or Jew but there ought to be in us beside a general love to all mankind which makes us desirous of their good a peculiar tender love of all Christs faithfull servants which causeth us to take delight in them as such in whom we behold the image of God shining forth in their holy conversations and begets in us unfeigned desires for their good both of soul and body and makes us willing to contribute our assistance thereto according to our ability and their necessities inward or outward and it inclines us to rejoyce in their good in some measure as if it was our own and hereby our hearts are so knit to them that we hold greatest familiarity with them and take pleasure in their society and conference and more especially in joyning with them in the worship and service of God This is a most sweet affection and the exercise of it is exceeding pleasant to a gracious soul which was it more common in the world would reform it from a wildernesse into a kind of Paradise and the perfection of it will be one great part of our future happinesse But this true Christian love can dwell in none but such in whom God dwells who is love Onely they who are recovered out of the selfish carnall state and are brought home to God by Jesus Christ are the men that are capable of this sincere love to their brethren for which many clear reasons might be given was it needfull and pertinent But this may suffice for all that this affection is grounded upon and follows our spirituall relation and therefore a man must first be in Christ himself before he can love another purely as his brother in Christ as a fellow-member of the same body He that hath not submitted himself to his Prince cannot love another upon account of his being a fellow-subject with him to the same Soveraign And hence it is we find this given in as a character of our Regeneration 1 Joh. 3.14 Hereby we know we are past from death to life because we love the brethren Most certain it is that they who find not in themselves a love to any people in the world upon account of their being made like to God in Holinesse are destitute of true love to God himself Wherefore I would advise you to try your selves by this note look into your own hearts and look abroad amongst those you hold your dearest friends and examine what it is that draws out your love towards them Are they therefore dear to you because they appear to you to be lovers of God and such as have a great zeal for his glory because they are of pious exemplary lives and therefore so farre as you can discern of gracious spirits Doe you love them as those that are bought with the same blood and sanctified by the same Spirit with your selves As such who are helpfull to your souls or receive help from you and walk in the same holy way and with whom you hope to live for ever in the same glory Or is not all your affection founded upon carnall reasons and bestowed onely upon your kindred or such that have done you courtesies in worldly matters but as for the rest you see no reason why you should love one more than another Nay farther doe you not find your hearts secretly rise against such holy persons as I before mentioned so that you had rather be in any company than theirs and could even wish the world rid of them because their blamelesse lives doe condemn and shame yours and sometimes their loving admonitions check and disturb you as Lot was a trouble to the Sodomites Are you not so farre from a reverent esteem of godlinesse that you can rather scoff at it though peâ—haps under oâ—her names and are prone to think it nothing else but fancy and folly to be so shy of sin and so extream carefull to please God If it be 〈◊〉 for certain you are no better than haters of God himself as he is holy and just though it may be you think not so much by your selves He that loves the Father will love the child also so farre as he 's like him he that loves the person will love his picture He that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen how can he love God whom he hath not seen 1 Joh. 4.20 Wherefore see to get your hearts deeply affected with the glories and excellencies of the blessed God and you will find your selves carried out to a great esteem of any shadows and resemblances of these in his people Let Christ be once the chiefest of ten thousand to your souls altogether lovely and desirable and then you will count those in whom he hath copied out himself and shed abroad his own Spirit to be the onely excellent ones upon earth in whom you will take great delight You will then so fall in love with his image wherever you discern it that in comparison thereof you will even disdain all those worldly excellencies which doe so dazle the eyes of short-sighted mean-spirited ones That humility purity reverence of the divine Majesty gentlenesse goodnesse and all other fruits of the Spirit which display themselves in the behaviour of the truly sanctified will make them appear more honourable in your eyes and render them farre more dear to you than those who have nothing to commend them to your esteem but that they have great Estates wear brave clothes and have high titles conferred upon them Though you must not be wanting in those respects that are due to outward greatnesse yet if you be Christians of a right stamp you will be such as David mentions when he describes a Citizen of Zion Psal. 15.4 One in whose eyes a vile person is contemned but he honoureth them that fear the Lord. Yea farther you will see more reason for your love to those that are holy than to your brethren or nearest kindred in the flesh or than to those that are onely of the same opinions and principles that you your selves are of which doe lamentably confine and regulate the affections of the most But the right Christian temper is farre more generous and large for being derived from the bowels of Christ it begets the same disposition in the souls wherein it dwells according to their capacity that is in Christ himself And therefore they hate none they envy none as for the wicked miserable ones they pity and even mourn over them as we find Christ did and with patience and meeknesse are ready to give them all the help they can to bring them out of their uncomfortable dangerous estates but all whom they have reason to believe Christ loves that walk as he hath enjoyned all his friends to doe these they dearly love And such errours or infirmities which will not cause Christ to withdraw his favour from them will not take off their affections for they dare not pretend to greater strictnesse than their Lord least what they might call pure
