place. It is an encouragemeut to run, that Chrift is in heaven before me: God fend us a joyful meeting. Lord, give me the traveller's charges by the way, fomething to fweeten my journey, and make it lightfome. O where are the grapes of Efhcol, the cordials of faith, the profpects of Canaan fom Pifgah-hill? O that I were frequent ly fending faith and hope, thefe two faithful fpies, to furvey the promised land, or at leaft to vifit the borders and outer-coaft of my Lord's country; that they might bring me back fome encouraging reports, to fupport and cheer my heart in the wilderness.

Lord, my wants are many, and I need daily fupplies from thee, but bleffed be God, that I have fuch an agent in heaven as Chrift, to prefent my bills, petitions and fupplications. I put all my requefts in his hand, and leave them to his care and management, who knows the fit time to present them, and fend me an answer of them. I defire to put him on all my fecrets, and truft him with all my concerns.

Lord, ftay not away from me, but let me have fome gracious vifits now and then in thy ordinances. Give me thy holy Spirit to teach me, when I am ignorant; to quicken mè, when I am dull; to awaken me, when I am fecure; to revive me, when 1 am faint. Let thy good Spirit be ftill fuggefting things to me, and bringing thy word and promises to my remembrance, that my hard heart may now and then gush forth in ftreams of love and defire toward thee. O divine shepherd, thou haft refreshment for my wearinefs, guidance for my wanderings, and balm for my wounds. O lead me into the pleasant paftures that are watered by the fruitful ftreams of thy Spirit, that fo this tempeft-beaten foul may at last be brought into the harbour of reft, and be laid up fecurely with thee.

MEDITATION VII.

GLORY to God, that hath not withheld his Son, even his only Son from me, but hath given him to be a propitiation for my fins, yea, and to be the life and food of my foul. Bleffed be his name, that he who offered himself for me upon the crofs, doth alfo offer himself for me at his table. O that the facrifice of Jefus Christ, which he offered on the crofs, and which I have been commemorating at his table, may atone for all the failings and mifcarriages

angels. Confider 1. The fame bleffings that ever were bestowed on any faint fince Adam's time, the fame effential bleffings offered to Abraham, Ifaac. Jacob, David, Peter, Paul, &c. are offered to you; the fame God that was Abraham's God, (hall be your God, the fame Chrift, the fame Spirit, the fame covenant, the fame heaven fhall be yours: Ye fhall come up to Abraham's bofom, and fit down to the fame table and food with him. O it is in your offer, poor beggar, to be as rich, great and happy as Abraham.

2. There are here in your offer all the bleffings and benefits which are comprehended in the wide bofom of God's promifes, which are rich, great and precious. O we cannot number or weigh them; time would fail to repeat them; we cannot tell how to begin; or, if begun, where to make an end. Read the fcriptures from end to end, and behold a dazzling and glorious fight: As the heaven is befpangled with ftars in a winter night, fo is the word with fhining promifes: and we may allude to that paffage in God's covenant with Abraham," If thefe ftars can be numbered, fo may thy feed be numbered." So may I fay, if the promises can be numbered or weighed, fo can the bleflings here offered.

3. All that the blood and merits of the eternal Son of God could purchafe and obtain, is here offered; and you may guefs at the greatnefs of the benefits, by the greatnefs of the fum paid for them. They muft needs be rich, for Chrift bespoke them for us very early, even in the morning of eternity: and O dear have they coft him! he muil come down from his throne, cover himself with our duft, fweat blood, fhed blood, fuffer hell's torments, and die. Sure all this was not for a thing of nought; no, there is a great purchase like the price, called here the "water of life;" there is everlafting righteoufnefs, deliverance from hell, pardon, reconciliation, access to God, peace of confcience, adoption into God's family, grace for renovation and fanctification. There is a heavenly kingdom, the uninterrupted vifion and fruition of God to all eternity; there is Chrift's purchafe,-all offered here: yea, he ofVOL. II.

fers

fers not only his purchase, but his perfon; you have Chrift him felf in your offer, and with him all things.

Finally, In Chrift you have all the perfons of the bleffed Trinity in your offer, and that is more than heaven and earth; and all is included in the water of life. God the Father is hereby understood; we find him fo calling himself, Jer. ii. 13. "a fountain of living waters;" where he fummons heaven and earth to wonder at the distraction of men in forfaking him.―Jesus Chrift is alfo "a fountain opened," Zech. 13. I. He is the rock fmitten by the fword of juftice that the water of life might gufh out-The Holy Ghoft is alfo called a "river of water of life," Rev. xxii. 1. So that here in this water of life, we have God Jehovah in our offer, Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft, and what can ye wifh for more? You have God himself to be your God; fo ftands the covenant, Jer. xxxii. 33. "I will be their God, and they fhall be my people." You have God to be your God, your inheritance, your ftock, your portion; and may not ye fay as David, Pfal. xvi. 1. have got a goodly heritage?" God fhall be your Father, your friend, your counfeilor, thy Maker is thy husband, and every thing thou canst defire.

