37. The finner fees in the word, as in a glafs, his loft ftate without a Saviour; perceives himself bound over to death with cords of guilt, which fills him with fear, terror, anxiety, and remorse,

2. Of their converfion, Pfal. xix. 7. The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the foul. The word is the means which God hath chofen for bringing finners to himself, A&s xxvi. 18. for railing the dead foul to life, for regeneration, and the working of faith and repentance. This effect of the word we take up in these two particulars.

(1.) The word is the mean of driving the finner cut of himself to Jefus Chrift by faith, as it did Peter's hearers, Acts ii. 37. 38. Faith cometh by hearing. The law goes before and condemns the finner, and difcovers him a loft man. The gofpel follows with the glad tidings of falvation, and the foul is perfuaded to embrace them.

(2.) It is the mean of driving the finner out of his fins unto God, Acts xx. 21. It fets fire to his neft in fin, and brings him to the Lord as a Mafter, and to a compliance with his will as his duty.

Secondly, For faints they are means appointed for their edification or building up, Acts xx. 32. The church of Chrift in this world is but a building, and not yet finished; and every particular faint's ftate in this world is but an unfinished building: and therefore they must have the word continued with them, as the fcaffolding is with the houfe till it get on the topftone, Eph.. iv. 11. 12. 13. And the reading and preaching of the word are,

1. Means of building them up in holiness, the foundation of which is laid in them at converfion, Acs xx. 32. As they are born again of the incorruptible feed of the word, fo they are nourished by thefe breafts; by the fame means they had their fpiritual life, they get it more abundantly, 1 Pet. ii. 2. It does fo by,

(1) Eftablishing them in the good they have at

tained, fetting them to hold it faft over the belly of temptations, Eph. iv. 14. By the reading and preaching of the word, the truth according to godliness is rivetted in them, that the longer they live under the means, they are more confirmed in the Lord's

way.

(2.) Cleanfing them from remaining evils in their heart and life, Pfal. xix. 9. Coming to this glafs, they get their spots difcovered to them, that they may wipe them off. So the word is the pruning hook of the great Hufbandman, John xv. 2. 3. and the engine for demolishing the remaining ftrong holds of the rebels, 2. Cor. x. 4. 5.

(3.) Preffing and helping them forward to the good thing lacking, 2 Tim. iii. 16. 17. and fo the effect is, that they all with open face beholding as in a glafs the glory of the Lord, are changed into the fame image, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord, 2 Cor. iii. 18. It helps them ftill to add a cubit to their ftature, fhewing them more of the truth and the duties of holiness.

2. A means of building them up in comfort, Rom. xv. 4. They are liable to many griefs in the world; but it is appointed to be their great cordial, and fovereign remedy againft all their griefs. And this it does, (1.) By fetting their cafe in a true light, Pfal. lxxiii. 17. (2.) By affording fuitable remedies for their cafe, from the precious promises and doctrines of it fuited to every cafe, If. xl. 1. 2. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, faith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerufalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for he hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her fins.

III. I fhall confider the efficacy of the word. Concerning which observe,

1. The parties to whom it is effectual. Its convin. cing efficacy it may have on the reprobate, as Felix, Acts xxiv. 25. Its converting efficacy it has on the

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1. Not to all who partake of them, If. liii. 1. Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? Many come to thefe wells who never tafte of the water. I think it an unwarrantable ex. preffion, that all God's ordinances do attain their end in the falvation or damaation of all that come under them; for damnation is not the end of any of God's ordinances, but falvation. And the fcriptures adduced to prove it, viz. f. lv. 10. 11. For as the rain cometh down, and the fnow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give feed to the fower, and bread to the eater: fo fhall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it fball accomplish that which I pleafe, and it shall profper in the thing whereto I fent it. 2 Cor. ii. 15. 16. For we are unto God a fweet favour of Christ, in them that are faved, and in them that perifh. To the one we are the fa vour of death unto death; and to the other, the favour of life unto life: and who is fufficient for these things? will not prove it for the former refpects only God's end in fending his word, the other the event, but neither of them the end of the ordinance. Damnation is the effect or confequence of the contempt or mifimprovement of ordinances, but by no means the end thereof.

2. But to all the elect they are effectual, unto whom they come, Acts xiii. 48. As many as were ordained to eternal life believed. John x. 26. Ye believe not, because ye are not of my fheep. To the elect only they are effectual for their falvation, which is their end.

V. I am to fhew whence the efficacy of ordinances proceeds. It does not proceed from any virtue in themselves, or in him that adminifters them, but from the Spirit of the Lord working in them and by them, 1 Cor. iii. 7. But this I fhall fpeak to more largely in a pofterior discourse.

I conclude with a few inferences. Inf. 1. Sad is the cafe of thofe who are in fuch a wilderness, as there are no wells in, nor any of God's ordinances. Where no vifion is, the people perish. This is the difmal cafe of the Pagan world. Which fhould move us to pray that the Lord may fend the light of the gofpel to thefe dark places of the earth.

2. The filling up of the wells in a land, by removing ordinances from a people, is a tad stroke, Where the word and facraments are not, there is no church there; and confequently God has no people to fave there. O let us cry to the Lord, that this may never be our unhappy cafe,

3. The defiling of the wells is a fad matter for thofe who drink of them, whether it be by error in doctrine, fuperftition in worship, or uninftituted government of the church; but worst of all where they are poifoned with damnable herefies and idolatry, as in the apoftate church of Rome. Let us pray for and strive to maintain purity of doctrine, worship, and govern

ment.

4. Hainous is the fin of the neglect or contempt of the wells of falvation, which God has opened unto them. Let defpifers and neglecters of ordinances confider this, and what they will anfwer when God rifes up to call them to an account. Alas! this is one of the great grounds of the Lord's controverfy with the prefent generation, which loudly calls to deep humiliation before him.

5. Great is the fin and lofs of thofe who come to the wells, but never draw of the water nor tafte it: who are never bettered by ordinances, but remain as dead and unconcerned about their fouls as if the means of falvation were not vouchsafed to them.

6. Lafly, Prize the ordinances. Prepare for them, and duly improve them. Remember they are the ordinary means of falvation: therefore feek to enjoy God, and to have communion with him, in them, otherwife they will be in vain as to you.

EPHESIANS vi. 17.

The fword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

N these words we have, (1.) A particular piece of the Christian armour recommended, the word of God, the revelation of his mind communicated to us in the fcriptures, with which every one who minds for heaven fhould be familiarly acquainted. (2.) A particular piece of its commendation; it is the fword of the Spirit; j. e. it is that which the Spirit of the Lord uses in fighting the battles of the Lord, and conquering an elect world to Chrift, and bringing them, through all oppofition from the devil, the world, and the flesh, into the heavenly Canaan. And therefore it cannot but be of fingular use to a Chriftian in the spiritual warfare. It is but the fword, but the Spirit cuts with it. The doctrine of the text is,

DOCT. The word of God is the fword the Spirit makes ufe of for raifing up a kingdom to Chrift. This more fully in the words of the catechifm runs thus: “ The Spirit of God maketh the reading, but efpecially "the preaching of the word, an effectual means of convincing and converting finners, and of building "them up in holiness and comfort, through faith, un"to falvation."

In handling this fubject, I fhall fhew,

I. In what refpects the word is an ordinance of God, and mean of falvation.

II. What are the ends for which the Lord has appointed these means and ordinances of reading and preaching the word.

III. Confider the efficacy of the word.

IV. Improve the fubject in fome inferences.

I. I am to fhew in what refpects the word is an ordinance of God and mean of falvation.