we have, 1 Peter iii. 19, 20. Nothing will more bitterly aggravate the eternal misery of the damned, than the remembrance of this, that they had a day, and in that day grace offered to them, and that they did reject the offer. Men's carnal hearts are now full of cavils against the unsearchable methods and ways of God towards the sons of men; but the last day's judgment will determine and declare, that in the perdition of the ungodly, there was, and is, most pure and unspotted justice and righteousness; and, in the salvation of all the elect, pure, perfect, and predominant grace, that reigned in them, and over them, and through them, till it brought them to heaven.

Wherefore, seeing the having of a throne of grace is a privilege of so great importance, and of so uncertain continuance, there should be the greater care to make diligent and present improvement of it. Why should any man let this throne of grace stand empty? Will men provoke the Lord to say, In vain have I set up a throne of grace for sinners that come not at it?

Again, Consider the wrath that will follow on the neglect, and not improving of this great privilege. The sin is many ways committed, and the judgments of many sorts that are inflicted. But I leave this to the next occasion.

Except you, in your personal exercise and experience, do know what this throne of grace is, and what is got there; you may be Christians hereafter, but as yet you are none'; unless i you experience what this throne of grace is, by frequent repairing to it, and by frequent receiving good at it. That man or woman, whatever his or her name be in the world, or the church of Christ, that never found any need for, or use of, or benefit by this throne of grace, is surely a dead sinner. Peo ple may safely and surely judge of both the state and frame of their souls, by their business at the throne of grace. Never got any soul life, but by an act of grace and power from this throne. No soul can be kept in life, but by daily intercourse? with it. It is as impossible that these bodies of ours should be maintained in life and strength without meat, and drink, and s air; as it is for the soul of a believer to prosper without daily plying the throne of grace.

Let therefore the exhortation in the text, be complied with, Come to this throne. Say therefore, Lord, I am invited to come to the throne of thy grace, and none have more need of that grace than I, and there is enough of grace there for me; and, therefore I will come, and beg, and get, and abide, and bless the giver, and become happy by receiving.

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

I HAVE spoke of the first thing that this text conțains, That God in Jesus Christ, in the gospel, is on a throne of grace, inviting men to come to him. What this throne of grace is; why all should come who they be that will come; and who will be specially welcome, you have heard. I was pressing this exhortation of coming to this throne. You see the Apos tle, in delivering this, takes in himself with them he exhorts,

Let us come. He had oft come before, and had been bountifully dealt with at this court. 1 Tim. i. 14. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant towards him. This made. him commend this throne so highly, and intreat others, and stir up himself, to frequent addresses to it. I did use three arguments to back this exhortation, and shall add a fourth.

1. The first was the greatness of the privilege, of having a throne of grace to come unto ; a privilege denied to fallen angels, and the knowledge of it denied to the far greater part of ot mankind.on toga job des chun,

2. This throne of grace is a privilege full of rich advantages. All believers know somewhat of them. All their acceptance with God, all their access to God, all their communications from him, and fellowship with him, all their blessings in time, and their hopes for eternity, are all owing to this, that God is on a throne of grace, r

i. S. This privilege is of uncertain duration, and short. The Lord the King is for ever; but the throne of grace is not for ever. It is but a time-dispensation; and limited unto certain seasons. The gospel-day is uncertain, our lifetime is uncertain, the world's day is uncertain, to us, though all determined by God. But above all, the Spirit's day is uncertain. How long he will strive, when he will forbear, who can tell? Some godly men have thought, that there are few (if any) that live under a powerful ministry, but, at some time of their life, the Spirit of God comes close to them; so that there is not only a witness given for the Lord in the offers of the gospel, but there is a further addition to that witness, by some special approaches of God's Spirit to their hearts. But whatever there be in that observation, this is undoubted, that where the Holy Ghost makes the strongest assaults on men, if he be resisted, and withdraws, the most prodigious hardness is left behind. Therefore, extraordinary, bold, hardened sinners, cruel persecutors, apostates, and mockers of godliness, are usually such as sometimes were under special conviction; not to speak of the sin against the Holy Ghost; which consists in some high rebellion against special workings of the Spirit of God on men's consciences under the gospel. This dreadful sin Satan perplexeth many believers with fears of it. But it is certain, that a disturbing fear of this guilt is a proof of a person's innocency as to it. For whosoever have fallen into this abyss of wickedness, are so far from fearing the sin, (though they may have a hopeless fear of wrath, Heb. x. 27.) that they glory in it; therefore they are said to do despite to the Spirit of grace. Let all that find the Spirit striving with them, take good heed to themselves, comply with his motions, and secure their state speedily, by believing on the Lord Jesus; for the season of his striving is the most critical part of our life, and, as it issues, of greatest consequence to salvation or damnation.

