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nearer to God's altar you come, the fire of his jealoufy burns the more vehemently. Labour then to go to his table with holy fear and trembling; for, as communion. love is the sweetest, fo communion-wrath is the foreft. Heavy judgments, both fpiritual, temporal, and eternal, hang over the unworthy communicant's head. If would prevent thefe, adventure to this table with holy fear and dread: For if the woman with the bloody if fue feared fo much to touch the " hem of Chrift's garment," Mark v. how much more ought you to fear to touch the fymbols of his body and blood, to put your hand into his wounds, and feel the print of the nails? If fuch a holy man as John the Baptist thought himself unworthy to bear Chrift's fhoes, how much more are vile finners, like you, unworthy to touch and feed upon his broken body and fhed blood? Let your fouls then be humble as the duft when you approach, in a deep fenfe of your great unworthiness, former guilt, and breach of former vows made at this table; for to fuch humble fouls God has promised to look in mercy, Ifa. Ixvi. 2.

II. When you are going to the table, labour to ftir up your fouls, and all your faculties and affections; excite all your graces and defires to attend Chrift. O fee that your fouls be lively and your hearts fixed, when you are about to draw near and feal a marriage-covenant with Christ. You have great need to look to your hearts and frames at this time. A dead heart or an ill frame now, is very unfuitable; it is like the dead fly in the box of ointment, it will be fair to spoil your communicating. For God's fake look to it.

Object. I. "Oh!" fays one," my heart is in a lifelefs and ftupid frame, even at a dead stand, and thinks neither of good nor ill: What shall I do with it?"

An Diipatch presently a swift meffenger to hea ven, an earnest ejaculation and prayer, to call for the help of God's Spirit, as Cant. iv. 16. Intreat him to breathe upon your dry bones with a fresh gale, and take a coal from his own altar to inflame your affections.

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2. Call on your hearts to awake to a lively frame. It is a miftake of Chriffians to think they are only to call upon God, you must alfo call upon yourfelves, and roufe up yourselves, as Pfal. lvii. 8. "Awake up my glory." &c. Stir up yourfelves and all that is within you, according to Pfal. ciii. 1. Speak to your hearts, and expoftulate with them: Say, "O my droufy block ifh heart, art thou not afhamed to think fo coldly of thy bleeding Saviour?" Is his heart fo warm, and thine fo cold? Doth a dead head become the fervice of a living God?

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Object II." Oh!" faith another," my heart is a roving, wandering heart, I cannot get it ftayed one mo ment upon one fubject; it prefently gets away, and hunts after vanities O what fall I do with the levity and excurfions of my heart?"

Anf. 1. Labour now to over-awe your heart with the deep apprehenfion of God's prefence and all-feeing eye: God noticeth you more now than ever.

2. Chide and check your heart for its vain excur fions: Say," Did I come here to think of any thing but of Chrift and heaven? Is this a place for thinking on worldly toys? Is this the way to fhow forth my Saviour's death, which is my bulinefs here! What? cannot I watch with Chrift one hour now? How then will I behold and contemplate him for ever."

Object. III. "Though I am come this length in obedience to a dving Saviour's command, I yet fear to go forward, for I doubt my right. I cannot fay I am in covenant with God, or that I have faith, and an intereft in Christ, or that his body was broken for me.” was

Anf. O difcouraged foul, though you have not the faith of affurance, yet fee if you can get the faith of adherence. Though you cannot fay that ever you took hold of Chrift or the covenant before, yet try if you can get a grip of Chrift now; you are much nearer to him now than at other times. Make an endeavour, ftir up your fouls, and go to Chrift with all the faith you can win at, faying, with that poor man, "Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief." "If you cannot apply Chrift to yourselves,

yourselves, will you apply yourselves to Chrift. If you cannot, fay Chrift is your Saviour and hiding place, will you run like a malefactor to him for refuge, and try if he will now shelter you in his wounds, when they are fo wide opened in the facrament. He noticeth any poor finner that is engaging his heart to approach un to God.

Again, thoug!. you cannot fay that Chrift is your's, and you are in covenant with him; yet, are you not willing to be his, and give up yourself to him? The cove nant indeed is mutual, Cant. ii. 16. "My beloved is mine and I am his." But if you cannot lay claim to one part of it, try if you can grip to another. Is it your language, Though I cannot fay he is mine, yet I am refolved to be his, and to give up myself to him? That is well faid, poor foul: for you must first confent to be his, before ye know that he is your's: You must be re folute in your covenanting with Chrift; when you are driven from one horn of the altar, hold fast by another. Flee now to Chrift, faying, "Lord, though I cannot fay thou art mine; yet I can fay, Lord, I am content and refolved to be thine, wholly thine, only thine, and everlastingly thine." David could not always fay, God is mine; but, when he cannot say that, he cries, "‚I^ am thine, Lord, fave thou me," Pfal. cxix. 94. Here one that belongs to thee, and has furrendered himself to thee: "Lord, fuffer not one of thine to perish."

