voured to lay before you, how the Spirit helpeth the faints, and quickens and directs them in prayer, and that he maketh interceffion in them with groanings which cannot be uttered. I have likewife endea voured to fhew you, that as this is agreeable to the will of God, it cannot but be acceptable unto him. ́That it is agreeable to God's will, appears from the Spirit's exciting and stirring up believers to pray agreeably to God's will of promife. And here I may add, by way of obfervation, that the Lord's called people, have encouragement upon encourage. ment, to excite them to the practice and discharge of this duty. The throne they approach is a throne of grace. Their heavenly Father is on it, on purpose to hear their complaints, and grant their defires. As true prayer is the breathing of his own Spirit, and according to his will, it is highly acceptable unto him. And, believers having two fuch powerful advocates, Chrift in heaven for them, and the Spirit in them; the one pleading before the throne of the Majefty in the heavens for them, and the other pleading in them at the throne of grace, and agreeably to the will of their hea venly Father, the children of God will be as wrestling Jacobs, and must come off prevailing Ifraels. Oh that we might experience much of the Spirit's powerful efficacy and energy in prayer, and go on to pray in faith, and in the Holy Ghoft. May what hath been delivered, agreeable to his will, meet with your acceptance, and prove beneficial to you. The Lord pardon what is amifs, and accompany his own truth with his divine bleffing. Amen.

SERMON XVII.

PAUL'S PRAYER FOR THE CHURCH OF THE EPHESIANS.

EPHESIANS, Chap. iii. Ver. 17, 18, and 19.

That Chrift may dwell in your hearts by faith, that ye being rooted and founded in love, may be able to comprehend with all faints, what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height: and to know the love of Christ, which paffeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

WE

E have the bleffed apoftle in this epiftle, laying before the faints at Ephefus, a large and glorious view of the riches of free and fovereign grace. He was at the time he wrote this epiftle, a prisoner for Chrift. But though be was bound, the word of God was not bound. His prifon was turned into a palace, he having here the presence of Chrift. And here his heart was enlarged, and the Holy Ghoft inspires and affifts him to write an epiftle to the believers in Chrift Jefus, which contains in it the great and deep things of God. fore the perfons unto whom he

Having laid bewrote, the great

articles of our most holy faith, and confidered the fountain from whence all our fpiritual bleffings flow, namely, the free grace of God: he enters into a particular enumeration of thofe bleffings and bene-1 fits. As first, our election in Christ. God, the Father, fays he, chofe us in Chrift, before the foundation of the world. He chofe and appointed him, and fet him up to be the great head of his body, the church; and he chofe the elect in him, as members in him their head; and he bleffed them in him, with all spiritual bleffings. He accepted them in the beloved; and all to the praise of the glory of his own grace. He fent his Son to redeem his church, and to obtain for his people the forgiveness of their fins, through the fhedding of his moft precious blood; and he gives his Spirit unto his people, to reveal Christ in them, as their hope of glory. The apoftle, having largely dwelt upon the riches of divine grace, and having taken a view of the miserable state and condition of mankind by nature; and how God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he had loved those faints at Ephefus, from everlasting, had quickened them from a death of trefpaffes and fins; does in this chapter, pray unto God for them, to the end that their hearts might be divinely and powerfully affected with thefe great and important truths. The words of our text, are a part of Paul's prayer, in which he prays like an apoftle indeed: for he begs here for the greatest bleffings, which believers can, in this life, enjoy, or God himfelf can bestow upon them. It may be faid, that this is the greatest prayer which is

us.

to be found in the New Teftament, that of our Lord in the feventeenth of John only excepted. Before I enter upon the words now read, I would obferve, that the apoftle takes notice of the concern the whole trinity have in our fpiritual intereft and falvation. As they are jointly concerned in our falvation, fo they are graciously pleased to discover their love and grace unto us, in their actings towards and upon The prayer which lies before us, for our confideration, is addreffed unto God, as the Father of our Lord Jefus Chrift; and this at once holds forth unfpeakable comfort to believers in Chrift, fince he who is the Father of our Lord Jefus Chrift, is our Father in him. Believers are God's adopted children. Having predeftinated us unto the adoption of children by Jefus Chrift to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praife of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. The addrefs is unto God, the Father of our Lord Jefus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named. There is but one Father: all the faints in heaven and earth, belong to the fame Father, even God. They are all born of the fame Spirit: are all united unto the fame head: they are all equally beloved of the Father: all equally accepted in the beloved: all built upon the fame foundation, which is an eternal one, even Chrift Jefus. They are all perfectly alike juftified from all things, and clothed with the everlasting garment of Chrift's righteousness. They are all washed in the blood of the Lamb; and are all freely pardoned, through the redemption which A a

is in Chrift Jefus. They are heirs of God, and joint heirs with Chrift Jefus, and they will all one day par take of the fame eternal glory. They are all the objects of JEHOVAH's delight, the purchase of his Son's blood; and God the Father has put on all the bowels of a Father's love and mercy, and will exercise them towards, and upon his beloved children in Chrift Jefus. The apoftle would have us to confider the relation, to the end that we may fee that the Father's love towards us is in Chrift, that he loved us in him, and upon his account; and that as he loved. Chrift as mediator before the foundation of the world, fo as early did he love his people. Thou hast loved them, fays Jefus unto his Father, as thou hast loved me. God, the Father, looks upon his people with the fame delight, and views them with the fame complacency as he does Chrift himfelf; for he views them in him, and in him is well pleased with them. He refts in his love towards them, and joys over them with finging. He begs this bleffing of the God and Father of our Lord Jefus, that he would grant unto them according to the riches of his grace, and the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man. would grant unto them, his glory, or, according to, and out of that rich, plenteous, and glorious fulness of grace and strength in Chrift Jefus, to be ftrengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man. Here we may observe, that the ftrengthening our inner man, or the spirit, or foul of man, which is the feat of grace, is the work of God

He begs the Father that he according to the riches of