Infidels or bruitish sinners that will not be brought so much as once to consider of it or seriously regard it Here is love that passeth the full comprehension of Men or Angels Here are mysteries and unsearchable treasures of goodnesse Wherein could God commend his love more to the faln World than in giving his Son to die for us when we were without help And what greater love can be shewn than that which Christ hath manifested in laying down his life for his friends nay for enemies that they might be made friends for the ungodly that he might reconcile them to God Vile wretches that we are no more to be affected with this amazing discovery of divine bounty It s true indeed there are many things we are yet ignorant of which makes this love the lesse apprehended in its due dimensions Did we know more the infinite Majesty of God and our meannesse compared to him and how provoking a thing Sin is and how contrary to his nature did we know more what strange condescension there was in God's manifesting himself in flesh what bitter things our blessed Saviour endured for our sakes did we know the greatnesse of that misery he hath sav'd Believers from and of the glory he hath prepar'd for them did we clearly know these and all other heightning circumstances our admiration and astonishment would be unexpressible as it will be when they are more fully reveal'd to us But though at present we â—re much in the dark yet so much of them we know that would we duly ponder them we should even amazed cry out oh the depth of the riches of the wisdome and goodnesse of God! And what will not this prevail with thee oh back-sliding sinner to deal ingenuously and dutifully with that God who hath revealed such abundant mercies to win thee to himself when thou hadst undone thy self and the Law which thou hadst broke had past its sentence upon thee when thou mightest justly have expected the execution behold without thy seeking a gracious reprieve And more than so when thou might'st have had a Pursuivant speedily dispatcht to hurry thee to deserved torment behold a Saviour interposing to prevent thy ruine Instead of an unchangeable doom behold an Act of oblivion assuring pardon upon easie conditions Doe but deliberately weigh these things with that seriousnesse which becomes a man and see if there be nothing in them that may perswade thee to a sound repentance for sin and a speedy return to the God of love What dost thou think if thou wast a mean Tenant and hadst wilfully in some discontended fit pluckt down the House thou liv'st in so wast in danger to lie in the open fields and to be severely punisht as thou hadst deserved what now if after all this thy Landlord pitying the misery thou hadst brought thy self to should courteously come to thee and offer to build up thy House again in a more sumptuous manner than ever and set it at a lower Rent onely requiring thee to confesse thy former folly and promise to be so guilty no more but to live thy new-built House and doe thy best to keep it in repair and to accept of his help for what thou could'st not doe thy self and suppose he should even impoverish his own children through this courtesie to thee what dost thou think thou should'st now doe in this case is it any hard matter to determine would'st thou not think he dâ—served to be taken for a mad-man that should stand justifying his former offence and would not thankfully accept these courteous offers I dare say Reader if this was thy case thou art not so foolish or stubborn but thou would'st quickly resolve what to doe and this mercy and bounty of thy Landlord would even win thy heart for ever and thou would'st think thou could'st never be sufficiently thankfull for his kindnesse nor doe enough to make him amends And would indeed the gentlenesse and liberality of a man thy fellow-creature thus affect thee and shall not the loving kindnesse of God which hath appeared in Jesus Christ have much more power upon thee Dost thou not believe that our God hath done as much to engage his creatures to himself as this comes to Hath not he shewn as much pity and tendernesse to the souls of men as that would be to the body If thou doubt it look back upon the state of man and consider Gods gracious dealings with him Did not he by his own folly and disobedience cast himself out of Paradise and by wilful sin deface and even destroy the workmanship of God And yet did not God take pity on us in our blood when we were cast forth to the loathing of our persons Did not he contrive the way for our reconciliation to himself and beseech us to accept of it And doe we not read that in order to our enriching tâ—e Son of God did as it were impoverish himself and that we might be fill'd with the fulnesse of God emptied himself and became of no reputation And what an heart must that prodigall Son have who will not be affected with the kindnesse of his Father who takes care for and seeks after him when he had foolishly forsaken his Family and done what he could to put himself out of his Fathers care And is courteously entreated to return back to that comfortable â—tate and relation whence he had banisht himself and upon condition of his return sees another better estate provided for him instead of that he hath wasted and finds his arms opened to embrace him against whom he had lift up his hand Methinks if thou believ'st that God hath shewn such love to man it cannot but have some force upon thee to bring thee back again to him from whom thou hast run away and so long kept at a distance and must needs prevail with thee to cast away with grief and shame whatever is displeasing to him and doth estrange thee from him And except thou be an unreasonable Infidel thou canst not but believe it for it is plainly revealed in Gods holy Word where also we find the greatnesse of this love inculcated in Gods having regard to us and first looking after us when we took no thought for our selves how to get his favour 1 Joh. 4.10 Herein is love not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be a propitiation for our sins Rom. 5.6 8. For when we were yet without strength in due time Christ died for the ungodly God commendeth his love toward us in that whilst we were yet sinners Christ died for us And as Christ died to bring us to God so the consideration of this love should drâ—w us to him By this mercy chiefly we are engaged to offer up our selves a living sacrifice to God which is our reasonable service Judge thy self is it not most reasonable that we should give up our selves to that â—od who spared not his own Son but delivered him up for
