your souls not to come hither in love with your sins or without resolutions to turn from every evil way Be it known to you God will be sanctified in those that draw neaâ— him and will severely punish irreverence and profane rudenesse in those that pretend to his solemn worship and service as you may see in that terrible instance of Nadab and Abihu Levit. 10.1 2 3. And for unworthy Receiving of the Lords Supper the Apostle tells the Corinthians For this very cause many were weak and sickly amongst them and many faln asleep and because they would not judge themselves therefore God judged them 1 Cor. 11.30 31. He 's an holy God and commands all those to be holy that hope for acceptance in their approaches to him And he 's a God that searches the heart so that there 's no hope of deceiving him Wherefore stand off all you that have design'd to persist one moneth or week longer in your rebellions against the Soveraign Majesty Dare not to offer so great an affront to him as to thrust in amongst his subjects whilst thou art a resolved traitour as if thou would'st make a triall whether he could discern thee in that croud He 's a jealous God and will not endure to be so tempted And sooner or later be sure thy sin shall find thee out If then thou dislikest the holy Laws and government of Christ take not an oath in a mockery that thou wilt be subject to him which beforehand thou intendest not to keep Here 's no jesting or dallying beware how thou playest with edge-tools These are serious things wherefore either be serious and sincere in thy medling with them or keep at a distance Avoid I say all you loathsom defiled sinners that are in love with your filth and will not be washed and cleansed whilst this is your posture you are no way fit to fit at the Table of the King of Glory there to Feast with his beloved friends whom he hath purified and made meet for his fellowship and favour But perhaps you 'l presently reply you like all this well enough this is that you would have and you agree with me to stay away as perceiving your own unfitnesse And are you indeed resolved to stay away and to continue in this unprepared posture as thinking you have hereby some more dispensation for a carelesse ungodly life than others have Alas poor wretches how willing you are to be cheated into misery And how desirous do you seem of a freedome to do your selves the greatest mischief But a little to undeceive you Let me assure all you that live upon this earth and are endued with reason whether you will bind your selves to God by this Sacrament or not there lie so many other indispensable engagements on you to his service that you have not the least liberty more than others to rebell against him and that will sufficiently appear if you do but consider these two things 1. The relation wherein you naturally and necessarily stand to God 2. Your more expresse and profest obligations to him For the first Consider Are you not his creatures and â—e your Maker And is he not the upholder of your being the lengthner of your lives and the giver of all your mercies Is he not therefore your owner and Governour Do you not owe your selves and all you have to him And is it not your duty to serve and obey him whether you have promised you will do so or not Do you think he hath no title to you till in some solemn manner you have profest subjection to him Do you think the service you owe to God is so purely a free-will offering that if you will render it you may and if not you are in no fault By this reason God must be much beholden to you for it What do not his Laws bind till you have given your consent Must he ask you leave to govern you Do you think it is with you in this case as with a Servant that owes this man or that no duty till he hath hired himself into his service Sure you cannot be so stupid But rather will you not yield that from your very birth you are at least as much obliged to obedience to your Maker as any Child to his Parent And pray tell me what would you think of that Child who when his Father bad him do any thing should stubbornly refuse and tell him he never promised him any such obedience Would you think this a satisfactory answer Do you not easilie perceive that Children are bound to obey their Parents even by virtue of that relation they stand in to them though they never enter into any formall engagement to be dutifull Even thus do you stand absolutelie bound to obey God the Father of Spirits before ever you professe you selves to be his people And all your professions though they are as so many farther ties upon you to obedience yet they give not God any new right to you which before he had not onelie hereby you acknowledge his right and promise to render him what is his due Hence then you may see what an absurd conceit it is that you may any whit more freelie sin against God before you have taken the Sacrament than after Can you be so sottish as to imagine that such excuses as these will serve your turn at that day when you must be called to render a reason of your doing When the Gospel first came to the Heathens I hope you 'll grant they were bound to receive it and yet they had never before given their consent to be rul'd by Christ nor had made any Covenant with him But why stand I so long on a case so plain And then take notice farther that by virtue of this subjection which you owe to God as his creatures you are bound to expresse your resolutions to serve him by what signs and in what manner he shall appoint you now he hath commanded you to expresse these resolutions by receiving the Lords Supper as I have before proved And will you disobey this particular command and then think this will excuse you from obedience to the rest To make the case plain by a like instance Suppose when the King had commanded all his Subjects to repair to severall places in the Kingdome there to take the Oath of Allegiance many amongst them should absent themselves and refuse to take it and afterwards should conspire together and rise up in arms against him do you think it would excuse them to plead that they never swore Allegiance to him Why first it was their fault that they did not since they were commanded to do it and then however they were engaged to peace and faithfulnesse by living in the Kingdome and receiving protection from their Prince Even thus will your neglect of Sacraments be charged on you as a fault for which you had no reason but will be farre from being admitted as an excuse of any other sins
