God avenge them of their adversaries. "Call upon me in the time of trouble," says God; " I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me." And again, "I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and try them as gold is tried; they shall call upon my name, and I will hear them; I will say, It is my people; and they shall say, the Lord is my God." This should be carefully and diligently attended to when the Holy Spirit is illuminating, quickening, reproving, and convincing the sinner; and, if it is neglected, the Spirit resents it, and makes conscience accuse the sinner for this his neglect, and he is often covered with shame and confusion of face when he goes to the throne of grace again. Nor is it seldom that some disaster or other befals the sensible sinner, under this sin of omission, when prayer has been neglected; and oftentimes the sinner is informed of this when he comes to examine himself. Prayer, in the times of the gospel, was typified by the offering of incense under the law, which was perpetual morning and evening; and prayer goes by the same name under the gospel. "For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering; for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of hosts," Mal. i. 11. Moreover, God requires of us thank-offerings for favours received. "I will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving and the voice of melody." The souls of God's saints are often filled with joy and gladness, that thanksgiving and the voice of melody may redound to the glory of God, by humble acknowledgments of his mercies, and by singing his praises. Furthermore, we should celebrate those perfections of God which shine so bright in his appointment of Christ Jesus to be the Saviour of mankind; which is done by speaking good, or by making honourable mention, of his holy name; and by proclaiming the glorious perfections of his nature, making them famous and illustrious among mankind; praising and commending the holy properties of his nature; and enumerating and extolling them, by speaking of his manifold and wonderful works, and of the innumerable mercies and blessings of his providence and grace towards us in Christ Jesus. The scriptures abound with such ascriptions, acclamations, and celebrations, in the saints' holy triumphs. David is famous for this; there is scarce a revealed attribute of God but he makes honourable mention of. As holiness. "God hath spoken in his holiness, I will rejoice." 66 Power. Sing unto the Lord a new song, for his right hand and his holy arm hath gotten him the victory." His might and reign, his glory and majesty. "Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts. I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works. And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts: and I will declare thy greatness. They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness. All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord; and thy saints shall bless thee. They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power; to make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom," Psalm cxlv. 3-12. Almost every perfection of the Divine Being is brought forth in the holy triumphs of the royal psalmist, justice and judgment not excepted. "Justice and judgment are the habitation of his throne; mercy and truth shall go before thy face." Of lovingkindness David sings; of faithfulness and truth; of goodness, pity, and compassion; and of mercy, and the eternal duration of it, throughout a whole psalm. Different frames and different dispensations call for different offerings and exercises. "Is any afflicted? let him pray." Times of trouble and times of affliction in the furnace are seasons for extraordinary prayers; the common morning and evening sacrifices are not sufficient at such times; we must give ourselves unto prayer; give up ourselves wholly unto it, and attend to this very thing. Nor will the old common way, no, nor even the usual mode of expressions, do. Fiery trials call for fresh power, and even for agonizing energy; new words, arguments, and unusual pleas and entreaties must be made use of; our arguments and pathetic pleadings must tally with our dreadful sensations. Souls that meditate terror must fetch their words from their feelings, or else the words of their mouth will run counter to the meditations of their heart. We must use all the skill and oratory of distress, grief, and sorrow, and all the eloquence of misery. "I cried to thee, O Lord; and unto the Lord I made supplication. What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth?" Psalm xxx. 8, 9. "Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will he be favourable no more? Is his mercy clean gone for ever? doth his promise fail for evermore? Hath God forgotten to be gracious? Hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies?" Psalm lxxvii, 7-9. "For the grave cannot praise thee; death cannot celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth." As times of affliction are praying times, or times to give ourselves unto prayer; so times of prosperity are times of praise, for thanksgiving, and for singing with grace in our hearts, making melody to the Lord. If we would sow to the Spirit we must observe these things; and likewise shun all damnable heresies, which have the least tendency to depreciate the Son of God, or to eclipse his glory, or lessen him in our esteem or affections. The Holy Spirit is both the testifier and the glorifier of Christ, and he will never countenance any low, mean, unworthy or unbecoming conceptions of him. I am not speaking of the evil suggestions or fiery darts of Satan, which we cannot help, and which are Satan's sins and not ours; but of those damnable principles and sentiments which some men hold, and which divest the Saviour of all the glory and majesty of deity, and debase him to the level of a mere creature, which is what God the Holy Ghost will ever resist and resent. Sowing to the Spirit internally, is to walk as the Spirit leads us; he is to guide us into all truth, and not to speak of himself. This chiefly respects our principles, the object of our faith and worship, and the true and spiritual worship and adoration which God requires of us; the whole of which is included in what the scripture calls the way of holiness, Isaiah xxxv. 8; which is following the Lord in the regeneration, Matt. xix. 28. In which following all things become new; not only a new birth, but we are brought into the bond of a new covenant, are made to serve in the newness of Spirit, with new views and new principles, and to walk in a new and living way. The Spirit leads us to walk with God in peace and equity. These two, peace and equity, always go together. When the believer keeps a conscience void of offence, he delights himself in the abundance of peace; he makes straight paths for his feet, and he finds his ways to be pleasantness and his paths peace. But, if he make a crooked |