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gather to him for falvation! Hath he a commiffion to fave finners, and fhall he return with his commiflion in his hand, faying, Father, thou gaveft me a commiffion to feek and to fave that which was loft, and yet wretched loft finners will not have me, nor my falvation either? They love their lufts better than me; they love their own proud fancy better than my righteoufnefs; and they will not believe that I have fo much good-will to them as to fave them: they will not be perfuaded but I am cheating them with fome goodly words: I would gather them, but they will not be gathered; and fave them, but they will not come to me that they might have life, though I have a commiffion from the Father to give life to dead finners. Why, may one think or fay, if Chrift hath fuch a commiffion to fave finners, then let him execute his commiffion, I fhall not hinder him. What is that you are faying, man? Let me hear that again if he hath a commiffion to fave finners, let him come and fave me, I fhall not hinder him. Is it jeft or earnest that you are faying? If your heart be jesting while you are fpeaking thus in your heart, and defpifing a Saviour notwithstanding; then it is a dreadful jeft: Behold, ye defpifers, and wonder, and perish: How fhall ye efcape, if ye neglect fo great a falvation?" But are you in earnest, O finner, saying, Since it is his office to fave finners, O let him do it for God's fake! let him execute his faving office on me, the chief of finners; for, the Lord knows, I would not defire to hinder him? Why, poor foul, I will tell you good news, he feeks no more at your hand than what you are faying, namely, that you do not refift nor refufe his grace by unbelief; but that your heart fay, Content, Lord; content to have falvation from all my fins and lufts, content to have all the falvation that Chrift came to give: why, he came to give life, and to give it more abundantly: and when he is content to give, and you content to receive, there is little more ado, than to blefs him that it is a bargain; for he is profering himself, and all his falvation upon you this day. To him does the falvation of the people belong; therefore let the gathering of the people be to him.

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5, To him muft the gathering of the people be, becaufe to him is the GIFT of the people made. God the Father hath made a gift of the people to him; therefore the people must be gathered to him. The Father defires him to ask the people and he fhould have them; “Afk of me, and I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermoft ends of the earth for thy poffeflion," Pfal. ii. 8. There is indeed a felect number that were given to him from eternity, John vi. 37. "All that the Father hath given me, fhall come to me;" that is, all that were given to him fhall be gathered to him: and, that none of all the people that hear the gospel may exclude themfelves, as if they were not given; therefore it follows, "Him that comes I will in no wife caft out;" all comers are welcome. It is as if Chrift had faid to thefe final rejecters of him, "I would have gathered you, but ye would not;" you never had fo much as a will to be gathered; you would not: but be it known, to your confufion, that though you reject and defpife me, yet I will have a gathering of the people to me; "All that the Father hath given me fhall be gathered to me:" and tho' none will be gathered, but thefe that were given, yet this giving is not put in as a bar to your coming, but rather as an encouragement thereto; therefore it is remarkable, he does not add, Him that was given I will in no wife caft out; but, "Him that comes I will in no wife caft out;" intimating, That as this giving is not the primary object of faith, fo it cannot be seen or known, but in the way of coming and they may have this encouragement to come, that in coming they may know they were given to me. They that have no will to be gathered, cannot know they were given; but all that would be gathered, may be fure they were given : therefore let this be a ground for the gathering of people to him, that as the people to be gathered were given to him from eternity, fo they that would be gathered may know and be affured, that they were given to him; "Thine they were, and thou gavest them me," John xvii. 6. They were thine by election, and thou gaveft them me, to be redeemed by me. O happy people, whom

whom a day of power hath made fo willing, that indeed they would be gathered to Shiloh! They may know that they were in God's hand from eternity, and cut of God's hand they were put as a compliment into Chrift's hand, if I may fo exprefs it; and indeed he is infinitely well-pleafed with the compliment; he takes an armsful of them, as it were, out of God's everlasting arms; and he hugs them in his bofom; for his delights were with the fons of men; and whenever he fees the travail of his foul, he is fatisfied: and when he hath hugged them in his redeeming arms, till he hath justified, fanctified, and completely faved them, then he will give them back to the Father's hand again, prefenting them blameless to him, faying, Behold I, and the children which thou haft given me." There must then be a gathering of the people to him, becaufe there was a giving of the people to him. A poor compliment, you may think with wonder, of the like of me, to pafs bethe hands of the eternal Father, and his eternal Son, in concurrence with the eternal Spirit, one God in three Perfons: but little matter how poor and mean the compliment feem to be, and really is in itself, if God be glorified, and Shiloh magnified, and you faved. O! let the confideration of what a large dominion from fea to fea, and from the river to the ends of the earth, is given to Chrift; yea, a numberless number, that no man can number, of all nations, and kindreds, and tongues, and people, that shall stand before the throne of the Lamb, with white robes, and palms in their hands, Rev. vii. 9. faying, "Salvation to our God, that fits upon the throne, and to the Lamb for ever and ever:" Let the view of that innumerable multitude of people that are given to him, ftir up and provoke the gathering of the people to him; he is come to demand what was given him.-But then again,

