on thee, and in thy name I go forward to this awful table. If thy prefence go not with me, carry me not hence. I will go in the ftrength of the Lord God; I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only. Awake O North wind, and come thou South, blow upon my garden, that the fpices may flow out.

MEDITATIONS and EJACULATIONS proper in Time of Partaking, or in Time of Serving the Communion Tables.

MEDITATION I..

Let not that which God hath inftituted as a

O bleng, be made a curfe to me thro' my un

worthy partaking of it. Wherefore, Lord rebuke at this time all unfeafonable thoughts and imaginations; tir up and act in me every grace of thy holy fpirit and help me fo to behave now, that I may not provoke, but glorify thee, that I may not increase my guilt, but augment my grace. My request now is that of the fpoufe, Lord, draw me, and I will run after thee. My foul is heavy with fin and guilt, and unfit to run: bat when fhall I move if not now, when I am near a lift up Saviour, who hath faid, If I be lift up from the earth, Iwill draw all men unto me, i. e. people of all tongues, kindreds and languages; multitudes of all forts, Jews and Gentiles. O let me be drawn among the reft! O what a drawing engine is a lift up Saviour on the cross, with his arms wide extended to embrace finners! the first experiment was made of its virtue by the apostle Peter, Acts ii. there were 3000 fouls drawn to Chrift at once; yea, whole nations have been drawn to him, by lifting up this bleffed engine in the gofpel-offers. Surely it: hath not loft its virtue to this day: Now it is lift up in an eminent manner. O let me feel its power; Bb 35

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let my heart be drawn off from the vanities of time. and the love of fin. Let the cords of Chrift's love hale my heart home to him. Now the devil is holding, and Chrift is drawing: Satan indeed is the ftrong man, but Chrift is ftronger than he. Chrift and the devil are fighting for my heart; the eyes of the glorious trinity, the eyes of angels, minifters and faints are on me to fee what the illue will be. O let Chrift gain the prize. It is his by right:

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MEDITATION II.

7HEN Christ was lift up on the cross, his face was turned to the Gentiles, his eyes beheld the nations, and all to draw us unto him there he bowed his head towards us to draw my foul to him; there he opened a cleft in his fide to draw me; there blood and water flowed from his heart to draw me. O what a drawing fight is it to fee, by faith, my dear Lord nailed and lift up on a cross, his royal vifage turned pale, his head bowing, his fide red with his own blood, and the ftreams of this preci. ous blood watering his pierced feet. O now let the dying Jefus exert his drawing power. Lord, I can never move toward thee if thou draw me not; I can never overcome the pleafures of fin and temptations of Satan, if 'thou give not a puli. Neither word nor facraments, minifters nor angels, ordinances nor providences, judgements nor mercies, can draw this heavy heart of mine; but I look beyond them all to my lift up Saviour, who only can do it. Lord, I'll Et fill in Sodom if thou draw me not; I'll die in my fins if thou draw me not; I'll be eternally damned if thou draw me not. It will be a lifelefs and loft ordimance if thou draw not I ord, how ealy is it for thee at this time, to draw me? One pull of thy grace, one touch of thy hand, nay, a look of thy countenance, one caft of thine eye would do it. O now let me have it, to draw love from my heart, and

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and tears from mine eyes, Did Chrift fweat blood' and weep blood for my fins, and will not I weep tears for them? O fhall I be more fparing of my tears for Chrift, than Chrift was of his blood for me? How fast did the blood trickle down Chrift's cheeks in the day he wore the crown of thorns for me? But how flowly do the tears trickle down my cheeks in the day of my commemorating his love? If I get one tear to drop, with what difficulty can I get another to follow? Blufh O hard heart and dry eyes! Can I fhed tears in plenty for a dead child or relation, and have I none refer ved for a dead Saviour, a Saviour flain by my fins? How fad to fee fo many weeping eyes at a funeral, and fo many dry eyes at a communion-table.

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MEDITATION III.

