it is the praying and wrestling foul that will be the joyful and praising communicant. DIRECTION XV. After you have done your utmost for preparing yourfelves for the Lord's table, fee that ye lay no firefs thereupon, but wholly distrust your own preparations. Communicants, when you have made the great est preparation poffible, by self-examination, repentance, prayer, &c. fay after all, we are but unprofitable fervants. The greatest ftrefs and difficulty of the chriftian life lieth in this, to be diligent in duty, and yet wholly denied to our duties. Learn then this great point in chriftianity, to diftruft all your preparations, and caft yourselves wholly on Chrift for affiftance, as if you had done nothing at all; faying, it is only in the Lord that I have righteousness and firength. You ought to do as King Afa did, who, tho' he had railed a prodigious army of five hundred thousand, all mighty men of valour, to fight against the Ethiopians; yet he cried to the Lord, and trusted in him for help, as if he had been left alone, without one man to fight for him: for, after all his great preparations, it is recorded of him, 2. Chron. xiv. 8. 11. And Asa cried to the Lord his God, and faid, Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power. Help us, O Lord our God; for we reft on thee, and in thy name go out against this multitude. So let every communicant fay, Lord, all my ftrength and preparations are nought, I have no power for celebrating this feaft, help me, O Lord my God; for I relt on thee, and in thy name I go to this great and weighty ordinance.' The foul is never fo well prépared, as when it is most sensible of its own weak nessa nefs, and relies on the redeemer's ftrength. When I am weak (fays the apostle) then am Iftrong. And hence it is faid of the ancient worthies, Heb. xi. Out of weakness (i. e. felt and apprehended) they were made ftrong. The gawdy flower, that ftands and grows on its own ftalk, doth quickly wither and decay; when the plain ivy, that hangs and leans on the houfe, is fresh and green all the year. We ought then to be denied to ourselves, and write after David's copy, who looked to the Lord both for affiftance and acceptance in all his duties. Pfal. lxxi. 16. I will go in the firength of the Lord, I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only. A man may in words difclaim the opinion of me rit and worth in his duties and preparations, and yet in his heart and secret practice put fome trust in them; for there are practical Papifts, as well as prác tical Atheifts. Hence God warns us against this inward truft, and fecret popery, Deut. ix. 4. Say not in thine heart, this is for my righteoufnefs. Though with our tongues we do not plead for merit, yet there may be a faying it in the heart; and God doth well understand the language of the heart. Let us therefore look well to our hearts, when we have done our utmost in duty, and by way of preparation for this ordinance, that we be wholly denied to all, and cherish the thoughts of our own nothingness, according to Chrift's noble rule, Luke. xvii. 10. When ye have done all, fay, we are unprofitable servants. David owns he had nothing to plead, when he had done all; for, fays he, of thine own, Lord, have we given thee, 1 Chron xxix. Of this denied temper was Nehemiah alfo; for, when he had done all for God and his tem ple that he could, he makes free grace his only plea with God, Neh xiii. 22 I commanded the Levites to cleanse themselves, &c. Remember me, O my God, concerning this alfo; and spare me according to the greatnefs of thy mercy. Whatever good things he had done, yet he depends on none of them, but pleads,' Spare Mr. Fox Spare me according to the greatness of thy mercy. Hence alfo Paul wholly difclaimed his own righte oufnefs, and that not only while he was a Pharifee, buteven when he was a Chriftian, and a renewed man; 1 account all things but lofs for Cbrift. O this is a noble attainment, but not eafily come at. ufed to fay, He was more afraid of his graces than of bis fins, because he found himself in fuch danger by them to be puffed up, and tempted to felf-confi dence. Let us then be denied to our own attainments in preparation for this folemn ordinance, if we would be accepted of God: for that man comes to God moft worthy, that comes moft fenfible of his own unworthiness. So much for the first head of directions, how to prepare for a communion-Sabbath before it come. I proceed now to the second head, to give directions how to spend it when it doth come. Containing DIRECTIONS for the right fpending a Communion-Sabbath when it is come. DIRECTION I EE that you rife fooner this morning than ordina Seeing extraordinary in hand. And, while you are rifing and putting on your cloaths, let your minds be filled with fuitable meditations and ejaculations. Think, Think, what a privilege it is, that your eyes fee fuch days of the son of man, which many Prophets and Kings defired to fee, and might not. O that I may be thankful, and may not abuse my mercy! This is a great day; O that it may be a good day to my foul, even a day in God's courts, and in God's prefence, that will be better and sweeter to me than a thousand! Again, think, this may be the last communion day that ever I may fee on earth: this may be the last time that I fhall drink of the fruit of the vine at a communion table: it may be the last offer that I fhall get of the water of life; O that I may improve it well! Perhaps feverals who faw the laft communion where I am going, and also drank with me of the facramental cup, have now a cup of the red wine of God's vengeance put into their hands, and are eternally finking or fwimming in the brimlefs and bot tomlefs ocean of God's wrath: God keep me from unworthy communicating this day, left that be my lot before the next facrament. But, on the other hand, it may be, there are some who fat with me at the laft 'communion table, that are now fitting at the higher table, and are drinking it new with Chrift in his fa ther's kingdom: What a fweet fong are they prefent. ly finging! Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our fins in his own blood, and hath made us Kings and Priefis unto God and his Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever, Amen. O that I may this day get a foretaste of that celeftial feaft and heavenly joy, and fuch a feal of Chrift's love as may fill my foul with hope to be a communicant at that upper table, if God fhall call me hence before the next communion! Lord, let me have one good day in all my lifetime: fhew me a token for good before I die. DIRECTION II. REtir Etire prefently, O communicant, for prayer and meditation, in order to excite and quicken grace in thy Joul 1 foul; and, in a special manner, see to get faith inlivened, and..love inflamed. And, for this end, 1. Take a new view of Christ's fufferings, and his unparalleled love manifefted therein: Behold the lamb of God that takes away the fins of the world. If you would have clear difcovery of his love and fufferings at the table, be taking frequent views of him before.hand. · Confider how free and undeferved Chrift's love was. Behold the fon of God intreated by no man, but hated of all men; yet in his love and pity, intreats for man, yea, fuffers and dies for him, even then when he was a finner, and an enemy to him. Behold him fuffering for fin, that never finned: yea, behold him made fin for thee, who had no fin; that thou who hadft no righteousness, might be made the righteousness of God in him. View his love with wonder, that made him take on the heavy burden of your iniquities, and bear it, till he swate, bled, groaned, and cried under the weight. Behold him ftruggling, praying, and falling to the ground, till he is all covered with his own blood: fix the eye of faith upon him, till thine eye affect thy heart. Take a view of his tears and bloo dy fweat, his pierced hands and wounded feet, his fourged back and opin fide, his fireaming heart and yern ing bowels to poor finners: this is he, O finner! that would rather die than thou shouldft die, who chofe thy life before his own, and now pleads his blood before his father, Behold and wonder at his love, that made him tread the wine-prefs alone for us, and drink the cup of the red wine of the wrath of God; a cup whereinto all our vile and deadly fins were grated, a cup that no angel durft taste; yea, the tafting of it made Chrift's heart to melt like wax in the midļi of his bowels, Pfal. xxii. 14. which was a greater matter than if the whole world had melted to nothing: yet he drank it off, with the bittereft dregs of it, and left not so much as one drop of it for us. Behold him taking bis P moft |