But neither is there any room for you here to object, that your guilt is fo great, and God's juftice is fo terrible, that you have no hope; for what am I telling you all this time, but that the terrible fword of juftice is fatisfied and appeafed, to the full, with the blood' of the man that is God's Fellow? Here is the way that God himself hath laid down for getting fatisfaction; and there is no other way: though you man, woman, had the guilt of all the world lying on your back, all that is required of you is juft this, to be heartily pleafed and content that God get fatisfaction for all your fins in this way; and if you be, the fword fhall be put up in the fcabbard, and never reach you: God will get his juftice fatisfied more gloriously this way upon you, than though he fhould damn you in hell to eternity.

Come, come then, before I clofe; away with all your objections, and let God be glorified, to the higheft, in your embracing this way of falvation to your fouls, and this way of fatisfaction to juftice. Behold! once for all, I make you the richeft offer that ever was heard tell of; in the name of the Lord of hofls I offer you the Man that is God's Fellow, to be a complete Saviour to you, to ftand between you and the fword of divine wrath, and to be the Burden-bearer for you; to bear the weight of all the curfes of the law, the weight of all God's wrath, the weight of all your falvation for you; and to do all your work in you and for you. O foul, am I not offering a fuitable and worthy match to you? He is a man indeed, but a wonderful man, the man that is God's Fellow: What fay you?"Will you go with this man" Will you match with this Man? It is true, I am unworthy to offer the like of him; for the latchet of his fhoe no man nor angel is worthy to unloofe; but, as I faid, it was in the name of the Lord of hofts that I was making the offer: So I tell you again, it is the great JEHOVAH that is offering his Son to you this day; and it becomes fuch a glorious God to make such a glorious offer; and it becomes no vile finner here to refufe the offer; and refufe it or chufe it you must, there is no mids: for, be what you will, I again offer,

in the name of the Lord of hofts, the Man that is his Fellow. Are you a child of wrath? I offer him as a Saviour to redeem you, and deliver you from the wra h to coníe. Are you a poor bankrupt? offer him who is the heir of all things, and has unfearchable riches to pay all your debt. Are you a poor ignorant creature? I offer you him as made of God unto you wifdom. Are you guilty? I offer him as made unto you righteoufnefs. Are you polluted? I offer him to you, as made unto you fanctification. Are you miferable and forlorn? I offer him to you, as made of God unto you complete redemption. Are you hard-hearted? I offer him in that promife, "I will take away the heart of ftone." Are you content that he break your hard heart, according to his promile? Come then, put your hard heart in his hands. Are you a wretched backflider, that has back, fliden an hundred times, a thoufand times more than an hundred? I offer him in that promile, "I will heal your backflidings." Are your corruptions ftrong and prevalent? I offer him in that promife," I will fubdue your iniquities." Are you pleafed that he do fo? Are you afraid, that you revolt more and more? I offer him in that promife, I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my ilatutes. I will put my fear in your heart, and you fhall not depart from me." Are you afraid you was never elected? Meddle not with that fecret; but according to the revealed will of God, I offer God's chief Elect to you, in whom his foul is well pleased; and if your heart go in to the offer, and you make him your Elect too, by choofing him, then your election is fure. Are you afraid you have finned the fin against the Holy Ghoft? I tell you, that as your fear of that fays you was never guilty of it, fo I offer the Man that is God's Fellow; and if you be content to have him, you fhall never be guilty of it. Are you full of enmity against God? I offer him as a Saviour that can kill your enmity: Do you consent that he do fo? Are you an impenitent creature, deflitute of repentance? I offer him as a Prince and a Saviour, exalted to give repentance and remiffion of fin. Do you confent? Have you received him formerly? I cffer him anew, that you may

F3.

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receive him again, and take a more large armful of him than ever. Have you never received him to this day? I offer him, after all the flights you have given him, ta be now received and believed in. Are you unable to believe in him? have you no power to clofe with the offer? Why, I offer him to you as the Author of faith, to work it in you powerfully. Do you consent that he put forth his power for this effect? What fhall I fay? Are you unwilling to believe? Though that be the greatest let and impediment of all; behold, I offer the Man that is God's Fellow, as a Saviour by power, as well as by price, to work in you both to will and to do, Are you content that he put forth his power to break your enmity, and make you willing? God knows it is neither in you to will nor do, and that you have neither will nor power of your own; and faith lies not in bringing forth fome great things by your own power, but in employing the power of God to work all your works in you, and for you. Behold then, the power of God is in your offer, while the man that is God's Fellow is of fered the ftrength of God is offered; "Let him take hold of my ftrength, that he may make peace with me, and he fhall make peace with me;" and feeing the ftrength of God is offered, Oh! give it employment, faying, in your heart, O come, come powerful arm of JEHOVAH, and make me go in to his call. The gospel call and offer ufes to be the channel of almighty power and grace.

