deed most wonderful and ftupendous; but his work of redemption is far more coftly and furprifing: The one coft him but the word of his power, but the other coft him the death of his Son. The one is but the work of his fingers, Pfal. viii. 3. the other is the work of his arm, Luke i. 51. Much of the divine wisdom and power is displayed in making us men, but much more in making us faints; by the one we have but a fhort mortal life, but by the other an eternal and immortal life. God's works of redemption and of grace will be the admiration of faints and angels to all eternity, Rev. v. 12. -XV. 3.

Come then and behold thefe works of the Lord, as they are set forth before you in the word and facrament! Come and fee God from all eternity paffing by angels, and pitching his love upon poor ruined finners of Adam's family, and contriving their redemption by the incarnation and death of his dear Son, while he paffed by the angels that fell. Come and fee the glorious Son of God undertaking, in the council of peace to become our furety, to pay our debt, and to fatisfy justice for the injury our fins did to God's glory. Behold and confider the device of infinite wifdom for reconciling justice and mercy about guilty men, and fatisfying the demands of them both, by punifhing fin feverely, and yet pardoning the perfons guilty. "Stand still and "fee the wondrous work" of making the Word flesh to dwell among us; of the Creator's leaving his throne of glory, to lodge in a virgin's womb, and a beaft's manger; of the Ancient of days becoming a child of a day old, learning to speak and go, and fubjecting himself to his own law in the room of rebel finners. "Behold God's "wondrous work" in fetting up a court and throne of grace among the prifoners of juftice, and caufing grace to fit as a queen on the throne, with a fceptre of mercy in her hand, and thence to iffue forth proclamations grace to poor, wretched, blind, miferable, and naked finners; proclaiming pardon to the condemned, liberty to the captives, and life to the dead: Yea, feeing grace

of

laying fiege to the heart of rebels, fummoning them by the gofpel trumpet to furrender, and ufing the most prevailing arguments with them to do it, taken from the mediation, fufferings, blood, righteousness, and fatisfaction of the Son of God.

Behold and confider the wondrous works of God in furnishing and fitting the Mediator for our miferable circumftances, joining the divine and human natures in one perfon for our relief! Obferve how well he fuits our exigencies; he is man, that he might die for us; and God, that he might overcome death! Man, that he might combat the devil; and God, that he might vanquish him! Man, that he might take on our guilt and punishment; and God, that he might fupport under it! Man, that he might offer a facrifice for us; and God, to make it infinitely meritorious! Man, that he might fympathise with us in trouble; and God, that he might deliver us! a wondrous work indeed! Again, obferve the Mediator's fulness, how exactly it fuits our miferies and wants! In our wonderful Emmanuel there is life for our deadnefs, light for our darknefs, beauty for our deformity, ftrength for our weaknefs, health for our fickness, balm for our wounds, raiment for our nakedness, riches for our poverty, merit for our guiltinefs, righteousness for our juftification, a fountain for our pollution, grace for our fanctification, bread for our hunger, water for our thirst, and deep mercies for our deep miferies! a wonderful work, to make one depth fo exactly to anfwer another depth? This is the doing of the Lord, and avondrous in our eyes.

Stand fill and fee God's wondrous work, in fending our Emmanuel, the Prince of the kings of the earth, to go up and down the wilderness fecking after the loft sheep, calling and inviting them in the most tender manner to come unto him for life and falvation, willingly submitting to be buffetted by Satan, contradicted by finners, to fuffer all manner of indignities, a curfed death, and the wrath of God, and all that he might be a facrifice to fatisfy juftice for our fins : And after he had fub

mitted to death and the grave for a time, he conquered them and rofe again; and gave commiffion to his ambaffadors to go through all the earth, and call perishing finners to come unto him, and offer them falvation in his name; and having done fo, he afcended into heaven to intercede for them. Now, it is incumbent upon all communicants to remember these amazing works of God's at his holy table, with wonder, thankfulness, and praise.