us all and with him freely gives all good things to his people Canst thou then find in thy heart to go on in provoking so good a God and in sleighting such matchlesse love If thou canst certainly thou hast banisht all gratitude and hast scarce one spark of common ingenuity left in thee yea thou hast put off thy manhood and art become little better than a senslesse bruit for what should sooner work upon a reasonable creature to love another than extraordinary and undeserved-kindnesse which he hath received from him Nay I might go farther and tell thee and that justly too the very beasts themselves have more good nature than such a stupid unthankfull sinner as thou For they have some sense of a good turn and some love to those that doe it they know those that feed them and keep them and use not to doe them any mischief The Dog does not use to bite his Master nor the Horse to kick at him that looks to him And so indeed God himself complains of ungratefull men that when the Ox knows his owner and the Asse his masters crib yet they did not know their Maker and Preserver But to be short let me tell the plainly if thou find'st thy heart nothing mov'd with all this love that God hath revealed in sending Christ to save us from wrath to come by his own sharp sufferings I can no way see but that thy case is full as bad yea rather worse than his who believes not a word of all I have said Nay how indeed can it be imagined that thou believest these things if they make no impression upon thee except thou never use to think of them after thou hast read or heard them but there 's the wonder if thou dost believe them how thou canst chuse but think on them and think again till at length they work some good effect upon thee But if thou hast hitherto been so strangely carelesse let me once again desire thee now at length to set upon the sober thoughts of this unconceivable mercy manifested in the Gospel that when thou hadst even destroy'd thy self God should make haste to thy help that he should send his own Son to undertake for thee who was also willing to this work and should upon him punish thy sins and now after all onely calls thee to cast away thy sin and to return to his love which if thou wilt doe he is willing to be reconcil'd to thee And see if there be not good cause that thou should'st hearken to these invitations and whether there can be given any just or tolerable excuse for thy disobedience If the bitterest enemy thou hadst in the world should but save thy life when it was in his hands much more if he should endanger himself or undergo any losse for thy safety I am confident this would soon take off thy spleen against him and make thee very ready to be restored to his friendship And why the goodnesse of God should not be as prevalent with thee I cannot imagine if it be but soundly believed and well thought on 3. I may farther adde to engage thee to return to the Lord from whom thou aâ—t faln another argument drawn also from the goodnesse of God shewn in the death of Christ as hereby it is most clearly discoverd That there is some unspeakable happinesse which was purchast by the Lord Jesus for those that come to God by him and to which he invites empty miserable creatures Thou canst not imagine that God makes all this adoe with men for nothing It was not upon any triviall errand that he sent his Son into the world nor are they any sleight inconsiderable things which he offers to as many as will receive him It s true the mercy had been rich and glorious if Christ had onely died to save us from misery and to have procured of God that we might have been reduced to nothing rather than to frie in everlasting burnings and no tongue can tell what a priviledge the damned in hell would account this But over and above we read of a Kingdome of glory which Christ will give to his followers And how great this is judge by the price that was paid for it not silver or gold or any such corruptible trifles but the precious Blood of the Son of God without price whose utmost value cannot be exprest by Men or Angels and no more can the glory hereby obtained For if the Merchant be wise the worth of his Jewel may be guest at by the price that he paid for it Precious is the Soul of Man and full dear did the redemption thereof cost more than the the whole world or ten thousand such worlds as this And is not think you the souls portion answerable to its own excellency And the purchased Possession answerable to the greatnesse of that cost that was laid out for it When a common Slave may be freed for a few shillings half a Kingdome will be thought little enough to redeem a captive Prince and we afterward see there is as much difference betwixt them when they have got their liberty the one sits on a dunghill the other on a throne For certain then Christ Jesus came into the world and laid down his life to exalt those that hearken to him to the highest joy and blisse of which the nature of man is capable in delivering them from all sin rendring them exactly conformable to God and placing them in constant full communion with him He that so loved his Church that he gave himself for it to sanctifie and cleanse it by all this design'd to present it â—o himself a glorious Church Upon this account therefore methinks thou should'st easily be perswaded to cast away sin which is thy misery and return to God who is thy onely life and happinesse and that no mean happinesse as I have told thee is evident amongst many other reasons by the infinite value of the price that was given for it Oh little doe any even the best and wisest on earth conceive what are the full fruits of Christs blood what miracles of divine love those are which through endlesse millions of ages will keep alive the admiration joy and praise of Angels and Saints and fill the mouths of Christs Redeemed ones with continuall thankfulnesse for that wisdome and mercy which contriv'd and wrought their delivery and exaltation So that you see laying these things together the death of Christ as discovering the mercy of God lays the greatest engagement that can be upon the sons of men to break off their sins and return to the obedience and love of God in that there is so much mercy procured and tendred as may beget hope and encourage to repentance which is not like to be rejected and as there is so great love exprest as may well call for the return of love and even soften the most stony heart and as it discovers so great a blessednesse to be had in God through
