tho' never so unexpectedly, and without the least warning. He, who is poffefs'd of these divine graces, is always fit, without any further preparation, for death and heaven, and then undoubtedly fit for any means and ordinances of religion whatso

ever.

But here I fhall be ask'd, how a man can know that he is thus prepar'd? I anfwer, his own mind must tell him, and if he doth but confult it honeftly and with fincerity it will. No body but himself can inform him, whether he be in temper and difpofition, in firm purpose and refolution to quit all his fins, without the least referve, and to endeavour, to the utmost of his power, to live for the future, as becometh the gospel of Chrift. No body can tell him, what he believeth, what he unfeignedly acknowledgeth to be true, but himself; nor can any other be able to inform him, whether he heartily forgiveth all men their trefpaffes, and is ready upon all occafions to do them the most good he can. No man knoweth the heart of a man but himself; and he may know it if he be faithful to himself. Otherwise we are in vain call'd upon in fcripture to ex

amine ourselves, to try our thoughts, and confult our confciences.

Well, but you have formerly examin'd your felf, and thought your felf rightly dif pos'd in all these points; but you found by your after-behaviour, that you deceiv'd your self, and therefore how shall you truft your felf again? I anfwer, the more fenfible any you are of mistake you have formerly made in this matter, the more heedful and watchful over your felf ought you to be for the future. It may be your heart was in right temper before, when you thought it fo, but you let it flide back afterwards; therefore, tho' you think you stand now, take heed left you fall. It may be you were careless and remifs in examining your felf before, and then it is no wonder that you found your felf mistaken; therefore be ftrict and severe with thy felf now, that thou may'st be mistaken no more.

But

may you venture to go to the facrament, immediately upon your converfion from your fins? Must you not stay some confiderable time to try, by your actions, whether your purposes of amendment are fincere or no? Yes, if you cannot trust your self, you had best so to do; if

you are

in doubt of it, you must not dare to mock God. But if, after a thorough fearch and examination of your felf, you are fully fulfuaded, that you are really beginning a new life, and that you shall persevere in it, I fee no reason then why you should not come; come to him that refresheth fuch as are weary and heavy laden; come to him who having wrought in thee to will, according to his good purpose, will infallibly, if it be not thy own fault, work in thee to do likewise, and fo finish the good work, which he has happily and graciously begun in thee.

We read in the Acts of the apostles, that the new converts to chriftianity, without any time of trial, were immediately admittted to the Lord's fupper; for fo we are told, Acts ii. that all, the whole three thousand new converts there mentioned, immediately after their converfion, continued in breaking of bread, that is, in the communion of the Lord's fupper. And therefore I can see no reason, why a man, that really thinks a true change of mind wrought in him, fhould not prefently, upon his affurance of fuch a change, from an honest and impartial examination of him

felf,

felf, hope that he is a fit gueft for our Lord's table. Efpecially confidering how kindly the prodigal fon in the gospel is received and treated by his Father, even immediately upon his return.

I shall add no more, but that I most earneftly beseech men to be very faithful to themselves in this weighty business of self-examination. They are the only persons that can suffer by making a falfe judgment of themselves, and therefore it highly stands them in ftead, so to judge themselves, that they be not judged of the Lord; so to search and examine their own confciences (and that not lightly, and after the manner of diffemblers with God; but fo) that they may come holy and clean to fuch a heavenly feaft, in the marriage garment required by God in the holy fcripture, and be received as worthy partakers of that boly table.

CHAP.

I

CHAP. III.

Of frequency of communicating.

you

Shall not here detain with a long account how the primitive chriftians communicated at firft once a day, then daily for a confiderable time, and at length never feldomer than once a week. The ftate of the church, while in its infancy, and under perfecution, required then a more frequent performance of this duty, for the strengthening and comforting of its members, and for the propagation of the faith, than now, when it is well grown, and generally spread, and has gotten helps and advantages from fecular intereft and power. And therefore the example of the primitive christians in this point, circumftances having much varied between their times and ours, cannot be an exact rule to us. However thus much we may very fairly infer from it, that we ought to be frequent in VOL. III.

S

this