when as it is the beleeving soules solemn mariage day What espoused Bride longs not for the mariage day when shee shall enjoy her Bridegroome Faith unites Christ and the beleever and contracts them together Now when once the contract is past there followes a longing for the mariage-day And this longing after the mariage-day is a signe of a contract made by faith Doth thy soule then long for those blessed nuptials with the Lord Christ when thy soule shall have the fill of his Love Doth the Spirit in thee cry Come Lord Iesus make haste my beloved Oh happy signes of true faith But now enter into thy soule O thou covetous worldling and thou voluptuous epicure c. Deale seriously and honestly and tell the plaine truth Is there any one thing in the world thou thinkest lesse upon wishest lesse or dreadest more than the comming of Christ When S. Paul disputed of Righteousnesse and the judgement to come before Foelix he trembled How many boast of righteousnesse even of the righteousnesse of faith but how troublesome are the thoughts of the judgement and Christ to come unto them How heartily could they wish oh that that day might never come Let such as cannot rejoyce in the thoughts of that day in some measure and desire it as the day of their refreshing question if not the truth yet the strength of their faith 2 Secondly The effects of faith in regard of our selves And they are these 1 First the Operation and effectuall working of the Word upon our hearts faith is that which makes all Gods Ordinances effectuall and so the word 1 Thess 2. 13. The word of God which effectually workes in you that beleeve Indeed the word workes on those that beleeve not workes their hearts to rage and rebellion workes to their hardning and damnation But it workes no good thing when faith is not to set it on worke Heb. 4. 2. The word which they heard profited them not because it was not mixed with faith The Gospell is the power of God to every one that beleeves Rom. 1. 16. Faith is as the vitall and naturall heat of the soule If the body be dead and without naturall heat give a man the most stirring and working Physick that is and yet it workes not because there wants a principle of life and heate to set it on worke Iust so is it here The word dispensed in the most powerfull manner that can bee workes not upon an unbeleeving heart because the heart is dead without faith but if any faith in the heart it makes the Word worke effectually Try thy selfe by this workes the Word upon thy soule workes it thee to a conformity to it selfe so as thou art cast into the mould of it Such efficacy of the Word argues a presence of faith in thine heart But how many discovers this to be void of faith How many have lived all their dayes and are even growne gray under the Gospell and yet what grace or goodnesse have all the Sermons that ever they have heard wrought in them more than in such as scarce in all their dayes ever heard Sermon Nay what is wrought in many but scorne rebellion resolution of disobedience wrath swelling and hellish boiling of the heart both against Minister and doctrine Are these the workes of faith or is it rather a signe that he workes in their hearts that effectually workes in the children of disobedience This is a fearfull signe that a man is in the state of unbeleefe 2 Secondly Sanctification and holinesse of heart and life Acts 15. 9. their hearts were purified by faith Pharisisme may wash thy hands but faith washes hand and Heart Pharisisme washes cleane the outside of the cup and platter but Faith makes cleane the inward part also yea there faith begins the worke Faith is not onely an holy but an hallowing grace Acts 26. 18. Amongst them which are sanctified by faith We finde a woman in the Gospell that had beene troubled twelve yeeres with a bloudy issue who was healed but how came shee to be healed She touches the garment of Christ touches but the hem and yet straightway the Fountaine of her bloud was dried up Marke 5. 29. It is true that it was Christ that healed her It was vertue that went out of Christ that healed her Vers 30. and yet Vers 34. Thy faith hath made thee whole Faith then fetches healing vertue from Christ and heales diseases The faith that is true faith fetches healing vertue from Christ Every mans heart naturally hath such a spirituall disease as shee had a bodily That disease which the woman had did typifie under the Law the naturall filthinesse of our hearts Prov. 4. 24. Observe the heart from thence are the issues of life Every action issues from the heart the Fountaine of all our actions This Fountaine is a Fountaine of bloud and all the issues from this Fountaine in our thoughts words actions all these issues are bloudy issues and very filthy and loathsome before God Mat. 15. 18 19 20. Hence hands defiled with bloud Isay 59. 3. Bloudy filth Isay 4. 4. Their way was before me as the uncleannesse of a removed woman Ezek. 36. 17. and Hos 4. 