ing, both of humane fympathy and of chriftian regard. They will recall the many fimilar fcenes through which they have paffed, they will enter into his fentiments, and feelingly share in his grief. If he be affaulted by fearful and dubious temprations, they will remove them by expofing their fallacy, and by affifting him to more worthy views of the goodness and mercy of God. If he fill continue gloomy and dejected, and pouring out his fad complaint, they will comfort and fupport him by explaining and applying the promises, by fhowing him how exactly they defcribe his mifery and point out his ftate, and how the grace they hold forth is covenanted in the moft definitive manner to all perfons in his fituation: they will unfold to him the perfon and glory of Chrift, the efficacy and extent of his death, and his infinite compaffion and readiness to save mankind. If he be diftreffed for a fenfe of God's pardoning love, or to be reftored to the joy of his falvation; they will account his diftrefs their own, and join in fervent and repeated interceffions to obtain the bleffing of their heavenly Father. If he be perfecuted by men, or chaffened of the Lord, they will refer him to numerous examples of virtue and fortitude; or support him by arguments of patience and fubmiffion: they will affure him, that his afflictions are tokens of the Redeemer's love: After this manner it is, that the Holy Spirit hath enjoined us to preach good tidings to the meek, to bind up the broken hearted, and to comfort all that mourn;---to rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep..

2. A fecond advantage, is the holy emulation and courage with which it tends to infpire the penitent, upon hearing of the grace and comfort that others have received of the Lord. No confideration can be more animating than to hear the experience of those who are just delivered from guilt and condemnation, who are exulting in the joys of remiffion, and exhorting all to praife the Lord and to truft in his word. He is hereby fo perfuaded of the mercy of God, and fo determined to feek it, as to befiege the throne of grace, and to feize the blefling by the facred violence of importunity and faith. The converfion of his fellow chriftians not only furnish him with new arguments to plead with God, but often are a means of quickening a whole fociety, or productive of a more general revival. Moreover, the fincere and confcientious believers are frequently extremely diftreffed to find in themselves emotions of felf and pride, or tempers contrary to the love of God and man, and their faith is weak as to the great promife of the New Covenant, because fome have faid that our deliverance from fin muft be co-eval with our deliverance from the body. Now when they hear the experience of any of thofe happy few, whofe exterior piety adds luftre to their teftimony; when they hear how the Lord has faved them from all obduracy and unbelief; how he has fhone upon their foul with the glorious light of puri

fying faith and perfect love: how he has filled them with joy unfpeakable, and fo fealed them with the abiding comforter, that like Stephen in martyrdom, or Paul and Silas in prifon, they feel the utmost compaffion towards their most inveterate perfecutors. Their words will be animating as the words of Caleb and Jofhua were to the men of Ifrael. The weak believer will then receive the promise of entire fanctification with grateful confidence, and meekly aspire at that purity of heart which is requifite for the vifion of God. In fine, whether we hear the converfation of the wife; whether we are moved with the fervent devotion and zeal of others; or whether we perceive their fimplicity, meeknefs, and humility, we fhall be covered with holy fhame on account of our manifold infirmities and defects, and ftimulated to afpire at thofe higher degrees of wifdom and virtue which distinguish their character, and adorn their life.

8. Another advantage arising from the weekly claffes, is the encouragement and affurance they afford to all weak and dejected believers, or to thofe that are recovering from fome inconftancy or relapfe; and few there are indeed, who have not at fome time or other been frongly tempted to doubt the reality of their converfion, or expofed to gloomy reasonings concerning the evidence of their acceptance. During the period of their first love, it is true, they are altogether fuperior to every temptation of this nature; mean while, they have not the leaft fulpicion of the latent evils of their heart which are apt to feed upon their comforts, and inceffantly prompt them to levity, unwatchfulness, and pride. In fuch cafes, the Holy Spirit is grieved, and withdraws or fufpends his facred comforts, they are expofed to dubious reafonings and temptations concerning their flate and experience, in order that they may acquire a better acquaintance with themfelves, and learn in future to be more humble, and keep themselves in the love of God. The gloom and dejection of fome other believers does not proceed fo much from a want of piety, as from nervous diforders, and from a habit of looking too much at their paft fins and prefent infirmities, and too little at the grace and ability of the Lord Jefus. They fear that their repentance and faith were infincere, that their tranfient comforts were the emotions of paffion, and not the genuine gift of the Holy Spirit. Now as both thefe de fcriptions of weak believers, are far more candid and liberal in judging the ftate of others than their own, they will receive very much inftruction and affurance from a frequent hearing of their experience. They will inftantly perceive that others are incommoded with a corrupted nature, expofed to reasonings and temptations, and liable to viciffitudes of mind in common with themselves they will read their own experience in the experience of others, which of courfe will afford them a high degree of fatisfaction, and enable them clearly to diftinguilh between the emotions of paffion and the confolations of the

