#eceive fpiritual nourishment, and strength for their work and warfare, and fo make a progrefs in their journey to Canaan.

O that I had a fpiritual hunger and fharp appetite for this bread of life, and were defiring and longing for it, for the fupport and nourishment of my foul, more than a hungry man doth for bread to his body. A hungry man perishing for want of bread, would prefer a piece of bread before many bags of gold, if both were fet before him, and he allowed to make his choice: So the awakened foul that fees his need of Chrift, prefers him to a whole world; give him never so much of the world's comforts, he is ftill diffatisfied without Chrift, and fays, What will all these things avail me, if my ftarving foul perifh without Chrift the bread of life?

I have many arguments to plead with God for this bread; Lord, do not thy free calls and promises bind thee to give me it? Thou haft faid, The needy fhall not be forgotten. Is not Chrift, the bread from heaven, the free gift of God to perishing fouls? And doft thou not invite thofe to come and eat of it, that have no money nor price to give for it? Lord, thou hadst compaffion upon the bodies of men, when they had no bread to eat, and didft provide bread for five thousand of them, by a miracle; and haft thou not as much compaffion to ftarving fouls, that are far more precious? Lord, thou giveft natural affection to earthly parents, and makeft them pitiful to their children, when they cry for bread, fo that they cannot shut up their bowels against them when hungry, nor will they give them a ftone instead of bread: And will my heavenly Father, who is infinitely more compaffionate than the most tender parents, refufe the bread of life to ftarving fouls, who cry earnestly for it? Lord, I truft in thy mercy, and depend on thy promife, I believe thou wilt not let a poor hungry beggar starve and fall down at thy door, when there is bread enough in thy house, and to fpare. O caufe me to fing with the Pfalmift, Pfal. xiii. 5. But I have trufted in thy mercy, my heart shall rejoice in thy fal

vation.

SACRAMENTAL ADVICES.

From GEN. vi. I.

ADVICE I.

Come thou and all thy boufe into the ark.

As God, in his mercy, called Noah to come into the

ark prepared for him and his houfhold, to fave him from drowning in the great deluge, fo God, by the gofpel, calls you, O man, to come into the ark, Chrift cru eified, which he hath provided for perifhing finners, to fave them from the deluge of wrath that is coming. God hath long forewarned you of it; nay, the flood is beginning to rife, it is time for thee to flee to this ark; believe it, there is no other way for thy fafety: The ark of thy prayers, or of thy tears, convictions, or re formations, will not fave thee from it; nothing will do it but the ark Christ.

As all who were out of Noah's ark perished in the flood, fo will all perifh who are out of Chrift. Thofe of the old world, who only came near to the ark, or touched the outfide of it, they perished if they did not enter into it; fo in like manner will thofe perish, who only come near to Chrift by an outward profeffion, and are not found in him by a true faith.

As the ark gave a good account of all that entered into it, not one of them was loft in the flood; fo will Chrift give a good account, at the last day, of all that fly to him by faith: None fhall pluck them out of his hand, not one of them fhall perish in the deluge of wrath; Chrift will present them all fafe to his Father: Behold here am I, and the children whom thou hast given

me.

As Noah's ark was acceffible, and had a door in it fer people to enter, fo in a crucified Jefus there is a door of accefs opened, even a door of faith, whereby poor finners of the Gentiles may have access to Chrift, and to God in him, Acts xiv. 27. As Paul and Barnabas rehearfed it as glad tidings to the church, that God had opened a door of faith unto the Gentiles, so we Gentile finners fhould gladly receive the news. Glory to God in the higheft for opening this door of faith, and keeping it ftill open to perifhing finners.

Come then, Gentile finner, enter in by this door te the ark, and lodge thy foul within it, that thou mayeft be fafe from the flood of wrath that is coming upon the ungodly world. God forbid you be found hovering without the ark, until the flood come and wash you off from the very fides of it. O how difmal and cutting will the thought be to you through all eternity, that you was fo near Christ, and within a step of the ark, and fometimes touching it, and yet never entered into it! How fad will it be to perish, like the thief upon the crofs, with a Saviour at your fide, and to fink into hell betwixt the arms of mercy ftretched forth to fave you ! Now, poor foul, the ark is near you, flee to it with fpeed; behold, for your encouragement, there is a window opened in the fide of the ark, and mercy's hand is put forth to take in shelterless doves who come to it. Now is the time to beftir yourselves, to come into the ark without delay, and fo prevent your perishing in the flood for ever.

