fis, merely expreffing the dignity of the speaker. It is indeed a distinguished branch of that evidence, which is exhibited for the present confirmation of the faith of thofe who already believe, as declaring the certainty of the event; and at the fame time denotes that the event itself, when it fhall take place, fhall, in its connexion, afford a fufficient ground of conviction to those who have formerly rejected the divine teftimony. Of this kind of evidence, we have various examples. "Thus faith JEHOVAH thy Redeemer, I am JEHOVAH that maketh all things; that ftretcheth "forth the heavens alone; that fpreadeth abroad "the earth by myself:--that confirmeth the word "of his fervant, and performeth the counfel of "his meffengers; that faith to Jerufalem, Thou "fhalt be inhabited :—that faith to the deep, Be dry; and I will dry up thy rivers: that faith of Cyrus, He is my fhepherd, and fhall perform all my pleasure; even faying to Jerufalem, Thou "fhalt be built; and to the temple, Thy founda"tion fhall be laid." What a beautiful connexion here, between creative power, omnifcience, and the completion of prophecy in wonderful operations! To the fame purpofe is the following language: "Thus faith JEHOVAH,-Afsk

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me of things to come concerning my fons.-I "have made the earth, and created man upon it. "I have raised him up," that is, Cyrus, 46 in "righteousness, and I will direct all his ways m." In the use of this argument, faith may either defcend

Į Ifa. xliv. 24.-28. m Ifa. xlv. 11.-13. See alfo Jer. li, 14, 15.

fcend from the creative power of God already believed, to a firm perfuafion of the accomplishment of the prophecy; or, as excited by the manifeftation of God's faithfulness and power in fulfilling the prophecy, it may afcend to a firm perfuafion of his being the Creator and the only true God. Faith, indeed, as it ftill refpects the power of God, finds great encouragement in viewing this perfection as manifefted in creation. For there is no work, which it is called to believe, that can be too hard for Him who formed all things of nothing. Hence Abraham, when called to believe against hope, that he fhould be the father of a feed like the fand of the fea, found no obftacle to believing this, while he credited the doctrine of creation. "He believed God,-who "calleth the things that be not as though they

were"." Hence alfo we are commanded to commit our fouls to him, as to a faithful Creator P: where his infinite faithfulness and almighty power are conjoined, as affording a ftrong ground of confidence.

V. JEHOVAH hath manifefted that he is the one true God, by answering the prayers of his worfhippers and many remarkable inftances of this are recorded, for confirming our faith in this important doctrine. Elijah propofed to the people of Ifrael, that the decifion of the controverfy between JEHOVAH and Baal fhould turn on this hinge. He faid to them, "Call ye on the name " of

A Rom. iv. 17.

• 1 Pet, iv. 19.

"

"of your gods, and I will call on the name of JEHOVAH and the God that anfwereth by fire, "let him be God." They all approved of this as a moft equitable condition. The falfe prophets "called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, faying, O Baal, hear us. But "there was no voice, nor any that anfwered."When mid-day was paft, and they prophefied "until the time of the offering of the evening fa"crifice, there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded." For the gods of the nations "have ears, but they hear not." The fire from heaven having confumed the facrifice offered by Elijah, the multitude were convinced, that the God whom he worfhipped was the only true God. "When all the people faw it, they "fell on their faces: and they faid, JEHOVAH he "is the God; JEHOVAH he is the God P." In like manner, the deliverance which God gave the Jews from Sennacherib, when he fent forth his angel, and flew an hundred and eighty-five thoufand of the Affyrians, was in answer to the prayer of Hezekiah. This good king fought deliverance, exprefsly as an evidence that JEHOVAH alone had a right to adoration. The plea was accepted, and the deliverance was given as the answer of his prayers. Hezekiah faid, "O JEHOVAH our God, "I beseech thee, fave thou us out of his hand, "that all the kingdoms of the earth may know "that thou art JEHOVAH God, even thou only." And this was the gracious answer: "Thus faith "JEHOVAH

p 1 Kings xviii. 24. 26. 29. 39,

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JEHOVAH the God of Ifrael, That which thou "haft prayed to me againft Sennacherib king of Affyria, I have heard ." On this ftriking part of the character of her God, that he heareth prayer, the Church grounds her confidence as to the converfion of all nations to the faith: "O thou "that hearest prayer, unto thee fhall all flesh "come. By terrible things in righteoufnefs wilt "thou answer us, O God of our falvation; who "art the confidence of all the ends of the earth, " and of them that are afar off on the fea "."

-

Often hath our God vindicated his claim to this character, by anfwering the prayers of his Church in the time of her neceffity, even when his operation hath been nowife miraculous. Hence Jeremiah uttered this language, during a famine occafioned by a great drought; "Are there any

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among the vanities of the Gentiles that can "caufe rain? or can the heavens give fhowers? "art not thou HE, O JEHOVAH our God?" HE, who alone can give rain? "therefore we will "wait upon thee, for thou haft made all these things." He fignally manifested his power this refpect, in anfwer to the prayer of Elijah, both in judgment and in mercy. "He prayed "earneftly that it might not rain; and it rained "not on the earth by the space of three years and "fix months. And he prayed again, and the "heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth "her fruit t."

VI. The

q 2 Kings xix. 19, 20.

r Pfal. lxv. 2. S.

s Jer. xiv. 22.

t James v. 17, 18.

VI. The LORD hath ftill manifefted that he is the only living and true God, by his faithfulness to his Church, and by remembering his covenant, efpecially when the hath turned to him. Therefore Solomon thus addreffes him; "JEHOVAH God "of Ifrael, there is no God like thee, in heaven "above, or in earth beneath, who keepest cove"nant and mercy with thy fervants, that walk "before thee with all their heart "." Of this faithfulness the Jews were ftanding witneffes, while they adhered to him. In various refpects, it was fucceffively attefted by miraculous operation. As long as the land, according to the divine commandment, enjoyed her Sabbaths, they received a double harvest; and while all the males, who were able to travel, were affembled at Jerufalem during the folemn feafts, the enemy never “defired their land." The heathen could boast nothing of this nature. Their gods made no difference between obedience and disobedience.

VII. The hiftory of the work of redemption, in its various ftages from the fall downwards, is one continued demonftration of the unity of God. It difplays an evident unity of defign and operation. The eye, that views the divine difpenfations partially, may oppofe one to another. It may oppose the patriarchal difpenfation to that of the law, and both these to the gofpel. Hence fome of the early heretics reprefented the God of the Jews as quite a different being from the God of the Chri

u 1 Kings viii. 23.

ftians.