And in this Kingdom Christ hath a Communion a sweet Communion with his people as it were eating and drinking with them This he doth Sacramentally in his Supper where he may be said to drink this wine new with them at every communion And this he doth spiritually by communicating the Graces and Comforts of his Spirit unto them Such is that communion which he maketh promise of to every one that will hear his voice the voice of the Gospel and open the door the door of his heart to receive and entertain him by Faith and Love I will come saith he and sup with him and he with me Revel 3.20 That is Communicate Graces and Comforts to him holding a comfortable communion with him Thus doth Christ as it were feast with his people upon Earth bringing them into his Banquetting House or House of Wine as the Spouse phraseth it Cant. 2.4 the Publick Assemblies where his Ordinances are as so many Conduits running with the best wine through which he conveyeth purest and choicest comforts to the hearts of his people chearing and refreshing them and in a spiritual way as it were inebriating them as the vulgar Latine renders that of the Psalmist Psal 36.8 Inebriabuntur ab ubertate domus tuae They shall be inebriated with the plentiful fulness of thy house And in a like sense Christ may be said to have drunk of the fruit of the Vine with his Apostles after his Ascension still holding communion with them being absent from them in Body yet he was present with them in Spirit sending the Comforter to them This he promised to do Joh. 14.16 15.26 And this he did thereby supplying the want of his bodily presence and filling their hearts with joy according as he had promised he would do Both these expositions disallowed Joh. 16.24 But I shall not dare to vouch either of these Expositions more then the former The Communion which our Saviour here permitted unto his Apostles he saith it should be in the Kingdome of his Father which terme I conceive cannot so fitly bee applied either to the day of Pentecost or yet to the Kingdome of Grace which though it be sometimes called the Kingdome of God and of Christ Luk. 17.21 Ioh. 18.36 Regnum Patris nunquam nisi caelum vocatur Maldon ad loc The kingdome of glory and oft times the Kingdome of Heaven yet never doe we finde it called the Kingdome of the Father as Maldonate well observes In the fourth place then to hold you no longer in suspence understand we this of the Kingdome of glory This is the Fathers Kingdome Then shall the righteous shine forth as the Sunne in the Kingdome of their Father saith our Saviour Matth. 13.43 that is in the Kingdome of Heaven the Kingdome of glory And this our Saviour calleth the Kingdome of his Father The kingdome of glory the Fathers kingdom Solus pater non descendit de caele Maldon ad text Lorinus in Act. 10.44 The kingdome of glory the place of the Fathers residence Joh. 1.14 So is the Kingdome of Glory in a peculiar way the Fathers Kingdome I finde two reasons given for it 1 In as much as there hath been the Fathers Residence there hath he manifested the presence of his Glory in a more constant and continued way then either of the other persons As for the Son the second Person he came down from Heaven and was Incarnate leaving the bosome of the Father hee came and dwelt amongst us dis-robing himselfe of his Majesty and glory he tooke upon him the forme of a Servant Phil. 2.7 And the Holy Ghost the third person here descended upon him Joh. 15.26 and after his Ascension was as it were imployed by him as his Agent each of them occasionally appearing and manifesting their presence upon earth in severall transactions but the Father in the meane time still kept the Throne of his glory in Heaven shewing himselfe the King thereof 2 But secondly The Prefidency of the kingdome of glory resting in the Father and as I conceive more genuinely the Kingdome of the Father in as much as the precedency and chiefe Government of that Kingdome shall for ever rest in him As for the Kingdome of Grace that is committed to the Sonne who sitting at the right hand of his Father in Heaven ruleth in the midst of his enemies upon earth but the Kingdome of Glory is more peculiarly the Fathers to whom the Lord Christ shall at the last day resigne up that his Oeconomicall Kingdome as they call it That Kingdome which as Mediator he hath received from his Father he shall then surrender it up unto him againe as the Apostle tels us 1 Cor. 15.24 Then cometh the end when he shall have delivered the Kingdom unto God even the Father So as from thence-forth and for ever that Kingdome shall be the Fathers Kingdome And in this Kingdome it is that our Saviour here promiseth to his Apostles this Communion telling them that henceforth he would no more drink of the fruit of the vine untill that day that he should drink it new with them in that Kingdom the Kingdome of Heaven Object Object But understanding the words thus Did not Christ eat and drink with his Apostles after his Resurrection here an obvious objection meeteth us What did not Christ eat and drink with his Apostles upon Earth after his Resurrection Ans 1. To this it is answered by some Answ That though he then ate with them A threefold answer Pest resurrectionem comedisse legitur bibisse vero non legitur Camer Myroth ad loc Nec erat moris apud Judaeos bibere vinum in prandiis ac caenis quotidianis sed tantum in solemnioribus conviviis Piscat Schol. ad loc yet there is no mention made of his drinking with them And so non creditur quià non legitur being not recorded we are not bound to beleeve it But this I have already shown to be a mistake 2. Supposing that he did also drink with them yet there is no necessity to conclude that he drank wine with them Nay it is more probable saith Piscator that he did not in as much saith he as it was not the custom of the Jews to drink wine at their common and ordinary meals but onely at their more solemn Feasts and Banquets But this also may seem to be an evasion rather then a solution and therefore I shall not flie to it neither need I. 3. Yeeld it that our Saviour Christs eating and drinking with his Apostles after his Resurrection no natural actions Maldon ad loc 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrysost Hom. in Text. Calvin Maldon ad loc as he ate so he drank with his Apostles and that wine also which Chrysostom taketh for granted yet did he not now do it humano consueto more so as formerly he had done and as he did at this his last Supper He did not now either eat or
