dead thou art, thou hadft need come frequently to the Cross to have thy affections fuppled and foftned with this precious Bloud: how frail is thy memory, and is it not fit, thou shouldst refresh it often with the fight of Chrift's incomprehenfible love? Art thou afraid of renewing thy Repentance, thy Faith, thy Hope, thy Charity, too often? The oftner thou dost refort to this bleffed Communion, the greater will be thy acquaintance with thy beft of Friends; the greater fenfe thou wilt get of the need and want of him, the greater encouragement thou wilt find to imitate him in his Holiness, Meeknefs, Patience, and Humility; and the greater affurance thou wilt get of his Love, and Favour, and Pardon, and everlasting mercy: and are these bleffings to be scorn'd and undervalu'd? thou pretendeft want of preparation, but whose fault is it that thou art not prepar'd? what can hinder thee from preparation, but love to fin? and fhall love to a fenfual careless life, hinder thee from laying hold of the greatest Treasure? will this plea hold, when thou fhalt appear before the great Tribunal? O my Soul, this is to excufe fin by fin, and to defpife God's Ordinance, becaufe thou despiseft his commands; and how will this aggravate thy folly one day, and fill thee with fhame and horrour! O play not with everlafting Mercy, let not business hinder thee from advancing thy Spiritual and Eternal Interest ; remember what became of the men, that pretended they had Farms to fee, and Oxen to try,

and

and Wives to marry, when they were invited to the Supper of the Lamb; canft thou think of the Proteftation of the Master of the Feaft, against these stubborn Wretches, and not conclude thy Fate, by their being excluded from God's favour for ever? If it be a sense of thy own vileness and unworthiness that keeps thee away, thou mistakest, and mifreprefenteft the goodness of thy Lord and Mafter. No perfons more welcome at this Table, than the humble and broken-hearted; none meet with a more favourable reception than the poor in fpirit; thefe the crucified Jefus prays for on his Crofs, Father, forgive them; and the everlasting Fa ther hears, and faith to them, Be of good chear, your fins are forgiven you.

V. It prepares a man for an Angelical life here on Earth; for he that frequently confiders and contemplates the Joys, the Triumphs, the Scepters, the Crowns, the Diadems of yonder Kingdom, the everlasting love, and peace and fatif faction, which Angels and glorified Saints enjoy, cannot but think himself, during that confideration, in Heaven, and participating of that content and happiness, which is poffeffed by the general affembly of the Firft-born which are written in Heaven. Indeed this is to make Earth a Heaven, and to change this Wilderness into a Paradife, a Closet into the Seat of Glory, and a Defart into thofe Regions of Blifs and Happinefs. How like an Angel may that man live, that is often engaged in fuch Confiderations as Cc 2

thefe.

thefe. Heaven! what do I hear? Heaven! the harbour of all laden and wearied Souls! Heaven! the end of all my forrow and miferies! Heaven! the Port I have been failing to these many years! Heaven! the inheritance of those that keep themselves unfpotted from the world! Heaven! the rest of God's Servants, and the habi-、 tation of the Mourners in Ston! Heaven! the great mark of my Defires, the Anchor of my Hope, the Foundation of my Confidence! Heaven! the Univerfity, where we shall know even as we are known! How undisturb'd, how quiet do all the inhabitants of those bleffed Manfions live! there reft thofe Saints, who were made as the filth of the World, and as the offfcouring of all things; how different are the thoughts of God from those of the World? Thefe men the World regarded not; behold God remembers them, and when he makes up, his Jewels, fpares them, as a man would fpare his own Son that ferves him! There refts that Mary Magdalen, that stood behind Christ at his feet, weeping, and washing his feet with her tears, and did wipe them with the hair of her head, and kifs'd them, and anointed his head with ointment. There refts that Lazarus, who defired to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man's Table. There refts that David, that made his bed to swim, and water'd his couch with his tears. There reft all the Prophets of old, who through Faith fubdued Kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises,

Stopped

Stopped the mouths of Lions, quenched the vio lence of the fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made ftrong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the Armies of the Aliens. There rest all those Souls that look'd for the blessed hope, and the glorious appearance of their Saviour Jefus Chrift. There reft all those Martyrs and Confeffors that were ready, not only to fuffer, but to dye also, for the Name of the Lord Jefus. There they rest encircled with an eternal calm. There they reft incompafs'd with an innumerable company of Angels. There they reft furrounded with the Gracious Prefence of a merciful God. There they rest from all the calumnies and flanders of this poor envious World. There they rest from all Darkness, in Eternal Light, and in the beams of the Sun of Righteousness for

ever.

Awake, O my Soul, awake, advance into yonder regions of Glory, retire into yonder Paradife, leave this World, and go higher; let thy thoughts tranfcend the Sun, and Moon, and Stars; get before the Throne of God; take a view of the ftill waters, whereof the vast Armies of Glorified Spirits drink, where they are, there are no Wolves, no Tygers, no Bears, no Lions, as in this barren wilderness; in those happy fhades is no noife, but that of Halelujahs ; no discontent, no War, no diffentions inhabit there; there all agree, there Ephraim is no more against Manaffe, nor Manaffe against Ephraim,

Cc 3

nor

nor they both against Juda, but all are delighted with the everlasting Glory and Love of God there they hunger and thirst no more. Wonderful change! Here, O my Soul, thou art ever thirsting after God, as the dry Land thirsteth after water; there thou fhalt be fatisfied with him to all Eternity; here thou longest after the hidden Manna, there it will never be taken from thee; here, like Solomons Bride, by night on thy Bed thou feekeft him, who is altogether lovely; there his Beauty and Prefence will ravifh thee for ever. Here, though thy defires after the Bleffings of Gods left hand be fubordinate to thy defires after fpiritual Mercies, and thy esteem of God, preponderates, and is higher than thy efteem of any outward felicities; yet, while fo nearly allied to Senfe, thou canst not so abandon Nature, as to have no longings at all after external comforts, and conveniencies; but in Heaven, all perishing, fublunary objects are forgotten, there those Friends and Relations, thofe Children, thofe Honours, thofe Riches, which too often made too great an encroachment on thy Love, will be no attractives; there thou wilt be contented without Bread, fatisfied without Drink; the want of Cloaths will not trouble thee, thou wilt have nobler Friends, than Father, and Mother, and Brethren, and Sifters, to converse withal, nobler Food, than the Delicacies of this World; nobler Attire, than Silk, or the fofteft Down can make; there will be no need of contriving how to get a livelihood: Palaces will not

tempt