that are without them will perifli and die in their fins: but let our fouls deteft the bringing in thefe, or any thing elfe, in conjunction with Chrift, and his biond and righteoufhefs, lo as thereupon to look for any benefit, favour, or acceptance with God; but let us look for all ho inefs, as well as happinefs, only in and throʼ Jou. Chrift, and upon the account of his giving him delf a facrifice to the awakened fword of justice. And

fo I come to the

8. And lafl inference, that I name at the time, name. ly, Hence we may fee, What is the great duty of all who hear this gofpel, namely, to embrace the man that is God's Fellow, to flock in to this Shepherd, and come to him as the facrifice and propitation in his blood, in whom the fword of divine juftice has got fatisfaction.. Let me then exhort you, in the name of the Lord, to this duty, before I clofe. I may afterwards fpeak to different forts of perfons, and I may afterwards tell you whom I call to the communion-table, but at prefent I am calling you all to come to Chrifl. If you think of communicating, in God's name, ftand aback from his table, if you will not come to his Chrifl; and whether you be thinking of communicating or not, man, woman, young or old, that hear me, I charge you, in JEHOVAH's name, to hear the word of falvation, and apply it particularly to your own fouls, whoever you be. Is it fo, that the fword of the Lord of hofts is bathed in the blood of the Shepherd, the man that is God's Fellow, then, as you would not fall a facrifice to this fword of God's wrath for ever, O clofe with the man that is God's Fellow, as he that fell a facrifice to this fword in your room. Have you no apprehenfion of the wrath of God, and of your dreadful conditi on by nature, wherein you are lying bound to be a fa crifice to the wrath of God, the Lord's hand being ftretched out to lay on the flroak, and the wrath of God abiding on you, liable to the law's fentence, which is the curfe of God, and the vengeance of his awakened fword, until once you get the man that is God's Fellow put in your room? All that the gospel aims at is this, that you would, feek to change rooms with

Christ guilty finners, here is the way to get your debt paid, your Judge pleafed, juftice fatisfied, God atoned, fin expiated, and everlafting peace and reconciliation between God and you made up. The fword of the Lord of hofts is hanging over your heads, crying, Vengeance, vengeance upon the guilty finner: This is the fad and certain tidings of the law, "Curfed is every one that continueth not in all things, written in the book of the law to do them." But behold the man that is God's Shepherd and Fellow; the curfe of the law, the vengeance of God, the fword of JEHOVAH, has lighted upon him that it might not fall upon you: there is the glad news and good tidings of the gospel. Is there not here a fuitable object, and a fufficient foundation of faith, that Chrift is fet forth of God to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare the righteousness of God, that he might be jut, and the juftifier of them that believe in Jefus? Now, unworthy, wretched, guilty, filthy, bloody finner, will you take a worthy match; the man that is God's Fellow?"Will you go with this man?" Will you take him in his garments rolled in his own blood, when the fword of justice did awake against him and fmote him to death? The great God. of hots was in fad earnest, when he gave his Shepherd, his glorious Fellow, the bloody blow; and now he is in earneft in his call, fwearing, by a folemn oath, "As he lives, that he takes no delight in the death of finners;" and declaring, by his drawing forth the heart-blood of the man that is his Fellow, that he is willing to fave you upon the account of this facrifice, that his justice has got only welcome the news as a faithful faying, and worthy of all acceptation: and put in for a fhare of the benefits of this facrifice, for it is the beft, and the laft, that ever you will hear of; and if it be flighted, "There remains no more facrifice for fin." As the eternal God is willing, fo his eternal Son is both able and willing to fave you; and if he had not been fo, he would never have fuflained the ftroak of avenging juftice in the room of finners, who is that good Shepherd that laid down his life for the fheep. When he was fmitten, by the fword of juftice, he willingly undertook and underwent it; he longed for the bloody baptifm, and

