hand to receive whatsoever God hath a mouth to speak What is the Object He in whom you trusted It is a wonder to see how many are deceived who make the forgiveness of sins to be the proper Object of faith A man may call as long as he lives for forgiveness of sins yet unless there be the first Act to lay hold on Christ in vain doth he expect forgiveness of sins Until thou dost accept Christ for thy King and Saviour thou hast no promise We are never Children of the Promise till we are found in him The proper and immediate Object of Faith is first Christ and then God the Father by him For Faith must have Christ for its Object I must believe in none else but God in and through Christ. Now that this is so we may see in that famous place 1 Pet. 1.21 When he had spoken of the precious blood of Christ the Lamb without blemish he goes on and shews that he was manifested in those last times for you who by him do believe in God that raised up Christ from the dead and gave him glory that your faith and hope might be in God There is no true believing in God the Father but by the Son The proper Object of Hope and Faith is God and he that doth believe or hope or trust in any thing else there is Idolatry in it we believe in God by him so that the primary Object of Faith is Christ. Gal. 3.26 Ye are all the Children of God by Faith in Jesus Christ. What 's my Faith then If thou wilt be the Child of God receive hold Christ Jesus accept him for thy Saviour and for thy Lord He is the proper Object of thy Faith Again you must have Christ Jesus and him crucified that should be the highest knowledge in our account To know Christ and him crucified and by it to accept him Hereupon the Apostle to the Romans when he speaks of faith makes the Object of it Christ and Christ crucified Rom. 3.25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood to declare his Righteousness for the remission of sins that are past through the forbearance of God Whatsoever then thou findest in Christ is an Object of thy Faith John 6. The point is He who eats my flâ—sh and drinks my blood that is he who receiveth me and makes me as his meat and drink dwelleth in me and I in him ver 56. Compare this Rom. 3 2â— with Rom. 5.9 for its worth comparing We are said to be justified by his blood Rom. 5.9 By faith in his blood Rom. 3.25 Now both these come to one and they resolve the point and clear the Question whether Faith in it self as a Vertue doth justifie or in respect of its Object surely it s in respect of the Object You that have skill in Philosophy know that heat if considered as a quality its effects are not so great but considered as an instrument it transcends the sphere of its own activity it doth wonders for its the principle of generation and many other strange effects So here take faith as a Vertue and it s far short of love but consider it as an instrument whereby Christ is applyed and it transcends it works wonders beyond its proper sphere for the meanest thing it layes hold on is the Son of God He that hath the Son hath life c. Some would think this an hard kind of speech when we are justified by faith we are justified by Christ apprehended by faith and yet that place is clear to be justified by his blood And faith in his blood becomes one faith As if a man should say I was cured by going to the Bath So faith comes unto Christ faith is the legs A man is not said properly to be cured by going to the Bath nor justified by coming to Christ by the legs of faith but the applying of the Bath the coming to Christ and applying of his vertue to make him the Object of my faith this is the way to be justified As it is not the making and preparing of a plaister that cures but the applying it so that this concludes this point that the true Object of faith is Christ crucified and God the Father in and by him Here then is the point thou must not look for any comfort in faith till thou hast Christ and to think thou shalt ever have any benefit by God till thou Christ thou deceivest thy self It is impossible for a man to receive nourishment by his beead and drink till he partake of it in the substance so thou must pertake of Christ before thou canst receive any nourishment by him Christ saith not thou must have forgiveness of sins or thou must have my Fathers favour but take my body and blood take me crucified Buy the field and the treasure is thine but thou hast nothing to do with the treasure till thou gettest the field This is preferment enough to have the Lords Promise to Abraham I am thy exceeding great reward I am my well-beloveds and my well-beloved is mine There is a spiritual match betwixt Christ and thee There are many who are matcht with Christ and yet know not how rich they are When a man reckons of what he shall get by Christ only when all his thoughts are on that he marrieth the portion and not the person thou must set thy love on Christs person and then having him all that he hath is thine How rich Christ is so rich art thou he must first be thine He that hath the Son hath life but the Son must first be had Is there any now in this congregation who is so hardhearted as to refuse such a gift as this When God shall give thee his Son if thou wilt take him is there any so prophane as with Esau to sell his birthright c. To pursue the poor pedling things of this life and refuse salvation so high a gift A gift which is not given to Angels they think it an honour to wait at the Lords Table They have not this precious food given to them they never tast it and therefore many Christians on serious consideration would not change their estate for the estate of Angels Why Because hereby Christ is my Husband I am wedded to him he is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh which priviledge the Angels are not capable of Our nature is advanced above the Angelical nature for we shall sit and judge the world with Christ judge the twelve Tribes of Israel And what an high preferment is this Nay observe this and take it for a Rule Never beg of God pardon for thy sins till thou hast done this one thing namely accepted of Christ from Gods hands For thou neâ—er canst confidently ask any thing till thou hast him For all the Promises of God are in him yea and Amen This may serve for the Object of faith to shew that the primary Object is Christ
of the hidden Manna and will give him a white stone and in the stone a new name written which no man knows save he that receives it that is there is a particular intimation that I shall know of my self more than any other more than all the world besides It is such a joy as the stranger is not made partaker of Prov. 14.10 such joy as is glorious and unspeakable 1 Pet. 1.8 Such peace as passâ—th all understanding Philip. 4 7. One minute of such joy surpasseth all the joy in the world besides Now consider sure there is such a thing as this joy or else do you think the Scripture would talk of it and of the Comforter the Holy Ghost by whom we know the things that are freely given us of God 1 Cor. 2.12 There is a generation in the world that hath this joy though you that know it not do not nor cannot believe it there is a righteous generation that have it and why dost thou not try to get it do as they do and thou mayest obtain it likewise The secrets of the Lord are revealed to them that fear him and he will shew them his Covenant Psal. 25.14 These are hidden comforts do you think God will give this joy to those that care not for him No the way is to seek God and to labour to fear him The secrets of the Lord are revealed to such and such only as fear him do as they do and follow their example and thou mayest have it likewise Object Many have served Christ long and have not sound it Sol. It is long of themselves you are straitned in your own bowels or else Open your mouths wide and God will fill them No wonder that we are so barren of these comforts when we be straitned in our selves There is a thing wondrously wanting amongst us and that