continual hazard of falling. This fear is indeed owing to the weakness of their faith. The language of which is, that the Lord Christ is their keeper; that with him they are in safety. But then there is as great a difficulty in believing this, as there would be in believing that a bush we saw in the midst of the flames would be quite safe; and not a twig of it hurt. Thus, the sense, which the Lord's people have, of their danger from inward corruption and outward temptation, fills them with deep concern, causing them to say, Who shall roll us away the stone?

8. It is a great and terrible difficulty in the way of some of the Lord's people who are essaying to make a solemn approach to him in his ordinances, that they are assaulted with horrible suggestions of Satan. For that adversary, besides the deep hand he has in aggra vating the difficulties already mentioned, is sometimes permitted, to cast multitudes of fiery darts, and aston ishing blasphemies into the souls of the Lord's peo ple. Alas! say such poor souls, pressed with these onsets of the Devil, we can hardly get a composed thought such and such a horrid temptation or sugges❤ tion continues to be so violently pressed upon us.

How

can we go forward in the solemn duties of religion, while we are in such a distracted case. Who shall roll us away the stone? Who shall turn the storm into a calm ?

Having pointed out some of the bars, which appear in the way of the Lord's people that are seeking communion with him in solemn ordinances; we may now proceed to shew what is their duty and exercise about such bars.

1st. The Lord's people are distinguished from others by the humbling sense they have of the bars in the way of their attaining the enjoyment of communion with Christ. They are much conversant with their own hearts; they are concerned to examine and to know themselve. Hence they have an humbling sense of their natural enmity, ignorance, unbelief, inordinate attachment to the world, and of their danger from tempta tion; they are much exercised in considering their

ways, the nature, multitude and aggravations of their sins. Hence they know what it is to be in soul-distress about the guilt of sin. When they are called to any duty they are concerned to understand the nature and importance of it; hence they have a heart affecting sense of the difficulties attending it.

Secondly, the Lord's people are convinced, that it is necessary in order to their acceptable approach to God in his ordinances, that they have a sure and well grounded persuasion that their difficulties shall be removed in due time; that these stones shall be rolled away. How can they set forward in the Lord's way, while they see no solid ground to believe that he will deliver them from all their guilt, their heart enmity, their ignorance, unbelief, inordinate affection to the world. How can they set forward, unless they see ground to believe that the Lord will afford them strength to carry them through all trials, and that he will bruise satan under their feet shortly?

If it be asked, Where they are to see a good and solid ground for this persuasion: that he will roll away these stones, that is, remove the bars to the enjoyment of communion with Christ? We answer in Christ himself, as he is exhibited in the word of the gospel. You cannot have any right or suitable view of his person, of fices, names and relations as set forth to you in that word, but you must see a solid ground to rely on for the removal of all these bars? For example: Are you oppressed with a sense of guilt? are you under apprehensions of the divine wrath? Look to the priestly office of Christ and there you will see God not imputing any of your trespasses to you; they having been all imputed to Christ; and law and justice having got full satisfaction for them all in him; for, as the church says; The Lord laid on him the iniquities of us all. Are you distressed on account of ignorance? On account of your ignorance of the righteousness of Christ, of the grace of Christ, of the right way of coming to God by him? Then look to his prophetical office; and there you will see a solid ground to believe that he will open the blind eyes, that he will reveal his blood and righteousness to you by his

word and Spirit, that he will reveal to you the fulness of his grace, that he will instruct thee and teach thee the way that thou shalt go, that he will guide thee with his eye. You see you have no wisdom of your own, then rejoice in Christ Jesus as made of God into you wisdom. Do you find your natural enmity against God and the things of God to be very strong and deeply rooted; Can you see nothing but unbelief and distrust of God and of his promised salvation in your souls? Even in this deplorable case, you have good and solid ground to believe, that he will subdue the enmity and rebellion of your hearts; that he will fulfil in you all the good pleasure of his goodness and the work of faith with power. O, sirs, you cannot look to the offices of Christ as set forth to you in the glorious gospel; but you must see ground to believe that he will remove all your difficulties. Look to his names: he is JESUS a Saviour, JEHOVAH TZIDKENN, the Lord our righteousness, JEHOVAH ROPHI, the Lord that healeth thee, JEHOVAH SIREH, the Lord who will see and provide; JEHOVAH SHALOM, the Lord our peace; JEHOVAH NISSI, that is, the Lord my banner; JEHOVAH SHAMMA, the Lord is there. Look to his relations: he is our friend, our elder brother, our everlasting father, our husband, our head. Does not the import of these wonderful names, and er dearing relations, secure the rolling away of every stone; the removal of every bar, that stands in the way of your attaining communion with God? Besides, in the believing contemplation of Christ crucified, we may see that the great stone of God's vindictive wrath is already rolled away; a work which cost the Son of God a long and ignominious course of service and suffering, till he poured out his soul unto death. And now since this stone is rolled away, the removal of all the other stones; such as the power of sin, the opposition of the world, and the tyranny of the Devil, is of course infallibly Has he done the greater and will he not do the

