to their graves with many tears, efpecially when they die violent deaths: But the infinite God delighteth in the painful and bloody death of his only Son, because it tended to the falvation of believers: He willingly gave his own dear Son, to die a shameful curfed death, that you might live a glorious bleffed life for ever.

what manner of love is this! And what art thou, O believer, that thou fhouldft be the object of this love more than others? By nature thou art mean as the worm, vile as the mire, black as hell, and a child of wrath even as others: And thou hadst now been wallowing in fin, with the worst of the world, if free grace had not renewed thee; nay, thou hadst been roaring in hell at this hour, if free grace had not reprieved thee. Look about thee, and fee others refused, when thou art chofen; others polluted, when thou art fanctified; 0thers put off with common gifts, when thou bast special graces. Though you and they perhaps fat together in the fame desk hearing the word, or at the fame table receiving the facrament; yet free grace came and made the difference: "One is taken, and the other left." Here is matter for your admiration.

The confideration of this free love and diftinguishing mercy of God fhould make thee fay with David, "Lord, what am I, and what is my houfe, that thou haft brought me hitherto? What is man, that thou art mindful of him? And, what am I, the worft of men, that thou should be thus mindful of me?" O how did Mephibofheth admire David's kind efs, when he fpake familiarly with him, and faid, "Thou shalt eat bread at my table continually ?" 2 Sam. ix. 7 Obferve his

answer, ver. 8: "What is thy fervant, that thou fhouldft look upon fuch a dead dog as I am?" But furely, O believer, thou haft much more reafon to lay fo, and wonder that fuch a mean creature should be set at the table of the great God, and honoured to feaft with himself. Lord, what am I, that thou shouldst have noticed the like of me? Better deferved I to have been howling among the dogs without the door, than to be let in and feafted among thy friends; I better deserved to have been roaring.in hell with devils, than to be set

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at thy table to rejoice with thy children. Lord, when thou waft pleased to look on me with an eye of pity, and embrace me in the arms of thy tender mercy; thou mighteft juftly have fpurned my guilty foul into hell, faying, Depart from me, I know you not." What a wonder of mercy is it, that I, who have forfeited all mercies, and deferved fuch a fentence as that in Jer. ix. 15. to be fed with wormwood, and to have water of gall to drink, fhould nevertheless have the flesh of the Son of God given me to be my meat, and his blood to be my drink? The Lord Jefus might juftly have faid unto me, as in Zech. xi. 9. "I will not feed you: That which dieth, let it die; and that which is to be cut off, let it be cut off." But, O how tender are his bowels, how compaffionate his heart! Rather than my foul fhould ftarve, he is content to be flain that his flesh might become my food.

II. Rife and go from the table in a thankful and praifing frame. Thankfulness well becomes this euchariftical feaft, which is mainly defigned as a thankf giving to God for redeeming love. On this occafion you ought to "blefs God in the congregation, even the Lord from the fountain of Ifrael," Pfal lxviii. 26. Now, you fhould stir up your fouls, and all that is within you, to blefs his holy name, with the Pfalmift, Pf. ciii. 1. 2. 3. "Now you thould with the angels fing, Glory to God in the higheft, that there is on earth peace, and goodwill towards men," Luke ii 14. "Now you fhould with John, fing praise to him that loved us, and washed us from our fins in his blood," Rev. i. 15.

Oh, may the worthy communicant fay, How fhall I mention the loving kindness and praises of the Lord, according to the multitude of his loving kindnesses, and according to all he hath beftowed on me, and his great goodness to the houfe of Ifrael? O that I could pro claim thy love to all the world, and make the whole earth ring with thy praises! O that I could fing praifes to him that loved me: To him that made the world, and furnished it fo richly for me to dwell in: To him that made my body fo wonderfully, and gave me a foul fo capable to ferve and enjoy hin:: To him that re

membered

membered me in my low eftate, and laid afide his glory, took on my nature, and paid my debt on the cross: To him that fent his Spirit to quicken me when dead in my fins, that opened mine eyes, bowed my will, and turned me from darknefs to light: To him who forgives my iniquities, heals my difeafes, redeems my life from deftruction, and crowns me with loving-kindnefs: To him that hath endured from me many flights, put up with many affronts, and waited on me with infinite patience; even ་ to him that loved us, and washed us from our fins in his own blood, and made us kings and priests to God his Father, a note the angels themselves cannot fing; and to him that is able to keep us from falling, and to prefent us faultlefs before the prefence of his glory with exceeding joy, be glory, majefty, and dominion, now and for evermore! O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever. Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord ? Who can fhew forth all his praife? Now bleffed be his glorious name for ever: Let the whole earth be filled with his glory."