is Meditation If we could give our selves to it and go up with Moses to the Mount to confer with God and seriously think of the price of Christ's death and of the joys of heaven and the Privileges of a Christian if we could frequently meditate on these we should have these sealing comforts every day at least oftner This hath need to be much pressed upon us the neglect of this makes lean souls He that is frequent in that hath these sealing days often Couldst thou have a parley with God in private and have thy heart rejoyce with the comforts of another day even whilst thou art thinking of these things Christ would be in the midst of thee Many of the Saints of God have but little of this because they spend but few hours in Meditation And thus as this hour would give leave have we proceeded in this point 1 COR. 11.29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily eateth and drinketh Damnation to himself not discerning the Lords body I Have heretofore declared unto you the ground of our salvation and have represented unto you first Christ offered for us and secondly Christ offered to us Now it hath pleased Almighty God not only to teach us this by his Word but because we are slow of heart to believe and conceive the things we hear it pleases his glorious Wisdom to add to his Word his Sacraments that so what we have heard with our ears we may see with our eyes being represented by signs There is a visible voice whereby God speaks to the eyes and therefore we find in Exod. 4.8 God bids Moses that he should use signs saying It shall come to pass if they will not believe thee neither hearken to the voice of the first sign that they will believe the voice of the latter sign Signs you know are the Object of the eye and yet see they have as it were a visible voice which speaks to the eye Now God is pleased to give us these signs for the helping 1. Of our Vnderstanding The eye and the ear are the two learned senses as we call them through which all knowledge is conveyed into the soul and therefore that we may have a more particular knowledge of Christ God hath not only by his Ministery given us audible voices but visible also in his Sacramenss by which as by certain glasses he represents to us the Mystery of Christ Jesus offered for us and offered to us And hence is it that Paul calls the eyes to witness as well as the ears Gal. 3.1 O ye foolish Galathians who hath bewitched you that you should not obey the Truth before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth crucified amongst you That is before whose eyes Christ hath been crucified not by hear-say only but evidently before your eyes not in any foolish Crucifix with the Papists but in the blessed Sacrament wherein he is so represented as if his soul were before our eyes poured out to death so that by these Sacraments heavenly things are as it were clothed in earthly Garments and this is the first reason viz. to help our Vnderstanding But besides he doth it 2. To help our Memory we are apt to forget those wonderful things Christ hath wrought for us And therefore verse 24. and 25. Of this Chapter we are bid To eat his body and drink his blood in remembrance of him To take the signs as tokens of him the Sacrament is as it were a monument and pillar raised up to the end that when ever we see it we should remember the Lords death until be come It s said 2 Sam. 18.18 That Absolom in his life time had taken and reared up for himself a Pillar which is in the Kings dale for he said I have no son to keep my name in remembrance He would fain be remembred bu he had no Child whereby he might live after he was dead therefore he raises it and calls it after his own name Absoloms place as it is this day That so as often as any came that way they might remember him Christ doth thus by his Sacrament and erects it as a Monument for the remembrance of his death and as it were calls it by his own name saying This is my body and this is my blood That when ever we see them we may call to mind Christ offâ—red for us and to us But that I may apply this my Doctrine to the ears also know that 3. These signs are for the strengthning of our faith and therefore it is considered as a seal Rom. 4.11 Abraham received the sign of Circumcision as a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised It helps our understanding by being a sign and is a confirmation a seal by vertue whereof Chrlst is passed and made over to us so that we have as true an interest and right to him as to our meat and drink yea he becomes as effectually ours for every purpose in our spiritual life as our meat and drink doth for our corporal To which end these Elements are changed spiritually in their natures not in substance
but in use so that which was but now a common bread becomes as far different as Heaven is from earth being altered in its use For instance the wax whereby the King passes over an inheritance to us and by which conveyances of our estates are made that wax is but as another piece of wax differing nothing from that which is in the shop till the King hath stampt it with his Seal But being once sealed one would not give it for all the wax in the Kingdom for now it serves to another use so is it here in these elements but still know the difference is not in the matter or substance but in the use And this is the reason why this blessed bread and wine is termed a communion namely because it is an instrument whereby Christ inflates me into himself and whereby I have fellowship and communion with him In the words then we have these particulars viz. 1. A sin If any man shall presume to eat that bread or drink that cup unworthily It s a dangerous thing a great sin to eat and drink at the Lords Table in an unworthy manner 2. A punishment He eats and drinks damnation or judgment unto himself So that now what was ordained to life and appointed to be a seal and confirmation of Gods love and favour is now changed and become a seal and confirmation of Gods anger and indignation The unworthy receiving of it makes it prove clean contrary to what it was intended 3. A reason because he discerns not the Lords body but takes them as ordinary things deeming the elements not different from the bread and wine which we have at our Tables not knowing that they are the dishes wherein Christ is served in unto us that by these the greatest gift is given us and nourishment conveyed for the maintenance of our spiritual life This life was given us in baptism but in and by these signs is conveyed spiritual nourishment for the continuance and maintenance of it for the strengthning of our faith and making us daily stronger and stronger to fight the Lords battles Now when we discern not this nor by the eye of faith see Christ Jesus crucified for us and by these elements conveyed unto us but take them hand over head without any consideration we receive them unworthily and a fearful indignity is offered unto Christ which he will certainly revenge I 'le then 1. Shew in general what it is to eat worthily 2. What it is to eat judgment and then 3. I l'e come to the particulars how this sin may be avoided and what the particulars are wherein the sin consists 1. Concerning the first What it is to eat unworthily Obj. And here may some say is there any of us who can avouch that he eats and drinks at the Lords Table 〈◊〉 is any so presumptuous to say that he is worthy to eat Christs flesh and drink his blood As for bodily food and entertainment we are unworthy to present them to him The Centurion could say I am not worthy that thou shouldst come under my roof How then comes this to pass that he which eats and drinks the Lords body unworthily eats and drinks damnation to himself If we are not worthy to present bodily food unto him can we be worthy to receive spiritual food from him Sol. But here understand what is set down worthiness is not alwayes taken for a matter of merit or proportion of worth between the person giving and receiving