by his promifes to you, I will come in, I will fup with you, I will eafe you, heal you, enlighten you, manifeft myfelf to you, &c.-Many a knock gvies he by his threatenings of wrath and vengeance against thofe that shut their doors against him. Many a knock gives he by your own confcience, and by his own Spirit railing convictions, inclinations, defires and purposes within your heart to bring you to a Saviour.-And many a rap and knock doth he give at your door on facramental occafions. Then it is he knocks aloud with his nailed hands and pierced feet, and stands at your door with his wounds open, his blood, ftreaming and his garments dyed with blood: And all this to fhew his earneftness to be let into your heart.--Open then to Chrift, O finner, while he is knocking, be affured he will not knock always, this may poffibly be the laft day of the Spirit's knocks and ftrivings with thee; fo that if you refufe to open at this prefent knock, God may ftrike you dead and fenfelefs all your life, clap a feal on the door, that it fhall never open; you may hear miniftersknock after this, but never hear God's Spirit knock again; and Wo ⚫ unto you if he depart from you.'-Remember, O man, for as many knocks as God gives at your door, he keeps an exact account of them all, and will reckon them all up to you at the judgment feat. And can you think he will open heaven to you then, who will not open your heart to him now! No, no; his ear will be as deaf to you hereafter, as yours is to him now. Read and believe that terrible word, Prov. i. 24, &c.

If any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in and fup with him.

G

REAT and precious are the promises which Christ makes to them who hearken to his voice in the gofpel-offers, and open their hearts to receive him, as offered to them in all his offices; I will come in, and bring all the benefits of my purchafe with me to entertain and feaft that foul, even pardon, peace, light, life, grace, and glory.

1. Obferve the duty called for is, to hear Chrift's voice, and open the door to him; that is, to accept and embrace his free gofpel-offers, and heartily to acquiefce in the gospel method of a finner's reconciliation and juftification through the righteoufnefs of our glorious Emmanuel, and willingly receive and fubmit to him as our prophet, priest, and king. What is the preaching of the gofpel, but Chrift's charming voice calling left finner's home to himfelf? What is it, but Chritt's following them with invitations and intreaties to come to him and live? This is Chrift's voice which he would have finners to hear, come and live; though they generally refufe to do it! Oh, what condemned malefactor would refufe to hear the voice of his fovereign offering him his life, as condemned finners do? John v. 40 Ye will not come unto me that ye might have life.' Yet behold, after many refufals, he follows his offers with arguments, ftrong arguments to prevail with finners, and after the greateft obftinacy he is loth to break off his treaty with them, Hof. xi. 8 How fhall I give thee up Ephraim? Why will ye die? What reafon can you give for refufing. life, or for chufing death?

2. Obferve, who it is that Chrift calls to hear his voice, and open their doors to him! is it not this or that man only, or any particular fort of men; it is any man, every one that fits under the gofpel. If any man will hear my voice, and will open the door,' faith Christ, I will come in. If any will open, be he old man or young man, I will come in. If the greateft finnner, the molt crimfon-coloured finner will open, I will ' come in.' Any man, if the fwearer will open, if the fabbath-breaker, if the murderer, if the drunkard, if the unclean, if the thief, if the cheat, if the liar, if the mocker, if the prayerlefs man, if the man that hates God and godlinefs will open to me, I will come in and fup with him.' O what encouragement doth this word, if any man,' give to every finner to fly to Chritt! If any man, whoever he be, whatever he hath done, if he will welcome me, receive me in the gospel-offers, I will come in to him.

3. 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 must mint, and use 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 Christ wholly, receive him without reserve, open before him the two-leaved gates, not the wicket, or one leaf only, but both leaves of the door. Let Chrift

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 beginning to open it, O let them not halt in doing. With fome the door is half open, and there they ftop.. They are almost, but not altogether Chriftains. O almoft Chriftain, 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. Go then a little further, O finner, to fave your foul. Open to Christ 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? the half open door will be ready to go to again, and alas! if so, it may never open for the future. Let it be your concern then to go a little further than the almoft Chriftain, and reft not in fair beginnings.

4. Obferve, how great the advantage is of opening the door to Chrift: Why? I will come in to the house, faith he, even the friend of finners, the King of Glory will come in, the best guest that ever came into a poor man's houfe: How honourable, how profitable,how happy and blessed must such a vifit bé!—Q. For what end will Chrift come in? A. He will come in to enlighten the houfe; 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 caufe you to fup with him:

and because you have no fitting provifion in the house, he will bring it with him. And 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 everlasting spring in thy foul, that would keep thee from thirsting after the creature any more. What a rich feaft are the graces of the Spirit quickened to a lively exercife! What a bleffed feaft is pardon of fin, peace with juftice, peace with the law, and intereft in Chrift's purchase, intimations of Chrift's love, gofpel-promifes applied, communion with God, views of eternal life, well grounded hopes of immortal glory! &c. O how precious and delicate are these gofpel rarities which are set 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 glorious provifion with him? Had poor finners fpiritual appetites fharpened for Christ's feaft, there would not be so many fhut doors against him.

6

5. Obferve, how folemnly Chrift offers thefe gofpelbleffings to you, with a behold I ftand,' &c. Chrift takes witneffes upon it, witneffes against the refusers: Behold ye angels, and witnefs for me how kind and bountiful my offers are to Adam's rebellious childeren! Behold ye minifters, and witnefs against thofe who shut me out! Behold ye ftones and timber of the houfe, ye elements and communion tables bear witness for me and against them! Behold ye fellow-comunicants and hearers, bear witnefs one against another that I knocked, I called, 1 knocked loud, I knocked long, but ye kept your doors bolted against me. It is a melancholy thought for thofe who are minilters to entertain, that they will one day be brought in as witneffes aga nit those who fhut out their Saviour; but when called, they muft witness against fuch, tho' never to dear to them now, that Chrifi called, but they refufed; he made kind and large offers, but they regarded them not. O then let every foul fet about fweeping and wathing all the rooms, and M

caft open all the doors, as wide as they can, to the King of Glory, and recieve him with acclamation and praife. Take the crown off the head of felf, 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.

C

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

HRIST is the wisdom of God, who hath made rich provifion for entertaining his people, and hath fer it before them in the ordinance of the Lord's fupper, even Chrift crucified, with all the fruits of his purchafe. His flesh is meat indeed, and his blood is drink indeed.' The fruits we feaft upon are pardon and peace, rightecufnefs and grace, the affurance of God's love, the • confolations of his Spirit, the promises of the gospel,' and all the earnefts and pledges of eternal life. Το this feaft ftarving fouls are invited, to feed by faith upon thefe provifions Chrift hath prepared for them, applying them to themselves, and taking the comfort of them.

Bread and wine are chofen as fit resemblances of his fpiritual feat. As bread and wine ferve to preferve our natural life, and to ftrengthen and cheer us when weak or fainting; fo Chrift crucified, apprehended by faith, preferves our fpiritual life, and procures eternal life, Arengthens weak believers, and cheers drooping fouls. -As bread and wine incorporate with our bodies; fo Chrift by his fpirit dwells in us, and we by faith and love dwell in him.-As bread and wine fatisfy our hunger and thirit; fo thofe who by faith lay hold and partake of Chrifl's flesh and blood, fhall no more hunger or thirst after earthly things.--Bread is the most 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 neceflary bleffing to preferve our flarving fouls. Chrift is the staff of bread indeed