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well-built Ark of God's devifing, for the many fpacious rooms and fafe lodging-places within it, for the fuitable accommodation and plentiful provifion laid up therein, and for the door opened in the fide thereof for perifhing fouls to enter by. The falvation of finners by a crucified Chrift is a well-ordered fcheme, a beautiful. contrivance! Bleffed be the infinitely wife contriver for it. I fee all things in Chrift crucified neceffary for me: He is made of God to men, wisdom, righteousness, fanctification, and redemption. There is in him infinite wisdom to guide me, a spotlefs righteoufnefs to cover me, precious blood to wash me, the Holy Spirit to fanctify me, his good word to direct me, his juft laws to govern me, and his infinite fulness to supply all my needs: Safe and happy then would I be, were I found in him. O that, upon trial by Scripture marks, I could conclude myself to be within the Ark, to wit, a Crucified Jefus!

Can I fay, I have been warned of God, and moved with fear, to fly to this Ark? Have I discovered my fhelterless state by nature, the waves and billows of wrath rifing and rolling against me? Have I feen my own inability to provide an Ark for myself, and the excellency and fitnefs of the Ark of God's providing? Have I been made willing to abandon all false arks, and earneftly inquifitive how to get into the true Ark? Have I been made willing to use all appointed means for this end, to read, hear, meditate, pray, repent, believe, el fay to climb up the fides of the Ark, and prefs to get in at the door thereof? Have I been willing to venture my all in the Ark, like Noah, notwithstanding of the difcouragements, fcoffs, and hatred of the world for fo doing? Have I willingly acquiefced, fheltered, and lodged my foul in God's Ark, and been made to fay, This is my reft for ever, here will I dwell? Come what floods will, Chrift fhall be my Ark, his righteousneís alone my refuge and hiding-place,

Alas! upon impartial fearch, have I not cause to fear, that I have not yet fled to the Ark, but am ftill expofed to the devouring food? and can I be easy or

quiet in fuch a cafe? Can I forbear crying, What shall I do to get into the Ark Chrift? Nay, What would I not do to get into it? Lord, what wouldft thou have me to do? Wouldst thou have me to humble myself, confefs, mourn, part with fin, clofe with Chrift in all his offices? Prefcribe, Lord, what thou wilt, I will not fcruple what thou enjoins me, but obey thee without referve. I am refolved upon it, whatever it coft me, that the folicitations of the flesh, the temptations of Satan, the fcoffs, reproaches, or perfecutions of the world, fhall not stop me from flying to the Ark: I would break through all these to be found in it. Lord, increafe and Arengthen my faith for that end, and help my unbelief.

O how fuitable is the Ark Chrift to my destitute and miferable condition: In myself I want all things, but I fee fupply for all my wants in the Ark. I am poor, but I fee gold in the Ark to make me rich: I am wounded by fin, but I fee balm in the Ark to heal my wounds: I am blind, but there is eye-falve in the Ark to make me fee: I am perifhing with hunger, but I fee bread in the Ark to fatisfy me: I am naked, but in the Ark there is white raiment to clothe me: I am polluted, but in the Ark there is a fountain to wash me: I am exposed to more terrible floods than Noah was, but I fee the Ark Chrift can fave me from them all: Noah's ark faved him only from a flood of water, but the Ark Chrift faves from a flood of the curfes of the law, and the wrath of God, which will fweep away all the unbelieving world. This flood rofe, fwelled high, and dashed furiously against our Ark; but the Ark was proof against it, and sheltered all the elect world from the flood, fo that not one drop did light on them.-O how excellent is this Ark! for it can fave me from being overwhelmed or carried away with any flood, and particulary it can fave me from being carried away with a flood of Satan's temptations, which sweeps away many, or with a flood of indwelling corruption, with a flood of error, with a flood of profanity, or with a flood of neutrality and indifferency about fpiritual concerns; by which floods, multitudes are destroyed. Let me then by faith fly to this bleffed

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Ark, where all believers are preferved from these deftroying floods. Behold, I run, I fly: May Jefus draw me, and help me in!

