which Satan laid to man's heart tended to undermine the sense of God's goodness to the creature, as if God were envious: "God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof," &c. (Gen. iii. 5), as if God envied their happiness this the Devil would instil. To have good thoughts of God, is a great means to reduce us and bring us back again to him. We frighten ourselves away from him by entertaining needless jealousies of him, as if he sought our destruction, or delighted in it. Surely he will not destroy a poor soul that lieth submissively at his feet, and is grieved he can no better please him and serve him: the man that had hard thoughts of God neglected his duty: 'I knew thou wast an austere master, therefore I hid my talent in a napkin' (Luke xix. 20, 21): that is the legalism and carnal bondage that is in us, which makes us full of jealousies of God, and doth mightily hinder and obstruct our duty.

USE. The use is, to press you to come to God as creatures, to beg relief and help for your souls: this will be of use to us in many cases.

1. To the scrupulous who are upon regenerating, that are not sure that the work of grace is wrought in them: you cannot call God father by the Spirit of adoption; yet own him as a creator, come to him as one that formed you your desire is to return to him.

2. It is of use to believers when under desertions; and God appeareth against them in a way of wrath, and all God's dispensations seem to speak nothing but wrath; yet come to him as the Creator. Lord, we are the work of thy hands.' If you cannot plead the covenant of Abraham which was made with believers, plead the covenant of Noah which was made with man and all creatures: "For this is as the waters of Noah unto me; for, as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so I have sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee" (Isa. liv. 9): there may be a great storm, but no deluge. When all is wrath to a poor soul, let it come to him in the covenant of Noah.

3. It will be of use in pleading for grace for your children, who are as yet, it may be, graceless and disobedient: Thy hands have made and fashioned them:' desire him to renew his image upon them by the Spirit of grace.

In short, the sum of all is, here is encouragement: God is good to all his creatures, especially to man, most especially to man seeking after him, and seeking after him for grace, that we and ours may obey him, and do him better service than ever yet we have done.

SERMON LXXXII.

VERSE 74.-They that fear thee, will be glad when they see me ; because I have hoped in thy word.

This verse containeth two things:

1. The respect of the faithful to David, " They that fear thee, will be glad when they see me."

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2. The reason of this respect, "Because I have hoped in thy word." First, The respect of God's faithful servants to David; and there take notice of the character by which God's servants are described, They that fear thee;" then their respect to David, they "will be glad when they see me;" which may bear a double sense.

1. How comfortable it is for the heirs of promise to see one another, or meet together: aspectus boni viri delectat, the very look of a good man is delightful: it is a pleasure to converse with those that are careful to please God, and awful to offend him.

2. How much affected they are with one another's mercies: they "will be glad when they see me," who have obtained an event answerable to my hope they shall come and look upon me as a monument and spectacle of the mercy and truth of God: this sense I prefer, though not excluding the other. But what mercy had he received? The context seemeth to carry it for grace to obey God's commandments; that was the prayer immediately preceding, to be instructed and taught in God's law (verse 73). Now they will rejoice to see my holy behaviour, how I have profited and glorified God in that behalf. The Hebrew writers render the reason, Because then I shall be able to instruct them in those statutes, when they shall see me, their king, study the law of God.' It may be expounded of any other blessing or benefit God had given according to his hope; and I rather understand it thus, they will be glad to see him sustained, supported, and borne out, in his troubles and sufferings: "They will be glad when they shall see in me a notable example of the fruit of hoping in thy grace, and this hope leaveth not ashamed.'

Secondly, The reason is, "because I have hoped in thy word;" and there compare this with the first clause. God's children are described to be those that fear God, and David is described to be one that hopes in his word; both together make up a good character and description of the Lord's people they are such as fear God and hope in his word. They are elsewhere coupled: "Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy" (Psalm xxxiii. 18); and, "The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy" (Psalm cxlvii. 11). A sincere Christian is known by both these, a fear of God, or a constant obedience to his commands; and an affiance, trust, and dependence upon his mercies. Oh! how sweetly are both these coupled, a uniform, sincere obedience to him, and an unshaken, constant reliance on his mercy and goodness! The whole perfection of the Christian life is comprised in these two, believing God and fearing him; trusting in his mercy, and fearing his name: the one maketh us careful in avoiding sin, the other diligent to follow after righteousness; the one is a bridle from sin and temptations, the other a spur to our duties. Fear is our curb, and hope our motive and encouragement: the one respects our duty, the other our comfort; the one allayeth the other: God is so to be feared, as also to be trusted; so to be trusted, as also to be feared. And, as we must not suffer our fear to degenerate into legal bondage, but hope in his mercy; so our trust must not degenerate to carnal sloth and wantonness, but so hope in his word as to fear his name. Well then, such as both believe in God and fear to offend him, are the only men who are acceptable to God and his people: God will take pleasure in them, and they take pleasure in one another: "They that fear thee, will be glad when they see me." The first part of the character, They that fear thee:" the fear of God is an excellent grace, a strong bridle to hold the soul from sin; not that servile, but filial and childlike fear, that is afraid to sin against God or break his laws: "Happy is the man that feareth alway" (Prov. xxviii. 14): this grace should always bear rule in our hearts. "Pass the time of your sojourning here in fear" (1 Peter i. 17): our whole course must be

