between God and man, the man Christ Jesus: It is by him we can afk counsel of GOD; it is he that must present our petitions in the odours of his own blood, Eph. ii. 18. For through bim we have access by one spirit unto the Father. His perfon, blood, and righteoufnefs, is the divine path that faith treads in, and thereby enters into the Holy of Holies, by the blood of Jefus, Rom. v. 2. By whom alfo we have access by faith into this grace, wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Third, It was upon the most weighty affairs that the High Prieft afked counsel of GOD by Urim and Thummim; which was typical of these weighty affairs for which we afk counsel of GOD, by the LORD JESUS. There are weighty affairs that concern this life, wherein we. ftand in need of wisdom from above, to direct and guide our fteps in the way of peace; but, efpecially, there are weighty affairs that concern our fouls. Our prefent comfort and confolation, ftrength of faith, growth in grace, knowledge of CHRIST, understanding of his word, and obedience to his ways, are momentous affairs, which we are often in the dark about, and stand in need of counsel from GOD to direct us in, fo that we may fay, as Peter did, To whem Lord, fhall we go but unto thee, for thou haft the words of eternal life.

Fourth, The answers being given to the counsel, afked by the Urim and Thummim, with an articulate voice, may be typical of the application of divine promises, the anfwers of prayer that GOD is pleafed to give to our fouls. Though we do not hear an articulate voice from Heaven, yet fuch is the energy, force, and power of the promife, when applied by the HOLY GHOST to our fouls, that it is as though we heard a voice; it hath the energy, force, and command of a voice with it, as the echo of prayer; which feems to me to be the meaning of those words, Ifa. xxx. 21. And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, faying, this is the way, walk ye in it. It is very evident that the LORD fpake by an articulate voice to Abraham, to Mofes, to Samuel, and the Prophets; and I humbly conceive, we may fafely fay (without being guilty of enthufiafm) that the LORD fpeaks, not only authoritatively by his word, but diftinctly, and particularly by his promifes to the heart of his people; that they know it to be his voice, therefore fay, with the fpoufe, Cant. v. 2. It is the voice of my beloved; and faith CHRIST, John X. 27. My sheep hear my usice, I know them, and they follow me. This brings to my mind what I heard a young man once fay, (who was remark¬ Q

able for his piety) that one morning as he came down stairs he heard as he thought a voice, faying, my beloved! that goeth down fweetly, caufing the lips of them that are afleep to speak. When he heard it, he faid, he did not know that it was a fcripture phrase, therefore it could not be by recollection or remembrance; and as it had fuch an authority and fweetness upon his mind, it must come with more energy than a bare remembrance. Another time he was deeply diftreffed in his foul, with regard to his intereft in the love of GoD, and had juft been at prayer, begging, "That GOD would not only give "him fome gracious promife of fupport, but that it might be "his pleasure to feal up his foul unto the day of redemption;" he faw fuch a glory in the perfon of CHRIST, fuch an happiness.in his favour, fuch an eternity of joy in his love, that were unutterable; infomuch that his defires were as though he could not live unless he knew his intereft therein, by the happy bleffing of the faith of affurance; and as he was walking a-crols the kitchen those words were applied with such sweetness and power, as if he heard a voice, faying, But of him are ye in Chrift Fefus; which in his distress he took little notice of. As he was going down to the garden, they were renewed with more life upon his mind, yet ftill his difconfolate foul refused to be comforted. Then they were applied a third time with fuch life, as if he heard a voice faying, But of him are ye in Chrift Jefus; that then they commanded attention, and with holy admiration he faw, that God had granted him his whole defire, which filled him with all joy and peace in believing, that his intereft was fettled by GoD, and fecured in CHRIST, that it was his particular intereft therein. But of him are ye in Chrift Jefus, which filled his foul with love, praise and obedience. I remember he faid, he was fure it was not a delufive voice, for it led his foul to, and established his mind in, the things of GOD. Neither did he look upon it as a miraculous voice, but as an answer of prayer common to the Saints; fmall ftill voice, or the echo of the love of GOD to the mind being fealed with the holy spirit of promife; probably such a voice as Elijah heard, 1 Kings xix. 9. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, what doeft thou here Elijah?

Secondly, As the refponfes, returned by the Urim and Thummim were certainly true, without any equivocation, they were typical of the truth and reality of those answers that the LORD is pleased to give to our petitions through the MEDIA

it is by him that the Father speaks unto us, Heb. i. 1, 2 God, who at fundry times, and in divers manners, fpake in tim

paft by the prophets, hath in the last days spoken unto us by his Son. He is the meffenger of the covenant, an interpreter one among a thousand; he reveals his Father's mind and will, in the anfwers of prayer, and faith, all that I heard of my Father have I made known unto you. And the FATHER giveth his teftimony from Heaven, upon what the SAVIOUR, our great High Priest faith, Luke ix. 35. This is my beloved Son, hear ye him; for he not only ever liveth to make interceffion for us, but liveth to beftow the FATHER's bleffings upon us, Pfal. xcix. 6. Mofes and Aaron among his Priefts, and Samuel among them that call upon his name; they called upon the Lord, and he anfwered them.

Friendly. How fhall I know when the LORD giveth me an anfwer of prayer?