but in Scripture it 's often taken for that which is meet fitting and beseeming And in this sense the Apostle uses it 1 Cor. 16.4 If it be meet that I go also they shall go with me If it be meet The word in the Original is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or worthy which is here rightly translated meet so in that Sermon of Saint John Baptist Mat. 3.8 bring forth fruits meet for repentance that is fruits beseeming amendment of life And in this sense are we said to walk worthy of God who hath called us to his Kingdom and glory Worthy of God that is worthy of that calling God hath imparted to us 1 Thes. 2.12 And therefore to use the similitude as I have elsewere If the King should vouchsafe to come into a Subjects house and find all things fit and beseeming so great a Majesty that Subject may be said to give the King worthy entertainment not that a Subject is worthy to entertain his Prince But the meaning is he provided all things which were meet and fit for the entertainment of him So is it here if we prepare our selves with such spiritual ornaments to entertain the King of glory as are requisite for those who approach his Table though our performances come far short of the worth of his presence yet we may be said to eat his body and drink his blood worthily When the King in the Gospel had prepared his feast two sorts of guests there were who where unworthy 1. Those that made light of the invitation who had their excuses when they should come to the feast One must go to his farm another to try his Oxen c. Luk. 14.18 2. Others there were who came and yet were unworthy guests for coming unpreparedly for in the midst of the feast the King comes in to view his guests and beholds a man that did not refuse to come but yet came without his wedding garment and so came unworthily for not coming preparedly Ye see then there may be an unworthiness in those that do come since they come unfitted and in a dress unbeseeming such a banquet They are unworthy receivers of the Lords body and he accounts it an irreverent usage of him In like manner may some say touching the Ministery of the Word May not I read a good Sermon at home with as much profit What needs all this stir Why here 's the advantage and priviledge you get in the publick Ministery of the Word God himself comes down as a King amongst us he views his guests and considers who comes with his wedding garment who comes preparedly Christ comes and looks on us and where two or three are gathered together in his name there he hath promised to be in the midst of them Math. 18.20 He walks in the midst of the golden Candlesticks The Ministers of his Word he takes a special view of those that come and frequent his Ordinances and is ready ever to reward them You see then what it is to eat worthily it s to do it with that reverence that is requisite where the King of Heaven is the Master of the Feast Now this being the sin unmannerliness and unprepared approaching his Table we come to the second thing viz. 2. The punishment And that 's a terrible one He that eats and drinks unworthily eats and drinks damnation to himself Damnation that 's somewhat hard the word in the Margent is better 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 judgment True there are such as so come
's to no other purpose to thee to come to the Sacrament that if thou wentest to a Mass to see the Gesticulations Elevations or if thou wentest to see a play not knowing to what end and purpose it was done Such a one is not a friend of God but an enemy that shall be destroyed in everlasting fire that knows not him Deceive not then your selves but seriously weigh it and consider what a Judgment falls on us for this What an unworthy thing is it when as in one months space or less if a man had any care he might learn as much as would bring him to Heaven What saith the Apostle 1 Cor. 15.34 Some have not the knowledge of God I speak this to your shame And a shameful thing it is indeed when the knowledge of the Principles of Christian Religion may be had in so short a space to be so grosly ignorant as commonly many are It 's a most unworthy and a shameful thing to think the knowledge of Christ not worth thus much pains Thou that carest not for the knowledge of God's ways what hast thou to do to take his Word into thy mouth to tread in his Courts I doubt not but very many here too are but Babes in Christ. An ignorant person then cannot possibly come worthily for w◠are to come with faith and Faith cannot be without knowledge And hence are they joyned both together By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justifie many Isa. 53.11 By his knowledge not subjectivè but objectivè the knowledge of him if thou knowest not him his Nature and Offices the end of his offering himself and wilt be still a meer Ignoramus come not to God's Table go to Nebuchadnezzar and feed with him amongst the beasts Dan. 4.33 thou hast nothing to do here Nay the very beasts among whom he fed will upbraid thee For the ox knoweth his owner and the Ass his master's crib but thou art like stupid Israel which did neither know nor consider Isa. 1.3 This is the first sort 2. The second are those that obey not the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They have wit enough and can talk of Religion fast enough but where is the obedience is required I know the Lord gives me the proffer of Christ Jesus can I cast down my proud Will and submit it lay down my stately plumes and take him not only as my Priest to sacrifice himself for me but as my Lord and my King to be guided governed and ruled by him when such a one comes that hath not the power of grace in him who is filled with nothing but Rebellion and profaneness when such a one comes and presumes to sit down at God's Table it is a most unworthy Act It 's more fit that such a one should feed amongst the swine than eat the body and drink the blood of his Saviour Nor is it an unworthy Act for these only but also for civil honest persons though civility be a good stook whereon the sience of grace may be grafted but if a man had nothing besides what nature and Education can teach what moral Philosophy can store us with we have nothing to do at this Table of the Lord. How can I dare presume to eat Christ's body and drink Christ's blood that am not acquainted with God know not the Principles of Religion and will not be swayed by him nor be obedient unto his Gospel These are the particulars then which make a man an unworthy Receiver First when he is an ignorant person and secondly when he will not obey the Gospel of Jesus Christ such persons are to be discarded and cashiered they eat the Judgment of condemnation unto themselves But there are as I shewed you a second sort that come that have interest in the business such as have Knowledge Grace and Faith in Christ and shall taste of the new wine with Christ in the world to come and be with Christ which notwithstanding may eat and drink unworthily and come unpreparedly and irreverently whereby they lose that comfort that otherwise they might have and these though they eat not the Judgment of condemnation yet they do the Judgment of chastisement they put God's seal to a blank but the former sort put it to a false instrument they put it to a blank I say and by that means lose much comfort yea temporal life it self too perchance They eat a Judgment of Chastisement by putting it thus to a blank they taste God's displeasure in sickness weakness and death but I will shew you how you may avoid this why come worthily Fit your selves to the purpose set to it and thou shalt see one Communion will even bring thee to Heaven I say if that thou couldst but at one Communion fit thy self to come worthily thou wouldst find exceeding comfort in it Try the Lord once and see what a mighty encrease of grace this will bring unto thee That you may know how you may come worthily there are three things requisite to every worthy Receiver at the Lord's