Rom. viii. 32.

Can there be a greater, a surer Pledge of the Love of God for his poor Creatures? He made him to be Son (that is, a Sin-offering): He delivered him to Death in our Stead :—— -Can we after this doubt of or distrust, the Mercy of God?

Observe the Method St. Paul takes to confirm our Faith, by giving us the strongest Proofs of our Acceptance with God. God, saith he, commended his Love to us, in that while we were Enemies, we were reconciled to him by the Death of his Son Much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his Life-Rom. v. 10. What may we not, after this, hope

for from God?

In short, Jesus Christ has redeemed us from the Curse of the Law.

-Thro' him we have Peace with God.-Rom. v. 1.This is the only Foundation of our Faith, our Hope, and Confidence.-He is our Sacrifice, our Mediator, our Advocate; the Knowledge of which ought to remove all Occasions of Despair and Fear, from the Displeasure of God.

Indeed if we should attempt to go to God, without an Interest in Christ, we could hope for nothing but to be rejected;

but

but when we go to him as redeemed by his own Son-and represent to him, as we do in this holy Sacrament, what he has done and suffered for us, we approach him as entirely reconciled to us.

But then you must remember, that he gave himself for us, and hath redeemed us from the Power of the Devil, for this End, that he may purify unto himself a People consecrated to his Service.-Consecrate, therefore, yourself to Jesus Christ, and with faithful Abraham, stagger not at the Promises of God; but go to this Sacrament with a full Assurance of Faith, that God will pardon your Sins, and give you all the Graces you shall stand in need of.

Only remember, that this Faith itself, is the Gift of God, and must be prayed for, for Christ's Sake; which you may do after this Manner.

THE PRAYER.

I BESEECH Thee, O God, by that Love which moved Thee to give thine own Son for lost Mankind, give me a Faith in thy Promises for his Sake, as firm as thy Word, on which my Faith is grounded: And let me never presume upon thy gracious Promises, without sincerely endeavouring

vouring to perform the Conditions on which they were made, and without being zealous of good Works, for which we were redeemed.-May the Remembrance of our Saviour's Love, and of thy great Mercy, be ever seasonably present with me, to keep me from Despair! And may my Faith in thy Promises support me in the Hour of Death!--May my Redeemer be my Refuge, his Blood and Merits plead for me, that I may have my Lot and Portion with those whom he hath purchased with his most precious Blood! Amen.

SECT VII.

Whether you have a thankful Remembrance of Christ's Death-This is the next Thing you are to enquire into.

Now this will always bear some Proportion to the Sense you have of the Evil he has delivered you from, and the Blessing he has by his Death procured for you.

Consider therefore yourself as a poor, sinful, lost, undone Creature, without a Redeemer. Consider what that Re

deemer has done for you :

What he

did, and what he suffered when he took upon himself to answer for the Sins of Men.

Consider that he was the Son of God; that, He had done no wrong, neither was Guile found in his Mouth; notwithstanding this, being to answer for Sinners, he was treated and punished as a Sinner deserves to be:-He was despised! Set at nought! Persecuted and rejected by his own

People, whom he came to redeem !

He was betrayed by his own Disciple; falsely accused! Unrighteously condemned! Unmercifully scourged!-Had a Murderer preferred before him!-Was crueified as a Malefactor; and in the very Midst of his Torments, was most inhumanly reviled.

Consider the Reason of all this. It was not only to satisfy the Justice of God for the Sins of Men, and procure their Pardon. upon their Repentance and future Obedience; but also to shrew Mankind, what Treatment Sin and Sinners, who have re-belled against their Maker, do deserve;and to teach us, when God orders or permits us Sinners to undergo such Indigni ties and Afflictions in this our State of Trial, that we ought to take our Cross pa

tiently

tiently as our Redeemer did; and be content, and even pleased, to fulfil the Will of God, in following his Example in his Sufferings in this Life, that we may be Partakers of his Glory in the next.

In the next Place, consider the Blessing which Jesus Christ hath by his Death obtained for us.-He hath delivered us from the great Power which the Devil had over Mankind, by procuring us Grace to resist and overcome him. He hath prevailed with God-to overlook the untowardness of our Nature;to pardon our greatest Offences upon our true Repent

ance:

And, being by his Death reconciled to God, we have, for his Sake, free Liberty to apply to him, as Children to a Father, for what we stand in need of.

He has also obtained for us the Assistance of an Almighty Spirit, to enable us to know, and to do, what is necessary to fit us for Heaven and Happiness:

-And he has prevailed with God that these shall be our certain Portion, if we are not wanting to ourselves.- In one Word, Jesus Christ has entirely freed us from all Fears of what may come hereafter, if it is not purely our own Fault.

The

Y