down at his feet and cry, Give me faith and ftrength to carry me to Chift's blood, or else I die. I may live without friends, wealth, honours, and pleasures; but I cannot live without faith. I am loft, undone, a dead man, and I perifh for ever without it. Lord, deny me what thou wilt, but deny me not faith. It had been better for me never to have been born, than to live without Chrift, and an interest in him: If I win not to the fountain of Chrift's blood, I will fink eternally in that fcalding lake of fire and brimftone: If I go to Chrift's table without faith, I will fhed his blood, and eat and drink my own damnation.

(5.) Plead with God, how easy it is for him to help thee; cry with the Pfalmift, Pfal. lxxx. 1. "O thou that dwelleft between the cherubims, shine forth :" It will coft thee no more pains to work faith in me, and do all that I defire, than doth the Sun to fhine forth: Yea, thou canft more eafily put forth thy power and grace, than the fun can dart out its beams. It is no trouble or lofs to the fun to fhine forth; fo neither will it be to thee to fhew thy power and mercy: A look or touch from thee would do it; a little thing will fave a drowning man: Lord, fuffer me not to perish, when it is fo eafy for thee to prevent it. Were it any lofs or trouble for God to help us, we might well doubt of it; but, fince it is none, we may cry with hope, Lord, grant such an hungry beggar an alms out of the ocean of thy bounty; for thou wilt never miss it. As the fun, the more it fhines, difplays its glory the more; fo thou wilt gain glory by putting forth thy power to help fuch a helpless creature as I am.

Object." But I have often looked and cried to him for help, but alas, I am fuch a grievous finner, he doth not antwer me, unless it be with a frown."

Anf. 1. It may be there is some idol or fin ftill harboured, that thou art not willing to part with. This may be the Achan in the camp, that caufed the Lord to hide his face: Search for it, and caft out the accurfed thing: "Let not thine eye pity it, neither do thou spare it."If thou canft not find it, go humbly to God and

cry,

cry,

me."

"Shew me, Lord, wherefore thou contendeft with

2. It may be thou art not fervent enough; God keeps the door bolted, that you may be provoked to knock the harder, Mat. vii. 7. " Afk, and it fhall be given you: feek, and you fhall find: knock, and it fhall be opened to you." In which one verfe, Chrift gives you three calls to fervency and importunity in prayer, each ftronger than another; afk, feek, knock. The woman of Canaan readily took up the meaning of Chrift's refufing to answer her; the turns the more fervent and importunate, and fo gets all her will.

3. Refolve, whatever discouragement you meet with, you will never quit the throne of grace, but you will always lay yourfelf in Chrift's way, and never look to another for help; yea, that you will die waiting on him. Remember the Pfalmift's experience, Pfal. xl. L "I waited patiently for the Lord, and at length he inclined his ear, and heard my cry." There was never any yet that waited on him, had caufe to be afhamed. You may meet with many discouragements and temptations, and be put to very fad thoughts; but you muft be refolute in looking to Chrift for help, come what will: And, in imitation of the four lepers at the fiege of Samaria, reason with yourself, if I live at a distance from Chrift, I'll infallibly perish, there is no hope for me: If Chrift pity me not when I am waiting on him, I fhall but perish; but yet there is hope, he will have pity at length: Therefore, if I perish, I'll perish at Chrift's footstool, looking up to him, where never one yet perifhed, and I hope he will not let me be the first,

4. Make ufe of arguments in pleading with him. (1.) Plead the freeness of his mercy. It needs no motive, and expects no worth; but, "whofoever will, let him come and take the water of life freely." It runs freely, fo that mountains cannot stop the current of it, more than rocks can ftop the ebbing and flowing of the fea. Indeed, Lord, if fin and unworthiness could ftop mercy, I might defpair, for I am as unworthy a creature as ever the fun fhined upon; but, blessed be God, grace is free.

He was

(2.) Plead Chrift's commiffion, Ifa. Ixi. 1. fent" to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prifon-doors to them that are bound." Lord, here is a poor prisoner, a frozen, locked, boundup heart: Here is employment for thee: Loofe me, knock off my fetters, and "bring my foul out of prifon. Thou haft all fulness dwelling in thee, and thou thou haft it given thee to bestow on fuch miferable objects as I am; Lord, here is a naked back for thee to cover, and an empty ftomach for thee to fill, a wounded foul for thee to cure. "Lord, thou cameft to feek and to fave that which was loft ;" and, wilt thou not be found of a loft finner that is seeking thee?

