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 Repentance :- -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

The most unlearned Christian may know what is required of him.

The greatest Sinner may depend upon Pardon on his Repentance.

The weakest Christian may rely upon all necessary Assistance: And the meanest Christian is sure not to be overlooked.

By all which you may perceive what Thanks you owe to God for your great and good Redeemer, and for what he has done and suffered for you;which you will do well to express in some such Manner

as this.

THE PRAYER.

GIVE me Leave, O God, to mention before Thee the Death of thy Son, and the infinite Blessings I have received thereby Add this to all thy Favours, I : beseech Thee, that I may never forget these Mercies ;- -never forget to be thankful for them; -but that I may preserve the Remembrance of them in the Manner which he hath. ordained.—I thank Thee, O God for that Word, in which thou hast caused these thy Mercies, and his Example, to be recorded. Make me truly sensible of that Love which brought him down from Heaven; -and

and how sad our Condition was, which required such a Sacrifice. May I learn by his Patience, Humility, Selfdenial, and Resignation, what Virtues are most acceptable to thy Divine Majesty !--And may I take him for my Lord and Master, and Teacher, and Example; and dedicate myself to Thee, and to thy Ser vice, for his Sake! Amen.

SECT. VIII.

The last Enquiry you are to make, is, Whether you are in Charity with all the

World?

CONCERNING which, take especial Notice, that the two great Ends of this Ordinance mentioned in Scripture are ;—— The First, To keep up the Remembrance of Christ's Death till his Coming again.

The Second, To be a solemn Token of our Communion with Jesus Christ, and of our Union and Charity with all his Family.

To this End he has ordained, that as all Christians, high and low, rich and poor,

shall

shall make up one Body; of which he is the Head; and one Family, of which he is the Master:- --So they should all eat at one Table, of one Bread, as a Sign of that Love, and Peace, and Friendship, and Readiness to help one another, as Occasion shall require, and as Members of the same Body will naturally do.

And indeed your Acceptance with God, will very much depend upon your hearty good-will for every Christian, and for all Mankind.

Therefore you must take especial Care, lest there be any Person with whom you are not at Peace ;-whom you cannot forgive, and pray for, and do him all the Good that can in reason be expected from you: That you be disposed to make Satisfaction to any Person that has been injured by you, or who may have taken just Offence at your Words or Actions, this being a Duty which Jesus Christ himself has commanded, Matt. v. 23. And that you be ready to forgive every Person, who may have injured you, as you expect Forgiveness of God:- --Remembering the dreadful Sentence mentioned in Matt. xviii. Thou wicked Servant, I forgave thee all thy Debt: shouldst not thou have had Compas