2. Bloud toucheth bloud Many bloudy issues out of the heart one issue meets with another and so bloud touches bloud Now when faith is once wrought in the heart it workes strange cures both in heart and life There were wont to be filthy issues out of the heart in vile loathsome noisome thoughts of uncleannesse wantonnesse covetousnes worldlinesse There was wont to be a filthy issue at the mouth a deale of vaine filthy rotten communication bloudy oathes and curses There was wont to bee issues in all the severall actions and passages of the life But now when faith comes into the heart that presently carries a man unto Christ touches him fetches healing vertue from him that dries up this Fountaine of bloud in some good measure and so heales all those loathsome bloudy issues It is true that where faith is there may be stil some ouzings of this Fountaine but yet the flux of it is nothing so aboundant and so continuall as formerly A mans heart naturally is like the Sea Psal 104. 25 26. This great and wide sea wherein are things creeping innumerable both small and great beasts There goe the Ships there is that Leviathan whom thou hast made to play therein In the sea there be vast Whales huge Leviathans that sport themselves and play in the deepes thereof but besides those huge Whales what a world of creeping and crawling smal creatures are there to be found therein Such is the heart of a naturall man there be therein not only some Leviathans some speciall uncleane and foule lusts some speciall Sea-monsters but there are also creeping things innumerable a world of crawling bugs and baggage vermin That looke as is said of Gods Angels Dan. 7. 10. Thousand thousands ministred unto him and ten thousand times
CHRIST in the Sacrament behold the Lord himselfe saies it unto you that if you come to the Sacrament and to CHRIST in the Sacrament and come in your unbeliefe Without faith that Christ and the Sacrament shall profit you nothing CHRIST and the Sacrament becoms of no effect unto you who ever of you come in the state of unbeliefe Vnbeleife freezes up bindes and lockes up the vertue of the Sacrament and CHRIST therein It is still with Christ in the Sacrament as it was with him in that case Mark 6. 5 6. He could there doe no mighty worke and the reason is rendred in the next verse Hee marvelled because of their unbeliefe So that their unbeliefe did in a manner binde CHRISTS hands It is sayd verse 2. that the astonished people sayd What wisedom is this which is given unto him that even such mighty workes are wrought by his hands And yet it is sayd that he could there doe no mighty worke CHRIST was a CHRIST that could doe mighty workes and yet there could doe no mighty worke because of their unbeliefe He could not doe any mighty thing why can any thing limit the mighty power of CHRIST Not so but he could not because this is the order according to which alone hee hath tyed himselfe to worke and be efficacious by namely that he will exert and put forth his mighty power in and unto those that beleeve 1. Pet. 2. 7. Vnto you that beleeve he is pretious Christ is pretious in himselfe but not pretious and efficacious to us but so farre forth as we beleeve Ephes 1. 19. The exceeding greatnesse of his power and the working of the might of his power is towards them that beleeve So that if no faith on our part no exerting nor putting forth of his power on Christs part So it is here The Sacrament and CHRIST in the Sacrament doth mighty workes There is a mighty efficacy in the Sacrament And yet it can doe no mighty worke in many it can doe no worke at all in many for their good because of mens unbeliefe which enervates the Sacrament and deads the force and operation of it to unbelieving hearts The Sacrament is pretious powerfull and efficacious to them that beleeve but the Sacrament received without faith is received without force and without fruit A faithlesse is a fruitlesse receiver Looke how it is with the Word so is it with the Sacrament Great things are spoken in the Scriptures of the power and efficacy of the Word No where more then Heb. 4. 12 13. The Word of God is quicke and powerfull c. And yet in the second verse of the same Chapter the Apostle tels us that it was powerlesse to some and wrought not with them But what was the matter For unto us was the Gospell preached as well as unto them but the word preached did not profit them not being mixed with faith in them that heard it Though the Word in its owne nature were powerfull yet their unbeliefe made it powerlesse Iust so in the Sacrament though it be a powerfull Ordinance to doe great things in the soule yet the Sacrament administred doth not profit many because it is not received with faith and mens owne unbeliefe makes it powerlesse unto them It is said Luke 5. 17. That as Christ was teaching there were Pharisees and Doctors of the Law sitting by And the power of the Lord was present to heale them It is ever so that when any of Gods Ordinances are on foot that then there is a power of God present to heale As in the Word so also in the Sacrament Now if men come to the Sacrament with faith that faith of theirs drawes forth that power and sets that power on worke and so makes the Sacrament powerfull But if men come in their unbeliefe then they dead that power to themselves and so make the Sacrament powerlesse Moses hath a speech Deut. 32. 