he protected him in the midst of danger by his secret but ever watchful power, till the time came when he was delivered for our offences; watching over him, even when he continued among the dead, and at length raising him for our justification. And what were the glorious purposes for which all was accomplished. The immediate purpose was, to say unto Sion, thou art my people; but more remotely, to establish the earth, and to plant the heavens. By him God gathers a Church in the world. He raises that sacred edifice on Mount Sion; chooses to himself a people in Christ, and declares to them the happy relation in which they stand; gives them the promises, and the seals of his covenant; and even by these ordinances says, thou art my people; admitting us into a degree of intimacy and freedom of divine communion unknown in the institutions of Moses. The high priest went within the veil but once a year; none but the priest within the house, none but the Levites within the courts. But now, the way to the holiest of all is laid open by the blood of Jesus; and the foundations of the earth are laid, or rather established. God would not have maintained this earth to have been only the habitation of accursed and ruined creatures; therefore, that scheme which insured to him a people, established it. All things are done for the elect's sake. For them, he is made head over all; and might say, with infinitely greater propriety than David, all the foundations of the earth are out of place; I bear up the pillars thereof. And it is indeed his Spirit, which supports all that piety which there is in the world, and has been through all the past ages of his people. In which respect he may possibly say to some, as he did to Cyrus, I have girded thee, though thou hast not known me. And all this is, that he may plant the heavens; that he may conduct thither a colony from earth, and fill those vacant seats which the rebel angels left. All this is, that

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he may raise from this nursery here below, planted by his hand, and watered by his word, ordinances, and spirit, young plants to set in the heavenly world, where they shall for ever flourish near the streams of the water of life. For ever adored be divine grace, which has thus honoured us, who deserved long since to have been rooted out of the earth; to have been cast out of his garden with dishonour as noisome weeds; to have been cut down as cumberers of the ground. Yet with us will he plant the heavens. He will cause us to shine as the firmament; and as I trust, many of us will be instrumental in turning many to righteousness, as the stars for ever and ever. Nay, the meanest and weakest Christian may say more than that, as the views of the gospel rise on those of the prophets; for our Lord tells us, they shall shine forth like the sun in their Father's kingdom!

In breaking the bread, I mentioned the text of sitting down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, &c. in the kingdom of God. It would have been delightful to have conversed with good old Jacob; to have seen him even on his dying bed, acknowledging that God had fed him all his life long to that moment; delightful to have been with him at Bethel, when in his prosperity there he recognised the divine faithfulness, and accomplished his vows: delightful to have known pious Isaac, who, as a type of our blessed Redeemer, so willingly surrendered himself to God, and his father, and was stretched out with all the meekness of a lamb, when appointed to be a burnt offering. And who would not have been delighted to have had an interview with Abraham, the father of us all; that holy man, to whom God has done that signal honour, that all believers of every age and nation should be looked upon as his seed; that holy man, who walked before God, and was perfect, and is now a guest of distinguished glory at the table

above, as he had once the honour to entertain some of the inhabitants of heaven at his hospitable board below.

To sit down, and not only with these holy patriarchs, but with all the apostles of the Lamb, with those illustrious soldiers and leaders in the army of Christ, to whom the whole Christian world has been so much indebted, and to whom we in particular have had such great obligations on account of those memoirs of Christ, and that history of his gospel which they have given us. And with John, who leaned on the Redeemer's bosom, and whose benevolent soul will find a place for each of his master's brethren. With Paul, whose divine epistles we have so often read with rapture, and something of whose spirit I hope we have sometimes caught. It would have been delightful to have met with any one of these in their travels, and to have joined with them in breaking bread when they administered this ordinance. But their knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom is now infinitely increased; their manner of communicating them will be unspeakably more advantageous. Then they saw through a glass darkly; then they spoke with trembling accents. Now they see face to face, and have learnt the language of heaven. But O, let our souls remember it with holy joy, and a fervent growing desire of that blessed interview; we shall there behold not only the apostles of the Lamb, but the Lamb himself. Yea, it is said, the Lamb himself shall feed them, and lead them to fountains of living water. How delightful will the relish of this water be, which he shall give us! How reviving the wine, which we shall drink with him in his kingdom! It will then be no grievance of heart to us, that we have, according to his appointment, paid this humble honour to his cross upon earth, and have devoted ourselves to him as his covenant people in this holy rite of his own institution. I then addressed myself to the spectators, expressing my hope that they had communion with us, and in good wishes

that they might have more. I mentioned my own experience before I sat down at the Lord's table, and my cheerful hope that God would draw them with a victorious. sweetness of correction.

SOME ACCOUNT OF WHAT PASSED AT THE SACRAMENT, DECEMBER 6, 1741.

I OPENED the ordinance with some meditations on that text: "Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness," (having preached from those: “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death," &c.) Having mentioned the introduction, I observed, we may consider it as a parable taken up by our Samson, that is, our Lord Jesus Christ, in allusion to his conquest over death. What is sweeter than honey? what is stronger than a lion? Yes, blessed Jesus! the eater that assaulted thee was strong; and the blessings thou broughtest out of him far sweeter. I observed, Death is a savage devourer; that Christ met and conquered him, and that he feeds his people with his spoils. Death is a savage devourer, how plain? He has swallowed up all preceding generations; not one of their myriads is left. None that are conquered by him recover their liberty. In many instances their memorials are perished with them. The memorials of others are indeed but the testimonies to the victory of Death. He has devoured the mighty tyrants of the earth, who were like young lions. He has spread all around a terrible carnage. O Death! where is not thy sting? O Grave! where is not thy victory? But Christ met and subdued him. He roared, rejoiced over our blessed Lord; our Lord fell before him. Humanly speaking, he seemed to have been but a morsel for this devourer; his sacred corpse was not to be distinguished from others, but by ghastly wounds and inhuman bruises, which left upon it those livid marks which might make it the more likely

to corrupt than most others. Yet, like Jonas, who, though devoured, was cast up again. He proved a terrible captive. He arose, and bore away the gates and bars of captivity; he vanquished Death, and him that had the power of it. He arose with infinite might, as one that awakens out of sleep with new spirits, with immortal vigour, and never more to return under the power of death. He tore the lion, as the lion rends a kid. He extracted spoils from him, by which he nourished, and nourishes his people. "Thou gavest him," that is, the leviathan "to be meat to a people inhabiting the wilderness." He also fed them with honey, and by their privations gave them an opportunity of honouring God more than they could otherwise have done; and this will lay a foundation for their triumph in the day of resurrection, and all the eternal honour and joy that will succeed to it. Let us also praise our great deliverer, and take a view of Death with the aspect which it wears as under his conquest, influence, and command.

SOME ACCOUNT OF WHAT PASSED AT THE SACRAMENT, JANUARY 3, 1742.

THE subject of my meditation at the table of the Lord was those words: Isaiah lvii. 19. " I create the fruit of the lips : Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the Lord; and I will heal him." We are now in a circumstance of praise, which is the fruit of the lips. I observed with what majesty God claims to be the creator of these fruits that were offered to him. It may indeed be said, of thine own have we given thee. It is a new creation of his own. He has given the matter and the heart for it; especially in these instances. The Lord Jesus Christ had redeemed his church with his blood; this was the gift of the divine bounty; redemption by him was the contrivance of the Divine Grace, and so is a disposition of soul to accept this salvation, and to pray to God for it. Why are