tion, for the Lord God proclaims aloud, if ANY man thirst, let him come to me and drink; WHOSOEVER will let him take of the water of life freely: If any be excluded they are felf-excluded, for the Lord God declares and pledges all the glories of his throne for the truth of the declaration, I have no pleasure in your death, but would that you turn from your wicked ways, and live; him that cometh to me I will in no wife caft out; Let him turn to the Lord and he will have mercy upon him, and to our God for he will abundantly pardon That whofoever believeth in him, might not perifh, but have ETERNAL LIFE. This is certainly, infallibly the privilege of every finner who exercises faith in the Saviour's blood. The gofpel with its great and precious promises; the covenant with its boundless, endless bleffings; heaven with its ineffable immunities and glories, at the moment of his clofing with Jefus, become his; they are his by real, unalienable title now; they will be his in full, actual poffeffion for ever.

WILLINGLY Would I perfevere, enumerating thefe proclamations of divine mercy; willingly would I extol more largely the infinite efficacy of Calvary's blood for the redemption of finners the very chief; willingly would, I multiply arguments, expoftulating with all who are prefent, to improve it for their redemption in particular; but I must now direct your attention to the more folemn and interefting fervices of the day. We

have been contemplating the Son of God fet forth in the word of reconciliation; let us now behold him in the fymbols of his body and blood as crucified for us; and while our eyes fee, and our mouths are tafting this word of life, may our hearts overflow with his abundant confolations: May we experience an earneft of that more glorious hour when we, redeemed by his blood, arrayed with the spotless robe of his righteousness, and shining in the beauties of holiness, shall eat and drink with him at his table in his heavenly kingdom: Then, beloved fifters and brethren in Christ, we shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; no recollection of guilt thall ruffle the peace of our confciences; no intervening cloud fhall caft its unwelcome fhade over our underftandings, or chill the ardour of our affections; nothing within, nothing without fhall embitter the joys of our hearts: For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne ball feed us, and lead us unto living fountains of water, and God fhall wipe away all tears from our eyes. Come Lord Jefus, come quickly; come in the more abundant, refreshing showers of thy grace; haften in thine own time the RISING of the day-ftar of glory. AMEN.

The Sovereign Agency of God in determining the Heirs of Salvation.

1. PETER, 1. 2.

ELECT ACCORDING TO THE

FORE-KNOWLEDGE

OF GOD THE FATHER..

THE abfolute fovereignty of God in the difpofal of his creatures is a doctrine mysterious and awful. But although it is utterly unfathomable by our finite, depraved understandings, it is taught clearly and unquestionably in that revelation of his will which he has given our world. There he is reprefented as the great, adorable Supreme, who gives no account of his matters; who makes his own pleasure the rule, and his own glory the end of all his tranfactions towards angels and men ; as having every occurrence relating to them, whether more minute or more important, under his immediate control, directed by his omnipotent power, and rendered fubfervient to the accomplishinent of his counfels from eternity. The Lord reigneth: The Lord fitteth upon the floods, yea, the Lord fitteth king forever. Of him, and through him, are all things, to whom be glory forever. In his transactions towards the angels Jehovah appears adorably fo

vereign, and awfully juft; in the depths of his fovereignty he confirmed a part of them unalter ably in blifs, electing, ordaining them infallibly to persevere in holimefs, and happinefs; in the fearchlefs depths of the fame fovereignty he permitted a part of them to apoftatize, and in the rigors of his juice erected them monuments of eternal vengeance. In his tranfactions to man he appears myfterioufly fovereign, and exceedingly, abundantly gracious. In his fovereignty he appoints Adam the Federal representative of mankind, embarks on his free will their temporal and eternal definies, and by permitting him. to fall fuffers them to be plunged in ruin irrecoverable; in the riches of his unmerited, marvel. lous grace he elects a portion of our apoftate fa-mily to falvation; gives them to his own fon freely undertaking in their behalf, and through him as their covenant head, ordains them to all the privileges of grace and glory. They are elected, fays our apoltle, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.

YOUR attention was lately directed to the agency of Jehovah the Father in the appointment. of Jesus to his mediatorial work; we endeavored to confirm from fcripture the important and the comfortable doctrine that all the fufferings which were endured by him on earth, his prefent exaltation in our nature and name in heaven, together with his final appearance at the confum