As to the fecond head, Why called the water of life? Anf. 1. Because of its properties and qualifications; 1. Water hath a purging and cleanfing virtue, for taking away filth and pollution.-O, but the blood of Chrift cleanseth from all fin.

2. Water is of a cooling and refreshing nature to the poor fcorched traveller; O, but the benefits of Christ's death are refreshing to the poor thirfty foul, that is faying, I pant, I languish, and die without thee. See Pfal. xlii. 1.

3. Water is good to quench fire; fo this blood quenches the fire of God's wrath, also of luft, pride, paffion, &c.

4. Water is a foftening thing to the hardened earth: O, but many a hard heart has been mollified into tears, and melted into compliance with God's will, faying with Paul," Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ?"

5. Water is of a fructifying nature; it makes the

dry

dry withered herbs to be green and fragrant. O, how many barren withered fouls have been made hereby to bring forth the fruit of righteousness? Without water nothing would grow; what made Egypt fo fruitful but the inundation of the Nile? And what makes a foul a watered garden, and a field the Lord hath bleffed, but this water of life? O that there were many fuch in this place.

6. Water is the most neceffary thing in the world; without it we could not live. O how miferably would we perish, if we wanted the water of life.

7. Water is cheap, and free to both poor and rich; it cofts us nothing, all are welcome. So here, come without money and without price.

2. It is called the water of life, either, 1. Because it affords fpiritual life to dead fouls; 'tis the wine that makes the lips of those that are asleep to fpeak. Yea, and it nourishes and preferves the foul to eternal life. Eternal life is a fure effect of it; the foul that drinks here shall never die. 2. 'Tis fo called, because it far excels all other water. Why? 'Tis better than common water, it is fountain water, as called Rev. xxi. 6. "The fountain of the water of life." O what a choice fountain is it? O it has a noble vent, many pleasant paffages and conduits. O, the fide, head, heart and hands of Chrift, were pierced to let this water diftil more freely and plentifully to the world. It hath choice conduits and pipes. O do not mistake them, it runs only in the conduit of the promifes, the channels of the fanctuary. O how pleasantly doth it flow between the banks of ordinances? But mind these are only the ordinances of his own appointment. See Joel iii. 18. "And it fhall come to pafs in that day, that the mountains fhall drop down new wine, and the hills fhall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah fhall flow with waters, and a fountain fhall come forth of the houfe of the Lord, and fhall water the valley of Shittim." It comes only from the houfe of the Lord. 2. It hath many pleafant chryftal ftreams that make glad the city of God, Pfal xlvi. 4. reviving, purifying, foftning, fanctifying, fructifying and medicinal ftreams,

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for healing all diseases and plagues whatfomever. Are there any diseased fouls? come to these medicinal ftreams and bathe. What is your diforder and wound, and it shall be cured? Is it fpiritual blindness? O this opens the eyes of those who are born blind. Is it deafnefs? it makes a man quick to hear God's call and counfel. Is it lameness? it caufes the lame man leap as an hart. Is it weakness of hands, feebleness of knees? O this endows with life, ftrength and courage for duty. Is it a tympany, a fwelling of pride? O it makes him low in his own eyes. Is it a fpiritual confumption and decay of faith, love, repentance, zeal, &c. Is it the plague of the heart, earthly, mindednefs, backfliding, wandering, deadnefs? Is it hardness of heart? O come here, this water will foften the flinty rock, and make the hard heart tender and pliable. Ó come, lay open all your wounds and fores, and you fhall be heal ed. 3 Other fountains may be locked or dry up, but here the wells of falvation never run dry in any season, and are open continually. Chrift hath taken the stone away from the well's mouth, fo that we may take of the water of life freely. 4. Other fountains are meafurable and fathomable; but this is a deep, everflowing and overflowing fountain, like the water in Ezek. xlvii. 5.

As to the third head, how fhall we get this water of life? See what is required here, "come and take," that is the condition required, faith in Chrift. Confider, 1. When we fay this is a condition required, we do not mean there is any thing neceffary, in point of worth and merit, but only in point of order and of means. This is not a covenant of works, but of grace, a free covenant, all things are given here freely. And who will fay he pays any thing for water, when he comes to the well to take it, gets it for the taking, or putting out the hand? Will a beggar fay he merits any thing by putting out his hand for his alms? Acceptance is a neceflary and intrinfic condition in all gifts; if I take not a gift, it can never be mine. This condition of coming, on our part, doth not denote any power or grace in us to stretch out our hand, or open our mouth. No: though God requires it of

2.

us,