For this purpose, let me beg your attention to the following confiderations.

1. You ought to go to God, in this ordinance, as your exceeding joy, becaufe, in it, you have the fulleft affurance and the cleareft evidence of the forgivenefs of your fins, and peace with your offended Maker. This is the preliminary mercy, which, with respect to fallen creatures, muft open the way to every other bleffing. Nothing fo much damps our joy in God, and leffens our fatisfaction in addreffing him, as confcioufnefs of guilt. This it is that makes religion fo unpleafant to the carnal worldling; even the secure finner, who feems to walk without fear, is yet deterred by natural confcience from drawing near to God. He does all in his power to rid his mind of the thoughts of God's ordinary and conftant prefence with him in every place. A horror of his Maker poffeffes his mind at all times; he cannot love him as a gracious Father, because he hates him as an enemy, and fears him as a righteous judge. Nay, the fame thing it is that makes us all feel fo frequently an averfion at the duties of religi on. The cold hand of a spirit of bondage freezes up the affections. Trembling and fear taketh hold upon us. An inward dread and jealoufy of our own ftate throws a gloom and darkness, as it were, through the temple of God. And, with whatever ftrength or beauty the promises or privileges of the faints may be fet forth, there is a fecret reftraint upon us, and as a voice difcharging us from touching them, as forbidden fruit. Were we but as pure, and free from guilt, we fhould, with as much joy and fatisfaction, draw nigh to God, as the angels do in Heaven.

I have been the more full in opening this to you, that you may fee the foundation there is in nature, and in fact, for the leading doctrine of the gofpel," Chrift Jefus fet "forth as a propitiation for fins, through faith in his "blood."

His bleffed body was broken, and his precious blood was fhed, for the remiffion of fins. Are you to commemorate this? are you to receive the vifible figns and the appointed feals of it? does not this affure you, that your fins are forgiven for Chrift's fake? Are your fins very

great? are they many in number, and heinous in their aggravations? Confider the infinite value of this facred blood. It was no lefs than that of the eternal Son of God, who chearfully undertook our caufe: "and the Lord laid "on him the iniquity of us all." Ifa. liii. 5. "He was "wounded for our tranfgreffions, he was bruifed for our "iniquities; the chaftifement of our peace was upon him; "and with his ftripes we are healed." O unfearchable mystery! O the infinite holinefs of God! O the tremendous juftice of God! How well may the exhortation be preffed, Ifa. i. 18. "Come now, and let us reafon toge"ther, faith the Lord: though your fins be as fcarlet, they "fhall be as white as fnow; though they be red like crim"fon, they fhall be as wool." Well may we fay with the apostle Paul, 1 Tim. i. 15. "This is a faithful faying, and "worthy of all acceptation, that Chrift Jefus came into "the world, to fave finners, of whom I am chief." Are you afraid of the condemning fentence of the law, Gal. iii. 13. "Chrift hath redeemed us from the curfe of the "law, being inade a curfe for us." Are you aflamed to appear before God in your own undeferving character, hear, and comply with your Saviour's own counsel, Rev. iii. 18. "I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, "that thou mayeft be rich, and white raiment that thou

mayest be clothed, and that the fhame of thy nakedness "do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye-falve, "that thou mayeft fee." In the fpotlefs robes of your Redeemer's righteousness, you shall be adorned for the courts. of your God, and dwell in his prefence. Are you afraid to apply all this to yourselves? This is the exprefs purpofe of the facrament of the Lord's fupper, to confirm and close the covenant of peace with every partaker. Do you doubt the fincerity of the offer upon God's part? See him dispensing the healing medicine, "This is my body, which "was broken for you; this do in remembrance of me. "As often as you eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye "do fhew the Lord's death till he come." Hear him faying, Matth. xi. 28. "Come unto me, all ye that labor, "and are heavy laden, and I will give you reft." Hear him further faying, John vi. 37. Him that cometh to

me, I will in no wife caft out." Ifa. lv. 1. "Ho, every "one that thirfteth, come ye to the waters; and he that "hath no money, come ye, buy and eat; yea, come buy "wine and milk, without money, and without price.” Rev. xxii. 17. "And the Spirit and the bride fay, Come; "and let him that heareth fay, Come; and let him that "is athirft, come. And whofoever will, let him take *the water of life freely." All who have truly groaned under a sense of guilt may here fee their pardon fealed, and may and ought to rejoice in it, as theirs; and, unless they doubt the faithfulness of God's word, or the efficacy of their Saviour's merit, may triumph in both, and fet at defiance the thunders of the law, the reproaches of confcience, and the accufations of the devil. They may say, with the apostle Paul, Rom. viii. 33, 34, "Who fhall lay "any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that juftifieth who is he that condemneth? It is Chrift "that died, yea rather, that is rifen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh interceffion "for us."