13. Hee made him to sucke hony out of the Rocke and oyle out of the flinty Rocke Give mee leave to allude to this speech The Sacrament is a Rocke and it is a Rocke in which is much sweetnesse and fatnesse hony and oyle But how may a man get this hony and this oyle out of this Rocke He made him sucke hony out of the Rocke There is neither hony nor oyle to bee had without sucking he that hath faith can sucke and so fetch out this hony and oyle But now though this Rocke have hony and oyle if a man sucke not he hath neither Now he that comes in his unbeliefe hee suckes not nor cannot sucke and so he hath but a dry Sacrament of it because he hath neither honey nor oyle Vnbeleevers they onely licke the Rocke doe not sucke it Veâ—ùm hi qui verbo tenus coâ—de 〈◊〉 mente aâ—â—di sacris intersunt vel etiam participant â—onis lambâ—nt quidem 〈◊〉 sed â—â—de nec mel â—ugunt nec oleum Cyprian de Caen. Dom. and so fetch not the honey and oyle out of the Rocke for it is sucking and not licking that must doe that A childe may licke the mothers brest and yet if it sucke it not gets no milke A thirsty man may licke the outside of the cup but that will never satifie his thirst He that comes to the Sacrament without faith and rests upon the use of the outward signe is like a man as Mr Tyndall speakes in the like case that thinkes to quench his thirst by sucking the Alepoole By all this then we may see of what necessity it is that every one that will come after the due order to the Sacrament come prepared with faith Like enough there be too many in the world that thinke there is no such necessity of faith So long as they be in charity with their brethren and owe no man any ill wil they hope all will bee well enough And this men ought to doe indeed but must take heed how they neglect the other Some Papists indeed have affirmed that faith is not necessary Cajetan at the conference at Augusta with Luther said Fides non est necessaria accessaro ad Eucharistiam Iuel def Apol. 283. for a man that is to come to the Sacrament but upon what hath beene in this Chapter premised let us be advised in this case above all things Ephes 6. to have a care to come with faith if we have any care to come after the due order Chap. 6. Of the necessity of Repentance in him that will be a prepared Communicant CHAP. 6 WE are come now to the third thing required in Habituall preparation to the Sacrament and that is Repentance He that will come to the Sacrament after the due Order must come with repentance must be a man that hath repented of his sinnes It is with the Sacrament of the Supper as with the Sacrament of Baptisme when administred to men of yeeres the Sacrament of Baptisme may not be received of men of yeeres without solemne
Put that question to thy conscience which Saint Iames puts Iam. 2. Shew me thy faith by thy workes Shew the coates and garments which this Dorcas hath made And so many works of obedience as thou canst shew so many witnesses shalt thou produce of the truth of thy faith But if thy faith be idle slothfull to doe service a faith that workes not suspect the truth of it and know that such a faith will not serve to admit thee to the eating of the Sacrament For the Apostles injunction in that case 2 Thess 3. 10. That if any would not worke neither should he eat holds as true in this case of an idle faith as in that case of an idle man 2 Secondly true faith beleeves God and depends upon him in all things and at all times It beleeves him not only in some things but in all not only at some times but at all It beleeves Gods promises for spirituall things Gal. 3. 22. for temporall things Psal 37. 3. It beleeves Gods Commandements to be his Commandements to be just holy and good Psal 119. 66. I have beleeved thy commandements It beleeves Gods threatnings Ion. 3. 4 5. Yet forty dayes c. So the people of Nineveh beleeved God It beleeves God not only in time of peace but in times of distresse affliction and tentation Psal 73. 1. Yet God is good to Israel Yea even then when all things goe against it Iob 13. 15. Though hee slay mee yet will I trust in him Psal 46. 2. Hab. 3. 17 18. faith it beleeves All things Luke 24. 25. O slow of heart to beleeve all that the Prophets have spoken Faith beleeves God in all Examine thy faith by this put these interrogatories to thy conscience Beleevest thou God in his promises for this life as well as for a better For thy daily bread as well as for thy salvation Beleevest thou all Gods Commandements without questioning any whether it be his or no Beleevest thou his threatnings as well as his promises Doest thou hang upon him and his promise and live upon that in all thy pinches straights and exigents As thou canst answer these so mayest thou answer for thy faith But this will convince many not to bee faithfull but faithlesse Oh they do beleeve Gods promises with all their hearts but what promises for life and salvation But how beleeve they Gods promises for the things of this life Let that be judged by their covetousnesse worldlinesse their carking immoderate cares He that beleeves makes not haste Isay 28. Therefore he that makes haste doth not beleeve Such haste to be rich such haste after the world such carking caring such pining and whining what doth it but proclaime their grosse distrust in Gods providence and promises Thou that beleevest