4. A fourth argument I would conclude this point with, is, the greatness of the sin of not coming to the throne of grace, and the dreadful wrath it draws on. This sin is many ways Committed, and many ways avenged. A little of both.

First, It is committed, 1. By men's despising and contemn

ing the throne of grace; making light of it, Matth. xxii. 5. neglecting so great salvation, Heb. ii. 3. There are many things from whence this contempt springs. Either no sense of their need of what is to be had at the throne of grace; or else a dream, that they may be supplied elsewhere; or gross unbe lief, that men think in their hearts, that all this account of the throne of grace is but a cunningly-devised fable; or the na ture of the blessings, spiritual and eternal, unsuitable to, and not taking with their carnal hearts, who mind earthly things! If the exhortation had run thus, Let us come, that we may get silver, and obtain gold, to render us rich in this world; what leaping and striving would there be to obey it? whilst grace and mercy, that men have no sense nor experience of are despised; and therefore the throne of grace, where only they are to be had, is despised also. The Spirit of God in the scripture is at much pains to commend the worth and value of the blessings that Christ came to purchase, and bath to dis pense, and to prefer them above all present sensible things; yet, notwithstanding all the bright light of the word darting daily in men's eyes, the dross and dung of this world is more precious in the eyes, and savoury to the heart of every ungodly man, than all the grace given on earth, and all the glory to be given in heaven,

2. This sin of not coming, is committed by delaying to come The call of God is, Let us come; the answer of many hearts is, Let us delay to come. Whence think you that these delays come? We have it daily to bewail before God and you, that a multitude will come together to hear, and do so day by day; yet all that can be said to them, from their childhood to their old age, never prevailed with many of them to spend one hour in serious treating at the throne of grace, with God in Christ, for the eternal salvation of their souls. It is undeniable, that ye are but a pack of gross hypocrites, if you attend on the means of grace in the assemblies of saints, and yet have no particular personal errand to the throne of grace for your own souls. The salvation of the soul is not carried on in a crowd, The grace of God must be particularly applied to you, and you must particularly apply it to yourselves, and yourselves to the throne of grace, if ever you be saved. The fellowship of

saints was never ordained for this end, to render personal applications to God needless; and it is grossly abused when it is so perverted. It is impossible, that a person can have any true fellowship with saints in any ordinance of God, unless he hath particular business at the throne of grace for himself. He hath indeed no true religion, whose all of religion is in company and in public. Yet we see how backward many professors are to this personal treating with God; how many shifts and delays they make. To such I say, Would it not be a terror to you, if either God, or man, or ang ls, or the devil, should tell you this day, that, from this time to your dying. day, you shall never have leisure, nor heart, nor tine, to spend one quarter of an hour in dealing with God for your eternal, salvation! Would not this be terrible to you! But the same dreadful thing is daily done by men's delays. The call of God is to-day, you say to-morrow; when to-morrow comes, then you say next day; when that comes, you put it still farther off. This you may be sure of, that whatever is the true spring and cause of delays in this matter, will still remain and gather strength, unless the grace of God come in. Men deceive themselves with vain pretences: but the true spring of all delays in treating in earnest with God at the throne of grace, is unbelief and unwillingness; and the more they are indulged by delaying, the stronger they grow. Therefore the Holy Ghost saith, To-day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, Heb. iii, 7,18. See how the Spirit of God fixeth an opposition betwixt these two, present hearing, and present hardening; and a conjunction betwixt these two, present not hearing, and hardening. If there is present hearing, there is no present hardening; if not, there is. The refusal given to the to-day's call of God, hardens the heart against to-morrow's call. O, that men dreaded delays as most perilous things, and the cause of the everlasting ruin of multitudes under the gospel! 3. Another way wherein this sin of not coming to the throne of God's grace is acted, is in refusing to come. All do not sq grossly, but some do. There are two sorts of refusers; the secure, and the discouraged. There is a woeful plague of secure despair; a strange plague, but a certain one. Some people find things are bad with them as to their souls, sins many,