appeared unto Abraham, and faid unto him, I am God all-fufficient. Gen. xxxv. 1. Then God faid unto Jacob, arife, go up to Bethel and dwell there. Exod. xiii. And the Lord fpake unto Mofes, faying, &c. Numb. vii. 89. He heard the voice of one speaking unto him from off the Mercy-feat. Now thefe amazing conde, fcenfions and ftoops of mercy, in the high, and lofty one, that inhabiteth eternity, fo ftrengthened their faith, that most of them appeared like Abraham, in other refpects, to be strong in faith, giving glory to GOD; for it is faid of them, that thefe all died in the faith. And that their faith was not weak, is evident, (if we confider that they had only the shadow of the gofpel) for it is faid, Heb. xi. 39. And all thefe obtained a good report through faith, as is obferved, not having received the promifes, but having feen them afar off, were perfuaded of them, and embraced them. And that they enjoyed fellowship and communion with GOD is manifeft from the LORD's commanding Aaron to use fuch modes of expreffion, as convey the most intimate communion and complacency GoD takes in his people, Num. vi. 23, &c. On this wife ye shall bless the Children of Ifrael, faying unto them, The Lord bless thee and keep thee: The Lord make his face to fhine upon thee, and be gracious to thee: The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. Now thefe expreffions, or rather bleffings, as they were de livered at the command of the LORD, are a most striking and inconteftible proof of that delight which the LORD takes in holding converfe with, and beftowing his fpecial favours upon, his people. Hence, the Pfalmist faith, Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us, and reftore unto me the joys of thy falvation; which denotes the warmeft, and sweetest fenfation of divine love upon the mind, and was what he had be fore enjoyed, and made him fay, by thy favour thou haft made my mountain to ftand ftrong.. Again, my meditations of him shall be fweet; I will be glad in the Lord. Thefe are folid proofs that his foul held intercourfe and communion with GoD; and from hence proceeded that emphatical defire of his foul, that I may fee thy power, and thy glory, fo as I have feen it in the fanc tuary. Though indeed the infinite difproportion that there is between God and man, made a great Philofopher conclude, there could be no communion and friendship between them; yet we fee clearly that the Old Teftament Saints, who had only a fhadow of good to come, enjoyed fweet communion and intercourse with God, by faith in the promised Meffiah, notwithstanding the more full and compleat, enjoyment of this felicity was referved for the New Teftament Saints, who are faid to have rich accefs unto the grace wherein they stand, and Friendly. As you have made it manifeft, that the Saints en- Truth. In a fpiritual perception, or beholding by faith the glories and riches of divine love, as difplayed with infinite wifdom and power, through a crucified Saviour in our redemption; and communion with God therein, is either more rich, fweet, and foul-fatisfying, or more dry and languid, according to the views which we have of the glory of GoD, and the fen fation we have of his divine favour. If our fpiritual knowledge and views are large, diftinct, and clear, fo that we can view the glorious difplays of everlafting love, viz. how all the counfels, purposes, and promises of JEHOVAH are exactly fulfilled and accomplished in the falvation of his people, in that new and living way which he has confecrated for us to enter in within the vail,-That all the perfections of the Godhead, in the perfons of the FATHER, SON, and HOLY GHOST, are magnified in the most perfect and confummate manner, in the accomplishment of the great falvation, which he promised to our forefathers,-Herein love, mercy, truth, holiness, justice, and divine faithfulness, fhine with all their native glory and luftre, fecuring the happiness of a poor penitent finner, by a crucified SAVIOUR, in whofe death and obedience divine love opens all its immenfe riches, mercy, all its treasures,-truth,lall the promifes,-boliness, all its brightness and purity,-justice, all its demands, and the law, in all its requirements and faithfulness, displays the full accomplishment of all. Thus GOD, in all the properties of his nature, is honoured in the highest, and yet a believer in JEsUs is faved to the uttermoft with an everlasting falvation, and fhall never be confounded, world without end. When the Chriftian fees that, that GOD, against whom he hath finned with an high hand, and an out-stretched arm, fhould, from the riches of his boundless love, engage to glorify the perfections of his nature, in his falvation; fuch a view as this cements the heart in love to GoD: delight in fellowship with Him confifts in the believer's fpiritual perception of the divine favour, which God has bestowed upon him, in whole favour there is life, and whofe loving kindness is better than life. Friendly. But is it poffible for a carnal unregenerate perfon to hold communion with GOD? Truth. No, for that fame change of foul, that is requifite to enter into the kingdom of Heaven, is equally requifite to hold communion with Gon, John iii. 3. Except a man be born again he cannot fee the kingdom of God. And in like manner we may say, except a man hath, by the illumination of the HOLY GHOST, the eyes of his mind fpiritually enlightened in the knowledge of his mifery by fin, of the glories of falvation by CHRIST JESUS, he cannot poffibly hold fellowship with GOD; and the reafons for which are very plain and obvious, because there is fuch a contrariety of nature and difpofition in the heart of every unregenerate man, to the ways, being, and perfections of GOD; how can two walk together except they be agreed? First. Every unregenerate man is in a state of darkness, Eph. iv. 8. For ye were fometimes darkness. Now GOD is light, the Father of lights; the true light which fhineth; the light of life; and as the Apoftle obferves, what communion hath light with darkness.. While a perfon is in this ftate of darkness, it is impoffible that his foul can hold any communnion with that being who is the light of life; whole brightness irradiates all Heaven with joy; because his mind, by fin, is all ignorance and blindness, it cannot form the leaft degree of knowledge of, and delight in GOD; who is light, and in him there is no darknejs at all. Secondly. Man, in a state of unregeneracy is in a state of enmity to GOD, Rom. viii. 7. The carnal mind is enmity againf God. Now God is love, 1 John iv. 16.