drink for any bodily nourishment or refreshment having no more need of meats or drinks nor yet in a way of social communion onely for the confirming of the Faith of his Apostles in the certainty of his Resurrection he shewed them what he could do So as he did there as it were eat and not eat drink and not drink Even as speaking to his Apostles after his Resurrection Luke 24.44 he tells them These are the words which I spake unto you while I was yet with you Why was he not then with them when he thus spake to them Yes but not as formerly when he conversed with them in a terrestrial and temporal life So he ate and drank with them now but not as formerly Quià id non nisi veluti per transennam fecit non ducit in numerum Maldon This was not in him now any natural action and therefore he overlooketh it as being a thing by the by Telling his Apostles that he would not any more thus drink with them until that day when he should do it in the Kingdom of his Father Quest The fruit of the Vine how drunk in Heaven Q. But how saith he that he would then do it What is there any eating or drinking in Heaven Answ Answ Not literally Not so This is a conceit for Mahumetans not so Christians Eating and drinking are for Earth not for Heaven Even as our Saviour answering the carnal reasonings of the Sadduces against the Resurrection tells them That in the Resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are as the Angels of God in Heaven Matth. 22.30 In the state of glory Gods Saints shall live an Angelical life no more subject to any bodily necessities or infirmities Not standing in need of marriage or yet of meats and drinks The Kingdom of God is not meat and drink saith the Apostle speaking of the Kingdom of Grace Rom. 14.17 much less the Kingdom of glory where there is no need no use of either and therefore away with all such gross and carnal imaginations For our satisfaction taking notice But mystically and metaphorically that these phrases of eating and drinking are in Scripture used in a double sense Sometimes literally and properly sometimes mystically and metaphorically And both these ways is this word Drinking used in this verse In the former part of it properly for natural and corporal drinking in the latter part metaphorically for mystical and spiritual drinking And what we say of the act we may say also of the object The fruit of the vine which our Saviour did drink of as in the Passeover so in his Supper was natural Wine that which here he promiseth to drink of is Mystical and Spiritual The same word used in two different senses in the same sentence Neither let any here stumble at this so sudden a change of the sense That the same words should be with one and the same breath in one and the same sentence used in two different senses This being no unusual thing in Scripture no other then what we finde often practised by our Saviour himself Non solà m sine vitio sed cum magnâ etiam oraiionis elegantiâ Maldon ad loc and that not onely without any absurdity as Maldonate notes upon it but with a special elegance and accurateness of Speech Thus speaking to that Disciple who being invited to follow him desired that he might first go and bury his Father be assistant unto him in his decrepit age and perform his last office to him when he should dye Let the dead saith he bury their dead Matth. 8.22 Let them that are spiritually dead bury them that are corporally dead Those who are dead in sin bury those that are dead for sin So again speaking to the Woman of Samaria Joh. 4.13 14. He tells her Whosoever shall drink of this water shall thirst again But whosoever shall drink of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst Where in the former part he speaketh of natural water such as she gave him In the latter part of mystical and spiritual water viz. The Grace and Spirit of Regeneration And so are we to understand that passage Mark 10.15 where our Saviour blessing the children which were brought to him tells his Disciples That whosoever shall not receive the Kingdom of God as a little childe he shall not enter therein Where by the Kingdom of God in the former part we are to understand the Doctrine of the Kingdom the Gospel In the latter part the Heavenly Kingdom Eternal life and glory And the very like do we here meet within the Text. Drinking of the fruit of the Vine in the former part it is to be understood properly of natural wine in the latter part mystically of spiritual wine And so much is not obscurely insinuated in that Addition Celestial Glory called New Wine which is here put to it where it is called New Wine Until I drink it new Thus the Spirit of God in Scripture is wont for the most part as it were emollire Allegorias Solent 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 aliquo additamento emolliri Grot. ad loc to soften Allegories which otherwise might seem hard by some such additaments As the Apostle speaking of Christ and his blood he calleth it Spiritual drink and him a Spiritual rock 1 Cor. 10.4 Thus Saint Peter speaking to beleevers he tells them That they as lively stones were built up a spiritual house an holy Priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifice 1 Pet. 2.5 In like manner the Spirit speaking of Rome or the Roman Empire where the Bodies of Gods Saints should lie slain he stiles it That great City which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt Revel 11.8 Not literally but mystically and such is this Wine which our Saviour saith here he would drink of in his Fathers Kingdom not natural but mystical wine which he therefore calleth new Even as the Church of God whereof Old Jerusalem was a Type is called The New Jerusalem Revel 21.2 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is Not the earthly but the Heavenly Jerusalem Jerusalem which is above as the Apostle calleth it Gal. 4.26 Even thus our Saviour speaking of Celestial glory Wine an embleme of Celestial Glory Vide Grot. ad Text. and happiness here he calleth it New Wine 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is Wine of another kinde 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Grotius explains it Intellectual Spiritual Wine Wine Thus the Rabbinical Jews were wont to set forth eternal life by wine kept from the beginning of the world from the first Creation And the like expression the Spirit of God may be conceived sometimes to make use of In that 55 of Isaiah v. 1. Christ is brought in making Proclamation Ho every one that thirsteth c. Come and buy wine and milk Under those two words comprehending all spiritual and heavenly blessings Grace and Glory And thus do some understand
that Speech of Christ to his Church Cant. 5.1 Where he tells her I have drunk my wine with my milk This he did as he saith in his Garden by which they understand the Heavenly Paradise where he promised the penitent theef to meet him Here doth Christ solace himself after all his sorrows and sufferings upon earth injoying celestiall glory and happiness This he here calleth by the name of Wine Resembling it in the properties of it the fruit of the vine and that not unfitly 1 Wine is a generous sweet and delectable liquor most pleasant to the pallate Reas 1 Wine delectable and gratefull to the stomack one of the preciousest juyces that the earth produceth Hence it is that the mutuall love betwixt Christ and his Church is compared to Wine and preferred before it Thy love is better then wine saith the Church to Christ Cant. 1.2 How much better is thy love then wine saith Christ to his Church Cant. 4.10 more sweet more pleasant such is the glory of Heaven yeelding an unspeakeable complacency to the soule such as none can apprehend but they that are possessed of it Even as none can tell how grateful and delectable Wine is but they who have tasted of it So is it with heavenly bliss such is the excellency of it as none can conceive but those who are entred into it and swallowed up of it Eye hath not seen ear hath not heard neither hath it entred into the heart of man what things God hath prepared for them that love him 1 Cor. 2.9 2. Wine as it is delectable Reas 2 so it is cordial Wine Cordial not onely pleasing the pallate but chearing the heart Should I leave my wine saith the Vine in Jothams parable which cheareth God and man Judg. 9.13 Wine maketh glad the heart of man saith the Psalmist Psal 104.15 Whereupon Solomon called by the name of Lemuel that is of God a King of Gods making Prov. 31.6 adviseth to give wine to those that are of heavy hearts Wine being of a spirituous nature it exhilarateth the spirits it maketh merry Eccles 10.19 And in this property again it is a fit embleme of heavenly joy Where ever the Kingdom of God is there is joy It is so with his Kingdom of Grace of which the Apostle tells us that it consisteth in Righteousness Peace and Joy Rom. 14.17 much more in his Kingdom of glory there is joy Enter thou into thy masters joy Matth. 