Christ as may prevail with all that love themselves to make out after it and depart from sin which alone can keep them from it And that 's the second Consideration which the Death of Christ helps us to in order to the working of a kindly Repentance namely the great goodnesse of God hereby revealed to poor sinners 3. From all that hath been said will more clearly appear the hainous nature of sin as a farther motive to Repentance in that it is a contradiction to all this love of God and an undervaluing of the greatest mercy that was ever bestow'd upon the world being in effect a trampling under foot of the blood of the Lord Jesus whereby we should be sanctified And hereby I mean those sins which have been committed since men heard of the Gospel For as the evil of sin did appear in the greatnesse of those sufferings which Christ underwent to procure a pardon so these his sufferings doe exceedingly aggravate their sins who have continued in them after they have been told again and again what their Saviour hath done to make satisfaction for them if they would not undervalue and despise it Oh how have you made a shift so often to hear and read of the life and death of Christ and yet have done all that in you lies to crosse the end of his coming into the world and to make his Death of none effect to you whilst yet you pretend to believe that his design was wholly for your good Oh unthankfull wretches to make such a requitall for such unvaluable love As if you studied how you might most dishonour and displease him who thought not his own life too dear to lay down for you Could you see him upon the Crosse wounded torn and bruised for your sakes and could you think of no other recompence but to give him fresh wounds by your wilfull sins Did he once despise the shame and endure the crosse for you and could you find in your hearts again to put him to an open shame and as it were crucifie him afresh Did he indeed deserve such dealing as this at your hands Bethink thy self Reader whether this hath not been thy case Hast thou not liv'd in those sins which Christ died to deliver thee from And what hast thou thereby done lesse than proclaim That there is more to be got by thy lusts than by thy Saviour that its better to remain in thy polluted corrupt estate than to be washt in the blood of Christ whereby our consciences are purged from dead works to serve the living God And did they vilifie Christ more that contemn'd him jeer'd him and put him to death If thou take thy fleshly pleasures and worldly profits to be of greater advantage than any thing that can accrue to thee by Christs Death dost thou not think as basely of him as any of his Crucifiers did And hadst thou been there with this frame of heart is is not most likely thou would'st have joyn'd with them what ever thou maist now think As they hated Christ because he told them the truth and reprov'd them for sin and therefore did all they could to rid themselves of one whose preaching and presence was such a burden to them so dost thou appear in effect an hater of Christ his life and doctrine whilst thou walkest so flatly contrary thereto And what 's this lesse than desiring that there was no God nor Christ to govern and judge thee no such Rule as the Gospel to be thy guide Nay let me tell thee thou who hast profest thy self a Christian and yet hast behav'd thy self thus unworthily toward Christ thou art herein more guilty than the Jews themselves for what they did was very much out of ignorance but thou after thou hast known that he is the Son of God and that he laid down his life for our sins hast manifested all thy contempt of him and rejected him from being thy Saviour whilst thou would'st not be saved by him from thy reigning lusts which thou hast loved more than him as Judas loved the money for which he was hired to betray him After thou hast known of that friendship which by the Crosse of Christ was shewn to the ruined world yet thou hast been an enemy to this crosse whilst thou hast made thy belly thy God and minded earthly things whilst thou hast delightfully liv'd in the practice of any known sin What then were the Jews prickt to the heart when they were convinc'd that they had crucified that Jesus whom God had made Lord and Christ and shall it not have the same effect on thee to consider thou hast been guilty in some sort of the same wickednesse and hast shewn forth the very same spirit that was in them For think not thy self more blamelesse because thou never saw'st Christ nor hadst any hand in his Death nor didst joyn with his enemies in accusing condemning and reproaching him but criest out against them as monsters of men that persecuted the most spotlesse Innocence with such savage fierceness for all this while thy guilt may be as great as theirs whilst thou hast as great an enmity against the image of Christ and the Law of Christ as they had against his person And that thou dost not wound him and spit in his face is not from the goodnesse of thy nature but because he is out of thy reach for were he now before thee and could it gratifie thy lusts so to deal with him it s much to be feared thou would'st not stick at it Whilst the Pharisees condemned their fore-fathers for killing the Prophets they followed them in the very same sin And suppose a Father had two Sons the one at mans estate the other an infant and the elder of these by following wicked courses should break his Fathers heart and occasion his death and the younger when he was grown up should lead the very same life that the other did but yet should take on him very much to condemn his Brother for being so disobedient and hard-hearted as to bring his Father to the grave is it not plain for all this that had he been in his Brothers stead he would have done the same that he did since he also takes those courses which were so grievous to his Father Thus it is to be remembred that Sin was that which put Christ to death as well as the Jews and this Sin is it thou lovest though thou seemest to hate them And as those Jews put his body to pain by their cruelties so dost thou grieve his Spirit by thy wickednesse And know he takes it as hainously from thee that thou should'st thus displease him as he did from them that they should persecute him to the death Nor art thou like to get a pardon at any easier rates than they even no other way than looking on him whom thou by thy sins hast pierced and bitterly mourning for this thy bloodinesse and ingratitude What saist thou then after all
