and attend them with diligence! This was the one thing the Pfalmist desired and refolved to seek after ; for this, his foul panted with the utmost vehemence ; his flesh thirsted, yea, even fainted for the courts of the living God." The King," fays the Church, "hath brought me into his chambers; we will be "glad and rejoice in thee; we will remember thy "love more than wine."

3. Let us highly prize and be thankful for this prefence of Chrift by his Spirit in ordinances. This is what he has exprefsly promifed and encouraged his people to ask and expect. This is a blefling fuited to your prefent ftate; and is indeed more needful and advantageous for you, than Chrift's bodily prefence alone. It is the spirit that animates ordinances, which otherwife would be empty fhadows and dry breasts; and, by them, communicates nourishment, ftrength and comfort to our fouls. In a word, by this fpiritual prefence, believers are prepared for heaven, raifed to a well-grounded hope of it, and fometimes enabled to rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.

4. What reafon have we to lament that there is now fo little of this Divine prefence experienced in ordinances? May we not fay with the Church of old, where is thy zeal and thy ftrength? and the yearnings of thy bowels to us-ward, are they reftrained? Our fathers have told us what great things the Lord hath done for them in their day; how he took to him his mighty power, and rode forth in glory and majefty; what admirable fuccefs attended the preaching of the gofpel; and how remarkably the bleffed fruits of it appeared in the hearts and lives of its profeffors. But now, alas! how little of this is to be feen? What a dead, barren, and backfliding time has it long been amongst us! The golden fhowers have been reftrained; the influences of the Spirit fufpended; and the confequence has been, that conversions are rare and dubious; few fons and daughters are

born

born to God; and the hearts of Chriftians are not fo quickened, warmed, and refreshed under ordinances as formerly. In a word, God has been provoked in a great measure to withdraw his prefence, and to write upon our affemblies, Ichabod, "the glory is depart"ed.” And, O, what reafon have we to bewail this! and particularly to mourn for our fins, our unbelief and impenitence, our contempt of the gofpel, our earthly-mindedness and barrenness under the means of grace, which are the procuring caufes of it? For, as the prophet tells us, "The Lord's hand is "not shortened that it cannot fave; neither is his "ear heavy that he cannot hear;" but our iniquities have separated between us and our God, and provok ed him to hide his face from us.

5. What reafon, also, have we to lament that there are fo few amongst us, who feriously defire and plead for the return of Chrift's prefence to ordinances? Few, alas, are faying with Mofes, "I beseech thee fhew me thy glory." The greater part of gospel-hearers feem to be infenfible of their spiritual wants; nay, too many are blinded with felf-opinion. Like the church of Laodicea, they imagine themselves rich, increased with goods, and standing in need of nothing. Even real Chriftians themselves, are apt to be fecure and flothful; so that we may almoft adopt the prophet's complaint against the Jews of old, and apply it to ourselves, "There is none that calleth upon thy "name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee." And hence it is that there are so few amongst us that are fincerely thirsting for Chrift's prefence in ordinances; for were we duly fenfible of our need of it, and of our own blindness and misery without it, we would plead more seriously and earnestly with him for this bleffing.

Laftly, Let me intreat and befeech you, that you would, with all ferioufnefs, and in the most earnest manner, plead with Chrift for the return of his pre

fence

fence to ordinances. Ye that make mention of the name of the Lord, cease not day nor night to importune him, till he return and make Jerufalem a praise in the earth. Let us cry to him who is exalted, that he would pour out plentifully of his Holy Spirit upon his word and ordinances; that he would yet grant us days of power from on high, and revive his work in the midft of the years. And O what happiness would this produce amongst us! Then, indeed, would multitudes be converted to Chrift, and the citizens of Zion abound: then would the daughters of Jerufalem rejoice, and be glad in their king.

But efpecially, let us earneftly plead with Christ for his prefence with us, when we are affembled together to celebrate the facred and auguft ordinance of the Supper. Say to him with Mofes, "I beseech "thee, fhew me thy glory; if thy prefence go not "with us, carry us not up hence." And to excite you to this, confider, that this is a bleffing which may be obtained, as the experience of the faints in all ages abundantly teftifies. Confider, also, that it is abfolutely neceffary, in order to your profiting by the means of grace; and that many and great advan tages will refult to you from the enjoyment of this bleffing. It will be a comfortable and fatisfying evidence that God loves you; a bleffed mean of tranfforming you into his image. It will animate and ftrengthen you to perform the most difficult duties, and refift the most powerful temptations; and finally, it will qualify and encourage you to come to the holy ordinance of the Supper, of which we have fo near a profpect.

Since, then, the prefence of Chrift in ordinances is a blefling that may be obtained; fince it is fo abfolutely neceffary, and productive of fuch inestimable advantages; let me again intreat you to pray and plead with him for it. And do this with deep humility, under a becoming fenfe of your own unwor

thiness,

thinefs, and the greatnefs of the favour which you afk. Do it also in faith, depending entirely on the merit of Chrift's righteousness; and finally, with ear neftness and fervency fuitable to the value of the blef fing.

And, if you are thus humble, ferious, and impor tunate, in pleading with God; He, who is the hearer of prayer, will certainly regard the voice of your fup plication; for he hears the defire of the humble, and will not forget their cry.

SER

SERMON XXIX.

ON THE HAPPINESS OF A FUTURE STATE,

Matth. xxv. 46. The righteous fhall go into life eternal.

E

Ternal life is the comprehenfive fum of all that good,, that a rational foul can hope for, or afpire after, as its happiness: And therefore it has pleased the infinitely wife God, in his moral government of the world, to propofe it as the grand motive and encouragement to all that obedience and fervice which he requires of us; an encouragement, indeed, fo truly great, a reward fo tranfcendently glorious, that it may well animate us to encounter and overcome all the difficulties in the Chriftian journey, not only with patience and fortitude, but with alacrity and joy. This reward the text offers to our view, the great object of our faith and hope, the noble prize for which we are to contend, and the happy iffue with which all our fufferings and labours in religion fhall be finally crowned: For the righteous fhall go into life eternal.

as

Our Bleffed Saviour having, from the 31ft verfe of this chapter, given a very lively and affecting defcription of his coming to judgment; having declared the fentence

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