At the Sacrament, April 11, 1742

God was pleased in a very particular manner to indulge me in all the duties of this day, drawing out my soul in earnest desires after him, and melting me to sentiments of uncommon gratitude in prayer and in the preaching of his word, when the approach of the day of death and of judgment was urged with great life and zeal, as an engagement to activity in good works, and to a holy conversation. Adored be Divine grace, that I then most deeply felt what I spoke, and that every word came from the soul.

At the table of the Lord my meditations were, by a conversation with Mary Wills, directed to those words, “Times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.” Acts iii. 19. I observed, that times of refreshment in a natural sense had come, by the plentiful rain which God had just been pouring out upon the ground; but that nobler refreshment was to be expected by the intercourse which the holy soul has with God, when extraordinary communications of his Spirit are poured out upon his church, and much more, when he shall, in his time, send Jesus Christ, his Son, from heaven at the day of the resurrection. Intercourse with God in ordinances is refreshino;. His love manifested to the soul, is like a cloud of the latter rain; therefore he says, “I will be as the dew unto Israel.” Hos. xiv. 5. See how the earth opens, and seems to breathe forth and to pant for refreshing showers; so does the pious soul long for God, and for his grace. The cool, refreshing delights of his favour nourish the soul, and the heart rejoices: like a bright shining after rain, when the flowers open their sweets, so then every ornament of piety grows more visible, and vour souls shall be like a watered garden. It is not by ordinances alone that this is effected; they are, at best, but streams of water flowing near a garden, until he, as it were, by his own hand pours them upon it; or rather, until he rains down the refreshinn; influences of his sfrace from heaven. There shall be times of refreshment, when the interest of God shall be revived. The world is a barren wilderness: “But I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground,” Isaiah xliv. 3; saith the Lord. It will be refreshing, if this be upon our barren spot at home; if God pours out his Spirit upon our seed, and his blessing upon our ofl”spring. And if he extends it round about us; if he thus waters this island of ours — a garden cultivated indeed, but which, alas!

wants rain. If he pours it forth upon remote portions of the world, and causes the wilderness to blossom like a rose! — On whom does not his sun arise? and on whom does not his rain descend! O that it may be thus with regard to gospel ordinances, and to the influences of his grace! O that his people may be made willing in the day of his power! that so he may have the youth for his heritage; and that in number the young converts may be like the drops of dew, born from the womb of the morning. This would be a delightful prospect. This would give our souls unutterable pleasure. This would, indeed, teach us to exclaim, “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: for mine eyes have seen thy salvation.” Luke ii. 29, 30.

But there is another time, and one of yet nobler refreshment, which shall undoubtedly come from the presence of the Lord, and in which we shall each of us have our own part; when Christ, whom the heavens are to retain till the time of the restitution of all things, shall come to set all things in order. Great disorder there seems to be, and it seems a mystery, that so many millions of his servants should die, and turn to dust. But he will roll away that reproach. He will make their death the everlasting monument of his power, and of his grace. How finely is this expressed in Isaiah; “Thy dead men shall live,” (speaking to the church,) “together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust.” Awake, and tune your new-made tongues to anthems of immortal joy and thankfulness: “for thy dew is as the dew of herbs;” Isaiah xxvi. 19; that is, a plentiful dew shall fall upon you, whose bones have been scattered like chips of wood upon the borders of the grave. A copious dew from the Lord shall descend upon you, and the earth shall cast forth her dead! A sumptuous and a glorious harvest shall suddenly cover the face of the earth! O how delightful a view! How refreshing to behold! How much more so to partake of that triumph! Some have thought, that those who were raised out of their graves at the resurrection of Christ ascended to heaven with him. Suppose that it had been so, and that they had all been assembled with him around the mount, and ascended to heaven in his train, what a pleasing sight to his disciples! How much more glorious a spectacle shall this be, which we shall not only behold, but share! — 0 my friends, in the view of it we feel a refreshment, and we may well believe it, for we see some things before our faces containing the memorial of a past fact, far more wonderful than this. The wonder is, that Christ should become incarnate and die; not that he should rise and ascend: and that, having died for his people, yet he should leave them for a while under the power of death; not that he should at length redeem them from it. Let us, then, commemorate that great transaction, which throws so beautiful a light upon the other, and which lays so glorious a foundation for our expectation of it.

At the Lord’s table, I urged the propriety of grateful returns, and put in my claim, in the name of Christ, to urge upon all the duty of love and service — the constant, faithful, zealous service, of all who would indeed believe in him. “What have you done for him since you were last at the Lord’s table? What will you do for him in the interval of time before the next? What can you contrive to do for his interest?”

rORTY-THIRD MEDITATION. 135

(Memorandum.) After this ordinance I thought of an expedient — to write a letter to dissenting ministers, to be delivered after my death to those who, for the time being, should be in the places to be mentioned in a codicil to my will.