he brings whilst they will have none of him or them on the terms that God propoundeth No no it is onely the broken-healed heart the humble raised soul that can be feelingly and affectionately thankfull to God for a Saviour who hath wrought so great works for them and in them and laid up such great provisions for the time to come They that were lost but are found they that were dead but are alive in these will their heavenly Father take pleasure and these will rejoyce in his love and return praise to him who sent his Son to seek and save that which was lost To bring men into such a state and frame that they may be disposed and enabled from an inward sense of his goodnesse to render such thanks to the Father of mercies as may be well-pleasing to him I should onely onely need to repeat what was before laid down to bring them to accept of Christ which when once they are brought to and arrived to any hopes of their acceptance with God through him then both in heart and voice with their lips and lives will they adore and praise him who called them out of darknesse into his marvellous light Wherefore study well your many and great necessities which Christ alone can supply Consider to what miseries by sin you stand exposed from which he alone can keep you Remember what he did and suffered how low he condescended for the sake of man and remember your own utter unworthinesse that ever the least love or regard should have been manifested to you and yet consider what great things are done for you into how good a state matters are brought what abundant blessings are freely bestowed on the humble and believing what rich and precious promises are made them what mercies are given for this life and that to come grace and glory and whatever is good for men nothing is withheld from them Let but the consideration of all the rich and precious priviledges which Christ gives to his servants sink into thy soul and then thou wilt find it even impossible not to magnifie the author and purchaser of such gifts nor wilt thou be able to refrain from expressions of thy gratitude and love and therefore maist worthily come to the Sacrament there to exercise and expresse those holy affections CHAP. X. VI. It must produce an holy love to Saints HE that rightly remembers the Death of Christ and and well considers the infinite love herein shewn to mankind cannot but be thereby wrought to an hearty love to all his fellow Christians And that 's the last qualification I shall mention necessary for all Communicants and which flows from their remembrance of Christ to wit that they be in charity with all men and have an especiall endeared love to all true Christians both those that communicate with them and others To this great duty of brotherly love we have the most forcible engagement that ever could be imagined by the example of our blessed Lord laying down his life for us and his behaviour at death even praying for his persecutors doth sufficiently tell us how we ought to behave our selves towards our bitterest adversaries We see then what a spirit we shall have wrought in us by a right remembrance of our dying Saviour not onely toward our friends but our enemies themselves As for that love that ought to be amongst all true Christians we find this is the new Command that he hath inculcated upon us and obliged us to by the great example of his unparalell'd love that we also should love one another Joh. 15.12 13. 1 Joh. 3.16 And this he hath made the very badge of his true disciples whereby they should be known from the rest of the world Joh. 13.34 35. And one particular end of our meeting together at the Lords Table is to testifie and strengthen our mutuall love This we shew by our eating and drinking together which is the custome of friends and this is one reason why this Sacrament is called the Communion in that Christians have here the most endearing fellowship with each other For hereby is not onely represented their union with Christ their Head and their spirituall communion with him but that nearnesse of relation they have amongst themselves being mystically united into one Body whereof Christ is the Head 1 Cor. 10.17 For we being many are one bread and one body for we are all partakers of that one bread Each Christian is so related to and joyned with the other that they go to the making up of one body as the severall grains compacted together make one bread and by their joynt participation of this one bread they declare themselves to be but one body the Children of one Father living in one Family and feeding at the same Table upon the very same food even upon Christ himself who is the true bread that came down from heaven and upon their being united to Christ as Head is founded this their so near and intimate relation to each other to be Fellow-members of the same body as they that have the same Soveraign are fellow Subjects they that have the same Parents are brethren And by their feeding on this Sacramentall food and Christ himself therein from whom the whole body being fitly joyned together makes increase unto the edifying of it self in love Eph. 4.15 16. having here a communion with him which fills and acts them with the same Spirit hereby I say they receive a farther bond and disposition to the greatest unity of hearts and affections So that we are especially engaged before our attendance upon this Ordinance to go our way and be reconciled to our brother The leaven of malice amongst