spouse, and shall be as welcome as any unto the embraces of his love.

CHRIST's invitations of you are frequent: JESUS CHRIST calls on you frequently; he hath waited on you time after time, one year after another; and he doth now invite you, by me this day, to come unto Him. Do not flight this invitation, but receive it with joy and thankfulness. Come, I beseech you, to this Jesus, who thus invites you to be his spouse. Again,

CHRIST'S invitations to be his spouse are earnest; he doth call upon you, and not only call, but call earnestly too; yea, he useth many arguments with you: he will press you to come unto him; he is loth to take any denial from you: he knocks, and knocks hard at the door of your hearts for entertainment; and surely you will not deny the LORD of life and glory who died for you, and gave himself for you: O my dear sisters, let this be the evening of your espousals to the LORD JESUS CHRIST.

He invites you freely to be his spouse, for all his invitations are free; he doth not expect a portion with you, as worldly lovers do; He wants nothing of you: nay, you must have nothing, if you be espoused unto the LORD, JESUS CHRIST. If you be poor, miferable, blind, naked, JESUS CHRIST will fupply all these defects of his own free mercy; he will fill and fupply you with all things out of his treasury; he will make you meet for himself; he will prepare you to live with him for ever.

Confider, if you be once espoused unto CHRIST, if once joined in this relation, you shall never be separated from him; neither men nor devils shall be able to feparate you: none, none, shall disjoin you; and when death doth break all other bonds, it shall not break the conjugal bond between you and CHRIST, but bring you unto the most full and everlasting poffeffion of your beloved.

And what do you now fay, young women? shall I have a grant for my master, or be sent away with a repulse and refufal; no, I cannot carry such a message to my master; I hope better things of you, my fifters, and things which accompany falvation: methinks by this time ye should begin to have a mind unto JESUS CHRIST; you look as if you did defire; defire; you hearken as if you would consent. What do you fay

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? Shall the match be made up this evening between CHRIST and your fouls? O that I may be instrumental in joining your hands, or rather your hearts together: O that I may be instrumental to tie that knot, which never can be unloosed.

Some marry in haste, and repent at leisure; but if you were once espoused unto JESUS CHRIST, you would never repent; nothing would grieve you, but that you were not joined to him fooner; and you would not be disjoined again for all the world.

Shall this be the day of your espousals? Some of you have stayed a long time; and will you defer any longer? If you will not now, perhaps you may never have another opportunity; this may be the last time of asking; and therefore it is dangerous to refuse: fome of you are very young, too young for other espousals; but none of you, my dear fisters, are too young to be espoused unto the LORD JESUS CHRIST: in other espousals, you must have the consent of your parents; but in this you are at your own disposal; you may give, and ought to match yourselves to CHRIST, whether parents do consent or not.

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But if any of you should ask, what you must do that you may be espoused unto CHRIST? You must be sensible of your need of being espoused to him; and untill you are sensible of your need of the LORD JESUS CHRIST, you cannot be espoused to him: You must have defires after this JESUS, and feek unto him for an interest in him; you must cry nightly unto him to espouse you to himself: put off the filthiness of fin and all its defilements; and then, my fifters, put on the white raiment, and clean garments, which CHRIST hath provided for you, the robes of his righteousness; in these garments you shall be beautiful; and in these garments you shall be accepted: you must have the wedding garment on; you must put off all your own good works, for they will be but a means to keep you from CHRIST; no, you must come as not having your own righteousness, which is of the law, but you must have the righteousness of CHRIST. Therefore, come unto the LORD JESUS CHRIST, and he will give it to you; he will not send you away without it. Receive

Receive him upon his own terms, and he is your's for ever: O devote yourselves to him, foul and body, and all, to be his for ever; and CHRIST will be your's, and then happy, happy you, that ever you were born! But if any of you die before this espousal unto the LORD JESUS CHRIST, then woe, woe, unto you, that ever you had a being in life; but if you go to CHRIST you shall be espoused unto the LORD JESUS: though your fins have been never fo great, yea, the blood of CHRIST will cleanse you from them; the marriage covenant between CHRIST and your fouls will diffolve all your fins; you will then be weary of your old ways, for all things will become new in your fouls.

