4. Are any of you awakened, and convinced of the neceffity of experiencing the power of religion on your fouls? and are made fenfible of your having never as yet felt that power? Seek to keep alive religious impreffions of this kind, and go with them unto your God; confefs before him the folly of your past conduct, and say, "Lord! I have lived fufficiently long without having any experimental acquaintance "with thee; already too long have I been dealing deceitfully with myself, and acted an unfaithful part "towards thee; I am afhamed of a conduct fo unwife; bring thou me into the right way before it be "for ever too late; cause thou me not only to appear "to fly to Chrift, but in reality to embrace him as my Saviour and Redeemer, God." Who can tell but by dealing in such a faithful manner with yourfelves, God will look upon you in mercy! He is a compaffionate and gracious God. THE LAST THING PROPOSED was, to endeavour to ANIMATE and ENCOURAGE the AFFLICTED and DEJECTED CHILD of God, especially with respect to their approach to the table of the Lord. Here, perhaps, the foul that is overwhelmed with distress, having heard with attention what we have advanced on the fubject which we have attempted in the fear of the Lord to difcufs, will be ready to fay, "Is "fuch a fubject calculated in any manner to raise the finking and depreffed fpirit of a child of God; it "cannot be otherwife but a topic of this kind muft produce more diftrefs, and a greater degree of difquietude; for my daily concern and fear is, that I am "no more than a poffeffor of a temporary faith." We make thee this reply: "If thou haft strictly at"tended to every thing which we have advanced, "then thou wilt be compelled to acknowledge that L "the difference between true faith and that which is temporary and false, is so astonishingly great that thou "must be fenfible that thou haft fufficient grounds to fatisfy thee that thy faith is not ideal, false or temporary, but true, juftifying and faving;" for, 86 1. Wouldst thou readily be numbered amongst those who have only an appearance of being in the faith? Can an external profeffion produce content in thy mind? Canft thou be at ease when thy heart is not right before God? Is it thy highest satisfaction to please men? or with the fweet finger of Ifrael, doft thou elevate thine heart and voice in the following ftrains, expreffive of thy gratitude and delight in the fervice of God? What fball I render to my God Thy hand has loos'd my bonds of pain, And bound me with thy love. Here in thy courts I leave my vow, And thy rich grace record; Witnefs ye faints who hear me now, If I forfake the Lord. 2. Doft thou not at times enter upon an investigation of thine heart, and art thou not willing that thy heart fhould even be fearched by thy God? 3. Is not Jefus precious to thy foul, in confequence of having been taught how greatly thou needest him? Is not the principle of felf-righteoufnefs rooted out of thine heart, and haft thou not given thy felf over unto God and Chrift? Thy faith, then, is not that which is temporary and falfe, but true, faving, and which will endure whilft thou haft need of faith, even until IT fhall be changed into fight, and THY HOPE into the FULL FRUITION of THY Jefus in glory. YES, thou wilt be ready to say, "To anfwer these questions, and to come to fuch a comfortable con"clufion, are things moft difficult."-But O! thou whofe foul art so difquieted within thee, fuffer us to afk thee: 1. Wilt thou not have God for thy God, and the Lord Jefus for thy Redeemer? Art thou oppofed to receiving him as he offers himself to thee? Wilt thou not have him for thine ALL AND IN ALL? Wilt thou make an exception with refpect to any thing whatever? Is not all that is IN HIM altogether lovely and precious in thy view? 2. Doft thou not wish to give him thine whole heart, that he may wholly poffefs it, reign and rule over it? 3. When thou reviewest thy life, and discoverest that thou haft brought forth but little fruit, is thy foul at ease? Or is it not filled rather with fore diftrefs at the contemplation of thine ingratitude?-Would not thine heart rejoice, if fin were more and more mortified, and if the image of God beamed forth with more refulgent brightness in thy walk and in thy life? 4. Doft thou not therefore fly to Jefus, that thou mightest in and by him be made fruitful? Is it not the language of thy foul-Would to God that Jefus were made unto me SANCTIFICATION as well as wif dom and righteousness. And, 5. Is it not on this account that thou haft fo frequently longed for the approach of that day when thou shalt again be invited to appear at the table of the Lord, with a view of meeting with thine all-fufficient and thy precious Redeemer, who under the emblems of bread and wine, is there fet forth crucified and flain, -and as the Lamb of God, that taketh away the fins of the world?-Art thou defirous of meeting with him-and of coming under new obligations to ferve and honour him? Canft thou not exprefs thyfelf in language of this kind?" ALL that I AM and HAVE "I would humbly hope I have given unto Jesus-And "if I have never at any former period of my life done "it aright, it is the ardent wifh of my foul, that I may now have grace to do it. And I have this the EVI"DENCE of my fincerity--that as the HART panteth "after the water-brooks, fo MY HEART panteth after GOD, after holiness, and after heaven too, because "of its being an holy place, and because all its holy " inhabitants are conftantly engaged in ascriptions of praise, equally to the IMMACULATE LAMB as to "GOD the FATHER and GOD the Holy Ghost." .. And indeed! Are these the experiences of thy foul? Be then no more troubled--Go forth with boldness to the Lord's fupper--Make use of this delightful facrament for thy consolation, and for ftrengthening the life of faith, which thy Jefus, the author and finifher of faith, hath caufed to fpring up in thine heart. Caft thyfelf again into thy Redeemer's arms. He will most certainly receive thee in mercy again, and manifeft the riches of his love to thee. The Lord who is able to make all grace to abound -cause his bleffing to be on what we have faid-and make it a mean in his hand to bring conviction to finners who are unconverted to God, and to encourage his own CHOSEN and redeemed ones. AMEN. [85] THE PIOUS COMMUNICANT. Lecture III. THE ASSURANCE OF CHRISTIANS, A FRUIT OF SAVING FAITH. HAVING, in the preceding discourses, addressed you on the nature of faith, and fhewn wherein confifts the great difference between that which is true and faving, and that which is falfe and delufory; we now proceed to confider and investigate the fentiments, which the word records, on the interesting doctrine of the affurance of faith. That we may exprefs ourselves on a fubject of fuch importance, with the precifion and perfpicuity it merits, we must, 1. Shew that affurance is not the ESSENCE of faith, but the fruit of it; and endeavour to make it appear. II. That the Chriftian MAY attain to the assurance of faith; and that it is a DUTY which is peculiarly obligatory upon him to aspire after it: then, III. We fhall point out the NATURE of affurance, or wherein it actually confifts. After which, M |