was

was ftraitened till it was accomplished. When he was fmitten by the hands of men, " "He hid not his face from fhame and fpitting, but was led like a lamb to the flaughter, and as a fheep before her fhearers is dumb, fo he opened not his mouth :" He never quarrelled or complained because it was for our caufe. Would he not quarrel with thefe that fmote him? and will he quarrel with a poor finner that defires to come to him, and to plead the benefit of his fatisfaction? No, no; he will rest in his love, Zeph. iii. 17.; or, as the word fignifies, "He will be filent, or dumb in his love;" he will not upbraid you for your falls, nor quarrel you for your former mifdemeanours: he will be more content with your recovery, than ever he was difcontent with your apoftacy he will be more pleafed with your coming to him, than ever he was difpleafed with your fins, and departures against him. Come then, by the love and goodwill of God in Chrift, by the blood and bowels of the Lord Jefus Chrift, I adjure and intreat you not to exclude yourselves, by unbelief, from all the benefits of this facrifice, that Chrift offered of himself to the sword of divine wrath, but accept of this propitiation, and lay your poor guilty fouls under the covert of the blood of this man that is God's Fellow: behold! God brings near this blood of Jefus to you, even to you, that are the most hardened finners in all this houfe: Ifa. xlvi. 12, 13. "Hearken unto me, ye flout-hearted and far from righteoufnefs; behold, I bring near my righteoufnefs." Chrift and his blood and righteoufnefs is io near to you, that you may lay hold on him, and touch the hem of his garments, and be whole. In the name of God, I proclaim the accefs that you have all to come to Christ, and to look unto, and depend upon him for falvation; "Look unto him, all ye ends of the earth, and be ye faved." I am warranted to preach this gofpel to every creature: there is no rational creature within thefe walls, that ftand in need of falvation, but you have it, unlefs you wilfully reject it; "Whofoever will, let him come." Will you tell me, dare you fay but you ftand in need of Chrift to come in between you and the fword of the Lord of hofts? Is the fword, the awakened sword of VOL. I. God's

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God's wrath and vengeance a light matter? are you content to bear the lafhes of it, in your own perions through all eternity? If not, then will you be content to change rooms with Chrift? content that he be made fin for you, and that you be made the righteoufness of God in him? 2 Cor. v. 21. Content that all your fin

and guilt be laid upon him, and that all his merit and righteoufnefs be imputed unto you? If you be not pleafed with this fweet bargain, what in all the world will you do with your fin and guilt? Can you answer well enough for it at God's tribunal? What will you do with all your plagues and maladies? Can you heal them yourselves? What will you do with all the curfes and threatenings of God's law, when grim death will fiare you broad in the face, and when the lait fetch of your breath fhall fummon you to come and anfwer before the juft tribunal of God? What will you do with the flaming fword of wrath, that hangs above, hovers over your head, and will light upon you fearfully, as fure as God lives, unless you be pleafed with this bargain, that Christ bear all the weight of your falvation, and all the weight of God's wrath for you? God feeks no more, and he feeks no lefs than this. You will fay, Who would not be pleafed with this bargain? Alas! Are there not many here that are not pleafed? While you think that there muft be fome other things to pleafe and appeafe God; may be you think you fhould have fome good qualifications to pleafe him; that your hearing, reading, praying, communicating, will pleafe hint; your tears, good motions and affections will pleafe him: if you think fo, you do not think honourably of God. Will any of these things appeafe the awful Judge, and ward off the avenging blow, when he fays, "Awake, O sword!" No, no. If you be not pieafed with the man that is God's Fellow, and him alone to be your Surety, his blood alone to be your covert from the fword of wrath, God cannot be pleased with you, though you fhould weep an ocean of tears, give all that you have to the poor, and give your body to be burnt; you both lofe your foul and all your labour to the bargain. The queflion is, are you content that Chrift alone anfwer for you? that

he

he alone ftand between you and the fword? If you think to put any thing elfe along with Chrift, to ftand between you and the fword, it is but a rotten rag, and theflaming fword will burn through it, and get at your with its devouring vengeance. Chrift alone then muft have the whole ftrefs of your falvation laid on him: are you content? will you have falvation freely, through the blood of Jefus ?

The glorious gofpel is much clouded at this day, with legal terms, conditions, and qualifications. If my doctrine were upon condition that you did so and fo; that you believe, and repent, and mourn, and pray, and obey, and the like, then you fhall have the favour of God; I dare not for my life fay, that that is the gofpel: but the gospel I defire to preach, is, will you have a Chrift to work faith, repentance, love, and all good in you, and to ftand between you and the fword of divine wrath? Here there is no room for you to object, that you are not qualified, because you are fuch an hardened, unhumbled, blind, and ftupid wretch; for the queflion is not, will you remove these evils, and then come to Chrift? but, will you have a Chrift to remove them for you? It is because you are plagued with thefe difeafes that I call you to come to the Phyfician, that he may heal them. Are you qua lified for hell and damnation? and have you much mi chief and mifery about you? Why, there needs be no better qualifications for you to come to Chrift: we would indeed have fome good qualifications in these whom we invite to a communion-table; they fhould be humbled, believing, penitent people; becaufe it is prefuppofed that they have come to Chrift, and received fome good out of his hand: but when I call you to come to Chrift, and feek no good qualifications of you at all, prior to your coming to him, but that you come with all your black and hellifh qualifications, that he may take them away, and put fome good qualifications upon you; fo that, whatever bad things be about you, it should rather be an argument for your coming, than an hinderance of your coming to him; for never, never will you get your ills mended, till you come to him to do it for you.

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