not God for thy body beleevest him lesse for thy soule Thou that beleevest not God for a crust beleevest him lesse for a Crowne Try men in Gods Commandements pinch and presse them with the very letter of the Law Tush they will never beleeve that God requires such strictnesse Try them with threatnings and thunder them ever so against them yet they have not so much faith as the divels who beleeve and tremble Let meanes bee wanting or meanes be against them and they are of Thomas his profession Except I see and feele I will not beleeve Whilest all is with men as they would have it they are full of faith but let God pinch them and bring them into a strait and where is their faith then 3 Thirdly A sweet and holy boldnesse of accesse unto the Throne of Grace with confidence in Gods goodnesse and his gracious acceptation of us Why are yee afraid O yee of little faith It was spoken in another case But yet the more faith the lesse feare in any case A guilty conscience 〈…〉 5. 7. if awake hath no great list to come before GODS face but when once by true faith in CHRISTS bloud guilt is taken off and by faith a man is made friends with GOD Iames 2. 23. Then shall a man have the boldnesse of a friend to come to the LORD in prayer Many that have not a dramme of faith are bold enough For who so bold as blinde Bayard as ignorant and silly ones are But yet there is a great difference betweene the boldnesse of a friend and the boldnesse of a stranger For Strangers may bee bold with a kinde of sawcinesse and intrusion but they are not so welcome as bold neither hath a stranger that ground for nor that contentment in his boldnesse that a friend may have his heart will secretly check him though hee face it out for the present and be ready to tell him that hee goes further than civility and good manners can warrant him But a friends boldnesse is out of that sweetnesse of interest and acquaintance and intimate communion each with other So that boldnesse which faith breeds is from that knowledge of God that peace communion and acquaintance it hath with God in Christ This is that boldnesse spoken of Ephes 3. 12. In whom we have boldnesse and accesse with confidence through the faith of him Heb. 4 16. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace But how shall we doe to come boldly See Heb. 10. 22. Let us draw neere with a true heart in a full assurance of faith A man may therefore try his faith by the carriage of his heart in prayer If with a friendlike boldnesse and with a confidence of his gracious acceptance we can come unto God and with such a boldnesse can powre out our hearts unto him it is a comfortable evidence of the truth of faith The contrary shewes how far most men are from faith Deale truly with thy self speakest thou not to God in prayer as to a stranger as to one with whom thou hast no intire familiarity or acquaintance Certainly true faith is better acquainted with God than so 4 Fourthly a desire of Christs appearance and his second comming to judgement We walke here by faith and not by sight But where faith is it longs to be turned into sight and to have the immediate fruition of the Lord Iesus Therefore the voice of faith is that Cant. 8. 14. Make haste my beloved and be like unto the Roe And that Apoc. 22. Come Lord Iesus come quickly not onely come but quickly that is make haste with that speed that the Roe runnes withall Hence beleevers are said not only to looke for the blessed hope and appearing of our Saviour Christ but also to hasten the appearing of him 2 Pet. 3. 12. Looking for and hasting unto the comming of the day of God For though in another case it is true which the Prophet speakes Isay 28. Hee that beleeves makes not haste yet in this case hee that beleeves most makes most haste and cannot but make haste and therfore makes haste because he beleeves And no wonder that faith in her desires hastens the appearance of CHRIST
in Christo muÌ„dum reconcilians sibi patet Arcanum coâ—dis per foramina corporis Patent viscera misericordiae Dei Quidni viscera per vulnera pateant In quo enim clarius quam in vulneribus tuis eluxisset quod tu domine suavis multae misericordiae c. Ego vero sidenter quod ex me mihi deest userpo mihi ex visceribus domini quoniam misericordia affluunt nec desunt foramina per quae affluant Bernard sâ—p Cantic Ser. 61. They pierced my hands and my feete Psal 22. 16. They pierced his side with the speare and there came out water and bloud nay there comes out of those wounds honey and oyle unto faith By these passages may our faith sucke honey and oyle out of the rocke and may taste how good and sweete the Lord is The nayles the speare the wounds all preach unto faith a reconciled God that God is in Christ reconciling the world to Himselfe The Lords bowels are laid open by these CHAP. 21 wounds so as throughout them wee may see the tender bowels of his mercy and so as through them mercy flowes from those bowels unto us Oh my Dove that art in the clefts or holes of the Rocke Cant. 2. 