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be perfectly and for ever pleafing to the Lord: And when we meet below with one faith to glorify our one Lord, then we enjoy the communion of faints. We have one heart with them-join in the fame fubject of praise to their Lord and our Lordour harmony is theirs-our happiness is theirs-it is one and the fame communion with the Father and the Son by the Spirit. And though we cannot raise our song to fo high a pitch, or continue it without ceafing, as the faints above do; yet we entirely agree with them, and are trying to make better mufic in our hearts every day, until we fee, their Jefus and our Jefus face to face. He loves us, as well as them: For he is our Immanuel: And our fouls rejoice in him together with them. We love him, we ferve him, we bless him, as humbly, and as thankfully, as we can ; yea in all things we would be giving of thanks to his holy name. O for more love, more thankfulness, more devotedness to our precious Lord Jefus Christ. This is our daily prayer, and our conftant purfuit. Bleffed and eternal Spirit purify our hearts by faith, and increase in them a fense of his wondrous love to us, that we may be growing in love to him, until he vouchfafe to admit us into his preD

fence,

fence, and give us to thank him with never, ceafing fongs of praife.

In another place the apoftle treats of the fame fubject, only varies the expreffion a little. He recommends finging of pfalms to the Coloffians, as an ordidinance of God for increafing the graces of his people" Let the word of Chrift "dwell in you richly in all wisdom, "teaching and admonishing one another "in pfalms and hymns and fpiritual "fongs, finging with grace in your "hearts to the Lord: And whatsoever έσ ye do in word or deed, do all in the

name of the Lord Jefus, giving thanks "to God and the Father by him." The Coloffians had put on the new man, and the apostle exhorts them to put on the ornaments and endowments peculiar to their new nature, and he mentions feveral of them: In which he would have them to be growing daily: And he proposes to them the word of God, as the best means for this purpose. He would have it treafured up in their hearts, and inwardly digefted dwelling richly in them in all "wifdom" for knowlege and practice.. He includes both: Because this wisdom was for edification-they were to teach and to admonish one another. What each had learnt out of the fcriptures was to be

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of public benefit to the church. And the way of doing this is particularly mentioned-They were to fing together with grace in their hearts. All is difcord within, until we are taught by grace, free effectual grace. grace. But when we believe the doctrines of grace, then harmony comes in, and we learn to afcribe every good to the mere mercy of God. We receive his bleffings, and he receives all the praise of them. Then grace is in the heart: It is there not only to reconcile the finner to the way of falvation by faith alone, but alfo to make him in love with it, and to keep him willing to praife God for it with his lips and life. O how good a thing is it, that the heart be thus eftablished with grace! For then the affections will be fixt upon the right object, and the whole foul will be in harmony with the truth as it is in Jefus. Free grace doctrines felt in their power in the heart make heavenly melody. Every faculty is in tune, and inclined to bear its part in bleffing the name of the Lord. The understanding fees it right, the will chooses, the heart loves to give. him all the praife, and the mouth joins to glorify him with joyful lips, finging unto the Lord-The God-man-Immanuel is the fubject of this happy fong. He is the God of all grace. It is a joyful and plea-. fant

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fant thing to be thanking him for it: Yea, it is a foretaft of the faints fulness of joy. The truly humble believer, feeing the exceeding riches of grace, gladly joins his elder brethren round the throne in praifing the Lord Jefus Chrift. And when the temple of God fhall be complete, and the laft believer joined to the fpiritual building, then the topftone fhall be brought forth with fhouting-grace grace unto it-glory be to free grace for ever and ever.

To the fame purpose the apostle James, ch. v. 13. teaching believers how to behave in every state directs them, “Is any

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among you afflicted? let him pray. Is

any merry? let him fing pfalms." Affiction fhould fend him to prayer, for grace to bear it and to improve it: Joy to finging of pfalms to express thankfulness to God. Is any merry? that is a proper season, though not the only season. Prayer is neceffary at all times, though it be most needful in affliction: And fo finging; it is not only needful when we are rejoicing, in order that our joy may center in the Lord, but fometimes finging will beget fpiritual joy, and will awaken it in the afflicted heart. Paul and Silas were in great outward diftrefs, yet they fang a pfalm in prifon. The apoftles fang an hymn

hymn after the facrament, although they knew their Lord was going to fuffer, and they were greatly troubled. In that forrowful hour they fang. Singing is always seasonable, but efpecially when the heart is happy, "Is any among you merry? "Let him fing pfalms." Is he in a good frame of mind, rejoicing in the bounty of God, either for temporal or fpiritual mercies? Let him fing pfalms to the praise and glory of his benefactor: This is a proper expreffion of gratitude for favors received, and will be the means of fecuring them: For fince his happiness comes from a good God, and arifes from communion with God in Chrift, it is fit and meet, that he should ascribe it to the right object, and in a way of God's own appointing. A divine hymn upon the fubject of praise (of which there are many) fung with heart-felt thankfulness is a grateful fervice. The Lord requires fuch an acknowlegement, and it becometh well the just to be thankful-yea he has vouchfafed to reveal the very words, in which he requires it to be paid him: And when all within us bleffes his holy name, rejoicing in the Lord, he would have the outward man to join, and to declare with the melody of his lips, how happy he is in his heart. Thus in finging the praifes