Then "Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in a thicket by the horns: Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burntoffering in the ftead of his fon: And Abraham called the name of that place JEHOVAH-JIREH," i. e. The LORD WILL provide. "And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of Heaven the fecond time;"-probably while the ram was burning; "and faid, By myfelt I have fworn, faith the LORD;"-for he could fwear by no greater, therefore must be GOD;-" Because thou haft done this thing, and haft not with-held thy fon, thine only fon: That in bleffing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy feed as the ftars of Heaven, and as the fand which is upon the feafhore: And thy feed fhall poffefs the gate of his enemies: And in thy feed fhall all the nations of the Earth be blessed; because thou haft obeyed my voice." Note, brethren! because the aged faint had done this thing, and obeyed the voice of the Lord, the Bleffing, the ineftimable MESSIAH, fhould proceed according to the flesh, from the loins of faithful Abraham; and believers fhould be as numerous as the ftars in the firmament, and as the grains of fand on the ebbing shore. Lift up your finking fpirits, ye poor difconfolate finners, and look unto your Rock: Not to feeble man, who is but duft; nor to the children of men, who are but vanity; but to the everlafting Rock CHRIST JESUS. Behold God's precious, promifed, flain Lamb! See him exalted and glorified. Follow the example of your father Abraham, who thro' faith in the Promife of God, was raised from a worm to a faint, and redeemed from Hell to Heaven. Now be ftrong in faith, giving glory to God, and you fhall be faved from all the guilt of your fins;-you fhall be juftified freely from all things, and reftored to the divine favour and image. Then the bleffing of Abraham comes upon you by Jefus Christ, and ye receive the promife of the Spirit, thro' faith, Gal. iii. 14. It is true, by original extraction you are aliens from the common-wealth of Ifrael, and ftrangers from the covenant of Promife, having no hope, and Atheils in the World; but this day, this precious moment, caft your perifhing fouls, with all your fins, on your crucified Redeemer. Abraham's Rock fhall be your Rock, and his God,-your God. You fhall be the fpiritual feed of believing Abraham, and rightful heirs of the Covenant of Promife. Yea, a greater than Abraham fhall be your Father. You fhall be the fons of God, heirs of the Almighty, and co-heirs with his Chrift. The loving and most adorable Son of the Father fhall free you from your fpiritual bondage, and bring you into the glorious liberty of the children of God. You fhall be no more ftrangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the faints, and of the houfehold of God. You fhall no more be termed forfaken, nor your Then land land termed, Defolate; but you fhall be called HEPHZI-BAH, and your land BEULAH; you fhall be JEHOVAH's Delight, and the God of Ifrael fhall be your Hufband. He will betroth you to himself in righteousness and judgment, in loving-kindness and faithfulnefs. He will difcharge all your debts, deliver you from your enemies, and endue you with all mercies. Your hearts he will renew and purify, and by imparting to you his own nature, he will fit you for eternal felicity. Now arife and thine for your light is come, and the glory of Jehovah is rifen upon you. Shew yourfelves Abraham's children; ftagger not at the Promife of God thro' unbelief. Behold the bleeding Lamb! Believe! Believe! Conquer the powers of darkness, and lay hold upon Eternal Life. Once more, for your further encouragement, let me exhort you, to "look unto the hole of the pit whence ye are digged." Sarai was called from an idolatrous country; fhe was a brand plucked from the fire; and at the time the Promife was made, there was not the leaft probability that she fhould have a child. But God faid unto Abraham, “As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai,”—my princess; but Sarah,"-i. e. a princefs of multitudes, fhall her name be. And I will bless her, and give thee a fon alfo of her: Yea, I will blefs her, and fhe fhall be a mother of nations: kings of people fhall be of her." Now Sarah believed the word of the Lord, and notwithstanding fhe was ninety years old, yet fhe counted him faithful, who had promifed, and was favoured with