Now, my dear Sisters, I shall conclude by just speaking a word or two to those of you, who are already espoused unto the LORD JESUS CHRIST.

O admire, admire the rich and free grace, which hath brought you to this relation: Is not this an instance of the greatest of love, that you should be the spouse of the LORD JESUS CHRIST? You that had no beauty, you that had no comeliness, that was full of fin, that He should embrace such as you and I are; that we should be taken into the embrace of this LORD JESUS. O infinite condescending kindness! O amazing love! Reverence, reverence, I beseech you, this LORD JESUS CHRIST.

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He is your Lord, and you must reverence him, love and be faithful unto him, be subject to him, and careful to please him in every thing; endeavour to keep up a daily communion with him; look, long and prepare for CHRIST'S second appearance, when the nuptials between y en you shall be folemnized, and you live with him in mansions of everlasting joys, where you shall love and live with this king of glory for ever

and ever.

I know not how to conclude; methinks I could speak to you till midnight, if it would bring you unto the LORD JESUS CHRIST, and make you be espoused to him, for indeed, that will be the espousal which will turn to the greatest advantage, as you will find by experience, if you will but make the trial; and that you may do so, my prayers and my conftant endeavours shall be used.

I' will,

I will, my dear fifters, spend and be spent for you, and by the affiftance of God, will persevere in this that I have begun; and as many of you may have opportunity fome evening in the week, without breaking in on the business of life; I shall therefore, my fisters, either be here, or where you shall be publicly acquainted with: I will not mind being reproached or despised: the men of this world may use what language they please; they may say I am a Methodist. Indeed, my fifters, I am resolved, by the grace of God, to use all methods I can, to pluck you from Satan, that you may be as brands plucked from the burning fire: this shall be my method, which I hope will be the means of effectually faving your precious and immortal souls.

And if I am the instrument of this, I shall rejoice, yea, and I will rejoice in spight of what men, or devils, can say or do to the contrary: and may the LORD JESUS CHRIST direct, and assist me at all times, to act what will be most for his glory, and the welfare of your fouls: and may you all fay a hearty Amen thereto.

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"Now the LORD JESUS CHRIST, who is God over all, " blessed for ever, afsist and watch over you, keep you " from all evil and fin here, and present you before his "Father faultless at the great day of account! To this "LORD JESUS CHRIST, the Father, and the blessed "Spirit, three perfons and but one eternal and invisible "GOD, be ascribed all honour, power, glory, might, " majesty and dominion, now, henceforth, and for ever " more. Amen, Amen."

"The grace of our LORD JESUS CHRIST, the love of "GOD, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost be with "you ail, to comfort under, and deliver you from tri"bulation; to preserve you to your respective places of "abode; and when there, to keep you in his fear, that " you may live to his glory, that to live may be "CHRIST's, and to die be your eternal gain; fo that you may live with him through eternal ages, and fing "Hallelujahs to him for ever. Amen."

66

SERMON

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1

SERMONVI

Britain's Mercies, and Britain's Duty.

• Preached at Philadelphia, on Sunday, August 24, 1746. and occafioned by the Suppreffion of the late unnatural Rebellion.

PSALM CV. 45.

That they might observe his Statutes and keep bis Laws

EN, brethren, and fathers, and all ye to whom I am about to preach the kingdom of GOD, I suppose you need not be informed, that being indispensibly obliged to be absent on your late thanksgiving-day, I could not shew my obedience to the governor's proclamation, as my own inclination led me, or as might justly be expected from, and demanded of me. But as the occasion of that day's thanksgiving is yet, and I trust ever will be, fresh in our memory, I cannot think that a difcourse on that subject can even now be altogether unfeafonable. I take it for granted, further, that you need not be informed, that among the various motives which are generally urged to enforce obedience to the divine commands, that of love is the most powerful and cogent. The terrors of the law may affright and awe, but love dissolves and melts the heart. "The love of CHRIST," says the great apostle of the Gentiles, " constraineth us." Nay, love is so absolutely necessary for those that name the name of CHRIST, that with out it, their obedience cannot truly be stiled evangelical, or be acceptable in the fight of GOD. "Although, (fays the apostle) I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burnt, and have not charity," (i. e. unless unfeigned love to Gon, and to mankind for his great