him, fhould not perish, but have everlafting life," John iii. 16. It is indeed a so, without a sucH; a love without a parallel here mercy fhines.

2. There is mercy in the death of Chrift; fee how the four and twenty elders fing of this mercy; "Thou waft flain, and haft redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and halt made us to our God kings and priests:" and the angels join iffue with them, to the number of ten thousand times ten thoufand, and thoufands of thoufands, faying, with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb that was flain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and bleffing,' Rev. v. 9,-12.

3. There is mercy that he fhews, in raifing of Chrift from death, and in raifing and quickening us together with him. We find the apofile finging of this mercy; "But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he hath loved us, even when we were dead in fins, hath quickened us together with Chrift, and hath raised us up together, and made us fit together in heavenly places in Chrift Jefus," Eph. iii. 4, 5. If Chrift muft die, he muft conquer death, that his people may be more than conquerors in him over death; both fpiritual death, whereby we were under the power of fin; and legal death, whereby we were under the guilt of fin, and fentence of the law. In oppofition to both thefe, the life of regeneration, and the life of juftification is con nected with this merciful quickening together with Chrift; as you fee, Col. ii. 13. "You, being dead in your fins and the uncircumcifion of your flefh, hath he quickened together with him; having forgiven you all trefpaffes." O how does the pfalmift fing of this mercy! "Blefs the Lord, O my foul,-who forgiveth all thy fins, and healeth all thy difeafes," Pfalm çiii. 2, 3.

4. There is mercy that he fhews, in cleanfing the foul from the filth of fin, as well as the guilt thereof, till it be washed and made quite clean at laft. See how the faints do fweetly fing of this mercy, Rev. i. 7. where I think they fing both of pardoning and puri

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fying

fying mercy; "To him that loved us, and washed us from our fins in his own blood, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever, Amen."

5. There is mercy that he fhews, in adopting fuch heirs of hell by nature, to be the children of God by grace and you may fee how believers fing of this mer. cy; "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath beftowed upon us, that we fhould be called the fons of God!" John iii. 1. He makes them his children, and gives them the Spirit of adoption; "Becaute ye are fons he hath fent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, ABBA, Father." He gives them the mark and feal of his children, even the Spirit as a Spirit of prayer, and as a Spirit of faith, and a Spirit of love, working the love of God in our hearts, who are by nature enemies and, O what mercy is here!

6. There is mercy that he fhews, in conferring the high dignity of priesthood and royalty upon them; fee how they fing of this mercy; "To him that loved us,— and hath made us kings and priests unto God, and his Father [or, to God, even his Father]; to him be glory," Rev. i. 5, 6." Kings unto God," how? Even to fight for him against fin, Satan, and the world, and conquer all our enemies in his name. "Priefts unto God," how? Even to offer fpiritual facrifices, acceptable to God by Jefus Chrift; to offer our prayers and prailes, fouis and bodies to him, on our altar, Jefus Chrift. Thus they are made kings and priefts; and therefore called a royal priesthood: a priefthood of kings, or a kingdom of priests.

7. There is mercy that he fhews his people, in abiding and standing by them in all difficulties, fo as nothing fhall ever be able to feparate them from the favour of their God. See how fweetly the apostle Paul fings of this mercy; "Who fhall feparate us from the love of Chrift? Shall tribulation, or diftreffes, or perfecution, or famine, or naked nefs, or peril, or fword?-Nay, I am perfuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things prefent, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, fhall be able to feparate us from the love of

God

39.

God which is in Chrift Jefus our Lord," Rom. viii. 35,But tho' neither death, nor life, nor angels do it, yet may not fin feparate me from the mercy and love of God? Indeed it may feparate, fo as to make a fearful defertion, but never fo as to make a final feparation; for, "His mercy endures for ever:" and he hath faid, " I will never leave thee, nor forfake thee. He will visit their iniquity with the rod,-but his loving-kindness will he not take away. My mercy will I keep with him. for evermore, and my covenant fhall ftand fatt with him," Pfal. lxxxix. 28. 32, 33.

8. There is mercy that he fhews, in giving many merciful experiences of his goodnefs and mercy following them all the days of their life; fuch as the pfalmist fings of, Pial. xxiii. 6. It is true, the leading mercy of all, is God himfelf, Chrift himself, the Spirit himself; one God in three Perfons, is their God; made over to them in that word, "I will be your God." Here is the fountain-mercy of all mercies, of which they may fing, faying, "This God is our God for ever and ever, and will be our guide even unto death." And indeed

to fing of mercy, is to fing of a merciful God: but as we know the nature of the fountain by the fweetnefs of the ftreams, fo we may take a view of fome more of these ftreams, under the notion of merciful experiences; and I name thefe following, by which a fong of mercy. may be excited.

