death, where is thy fting? Ograve, where is thy victory?" 1 Cor. xv. 55. *. But I proceed,

II. To the fecond head of the method, viz. To speak of fome of thefe mountains and hills over which he comes: and here the text gives occafion to obferve, 1. The nature and kind of these mountains in general, that stand up and interveen betwixt Chrift and us. 2. The multitude of them, they are mountains and hills, in the plural number. 3. The qualities of them, both moun4. The impaffibility of them as infuperable by us, and fuch as could be overleaped by none but himself, our Beloved, who is like a roe, or a young hart, leaping and skipping upon them.

tains and hills.

ift, As to the nature and kind of thefe mountains in general, they may be all reduced to one kind, and that is, they are mountains of diftance and feparation betwixt God and us; and they are therefore all called "The mountains of Bether," in the last verse of this chapter. Now, the mountain of diftance is manifold, in respect of the various tops, and heads, and rifings of the vaft mount of diftance between God and us, both natural and moral. O how great is the distance betwixt God and the creature; betwixt him who is infinite, and us who are finite nothings! O what a dif tance is there betwixt his high and lofty habitation, and the duft of which we are, and in which we crawl! What a distance does fin and guilt make, betwixt a ho ly juft God, and us finful wretches! What a distance, on account of our unworthinefs, that we fhould be taken notice of by him; for, what are we that the bleffed and felf-fufficient God fhould look after us! What a diftance, on account of juftice requiring fatisfaction, which we cannot give, nor ever fhall be able to do! What a diflance between God and our nature, in which the fatisfaction is to be made, if ever the diftance be made up! Such is the diftance betwixt God and us as duft, and vile duft; as creatures, and finful creatures: may it not be a wonder of wonders, if ever there fhall be a meeting betwixt God and duft, betwixt a holy *The Reader will find many other remarks concerning the Lord's coming to his people, by confulting Vol. VI. p. 177,-181.

God

God and finful creatures, betwixt a juft God and guilty creatures! When the mountain of fin, and of a broken law, the mountain of the law-curfe, the mountain of incenfed juftice, and divine wrath, are landing in the way, who can come and overleap thefe mountains? "Who is fufficient for these things?The voice of our Beloved! Behold, he cometh !" And, in his condefcenfion, is faid to "Bow the heavens and come down," Pfalm xviii. 9.: he is faid to "Rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains may flow down at his prefence," Ifa. Ixiv. 1.-He overleaps the mountain of fin and guilt, by becoming fin for us, and paying our debt, and undergoing the punifhment that was due to us. He overleaped the mountain of a broken covenant, by coming to fulfil all righteoufnefs in our room; the mountain of incenfed juftice, by coming to give condign fatisfaction as to the curfe of the law, he was made a curfe for us: as to the wrath of God, he bare this mountain on his back, and was in an agony, that we might feast on love as for our unworthiness, he paves the way by these means fore-mentioned, for magnifying bis mercy and free grace, in juftifying the ungodly: and as to the vast mountain of diftance betwixt God and our nature, he leaps over this, by ftooping to take on our nature, and fubjecting himfelf to the common miferies of mankind.

And as our Beloved leaps over mountains of diflance between God and us, fo his love fkips over hills of feparation between us and him. He overleaps and overcomes our enmity and unwillinguefs, when he makes us willing in the day of his power. He overleaps and overcomes our natural willingness to depart from him, by establishing with us a covenant of grace, wherein he promises, to put his fear in our hearts, that we fhall not depart from him, Jer. xxxii. 40.-Such as thefe, then, are the mountains of diftance and difficulties, that love comes fkipping over.

These great mountains of diftance between God and us, are made by fin, which caufes the great distance, as it is a violation of the law of the moft high God'; Your iniquities have feparate betwixt you and your L3

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God;

lix. 2.

God; and your fins have hid his face from you," Ifaiah Oh! what mountains of original and actual fins hath Chrift to come over? What mountains came he over to Manaffeh, Mary Magdalene, and thousands of others.-But,

2dly, As to the multitude of thefe mountains: indeed there would be no end of speaking of them in particular, they are more than can be numbered; for, every one may join iffue with David, faying, "Innumerable evils compass me about:" and, indeed, thefe innumerable mountains which Chrift had to come over. The mountains I have mentioned, produce many other mountains and hills, which the Lord Jefus hath to come over, and which cannot hinder him when he hath a mind to come. The mountains of fin and guilt cannot hinder his coming, when he fays, " I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy tranfgreffions for my name's fake," Ifaiah xliii. 25. You are, it may be, ready to cry out, "Oh! a vile “and abominable guilty creature that I am! I cannot "think Chrift will come to the like of me:" but let the mountains be never fo great and many, they can never hinder his coming; though you have gone on frowardly in the way of your own heart, which might provoke him to tear you in pieces, when there is none to deliver you; inftead of that, how wonderful is the word, "I have feen his ways, and will heal him; and I will lead him alfo, and reftore comforts unto him!" Ifa. lvii. 17, 18. But further, to name fome more of the many mountains he will come over:

