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affembly, mine honour, be thou not united;" and with David, Pfal. xxvi. 9. "Gather not my foul with finners," If you belong to thefe drunken, tippling, idle, and debauched gatherings; you may be fure, that you are not gathered unto Shiloh. The godly may indeed fall into fuch company, but it is not their element to embrace their fociety; nay, fellowship with the faints, the excellent ones of the earth, is their delight: and fellowship with the wicked, is fo far from being their delight, that their fociety is rather a burden, and brings them to a wo is me; "Wo is me, that I fojourn in Mefhech, and dwell in the tents of Kedar! I had rather be a door-keeper in the houfe of God, than to dwell in the tents of wickednefs." Now, fee to it, if you be not gathered out of the world, you are not yet gathered to Shiloh; for if you be cloathed with the Sun, then you have the moon of this world under your feet, and upon your head a crown of twelve ftars: that is, the doctrine of the gospel, delivered by the twelve apoftles, and preached by gofpel-ministers, which are called ftars in his right-hand, will be your crown, a golden crown to you: yea, his word will be to you, as more to be defired than gold, yea, than much fine gold. And this leads me to another mark of thofe that are gathered to Shiloh.

5. If you be gathered to Shiloh, then gathering means and ordinances will be always defirable to you; for they that are gathered, will be always a-gathering to him, till they be for ever with him, in the full and immediate enjoyment of him; now try yourself by this mark. I enlarge a little upon each, becaufe I defign not to multiply particulars.-If you be gathered to Shiloh, then the gathering means will be defirable to you. Now, what confcience do you make of the means? For, there is a generation, that boldly fay, they have religion, yet they ufe not duly, either public, private, or fecret means. If ever you be gathered to Chrift, all the gathering means, all his ordinances, will be fweet to you: you will feek him where he is to be found; not in the city, about the streets and broadways, among the watch-men, but a little further, Song iii. 2, 3, 4. They that never ufed means, were never gather

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ed; they that are gathered, are fill endeavouring to improve them, becaufe they are always gathering to him: Therefore try yourfelves here further, on this fcore, and fee where you are, in Shiloh, or not. If you be gathered to Shiloh, you will be conflantly gathering to him, and living on him; for fuch are not of thofe that draw back to perdition, but of thofe that believe, to the faving of their fouls. They that go out from him, were never of him; therefore favs Chrift to his difciples, "Will ye alfo go away?" John vi. 67. To which, the true believer's anfwer is, "Lord, to whom fhall we go, thou haft the words of eternal life?" ver. 68. Let me therefore afk you, whether or not you intend to abide with Chrift? Surely, if you be gathered to him, you refolve through grace, to remain with him, and to be ftill coming to him, 1 Pet. ii. 4.; and as newborn babes, defiring the fincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby, ver. 2. Indeed, they that abide with Chrift cannot but grow; and this, I fay, to find out hypocrites, that perhaps ufe the outward means, and refolve, in their fashion, they will abide with Chrift; that is, they will not turn Papifts or malignants, turn who will, and yet know not what it is to be ever gathering to, and growing in the Lord Jefus. I know that faints have their winter-blafts, that fet them back; but they have alfo their fummer-refreshings, to fet them forward again, and make them grow in knowledge, faith, love, experience; or elfe, for want of this growth, they are always quarrelling themfelves: but, for other profeffors, that never were rooted in Chrift, they keep ftill their old footing and difpofition. Men would blufh for fhame, to have it faid to them, they are as foolish this day, as they were this-day-twentyyears; or, that they are as bad in their callings, and as ill at their trade, as when they began; and yet, in Christianity, many are as ill as they were thirty, forty, fifty years fince; as ignorant of Chrift and the gospel, as great ftrangers to communion with God in Chrift. Surely, they that are gathered to Chrift, they will ftrive to get forward, they cannot get enough of him, but prefs toward the mark. They that have got enough VOL. IV. † L

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of Christ, have got nothing as yet; and they that have got him, they may think they have got nothing to what they fee to be in him; and therefore they prefs forward, whenever they are themfelves. And, indeed, when you are not going forward, you are going backward. When a man rows against the ftream, he holds up the boat; but let him lay afide the oars, he will go further down than he came up. Hence, gathered fouls are affiduoufly for making ufe of the oars of gathering means, that they may reach forward: and hence, as God's gathering means will be delightful, fo the devil's fcattering means will be hateful to him that is gathered; every thing that tends to make a feparation betwixt Chrift and him, will be uneafy, especially when he hath made any progrefs at ordinances.-Oh! to think of a feparation again, will be fad and forrowful! Wo is me, that I am going back to a world of fin, and finners, and temptation again! Being gathered to him, he cannot think of being feparated from him.