Ifaac, the Heir of the Promife. When Ifaac was born, Sarah put away Hagar, the bond-woman, with her fon Ifhmael; for the fon of the bond-woman was not to be heir with the fon of the freewoman. Now this Hagar was a type of Mount Sinai in Arabia, and resembles Jerufalem that now is, and is in bondage with her children; under the law,-under the yoke of fin and unbelief, and confequently under the curfe. But Sarah is a type of the New Jerufalem, the New Teftament Church that is above, which is free from all fpiritual bondage, and is the mother of us all; i. e. of all who repent and believe the Gofpel. Therefore look, not to a worm, nor to an arm of flesh, but to the infinite mercy of God, and to his never-failing promife thro' Chrift Jelus. Let me then intreat you, brethren, to behold, as in a glass, the glory of the Lord! Take notice of his aftonishing Love in giving you a moft faithful and compaffionate High-Priest, who fympathizes with you in all your diftrefles and forrows. Now hearken to his animating voice; feel his power; enjoy his peace; tafte his redeeming love; and fee his glory. Why • Gen. xvii. 15. ‡ Gal. iv. 25. fhould fhould you doubt another moment? All things are now ready, come away. Lift up your heads;-the day of your redemption draweth nigh. Tho' you are as barren fig-trees, and have cumbered the ground for many years;-tho, you are fruitless, and dry, harraffed by the enemy, and defpised by the world; yet fear not, you fhall be born again, not of cor ruptible feed, but of incorruptible, even of the Word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. Tho' you have dwelt in the land of darknefs, and have had your refidence under the shadow of death, among an idolatrous and rebellious people, yet you fhall be tranflated into the Kingdom of God's dear Son;-you fhall receive, thro' believing in Chrift, the forgiveneis of fins, and a bleffed inheritance among the fanctified. Your understanding fhall be enlightened, your nature renewed by divine Grace, your confcience fprinkled, your affections purified, your paffions regulated and fixed on their proper objects, and your perverfe Will made conformable to the divine Will. The Lord will make your wild and defolate heart like blooming Eden: He will pour water upon the thirfty land, and rivers of living water upon the dry ground: In the habitation of dragons, where each lay, fhall be grafs, with reeds and rufhes; i. e. He will pour his Spirit, with all his gifts and graces, upon the feed of Jacob, and his bleffing upon Ifrael's offspring. I befeech all the contrite mourners in Zion, to draw near to the Lord in humble Faith, and this day he will appoint unto you beauty for afhes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garments of praife for the fpirit of heavinefs: You fhall be called, Trees of Righteoufnefs, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified, in you, and by you. A Fountain is now opened, for the houfe of David, and for the inhabitants of Jerufalem, for fin and for uncleannefs. The Lamb of God fhed his blood for you! Arife, and wash in that fountain, for it cleanfes from all Sin. The true Bethesda, the Houfe of Mercy, opens all its doors to receive you! Come, impotent finners, blind, halt, withered;-all who are woun ded by the ferpent, and fick of fin, and find the Arms and Wounds of Jefus, this moment, ready to embrace you, and to impart life and power, pardon and peace, and all the Bleffings of the Golpel. Brethren, why do you delay? Run this inflant to Him who invites you to come and take of the Fountain of the Water of Life freely. Why do you doubt? He means what he fays;"Come unto me, all ye that labour, and are leavy laden, and I will give you reft." You fhall moft affuredly find him, if now you feek him with all your Heart. He fays to the penitent believer, "I have blotted out as a thick cloud thy tranfgreffions, and as a cloud thy fins: Re torn turn unto me, for I have redeemed thee! Sing, O ye heavens; for the Lord hath done it: fhout ye lower parts of the Earth: break forth into finging, ye mountains, Ó forest and every tree therein: for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Ifrael," Ifai. xliv. 22, 23. Are not these foul-reviving words to felf-condemned criminals, drowned in tears of gloomy melancholy, and vexed with ten thousand doubts and tormenting fears? Well might the prophet fay, and that with