ness, and the power of sin and corruption in him, pained to the heart with his numberless backslidings from the Lord Jesus? I would gladly have a knot cast between Christ and his soul, that may never loose: such strength and grace communicate, as that he may never go back from God: I invite you to come forward to the Lord's table, and get a strengthening meal.-Perhaps there is some trembling weak believer here, that is doubting, whether he has grace, or not; whether he be a believer or not; O cry to the Spirit of God to be sent to clear you, by shewing to you the things that are freely given you of God. I shall only ask you, who are fearing you have no interest in him, no portion in the son of Jesse, the man that is God's fellow; tell me, will you quit your part of him? Could you freely choose to take the world and your lusts, and let others take Christ who please? would you find in your heart to rest contented with other things, and give any body your part of Christ? What say you to that, poor doubting soul? Is your heart now melting, and relenting within you, and saying, Ominister! what is that you are saying? that wounds me to the bottom of my soul! quit all my part of Christ! O no, no, no! If I were sure of my interest in him, I would not quit my part of him for ten thousand, thousand, thousand worlds; and even as it is, though I dare not assert that I have an interest in him, yet I would not say that I would quit my part in him; no for all that lies within the bosom of the universe. Is that the language of your heart? Well, Christ hears that, and he will mind it as a token of some heart-kindness to him. Can you say, that God will be just and righteous though he should send you to the bottom of hell, instead of allowing you to sit at his table; and if such a dog as you, get a crumb from him, it will be a miracle of mercy? Can you say that though doubts and darkness, and innumerable evils be now surrounding you, yet, for what you know, it was a day of power you met with at such a time, in which a saving work, as you thought, was begun, and now you would willingly have it cleared up to you? Can you say that though you have a thousand objections against yourself, and your own heart and frame, yet you have

no objections against Christ? At least if any reasonings and high imaginations against him be risen and raging in your heart, you would gladly take hold of him, that he may cast all down, and take and keep the throne himself? Do you see the way of salvation, through free grace, and through his perfect righteousness, to be an excellent way, worthy of God, and suitable to man, becoming the wisdom and glory of God, and that you are well pleased with this way? Can you finally say, that you are one of the poorest creatures in all the world;. poor and needy, destitute of all good, of all grace, of all faith, love, repentance, holiness and any other spiritual quality in yourselves; but that you see an infinite fulness in Christ, that can supply you, and out of which you desire to be supplied, with all that you need? And can appeal to heaven, that in him only you desire to be found, who is ALL IN ALL? Can you say, Yea and Amen to these things? Then, poor soul, I charge and command you, in the name of the Lord of hosts, to venture forward to this table, as you would not displease him, and grieve his holy Spirit by staying away, when he calls you, and commands you to do this in remembrance of him, and of his kindness to you. You know not if ever you will get another opportunity, poor straying, wandering sheep; though you be such a weak creature, as that you think, if you be among the flock of Christ at all, you are the worst among them all for sin; and the last among them all for grace; and straying so far behind all the rest of the flock, that you will never get up among the rest, unless the great shepherd take you up in his arms, and carry you: I charge you, in his name, to come forward, and see the glorious shepherd smitten with the sword of justice in your room. And now, hoping I have prevailed or rather that the Lord has, and will prevail, with his little flock, to come to the Lord's table, and hear the Lord of hosts sacramentally saying, "Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, the man that is my fellow." I close with

4. A fourth inference from this doctrine, with relation to this ordinance: Hence we may see in what manner it is that believers should approach to a communion,

table, since the sword of JEHOVAH'S Wrath is ordered to smite the shepherd, the man that is God's fellow. Then you ought to commemorate this sacrifice, and come to his table,

(1.) With wonder and astonishment. O come! wondering that the sword of the Lord of hosts, that infinitely just God should pass by you, man, and you, woman, that was an enemy; and satisfy himself upon the man that was his friend, the man that was his fellow, by smiting the shepherd in the room of the sheep: that the man who is God's fellow should be made sin for you; made a curse for you; made shame for you; made a sacrifice to justice for you; and made the channel in which the wrath and displeasure of God should run so as to run by you, and never light upon you. O wonder! wonder, men and angels!