And, O believer, remember that you only begin this duty of finging praife in this world, for eternity itself will not end it: Endless eternity will be fhort enough for this glorious work of praife. You ought to be acquainting yourself much with this work while here, that you be not a ftranger to it hereafter. Refolve with

David not only to begin it, but to perfift and hold on in it alfo, Pfal. cxlv. 2. " Every day will I blefs thee, and I will praise thy name for ever and ever;" as if he had faid, I'll begin it now, and do it every day while here, in hopes that I will spend a whole eternity in it hereafter. Again, he fays, Pfal. cxlvi. 2. "While I live, I will praise the Lord; I will fing praises unto my God, while I have any being" And when I have no longer being on earth, I hope to have a being in heaven, where I fhall praise him to better purpofe; and wherein, Lord, I am deficient now in thy due praife, I will pay it hereafter in everlasting Hallelujahs. O communicant, haft thou not great ground to praise this day, that thou liveft not among the dark Pagans, that never heard tell of Jefus Chrift? That thou art not among the fallen angels, for whom a facri VOL. I. 4 C

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fice was never provided? That thou art not among the damned in hell, who are without the reach of mercy, and of hearing the joyful found? You have been fet at a full table, when others fuffer an everlasting famine. And, what will you render to the Lord for this diftinguishing love and undeferved goodness? I have good groud to caution you againft unthankfulness, as Mofes did the Ifraelites upon the view of their entry into Canaan, Deut. viii. 10. 11. "When you have eaten and are full, forget not to bless God for the good land that he hath given you;" that you have a Gofhen on earth, and the profpect of a Canaan above: Blefs him for a land of light that you dwell in, and for the rich table that he covers for you: Blefs God for a facrament day, for it is one of the days of heaven; it is a day you ought highly to prize, and to praise God for. They that know the worth of this day could with, with Joshua, that the fun ftood ftill upon it, that it might be lengthened out, for their enjoying communion with God: But in a special manner they would with that the Sun of righteousness stood ftill this day and fhined, that, with Jofhua, they might get a more full revenge on their enemies; viz. their lufts, these curfed Canaanites that remain ftill in the land.

III. You ought to go from this table in the Eunuch's frame, who, after his fealing a covenant with God, went on his way rejoicing, Acts viii. 39. God's people are frequently in fcripture called to rejoice and be glad in the Lord; and, to be fure, there is not a more fit season for it than now, when he hath been making fuch a glorious discovery of that great love wherewith he loved them. A man that is condemned for a crime, and ready to be executed, O what joy hath he, when he receives his pardon! And fhould not believers rejoice in God, who here receive the atonement, and are, as it were, brought again from the gibbet by the mercy of God in Chrift?

There are two things you ought to rejoice in; 1. In God. 2. In his ways.

As to the firft, it is the duty of a covenanted people to rejoice in their covenanted God. With what joy doth Zaccheus entertain Christ, when he closed a bargain with

him? Luke xix. 6. ; and likewise the jailor, Acts xvi. 34. And to be fure, whenever the babe of the new man is formed in the foul, it will leap for joy. It is most reasonable that Chrift should have a joyful welcome into the foul. God not only commands and preffes this joy, as in Pfal. v. II. Joel ii. 23. Phil. iii. 1. and iy 4. but he affords the greatest grounds for it. God the Father gives himself to us as a portion; his Son to be our Saviour; his well ordered covenant as a never-failing spring of confolation; his holy Spirit to be our comforter; his influences to blow up this holy flame of joy; his graces of faith, hope, and love, to breed and feed it; his ordinances to maintain and increafe it; and particularly the Lord's fupper is a fpiritual feaft inftituted for cheering the foul: For, after it, we fee that Chrift and his dif ciples fung a hymn.

What ground of joy have believers in their covenanted Redeemer, in his love, in his victories, and in his purchase? What ground of joy in his perfon and natures? In God incarnate they may fee heaven and earth conjoined, God and human nature eternally married together, and themfelves very nearly related to God. O believer, he is " bone of your bone, and flesh of your flesh, and has a fellow-feeling of your infirmities;" and is not this matter of joy?

What ground of joy have you in the attributes of God, which are all engaged for you, and become yours by covenant? The thoughts of God may be fweet to you as to the Pfalmift, Pfal. civ. 34. The thoughts of God are a terror to the wicked, but every one of his attributes may be a cordial to you, yea, even the most terrible of them: His juftice, that before ftood with a flaming fword to keep you out of paradife, doth now turn an advocate to plead for your happiness, 1 John i. 9. Justice is come over to your fide, and pleads for your pardon and discharge, fince Chrift your furety hath paid the debt; and for the crown of glory to you, fince he hath laid down the price.

His goodness and mercy afford you great matter of joy: Why? for, as he is good, fo he doth good, and will let his people want nothing that is good for them; He will hear their cry, pity them in danger, and be a

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