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2. You ought to go to God in this ordinance, as your exceeding joy, as it affords the ftrongest and most illuftrious proof of divine love. This, my brethren, is the immediate fubject of our contemplation in the Lord's fupper; and I chufe to confider it as an argument by itself, feparately from its fruits, because nothing ferves more to heighten our affection to, and delight in God, than a firm perfuafion of his love to us. Is it a comfortable thing to have the pardon of our fins? It is alfo unspeakably refreshing, and even ravifhing, to view, in faith, the wonderful means by which it is accomplished. We may confider, shortly here, the riches of redeeming grace, as extending to the finners of Adam's race in general; and then what it is for every believer to confider himself as the determinate object of divine regard in the councils of peace. The whole perfections of an infinite God fhine with united luftre in the work of redemption. His power, wisdom, holinefs, and justice, are feverally and jointly illustrated in it. His unfearchable wifdom is mentioned, Rom. xi. 33. "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and

"knowledge of God! How unfearchable are his judg"ments, and his ways paft finding out!" His mighty power, Eph. i. 19. "And what is the exceeding great, "nefs of his power to us-ward, who believe, according to "the working of his mighty power." The righteoufness of his government, Rom. iii. 26. "To declare, I fay, at "this time, his righteousness, that he might be juft, and "the juftifier of him which believeth in Jefus." But love is most confpicuous of all: and is therefore most frequently infifted on, John iii. 16. "God fo loved the world, "that he gave his only begotten Son, that whofoever be"lieveth in him, fhould not perish, but have everlasting "life." Rom. v. 8. "God commendeth his love towards "us, in that while we were yet finners, Chrift died for us." Eph. iii. 17, 18, 19. "That Chrift may dwell in "your hearts by faith; that ye being rooted and ground"ed in love, may be able to comprehend, with all faints, "what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height, "and to know the love of Chrift, which paffeth know"ledge." And indeed, my brethren, it paffeth the power of man to open fully the greatnefs of the love of God to finners in Chrift Jefus. It is a subject which we are so far from being able now to exhauft, that it shall afford matter for adoring inquiry to all eternity, whilft the everlasting God lives and reigns with his faints, and unfolds to them, age after age, more ample views of his goodness and greatness. By what fhall we measure the love of a friend, but by the greatness of his gifts? What sentiment then fhall we entertain of the love of God for his (juftly styled) unfpeakable gift? He has given us his only begotten Son, "who was from eternity in the bofom of the "Father; the brightness of his Father's glory, and the exprefs image of his perfon;" the best and greatest of created beings, nay, the whole creation itself, had been nothing compared to it.

The truth is, I am ready to think that there seems to be fomething like divine contrivance, and infinite defign, in this particular circumftance. All created things are in themselves equal, and alike easy, to the power of God, being but the effects of his fimple will. For this reafon

there could be no comparative greatnefs in any fuch gifts. There was therefore but this one way left to express an uncommon degree of love, that he who was one and equal with the Father, fhould himfelf be employed in the meffage, and "bear our fins in his own body, on the tree." Nothing elfe could have made man an expenfive purchase. Nothing elfe that God could beftow, would have had any appearance of doing violence to himfelf; or could give meaning and beauty to that expreffion, Romans viii. 32. "He that fpared not his own Son, but delivered him up "for us all, how fhall he not with him alfo freely give us "all things?" The Lord of the vineyard, in the parable, iş represented as in fufpenfe, how to fall upon a method to break the ftubbornness of the hufbandmen, Luke xx. 13. "Then faid the Lord of the vineyard, what fhall I do? I "will fend my beloved Son, it may be they will reverence "him when they fee him." Let us paraphrase and apply it. God, who bears the perfon of the master of the vineyard, may be fuppofed to fay, what fhall reclaim these obftinate children of mercy, become rebels? Nothing but the invincible force of fuperior love. But wherein thall the love of the eternal God appear to advantage? in nothing but an eternal gift: they fhall not be cheaply purchafed, they fhall be bought with blood, with that facred blood, which fhall be the furprise of angels, and the won der of heaven. Thefe reflections I would make with reverence, on this elevated and delightful, but awful and tremendous theme. One thing appears clearly from them, that it is not only obfcuring the luftre, not only weakening the force, but deftroying the very being of redeeming love, to deny the proper and eternal Godhead of Chrift, the Mediator. But, Oh! my brethren, what an improvement is it, to the contemplation of the love of God, for each of us to confider himself as having been from eternity the object of it. While I tafle the streams of his bounty, may I thus trace it back to its fource! Did he love me from the foundation of the world! Did he pity me, when in unprovoked rebellion against him! Did he make fo gracious provision for my recovery and falvation! Did he make atonement for my guilt, by the blood of his