Table 1. Some things are requisite before the Action be enterprised or else I shall come very unworthily 2. Some at the time and in the very act of Receiving 3. Others after the Communion is ended Many will be perswaded that there is some preparation to be used before hand but never do as much as dream of any after whereas if a man neglect this the Lords meat is as it were lost in us 1. As for those things which are requisite before we come to the Lords Table they are these 1. A Consideration what need I have of the Sacrament Is there any such necessity of it Examine then what need have I to eat my meat and receive my drink When we see God brings this before us let us reason thus with our selves it is as needful for the nourishment of my soul to receive the Sacrament as for my body to take meat and drink This is that whereby we are spiritually strengthned and enabled to hold out to the last And here I 'le not stand to dispute the case whether a man may fall from Grace or not And no doubt but he may yet I say not that he doth I say no doubt but he may and why There is such an opposition and antipathy betwixt the flesh and the spirit that did not God refresh the spirit now and then it might be overborn by the bulk of our corruptions Now Gods Ordinances are appointed to keep it in heart and refresh it as the sick spouse was staid with Apples and comforted with flagons Cant. 2.5 And God hath appointed his Sacrament of the Lords Supper to strengthen and continue that life which we received in Baptism as by spiritual nourishment In Baptism our stock of life is given us by the Sacrament of the holy Eucharist it is confirmed and continued If a child be born only and after birth not nourished there is none but will know what a death such a soul
will die It will quickly perish by famin So it is here unless Christ be pleased to nourish that life which he hath breathed into me in baptisme and by his Ordinances â—o give me anew supply and addition of grace I am a dead man I am gone for ever upon this ground that I receive not the never perishing food that endureth as Christ who is himself that meat teacheth us unto Everlasting life Joh. 6.27 Therefore upon examination being conscious and privy to the weakness of my faith to the manifold imperfections of my spirit to my want of knowledge the frailty of my memony my often doubtings the dangers of relapsing and falling back in my Christian progress I cannot but apprehend that it is no needless thing for me to come both often and preparedly to the Lords Table 2. The next action requisite before my coming to the Sacrament is the whetting of my appetite and preparing of my stomach I must come with an hungry desire as a man that comes to his meat that would live and be strong We think meat very ill bestowed on him that hath no stomach Unless we eat Christs body and drink his blood we can have no spiritual life All the question and the main business is whether I come hungry thirsty or not as an hungry and thirsty man with an Appetite after his meat and liquor longing after Christ as the Hart after the water brooks Psal. 42.1 When a man comes dully and as Children that play with their meat cares not whether he eats or not when a man comes I say without an appetite its time for God to take it away from him It s an unworthy comming to come with an unprepared stomach and without whetting our faith to feed on Christ Jesus crucified 3. The third action requisite to a worthy Comer is cleansing of himself I would fain come may a man say to the Lords Table having such need of it as I have and having such an appetite and desire to feed on Christ but I am to come before a great King therefore I must wash mine hands in innocency Psal. 26.6 In the Gospel according to Saint Mark the Jews found fault with Christs Disciples because they came with unclean or common hands For so the word signifies and is so used by the Apostles as equivalent thereunto I have learned to call nothing common or unclean Rom. 14.14 Now when I come to meet the Lord in his Ordinances I must put off my feet for the place where I stand is holy Exod. 3.5 Wash your hands you sinners and purifie your hearts you double minded Jam. 4.8 The purifying of the soul is that which is required of every worthy Communicant We come now not to receive life but strength and that it may strengthen us we must of necessity cleanse our selves A stomach over-clogged with choler whatever meat be taken into it it turns it into iâ—s own nature so is it here unless the vessel be clean Quodcunque infundis acescit Christ Jesus the purest thing in the world is to come into my soul as into a sanctuary and shall not I fit trim and garnish it to receive him but leave it as a Pigâ—sty Know therefore that thou comest unworthily when thou comest with unwashed hands The people were to be sanctified when they came to receive the Law Exod. 19.10 And so must we if we will receive the benefit from the business in hand But I cannot stand on all I pasâ— from this therefore to the second thing I proposed and that was 2. Those things which were required of us in the action And there we have the acts of the Minister in the administration I must not look on these as idle Ceremonies but as real Representations otherwise we take God's name in vain I must look upon the Minister who represents the person of Christ and by the eyes of faith see Christ himself offered for me when I see the bread broken the wine poured out Whosoever therefore thou art who wouldst worthily partake of Christ at the holy Table behold him offered to thee when the Minister bids thee take and eat take and drink And when the Minister bids thee take know that in as good earnest as the Minister offers thee the bread and wine the Lord ofâ—â—rs thee his Son Christ Jesus Take Christ my Son dead and crucified for thee Consider when thou seest the Minister set the bread and wine apart how God from all eternity set apart his Son for us If we have not done this we must do it Exod. 12.3 See the manner of the setting apart of the Lamb which was a type of Christ In the tenth day of the month they shall take unto them every man a Lamb according to the house of their Fathers This Lamb was to be set apart and taken out of the flock And in the fifth verse It must be a lamb without blemish then you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month From the tenth day to the fourteenth it was to be kept This typified that Lamb of God that was so set apart Then was the Lamb to be killed by whom Vers. 6. by all the Congregation of Israel And thus was Christ to be singled out and to be slain Every mother's son had a hand in killing this Lamb of God He is set apart to suffer for sinners picked out as a singled deer which being designed to the game the hounds will follow only and no other Thus was Christ hunted to death by one sorrow after another till he gave up the Ghost upon the Cross. In the Gospel according to St. John we read how the people took branches of Palm trees and went forth to meet Christ cap. 12.12 13. and that was the day the Lamb was set apart and he was so set apart till the Jew's Passover This concerns me saith Christ. Christ saw himself typified in the Lamb that was set apart Observe then on that very day Father sath he Deliver me from that hour On that very day in the Lamb he saw himself to be sacrificed by all the Congregation of Israel We were all of us actors in the business not one here but had a hand in the offering up of the Son of God in killing Christ Jesus Thus for these actions of the Minister the setting apart of the bread and of the wine Then follows the breaking of the bread and the pouring out of the wine At the breaking of the bread consider Christ's flesh torn asunder all the lashes which made such scratches in his flesh the ruptures which were made by the nails and the spear that pierced his side The breaking of him by his Father the word signifies crushing him to powder God would break him saith the Prophet even to powder Isa. 53.10 At the consideration hereof how should our faith be stirred and set awake Thou takest God's name in vain if with a dull eye thou canst see things and not take it to heart
