norance of God's truths, are woeful plagues; hardness of heart, and earthly mindednefs, formality, and heart wanderings in duty, trusting to your own righteousness, ingratitude, and backfliding from God; thefe are difeafes you ought all to be fenfible of. God would have every man to know the plague of his own heart, 1 Kings viii. 38. in order to his being made whole. Thefe are the fick that Chrift is ready to come to heal, Matth. ix. 12. Chrift first makes men fick and fenfible before he makes them whole. Have you then any acquaintance with this healthful, preparatory ficknefs? 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 difeafe, faying, I am troubled and bored dorun greatly, I go mourning all the day long? Have you feen there is no healing in yourselves, or in your convictions, prayers, tears, or reformations? and that it is only in Chrift, who hath an infinite fulness of merit and fpirit to fuit your defperate malady? Are you will ing to fubmit to the phyfician's prefcriptions for healing? Be the pill or potion never fo bitter, you will fwallow it: Is it your cry, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? Thefe are tokens of a right preparatory ficknefs. May the Holy Spirit work them in you.

The great meritorious means of your healing is the blood of Jefus Christ, which is fet before you in the facrament, for you to look to and apply by faith. As the Ifraelites were made fenfible of their ftings before they looked to the brazen serpent for healing, fo must ye, in order to your prifing of Christ, and looking to his blood for healing your spiritual plagues. Now the fountain is open, and the healing ftreams run freely on both fides of the table: Come then, with a feeling of your difeafes, and bathe in them for curing your hard hearts, your blind eyes, your weak hands, your feeble knees, your lame feet, your cold affections. O impotent man, are you lying at the fide of the pool while the waters are stirring? Have you no strength to move

forward, and is there none to put you in? O then, look up to Chrift, that healed the impotent man after many years waiting: Look to him by faith, as he calls you, Ifa, xlv. 22. Look unto me and be ye faved, all the ends of the earth. As I offer myself to every diseased foul in particular, as well as to all in general, fo let every foul embrace me as his Saviour, and apply my blood to his particular diseases. Faith is a healing grace, not only its touches, but its very looks are healing; hence Christ faid to feveral who were healed, Thy faith hath made thee whale. O fee then if you have got this healing. faith.

Queft. How may I know if my faith be of this kind? Ans. A healing faith will make the foul heartily approve the gofpel method of falvation, embrace God's teftimony, and clofe with his gospel offer in all refpects. And it hath in it, an appropriating truft and confidence in the merit and virtue of Chrift's blood, offered to the finner in particular for his pardon and healing, which makes him reft upon Christ as his Saviour, and venture his foul and falvation upon his merit and promife. In this healing faith of a diseased finner, there is a particular acceptance of, and confidence in a crucified Chrift, correfponding to that free gofpel offer which he makes to the diftreffed foul. This faith brings him to a fixed refolution to lie at the phyfician's door, and depend upon him alone for healing. And it makes him caft open all the doors and rooms of his foul to receive and entertain his phyfician. Now, O poor impotent foul, if there be fuch a faith as this wrought in thee, then thy faith in Chrift makes thee whole. The healing balm is applied, the cure begun, and fhall fhortly be perfected. Be of good cheer, thy fins are forgiven thee; Jefus Chrift maketh thee whole.

It concerns you also, to try if the happy fruits and effects of his healing faith in you appear in you, where by you may conclude, that the ftrength of your difeate is broken by virtue of the blood of Chrift; and that you have got it applied for curing your heart atheifin,

hardness, unbelief, pride, carnality, and particularly your weakness of hands and feeblenefs of knees: So that, though formerly they were fo weak and feeble, that you could not lift up the one, nor bow down the other in prayer with any fervency and livelinefs, yet now it is otherwife: Then this is a good token, thè strength of the difeafe is broken, Chrift has taken you into his hofpital, and has you under cure, by the daily application of his blood and Spirit, and you are on the way of recovery. Can you fay further, That your drought is greatly abated, your thirst after fin and the world; and that your appetite for foul food, communion with Chrift in ordinances, is happily increased? Can you bear the light better than before? Do you love fearching fermons? All thefe are good figns. Have you a high efteem of your phyfician, and do you entertain him kindly when he vifits you? Have you recovered more strength and willingness to ferve him in the way of commanded duties? And have you a holy fear and jealoufy of every thing that might bring on a relapse into your old diftempers? Then there is good hope, through grace, that your faith is a healing faith, the work of healing is begun, and fo far carried on. Chrift is our rock, and his work is perfect.