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bleffed Spirit. From a review of the whole, they will easily con clude, that although they have not the faith of the more advanced, they have neverthelefs the faith of the feeble children of God. Elated by these hopes, fupported by these evidences, they will approach their heavenly Father with a filial confidence, and conveife with the facred fource of light and love, till darknefs be fcattered, and their hearts again enlarged with his comfort and grace; and till they are as fully affured of their pardon and acceptance as they were confcious of their finfulness and mifery.

4. A more important confideration yet remains, which illuftrates the utility of the weekly claffes to higher advantage: there is no mode of divine worship, or of focial edification, that fo happily tends to enlarge the flame of our mutual love and affection. Love is the brightest ftar in the conftellation of our chriftian virtues; and accordingly has been more strongly inculcated in the Scriptures than any other. "A new commandment, fays Jefus, I give unto you, that ye love one another;" and again, "Love one another as I have loved you." "He that loveth not his brother, fays John, abideth in death." Chriftian churches and religious focieties are not united by legal covenants, or combined by fecular interefts, but by the more hallowed ties of mutual affection. Love is their fole bond and foul of union; and all obedience which does not proceed from it, is confidered beneath the chriftian character, and unworthy the divine acceptance. Love is their peculiar or moft diftinguishing characteristic; and has done more towards difarming the malice and gaining the esteem of their enemies, than one can readily conceive. "See, faid the heathen, how thefe chriftians love one another." And fo faid the Lord Jefus," By this fhall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye love one another." Whatever mean therefore is best calculated to further its growth, and bring it to maturity, ought to be cultivated with the utmoft affiduity and care. And, as it is a received maxim in Theology, that we love God in proportion as we know him: fo alfo with regard to our brethren. We may, it is granted, know that they belong to Jefus, because they keep his commandments; and by being members of the fame church, by a knowledge of their amiable tempers, and by the daily habits of friendship we may have con racted a very strong attachment; yet are we incapable of knowing, and confequently of loving them as we do thofe who difclofe their experience in mutual confidence. Where a communication of experience is neglected, we can be acquainted only with the exterior chriftian; but where it is improved, we fee the interior; and difcover at once the happy correfpondence between their outward walk, and their inward piety, And, having long been accuftomed to lay open our hearts, and to fympathize in all our temptations and diftreffes, to edify and comfort one another in the Lord, our love must have grown In propartion to our faith, and likewife in proportion to the perfuafion we have of each others piety: we must have formed an

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intimacy of the most facred kind, and fuch an union of fpirit as none can know, but those who know it by happy experience. is then, and not till then that we become acquainted with the purer charms of religious fociety, and with the real endearments which fubfift among the children of God.