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carried on under the conduct of this grace. Look, as the fear of man is a bridle upon the beasts to keep them from hurting man, "The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth" (Gen ix. 2); so, when the fear of God is rooted in our hearts, we are kept from disobeying and dishonouring God. Joseph is an instance of the power of this holy fear: "How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" (Gen. xxxix. 9.) Secondly, the other character, " I have hoped in thy word:" a Christian liveth by faith, whereas the brutish worldling liveth by sense; the one liveth by bread only, the other by the word of God; the one is a higher sort of beast, the other is a kind of an earthly angel; for he liveth with God, and dwelleth with God, and expecteth all out of God's hands: "I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope" (Psalm cxxx. 5): there is his charter and inheritance, and his solace and support; he fetcheth all from the word. Both these graces, as they are very aceeptable unto God, so are they most lovely and beautiful to behold by men. To be among the company of them that fear God and hope in his word, is the most pleasant thing to a gracious heart that can be; for, while others are taken up about toys and trifles, they are taken up about the only serious matters. If Balaam was constrained to say of God's people, "How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel!" (Numb. xxiv. 5;) oh! how pleasant is it much more to the people of God, to see one another, to come among them that fear God, and are loth to offend him, and also that hope in his word. They can speak of the life of faith, and blessedness to come, and take off the veil of the creature, and are mainly taken up with another world: their business is not to offend God here, and hope fully to enjoy him hereafter: "Comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me" (Rom. i. 12).

DOCTRINE.-That God's mercies bestowed upon some of his children, should be, and are, an occasion of joy and comfort to all the rest. When David was a pattern of God's gracious help and deliverance, he saith, They that fear thee will be glad when they see me." I shall give you some Scriptures : "The righteous shall compass me about; for thou shalt deal bountifully with me" (Psalm cxlii. 7): when any one of God's children are delivered, all the rest flock about him, to assist and join in thanksgiving, and to help one another to praise the Lord. So, "My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad" (Psalm xxxiv. 2), that God had preserved and reserved David still. So, "The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and shall trust in him; and all the upright in heart shall glory" (Psalm lxiv. 10); that is, when David was delivered, when God had showed mercy to him, then all the upright would come, and make their own profit and advantage by such an experience and deliverance.

The reasons of the point :

1. They are all members of one body, they are all called into one body, and the good and evil of one member is common to the whole: this reason is rendered by the Apostle: "But that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it" (1 Cor. xii. 25, 26); “Now, ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular" (verse 27). The meaning of that place is, that the church altogether is the body of Christ, and every several person a member, and every member should be as solicitous for one another as for itself: they

have the same common interests and concernments, whether of suffering or rejoicing. You know, in the natural body, when the toe is trod on, the tongue crieth out, 'You have hurt me.' We are concerned in the good or ill of our fellow-members: their joy is joy to us, and their sorrow, sorrow to us to this sense some expound that place, "Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body" (Heb. xiii. 3). Some understand it of Christ's mystical body, when they suffer, our souls are bound with them; but I think it bears another sense there: to be in the body, is to be in the flesh, during which state we are liable to many vexations and miseries; and therefore, if God doth so order it, that the whole body, or all the members of the church, should not be afflicted at one time, but whilst some are afflicted, others are free; and when we are not involved by passion, there may be compassion: while we are in the body, we are obnoxious to the same adversities, and should pity and comfort them as ourselves, and use all means to do them good. But, if it be not the truth of the place, yet it is a truth, the more any partake of the spiritual life, the stronger is spiritual sympathy; they "rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep" (Rom. xii. 15); are bound with them that are in bonds, and enlarged with them that are enlarged: one part of us is in bonds when they are in bonds, one part of us is enlarged when they are enlarged; still we should have common interests and affections with our brethren; and for those that fear God to be selfish and senseless of the condition of others, it is a kind of self-excommunication or an implicit renouncing the body: because we are in the body, we should be affected as they are. Look, as there was the same spirit in Ezekiel's vision in the living creatures and the wheels, I say the same spirit was in both, when one moved, the other moved; so there is the same spirit in Christ's mystical body: we should be affected as they are; it is a kind of depriving ourselves of the privileges of the mystical body, if we are not.

