fuffer the church to be plagued with a fet of earthly minded preachers and ftudents, who give fad difcoveries of their carnal motives and ends in pursuing after the prieft's office, that it is more to win ftipends than to win fouls, to get bread to themselves, than to get glory to God. Which furely is a fearful judgment and token of wrath against a poor finful land.

Likewife, God is provoked to leave minifters, and deny them fuccefs, becaufe of their defection from the uprightnefs, piety, and zeal of our godly ancestors, from their humility and felf-denial, from their fingle aims at God's glory and the falvation of fouls, from their dependence upon God, in the exercife of faith and prayer, for his prefence and bleffing upon their labours, and from their travelling in birth till Chrift was formed in their people's fouls. And, finally, No doubt, many minifters are unfuccefsful, by reafon of the grudges and prejudices which they beget in their people's breafts against themselves, for fwerving from reformation-principles, and concurring in violent fettlements and intrufions upon parishes, whereby people are tempted to abhor the offerings of the Lord; and ignorance, error, profanation of the Lord's day, immoralities and diforders, are greatly encouraged. From whence it is too evident, that minifters are to be blamed as well as people for the prefent barrennefs under the means of grace. O! that both they and we were helped to fee the caufe, and to cry for the balm of Gilead to cure us of it."

HEAD II. I proceed to the fecond head, in the method I laid down, to wit, to take notice of fome of those dangerous fymptoms which make our diseases feem incurable and defperate; for which there is yet balm in Gilead, and a phyfician there.

1. It is a dangerous fymptom, when the body is univerfally diftreffed, and when there is a complication of difeafes on it, and fome of thefe of contrary natures. Then the patient's cafe is very hopeless, and the cure much defpaired of, because what is good for one dif eafe is bad for another. Thus, alas it is with the body of Chrift in our land. The church is fick not in F 2

one

part, but over all, as it was in the prophet's time, Ifa. i. 5, 6. "There is no foundnefs in it, nothing but wounds and difeafes" of divers forts. In fome parts of the house a dangerous fire is kindled, in other parts deadly diseases, as tympanies, fevers, droplies, and lethargies, do prevail. One part is blown up with pride, another is in a fever of strife; another part is drowned in fenfuality, and another deadened with a lethargy and fpirit of flumber. And these difeafes are of fo contrary natures, that what is phyfic for the one, is death for the other. We may fay with the Pfalmift, Pfal. lxvi. 12. "We go through fire and through water :" two contrary elements, what expels the one, cherisheth the other. Now, when our case is so defperate, is there any remedy for us? Yes, the balm of Gilead is a medicine that fuits the moft complex and dangerous cafe : fee what David fays of it, Pfal. xxxiv. 19. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. This he alfo found to his own fweet experience, Pfal. xlii. 7, 8. "Deep calleth unto deep, at the noise of thy water-spouts; all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me; yet the Lord will command his loving kindness in the day. time, and in the night his fong fhall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life." David was like a fhipwrecked man, almost swallowed up with the fea-billows from beneath, and at the fame time near drowned with spouts of rain from above. Not only the powers of hell and earth were against him, but heaven feemed angry with him too. But praises be to our glorious Physician who hath balm to anfwer the greateft varieties and contrarieties of our diftempers. David bleffeth him for it, Pfal. ciii. 2, 3. "Blefs the Lord, O my foul, who healeth all thy diseases."

II. It is a deadly fymptom, when the body is in a violent hot fever, attended with great inflammations. This is very much our cafe; our diftemper is hot and viclent, and our wounds much inflamed with the old ferpent's poison, and the rage and paffions of men; yet the balm of Gilead can cure the most deadly wounds and inflammations; it can take out of them, not only the venom of the ferpent's fting, and the heat of man's

rage,

rage; but alfo the inflammation of God's wrath, which is worse than either.

III. When diseases are of long continuance and rooted in the body, the cure is hard, Deut. xxviii. 59. Such are our maladies, which make us ready to fay, there is no hope. Yet the balm of Gilead can cure the oldest and most rooted distemper. It can heal those who have been diftreffed for many years, as foon as those who has been ill but a few days. The Phylician of Ifrael can as eafily raise up his people when their bones are dry, as when just new dead, Ezek. xxxvii.