Now let the fight of a bleeding Saviour make me a weeping finner. Had I been upon mount Calvary, and feen my dear Lord rack'd and nail'd to the tree; had I feen him lifted up, beheld his dying looks, and heard his dying groans, and feen his blood for many hours run from his hands and feet to the earth! O could I have stood by with dry eyes or an unconcern ed heart, especially when I had confidered that he fuffered all this in my room, and for my fins ? Oh then, fhould not I be as much concerned now, when I come to celebrate the memorial of that fearful tragedy? O what kind of blood is it that I fee running down? Is it not innocent blood! Precious blood! Heart blood! Nay, the blood of the fon of God, every drop whereof is of infinite value! And yet all hed for fuch vile worms and traitors as I am! Oh! Can I fee this blood run down in ftreams, and my eyes not pour out fome drops Shall I not give drops of water for ftreams of blood? Oh, what a hard heart is this of mine! Can I fee others weeping that fit at the fame table, eat the fame bread, and drink the fame

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cup with me, and cannot I get one tear? Is God come and waiting with his bottle for my tears, and fhall my eyes remain dry? Shall others drop tears plentifully into God's bottle, and fhall not I have one tear for it? Aitonishing goodness! That God fhould fo carefully notice and preferve his, people's tears, that none of them can be loft! Lord, pity my hard heart, and give me fuch a look as thou gaveft Peter, that may caufe me weep, and weep bitterly at the remembrance of my fins, my pride, my paffion, my disobedience, which pierced my dearest Lord, O let this be the time of fulfilling that prophecy. Zach. xii. 10. They shall look upon him they have pierced and mourn. O when shall I mourn and weep if not now, when I fee Jefus, my furety, all red with blood for my red and fcarlet coloured fins? Lord, what means the hardness of my heart and the drynefs of my eyes at thy table? Oh! Doft thou intend to referve weeping for me in hell, where tears fhall never be dried up? God forbid, Now is the time to weep. Lord, make this my weeping. time that hereafter I may rejoice,

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MEDITATION IV.

Ow is the time for me to draw nigh to my cru cified Jefus. Lord, I will not ftand afar off and look to thee, as thefe did who followed thee from Galilee to the cross, Luke xxiii, 49. No, I will come clofs to thee, and take a near and narrow look of thy wounds, and hear what they fay, when like fo many mouths they are wide opened to speak to me. Befide many leffer wounds, I behold the five big wounds my Jefus received for me in each of his hands and feet, and in his fide. Methinks I hear the language of the two wounds in his hands, faying come to me and I will embrace you. Methinks I hear the language of the wounds of his feet, run to me, caft

aft yourselves down at them, and I will protect you from the avenger of blood. I hear the wound in his fide, laying, look into my heart and fee it burning with love; flee to me, O trembling dove, and I'll Jhelter thee in the cleft of the rock. Behold the window opened in the fide of the ark. O how fweet is the

found I hear! Lord, I obey thy voice to me; I quit all other fhelters, and take my flight to thefe open wounds and clefts: Lord, this is my reft, and here I will tay; neither earth nor hell thall ever pluck me from this reft. O that when I fee how chearfully a crucified Chrift opened his heart and wounds to fhelter me from juftice, I may willingly open my heart to receive my wounded friend, and entertain him with the best I have. Awake, O my graces, faith, love, and repentance! What, can ye not watch with my dearest Saviour for one hour! O let my faith now feed on my Saviour's fulness, who, bids me eat and drink abundantly. A man here without faith is like the unbelieving Lord, that feeth the plenty, but doth not eat of it." Lord, I believe, help thou my unbelief. Increase my faith..

MEDITATION V.

Lord, I may well approach thy table in an ad

miring frame; for, tho' thou might justly

have gathered us all together this day for a facrifice to thy justice, yet instead of that, thou calls us to gether to intimate a facrifice of thy own providing, which is fufficient for us all: nay, actually to behold the bleeding victim of the innocent Lamb of God, that takes away the fins of the world Now, Lord, I know that thou loveft me, feeing thou haft not withheld thy fon, thine only fon from me. Unfearchable love! I may well feel it, but I cannot fathom it. O the breadth, O the length, O the height, O the depth of the love of Chriff that paffeth knowledge. Admirable is the wildom of God that found out a

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