"hath chosen them in him before the foundation "of the world "."

vi. God would not altogether destroy his ancient people, because there was ftill a precious feed preferved among them. In the worft times the Lord retained a tithe for himself. Hence, eyen with refpect to a time when there fhould "be a great forfaking in the midst of the land," it is promised; "Yet in it fhall be a tenth, and it shall return, and "fhall be eaten as a teil tree, and as an oak, "whofe fubftance is in them, when they caft "their leaves: fo the holy feed fhall be the "fubftance thereof.-Thus faith the LORD, As "the new wine is found in the cluster, and one "faith, Deftroy it not, for a bleffing is in it: fo "will I do for my fervants fake, that I may not "destroy them all w."

In like manner, the child of God cannot "work "fin ;" he cannot again fall under its dominion, and be fubjected to the curfe; "for his feed re"maineth in him." He is "born of the in

corruptible feed of the word y." He therefore cannot fin" unto death." This is an effential character of the feed of the word, that it preferves from the total corruption in which the unrenewed lie, and from that final apoftacy into which they fall.

VII. It was one of the distinguishing privileges of the Ifraelites, that God gave them his Spirit. Befides

u Eph. i. 3. y I Pet. i, 23.

w Ifa. lxv. 8. x 1 John iii. 9.

v Ifa. vi. 13.

z 1 John v. 16, 18.

Befides the gracious operations of the Spirit, which were confined to the elect among them, his influences were communicated, for the benefit of Ifrael in general, in a variety of ways. He was given as a Spirit of infpiration to the penmen of Scripture, for the inftruction of the Church, as Nehemiah acknowledges: "Thou gaveft thy "good Spirit to inftruct them "." He was communicated as a Spirit of prophecy, and alfo of miraculous operation. By him were men fupplied with an extraordinary degree of bodily ftrength, with wifdom for government, with fortitude for war, with eminent qualifications for works of art. They

rebelled, and vexed his Holy Spirit." Yet he ftill continued among them: and this is pointed out as a fpecial ground of confolation under trial, and as an antidote againft fear. When the Jews were difheartened, becaufe the glory of their fecond temple was fo far inferior to that of the firft, the following meffage was delivered by the prophet Haggai; "I am with you, faith the LORD of "hofts according to the word that I covenanted "with you when ye came out of Egypt, fo my

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Spirit remaineth among you fear ye not." They enjoyed the prefence of God in this refpect, as a pledge of prefervation from total deftruction: "I am with thee, faith the LORD, to fave thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither "I have fcattered thee, yet will I not make a full "end of thee ."

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VOL. II.

a Neh. ix. 20.

c Hag. ii. 4, 5.

Ee

This

b See Owen on the Spirit, B. ii. chap. 1. d Jer. xxx. 11..

This was undoubtedly a bleffed emblem of the fafety of all believers, as " builded up for an ha"bitation of God through the Spirit." He is conferred on them in all his gifts and graces, according to the state of the Church, or their peculiar calls. He acts in them all, as "the Spirit of "wifdom and revelation in the knowledge of "Chrift." He fupplies them with fortitude in their fpiritual warfare; and by him they are

ftrengthened with all might in the inner man.” Some, like Bezaleel and Aholiab of old, are furnished with peculiar gifts for labouring in the work of the fanctuary". Often do his people provoke their gracious God. But he deals with them, as he did with David. He cafts them not away from his prefence; nor takes his Holy Spirit from them. On the contrary, he brings them to evangelical repentance, thus reftores to them the joy of his falvation, and upholds them with his free Spirit ; with the influences of that Spirit, who is no lefs fovereign in all his operations on the renewed foul, than he was in the work of regeneration itself. The very defign of the miffion of this gracious Comforter, is that he may abide with them for ever; and "feal" them, as the LORD'S peculiar treafure, "unto the day of redemption "

46

VIII. God often faved Ifracl, in the day of their provocation, or of their danger, at the interceffion

of

e Exod. xxxi. 1 -5.

f Pfal. li. 12, 12.

g John xiv. 16.

h Eph. . 13, 14,; v. 30,

of his fervants. Thus Mofes interceded for the people, when God threatened to deftroy them becaufe of their idolatry; and afterwards, when they murmured at the report of the fpies and in both inftances his interceffion was fuccefsful. When they rebelled because of the difplay of divine vengeance againft Korah and his affociates, and the plague brake forth among them, Aaron ran into the midft of the congregation, with his flaming cenfer in his hand, and made atonement. He "flood between the living and the dead, and "the plague was ftayed "." David, in like manner, after he had himfelf provoked the LORD by numbering the people, made interceflion, as he alfo offered facrifices. "So the LORD was en"treated for the land, and the plague was ftayed "from Ifrael "

Many other inftances might be given of the fuccefs of interceflion in the experience of Ifrael. But it is evident, that these three perfons, in all the inftances mentioned, acted exprefsly as types of Chrift; and as prefiguring both the truth, and the fuccefs, of his interceffion. Mofes acted as a Mediator between God and his people; Aaron as "the faint, the holy One, of God;" David as his Anointed. There was fomething highly emblematical in the very circumstances of their interceffion. Mofes propofed to make an atonement for the fin of Ifrael. He, as has been feen in a former fection, expreffed his refolution to devote Ee 2 himself

i Exod xxxii. 10. 30.—32.; Numb. xiv. 11.—20.

k Numb. xvi. 47, 48.

12 Sam. xxiv. 17, 25.

himfelf for them.

"If thou wilt," he says, "forgive their fin and if not, blot me, I pray thee, "out of thy book which thou haft written." The Man of God feems determined either to perish with, or for, his beloved Ifrael; unwilling to enjoy any mercy that he might not hold in common with them. Aaron rufhed in between the vengeance of the Almighty and offending Ifrael. He fubftituted himfelf as a mark for the arrows of divine wrath. David did the fame. When he faw the angel that finote the people, he faid unto the LORD; "Lo, I have finned, and I have "done wickedly but thefe fheep, what have

they done? Let thine hand, I pray thee, be "againft me." In all this, do we not fee the character, and the conduct, of the good Shepherd, who laid down his life for the fheep, who intercedes for them on the ground of the atonement he hath made? "If any man fin, we have an "advocate with the Father, Jefus Chrift the righ"teous: and he is the propitiation for our fins"." Satan would have us, that he might fift us as wheat and when he fifts, he wishes to retain nothing but the chaff in his fieve. But Jefus prays for us, that our faith fail not". "If, when we "were enemies, we were reconciled to God by "the death of his Son: much more, being recon"ciled, we fhall be faved by his life," as our interceding High-pricft. Did the LORD fay to Mofes, "I have pardoned according to thy word?" And may we not be affured, that the Father grants

to

1 John ii. 1, 2,

n Luke xxii. 31, 32.

o Rom. v. 10.; Heb. vii. 5.