tion of the sacraments, they are all appointed to this purpose; they are all means of communicating love and grace to the soul. Be not, then, heartless or slothful: up and be doing; attend with diligence to the word of grace; be fervent in prayer, assiduous in the use of all ordinances of the church; in one or other of them, at one time or other, thou wilt meet with Him whom thy soul loveth, and God through Him will speak peace unto thee.

3. There is expectation in it, which lies in a direct opposition to all the actings of unbelief in this matter, and is the very life and soul of the duty under consideration. So the psalmist declares it, Ps. lxii. 5, "My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is only from him." The soul will not, cannot, in a due manner wait upon God, unless it has expectations from him,-unless, as James speaks, he looks to receive somewhat from him, chap. i. 7. The soul in this condition regards forgiveness not only as by itself it is desired, but principally as it is by God promised. Thence they expect it. This is expressed in the fourth proposition before laid down,-namely, that sin-distressed souls wait for God with earnestness, intension of mind, and expectation. As this ariseth from the redoubling of the expression, so principally from the nature of the comparison that he makes on himself in his waiting with them that watch for the morning. Those that watch for the morning do not only desire it and prepare for it, but they expect it, and know assuredly that it will come. Though darkness may for a time be troublesome, and continue longer than they would desire, yet they know that the morning hath its appointed time of return, beyond which it will not tarry; and, therefore, they look out for its appearance on all occasions. So it is with the soul in this matter. So says David, Ps. v. 3, "I will direct my prayer unto thee Y, and look up:" so we. The words before are defective: 2, "In the morning," or rather every morning, "I will order unto thee." We restrain this unto prayer: "I will direct my prayer unto thee." But this was expressed directly in the words foregoing: "In the morning thou shalt hear my voice;" that is, "the voice of my prayer and supplications," as it is often supplied. And although the psalmist doth sometimes repeat the same thing in different expressions, yet here he seemeth not so to do, but rather proceeds to declare the general frame of his spirit in walking with God. "I will," saith he, "order all things towards God, so as that I may wait upon him in the ways of his appointment, SN, and will look up." It seems in our translation to express his posture in his prayer; but the word is of another importance. It is diligently to look out after that which is coming towards us, and looking out after the accomplishment of our expectation. This is a part of our waiting for God; yea, as was said, the

life of it, that which is principally intended in it. The prophet calls it his "standing upon his watch tower, and watching to see what God would speak unto him," Hab. ii. 3,-namely, in answer unto that prayer which he put up in his trouble. He is now waiting in expectation of an answer from God. And this is that which poor, weak, trembling sinners are so encouraged unto, Isa. xxxv. 3, 4, "Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come." Weakness and discouragements are the effects of unbelief. These he would have removed, with an expectation of the coming of God unto the soul, according to the promise. And this, I say, belongs unto the waiting of the soul in the condition described. Such a one doth expect and hope that God will in his season manifest himself and his love unto him, and give him an experimental sense of a blessed interest in forgiveness. And the accomplishment of this purpose and promise of God, it looks out after continually. It will not despond and be heartless, but stir up and strengthen itself unto a full expectation to have the desires of his soul satisfied in due time: as we find David doing in places almost innumerable.

This is the duty that, in the first place, is recommended unto the soul who is persuaded that there is forgiveness with God, but sees not his own interest therein:-Wait on, or for, the Lord. And it hath two properties when it is performed in a due manner, namely, patience and perseverance. By the one men are kept to the length of God's time; by the other they are preserved in a due length of their own duty.

And this is that which was laid down in the first proposition drawn from the words,—namely, that continuance in watching, until God appears unto the soul, is necessary, as that without which we cannot attain what we look after; and prevailing, as that wherein we shall never fail.

God is not to be limited, nor his times prescribed unto him. We know our way and the end of our journey; but our stations of especial rest we must wait for at his mouth, as the people did in the wilderness. When David comes to deal with God in his great distress, he says unto him, "O LORD, thou art my God; my times are in thy hand," Ps. xxxi. 14, 15. His times of trouble and of peace, of darkness and of light, he acknowledged to be in the hand and at the disposal of God, so that it was his duty to wait his time and season for his share and portion in them.

