greatness is unfearchable. One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty alls. I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works. And men fhall Speak of the might of thy terrible a&s: and I will declare thy greatnefs. They fball abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and fhall fing of thy righteousness. All thy works fhall praife thee, O Lord; and thy faints fball bless thee. They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power; to make known to the fons of men bis mighty acts, and the glorious majefty of his kingdom. Pfalm cxlv. 3-7, 10-12. Almost every perfection of the Divine Being is brought forth in the holy triumphs of the royal pfalmift, justice and judgment not excepted.-Juftice and judgment are the babitation of his throne; mercy and truth fhall go before thy face. Of lovingkindnefs David fings; of faithfulness and truth; of goodness, pity, and compaffion; and of mercy, and the eternal duration of it, throughout a whole pfalm.

Different frames and different difpenfations call for different offerings and exercises. Is any afflicted? let him pray. Times of trouble and times of affliction in the furnace are feafons for extraordinary prayers; the common morning and evening facrifices are not fufficient at fuch times; we muft give ourselves unto prayer; give up ourselves wholly unto it, and attend to this very thing. Nor will the old common way, no, nor even the ufual mode

of

of expreffions, do. Fiery trials call for fresh power, and even for agonizing energy; new words, new arguments, and unufual pleas and entreaties must be made use of; our arguments and pathetic pleadings must tally with our dreadful fenfations. Souls that meditate terror must fetch their words from their feelings, or else the words of their mouth will run counter to the meditations of their heart. We must ufe all the skill and oratory of distress, grief, and forrow, and all the eloquence of mifery. I cried to thee, O Lord; and unto the Lord I made fupplication. What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? fhall it declare thy truth? Pfalm xxx. 8, 9. Will the Lord caft off for ever? and will he be favourable no more? Is his mercy clean gone for ever? doth his promife fail for evermore? Hath God forgotten to be gracious? Hath be in anger Shut up his tender mercies? Pfalm lxxvii. 7-9. For fout the grave cannot praife thee; death cannot celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth, Ifa. xxxviii, 18.

As times of affliction are praying times, or times to give ourselves unto prayer; fo times of profperity are times for praise, for thanksgiving, and for finging with grace in our hearts, making melody to the Lord. If we would fow to the Spirit we muft observe these things; and likewife fhun all damnable herefies, which have the leaft tendency to depreciate the Son of God, or to eclipfe his glory, or leffen him in our esteem or affections. The Holy Spirit is

both the teftifier and the glorifier of Christ, and he will never countenance any low, mean, unworthy, or unbecoming conceptions of him. I am not speaking of the evil fuggeftions or fiery darts of Satan, which we cannot help, and which are Satan's fins and not ours; but of thofe damnable principles and fentiments which fome men hold, and which diveft the Saviour of all the glory and majefty of deity, and debase him to the level of a mere creature, which is what God the Holy Ghoft will ever refist and resent.

Sowing to the Spirit internally, is to walk as the Spirit leads us; he is to guide us into all truth, and not to speak of himself. This chiefly respects our principles, the object of our faith and worship, and the true and spiritual worship and adoration which God requires of us; the whole of which is included in what the scripture calls the way of holiness, Ifaiah xxxv. 8; which is following the Lord in the regeneration. Matt. xix. 28. In which following all things become new; not only a new birth, but we are brought into the bond of a new covenant, are made to serve in the newness of spirit, with new views and new principles, and to walk in a new and living way.

The Spirit leads us to walk with God in peace and equity. These two, peace and equity, always go together. When the believer keeps a confcience void of offence he delights himself in the abundance of peace; he makes ftraight paths for his feet, and he

finds his ways to be pleasantness and his paths peace. But, if he make a crooked path, (and all the ways of fin are crooked, because they are counter to the will and word of God), he that goes therein shall not know peace. But

2. There is a fowing to the Spirit externally. And the apostle's explanation of this sowing to the Spirit is given by himself.-Let us not be weary in well-doing; for in due season we shall reap if we faint not. And then tells us what he means by welldoing. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the boufebold of faith. Gal. vi. 9, 10. To do good to them that are not as yet in the faith, is to labour to recommend Chrift and his gospel to them by a becoming life and converfation, to drop a word of reproof or inftruction to them when opportunity offers, or to use our endeavours to bring them under the word.-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. Rev. xxii. 17. After our Lord had called two or three of his firft followers, he made use of these to bring others. Andrew, hearing and feeing John point to Christ, followed him; he then finds his brother Peter, and brings him to Jefus; the next day Jefus found Philip; and then Philip finds Nathanael and brings him: and, bleffed be God, this work is going on ftill. Moreover,

R 3

Moreover, by doing good unto all men the apoftle means liberality. Poor people have more exalted notions of alms-deeds than they have of any other good-work whatsoever. You may talk to them about faith, and about love to the brotherhood, and the patience of hope, and of suffering afflictions, of bearing the crofs, and of felf-denial; but these are all out of their fight and out of their reach; but circumfpection in life and a liberal heart are obvious to all, and stop the mouths of all, unless it be the devil himself. And in this the child of God has a double advantage. The world loves its own; finners love finners, and will give and lend to finners; but finners cannot love faints as faints, and because they belong to Chrift; nor can they relieve them, or be charitable to them, because of God's love to them in Chrift Jefus. When faw we thee an bungered, or athirst, or a firanger, or naked, or fick, or in prifon, and did not minifter unto thee? The anfwer is, Inafmuch as ye did it not to these my brethren, ye did it not to me. Not one of all thefe ever relieved a child of God as fuch; whereas there are. thousands of finners, perfecutors, and even enemies both to God and to his church, who do partake largely of the liberality of the people of God; and this is acceptable to God, as may be seen in the prayers and alms of Cornelius the centurion, A&ts x; and in the noblenefs of mind which Abraham fhewed to the king of Sodom. By thefe means fome are drawn or won to hear the word of God, and that

to