under my roof, q. d. It is too great an honour for fuch a guilty and filthy creature to entertain a Saviour of infinite purity; my heart is more unworthy than my houfe, I have nothing to commend me to thee.-The lowly foul abhors himself as vile in the fight of a holy God; he fays, I am all as an unclean thing, and all my righteoufnefs is as filthy rags; in me dwells no good thing; I am infufficient of myself to do any thing that is good, or even to think a good thought: It is God that must work in me, both to will and to do, of his good pleasure. He is under no obligation to pity or help me, it will be abfolute free mercy in him if he do it. The lowly man hath under-valuing thoughts of himself, and of all his own doings and attainments: He renounceth all confidence in his own righteousness and humbly fubmits to the righteoufnefs of God by faith: He is content to be ftript of all his own garments, that Chrift may be his clothing. He looks not to his own performances to recommend him to God, but only to Chrift his furety. He is willing to go out of himfelf, and live wholly upon borrowed righteoufnefs: and borrowed strength, even to live upon Chrift crucified, and to derive daily and hourly from him ftrength, both for duty and difficulty, for work and warfare.The man that is lowly in heart,fubmits to the will of God! in all his difpenfations, is content with every condition he thinks beft for him; he is patient in affliction, and Gilent under God's rod without answering again. He is fenfible that he justly deferveth hell, and therefore very thankful for the leaft mercy; like the woman of Canaan, he owns himself unworthy as a dog, and will be thankful for crumbs that fall from the children's table. He will be thankful for a word from Chrift, for a look, for a smile, for the least token of his favour, or the smallest influence of his fpirit.

is

Wherever faith is in exercife, it is a foul-humbling and felf-emptying grace, and lays the foul very low before God; and God always hath refpect to fuch faith, and to fuch lowlinefs, Pfal. cxxxviii. 6. Chrift put great respect upon the lowly Centurion, v. 10. 13. A

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have not found fo great faith, no, not in Ifrael; go thy way, and as thou haft believed, fo be it done unto thee. He alfo put great respect upon the humble publican, Luke xviii. 13. 14. and declared him juftified; for (faith he ) he that humbleth himself fhall be exalted. He put great honour upon the humble woman of Canaan, that owned herfelf vile as a dog, Mat. xv. 27. 28. O woman, great is thy faith, (faid he) be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And faith of himself, If. lvii. 15. though he be the high and lofty one that inhabiteth eternity, yet he dwelleth with the humble spirit: And thus he fets himself before us, as the great pattern of humility, and bids us learn it of him. When he appeared unto Mofes, it was not in a lofty cedar, but in a low, mean, humble bufh. And when he would appear in our nature, it was not a great exalted woman he takes up with, but a low humble virgin, as Mary herself obferves, Luke i. 48, 52 May I be helped then to appear before him at his holy table, with a. humble fpirit, and lowly frame, that he may vouchfafe to dwell and hold communion with me!

O that I had the marks of a lowly heart, and could fay, that I blush, and am ashamed before God in prayer, because of my finfulness and pollution! that I am made to wonder at free grace in fpating fuch a vile unthankful wretch, in keeping me out of hell, in offering me Chrift and pardon through his blood, and calling me to his table. That I difclaim all righteoufness by the law, and expect nothing but wrath and ruin from that airth; that I look only to Chrift, and have admiring thoughts of him and his law-biding righteoufnefs. That I have a deep fenfe of indwelling fin, and of the corruptions of my heart, and think more meanly of myself than any other person can.-That I am jealous of my wicked heart, and afraid left I betray or wound the Son of God, and contract blood-guiltinefs; and therefore I adventure to his table with much fear and trembling. Lord, bestow upon me such a humble heart.

O can fuch an ill-deferving creature appear before God, and expect mercy, who hath fo long abufed mery! Lord, instead of stretching forth a fceptre of mer.

to invite me to thy table, thou mighteft, with the

rod of thy juftice, juftly dafh me in pieces as a potter's veffel. Instead of entertaining me with the bread of life, and the cup of bleffing, thou mightest give me the bread and water of affliction; yea, cait me into that pit, where I should cry in vain for a drop of water to cool my tongue. O fhall fuch a wretched dog as I am pre. fume to come to thy table, and eat of the children's bread, who am not worthy to gather the crumbs that fall from it! But I have heard of the mercy of the King of Ifrael, that he delights to fhew it to the unworthy that humble themselves before him. Oh, I am vile and unfit to appear before thee: but, furely they are undone that keep away from thee. I am come to thee not because I am fit or worthy, but because thou art rich in mercy, and haft contrived a way for faving the like of me.-Lord, I am not worthy to come within fight of thee, but far less that thou shouldft come under my roof to lodge with me! Will Godin very deed come and dwell with men! This is a wonder, though all men were as innocent and righteous as once Adam was! But will he lodge or fealt with me that am a leper? Will he come under the roof of my foul, a houfe fo ruinous, fmoky and defiled, where he has not a fit place to lay his head? But, O my humble, condefcending Saviour, did not difdain to lie in a manger among beafts, nor to dine with Simon a leper! O Lord Jetus, come in thyfelf and furnish the houfe, prepare an upper room in my foul, large, fwept and garnished, and there abide, and keep the paffover with me.

