be willing in the day of thy power;" and then it immediately follows, "In the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning; thou haft the dew of thy youth."

6thly, They foon stretch out the hand to God, because they are made to fee, in gofpel light, God's glory, and their own falvation, concerned in the matter. By faith in Jesus Christ, or a ready complying with the gofpel call, we at the fame time glorify God's faithfulness, power, wisdom, and other perfections; and likewife fecure our own eternal falvation: for "whofoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life," John iii. 16.

VI. I might here allo touch upon the certainty of the event. For here it is not faid, Peradventure Ethiopia may ftretch out her hands unto God, no, but it fhall be fo, Ethiopia hall ftretch out her hands unto God,

Now, the certainty of the event turns upon thefe four things.

ift, Upon the purpose of God, which can never miscarry ; "for the counfel of the Lord ftandeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart unto all generations." His decrees are like mountains of brafs that are immoveable; and therefore, fays the apoftle, Rom. xi. 7. "The election hath obtained it, and the reft were blinded." As many as were ordained to eternal life fhall believe, fhall ftretch out their hands unto God.

2dly, Upon the purchase of Chrift. God the Father gave a felect company of Adam's pofterity unto Chrift, whom he redeemed, not by corruptible things, fuch as filver or gold, but by his own precious blood; and of all that the Father gave him, whom he hath bought with such a valuable ranfom, he will lofe none, but will prefent them to his Father at the end of the day, faying, "Here am I, and the children whom thou haft given me," Ifa. viii. 18. and Heb. ii. 13.

3dly, Upon the promise of God recorded in his word, which is nothing elfe than the extract of the purpofe of his heart. He has faid, Ethiopia, and the Gentile world, fhall stretch out their hand unto God: Thy people fhall be willing in the day of thy power: And all that the Father giveth me fhall come unto God." And hath he pledged his faithfulness in the promife, and "will he not do it? Hath he spoken it, and shall it not come to pass?"

4thly, Upon the power and efficacy of divine grace, the iron finew of the obftinate will is bended to an infalling with the offers of Chrift, and of falvation through him; and therefore it is, that they quickly and readily ftretch out the hand to Gud.

VII. The feventh thing is the use of the doctrine.
Ufe firft fhall be of Information.

See hence, first, the deplorable condition of finners by nature, before the gofpel is preached to them, and before gofpel grace call them effectually. Why, like the Ethiopians, they were fitting in darkness, and in the region and fhadow of death. Yea, not only they that want the gofpel altogether, but they that have it, and do not believe it, do not improve the means of grace and falvation, are refembled unto the Ethiopians, Amos ix. 7. "Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Ifrael? faith the Lord," no better than heathens and barbarians.

2dly, See hence the effic.cy and power of the gospel, when accompanied with the Spirit of God. Why, it, as it were, washes and changes the Ethiopian; it makes the finner, who was ftretching out his hands unto ftrange gods, to stocks and ftones, to ftretch out his hand unto the only living and true God. It changes the nature of the finner, and “turns him from darkness unto light, and from the power of Satan unto God," Acts xxvi. 18.

3dly, See hence that God had an ancient kindness for the Gentile nations, and that he had a mind to erect a church among them under the New Teftament. Why, here is a prediction of it, Ethiopia fhall stretch out her hands unto God." God's defign of love unto us Gentiles broke out, immediately after the flood, in the prophecy of Noah, "God fhall enlarge Japhet, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem;" and in the words of dying Jacob, Gen. xlix. 10. that, upon the coming of Shi loh, unto him fhould the gathering of the people be. He is given for to be a light to enlighten the Gentiles, and for falvation unto all the ends of the earth. "He is fet up for an enfign to the nations; to him fhall the Gentiles feek, and his reft fhall be glorious." O what manner of praife is it, that this, and the like ancient prophecies, are now fulfilled, and that our lot is caft in the days of the New Testament, wherein the tabernacle of God is fet up among the Gentiles, who were aliens from the commonwealth of Ifrael during the whole Old Teftament difpenfation, and that even thir ifles of the fea are made to wait for his law; and that, this day, we have opportunity of keeping the folemn feaft of his fupper! Olet us ftretch out our hands unto God in a way of praise and thanksgiving; and let "fongs be heard from thir ends of the earth, even glory, glory to Jefus Chrift the righteous," If. xxiv. 16.

4thly, See from this text and doctrine, that the door of faith and falvation ftands wide open to all forts of finners,

even though they be as black as Ethiopians, through their lying among the pots of fin, yet the grace of the gospel cafts a favourable look towards you, as you fee, ver. 13. of this pfalm where my text lies, "Though ye have lien among the pots, yet (if ye ftretch out the hand of faith unto a God in Chrift) fhall ye be as the wings of a dove covered with filver, and her feathers with yellow gold." See, to this purpofe, If. i. 18. Jer. iii. 1. And, therefore, let no finner give way unto defpairing thoughts, as if the grace and call of the gospel did not concern them: for finners of all forts and fizes are called, and have been actually brought unto Chrift, who "came not to call the righteous, but finners, to repentance," Matth. ix. 13.