5. Mutual communion is further recommended by its being a moft powerful prefervative to all young profeffors, against a relapse into any of their former fins. And indeed, the far greater part of those who have refolved to quit their vain and wicked courfe, and to dedicate the fubfequent part of their life to God, have found upon trial that their feeble refolutions were, at first, unequal to the force of temptation. Their vows in the morning were violated in the evening, because they were not the offspring of virtuous habits, but the refult of chagrin and fear, or of remorfe for recent guilt. Seldom, therefore, did they furvive the affault of repeated temptation. And even the ftrongest of those who ftand alone, and are indifferent as to the counfel and communion of faints, feem to be ftrangely infenfible of the dangers to which they are exposed. Were any pleafing or lucrative vice to prefent itself, they are deftitute of all restraint and admonition from the church of God. And as their relapfe would be fupported by innumerable examples in the world, they are the more eafily beguiled by that fatal fophifm of fleshly wifdom, "I may fin to-day and repent to-morrow." So then they fall in heart before they have the opportunity to enjoy either the emollument or pleasure of their favourite vice: they fall alone, and they have none to lift them up. Now, it is impoffible for these men to make much progress in religion, while they keep at a distance from God's people, and hide the corruptions of their heart, as a fecret disease.— Moreover, by concealing their good defires, they take the most effectual method to extinguish them; but by making them known, they acquire confiderable ftrength and vigour. A religious connection would fupport them by the happieft arguments and brightest examples of faith and virtue, and be a moft valuable fubftitute for the coolness or lofs of their carnal friends. If they be really defirous of a change of heart, they cannot be premature in fecuring a change of company; nor fhould the confideration of their weaknefs and paft inconftancy, deter them from afking advice, and joining the people; for God is able to keep them from falling and to preferve them blameless unto his fecond coming. The eye of a fpiritual leader, the affectionate care of their brethren, and the confideration, that they have difclofed their cafe to the faithful, and openly espoused their caufe before the world, would be pow erful motives against their befetting fins, and ftrengthen them against the force of future temptations. So very animating is the influence of religious fociety upon all its members, that the powers of darkness have manifeftly adopted and pursued the maxim, firft to divide, and then devour. Eve was deceived in her hufband's abfence; Joalh departed to Idolatry after the death of Jehoiada;

Jehoiada; and Peter denied his mafter while warming himself with the wicked.

6. As mutual communion tends, on the one hand, to preferve the inconftant from going aftray; fo it tends, on the other, to purify the church from the daily advances of lukewarmness and formality. Were it the diftinguishing characteristic of a chriftian, merely to hear the word, to receive the facrament, and to talk largely of the hiftory and doctrines of Chriftianity, then the formalift might fill up his place to advantage and credit; he might difplay his talents, and dictate to the fimple: but when he is de fired to favour us with fome account of the progrefs which his foul is making in the divine life, he feels a painful emotion, and moftly replies in a negative or evafive manner. Finding, at length, that he cannot diftinguish himself among a people who with him to tell them what he is, rather than what he knows, he will be obliged, as well as inclined, to reprefs his high pretenfions to experimental knowledge; and to content himself as a bare hearer of the word, instead of coming forward as an active and judicious member of the church of God.

Of lukewarm and degenerate profeffors, it may be remarked, that they cease to love their clafs, in proportion as they ceafe to love their God. After lofing their fpiritual life and comfort; after cleaving to riches, pleasure, and living from day to day without repentance in the fight of God, it becomes a very painful talk to speak to others of their fate and experience; because they are filled with pride and felf-efleem, in proportion as they degenerate in humility and the love of their Maker. Instead, therefore, of meeting their brethren with joy, they are looking every where for an excuse, and as much with a view to pacify their confcience, as to apologize for their abfence. They say it is hurry of business, engagements with company, or unexpected, occurrences, which prevent their meeting. This is their falfhood and diflimulation; when at the fame time, it is not these outward things, but their own heart which is the greatest impediment. So they continue till their brethren despair of doing them good, and are obliged, with the utmost reluctance to discontinue their names. If this fevere, but neceffary branch of difcipline, were not enforced, there would be no diflinction between the precious and the vile; and our focieties would foon degenerate into the ordi nary ftate of mere parish chriftians! But if we adhere to the true and original defign of these social means; if we comfort the feeble, reflore the fallen, and chafe from among us the formal and the vain, we fhall retain our piety and zeal, and be preferved blamelefs and devoted, till the earth fhall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the fea.

7. It is finally observed, that mutual communion is infinitely advantageous to our public ministry, by giving us every necessary information concerning the people's ftate and experience. We are not endowed with the powers of omnifcience; we cannot, as

the