[ 622 j SERMON III. ISASAH lvii. 18. I have seen his ways, and will heal him. I NOW proceed to the fourth thing proposed, and that is, to shew what is implied in this word healing. Sin is supposed to be a distemper of the soul, and recovery from it is called healing. And thus you have it very often represented in the, word of God, Isa. i. 5, &e. " A sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evil doers, they have forsaken their God, they are gone away backward. Why should ye be stricken any more? Ye will revolt more and more ;" and their cha- racter is, " the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint, from the sole of the foot evenunto the head there is no soundness in it, but wounds, and bruises, and pu- trifying sores, &c. Manwas at first created in a sound and healthy constitution of bodyand spirit. The animal nature performed all its operations successfully, the spi- rit maintained all its happily tog, butsinen- tered into humannature and spoiled the constitutionafthe fleshand spirit. There is an universal contest amongst the faculties ofman, bynature; yet Godhasprovided a mighty healer for it, the great Physician came down from heaven to earth to take care of them that were sick, and would apply themselves to him. And he represents himself in his own preaching under this character; by his spirit and his blood he has healed ten thousands already, and still continues to heal ; but amongst all these patients there are some that relapse, they follow the creaturê after they have given up themselves unto the Lord ; then, for the cure of their lusts, he takes up the incision knife, and, when healing medicines will not do, he takes up his rod ; he uses cutting and burning ; if that will not do, he is wroth and hides his face from them : but if they still go on perversely, then sovereign grace and love takes the l
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=