preferved from these destroying floods. Behold, I run, I fly May Jefus draw me, and help me in!

Bleffed for ever be the God of heaven, for providing fuch an Ark for fallen finners upon earth. I defire to count all things but lofs and dung, that I may be found in this Ark among the preferved in Chrift Jefus, whom no flood can reach. However this Ark be flighted by the world, I will prize it above all things, and count them for ever happy who get into it, feeing God declares it, that there is no condemnation to them that are in Chrift Jefus. The Ark was flighted by the old world, and Noah ridiculed for preparing it for himself and his houfe; but it foon appeared that Noah was the wifeft man that then lived upon the earth. Few there were who entered with Noah into the Ark, and no doubt were reproached and mocked for their fingularity; but foon was the world perfuaded that they were the only wife and happy men in it. Better furely it was to have followed the eight perfons that went into the Ark, than to have joined eight millions of those who were drowned in the flood. Should I be fo foolifh as to follow the old world in undervaluing the Ark, I muft lay my account to be fhut out and perifh with them too: Wherefore I will not fear the reproach of men for being fingular in my efteem of glorious Christ. May I be numbered among that happy company (however few they be) who love the Lord Jefus Christ in fincerity, and will blefs God eternally for providing this Ark for drowning men! May I be one that will ever blefs my lovely and loving Jefus, that pitied me and took me in, when others were washed off from the fides of the Ark, as adhering only to it by a dead and formal profeffion! May I be one that will ever fing to his praife. O amazing free love! that pitied and distinguished me, when the flood came; that gracioufly drew and determined me in fuch a manner, that I got into the Ark and was fafe, when many others were wafhen off and perished for ever!

MEDITATION II.

From 2 PETER, ii. 4. God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to Hell.

How admirable, free, and diftinguishing is the love of God to mankind finners, in pitying them in their low and loft estate? O how different is the cafe of fallen men upon the earth, from the cafe of fallen angels in hell, and that of damned fouls there! Manna is rained down upon us, while an eternal shower of fire and brimstone falls down upon them. They are bound in chains of darknefs, whilft thou, Lord, art drawing us with cords of love. Thou didft not fpare angels, nor take on their nature; but thou haft fpared us, married our nature, and exalted it to the heavens. They continue without hope under the deluge of God's wrath, while the pleafant Rainbow of the facrament appears to us, as a token of God's covenant of grace, and of his willingness to fecure us from that overflowing flood, by the interpofition of his dear Son in our nature. O how welcome should we make that gospel Rainbow!

Lord, thy wrath foon broke out against the angels that fell; thou didst punish them immediately upon their finning against thee. Thou didst not wait for their repentance, nor make any offer of mercy to them; but, prefently upon their first offence, didft condemn them to everlasting chains of darkness. O how far different is thy manner of dealing with us! Long haft thou waited upon us after we have finned; yea, thou haft followed us with thy mercy after many refusals of it, and even after our trampling the precious blood of Chrift under our feet! Marvellous and peculiar is thy mercy to fallen men in respect of fallen angels.! Glory to fovereign free mercy, that thou didst not caft us off forever without a parley, as thou didst them; but waits to be gracious to us, long ftretching out thy hand, and calling us to repentance, faying, l'urn ye, turn ye; why will you die !

Against the finning angels God was fo provoked, that he refolved within himfelf, and hath kept his refolution ever fince the beginning of the world, and will keep it to all eternity, that he will not fo much as enter into a parley with thefe creatures, however glorious they once were, nor be reconciled to them upon any terms; yea, that he will hear of no terms, but will revenge himself upon them to all eternity. May not then the hearing of this caufe us to quake and tremble? for why might not the Lord have dealt with us in the fame manner, who were far more wretched and miferable creatures than angels? Surely if a king be fo angry with an offending nobleman, that was once his fpecial favorite, as to banish him from court, and afterwards hear of no terms of reconciliation with him; would not a footman, or mean fervant, that had offended, when hearing of this, begin to dread and fay, O what will become of me a poor man, when the king treats his peers fo feverely? I may furely defpair of remiffion or reconciliation with him. So, in like manner, we poor clay worms, upon hearing of God's feverity to fallen angels, might have beep overwhelmed with fear, if the Bible had not told us, that the Son of God his delights were with the fons of men; that verily he took not on him the nature of angels, but he took on him the feed of Abraham, Heb. ii. 16, and that he gave himfelf to be a fin offering and facrifice for men! Aftonishing news! Glory to God for thefe glad tidings of great joy!