aftonishment, "Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and paffeth by the tranfgreffion of the remnant of his heritage? He retaineth not his anger for ever," and why?" becaufe he delighteth in mercy," Micah vii. 18. Permit me to affure you, brethren, That Mercy is God's darling Attribute; He delighteth in it. Hear thefe words, O ye trembling finners ;—"Be ftrong, fear not; behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence ; He will come, and fave you." Yes; He is come: His Name is Salvation ;-His Nature is Love. He will turn unto you; He will have compaffion on you;-He will fubdue your iniquities, and caft your fins into the depth of the fea. He that fitteth between the Cherubim, in the high and lofty place, furrounded by the hofts of angels, and glorified fpirits, who is the fource of all happiness, and the centre of infinite perfection, will come immediately, and put an end to the days of your mourning and forrow. He who is the only object of your longing expectation, fhall appear in his beauty, and fhew you the light of his countenance. You fhall be royally arrayed with the garments of falvation, and adorned with the fruits of the fpirit. Juftice itfelf fhall acquit you, and join with mercy in beftowing upon you pardon and unutterable peace. Now let every believing mourner fing with humble joy and con fidence; JESUS, the Lamb of GOD hath bled, He bore my fins upon the Tree! Beneath my curfe he bow'd his Head; 'Tis finish'd; he hath died for me! For me, I now believe he died; He made my every crime his own; FATHER, well-pleas'd, behold thy SON ! The fon of Sirach obferves, that as his Majefty is, so is his Mercy. But his Majefty is immenfe and tranfcendantly glorious; therefore his Mercy is the fame toward all them who follow after Righteoufnefs. As a father pitieth his only fon, when he is in anguifh and fore diftrefs, fo the Lord VOL. XVII. Dec. 1794. pitieth pitieth them that fear his Name. May you all experience the truth of this, that it may go well with you in that awful Day, when the mighty angel shall arrest the rolling orbs, and fwear by him that made heaven and earth, that time fhall be no more! Amen, and Amen. IN The LIFE and CONVERSION of a Jew. [Concluded from page 581.] 'N Whitfuntide 1744, Mr. Shuman preached on Acts iii. 15. fhewing that, though the Jews killed the Prince of Life, yet fill the word of falvation was fent unto them, and God was able to fave them. By this time my mind was more fettled, and I found freedom to receive baptifm. The minifter had, from the beginning of our acquaintance, often reprefented to me, how wretchedly moft baptized Jews did commonly turn out. But I declared that truth was all that I wanted, and therefore exprefsly entreated him to admit no Godfathers and Godmothers at my baptifm, it being cuftomary for fuch to make handfome prefents to newly baptized converts, which I was defirous to avoid. I was baptized in the name of the Triune God, and called John Chriftopher Leberecht. I enjoyed unfpeakable happinefs during the tranfac tion, and could alfo afterwards believe that I was [prinkled with the blood of Jefus Chrift. I now learnt the mafon's bufinefs and wool-combing, in order to employ myself both in fummer and in winter. Several pious perfons at Koningsberg having heard of my baptism, and that I had received it with fincerity of heart, one of them came to fee me, and invited me to come to that city. Some time after, I went; but the perfon who had invited me not being at home, I waited for him at his house; and taking up a pamphlet that lay on the table, I found, among other things, it contained an account of the life and departure of a young Nobleman, the reading of which affected me uncom monly, and made me very defirous of obtaining the acquain tance of other children of God, than those I had feen hitherto. With this intention I refolved to travel, and fet out in 1747. On this journey, I became acquainted with many ferious fouls, and among the reft with the Rev. Mr. Augufti, minifter of Eshenberg, in the dutchy of Gotha, who had formerly alfo been a Jew. The manner in which this acquaintance began was rather fingular: I was walking on my way through a field, finging a hymn as I went on, when this clergyman came clofely after me, without being obferved. When I had done finging, he accofted me, and afked who I was, and whence I came ? judging |