over, and have nights, week days, and trials to fucceed them; but the communion Sabbath above, the feaft, mufic, and affembly are everlasting, without interruption or uneafinefs of any fort. O then improve these fhort Sabbaths as memorials and means to prepare you for this everlasting Sabbath, and in all ordinances here, keep your eye upon the heavenly feftival. ADVICE XX. From JEREMIAH iii. 19. How shall I put thee among the children? Thou shalt call me, My Father. my THOUGH there be great mountains of difficulties in the way of finner's falvation, yet God, in his free merсу, hath found out an expedient to get over them; even by making choice of God as our God and Father in Chrift. That you may admire his grace the more, take a view of the difficulties that lie in the way. God might fay, Har fhall I put thee among the children, of family, who are the offspring of apoftate and rebellious parents, who ungratefully departed from God without any provocation, fold themfelves to the devil to do his drudgery, and rebelled against a moft gracious God and loving Father? And how fhall I put you, who have finned after the fimilitude of Adam, among my children? How shall I be reconciled to fuch treacherous dealers ? Again he might fay, How fhall I put thee among my chil dren, who are condemned rebels in the hands of my infinite juftice, and whom I am engaged by my truth to deftroy, having faid, The foul that finneth fball die. Here is a burning mountain of juftice in the way of your falvation; how fhall mercy get over it to help you? How fhall I put you among my children, whofe hearts are full of enmity againft ine, and have all your days been plotting with the devil, and affifting him to fight against me, and pull the crown off my head? How shall I put you among my children, who are fo deformed, pol How futed, and loathfome creatures, as black as hell can make you, who have all your days been wallowing in the inire, and drenched in the puddle of fin? How shall I put you among my children, who have been all your days Satan's vaffals, drudging at his work, grinding in his prifon, and ferving diverfe lufts and pleafures? How Shall I put you among my children, who are impotent and lame, cannot run my errands, nor move one step in my fervice, nor do any thing to please or glorify me? How fball I put you among my children, who hate my children and my image in them, and have preferred the devil's children to mine? How fall I put you among my children, that hate my children's bread, and chufe rather to feed on husks with the fwine? How shall I put you among my children, that never liked my children's work, never OVed prayer, praise, or any spiritual employment? fball I put you among my children, who are finners in Zion, have fitten many years under gospel offers and calls to come to Chrift, and have flighted them all, and bolted the door against my dear Son, and quenched the motions of my Spirit? How shall I put you among my children who have been fo impenitent and hard hearted all your days, as never to drop one tear for any of all the black and heinous fins you have committed against me? How fhall I put you among my children who have never kept one word to me, but have broken all your baptifmal engagements, and gone over to the devil's camp, and harboured my enemies? O how is it that God can come over thefe mountains, to pur fuch as you among the children, and allow you to fit down at the children's table, and eat of their bread? how is this confiftent with the honour and holinefs of God. Bleffed be God who hath found out a way for his mercy to come over all thefe mountains, by providing a Mediator and furety to fatisfy justice for our fins, and proclaiming a new covenant, that whofoever accepts of the Mediator, and makes choice of God as his God and Father in him, fhall be taken into God's family, and be numbered among his children, notwithstanding of all T that you have done to provoke him to caft you off. Thou shalt call me, my Father. Wonderful condefcenfion, that he should allow fuch prodigals and run aways at all to fpeak to him, and far more that he should put words in their mouths, and fuch kindly words, as, My Father! amazing goodness ! If you would make this addrefs aright, and take hold of his covenant, fo as you may be taken in among the children of God, and allowed to come to his table and eat of their bread, you must be truly grieved for your long rebellion against your heavenly Father, and flighting his offers of mercy and pardon through Chrift; you must be deeply humbled before him, and fall in with the gospel method of accefs to him by a Mediator; you must quit all dependence on your own rightcoufnefs, and break with all your Father's enemies, you must make a free and hearty choice of God, as your God and Father in Chrift, refting wholly upon Chrift's mediation and righteoufnefs