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pect the blessing who will not seek it? And can they seek it to purpose, who do not seek it fervently, as those who are in good earnest, whose hearts are set upon it. "Set me, says the spouse, as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm; for love is strong as death." And says Solomon, "yea if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God." Careless begging at the throne of grace does in effect court a denial. And where the blessing is to come, grace will set the heart aloft after it in the first place.

4. We must by believing the promise, keep a sure hold of the blessed Redeemer. He had said to Jacob, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea which cannot be numbered." And we find Jacob, ver. 12. reminding him of this promise. Now what way can we hold him and not let him go, but holding him by his word. They who hold him by his word, they have sure hold. Heaven and earth are not so sure as that handle by which the believer holds him. But unbelief makes the soul let go its hold, and the issue is this, the man goes away without the blessing. "Jesus saith unto her, said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldst believe, thou shouldst see the glory of God." The promises of the gospel are the conduit pipes, by which the blessings of the covenant come to the soul. Faith must suck at these by a believing application of them, or no good can come in an ordinary way. 5. We must by hope wait for the blessing. "Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait I say on the Lord." God may suffer his people to wait long about his hand, and to wrestle in the dark, before the day break, but they must be resolved to bear one disappointment after another, and still to wait. "My soul waiteth for the Lord, more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning." They that turn hopeless of the blessing, are in a fair way to let him go without it. For the Christian is fed by hope, as the husbandman is, who will never sow his seed where he has no hope of a harvest : "therefore cast not away your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward."

6. We must leave no mean unessayed to obtain it, but use every mean till we find it. Song iii. 1,—4. We must go through every duty and seek the Lord through all thy trysting places, where he uses to meet with his people. Yea, we must go back again and again to the same duties till we find him. Duty is ours, but times and seasons are in his hand. And they may long seek and not find who yet will obtain a joyful meeting at last.

7. No discouragements must cause us to faint. Jacob wrestles on with his disjointed thigh, though the day was broken, and it was very unfit that the shepherds, who might be tending their flocks, should see what passed betwixt the angel and him. Yet he will not let him go, he will wrestle till broad day light, before he want it. Perhaps you may go to God, and with the woman of Canaan get no answer. When "she cried, saying, have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered not a word." Perhaps you may get a breast full of convictions and no more. Perhaps great objections may be mustered up against you, to dash your hopes of prevailing. But whether these objections be taken from the heaven without you, or the hell within you, you must not give over; but make your way through them by answering them from the doctrine of the gospel. When Jesus said to the woman, it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said, Truth, Lord; yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master's table." But in case you cannot get through the objections, even step over them; if you cannot loose the knot, cut it, and hold on. Thus when Jesus told the woman, that he was not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. But instead of going away, Then she came, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.

8. If at any time we fall, we must resolutely recover and renew the struggle. Jacob's thigh is disjointed with a touch of the angel's hand, he is so far worsted, but he makes a new vigorous sally, and tells him he will not let him go, except he bless him. They that fall in this good fight, must not lie still, but rise again, and renew the actings of faith, in opposition to sense, and hope against hope.

Lastly, We must resolve never to give over till we get it, and so hold on. I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. If it should be noon day, if Esau should come upon me on the spot, I shall never let thee go till I get the blessing. The soul must resolve to hold on, that nothing shall end the struggle but death, or victory; that if they die without it, they shall die at his door. This is the resolute struggle, this is the way to the blessing.

Motives to urge you to this way.

1. Consider the worth of the blessing. Whatever pains, and struggles, and on-waiting it may cost, it will far more than repay the expence of all. God's blessing is God's good word to the soul, but it is big with God's grace and good deeds to the man that gets it; and that is enough to make one happy for ever. It is the purchase of Christ's death, and therefore must be most valuable. God's blessing removes the curse of the law from off the soul, entitles to

glory, and in the meantime makes all things work together for good. 2. Consider the need you have of it. You are by nature under the curse, and unless you get the blessing, you must for ever be under the curse. But, O consider, how can you want it, how can you do without it? How will you live, die, or stand before the tribunal of God without it? Your absolute need makes all things necessary in the way of getting it.

3. If you will not be at this pains for it, you will be reckoned despisers of the blessing; and that is most dangerous, and will bring on most bitter vengeance. And you will see the day you would do any thing for it when you cannot get it.

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way you will get the blessing. seek, and ye shall find; knock, For every one that asketh, re

Lastly, If you will take this Ask, and it shall be given you; and it shall be opened unto you. ceiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened." The Lord never refused it to one that sought at this rate. Never did such a one die at his door. Amen.

Galashiels Communion, August, 1717.

[Sabbath Afternoon.]

SAINTS WRESTLING FOR THE BLESSING AND OBTAINING IT.

