our enemies against the gospel and Proteftant religion, and preferving us from being invaded in our confciences, or cut off from the wells of falvation, and barred from the fprings of ordinances, and having our teachers mur-. dered or driven into corners. Let us blefs God, that we have the peaceable enjoyment of pure ordinances under the protection of proteftant magiftrates, and are allowed to ferve God according to our confciences, to read the bible in our own tongue, and examine the doctrines delivered to us by this rule; and that we are not under the tyranny of bloody papifts, forced to hide or burn our bibles, to bow to stocks and ftones; or otherwife in hazard ourfelves to be burnt in fires, or banished our native land,

Let us blefs God that we live in a land of light, “a valley of vifion," while others about us "fit in darknefs, and in the region of the shadow of death ;" and that he allows us fuch rich gospel feafts, while others are visited with cleannefs of teeth, and a famine of the word of God: That every Sabbath-day there is a free market of grace publicly proclaimed in our ears, whilst others enjoy filent Sabbaths; yea, though we have flighted his goodness, and lothed the manna and honey-comb, his goodness is renewed and continued with us. "What

fhall we render unto the Lord for all his benefits towards us?"

II. Another fubject of meditation upon the Lord's day is the work of man's redemption this day completed by Christ's refurrection.

This is a fubject the angels are still prying into; and ought not we much more, who are the perfons immediately concerned? Chrift never teftified fuch love to them, he never forgave them one fin, he never thed one drop of blood for them; and fhall not we, for whom he poured out ftreams of blood, and to whom he hath forgiven ten thousand talents, be employed in prying into this mystery?

1. Meditate upon the fpring of this work, God's infinite free love, that moved him to pity loft mankind, and contrive a way to redeem him; when, in the mean time, he paffed by a world of fallen angels, who were the elder brothers by creation, had a more natural claim VOL. IV.

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to the inheritance, and might have been far more ferviceable to their maker than we: Yet, behold, there is not one word of their reemption, no facrifice provided for them; there is not one devil fpared, not one of all the thousands of fallen angels recovered; God prefently took vengeance on them all: But how did his bowels yearn, his heart pity and his eye fpare poor fallen man in his miferable condition! Indeed he drove Adam out of prardife, but it was a wonder he drove him not prefently out of the world into hell, where he had a little before plunged far more excellent creatures than Adam was. Chrift took not on him the nature of angels, but he was content to clothe himself with the rags of human flefh, that he might become our Saviour. O glorious incomprehensible love !

2. Think upon the wife contrivance of our redemption. It would have eternally nonpluffed the wifdom of angels, to find out a method how to fatisfy God's juftice, and fecure man's happiness both at once, how to fave the life of the law-breaker, and yet maintain the honour of the Law maker: But here's a way to do both, here's a device for reconciling juftice and mercy, and both their demands. Sin is feverely punished, required; and yet the finner is pardoned, as as mercy pleaded. It would never have entered the thoughts of angels, that God would have parted with his Son and their Lord, to die a curfed death for vile worms; it would have been blafphemy for any to have thought or fpoken it. Though fallen man might have had the liberty to chufe any way of redemption he pleafed, he could never have propofed this. Indeed, when he had been perifhing, he might have cried, O Son of God have mercy on us; but who would have faid, O Son of God, come make thyfelf a man, come die a curfed death, come fuffer hell's pains for me? This noble device bred only in the breaft of the eternally wife God, for, had he waited till men or angels had devifed a way for our redemption, we had been miserable to all eternity. But what do I fpeak! the wonders of man's redemption can never be told: Here's a large fubject for meditation and admiration, that can

never be exhausted by men or angels to all eternity. Let this work be the delight of our fouls, efpecially on the Lord's day. O believers, think much this day upon the love of your Redeemer; remember what he hath done and fuffered for you; confider how much he hath given and forgiven to you; view what he hath laid out and laid up for you; think what he hath performed and promised to you; and so you will not want matter of meditation.

III. Another fubject of meditation on the Lord's day is our ftate, and here we may take a view of man's fourfold state. 1. What he once was in a state of innocency. 3. What he now is in a ftate of nature. 3. What he may be in a state of grace. 4. What he thall be in a state of glory.