against which you were sufficientlie tied by your living meerly upon God and receiving all you had from him But then in the second place consider you are already obliged by your own promises and professions to walk in the fear of the Lord and therefore have not the least ground to alâ—ow your selves in sin from your not having received the Loâ—ds Supper as an engagement against it For bethink you a little do you not profess your selves to be Christians And what 's the meaning of that but that you worship God by Jesus Christ and acknowledge him to be your Maker and Ruler and Christ to be your Saviour And accordinglie are you not devoted to God by Baptisme whereby you stand bound to renounce the Devill the World and the Flesh and to be Christs faithfull servant to your lives end I confesse you were thus consecrated to God by your Parents in you infancy when according to the Law of God and Nature they had full power thus to dispose of you but now you are come to years of discretion do you consent to what they have done or not In plain English Doe you renounce your Baptisme wherby you stand obliged to be the Servants of God and his Son Christ Jesus You that I am now speaking to will I know deny this with great earnestnesse and cry God forbid that you should be such apostate wretches from Christians to turn Heathens and Infidels Well then if you acknowledge your selves under the bond of your Baptisme assure your selves you are hereby as much tied from the least sin in thought word or deed as you can be by the Sacrament of the Lords Supper What will you do then in this case will you dare to run on in those sins from which your Baptisme doth bind you and so renounce it in your practise whilst you own it in profession Or will you hereafter be so silly as to abstain from the communion for fear of engaging your selves to an holie life to which you stand engag'd already by your own consent If you continue in this mind it 's too plain a sign that in your hearts you disown your Baptisme it self and what a case are you in then For let me ask you if you had been born of Heathen Parents and were but just now come to the understanding of the Christian Religion and were acquainted what kind of Persons they must be that own'd it would you be baptiz'd into this Faith and hereby professe your resolutions to lead such an holy life as all Christians are commanded If you say you would not hence then it follows that you dislike your Baptisme since if it was to be done again you would none of it And if indeed you wish your selves in the case of unbaptized Heathens now you are reallie worse than they and shall be in a worse condition shortlie But if you say you would readilie be baptized if it was yet to do then fain would I know why you are so backward to receive the Lords Supper wherein you do but renew the Covenant that is made at Baptisme acknowledging your selves to be true Christians and promising that you will remain so what possible reason can you devise for this unwillingness Withall take notice all you that are baptized into the name and Church of Christ and do stand to your Baptisme you have hereby bound your selves to be his faithfull servants to obey his commands and to behave your selves in his Church as he directs you Now he hath commanded all Christians that are of capacitie to prepare themselves and so to receive the Sacrament of his Supper Do you not clearlie perceive then how your Baptisme bindes you to this dutie you being now come to the use of your reason How is it then that you dare neglect it whilst you are so straitlie engag'd to it And further beside your own Baptisme you Fathers that have Children every time you bring them to be baptized do professe before God and the Congregation that you renounce the Devil the World and the sinfull lusts of the flesh that you believe the Articles of the Christian faith and will keep Gods holy will and commandments walk in the same all the days of your life And are you sincere in all this If you are why should you stay away from the Sacrament where you are required to professe and promise no more However I hope hence you may be convinc't that before you partake of the Lords Supper you are so far bound to an holie life that you have no allowance for the least sin any more than you have afterward which is that I am proving And this is farther evident by all other duties of religion which you perform to God every one of which ties you to the most exact obedience to him I suppose you are not so Atheistical but that sometimes you pray to God and when you pray do you not beg of him pardon of sin and grace to do him faithful service When you say the Lords Prayer do you not therein beseech God to forgive you your trespasses and not to lead you into temptation but deliver you from evil And what dare you ask of him forgivenesse of sin whilst you are resolved to continue in it still I presume you hope to obtain what you ask and can