Bleffed for ever be the God of heaven, for providing fuch an ark for fallen finners upon earth. I defire to count all things but lofs and dung, that I may be found. in this Ark, among the preferved in Chrift Jefus, whom no flood can reach. However this Ark may be flighted by the world, I'll prize it above all things, and count them for ever happy who get into it, feeing God declares it, that there is no condemnation to them that are in Chrift Jefus.The Ark was flighted by the old world, and Noah ridiculed for preparing it for himself and his houfe; but it foon appeared that Noah was the wifest man that then lived upon the earth. Few there were who entered with Noah into the Ark, and no doubt were reproached and mocked for their fingularity; but foon was the world perfuaded that they were the only wife and happy men in it. Eetter furely it was to have followed the eight perfons that went into the Ark, than to have joined eight millions of those who were drowned in the flood. Should I be fo foolish as follow the old world in undervaluing the Ark, I muft lay my account to be shut out and perifh with them too: Wherefore I will not fear the reproach of men for being fingular in my esteem of glorious Chrift. May I be numbered among that happy company (however few they be) who love the Lord Jefus Chrift in fincerity, and will blefs God eternally for providing this Ark for drowning men! May I be one that will ever blefs my lovely and loving Jefus, that pitied me and took me in, when others were wafhed off from the fides of the Ark, as adhering only to it by a dead and formal profeffion! May I be one that will ever fing to his praife, O amazing free love! that pitied and diftinguifhed me, when the food came; that gracioufly drew and determined me in fuch a manner, that I got into the Ark and was fafe, when many others were washed off, and perished for ever!

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God fpared not the Angels that finned, but caft them down to hell.

Hof God to mankind finners, in pitying them in
HOW
TOW admirable, free, and diftinguishing is the love

their low and loft eftate! O how different is the cafe of fallen men upon the earth, from the cafe of fallen angels in hell, and that of damned fouls there! Manna is rained down upon us, while an eternal fhower of fire and brimstone falls down upon them. They are bound in chains of darkness, whilft thou, Lord, art drawing us with cords of love. Thou didit not spare angels, nor take on their nature; but thou haft fpared us, married our nature, and exalted it to the heavens. They continue without hope under the deluge of God's wrath, while the pleafant Rainbow of the facrament appears to us, as a token of God's covenant of grace, and of his willingness to fecure us from that overflowing flood, by the interpofition of his dear fon in our nature. Ó how welcome fhould we make that gospel Rainbow!

Lord, thy wrath foon broke out against the angels that fell; thou didst punish them immediately upon their finning against thee. Thou didst not wait for their repentance, nor make any offer of mercy to them;, but, prefently upon their first offence, didft condemn them to everlasting chains of darkness. O how far different is thy manner of dealing with us! Long halt thou waited upon us after we have finned; yea, thou haft followed us with thy mercy after many refufals of it, and even after our trampling the precious blood of Christ under our feet! Marvellous and peculiar is thy mercy to fallen men in respect of fallen angels! Glory to fovereign free mercy, that thou didst not caft us off for ever without a parley, as thou didst them; but waits to be gracious to us, long ftretching out thy hand, and. calling us to repentance, faying, Turn ye, turn ye; why will you die?

Against the finuing angels God was fo provoked, that he refolved within himself, and hath kept his r

folution ever fince the beginning of the world, and will keep it to all eternity, that he will not fo much as enter into a parley with thefe creatures, however glorious they once were, nor be reconciled to them upon any terms; yea, that he will hear of no terms, but will revenge himfelf upon them to all eternity.-May not then the hearing of this caufe us to quake and tremble? for, why might not the Lord have dealt with us in the fame manner, who were far more wretched and miferable creatures than angels? Surely if a king be fo angry with an offending nobleman, that was once his fpecial favourite, as to banish him from court, and afterwards hear of no terms of reconciliation with him; would not a footman, or mean fervant, that had offended, when hearing of this, begin to dread, and fay, O what will become of me a poor man, when the king treats his peers fo feverely? I may furely defpair of remiffion or reconciliation with him. So, in like manner, we poor clay worms, upon hearing of God's feverity to fallen angels, might have been overwhelmed with fear, if the Bible had not told us, that the Son of God his delights were with the fons of men; that verily he took not on him the nature of angels, but he took on him the feed of Abraham, Heb. ii. 16. and that he gave himself to be a finoffering and facrifice for men! Aftonishing news! Glory to God for thefe glad tidings of great joy!

O admirable love to Adam's rebellious offspring! Haft thou, Lord, paft by angels, and remembered us in our low and loft eftate! and in thy infinite compaffion become our furety, to appeafe divine juftice for our hei nous fins, when no other facrifice could do it! O what fhall we render to thee for this diftinguishing love! Surely our condition in Adam was no better than that of the angels who left their firft eftate. By nature we were in a moft dreadful cafe, lying, like Ifaac, bound on the altar, to be a facrifice to the juftice of God, and the fword of justice lift up to give the killing blow, until the Son of God difcovered himfelf, as the ram caught in the thickets, and calling to justice, hold thy Hand, loose them, and bind me in their room; I'll be

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