The next action is The pouring out of the wine This is my blood saith Christ Drink you all of this Dost thou see the wine poured out at that very instant consider how much blood Christ spilt how much he poured forth and that not only in the very time of his passion when he hung upon the Cross when the spears pierced his sides when the nails bored and digged his hands and feet But that which he shed in the garden in the cold Winter time when he shed great drops great clots of blood thickest blood that pierc'd his garment and ran down upon the ground Consider how much blood he lost when he was whipped and lashed When the spear came to the very Pericardium thus let us weigh his torments and it will be a means to make us much affected with his sufferings for us But this is not all there is another thing yet in the blood This was but the outward part of his sufferings Yet some there are who are against Christ sufferings in his soul If it were so say they then something either in the sacrifices of the old-Testament or in the new Testament should signifie it What ever such persons object against it I am sure there was as much in the sacrifices of the old Testament as could possibly be in a Type to signifie it Now that I may make this to appear know that in every sacrifice there were two parts or two things considerable and those were the Body and the Blood The whole was to be made a sacrifice viz. both Body and blood the body was to be burned the blood to be poured forth Now nothing in a beast can signifie the sufferings of Christ in soul better then the pouring out of the blood Lev. 17.11 The blood was the life and this is that which had a relation to the soul and was therefore as in the same place appears poured out as an attonement for the soul. And to this in our common prayers there is an allusion viz. Grant us gracious Lord so to eat the flesh of thy dear Son Jesus Christ and to drink his blood that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his body and our souls washed through his most precious blood And in Isa. 53.12 The Metaphor holds He poured out his soul unto death for us So that whatever some have fondly thought its evident and manifest that Christ suffered both in soul and body Both soul and body were made an offering for sin in the fashion of sin who knew no sin I should have gone further but the time cuts me off HEB. 4.16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need IN handling heretofore the Doctrine of the conversion of a sinner I declared and shewed you what man's misery was and what that great hope of mercy is that the Lord proposeth to the greatest sinner in the world I shewed unto you â—he means whereby we may be made partakers of Christ and thâ—t waâ— by the grace of faith which doth let fall all other things in a man's self and comes with an open and empty hand to lay hold on Christ and fill it self with him I shewed you also the acts of Faith as it justâ—fies And now because it is a point of high moment wherein all our comfort stands and in which it lies I thought good to resume it all again so far as may concern our practice that we may see what the work of God's Spirit is from the first to the last and the conversion of a sinner from the corruptions and pollutions of the flesh in which he wallowed and to this purpose have I chosen this place of Scripture wherein we are encouraged by God's blessed Word that whatever we are though accursed and the greatest sinners in the world and that whatever we want we should come to God's throne of grace And we are to think that whatever sins are or have been committed and though our sins are never so great yet that they are not so great as the infiniteness of God's mercy especially having such not only an Intercessor but Advocate to plead the right of our cause so that Christ comes and he pleads payment and that however our debts are great and we run far in score yet he is our ransome and therefore now God's justice being satisfied why should not his mercy have place and free course This is the great comfort that a Christian hath that he may come freely and boldly to God because he comes but as for an acquittance of what is already paid As a debtor will appear boldly before his creditor when he knows his debt is discharged he will not then be afraid to look him in the face Now we may come and say Blessed Father the debt is paid I pray give me pardon of my sins give me my acquittance And this is that boldness and access spoken of Rom. 5.2 In whom we have access by faith Now that I may not spend too much time needlesly come we to the ground and matter in the words Wherein there is 1. A preparative for grace 2. The act it self whereby we are made partakers of the grace of God First the preparatives are two The Law and the Gospel and wrought by them The first preparative 1. Wrought by the Law The Law works in a time of great need or rather by the operative power of the Law convincing us of sin we are made sensible of our need and deep poverty This is the first preparative for a man to be brought to see he stands in great need of God's mercy and Christ's blood so that the sinner cries out Lord I stand in great want of mercy His eyes being thus opened he is no longer a stranger at home but he sees the case is wondrous hard with him so that he concludes unless God be merciful unto me in Christ I am lost and undone for ever This is the first preparative and till we come to it we can never approach the throne of grace The second is 2. Wrought by the Gospel I see I stand in great need but by this second preparative we see a Throne of grace set up and that adds comfort unto me If God had only a throne and seat of Justice I were utterly undone I see my debt is extremely great but the Gospel reveals unto me that God of his infinite mercy hath erected a Throne of grace a City of refuge that finding my self in need my soul may fly unto And now to fit us for this God's blessed Spirit works by his Word to open unto us the rigour and strictness of the Law and our wants to enlighten our understandings that we stand in great need to win our affection and open the Gospel and its comforts Therefore first for the time of need The Law reveals unto us our woful condition to be born in sin as the Pharisee said and yet not
begun before not only to do but to be forward So we translate it but look in the Margent and it 's rendred to be willing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the Greek hath it as if the will were more than the deed it self for a man to come unwillingly 't is nothing worth the ground-work is the will which is a greater matter than the deed Nothing more separates a man from Christ than to say I will not have this man to reign over me Luke 19.14 But if thou canst frame thy will that it shall go perpendicularly on the object and accept Christ on the terms offered that 's faith and that hath the promise And therefore the Scripture compares it to conjunction with Christ. And as in the Sacrament we spiritually eat his flesh and drink his blood the conjunction is between Christ and his Church And therefore the Scripture compares our conjunction by faith to the mystery of wedlock What makes a marriage it's consent Wilt thou have this man to be thy Husband she answers I will that expression makes the marriage The knot is knit by this mutual pledging of troth all other things are but subsequents of it So God saith Wilt thou have my Son Thou shalt have with him all his wealth though for a time thou must go bare and fare hard yet thou shalt have a Kingdom When a man considers deliberately here is the loss I must deny my self and obey him but I shall have a Kingdom God's blessing and peace of conscience All things considered casting the best with the worst then the resolutioa is this is a true saying worthy of all acceptation c. I 'll take him on any terms be they never so hard for I shall be a saver in the end when we take Christ as it were with all his faults such his Cross and the afflictions of the Gospel seem to our carnal apprehensions though to S. Paul these were the chief indeed the only matter of his boasting God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ Galat. 