you so much as flatter your selves with any hope that God will pardon your sins whilst yâ—â— will not forsake them Hath not his word plainly old you the contrary And when you pray to be kept â—rom sin and the power of Satan is it not to be suppos'd that you desire these things and doth not the expression of your desires engage you to do what you can to obtain what you pray for and are you not therefore bound to take heed of sin to watch against and resist temptations except you take God for an Idol and make your prayers in a mockerie as if your servant should come and entreat you to help him do his work and then run away and never set his hand to 't or as if your Childe should pray you to keep him from falling into the water and should throw himself into it as soon as he had done dare you venture thus to play and dally with the All-mightie And when you desire him to save your souls and keep you from Hell it speaks you resolv'd not wilfully to destroy and damn your selves or else you are horrid mockers of God Methinks you should never have the impudence to come neer him or speak a word to him whilst you are fully bent to go on in those waies that are so contrary and provoking to him The like I might say of hearing the word you are thereby engaged to give obedience to it for you cannot think sure you serve God sufficiently by hearing your duty whilst you set not about it And for you to come to hear what God shall say by his Minister with a secret purpose to hold on in such and such
this canst thou without tears and groans look back upon all the disorders of thy life whereby thou hast done all that in thee lay to make those wounds of thy tender compassionate Saviour bleed afresh which he first receiv'd upon thy account I believe thou thought'st not of this no if thou hadst one would think thou could'st never have done it Thy design was onely to please thy flesh by all thy sensuall courses thou wast onely full of projects to maintain and raise thy self and thy posterity by all thy worldly designs and businesses wherewith through thy whole life though hast been so swallowed up But thou seest how the case stands that this while thou hast been most viley rejecting and even trampling upon the Lord Jesus who would have have brought thee off from thy vain conversation from all thy ungodlinesse and worldly lusts and hath followed thee with his Word and Spirit to that end and hath prest thee with arguments drawn from his matchlesse love discovered by his Death and hath besought thee to regard him yea to take pity on thy self but thou hast made light of all and hast gone on as securely and quietly in the ways of sin as if thou hadst never heard what sin did upon Christ. And what art thou resolv'd to doe so still shall nothing stop thee in thy career wilt thou not stay to hearken what a way it is thou walkest in nor think what unvaluable mercies thou all this while treadest under feet Hast thou not yet sufficiently abused thy Redeemers love and patience hast thou not made him wait long enough in vain wilt thou still make shew of deafnesse to all those messages he sends thee If so yet be thou sure of this thou shalt not be able to say at thy appearance before him that thou never knewest that sin was such an evil thing and so provoking to him for beside all other warnings that thou hast had I now declare to thee who readest or hearest these words that if thou still continuest in thy loose ungodly life living in swearing cursing drunkennesse whoredome covetousnesse cozening malice or any other known sin and wilfully neglectest thy duty to God going whole days without prayer or reading Gods Word profaning the Lords Day neglecting Sacraments if thou hold on this course thou dost no better than again crucifie and deny the Lord that bought thee and so hast no reason to complain if thou fall under the same condemnation which thou thy self wilt acknowledge Judas and Pilate and the rest of Christs enemies deserve and therefore that thou maist not be found amongst them loaded with the same guilt at Judgement I doe once again in the name of Christ beseech thee with all speed to change thy heart and life and use all means appointed to that end and after all thy wandrings now at length return to him the good Shepherd of souls who laid down his life for his sheep 4. Lastly the Death of Christ may powerfully move thee to repent of and forsake all sin as it holds forth this weighty but sad truth That all those who are despisers of this Death and by living and dying in their sins reap no saving benefit by it shall in their own persons undergo insupportable torments for this their unbelief and wilfull impenitence If thou believest the Gospel thou canst not but acknowledge that all men had been in a most miserable condition if Christ had not died and thou wilt grant that sin is a most perilous mischievous thing and an unspeakable provocation to the most holy God since nothing could appease his wrath but the Death of Christ without whose bloodshed we had obtain'd no remission And what then dost thou think is like to be thy case if through thy own fault thou art never the better for all Christ hath done but must thy self answer for thy sins and bear the punishment they have deserved Let the Death of Christ I say instruct thee what thou art like to expect if this be thy condition If as he himself speaks such things were done to the green tree what shall be done to the dry If he who was without the least stain of originall or actuall sin drank such a bitter cup when he stood in our stead what will be the portion of their cup who being poor frail creatures must make satisfaction for their own sins How will they ever up under all the load of Gods hottest