faith Chrift, are delivered to me of my Father," even that of burden-bearing amongst the reft; therefore, "Come to me, all ye that labour, and are heavy laden, and I will give you refi" to your fouls; "Caft thy burden on the Lord, and he will fuflain thee."-Let it not vex you, that you have fome difficult work and intricate affair upon your hand, and you know not how to manage in it : let it content your heart, that flrength, and counfel, and direction is of God, who leads the blind in a way they know not. Let it not trouble you, that you have no ftrength and fufficiency for any thing; let it ease and please you, that his grace is to be fufficient for you, and his ftrength to be perfected in your weakness, and that your fufficiency is of God.-Let it not vex or torment you that you are ftraitened even as to your outward circumflances in the world, and that you have much ado to get food and raiment: let it give eafe and comfort to you, that as All things are of God; fo the ordering of your lot in the world is of him, and that your provifion is of him, who clothes the lilies, and feeds the ravens, and who hath faid, Bread fhall be given you, and your water fhall be fure." O truft in and rely upon him: he that hath given you Chrift, the best bargain in the world, will he not give, together with him, all things, which are but like paper, and pack-thread, into the bargain? Without doubt he will. Again, let it not vex and grieve you that you have, perhaps, come under many worldly loffes, and that, at fuch a time, you loft a pleafant child, or fuch and fuch a near and dear relation: for, as this was of God, the Orderer and Over-ruler of all things; fo he can make up your lofs, and fhew himfelf better than all things to you, and that it was expedient, that fuch an earthly comfort fhould be taken away from you, that perhaps, had much more of your heart than Chrift. was expedient for us that Chrift himfelf thould go away, otherwife the Comforter had not come; and much more may not the Lord fee it expedient, that fuch an earthly comfort fhould be taken away, that there might be room for a better comforter.-Let it not trouble you, that all things feem to be against you, as Jacob once faid when he thought Jofeph was loft, and feared that Ben It me." jamin alfo was like to be loft, "All these things are against If he had waited a while, he would have heard again, that all these things were for him: and you know, when he heard again of Jofeph, "It is enough, fays he, Jofeph is yet alive." So you are, perhaps, faying, All things are against me; many minifters are against me; good men and bad men join together against me; prefbyteries, fynods, and affemblies are against me; all the kirk-judicatories of the established church of Scotland are against me, and again the way that I am taking, and the caufe that I am efpoufing: the laft Affembly hath fhewed this, with a witnefs, by depofing all the minifters here*, and condemning the whole refor.. mation caufe that you are appearing for; and inferior judicatories, fince that time, have homologate and ap proven of their deed: all thefe things are against me. Why, Jofeph, I think is gone; Jefus, by his Spirit, is withdrawn and away and, I fear, the little Benjamins will be taken away alfo; that the little remnant, that is reserved, will be taken away with a flood of oppofition and perfecution by church and ftate. What may fall out, the Lord knows; the afpect of affairs is awful indeed but be not vexed or troubled, believer'; let it eafe your heart and mind, that all things are of God, who, as the God of providence, over-rules all events: let it fuffice you, that Jofeph is yet alive, and is governor.over all the land of Egypt; that Jefus is alive, and is the Governor among the nations, and the government of Zion is laid upon his fhoulders. It is enough to faith that Jefus is alive, and that the Father hath given all things into his hand, even all power in heaven and in earth. In a word, let it not vex you, that, for the prefent, your foul is dead and lifelefs: let it content you, that, as the living God, and the living Jefus, are still remaining, fo life and quickening is of God: life and * A short account of the occafion, ground, and progress of the profecution, raised and carried on by the church-judicatories, againft the feceding brethren, was formerly narrated, Vol. V. p. 298. 