Truth. You might in some measure know by the following

criterions:

Firft, Sometimes the LORD gives an anfwer of prayer inftantaneously, by the application of fome fuitable promise to the mind, thereby granting the Chriftian in a moment all that he afked for; prevents the foul with his mercies, as you have feen a tender parent, when his child has been coming to him for fomething he had in his hand, he has not only readily given it, but perhaps made it meet the child more than half-way, by finging or fending it unto him; agreeable to this the LORD faith, Ifa. lxv. 24. And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will anfwer, and while they are yet fpeaking, I will hear. Second, The LORD's anfwers of prayer, are sometimes gradual; he gives the bleffing when it will be moft for his glory and our comfort; yet in fuch a gradual way as we hardly know how it comes, yet it furely comes, as there is a gradual as well as an instantaneous way for the fure mercies of David.

Third, The LORD gives an anfwer of prayer, when he doth not give the particular bleffing we afk for, but something equivalent to it, which he in infinite wifdom judges beft for us, and which we should be beft contented with.

Fourth, The LORD gives an anfwer of prayer, when he doth not give the bleffing at all that we are feeking for, but contents us without it. This is a noble answer of prayer, it is all that faith can afk, or the foul enjoy; which made a good man fay, "I am perfuaded, that I am happier by faith in him, "without the mercy I am seeking, than I fhould be if I pof"feffed it."

Friendly. I thank you for these seasonable hints; they are as refreshing to my mind as the fmall rain upon the tender herb; but give me leave to afk you how long the Urim and Thummim continued among the Jews?

Truth. It seems to have continued among them until the time of Solomon's building the Temple, as David enquired of the LORD by it, but what became of it afterwards is not so clear as to determine; but it is a received opinion among the Jews, that King Jofiah had a revelation from GOD, that the temple should be deftroyed, and that therefore he hid it under ground, in a cave which Solomon had made under the pavement of a room in the temple, called the wood room, together with the anointing oil, the ark of the covenant, the pot of manna, and Aaron's rod which budded. However, this is evident, that these things could not be found after their return from their captivity out of Babylon, Ezra. ii. 63. And the Tirfhatha (that is Nehemiah the Governor) faid unto them, that they should not eat of the most holy things, till there ftood up a Priest with Urim and with Thummim; which fhews, that they had it not with them; and they tell us, that there were five things wanting in the second temple which were in the first, viz.Firft, The ark, with the Mercy-feat and Cherubims.-Second, The fire from Heaven which confumed the facrifice.-Third, The Shekinah, or the divine Majefty.-Fourth, The Holy Ghoft, or the Spirit of Prophecy. Fifth, The Urim and Thummim. But Maimodes fays, that the Urim and Thummim were made in the second temple; which feems very likely that they were, from Nehemiah's faying, upon his return from Babylon with the rest of the Jews, to build the temple, that they should not eat of the most holy things till there food up a Prieft with Urim and with Thummim, Ezra. ii. 63. But then it is obferved, that they did not afk counfel of GOD by them. His words are these "They made in the second temple Urim and "Thummim, to the end they might make up all the eight "ornaments, though they did not enquire by them. "wherefore did they not enquire by them? Because the HOLY "GHOST was not there; and every Prieft that speaketh not "by the HOLY GHOST, and on whom the divine Majesty "refteth not, they enquire not by him." Jofephus fays, that thefe ftones ceased to fhine two hundred years before he wrote his antiquities, chap. ii. 63. and his teftimony may be in fome measure depended upon, as he was by fect a Pharifee, by profeffion a Priest, and lived while the second temple ftood. Likewife the ancient Hebrew doctors obferve, that after the

And

Prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi were dead, "The HOLY GHOST went up, or departed from Ifrael." The lofs of which, I humbly conceive; was typical of God's cafting off the Jews, as his peculiar people.

Friendly. What improvement can there be made from these obfervations?

Truth. In the first place, if the Urim and Thummim were a conftellation of bright shining stones, and thereby typical of the glorious conftellation of divine perfections in the LORD JESUS, this fhould endear him to our minds; for as there is glory and majesty in him to command our hearts, fo there is beauty and fweetness in him to attract and charm all the paffions of our fouls. This made the spouse to say (or rather at a lofs what to fay) His mouth is moft fweet, yea, altogether lovely. He is the fum of sweetness, the beauty of lovelinefs, the joy of Heaven, the glory of Angels, and the adoration of Saints! The Bridegroom and Hufband of his Church, the chiefeft among ten thoufand, white and ruddy, fairer than the fons of men! For in him there is lovelinefs to attract us, glory to command us, beauty to engage us, fulness to supply us, promifes to fupport us, bleffings to enrich us, wine to refresh us, an exuberance of joy and divine felicity to bestow upon us; in fum, he is all in all. Give me leave, my dear Friendly, to exprefs the faint rapture of my mind, and pardon the little improprieties that may appear therein, "Oh! how is CHRIST'S "face filled with beauty, his head with wisdom, his eyes with "majefty, his countenance with gracefulness, his lips with "lovelinefs, his hands with bleffings, his heart with love, "his looks with glory, to engage thee; O my foul, to love "him as the chiefeft among ten thoufand; to delight in him in "a fuperlative manner; to adore him in thy thoughts, to "know him in thy understanding, to love him in thy affec"tions, to fubmit to him in thy will, and to rejoice in him "with joy unfpeakable and full of glory! Dear JESUS, is this "the end and defign of thy love! O! it has won my heart "and captivated my affections, fubdued my will, and mastered "all the powers of my foul! I am now no longer my own, "fweet JESUS, but thine! bought with thy blood, overcome "with thy love! I feel the facred flame infpire my foul to acts "of gratitude and joy ! O! that the Heaven, and the Heaven "of Heavens were paper, and the mountains of the earth pens "of brafs, and that all the Angels in glory, and the Saints around the throne, the church militant, and every thing