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SERMON H.
ISAIAH
lVii.
17,
18.
For the iniquity of
his covetousness was
I wroth,
and
smote him
:
I
hid me and
was
wroth, and he went
on
frowardly in
the
way
of
his own
heart.
I
have
seen his
ways
and
will
heal
him,
I
will
lead him
also
:
and
will restore
comforts unto him, and
to
his
mourners.
I
AVING
in
the
last
discourse
given
you a large
para-
phrase of the
first
part of
the
words,
I
now
proceed to
this part,
1
have
seen
his ways
and
will heal
him
;
from
whence
I
would raise this
doctrine
:
When
no
methods
of chastisement, neither temporal
strokes
nor
the
hid-
ing
of
God's
face
will
reduce a backslider, then
God
recovers
him
by a
wondrous exercise
of
his
sovereign
grace.
This
is
not
Gods
common
way
of
exerting grace
towards
his
people, generally he
accompanies
his
chas-
tisement
with his
spirit,
but
sometimes
he
lets
a
soul
run
so
far
from him
that
no
external
methods
of
recovery
will
do
;
then saith
God it
is
time I
should
arise,
" I
have
seen
his ways
and
I
will
heal
him."
My design on these
words
is
to
awaken those
by
a
gentle
touch
of
divine
mercy on whom the
strokes of God's rod
have been
re+
peated
in
vain. And
let
such
as
are
dead
in
trespasses
and
sins
attend
to this
word
of
almighty grace
those
that
think
themselves never
so
near
to
hell,
though they
are running
from
God, yet
if
God
please
he
can heal
them.
In
discoursing
to these
words,
let
us
take
this
method
:
First,
Let
us
consider what those
ways
are from which
God intends
to reclaim
his
people.
I
have
seen
his
ways,
and
I
will
heal
him.
Secondly,
consider the greatness
of
the grace
of
God,
by
the aggravations
of
this
sin
of
backsliding.
Thirdly,
How
God
beholds them.
I
have
seen
his
ways,
cc.
Fourthly,
What
is
implied in
healing
them.
I
have
seen his
ways,
and
will heal
him.
52
R4.