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When, and at what age, the Lord called him by his grace, and revealed his Son in him, I am not certain; but evident it is, that it was betimes, and in his early days, fince he not only made a profession of religion, but entered upon the public work of the miniftry very young; having been, as I am informed, pretty near thirty years a paftor of this church, and yet died in the fifty-fifth year of his age.

He engaged in the work of preaching the gospel with difinterested views, and not upon any mean, mercenary, or worldly confideration, as fufficiently appears from this fingle inftance; having a call to two feveral congregations at one and the fame time, he chofe rather, upon mature deliberation, to accept the call of the poorer and meaner church; believing it to be the mind of God he should do fo, and that his work lay there; though at the fame time he had a growing family, and under preffing circumftances of life. And though he had, afterwards, temptations thrown in his way to leave his small flock, he bravely refifted them, and chearfully continuèd in his overfight of it.

And as he committed himself and his family to the care of divine providence, the Lord was not wanting to appear for him in an uncommon manner. How often have I, with others of my brethren here present, heard him relate, with the utmost pleasure, and gratitude of mind, the inftances of providential goodnefs to him, with a fingle view to glorify God, and to encourage the faith and hope of others in him.

His indefatigableness was very confiderable, as appears from the progress he made in fome of the learned languages, and in other parts of useful knowledge, which recommended him to the pulpit and the prefs ", and to every branch of converfation. Add to this, his laborious industry in keeping a school, at the fame time he was engaged in public work, and had the paftoral care of a congregation.

His minifterial endowments and qualifications were fuch, as are rare in this prefent age. Befides a large experience of the grace of God, he had a confiderable share of light and knowledge in the great truths of the gospel; he had an heavenly skill to lay open the wretched and miferable ftate and condition of finners by nature, and to fet forth the glory of Chrift in his perfon, blood, righteousness, and facrifice. His language was plain and eafy, though strong and masculine, far above contempt, and yet free from the fwelling words of vain rhetoricians. His reafoning was clear and nervous, his mien and deportment was grave, his address was with majefty, which at once had a tendency to command awe, engage the attention, and ftrike the affection. And, let me not forget to VOL. I. 3 B take

m He published two difcourfes, one on the death of the Reverend Mr John Noble, the other on the death of Mrs Mary Weare.

take notice of his excellent talent in prayer, and of that fweet and near communion he often enjoyed with God in the discharge of that work in private.

His fuccefs in the miniftry was very great, he had many feals of it, both in converfion and edification; fome of which went before him to glory, and others are here behind, and both will meet him in the great day of the Lord. There needs no further proof and demonstration of this, than the bare confideration of the low eftate in which you, this church was, when he came among you, and the very flourishing one in which he has now left you; May it continue and increase.

His large knowledge of, and acquaintance with men and things, together with great fagacity and penetration, joined with labour and pleasure in it, fitted, and gave him an uncommon turn for business. How many will miss him for his private advice and counfels? What a lofs will the churches in city and country fuftain, who had a common fhare in his care and affections? And, how long has he been a father and a guide to you, my brethren, and myself? Have we not reason to cry as the prophet did, My father, my father, the chariot of Ifrael, and the horsemen thereof!

But while I am speaking of his great concern for the public good of the churches of Chrift abroad, let me not forget to take notice of his affectionate regard to you, this church, of which he was paftor, who, of all the branches of a Redeemer's intereft, lay nearest his heart, and for whom he fpent his time, his talents, and his strength. And here I cannot forbear reading a paffage of his, in a paper fallen into my hands fince his death, and which feems to be written at a time when he was engaged in prayer and tears for you; being, as I apprehend, fearful, at that time, of fome divifions among you: His words are thefe, "O! that my present tears might cement the hearts of my dear members together in love, and that there might be no other contention among them, "than what might exprefs their felf-denial for the fake of Chrift, and their fel"low-members, ftriving together for the faith of the gofpel, but not with one "another about different fentiments in matters not effential to true religion, or "the public worship of God under the gofpel. O imitate a dear Redeemer "in this felf-denying, loving, and tender spirit and carriage one towards ano"ther; this will produce peace in the church; this will yield peace in your "own fouls; this will yield a comfortable reflection in the near view of death, "and an eternal world."

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Notwithstanding all his attainments, gifts and usefulness, he was humble, and entertained mean and low thoughts of himself; this might be seen in his carriage to those who were inferior to him. In the above-mentioned paper I meet with fome lines of his, breathing out his fenfe of divine grace, and his own unworthiness. "O! fays he, how unworthy have I always been of such

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"dear favours with which I have been indulged. I can fay, in the views of many infirmities, I have obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful in the "miniftry to the beft of my light. O! that I had but more light, and liberty, "in my Lord's work, in every refpect. Alas! How fhort have I come of filling up the character I have unworthily bore in the churches."

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His conversation with men was free and pleasant, affable and courteous, inftructive and diverting, which made him univerfally esteemed and beloved.

