cate Jefus Chrift to apologize for your weaknefs and fhortcomings, and to feparate all the defects from your performances, and offer them up in his cenfer, perfumed with the incenfe of his merits. Was thy conscience ftupid, thy heart hard, and thy mind earnal, while hearing a foul-rouzing fermon? Be afhamed of it before God, and chide with thy heart, and fay to it, "Art thou worse than Felix a heathen? For his heart, " trembled, when he heard of judgment to come," Acts xxiv. Art thou worse than devils For "they believe and tremble," James ii." Oh! fhall heathens and devils be fooner moved than my hard heart? Haft thou reaped no benefit through the day? Let it be matter of exercife and lamentation to thee before the Lord. Let never bare ordinances fatisfy thee, without communion with God therein. As Zaccheus climbed up into the fycamore tree to fee Jefus, and when once he had got a fight of him there," he came down joyfully;" fo oughteft thou to go up to the fycamore tree of ordinances for this purpose, to fee God in Chrift; and, unlefs this fight be granted thee, "come down forrowfully." When men go to meet their beloved friend at a certain place, and they mifs him, how discontentedly do they go away? Alas! what are ordinances without God, but as a table without meat, a well without water, from which a needy foul muft needs depart hungry and thirsty ?

It concerns thee to call thyfelf to account for thy frame and carriage in hearing, reading, prayer, praife, giving alms, and every duty you have been employed in through the day. As God himself reviewed every day's work of his, and "faw it was good," Gen i. So fhould we review every day, and, in a special manner, every Sabbath day's work, and fee if it be good or no. Let us judge ourselves, that we may not be judged."

II. Read over thofe portions of fcripture which you have heard opened, with the fcriptures cited by the minifter; think on them, and beg the illumination of God's Spirit to make you understand them. We fee the eunuch was reading the fcripture upon his return from the public worship, and God bleffed it and fent

him

him an interpreter; and if you do fo, you may expect the fame. He that fent Philip to him, will fend his own Spirit to help you; who, when he comes, brings fuch a divine light alongft with him, as will make you fee the truths of the gofpel with another eye, and dif cover more in the word than ever you beheld in it be fore: So that, though you have read the fame chapters and verfes about Chrift many times over, yet then you fhall be made to fay, O where were my eyes till now, that I never faw what was contained here?

III. Labour by all means to keep up the remembrance and impreffions of the word thou hast been hearing, on thy mind: Let it not be as a wayfaring man to tarry with thee only for a night; but let it be an inhabitant to dwell with thee all the week over. Hath the Spirit made any warm impreffions by the word upon thy foul this day! O watch over them and strive to preferve and entertain them through the evening, and look to God for help. Oh Lord, let me not lose the heat of this day, in the cool of the evening. Thy word hath wrought wonderful changes upon others, O that I may likewife experience the fame, and have it to fay, I went forth proud, but am come home humble: I went out careless and hard-hearted, but am come back thoughtful and contrite in spirit: I went to church a bond-slave of fa tan, but am returned a free man of Chrift!".

Poor foul, much depends upon your care and watchfulness over yourself in the evening of the Lord's day, that "you lofe not these things wrought in you by the word" through the day. There are many like thofe foldiers who are victorious in the day, but loose all at night through their fecurity and floth: they do not watch and Itand to their arms but fuffer the enemy to furprize them, to beat up their quarters, and fpoil their tents, when they are fecure, dreaming of no hazard. Many are like Hannibal, that knew better how to obtain a victory, than how to improve it when got. Watch then against the devil, the world, and your own hearts, and beware of losing at night what you gained through the day. ནས་༡་ ༈་༢,༨

E e 2

I fhall

I thall here give fome advices, in order to the clerithing and improving of thofe good motions, convictions, or refolutions, that may be begot in you by hearing of the word on the Lord's day. These are sparks kindled by the breath of God, therefore do not fmother them, but strive to blow them up into a flame by prayer and meditation.

1. Beg earneftly that God, who hath "begun a good work" in thee, may carry it on; that thefe convictions may terminate in thy converfion here, and thy falvation hereafter. Cry, Lord, fuffer not these tender fruits to be nipped in the bud, or blasted in the blossom, by fatan's froft winds, or the world's cold blasts; but mercifully cherish and preferve them to maturity, " to the praise of the glory of his grace."

2. Confider what a crying fin it is against God, to neglect or ftifle thy convictions: He will treat thee as a murderer if thou do it: It is murder to destroy the

conception in the womb." Christ also will take it as a folemn affront offered to him; for convictions are the meffengers which he fends to prepare the way of his entry into the foul: And will he not heinoufly refent it, to fee his meffengers killed or maltreated? Owhat horrid ingratitude is it to Chrift, after he hath opened the doors of our hearts half-way by convictions, to have it fhut against him, when he is juft ready to enter; or, when he is half-way in, to be thruft back again, and have the door thrown in his face!

