-point of juftification. Did you ever find it a harder exercife to be quit of your duties, tears, and enlargements in point of dependence, than to be rid of your fins? The believer has one exercife of faith, how to be quit of fin; and another new exercife, how to be freed from refting on duties, and how to be fingly engaged in refting on Chrift: his mind is not quiet in all his duties, till he come hither, even to be found in Chrift, to have his peace with God founded upon Chrift, and not upon duties. The Legalift, when he gets duties performed, then he has peace; but the believer, though he fhould be about duties a whole day, and is indeed more engaged in duties readily than the Legalift himfelf, that relies thereon; but let him be about duties a whole day, yet perhaps he has little or no peace, because he would be over all duties, to Chrift himfelf, as his refting place; and fo has no peace till he enjoy him to his fatisfaction. Hence alfo, he is oft-times full of fears and jealoufies, left, through unbelief, he put fome other thing in the room of Chrift's facrifices. A natu ral man may, perhaps, fufpect his duties, left they be wrong; but the believer is more taken up in fufpecting his faith, faying, "Lord, I believe, help my unbelief:" he dares not truft his own faith, knowing his evil heart of unbelief that he has within him. Well, if this be oft-times matter of exercife to you, poor foul, to get over all other facrifices and fervices, to this great facrifice, Chrift Jefus, in whom alone the fword of justice is fatisfied, I invite you, as a believer, to feast at the Lord's table, upon the facrifice. Does the faith of this facrifice purify your heart, fo that you long to be perfectly holy, feeing and lamenting your own unholinefs and impurity, and defiring daily to bring your impure fins and lufts, to the fountain opened, by the fword of justice, in the heart of a pierced Chrift?I then invite you, in the name of the Lord, to this holy table, as one that has feen the value, and shared of the virtue, and participated of the efficacy of this facrifice, given by the man that is God's Fellow, to the awakened fword of justice.

In a word, is there any here, who, under a fenfe of

fin, fee an abfolute need of this facrifice; who under a fente of their unworthinefs, are fearing and trembling to approach to the Lord's table, and yet would give all the world for a fhare of the faving and healing virtue of this glorious facrifice; and fee nothing in the wide world fo fit for them as Chrift? I invite them to the Lord's table. Are there any here lamenting the Lord's anger and abfence at this day? lamenting that things are fo far wrong in the houfe of God, and that there is fo little power and glory of God feen in the fanctuary, and panting after communion and fellow fhip with him, crying, "O that I knew where I might find him. O that it were with me as in times paft!" O for an heart to love Chrift! O for a fealed intereft in Chrift! O for the healing balfam of the blood of the Lamb to cure the fad plagues of my heart, which I fee to be as black as hell! O come and take a drink, poor foul, at the Lord's table, even a full draught of the blood of Chrift, which cleanles from all fin! Is there any here, any poor creature, that fees and laments his own weak. nefs, and the power of fin and corruption in him, pained to the heart with his numberless backflidings from the Lord Jefus I would gladly have a knot caft between Chrift and his foul, that may never loose; fuch 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 firengthening meal.-Perhaps there is fome 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 fent to clear you, by fhewing to you the things that are freely given you of God. I thall only afk you, who are fearing you have no intereft in him, no portion in the fon of Jeffe, 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 lufts, and let others take Chrift who pleafe? would you find in your heart to reft contented with other things, and give any body your part of Chrift? What fay you to that, poor doubting foul? Is your heart now melting, and relenting within you, and saying, Ominifter! what is that you are faying? that wounds me to the bottom

