow fhip with him in heaven. Mofes, the fervant of the Lord, died, according to the word of the Lord." The Jewish Rabbins

read

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read it (ad ofculum Jehova) at the mouth or kifs of Jehovah. The Lord took him away in a fweet embrace. He was then honoured with the appellation of the fervant of the Lord, as expreffive of the intimacy he had with his divine Mafter in this world, and of his admittance into the immediate prefence of the fame Mafter in the regions of immortality. The foul at death goes to receive the refult of its labours; the reward, not of debt, but of grace. Jefus has faid, "If any man ferve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there also shall my servants be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour." To which we may add the words of the apostle to the Coloffians, "Knowing that of the Lord ye fhall receive the reward of the inheritance; for ye ferve the Lord Chrift." Keep this in view, and be daily longing, hoping, and waiting for it.

I shall close all with the following meditation, by way of paraphrase, on the text which I have endeavoured to explain and enforce through the whole of this treatise.

The divine word informs me, and my own experience bears witnefs to the delightful truth, that In his favour there is life. To this I can fet my feal; fo that what many others do but read, I, a

poor

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Were I de

poor finful worm, am made to feel. nied the fweet enjoyment of his favour, my heart would be pained; I should faint and languish. Had I never tafted the precious benefit, I fhould never have known how good it is. But I know in whom I have believed; I know whom I have loved; and how do I long that my weary foul may reft in the bofom of his love! His benignity is better than life. I long to have a full draught of his love, or rather, to be overwhelmed in this unbounded ocean.

Abfence from him, whofe favour has won my heart, is the fharpeft pain I now feel. O that the veil, which hides from me the bright vision of his face, were but once removed! I long to fee him as he is. Since his love has warmed my oncefrozen breast, my heart is not my own; I have given my warmest affections to him, and cannot forbear to cry, "When fhall I come, and appear

before God!"

Farewell, delufive world; my heart glows with an ardour which nothing beneath the fun could poffibly infpire. The brighteft things below the fkies have no charms for me, in comparison with him who is the chiefeft among ten thousands, and altogether lovely. The favour of the great, the riches of the wealthy, and the delights of the vain,

are

are mean and despicable things. When the light of God's countenance is lifted up upon me, I can look on this captivating world with disdain, and deem the mightiest monarch poor, who knows nothing of the favour of the King of kings.

How am I indebted to the riches of infinite love! The merciful Redeemer faw me, all wretched and forlorn, a helpless orphan, caft out in the open field, polluted in mine own blood, to the loathing of my perfon; he pitied my helpless case, took me up in his arms, cherished me in his bofom, washed me from my filthinefs, adorned me with his comelinefs, and faid unto me, "I have loved thee with an everlasting love." O how great is his mercy! I am now emboldened to claim a personal interest in his favour, and to fay, "My beloved is mine, and I am his." His love is abfolutely free. There was enough in me to provoke his eternal abhorrence; but he hath mercy on whom, and because he will have mercy.

Affift me, ye celestial intelligences, ye angels of light, affist me to admire and adore his love. Teach me, in strains like your own, to celebrate the height, the depth, the length and the breadth of redeeming grace.

The tokens of divine favour are fweet beyond. expreffion. They banish the fears and disquietudes.

of

...》→་་ར་་

of the pained heart; they alleviate the croffes and afflictions of life, and brighten the horrors of death and the grave. Bleft with the fmiles of his face, who loved me, and gave himself for me, I can chearfully fubmit to every chastisement of his hand; knowing that whom the Lord loveth he chafteneth, and scourgeth every fon whom he receiveth. Welcome disease, welcome every pain, which indicates the speedy diffolution of this tabernacle, and portends the hour of my release from the burdens of the flesh. These breaches in the walls of my prifon-house admit the rays of celeftial light, and affure me, that my longing foul shall speedily gain her happy difmiffion, and fly to the bofom of her Saviour. Go on, O Lord, to accomplish in me all the good pleasure of thy goodness, and the work of faith with power. Let thy light shine brighter and brighter, unto the perfect day. Then farewell groans, and tears, and complaints; farewell darkness and eclipfes of the Sun of righteoufnefs; farewell glimmering hopes and gloomy fears; faith itself will then be turned into fight, and hope into everlasting fruition. Welcome ye pleasures which flow at God's right hand for evermore! When I partake of these I fhall know, that "IN HIS FAVOUR IS LIFE!"

FINI S.