O finner, retire this day and think on your mifery. If thou be yet in a state of nature, thou art without God and without Chrift in the world, thou fleepeft and walkeft in danger of hell; thou lieft ftill under the heavy load of unpardoned guilt, there is not one of all the numberlefs millions of your fins forgiven, and they are heavier than ten thousand milftones hung about your neck; for every one of them hath the fearful curfes of the law hanging at them; and in the mean time thou lieft on the very brink of the fiery furnace, like a man fleeping on the top of the maft in time of a ftorm; there is but one ftep betwixt thee and eternal death, nothing but a rotten thread of life keeps thee from dropping into everlasting burnings. Thou knoweft not, when thou rifeft in the morning, but ere night thou mayeft make thy bed in hell; and when thou lieft down, thou canst not tell but thou fhalt wake in the flames; all the men in the world, nay all the angels in heaven, cannot affure thee of the contrary. O what a doleful condition is this, to be always in a ftate of damnation, not fure to be one hour out of hell! A ferious meditation upon your natural ftate, O finner, might caufe your heart of ftone to tremble.

But haft thou any happiness while thou art on this fide of hell? No furely, for your beft worldly comforts and enjoyments are accurfed to you: "Thou art

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cursed in the city, cursed in the field, cursed in thy bafket and thy ftore, curfed in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy ground," Deut xxviii. 156 Nay, e very bit of bread thou eateft, the curfe of God goes down with it. All your bleffings turn into curfes, and your mercies into judgments; your table is a fnare to you, the word is the favour of death," and the facra ments are feals of condemnation to you. The best actions you perform are but an abomination to God; they bring the more guilt upon your head, and treasure up the more wrath against you. Better you had perifheds in infancy than continue to live in a Christless state; for, the longer you live, ftill the more miferable you ares; For every day, every night, every hour you live, you heat the furnace hotter by your new actions, which are all fins, even the very best of them. O is this a ftate to be continued in Canft thou ly down contentedly to fleep another night in this condition? God for bid that thou live and die in this ftate; for, if thou doft, thou wilt rife in the fame condition at the laft day. Nay, your state then will be more dreadful than ever, for then thou wilt fee above thee the judge frowning, beneath thee hell gaping, within thee confcience gnawing, without thee the world burning; on the right hand your fins accufing,s on the left hand the devils terrifying, the good angels keeping thee out of hea ven, and the evil angels pulling thee down to hell O poor Chriftless foul, continue to think on this subject till your heart begin to melt, your eyes to weep, and your tongue to cry, so what fhall I do to be saved? O that I knew where to find Chrift: Osto be found in him! I would give ten thousand worlds to be fure of this, it will be terrible if death or a tribunal find me before I be found in him. Is it not worth your while to fpend fome time upon this foul concerning fubject? Hath not God given you reason for this very end, and will you not exercise it? can you think to be faved otherwife? Do you expect that God will carry you to heaven like a stone, or save you without or against thy will Doth the world and your bodies deferve to be remembred the whole day, or whole week or year throughout?

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and doth not God and your foul deferve to be thought on one day in the week, or one hour of the day? Shy not that you have no fpare time for this work for, if you will spare none of your own time for it, I befeech you to spend God's time well this way. Is it instabetter to fpend fome part of the Sabbath in thinking upon your fouls ftate, than in thinking upon the world? Spiritual things, alas trouble you little on weekdays, and why should/worldly things\intrude upon God's day icon his

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2.5Think upon your happiness, if you be in a state of grace, and in Chrift; you are delivered from fin's guilt, from fatan's fetters, from the law's curfes, from death's fting, and hell's terror. Thou haft now peace with God; juftice itself is thy friend; all thy enjoy. ments are sweetned by Chrift's love; all your afflictions fanctified by his blood. God himself is your God, your Father, your Friend, your Portion; yea, all things are yours.

IV. Death is a proper fubject to be meditated upon on the Sabbath day; for, in the xcii. Pfalm, wherein the exercises of the Sabbath are defcribed, God calls and teaches us to confider our latter end. First, the end of the workers of iniquity, who, though they spring up as grafs, and flourish for a feafon, fhall yet in the end be destroyed for ever, ver. 7. 9. And again, the latter end of the godly, whole horn, though it be abafed to the duft for a while, yet in the end, thall be exalted. It is one principab work of minifters this day, to be proclaimers of mortality, and remembrancers of death, according to Ifa. xl. 67.8bn Soothen it is our duty every Sabbath to have serious thoughts of death. Think with yourselves, What if this bebthe laft Sabbath that ever lowill fee on earth ?~I may be called to die, before I be called to hear another offer of Chrifto Have I fitten the gofpel fummons this Sabbath, to come and embrace Chrift, or to furrender my heart to him? What if I get a fummons by death to come and appear before him before the next Sabbath? this "I canInot fit Death is a bold messenger, he cannot be de. forcedgo when he comes and takes a man by the throat,

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