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6. If you be gathered to Shiloh, then it will be your defire and endeavour to gather others to him; the foul that comes to Chrift, will feek to draw others after him, John i. 45, 46. Whenever Chrift found Philip, Philip found Nathanael, and fays, "We have found the Meffias; O come and fee him." When Chrift manifefted himself to the woman of Samaria, fhe invites the men of the city to come to him; O come fee a man that told me all things that ever I did," John iv. 29. Never a foul was gathered to Chrift, but defired to gather others, especially its friends and relations. The parent that is in Chrift, will be careful to gather his children to Chrift; the mafter his fervant, Genefis xviii. 19. "I know," fays God of Abraham, "that he will command his children and his houfhold after him, and they fhall keep the way of the Lord." It is not poffible, but that foul that comes to Chrift, and hath got a draught of his free love, if it could command ten thoufand, it would command them to come to Chrift. If you never had a care or concern this way, to know the Lord, you declare you was never gathered to him. But, you whofe foul's defire is, to gather others to Chrift, you may be

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fure, concerning yourfelf, that you are gathered to Shiloh.--Now, if you try yourfelves impartially by these marks, you may come to find whether you have been gathered to Shiloh, yea, or not.

2dly, The fecond fort then, that I would speak to, are fome that may be fure, that they were never gathered to Shiloh; and it is to be feared, that unbelievers make up the greateft part of this affembly: and therefore I must be allowed to fpeak, efpecially to them; and if believers themfelves give ear, and the Lord concur with the word of general exhortation, they may get a new grip and a firm hold of Shiloh, by the bye. My exhortation to the people in general, then, efpecially thofe that were never gathered unto Christ, is in the words of the prophet, Zeph. ii. 1. " Gather yourselves together; yea, gather together, O nation not defired :" that is, either not defiring, even you that have no defire towards God and Chrift, and his grace and favour, but are very indifferent about it; or, nation' not defirable, having nothing lovely or amiable about you, to recommend you to God; yet, "O gather together, before the decree bring forth, and before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you; for, if once his wrath begin to burn, blessed are all they that truft in him," and gather to him. Also, in the words of the prophet, Ifaiah xlv. 20. 22. "Affemble yourselves, and come:" Why? what is that? It follows, Look to me, and be ye faved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none elfe." Shiloh is come, and he is come for the falvation of the people. O let all the people fay, "AMEN; even fo, come Lord Jefus:" Here is, "The feaft of fat things, that the Lord of hofts hath made on this mountain, for all people," Ifa. xxv. 6. "Therefore let all the people affemble themselves and come, that they may eat and drink.” I allude to Ezek. xxxix. 17. where God fpeaks to every feathered fowl, and every beaft of the field, faying, "Affemble yourfelves and come, gather yourselves on every fide to my facrifice, that I do facrifice for you, even a great facrifice upon the mountains of Ifrael, that you may eat flefh, and drink blood." Indeed, "Except you

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eat the flesh, and drink the blood of the Son of God, you have no life in you," John vi. 53. Therefore, aflemble yourfelves and come, gather to this facrifice upon the mountains of Ifrael for you; a facrifice of a fweet-fmelling favour unto God.-Here is the carcafe; O let the eagles be gathered together. We must preach this golpel to every creature, every rational creature; yea, to men that have loft their reafon, and turned to beafts; every beaft of the field, tame or wild, clean or unclean, A&s x. 12. What means the opening of the heavens. there, and the defcending of the theet, the great sheet knit at four corners, containing all manner of wild beafts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air? Why, the meaning was, Go call all, and every one of the people. The Gentiles, fome of them are creeping in the duft, and wallowing in the mire of finful lufts and worldlymindedness; others are flying in the air of pride, vanity, and fellifhnefs: but, go you and call the poor finful creatures within your reach, whether they be creeping on the earth, or flying in the air: all the finful houfe of Adam, are made up of fuch a fort of people; but go, and tell them, that now Shiloh is come; and, to him muft the gathering of the people be. Therefore, in the name of the great Shiloh, and in his Father's name, we invite and exhort all the people that have hitherto been gathering to the devil, and gathering to their lufts, and gathering to the world, and gathering to their idle cabals, and drunken goffipings, finful diverfions, and damnable debaucheries, now to think in earneft of gathering unto Shiloh; for, Shiloh is come, and let the gathering of the people be to him.

Now, feeing nothing but divine almighty power can gather ouls unto Chrift; therefore, O man, woman; every individual who is just now hearing me, whether old or young, look to God for power to accompany the call for the gofpel-call ufes to be the channel, in which divine power runs, for conquering fouls. And because I know not but this power may accompany this call, for making out the promife in the text, that to him fhall the gathering of the people be; therefore,

I fhall

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