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upon which your expectation of a meeting with, and embracement of God in Chrift is to be founded: O then, come, and kiss the Son. Why, but I cannot, fay you; I think I would fain do it; but I cannot get at him, to kifs and embrace him. Indeed this kindness muft begin on his fide; and therefore, O pray that he would come and meet you with a kifs of infinite love. Say with the church, Song i. 2. Let him kiss me with the kifles of bis mouth: for his love is better than wine. If that be the language of your foul, O I cannot embrace him; but my heart fays, O let him come and embrace me, and draw me out of the embracements of all my former lovers, and lufts, that I may never kifs any idol in the world again, but may live

and die in the arms and embraces of the fon of God; Is that the language of your foul before the living GOD? why then the embracement betwixt Chrift and you is begun, that fhall never have an end; for it is a pledge, that he and you shall meet together in heaven, and embrace each other to eternity.

Now, though I hope that this glorious meeting of divine perfections in Chrift hath put forth fome virtue to draw in fome poor foul to the match; yet I fear that the most part are yet but idle hearers and fpectators, as if they were not concerned; but O unconcerned foul, be who you will, O yet, will you come and fee this great fight! O come and fee the greatest fight that ever was, or will be, in heaven or earth, a bush burning, and not confumed: all the burning and fhining attributes of God meeting together with infinite harmony in the bufh of our nature, and yet the bufh able to bear the glory, Zech. vi. 13. O come and wonder! Here is the

wonder

wonder of men and angels! For this is a wonderful meeting to them: And the name of the meetingplace is juftly called, wonderful! O come and partake; for the meeting is concerning your falvation in Chrift: His delights were with the fons of men. O come and fing to the praife and glory of this wonderful harmonious embracement of divine perfections in Christ, especially you that partake, fo as to see the glory, and feel the virtue thereof. O will you fing with your hearts, and lips, and lives, faying, Glory to God, that his attributes have met together, and kiffed each other, in Chrift; and that ever the like of me got a kifs by the by: Glory to God, that there is no breaking off this meeting, nor parting of these embraces, by fin, Satan, earth or hell; but that they meet and embrace each other to eternity. And tho' you cannot remember to fing all that has been faid, yet I hope the weakest memory may remember to fing the best note of all the fermon every day, faying, Glory, glory, glory to God, that mercy and truth are met together, righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

The

The best bond, or fureft engagement.

A SERMON preached immediately before the adminiftration of the facrament of the Lord's-fupper, at Dumfermline, July 19, 1724.

By the Rev. Mr. RALPH ERSKINE.

JEREM. XXX. 21.

For who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto me? faith the Lord.

Y friends, after the first Adam's heart de

Mp

M' parted from the Lord, fo as to violate the

covenant of works, never a heart of all his pofterity could or would have approached unto God again, but had remained in their natural enmity against him, had not the fecond Adam fo engaged his heart unto God in our favour, as to draw the hearts of many after him And if we could this day look into Chrift's heart, and discover his heart-kindness in this matter, fo as to knit our hearts to him, and to God in him, and get the knot fealed in the facrament with God's feal; it would make this a day to be much remembered to all eternity. O then, let your hearts be looking up to the Lord, that you may fee into the heart and bofom of this fcripture,

and

=

and into the mystery of this great queftion, Who is this that engaged his heart, &c?

The Lord by the prophet Jeremiah had been comforting his church, by feveral excellent promi fes relating to their return out of the Babylonifh cap tivity, typical of the glorious things, referved for the Church in the days of the Meffias: Particularly in the preceding part of this verfe, it is promised, that they shall be bleft with an excellent government; Their nobles fhall be of themselves, they shall not have ftrangers and enemies to be their judges, but thefe of their own nation. Their Governor shall proceed from the midst of them. This hath a reference to Chrift our Governor, David our king, as you may fee by comparing this with verfe 9th, They shall ferve the Lord their God, and David their king, whom I will raife up unto them. This governor is of ourselves, being in all things made like unto his brethren; I will caufe him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me. It is a fingle perfon that is spoken of, and the perfon is the GOVERNOR, and the GOVERNOR is CHRIST. God the Father did cause him as mediator to draw near and approach to him; he commanded and authorized him to do it; he fanctified and fealed him for this end; he appointed and anointed him for this purpofe, and he accepted of him, and declared himself well-plea fed in him; and therefore he speaks of it with wonderful pleafure, Who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto me? When God draws a perfon near to him, he is even delighted with that approach to him, whereof he himself is the caufe; much more if it be fuch a perfon as here the governor of Ifrael, for who is this, &c? Here is the event of the excel lent promifes that were made to Ifrael, by way of

anticipation

anticipation of fome objection that might be made, How shall all this be done? Why Chrift the governor hath engaged for all that either God calls for from you, or that he promises to you. He is one that shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he hath fet judgment in the earth, Ifa. xlii. 4. Thus all the promises come to us in Chrift; they come from God through him and should lead us up to him, in whom they are all Yea and Amen. They are rivulets that sweetly flow and run forth from the ocean to the city of God, to the house of the mourner, to the field of the withered, to the habitation of the hungry and thirsty, yea, to the grave of the dry bones, to make the dry land fprings of water, and to make the wilderness to bloffom as the rose. What these excellent promifes are, that thus run forth, you may fee in the preceding part of the chapter: For example, ver. 17. Tho' the wound feem incurable, God will make a cure for it; and tho' you be caft off at all hands, and cast out at every door, and none feek after thee, yet I will feek thee out; and tho' deserted and despised of these that are about thee, yet I will put honour upon thee, yea, I will glorify thee, and thou shalt not be fmall, as it is ver. 19. And the fum of all the promises is ver. 22. Ye shall be my people, and I will be your God; I will work in you all that you want, that is, You shall be my people; and I will be to you all that you need, that is, I will be your God. O that we could take hold of this promife! It is as much as to fay, I will make you holy, and what I would have you to be, for ye shall be my people; and I will make you happy, for I will be your God. O, but upon what confideration, or on what account will he do all this? My text opens the ground, for who is this that, &c.

Why

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