Now, what in all the world have you to object more? Why, have you fo many objections more, as you think all the minifters of earth cannot answer them?

offer you the man that is God's Fellow, to answer them all are you content that he take all the work, and get all the glory? If you confent to this, he fecks no more of you. Are you a captive to the fword of God's juftice? I offer you the man that is God's Fellow, in whofe bowels the fword was bathed and now the flaming fword that guarded the way of the tree of life is taken away, and here is the tree of life full of the apples of grace, glory, and eternal falvation; and the branches of the tree are.hanging down among your

hands,

hands, in the midst of the church of Dunfermline. take, and eat, and live for ever. What fay you now? I allude to the words of Jephthah, Judges xi. 9. " If I fight for you and prevail, fhall I be your head ?" O yes, yes, fay they fo fays Chrift to you, If I fatisfy justice for you; if I quench the flames of that fiery fword, and drown all your enemies in the red-fea of my blood, fhall I be your head? Shall he be your head, man? Shall he be your head, woman? Does your hearts fay, Yes, yes? Does your hearts fay, Amen, amen? Yea, fay you, I think my heart fays, Amen to the bleffed offer, and that I would willingly and chearfully confent; but my heart is deceitful, and I know not if my confent be of a true fort, or only a temporary Hafh, a prefumptuous confidence that will evanish: well, if that be your objection, come, I offer you the man that is God's Fellow, who can anfwer that among the reft, and can fay to your foul, "Fear not, for I am thy God; I am thy falvation.” Are you content to take him for this end, to discover the defect of your faith, and to work in you the faith of his elect? Can you fay, That it is not in your faith, but in Chrift himfelf, that you are feeking falvation? Can you fay, Whatever be wrong about me, or about my faith, yet I fee there is nothing wrong about Chrift; and I would have him to right all that is wrong about me? Can you fay, However I be in the dark about my faith, and whatever fort of faith it is that I have, yet fometimes I have found my unbelief, and that I could no more believe, than I could move the earth from its centre; but yet the joyful found of gofpel grace has touched my heart; and made me take up fo much -glory and excellency to be in Chrift, that I think all the world nothing, in comparison of him; and I think my heart's defire is, O to have him for my prophet, to take away the darknefs of my mind; for my prieft, to take away the guilt of my fins; and for my king, to take away the power of my lufts. Is your heart faying, Gladly would I have him; gladly would I have him, that I may thus be bleffed in him, and that his name may be glorified in me? Are these the breathings of your foul? Then, upon my peril, I undertake to be the

happy meffenger, and tell you, in the name of the Lord, that whatever you think of your faith, and of yourselves, as the blackeft monfters of fin and guilt that ever were out of hell; yet you have the faith of God's elect, and you are married and matched with the man that is God's Fellow: yea, the Lord of hofts is your Father and Friend, reconciled in him, fo as there is no fear of the fword of juftice with refpect to you. You are the fheep, and it awaked in all its fury and vengeance againft the Shepherd, that the fheep might efcape; and in teflimony thereof, he invites you to commemorate this bloody facrifice in the facrament of the fupper, where you fhall fee the fword bathed in his heart's blood in your room, and hear the Lord of Hofts giving his folemn orders, for that effect, that he might be fmitten, and you fpared, faying, "Awake, O fword, againft my Shepherd, against the man that is my Fellow."

The END of the SERMON.

DISCOURSE before the SERVICE of the TABLES.

Now, we are to proceed to the great work of the

day and that I may accommodate my former purpose to the prefent work, you may remember the doctrine I am upon is, That by fpecial orders from JEHOVAH, the great God of hofts, the man Chrift, his Shepherd and Fellow, did fall a facrifice to the awaken⚫ed fword of infinite juftice, in the room of the fheep.'

There are fome general inferences I have drawn from this doctrine; and now there are thefe four more particular inferences may be drawn from it, with a more immediate reference and relation to the great fealing ordinance we have before us.

1. Hence we may fee what is the nature and end of this facrament.

2. Hence we may fee who they are that stand debarred and excluded from meddling with thefe facred fymbols of the body and blood of Christ.

3. Hence we may fee the character of thefe who have a right to approach, and are invited of God to it.

4. Hence