25.23 And nothing but joy Here upon Earth the Christians Wine is mixed with water his joys and comforts are allayed with a mixture of crosses and sorrows But in Heaven there is pure wine pure joy and that fulness of joy In his presence is fulness of joy Psal 16. last It is so in Heaven at Gods right hand in the presence of his glory Thus celestial happiness is set forth under the name of wine And that New wine So called Celestial glory why called new wine not onely because it is of another kinde as I said but of a better a more excellent kinde Soleut Hebraei quitquid prastanthus est atque suavius novum appellare Maldon ad loc 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 excellentiam Sic 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Apoc. 2.17 3.12 Novum etiam apud latinos dicitur quicquid egregium est Pollio ipse amat nova carmina Camer Myorth ad Text. Thus the Hebrews as Maldonate noteth upon it are wont to call a thing that is excellent New O sing unto the Lord a new song saith the Psalmist Psal 96.1 98.1 that is as he expounds it an excellent song In this sense among others the Gospel command concerning love may be called a New commandment 1 John 2.7 8. and the Gospel covenant a new covenant Heb. 8.8 And such is this wine in the Kingdom of God new wine true Nectar which the Poets fained to be the drink of the gods of a more excellent kinde then any here upon Earth Thus doth Christ still reserve the best wine to the last Christ still reserveth the best wine to the last So he did in a literal sense at that marriage feast in Cana of Galilee which he graced with his own presence as the Master or Ruler of the feast tells him Joh. 2.10 And this he doth in a spiritual sense As he did here for himself so for his Saints he reserveth their best wine for the last not so with wicked men They drink their best wine first Not so for wicked men having their portion in this life here they meet with many carnal comforts and contentments which it may be the dearest Saints of God want But their worst is to come So our Saviour telleth them Luke 6.25 26. Wo unto you that are full for ye shall hunger wo unto you that laugh now for ye shall mourn and weep Here they have their sweet wine but there is sower and bitter wine reserved for them even that wine which is prepared for Babylon Rev. 14.10 The wine of the wrath of God which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation Of this wine shall the worshippers of the Beast drink all Idolaters and with them all other wicked ungodly men But for his Saints But it shal be otherwise with Gods Saints and Servants Here it may be God may deale with them as the Jews dealt with our Savior Mat. 27.34 when they gave him Gall and vineger to drinke he may make them drink the wine of astonishment as the Psalmist complains Psa 60.3 wringing out unto them waters of a full cup as he elsewhere speaketh Psal 73.10 laying out unto them a large measure of sore afflictions But there is better Wine reserved for them hereafter New wine excellent wine joy infinitely transcending all joyes earth can afford This was Christs portion and this shall be their portion So much they are assured of Isa 65.13 14. Therefore thus saith the Lord God Behold my servants shal eate but ye shal be hungry behold my servants shal drink but ye shal be thirsty behold my servants shall rejoyce but ye shall be ashamed Behold my servants shall sing for joy of heart but yee shall cry for sorrow of heart and shall howle for vexation of spirit Such a change can God make in the affairs of this world and I doubt not but he will yet doe it in a great measure for his Church in the latter daies to which that promise seems to relate But however such a change there shall be hereafter There is wine new wine reserved and laid up for the Saints in heaven which the men of this world shall never tast of This wine our Savior here promiseth to himselfe that he should drink of it which accordingly not long after he did upon his ascention into heaven then having finished his suffering worke he entered into his rest from thenceforth injoying unspeakable glory and happinesse And herein he tells his Apostles that
they should also have a share with him So it followeth Untill that day Judas excluded though not from Sacramentall yet from Celestiall communion with Christ when I shall drinke it new with you with you What with all of them not so if Judas were in the company which some conceive that he was not taking up this for an argument against it because Christ here promiseth to those who dranke of that cup with him in the Sacrament of his Supper that he would drink it new with them Vobiscum ad plures non ad om ner referendum est Aquin. ad loc a matter wherein Judas had neither part nor lot But supposing him to be there yet wil not this create any great difficulty the promise being indefinite not universall extending to the generality of them to as many of them as had there not onely a Sacramentall but also a spirituall communion with him Observ With all such will Jesus Christ drink this new wine in his Fathers Kingdom Such as have communion with Christ upon earth shall have communion with him in Heaven have a blessed communion with them in heaven Marke it this is the Observation which I have been long making way to Such as have communion with Jesus Christ upon earth shall have communion with him in heaven Christ will not drinke this new wine alone he is not will not be satisfied unlesse his Saints partake with him Thus he is brought in expressing himselfe to his Church in the place fore-named Cant. 5.1 I am come into my garden my sister my spouse I have gathered my myrrhe with my spices I have eaten my hony combe with my hony I have dranke my wine with my milk eate O friends drinke drinke abundantly O beloved Thus doth the Lord Jesus Christ call his Church to communicate with him as in his Kingdom of Grace here so of Glory hereafter where entering into his Garden his heavenly Paradise he doth as Job speaketh of himselfe Job 31.17 not eat his morsell by himselfe alone or drink his wine alone ingrossing that heavenly glory to himselfe but he calleth his Saints and Angells to the participation of it This is that which he makes promise of to his Apostles Matth. 