blow) "O Spirit of God, come, influence my heart this day; I dare not go to the table without thy prefence: "Lord, ftand not this day behind the wall;" for there Cannot be a fadder fight in the world, than a poor hardhearted communicant, with God's back turned on him. "If thy prefence go not with me, carry me not up hence." O Lord, it is time for thee to work; I never stood more in need of thy presence than at this time: It is my errand to meet with thee at thy table: Lord, fend me not away with a fore heart. A communionday, without communion with Chrift, will never fatisfy my foul."

Plead with God, O young communicant, that this may be the day of your acquaintance with Chrift, even the day of your espousals, and a day to be had in everlasting remembrance. And, indeed, if you enter this day into the bond of the covenant, it will be a very memorable day. God will blefs the memory of this day, for he will gain a fon; Jefus Chrift will write this day in his kalender, for he will gain a brother; the Holy Ghost will rejoice, for he will gain a temple; angels and faints will be glad, for they will gain a fellow-fervant; and you, efpecially, may rejoice with exceeding great joy, for you will gain an eternal inheritance.

Directions concerning our Carriage when the time of receiving the Sacrament doth approach.

I. WHEN the time is come, or near, that you are to go to this holy table; confider that this is the most solemn and auguft ordinance under heaven, and requires the most profound awe and reverence from you. The place is holy, the table is holy, the bread and cup are holy; and God is terrible from his holy places.' Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God? Your danger is great, if you make a rath approach, and seek him not after the due order. The leaft wrong look or wrong touch at this time is criminal, and may coft you your eternal falvation It may provoke the Lord to make a fearful and visible breach among you, as he did upon Uzzah and the men of Bethfhemesh; for, the

nearer

nearer to God's altar you come, the fire of his jealousy burns the more vehemently. Labour then to go to his table with holy fear and trembling; for, as communionlove is the fweeteft, fo communion-wrath is the forest. Heavy judgments, both fpiritual, temporal, and eternal, hang over the unworthy communicant's head. If you would prevent thefe, adventure to this table with holy fear and dread: For if the woman with the bloody iffue feared fo much to touch the "hem of Chrift's garment," Mark v. how much more ought you to fear to touch the fymbols of his body and blood, to put your hand into his wounds, and feel the print of the nails? If fuch a holy man as John the Baptift thought himself unworthy to bear Chrift's fhoes, how much more are vile finners, like you, unworthy to touch and feed upon his broken body and thed blood? Let your fouls then be humble as the duft when you approach, in a deep fenfe of your great unworthiness, former guilt, and breach of former vows made at this table; for to fuch humble fouls God has promifed to look in mercy, Ifa. lxvi. 2.

II. When you are going to the table, labour to stir up your fouls, and all your faculties and affections; excite all your graces and defires to attend Chrift. O fee that your fouls be lively and your hearts fixed, when you are about to draw near and feal a marriage-covenant with Chrift. You have great need to look to your hearts and frames at this time. A dead heart or an ill frame now, is very unfuitable; it is like the dead fly in the box of ointment, it will be fair to fpoil your communicating. For God's fake look to it.

Object. I. "Oh!" fays one," my heart is in a lifelefs and ftupid frame, even at a dead ftand, and thinks neither of good nor ill: What fhall I do with it?"

Anf. 1. Ditpatch presently a iwift meffenger to heaven, an earneft ejaculation and prayer, to call for the help of God's Spirit, as Cant. iv. 16. Intreat him to breathe upon your dry bones with a fresh gale, and take a coal from his own altar to inflame your affections.

2. Call

2. Call on your hearts to awake to a lively frame. It is a mistake of Chriftians to think they are only to call upon God, you must also call upon yourselves, and rouse up yourselves, as Pfal. lvii. 8. "Awake up my glory," &c. Stir up yourselves and all that is within you, according to Pfal. ciii. 1. Speak to your hearts, and expoftulate with them: Say, "O my drousy blockith heart, art thou not ashamed to think fo coldly of thy bleeding Saviour?" Is his heart fo warm, and thine fo cold? Doth a dead head become the service of a living God?

Object. II. "Oh!" faith another, " my heart is a roving, wandering heart, I cannot get it stayed one mo→ ment upon one subject; it presently gets away, and hunts after vanities. O what fhall I do with the levity and excurfions of my heart ?”

Anf. 1. Labour now to over-awe your heart with the deep apprehenfion of God's prefence and all-feeing eye; God noticeth you more now than ever.

2. Chide and check your heart for its vain excur→ fions: Say," Did I come here to think of any thing but of Chrift and heaven? Is this a place for thinking on worldly toys? Is this the way to fhow forth my Saviour's death, which is my business here! What? cannot 1 watch with Chrift one hour now? How then will I behold and contemplate him for ever."

