very piece of work he is employed in; and fo ought communicants at the Lord's table, when God or his minifters ask them, as the Lord did Elijah, What doft thou here, communicant? What is your bufinefs and errand at this table? Can you fay, I have many errands here, I come, upon my Saviour's call, to celebrate the memorial of his dying love, that his name may be remembered to all generations? And worthy is the Lamb

that was flain' to be admired, adored, and praised for éver. I come alfo to fubfcribe and feal a marraige contract with him in the molt folemn manner, before all the perfons of the glorious Trinity, before the elect angels, and before all the congregation. Seeing Christ doth once more call me to it, after many a broken tryft, and hath put on his marraige robes, his dyed garments, to win and engage my heart, I come to join hands with him before God, angels, and men, and take them all witneffes to the bargain. Surely this is a good errand: O that the long ipoken of match may now hold.

Can you fay, I am come to a rich and liberal Saviour, to fupply my needs out of his fulnefs. I come on a good day when he ufes to deal bountifully with the poor and needy, and to fay to them, as the King to Efther, What is thy petition? and what is thy request?? -Well, is thy petition ready? Doft thou come with the publican's petition, God be merciful to me a sinner? Or with David's petition, Lord bè merciful to me; heal my foul, for I have finned against thee?" Or with that petition, Purge me with hyffop, and I thall be clean; wash me, and I fhall be whiter than the fnow? Or with that, Let my foul live, and it fhall praife thee? Or do you come with the Spouse's petitions and requests, Draw me, and we will run after thee? Awake O north wind; and come thou fouth; blow upon my garden, that the fpices thereof may flow out? Surely thefe petitions are agreeable to your Redeemer; fee that you inlift upon them, and prefs for an antwer. Study to have a lively feeling at this time of all your wants.Would you have them all supplied at once? Then come and embrace a crucified Je

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fus in the arms of faith, and he will fully anfwer them all. Would you have all your five fenfes fatisfied at once? Behold Chrift invites you to come to him to get it done. Would you have the fense of seeing fatisfied? Then he fays to you Look to me, and be ye faved.Behold me, behold me! Behold King Solomon, with the crown' on his head!-Would you have the fenfe of hearing fatisfied? Then faith he, Incline thine ear, hearken to me; give ear to my voice.'-Would you have the fenfe of tafting fatisfied? He faith O taste and fee that God is good.'-Would you have the fenfe of touching fatisfied? He faith Reach hither thy hand, thrust it into my fide;' feel the wounds made by the fpear and the nails.-Would you have the fense of fmelling fatisfied? Come then to Chrift, whofe name is as ointment poured forth;' and whose garments smell of aloes, myrrh, and caffia.' Come here and get all your fpiritual fenfes fatisfied at Chrift's full feaft.

Object. But I am afraid I am not among these invited guests that Chrift will make welcome. Anfw. Have you any of the fcripture characters of thofe that Chrift invites? Are you among his friends? Do you wifh well to his caufe and intereft? then Chrift faith to you, Eat O friends,' Cant. v. 1. Is your heart open to Chrift's effers, and willing to accept him in all his offices? Then he faith to tuch, he will come in and fup with them,' Rev. iii. 20. Doth your heart love him? Then he faith, He will manifeft himself' to fuch, John xiv. 21. Are you poor and needy? Then he faith, The needy fhall not be forgotten,' Pfal. ix. 18-Do you fee yourfelf a loft finner? Then he faith, He is come to feek and call' fuch, Luke xix. 10. Matth. ix. 13.-Do you feel fin to be a heavy burden? Then he bids the heavy laden come to him,' Matth. xi. 28. Do you hunger and thirt for Chrift? He faith, Hefills the hungry with good things,' Luke i. 53. Are you fenfible of backflidings? He invites fuch to come to him, Jer. iii. 4 Are you defirous to put on the wedding garment of imputed righteoufnefs? Then, to be fure, you

fall neither be excluded, nor neglected.-Do you earneftly feek for his Holy Spirit? He affures you, he is more willing to give the Spirit to them that afk it, than loving parents are to give bread to their hungry • 'children.' What is men's compaffion to their children, in comparison of Chrift to his! Well then, you may reft on Chrift's word; for he is not more free in making promifes, than faithful in making them good. He is a God that keeps covenant to a thousand generations.' Venture then upon his word, and come to his table with hope and expectation to get all your wants fupplied.

