of good works. And this seemed well connected with that text. It gives us a view of the grandeur of Christ's person; and of the happy success of his undertaking. The grandeur of his person! he was the brightness of the Father's glory, and the express image of his person; that is, the being who of all others bore most of the image of God. Much indeed is reflected from good men here, and much more from glorified spirits above, and more especially from the angels. But oh, all these stars disappear in the presence of the Sun of Righteousness! He is the very effulgence of his Father's glory, and as if none but he bore his image. And He having created all things, does also by the word of his power uphold them. He spake, and we existed. To what purpose is he mentioned? Even to this, that he by himself has purged us from our sins. He did not assign the office to any other; he did not consign it over to any meaner person; he did not say to the brightest cherub, "Go, and become incarnate, and submit to death for the redemption of sinful man. Go, and give thy back to the smiters; stretch out thine arms on the cross. No. He did not substitute another, but he endured it himself, to purge us from evil, and expiate our sins. And the consummation is, he has sat down at the right hand of God, which speaks the Father's acceptance of the atonement he has made; else he would never have released him from the tomb, much less would he have set him down at his own right hand. And it also speaks his honour and glory. The Majesty on high has received him there. His human nature is instated in a place of supreme dignity and glory, of supreme joy and happiness. And thither he is gone as our forerunner. Where he is, we shall be also; that is, at the right hand of God! And there is fulness of joy, and there are pleasures for evermore.

"

Dec. 2, 1739.

HINTS OF SOME MEDITATIONS ON THE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIRST SACRAMENT.

THIS was the very day that my dear friend, Mr. Palk, died, which was indeed a very sorrowful exercise to me, and my fears of the approaching calamity were painful; yet I bless God that I had some comfortable impressions at his table from those words in Psalm xxii. 26: “The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the Lord that seek him: your heart shall live for ever." I observed, that this united in one express view the character and happiness of the true christian. The character:-they are those that are meek on earth, and that seek the Lord. They are meek under provocation; and this not through a meanness of soul, but through true greatness. They do not think so highly of provocation as many do. Self-interest they give up; and they see so much to pity in the offender, that they are more ready to forgive the offence; and that even where the injury is greatest. And the view of their great Master promotes this. They remember, how he was brought as a lamb to the slaughter. They think of his dying words, " Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!" And they carry this meekness so far as not only to pardon, but to love, and pray, for their enemy. Think, Christians, are there any that have injured and offended you? May the Lord forgive them: may the Lord bless them with spiritual blessings. What do I wish more, than for the conversion, reformation, and salvation of my greatest enemy: and that not for the satisfaction of seeing him humbled before me. Lord, if I were sure he would forget that he had ever injured me I should rejoice in the sight. Considering meekness in general as humility, it is the Christian's character; he quiets himself before God, and his soul is as a weaned child, that if it cannot have the breast, soon grows quiet without it, and reconciles itself to such food as it may

have. A deep sense of meanness and of guilt before God humbles the soul And when is it more humbled than at this ordinance, when it sees itself at table with the King of Heaven, and looks forward to its complete felicity?' Delightful, yet abasing thought! and delightful because abasing. Who am I, O Lord, and what is my service, that thou hast brought me hither? They seek God through Christ; they seek God; they see how desirable his favour is, and they long for it above all things; they have a certain nobleness and generosity of soul which engages them to long, to pray, to cry for the divine presence, which they expect through Christ; they see grace dwelling in him, dwelling with men for his sake: they therefore seek an interest in Christ with the greatest ardour, with none but Christ; and they are seeking him continually, well knowing what the presence of Christ means. Then consider his blessing, " They shall eat, and be satisfied" with the provision of their own table; and their own loaf; their table is blessed; wherever it be, how mean soever their lot, they have what God has sent; they are in the condition which he has chosen, which is always vastly better than we have deserved; it is his great goodness, they say, to choose thus; and to choose nothing for the present greater. Prosperity might have destroyed me. Oh, sweet to think, that all comes from the hand of my God. In this sense, the little, that a righteous man has, is better than the abundance of many wicked; yea, sweet is a dinner of herbs with his love. The Christian is satisfied still more with the provision of God's table. Royal fare! yet what to an eye of sense? who has not every day better—a morsel of bread, a little sup of wine, who would purchase it by the time spent here. Lord, but thy loving kindness is infinitely better than food. To feed by faith upon Christ; oh, how tasteful is this heavenly manna ! Oh, how reviving in this sense is his blood! This is meat indeed, and this drink indeed. How often are his hopes so

enlightened, and his soul so nourished, that he rises in the strength of its expectation, and goes many days' journey to the house of his God. They shall praise the Lord; and how pleasant is that; where the heart overflows with love, it even revives our animal nature, and is, as it were, an anticipation of heaven! Your heart shall live for ever. Short words, but oh, how comprehensive, when the soul bears forward in its ideas, and launches into the ocean of eternity; when it presses forward through the immensity of space; when it measures its duration no more by days, by years, by centuries, by ages, or by millions of ages, but finds itself encircled, as it were, in the omnipresence of the eternal God. When I fall into such contemplations as these, I see these opening scenes, I think I am still with thee, that still thou art my God, that still I shall praise thee: then ever living, my heart shall beat high as it were with everlasting joy, and its motion never ceasing, its pulse shall never tremble nor grow faint, but spring on with everlasting vigour. Delightful thought! let this heart that shall thus live for ever, now ascend in a flame of holy love to its God and Father, and pour itself out in lively prayers to him. The meditation and exhortation which followed I cannot recollect, not having written this memorandum till long after the time.

January 7, 1740,

MEDITATIONS ON THE SACRAMENT OF MARCH 1, 1741. I AM sensible that it was a great instance of carelessness to neglect writing down any of my sacramental meditations for more than a year, though in some of them I had as much of the divine presence as perhaps in any of the former; and many circumstances happened, particularly in the last year, which are worthy to have been had by me. in everlasting remembrance. But a cold, indolent spirit, both in religion and in other things, often prevailed; and

my absence from home in the summer brought me into a bad habit in this respect, which has not to this day been thoroughly reformed.

Nevertheless, I must with great thankfulness acknowledge the goodness of God to me, in that he has lately been restoring my soul, and is, I hope, still leading me in the paths of righteousness.

This day my meditation was upon those words in Acts, "Of a truth against thine holy child Jesus," &c. I observed, the view given us of Christ, He is God's child, his own glorious Son, his holy child, glorious in holiness: holy in his Father's image, holy in his conception, holy in his holy temper and life, without any, even the least spot, which is a great glory to our Christian profession, and a powerful engagement upon us to endeavour to perfect our holiness in his fear. We are also God's anointed; he being anointed by the abundant effusion of the Spirit, to his prophetic, priestly, and royal office, the Spirit of God being without measure poured out upon him, from him it flows down to us. Happy souls that receive it! We see also the combination formed against him. Herod, a Jewish prince, treated him with injustice, which to every ingenuous spirit is very painful; and with the most outrageous contempt. Pilate condemned him, and that against his conscience, to avoid the accusation of the Jews. The Gentiles, that is, the Roman soldiers; and the people of the Jews, were all confederated against him. Strange, that so excellent a person should be so opposed: but it teaches us not to lay too much stress upon popular sentiments and affections, nor to wonder if the cry of the multitude turn against his ser vants, when Christ himself suffered so much! Yet, I added, it was all in subservience to the Divine designs. The Son of man suffered, as it was predetermined concerning him, yet without violating the free agency of those concerned, for woe to him by whom he was betrayed. So be assured,