of

of my foul! quit all my part of Chrift! O no, no, no! If I were fure of my intereft in him, I would not quit. my part in him for ten thoufand, thou and, thousand worlds; and even as it is, though I dare not affert, that I have an intereft in him, yet I would not fay that I would quit my part in him; no, for all that lies within the bofom of the univerfe. Is that the language of your heart? Well, Chrifl hears that, and he will mind it as a token of fome heart-kindnels to him. Can you fay, that God will be jut and righteous though he shouldfend you to the bottom of hell, inftead of allowing you to fit at his table; and if fuch a dog as you, get a crumb from him, it will be a miracle of mercy? Can you fay, that though doubts and darkness, and innumerable evils be now furrounding you, yet, for what you know, it was a day of power you met with at fuch a time, in which a faving work, as you thought, was begun, and now you would willingly have it cleared up to you? Can you fay, that though you have a thoufand objections against yourfelf, and your own heart and frame, yet you have no objections against Chrift? At least if any reafonings and high imaginations against him be rifen and raging in your heart, you would gladly take hold of him, that he may caft all down, and take and keep the throne himself? Do you fee the way of falvation, through free grace, and through his perfect righteoufnefs, to be an excellent way, worthy of God, and fuitable to man, becoming the wildom and glory of God, and that you are well pleafed with this way? Can you finally fay, that you are one of the poorelt creatures in all the world; poor and needy, deftitute of all good, of all grace, of all faith, love, repentance, holinefs, and any other fpiritual quality in yourfelves; but that you fee an infinite fulnels in Chrift, that can fupply you, and out of which you defire to be fupplied, with all that you need? And. can appeal to heaven, that in him only you defire to be found, who is ALL IN ALL? Can you fay, Yea and Amen to these things? Then, poor foul, I charge and command you, in the name of the Lord of hofts, to venture forward to this table, as you would not difpleafe him, and grieve his holy Spirit by ftaying away, when

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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 ftraying, wandering fheep; though you be fuch a weak creature, as that you think, if you be among the flock of Chrift at all, you are the worft among them all for fin; and the laft among them all for grace; and fìraying fo far behind all the reft of the flock, that you will never get up among the reft, unless the great Shepherd take you up in his arms, and carry you; I charge you, in his name, to come forward, and fee the glorious Shepherd fmitten with the fword of juflice 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 hofts facramentally faying, "Awake, O fword, against my Shepherd, the man that is my Fellow." I clofe with

4. A Fourth Inference from this doctrine, with rela-. tion to this ordinance: Hence we may fee in what manner it is that believers fhould approach to a com munion-table, fince the fword of JEHOVAH's wrath is ordered to fmite the Shepherd, the man that is God's Fellow. Then you ought to commemorate this facrifice, and come to his table.

(1.) With wonder and aftonifhment. O come! won,. dering that the fword of the Lord of hcfts, that infinitely juft God, fhould pafs by you, man; and you, woman, that was an enemy; and fatisfy himself upon the man that was his Friend, the man that was his Fellow, by fmiting the Shepherd in the room of the fheep: that the man who is God's Fellow fhould be made fin for you; made a curfe for you; made fhame for you; made a facrifice to juftice for you; and made the channel in which the wrath and difpleafure of God fhould run fo as to run by you, and never light upon you. O wonder! wonder, men and angels!

(2.) Come with praife, gratitude, and thankfulness to the Lord of hofts, and to the man that is his Fellow, for fuch a wonderful contrivance of falvation. What posture did grace find you in, poor believer? even lying open to the ftroak of God's drawn fword of justice; and

our

our Lord Jefus, on the one fide, ftept in and faid, Hold, Lord, let that ftroak fall upon me, and let them go free; and, upon their fide, there was God's good pleafure, condefcending to accept of his offer, faying, "Awake, O fword; fmite the Shepherd, and fpare the fheep." Poor foul, that defires to flee to him for refuge! Chrift has changed rooms with you, by interpofing to keep the ftroak 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, finging unto him that loved us, and washed us from our fins, in his blood,-to him be glory.

(3.) Come with boldnes, confidence, and chearfulness. What a fhame and difhonour to the glorious Shepherd is it, that the fheep fhould be always trembling and quaking, while they are under fuch a fure and fafe covert, as the blood and righteousness of the Shepherd! If we were coming to deal with God about falvation, upon the footing of any thing in us, we might indeed be confounded with defpair, and could not ftand far enough away from God; but when you are to deal with him upon the fcore of the God-pleafing, jufticefatisfying blood of the man that is his Fellow, we cannot come with too much boldnefs: on this ground let us come boldly to the throne of grace, having boldness to enter into the holieft by the blood of Jefus. 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 fhould you give way to diffidence? What a fhame is it that we dare fcarcely trust to his facrifice! Therefore,

(4.) Come with full affurance of faith: affured of the love and good will of God in Chrift, in whom his fword is pacified, and through whom peace with God is proclaimed, and a ceffation of arms to all eternity. If you can attain to this full affurance of faith, poor weak believer, you will, no doubt, come forward, as the Lord fhall help you, under covert of this honourable facrifice; come hoping against hope, and believing against unbelief; fay, "Lord, I believe, help my unbelief." Come