all other wickednesse is to be purged out when we keep this Feast 1 Cor. 5.7 8. And indeed we shall find this the generall sense of people that they ought to be in charity with their neighbours before they come to the Sacrament whilst they discover too little sense of the necessity of other graces that are equally needful yea whilst they remain destitute of this very charity it self which they acknowledge to be so necessary for alas they are not so easily brought to the practice of their duty as to acknowledge and commend it For the plain truth is none can rise up to this excellent temper of spirit wherein one half of our Religion consists but he who is engrafted into Christ and transformed into his likenesse by the spirit of love which may dâ—rect those who are yet void hereof what course to take for the attainment of the same namely to get united to Christ by a living faith and fervent love whereby they shall find kindled in their breasts a new affection to all that doe with them love the Lord Jesus For certainly it is not enough for us that we have no malice in our hearts against any nor wish them any hurt this is a poor description of Christian charity and may be found in a Turk
travailing to Emaus crying out We trusted this had been He who should have redeemed Israel Luk. 24.21 Then would our faith be vain we should be yet in our sins But we may now comfort our selves and use the Apostles gradation Who shall lay any thing to the charge of Gods Elect It 's Christ that died yea rather that 's risen again and is even at the right hand of God And now with joy let this Resurrection and Glory be remembred as being the fore-runner of yours When in your thoughts you have descended as low as his Grave and there stand weeping to think how your sins have slain him imagine you heard some Angel bespeaking you in almost the same language that he did the Women at his Sepulchre Mark 16.6 7. Fear not yee for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified He is not here for he is risen as he said and is gone before you not into Galilee but into Heaven there shall you see him When therefore you shall in this Ordinance see Christ crucified before you think with your selves This is the Lamb that was dead but is alive and lives for ever By the celebrating of this Sacrament you are to shew forth the Lords death till he come Remember then he is to come for this second coming would Christ have you keep much in your thoughts as well as his first He left not this pledge of his love with his Church as a dying Man leaves some gift with his friends to put them in minde of him whom they shall never see more but as one who goes a long journey leaves his Pâ—cture with his Wife that she may be mindfull of him in his absence and be quickned to long after his return And good reaâ—on have you to be mindfull of the Glory of our Lord since you your selves will be sharers herein and so at once you remember both Here I told you you take an earnest of the everlasting treasures and the consideration thereof is exceeding necessary to raise your value of that which will otherwise appear but worthlesse and mean And conceive of your selves as in a journey to that Kingdome having here taken in by the way to refresh your selves as travellers are wont to tuâ—n in and bait And like the Prophet 1 King 19.8 In the strength of this meal you are to go on toward the Mount of God These are provisions sent by your Joseph to serve you by the way till you come home to himself Yet a few more Sacraments and you shall be past the need of all Here are some fragrancies and drops of sweetnesse for the refreshment of Pilgrims till the day breaks and the shadows flee away when we shall get up after our Lord to the Mountains of Myrrhe and the Hill of Franckincense Here a Table is spread for us in the Wildernesse and some clusters of Grapes prest into our Cup till we shall come to Canaan and enjoy the vintage Behold in this transaction at the Lords Table an emblem and shadow of the future glory and let your thoughts take advantage from what is here presented to ascend to the joyfull contemplation thereof yet within a while and you who are here his welcome guests shall sit down with your Master at his Table in his Kingdome and there shall taste of the fruit of the Vine new with him and shall eat of a Manna that is yet hidden to you and shall exchange your present company for the society of innumerable Angels and perfect Saints And let this something quiet your mindes though not take off the quicknesse of your desires all you holy souls who are acted by so noble and strong a passion that you are imâ—atient of that distance at which you yet finde your selves from him whom you love and are even weary of the World where you cannot fully enjoy him much more of your own hearts that are so estranged from him comfort your selves for within a very short while your eies shall behold him and you shall be fully satisfied in your most intimate accesse to and abode with him You may look back with joy on the Redemption Christ hath wrought for you and may look before you and lift up yâ—ur heads with joy as knowing the day of full and finall Redemption draws nigh Only see that you now thirst ardently after that spiritual communion with him which is here attainable in being possest by him and closely uniâ—ed to him that being joyn'd to the Lord you may become one spirit This is the blessed and only possible transubstantiation to be transformed into the likenesse of Christ which is of infinitely more advantage to the believing soul than if according to that monstrous Popish fiction he should chew the very gross flesh and swallow the raw blood of Christ For by this means his body would only be changed into ours but by the change I speak of our Spirits become like to his And if now you hold but this fellowship with Christ in the spirit shortly you shall have a real presence even to the satisfaction of sense it self Then shall you see him as he is for you shall be made like to him in that day of his appearance Then indeed shall Sacraments vanish as useless shadows you having got the substance Christ himself You need then no more behold him in a Glass but shall see him face to face and be perfectly changed into his Image Oh the difference that will be betwixt that clear sight and this