wrath when he shall meet them in judgement and cause his fury to rest upon them And above all thy impenitent obstinate continuance in sin and contempt of Christ will lie heaviest upon thee in the day of vengeance These sins aganst the Gospel against mercy the greatest and freest mercy are most provoking to God most inexcusable in themselves and will therefore prove most pernicious to sinners Methinks then if thou hadst but any regard to thy self to thy own ease and comfort this should make thee out of love with sin to consider how dear its like to cost thee how pleasant soever it may now seem It was not for nothing that Christ felt so much sorrow and pain as thou shalt know to thy everlasting woe if thou pluck the heavy judgements of God on thy own head by sleighting him who would have kept them from off thee Assure thy self poor sinner as bold and confident as now thou art thou wilt never be able to contest with that wrath which exercised even the strength of Christ to bear it thou art never like to go away lightly with that which he felt so heavy For shame at length leave thy foolish plea that God will be more mercifull than to torment his creatures for hast thou not seen how he bruised his own Son who never offended him how he bruised him I say for our iniquities and will he then spare thee who in thy own person hast been a most stubborn hard-hearted rebel and hast cast away with loathing the mercies that were again and again even prest upon thee Thou hast no reason for such fond expectations What wilt thou tell Christ at Judgement that thou didst not believe that ever God would be so severe as to punish thee so dreadfully and everlastingly as his Word threatned and that therefore thou took'st somewhat more liberty in thy life than he allowed thee Darest thou come with such a plea as this But if thou should'st what wilt thou answer to Christ when he shall lay open what he underwent for thy sake and how thou madest light of his love will not this soon silence thee If he ask thee whether thou hadst not evidence and proof enough of the evil and danger that was in sin by his suffering so much for others transgressions wilt thou have any pretence left to justifie thy self I may perhaps urge this consideration but I mention it now as offered to us by the sufferings of Christ which doe most plainly declare that dolefull are the miseries prepared for those who
larger communications of grace from that overflowing Fountain of goodnesse who requires nothing more than a right disposition in us that we may be made partakers of his bounty Not to mention how fit a way this is for the conferring a right to and giving assurance of relative and future priviledges 11. Besides the Example of those in the first ages of the Church me thinks the daily experience of the generality of sober Christians may abundantly confute this conceit that there is no good to be got by frequenting the Lords Table were these demanded one by one whether they had not found the contrary I believe the most of them would professe they had though through their own fault they would acknowledge they had not hereby profited so much as they might How many poor souls have come hither heavy and dull and have gone away enlivened How many have come dejected and sad and have gone away refresht and chear'd and have long after enjoyed the benefit of this duty But if they who make this objection never found any such thing it would speak more modesty and justice too to lay the blame on themselves rather than on the means which Christ hath afforded them 12. Lastly I would desire all that are impartial to consider how plainly God hath witnest against this sort of Men who are the chief Patrons of that opinion I oppose in suffering them to be so infatuated and besotted in their own minds that whilst they have impudently dar'd to reject the Ordinances of Christ as needlesse things they themselves have doted upon the most ridiculous inconsiderable trifles as if they were matters of some huge consequence Have not those very men who cry down the Lords Supper and Baptisme of one sort or other beside many other duties as formal things yet with a great deal of earnestnesse call'd upon us to say thou rather than you to a single person not to call Men Master nor to put off our Hats one to another with a multitude the like fopperies These it seems are substantial things which they have devised whilst Christs own appointments are empty and carnal What 's this but a mark set upon them and few Sects are without one to let the World know they came not from God that none who are considerative might be endangered by their delusions And let this suffice for answer to the first Objection whereon I have been the larger in that it is of such ill consequence and hath too farre spread it self amongst giddy unstable people CHAP. XIII Against too seldome communicating in the Sacrament 2. Obj. IN the next place some may say We have already received the Sacrament and so have satisfied the command of Christ and therefore may be excused from it for the future I should scarce have dreamt of such an Objection had I not heard it us'd but to dispatch it in two words 1. I have before acknowledg'd that Christ hath not told us how frequently or how oft in our lives we must perform this duty but yet we may learn from the words of the Apostle 1 Cor. 11.26 That it is to be done more than once for saith he As often as yee eat c. i. e. every time that you eat And then I have shew'd you what was the practise of the first Christians which may well hold the place of a rule in this case Wherefore you ought to obey the Injunction of your Pastour so oft as he shall in prudence think meet to call you to the Lords