dearer to us than a thousand fathers or brothers? Can wee look on Chrift's fufferings, and not make folemn vows against fin, and part with lying, fwearing, Sabbath-breaking, &c. that crucified him? When the King of Moab was preffed hard by Ifrael, he took his eldest fon, that should have reigned in his stead, and offered him up for a burnt facrifice upon the wall, 2 Kings iii. 27. whereupon they raifed the fiege, and went home. Well, the great God hath taken his only son, and facrificed him to justice, that we might thereby be, perlwaded to leave off fighting against Heaven.

O let this ftrange act, which is both an act of juftice and fo goodness, fo over-awe your hearts with fear, and overcome them with love, that you may leave off to offend God any more.

DIRECTION XIV.

Be frequent and fervent in prayer before you approach the Lord's table.

T

Hey that forget God in their closets and families, are not fit to come and remember him at his table; therefore let no prayerle's foul venture thither. You ought to double your prayers and mesfages to heaven that week, and especially that night before you approach to this ordinance; if ever you prayed and wrestled with God, now fhould be the time of it. As the Heathen fhip-mafter faid to Jonah, fo fay I to thee, O communicant, Jonah i. 6. Arife O fleeper, and call upon thy God, if fo be that God will think upon thee that thou perifh not. O fleep not now, when you are in hazard of eating and drinking eternal damnation; but be praying when others are fleeping. This courfe will furely redound to thy advan tage, and be the means of procuring special bleflings to thy foul. When was it that God gave commiffion Paul's eyes, and fill him with the Holy Ghoft,

to open

but

at

but then, when he was earned in prayer to God? Acts ix. 11, 17. Behold he prayeth.- The Lord hath fent me (faid Annanias) that thou mighteft receive thy fight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. So if you were earneft in prayer before the facrament, God would notice you as he did Paul, and give charge to his ordinance to be the means of enlightning thy foul, and filling thee with the Holy Gholt. It was at the facrament of baptifin that Chrift's prayers opened hea ven, aud brought down the Holy Ghoft upon him : fo the facrament of the Lord's fupper the fervent prayers of a believing communicant will open heaven, and bring, down the gracious influences of the Holy Spit upon him. Your work at this time is very great, and much reed have you to look to God in Cirit, and plead with him for his special affiftance: you have very great encouragement to do it; for God never calls any to do his work, but he helps them in it. It is faid, 1 Chron. xv. 26. That God helped the Levites that bare the ark. One would think that the work of bearing the ark needed no more help from God than the general. concourfe of his providence; and yet God helped them with fpecial affiftance. And he helped the Levites to bear the ark, because it was his work; will he pot help us to receive the facrament, which he hath inftituted for difplaying his glory, if we fincerely feek his help you have many errands at this time to the throne of grace, for you have many things to pray for.

You ought in general to pray for preparation for this folemn feaf; for the preparation of the heart in man is from the Lord, Prov. xvi I. Lay out the cafe of your heart and foul before the Lord, and say, Lord thou calleft me to a very folemn ordinace ; and, who is fufficient for thefe things? I have neither a meet facrifice to offer, nor a meet temple to receive thee in. I know not how to pray, or to prepare myself; how to receive Chrift, or behave myself at his table. Behold the bridegrdom com

eth

eth, but I am not ready; I want the wedding-garment: Oh, what fhall I do for clothing to my naked foul? My beloved hath spoke, faying, rife up, my love, my fair one, and come away. I have heard his voice; but, oh, i am not stirring for it: my heart still faith, yet a little fleep, yet a little flumber. Lord, awake my heart, ftir up my graces, and prepare. me for a meeting with my Saviour. Lord, thou art the giver of grace as well as of glory, thou muft give the frame as well as the feaft; for with out thee we have nothing, we can do nothing. Thou prepareft a table for me in this wilderness; but, 'fhall the time of receiving come before thou com eft into my foul to ftir up thy graces in me? What commerce can a dead heart have with a living God? Lord, thou knoweft my fins, and the un-. preparedness of my heart; and, if thou wilt mark iniquity, O Lord, who fhall ftand? My very preparations and best performances carry in them mat⚫ter of indictment against my foul. But, Lord, tho' my fins be many and great, yet, doth not the blood of Chrift cry louder for pardon than my fins do for punishment? O that the cry of that blood may wholly drown the cry of my fins at this time, and anfwer for the defects of my preparation. "Oh let not my foul, whofe only hope is to be faved by 'Chrift's blood, be fent away from his table with the guilt instead of the comfort of that blood u me.'

