ance and fincere obedience hereafter, they fhould be reftored to the favour of God, and after death, to that of life and happinefs, which in their ftate of innocence, was promised to them without ever tafting of death, which privilege they had forfeited by their difobedience. And,

7. Now, O my foul, that we may be fully convinced of the neceffity and blefsing of a Redeemer, we ought to know and confider, that our Saviour and Redeemer did not come till after mankind had been tried in all conditions; in a ftate of innocence, under his own reason, and under the law given by Mofes; all which methods of Providence, thro' the perverse will of man, had been rendered ineffec tual for the amendment of the world. And : because God decreed, that without shedding of blood there could be no remiffion of fin; and it being impoffible that the blood or life of any creature, or of any mortal > man, could atone for, or take away, the guilt and punishment due to fin; our gracious God, both to give to mankind the greatest token of his love, and at the fame time to fhow how great his hatred to fin is, by the greatnefs of the punishment it required, fent his only Son to be a propitiation for our fins, that is, to make fatisfaction to his juftice, and to

take

take off the juft difpleasure which he had declared against finners. Upon this,,

8. Jefus Chrift his Son, (bleffed for ever be his goodness!) knowing how dreadfully fad the condition would be of all. fuch, who fhould live and die under the displeasure of God, and what unconceivable happiness they would deprive themfelves of; moved with compaffion for fo great a calamity, undertook to obtain their pardon; and in order to this he clothed himself with our flesh, that, as man, he might make a full and fuitable fatisfaction to the divine juftice, offering himself a facrifice for the fins of the whole world; and, for the joy of delivering fo many millions of fouls from mifery, he endured the death of the cross, and all the afflictions leading to it, which we find recorded in the holy gofpel: And,

9. It is by this worthy facrifice, that all mankind are reftored to the favour of God, and put into a way and ftate of falvation; God having for his Son's fake, promifed to pardon all fuch as fhall repent of and forfake their fins, and bring forth fruits meet for repentance; and alfo to give his Holy Spirit to all fuch as fhall fincerely defire him; and laftly, to make them eternally happy after death, if during this fhort ftate of trial, which is deC 2

figned

figned to mend our corrupt and difordered nature, they endeavour to obferve thofe rules which he has given them, and which are abfolutely neceffary to make them capable of heaven and happiness.

Let us now, O my foul! reft here awhile, and adore that infinite goodness of God, who did not overlook lost mankind, but fent his only begotten Son to redeem us, when he might, in ftrict juftice, have required us to have lived up to the law of nature and reafon given in the state of innocence, on pain of being for ever separated from his prefence: but inftead of that, he has been graciously pleafed to accept of our fincere, tho' imperfect obedience, and of our hearty repentance, when we have done amifs, and return to our duty.

The Hymn on Sunday Evening.
For the great bleffing mankind received in
their redemption through Jefus Christ.
MOST dear are thy provifions, Lord,
Thy table furnish'd from above;

The fruits of life o'erfpread the board,
The cup o'erflows with heavenly love.
Thine ancient family, the Jews,
Were first invited to the feast;
We humbly take what they refuse,
And Gentiles thy fulvation tafte.

We

We are the poor, the blind, the lame,

And help was far, and death was nigh;
But at the gospel call we came,

And ev'ry want receiv'd fupply.
From the highway that leads to hell,
From paths of darkness and despair,
Lord, we are come with thee to dwell,
Glad to enjoy thy prefence here.
What shall we pay the eternal Son,
Who left the heav'n of his abode,
And to this wretched earth came down,
To bring us wand'rers back to GOD?
It coft him death to fave our lives, ·
To buy our lives it coft his own z
And all the unknown joys he gives,
Were bought with agonies unknown.
Our everlasting love is due,

To him that ransom'd finners loft,
And pity'd rebels, when he knew

The vaft expense his love would coft.

Another.

COME now adore th' eternal word,
'Tis he our souls hath fed;
Thou art our living stream, O Lord,
And thou th' immortal bread.

The manna came from lower skies,
But Jesus from above,

Where the fresh springs of pleasure rise,
And rivers flow with love.

C 3

The

The Jews, the fathers, dy'd at last,
Who ate that heav'nly bread;
But thefe provifions which we taste,
Can raife us from the dead.

Bleft be the Lord that gives his flesh
To nourif dying men,
And often spreads his table fresh,
Left we should faint again.

Our fouls fhall draw their heav'nly breath,
While Jefus finds supplies ;

Nor fhall our graces fink to death,
For Jesus never dies.

Daily our mortal flesh decays,

But Chrift, our life, fhall come; And his refiftlefs pow'r shall raise Our bodies from the tomb.

Another.

THUS if our hearts embrac'd our God,
We should forget all earthly charms,
And wish to die as Simeon would,
With his young Saviour in his arms.
Our lips could learn that joyful fong,
Were but our hearts prepar'd like his,
Our fouls ftill willing to be gone,

And at thy word depart in peace.
Here we have feen thy face, O Lord,
And view'd falvation with our eyes ;

Tafted and felt the living word,

The bread defcending from the fries.

Thou