14. Some of the Ancients understood those clefts of the Rock the wounds of Christ in which the Dove the Church hides and shelters her selfe However it may be alluded to and that should be no work of faith at the Sacrament when it sees those clefts of the Rocke opened like a Dove to betake her selfe therunto for shelter and security against all feares and distresses Tuta requies est infirm is peccatoribus in vulneribus salvatoris securus illic habito Patent mihi viscera per vulnera August Mannal Miles aperuit mihi latus Christ lancea ego intâ—ali ibi requiesco securus Aug ibid. that wrath and guilt may put the conscience to Doe any feares of wrath trouble thine heart Doth any Conscience of guilt disquiet thee with the feares of hell Why now in the Sacrament for thy comfort behold the holes in the Rocke where thou mayest be sheltred Dwell now in the rock and be like the Dove that makes her rest in the sides of the holes mouth Ier. 48. Nessell thy soule now at the Sacrament in the clefts of this Rocke See and fully beleeve thy peace to be made with God in Christs bloud and look upon him wounded for thy transgressions with such a faith as may fill thine heart with an holy security against all such feares faith thus Actuated cannot but send thy soule from the Sacrament with much comfort And thus much for the Actuation of faith which is the third thing in that holy disposition requirrd in the receiving of the Sacrament The fourth thing followes which is an exercise of thankesgiving to God for the great worke of our Redemption by the death of Christ And this must rise from an heart affected and enlarged in the use of the Ordinance the heart being warmed and growing hot with the sense of Gods goodnesse a man should breake out and give vent to his heart in magnifying CHAP. 20 the mercy of God for the death of Christ represented in this Ordinance and the fruit thereof is communicated to us therein In the use of our naturall foode there followes a cheerefulnesse of spirit Act. 14. 17. Filling our hearts with foode and gladnesse Now when the heart is cheered and refreshed with the creature it should then let out it selfe in thanksgiving to God Nehem. 9. 25. So they did eate and were filled and became fat and delighted themselves in thy great goodnesse Psalm 22. 26. The meeke shall eate and be satisfied they shall praise the Lord that seeke him So when the heart is cheered with the sense of the sweetnesse of an Ordinance of the Sacrament when the Lord hath filled the heart with spirituall foode and gladnesse when we have beene filled and have delighted our selves in Gods great goodnesse in the Sacrament then let we out our hearts to blesse and praise the LORD See it in David Psal 63. 5. My soule shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatnesse That blessing he looks for in Gods ordinances and what should then follow And my mouth shall praise thee with joyfull lippes When men are excessively filled with Wine they shout and make a noyse and sing and take on The Prophet alludes to it Psalme 78. 65. like a mighty man that Fons vitae replementem meam torrente voluptatis tuae inebria cor meum sobria ebrietaâ—e amoris tui Aug. medit c. 37. shoutes by reason of wine Such excesse and such drunkennesse the Apostle forbids Ephes 5. 18. Be not drunk with wine wherein is excesse But yet there an holy and a sober Inebriation the Apostle allowes and calls for But be filled with the spirit Drinke deepe of that Wine And where is that Wine to be drunke As in other Ordinances so in the Sacrament Here Christ makes merry with his people Eate O friends drink ye drink abundantly ô beloved or be drunken with loves Now when a man hath liberally Cant. 5. 1. drunke of this Wine of the spirit at the Sacrament what should follow That which followes in that CHAP. 21 Text Ephes 5. 19. Speaking to your selves in Psalmes and Hymnes and spirituall songs singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord. When a Quo interius exteriusque rubricati a sapientibus hujus saeculi judicamur amentes man is made Red with this wine within and without as St. Cyprian speakes then should a man let out his heart in holy Iubilitions and Thankesgivings Haec ebriâ—tas non accendit sed extinguit peccatum c. Cypr. de caen Dom. unto God Doe this in remembrance of mee that is in remembrance of the great worke of your redemption wrought by me and doe it in a thankfull remembrance So remember it as to have your hearts in special manner enlarged in all thankefulnesse unto me for this worke And from this it is that this Sacrament beares the name of the Eucharist as being the Sacrament of Thankesgiving for the work of Redemption in the remembrance whereof it is celebrated Our Saviour gave a patterne of this Matth. 26. 30. When they had sung an Hymne So then they sang an Hymne together An Hymne is a Psalme of praise So the Iewes in the celebration of the Passeover did sing the 113. Psalme with the five following Psalmes which they called the Great Hallelujah which they began to sing after that cup of Wine which they called Poculum Hymni seu laudationis the Cup of praise And thus it should bee with us in receiving the Sacrament At all times upon all occasions wee should sing Hallelujahs to GOD but at the Sacrament wee should sing a Great Hallelujah at all times wee should thankefully blesse GOD for the worke of our Redemption but at the Sacrament we should have our hearts greatly