sure.

less?

Again, the Lord's people see good and sufficient ground in the great and precious promises of the gospel to believe, that he will remove these difficulties,

that he will roll away the stones. These promises are all yea and amen in Christ Jesus; you are to look for the accomplishment of them in him and for his sake: Behold, therefore, solid ground, in the promise of pardon, to believe the removal of the guilt of your sin, Isai. xliii. 25. I, even I am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins:-See ground in the promise of the new heart, to believe the removal of your heart enmity, Ezek. xxxvi. 26. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: Deut. xxx. 6. And the Lord thy God will circumcise thy heart, and the heart of thy sced, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul-See ground in the promise of divine teaching and illumination, to believe your deliverance from ignorance and spiritual darkness, Isai. xlviii. 17. Thus saith the Lord thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the Lord thy God, who teacheth thee to profit, whe leadeth thee in the way that thou shouldst go: and John vi. 45. It is written in the prophets, and they shall be all taught of God.-See ground to believe deliverance from your inordinate attachment to idols, in such a promise as that in Isai. xxx. 22. Ye shall defile the covering of thy graven images of silver, and the ornament of thy molten images of gold: thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth, thou shalt say unto it, Get thee hence: -See ground to believe that strength shall be afforded for carrying you through duty and difficulty, in such a promise as that in Zech. xii. 10. I will strengthen them in the Lord, and they shall walk up and down in his name, saith the Lord.-See ground to believe that you shall be overcomers at last, whatever temptations you may meet with, in such promises as these, 1 Cor. x. 13. God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. Gen. xlix. 19. Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last. Rom. xvi. 20. The God of peace shall bruise satan under your feet shortly.

If you ask, How may I know that such promises belong to me; or that they will be forthcoming to me

for the removing of my difficulties? We answer, these promises are an essential part of that gospel, which we are commanded to preach to every creature. They are all comprehended in the gospel promise, which is directed to you, Acts ii. 39. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. Believe, therefore, and doubt not that the promise belongs to you; in such a manner as to warrant a present application of it to yourself: and unless you put it away from you; and count the word of God, who cannot fie, unworthy to be depended on, unworthy of credit, these promises will undoubtedly be forthcoming to you. We would only remind you of two things. One is, that you are to look upon the righteousness of Christ, as the foundation of all the promises, and you are to expect all the good of them no otherwise than in and with him, and for his sake. The other is, that what God has joined together in the promise, ye must beware of putting asunder. For example, God in iis promise hath joined together the pardon of sin and the sanctifcation of the spirit; and you are by no means to expect the one without the other.

Thus, having observed, that true Christians are distinguished from others by their humbling sense of the bars in the way of their attaining communion with God in his ordinances; and that a well grounded persuasion that God, for Christ's sake, will remove these bars, is necessary to an acceptable approach unto God: we go on to observe, In the third place, that experience of the Lord's loving kindness, in removing these bars, is sought by his people in the use of means, particularly, in the use of the word and of prayer. As to the word, it is the glass wherein Christ is to be seen by faith, 2 Cor. iii. 18. We behold as in a glass the glory of the Lord; in the glass of the word. Here God hath given to us his exceeding great and precious promises. As to prayer, it is a special mean of obtaining right views of our difficulties, and of getting our faith in Christ and in the promise exercised and increased. It is a special mean of receiving the Holy Spirit, Luke xi. B b