tions fall infinitely short of his excellence and glory. Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the king of Glory shall come in. Take thy shoes from off thy feet; for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Does not your heart burn within you at the thought of being with the Lord? Be not surprised that you did not presently perceive it. It is not the first time that he has been mistaken for the gardener. Nor let the splendor of his appearance terrify you; for he is meek and lowly in heart. The regards of a friend, the affections of a brother, the tenderness of a parent, are nothing to the compassions of our blessed Redeemer. He came down from heaven to seek and save you; and your meeting him here this day, is in consequence of his own gracious appointment. If Jesus should now turn back, and smile, and say to you, "Why seekest thou me?" I presume something like this would be your language:

"Blessed Lord, I seek thee, because I am ruined without thee. I owed ten thousand thousand talents to my Lord, and had not a mite to answer the dread. ful demand. The law threatened me with vengeance and eternal destruction. Justice insisted upon the immediate execution of the sentence; and I, a poor, helpless, hopeless criminal, expected nothing but indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish. Then I was told, and my heart leaped at the joyful tidings, that there was no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus. For this reason, Lord, I seek thee, that thou mightest deliver me from going down into the pit; for the sake of the ransom which thou hast provided. I am an impure creature, in me dwelleth no

:

good thing all my powers and passions are depraved: but I loathe myself for all these evils; and have long endeavoured to purify myself to no purpose. But as I was ready to despair of success; I heard that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin; and for this reason, Lord, I seek thee, that thou wouldst wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. I am a distressed creature. Innumerable evils compass me about. Lord, how are they increased that trouble me ! Flesh and blood, principalities and powers, the men of this world, and the prince of darkness, have been combining against me. In utter despair of maintaining my ground, I was ready to say, I shall surely perish by the hand of Saul; when I heard that thou givest power to the faint; and to them that have no might, thou increasest strength. For this reason, Lord, I seek thee, that thou would strengthen me; and that weak and feeble as I am in myself, I may be more than a conqueror through him who has loved me. I am ignorant too; I know little or nothing of the only true God, or of Jesus Christ whom he has sent. I am shamefully unacquainted with myself; I am ignorant of Satan's devices; and know too little of my duty or danger. I inquired the way to Zion, and would have set my face thitherward; but I should, notwithstanding, have perished in the wilderness, if thy Spirit, as a voice behind me, had not directed me to thee, and said, "This is the way; walk in it." For this reason, Lord, I seek thee, that thou wouldst open the eyes of my understanding, and lead me in the way everlasting. I am a dejected and comfortless creature; and I seek thee, who art the consolation of Israel. Let me receive out of thy fulness, grace for

grace. "-O woman, great is thy faith; be it unto thee even as thou wilt.

If some such transaction as this has passed between Christ and you, I think that I need ask, Woman, why weepest thou? for your heart should overflow with joy, and your tongue abound in praises.

As I am persuaded that you have found Christ, I will now suggest some directions, that you may not be deprived of the enjoyment of his company. Avoid sin of every kind and degree, as that abominable thing which he hates. Implore, cherish, improve, and be thankful for the frequent and plentiful communications of his grace; and let it be visible that you have none in heaven but him, and that there is nothing upon earth that you desire besides him. Be contented and cheerful in every condition; that Christ may see that his favour is your life, and that to you his loving-kindness is better than life. Be active and vigorous, always abounding in the work of the Lord; and thus your labour shall not be vain in the Lord. The Lord is with you while you are with him; and if you seek him, he will be found of you: but if you forsake him, he will cast you off for

ever.

These things seriously considered, will render you an ornament to that society into which you are now admitted; and a credit to that blessed Saviour whose name you assume; and may you never bring a reproach upon either. The Lord bless you, and keep you the Lord cause his face to shine upon you, and give you peace: with long life may he satisfy you, and shew you his salvation.

DISCOURSE III.

ON THE ADMISSION OF SEVERAL PERSONS TO THE LORD'S SUPPER.

MICAH IV. 5.

We will walk in the name of the Lord our God, for ever and ever.

THIS is a resolution of the greatest importance: for you know who has said, "If any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him." Many have thus resolved, and apparently with all possible seriousness; who have, notwithstanding, miserably failed in the performance. Their lives are made up of the strangest inconsistencies. Sometimes they are zealous for religion; and at other times eager for sin and the world. They will make solemn vows on one day, and break them with little remorse on the next. Sometimes nothing will please them but the company of the people of God: and by the bustle they make, you would think they must outstrip the foremost of the followers of the Lamb. Presently after you see them loiter, and lag behind, as if they were ashamed of their company; and dropping off by degrees to the tents of iniquity. Instances of this kind are lamentably common. I was glad, therefore, to find, that you were willing to come under the strictest bonds of Christianity; and that it is your

fixed and deliberate resolution, that, though all men should forsake Christ, yet will not you. It brought to my mind those glorious times to which the prophet Micah alludes: "But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills and people shall flow unto it: and many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths for the law shall go forth of Zion: and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." But they were not content with inquiring the way to Zion: They would join themselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant; and were determined that none of the votaries of false gods should surpass them in zeal and devotion. "For all people," say they, "will walk every one in the name of his God; and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God, for ever and ever."

Your appearance here this day, in effect, declares that this is your resolution.

You never would have been admitted members of our church, if you had not, in dependence upon God's grace promised this; and you will never be admitted among the general assembly and church of the first born in heaven, if you do not perform it. You will not, therefore, think it impertinent, if a fellow-traveller, on this occasion, endeavours to explain to you the nature of the profession which you make; and what you bind yourselves to, when you engage to walk in the name of the Lord your God for ever and ever.

To walk in the name of the Lord, implies acting