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6. To him muft the gathering of the people be, becaufe as the people are given to him, fo he is given to the people for this end, that the gathering of the peo.. ple may be to him and hence, to all the people of the vifible church, it is, faid, To us a child is born, to us a fon is given, whofe name is called. Wonderful,

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Counseller, the mighty God, the everlafting Father, the Prince of peace," Ifaiah vi. 9. I fpeak not here of his being given in actual poffeffion to believers; they that take the gift of God are poffeffed of it: but I speak even of a giving in the gofpel-difpenfation and offer; for, no man can receive what is not given: receiving is not giving; and Chrift is so far given to all the hearers of the gospel, that they are obliged to receive him, and believe in him, upon peril of damnation; He that believes not shall be damned. Thus he is given to many that reject him; hence fays Chrift to these that were rejecting him, John vi. 32. "My Father gives you the true bread from heaven." That is, in order to be received by you: for, in rejecting of this bread, that my Father gives you, your fouls will starve. This will aggravate the damnation of the damned, that Chrift was given to them in the gofpel-offer, and they rejected the gift of God. However, the good news of the gofpel is, John iii. 16. "God fo loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whofoever believes on him [or gathers in to him], may not perish, but have everlasting life." This reafon for the giving of the people to Shiloh, is imported in the very bofom of the text; Shiloh is come to you, that you may come to him; he is come in the flesh, he is come in the gospel, and may we hope he is come in the Spirit? He is come to the people, that the people may be gathered to him; and he is come as a Shiloh; that is, the Meffias, the Sent of God, that the people may welcome God's Send, faying, "Bleffed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. To you is born a Saviour, which is Chrift the Lord:" this is indeed "good tidings to all people,' Luke ii. 10. "To you is the word of this falvation fent," Acts xiii. 26. Chrift the Shiloh is the promised Seed, the leading promise; and, "The promise is to you, and to your children," Acts ii. 39. that you may receive him in the promife. He is the Sent of God to you, that you may gather to him; he is fent to be the Saviour of the people, the Helper of the people; and fent by way of free gift and donation, Isaiah xli. 27. " I will give to Jerufalem One that brings good tidings ;" and

for

for what is he given to the people? See Ifa. lv. 4. “He is given to be a Witnefs to the people, and a Leader and Commander to the people :" yea, Ifa. xlii. 6. “ He is given for a Covenant of the people." And why is he thus given to the people, but that the gathering of the people may be to him? The people then are promifed to him, and he is promifed to the people; and there must be a gathering of the people to him. Shiloh is come to feek the people that were promifed and given to him: let the people feek that Shiloh, that is promised and given to them. In a word, he is the true temple, to which the gathering muft be; he is the mercy.feat, at which God and the people may meet together; and you cannot meet with God but in him, for in him alone God is well pleased: and when you gather in to him, you get in to the heart of Ged; for he lies in the Father's bofom, being his Elect, in whom his foul delights.--So much for the reasons.

VII. The last thing propofed in the general method, was the Application of the subject.

I have endeavoured in the doctrinal part, all along, to deliver the matter in a practical and applicatory fìrain, and also enlarged it fo much, that I need the less to infift upon many inferences, wherein I have already anticipated myself. The main ufes I defign are for Information of fome truths, and Exhortation to fome duties.

First, For Information. Is it fo, that the Counsel of Heaven hath determined concerning Chrift the Meffias, that to him fhall the gathering of the people be? Hence fee,

1. The doleful state of the Jews at prefent, and the lamentable circumftances they have been in, ever since the coming of Shiloh, their promised Meffias. While a multitude of Gentiles, that were but dogs, are gathered to God's houfe, and they, in the mean time, unchurched and caft out, though "To them pertained the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the fervice of God, and the promises; and though of them, as concerning the flesh, Shiloh came, who is over all God bleffed for ever,"

Rom.

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