389, 390. This year the affembly finished the process, by paffing the fentence of Depofition upon all the eight brethren. $ 4 liveliness will come in due time, if you can believe that God is the God that quickens the dead; and that Chrift is the refurrection and the life. : Do you believe, that All things are of God, as a reconciled God in Chrift? Then put in a bill now for all things you need. If there be many things that you have to fay, and many things that you have to feek, that I have not mentioned, and cannot mention; yet furely they are all wrapt up in this bundle, All things are of God put in a bill, therefore, for any thing you want for yourself or others; a bill for your graceless friends and relations, that are but Gallios, caring for none of thefe things; a bill for God's ancient people the Jews, and for the blinded nations, and the poor negroes, and in behalf of the inftruments that God is employing to bring gofpel-light among them; a bill for your children, that God may be your God, and the God of your feed; a bill for poor Scotland, that God would yet return and dwell amongst us gloriously; a bill for your feveral congregations and families, whofe circumflances you know: All things are of God; and therefore acknowledge him in all things. The more bills, the better; the more things you employ him in, the more honour you will put upon him, as the God of whom are all things, and without whom you can do nothing: and therefore, "In every thing, by prayer and fupplication, make your requefts known to him, with thanksgiving.' Go in peace, believing and rejoicing in this, that all your ftock and ftrength is fecure in Chrift, who is made of God all things you need in time and eternity. SERMON SERMON CXVIII. 2 Cor. v. 8.—All things are of God. * [The third Sermon on this Text.] MY Y friends, this text hath fuch a wide bofom, that we can never speak of all that may be brought forth out of it. To fpeak of fome things, may be easy; of many things, is hard; but to fpeak of all things, is impoffible; and yet more fo, to fpeak of the fountainhead, whence they all rife: however, the context limits the fubject a little to all things that relate to the new creation; and yet even thefe are fo vaft and numerous, that time must be fwallowed up in eternity, ere the fubject can be exhausted. The doctrine that I fpoke to at the late folemnity, from this text was, That all things relating to the new creation in Chrift Jefus, are of God, as a reconciled God in him. Hence, befides the inferences that I then deduced, I have, fince that time, inferred the following, namely, That effectual calling, or the new creation itself, is of God; That juftification is of God t. And I come to another inference, namely, That fanctification is of God. And this I fhall a little infift upon, by proving and improving it. For proof of it in general. He is the commander of it; "Be ye holy as I am holy:" He is the willer of it; "This is the will of God, even your fanctification:" He is the * This fermon was preached at Dunfermline, Sept. 21, 1740. being a fhort time after the facrament. What the Author delivered upon these two inferences was never tranfmitted to the public, the notes having fallen by; and were the fubject-matter of the fecond fermon on the text. effecter: I effecter and worker of it; The very God of peace fanctify you wholly," 1 Thef. v. 23. It is of God, the Father; Jude 1. "To them that are called and fanctified of God the Father." It is of God the Son; Eph. v. 25. "Chrift gave himfelf for the church, that he might fanctify it." It is of God, the Holy Ghoft; 1 Cor. vi. 11." But ye are washen, but ye are fanctified, but ye are justified, in the name of the Lord Jefus, and by the Spirit of our God." More particularly, Ift, The root of it is of God. Juitification is the root of fanctification; and juftification is of God, as I have already demonftrated, and might further fhew, in whatever fense we view it.-Juftification is of God, if we view it preparatively it is God that prepared the juftifying righte ufnefs; "I have found a raniom."-View righteoufnefs; it imputatively; it is God that imputes the righteoufneis of Christ, Rom. iv. where it is ten times fpoken of. View it meritorioufly; it is of God, in Chrift, that purchafed our juftification, and merited for us.-View it operatively; it is God, in Chrift, that performed the righteoufnefs for which we are juftified, and accepted as righteous.-View it applicatively; it is of God, by his Spirit, applying the blood and righteoufnefs of Chrift for juftification.-View it inftrumentally; though faith juftify as the inftrument, yet this faith is the gift of God, and the work of God; "This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath fent," John vi. 29. View it manifeftatively, and fenfibly, to the comfort of the believer it is God that gives the peace and joy of juftification, as he is the God of peace, that fills with joy and peace in believing.-View it declaratively; if works juftify, by evidencing and declaring our juftification, whence do they proceed? Why, "It is God that worketh in us both to will and to do, of his good pleafure;" and "We are his workmanship, created in Chrift Jefus unto good works."-View it reputatively by men: when we are thus juftified, by being reputed fò, it is of God as the God of providence, giving us favour and respect even in the eyes of men, as justified persons.-View it publicly and openly at last, before all the world, at the last day; "Repent, and be converted, that your fins may be blotted out, when |