Table since you have so much reason for obedience and none to alledge for your refusal 2. And in the next place pray tell me had you any reason for this duty when you first perform'd it you 'l scarce say no I suppose and if you had any then I ask whether the same reason does not still continue If it does why should not your practise be continued agreeably thereto Have you not still some necessities of soul which may here be supplied as well as you had then Is not the death of Christ as well worthy your remembrance now as formerly and if you heretofore received any advantage by what you did me thinks you should be the more inclin'd to hold on therein But here perhaps some may reply putting the objection in another shape that they have often attended on this Ordinance and yet have found no advantage by it and therefore being out of heart and hope are readie to throw it quite off To whom I answer 1. If it be thus indeed you have great reason to acknowledge the fault is your own Either you have not been so diligent in your preparations as you ought or else you have been carelesse afterward thinking you had done when the work was over as if no more was required to make a Sacrament strengthning to your souls than to make food nourishing to your bodies barely to receive it and there 's an end when as there is a serious consideration of what you have done and a constant watchfulness afterwards necessary to make it beneficical to you as I may have occasion to shew a non And especially see that you give not a kinde of allowance to some pleasant sin or oâ—her which you are hardlie willing to be quite delivered from such a secret partial cherishing of any lust whatever will be sure to keep you low and barren and render all means unprofitable And thus is it also like to be with you if you are swallowed up in wordly businesses or do too sweetlie relish any sensible enjoyment 2. You who complain you can get nothing by Sacraments will say the same I suppose by other means and duties and will you therefore cast off these two will you lay aside hearing and praying upon this pretence you may as well for the reason holds as good for one as the other 3. But farther I would have you beware of mistaking your selves imagining that you profit not when you do And therefore consider what your expectations have been and what you have found Perhaps you have expected great joys and as it were sensible assurances of Gods Love and to be afterward freed from all troubles and doubtings or you have expected a perfect freedome from some troublesome temptations wherewith you use to be haunted and from the very first motions of sin in your selves and because you have found none of this in those measures you lookt for therefore you conclude you have met with nothing But this is no right arguing for these are priviledges that you may go without alâ— your days and yet thrive under the means too and therefore by them you cannot judge of your profiting But if you can find the strength of sin broken and your heart more set against it and you are more thoroughly perswaded to comply with the whole will of God being firmly resolved to keep close to him to the last discovering more and more the emptinesse of all creatures and his alsufficiency being more prevalently
also 3. Pray tell me notwithstanding all these faults which you finde with your selves yet do you not hold on in the performance of other duties To instance in one do you not use to pray constantly If you doe why then will you not be brought to this work also For assure your selves if you be such whose prayers are acceptable to God your receiving will be acceptable also Without a dependance upon Christ the Mediatour and a resolution to conform your selves to the will of God your very prayers will be loathsome but if these things be in you all your services will be wel-pleasing to him Wherefore beware of pretending so much reverence for this Ordinance and so much necessity of preparation that least you should not demean your selves as you ought you will wholly neglect it for sure you cannot think this according to your Masters will that you should run away from your work for fear of miscarrying in it Nor pretend that this is of a nature so much different from all other duties that whilst you may do them you may not be admitted to this since if you be sincere and hearty in one as well as another endeavouring to improve them to the end for which they were appointed even to get neerer to God thereby be sure you shall be accepted in all Moreover bethink your selves what you would have done had you liv'd in the first ages of the Church when the Christians were wont for the most part at every time of their assembling to have a Sacrament Would you then have ordinarily with-drawn from them Or would you not rather have contented your selves with that measure of preparation that you had then been capable of making Though think not that I am this while encouraging you to lazinesse or to rush heedlesly and inconsiderately hereupon no be as diligent as ever you are able to prepare your selves for so near an approach to the great God but yet be not so over-scrupulous as to keep back from the Ordinance or make your coming lesse profitable through excessive fears And remember still that the habitual devotednesse of the soul to God without any hypocritical reserve is the best qualification for this and every other performance 4. Lastly one would think you of all persons should not be guilty of refusing your presence here where there is a commemoration made of the love of your dearest Lord. I speak to you that are serious Christians well may others slight this duty if you that lie under so great engagements to it will