ALTHOUGH thefe Sermons were preached in Scotland, and have fome reference to the case of that church and land under her present divisions and backflidings; yet they are compofed in such a strain, as to be useful and applicable to any church under the like diftempers, which, alas! is the cafe of the most part. What remedies can be fo effectual to cure them of these evils, as those proposed in the following Difcourfes; to wit, the excellent Balm of Gilead, and the glorious miniftration of the Spirit? If it were the gracious will of God to difpofe all the bishops and minifters of Britain and Ireland, to make it their bufinefs to open up and recommend these noble remedies to their people, it would contribute greatly to heal their maladies, and increase the kingdom of Chrift in these lands. I cannot help thinking but thofe who are confecrated to fpiritual offices would be more fuitably and profitably employed in this work, than in attending courts, and pursuing fecular defigns.

Seeing now the arm of the Lord is beginning to awake, and many are excited to run to and fro for increafing gofpel-knowledge, and labour to propagate the doctrine of falvation through the imputed righteousness of the flain Lamb of God: And, feeing the Lord is pleased, in fundry parts of the world, to give countenance to these endeavours by the out-pouring of his Spirit, for awakening many fouls to an inquiry and fearch after true happiness through the bleffed Jefus,-It doth highly concern all gofpel-minifters and preachers to cons cur in helping forward the Lord's work, by proclaiming the faving doctrine and offers of free grace to the world, and to exert themselves for removing out of the way all letts and hinderances of the kingdom of Chrift, that fo his dominion may spread from fea to fea, through all nations of the earth.

In the following Sermons I have made fome inquiry into the times and feafons of the increase of Christ's kingdom and because this is greatly connected with

A 2

the

the deftruction of Antichrift, I have mentioned fome conjectures and calculations about the time of his fall: though I think none should be too bold or peremptory in fixing the precife time, but all ought to wait patiently until God's fet time fhall come. All may now perceive Antichrift vifibly rifen and difcovered. Nay, we have feen him arrived at his pomp and height about 1500 years after Chrift. Since that time the Lord hath begun to waste and confume him, by the revival of religion and learning in the world. As his rife was gradual, fo fhall his consumption be. He hath now been labouring under a deadly confumption above these 200 years paft. The wound given him is deep and mortal; fo whatever pains be taken fometimes to heal it, all fhall be in vain: For, as Christ must increase, so Antichrift must decrease, and be quite ruined at length, as is fhewed in the following Difcourfes. May all the lovers of Chrift pray fervently, and look out for that bleffed and joyful time.

DUNDEE,

Jan. 30. 1744.

THE

BALM OF GILEAD,

FOR HEALING

A DISEASED LAND

SERMON I

JER. viii. 20, 21, 22.

The barveft is past, the fummer is ended, and we are not saved. For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt, I am black: Aftonishment hath taken hold of me. Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?

IN

N the preceding part of this chapter we have reprefented a great deftruction that God was about to bring upon a finful people, and the confternation the whole land fhould be in upon the alarm thereof. The fins of Judah were come to a great height, whereby God was provoked to let loofe the Chaldeans against them. The prophet was himself an eye witness of the oppreffion and defolation of his country and the church of God by the Chaldean army; and he forefaw still greater judgments and calamities coming upon them, whereby both he and the serious people of the land were greatly affected, and put to lament their cafe before the Lord. Among other things, they lament the difappointment of their expectation of healing and deliverance from diftrefs, ver. 15. "We looked for

petice,

peace, but no good came, and for a time of health, and behold trouble." They fometimes had hopeful and promifing seasons, when they expected relief; but after all their waiting they were disappointed; thefe likely times of healing were loft. Hence they are put to say, "The harvest is past, the fummer is ended, and we are not faved." Summer and harvelt are proper feasons of action, opportunities for armies to take the field, to fubdue enemies, and bring about deliverance for an oppreffed people: The winter that follows is not a fit feafon for action. It is fad when likely feasons, for faving a people from temporal enemies and grievances, are loft; but it is yet fadder for them to lose hopeful and promifing feafons for faving of their fouls. The lofs of fuch harveft or fummer-days for our fouls is the greatest ground of lamentation. The prophet being deeply fenfible of his peoples lofs and calamitous condition, he is grievously diftreffed for them, ver. 21. "For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt, I am black," &c. The daughter of my people is a common Hebraifm ufed in fcripture, and it fignifies the body of the people of Judah, which was God's vifible church upon earth; their hurt and diftrefs did affect the holy man in the most tender manner, and drew forth his fympathy with them. Upon this account, faith he, “I am black," I have loft my wonted colour, my face is turned blackish, or I go in black, as mourners do. I am aftonished and troubled the more that I fee no appearance of relief for them in their distress, their cafe feems to be hopeless and incurable. Upon which he puts the question, ver. 22. "Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then," &c. Is there no balm for the diftreffed church, no phyfician for a diseased land? It is generally thought the queftion doth not import any defpair or denial of help, but rather the contrary, as if he had faid, Is there no balm? Is there not a Physician? Yes, there is. The incurablenefs of their disease is not owing to the want of balm, or of a Physician in the land, but to themfelves and their unbelief. There was a fufficient remedy

in God, and in the Meffiah, for all their grievances, had they accepted and applied the fame. Hence he adds that pertinent queftion, "Why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?" q. d. What is the caufe, then, or to whom is it to be imputed, that the church or people of Judah do still lie in a dying cafe furely not to the balm nor to the phyfician, but to their own folly and obstinacy.

Quest. What is here meant by the balm of Gilead? Anf. The land of Gilead, on the other fide Jordan, was a part of the country of Ifrael, where that plant grew, which afforded a moft precious balm for healing, when it was pierced; which was a rare and valuable commodity that other countries did traffick for with the land of Ifrael, Jer. xlyi 11. Ezek. xxvii. 17. And we see in Gen. xxxvii. 25. the Ifhmaelites that bought Jofeph, carried balm from Gilead into Egypt. Naturalifts fay, this calm was a juice or oil that run from a certain low fhrub, when its bark was cut, that grew efpecially about Jericho, in the land of Gilead, and was of great value, as having a fovereign virtue to cleanse foul fores, heal deep wounds, help the eye-fight, cure the ftings of ferpents, yea, it was a fort of catholicon that cured almost all diseases. This balm we may look upon as a fit type to reprefent Chrift's blood, which is an excellent balm and catholicon for all diseases of the foul: For God's difpenfations to the Ifraelites were generally defigned as types and figns of fpiritual things under the New Teftament times, according to 1 Cor. x. II. "All these things happened unto them for enfamples." Orig. TUPOI, for types." And, among the reft, this balm of Gilead was typical and inftructive to the virtue of the Meffiah's blood; for feeing God vouchfafed this balm to Ifrael only, and made other nations beholden to them for it, it teacheth us that the balm for healing fouls is only in the church of God, and Christ is the true antitype of this balm; for in Judah's land only was Chrift known, there they had his blood daily typified to them in the facrifices, and its virtue fet forth.