IV. When all about the diseased look on their cafe as defperate, we lofe hope. This is our cafe; all who view the church, look on her as finking; and even thofe of the most faith are putting the question, "Can thefe dry bones live?" And we are apt to fay of ourfelves, with the poor captives, Ezek. xxxvii. 11. "Behold our bones are dryed, our hope is loft, and we are cut off for our part." Yet even when all give up the cafe as defperate, the balm and physician in Gilead can effectuate a cure. We have an astonishing promise to the church in fuch a cafe, Jer. xxx. 17. "For I will restore health unto thee, I will heal thee of thy wounds, faith the Lord, because they called thee an outcaft, faying, this is Zion whom no man feeketh after." Her cafe was hopeless, and therefore neglected by all, but even in that cafe the balm of Gilead can “ bring health and cure," Jer. xxxiii. 6.

V. A disease is the more dangerous, when its threatening fymptoms are not obferved, fo as to provide timely remedies. Ah! this is very much our case, we obferve not our dangerous fymptoms, though "the fire be kindled round about us, we lay it not to heart :" the impending clouds of wrath and judgments do not alarm us, fo as to make us search and try our ways, and turn again unto the Lord." The prefent calamities we groan under, as fcarcity and decay of trade, war and bloodshed, loffes and difappointments, the griev ances of church and state, do not make us fee the Lord's hand in them, nor hear his voice by them, fo as to humble ourselves under his mighty hand, and turn to

"

him with mourning and fupplication, as he calls us : But we will ftill go on in our old courfes without relenting. Our cafe is not unlike that of God's profeffing people of old, Ifa. lvii. 17. "For the iniquity of his covetoufnefs was I wroth, and fmote him, I hid me, and was wroth." And yet, after all thefe tokens of God's anger, it is added, "He went on frowardly in the way of his heart. Now, can there be any remedy for him in fuch a cafe? Yes, the Lord faith, there is even balm in Gilead for fuch a defperate condition, and, which is most furprizing, that the Phyfician himfelf will come and apply it, as he adds in verfe 18. “I have feen his ways, and will heal him. In thefe hope lefs circumftances I will ftep in myself, with the balm in my hand, which will heal him of his frowardness and perverfenefs, when nothing else can. Now, who could have expected fuch a word in fuch a defperatelike cafe, and that there could be balm for such a froward diftemper of heart! One might have thought God would have added, "I have feen his ways, and will damn him." But instead of that he fays, "I have feen his ways, and will heal him." Oh! the condefcending goodness and mercy of God to the chief of

finners.

VI. A difeafe is judged defperate and incurable, when the patient lofes his fenfes, or turns lethargic, that he cannot be awakened. Ah! we are become lethargic under our maladies, we have loft our fpiritual fenfes in a great measure. Our hearing is gone, we hear not the voice of rods, nor the voice of mercies, the voice of confcience, nor the voice of God's word, nor do we fet about the duties they loudly call us to. Our fight is departed from us, we fee not the Lord's hand in his difpenfations; when mercies come, we receive them like brutes, without feeing the hand that gives them, or rendering thanks to the giver. When afflictions come, and the Lord's hand is most visible in them, yet we see it not, like those, Ifa. xxvi. 11. we fee not the Achan, the fin which is clearly pointed at by the rod. Why? because a spirit of flumber and of deep fleep, hath fallen down upon minifters and profeffors,

feffors, which have clofed their eyes, according to Ifa. xxix. 10.Our feeling is almost gone, we feel not the weight of fin, nor the ftings and upbraidings of confcience for it, we groan nor under the burden.We smell not the fweet favour of Chrift's name, nor the precious ointments of his graces and comforts which draw fouls unto him, Cant. i. 3. 4.- -We tafte not the sweetness that is in his promifes, and in the fruits of the bleffed apple tree. Alas! fabbaths and faft-days, fermons and facraments, do not relish with us as in times paft. Now, thefe deadly fymptoms of our difeafed church and land, when we view them, make our maladies feem incurable, and our cafe defperate; yet when we look to the balm of Gilead, we fee a remedy for them. We find the fame fymptoms in the cafe of Jerufalemn, which made her wounds and bruifes feem incurable, yet, faith the Lord, Jer. xxx. 17. " I will restore health unto thee, and will heal of thy wounds." And Jer. xxxiii. 6. "Behold I will bring health and cure, and reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth"May the Lord take compaffion upon our helpless and hopeless condition, and accomplish thefe his gracious promises to our diseased land, for Jefus Chrift's fake. Amen.

I

Who is the Physician?

SERMON V.

On Jerem. viii. 22. Is there no balm, &c.

HEAD III.

PROPOSED, in the third place, to fpeak of the phyfician who hath this balm for us. God himself is our phyfician. He is Jehovah that healeth us, Exod. Xv. 26. Our cure is the work of the whole Trinity, but efpecially of Jefus Chrift, God incarnate, who came

to