6.14 When I say we can thus take Christ this is the Will c. this is the will which God requires There is another comparison in Scripture John 6.35 it 's compared to hunger and thirst Believing was expressed by coming Believing is expressed by hungring and thirsting So when I see such a will and desire after Christ that I hunger and thirst after him that a hungry man longeth not more for bread nor the Hart thirsteth more for the water-brooks than my soul doth for Christ why then there is a promise made unto us and a promise is never made unto us till we be in Christ. Matth. 5.6 Rev. 22.17 Esay 55.1 We find promises in them all in Mat. 5.6 Blessed are they which hunger and thirst after righteousness for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven they shall be filled Consider here what the nature of hunger and thirst is they shall be filled which implies they were empty before but now they shall be filled Suppose now I am not filled with Christ what am I without him No I want him yet there 's a blessing to the hungry and thirsty and there 's no blessing without faith If we be not heirs of the faith we cannot be heirs of the blessing Dost thou find in thy self an hungring and thirsting after Christ Thou art blessed this faith will save thee Now faith will say I am wonderfully pained faint and even starved that I cannot be filled with Christ yet be content man thou shalt be filled with him in the mean while thou hast him and hast blessedness with him and shalt be blessed It 's said 1 John 3.13 These things have I written unto you that believe in the Name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life and that you may believe on the Name of the Son of God Mark how the Apostle distinguishes these two things thou believest on the Name of Christ yet sayst thou though I believe I am not sure of my salvation I do not know it Why let not that much trouble thee that 's a consequent of it and that the assurance will follow after therefore you should not confound it with believing These things have I written unto you that ye might know c. then there is a conclusion to be deduced from the premisses so that a man may have full hold of Christ and yet not be fully assured of his salvation So tâ—en here is the will which is the first thing But the Lord works the deed also And whereas it is said that God takes the will for the deed the place had need be well understood When we say God takes the will for the deed it is not alwayes true unless it be thus understood When a man hath done to the utmost of his power what he is able hath endeavoured by all means then God will take the will for the deed but if there be ability in me and I do not as much as I am able I do not my utmost endeavour then God will not take it but now God works the will and the deed when a man comes to the Throne of grace and sets forward in his journey towards God the first thing he doth is to come to the Throne of grace with Christ in his arms and then having fast hold on Christ he hastens delays not having hold as Joab on the horns of the Altar 1 King 2.28 He hastens he sees it's no time to delay he sees its now a time of need and Need as the old proverb is makes the old wife trot Is it not need to make hast when the pursuer of blood follows to the City of Refuge who would make delays and demurs and not run as fast as his legs would carry him As soon as I apprehend my need and see the golden Scepter stretched out then I come with might and main with Christ in my arms and present him to the Father and this is the approaching and drawing near in the Text to the Throne of grace But now when I am come thither what do I say there What shall I come and say nothing The prodigal soon resolved to go to his Father and say I will up and go there 's the will and say there 's his Speech The believer is not like to the Son that said to his Father I will go but went not but when his Father bids him come he will come he will not only say so but will draw near and then he hath a promise He that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out Joh. 6.37 But when we come thither what must we do why we must take unto our selves words according to the Prophets expression Hos. 14.2 Take unto you words and go unto the Lord and say Take away all our iniquities and receive us graciously so will we render the calves of our lips When he comes to the Throne
unto it By the way then take notice of the filthiness of sin how filthy is it that the Lord compares it to the vomit of a dog Then there follows another comparison of it It is as the Sow that is washed and returns to her wallowing in the mire See another loathsome resemblance of this temporary faith the Sow was washed but how her swinish nature was not washed from her as long as the Sow is kept from the mire in a fair Meadow with the Sheep she looks as sleek and clean as they she was washed there is an external change but her nature remained bring the Sow and the sheep to a puddle the sheep will not go in because it hath no swinish nature but the other retaining its swinish nature though before in outward appearance as clean as the sheep was yet she goes again to her wallowing in the mire There may be the casting away of a man's sins and yet no new creature wrought in him That I may shew this to you take this example A man known to be as covetous a man as liveth he loveth his money as well as his God yet perchance this man is brought in danger of the Law and must be hanged for some misdemeanor committed this man to save his life will part with all he hath What is his disposition changed no not a whit he is as covetous as before he is the same man he doth it to save his life and to this end he is content to part with his money The same mind had those in the Acts of the Apostles who in a storm cast their wares into the Sea with their own hands Act. 27. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 willingly and yet half unwillingly for the saving of their lives they would part with these things yet it was with a great deal of repining and reluctancy As we read of Phaltiel when his wife was taken from him he followed behind weeping 2 Sam. 3.16 till they bid him be gone and return back So these men forsake their sins and hate them but it is but imperfectly they part with them but they part weeping Well at this parting there may be a great deal of joy it may taste not only the sweetness of the Word of God but because they are in a disposition and way to salvation they may have some kind of feeling of the joys and taste of the powers of the world to come as the Apostle speaks Heb. 6.4 It is impossible for those who were once enlightned and have tasted of the heavenly gift and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost c. There is a supernatural work wrought in them and they have tasted the good Word of the Lord they begin to have some hope and rejoyce in the glory of the world to come What is the difference then here is a tasting but as it is Joh. 6.54 it is not said he that tastes my flesh and tastes my blood but he that eats my flesh and drinks my blood hath eternal life There is a difference betwixt tasting and drinking there may be a tasting without drinking and the Text saith Matth. 