19. where when Peter speaking in the name of the rest as often on other occasions he doth demands of his Master what recompence they should have for that love and respect which they had shown unto him in forsaking al for his sake he receiveth this answer from him ver 28. Verily I say unto you that yee which have followed me in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit on the throne of his glory yee also shall sit upon twelve thrones judging the twelve Tribes of Israel They should be sharers with their Master in his glory when he should sit as a King upon his Throne they should sit as his Peeres about him when he should sit as Lord Cheife Justice upon the Bench they should sit as his Justices as his Assessors To the like purpose is that other promise Luk. 22.28 29. where our Saviour to take his Apostles off from that vaine contention of theirs about a temporall superiority a secular primacy hee tels them that in as much as they had been partners with him in his Sufferings and had hitherto owned him in his worst condition therefore they should also communicate with him in his glory I appoint unto you a Kingdome as my Father hath appointed unto me that yee may eate and drinke at my Table in my Kingdome c. Thus having had communion with him upon earth he promiseth them that they should have communion with him in heaven A Promise which in effect speaketh the same thing with this here in the Text where their Lord and Master eating and drinking with them in the Sacrament of his Supper tels them that one day hee would drinke that wine new with them have a sweet and blessed communion with them in the Kingdome of his Father whereof that Sacramental Communion was a Representation and a Pledge this he promiseth to his Apostles And what hee promiseth to them the like for substance shall he performe to all who have a like communion with him even to all true beleevers such as here follow him by profession and imitation they shall bee with him where I am there shall also my servant be Joh. 12.26 This was a branch of his last Will as he declares it Joh. 17.24 Father I will that they also whom thou hast given mee given to beleeve on me as the 20. ver explaines it be with me where I 〈◊〉 that they may behold my glory I and not only behold it but partake in it The glory which thou hast given me I have given them so we have it ver 22. That glory and happinesse which God the Father had by promise insured upon his Son Christ by a like promise Christ maketh it over to all true beleevers estating it upon them And giving them a title to it here he will put them into the actuall and full possession of it hereafter Come yee blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdome prepared for you from the foundation of the world Matth. 25.34 Such a blessed Communion shall they have with Christ in heaven who have here a spirituall communion with him upon earth Quest Celestiall communion begun at the day of death But when shall they have this communion A. I answer The beginning hereof shall be at the day of death To day shalt thou be with me in paradise saith our Saviour to the penitent theef Luke 23.43 promising to meet with him in a place of rest and happiness whether his soul was translated upon the dissolution and separation of it from the Body Thus it is said of Lazarus that dying he was forthwith carried by the Angels into Abrahams bosome Luk. 16.22 his soul his better part was conveyed in recessum quietis aeternae into the retiring place of eternal rest in Heaven where he should have communion with Abraham the Father of the faithful and with other Saints and Angels Here beginneth that blessed communion which the Saints shal have with Jesus Christ Upon their dissolution they shall thenceforth be with him beholding enjoying him and haing enjoyed of him I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ Phil. 1.23 But the perfection hereof is reserved to another day Perfected at the Resurrection the last day the day of the general resurrection and judgement when the bodies of Gods Saints being raised out of their dust and reunited to their glorified spirits shall be made joynt partakers of eternal glory and happiness with Jesus Christ Now shall this their blessed communion be at the full which was before but in the change and hereupon it is that our Saviour here in the Text referreth this his drinking of this new wine with his Apostles unto that day 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 until that day the day of judgement which
Applica ∣ tion which I shall direct onely two wayes by way of Consolation Exhortation Use 1. Use 1 By way of Consolation Consolation to such as have communion with Christ upon earth So our Saviour himselfe here intends what he saith to his Apostles that it might be as a Cordiall first to himselfe then to them To himselfe to strengthen his approaching Passion to them to comfort them concerning his departing from them And both these waies let it bee usefull unto us I mean such and onely such as have communion with Jesus Christ In respect of themselves a Cordial against present sufferings or fears Being in our measure such now take this 1 As a Cordiall against present and imminent felt or feared Tentations In this case let Christians look beyond the present their present sufferings or feares setting before them this cup this cup of new wine prepared in heaven for them after they have finished their suffering worke So did our blessed Saviour here apprehending that bitter cup coming towards him which he was to drink in his passion he sets before him this cup this sweet cup which he should drinke of in his exaltation This is that which the Apostle tels us Heb. 12.2 where speaking of Christ and his exemplary patience in his sufferings he saith that for the joy which was set before him he indured the crosse and despised the shame c. Thus did he drown all his sorrowes and fears in this cup of new wine in the apprehension of that heavenly glory which waited for him after his suffering worke was over In this way it was as is most probably conjectured that the Angell of God is said to have strengthened him in his Agony Luk. 22.43 And there appeared unto him an Angell from heaven strengthning him This he did not by infusing or communicating to him any power or vertue Christus enim destitutus Divinitatis in se habitantis virtute humanaeque naturae relictus ac proinde 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 opus habuit Angelorum solatio Gro. Annot. in Lu. 22.43 New wine for heavy hearts but by presenting unto his humanity his divinity being for the present asleep and the influence of it for the time suspended as Grotius there ingeniously explains it the certain assurance of a speedy victory and insuing glory And in the like way let me as an Angell and Minister of Christ strengthen your hearts against what ever tentations and sufferings yee are subject unto viz. by setting this new wine before you So Salomon or rather Bathsheba for he learned that lesson from his Mother as in the first verse of the Chapter he acknowledgeth adviseth in the place forenamed Prov. 31.6 7. Give strong drink to him that is ready to perish and wine to those that bee of heavy hearts let him drinke and forget his poverty and remember his misery no more And this counsell shall I here lay hold upon making use of it in a spirituall way giving this new wine to those that are of heavy hearts presenting unto dejected spirits in their disconsolate condition this cup of consolation which I shal desire all such not only to tast but to drink of and that a hearty draught to sit at it So doe Wine bibbers use to doe at their wine against whom the Prophet denounceth that woe which I shall desire all such Good-fellowes to take notice of Isa 5.11 Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning that they may follow strong drink that continue till night till wine inflame them Christians to sit at this wine They sit at the wine the like let Christians do at this wine in the drinking whereof there is no fear of excess sit at it continue by it I mean by Divine meditation and serious contemplation often setting before them the joy and glory of Heaven which God hath prepared for his Saints and servants after that they have suffered a while Here it may be they meet with many a bitter draught they have their affliction and their misery their wormwood and their gall as the Church describes her sad condition in Babylon Lam. 3.19 But let them remember there is wine new wine laid up in Heaven for them A Cordial for such as suffer for Christ And how should the thought hereof comfort and strengthen the hearts of all the sons and daughters of Sion in the midst of what ever sufferings especially if they be sufferings for Christ Now let them know that drinking of his Cup here they shall drink of it hereafter Drinking of his bitter cup they shall drink of his sweet cup drinking of his Vinegar his old and sowre wine here they shall drink with him of his new and sweet wine another day Having thus communion with him in his sufferings upon earth they shall have communion with him in his glory and happiness in Heaven Ye are they saith our Saviour to his Apostles who have continued with me in my temptations Therefore I appoint unto you a Kingdom as my Father hath appointed me that ye may eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom Luke 22.28 29. Thus being sharers with Christ in his Cross they shall be also in his Crown If we suffer with him we shall also be glorified with him reign with him Rom. 8.17 2 Tim. 2.12 Christians Christians to have an eye to the recompence of reward Be ye more in the thought of this feeling your hearts oppressed with the weight of temporal sufferings do but cast the glory of Heaven into the contrary ballance against them So did Moses of whom the Apostle tells us Heb. 11.26 That he esteemed the reproach of Christ for Christs sake greater riches then the treasures of Egypt for he had an eye to the recompence of reward not onely to the earthly Canaan as Grotius would have it but to the heavenly and to the glory thereof This is the Christians 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of which the same Apostle speaketh in the Chapter foregoing Vers 35. Cast not away your confidence which hath great recompence of reward not onely temporal but eternal And this it was which Moses there had an eye at the reward of eternal life This it was that he put in the scale against all his sufferings the like do we which doing we shall finde this infinitely preponderating and weighing down the other So it did at Pauls beam I reckon saith he that the sufferings of this present life are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us So it is The 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the sufferings the Martyrdoms of this present life be hey never so many never so great yet they are not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they hold no proportion with the recompence of reward the glory of Heaven The one being comparatively light the other ponderous the one momentany the other eternal So the Apostle weighing them in the ballance of the Sanctuary sets his Tekel upon the former
a pledge of their heavenly communion Sacramental communion Such is this Sacramental communion in the Supper First A sign representing it So it doth A sign representing the heavenly communion and that most lively specially as that Ordinance is now administred unto you and received by you in this Congregation where your sitting at the Table and there eating and drinking of the Sacramental Bread and Wine together Sitting at the Table a Mystical ceremony representing the communion of the Saints in Heaven carrieth with it a more lively representation and resemblance of that heavenly communion which one day you hope to have with Jesus Christ and with his Saints and Angels then any other form or manner of Administration doth or can do So much is not obscurely insinuated unto us in those expressions which our blessed Saviour is pleased to make use of in describing and setting forth that heavenly communion which he doth by sitting Matth. 8.11 Many shall come from the East and from the West and shall sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Accumbent sit down A metaphor taken from feasts or banquets where men of different conditions sit down together so having a civil communion one with another So do the guests whilest the servitors stand by as the story tell us Martha did while Lazarus with the rest sate at table with our Saviour Joh. 12.2 And so again by eating and drinking at the Table Luke 22.30 I appoint unto you a Kingdom c. That ye may eat and drink at my Table 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 At my Table An expression questionless derived from his last Supper which he had then administred where his Apostles sate down with him eating and drinking at his table Thus they then celebrated the Passover not standing which gesture was appropriated unto that first Passover in Egypt because they were to eat it in haste as Moses tells them Exod. 12.11 but sitting their ordinary table gesture as the Evangelists Matthew and Mark both express it Matth. 26.20 Mark 14.18 And in the same posture they celebrated the Eucharistical Supper sitting and eating and drinking at the Table Which was to them a representation of that heavenly communion which there he promiseth they should have with him in Heaven shadowing it out not onely in the actions of eating and drinking but also in the posture of sitting and eating and drinking at the table A gesture not subject to any just exception Which I desire it may be the rather taken notice of for the satisfying of such as make a scruple of the like manner of administration at this day Which being so conform and agreeable to the Primitive pattern cannot I am sure upon any just ground be quarrelled with Secondly As this Sacramental communion is a sign Sacramental communion a pledge of celestial so a pledge of the heavenly communion As a sign representing it so a pledge sealing assuring it to all the worthy receivers of that Sacrament And upon this double account amongst others it ought not to be neglected but conscientiously attended upon where it is according to Christs Institution held forth But Christians may not rest here External communion not to be rested in in such an external communion This Judas had he followed his Master in an outward profession as well as the rest of the Apostles he heard his word he participated with him in the Passover and for ought I know in the Supper also Yet had he nothing to do with this promise being first a Traytor to his Master and after his own executioner he went 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to his own place as St. Luke tells us Acts 1.25 that is to that Hell which was a place more fit for him then that wherein he was among the Apostles and a place to which for his treachery and perfidiousness he was by God justly designed as that Text is commonly and I think properly expounded See then that we go further that we have an inward spiritual Inward spiritual communion