III. Obferve, Chrift requires finners to open the door that he may come in to teach them; however unable they be, this is their duty, they muft mint, and ufe all means to do it, and look up to him for ftrength. He will have the finner's confent, and the foul made willing to receive him. O then caft open the door, open it wide, receive Chrift wholly, receive him without referve, open before him the two leaved gates, not the wicket, or one leaf only, but both leaves of the door. Let Christ have the full and free confent of the foul and abundant entrance into it. There are fome refolving to open the door to Chrift, others perhaps are beginning. to open it, O let them not halt in doing. With fome the door is half open, and there they ftop. They are almoft, but not altogether chriftians. O almoft cbriftian, why do you halt? Why would you lofe all the pains you have been at? A little more would caft the door wide open, and make you an altogether Chriftian. Ge then a little further, O finner, to fave your foul. Open to Chrift all the powers and faculties of your foul. Open to him fully here, as you would have him to open freely to you hereafter. Oh, what mean you to open to Chrift only by halves? Alas, the half open door will be ready to go to again, and if fo, it may never open for the future. Let it be your concern then to go a little further than the almoft Chriftian, and reft not in fair beginnings.

IV. Obferve, how great the advantage is of opening the door to Chrift; Why? I will come in to the houfe, faith be, even the friend of finners, the King of glory will come in, the best guest that ever came in to a poor man's houfe: How honourable, how profitable, how happy and bleffed will fuch a vifit be! -Q. For what end will Chrift come in?

A. He will come in to enlighten the house; for the foul is a dark dungeon while Chrift is fhut out: He will come in to adorn and enrich the foul with the ornaments and treasures of his grace: He will come in to reign in the foul, and pull down the tyrant that hath long oppreft you as in the text, he will come in and fup with you, and cause you to fup with him: And because you have no fitting provifion in the houfe, he will bring it with him. And O how rare are Chrift's dainties, his hidden manna, the fruits of the tree of life, the grapes of Canaan, the bread that comes down from heaven! How excellent is the water of life? One drop of it would be an everlafting fpring in thy foul, that would keep thee from thirsting after the creature any more. What a rich feaft are the graces of the fpirit quickened to a lively exercife! What a bleft feaft is pardon of fin, peace with. juftice, peace with the law, an intereft in Chrift's purchase, intimations of Chrift's love, gofpel-promifes applied, communion with God, views of eternal life, well grounded hope of immortal glory! &c. O how precious and delicate are thefe gofpel-rarities which are fet before you on the communion table, and freely tendered to every one that opens the door to Chrift! Who would not welcome fuch a guest that brings fuch a glorious provifion with him? Had poor finners fpiritual appetites fharpened for Chrift's feat, there would not be fo many hut doors against him.

V. Obferve, how folemnly Chrift offers thefe gofpel bleffings to you, with a bebold I ftand, &c. Chrift takes witneffes upon it, witneffes against the refufers: behold ye angels, and witnefs for me how kind and bountiful my offers are to Adam's rebellions children! Behold ye minifters, and witness against those who fhut me out! Behold ye ftones and timber of the house. ve elements and communion-table.

174 The blessings which Christ brings in.

bear witness for me and against them! Behold ye fellow communicants and hearers, bear witnefs one against another, that I knocked, I called, I knocked loud, I knocked long, but ye kept your doors bolted against me. It is a melancholy thought for thofe who are ministers to entertain, that they will one day be brought in as witneffes against those who fhut out their Saviour; but when called, they muft witness against such, tho' never fo dear to them now, that Chrift called, but they refused; he made kind and large offers, but they regarded them not. O then let every foul fet about fweeping and washing all the rooms, and caft open all the doors, as wide as they can, to the King of glory, and receive him with acclamation and praife. Take the crown off the head of jelf, and put it on the head of Chrift, afcribing all the glory of your falvation to him, and nothing to free will, or your own doings.

ADVICE IV.