3. Confider how prejudicial it is to thy own foul. The dying away of thy convictions threatens the life of thy foul. If you quench them, God may be provoked to pass that dreadful fentence, "My fpirit fhall no longer strive with thee:" And fo there follows a midnight filence, and thou art loft for ever. O tremble for fear of God's judgments, for thy cafe is more dangerous than others: No water freezeth so fast, as that which hath been once warmed; and no iron is fo hard, as that which hath been oft heated and oft quenched. Therefore,

4. Prefently ftrike in with thy convictions. Blefs God for awaking thee, when others about thee are ly

ing

ing in a deep fleep; for visiting thee, when others are paffed by: Be content to have thy fore lanced, and thy wound fearched: Suffer no other plaifter to be applied to it but Christ's blood: Go not to heal the wound of thy confcience by the works of the law, and thy own duties; for thefe will at beft but skin it over for a while. Neither go to fhift off convictions by delays, as did Felix; for this is the devil's great ftratagem to ruin thy foul. It is with the heart as with melted wax; if you clap the feal to it when it is foft, it receives an impreffion which abides; but if you delay, it foon cools and hardens, so that prefs on it as ye will, it is to no purpofe. Let us then imitate David, who, when he was convinced of the evil of his ways "without any delay turned his feet to God's teftimonies," Pfalm cxix. 59. Put forth thy utmost ftrength, and ftir up thyfelf to turn from fin, and flee to Chrift, while confcience is ftirring, the Spirit Ariving, Chrift waiting, his bowels founding, and his blood pleading; for the lofs of this feafon may be the lofs of thy foul. God faith thrice in one chapter, Heb. iv. "Today, to day, to-day," but

the devil cries, "To-morrow, to-morrow, to-morrow." Surely God is wifeft, and his time fitteft. To-day is thy living day, to-morrow may be thy dying day: Today thou art on earth, to-morrow thou mayeft be in hell To-day mercy is inviting, to morrow justice may be fmiting; therefore, while thou art called "to-day, hear the voice of God and confcience, and harden, not your heart."

do

IV. Labour, to perfevere in prayer this evening; not faint in it, but endeavour with Mofes, to "hold up your hands this day till the going down of the fun." Our frequency and importunity in this duty is no trouble, but a delight to the hearer of prayer. Chrift faith oft this day to the fpoufe, " Thy voice is fweet, caufe me to hear it."Continue inftant in prayer this day, wieft. ling as Jacob, and faying, "I will not let thee go till thou blefs me." And as orators, at the clofe their speech, use all their art and fkill to move the of their auditors; fo do you, at the clofe of the Lord's day, put forth all your grace and fpiritual ftrength in

He affections

prayer,

prayer, to prevail with God for a bleffing. Pray this evening, as if it were to be thy laft Sabbath, thy laft night, or thy laft prayer; knowing that, when death comes, thou canst pray no more: For, as death binds up the hand that it can work no more, so it strikes dumb the tongue that it can speak no more; according to Ecclixto. Ifa. xxxviii. 18.

V. Study to be denied to all your Sabbath prayers and performances. Beware, my friends, of fecret trufting to them, as any piece of righteoufnefs before God; for that will fpoil all, like the dead fly in the apothecary's ointment. Say therefore this day, after ye have done all, "We are unprofitable fervants." Look above all, as if you had done nothing at all, to the righteoufnefs of Chrift to answer for all. See that you join nothing of your own with this perfect righteoufnefs, in the point of your juftification and acceptance with God; for this is both dishonourable to Chrift, and dangerous to yourfelves: Therefore beware of it. There is a natural popery in the minds of all; we much incline to stand upon our own legs, and to have something of our own to found upon. But is it any other thing than blafphemy, to charge Chrift's facrifice with lameness, or his work with deficiency? or to think with our penny to make up Chrift's fum, and with our pol luted duties to add any perfection to the blood of Chrift, which is infinite? Shall not we reft content with that wherewith God hath declared himself well pleased! Let us then with Paul, "count all things but dung and lofs for Chrift and his righteoufnefs," and defire only to be found in him.

Concerning Family Duties on the Sabbath night,

IN the next place, I proceed to fpeak of family-du ties requifite this night, and how thefe are to be per formed.

I. O heads of families, fee that ye be more folemn, full and particular in family-worship this evening, than at other times: It is pleafant this night to hear uni verfally the melody of God's praife in the tabernacles of

the