27.34 When they gave Christ Vinegar he tasted thereof but would not drink He that can take a full draught of Christ crucified he shall never thirst but shall be as a springing fountain that springeth up to everlasting life but it shall not be so with him that doth but taste The Vintner goes round the Cellar and tastes every Vessel he takes it into his mouth and spits it out again and yet knows by the tasting whether it be good or bad the wine goeth but to his palate it reaches not the stomach So a temporary believer tastes and feels what an excellent thing it is to have communion with Christ and to be made partaker of his glory but he does but taste it Look in Hosea 5.15 where we have another instance of this temporary Believer Ye would think they sought in God in a good sort and in as good a manner as one could desire well but how did they seek him It was only upon occasion in time of affliction I will go and return to my place until they acknowledge their offence and seek my face in their affliction they will seek me early and again Hosea 6.4 The Lord complains of them notwithstanding They will in their affliction seek me early Was not this a fair returning Come say they let us return unto the Lord for he hath torn and he will heal us c. What a deal of comfort did they seem to gather from the wayes of the Lord But see what follows Hosea 6.4 O Ephraim saith the Lord what shall I do unto thee O Judah what shall I do unto thee For your goodness is as the morning cloud and as the early dew it goeth away that is it is but a temporary thing wrought by affliction which will not abide As when a wicked man on his death-bed desires that God would spare him and restore him to his health and that he would become a new man all this comes but from the terrours of death for it oft proves that if God restores him he becomes as bad if not worse than ever he was before But that I may not hold you too long 2. Take this for another difference That Gods children can as earnestly desire grace as mercy The temporary desire mercy but never desire grace The believer desires grace to have his nature healed to hate his former conversation The temporary never had nor never will have this desire should one come to the temporary believer and tell him God will be merciful unto him you may go on and take your fill of sin you shall be sure of mercy he would like this well and think it the welcomest news as could be because he only fears damnation and self-love makes him only desire freedome from that but now the child of God hates sin though there were no Hell Judge nor Tormentor he begs as hard of God for grace as for mercy and would do so were there no punishment His nature being chang'd he desireth grace as well as mercy which the temporary never does 3. The last mark is from the words of the Apostle Neither circumcision availeth any thing nor uncircumcision but faith which worketh by love Love and the new creature puts Gods children on work their hearts are first altered and changed by being made new creatures As the Scripture saith his flesh is circumcised he is a dead man dead not as formerly in trespasses and sins but dead unto them Ephes. 2.1 Rom. 6.11 Deadness argueth impotency of doing those things which a living man doth he cannot walk c. The temporary will not sin for fear of after-claps but this man cannot sin his heart is changed he is dead to sin we see how both abstain from sin but the temper and disposition is not alike The temporary believer perchance commits not the sin but he could find
Kingdom Luk. 12.32 We are all the children of God but it doth not appear what we shall be when he appears we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is 1 Joh. 3.2 He shall change our vile bodies and make them like his glorious body We are here sons but yet but in a strange Country no body knoweth what he is and therefore he meets with many affronts The King when he was in France went for an attendant on the Duke and is he troubled at it No he knew that the world knew it not they knew not what he was and therefore he is not troubled at it So is it with children of God but when they shall appear they shall be advanced and their enemies ashamed By the way let not the people of God be discouraged by the taunts jeers and reproaches of wicked men they know not what you are and therefore make light of you as they did of Christ himself Well besides what we have in reversion the very present hope of it works wonderful joy in the heart of a Christian. David did not live to see the glory of Solomon's Temple but he made provision for it and cast the model of it and he took much delight in the contemplation of what it would be The consideration of these hopes makes my flesh rest in hope and my heart rejoyce Psal. 16.9 The consideration of the resurrection made David's heart rejoyce The consideration of that which is to come should bring abundance of joy unto a Christian these are strange things not like the joy of a natural man for his heart is sad in the midst of laughter Prov. 34.13 but these rejoyce with a joy unspeakable and full of glory 1 Pet. 1.8 Here are some sparks some beginnings of the glory of heaven and of that great joy which we shall have hereafter but I cannot speak of these things in an hour But forasmuch as the Devil transforms himself into an Angel of light there is no work of God's Spirit in the hearts of his children but Satan like an Ape labours to imitate in the hearts of wicked men to make them secure we must know that there are joys in some who are not regenerate They that receive the Word on the Rock received it with joy The Word if it be apprehended and hath but the least footing brings joy with it But now to know how I may get this joy how beneficial a thing is it to have such a comfort on earth as to know that I have this true joy and to be able to distinguish this joy from the false joy from the flashes those fleeting joys of the wicked which are but as the crackling of thorns under a pot Eccles. 7.6 for theirs is but as a blaze that suddenly goeth out Now if thou wouldst know thy joy aright and whether it differ from that counterfeit joy which flesh and blood and the Devil suggests Look to the things that go before and produce this joy 1. The first thing that goeth before true joy and produceth it is an opening unto Christ when he knocks at the door of thy heart As in that famous place in Rev. 3.20 Behold I stand at the door and knock if any man hear my voice and open the door I will come in to him and sup with him and he with me There is if thou open a sweet and familiar communication between Christ and thee he communicates himself at dinner and supper A man comes not melancholy to meals Christ will come and make merry with thee he will sup with thee familiarly But how is it with thee Hath Christ knocked and thou hast given him a slieveless answer and hast thou joy it is a false joy But when Christ knocks at the door of thy heart there must be an opening the door on thy part when he knocks by his Word and Spirit And dost thou give such an answer as the Spouse in the Canticles Cant. 5. I am come into my garden my Sister my Spouse I have gathered my myrrhe with my spice I have eaten my honey-comb with my honey Now Christ coming to Supper knockt at the door and would bring in a great deal of joy I sleep saith the Spouse but my heart waketh it is the voice of my well-beloved that knocketh saying Open to me my Sister my Love my Dove my Vndefiled When God comes and wooes us and desires to communicate himself unto us and desires us to put off our cloaths dost thou look for comfort if thou openest not At last I opened to my Beloved vers 6. But he had withdrawn himself and was gone my soul failed when he spake I sought him but I could not find him I called him but he gave me no answer When thou givest not Christ entertainment when he comes thou mayest seek and not meet with him â—t is observed that the Keepers of the Wall are the greatest strikers Those whom God hath set to be Watchmen instead of comforting they smite vers 7. The Watch-men that went about the City they found me they smote me they wounded me they took my vail from me She gets raps from them who should protect her because