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news, that my Lord will not die, nor my Rock fall. He once died for me, but he is rifen again; good news! Now he is alive, and will die no more.

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They shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and mourn. Tus had, but finners when brought HIS promife hath a refpect, not only to the Jews to repentance. We have all pierced Chrift, in as much as our fins were the cause of his death; He was wounded for our tranfgreffions. Now, a believed fight of a pierced Saviour, is the beft fpring of forrow for fin; it is faith's look to a crucified Chrift, that will fet us a ́mourning after a godly fort. O that this promife may be made good to me at this time, that I may be helped to look believingly upon Chrift as pierced for my fins, my pride, my paflion, my unbelief, my carnality, my difobedience, my impenitence, my fins of the heart, of the tongue, and of the life, that I may confefs and bewail them, mourn and weep over them before the Lord. Oh! when fhall I mourn and weep if not now, when I am called to lock upon my dear Lord and Surety at his table, all red with blood for my red and fcarlet-coloured fins? I will not row ftand afar off, and look to my Saviour on the crofs, as thefe women who followed him from Galilee, Luke xxiii. 46. No, I will come clofs to him, take a near look, and a narrow view of his wounds and piercings by fins, that I may fee how wide and deep they are, that my eye may affect my heart with godly forrow for fin.

When I look on him, I'll confider the dignity of the perfon pierced by and for me; he is the Almighty Creator, the glorious Emmanuel, the Plant of renown, the Prince of the kings of the earth, that is pierced and nailed to a crofs. Jeremiah laments in the captivity, that princes were hanged up by the hands, Lam, v. 12. But what were the princes of Ifrael to the Prince of Peace, the King of Glory, whom I fee hanging nailed

through the hands on the crofs, and his blood poured out like water upon the earth! O it is royal blood, the blood of God, that I fee running down to fatisfy juftice for my fins; and will not fuch a fight cause me to mourn for them? Can I look on my lovely Redeemer, ftript naked, mounted up, and fixed with nails to a tormenting cross? Can I fee his head pierced with thorns, his back pierced with fcourgings, his hands and feet pierced with big nails, his fide pierced with á spear, and his heart pierced with forrows for my fins, and iny heart not mourn for them? Yet all the piercings and wounds of his facred body were but fall, to the piercings and agonies of his foul, when he drank the cup of his Father's wrath for me, which made him cry out, My foul is exceeding forrowful even unto death; my God, my God, why haft thou forfaken me? Can I behold this loving Jefus, ftanding in my room, bearing the wrath of a Deity for me, and my heart not bleed! Can I fee him, when the sword of justice was drawn to fmite me, opening his breaft to receive the ftroke into his l:eart, and my heart not melt within me? Lord, grant me fuch a fight by faith, of a wounded bleeding Saviour, as to make me a melting and mourning finner.

How can I leave this fubject until my heart be more affected? Had I been perfonally at Mount Calvary, and with my bodily eyes had feen my dear Redeemer racked and nailed to the tree! Had I feen him lifted up between heaven and earth, that the nations might behold him, with his arms ftretched out to embrace finners! Had I beheld his dying looks, and heard his dying groans! Had I feen his precious blood for many hours run from his wounded hands and feet to the earth? Could I have ftood by with dry eyes, or an unconcerned heart, especially when I had thought he was fuffering all this out of love to me, for my fins, and in my room!-Why then fhould I not be as much concerned, when I come to his table to celebrate the memorial of that fearful tragedy, and look upon the outward signs. which reprefent the fame! Lord, give me faith's eye to behold the things fignified thereby, even the bleed

ing and dying of the glorious Emmanuel.--And what kind of blood is it I fee running down? It is innocent blood! precious blood! royal blood! heart blood! Nay, the blood of the eternal Son of God, one drop whereof is worth an ocean of our blood, and is of infinite value; and yet behold all this blood is fhed for fuch worms as I am! O can I think long upon this fubject, and not find my heart pained with love, and be ready, with Jofeph, to feek a fecret place to weep in? Had an ordinary man been executed for my crime, it would have affected me all my days; how much should it touch me to fee the Son of God put to death for me! The fun fainted, the heavens mourned in black, the earth qua ked, and the rocks rent, when this black tragedy was acted; how much more fhould my heart rend and mourn at the reprefentation of it before my eyes! Surely my mourning fhould be great, deep, and bitter mourning, as in the text, like the mourning of a parent for the death of an only fon; or like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddo! O what was the death of King Jofiah to the death of King Jefus, the eternal Son of God! O my dear flain Lamb, fhall I not mourn and weep over thee!