pon

2. And more particularly, you ought to pray for faving knowledge: Say, Lord, I am naturally alic nated and enftranged from thee, thro' the ignorance that is in me: O give me understanding, that I may know thee, and the mystery of faving grace. Haft thou pot faid, that the covenant thou wilt maké with thy people is this, they shall all know thee from the leaft even to the greateft ? O give ne right uptak ings of thy covenant, which is well ordered in all things, and fure! Give grace to know the nature, neceffity,

neceffity, ule and ends of this ordinance, which is the compend and feal of it, that fo I may receive it with understanding, and rightly difcern the Lord's body.

3. Pray for holy reverence and humility of spirit. Lord, affect my heart with awful reverence of the greatness and holiness of thy Majefty, to whom I am to make fo near an approach, and with whom I am to renew covenant. Oh, how durft I, who am finful duft and afhes, prefume to come to near thee, unless thou hadst invited and commanded me ? O for deep felf-abasement and humility of foul, when I go to receive the unfpeakable gift of God! O what a wonderful gift is Jefus Chrift to fuch an unworthy and ill-deferving creature as I am! Lord, give me grace whereby Imay ferve thee acceptably, with reverence and godly fear?

4. Pray for godly forrow, and contrition for fin, Lord take away my heart of ftone, and give me a heart of flesh, that I may lothe myself in my own fight for all my iniquities and abominations. May I abhor them as the fcourges, thorns, nails and fpear that afflicted my Lord and Saviour and may I be weary and heavy laden with the burden of my fins, fo that Chrift may give me reft. Lord help me fo to accufe myself, that thou mayft acquit me; fo to judge and condemn myself, that thou mayft abfolve me; and fo to exercife a holy revenge upon my felf, that thou mayft fpare me. The days of mourning for my redeemer's death are at hand; O that then I may flay my most beloved lufts, and be revenged on them for it, and for their endeavours to rob me of my spiritual birth-right, my eternal bleffednefs! O that I may come to thy holy table, and receive a bleeding Saviour with a broken heart!" 5. Pray for faith, both for the being and the increase of faith. Lord, faith is thy own gift, as well as Chrift; I believe, Lord help my unbelief. O for faith's eye to look upon Chrift, faith's wings to

• flee

6

flee to Chrift, faith's arms to embrace Chrift, faith's • mouth to feed on Chrift, faith's hand to apply Chrift! When I fee the bread and wine on the table, O let me fee a bleeding crucified Jefus. Let me not only eat the bread of the Lord, but the bread which is the Lord. May this ordinance be a lively refemblance, remembrance and applicatication of Chrift's fufferings to me; and may Ibe helped fo to put my finger into the print of the nails, and my hand into his fide, that I may be perlua <ded of his fuffering and dying for me; and I may not be faithlefs but believing, and may fay with • Thomas, My Lord and my God; and with faul, He lo •ved me, and gave himself for me; and with the spouse, My beloved is mine, and I am his. O that I may fo touch him, that I may feel ftrength, peace and virtue come from him, and be healed of all my plagues ' and uncleanneffes! Let me fo by faith feed on his bleffed body, and bathe my foul in his precious 'blood, that I may be filled with peace and joy in believing; yea, my foul may magnify the Lord, and ፡ my Spirit rejoice in God my Saviour

6. Pray for love to God and Christ. Lord, cir'cumcife my heart to love the Lord with all my foul, with all my Arength. Lord, Jhed abroad thy love into my cold and frozen heart, and inflame 'it with fervent affection and defires towards thee, that I may be a difciple whom Jelus loveth, and that leans on his breaft. O that Chrift may dwell in my heart by faith, and that being rooted and grounded in love, I may be able to comprehend with all faints, what is the breadth and length, the depth and height, and to know the love of Chrift which paffeth knowledge! O that the remembrance of Chrift's love may tranfport me with love, captivate my will, and engage all my affections to him. Lord, though I cannot fay, I am fick of love to thee, yet I defire to 'be fick that I cannot love thee more. O for grace