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and the world, have the throne of your hearts, and the obedience of your lives, and yet think you to have fellowship with God? "What communion hath light with darkness? What concord hath Chrift with Belial?" And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? 2 Cor. vi. 14. 15. And therefore I say, if ever you go out to meet the Bridegroom, you must let these go, and fay with Ephraim, What have I to do any more with idols? So much for reproof.

MATTH. XXV. 6.-And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold the Bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet him.

THE SIXTH SERMON ON THIS TEXT.

THE

'HE fifth use of this doctrine I thall endeavour to manage in an addrefs to two forts of perfons: Firft, To all in general. Secondly, To believers in particular. First, I fay, I would address myself to all in general. Sirs, you have been hearing of Chrift in the quality of a Bridegroom, and how he is not only come in the fleth, but actually come in the difpenfation of the gospel, to court a bride for himself among the fons of men. He who married our nature unto a perfonal union with himself, when he past by the nature of angels, that he might be upon a level with us, is now actually prefenting himself to us in this gospel, as the Bridegroom of fouls, and faying, with his hand stretched. out, "Behold me, behold me;" I will be for you, if you will be for me, and not for another: "Bohiold I stand at the door, and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door of his heart to me, and confent to the bargain, I will come into him, and will fup with him, and he with me: I will betrothe thee unto me for ever."

Now, I fay, feeing this is the cafe, my call and exhortation unto all is, to give the affent and confent of faith unto the bargain. I, as a friend of the Bridegroom, have a commiffion to court for him, and to fay to you, as Rebekah's friends faid to her, upon a propofal of marriage with Ifaac, "Wilt thou go with this man?" the Man IMMANUEL, GOD

MAN;

MAN; the Man of God's right hand; the Man whose naine is the Branch, who builds the temple, and, bears all the glory; the Man who hath all power in heaven, and on earth; who is KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. O, will you fign the contract of the new covenant with the hand of faith, and fay, "I am the Lord's, my Maker is and fhall be my Hufband, whofe name is the Lord of hofts, and my Redeemer, the Holy One of Ifrael." O, what a happy day would it be to this affembly, if every individual foul would give Rebekah's answer to the propofal, with the fame affection and refolution, I will go with the man. I will follow him whitherfoever he goes; his God fhall be my God, his Father shall be my Father, where he dwells there will I dwell; neither death nor life, nor things prefent, nor things to come, shall ever separate between him and me.' Now, because it is Christ's way not to drag with violence, but to draw his bride to him with the cords of a man, and the bands of love, therefore I fhall effay to enforce the exhortation with a few motives or arguments.

Mot. 1. fhall be taken from the glory and excellency of the bleffed Bridegroom. And here it is fit you remember what was faid of him in the doctrinal part. As to his name, he has a "name above every name that can be named." As to his pedigree, who can declare his generation? As to his perfonal worth and excellency, his qualities are every way incomparable. Now, feeing fuch a Bridegroom offers to betrothe you to himself, O let it be a bargain; give your confent unto him, that the everlasting knot may be cast between you and him.

Mot. 2. To engage you to match with the Bridegroom, O confider how fond he is of the match, how much his heart is fet upon it. This will appear, if you confider,

1. That he had it upon his heart from all eternity, before the world was made: "I have loved thee with an everlasting love," Jer. xxxi. 3. Before we had any being, fave in his own purpofe, when he faw us in our blood, his time, even then, was a time of love, Ezek. xvi.; and the accomplishing of that project of love was the joy of his heart, Prov. viii. 30. He rejoiced in the habitable parts of the earth, and his delights were with the fons of men."

2. He was fo fond of the match, that, though he be God's fellow, and thinks it not robbery to be equal with God," yet he confented voluntarily to become his Father's bond fervant out of love to us. This is the import of that word, "Mine ear haft thou bored, Lo, I come; I delight to do thy will, O

my

my God! yea, thy law is within my heart." As Jacob became Laban's fervant for fourteen years, out of love he had to Rachel; fo did Chrift become his Father's fervant in the great work of redemption, out of love he had to the bride, that his Father promifed him, in Adam's family.

3. Because he was none of our kindred, therefore he became out Kinsman, by manifefting himself in the fleth, or taking part of our flesh, Heb. ii. 14. John i. 14. "The Word was made flesh;" he became as one of us, that fo the natural distance being removed, the marriage might be accomplished.

4. Because the bride was a bond flave to law and justice, and could not be redeemed but with a ranfom of infinite value; therefore the Bridegroom dies for the bride, and redeems her, not with filver and gold, but with his own precious blood: he gave his life a ransom for many.

5. Because she was a prifoner unto Satan, and a lawful captive unto her greatest enemy, who was ready to devour her; therefore he comes in the quality of a victorious and renowned conqueror, and travels in the greatnefs of his strength, fpoils principalities and powers, makes a fhew of them openly, and "through death, destroys him that had the power of death," fetting the captives of the mighty at liberty.

6. Because the bride was as black as hell, by lying among the pots; therefore he undertakes to wath and cleanfe her, and to put his own beauty upon her, whereby the fhould be as the wings of a dove, covered with yellow gold.

7. Because the bride was naked, the devil having run away with her beautiful ornament of original righteoufnefs; therefore the Bridegroom undertakes to clothe her with white raiment, fo as the thame of her nakedness might not appear: the Bridegroom is made of God to her, "righteoufnefs and fanctification," &c.