Lord, I am not worthy to eat the crumbs that fall from my own table, much less those that fall from thine. I deferve not a room to ftand among thy fervants, far lefs to fit down with thy children. I am unworthy of my daily bread from thee, and fhall I be allowed to eat of the bread of life? Shall I, who deferve not the bread of men, be admitted to eat the bread of angels? Shall I fit down with him, at whofe feet they fall? If John the Baptift (one of the greatest that was born of women, who was filled with the Holy Ghost from the womb) thought himself not worthy to loofe Chrift's fhoes, how unworthy am I, the meanest of creatures

tranfgreffor from the womb, to be admitted to touch, nay feed upon Chrift's broken body and fhed blood? If Peter, after seeing Chrift's glory, and his own vilenefs, judged himfelf unworthy to be in the fame fhip with Chrift, and cried, depart from me, for I am a finful man: How fhall I, the chief of finners, adventure to fit down at the fame table with him in a familiar way! If the woman with the bloody iffue was afraid to come and touch the hem of Chrift's garment, how much more may I, who am full of the running iffues of fin fear to touch the fymbols of his body and blood, or put my hand into his fide? If the pureft angels must cover their faces when before him, how fhall I, who am fo impure, appear openly in his prefence? But glory to God for the bleffed covering provided for my guilty foul, under which I may appear and be accepted. I come to thee wrapt in it, Lord, accept of me.

O how distinguishing are thy favours to me an unworthy creature! Thou mighteft juftly have put in my hand a cup of trembling and unmixed wrath, a cup. filled with horror of confcience and fearful defpair: But, inftead thereof, thou giveft me the cup of blefling, filled with the hope of pardon, and eternal life. I might have been in hell, drinking the damned's cup of wrath, into which juftice is ftill pouring in as fast they drink out: But, glory to free grace, thou calleft me to drink the cup of falvation, which my Saviour hath purchafed with his blood, and fweetened with his bleffing. Thanks be to God for it for ever.

MAN

MEDITATION XIX..
From 2 Cor. ix. 15.

Thanks be unto God for his unfpeakable gift. ANY give thanks to God for meat and drink to their bodies, which indeed is the duty of all ; but alas! few give thanks to God for Jefus Chrift, the only food of precious fouls, and God's unfpeakable gift to men! Many are fond of temporal gifts and earthly riches, which are nothing but vanity; but ah! they are

eafy about this pearl of great price, this matchlefs gift, whofe value no tongue can exprefs, nor open up what is contained in it. The Apoftle tells us a great truth, Eph. i. 3. that God bleffes us with all spiritual bleffings in Chrift. In this gift of God we have innumerable gifts beftowed on thofe who believe on him, fuch as the gifts of fpiritual illumination, pardon of fin, a lawbiding righteoufnefs, reconciliation with God, adoption into his family, reftoring of his image, fanctifying influences, fpiritual ftrength for work and warefare, loofing of bonds, witneflings of the Spirit, unftinging of death, conduct through the dark valley, and a title to the manfions of glory, and the eternal enjoyment of God. Chrift is the most neceffary and most enriching gift ever was given to the world, God gave him to be a plank of mercy, to fave our fouls when shipwrecked. He gave him to be our phyfician and balm, to heal us when our wounds feemed incurable. He gave him to be the Lord our Righteousness, when we had no righteousness. He gave him to be our Advocate to plead for us, when we had many accufers, and none to take our part. He gave him to us to be wisdom, righteousness, fanctification, and redemption. In this gift there is infinite fulnefs, and unfearchable riches.. Well may the Spouse call Christ a bundle of myrrh, and a ́ clufer of camphire, Cant. i. 13. 14. becaufe fo many gifts and blessings are bundled up in this one gift. Oh, what can I conceive, or what can I exprefs of this gift! He that would defcribe or fpeak of this gift, would need to have his tongue dipt in heaven.-Should an angel come down from it to tell us of this gift, he would outfpeak all the men on earth; yet when he had faid all he could, the gift would be far above his expreffion: Why? becaule he is unspeakable.

Thanks be unto God that gave us not a fervant, not an angel, not a friend, but his Son. Not an adopted Sen, but his own Son by eternal generation; a Son who is the brightness of his Father's glory, and the express. image of his perfon. Yea, he gave us his only Son, to die as a facrifice in our room! How bitterly did Jacob