for acceptance with God; you must make a furrender of yourfelves, and all you have to him, and engage in Chrift's ftrength to ferve him; as obedient children, defirous to please your Father in all things. O come then, enter into covenant with God, and make choice of him as your Father in Chrift; this is the only expedient for removing the difficulties in the way of your falvation, and for taking you into God's family, and numbering you among his children; unless you fall in with it, you can have no right to the children's bread, you'll be unworthy communicants, and eat and drink judgment to yourfelves. O then prevent it, by entering into covenant with God, that you may be taken in among the children.. O young perfons let me put the matter home to you, as Jofhua did to the Ifraelites, chufe you this day whom you will ferve? Chufe you whom you will take for your father, whether God or the devil! Both are courting your hearts; which of them will you yield to? Is there any fo foolish as to halt betwixt two opinions in this cafe? Is there any fo mad as to ftand in doubt whether to dwell with Chrift or the devil for ever? Now Michael and his angels, and the dragon and his angels, are ftruggling for your hearts; a cunning devil is holding, and a dying Saviour is drawing; now caft the balance, and fhew which of them you incline to: The eyes of the holy Trinity are on you, the eyes of angels and men are on you, to fee what the iffue will be. O then be wife and come prefently, and make a furrender of your hearts to God in Chrift. There is no mufic fo melodious in God's ears, as the voice of young perfons weeping and covenanting with God. The feafon of youth is the male in your flock, it belongs to God, let him have it; they are curfed who deny it to him, and referve the blind and the lame to God, fuch as the dregs of old age, or fickness, Mal. i. 7. O communicants, fee always to bring Chrift along with you in your covenanting with God; never think of covenanting with him but by facrifice; bring the facrifice of Chrift's death to atone for the breach of the first covenant, and bring his furetyfhip to answer for your faithfulness in the second, otherwife you can never call God your Father, nor be taken in among his children. Remember you are all engaged in this covenant by your parents undertaking for you in baptism, but as foon as you are capable, God will have you to renew it perfonally and explicitly, and to come fenfible of your breaking this covenant, in running away from Chrift's colours, and in going over to the devil's camp, and deeply fenfible of your folly in delaying and standing out fo long againft Chrift's gracious calls and free offers. O come as penitent prodigals, and mourning backfliders, and with your faces Zionward, weeping as ye go, willing to enter into God's covenant, and give yourselves away unto the Lord, who is your rightful owner. Since Chrift comes to you at this occafion, as in ftreams of blood, it is furely proper that you meet him with ftreams of tears for fin, that caused his blood to be poured forth as water; and that you come pref ently to an open rupture with all his enemies, and particularly with your unbelief, your pride, your paffion your hypocrify, and other fins that have pierced him. Break with them all, and come to him with the appropriating acts of faith, faying, My Father, my Lord, and ny God. ADVICE XXI. From Luke v. 26. They glorified God, saying, We have seen strange› things to day. THOSE who have been attending ordinances, ought to recollect what they have been feeing, doing, and hearing, and to be fuitably affected therewith. Self examination is needful after communicating as well as before it. Had you the eyes of faith open to fee and obferve the goings of our God and King in his fanctu ary, you may then fay on the evening of a Communion Sabbath, We have feen ftrange and marvellous things to day. You have feen the bloody tragedy of Chrift's fufferings reprefented and re-acted; Chrift with garments dipt in blood fighting a bloody battle for us, in which the glory of the divine attributes are wonderfully dif played: Behold the free love and mercy of God, who was highly offended with us, yet contriving our redemp tion, and giving the Son of his love to die for us who were his enemies, and for this end creating a new thing in the earth, the incarnation of an infinite perfon, making a woman, a virgin, to be mother of him that created her! God incarnate is a world's wonder, Jer. xxxi. 22. A ftrange thing! The Son of God confents thus to humble himself and die for condemned criminals; rather than he would fee elect finners plunged into the bottomlefs pit of eternal mifery, in his love and pity he would put himself into it to keep them out. Here infinite wifdom difplayed in finding out a way to fatisfy juftice in punishing fin feverely, and at the fame |