(1.) There are merciful intimations and communications that they fometimes get, to make them fing of mercy. Sometimes he intimates his love, faying, "I have loved thee with an everlafting love:" Sometimes he intimates pardon, faying, "I, even I am he, that blotteth out thy tranfgreffions, and will remember thy fins no more:" Sometimes he intimates acceptance, faying, O man,

greatly beloved;" and the intimation fets them a wondering and praifing: Sometimes he communicates his mind and his fecrets to them, "The fecret of the Lord is with them that fear him, and he will flew unto them his covenant:" Sometimes the fecrets of his providence; he will tell them what he hath a-mind to do with themfelyes, and what he hath a-mind to do with fuch a

friend, and fuch a child, and fuch a land or church; "Shall I hide from Abraham that which I do?" Sometimes he communicates him felf to them, faying, "I am thy God, I am thy fhield; fear not, for I am with thee:" Sometimes fuch intimations and communications are given, as make all their bones to fay, "Who is likę unto thee?"

(2.) There are merciful vifits after defertion, and after backfliding, that they fometimes get to make them fing of mercy, when they have been heaping up mountains of fin and provocation betwixt him and them; yet, after all, he hath come and given them occafion to fay, "The voice of my Beloved, behold he cometh fkipping upon the mountains, and leaping upon the hills," Cant. ii. 8. "The voice of my Beloved!" O an exceeding sweet and powerful voice! It had a found of heaven; I thought the mountains would have kept him away, but I heard the found of his feet upon the mountains, that made my heart warm toward him again; I had departed from him by an evil heart of unbelief, and I thought he would never return; but, O he reflored my foui, and helped me anew to wreftle with him: "We found him in Bethel, and there he fpake with us."

(3.) There are merciful accomplishments of promifes, that they fometimes get, to make them fing of mercy. The Lord fometimes lets in a promife with life and power, and gives them a word on which he caufes them to hope. It may be he will give them a promise for themselves, and it may be a promise for their children ; fuch as that, "I will be thy God, and the God of thy feed;" and fometimes a promife for the church; fuch as that, "Upon all the glory there fhall be a defence:" and fometimes he gives a wonderful accomplishment of promifes, like that of Hezekiah; "What fhall I fay? he hath both spoken, and himself hath done it:" He hath come to my foul, and made me fee that he is as good as his word; and that faithfulness is the girdle of his loins.

(4.) There is a merciful grant of all their desires, that they fometimes get, to make them fing of mercy. As the defire of their foul is towards him, and the remembrance of his name; fo he fatisfies the longing foul,

and

and fills the hungry with good things; and gives them fometimes a Chrift in their arms, who is all their fal vation, and all their defire: "Delight thyfelf in the Lord, and he will give thee the defire of thy heart." Some have got their defires fatisfied abundantly, now and then; they have got all that they could defire with refpect to temporal mercies; all that they could defire with refpect to fpiritual mercies; yea, all that they could defire within time, till they get an armful of him before the throne.

(5.) There is merciful inftruction and illumination, that they fometimes get, to make them fing of mercy; "The path of the juft is as the fhining light, fhining more and more unto the perfect day." And therefore he gives them to learn fome leflon more and more; fome gofpel-leffon, and gofpel-myftery, that they were in the dark about and one great leflon that he teaches them is, even the difference betwixt the law and the gofpel; he teaches them, that the law is holy, juft, and good; and how the gospel crowns the law in all thefe refpects: he teaches, that the law is holy in its commands, commanding perfe&t holiness, perfect obedience; and how the gofpel fhews where this perfect obedience is to be had, even in Chrift, in whom they have not only ftrength to anfwer it as a rule of duty in part, but perfect righteoufnefs to answer it as a covenant of works completely: he teaches them, that the law is juft in its threatening, the threatening of eternal death; and how the gospel fhews where this threatening hath vented itself, even in demanding and getting complete fatisfaction from Chrift the Surety; and therefore may the foul fay, Well is me, for the fhower of wrath is over my head, and hath lighted upon the head of my Cautioner! He teaches them, that the law is good in its promifes, namely, its promife of eternal life to perfect perfonal obedience: but withal he teaches them by the gospel, how they hold their title to life, only in Chrift, to whofe perfect obedience now all the promises are made, and in whom all the promises are Yea and Amen. O what a mercy is it to learn thefe leffons in a faving way; "To you it is given

to