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to ferve Chrift, and live to Chrift, I may fay, the Table of the Lord is prepared for you, furnished for you: Je fus Chrift invites you to come thereunto, and you will be welcome Guefts; whom he will feaft and fatisfy. Bring with you defires of Communion with Chrift, of conformity to Chrift in Holiness, and fear not to come, for he calleth you.-Which leads to

PROP. 3. Such as thirst after spiritual Bleffings, are invited by Chrift, to come to him for them. They are the next and immediate Subjects of his Invitation. And three Ways he invites them.

1. By his written Word.In the Gospel, which Jefus Chrift has left us in Writing, there are many Invitati ons to fuch as fpiritually thirst: as in forecited Job. vii. 27. If any Man thirst, let him come to me and drink. So Rev. xxii. 17. Let him that is athirst, come. And whofoever will, let him take the VVaters of Life freely. Such Invitations as thefe, recorded in the Scriptures, are as really made to thofe who fpiritually thirst now, as to them who lived in the Days of Chrift and his holy Apostles. The Voice of Chrift in all thofe Invitations is directed to every one that thirsts, to the end of the World. Whenever then you read any fuch Invitation, you may apply it to yourfelves, if you thirft after fpiritual Bleffings, and may fay, Chrift herein calls to me to come to him. For he as really does fo, as if he had invited you by Name.

2. By the Miniftry of the Word.-Gospel Minifters ate Chrift's Meffengers, whom he fends to invite thirsty Sinners, to corne to him for the Waters of Life. This our Lord reprefents to us in the Parable of the Marriage- Feaft, Matth. xxii. 2, 3, 4. The Kingdom of Heaven is like unto a certain King which made a Marriage for his Son, and fent forth his Servants to call them that were bidden to the VVedding, but they would not come. Again, be fent forth other Servants, faying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my Dinner, my Oxen and my Fatlings are killed, and all Things are ready; come unto the Marriage.

In the preaching of the Word, the Minifters of Chrift do call upon Sinners to go to Chrift for all fpiritual faving Bleffings. And their Calls are the Calls of Chrift. For Chrift calls by them. 2 Cor. v. 20. Now then we are Embaladors for Chrift, as though God [Incarnate] did beseech you by us; we pray you in Chrift's Stead, be ye reconciled to God. And hence it is, that Chrift owns the Calls they give to Sinners, and follows them with his Bleffing, fo as effectually to turn them to himself.

3. By the Motions of his Holy Spirit on their Souls.— The Spirit of Chrift does, under the Gofpel, work upon the Hearts of Sinners. He convinces them of their finful and undone Eftate by Nature, of the Evil and Danger of their. Ways of Sin; he convinces them of their Need of Jefus Chrift to be the Saviour of their Souls from Sin and Wrath. He raifes in them Defires after an Intereft in Chrift, and faving Bleffings. Now all these Workings of the Spirit on the Souls of Men, are so many inward Calls and Invitations to repair to Jefus Christ, for that Mercy and Salvation which they need. 'Tis Chrift who fends the Holy Spirit to do thefe Things. Job. xvi. 7, 8. I will fend the Comforter to you, and when he is come,be fhall convince the VVorld of Sin, of Righteousness,and of Judgment. And therefore the fecret Calls of the Holy Spirit, are the Calls of Jefus Chrift by whom he is fent.

APPLICATION,

USE I. Of Exhortation to all, to labour after thirfy Defires of Spiritual Bleffings. O reft not until you find in you ardent,longing Defires after fuch Bleffings.-Some Things here by way of Motive and Direction.

1 Mot. If you do not thirst after fpiritual, Bleffings, you will most certainly mifs of them. If they are not defired, they fhall never be enjoyed, Chrift pours Water only on the thirsty Soul. Ifa. xliv. 3. For I will pour VVater on him that is thirsty, and Floods upon the dry · Ground. He gives living Water to none but them that afk it. John iv. 10. Thou wouldeft have asked of him, and

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be would have given thee living VVater. If therefore you do not long, and feek for fpiritual Bleffings, you will have no Share in them. And if you partake not of them, you will die in a chriftless and graceless Eftate, which will be Bitterness in the latter End. You will die in your Sins, which is a moft dreadful Thing. That was an awful Denunciation, Job. viii. 21. Ye shall die in your Sin.

2 Mot. You will eternally and penally thirst for fpiritual Bleffings in the other VVorld, but in vain. Tho' you may now defpife, and not defire thefe Bleffings, yet it will not be fo always. In Hell, Sinners will earneftly beg for an Intereft in Chrift, in Pardon, Peace with God, and eternal Glory, but all to no Purpose. Then it will be too late, to defire and cry for thofe once difregarded Bleffings. So far fhall they be from obtaining these fpecial Favours, as that they fhall not obtain the least common Favour; not fo much as a drop of Water to cool their Tongues in thefe burning Flames, Luk. xv. 24, 25-And Oh what a Torment will it be, ever to crave, and never to have! The wife Man fays, The Defire accomplished, is fweet to the Soul, Prov, xiii. 19. And confequently, on the other Hand, the Defire not accomplifhed will be bitter and painful to the Soul. O let us fear, left it come to this with us at the laft.