Object. III. "Though I am come this length in obedience to a dying Saviour's command, I yet fear to go forward, for I doubt my right. I cannot fay I am in covenant with God, or that I have faith, and an interest in Chrift, or that his body was broken for me.".

Anf O difcouraged foul, though you have not the faith of affurance, yet fee if you can get the faith of adherence. Though you cannot fay that ever you took hold of Chrift or the covenant before, yet try if you can get a grip of Chrift now; you are much nearer to hinx now than at other times. Make an endeavour, ftir up your fouls, and go to Chrift with all the faith you can win at, faying, with that poor man," Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief." "If you cannot apply Chrift to

yourselves,

yourselves, will you apply yourselves to Chrift. If you cannot fay Chrift is your Saviour and hiding place, will you run like a malefactor to him for refuge, and try if he will now shelter you in his wounds, when they are fo wide opened in the facrament. He noticeth any poor finner that is engaging his heart to approach unto God.

Again, though you cannot fay that Chrift is your's, and you are in covenant with him; yet, are you not willing to be his, and give up yourself to him? The covenant indeed is mutual, Cant. ii. 16. "My beloved is mine and I am his." But if you cannot lay claim to one part of it, try if you can grip to another. Is it your language, Though I cannot fay he is mine, yet I am refolved to be his, and to give up myself to him? That is well faid, poor foul: for you must first confent to be his, before ye know that he is your's: You must be refolute in your covenanting with Chrift; when you are driven from one horn of the altar, hold faft by another. Flee now to Chrift, faying, "Lord, though I cannot fay thou art mine; yet I can fay, Lord, I am content and refolved to be thine, wholly thine, only thine, and everlastingly thine." David could not always fay, God is mine; but, when he cannot fay that, he cries, "I am thine, Lord, fave thou me," Pfal. cxix. 94. Here one that belongs to thee, and has furrendered himself to thee: "Lord, fuffer not one of thine to perifh."

Object. IV." Alas! I cannot fay to God, I am thine: I fear he will not accept of me, or own me for his."

Anf. Though you cannot fay, I am thine by God's acceptance; yet, can you not fay, "Lord, I am thine by my own refignation, I do devote and give up myfelf wholly unto thee, I will not be the devil's, the world's, or luft's; I will not be my own, but I will be thine: I am thine, fave thou me." Go to him with that plea the Campani came to the Romans with, after they had refused to help them as neighbours and allies againft the Grecians, who were diftreffing them fore, and that because the Romans and the Grecians were in friendship together at that time: The Campani went and gave up

their whole country in vaffalage to the Romans, faying, "If you will not help us as our allies, help us as your vaffals and fubjects, as we are content to be; we are fure you will not let your tributaries perifh." And indeed this argument prevailed with them, and fo will it with God, if you go to him with an importunate faith, and faften yourself upon him. Plead, "Lord, if thou wilt not love me as a friend, yet pity me as thy poor fub ject: I refolve to be thine, and, if I perish, one must perifh that defires to be thine. Lord, whether thou accept of me or not, I give up myself to thy use and fervice." Art thou come this length, poor foul? Fear not, thou shalt not perish, Chrift is as willing to be thine as thou art to be his: Come forward, and take the feal of the covenant, and make a new furrender of yourfelf to Chrift, and it may be he will be made "known to you in the breaking of bread."

III. When this holy feast comes to be celebrated, fee that your fouls be rightly employed, and your graces fuitably exercifed: Study to have your meditations and ejaculations fuitable to what you fee or hear.

When you are coming to this holy table, and perhaps may be put to ftand a little by it, by reafon of the throng before you get accefs: Think on what Mofes faid to the Ifraelites while standing at the Red-fea, Ex-od. xiv. 13. "Stand ftill (faith he) and fee the falvation of the Lord, which he will fhew to you to-day." In like manner you are ftanding by the Red-fea of the blood of Chrift: ftand ftill and wonder at the glorious falvation he is fhewing to you this day.

Or you may think with yourself, that you hear Chrift the captain of your faivation now crying, as did Jehu, 2 Kings ix. 32. "Who is on my fide? Who?" Well, if you will now appear or declare for Chrift, then you muft throw your lufts, like Jezebel, out of the window, to be dafhed in pieces.

When you fee the communicants fet about Chrift's table, you may think on that word, Pfal. cxxviii. 3. where God promifeth to the righteous man, "That his wife fhould be as a fruitful vine by the sides of a house, and his children as olive plants round about his table." 3 U

VOL. I.

Behold

his