thee this day for reft; O fin is heavier than a milltone, it is weighed down with the law's cur--" fes; and, O how many of these milftones are on my back! Lord I come this day to roll them upon thee, who art the fure foundation that God has laid in Zion, able to bear me and all I can lay u•pon it: angels cannot free me of my burden, for the burden of one fin has funk many thousands of them to the bottomlefs pit; the faints cannot do it, they have burden enough of their own; nay, the whole creation cannot bear my burden, for it is already groaning under the weight of me and it: but Lord, thou art the mighty One, on whom finners help is laid, and haft promised reft to fuch as come 'to thee. Lord, let all my burdens fall off this day, that I may be at fredom to run the ways of thy <commandments.'

9. Look to him as a rich and bountiful helper of the needy fay, Lord, pity a needy beggar this day, that is going to the feaft-house to wait for a < crumb; thou haft fupplied many, and I have heard a good report of thy bounty: never came there a poorer wretch to thy door than I, not a penny of grace is there left to help me, not a crumb to keep in my life. Lord, let me not go from thy treafure-houfe without an alms; there is bread enough in thy house and to spare, let me not go without a crumb.'

10. Look to him as a prophet and teacher, that can open thine eyes, and give thee gracious discoveries of his truths and ways: fay, Lord, I have heard much of thee by the hearing of the ear, but little have mine eyes feen of thee; I have been long in 'Chrift's school, but little proficiency have I made : "Lord, come this day and teach me to profit; let my eyes be opened, that in this ordinance I may fee the heinous nature of fin, the feverity of divine juftice, the greatness of divine love, the beauty of Chrift, the precioufnefs of fouls, the excellency of the remedy provided for finners, &c.'

11. Look

II. Look to him as thy head and husband with whom you are this day to feal a marriage-covenant : fay, Lord, the' I be a most deformed, black and unworthy bride, and have nothing but poverty, debt and danger to recommend me to thee; yet, fince thou who art the chief among ten thousands art content to match with me, O give me a heart to confent willingly to the bargain, and fay, my beloved is mine and I am his. Lord, help me chearfully to fay Amen to the covenant, and all the ar ticles of it, that I was reviewing and renewing ye 'fternight: O let the marriage-knot this day be caft, that fin or Satan, death or hell, may never be able to loofe again: let him this day kifs me with the kiffes of his mouth: O for fweet communion and fellowship with him at his own table: Lord, fhew me a token for good, fet me as a feal upon thine arms manifeft thyfelf to me, as thou doft not to the • world!'

DIRECTION III.

Abour, communicant, to get thy foul put in a right and fuitable frame for approaching God's holy table, and entertaining thy Saviour there. Now the cry is making, the Bridegroom cometh, go ye forth to meet him: prepare the palace of your hearts for him; cleanse, sweep and wash them; get them adorned and perfumed with the graces of the fpirit. Is Chrift gone to prepare a place for you, and will you not prepare a place for him? Set up a throne for Chrift, go forth to meet him with acclamation and praile, receive him gladly, fet the crown on his head, and fwear allegiance to him, and fay, as the men of Ifrael faid to Gideon, Judges viii. 22. Rule thou over us, for thou haft delivered us out of the hand of Midian. O but Chrift hath delivered us out of the hand of Satan, a far worse oppreffor than Midian. Let us welcome him, and compafs him about with fongs of deliverance,

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O communicants, deal not with Chrift as his countrymen the Jews did, John i. 11. He came unto his own, but his own received him not: when he came into the world, there was no room allowed for him any where but in the manger, and thither was he thruft. O deal not fo with your Saviour; think not a foul stall good enough for Chrift, but make clean your hearts, and give him the best room, yea, the upper room there. O fend the key of your hearts this morning to Chrift, faying, Lord, take thy choice where to ly: alas, I may fay with the Centurion, I am not worthy that thou shouldft come under my roof; my foul is a ruinous, Imoky and defiled cottage, thou haft not a 'fit place with me to lay thy head: but O thou that didft not difdain to ly in a manger among beafts, and to be entertained in the house of Simon the leper, come into my foul, repair the house, and prepare an upper room for thyfelf, that I may eat the paffover with thee. Lord, fpeak the word, and thy fervant's heart fhall be healed, cleanfed, and made holy, foft and pliable, fit for thy ufe and fervice. Lord, none can mend my heart but thou that made it; I put it into thy hands; Lord, make it as 'thou wouldst have it.'