dark alas through our own fault too dark remembrance Oh that 's the comfort we shall then have laid by all that stupidity and dulnesse which here attends us whatever we are about That full view of our blessed Lord will for ever cure us of all coldnesse and unbelief and ravish us into one eternall affectionate admiration of divine love If that joy which arose from faith and love whilst he was not seen was unspeakable and full of glory how inconceivable how transcendently glorious must that be which shall arise from his immediate sight If it be such a precious priviledge to have a right to Heaven here solemnly given us what will it be to enter upon actual possession Oh then Christians whilst you are remembring Christ at his Table let it rejoyce your hearts to consider that he is remembring you at his fathers right hand and thither will shortly exalt you All you whom the King of Glory now espouseth to himself as it were by Proxie as Princes take Wives by their Embassadours remember that the day is hastening when your marriage shall be more publickly and triumphantly solemnized when all you blessed ones shall be call'd to the great Marriage-Supper of the Lamb. Yet a very little while and he that shall come will come and will not tarry And do you now get your souls mounted as high as you can climbe by all the means that are afforded you and stand ever wishly looking and diligently preparing for his appeearance and
lay his head It 's like you think if Christ was on Earth you 'd follow him though but in the company of poor Women and Fisher-men and though the most of the World should laugh at you for so doing why know hee 'l take it as well at your hands if you will but tread in his foot-steps and adhere faithfully to his interest though it should cost you the losse of all you had and of life it self And let the death of Christ be much in your thoughts let the love of God which was herein shewn be your daily delightfull study and ever leave a sweet tincture upon your spirits that by the power of love you may be moved and carried on in the whole of your duty Let this shame and drive you from sin let this make you laborious and unwearied in his service When you are set upon by a temptation stay so long as to set a bleeding Saviour before you and think how you have much such a case now before you as the Jews once had to wit whether Christ or Barabbas should be prefer'd whether your lust should be subdued or your Lord crucified afresh If you approve of the Jews choice in this case you had best imitate them If that which would murder your soul deserve to be spared rather than he who dyed to save it then go on give Christ a stab and sin boldly Consider further how Christ by his death hath acquired a title to you so that you must glorifie him both with body and soul as being not your own but bought with a price Bought you are not out of the hands of the Father that you should now have liberty to sin against him but out of the hands of Satan that being free from sin you may become subject to God and the servants of righteousnesse How wilfully blinde are they who take the more liberty in sin from the consideration of that death which was undergone to redeem us from a vain conversation 1 Pet. 1.18 19. Where 's that Man's reason and ingenuity who when he was fallen into his Masters displeasure and brought into favour again by the great industry of the Son should think he might now safely disobey his Master Though the Son pittied the servant so much that he was loth to see him perish yet he loves his Father so well that hee 'l never purchas'd an allowance for his disobedience and indeed the servants disobedience is his destruction Christ died once to save the penitent but hee 'l never die more to save those that remain willfully disobedient Consider also Christ by his death hath purchast abundant grace for the supply of all your wants and now being at the Fathers right hand hath full power to give out of this store wherefore make use of him to obtain the same Even as the Egyptians received food from Pharaoh by the hands of Joseph so must you receive all you have from the Father by his Son Jesus Let then the very life you live in the flesh be by faith in the Son of God By earnest desires vented in fervent prayers be ever deriving virtue and vigour from him your head Be as desirous and craving as you are necessitous as hungry as you are empty that the good God accoâ—ding to the riches of his grace may furnish you with all plenty of spiritual blessings til you shall come up to the measure of the stature of Christs own fulnesse Eph. 4.13 3. If you would thus grow in grace Be diligent in the use of all the means of grace which Christ hath afforded and let them be used and improved as means You must I have told you be much in earnest Prayer to God in the name of Christ for what ever you are wanting in Let not one day pass without the practice of this duty you that have Families call them together and pray with them morning and evening If you neglect this how little do you differ from those Heathens who call not upon God and upon whom he will pour out his wrath Be diligent in attending to the publick preaching of the Word and prepare your selves before-hand with a resolution to obey what shall be made known to you to be the wil of God and beg his blessing on what you hear Consider when you come home wherein you are particularly concern'd in what you have heard and accordingly follow it Setting against that sin or upon that duty that you are thereby convinc't of When you can get time spend it in reading Gods Word and good Books which may explain and enforce that Word Especially you that have not much time on the week-days spend the remainder of the Lords day after publick worship in some such good employment and waste it not in idlenesse no nor an hour at any other time Read also to and with your Family and ponder of it afterwards that it may be more profitable to you Often discourse one with another about the matters of your souls soberly and seriously that you may afford each other what help you can It would be exceeding well if when you sit with your neighbours you would be thus employed in holy savoury conference to the use of edifying rather than in idle chatting and talking of persons and things that concern you not But especially