she did not entertain Christ if thou findest any comfort after Christ hath knocked and thou hast opened unto him then it is true joy and thou mayest make much of it 2. If it be true joy there goeth faith before it for being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. So that the exercising of the acts of faith is a spiritual means to raise comforts in our souls Joh. 6. I had need to speak of this for there is want of the exercises of faith Is it enough think you â—o have faith once exercised He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me and I in him It is not enough to eat once a year A man will not be in good liking that eats but once a year but a man must eat once a day at least A Christian should feed on Christ every day make him his ordinary food renewing every day the acts of faith receive Christ crucified by faith every day If a Christian would consider that God offers Christ unto him every day and thou renewest thy faith and claspest him every day it would be a special way whereby joy should be raised in the soul. It is said in Rom. 15.13 We rejoyce in the hope of the glory of God Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that ye may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost Thus when thou hast exercised the acts of faith in believing and then upon that rejoycest then it is seasonable and true joy and not the counterfeit joy of the wicked when it arises and springs from believing when that procureth it it likewise distinguishes it from all false joys The Apostle tells us Philip. 1.24 Having this confidence I know that I
Christ should be lyable to these Passions But it is certain God the Father made an immediate impression of pains upon his soul his soul did immediately suffer Look on him in the Garden he was not yet touched nor troubled by men and yet he fell in a sweat Consider the season of the year this was then when they that were within doors were glad to keep close by the fire he thus did sweat in the Garden when others freez'd within this was much but to sweat blood thick blood clotted congealed blood for so the word will bear it not like that in his veins and yet it came through his garments and fell to the ground this is a thing not to be comprehended Our blessâ—d Saviours encountring with his Father he falls a trembling and is overwhelmed as it were with the wrath beseeching God intensively saying Father if it be possible let this cup pass from me Mat. â—7 39 thou mayst give free pardon which affections in Christ are such a thing as pusâ—els us all we must not say Christ did forget for what he came but he did not remember these words proceeded from the seat of passion which while it is disturbed reason suspends its Acts. Christ had Passions though no impurity in them As take a clear Vial full of water from the fountain and shake it it may be frothy yet it will be clean water still Christ did not forget only he had the suspension of his faculties for a time As a man in a sleep thinks not what he is to do in the morning and yet he is said properly to forget He cryed My God my God why hast thou forsaken me Matth. 27.40 He was contented to be forsaken for a time that thou mighst not be forsaken everlastingly and this was no faint prayer if you will read the place in the Psalm He cryed out unto God And Heb. 5.7 It 's said Who in the days of his flesh when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong cries and tears He cryed to the Almighty he made Gods own heart to pity He would break Isa. 53. yet his heart is repenting and rolled together so that he sent an Angel to support and comfort him Psal. 27. those strong cries are expressed with a more forcible word My God my God why hast thou forsaken me why art thou so far from helping me and from the words of my roaring Consider how it was with Christ before any earthly hand had touched him when he beseeched God for his life this shews the wonderful suffering of Christ and for that point Why hast thou forsaken me Consider it was not with Christ as with the Fathers they suffered a great deal of punishment and taches and would not be delivered yet Christ was more couragious than they all He had a spirit of fortitude he was anointed abve his fellows and yet he quivers Our Fathers cryed unto thee they trusted in thee and were not consumed they were delivered but I am a worm and no man I can find no shadow of comfort Lord Why art thou so angry with me this speech came not from the upper part of the soul the seat of reason but from the lower part the seat of Passion My God my God these were not words of desperation He held fast to God Why hast thou forsaken me these are words of sense thus you see the price is paid and what a bitter thing sin is God will not suffer his Justice to be swallowed up by Mercy It must be satisfied and our Saviour if he will be a Mediator must make payment to the uttermost farthing Consider what a time this was when our Saviour suffered The Sun with-draws his beams the earth shakes and trembles What aileth thee O thou Sun to be darkned and thou earth to tremble was it not to shew his mourning for the death of its Maker The soul of Christ was dark within and it 's fit that all the world should be hung in black for the death of the King of Kings But mark when he comes to deliver up his life and to give up the Ghost the vail of the Temple rent in twain and that was the ninth hour which in the Acts is called the hour of prayer it was at three a Clock in the afternoon Hence it is said Let the lifting up of my hands be as the evening sacrifice The Priest was killing the Lamb at that time there was a vail that severed the Holy of Holies it was between the place of oblations and the Holy of holies which signifies the Kingdom of Heaven Assoon as Christ died the vail rent and Heaven was open the Priest saw that which was before hidden Our Saviour saith the Apostle entred through the vail of his flesh unto his Father and fit it was that the vail should give place when Christ comes to enter but what becomes of Christ's soul now his soul and body were pull'd asunder and through the vail of his flesh as it were with blood about his ears he entred the Holy of Holies unto God saying Lord here am I in my blood and here is blood that speaks better things than the blood of Abel that cries for vengeance this for blessing and expiation of our sins JOHN 1.12 But to as many as received him to them gave he Power to become the sons of God even to them that believe on his Name HAving heretofore declared unto you the woful estate and condion wherein we stand by nature I proceeded to the Remedy that God of his infinite Mercy hath provided for the recovery of miserable sinners from the wrath to come And therein I proposed two things that our Saviour that was to advance us and raise us out of this condition when we had lost our selves in Adam did both deliver us from the punishment which we had deserved and also translate it upon his own person He did his own self bear our sins in his own body on the tree 1 Pet. 2.24 We having eaten sour grapes he was to have his teeth set on edge we accounted him smitten of God and buffeted but we had sinned and he was beaten That when the Lord in his wrath was ready to smite us he underwent the dint of God's sword and stood betwixt the blow and us the blow lighted on him that was equal with God and deserved not to be beaten Awake O sword against my shepherd and against the man that is my fellow The sword was unwilling to strike him and thus being smitten he became a propitiation for our sins The chastisement of our peace was on him He offered himself a sacrifice Here are two things considerable 1. How Christ was offered for us 2. How he is offered to us First For us and so he offered up himself a Sacrifice a sweet smelling Sacrifice unto God Eph. 5.2 Mark the point is he is not only the Sacrifice but the Sacrificer He offered up himself saith the Apostle He was the Priest and