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Lord's table It ought to be a joyful, thankful application of the bleffings of Chrift's purchase to your fouls. Be ftrong in faith, giving glory to God; not only celebrate his love, but improve it, by afking, in faith, every thing neceffary to your fanctification and peace. I fhall fhut up all, by defiring you to use the Pfalmift's preface, in going unto God, who fays, in the 3d.verfe, O fend out thy light and thy truth; 'let them lead me, let them bring me into thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles.' In order to raise and elevate your minds, to fix and engage your unfettled hearts, apply to God, who hath the hearts of all men in his hand, that he would difpofe you for his fervice; that he would fhed abroad his love in your hearts, and make you joyful in his houfe of prayer. And my earnest prayer to God for you, is, that he would, at this time, convert fome, or (why fhould we limit him?) every profane finner in this affembly; pull off the mask of hypocrites, and shew them their own likeness; that he would make it a joyful communion to many of you, and a profitable communion to all. Amen.

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The Chriftian's difpofition under a fenfe of mercies received.

PSALM CXVI. 7.

Return unto thy rest, O my foul, for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee.

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is the language of nature, as well as of grace, to cry to God in diftrefs. When great extremity fhows the weakness of all other help, there remains fo much of God written on the confciences even of the most profligate, as excites them to this duty. The truth of this obfervation appears from many fcripture examples, as well as every day's experience. But though bad men may cry to God for deliverance from fuffering, they know little, if any thing at all, of returning to God in duty and gratitude, for the mercy received, Pfal. lxxviii. 34,-37. When he flew them, then they fought him; and they returned, and inquired early after God.

And they remembered that God was their rock, and the high God 'their Redeemer. Nevertheless, they did flatter him with their mouth, and they lied unto him with

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Ser. 6. 'their tongues. For their heart was not right with him; neither were they stedfast in his covenant.' See alfo the account of the ten lepers, Luke xvii. 12,-17. And as he entered into a certain vil

lage, there met him ten men that were lepers, ⚫ which stood afar off, and they lifted up their voices, and faid, Jefus, Mafter, have mercy on us. And, when he faw them, he faid unto them, go 'fhew yourselves unto the priests; and it came to 'pafs, that, as they went, they were cleanfed. And ⚫ one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turn'ed back, and, with a loud voice, glorified God, and ⚫ fell down on his face, at his feet, giving him thanks;

and he was a Samaritan: and Jefus anfwering, faid, • Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine?' They all cried alike for the cure; but the greatest part foon forgot their obligation to their merciful Saviour.

It is no way difficult to account for this behaviour in bad men ; but, alas! it is melancholy to think how much of this unhappy difpofition is to be found even in the best. When the preffure of any trial is felt, they flee to God as their refuge and security; with fervent fupplication, and earnest wrestling, they intreat his help. But, though we must not charge any fincere fervant of God with an entire forgetfulness of his goodnefs, or open desertion of his fervice; yet, I am afraid, that many are very defective in this particular; and that few, very few, preferve the fame folicitude to improve their mercies, as to obtain them.

My intention is to apply this to us, who have late

ly been at the Lord's table; and, I hope, before going there, not a few were earnest in their prayers for the divine prefence. Urged by the fufferings of this mortal body, the lofs of outward comforts, the power of inward temptations, or a defire of the re turn of an absent God, or the quickening of a flothful fpirit, they fought confolation in this holy ordinance; they went to feek the Lord, going and weeping. I hope alfo, and believe, that many went not in vain, but 'found him whom their foul loved, found him, and would not let him go. All fuch ought to imitate the Pfalmift in the spirit that breathes through the whole of this pfalm; and, particularly, in the words of my text: Return unto thy reft, & my foul, for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee.

I need only fay, in a very few words, that the whole pfalm is an expreffion of his gratitude for deliverance from great fufferings, from enemies cruel and treacherous. They were also of an inward, as well as an outward kind, as all his trials did ordiBarily bring fin to remembrance, and fill him with a humbling fenfe of the awful judgments of a holy and righteous God. He feems alfo to have been particulary exercised in prayer to God, his all-fufficicient help: ver. 3, 4. The forrows of death compaffed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and forrow. Then called I upon the name of the Lord; O Lord, I beseech thee, deliver my foul.' He thereupon celebrates the mercy of God, and wearing the bonds of love, defires to exprefs his obligations in the strongest terms, and

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to fatisfy them by the most chearful obedience: ver. 12. What fhall I render unto the Lord for all his ⚫ benefits towards me?'

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In difcourfing further, at this time, I fhall just obferve, that the words of the text contain the Pfalmift's refolution: Return unto thy reft, O my foul.--and the reafon on which it is founded; for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee. These two, as applicable to the fervants of God in general, and ourfelves in particular, I fhall distinctly consider, not in the order of the words, but in the order of

nature.

I. I fhall defcribe the ftate of thofe with whom God hath dealt bountifully.

II. Explain the import of the Pfalmift's refolution, which ought to be theirs: Return unto thy reft, O my foul.

And then shall make some practical improvement of the fubject.

. I. Then, I fhall defcribe the ftate of those with whom God hath dealt bountifully; and I am just to defcribe this, in its great lines, from experience, befeeching every one prefent to hear it with application; and to add fuch circumstances to the feveral particulars, as will make them completely suitable to his own ftate-Obferve, then,

1. That the Lord hath dealt bountifully with' thofe from whom he hath removed any affliction under which they groaned, and for deliverance from which they prayed.-If we would count

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