ceffity of these, and cry to God, day and night, for strength to carry you to Chrift in the way of faith.

Secondly, As to those that have been longer under the hands - of Christ, and yet are still in troubles, and cannot obtain peace, but their wounds bleed still, and all they hear in fermons, or da in the way of duty, will not bring them to reft; to fuch I only add two or three words for a clofe.

First, Confider whether you ever rightly closed with Chrift fince your first awakening, and whether there be not fome way of fin, in which you still live: if so, no wonder your wounds are kept open, and your fouls are strangers to peace.

Secondly, If you be confcious of no fuch flaw in the foundation, consider how much of this trouble may arife from your constitution and natural temper, which being melancholy, will be doubtful and fufpicious; you may find it so in other cases of less (moment, and be fure Satan will not be wanting to improve it.

Thirdly, Acquaint yourselves more with the nature of true justifying faith; a mistake in that hath prolonged the troubles of many: if you look for it in no other act but affurance, you may easily overlook it, as it lies, in the mean time, in your affiance or acceptance. A true and proper conception of saving faith would go far in the cure of many troubled fouls.

Fourthly, Be more thankful to shun fin, than to get yourselves clear of trouble: it is sad to walk in darkness, but worse to lie under guilt. Say, Lord, I would rather be grieved myself, than be a grief to thy Spirit. O keep me from fin, how long foever thou keep me under forrow. Wait on God in the way of faith, and in a tender spirit towards fin, and thy wounds shall be healed at last by thy great Physician.

Thanks be to God for Jesus Christ.

Containing the Second Motive to enforce the general Exhortation, from a fecond Title of CHRIST.

Luke i. 72. To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and remember his holy covenant.

TH

HIS scripture is part of Zechariah's prophecy, at the rifing of that bright star John, the harbinger and fore

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runner of Christ: They are fome of the first words he spake after God had loofed his tongue, which, for a time, was struck dumb for his unbelief. His tongue is now unbound, and at liberty to proclaim to all the world, the unspeakable riches of mercy through Jesus Christ, in a fong of praise. Wherein note, The mercy celebrated, viz. redemption by Christ, ver. 68. The description of Christ by place and property, ver. 69. The faithfulness of God in our redemption this way, ver. 70. The benefit of being so redeemed by Christ, ver. 71.

The exact accomplishment of all the promises made to the fathers in sending Christ, the mercy promised into the world, ver. 72. "To perform the mercy promised to our fathers," &c. In these words we find two parts, viz.

1. A mercy freely promiled.

2. The promised mercy faithfully performed.

First, You have a mercy freely promised, viz. by God the Father, from the beginning of the world, and often repeated and confirmed in several succeeding ages, to the fathers, in his covenant-transactions.

This mercy is Jesus Christ, of whom he speaks in this prophecy; the fame which he stiles " An horn of salvation in the " house of David," ver. 69.

The mercy of God in fcripture, is put either for, 1. His free favour to the creature. Or,

2. The effects and fruits of that favour.

It is put for the free and undeserved favour of God to the creature, and this favour of God may respect the creature two ways, either as undeserving, or as ill-deferving.

It respected innocent man, as undeferving; for Adam could put no obligation upon his benefactor. It respecteth fallen man, as ill-deserving. Innocent man could not merit favour, and fallen man did merit wrath: the favour or mercy of God to both is every way free; and that is the first acceptation of the word mercy: but then it is also taken for the effects and fruits of God's favour, and they are either

1. Principal and primary: or, 2. Subordinate and secondary.

Of secondary and subordinate mercies, there are multitudes, both temporal, respecting the body, and spiritual, respecting the soul; but the principal and primary mercy is but one, and that is Christ, the first born of mercy; the capital mercy, the comprehenfive root-mercy, from whom are all other mercies; and therefore called by a fingular emphasis in my text, The mercy, ies the mercy of all mercies; without whom no drop of saving mercy can flow to any of the sons of men; and in whom are all the tender bowels of divine mercy yearning upon poor finners. The mercy, and the mercy promised. The first promise of Chrift was made to Adam, Gen. iii. 15. and was frequently renewed afterwards, to Abraham, to David, and, as the text speaks, unto the fathers, in their respective generations.

Secondly, We find here also, the promised mercy faithfully performed: "To perform the mercy promised." What mercy foever the love of God engaged him to promise, the faithfulness of God stands engaged for the performance thereof. Christ, the promised mercy, is not only performed, truly, but he is alfo performed, according to the promise in all the circumstances thereof, exactly. So he was promised to the fathers, and just so performed to us their children: Hence the note is,

Doct. That Jesus Christ, the mercy of mercies, was graciously promised, and faithfully performed by God to his people.

Three things are here to be opened :
First, Why Christ is stiled the mercy.
Secondly, What kind of mercy Christ is to his people.
Thirdly, How this mercy was performed.

First, Christ is the mercy, emphatically fo called; the peerless, invaluable, and matchless mercy: Because he is the prime fruit of the mercy of God to finners. The mercies of God are infinite; mercy gave the world, and us, our being; all our protections, provisions, and comforts, in this world, are the fruits of mercy, the free gifts of divine favour: But Christ is the first and chief; all other mercies, compared with him, are but fruits from that root, and streams from that fountain of mercy; the very bowels of divine mercy are in Christ, as in ver. 78. according to the tender mercies, or, as the Greek, the yearning bowels of the mercy of God.