8. So fond is the Bridegroom of the match, that he difpatches his heralds to make open proclamation of his purpofe of marriage to her, and he gives it us minifters in our commiffion, to infift upon it, and not to take a refufal; 2 Cor. v. 20. "Now then we are ambaffadors for Chrift, as though God did befeech you by us, we pray you in Chrift's ftead be ye reconciled to God," by embracing his beloved Son, and confenting to him as your Head, Hutband, and Bridegroom.

9. So fond is he, that he waits for a good answer from the bride; he waits, that he may be gracious, and he exalts himself, that he may fhew mercy; he stands at the door and knocks, till his head is filled with dew, and his locks with the drops of the night.

10. He

ro. He is grieved at the heart when he gets a refufal. How did he weep over Jerufalem, faying, O, "If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! How fhall I give thee up Ephraim? How thall I deliver thee Ifrael? Mine heart is turned within me, my repentings are kindled together."

Ir. How glad is his heart when the confent of the bride is gained? He is fo glad, that he calls heaven and earth to rejoice with him for there is joy in heaven when but one finner is converted: O then the cry is given, Rev. xix 5. “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him, for the mar riage of the Lamb is come, and his bride hath made herself ready." The joy of that day is expreffed by the joyful fo lemnity of a king's coronation, Cant. iv. laft, "Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold King Solomon, with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his efpoufals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart."

Now, is Chrift fo fond of a match with you, and will you be cool, careless, and averfe? efpecially, if you confider by way of

Mot. 3. The vaft difparity and difproportion between you and him. Never was there fuch an inequality in marriage between parties as here; and yet his love and kindness towards the bride makes him come over all inequality. O let heaven and earth, angels and men, ftand amazed! He who is the Lord, the Creator of all the ends of the earth, offers to match with his own creature, the work of his own hand, If. liv. 6.

Thy Maker is thine Hufband." He who is the ANCIENT OF DAYS, the EVERLASTING FATHER, offers to match with a forlorn infant caft out into the open field. He who is the most noble Branch of heaven or earth, offers to match with a vile prostitute, who had played the harlot with many lovers, whose father was an Amorite, and her mother a Hittite. He who is the Heir of God, Heir of heaven, the Heir of all things, offers to match with the children of Satan, and heirs of hell. He who is the greatest beauty of heaven and earth, the brightnefs of the Father's glory, offers to match with a bride, black as the Ethiopian, and fpotted like the leopard, who is full of wounds and bruifes, and putrefying fores. O let heaven and earth stand amazed at the condefcenfion of the Bridegroom, and the folly of finners in refufing fuch a match!

Mot. 4. To win your hearts to the Bridegroom, confider how much it will turn out to your advantage, if you take on with him as your Hutband. View this in thefe following things.

1. The Bridegroom will clear, and eafe you of all your

debts;

debts. As for temporal and worldly debts he has a thousand ways to rid you of thefe, if he fee it for his glory, and your good: for the earth is his, and the fulness thereof, and he bids you caft all your cares upon him, for he careth for his bride; he that paid a ransom for your fouls, how will he not with that freely give you all things? But as to the debts you owe to law and justice, which indeed of all are the greatest and heaviest, heavier than you can bear, the leaft farthing of which you could never have paid, either by an eternity of obedience, or an eternity of punishment, that moment you clofe with Chrift, you are cleared and difcharged; the Bridegroom ftands between you and all your creditors. You know the wife is not fueable at law while clothed with a husband, he answers for all. Juft fo when you clofe with Chrift the better Husband, who is raised from the dead, you become dead to the law," Rom. vii. 4. i. e. you have no more concern with the law, and the debts you owe to it as a covenant, either for obedience or punishment, than if they had never been; infomuch that, with joy and triumph you may lift up your heads in the prefence of all your creditors or accufers, and fay, 'Who can lay any thing to my charge? for it is Chrift that died for my of fences, and rofe again for myj uftification and acquittance; I am under his covering, I am with him in the bride-chamber, where law and juftice have no action against me.' O then, poor diver, broken and bankrupt finner, go out and match with the Bridegroom, and that moment," It is God that juftifies you," saying, "I, even I am he that blottteth out your tranfgreffions."

2. O Sirs, go out and meet the Bridegroom, and take on with him, and all your wants fhall be fupplied, be they never fo great and many, Phil. iv. 19. "My God fhall fupply all your need, according to his riches in glory, by Chrift Jefus." The Bridegroom, as you have heard, has unfearchable riches : all the treafures of wisdom and knowledge, of grace and of glory, are in him; and out of his fulness you fhall receive grace for grace; quickening grace, for he is the Refurrection and the Life; enlightening grace, for he is the Sun of Righteoulnefs, the bright and the morning Star; ftrengthening grace, for he giveth power to the faint, and increafeth ftrength to them that have no might. In a word, he will give grace and glory, and no good thing will he with-hold from the foul that confents to marry him.

3. The Bridegroom will heal all your foul maladies: for he is well killed in phyfic; he is the Phyfician of value, and there is no disease fo obftinate, but he will cure it with a word fpeaking. Haft thou a hard heart? he will foften it, and turn

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