2. It is for the honour and glory of God: God hath most glory, when praised by many. Therefore they flock together: "That for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons, thanks may be given by many on our behalf” (2 Cor. i. 11). God loveth to have us act with joint consent both in prayer and praise, because he would interest us in one another's mercies and comforts, and so knit our hearts together in more holy love. Prayers made by many are mighty with God, when we come to God with many supplicants, make up a great party to besiege Heaven; so praises rendered by many are the more honourable to God, and acceptable with him: "That the abundant grace might, through the thanksgiving of many, redound to the glory of God" (2 Cor. iv. 15). When many are engaged, and many are affected with it, God's glory is more diffused, the revenue of the crown of Heaven increased. One string maketh no music: when there are many and all in tune, there is harmony. There are three things in it, many righteous persons, and joining together with one spirit in the same work, then the Lord hath more honour than he could have in a single person in Heaven, God is praised in concert. We are brought all together, that we may make one body and congregation to laud, and praise, and serve God for evermore: so here, they that fear God and hope in his mercy, they often flock together to congratulate and join in thanksgiving for the mercies which any one of them hath received: when Christ was born, there was a whole concert of angels: "A multitude of the hea

venly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, good will towards men" (Luke ii. 13). It is a kind of heaven upon earth, when all the people of God are led by one spirit to praise and glorify God: a closet prayer or thanksgiving is not so honourable as that of the congregation.

3. It is for the profit and comfort of all: partly because by this means they come to understand one another's experiences for their mutual support and edification: what God is to one that feareth him, he is to all that fear him sincerely, affected to them all; therefore the goodness of God to one believer, bringeth joy and comfort to all the rest. They are spectacles and monuments of mercy for the saints to look upon, that they may learn thereby to depend upon God. Look, as in converting Paul a persecutor, the Apostle saith, "That in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all long-suffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him" (1 Tim. i. 16); in pardoning so great a sinner, in saving such a distressed soul, to invite others to Christ; so in all other cases: when God delivereth one, he inviteth others to the same hope; they are precedents of mercy to the rest; as David implieth here, they would be encouraged by his example cheerfully to expect the same deliverance from God. In the example of one sufferer, there is a pawn given to all the rest: it is for the edification and encouragement of others to be acquainted with our experiences of God's mercy to us: "Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul" (Psalm lxvi. 16): all are concerned, for they have the same necessities, have interest in the same God, the same promises, the same mediator, and the same covenant; so that to be acquainted with the passages of Divine Providence towards others, is a great help to teach us more of God, that we may learn to magnify his power. And partly, by this means, their hearts are more knit to one another in spiritual love: when they pray for one another as for their own souls, and rejoice as in their own deliverance, it maintaineth unity among us. God loveth to pleasure many of his children at once, and to interest them in the same mercy; and so we receive the mercy others intercede for, and give thanks for it. Love in the spirit is seen in praying and praising God for one another. And partly, too, because it doth oblige us to more frequent acts of worship: we can never want an errand to the throne of grace, or an opportunity of worship for ourselves or others, to pray with them, or to offer praise with them and for them.

4. Joy is communicative; mourning apart is good; Peter "went out and wept bitterly" (Matt. xxvi. 75). And Jeremiah saith, when he would weep for the people, "My soul shall weep in secret places for your pride" (Jer. xiii. 17); and, "The land shall mourn every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart," &c. (Zech. xii. 12, 13.) Sorrow affecteth solitude and retiredness, where no eye seeth but God's; but joy doth best in company and in concert, as the woman called her neighbours to rejoice with her, because she had found the lost groat (Luke xv. 9). So we must stir up one another to rejoice in God. Besides, mercies may be told to many, but not our griefs; therefore the godly will be flocking together to help them in praises as well as prayers. It is not only commendable to beg their help in prayer, but we should call upon them to praise God with us "Oh! magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together" (Psalm xxxiv. 3). We are bound to be witnesses of one another's thankfulness, and to assist one another in the praises of God.