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likewise the habitual Object of our Thoughts, the End of all our Actions : He will be ever on our Right-hand, that we shall not fall; his Providence will support the natural Man, his Grace will support the moral Man; and by thus making his Effential Prefence familiar to us here, we can alone secure to ourselves an Admittance to view Him Face to Face hereafter, and make his glorious Prefence pleasurable to all Eternity.

BUT, Good Lord! how dreadful is the Thought of our standing continually in thy View! how awful is every Place rendered by thy Prefence ! in thy Sight the Heavens themselves are not clean : How abominable then shall finful Dust and Ashes appear before thee ! Thou searcheft our Hearts, thou triest our Thoughts, but, good Lord! while thou thus fearcheft, purify; be present with us by thy Effence; so, by thy Grace, look well if there be any Way of Wickedness in us, that thou mayeft reform it; make us as thou will be graciously pleas'd to accept, and then we shall dare, we shall rejoice to approach thee; purify us by the Influences

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fluences of thy Holy Spirit, and we shall be clean, wash us in the precious Blood of thy dear Son, and we shall be whiter than Snow. Then will Innocence take off the Dreadfulness of thy Sacred Majesty; for the Brightness of thy Eternal Glory will not amaze those whom thy Grace has fanctified, for to them in thy Prefence is the Fulness of Joy, at whofe Right-hand there are Pleasures for ever

more.

SERMON

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Glory. These Atchievments are attributed to God himself, and the Characters of infinite Power and Majesty, under which they are represented to us, well besuit the Dignity of the Divine Being: The vanishing of the Enemies like Smoke, the dissolving of them like Wax before the K 4 Fire;

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Fire, the Shaking of the Earth and Trembling of the Heavens, the Leapings of the Mountains, the Attendance of twenty thousand Chariots, even thousands of Angels; the Divine Prefence abiding with them; the Ifrael of God being thereby loaded with Benefits, being purified like the Wings of a Dove, and becoming as white as Snow in Salmon, are Circumstances too grand and beneficial to be the Description of Human Victories and Triumphs; they naturally carry our Thoughts up to those vast Transactions, whereunto Revelation in the Words before us distinctly refer them; they with strong and clear Prophecy declare that entire Conquest, which the Blessed Jefus gain'd over the Enemies of our Salvation, that Triumph, whereby He exalted himself far above all things, whereby He took Poffeffion of his heavenly Throne, established his Dominion for ever in Glory, and poured down the Gifts and Graces of his holy Spirit upon his Church militant here on Earth.

THE Apoftle is here exhorting his Ephefian Converts to keep the Unity of the

Spirit in the Bond of Peace ; i. e. to do all in them lay to preserve that Peace and Order which Chrift hath established in his Houshold the Church: And this He enforces from the Nature of Christ's Church, as it is a Society; for it is one Body actuated by one Spirit; all its Members have one common Hope of their Calling, are all subject to one Lord, do all profess one Faith, are all initiated into this Society by one Baptifm, have all one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in them all. But tho' the Church be one and the fame in the general, yet the particular Members of it are severally enrich'd with different Gifts and Graces; unto every one of us, faith the Apostle, is given Grace, according to the Measure of the Gift of Christ. Wherefore, He faith, i. e. е. асcordingly the Spirit of God in Prophecy declared, when He afcended up on High, He led Captivity Captive, and gave Gifts unto Men. Which Words plainly allude to the Practice of earthly Princes and Generals, who, upon their Return Home after any signal Victory, enter their Cities

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