-love in the abftract, love in all the perfections of his nature, difpenfations of his providence, and communications of his grace, therefore while the heart of man is full of hatred, and rebellion against GOD, it is not poffible that he can poffefs a delight in him, because communion confifts in a mutual return of love; but where there is a rooted enmity in either party, it cannot be expected that there can be communication between them; for the enmity, by almighty grace, must be first removed, and the heart brought to adore, love, and delight in GOD, before it can poffibly enjoy communion with him: communion ac ccording to my idea of it, is nothing less than the out-breakings, or goings-forth of the heart, in a way of peculiar de light, and complacency to the object beloved; communion is, founded upon love, which is the union of the heart, or the cementation of the affections to the object. And till this, by divine grace, takes place in the foul, there can be no real enjoyment of GOD, and participation of his favour. Thirdly, Likewife man, in a state of unregeneracy, is dead in trefpaffes and fins. From hence we infer, that the dead can hold no communion with the living; for as life is effentially neceffary to hold communion with each other in the things of nature, fo, fpiritual life is as abfolutely neceffary to hold communion with GoD. Without natural life we cannot receive any favour, nor make any return of gratitude, confequently there can be no fellowship. This is the case of man by nature, being by fin fpiritually dead, he cannot, till fpiritual life is implanted in his foul, be fenfible of any di vine favour from GOD, and in this ftate can hold no communion with his Maker: for until the foul tafteth that the LORD is gracious in the sweetness of redeeming grace and mercy, it will never take up its delight in the bofom of divine love, the reafon of which is plain, as the Apostle obferves, Eph. ii. 12. That we are by nature alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that there is in us. Now before there can be communion enjoyed with any object there must be first a knowledge of the object, and affection to it; but as our minds, by nature, are alienated, estranged from Gon, and ignorant of him, it follows, that we cannot in a state of unregeneracy enjoy communion with God. Fourthly, An unregenerate man cannot enjoy communion with God, becaufe, his foul cleaves to things below. By nature he is of the earth; his foul minds earthly things; his God is his belly, and his glory is his fhame; there is no fear of God before his eyes; he fays in his heart, O God depart from me, for I'defire not the knowledge of thy ways; who is the Lord that I fhould obey him? As man is not only void of love and obedience to GOD, but is replete with every thing that is contrary to his nature, will, and perfections, therefore it remains utterly impoffible, in a state of unregeneracy, to enjoy communion with his Maker, any farther than as the God of Providence, for he cannot do it as the GoD of grace and falvation. This is only the peculiar happiness of those who experience the washing of regeneration, by the renewing of the Holy Ghost, John i. 13. which are born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. Friendly. But may not thofe, who have not gone great lengths in prophaneness, but live moral lives, enjoy communion with Gon, without regeration? Truth. No, it is equally as impoffible for fuch perfons to enjoy communion with GOD, as the GoD of grace and falvation, as it is for the most vile and enormous finner upon earth, which appears manifeft from the cafe of Nicodemus, who was a teacher in Ifrael, and doubtless his life was honourable and acceptable before men, yet our LORD told him, except he was born again, that he could not enter into the kingdom of Heaven, John iii. 7. Marvel not that I faid unto thee, ye must be born again. Now that which renders a man meet for Heaven, is equally as neceffary to render him a fubject meet for communion with God? and what is, communion with GOD but Heaven begun upon Earth? This is evident, in the cafe of the Apoftle Paul, who was brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, and who fays, Phil. iii. 4, 5, 6. Though I might also have confidence in the flesh; if any other man thinketh that he bath whereof be might truft in the flesh, I more: Circumcifed the eighth day, the flock of Ifrael, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the righteousness which is of the law, blamelefs; and yet with all this eminent and diftinguishing knowledge, he was far from enjoying communion with God. It is true, he then had a zeal for GOD, but not according to knowledge; his foul was in a ftate of ignorance and unbelief, notwithstanding his converfation and conduct was fo upright, that he could fay, as touching the righteousness which is of the law, he was blameless; all which he himfelf acknowledgeth, when be fpeaks of his perfecution of the Saints, 1 Tim. i. 13, 14. Who before was a blafphemer, and a perfecutor, and injurious. But I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief: And the grace of our Lord Jefus was exceedingly abundant. Hence it is evident, that the Apostle, with all his knowledge and fingular privileges, was far from a spiritual acquaintance with GOD. He never fixed his regeneration at the feet of Gamaliel, nor in the regularity of his conduct (though every good action is beautiful in its place) but he placed it at the feet of fovereign grace, in the knowledge of CHRIST, Gal. i. 13, 14. But when it pleafed God, who feparated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, and revealed bis Son in me, e. Now had the Apoftle died, with all the knowledge and obedience that he had attained, which was very great, for he fays, he was exceeding zealous of the tradition of his fathers, and that he profited above many of his equals, his foul would have been miferable for ever; it was this which made him fet fuch an inestimable value upon the knowledge of CHRIST, Phil. iii. 7, 8, 9. But what things were gain to me, thofe I counted loft for Chrift. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but less for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jefus my Lord: for whom I have fuffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung that |