falvation of his people. The Lord worketh all things after the counfel of his own will. He worketh all things, not merely after his will, but after the counsel of his will. There is no part of his will, but his counfel was concerned in it; and no part of his counsel, or what his infinite wifdom faw best, but his will refolved upon. He first loved the perfons of his people, then chofe them in Christ, and then appointed every thing which they fhould be exercised with in this life. He willed one fhould be poor, another rich, and this as fubfervient to promote his own glory, and the real good of his people. It is aftonishing grace! God's glory and his people's good are wrapt up and involved together; what increases the one, makes for the happiness of the other. It would greatly tend to compofe the mind, calm our affections, and produce fettled refignation to the Lord's righteous dealings with us, to confider every one of them as a channel cut out, through which everlasting love is to be vented towards us, and by which we are to have fresh teftimonies of it. His everlasting love, mercy, and grace, are at all times exercifed by him towards his people. Their days of trouble, pain, temptations, and mifery are with him. Their times of fpiritual quickening, reviving, joy, and comfort, are in his hands. The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. The very hairs of their head are all numbered. What the Lord gives them is really good; he withholds from them no manner of thing that is good; and he beftows

good upon them, to the end that they may enjoy it, be happy in the enjoyment of it, and be difpofed to blefs and praise him for it. Sirs, we have a right to enjoy what God bestows upon us; he gives it for that end and purpose His word declares it, and his truth confirms it. He fays of his fpiritual Ifrael, Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good. It is a matter of joy to the Lord God to do good unto his children, and he is pleased when they joy and rejoice in him and his benefits bestowed upon them. Haft thou health, wealth, and opportunity of doing good, of ferving God in thy day and generation, and glorifying him in the world before men? Rejoice in it, and lay thyfelf out to the uttermoft to thy Lord's praife. Art thou poor, and haft thou but little ability to ferve and promote the caufe of Chrift? Rejoice, that though thou doft want an ability, yet thou doft not want a heart, and doft fupply by thy prayers what is wanting in thee to anfwer other fervices and purposes. Learn to blefs God who bestoweth upon you all things richly to enjoy; and pray for a fpiritual enjoyment of God in all his gifts and graces. Thou mayeft, in the abfence of all creature good, fay, thou haft all things, for Chrift being thine, and his unfearchable riches thy portion, thou mayest say, The Lord is my portion, therefore will I hope in him. O that the Eternal Spirit may lead us to fee God in all our bleffings, to enjoy him in all the mercies he daily beftows, and may we be influenced hereby to feek after conftant communion with him at all times,

and in all his difpenfations. What has been delivered agreeable to truth, fuitable to your experience, and as far as calculated to promote your happiness and joy in him, may he command his bleffing on; even fo. Amen.

SERMON XXI.

CHRIST THE BELIEVER'S ALL, IN LIFE, DEATH, AND ETERNAL GLORY.

IT

COLOSSIANS, Chap. iii. Ver. 11.

Chrift is All.

T is the peculiar glory and excellency of this most bleffed and incomparable book, the Bible, that it has Christ as the fupreme fubject of it. It is the Father's record and testimony of his Son; and which is, that be that hath the Son, hath life. It is the revelation of Jefus Chrift. Its hiftory, its prophecy, its facrifices and ordinances, all point, as fo many lines. in a circle, to him. The teftimony of Jefus is the fpirit of prophecy. The prophets and apostles treat of him ; whose person is the glory of heaven; whofe love is the everlasting miracle of heaven; whofe finished work of falvation bears up the faints before the throne, and yields them matter for perpetual praise, fo that they conftantly cry, Thou waft flain, and haft redeemed us to God by thy blood. Worthy is the Lamb that was flain. His victories and triumphs on the cross,

over fin, Satan, the world, death, and hell, will be celebrated by the hallelujahs of the hoft of the redeemed in glory, as long as heaven is heaven. Beloved, the fun in the firmament, is not fo full of light, or the fea, with its vaft abyfs, fo full of water, as the inspired volume is of Jefus, and his wonderful grace, work, victories, fame, and renown.

If it were

poffible to collect the whole effence of Scripture, and exprefs. it in one fingle fentence, it would be contained and expreffed in fuch words as thofe which I have now read unto you, Chrift is all. So that So that you may fee that my text, though fhort, is vaftly comprehenfive. It expreffes what Chrift is to his people on earth; and alfo what he is to them who are already admitted to his promifed glory. In thefe words Chrift is both text and fermon-the foundation and corner stone-the first and the last-the Alpha and Omega-the aim and end-the author and finisher of faith. Chrift is all in falvation work, the all in grace and glory. Our apoftle, in the first chapter of this epiftle, in his fetting forth Chrift Jefus the Lord, gives fuch an account of him, in his ancient, native, perfonal, effential, relative, and mediatorial glories, as is not fo fully to be found in all his writings elfewhere. You have the bridegroom of his church fhining forth in all the glory and excellency of his godlike Majefty. And why does the apoftle fet him forth? What was his defign in fo doing? His intent was, hereby to draw the hearts of faints after him, that they might cleave to him as their well beloved. By prefenting their heavenly husband thus unto them,