(3.) Plead the communicativeness of his mercy to others. He had compaffion upon mens bodies while he was on earth, even the bodies of wicked men, such as the unthankful lepers; he let none of them go without healing, that came to him. Say, Lord, didft thou fhew fo much compaffion to diseased bodies, and wilt thou not have fome pity on my dying foul, that is far more precious than carcafes of clay? Plead his compaffion that he hath fhewed to the worst of finners, fuch as Manaffeh, Mary Magdalene, Paul, and thofe who mur、dered him.-Plead his compaffion towards the finally obftinate and impenitent, fuch as Jerufalem, over which wept, Luke xix. Lord, did thy heart melt with pity to fuch, and wilt thou not pity a humbled finner, that confeffeth his fin, and would fain be reconciled to God? Is not mercy the work thou delightest in? Mic. vii. 18.

he

Laftly, Labour for a fenfe of the misery of a Chriftlefs ftate, of your great need of Chrift, and of the happinefs of being found in him: And, in a fense thereof, look to Chrift, and make a mint to take hold of him.

Stir

up yourself to it, and reft your foul on him as you can, and God will help you, and communicate ftrength. He will not fail to notice and encourage an honeft mint, Jer. xxx. 21. "Who is this that engageth his heart to approach to me?" He will pity and help fuch. Try, 0 poor foul, if you can get a grip of Chrift, especially upon a facrament occafion, when you are nearer him VOL. I.

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than

than at other times; If you cannot apply Chrift to yourself, and fay, he is mine; yet apply yourself to Chrift, and fay, I would fain be thine, yea, I am refolved to be thine. Go forth to Chrift with all the faith you can win at; fay, with the poor man, "Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief." You must not fit ftill and do nothing, but ufe all means in your power; for it is in the use of those that God works faith: Hoise up the fails, and wait for the gales.

DIRECT. XI. Come and join yourselves unto the Lord, in a perpetual and personal Covenant, before you go to his Table.

UNLESS you be within the covenant of grace, you have no right to the feal of the covenant; now, if ye would be found within the covenant, you must, by faith, take hold of the covenant, and heartily go in with the gracious terms and contrivance of it. And this is what we con monly call perfonal covenanting with God. And the more exprefs and distinct we are in this matter, we will have the more comfort.

As for the nature, neceffity, and manner of perfonal covenanting, I refer the reader to my Sacramental Catechifm, from p. 118. to 136. (firft Edit.) where this fubject is largely handled.

Perfonal covenanting is the communicant's beft token, and without it you cannot warrantably come to the Lord's table. You will mock God, and deceive your own fouls, if you take the great feal of heaven, and append it to a blank, or a fheet of clean paper: And this you do, when you communicate without previous covenanting with God. O beware of appending heaven's feal to a blank, left the King of heaven be wroth, and fill up the blank with a curse.

O communicant, come then, take hold of the covenant of grace, and give a hearty and fiducial consent to its gracious offers and terms. You are miferable while under a covenant of works; be convinced of it, and fpeedily betake your felves to the new covenant, and the gracious

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gracious method of falvation through Jefus Chrift and his righteousnefs. Cordially accept of Jefus Chrift in all his offices, and in him make choice of God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft, as your God and portion: And give up yourfelves, foul and body, and all you have, to be the Lord's, to be for him and not for another. And, in Christ's strength, engage to live for God, serve him, and walk with him in newnefs of life. Do all this in the most folemn manner, with fincerity, humility, and felf denial; and, if this you be helped to do, God will accept of you at his table, and deal with you as his covenanted people.

Object. "But, faith one, I know it is my duty to come and tranfact with God in this manner, and renew covenant with him, conform to my baptifmal vows; and sometimes I think I am willing to do it, but I much fufpect my fincerity in this matter; and it is highly dangerous to deal falfly with God, in pretending to covenant with him, when the heart is not right with God?"

Anf. You have juft caufe to fufpect your own hearts, and therefore fhould be at all pains to fearch and try yourfelves; and, for your help, I fhall give fome characters of those who aim fincerely to tranfact and renew covenant with God.

1. They are fuch who are throughly convinced of their mifery under the firft covenant, as being wholly unable to fulfil its condition, or pay its penalty; and therefore fee they cannot abide in this cafe, without being undone to all eternity.

2. They are heartily grieved for their natural eftrangement, and long living at a distance from God; and are made to fay, Oh, how long have I dwelt in Mefech, far from the fountain of my happiness!

3. They are troubled for their long flighting of Chrift's gracious calls and offers of mercy in the gofpel, and for the backwardness of their hearts to leave fin and fatan, and come and enter into covenant with God. Oh, how long have I preferred fatan's drudgery and fervice, to God's friendship and favour; lived in league with my foul's enemy, and at war with my best friend!

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