Object. IV. " Alas! I cannot fay to God, I am thine: I fear he will not accept of me, or own me for his."

Anf. Though you cannot fay, I am thine by God's acceptance; yet, can you not fay, "Lord, I am thine by my own refignation, I do devote and give up myself wholly unto thee, I will not be the devil's, the world's, or luft's; I will not be my own, but I will be thine: I am thine, fave thou me." Go to him with that plea the Campani came to the Romans with, after they had refused to help them as neighbours and allies against the Grecians, who were diftreffing them fore, and that be cause the Romans and the Grecians were in friendship together at that time: The Campani went and gave up

their whole country in vaffalage to the Romans, faying! "If you will not help us as our allies, help us as your vaffals and subjects, as we are centent to be; we are fure you will not let your tributaries perish." And indeed this argument prevailed with them, and fo will it with God, if you go to him with an importunate faith, and fasten yourself upon him. Plead, "Lord, if thou wilt not love me as a friend, yet pity me as thy poor fube ject: Irefolve to be thine, and, if I perith, one must perish that defires to be thine. Lord, whether thou accept of me or not, I give up myself to thy ufe and fervice." Art thou come this length, poor foul? Fear not, thou shalt not perish, Chrift is as willing to be thine as thou art to be his: Come forward, and take the feal of the covenant, and make a new furrender of yourself to Chrift, and it may be he will be made "known to you in the breaking of bread."

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III. When this holy feast comes to be celebrated, see that your fouls be rightly employed, and your graces fuitably exercised: Study to have your meditations and ejaculations fuitable to what you fee or hear.

When you are coming to this holy table, and perhaps may be put to ftand a little by it, by reafon of the throng before you get accefs: Think on what Mofes faid to the Ifraelites while standing at the Red-fea, Exod. xiv. 13. "Stand ftill (faith he) and fee the falvation of the Lord, which he wili fhew to you to-day.". In like manner you are standing by the Red-fea of the blood of Chrift: ftand still and wonder at the glorious falvation he is fhewing to you this day.

Or you may think with yourself, that you hear Christ the captain of your falvation now crying, as did Jehu, 2 Kings ix. 32. "Who is on my fide? Who?" Well, if you will now appear or declare for Chrift, then you muft throw your lufts, like Jezebel, out of the window, to be dathed in pieces.

When you fee the communicants fet about Chrift's ta ble, you may think on that word, Pfal. cxxviii. 3. where God promifeth to the righteous man," That his wife fhould be as a fruitful vine by the sides of a house, and his children as olive plants round about his tables" Behold VOL. I.

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his promife made out to Chrift, God's righteous fer vant; the church, Chrift's fpoufe, is a fruitful vine, and hath born him many children: Would to God thefe may be Christ's children by adoption, as well as they are the church's by profeffion! May it be faid of them, that this and that man was born of her! O how pleafant a fight is it to fee Chrift's children fet as olive plants round about his table, and to fee Chrift himself fetting them there! Surely, if he fet them, he will ferve them alfo, they fhall not have ground to go away with any complaint of him: For Christ is no niggard to his children; he is neither hard-hearted nor hard-handed; if his children feek bread, he will not give them a stone.

When you are allowed to come forward to the Lord's table, think with yourself that you hear Chrift or his minifters faying to you, as the angels did to the women at the fepulchre, Matth. xxviii. 5. 6. "We know whom ye feek, ye feek Jefus which was crucified; come, fee the place where the Lord lay:" come, fee the promise, come, fee the elements wherein the Lord lieth.

And, in the mean while, take care to entertain very high and exalted thoughts of Chrift, and very low and humble thoughts of yourself. Say, or think, "Lord I am not worthy to approach fo near thee, far less that thou fhouldft come under my roof. I am not worthy to eat the crumbs that fall from my own, much less those that fall from thy table. Oh, I am unworthy to be allowed to creep as a dog under the table, far lefs to fit as one of Chrift's invited guefts at the table. 1 deferve not room to ftand amongst thy fervants, far less to fit down with thy children. I deserve not to have daily bread conferred on me, and thall I be allowed to eat of the bread of life? I am unworthy to lift up my eyes to heaven, and fhall I get manna from heaven? I am not worthy to eat the bread of men, and fhall I be admitted to eat the bread of angels? Shall I entertain him whom they adore: nay, fit down with him at whofe feet they fall? Shall I, who am unworthy to tread thy ground, be allowed to tread thy courts? Shall I, that am unworthy to breathe in thy air, have thy Spirit to breathe into my heart, or have leave to breath out my defires unto thee ?"