niftering the ordinance again draws nigh-Retire alone, seriously contemplate your situation, and say; "We have so often approached unworthily, O that we may be made more fenfible of the folemnity of this ordinance! We will improve the means, and prepare to meet with God. Who can tell what the Lord may do for us?"

But I have a fpecial word to you, PEOPLE of God, who are perplexed and diftreffed, particularly about the time when the ordinance is to be adminiftered. You think that you have no right to approach with confidence. You are saying, "Our fins are too great: the falvation exhibited is not for us. We are fearful that we shall eat and drink judgment to ourselves, and therefore we dare not go forward."

To you we would fay, You ought by no means to keep back from the ordinance. You are invited by Jefus. If you but come to him, he gives you this precious promife, I will in no wife caft you out; and that word, in no wife, removes every impediment out of the way. For, had the Lord Jefus described ever so many cases, and made only a single exception, you would poffibly fay, "We are not of those who are invited:" but, bleffed be God! the invitation is, Whofoever cometh, how many or how great foever his fins, or how long foever he may have perfifted in them, I will receive him in mercy: I offer to him the bleffings of the covenant, and I will feal them to his foul in the ufe of the facrament.

Will ye fay, "If this be true, then a bold and prefumptuous finner may approach; for then no one is excluded?"

It is no unwarrantable boldnefs or prefumption for a finner to approach this ordinance, provided he

is willing to be saved by Chrift, in that way which the gospel points out: but, because he would rather live in fin than be delivered from it, he practically declares, that he will not accept of Jefus on gospel terms. But this is not the cafe with thee, afflicted foul! thou wilt not dare to make the affertion; but, on the contrary, canft thou not call upon God to witness, and fay, "Thou, Lord, knoweft what a burden my fins are to me,-how much inward pain they give me,-how I have to wrestle against them. Thou art also witness to the tears I fhed in secret on account of them. How often, Lord, am I compelled to cry, O wretched man that I am, who fhall deliver me from the body of this death? Thou knoweft how willingly I would be freed from it,—how often I call on Jesus as my king, to destroy its power in me." Well now, canft thou in fincerity do all this? I must declare to thee, that thou haft no ground to be difcouraged. Only look unto Jefus ;-fall down at his feet, and declare to him, that thou, though miserable in thyself, art willing to be faved by him. Thou art not a greater finner than the prodigal fon, who left his father's house, and fpent his fubftance in riotous living; and who, when he came to himself, refolved and faid, I will arife and go to my father, and confess my fin before him, and met with a gracious reception. The father had, indeed, reason to caft him off; but yet he runs to meet him, and with paternal tenderness embraces him, receives him again, and admits him to a feat at his table. O afflicted child of God! the Lord hath spoken this parable for thy encouragement, to manifeft the greatness of his love,-to reprefent to thee, that he will not reject the greateft of finners, and to declare that he calls thee, faying, "Whoever thou art,-though thou mayeft be ever D d

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fo finful, though thou mayeft have trampled upon my image, abufed my goodness, and plunged thy felf into fenfuality;-if thou wilt but return unto me, as did the prodigal fon, and confefs your fins and unworthiness, I will embrace and receive you in mercy, My honour ftands pledged to fave the chief of finners. For this I have fhed my blood, given myself to the death, and, in token of this, I have instituted this facrament, to which I now invite thee."

Can the Lord Jefus do more to allure thee? Go then, with confidence, and take thy feat at his table.

Yes, but you will fay, "It is poffible I may deceive myself, and not come aright: it is fo great an undertaking."-This objection muft fall to the ground: thou canst not be deceived. If thou art fatisfied that indeed it is the defire of thy heart to feek an intereft in Chrift,-if thy foul hateth fin, and thou wilt not indulge in any iniquity, but on the contrary art habitually to bid adieu to fin,-thefe exercifes are fo many evidences of thy fincerity. And canft thou profefs before the Lord, that these are the real exercifes of thy heart? we may affure thee, that thy fins are fo far from being a reafon of thy abftaining from this ordinance, that they fhould rather press thee to attend upon it; for there Jefus' blood is fet forth, as the great propitiatory facrifice for fin.

But doft thou ftill object-" This is too much. How can a wretch as I am, dare to apply to myself fuch unspeakable grace? How can fo vile a creature venture to fit down at the table to eat of the children's bread?"

Yes, it is great, beyond expreffion great, for such finful worms of the duft to receive fuch mercy; but it is not too great for God to beftow; because God is infinite and incomprehenfible in his effence-He

is so, in like manner, in his love; and can that which fuch a God difplays be any thing less than great and inconceivable? In the view of it we are conftrained to exclaim, O how great is thy goodnefs, which is laid up for them that fear thee! and, As high as heaven is above the earth, fo great is his goodness towards them that fear him. The contemplation of it will, throughout eternity, be matter of astonishment and gratitude; but certainly it ought not to leffen thy confidence.

But there are others of God's children, who will fay, "We scarcely know what to do. We dare not venture to approach the ordinance: we feel ourselves fo unprepared for it, and yet dare not ftay away; because, in fuch cafe, we would fin against the divine command. When we confider the fate of our minds, we find them fo lifelefs and infenfible, that we are totally devoid of any exercises of grace. How then can fuch prefume to approach the table of the Lord ?"

I reply, that this is indeed caufe of fhame and lamentation: but, perplexed Chriftian, paufe a while; be not too hafty in forming a conclufion against thyfelf. Doft thou complain to man only? or is it a fubject of lamentation with thee before thy God? Art thou fatisfied with living thus? Is it not thy grief, that thy zeal, thy ardour and activity, are fo weak? Would it not produce real joy in thy heart, if thy foul were exercifed in a more lively manner? Canft thou answer thefe queftions in the affirmative, and say, "Yes, the Lord knoweth how much I have been diftreffed because of my barrennefs ?" thou mayeft not flay from the table to which thou art invited this would be like the fick man that would refufe the affiftance of a phyfician to remove his diforder. Whither wilt thou go? Is there any

other way of relief? Is it not Jefus alone that an help thee? Come then, as one that is fick and wounded; lie at this pool of Bethesda; wait for the moving of the waters: who knows what God may yet do for thee? And though thou mayest not be able to go with such a sense of thy wants, and of the fulness of Chrift, as is defirable,-go, believing and waiting upon the Lord.

Or fayeft thou," I was somewhat animated and encouraged whilst attending on the service previous to the administration of the fupper: yet when I arife to go to the table, all this feems to be at an end: my heart is cold, and my confidence is no more."

But may not this arife from this fource, that in going forward, the wandering eye diverts the mind from that on which it ought to be employed; and that Satan, who is ever on the watch, improves the opportunity to diftract the foul? But when this is the case, be not too much troubled: withdraw thine eyes immediately from diverting objects: turn your attention to the Lord Jefus, and to his blood, represented to thee in the ordinance as fufficient to atone for the fins of our holy things; and plead for ftrength to refift this and every other temptation, which may prevent thee from eating and drinking with advantage to thyself.

Let us all, then, with the confidence of children, go forward. May the Lord meet us in love, and vouchsafe to us that grace, which may be moft for his glory and our good; that fo we may experience this ordinance to be the real food by which our fouls increase in grace; and that the eating of bread and drinking of wine may redound to his glory and praise.

AMEN.