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God, and bath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was fanctified, an unholy thing, and done despite to the Spirit of grace? It is dreadful, O finners! to have this facrifice smoking against you, and the blood of Christ calling for vengeance, inftead of mercy, upon your devoted heads. O, be warned to flee from the wrath to come! for when the midnight cry of Egypt arrives, it will then be too late! Wherefore, now is the accepted time, now is the day of falvation. O finners! lay hold on the blood of sprinkling. Hearken to the invitations of Chrift Jefus. Ho, every one that thirfteth, come ye to the waters, and whofoever will, let him come, and partake of the waters of life freely.-The Spirit and the bride fay, Come; and that we may all come and be sprinkled with this foul-faving blood, may God of his infinite mercy grant, through Jefus Chrift our Lord.

Amen.

Amen, and

SER.

SERMON V.

THE INFLUENCES OF GOD AS A SUN, THE GREAT CONSOLATION OF HIS PEOPLE.

BY

ALEXANDER MACWHORTER, D.D. Paftor of the First Presbyterian Church, at Newark, New-Jersey.

PSALMS lxxxiv. 11.

For the Lord God is a Sun.

HESE words ftand here as a reafon of the Pfalmift's

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declaration in the preceding verfe, that one day Spent in the house of God, that is, in an attendance on his ordinances, was better than a thousand; that he would rather bold the lowest place in God's house, and thus enjoy the privileges of his public worship, than dwell in tents of wickedness, or enjoy the utmost pleasures of fin. The reafon of this preference is refolved into this confideration, that the Lord God is a Sun.

This view of the words in their connection ferves to fhew us, wherein confifts the true excellency, and advantage of the inftituted ordinances of Divine worship, and

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the true reason of the high efteem all good men, withous exception, have of them; their great respect and love to them; their care and diligence in attending them; God is in them as a Sun.

As the natural fun, by his influences, enlightens and revives every living thing, fo God in his ordinances enlightens and revives the hearts of his people, fhining into their minds, and giving them the light of the knowledge of his glory, in the perfon of Jefus Chrift,-fhedding abroad his love in their hearts, and granting them that peace, which paffseth all understanding.

But if we confider the words in a more independent view, they teach us, that God is to good men, what the fun, by its influences, is to the natural world. Who is ignorant of the high importance of the natural fun? This heavenly luminary forms our day, difperfes the gloomy horrors of the night, and sheds fertility, light, and joy, through every part of our fyftem. Without it all nature would be one frozen mafs; neither life, nor vegetation, nor fruitfulness would appear.

Now, when God is reprefented by the beautiful and firiking image of a Sun, with regard to his influences and agency, towards those who walk uprightly, who can help perceiving how fupreme and fenfible a bleffing his existence and communications are, in their experience and estimate?

As the natural fun is the fountain of light, fheds joy and gladness through the animal and vegetable kingdoms, and caufes our earth to teem with all its rich variety of fruits, fo the Sun of Righteousness, the true and eternal God is all this, and more than this, in his communications to his people. He communicates fpiritual light to their minds,-infufes joy and gladness into their

hearts,

hearts, and renders them fruitful in every branch of goodness.

I. God is a Sun, as he communicates Spiritual light to his people.

There may be said to be three kinds of light,-phyfical,-intellectual,-and Spiritual,-or, the light of this world, the light of reason,-and the light of the Spirit of God. Each of these differs from the other in its nature. There is as real a difference between the intellectual and spiritual light, as there is between intellectual and physical, or the light of the fun. more refpects than the latter; but there is no fuch agreement as renders them of the fame nature and kind. This difference will farther appear in the fequel.

The former agree in many

The natural condition of the human mind, fince the fall of Adam, is a state of darkness and blindness. When man apoftatifed, he loft that fpiritual fenfe, whereby he was capable of difcerning fpiritual objects. The image of God forfook his heart, and fo no longer was he captivated with the beauties of holiness. The foul now remains in fpiritual darkness, until the divine image or fpiritual sense be restored, which is done by the operation of the Spirit of God in the work of regeneration. This teaches us the great propriety of those fcripture-phrafes, where natural men are reprefented, as not difcerning Spiritual things; as having their minds darkened; being ignorant, blind, and dead.-Thefe expreffions can, by no means, be understood to mean the want of intellectual light, or the light of reafon; for were we to understand them in this refpect, they really carry the matter fo far as to fignify, that the light of reafon was not only impaired, but utterly loft and extinguished; wherefore this cannot be the fcripture-fenfe. But if we understand them as expreffions

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preffions of the want of Spiritual light, then they are perfectly true and proper. The whole world lieth in darkness: Having the understanding darkened; being alienated from the life of God, through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their hearts.

Spiritual light is wholly extinguished by the fall; and hence is there fo much darkness, ignorance and confufion, even in fpeculation, with regard to divine things. That the world is full of darkness respecting God, his perfections and kingdom, is a matter which cannot be denied ; and this darkness must be occafioned, either by fomething in God, or by his concealment of himself, or by the lofs of a spiritual understanding amongst men.-But this blindness doth not arise from any thing in God, as if he were darkness; for God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all: nor does it proceed from any concealment of himself, fo that we cannot behold him by reafon of it. This was never true in itfelf at any time, however great and palpable the darkness of mens minds have been with regard to God; but it is less true under the Gospel-difpenfation than ever; for the true light now fhineth, and God hath eminently manifefted himself in the character and instructions of his Son, whom he hath revealed for this purpose, who was the brightness of his glory, and the exprefs image of his perfon; and whose glory fo confpicuously fhone forth to the view of those who were enlightened from above, that they knew him to be the only begotten of the Father.

Therefore, it remains, that this darkness must be occafioned by the lofs of a fpiritual understanding, through the wickedness of mens hearts: For light is come into the world, and men loved darknefs rather than light, because their deeds were evil,

Now,

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