O then study to be thankful to your great phyfician, faying, What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits toward me? Blefs the Lord, O my foul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities, healeth all thy difeafes, and redeemeth thy foul from deftruction: who reneweth thy youth like the eagle's, maketh thee run and not weary, walk and not faint. Blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jefus Chrift, who, according to his abundant mercy, hath begotten us again to a lively hope, by the refurrection of Jefus Chrift from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, referved in heaven for us. Then the cure fhall be fully perfectd, and we fhall always dwell befide our phyfician, and njoy perfect and uninterrupted health for ever and er. Exprefs your thankfulnefs while you are here,

by being witneffes for Chrift, fhining as lights before others, commending Chrift and his ways to them, hating all fin, abftaining from it, reproving fin in others, and teftifying against it. Be meek and lowly in your carriage, deal uprightly with all men, love all that bear Chrift's image, be zealous for family religion, for fanc tifying the Sabbath, and attending God's ordinances. Pray earnestly for the coming of Chrift's kingdom upon the earth, and do all you can to promote it.

Watch and pray against backflidings and relapfes in to old diftempers, and for that end be humble and felfdiffident, be denied to your own ftrength and conduct, and be always jealous of your corrupt and deceitful hearts. Live by faith upon the Son of God, looking to him both for righteousness and strength. And because you are environed with enemies, put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. It is not the armour of your own refolutions, it is the armour of God, even the graces of the Spirit. It is not fome graces or parts of that armour, it is the whole armour, all the Chriftian graces. It is not enough to have the armour in the house, or grace in the habit; no, it must be put on, daily worn and exercifed. God hath proved different pieces of armour for you, the fword of the Spirit, the fhield of faith, the helmet of hope, the breaft plate of righteoufnefs; but there is nothing for the back, for God difowns runaways, Heb. x. 38. If any man draw back, &c.

ADVICE XIX.

From Exod. xii. 14. And this day shall be unto you for a memorial.

As the Paffover feaft was a memorial both of the deliverance from Egypt, and the redemption of Chrift, fo a communion Sabbath is a memorial of fundry remarkable things, and ought to be held as a moft mem

orable day by every believer, as it brings to our remem brance the greatest events and bleffings.

1. A communion Sabbath is a lively memorial of Chrift's death? for the facrament adminiftered thatday by breaking of bread, and pouring cut of wine, is a vifible reprefentation of Chrift's death, by the breaking of Chrift's body, and pouring forth his blood on the crofs; an event which God will have remembered till the end of the world, and through all eternity. Why, because by it God's perfections are highly glorified, and the elect world redeemed from hell. Chrift did inftitute the ordinance to be a standing monument of his death while the world ftands, 1 Cor. xi. 26. As often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do fhew the Lord's death till he come. And a monument of the wonderful love of God in giving his Son, and of the Son in give ing himself to be a facrifice for our fins, who were utterly unworthy of his love. By this memorial God would teach us the ineftimable value of Chrift's death, as the greateft obligation he ever put upon the world, and that we ought to declare our gratitude to God for the favour in the moft open and public manner, and rely upon Chrift's death and facrifice as the foundation of all our hopes of pardon and falvation. The death of Jefus Chrift is the moft worthy fubject of the difcourfe and praife, both of the redeemed on earth and the glo rified in heaven, according to Rev. i. 5.-V.-9. 1.2 Hence it was that Mofes and Elias when they came from heaven to mount Tabor to wait upon the Lord, when transfigured, they made choice of Chrift's death. for the fubject of their converfation, Luke x. 31. And good reafon, for Chrift's death was the spring and cause of all their glory in heaven; neither Mofes nor Elias had shined there, if it had not been for Chrift's death.

2. A communion Sabbath is a fpecial memorial to us of Chrift's refurrection from the grave, which was on the first day of the week, and hence called the Lord's day, it being the most honourable day to our