Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

blessings of his goodnefs. come, let us worship and bow lown: let us kneel before the LORD our maker. Pf. 95. 6. Let us exalt his Name together; P 34. 3. and make the voice of his praife to be heard. Pf. 66. 8. Let us give Him the glory due unto his Name. Pf. 97. 8, for the LORD is good; bis mercy is everlasting; and his truih indureth to all generations. Pf. 100. 5, Our reverence, our faith, our love, our holy refolutions are all, we hope, ftill alive, wherewith we ought to approach into his prefence. We have not for. gotten fure the meaning of this holy Feaft: the fweetness of which may well preferve a memory of the Ends for which our Lord invites us to it. Let us go then with an humble confidence to admire and proclaim once more, the infinite love of God our Savior. Let us openly declare that we are his friends and followers, and bid defiance to all his enemies. Yea, let us bind our hearts to his Altar with the cords of his love; and make an oblation of all we have unto Him. It is but juft and reasonable, fince we have receiv'd fo much from Him. It is but right, meet, and our bounden duty to praife Him continually; to glorify and ferve Him with Body and foul which He has redeemed. Let us go and thank Him therefore that He would come down from Heaven to us, that He will accept us for his fervants; and fet any esteem upon our poor obedience; and that He will ftill from Heaven vifit us; and not leave us comfortless without his holy prefence with us. So may we rejoice in his falvation, and reprefent with glad fom hearts his facrifice to God for our expiation; and fix Our eyes upon that Glory where He is inthroned; hoping we hall one day fit down with Him in the Kingdom of the Father, and keep a perpetual Feaft with Him in Heaven. What fhould hinder us from going to begin to be fo happy? let us fearch and try, examine and prove our felyes. Have we not a mind to know and do the whole Will of God, with all our hearts, and with all our Souls,and with all our ftrength? Do we not chufe to be poor in fpirit, meek, merciful, pure in heart, peace-makers, patient fufferers for righteousness faket and are we not defirous to make an increafe of all thefe by going to his holy Table? Let us not be discouraged then but know that the LORD bath fet apart him that is godly, for Himself: the Lord will hear when we Him. Offer the facrifices of righteousness and put

call

upon

[ocr errors]

your

Part I. newing us, that we may have our fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life: Rom. 6. 22. for He himself has faid, s. John 15. 7. If ye abide in Me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Be it unto us, O Lord, according to thy word: we ask nothing but that we may still have grace to continne in thy Love, by keeping thy Commandments; that we may grow and increase in wis dom and holineis; and be filled with all the fruits of the Spirit, with love, joy, peace, long-fuffering, gentleness, goodnefs, faith, meekness, temperance; and that they may abound in us more and more, to thy praise and glory. Amen.

§. 9. WHITSUNDAY.

O Holy Spirit of grace! what news is this that Thou bleffeft our ears withal? what glad tidings are thefe, that Thou art come to tell us? what means the found of fo many various tongues? the gifts of Prophefy, of wisdom, of knowledge, of faith and Miracles, with all the reft which Thou dividedst Severally to every man as Thou wouldft? Doth Jefus yet live? hath He indeed conquered the grave? and is He exalted at the right hand of God; and invefted with all power in Heaven and Earth? It is enough: we will go and fee Him then when we dy. That word is no longer dreadful to us; we are not afraid of the king of Terrors; fince Jefus lives, and is the Lord and King of all. Witnefs the oHly Ghoft the Comtorter, which He has fent down from the Throne of his glory, to affure us that He not only lives, but reigns in Majefty and Power: and is mindful of us, and of his Promifes. Thofe fiery Tongues that came with a found from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, A&t. 2. 2. tell us that He is able to tranfport us, when He pleafes, in fiery Chariots into Heaven, We hear them call our thoughts up thither, and bid us fee Jesus / who was made a little lower than the Angels, for the fuffering of death, crowned with glory and honor, Heb. 2. 9. and fcattering his royal Gifts among his fervants. We are thy fervants, Obleffed Jefus, make thy face to shine upon us. Let thy mercies come alfe unto us, 0 LORD, even thy falvation according to thy word. Remember the word unto thy fervants, upon which Thou haft caused us to hope. Pf. 119. 125, 135, 41, 49. as in D. John 12. 26. Where I am, there shall also my fervant be. What words of grace and life are these? It is enough, O Thou that dwelleft in the Heav ens, that we fhall be where Thou art. Pf. 7 3. 24. Thou shalt

guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory, Aud till we to go to fee that glory which the Father has given Thee, we will go and fee the reprefentations Thou haft left us of thy felf; and receive the pawns and pledges of thy eternal Love. We will go and Remember thy Obedience to the death; for which caufe Thou art highly exalted, and made moft blefled for ever. And Othat the Holy fpirit of grace which fell on th Apostles on the day of Pentecoft, would fill our hearts with a fenfe of that Love; and fwell our fonls with a full apprehenfion of all the Bleffings that it contains; that fo we may burst forth into thy praifes as they did; and fprak the wonderful works of God Act. 2. 11. Marvelous are thy works, and that our fouls know right well. Pf. 139. 14. Wefee by the light of the Holy Ghost fent down on them, that Jefus indeed was the fon of God; holy and without fault; that in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. Col. 2. 9. that He has made peace through the bloud of his Crofs, to reconcile all things unto the Father, whither they be things in earth or things in heaven; ch. 1. 20. that He ascended up far above all heavens that He might fill all things; Eph. 4. 10. and that God hath raised us up together, and made us fit together in heavenly places in Chrift Jefus. ch.2.6. We feewhat a powerful Advocatewe have in the Court of heaven; as that Thou, O God,haftgiven Him poweroverall flesh that He should give eternal life to as many as Thou haft given Him. S. John 17.2. We fee that all the promises of God in Him are yea, and in H'm amen. Who hath alfo fealed us, and given the earneft of the Spirit in our hearts, 2 Cor. 1. 20, 22. Our tongues are too little to Speak the praises ofthe Lord; we will go therefore into th affemblies of thy people, that they may magnifie, the LORD with us, and we may exalt his Name together. We will declare th' exceeding greatnefs of his Love; and the fuperlative bounty of Heaven in fending Him to dy for us; yea, our fou's fhall make their boaft in the Lord, and glory in his holy Name. Let the wife Man, if he pleafe, glory in his Wisdom, the rich Man glory in his riches, and the mighty Man in his great ftrength; But we will glory in this, that we understand and know Thee, that Thou art the LORD, the God, then the Father of our Lord Jefus Chrift. Rom. 15. 6. which exerci felt loving kindness, judgment and righteousness in the Earth: for in these things are thy delight. Fer. 9. 23, 24. We will glory in this, that we are the Difciples and Heirs of the cruci. fied Jefus, that we know him, and the power of his Refurrec

Part I. tion, and the fellowship of his fufferings; Phil. 3. 1o. that He hath made a New Covenant with us of grace, mercy and peace; that we have received the Spirit of Adoption, whereby we cry Abba Father, Rom. 8. 15. and that we are taken into the Fellowship of the faints, and have hope to be numbred with them in Glory everlafting. We will fend up our hearts to heaven, where He is, in holy love; and ingage our felves to be ever mindful of his Covenant; especially of that new Commandment, to love one another, even as He hath loved us. By this shall all men know that we are his Disciples, because we love the brethren. For there is one body, and one Spirit. even as we are called in one hope of our calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptifm, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and througball, and is us all. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Chrift. Wherefore He faith, when He afcended up on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. And He gave fome. Apoftles: (bleffed be his bounteous goodness,) and fome, Prophets; and fome, Evangelifts and fome. Paftors and Teachers; for the perfecting of the faints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect Man, unto the measure of the ftature of the fulness of Chrift: From whom the whole body fitly joyned together, and compacted by that which everv joynt fupplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increafe of the body, unto the edifying of it felfin love. Eph. 4. 4108, 11 to 13, and 16 verfes.

§. 10. JUNE.

IS it poffible that the great God was manifeft in the flesh ?-1 Tem. 3. 16. and that he hath purchased with his own bloud, Act. 20. 28. thofe who were his creatures, finful creatures? furely we do not believe this, elle how joyful, how thankful fhould we be? how holily, how purely fhould we live, if we thought our felves fo nearly related to Him? what faith, what hope fhould we place in Him? how willingly fhould we refign our felves to his pleafute, who has not thought this too much to do for us? and how contentedly fhould we want what He pleafes not to give; who has done us fuch an honor, as to marry us to Himfelf? IfHe had taken hold of the nature of Angels, and laid down that life, that precious life which was spent for us, for their Redemption, how much would

thofe

thofe heavenly Creatures have lov'd Him?and yet now that He is defirous of our little love, He can't have it.What is become of that Love which we lately profeffed to Him. We thought the laft time we were at his Table, that we were mightily fenfible of his Love, and fhould never cease to love Him; did we not proteft that nothing was fo dear unto us as our Savior, and his Commands and precious Promifes? that we had ratherlofe our Lives, than lofe his favor? and did we not refolve that we would preferve it as our lives, by all the Acts of Love to God and Man? O how eafily do we forget the greatest Benefits? how apt are we to pay Him only with libetal promifes? It le had not made us this new Invitation to his Table, 'tis poffible that we might have forgotten that we hive any obligations to Him. But this fweet voice of our Savior which calls upon us, faying, Do this in Remembrance of Me, S. Luke 22. 19. how does it awaken and revive that Love which fometime we felt in our hearts to Him? Thanks be to his goodne f for this new opportunity to acknowledge his Love, and to profefs our own. we hope in time we fhall love Him to the height of our defires; and by thefe frequent Remembrances of him, become perfectly like Him. Tho' very unworthy therefore of this new favor, who have been fo unmindful of the old, we will go into his Houfe, and prefeat our felves at his Altar, ifit be but to declare that we beng to Him; and are not willing to lofe his Bleffing; we will fhew Him at least that we do not quite torget Him, and havea mind to become better Chriftians: but how is it poffible that we fhou'd fee the reprefentations of his Pains and Agonies for our fakes, and do no more than tell Him that we keep Him in Mind, and intend to obey Him? we can't chufe but vow our felves intirely to Him: we must bind our felves in the moft facred Covenant to keep his Commands: we can do no lefs than affure Him again that we love righteousness, and hate iniquity, and will chufe death rather than to difpleafe Him. Nay, we will Refolve never to cease to renew the fe Vows, and multiply our Ingagements; and then,at laft fure, We fhall become stedfaft in his Covenant, and delight greatly in his Commandements; Pf. 112. 1. Our fouls fhall keep his teftimonies: and love them exceedingly. Our hands alfo will we lift up unto his commandments which we have loved: and we will meditate in his ftatutes. So fhall we keep his law continually, for ever and ever. We will rejoyce at his word, as one thai find

[blocks in formation]
« AnteriorContinuar »