Come here, and fee the fountain of the great depths of infinite love broken up, and streams of the waters of life running therefrom to the fons of men. Come, fee Jacob's ladder fet up, that reaches from earth to heaven, and God the Father at the top of it calling you to climb to heaven by the fteps of it, viz. Chrift's wounds, offices and promises! Come, fee the manna coming down in plentiful showers, and falling about your tents, and every man invited to gather. Come, fee the rock broached in the wildernefs, to fupply the neceffities of your fouls; fee the rock fmitten by the rod of Mofes, and bearing the curfes of the law for you. Come, fee the city of refuge opened for poor manflayers, that finners, who have flain their fouls by fin, may flee to it for fhelter. O then flee for your lives, and do not linger by the way. Come, fee God bringing his righteousness near you who are guilty criminals, and bidding you put it on for your fafety in judgment; it is a robe that will fit every one of you. Come, fee the fruits and leaves of the tree of life fhaken and scattered among ftarving wounded fouls: Gather and feed on the fruits of his purchase for your nourishment; apply the leaves of his promifes for your healing. Come, fee the well of falvation opened, bring the chain and bucket of faith, and draw water. The great medicine well is here, come with all your difeafes and ailments to it, come with your hard hearts, blind eyes, weak hands, feeble knees, lame feet, and cold affections, to get them healed. Come, fee Chrift's teftament opened, and every man allowed for to put in for a fhare of the lega

R

cies therein contained. This you are to do by believing, claiming, laying hold, and embracing the promifes. Come, fee ftraying prodigals returning to their father's house, and fee their father embracing them, and the whole family rejoicing at their return: See their filthy rags taken off, and the white robe of the Son of God put on them, and the fatted calf killed for them. Come, fee the King of Glory entering in at the everlafting gates of men's fouls, dethroning fin and felf, taking poffeffion of their hearts, and fetting up his throne and kingdom in them. Come, fee King Solomon both crowned and married in one day! An aftonishing match concluded between the Prince of Life and the heir of hell! All the daughters of Zion are called forth to behold the fight, Cant. iv. 11. All these are great

and wondrous works of God to be seen in the word and facraments, which all communicants ought to stand still and confider.

Confider these marvellous works fo as to be fuitably affected with them, make them the fubject of your meditations; entertain high and admiring thoughts of God, and of his infinite love and wifdom manifefted in them. Give firm credit to the record and teftimony God hath given us of his wondrous works, and glorify the great Author of them in your hearts, tongues, and lives. Embrace the gospel offer, and be afraid of offending that God who has humbled himself so low for our fakes, and has wrought fuch great and wondrous works for us. Be careful to ferve him and please him in all things, and abhor fin his grand enemy.

ADVICE XV.

From Rev. xxii. 2. In the midst of the street was the tree of life.

IT was a fad day to mankind, when God banished Adam from the earthly paradife, and from the tree of life that grew therein, and alfo fhut the entry to it!

But behold God, in his free mercy, is now opening an entry, and inviting Adam's banished pofterity back again to a better paradife, where there are purer delights, and neither fin nor Satan can enter; and where there is a tree of life, Jefus Christ, infinitely preferable to that in Adam's paradife. This tree of life far excels that in its leaves, fhadow, fruit, and virtues ; it animates, yea, restores and preferves life for ever; neither is there any flaming fword to hinder our access to it: Adam's tree endured but a fhort time, but ours lafts for ever.. Other trees decay, fade, and wither, but Jefus Chrift is the fame yesterday, to-day, and for ever. 0 come then, fit down under the fhadow of this tree, eat of its fruit, and live for ever. Though the tree be now planted in the heavenly paradife, yet its branches, fhadow, and fruit, extend to every believer on earth, as well as to the faints above. Thousands of communicants at the lower table have fat down under his fhadow with great de-. light, and found his fruit fweet to their taste. Chrift is a tree that bears fruit at all times, every month, and even in the fharpeft winter months of ficknefs and death.

There are fome very ufeful trees in the world, that afford all neceffaries to men, fuch as meat, drink, phyfic, and clothing. Behold God hath provided fuch a tree for us. Jefus Chrift affords us all these. I. Meat: He tells us, That his flesh is meat indeed; that is, his flesh wounded and dying, yields ftrengthening food for the foul in refpect of its fruits and effects. It is food well prepared: the Holy Trinity fpent a whole eternity in preparing it. It is meat well feafoned; it is feafoned with the love of God, fauced with the blood of Chrift, and fpiced with the graces of the Spirit. 2. Drink: Chrift's blood is also drink indeed to the foul, in refpect of its comfortable effects; fuch as pardon, peace, light, life, ftrength, &c. The ftreams from the Rock are moft refreshing, cordial, and favoury drink; favoury to God, favoury to angels, and most favoury to every foul that hath tafted it. It is a fweet cup that is to be put into your hand, if you have faith, but it is poifon