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His bright appearances, or footsteps trace?
For though I fled him angry, yet recall'd
To life prolong'd and promis'd race, I now
Gladly behold though but his utmost skirts
Of glory, and far off his steps adore.

The answer is as sweet as the other is moving:
-Doubt not but in valley and in plain

GOD is as here, and will be found alike
Prefent, and of his prefence many a fign
Still following thee, ftill compaffing thee round
With goodness and paternal love, his face
Exprefs, and of his fteps the track divine.

Abimaaz. Certainly a man cannot live in the fear of God, unless he doth confider himself daily in the immediate prefence of him; and to feel his Supporting hand, to enjoy the teftimony of his Spirit, to find his approbation with one, and his power manifested in leading one on, and holding one up in the face of all oppofition, enables a man to rejoice, and say with the Pfalmift, the Lord is on my fide, I will not fear what man can do unto me. And I have often thought that God has, and still doth, reveal himself by his Spirit to many fouls in the world who have not the word of God preached to them, by men; or, in other words, who have not the means of grace as we have; and I have at times got comfort from these thoughts with respect to the poor heathens.

Cufbi. As I obferved before, God is a free agent; but I do not defire to be wife above

what

what is written. I have read the prophecies of the ten Sibyls, and certainly there is a deal of truth in them, though it be fung with wild notes; and if they are allowed to be propheteffes of the But Lord, they are witneffes in your favour. our great Apostle doth not countenance you at all: It is written, faith he, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord fhall be faved; how then fhall they call on him in whom they have not believed; and bow fball they believe in him of whom they have not beard; and bow fhall they hear without a preacher, and how fhall they preach except they be fent? Rom. x. 14; and Chrift fays, Preach the gospel to every creature, and be that believes shall be faved, and be that believes not fhall be damned, Mark xvi. 16, 17; and again, This gospel must be preached in all the world for a witness, and then fhall the end come. Matt. xxiv. 14. I believe, if you and I were to travel throughout the heathen world, where they are deftitute of the word of God, we fhould never be able to find a foul converted to Chrift; nor do I read that Paul found one in all his travels.

Abimaaz. I think, in fome things, thou art rather too contracted, my brother; for my part, I would wish ever to poffefs an open and catholic fpirit. I have observed many things in thy converfation that difcover an unbecoming narrowness. Paul tells us that we should not be ftraitened in our bowels: and he speaks unto us, as to his children, that we should be enlarged. 2 Cor.

vi. 12, 13. It was a sweet spirit that God gave Solomon; it is faid that he gave him enlargement of heart as the fand that is upon the fea fhore. 1 Kings, iv. 29. And this is what that eminent faint of God (I mean Jabez) prayed for; it was, that God would bless him indeed, and enlarge his coaft, 1 Chron. iv. 10; and I hope God will favour thee with the fame, my brother, for indeed a narrow, contracted, bigoted spirit is a very bad

one.

Cufhi. I am much obliged to thee, but there are feveral expreffions of yours which I object to. I have often thought that Mofes himself, if he was upon earth in our day, would be accufed of a narrow fpirit; for he declares to an audience of fix hundred thousand fouls, Ye have feen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt unta Pharaoh, and unto all his fervants, and unto all his land; the great temptations which thine eyes have feen -the figns and thofe great miracles; yet the Lord hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to fee, and ears to hear, unto this day. And I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Deut. xxix. 2, 3, 4, 5. This part of Mofes's doctrine would be cenfured in the present day as the effects of a contracted fpirit; and certainly it differed much from the univerfal fpirit of Corah, Abiram, and Dathan ; for though Mofes declared Ifrael to be blind, ignorant, and infenfible, yet they declared them all fanctified, and in the prefence of God, and warmly

warmly rebuked the bigotry of Mofes and Aaron: For they gathered themselves together against Mofes, and against Aaron, and faid unto them, Ye take too much upon you, Jeeing all the congregation are holy every one of them, and the Lord is among them; wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord? Numb. xvi. 3. The contracted fermon of Mofes, and the declaration of this catholic company, differ widely.

Mofes declares them blind and infenfible,-thefe declare them all holy, and God's prefence among them; but it happened with them according to the wife man's faying, There is a juft man (as they supposed themselves to be) that perifheth in his righteoufnefs; and there is a wicked man (as they fuppofed Mofes) that prolongeth his life in his wickedness. Eccl. vii. 15; and fo it happened here-for Mofes outlived Corah and all his company. They perifhed from the congregation with all their candour, they went into the pit alive with all that they had; while Mofes, with all his contracted fpirit, died at the mouth of the Almighty; or as it might be rendered, without offering any violence to the text, that God kiffed him to death.

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Jefus Chrift himself was viewed as one of a contracted fpirit, when he told the Nazarenes that many widows were in Ifrael in the days of Elias, but to none of them was Elias fent but to Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow: And many lepers were in Ifrael in the time of Elisha the

prophet,

prophet, and none of them were cleansed, faving Naaman the Syrian. These fovereign and difcriminating acts of God appeared to the Saviour's audience as the effects of a contracted spirit, and therefore they were determined to break his neck: And all they in the fynagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust bim out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the bill (whereon their city was built) that they might caft him down beadlong. Luke iv. 25-29. But the Scribes and Pharifees were of a more catholic fpirit; for they excommunicated none unless he confeffed the true faith of Christ: For the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confefs that he was Chrift, be fhould be put out of the fynagogue. John ix. 21. Nor did the Pharifees prefume to anathematise any but the real elect of God-this people that know not the law are curfed. John vii. 49. You see these open catholic clergy admitted all to their communion, but the Saviour and his few chofen followers. So the devil had full poffeffion of the fynagogues, while the rulers and scribes defended their fire, and stuck to his counsel: Have any of the rulers believed on him? John vii. 48. No, they adhered to their own progenitor; and it was not without caufe that the Saviour faid unto them, Ye are of your father the devil, and the luft of your father ye will do. John viii. 44.

Abimaaz. You are got quite into irony, my brother; there was no call for fuch a tart reply. Į only

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