SERMON XX.

TRUST IN THE

AN INCITEMENT TO

LIVING GOD.

1 TIMOTHY, Chap. vi. Ver. 17.

The living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy.

THI

HIS epiftle was written with a peculiar view, and is of a peculiar contexture. It was indited from the Holy Spirit, written by the apoftle Paul, when a prifoner for Chrift at Rome, and directed to Timothy, his dearly beloved fon in the faith, who was an evangelift, an extraordinary officer in the church of God in the apoftolic day and age. The particular defign of the Holy Spirit in it, is to give from Paul, as his amanuenfis, directions how Timothy fhould behave himself in the houfe of God, which he ftyles the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. He enumerates a moft glorious fet of gofpel truths and principles, faying, And without controverfy, great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifeft in the flesh, juftified in the Spirit, feen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles,

In

believed on in the world, received up into glory. A particular mention is made, and a perfect account given of the offices and officers which Chrift appointed in his houfe, the church, and the particular graces and qualifications of each and every officer in it. In the first chapter, the apoftle celebrates the praise of God for the high honour he had conferred on him, by putting him into, and calling him to exercife the office of apoftlefhip; and thanks the Lord for this grace, almoft as much as for his own falvation. the chapter from whence my text is taken, he exhorts to the exercife, practice, and discharge of fundry duties, all which are enforced from motives truly fpiritual, experimental, and evangelical. He exhorts to contentment, and argues for it, from the gain of it along with godlinefs, and from the confideration of what men are when they come into the world, and what they will be when they go out of it. He speaks of the love of money, or the fin of covetoufnefs, as the root of all evil, an enemy to true religion and godliness, and the cause of ruin and deftruction. He would have Timothy avoid every thing of this kind, to fight the good fight of faith, and gives him a folemn charge before God and Chrift, that he would observe what had been commanded him, in the most impartial and perfect manner, until the appearing of Chrift. He would that Timothy fhould charge the rich members of the church not to be elated with their riches, nor truft in them, fince they are uncertain things; but in God, from whom they have received fuch a plentiful measure of them. Charge them that are rich in

this world, who have health, wealth, and abundance of temporal good, that they be not high minded; which is too generally the cafe with fuch, they valuing and thinking too highly of themselves on account of their temporalities, fuppofing their knowledge, wifdom, and judgments more excellent than those of others : whereas this is not always the cafe. Nor trust in uncertain riches; not in them because of their uncertainty, for they fometimes fly away from fuch as have largely fhared in the poffeffion of them: but he would they should truft in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy. These words are delivered to the evangelift, to be applied to fuch of God's people as have much of this world's good, to the end they might cease from dependence upon it, lay it out to the best of purposes for the intereft of Chrift, to relieve his poor, maintain his minifters, and ferve them with it in their day and generation. I have at this time no concern but with the words which I have read for my textThe living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy. They are a glorious encouragement to faith, every word in them ferving to increase and strengthen it. He, in whom we are to truft, is God, The living God, the giver of all good, who giveth us all things; yea, he giveth us richly all things to enjoy. I will, with a view and design to edify and profit, divide my text thus:

First, confider this title and epithet, The living God.

Secondly, I will exhibit him to your view, as the author, giver, and bestower of all things.

Thirdly, will fhew that be giveth us richly, or aburdantly, all things. And,

Laftly, that he giveth us richly all things to enjoy.

I am first to confider this title and epithet, The living God, which may be, and is most juftly applied to God effentially, and alfo to God as perfonally confidered. JEHOVAH, as the effential and incomprehenfible fountain of life, being, and existence, hath this title given him by the prophet Jeremiah, chap. x. ver. 10. The Lord is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting King. Thus David, in the 18th Pfalm, The Lord liveth, and blessed be my rock. The word JEHOVAH, which we tranflate Lord, is expreffive of the incommunicable nature of the Godhead, which exifts by a neceffity of nature, independent of all beings and things, JEHOVAH being the fountain of exiftence to all worlds, creatures, and things: He is before all things, and by him all things confift. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world: even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God, fays Mofes in the goth Pfalm. God liveth in himself, and of himself, a life of infinite bleffedness, of effential holiness, abfolute and fupreme fovereignty over all things, vifible and invifible. He ever liveth. I lift up my hand to heaven, and fay, I live for ever. And it is in him we live, and move, and have our being. As each of the divine perfons in the incompre henfible Godhead, is God and Lord, and is fo called in the infallible word; fo the title, The living God, belongs to each of them, perfonally confidered, as they coexift by effential union in the one incompre

henfible nature or effence. Thus the title, The living God, is given to JEHOVAH, the Father. Peter faith unto Jefus, Thou art Chrift the Son of the living God, Matt. xvi. 16. Our Lord Jefus has this title given to him in the 3d chapter of the Hebrews, The living God. Take heed, brethren, left there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. By our examination of the context, it will be found that Chrift is The living God, whom they are exhorted not to depart from. And the Holy Spirit is ftyled, The Spirit of the living God, which is equivalent to calling him The living God. The title, living God, leads us to confider that God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the one true and living God, hath life in himself, originally, independently, effentially; that raifing creatures out of nothing into a ftate of being and existence, giving them life, bestowing and imparting good unto them, are all owing to the good pleasure of JEHOVAH'S Will. Thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. Creation is the

fruit of fovereignty, an act of almighty power; infinite wifdom likewife fhines forth in it, and the goodnefs of God is manifefted by it. All being is from God; all existence is in him; he made all things, and ordained all to their several ends: he difpofes of all for his own glory, and worketh all things after the counfel of his own will. And as, from everlafting, he chose the perfons of his people in Chrift his Son, fo he willed their being, and their utmost well-being; and formed all his counfels, purposes, and decrees concerning them, fo as to do good unto them, and