From PROV. ix. 5.

Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine, &c.

C

HRIST is the Wisdom of God, who hath made rich provifion for entertaining his people, and hath fet it before them in the ordinance of the Lord's fupper; even Christ crucified, with all the fruits of his purchafe. His fefb is meat indeed, and bis blood drink indeed. The fruits we feast upon are pardon and peace, righteousness and grace, the affurance of God's love, the confolation of bis fpirit, the promifes of the gospel, and all the earnefts and pledges of eternal life. To this feast starving fouls are invited, to feed by faith upon those provisions Chrift hath prepared for them, applying them to themfelves, and taking the comfort of them.

Christ crucified, the bread of life.

175

Bread and Wine are chofen as fit resemblances of

his fpiritual feast. As bread and wine ferve to preferve our natural life, and to strengthen and cheer us when weak or fainting; fo Chrift crucified, apprehended by faith, preferves our fpiritual life, and procures eternal life, ftrengthens weak believers, and cheers drooping fouls. As bread and wine incorporate with our bodies; fo Chrift by his fpitit dwells in us, and we by faith and love dwell in him.-As bread and wine fatisfies our hunger and thirst; fo thofe, who by faith lay hold and partake of Chrift's flesh and blood, fhall no more hunger or thirst after earthly things. Bread is the moft neceffary thing in the world, hence called the ftaff of bread, it upholds our lives; fo Chrift is the mercy of mercies, the moft ufeful and neceffary bleffing to preferve our ftarving fouls.- -Chrift is the staff of bread indeed to believing communicants, a ftaff that fupports you, a ftaff that defends you, a staff that will beat off all your enemies: If you take hold of this flaff by faith, it will rout and put all your foes to flight. There is no bread like this! I am the bread of life, faith Chrift.

We read, Judges yii. 13. of a dream of one of the Midianitif boft, he dreamed, when Gideon was coming upon them, that a cake of barley bread came tumbling into the host of Midian, and smote a tent that it fell to the ground. Strange! a piece of bread overturn a tent! Behold the interpretation of that dream, in the holy facrament! Here a piece of bread, if eaten by faith, that will invade the Midianitish bost of the devil, and the lufts of the fefh, ftrike down all their tents, and put them to fight. Come then, eat of this bread believingly, and take. faith's view of Chrill's body reprefented by it, as bruised and broken by your fins; this will weaken

their power, and turn your heart against them, and make you refolve that those enemies of Chrift fhall not live in your foul. If the fight of Cæfar's bloody robe incenfed the Romans against the murderers, who flew him; much more a fight of Chrift's wounds and bruises in the facrament, fhould excite you to hate and kill fin, and revenge Chrift's death upon this cruel murderer.

Again, would you have ftrength for your wilder nefs journey, and for the temptations and trials. you meet with, before you have occafion of another facrament? Come eat of this bread that flrengthneth the hearts of men.- Here is food more fubftantial, durable and nourishing, than Elijab's cake baken on the coals, and his crufe of water provided for him by the angel; and yet it is faid, he went in the Strength of that meat 40 days and 40 nights, until he came to Horeb the mount of God, 1 Kings xix. 7. 8. There we find Elijab twice wakened by the angel, that he might take a double meal, Arife and eat, for thy journey is long: So God may be faying to thee, O chriflian traveller, arife and eat, awake O faith, awake O fpiritual appetite, thy journey may be long, take a good meal, you know not what hills you have to climb, what winds and ftorms may blow in thy face, before another accafion of this fort: Satan's ftorm may blow, and death's form may blow, fo that you may not fee another table like this, till you come to the mount of God above.--This is the fame bread the glorified faints do feed on in heaven. Chrift is the manna that came down from heaven to mijnerifhing fouls. The Ifraclites manna was a of etern Chrift, and hence called Spiritual bread, to feed by. pared for v was fro taking the co

given to them, and fell er and all of them were