Let me again afk you, as God did Elijah, What doft thou here,' communican:? Can you fay that you are come to get a heart affecting fight of the blood and wounds of the glorious Redeemer, fo as you may love Christ, and hate fin more then ever? That is a good. errand, and what God will furely approve. Come then, draw near, as it were, to the foot of the Crofs, and take a narrow and clofe view of his wounds, and of the -blood that ftreams from them. Obferve how fast the blood runs down front his hands to the ground, faster than ever tears run down from your eyes for fin, that caufed the fhedding of his blood! Chrift is not fparing. of his blood for you, however fparing you be of your tears for him. Draw yet nearer, and lay your ear to his wounds, efpecially his five big wounds in his hands, feet, and fide; which, like fo many mouths, are wide opened to fpeak to believing communicants. Liften. and hear what they fay; What is the language of the two wounds in his hands? Come to me, and cast your guilty foul into my bleeding out-ftretched arms,' and I'll fave you fron the fword of Justice. Lay: your ear to the two wounds in his feet, and hear what they fay, Run to me, and cait yourself down at my feet, and I'll protect you, from the avenger of blood. -Hearken to the deep wound in, his ide, faying, Flee to me,'. O trembling dove; and I'll thelter thee. in this cleft of the rock:' Thou haft now free accefs to the ark, behold the window opened in the fide of i

look in at it, and fee my heart burning with love: Yea, thruft in thy hand to my fide' unbelieving Thomas, and feel my bleeding heart' how warm it is to you, and be no more faithlefs, but believing.'

O communicant, can you come to the foot of Christ's cross, and fee his wounds, and hear fuch language, and your heart not be affected with love to Chrift, and hatred to fin? Can you behold Chrift thus cruelly used, nailed to the tree, bleeding and dying in your room! Can you fee the heavens turning black, the fun drawing in its head, the earth quaking, and the rocks rending at the fufferings of the Son of God, and your heart not quake for fin, that awakened the fword of Justice against him as our furety!O what caufe have you to be ashamed of the hardness and unconcernednefs of your heart at fuch a fight, and to cry to God that the heart of ftone may be changed into an heart of flesh, and that the fire of Chrift's love may defcend and kindle fuch a flame in your foul, as may melt your frozen affections, and confume the ftubble of your lufts and corruptions. Of old the Lord used to answer his people's prayers and facrifices by fire from heaven: Pray that he may answer your's in like manner, by kindling a holy fire in your foul, as he did in the hearts of the two difciples going to Emmaus; even a twofold fire, to quit, a fire of love to Chrift, and a fire of indignation against fin. O love the Lord Jefus as your treasure and portion; let your thoughts be mainly upon him, and your foul's breathings after him. Be much concerned for his interest and caufe, and for the fpreading of his kingdom and glory in the world. And be looking out, and longing for the full and perfect enjoyment of him. -Likewife keep up a ftrong averfion to fin, and to what is oppofite to Chrift, and injurious to his interest and kingdom; look always upon fin as the grand enemy and murderer of Chrift; and therefore do not spare

it.

From John v. 6.

Jefus faith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole ?

TH

HIS miraculous healing pool of Bethesda, at which the impotent man had lain thirty-eight years, was a type of the Meffiah, and the fountain of his blood opened and fet forth in gofpel-ordinances, for healing all our fpiritual diseases. And Chrift's method of healing this man teaches us, That if we would be healed, we must be willing to wait at the pool of ordinances, till the fpirit come to ftir the watters, apply the blood, and effect the cure. And in the mean time, we must be fenfible of our disease, and look up to Chrift our great Phyfician, with earnest defires for healing. This is imported in Chrift's question, • Wilt thou be made whole?'

O communicants, you are difeafed by fin, and the plagues of your hearts; thefe have blafted the primitive beauty of the foul, and brought on it a ghaftly deformity, with much pain and weaknefs. Your diseases are manifold; atheftical thoughts, misbelief, and ignorance of God's truths, are woful plagues; hardnefs of heart, and earthly mindedness, formality, and heartwanderings in duty, truiting to your own righteousness, ingratitude, and backflidings from God; thefe are dif eafes you ought all to be fenfible of. God would have 6 every man to know the plague of his own heart,' I Kings viii. 38. in order to his being made whole. Thefe are the fick that Chrift is ready to come to heal Match. ix. 12. Christ first makes men fick and fenfible before he makes them whole. Have you then any ac quaintance with this healthful preparatory fickness? Have you been made fenfible of the dangerous nature of your difeafe, and thoughtful and folicitous about the iffue of it? Have you been made to groan and moan under the burden of your disease, faying, "I am troubled and bowed down greatly, I go mourning all the day long?" Have you feen there is no healing in yourfelves, or in your convictions, prayers, tears, or reformations! and