1. He comes over all the mountains of unbelief, when his people, under the prevalency thereof, may be crying that they are forfaken and forgotten of God, he comes over thefe, faying, "Can a woman forget her fucking child, that the fhould not have compaffion on the fon of her womb? yea, they may forget, but I will not forget thee," &c. Ifaiah xlix. 15.

2. He comes over all the mountains of perplexing fears and faintings, on account of outward violence, when his people are brought under apprehenfions that the rage of men will swallow them up, and the reproach of men will ruin them; fee how the Lord levels this

moun:

mountain, Ifa. li. 7. " Fear ye not the reproach of men; neither be ye afraid of their revilings: for the moth shall eat them like a garment, and the worm fhall eat them like wool. Verle 12. " I, even I am he that comforteth you who art thou, that thou fhouldft be afraid of man, that fhall die? and the fon of man, which fhall be made as grafs ?"

3. He comes over mountains of deadnefs and indifpofition in his people: when they are quite unable to apply themselves to duty, he by his Spirit breathes upon them, and quickens them, according to his promife, Hof. vi. 2. "After two days he will revive us; in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his fight," &c.

4. He comes over mountains of temptations; when the devil affaults and bathes his fiery darts in fome one poifon or another, and when the foul thinks it will be overcome, and buried under this mountain, then the Lord fweetly comes and manifefts himself by fuch a promise as that, "The God of peace fhall bruife Satan under your feet fhortly," Rom. xvi. 20.

5. He comes over the mountains of backflidings; when they have, by the power of temptation, and of indwelling fin and corruption, fallen again into the mire of fin and pollution, he will not fuffer them to ly there; but will, in his own time, return and restore them, according to his word, Jer. iii. 1. 14. Though thou haft played the harlot with many lovers, yet return again to me, faith the Lord: turn ye backfliding children, for I am married unto you.-Hof. xiv. 4. I will heal your backflidings, I will love you freely," &c.

6. He comes to them over all the mountains of external tribulations and afflictions: when they are fore broken and heavily oppreffed with calamities, so as heart and hope begin to fink and fail, even then he rejoices. over them to do them good, faying, "Fear not, for I am with thee. Fear not, worm Jacob." Many times his people have both a heavy fense of fin, and a heavy load of trouble at the fame time, and then the difpenfations of providence, that are awfully dark and difmal, may make them cry out, O great mountains! For, mountains in fcripture being alfo emblems of enemies and

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oppofition when the Lord withdraws, not only guilt and unbelief heightens the diftance, but fad difpenfati ons follow upon both when he fmites, and is wroth, and hides his face; when he haftens them with the chaftifement of a cruel one, Jer. xxx. 14. how vaft then do the mountains of diftance appear, when there is fuch a range of mountains, fin and guilt, and heavy difpenfations, all interveening betwixt God and them? But, O how foon can he melt the mountains, faying, "Who art thou, O great mountain, before our Zerub. babel? thou shalt become a plain," Zech. iv. 7. Yea, he will turn the world up-fide-down, before he want a way for driving his chariot of love to his people.So that when we have viewed the mountains, in their greatest height and altitude, we mult extol his all-fufficiency above them, and fee love leaping on the mountains. Hence,

7. He comes to his people fometimes, over all the mountains of difcouragements: when their fouls are caft down within them, and their fpirits are ready to fink like a stone, and ready to cry out, "There is no forrow like my forrow;" then he comes with fuch a word as that, Ifa. liv. II, 12. "O thou afflicted, toffled with tempefts, and not comforted; behold, I will lay thy ftones with fair colours, and thy foundations with fapphires. And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones.. Thou shalt be far from oppreffion, for thou shalt not fear; and from terror, for it fhall not come near thee.”

8. He comes over all the black mountains of defertion, God's hiding himself under a cloud: this makes a great distance betwixt Chrift and the foul in two refpects. 1. If we confider the guilt procuring defertion. 2. The fenfe of the deferted foul when awakened.

(1.) The guilt procuring defertion. It is the fin of the faints, which is a finning against love, and a finning after they have fmarted under the folly of former wanderings, and a finning after the Lord hath come over many mountains and impediments they laid in his way, and been kind to them; and after he hath come through a great ftorm, his head being filled with the

dew,