During this state the soul meets with many oppositions, difficulties, and perplexities, especially if its darkness be of long continuance; as with some it abides many years, with some all the days of their

&

the vision of peace it will come, it will not tarry, but answer our expectation of it. Never soul miscarried that abode in this duty unto the end. The joys of heaven may sometimes prevent consolations in this life; God sometimes gives in the full harvest without sending of the first-fruits aforehand;-but spiritual or eternal peace and rest is the infallible end of permanent waiting for God.

This is the duty that the psalmist declares himself to be engaged in, upon the encouraging discovery which was made unto him of forgiveness in God: "There is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope." And this is that which, in the like condition, is required of us. This is the great direction which was given us, in the example and practice of the psalmist, as to our duty and deportment in the condition described. This was the way whereby he rose out of his depths and escaped out of his entanglements. Is this, then, the state of any of us? Let such take directions from hence.

1. Encourage your souls unto waiting on God. Do new fears arise, do old disconsolations continue? Say unto your souls, "Yet wait on God. Why are you cast down, O our souls? and why are you disquieted within us? hope in God; for we shall yet praise him, who is the health of our countenance, and our God;"" as the psalmist doth in the like case, Ps. xliii. 5. So he speaks elsewhere, "Wait on God, and be of good courage;"-"Shake off sloth, rouse up yourselves from under despondencies; let not fears prevail." This is the only way for success, and it will assuredly be prevalent. Oppose this resolution to every discouragement, and it will give new life to faith and hope. Say, "My flesh and my heart faileth; but God is the rock of my heart, and my portion for ever;" as Ps. lxxiii. 26. Though thy perplexed thoughts have even wearied and worn out the outward man, as in many they do, so that flesh faileth,—and though thou hast no refreshing evidence from within, from thyself, or thy own experience, so that thy heart faileth,-yet resolve to look unto God; there is strength in him, and satisfaction in him, for the whole man; he is a rock, and a portion. This will strengthen things which otherwise will be ready to die. This will keep life in thy course, and stir thee up to plead it with God in an acceptable season, when he will be found. Job carried up his condition unto a supposition that God might slay him,—that is, add one stroke, one rebuke unto another, until he was consumed, and so take him out of the world in darkness and in sorrow,-yet he resolved to trust, to hope, to wait on him, as knowing that he should not utterly miscarry so doing. This frame the church expresseth so admirably that nothing can be added thereunto: Lam. iii. 17-26, "Thou hast removed my soul far off from peace: I forgat prosperity. And I said, My strength and my hope is perished

WE COOL aut the or maret a viti dhe protivé o acting in relerenst une the one and the other fully ente counto k aat and unter, the P F IL GABLA DE İr 11 pee vere 17. In the state is ready unery 1. hurt, and to g wine and gone tell strengi for the preXTT ELL 17— It is future ver It The mukes ne goudna ti duawei imeLew aut he OVL tongue terme ubi n like wỪTH WOOL KÉ Hai but doti te de G VI Mu de bord cm

thur truliber auch be despond and gre med N. such be

to mod that "there is Dagveles will bod, grave ment the hes for the relief of distressed sotia such as are my calma' The 21-23 Theans the evreuson i ta a il lep Vie kooxes for, all relief expected from in wide were good dri inal shotud quietly wait and hope for tue stivation of God” vers 24-26. Tuis be stare by Lamself unto as the best w the must Ques course für ile gel verause.

2. Remember that diligent use of the mean for the end & med a is a Lectory CuLomnant of and ingredien un: waning of God Take in the convderation of the directiva 250. În Du tak to be freed from your entanglements by restess, bearless dearing that is were otherwise with pa Meats are to be used thm rehef my be What those meant are we kom u 1. Yezz of an prayer, meditation, due attends up al grepel criminees, obring in gaumi about spiritual dinya afruins in particular about our own state and condition, with mod vhs, having rozved the tongue of the learned, are able to speak a wiri in season to then that are weary-are required to this purpose And in a these IT a. geuse and perseverasse to be exercised, or in vain shall men d sire a delivery from their entanglements

God the proper object of the soul's waiting in its distresses and depths.

We have seen what the duty is intended in the proposition We are nextly to consider the reason also of it, why this is the great, first,