ners to the earth, fometimes with cold winds and tempefts, thunders and lightnings, and at other times with calmness and warmth: So Chrift comes to finners, fome. times with fharp convictions and legal terrors, and fome times with alluring invitations and promifes. 5. O how pleafant are the effects of rain to languifhing plants, to make them green and beautiful, lively and strong, fragrant and fruitful? So the effects of Christ's influences are moft defirable to drooping fouls, for enlightening and enlivening them, for confirming and strengthening them, for comforting and enlarging them, for appetifing and fatisfying them, transforming and beautifying them. A fhower from Chrift would foon make the church, the withered, turn green and beautiful, and to fend forth a fmell as of a field that the Lord hath blessed; and likewife fome drops of this fhower, falling down upon the languishing graces of communicants, would foon make them vigorous and lively in fhewing forth their Saviour's death at his table. Here I may fee the reafon why many fouls continue as dry ground in their parched natural condition, while others near them are flourishing and fruitful; Christ's fhower hath come down upon the one, and not upon the other; one piece is rained upon, and another piece is dry and withered, according to that word in Amos iv. 7.— Oh, what cause is there to bewail the evident fymptoms of this continuing natural drought in multitudes of fouls! Why? their hearts are hard, impenetrable, and unaffect ed with the miferable ftate they are in by nature, and with the woful plagues of their hearts. They have no fense or feeling of the evil of fin, notwithstanding of all the reproofs and threatnings of the word, or the rods and ftrokes it brings upon them; or of the fufferings of Chrift for fin. And though God affures them, that the end of dry ground is curfing and burning, they are impenitent and unconcerned under all.-O if parched fouls in their natural estate were made fenfible of their mifery, and brought to bewail their cafe, and fay, Oh, I am as the heath in the defart that fees no rain: I am "a dry tree; if I continue in this state, I'll be cut down as cumbring the ground, and made fuel to hell fire. I fee the ax of juftice laid to my root, every hour I am in ⚫ danger of the blow. O if Chrift would interpofe to fpare me, and come down upon me as the rain, and ⚫ bring the moisture of grace into my foul.' How lamentable alfo is the cafe of thofe who once feemed to be watered by this heavenly rain, and now are parched by a long confuming drought and withering wind! They have loft their former greennefs and moisture, their fpirituality and livelinefs, and their duties are quite dwindled away into alifelefs carcafe and a dead formality. They have loft their wonted freedom and enlargement in prayer, and are fallen under fad bonds and ftraitnings of fpirit, which make them count holy things a weariness, and frequently neglect fecret prayer. Surely fuch have great need of Chrift coming down upon them as the rain, to make them fpring up as the grafs, and revive as the corn.- Alas we have a finful hand in bringing on fuch a fpiritual drought, by quenching the motions of the Spirit, indulging fleshly lufts, giving the world Chrift's room in the heart, and neglecting to live by faith on the Son of God, who is the rain and dew of Ifrael. - How happy are thofe who live under the droppings of this rain! They are like trees planted by the waters, their roots fpread forth, and their leaves are green, Jer. xvii. 8. Have I the figns of fuch perfons? Is my heart rea'dy to melt at the fight of a crucified Jefus fet before me in the facrament? Do I mourn for my fins that pierced him? Am I ready to think worfe of myself than any other perfon can? is my heart foft and pliable to the will of God, both in his precepts and providences? Do the world's good things bulk but little in my eye? Is it my defire to meet with Chrift in every • duty and ordinance? Do I ftill look on fin as Chrift's enemy? Am I afraid of provoking him by fin to withhold the fhowers, and make the heavens as brass to me? Am I defirous to bring forth fruit anfwerable to the waterings he graciously allows me? O may I find thefe marks in my foul! O that I could earnestly plead for the fulfiling of this promife in the text, that Chrift would come down as the rain, that he would fend the showers he hath merited and promifed, fend them to myself, to the church, and to the whole land; to the prefent age, and to the rifing generation! O what glorious effects would thefe fhowers produce! They would beautify the church and her affemblies, make both minfters and profeffors to fhine in holiness, and congregations to be lively in worship. They would open prifon doors, loose bonds, enlarge hearts, revive drooping fouls, turn their water into wine, their forrow into joy, their complaints into praises, and make them fing in the ways of the Lord.-By thefe fhowers God would be glorified, the church cemented, and her distempers healed.-Ordinances would be fuccessful, communions more pleafant, the godly more valued, religion more esteemed, and the way to heavenmore delightful.-Lord, look on the dry ground and prefent droughty feafon with pity, open the windows of heaven, and send down fhowers as in former times, and as in other parts of the world. Send a fhower to young communicants, and to those who have not feen thy goings in the fanctuary; a fhower to flony hearts and withered hands, a fhower to foften the clods, loofe the roots, and open the fprings. O how much good would one of Chrift's fhowers do to a poor dry land! what wonders would it work! what prifoners would it loofe! what cloudy minds would it brighten, and what doubting fouls would it refolve! Come down Lord Jefus. Amen. MEDITATION From Mat. viii. 8. XVIII. Lord, I am not worthy thut thou fhould come under my rooj. AITH and repentance do ftill go together; every F believer is a true penitent: He that puts on the Lord Jefus, is alfo clothed with humility. The higher thoughts a man hath of Chrift, the lower thoughts will he have of himfelf. When the man's eyes are open to fee the holiness and excellency of Chrift, he is made to own his own nothingnefs before him, and his infinite diftance from him, and to fay, like the Centuon in the text, I am not worthy that thou should come under my roof, q. d. It is too great an honour for fuch a guilty and filthy creature to entertain a Saviour of infinite purity; my heart is more unworthy than my houfe, I have nothing to commend me to thee.-The lowly foul abhors himself as vile in the fight of a holy God; he fays, I am all as an unclean thing, and all my righteoufnefs is as filthy rags; in me dwells no good thing; I am infufficient of myself to do any thing that is good, or even to think a good thought: It is God that must work in me, both to will and to do, of his good pleasure. He is under no obligation to pity or help me, it will be abfolute free mercy in him if he do it. The lowly man hath under-valuing thoughts of himself, and of all his own doings and attainments: He renounceth all confidence in his own righteousness and humbly fubmits to the righteoufnefs of God by faith: He is content to be ftript of all his own garments, that Chrift may be his clothing. He looks not to his own performances to recommend him to God, but only to Chrift his furety. He is willing to go out of himself, and live wholly upon borrowed righteousness and borrowed ftrength, even to live upon Chrift crucified, and to derive daily and hourly from him ftrength, both for duty and difficulty, for work and warfare.The man that is lowly in heart,fubmits to the will of God in all his difpenfations, is content with every condition he thinks best for him; he is patient in affliction, and filent under God's rod without answering again. He is fenfible that he justly deferveth hell, and therefore is very thankful for the leaft mercy; like the woman of Canaan, he owns himfelf unworthy as a dog, and will be thankful for crumbs that fall from the children's table. He will be thankful for a word from Chrift, for a look, for a fmile, for the leaft token of his favour,, or the smallest influence of his fpirit. Wherever faith is in exercife, it is a foul-humbling and felf-emptying grace, and lays the foul very low before God; and God always hath refpect to fuch faith, and to fuch lowlinefs, Pfal. cxxxviii. 6. Christ put great refpef on the lowly Centurion, v. 10. 13. 4 |