like a fword or dagger in your hearts. Obferve what David said, when he faw the people flaughtered by the angel's fword, 2 Sam. xxiv. 7. "Lo, I have finned, and I have done wickedly; but as for these sheep, what have they done?" So fay you at this time," Lord, I have finned, I have done wickedly; but as for this innocent spotlefs Lamb, what hath he done?" It is I that have finned, but it is thou. O Lord Jefus, that haft fuffered. It was my curfed lufts, my unbelief, my pride, my malice, my covetoufnels, &c. Thefe were the Judafes that betrayed thee, thefe the Jews that put thee to death; I have eaten the four grapes, but thy teeth were fet on edge. O what a fweet temper were it to behold Chrift with a weeping eye and a melting heart! Oh, fhall we not fo much as shed tears for thefe fins, for which we fee Chrift fhedding his blood? It was laid to the charge of thefe unkind hufbands, Mal. ii. 13 that by their unkindneffes they caused their wives, when they fhould have been cheerful in God's fervice, to "cover the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping and with crying out; infomuch that he regarded not the offering any more, nor received it with goodwill at their hands." But. how happy were it for us, if we could be fo affected with our unkindness to Chrift our husband, that we could cover the Lord's table with our tears, with weeping and crying out? Then furely, in this cafe, the Lord would regard our fervice the more, and receive our communicating with good will at our hands. Ah, rocky hearts! harder than the nethermillstone, that cannot diffolve into tears at the fight of fo fad a spectacle as the fight of Chrift hanging ciucified on the cross for our fins. Oh, fhall we fee Chrift's precious blood fpilt on the earth, running on the ground, and the ground drirking it up, and our hearts not rend therefore? O let us call for tears, for mourning hearts, and fay, "O that mine head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep for a flain Lord!" Smite, Lord; thou canst bring water out of the rocks, and turn the flint into a standing pool. O that my flinty heart may be touched by the Spirit of God, that the waters may gush out abundantly! Oh, when 3Z2 will will my heart melt, if not now? Surely, now, "Deep calleth unto deep;" deep fufferings in Chrift for deep forrow in me. David's kindness made even a Saul lift up his voice and weep; and will not Chrift's kindness, which is infinitely greater, make me drop fome filent tears? Was my Saviour's body broken to let his blood out; and shall not my heart be broken to let it in? May I now receive a bleeding Saviour with a broken heart! III. Love is a grace moft neceffary at this feast, Chrift's infinite love fhould now have a return of love from you; furely now, when you are mufing on Christ's love, your heart, like David's, fhould burn. O believer, Chrift died of love to you; and, will you not be so much as fick of love to him? It would be a fweet and comfortable fickness to you to be fick of love to him, who died of love to you. You are now come to the fountain of love, you are now at Chrift's pierced fide, O look in and fee his bleeding heart; fee how it beats and pants with love, and fee how love flows out in ftreams of blood, to cleanfe you from your fins. And, will not this lovely fight melt your affections, and warm your cold heart to love him? O behold princely Jefus, the world's Saviour, our lovely Bridegroom, mounted on a bloody cross upon the top of mount Calvary, for all nations to fee him and flock to him: O what an engaging fight is this! Since that mount was first created, it never produced fuch a tree, or such precious fruit as the Lord of glory hanging on the tree of the cross planted there. This tree of life made mount Calvary a lovely paradife that day, notwithstanding of all the malefactors bones which lay fcattered upon it. Now, communicants, can you look upon such a sight, and not have your hearts inflamed with love? Surely a crucified Jefus lift upon the crofs, with his arms ftretched out to embrace loft finners, is the moft drawing and attractive fight in the world; for he faith himself, John xii. 32. "If I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men unto me," i. e. all forts of men, both Jew and Gentile. A crucified Jefus is a loadftone of ftrange virtue, and hath drawn fome thousands of iron hearts to him at one fermon. Now he is lift on high, upon the the pole of the crofs, and of the facrament, that you may look to him. Yea, his face and eyes are towards you; O look communicants; and his voice is, "Behold me, behold me: Look unto me and be ye faved, all ye ends of the earth." Poor finners of Scotland, of Britain, one of the far off islands and outmost end of the earth; I have turned my back on the Jews, for they will not be drawn to me; and my face towards you, that you may fee me and may flock to me. O will not your hearts be moved and drawn by this lovely fight of a crucified Redeemer, dying with love in his heart, and fmiles in his looks towards you? He was moft lovely when he was on the cross; and now he is moft lovely when he is on the throne. O behold King Jefus with the crown of thorns, wherewith his enemies crowned him, in the day he was a man of forrows and acquainted with grief for you: Doth not that fight affect your hearts with grief, and make you fad? Then come, behold king Solomon with the crown of glory, wherewith his Father crowned him, when he finith d his work, and fat down on the right hand of his Majefty on high. Now he is clothed with light, and fhines brighter than the fun: Oh will not your hearts love him, whom all the angels and faints in heaven do adore, and are ravished with his beauty! His high honour and exaltation above doth not in the leaft alter his affections, or make him forget his people; no, he loves all believers as dearly as ever. How oft doth he call them in the fong, "My fifter, my fpoufe!" The nearest affinity in the world is fpoufe, and the neareft confanguinity is fifter, to fhow that Chrift's affection is like that of the nearest relations; and, fhall not Chrift's great love be answered with love again? O never give Chrift caufe to complain. of you, as Paul of the Corinthians, "The more I love you, the lefs I am beloved," 2 Cor. xii. 15. O then awake and excite your love now to Chrift, and fay, "Lord thou art infinitely lovely, though my heart loves thee not as it ought to do: Lovely and amiable art thou in all the steps of thy humiliation : Lovely in thy birth, lovely in thy life, lovely in thy death: death lovely with the crown of thorns on thy head, and lovely with the crofs on thy back; lovely in the garden, and lovely on mount Calvary; lovely with the nails in thy hands, and lovely when the fpear was thruft in thy fide. And lovely art thou now with the crown of glory on thy head; nay, thou art altogether lovely." O for more love to my lovely Saviour! The apostle, when ravifhed with the love of Chrift, cries out, “If any man love not the Lord Jefus, let him be Anathema Maranatha. O what a cold unnatural heart must that be, that hath no love to this lovely One! O communi cant, love him now, when you have seen fuch an engaging fight of his love: Love him dearly, love him entirely, love him above all, love him more than all. And if you love him, then keep his commandments, delight to pleafe him, love his ordinances, love his Spi rit, love his commands, love his people, and love his very crofs for his fake. IV. At this time you ought to awake and excite your fpiritual appetite after Chrift and the benefits of his death. You are come to a full feaft, an inexhaustible treafure, and the Mafter of it allows you to partake thereof to the full? There is nothing wanting, then, but a lively feeling of wants, and fpiritual hunger; had you this, all would be well; for Chrift fills the hungry with good things. If there be any poor drooping communicants at the table, who are difcouraged under a fenfe of their poverty and emptinefs, I may fay to them, as Jacob to his drooping fons in a time of great fcarcity of food, Gen. xlii. 12. "Why do ye look upon one another?" Ye are poor melancholy creatures, all involved in the fame calamity and dif trefs; ye may well look to one another, but one of you cannot help another. Well, I have good news to tell you, as Jacob told his fons: "Behold I have heard there is corn in Egypt," there is bread enough in your Father's houfe, fufficiency of grace in Chrift Jefus for all your wants. O drooping communicant, take heart, and haften to your brother Jofeph; your elder brother Chrift is Lord of the country, and hath the command of all the ftore-houses in the land; he will Awake |