(2.) Come with praise, gratitude, and thankfulness to the Lord of hosts, and to the man that is his fellow, for such a woriderful contrivance of salvation. What pos-ture did grace find you in, poor believer? even lying open to the stroke of God's drawn sword of justice: and our Lord Jesus, on the one side, stept in and said, Hold, Lord, let that stroke fall upon me, and let them go free; and, upon their side, there was God's good pleasure, condescending to accept of his offer, saying, “Awake, O sword; smite the shepherd, and spare the sheep." Poor soul, that desires to flee to him for refuge! Christ has changed rooms with you, by interposing to keep the stroke off you, and receiving it into his own bowels; and, O what infinite obligations to love and thankfulness does this lay you under! how will he be praised for ever among the redeemed for his love! Come, singing unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins, in his blood,-to him be the glory.

(3.) Come with boldness, confidence, and chearfulness. What a shame and dishonour to the glorious shepherd is it, that the sheep should be always trembling and quaking, while they are under such a sure and safe covert, as the blood and righteousness of the shepherd! If we were coming to deal with God about salvation, upon the footing of any thing in us, we might indeed

be confounded with despair, and could not stand far enough away from God; but when you are to deal with him upon the score of the God-pleasing, justicesatisfying blood of the man that is his fellow, we cannot come with too much boldness: on this ground let us come boldly to the throne of grace, having boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. Is it the blood of God's shepherd, the blood of the man that is his fellow! Is it not thy valuable blood, or not? Then, why should you give way to diffidence? What a shame is it that we dare scarcely trust to his sacrifice! Therefore,

(4.) Come with full assurance of faith: assured of the love and good-will of God in Christ, in whom his sword is pacified, and through whom peace with God is proclaimed, and a cessation of arms to all, eternity. If you can attain to this full assurance of faith, poor weak believer, you will, no doubt, come forward, as the Lord shall help you, under covert of this honourable sacrifice; come hoping against hope, and believing against unbelief; say, "Lord, I believe, help my unbelief." Come lamenting your unbelief, and crying to him for faith. Come depending on him for grace to communicate in a suitable way, and for grace to take a hearty draught of the sword-satisfying blood of the man that is his fellow.

SERVICE AT THE TABLE.

Now, believers, what was Moses's work, when the angel of the Lord appeared in a flame of fire out of the midst of the bush, Exod. iii. 2. when the bush burned with fire and was not consumed? Why, says Moses, "I will turn aside, and see this great sight." That same should be your work and exercise now, at a communiontable: "Turn aside, and see this great sight!" What sight? The greatest sight that ever was seen, the eternal Son of God in the bush of our nature, and this bush burning in the flames of divine wrath, for our sakes, and in our room and stead, and yet the bush not consumed.

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O! with what holy fear ought you to look upon this great sight!" Put off thy shoes from off thy feet," says God to Moses, "for the place where thou standest is holy ground;" and Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God. You may perhaps think, if you were as great a saint as Moses, you would not be afraid but, O the sight of God is an awful thing to the greatest saint on earth, and humbles them to the dust! But, if you be a saint at all, I will tell you, you will be reckoning yourself the greatest sinner out of hell, the chief of sinners; and if it be so, sure I am, this great sight may be more wonderful in your eyes to see the sword of divine wrath drunk in the blood of the glorious surety, in your room.

Solomon says, "He that is surety for a stranger shall smart for it," Prov. xi. 15. Behold the Son of God become surety for you, that was a stranger and alien; but he must smart for it: or, as it may be rendered, “He shall be sore broken." So was the Son of God, our surety; he was broken in soul, broken in body, broken to pieces; and we have here the symbols of his broken body; for, "In the same night in which he was betrayed, he took bread," as you see us take it here, after his example.

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Now, spectators; now, communicants; if you have the eye of faith, you might see a broken Christ represented under this broken bread; now you may hear God saying, Awake, O sword, against my shepherd. All we like lost sheep had gone astray; and we have turned every one to his own way, and the Lord, the Lord of hosts, has laid on him the iniquities of us all." Sin brings down the sword of vengeance; but, behold your sin laid upon the shepherd, and thereupon the Lord of hosts saying, "Awake, O sword against the shepherd.” O rare and ravishing contrivance! O admirable and amiable contrivance! O beautiful and beneficial contrivance! Eternally blessed be the contriver! and eternally blessed be the shepherd! O infinitely kind and compassionate shepherd, that laid down his life for the sheep, and feeds his flock like a shepherd! Yea, feeds them with his flesh and blood! for, having broken it, he gave