be kept back by any Ordinary pretences You are such that are somewhat acquainâ—ed with the greatnesse of that mercy manifested in the Redemption of the World and will you be easilie detained from shewing forth that death which procured it You are persons tender of your Master's honour and sensible of your own duty shew then that you are so by obeying his command and preserving the esteem due to his sacred Ordinances by your constant reverent attending upon them Others there are that may complain of their unfitnesse who finde themselves at a losse in their preparations for this duty which yet they are very willing to set about and are desirous of instructions for their right performance of it For these especially I have reserved some Directions to which I shall come presentlie But there are a third sort those the worst and I fear the most who will confess they are unfit for the Sacrament and therefore will by no means be drawn to it but will tell you though they are not fit now yet hereafter they hope they shall be whilst in the mean time there are no sâ—gns of any preparation they make for come to them one Moneth or Year after another still they are in the same posture and use the same excuses Now the very plain case of these persons I take to be this So much knowledge they have that they are convinc't no man ought to come to the Sacrament who is not firmly resolved to forsake his sins and to become a new man if before he have been a carelesse liver and yet their Consciences tell them that such and such sins they are guiltie of which they cannot endure to think of parting with and such and such duties they believe they ought to set upon which yet they have no mind to and therefore so much modesty they have that they will not come to bind themselves to that which they are not resolved to do and this while they fancy to themselves that their case is something better than if they should go and make promises of amendment and soon after break them and are apt to conceit that they may as yet safely take somewhat more liberty than will be lawfull for them when once they have taken the Sacrament whereby they imagine they should be strangely hampered and tied to a strictnesse which they have no liking to But yet hereafter when they have tasted a little more of the pleasures of the world they intend to be take themselves to such a course and then they 'l be constant at Sacraments and as devout as may be this they promise to themselves I dare appeal to the Consciences of many whether such as these have not been their thoughts Reader have they not been thy own And commonlie it is either tipling or wantonnesse or love to an idle and jolly life and a listlesnesse to all pains and diligence in spirituall affairs and a misapprehension of serious holinesse as if it was a most troublesome rigid thing that are the ordinarie causes of these and most mens continuance at a distance from godlinesse and make them so backward to devote themselves entirely to God Now these I confesse are not to be called immediately to the Sacrament but seriously to be dealt with in order to their recoverie from those sensuall inclinations and wretched delusions which render them so unfit for and averse from it to which purpose serve the former exhortations to Repentance and Faith whereon I staid so long Onely I shall here discover to them two dangerous mistakes wherewith they seem willing to impose upon themselves and which chiefly hinder the performance of their duty The first is A conceit that they may take some kind of liberty for a loose conversation before they have bound themselves to the contrary by the Sacrament which thereupon they are much more backward to Now first I shall grant that hereby a farther obligation is laid upon them to the greatest watchfulnesse against sin and to a faithfull discharge of their duty to God in the whole of their lives and the wilfull violation of solemn engagements renders sin much more hainous Wherefore it hath been my care all along to make you understand that it is not so much the bare Receiving that I would perswade you to as to get your souls into a fitnesse for the work and to do it in a right manner And once again let me warn you as you love
that here thou bindest thy self to even this thou should'st thirst and aspire after but yet thou art not to be discouraged if thou never attain it till thou art taken into the number of the Spirits of just men made perfect Mistake me not as if I was indulging thee an allowance in any the least sin no this is it I warn thee of and against this thou must covenant in the Sacrament to wit against a willing loving entertainment of any sin whatever And thou shalt be accounted true to this Covenant if thou hate and strive against all and art humbled under the sense of thy remaining imperfections being farre more desirous to be rid of them than to retain them and if upon knowledge of any slip or stumble thou risest again by true repentance and recourse to the blood of Christ for mercy and to his Spirit for fresh strength being resolved to take more heed to thy ways for the time to come It is here as if thou should'st promise thy Pâ—ysician thou would'st be carefull of thy health this doth not imply that thou wilt never be sick more but yet it implies thus much that thou wilt not wâ—lfully bring diseases upon thy self but wilt use the means that are appointed to preserve thy health and whatever sicknesse cleaves to thee will be thy trouble and thou wilt desire and endeavour to be freed from it Even thus art thou bound to regard the health of thy soul and to look upon sin as a spirituall sicknesse and therefore never to fall in love with it but to do thy best toward its utter removall