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thority to bestow it upon you. Nay, it is treasured up in him as your Head of influences, and shall be communicated to you in fuch a manner as he fhall fee fit. In a word, he will carry you on gradually to perfection, and at last make you perfect in holiness,. that you may be ever with the Lord.

You fee then what you have to feast upon; and I appeal to yourfelves, if it be not a feaft of fat things, and full of marrow, of wines upon the lees, and well refined.

And now, have you not the highest reason to admire the wonderful condefcenfion and grace of our Redeemer? Art thou not now faying, "Whence is "this to me? What am I, or what is my Father's "houfe, that thou haft brought me hitherto ?" Shall the only begotten of the Eternal Jehovah not only lay down his life for me, but give me his flesh and blood, his death and fufferings, to feaft upon? Strange, myfterious love! it infinitely tranfcends my utmost conception; and all I can do, is to cry out with the apostle, "O, the height and depth, the breadth "and length, of the love of Chrift! It paffeth know"ledge."

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But is there fuch a feaft as this provided for your entertainment? I addrefs you in the words of the prophet Ifaiah," Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come « ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk, "without money, and without price.", Confider who invites you; it is your Saviour, and beft friend; he that has loved you, and given his foul a ranfom for you; he that is now remembering you at the right hand of the throne of God his Father, and from whofe lips your final fentence muft proceed. Confider what a noble feaft he invites you to; a feaft, as you have heard, of fat things full of marrow, and of wines on the lees well refined, even all the bleffings of the new and well-ordered covenant, as purchased by the fhedding of his own precious blood, and unalterably fecured, and ready for your acceptance. And is it poffible you can flight and despise his invitation?

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How may the angels of heaven, think ye, be aftonifhed at this? And what fullen pleafure will it afford the apoftate angels to fee the Lord of Glory, who made no atonement for them, flighted, in the offers of his love, by the children of men? Can you be fuch enemies to your own intereft, as to refufe his offer? Where can you meet with fuch another? and how can you poffibly escape, if you neglect it? But happy, indeed, unfpeakably happy, will you be, if you accept of it, and refign yourselves to him, in a perpetual covenant never to be forgotten.-Finally, Confider that this is, perhaps, the last time that fuch a call and invitation fhall be addreffed to you. Many fuch calls have been given you, and you who are unbelieving and impenitent have flighted them all; and God is now perhaps taking his final leave of fome of you; for his Spirit will not always ftrive with man. While therefore it is called to-day, hear his voice, and harden not your hearts; left you provoke him to fwear in his wrath, that ye fhall never enter into his reft.

But I hope there are fome here who are hungering and thirsting after Chrift, and a fhare in the bleffings of his purchafe; nay, who have already tasted this heavenly food, and whofe fpiritual appetite is by that means enlarged: fuch I invite to the table of the Lord. All things are ready on his part; and his call to you is, Eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly. Study then to have all things ready on your's. Come in the lively exercife of every grace, particularly of faith and love. Awake, awake; put on thy ftrength, O Zion, put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerufalem, and come in the ftrength of the Lord your God, making mention of his righteoufnefs, even of his only. The Spirit and the Bride fay, Come; and let him that is athirst come, and whofoever will, let him take of the water of life freely.

SER.

SERMON IV.

THE INVITATION TO THE BLESSINGS OF
CHRIST'S PURCHASE CONSIDERED.

ISAIAH IV. I.

Ho, every one that thirfteth, come ye to the waters, and be that hath no money; come ye, buy and cat; yea, come, buy wine and milk, without money, and without price.

TH

HESE words are a moft ample and gracious invitation to finners of mankind to come and partake of the bleffings of the gofpel. The language is figurative; and the apostle Paul furnishes us with a key to open up its meaning: for, in Acts xiii. 33, 34. he fpeaks of the fure mercies of David, which, in the third verse of this chapter, are faid to be the fum of the everlasting covenant that God will make with believers, as flowing from the resurrection of Chrift; i. e. having purchased these bleffings by his death, he is now, in confequence of his refurrection, invested with power and authority to bestow them. Here, then, the unfearchable riches of grace are difplayed; the greateft, the moft excellent and lafting bleffings are freely offered, and you are kindly invited to come and partake of them. "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he

"that

"that hath no money; come ye, buy and eat; yea, "come, buy wine and milk, without money, and "without price."

In difcourfing on these words, I fhall endeavour, by divine affiftance, to fhow you, first, Who are invited, and the qualification of thofe that will be made welcome;" Ho, every one that thirfteth." Secondly, What they are invited to partake of,-waters, wine, and milk. Thirdly, How we are to partake of the bleffings that are offered to us;-we are to come, buy and eat, without money, and without price. And then conclude, by a short practical improvement of the subject.

I. I begin with fhewing you, who are invited, and the qualification of thofe, that will be made welcome to partake of the unfearchable riches of grace: "Ho, every one that thirsteth."

The call of the gospel is, indeed, addreffed to all, without diftinction; not to the Jews only, to whom the word of falvation was first fent, but to the Gentiles alfo, who, for many ages, were without Christ in the world; aliens from the commonwealth of Ifrael, and ftrangers to the covenants of promife: Nor is it confined to one nation or family, to one tribe or kindred of mankind; but extends to all nations, tribes, and kindreds, wherever the gofpel is preached. Ye Gentiles, that are amongst the outmost ifles of the nations, to you this day is the invitation giv

en.

"Look unto me," fays Chrift, "and be ye faved, "all the ends of the earth." He came to feek and to fave that which was loft; to fave even the chief of finners. In him there is enough for all; and fuch as come to him, he will in nowife caft out. So that all who live under the gospel, are invited and encouraged to come; and it is no prefumption in any, to hope for a kind and gracious reception. "Be"hold," fays our merciful Redeemer, "I ftand at "the door and knock ; if any man hear my voice, "and open the door, I will come in to him, and

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"will

"will fup with him, and he with me." In a word, the gofpel-covenant excludes none that do not exclude themselves, by having no defire or inclination to partake of the bleffings promised in it.

And this brings me to how you, what qualifications thofe must be poffeffed of, whom Christ will make welcome to thefe rich and precious bleffings. It is here, as in other parts of Scripture, expreffed by thirsting:-Ho, every one that thirfteth. "If any

man thirst," fays our Saviour, "let him come un86 to me and drink."-" Let him that is athirst come, "and whofoever will, let him take of the water of "life freely." The import of this thirfting, in general, is a strong and ardent defire after heavenly and fpiritual bleflings. But feeing God is pleafed, in condefcenfion to our weak capacities, to represent the defires of the foul, by the fenfations or appetites of the body, let us confider what this thirsting supposes and implies.

1. It fuppofes a deep fenfe and conviction in the foul, of its need of Chrift, and falvation through him. A man must be perfuaded that he is a finner, a guilty and perishing finner, before he can in earnest. thirst for the Saviour. Our bleffed Lord tells us, that the whole need not a phyfician, but they that are fick. He that does not fee himfelf condemned, will not fue for a pardon. It is the wounded fpirit that feeks after healing. We fly for refuge to lay hold on the hope fet before us; because we see ourfelves in danger of death, from the avenger of blood that pursues us. Chrift is lifted up in the gofpel, and prefented in the promife, for the wretched and undone to confide in for life and falvation: but the impenitent finner does not fee his need of him, and has therefore no defire of applying to him for thofe bleffings. So long as ye are full of this world, and think yourselves, with the church of Laodicea, rich, increafed in goods, and to have need of nothing, you will not, you cannot thirst after Chrift, as an invaluable treafure. So long as ye fancy yourfelves whole,

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