SERMON XII.

GENESIS XXxii. 26.

And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me, ver. 29. And he blessed him there.

"When many wept with a loud So that the people could not disfrom the noise of the weeping of

IF every one here were taking the liberty to express the affections, and the present frame of his heart after this communion, it is likely it would be as Ezra iii. 12, 13. voice; and many shouted for joy. cern the noise of the shout of joy, the people." So here, some would weep, some rejoice, while others as unconcerned spectators, who have not got the blessing, and therefore cannot rejoice; and do not miss it, and therefore cannot weep. But alas! it is the misery of many, they are too soon pleased. They begin with Jacob to wrestle for the blessing, but they cannot persevere as he did, and so they let the Lord go without blessing

them. The communion is over, but the blessing remains to those who have not yet got it, and more blessings to those that have got a taste of it; and therefore I would exhort all to hold on. In pursuance of the former doctrine we now proceed.

II. To shew what it is that makes some souls peremptory and resolute for the blessing, while others slight it.

You know what

1. Felt need engageth the soul to this course. determined the lepers that sat at the gate of Samaria. Many see a want of the blessing, that find not the need of it; hence a few cold wishes for it, and if that will do, good and well, but if not they must even want it. But those that have such a gracious disposition as the person in the text, they cannot live without it. They say with Peter, Lord to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. Now necessity has no law, and hunger will dig through stone walls, and if it cannot dig through them, it will leap over them. So the person who is in earnest will be forward to Christ in spite of every obstacle.

2. Superlative love to and esteem of Christ engageth them to this. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it. Love can endure any thing but absence, the loss of a beloved object, or of a token for good from them. Our Lord has appeared in his beauty to that soul, captivated the heart, and so engaged the person with the sight of his transcendent excellency, that he cannot take it back again, and he must have his good word and good will, and he cannot lift his suit till he prevail.

3. Without the blessing all is tasteless and unsatisfactory to them. "What wilt thou give me while I go childless," said Abraham? So what can competency give to satisfy the soul that sees the worth of his favour, while the blessing is denied? It is the blessing that makes all savoury to them, and the want of it is a worm at the root of all their enjoyments. The dove out of the ark found nothing but carrion, and therefore returned. A hypocrite will bestow a few faint wishes on the blessing. Lord bless this bread. This does not answer them. But yet they remain at ease, nay, they have more doors than one to go to. If they cannot come speed with Christ, they know how to do otherwise.

4. They see not how to set out their face in an ill world without it. They say with Moses, if thy presence go not with us, carry us not up hence. Christian Soldiers have no courage for a battle, if their Captain be not on their head. Without him, they are like Samson without hair, weak as other men. There are three things which bring them to this, they have weakness, little strength, and much opposition from within and from without. Duty is before them,

trouble is before them, and it is their care to acquit themselves well in both, and therefore they cannot think to go, unless he bless them.

Lastly, They see not how to face another world without it. David sings in the prospect of death, in confidence of the blessing. "Yea, though I walk, says he, through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff comfort me." But, O how can an enlightened soul take the passage to the unseen world, without a token, a pass for safe conduct from the Lord of that land. And therefore the person is resolute, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. I now proceed,

III. That this is the true way to obtain the blessing, and that they who take this way will come speed. And he blessed him there. Such as come to Christ for the blessing, they shall get it, if they hold on resolutely and will not be said nay.

1. We have many certain instances and examples of those who have obtained the blessing this way. Jacob in the text. The spouse, Song iii. chap. The woman of Canaan, Matth. xv. 22. and downwards. See also Lam. iii. 40,–50. and downwards. Would you know how to get the blessing? There is a patent way, behold the footsteps of the flock, not the footsteps of lifeless formal professors, who cannot go off their own pace for all the blessings of the covenant; but the footsteps of wrestling saints, who were resolved to have the blessing cost what it would.

2. We have God's word or promise for it. "For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance." Have you got the least hold of Christ, then hold what you have and do not let him go, and you shall have the blessing. A man hath no more in God's covenant than what he keeps and improves for God's glory and his own salvation. Now God does not set down all his children with equal stocks. There are fathers, young men, and babes in Christ. Some get more, some less, but there is a promise of more given to them all, on their holding hand to what they have got. It is God's goodness to many of us, that we get but small portions at once, and that any thing we get we know well how we come by it. It is necessary for our light hearts, that they go not vain; for our careless spirits to make us watch the more. But a little thing with a promise, if it were the least gracious desire after Christ, will be like the five loaves that were miraculously increased in the distribution.

3. It is the Lord's ordinary way, to bring great things from small beginnings by degrees. He could have made the world in a moment, but he took six days. At first there was but a rude mass, which day by day was brought to perfection. Thus the prophet

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