Even those infirmities to which the best are liable are not to be cherisht and pleaded for no more than thou would'st plead for the keeping of a little head-ach or any bodily pain Thou should'st not by thy good will be guilty so much as of a vain thought an idle word or the least motion to any sin but yet it is not required of thee to promise absolutely never more to be guilty of any of these nor art thou to judge thy self unfit for the Sacrament because thou find'st such imperfections cleave to thee so long as from thy heart thou abhorrest them and do'st ordinarily overcome all temptations to more grosse and wilfull sins Whilst thou art in the flesh thy state is like to be so farre imperfect that it will be thy daily duty to grow in grace and to pray for the forgivenesse of thy trespasses to improve Christ both as a treasurie of grace whence thou art to be supplied and as an Advocate with the Father through whom thou maist be pardoned This I mention that thou maist not say I discourage thee from the Sacrament by making it an engagement to greater strictnesse than it 's possible for man in this life to come up to since I do assure thee thou maist safely come hither if thou art but sincerely resolved to doe what in thee lies to please God and not to run wilfully into those actions which thou know'st are contrary to his will And this also may take away that fond opinion of some ignorant people that it 's best never to receive the Sacrament till they come to their death-bed as thinking that every sin afterward will damn them but remember what I have told you that we do not promise never to sin more but not to allow our selves in sin and to this sincere endeavour to keep all Gods commands we are before as strictly tied by our Baptisme and therefore by your reason this should be deferred till we come to die as some of the ancients did partly through this mistake and thinking this washt away all the sins before committed And if you should be of this opinion also that the Sacrament gives you a pardon of all your former sins and therefore it 's good to put it off to your death-bed consider well that it 's by virtue of Gods promises that you have any ground to expect pardon of sin and by those promises to which the Sacraments are seals this pardon is assured to all penitent believing ones so that Baptisme and the Lords Supper do seal your pardon even of sins that may hereafter be committed if you truly repent of them and betake your selves to Gods mercy in Christ for forgivenesse But if you think when you have liv'd an ungodly life to make up all by taking the Sacrament when you are sick know to your timely conviction this will not do the work as you shall know to your terrour if you depend upon 't for remember what I told you that if you do not truly repent of sin it is not the Sacrament that will give you a pardon and this true repentance few upon a death-bed have that put it off till then Moreover you that are for deferring this duty till you come to die I might ask you how you know whether you shall not die suddenly or have the use of your reason taken away by your distemper or be visited with the Plague that no Minister dare come near you and farther you seem not to consider that this Ordinance is exceeding helpfull to us for the overcoming of lusts and leading our lives as we ought and this brings me to the second thing which I would have you take notice of 2. Namely That if thou art but once come up to a resolution to do thy best against sin and to please God and addressest thy self to the Lords Supper with an earnest desire of grace to be here given thee from Christ to enable â—hee to perform thy promises thou maist very confidently expect strength and assistance from him and even now to partake thereof Little do'st thou think what a mightie blow thou mightest give to thy strong lusts and to the kingdome of Satan within thee by such a firm resolution as this made with an humble dependance upon Gods grace bound upon and confirmed by taking the Sacrament Oh! if thou wast but brought into so ingenuous and good a frame as to be truly grieved that Sin and Satan should have so much interest in thee and didst heartily desire that God would cast them forth and take possession of thee for himself in how good a way wast thou then to a deliverance If God saw thee labouring under the burden of thy lusts tugging with thy backward heart to bring it tâ— him thou canst not imagine what help he would soon afford thee Wherefore sit not down in a faint dejection say not there is no hope of ever getting up such strong lusts which are so deep rooted in my nature and so confirmed by long custome it 's to no purpose to attempt it Why man must not this work be done or thou perish for ever And the longer it s delaid the harder it 's like to be Thy case is sad indeed but not desperate yet Let neither thy presumption nor despondency make it desperate The things that are impâ—ssible with men are possible with God Wherefore rouze
