God. Believers, your fruits of faith will be in pro. portion to your faith. While you are living in believing views of and meditations upon Chrift, you will bring forth fruit abundantly; but you will not look at, nor live upon it, but upon Chrift's fulness. What hath been delivered, as far as it contains God's truth, may the Lord bless it unto you, and to his name shall be the praise. Amen.

SERMON X.

CHRIST'S CONTINUAL CARE OF HIS CHURCH

'AND PEOPLE.

ISAIAH, Chap. xxvii. Ver. 2, 3.

In that day fing ye unto her, a vineyard of red wine. I the Lord do keep it; I will water it every moment : left any burt it, I will keep it night and day.

ALL Scripture is given by the infpiration of God,

and an infallible writer informs us, that whatfoever things were written aforetime, were written for our learning; that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. Looking upon them in this view, and as revealed for this end and defign, it leads us to behold with wonder, admire with pleafure, and with transporting gratitude think upon the exceeding great and precious promises made by that God who cannot lie, which are all yea and amen in Jefus Chrift, the effential, confubftantial, and only begotten Son of God, who is the head and representative of the whole election of grace. With him the eternal Father entered into covenant on the behalf, and for the fake of his beloved ones. To him the

promise of eternal life was given before the world began; all the grants of grace for his people were made to him; and they have all been made good to him, and he is in the actual poffeffion of all the grace contained in them. Hence the apoftle faith, All the promifes of God in him are yea, and in him amen. They are also revealed in the facred word of truth, and are each and every one of them actually fulfilled by the effectual grace and power of the Lord the Spirit, to all who are alive to God, and who are living by the faith of the Son of God.

As I have taken what we call a promise for my text, it may not be amifs to give you a definition of what the promises are. The promifes of God proceed from the eternal purposes of his grace towards his chofen people in Chrift Jefus, revealed in the pofitive declarations of his mercy, infcribed in the written word, and hold forth to the view of faith, the grace God will bestow, the fupport he will afford, the bleffings he will pour out upon his people, to fupply their needs and neceffities, according to bis riches in glory by Chrift Fefus. God is entitled the God of all grace. He hath made known his purpofing grace by his promises, which become the foundation of our faith, the fupport of our hope, and the joy of our hearts. Grace in God's nature is the fountain; grace in his purposes is the fpring; and grace in his dealings and difpenfations is the ftream; and God's word of promise is, like himself, truth and immutability: there can be no change in it; and the largeness of God's grace in the word of promife, which belongs to his

people, appears in this: that there is no cafe, want, circumftance, or ftate, into which they are, or may be brought, but is particularly noticed; provifion is made; and a promife, either of fupport under trouble, or deliverance out of it, is to be found, if they fearch the Bible for it and it is a part of fpiritual wifdom to get acquainted with the promises of God, and with fuch especially, as most suit our case, experience, and neceffity.

The words before us, which are to be the foundation of our prefent difcourfe, contain one of those great and precious promifes, made by the Lord to his church and people, and is a full, large, and comprehensive one. It contains and reprefents the care of God over his vineyard, the church. The chapter begins with an account of a complete victory and conquest which the Lord would obtain for his people over their enemies; and, as I apprehend it, in a figure, it fhews the complete victory that God our Saviour would obtain over his and our fpiritual enemies. In that day (faith the prophet) the Lord with his fore and great and frong fword fhall punish Leviathan, the piercing ferpent, even Leviathan that crooked ferpent, and he fhall flay the dragon that is in the fea. These words, in their first and primary fignificancy, refpe&t Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who is compared unto Leviathan, which fome will have to be the whale, others the crocodile, who is faid to be in the fea. Egypt being watered and made fruitful by the waters of the Nile, Pharaoh is faid to have his dwelling in it. Among

and about the ftreams of the Nile, crocodiles haunt ; and the figure serves to distinguish the terribleness, cruelty, and power of the Egyptians and Affyrians against the people of the Jews. But the blustering rage of the one was laid low, and the pride of the other affuaged,

the blast of the Lord of hofts. As it refpects the church of God; fin, Satan, death, and hell, these fierce, ftrong, and proud foes, are conquered and eternally vanquished by the omnipotent Jefus. Our adorable captain of salvation with the two-edged fword of the word, overcame all the power of Satan. That fore and great and firong fword, was the weapon with which he fought the decifive battle, and came off an everlasting conqueror. By his dying for finners, in their law-place, room, and stead, and bearing their fins in his own body on the tree, the damning guilt and reigning power of fin are fubdued and deftroyed; death is difarmed of its fting, hell vanquifhed, and eternal redemption obtained for his whole church and people. In treating on my text, I will obferve the following particulars :

First, that this song was fung on the occafion of the deftruction of the church's enemies. Secondly, we have God's protecting care towards his church, expreffed under the fimilitude of a vine-dreffer, taking care to water and protect his vineyard. I the Lord do keep it, I will water it every moment. Thirdly, the conftancy of his care; left any hurt it, I will keep it night and day. These are the particulars;

And we will begin with the first, and confider