Queft. What is that frame and difpofition of foul that we should come with to the communion-table ?

Anf. Take thefe directions concerning it.

1. Come to it with holy awe and reverence of God. Were you going to a Prince's table, you would go to it with fome awe and concern; and, will you have none when you go to the table of the great Jeho vah, who is your judge, fearches the heart, and obferves all vour actions? He is a God that is very jealous of his honour, and will not be mocked; you ought to come to this table with a holy dread and reverence, adoring the holiness and juftice of God manifefted in the fufferings of Chrift. How vehemently did he hate fin, that he would not pity or spare his dear fon, when he cried to him; but feeing he had under- ·

taken

taken to pay our debt and drink our cup, the leaft farthing or drop he would not abate him? Tho' the finner be spared, yet fin mull be punished to the uttermoft; our cautioner paid dearly for it. We ought to adore his juftice, faying with the men of Bethfhemesh, 1 Sam. vi. 20. Who is able to ftand before this holy Lord God? There is no ftanding but at Chrift's back, our blessed cautioner, in whom God is well pleased.

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II. Come with holy fear and jealousy over yourselves, left you be found unwelcome guests, and draw down the guilt of unworthy communicating upon your felves: cry, Lord, keep me from wounding Chrift and my own foul this day; let me not betray the Son of God with a kiss deliver me from blood-guiltiness, and from drinking damnation, O what if I want the wedding-garment, when the King comes in to view the guests!

me ?

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III. Come with brokenness of heart for fin, the caufe of Chrift's fufferings. Look on your pride, paffion, hypocrify, covetoufnefs, malice, lying, fwearing, c. as Chrift's only tormentors behold how they preffed him down in the garden, till he fwate blood :, fee them binding the crofs on Chrift's back; fee them nailing his hands, piercing his temples, and grieving his heart; fee them buffeting and fpitting on him? fee them making him groan, weep and roar complaint, my God, my God, why baft thou forfaken It was on us this tragedy fhould have been acted, on us thefe vials of wrath fhould have been poured: for he was wounded for our tranfgreffions, and bruifed for our iniquities, Ifa. liii. 5. O fhall we fee Chrift's heart streaming blood, and our eyes not drop tears? Shall we fee him ftretched out and nailed for us, and our hearts not bleed? Oh! it was my fins that made the nails, they drove them in, they thruft in the fpear, yea, they killed the Lord of life; and, fhall I not mourn? Did you see a malefactor, that had committed twenty murders, ufed like Chrift, your

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thearts would be concerned: And, will you not be affected to behold the innocent lamb of God fo abufed by your fins? Look on him ye have pierced and mourn. This paffover must be eaten with bitter herbs. Sow in tears, if you would reap in joy. A weeping communicant is a very pleafing light both to God and man: a broken-hearted weeping finner will fuit well with a bruised and bleeding Saviour.

IV. Come with burning love and affection to Chrift. This is a feaft only for the friends and lovers of Christ, Gant. v. I. Without love ye have nothing to do here. O believer, is thy heart cold, when Chrilt's love is warm? Will you not recompenfe love with love? Can you behold Chrift on a crofs dying with love in his heart, and fmiles in his looks; can you fee his bleeding arms open to embrace you, the fpear reaching his heart, and his affections ftreaming out to you in blood, and that when you were enemies to him and haters of him, and not be ravished with his love? Can you behold his wounds, or put your finger into the print of the nails, and not be fick of love, and cry out with Thomas, my Lord, and my God? Can you view him that is the chief among ten thousands, yea, among an hundred thoufands,. aud among all the thoufands in heaven and earth, and your hearts not love him? Turn over all things both in heaven and earth, you can find none like him, lo excellent in himself, and fo well adapted to your conditions and circumstances. Paul was a learned man, and knew many things; a travelled man, and had feen and heard many things; yet when he cafts up his counts of all he had ever feen heard or known, he fays, I count ali but dung and lofs for the excellency of the knowledge of Chrift, Phil. ii. 8. 9.

V. Come with much hunger and thirst to this full feat. See that your appetites be not glutted with the world, for the full foul loaths the honey-comb It is only the thirty that are welcome, Rev. xxii. 17. Chrift fills the hungry with good things. When the defire opens the heart wideft, then he opens his hand

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