direction I shall tell you more particularly how you ought then to behave your selves and lastly shall shew how you may improve it afterwards to your greatest advantage But by the way take notice that I suppose you to whom I now speak to be such as are heartily willing to come to the Sacrament in that manner and to those ends which Christ hath commanded and therefore I suppose you to be already so farre convinc't of the evil of sin that you are resolved to forsake it and so farre convinc't of the greatnesse of those benefits that come by a Saviour and of your need of him that you are firmly purposed to accept of him as he offers himself to you that you may be his and he may be yours for ever And upon this account I shall say little to put you upon or help you in that self-examination whereby you may come to the knowledge of your own estates whether you have a true work of grace wrought in your hearts or not since I have before said so much to this purpose but shall now rather direct you how to to exercise and expresse your Repentance Faith and other graces Onely as you go along if you find your selves willing to perform the duties I shall mention you have reason to believe that your condition is good but if you refuse these you have too much ground to suspect that all is not well with you And though it be usuall to distinguish betwixt directions for an immediate preparation to the Sacrament and those that are for a right demeanour in the act of Receiving yet I shall chuse rather to speak of both under the same Head since it hath been my businesse all along to bring souls to a fitnesse for this work and since in our performance of the duty our hearts ought to be kept in the same disposition and frame that they were brought into by our preparations for it 1. First then I would advise you who intend to come to the Lords Table to set apart some convenient time for the preparing of your souls for this weighty work It is a most serious businesse and ought to be seriously taken in hand Let nothing here be done cursorily or rashly Not that I would have you daunted as if it was a work of that nature that you must either come trembling or else stay away for fear no but onely see you be very serious for so you ought to be whenever you have any thing to do with God even when you so much as mention his name or open a Bible or come to hear his Word therefore being now in a more especiall manner to draw near to him in a duty wherein a miscarriage is more dangerous it 's very requisite that you make more solemn preparation for it since upon this the right performance of it doth very much depend And therefore it is that I would have you set some time apart for that purpose which will be most convenient in the week or on the day before you Receive though I would have you be employed in this work more than once or twice But if you are Servants and so are straitned of time or through poverty are constrained to daily labour you must watch for the fittest opportunities you can get And it is no doubt but you will find time enough if you will but be watchfull to redeem time from idlenesse and vain ways of spending it However it 's better to spare some time from your working or sleeping yea or eating than to neglect those works for which you had your life it self for it 's of farre more consequence I hope to save your souls for ever than to keep your bodies alive a little while though you may very well do both if you be willing 2. Having set apart some time see that you be not onely got alone and your hands taken off your businesse but let your hearts be withdrawn from off all worldly things and set as in the presence of God upon an employment of no small consequence and humbly beg of God that he would vouchsafe you his presence and assistance in these your preparations and in the work you are preparing for that he would set and keep your minds in a frame suitable thereto and graciously own accept and blesse you who in obedience to him have set upon this duty And beg of him that he would help you in the searching of your heart and reviewing of your life that you may not onely have a sight of sin but a right sense of its vilenesse that you may not onely think of it but grieve for it and that all your meditations may be attended with suitable affections and that in all you may be sincere and upright that so upon good grounds you may take comfort in the review of what you shall have done and by this present opportunity may be advanc't one step forward toward your eternall rest 3. And when you have done thus Let your first work be to enter into such a serious consideration of your own estate both by nature and practice as may be most effectuall to bring you to a sound repentance The reason why I advise you to this first is because you being now about to celebrate the remembrance of the greatest mercy that ever was manifested to man-kind wherein especially love thankfulness are to be exercised it is not possible you should feelingly acknowledge it as so great a mercy if you be not very sensible of your own misery of that absolute need you stand in of it Should you offer money to one who thinks he has no great want of it he mâ—ght take it perhaps but not with that thankfulness that another would who is ready to starve for lack of relief A man that perceives himself sinking and drowning with what readinesse will he lay hold on an hand that 's held out to save him Thus the deeper sense you have of your own vilenesse the more will you admire Gods goodnesse in having any regard to such a worthlesse wretch as you The greater you perceive your sins to be the more need you will see of pardoning mercie the more you will prize and the closer you will cleave to Christ and the more readilie will you come hither to receive the seal of your pardon The lower your humilations are the higher ordinarily will you rise in praise and joy Wherefore it will be very needfull especially if this be the first time of thy receiving or though it should not yet I say it will be needfull and profitable for thee to take an impartiall view of thy self what a vile unworthy sinner thou art that so thou maist think meanly of thy self as thou oughtest to think and maist be sincerely humbled in the remembrance of all thy miscarriages And for thy help herein I shall run over a few particulars Consider what a sinfull nature thou brought'st into the World with thee being conceived in sin and