O admirable love to Adam's rebellious offspring? Haft thou, Lord, paft by angels, and remembered us in our low eftate! and in thy infinite compaffion become our furety, to appeafe divine juftice for our heinous fins, when no other facrifice could do it! O what fhall we render to thee for this distinguishing love! Surely our condition in Adam was no better than that of the angels who left their first eftate. By nature we were in a most dreadful cafe, lying, like Ifaac, bound on the altar, to be a facrifice to the justice of God, and the fword of juftice lift up to give the killing blow, until the Son of

God difcovered himself as the ram caught in the thickets, and calling to justice, hold thy hand, loose them, and bind me in their room; I will be the facrifice for them. In choofing fallen men, and not angels, God gave an amazing inftance of the fovereignty of his grace, that he would be merciful to whom he would be merciful; would pafs by the fuperior nature and choose the inferior; prefer veffels of clay to veffels of gold! What can we fay? Nothing, but wonder at God's free grace! -Unspeakable love! Lord, it had been much if thou hadft provided an angel to mitigate our fufferings in hell, by giving us drops of water to cool our tongue; but that thou fhouldft have condefcended to come and change rooms with us, lie in hell for us, and fuffer the very pains and agonies due to us, is love that paffeth knowledge.

Lord, when I confider thy diftinguifhing pity, and low ftoop, to purchase and recover fuch clods of earth and fin with thy blood and agonies, I am amazed at thy love, confounded at my own ingratitude, and ashamed at the coldness and hardness of my heart! Oh! was Christ willing to change rooms with the like of me, and shall not I be willing to change rooms with him, and at his demand to part with the filthy rags of my fins, and take on the robe of his righteoufnefs? O thall not this amazing love of Christ constrain me to love him again, and live to him that died for me? fhall it not constrain me to think on him? constrain me to clofe with and truft in him? constrain me to commend him? constrain me to hate and avoid his enemy, fin? constrain me to adhere to Chrift's truths and ways? to perfevere in prayer, praise, and holy walking?

Are fallen angels left, and fallen men pitched upon to be the monuments of free grace, to fill up the vacant rooms which angels fell from? What fhall I fay to this, but, even fo, Father, for fo it pleafed thee; let thy fovereign free grace be the eternal fong of both men and angels. Not unto us, not us, but unto thy name be the glory.-Bleffed be God, that I hear this joyful found of

reconciliation with fallen men, and of a treaty of peace carried on with them: The devils never heard, and never fhall hear fuch news. But Oh, if I come not in, and accept of the terms and offers made to me in the gofpel, I'll put myfelf in a worfe cafe than the devils: For it cannot be charged upon fallen angels, as on fallen men, that God was willing to be reconciled to them, and they would not. Now then, when the gofpel treaty is proclaimed, God forbid I be found guilty of refufing his terms, fcorning his offers, and defying his threatnings. O how fball I escape, if I neglect fo great and wonderful falvation as is tendered to me? Neglect it, Lord, I dare not, I will not. Lo, I come,

I accept, I embrace, I take hold of thy covenant, and the feal of it tendered to me: I renounce the old covenant, I break league this day with all thy enemies, I proclaim war against them; I close with Chrift Jefus, both as my righteousness and strength: I make a full and free furrender and refignation of myfelf unto the Lord, to be his and his only, in all I am, and in all I enjoy, to be ordered and difpofed of for his glory and fervice. Lord, I am thine; I will not be my own, I will not be the world's, but I'll be thine, thine only, and thine wholly; thine to love thee, ferve and obey thee without referve; fince thou wouldst have no nature but mine, I will have no will but thine. I renounce my own will, and take thine for my rule. Lord, I am thine, O fave thou me; and I will trumpet forth the praises of free grace and redeeming love for Amen.

ever.

MEDITATION III.

From PSALM cxlvii. 20. He hath not dealt so with any nation. THE nation of Ifrael was fingularly privileged above others; they were taken into covenant with God, they had God's word and ordinances, the means of conver