2. He rests not there, but improves these beginnings of mercies, and pk'ads them in his argumentative prayer for the consummating and perfecting mercies yet to come ; q. d. Lord, thy works are perfect, thou dost not use to begin and not finish as men do ; to bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth ; the gods of the heathen are a lie and vanity, but thou art the true God, and thy promises are truth itself. Now, Lord, in pursuance of thy pro- mises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, thou hast begun to fulfil the mercy promised ; Israel is brought with signs and wonders, and a mighty hand out of Egypt, and upon the very borders of the land.? Lord, complete the work now, in giving them the possession of it ; and for me. Lord, I pray thee (if it be thy will) let me enter with them ; and as I have had my part in the troubles of Egypt, straits and trials these forty years in the desart, let me take my part also in the joy, rest, and comfort of that blessed land to which I am now come so nigh. This seems to be the sense and meaning of Moses' prayer. Divers excellent points of doctrine naturally offer tbemselves from the text, as,
Doct. 1. TJmt the rest and prosperity of the church is a very de- sirable mercy in the eyes of the saints.
If any thing will make a Christian desirous to abide on earth, next to the finishing of the works of grace on him, and the work of obedience by him, this is the thing : Psal. cvi. 4, 5. " Remenv- " ber me, O Lord, with the favour that thou bearest unto thy " people ; O visit me with thy salvation : that I may see the good " of thy chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladi^ess of thy nation : ** that I may glory with thine inheritance.""
Doct. 2. IJqw desirable soever it be to see the chtrch^s ghry and prosperity on earth, yet the gi-eatest and best of saints may be denied it.
Moses, the saint of God, the favourite of heaven, earnestly de*
sired the sight of this mercy, and was denied it. Get* thee tip to mourt Nebo, saith God, and die there, thou shalt not go over Jordan ; and yet Moses was no loser by it. Though God shut him out of Canaan, he took him into heaven. We read. Mat. xiii. 17. of that blessed day when Christ was among men in the flesh, preaching, praying, and working miracles, that many pro- pliets and righteous men desired to see those things which they saw (aiTiQng whom he Avalked) and saw them not, and to hear the things which they heard, but did not hear them. Demarathus of Co- rinth, was wont to say, that those Grecians lost a great part of the comfort of their lives, that had not seen great Alexander sitting, upon Darius' throne. St. Augustine wished to have seen three things, Rome in its glory, Paul to the face, and Christ in the flesh. But we must not be our ohti chusers, it shall be given to them for "whom it is appointed. But I stay not upon either of these, there are two other points in the text which invite my thoughts and dis- course this day ; viz,
Doct. 3. That great mercies received (though there be yet greater than they to he expected) call for an answerable sense and acknowledgment in the saints.
Doct. 4. That the beginnings of mercy and deliverance to the church are convertible into some pleas and arguments in prayer for the perfection and consummation thereof. I begin with the former, viz.
Doct. 3. That great mercies received (though there be yet greater than they to be expected) call for an answerable sense and ac- Tcnowledgment in the saints,
Moses magnifies the mercies received in Egypt, and in the wil- derness^ at the 7'ed sea, and at Edrei ; as things wherein God had begun to shew him his greatness, and his mighty hand, things on which God had visibly stamped and impressed his greatness ; though he still expected greater things to come. It was Elihu's counsel to Job, with respect to God's providential proceedings with him. Job xxxvi. S4. " Remember that thou magnify his work which men " behold." Elihu thought it to be Job's duty (and doubtless it was so) to magnify or lift up the name of God, even under afflicted providences, to exalt God when God cast him down ; but you are called this day to magnify the work of God in comfortable providences, and to lift up his name, whilst he is lifting you up in deliverances and cheerful providences. It is true we cannot mag- Jiify any work of God by making any addition to it, or making it
wreater than it is ; but we should magnify every work of God by giving it its full dimensions in our considerations of it, and suitable affections to it. " The works of the Lord are great, sought out " of all them that have pleasure therein,'' Psal. cxi. 2. We then magnify them, when we search them out, ponder and weigh them in all their circumstances ; and this must needs afford singular pleasure to a sanctified soul. O it is sweet to trace the footstepai of God along these pleasant paths of mercy and salvation, where-' in he hath walked towards his church, or ourselves in particular. Two things invite our thoughts to dwell upon them at this time.
1. What makes a work of mercy truly great.
2. What is that suitable sense we should have of such h orks. 1. What are the things that make any work of mercy truly
Now there are seven considerations or properties of a work of mercy, which make it great indeed. If but one or two of these be found upon such a work, it deserves the name of great ; but if there be a concurrence of them all in any work of God, as there is in that work which we celebrate this day, O how great will it then appear *
(1.) Then doth a work of mercy or deliverance deserve the name of great and magnificent, when it involves our spiritual, as well as our civil and natural comforts and enjoyments in it, and rescues our souls as well as our bodies from ruin arid misery.
Temporal mercies have their value, it is no small mercy to have our estates, liberties, and lives secured from rapine and violence. Deborah celebrated this mercy in her song of praise. Judges v. 6, 7, 11. "In the days of Shamgar the son o£ Anatb, in the days of *' Jael, the high-ways were unoccupied, and the travellers walked ^' through by-ways. The inhabitants of the villages ceased in Israel^ '-' until that I, Deborah, arose, that I arose a mother in Israel. ^* They that are delivered from the noise of archers in the places " of drawing water ; tliere shall they rehearse the righteous acts " of the Lord, even the righteous acts towards the inhabitants of " his villages in Israel : then shall the people of the Lord go down "to the gates." It was a sad time in Israel, when they were barred from their fountains, and forced to creep through by-way» and woods by night, for fear of the enemy ; when the course of justice was stopt, and there were no judges in the gates : Therefore the people are here excited to praise the Lord for their deliverance from these calamities.