5thly, See from this doctrine the folly and wickedness of the fin of unbelief, which is a drawing back the hand from God, inftead of a stretching it out unto him: Hence unbelievers are faid to ftop the ear, and pull away the shoulder, Zech vii. 2. "and fay unto God, Depart from us, for we defire not the knowledge of thy ways. What is the Almighty that we should serve him?" Job xxi. 14. O how many fuch are there who fit under the drop of the gofpel! Sirs, remember that God will refent fuch treatment, Prov. i. 24-27. "Because I have called, and ye refufed, I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; but ye have fet at nought all my counfel, and would none of my reproof: I will alfo laugh at your calamity, I will mock when your fear cometh, when your fear cometh as defolation, and your deftruction cometh as a whirlwind, when diftrefs and anguifh cometh upon you." The Ethiopians will rife in judgement against all fuch.

6thly, See from this doctrine how the covenant of peace and friendship is established betwixt God and the guilty fin ner, in the day of converfion; why God's hand is stretched out all the day long, in the difpenfation of the gospel, befeeching rebellious finners to be reconciled to him, through the death and blood of his Son, whereby his juftice is fatisfied, 2 Cor. v. 19. compared with If. lxv. 2. Now, in the day of converfion, the finner, like Ethiopia ftretches out his hand unto God. He cafts away the weapons of war against God, and fubmits unto the offers of peace and reconciliation made in the gofpel; he gives the hand unto the Lord, as the exprellion is, 2 Chron. xxx. 8.; where good King Hezekiah, proclaiming the paffover to Judah and Ifrael, exhorts them to yield themfelves unto the Lord. The word in the original is, "Give the hand to the Lord." So that, when a finner believes in Chrift, he, as it were, ftrikes hands with the Lord, upon the footing

footing of the great facrifice of atonement: And this I take to be the meaning of that word, Pfal. 1. 5. "Gather my faints. together unto me, even thofe that have made a covenant with me by facrifice," alluding unto the ancient custom of cutting the facrifice in twain, and pafling between the parts of it, in making covenants between man and man, &c. Gen. xv. 10. 17. 7thly, See from this doctrine, wherein the effence either of perfonal or national covenanting with God doth confift: Why, it just lies in following the example of Ethiopia, which ftretched out the hand unto God, in a way of faith and solemn profeffion, that the God of Chrift fhall be their God, and that the Father of Chrift fhall be their Father; and that in the ftrength of the grace that is in Jefus, promised in a new covenant of grace, they will cleave unto him by a perfonal holy walk and converfation; and that, through grace, they will cleave unto the doctrine, difcipline, worship, and government, that he has appointed in his houfe, in his holy oracles. It must be a ftrange kind of a fpirit, that either fets his people on edge against fuch covenants, or turns them to an indifferency about the public work and caufe of Chrift, as if it were not worth the contending for, or fuffering for. When God commands us to "contend for the faith delivered to the faints," Jude 3. and to "ftand faft in the liberty wherewith Chrift hath made us free," Gal. v. I. It appears evidently to be a plot of hell, for burying a teftimony for our folemn covenants, and for the reformation of Scotland, and for our encouraging judicatories to go on in their courfe of backfliding from the Lord, and his work and way.

8tbly, See hence what is the proper duty of all, but efpecially of every one that is come up to keep the Lord's paffover, even like Ethiopia, to ftretch out the hand to a God in Chrift, reconciling the world to himfeif, by the death and blood of his eternal Son. O, is there any foul in all this company, that will draw back the hand from receiving the Chrift of God, his unfpeakable gift? He and his righteoufnefs, and whole falvation, is brought to our hand, that ye may receive him, as your own property, for ever. You ftand abfolutely in need of him; for, without him, you are undone. But I cannot ftand at prefent upon motives.

Object. 1. You bid me ftretch out my hand to God, in order to receive his unfpeakable gift; but, alas, I have nothing in my hand, no good to commend me to God.'

Anf. Faith (when it comes to receive Christ), it is the beggar's hand, which comes not to give, but to get Christ, and ali with him for nothing, If. lv. 1. "Ho, every one that thiriteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money;

come

"

come ye, buy and eat, yea, come, buy wine and milk, without money and without price." Rev. xxii. 17. And the Spirit and the bride fay, Come: And let him that heareth, fay, Come And let him that is athirst come; and whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely."

Object. 2. My hands are fo black with fin, the abominable thing that God hates, that I am afhamed and confounded when I think of ftretching out the hand to Chrift.

Anf. That moment ye lay hold on Chrift, "ye are washed, ye are fanctified, ye are juftified in the name of the Lord Je fus, and by the Spirit of our God." See what black hands Peter's hearers had, Acts ii. 23. and iii. 14. 15. when they were reeking with the blood of Chrift; yet the promise of life and falvation is tendered to them through Chrift, by the apoftle, ver. 38. "Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jefus Chrift, for the remiffion of fins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghoft: For the promise is to you, and to your children."

Object. 3. My hand is quite withered and impotent, I cannot stretch out my hand, as you bid me.'

Anf. If you imagine that it is I only, or any minifter, that bids you ftretch out the hand of your foul unto God, you quite mistake it; no, it is God himself that bids you stretch out the hand to him, and therefore, out with the withered hand as it is, make the mint, as the poor man did, you read of in the gofpel, and it fhall be restored; for he gives power who com

mands.

Object. 4. My heart draws back my hand; when I would do good, evil is prefent with me; fo that, how to perform that which is good I find not.'

Anf. If this complaint flow from a conviction of the fin of unbelief, and the prevalency of a body of fin, it is no bad fymptom; for we find the apostle Paul, Rom. vii. hath the fame complaint concerning himfelf: And therefore, poor foul, be not difcouraged, for he who is the "Author and Finisher of faith, will strengthen thy weak hands, and confirm thy feeble knees."

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