2. What fhall I do to get into the ark, viz. a crucified Jefus ?

A. 1. Be like Noah's dove which he fent forth, fee that you find no reft for the fole of your foot any where elfe; turn your back upon all other arks of man's devifing, they are all infufficient to fave you from the flood: Make not an ark of the absolute mercy of God out of Chrift, seeing he declares a crucified Jefus to be the only channel of his mercy. Make not an ark of church privileges, as your good education, admiffion to

fealing ordinances, &c. for the ark did not fave Shiloh, nor the altar's horns fave Joab, nor the temple fave Jerufalem. Make not an ark of your gifts, knowledge, prayers, duties, moral honesty, or felf-righteoufnefs, for the flood, when it comes, will dafh all these in pieces. Suppofe thofe of the old world had built other fhips as like the ark as poffible, or had fled to high towers of their own contriving, the deluge would have destroyed them all; there was no fafety for them but in Noah's ark alone. So whatever arks you devife to fave you from wrath, if a crucified Chrift, the ark of God's building, be flighted, the flood will fweep away all your own arks, as the refuge of lies, Ifa. xxviii. 17.

2. Labour to be thoroughly convinced of your mifery while out of the ark; and in a deep fenfe of your neceffity of getting unto it; break prefently over all the bars and hindrances which the devil cafts in your way to ftop your entry into the ark, as unbelief, finful pleafures, worldly cares, prefumptuous hopes, carnal company, diverfions, &c. break refolutely through all thefe to the ark, as David's three mighty men brake through the hoft of the Philiftines to the well of Bethlehem; furely your arguments for fo doing are far ftronger than theirs.

3. Approve heartily the whole contrivance of God's ark in all its rooms and ftories: Approve Chrift crucified in his perfon, natures, offices, apd relations, in his ftate of humiliation and exaltation: Accept of him in them all, fubfcribe to the whole new covenant fcheme, as a device worthy of God and of infinite wifdom; confent to the great end and defign of it, namely, that felf be debased, and free grace eternally magnified.

4. Be frequently effaying faith's flight unto the ark, and to the window in the fide of it; make earnest mints, like Noah's reftlefs dove, to get in; fay oft, like David, Pfal. lv. 6. O that I had wings like a dove, for then would I fly away, and be at reft. I would haften my escape from the flood, and lodge my foul this minute in one of the rooms of the ark. Believing is a work you

fhould be often effaying, and though you cannot believe with faving faith, yet believe as you can, looking to God for more strength. You cannot pray, praise, or fanctify the Sabbath aright, yet you aim at these duties as you can; fo, in like manner, make honeft mints at believing and flying to Chrift; and aim, in his ftrength, to apply his blood, every man to his own foul in particular, by an appropriating faith (corresponding to the free gofpel offer) and taking home the remedy as his own; depending ftill upon the Spirit's grace who will not fail thofe who trust in him, but affist them in making faving application.

5. Be willing to part with every thing that would compete with God's ark, however fpecious or plaufible a fhew it may have. Renounce the old covenant, and all lurking places about mount Sinai, for in none of thefe you can find fafety. Abhor your own righteouf nefs for an ark, whatever fhape it may appear in, and embrace him alone for it, who is the Lord our Righteousnefs. His Righteoufnefs only is fpotlefs, perfect, and law-biding.

6. Make a furrender of yourfelf, and all you have, to Jefus Chrift, to be difpofed of by him as he pleafeth: Be willing to fuffer the lafs of all things for him, yea, count all things lofs and dung that you may win to the ark, and be found therein when the flood cometh.

ADVICE II.

From REV iii. 20. Behold I fund at the door and knock.

LOST finner, I bring you good tidings; the eternal Son of God hath undertaken a long journey, and endured great fufferings to purchase falvation for thee! A dear purchase it is, dear hath it coft him to obtain it! and now he hath brought it the length of thy door, and there, O man, Chrift is ftanding knocking, and

N