to be sought after Rom. 6.5 invisible mystical communion with the Lord Jesus That being ingrafted into him not onely Sacramentally as all persons baptized are but really and truly united to him by faith and love we be made partakers of his Spirit which may transform us into his Image Eph. 3.17 That Christ may dwell in our hearts being present in us by the influence of his Grace and Spirit communicating to us the vertue of his death and resurrection Phil. 3.10 whereby we may be inabled to die unto sin and to live unto righteousness shewing forth his vertues expressing his life imitating his obedience in doing and suffering the will of our heavenly Father not onely hearing but receiving his words as the Apostles are said to do John 17.8 not onely eating of his bread and drinking of his cup in the Sacrament which many do upon earth who shall never eat or drink at his table in Heaven but that we eat his flesh and drink his blood applying the merits of his death unto our selves unto our justification looking up to him and by faith hanging upon him for a continual supply of his Spirit whereby we may be strengthned in the inward man Eph. 3.16 2 Cor. 3.18 and changed from glory to glory growing from grace to grace until we shall all come in the unity of the Faith and knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ as the Apostle speaketh Ephes 4.13 Having such a communion with this our blessed Lord and Saviour here in his Kingdom of grace upon earth we shall have a blessed Communion with him in his Kingdom of glory in Heaven where we shall drink of this fruit of the Vine new with him to all eternity Which honor and happiness may he vouchsafe to every of us To whom with the Father and the Holy Ghost be praise and thanks giving now and for ever Amen FINIS Acquaintance WITH GOD THE Nature of it opened The Practice Perswaded Incouraged Directed Cautioned As it was lately delivered to the Church of God at Great Yarmouth By John Brinsley Minister of the Gospell there London Printed by R. I. for Tho. Newbery at the three golden Lyons in Cornhil To the right Worshipfull the Lady ANNE WENTWORTH at her house in Somerleyton in the County of Suffolk Madam I Can not I may not forget those respects which my selfe some years since found from your late honoured Husband and your selfe how during my exile in the late difficult times from the * Great Yarmouth place to which God first called and hath since returned me you were pleased to provide me a residence and subsistance in your neighboring * The Island of Lovingland Patmos where for some time I exercised my Ministery first as a Teacher in a * Lownde Village near you and
is frequently in Scripture by way of eminency so called That day The day of judgement called That day But the Brethren are not in darkness that that day should evertake you as a theif saith the Apostle to his Thessalonians 1 Thes 5.4 speaking of the day of the Lord as the second verse explains it the day of his coming to judgement He shall come to be glorified in his Saints and to be admired in all them that beleeve in that day sith the same Apostle 2 Thes 1.10 I know whom I have beleeved saith he and I am perswaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day 2 Tim. 1.12 And again Hence forth is laid up for me a crown of glory which the Lord the righteous Judge shall give unto me at that day 2 Tim. 4.8 meaning the time of Christs second coming his coming to judgment So called by way of â—minency which is called That day as I said by way of excellency as being the most remarkable day the last and great day A day full of glory to Christ of joy to the godly of sorrow to the wicked A day which shall swallow up all days after which there shall be no more vicissitudes and successions of days and nights but one perpetual day for the righteous for whom light is sown as the Psalmist hath it Psal 97.11 One perpetual night for the sinners and ungodly who are children of the night 1 Thes 5.5 And at this day it is that our Saviour here promiseth to drink this wine new with his Apostles because then and not till then he should have a full communion with them and they with him in his Kingdom of glory So is that forenamed place most fitly and genuinely to be understood Matth. 19.28 Ye which have followed me in the Regeneration where the Son of Man shall sit in the throne of his glory ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones c. Where those words In the Regeneration are more fitly referred unto the latter part of the verse then to the former as Beza and Grotius note upon it as pointing at the day of the general Resurrection which shall be a day of renovation when there shall be new Heavens and a new Earth as St. Peter tells us 2 Pet. 3.13 and a general restitution of all things as he also saith of it Acts 3.21 This time our Saviour there calleth the Regeneration 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because then the sons of God shall be as it were begotten again the second time being here begotten to a lively hope as the same Apostle hath it 1 Pet. 1.3 they shall there be put into the actual and full possession of the thing hoped for Receiving the end of their faith the salvation of their Souls as it there followeth vers 9. Then shall they sit with Jesus Christ having a full communion with him then shall be that great and solemn feast of which our Saviour speaketh Matth. 8.11 When Many shall come from the East and from the West and shall sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of God Gods Saints shall be gathered from all quarters of the world and brought to that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that Caenaculum that large upper room possibly represented by that wherein our Saviour celebrated the Passover Luk. 22.12 The heavenly Guest-chamber where they shall have a sweet communion with Jesus Christ and one with another Then shall be that great Supper the last marriage Supper of the Lamb of which that mentioned Rev. 19.9 shall be a praeludium when he shall drink this new wine of which not improbably that new wine which he made of water at the marriage in Cana of Galilee was a Type with all those who have here had a spiritual communion with him upon Earth Quest Quest And why will he thus drink this new wine with them Why Christ will communicate his glory to his Saintes Thus make them partakers of this glory and happiness Answ To this I may answer First This will he do to them because they are his favorites Answ 1 even as King Ahasuerus going to the banquet of Wine They are his favorites which Esther had prepared for him taketh Haman along with him being his special favorit Esth 5.5 Such were the Apostles to Christ being upon earth and such are all true beleevers to him being in Heaven All Friends Ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever I command you John 15.14 All Favorites The people upon whom Jesus Christ hath set a peculiar love who hath loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood Rev. 1.5 whom he hath taken into a nearer relation to himself then others they are his Brethren and Sisters and Mother Matth. 