it, and prefently thereafter provided two bottles to fuftain us, and ever fince hath fuccoured us in diftrefs, refcued us from danger, fupplied us in wants; yea, he hath fet us at his own table, and made us live upon his coft, Acts xvii. 28. He hath given us all the creatures for our use and service, yea, the most glorious of them; the angels are our miniftering fpirits, the lower heavens ferve to give us breath the middle heavens to give us light and heat, and the higheft. heavens afford us a dwelling place. The fun fhines, the fire burns, the wind blows, and the water flows; nay, all the creatures are at work, both day and night, and all for the fervice worm of fix foot long.

of a poor

If a friend give us our bread for a month or two, we think ourselves much bound to him; but how much more beholden are we to God, who keeps an open free table for us all the days of the year, and all the years of our life, and even to us when enemies to him? Behold, thefe who have their mouths opened wide against God, he mercifully puts bread in their mouths. How great is God's goodness to us! an!, how great is our ingratitude to him! I know not which of them we should most wonder at. God gives us peace, money, health and wealth; but, intead of ferving him therewith, many offer them up in a facrifice to the devil and bafe lufts, according to Hof. ii. 8. God gives fome folk ftrength, and they waite it among hariots; to others money, and they wafte it in drunkennefs and prodigality; to others power, and they wafte it in oppreffion; to others honour, and they abuse it to pride and vainglory. Many make ufe of the mercies of God as darts to thoot again't the heavens; they pervert and mifapply them for dishonouring God, wounding Chrift, and grieving the Spirit; for debauching their bodies, damning their fouls, and dathing both tables of the law in pieces before God's face. And yet, even while they are doing fo, God is guarding them by his providence, and feeding them his boun "O that men would praife the Lord for his goodnets, and for his wonderful works," to fuch undeferving and ill deferving creatures! We ought this day to "triumph in the works of his

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hands," according to Pfal. xcii. 5. and cry, "Lord, what is man that thou art mindful of him?” gaivis 10

2. Meditate this day upon God's special and distinguithing goodnefs to us beyond others, Both with refpect to foul and body: He hath not dealt to with any nation as with us. Both our national and perfonal mercies are fingular, and ought this day to be remembered by us. Hath not God delivered many of you from death, when fome dangerous accident, or violent fickness, was threatning to break the flender twig of life, and to let you fall into the grave, and into hell both at once? Hath he not mercifully recovered you, and given you further space and place for repentance.

Hath not God long preserved this land from the famine, fword and peftilence, and fuch deftroying judgments as have been making havock in other nations a bout us, laying heaps upon heaps? He hath mercifully' removed that dearth and fcarcity wherewith we were almost confumed fome years ago, when the poor fwooned in the ftreets, and fainted in the highways for want of bread. God hath fecured our lives, liberties and e-flates from rapine and violence, and lengthened out our peace and tranquility, when other nations have been Turned into a seat of war and fea of blood.comban

Confider the goodness of God to us this day, that we are not among the Jews or pagans on the earth, that never heard the news of Chrift; or among the damned in hel', who are beyond the reach of the offers of Chrift. Let us alfo blefs God, that we live not under the Old Teftament times, but under the New; not uns der that darker and harsher dispensation of the covenant by Mofes, whofe firft miracle was the "turning of water into blood; but under the clearer and tweeter difpenfation of the Meffiah, whofe firft miracle was the

turning of water into wine," that chear the heart of man; and hath mercifully freed us from the heavy yoke of Levitical facrifices and ceremonies.

Let us alfo this day thankfully remember God's goodness in delivering us from the yoke of Antichrifti an tyranny, popery, idolatry, and perfecution, and fre quently blafting the hellth plots and contrivances of

Our

our enemies against the gofpel 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 murdered 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 flocks 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 darkness, and in the region of the fhadow of death;" and that he allows us fuch rich gofpel feafts, while others are vifited with cleanness 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, whilft others enjoy filent Sabbaths; yea, though we have flighted his goodness, and lothed the manna and honey-comb, his goodnefs 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 Chrift'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 testified such love to them, he never forgave them one fin, he never shed 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 redemption, 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 O 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 prardise, but it was a wonder he drove him not presently out of the world into hell, where he had a little before plunged far more excellent creatures than Adam was. Christ took not on him the nature of angels, but he was content to clothe himself with the rags of human flesh, that he might become our Saviour. O glorious incomprehenfible love!

2. Think upon the wife contrivance of our redemption. It would have eternally nonpluffed the wildom 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 fatisfying both their demands. Sin is feverely punished, as justice 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 spoken it. Though fallen man might have had the liberty to chufe any way of redemption he pleafed, he could never have proposed this. Indeed, when he had been perishing, 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 breast of the eternally wife God, for, had he waited till men or angels had devifed a way for our redemption, we had been miferable 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 promifed 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 state of nature. 3. What he may be in a state of grace. 4. What he fhall be in a state of glory.

O finner, retire this day and think on your mifery. If thou be yet in a ftate of nature, thou art without God and without Chrift in the world, thou fleepest 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 step 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 state 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 best worldly comforts and enjoyments are accurfed to you: "Thou art

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