Ver. 25. the 8th Chapter to the ROMANS: X35 of, and unlooked for; Luke 21. 34. Take heed to your 'elves, left at any time your hearts be over- charged with forfeiting and drunkennefi, and the cares of this life, and fo that day come upon you unawares. See alfo Luke 12. 17, 18, 19, 20. And he thought within himlelf, faying, What (hall I do, becaufe I have no room to bellow all my fruits and goods? and he laid, This Iwill do, I will pull down my barns, and build bigger ;and fay to my foul, Thou ball much goods laid up for many years, take thine eafe, eat, drink, and be merry ; but God find unto him, This night thy foul (hall be required of thee. Pfal. t46. 4. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth, in that very day his thoughts perifh. Certainly the cares and pleafures of this world, fteal away the heart from the life tet.come; worldly de- lights make us unwilling to remove. 3. Meditate often on the worth of this blefednefi,. Col. 3, a. If ye be rifen with Chrift, feek thole things which are above, where Chrifi ftteth at tie right hand of God. Are you unwilling to come to God, the obje& of your everlafting joy and love ? to Chrift your blef(ed Redeemer and Saviour, who hath done fo much for you, to brirg you home to himfelf? To the innumerable company of Saints and holy Angels, and thole peaceful Regions that are above ? Surely if you hold your eye open upon the mark, you will prefs on with the more diligence. Phil. 3. 14. 4. The more earneilly you look for thefe things, the more doth heaven come to you, before you come to it, Phil. 3. a0. but our converfation is in heaven ; living for heaven, oa upon heaven here, by earneft hope, the joy of the Lord entreth into you, Rom. 15. 13. Now the God of hope fill you with all joy, in believing; the more our hearts are exalted to ) look after it ; but ufually we are taken up with toys and trifles. 3. US E. Have we this hope? You may be contented with a preftmptuous conceit, or idle expe&ation, and call it hope; 'tis not a flight thinking of heaven; no, but a cer- tain and defired expeetatiou of the promifed blefíednefs, according to the terms of the New Covenant ; the true hope is neither groundlef nor fruitlef. 1. Agroundlefs hope, is a falfe hope, which buildeth on falle promifes; you cannot render a.yar or an account of it, 2 Pet. 3. 5. as David asked the reafon of his doubts, fo we of our hopes, Pfal. 42. 15. hope thou in God; they think if they have confidence, though without holinefs, they (ball fee God; they hope to be Paved without regenera- tion, and fo hope for that which God never promifed 5 think to be faved, while unfan- &ified ; there build on falfe evidences; Jam. I. a t. build on the fand, dlatth. 7. 24. build on falfe experiences, Gods patience , the bleffmgs of this life, deliverance only ; their cry from eminent danger. Pfal. 78. 3$. vanifhing tufts, Heb. 4. 5. 2. 'Tis not fruit/eft. 4. USE, Is diretiion in the Lord Supper-; this duty was appointed to, raite and con- firm our hope, for a Peal of the Covenant, and the principal Covenant; blaring is e- ternal life. Three things are contderable, The ailing of hope, The receiving new "ledges of Gods love, The binding our felves to purfue everlafling life. 1. The ailing of hope. We come to take Chrift and all his benefits, which are Pardon and Life. He is drinking new wine in his Fathers kingdom, Matth. 26. 29. We come to think of the happinefs of the blet %d; Come are gotten to heaven already; we are of the fame family, Eph. 3. 15. of whom the whole family of heaven and earth is named. 'Tis but one hou(bold; Come live in the upper, Come in the lower room ; thofe on earth are of the fame fociety and community with them in, heaven. Heb. 12. 23. To the general AJmbly, and the Church of the full born, which are written in heaven. They have gotten the (tart of us, and are made perfe& before us, that we may follow after; we are reconciled to the fame God, by the fame Chrift, Cel. 1. 20. we expe& our portion from the bounty of the fame Father; Luke 12. 32. He that hath been fo good to that part of the family which is now in heaven, will he not be as good to the other part allo, that remain here upon earth? Therefore, they that are working out their falvation with fear and trem- bling, may, and ( hould incourage themfelves, and look upon this felicity,, as prepared for them, though not enjoyed by them, and will one day be their portion, as well asofthofe others who have paffed the pikes, and are now triumphing with God. The Apollle telleth us, 1 Cor. t 1. 26. As often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, yelbew forth the Lords death, till he come; and he cometh to bring us up to thole bleffed tnanfons which are in his Fathers houle; when we (hew fortlifthe Lords death, we are to think of thole that are in our fathers houle, ,John ;4. 3. 1 will come again,and receive you to my Pelf, that 9 G á tnheTt
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