Oh! can I fee his blood run down in streams, and my eyes not pour out fome drops! Did Christ sweat blood, and weep blood for my fins, and shall not I weep tears for them! Shall I not give drops of water for ftreams of blood! Alas! I am more fparing of my tears for Chrift, than Christ was of his blood for me! How fast did the blood trickle down Chrift's cheeks in the day he wore the crown of thorns 'for me? But how flowly do the tears fall from my eyes when I commemorate his dying love? Can I fhed tears in plenty for a dead child! and have I referved none for a flain Saviour! Yea flain by my fins! How fad is it to fee fo many weeping eyes at a funeral, and fo many dry eyes at a communion table? Alas! this is, a fad fign of few looking by faith to him we have pierced! few fenfible of the evil of their fins, that were the hammers which drove in the nails into his body. O for a realizing act

of faith, reprefencing all that the Lamb of God fuffered, in the greatest certainty and clearest evidence, that it is no devised fable. O for an applying and appropriating act of faith, to bring all home to myself, and fay, He loved me, and gave himself for me!

What a hard heart is this I have beyond others! Can I fee others weeping and mourning over a flain Saviour, that fit at the same table, eat the same bread, and drink the fame cup with me, and cannot I get one tear! Is God come with his bottle waiting for my tears? Do others pour into it plentifully, and have I not one tear to drop into God's bottle? Lord, what means the hardness of my heart, and the dryness of my eyes, àt the fight of my Saviour's bleeding and dying for my fins? When should I mourn and weep, if not now! Was there ever fuch an occafion for tears! Oh! doth God intend to referve weeping for me in hell, where tears fhall never be dried up! this is what I deserve, if I be hard-hearted and dry-eyed now. But, Lord, pity my hardness, and give me fuch a look as thou gavest Peter, that may caufe me to weep, and weep bitterly, at the remembrance of my fins which pierced thee.

MEDITATION VIII.
From Luke xxii. 61, 62.

The Lord looked upon Peter-And Peter went out and wept bitterly.

ORD, fince my looks to thee are fo flight, wavering and inconftant, that they make little or no impreffion upon my hard heart, do thou vouchfafe to look upon me with pity and with power; for thy looks are efficacious, and melt down the hardeft heart. O give me fuch a look as thou gaveft Peter, when he denied thee, and began to curfe and fwear: A look that may bring me to myself, and cause me to weep, and weep bitterly at the remembrance of my fins, my unbelief, my pride, my paffion, my difobedience, which pierced thee, my deareft Lord and Saviour. Look thou upon me, and be merciful unto me, Pfalm cxix. 132. Chrift's look

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to backfliding, Peter was merciful, and full of compaffion; his bowels yearned for his poor difciple, when ready to fall into the devil's arms by total and final backfliding, and prevents him fpeedily. He would not let him lie long in that dismal state he fell into, as it were on the very brink of hell, but presently plucks him back, and recovers him. In like manner, Lord, look on me, and recover me fpeedily when I fall into fin, left my next step be into hell.

Chrift's look to Peter was a preventing look; he looked on Peter before Peter looked to his Saviour for mercy, and before he looked on himself, or upon his fin, and the danger he was expofed to by it. Glory to my Redeemer that watches over his people, fees and minds their danger, when they themselves are little thinking upon it; he is more careful of them than they are of themselves. How marvellous was Chrift's love, that would be fo concerned about Peter at fuch a time, when he himself was amidst his bloody enemies, and upon trial for his life? Even then, as it were, he forgets his own danger, and takes notice of the danger of his fervant: He, being the great Shepherd of the sheep, ventures all to refcue one of his flock out of the mouth of the lion, and from the paws of the bear. O who would not defire to belong to the flock of fuch a faithful, loving, and compaffionate Shepherd!

The look Chrift gave Peter was a convincing look; it laid open his fin to him with all its aggravations, which made it very bitter to him. It fpoke fuch language to him as this; O Peter, what haft thou done! Haft thou caft off thy Saviour! And haft thou faid, thou knoweft not me, who knew thee from the womb, and am going to die for thee? Doft thou not know me that called thee from thy nets, that empowered thee to preach the gospel, and work miracles; that kept thee from finking in the waters? Am not I he thou faeft Shining on Mount Tabor? Even he thou faidft thou would rather die than deny? O for fuch a convincing look from Chrift, that would pierce and melt my heart, and make me weep bitterly, both now and at his table, for my bafe ingratitude, in difowning and piercing my dear Redeemer!

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