been put to cry, How long wilt thou forget me, Lord, fhail it be for ever. Pfal. xiii. But they must wait in the ufe of means until God's time come, and adore the fovereignty of God in his dealings with them. His people have refigned themselves to the care and wisdom of God, who knows what is beft for them; believing there is a time coming when God will make up for all their loffes. O believers, there is a fill remaining for you above, that will foon make you forget all your days of scarcity here below.

ADVICE XXIII.

From PSALM cvii. 2. Let the redeemed of the Lord fay fe

WHAT is it fuch perfons fhould fay? Let them both fay and fing of God's goodnefs and mercy to them; for (of all men) the redeemed of the Lord have most reafon to be thankful for Chrift's diftinguishing mercy in freeing them from the law's curfes and Satan's power, from the guilt, dominion, and punishment of fin; from the fting of death and the wrath to come. Believers are redeemed both from fin and heil.

Q. How may I know if I be among thefe happy ones, the redeemed of the Lord? A. Take thefe marks. Did you ever fee your flavery and bondage by nature, fo that no less than an infinite price and power could ransom and liberate you? Was you fo convinced and humbled with the fight of your mifery, as to be content of freedom from it on any terms? Have you ventured your foul on Chrift's merit and mercy, conform to gospel offers, being well pleafed with the frame of the new covenant, and the felf denying way of saving fouls by Chrift's imputed righteoufnefs? Are you content with Chrift to be your King and Ruler, as well as your Priest and Saviour? Have you given up yourfelf to the Lord to live for him, defirous that his love may always conftrain you to do his will? O then, you may conclude,

you are among the redeemed of the Lord, and that his bleffed body was broken, and his blood fhed to ranfom you.

Peculiar reafons have you to extol his goodness and mercy above others. Why? he hath opened your eyes to fee the beauty of your Redeemer, and the ways of holinefs, when others remain in blindness! He hath opened your ears to hear the joyful found, and fall in with it when others are deaf to it! He hath loofed your tongues to pray and praife, when others are dumb and tongue-tied! He hath opened your heart to entertain Christ crucified, when others fhut him out! He hath brought you to a feeling of the evil and burden of fin, when others are without feeling! He hath given you appetites for fpiritual food, when others relish nothing but things earthly: He hath given you the promife and hopes of complete redemption from fin and mifery above, when others live without Chrift and without hope! Let the redeemed of the Lord then fing and praise him above all others.

O believing communicants, redeemed of the Lord, give him thanks, and exprefs your thankfulness by your thoughts and actions, as well as your words; namely, by your high esteem of your Redeemer, and of his blood and righteoufnefs that purchased all for you. By avoiding every thing that difhonours him, and flying from the fins that are common and fathionable where you live. By commending your Redeemer to thofe who know him not. By ftanding up as witneffes for him, and for his truths and ways, in the midst of a Crift defpifing generation. By ftrictly obferving the Lord's day, as being a weekly memorial of redeeming love. By longing for the enlarging of Chrift's kingdom, and rejoicing at the news of it, and by putting honour on all the friends and lovers of the Redeemer.

Laftly, Shew your thankfulness by finging pfalms, hymns, and fpiritual fongs, in praife of redeeming love, and of the Redeemer's perfon, offices, and fufferings, a fubject that can never be exhaufted. Sing praifes to U

the great God, that humbled himself to leave his high throne, that came down to dwell in flesh, and die for us; and to rife again, and to afcend to heaven, to take poffeffion of the inheritance, and make accommodation for us there. On this account the Spirit calls us four times to fing praises in one breath, Pfal. xlvii. 6. God is gone up with a shout; fing praises to God, fing praises ; fing praifes unto our King, fing praifes. This finging is moft acceptable to God, and profitable to ourselves. As God makes it the eternal work of heaven, fo he would have us frequently employed in it on earth. But Oh! how do we fail here? Reformed churches abroad do far exceed us in the frequency of this duty, as they do in the variety and fweetness of their tunes.

What is finging, but a kind of reading with meditation and deliberation, in order to give the more free vent to the thoughts and affections to breathe and afcend heavenwards. The wife God inftitutes finging in his praife, because the melody of the voice helps to affect the heart, and raise the thoughts, "for he knoweth our frame." And indeed, it is only when the heart correfponds with the voice, that the mufic is pleasant to God: To this purpose one faith well:

Sweet melody the hymn affords,

When with the lines the heart accords.

O let the redeemed fing praife, and give thanks to God for his unspeakable gift, both now and for evermore, Amen.

I fhall add no more Sacramental Advices in the preceding method, but shall shut up all with a cluster of fhort fcripture directions, proper not only for communicants, but for all Chriftians travelling heavenward.

A SHORT

CHRISTIAN DIRECTORY

CONSISTING OF

FORTY SCRIPTURE DIRECTIONS,

PROPER FOR ALL CHRISTIANS INTENDING HEAVEN.

I ought to be the great concern of all baptifed perfons to renew their baptifinal covenant betimes, and, by a private tranfaction with God, to take the baptif mal engagements upon themfelves, and thereby become Christians by their own perfonal confent and furrender, as well as by their parents' dedication; and afterwards go and feal this tranfaction publicly, by partaking of the Lord's fupper. Concerning this, I have given directions in the Young Communicant's Catechifin. OnJy I would intreat all my readers, for Chrift's fake, and their own foul's fake, to beware going about this work in a fuperficial or formal manner, and of refting upon lip labour, and the external part of the duty. O never be eafy until you inwardly and heartily close with Chrift according to the gracious gofpel offer which God makes unto you. Take no reft till you get your fouls united to Chrift by a true faith, and favingly renewed and changed from nature to grace by the efficacious working of the Holy Spirit in regeneration. And as you are to clofe with Chrift by faith in your first converfion, so you muft ftudy to live all your days to a life of faith on the Son of God, always making nfe of him, and leaning on him for righteousness and strength Į will fay no more by the way of preface, but proceed to branch forth the Chriftian's work and exercife in this lower world, in the following Scripture precepts and directions.

1

Direction I. Let never the world come in God's room. Beware of the love of the world; often think upon that awakening word, John ii. 15. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world; if any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. Oh, this is the ruining fin of multitudes, their love to, and complacency in, the things of the world. Nay the moft part of men are damned for loving the world too much, and loving God too little. Remember the fafter grips ye take of the world, the loofer are your grips of Chrift; and the more you get of the world, ye have the greater account to make to him that gives it, and has made you the fteward of it; therefore use your moncy and goods for his fervice and honour: You muft anfwer for your riches, but your riches cannot anfwer for you. Alfo, remember if you fet your hearts on the world, it will be all that you will get; to have a competent portion of things earthly is a mercy, but to have earthly things for our only portion, is a dreadful mifery. Wherefore, while your hand is in this. world, let your heart be in heaven. Let the bufincfs of your foul be the bufinefs of your life.

Direct. II. Keep up the fame opinion now of the things of the warld, that you will have when you come to die. You fee what a low price men fet upon the riches, pomp, and glory of the world when they are dying: Had you the fame thoughts of these things now, I am fure you would not venture the lofs of your fouls, the lofs of God's favour, the lofs of a good confcience, and the lofs of eternal glory, for a whole world; far lefs for a fmail trifle of it, as many now do. Think much upon that text. Matth. xvi. 26.

Direct. III. Be not strangers to yourselves, but often commune with your own hearts; as directed, Pfal. iv. 4. When others are cenfuring and backbiting their neighbours, be you searching and cenfuring yourselves. Selfexamination is a moft neceffary duty. Examine yourfelves after every ordinance, what good you got by it, what entertainment you gave your Saviour; ask how