12.50 And upon this account it is that he calleth and bringeth them to this banquet of wine to drink this new wine with them Secondly Whilest Jesus Christ thus honoreth and glorifieth Christ honored and glorified in his Saints them he himself is honored and glorified in them and by them So much we may learn from the Apostle 2 Thes 1.10 where speaking of Christ and his second coming he saith He shall come to be glorified in his Saints and to be admired in all them that beleeve Marke it At this day Christ shall be glorified not only in himselfe but also in his Saints whose glory as it commeth from him so it redowndeth also to him and reflecteth upon him so as he is thereby made more glorious this grace and goodnesse which he exerciseth upon them in so glorious a manner being matter of everlasting admiration to all that behold it Even as the glory of the Court is the honor of the King Thus the glory of the Saints is the glory of Christ whose members they are And their joy is his joy The Saints joy Christs joy so he calleth it Joh. 17.13 These things spake I in the world that they might have my joy fulfilled in them my Joy so he calleth their joy as for other reasons so because he rejoyceth in the welfare and happinesse of his people Their joy shall bee his joy Even as their sufferings upon earth are his sufferings 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Paul calleth them Col. 1.24 the Remainders That which is behind of the afflictions of Christ Even so their joyes are his joyes which shall not bee fulfilled without them Whence it is that the Church is called his fulnesse Ephes 1.23 The fulnesse of him that filleth all in all Such is the love of Christ to his Church that though hee have a fulnesse in himselfe and that not repletive onely but diffasive also communicating of his fulnesse to others not receiving any thing from them yet he accounteth himselfe defective unlesse he have his Church joyned to him and made partakers of the same glory with him But I shall no longer dwell upon doctrinall Illustration That which now remaines is practicall
in that elegant Enantiôsis of his 2 Cor. 4.17 Our light affliction which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory Ever then let this be in our right eye In imitation of our heavenly pattern set we this joy before us And herewith stay our hearts against whatever apprehensions or fears Yed A Cordial in the last agony even of death it self That is a Cup which we must all drink of sooner or later and to flesh and blood it is a bitter cup. The bitterness of death is past saith Agag when he thought to have escaped with his life 1 Sam. 15.32 I finde more bitter then death saith the Preacher of the deceitful woman Eccles 7.26 Death is a bitter cup it will be found so to those who have nothing to sweeten their mouths with To allay the bitterness of it sweeten it with this new wine the apprehension of heavenly glory which being tasted of apprehended by Faith will be of soveraign use to comfort the heart and bear up the Spirit in the midst of this last agony Of such use was it to our Saviour and of such use let it be to all that are his Thus in the midst of what ever conflicts here we meet with in our warfare upon earth remember we what is laid up in Heaven for us what through Christ being his his Subjects his Souldiers we may certainly expect and look for when we have finished our course It was the speech of the Roman General wherewith he is said to have encouraged his Souldiers being to engage in a hazardous battel So dine ye this day saith he as remembring that ye are to sup in another world Muscul ad Text. This Speech Musculus writing upon the Text taketh notice of as a passage which hath been looked upon by many as worthy to be remembred by Christians But how much more saith he is this sentence of our Saviour here to his Apostles worthy to be recommended to them and inculcated upon them Where he maketh promise to those who shall stick close to him following him as his Apostles had done that they shall sup with him in another world have a sweet communion with him drinking of this new wine with him in the Kingdom of his Father Thus make we use of this in our own personal tentations and sufferings 2. And secondly make use of it in reference to others In respect of others A Cordial for such as are to part with their nearest and dearest relations When we are to part with our nearest and dearest relations Husbands to part with their Wives Wives with their Husbands Parents with their Children or Children with their Parents These are to be taken from us by death who while they lived were the delight of our eyes and the joy of our hearts among the cheif of our earthly comforts This is a time wherein comfort is very seasonable Now a cup of consolation would do well Such a custom there was amongst the Jews as we may learn from the Prophet Jeremy Jer. 16.7 where speaking of those calamitous times which should come upon that Nation wherein all neighborly offices of love and respect one to another should be wholly neglected and laid aside among other things he saith That they should not give the cup of consolation to their Brethren for their Father or for their Mother when any of their friends were in heaviness for the loss of those who were near and dear to them not to put them to the trouble and charge of a feast as the custom now a days is Longe secùs quâm apud nos in usu est ubi viduae morte conjugum graviter afflictae mensam vicinis cognatis infiruunt Cartwright Com. in Prov. 31.6 7. not so fitly and approvedly as our reverend Cartwright notes it writing upon Prov. 31.6 7. but either to invite them to their Houses or else to send in to them provisions of meat and drink that so by eating and drinking with them they might help them the better to digest and put over their grief This was that which the Prophet there calleth the cup of consolation Such a cup our blessed Saviour here giveth to his Apostles His departure being now at hand and he taking his leave of them leaveth this consolation with them that however he and they should part for a time yet it should be but for a time There should come a day when they should meet again and then they should drink a better cup have a better communion together then now they had And the like cup of consolation let me this day put into the hands of all such among you as either at present are or how soon you know not may be in the like condition whom God hath called or shall call to part with your dearest relations as a parting there must be Know you and consider that this is but a parting for a time This I speak in reference to such as you have comfortable hopes of that they are dead in the Lord. Indeed as for others such as live and die without hope to part with them is a sad parting But being such such as are faln asleep in Christ now know that your parting with them is but for a time not for ever Though they shall not return to you yet you shall go to them as David said of his childe 2 Sam. 12.23 So as you and they shall have a meeting in Heaven where you shall both have a sweet communion with Jesus Christ and so far forth as may make for your mutual happiness one with another drinking of this new wine Use 2 enjoying those joyes Exhortation to make sure our communion with Christ upon Earth which shall never more know what any mixture of sorrow meaneth This by way of Consolation 2. Which that we may accordingly apply and bring home to our selves be we exhorted in the second place every of us to endeavor to make this sure to our selves That we be as Paul calleth beleevers Rom. 9.8 Children of the promise such as to whom this promise belongs Who they are I have hinted to you already in laying down the Doctrine viz. Such as have communion with Jesus Christ upon Earth Such onely shall have communion with him in Heaven Every of us then have an eye to this And here content not we our selves with an outward Not contenting our selves with visible and Sacramental communion visible communion Not but that also we must have a regard unto this to have an outward communion with Jesus Christ to own him follow him in a visible profession of his Name Which yet is not to be neglected and to meet him in his Ordinances as in hearing of his Word so in partaking in his Supper to eat and drink with him at his Table Which Ordinance Christians ought the rather to have regard unto and make use of in as much as it is both a sign and