Secondly, Christ is the mercy, because all the mercy of God to finners, is dispensed, and conveyed through Christ to them, John i. 16. Col. ii. 3. Eph. iv. 7. Christ is the medium of all divine communications, the channel of grace; through him are both the decurfus et recurfus gratiarum; the flows of mercy from God to us, and the returns of praise from us to God. Fond and vain, therefore, are all the expectations of mercy out of Christ; no drop of saving mercy runs beside this channel.

Thirdly, Christ is the mercy, because all inferior mercies derive both their nature, value, sweetness, and duration from Christ, the fountain-mercy of all other mercies.

First, They derive their nature from Christ; for out of him, those things which men call mercies, are rather traps, and snares, than mercies to them, Prov. i. 32. The time will come, when the rich, that are christless, will with, O that we had been poor! And nobles, that are not ennobled by the new birth, O that we had been among the low rank of men! All these things that pass for valuable mercies, like cyphers, signify much when fuch an important figure as Christ stands before them, else they fignify nothing to any man's comfort or benefit.

Secondly, They derive their value, as well as nature, from Chrift: For how little, I pray you, doth it signify to any man to be rich, honourable, politic, and fuccefsful in all his designs in the world, if, after all, he must lie down in hell?

Thirdly, All other mercies derive their sweetness from Christ, and are but infipid things without him. There is a twofold fweetness in things; one natural, another spiritual: Those that are out of Chrift can relish the first, believers only relish both : They have the natural sweetness that is in mercy itself, and a fweetness supernatural, from Christ and the covenant, the way in which they receive them. Hence it is, that fome men taste more spiritual fsweetness in their daily bread, than others do in the Lord's Supper; and the same mercy, by this means, becomes a feast to foul and body at once.

Fourthly, All mercies have their duration, and perpetuity, from Chrift; all christless persons hold their mercies upon the greatest contingencies, and terms of uncertainty; if they be con. tinued during this life, that is all: There is not one drop of mer. cy after death. But the mercies of the faints are continued to eternity; the end of their mercies on earth, is the beginning of their better mercies in heaven. There is a twofold end of mer cies, one perfective, another deftruclive; the death of the faints perfects and completes their mercies, the death of the wicked destroys and cuts off their mercies: For these reafons, Chrift is called the mercy.

Secondly, In the next place, let us enquire what manner of mercy Christ is; and we shall find many lovely, and tranfcendent properties to commend him to our fouls.

First, He is a free, and undeserved mercy, called upon that account, The gift of God, Johniv. 10. And to shew how free this gift was, God gave him to us when we were enemies, Rom. v. 8. Needs must that mercy be free, which is given, not only to the undeserving, but to the ill-deserving; the benevolence of God was the fole, impulfive cause of this gift, John iii. 16.

Secondly, Christ is a full mercy, replenished with all that answers to the wishes, or wants of finners; in him, alone, is found whatever the juftice of an angry God requires for fatisfaction, or the

neceffities of fouls require for their fupply. Christ is full of mercy, both extensively, and intensively in him are all kinds, and forts of mercies; and in him are the highest and most perfect degrees of mercy; "For it pleased the Father, that in him should "all fulness dwell," Col. i. 19.

Thirdly, Chrift is the feasonable mercy, given by the Father to us in due time, Rom. v. 6. In the fulness of time, Gal. iv. 4. a seasonable mercy in his exhibition to the world in general, and a seasonable mercy in his application to the foul in particular; the wisdom of God pitched upon the best time for his incarnation, and it takes the very propereft for his application. When - a poor foul is distressed, loft, at its wits end, and ready to perich; then comes Chrift: All God's works are done in feafon, but none more seasonable than this great work of salvation by Chrift.

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Fourthly, Christ is the necessary mercy, there is an absolute neceffity of Jefus Chrift; hence in scripture he is called the " bread of life," John vi. 48. he is bread to the hungry; he is the" water of life," John vii. 37. as cold water to the thirsty foul. He is a ransom for captives, Mat. xx. 28. a garment to the naked, Rom. xiii. ult. Bread is not so necessary to the hungry, nor water to the thirsty, nor a ransom to the captive, nor a garment to the naked; as Christ is to the foul of a finner: The breath of our noftrils, the life of our fouls, is in Jefus Christ.

Fifthly, Christ is a fountain-mercy, and all other mercies flow from him: A believer may say with Chrift, " All my springs are in thee;" from his merit, and from his spirit, flow our redemption, justification, fanctification, peace, joy in the Holy Ghost, and blessedness in the world to come: " In that day shall there be a fountain opened, Zech. xiii. 1.

Sixthly, Chrift is a fatisfying mercy; he that is full of Christ, can feel the want of nothing. " I defire to know nothing, " but Jefus Christ, and him crucified," 1 Cor. ii. 2. Chrift bounds and terminates the vast defires of the foul: He is the very fabbath of the foul. How hungry, empty, and straitned, on every fide, is the foul of man, in the abundance and fulness of all outward things, till it come to Christ? the weary motions of a restless soul, like thole of a river, cannot be at rest till they pour themselves into Christ, the ocean of blessedness.

Seventhly, Christ is a peculiar mercy, intended for, and applied to a remnant among men; fome would extend redemption as large as the world, but the gospel limits it to those, only, that believe; and those believers are, upon that account, called