Direct 1. Study the Vanity and Emptiness of all earthly Things, which our Defires are fo apt to go out greedily after. One great Hindrance of Defires after fpiritual Bleffings, is our immoderate craving and purfuing temporal Bleffings. And never fhall we really pant after fpiritual Bleffings, 'till our inordinate Defires after the Creature be abated. And therefore Chrift, who in the Text calls on us to thirst after fpiritual Bleffings, does in the following Verfe call us off from a Purfuit of worldly Bleffings. Now, that our Defires after thefe outward. good Things may be moderated and deadened, let us feriously ponder upon the Infufficiency and Unfatis-. factorinefs of all created vifible Enjoyments. The very best of Creatures are but Cifterns, broken Cisterns, that

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can hold no Water, Jer. ii. 13. There is nothing in them, that can really refresh and fatisfy the Soul, as we may hereafter fee.

Direct. 2. Study the Excellency and Necessity of Spiritual Bleffings. Take a View of them in their tranfcendent Worth and Excellency. No Bleffings are comparable to thefe. They are of an excellent, divine, heavenly Original, flowing down in an immediate Way from the God of all Grace. They render fuch as are poflefled of them, the most excellent Creatures in the World, Pfal. xvi. 3. Prov. xii. 26. Thereby they are made conformed to the glorious God himself, whofe Image confifts in Knowledge, Righteoufnefs, and true Holinefs. No Bleffings are of fuch Excellency as thefe. Think hereon.Again, ponder upon the abfolute Neceffity of fpiritual Bleffings. Though never fo excellent, yet if we could do well enough without them, we need not be fo folicitous for an Intereft in them. But they are fuch Bleffings which we ftand in the greatest Neceflity of. Without them, we cannot ferve God, we cannot glorify God, we cannot enjoy God. Without them, we cannot be happy in this World or thatwhich is to come. Miferable fhall we be for ever, if we live and die uninterested in thefe Bleffings. O then confider, if any Things ate worthy to be defired, thefe Bleffings are fo. They are our Crown and Glory, our Felicity and Bleffednefs. He that has thefe, is truly rich and honourable. Meditate hereon.

Direct. 3. Beg of God to raife Spiritual Defires in your Souls. 'Tis God only that can open your Eyes to fee the real Excellency and Neceffity of fpiritual Bleffings. And 'tis God only that can draw forth the Defires of the Soul after them. None can come to Chrift with Defires after an Intereft in Chrift and his Benefits, but Juch whom the Father draws, Joh. vi. 44. Cry then to God in Chrift, as the Spoufe did, Cant. i. 4. Draw me; we will run after thee.

USE 2. Exhortation to fuch as do fpiritually thir Go to Chrift. for the Satisfaction of your Defires. Are there

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there Soul-longings in you after fpiritual Bleffings? repair to Chrift for them. Go to him, and fpread all your Wants and Defires before him, and intreat of him the fupply of them.---Confider, that he is able to fatisfy all your Defires. He can do for you abundantly above and beyond all that you are able to ask or to think. There is an All-fulnefs dwells in him, from whence your empty Souls may be filled, as will hereafter be shown. He can pardon your Sins, though never fo great. He can mortify your Lufts, though never fo ftrong. He can fanctify your Souls, though never fo filthy.And as he is thus able to do for you, fo likewife is he willing to do all this for you. His Invitations given to you teftify this, as may be fhown under the next Doctrine. Go then to Jefus Chrift for all that Mercy and Grace you need, and be affured that he will give Grace and Glory to you, and withold no good Thing from you.

DocT. II. The Invitations of Jefus Chrift to thirty Souls are general, free, earnest, and repeated. I fhall fpeak to each of thefe particularly, and briefly.

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1. The Invitations of Jefus Chrift to thirsty Souls are general. Every one that thirfts, is here called upon by Jefus Chrift to come unto the Waters, and to buy and eat, to buy Wine and Milk. None of them are excluded or excepted. So the Invitation of Chrift runs in other Places. Job. vii. 37. If any Man thirst, let him come to me and drink. Any Man, whoever he be, that thirfts after Chrift and his Benefits, is invited to come to him, that his Thirft may be fatisfied. So Rev. xxii. 17. Let him that is athirst, come: and whosoever will, let bim take the Waters of Life freely. Such as defire fpiritual Bleffings, as have a Will to partake of them, are invited to come and take them. Let a Man thirst, be he who he will, and what he will, the Call of Chrift to him is, to come to Chrift for what he defires. 2. The Invitations of Jefus Chrift to thirsty Souls are free. They are here invited to come, and buy,

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