him through the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their mindes as Paul saith of the Gentiles in the place forenamed Eph. 4.18 And such are all profane and irreligious persons of whom we may say as the same Apostle doth of the Heathen Rom. 1.21 That when they knew God they did not glorifie him as God They do not walk according to the light which they have though they know God with a kinde of speculative knowledge it may be yet they do not walk with him They seldom or never think of him God is not in all their thoughts as David saith of the wicked man Psal 10.4 They do not apprehend his presence with them they observe not his goings they regard not the works of the Lord nor the operation of his hands as the Psalmist saith of them Psal 28.5 They have no converse with him they are such as call not upon God which the same Psalmist maketh a character of a wicked man Psal 53.4 They have no regard to follow God to walk after him they are such as hate instruction and cast his words behinde them as you have it Psal 50.17 Saying unto God though not with their tongues yet in their hearts with those in Job Chap. 21.14 Depart from us we desire not the knowledge of thy ways Now as for such it well may nay it must be concluded against them they are far from having any acquaintance with God at all And so this counsel is very proper for them Now acquaint ye your selves with him 2. Others in the second place they have some acquaintance with him they know somewhat of him and their desire is to his Name to walk with him and approve themselves unto him but they are not acquainted with him as they should be and might be Their acquaintance with him is but overly not so intimate and familiar as some of the Saints of God have attained to and themselves might attain were they not wanting to those means of communion which God is pleased to afford them And who is there amongst us but may and must acknowledge our selves to be of this number True there is indeed a generation of men some whereof and too many are said to be in this Nation at this day who pretend to extraordinary familiarity and acquaintance with God as if they did already know him as they are or shall be known of him But I presume there are none of them within the reach of my tongue at present If there be let me onely tell them that had they more true acquaintance with God they would think more meanly of themselves then now they do When Job came to see God then he abhors himself Job 42.5 6. For you looking upon you all in one of the former Classes let me direct the Exhortation to all and every of you Now I pray you acquaint your selves with God You that have yet no acquaintance with him seek it You that have some acquaintance with him labor to confirm and increase it To these two sorts of persons I shall speak severally and apart Beginning with the first 1. You who have yet no acquaintance with God you have onely heard of him by the hearing of the ear but your eye hath not seen him or if it hath it hath been onely in the glass of the creature Some general knowledge it may be you have of God but no practical acquaintance with him To you be it spoken and that with the like affection that Eliphaz is here conceived to speak unto Job with Now I pray you acquaint ye your selves with him Do not you sit down contented in this your estrangedness but seek acquaintance with God Which counsel that it may take place with you let me first awaken you by giving you to know that if you be not acquainted with God here you shall never be acquainted with him hereafter Mark it and the Lord set it on upon your spirits If you will not acquaint your selves with God here you shall have no acquaintance with him hereafter Now this latter I presume there is none of you but would be loth with Loth would you be to hear that dreadful doom pass from the mouth of God when you shall come to stand before his Tribunal Depart from me ye cursed I know you not None of you but would then be willing and desirous that God should own you and take acquaintance of you And if so then acquaint ye your selves with him now No acquaintance upon earth no acquaintance in Heaven There is no room for strangers What the Prophet Joel in the place forecited saith of the New Jerusalem upon Earth is much more true of the New Jerusalem in Heaven Joel 3.17 There shall no strangers pass through it or yet enter into it None but such as have some acquaintance with God Being thus awakned now give way to some Arguments to perswade with you to seek after this acquaintance For which I shall not need to go far This verse whereof the Text is part furnisheth me with two which may serve instead of many In thus acquainting your selves with God you shall have peace and good shall thereby come unto you 1. Argu. 1 Hereby you shall have peace So some and that not amiss look upon this passage in the Text as an argument or motive to induce Job to seek acquaintance with God Acquaint now thy self with him and be at peace 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Pacem habete Have peace or so shalt thou be at peace This shall a man get by this his acquainting himself with God he shall have peace A blessing which is not to be found in any other way As for wicked and ungodly men who by their sinful ways and courses alienate and estrange themselves from God there is no peace for them There is no peace to the wicked saith my God Isa 48.22 57.21 Possibly they may as too often they do speak peace to themselves as the false Prophets did to the Jews Jer. 6.14 saying Peace Peace when there is no peace No being strangers to God they are strangers to peace This is a portion which God reserves for those that are of his acquaintance The Lord will bless his people with peace Psal 29. last Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose minde is stayed on thee saith the Prophet Isaiah Chap. 26.3 In perfect peace peace peace 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith the Original that is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 all manner of true and found peace And such peace shall they have who thus acquaint themselves with God they shall have Peace peace outward peace inward peace 1. Outward peace outward tranquillity This is that which Eliphaz elsewhere promiseth unto Job upon this very condition of seeking unto God and acquainting himself with him So doing saith he The Beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee And thou shalt know that thy Tabernacle shall be at peace Job 5.23 24. This is