He was calm and quiet under afflictive providences, and much refigned to the divine will, and particularly throughout his laft illness. When he was first feized, which was many months ago, and had the fentence of death in himself, he expreffed himself in this manner, as I find his own words in the paper before referred to; "And now, methinks, I am ready to yield up my foul into the " hands of a dear Jefus, in whom alone I have hope, and with whom I long to "be. I have been a wonderful inftance of his grace, and indeed, of sovereign

goodness, in that he should put fuch an one as I into the miniftry, and uphold "me fo long in it, to fome usefulness to poor fouls, whom I hope to meet in "the great day with exceeding joy."

During his long indifpofition he was very comfortable in his foul, and fatisfied about his eternal state. In my last visit to him, that he was able in any tolerable manner, with any degree of ftrength to converfe with me, I asked him whether his faith in Chrift was now fteady; he replied, "Steady, steady "on the perfon. of Chrift, and thofe glorious truths of the gofpel, which have "been the support of my foul, and the delight of my ministry." One of the laft things he was heard to say before his death was, that the prefent difpenfation was the most delightful one he ever was yet under. Which fhews, that he must have great fupports, and large discoveries of love in his last moments. And thus he sweetly fell asleep in Jefus, and now makes one of the fhining crowd, which stand before the throne, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands. May we be able to make a right ufe of this melancholy providence: Should not the removal of fuch able and faithful fervants of Chrift fend us to the throne of grace, to pray the Lord of the harvest, that he would fend forth labourers into his harveft, that his churches may be fupplied, and his interest preserved?

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The Head of the Serpent bruifed by the Seed of the Woman. Occafioned by the Death of Mrs MARTHA GIFFORD, late Wife of the Reverend Mr ANDREW GIFFORD, Preached January 14, 1733.

GENESIS III. 15.

And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy feed and her feed: It shall bruife thy head, and thou shalt bruife his heel.

THIS book of Genesis is, in order, the first of the infpired writings, and gives us an account of the first principles of all things: It informs us that the world had a beginning, and is the produce of a wife and powerful agent, and not the effect of blind chance, or owing to the confufed jumbling of fortuitous atoms, contrary to the notions of many philofophers. In this we learn who the first man was; and when, and by whom the feveral parts of the earth were peopled: It gives us the best light into the rife of the first and early monarchies, about which there has been fo much conteft, and leads us into the true origin of moral evil among men; concerning which there has been so much difpute in the world. In short, it is the fountain of all found divinity, true hif tory and philofophy.

The three first chapters efpecially, are an epitome both of nature and grace, and give us, in one view, the rife, ruin, and restoration of the world. They may be confidered as the text, on which all the following parts of fcripture are the comments and expofitions.

The first chapter furnishes us with a moft divine and beautiful account of the creation, in the order of fix days work; by which we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God; fo that things which are feen, were not made of things which do appear; in which the glory of the divine power and wifdom is so abundantly manifeft. We learn from hence, that the heavens and the earth were made out of nothing, and not from any pre-exiftent matter; that

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the earth was without form, and void, a rude and undigested chaos, full of darknefs and confusion, until the Spirit of God brooded upon the face of the waters, and brought it into a beautiful form and order: Here we are informed when God first commanded light to break forth; when, by a firmament, he divided the fuperior and inferior waters from each other; when he made the fea, and caused the dry land to appear; when he clothed the earth with grafs, and filled it with fruitful trees; when he befpangled the heavens with stars, and hung up his two great lights, the fun and moon; the one to rule the day, and the other the night; when he filled the feveral parts of the universe with proper inhabitants the air with fowl, the fea with fish, and the earth with cattle and creeping things; and after all, as the crown and mafter-piece of all his works, that he made man after his image and likeness; placed him over all the works of his hands, and put all creatures in fubjection to him.

The second chapter principally treats of the happiness of man in his ftate of innocence; and informs us, that the Lord God alloted him an habitation in the most fertile and delightful spot of ground in all the globe, even the garden of Eden; which was stocked with all manner of trees, pleasant to the fight, and good for food; and give him liberty to eat of the fruit of them all, excepting one that the Lord brought before him every beast of the field, and fowl of the air, that he might give names unto them, and provided a proper help-meet for him, one that was bone of his bones, and flesh of his flesh; which two being joined together by the Lord himself, spent their happy hours in the fervice of their Creator, and in their own mutual folace and delight. But then,

The third chapter introduces a ftrange and fudden catastrophe of things, and opens a dark scene of wickedness and ruin; in which the just now happy pair are involved, through the cunning and fubtilty of a ferpent: Here we are informed which of the two he attacked; what artful methods were made ufe of, by which he gained his point, feduced our first parents to eat the forbidden fruit, whereby they ruined themselves and all their pofterity. This brought down the just resentment of God against both the deceiver and the deceived; and all three, the ferpent, the woman, and the man, are fummoned to appear before him, take their trial, and receive their fentence in a judiciary way and because the serpent was the inftrument of this apoftafy and rebellion, he receives his juft fentence of punishment first; the account of which we have in the words of my text, and in the preceding verfe.

Now, whereas the ferpent is reprefented as the contriver and author of this mifchief to man, and upon him a judicial fentence, of which my text is a part,. is.

a As the hen, or any other fowl, broods upon its eggs or young, which is the sense of the word: , according to the Jewish writers; as R. Sol, Jarchi, R. Aben Ezra, R. Levi Ben Gerfom, in

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