Application —
[Are there any amongst you that can answer to the in- quiry, ' Lord, it is I : I find my need of thee : I have engaged my heart in thy service ; and am determined, through thy grace, that I will never go back V Let me congratulate you, my brethren : for " blessed is the man whom God chooses, and causes to approach unto himp." Be thoroughly in earnest, and take care that you do not, after putting your hand to the plough, look back again.
Are there any who are constrained to say, ' I would gladly make such a reply ; but my rebellious heart revolts, and will not obey the dictates of my judgment?' Then I would bid them to mark the works before the text ; " I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me." If any go unto him, it is not owing to their own superior goodness or strength, but to the attractive influences of God's Spirit. Adopt then the petition of the Church of old, and then you may with con- fidence adopt her engagement also, " Draw me, and we will run after theeq :" " I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart1."]
m Tsai. lxvi. 2. n Acts ix. 10, 11.
0 Jer. xxxi. 18—20. p Ps. lxv. 4.
q Cant. i. 4. r Ps. cxix 32.
Jer. xxxi. 3. The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love ; therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee.
THERE is a most glorious connexion subsisting between the Lord and his people : He is their God, even " the God of all the families of Israel ; " and they are his people, devoted altogether to his service. He is the God of every individual, as much as if no other object of his love existed in the whole creation be- sides; and they are his exclusively, and without reserve. But here two questions arise : How are they brought into this connexion with him ? and, From whence does this exalted privilege arise ? Our text enables us to answer these questions ; and we will answer them in their order. I. How are God's people brought into this glorious connexion with him ?
Our text informs us, that we are " drawn " to it by the Father himself. We shall therefore answer this first question by shewing,
1. How he draws them —
[The term " drawing" is supposed to import somewhat of a force that is inconsistent with the free agency of man : and, were that idea just, we should be found among the first that would oppose such a doctrine as unscriptural and absurd. But the drawings of God's Spirit do not in the least interfere with the liberty of human actions. The drawing of which our text speaks, is " with the cords of a man, and with the bands of lovea:" it is through the medium of the understanding, the will, and the affections ; the understanding, as enlightened with divine truth ; the will, as determined by sound judgment; and the affections, as engaged by the excellence of those things which the will is bent to follow. True it is, that we cannot precisely declare the manner in which the operations of the Holy Spirit influence the soul ; for we do not even know how our own spirit acts upon the body : but we know infallibly, that God does influence the minds of men ; not however by
a Hos. xi. 4.