they who are of the same Family and are more neerly relaâ—ed have more opportunity and engagement hereto and should be admonâ—shing one anoâ—her daily and provoking to love and good woâ—ks For the Lord's Supper I have already directed you at large and I hope you will practise answerably and be frequent therein not ordinarily neglecting any opportunity when you are call'd to it But as I desire you not to neglect these exercises of Religion so on the other hand as earnestly I would wish you to beware of resting in them as thinking all Religion is confin'd to them and so becoming lesse carefull of your carriage as to justice temperance inward piety and all vertuous actions Methinks the wretched error of those Sects that throw off all external duties of worship and crie up themselves as above Ordinances may teach this wholsome lesson to all professing Christians to beware of resting in these things and framing to themselves a Religion out of them These I grant are parts of obedience to God for he hath commanded them and they are waies for the exercise and encrease of our graces and to be as helps to godlinesse but to think that they give any discharge from the practice of godlinesse and make amends for sins we are loath to leave for which we do as it were compound with God by these formalities making sin our pleasure and his service a pennance for it these are conceits so gross that methinks none but a Papist or one willingly ignorant should entertain them Religion is no road of performances but a new nature attended with a new life It is the subjâ—ction of the soul to the will of God expressing it self
ignorance and superstition no blessed and for ever praised be our God for that unspeakable mercy to this unworthy Land for the happy effects whereof doubtless thousands of souls are praising him in glory and thousands more yet on earth have cause to be infinitely thankful for that clear light which visited this corner of the earth when sunk into little less than an Aegyptian Darkness So that I verily beleive there is no Nation under the Sun where there are greater numbers of knowing hearty Christians who walk agreeable to the Gospel rule such that would be owned and approved by Christ himself and his Apostles were they now amongst us and will be at the day of their appearance before him But having said this to prevent exception and mistake give me leave to resume my complaint that still there are so many that are in Darkness in the midst of Light and that walk as in darkness not as children of the light Notwithstanding the means of knowledge multitudes remain in gross ignorance and are unacquainted even with the great foundation-truths of the Gospel and can it then be otherwise but that they should bee vicious careless and worldly And many who have a superficial knowledge of their Duty and confess its best to be careful in doing of it yet are themselves wilful and gross neglecters of it and live in open violation of Gods holy Laws Many there are that can talk religiously and are ready in the Scripture that yet will not by any means bee brought to forsake those sins which they finde Gods Word every where condemns nor will they set themselves to live such an holy serious life which is again and again so expresly and earnestly urged upon them As â—or the Sacraments though most are careful to bring their Children to be Baptized yet I pray God it be not more out of Custome than Conscience for some of these can give no tolerable account of the Reason of that Ordinance nor why they would have their Children partake of it only as they see their neighbours do so do they But yet there are far fewer who make any conscience of enforming their Children what a strict Covenant they are entred into how they are related and solemnly engaged to God for alas can we expect Parents should teach their Children to walk as becomes those that are in Covenant with God when they themselves live rather like Rebels to his Majesty than faithful Subjects And as for the Lords Supper which I intend to make the subject of my following discourse how sadly is it neglected in many places or else rusht upon inconsiderately and carelesly as if it was but a matter of course and no such a dangerous thing to receive it unworthily as Scripture assures us that it is How many hundreds yea thousands are there in both City and Country who make no conscience at all of coming to the Table of the Lord perhaps they may come once a year and scarce that Nay many go from one year to another and never appear there as if they acknowledg'd not they had a Saviour died for them or as if he had not bid them thus to remember his Death or as if his Death were not worth the remembring Oh careless stupid sinners what have you got to take up your thoughts and mindes that Christ himself is thus forgotten by you You can think well enough of your Children and Friends yea of your Cows and Sheep and your very Swine and must Christ have no room in your thoughts or memory Do these indeed deserve more love than hee Have they done more for you than he hath done Or can they do more than he is able farther to do and willing also if your wretched obstinacy did not prevent him I know you can say many of you that he deserves not to live who can forget Christ and that you do indeed remember him and take him for your only Saviour and will pretend that you have God alwaies in your minde when you are about your work or upon the way and you think wee must take your word for 't because wee know not your hearts and cannot disprove you but if one may judge by your carriage you manifest nothing less If one follow you from morning to night he shall scarce hear one serious word come out of your mouths you spend not half an hour in a day in Prayer either with your familys or alone plain enough we can hear you swear and cuâ—se and take Gods holy Name in vain but scarce ever so much as once to mention him with reverence What ever company you light into you are still talking foolishly and vainly or else only of your own worldly affairs but nothing that concerns the service of God and the salvation of your souls But for mâ—ny of you I need no other evidence against you than your gross neglect of this Sacrament of the Lords Supper If this Paper fall into the hands of any such and I hope God wil direct it into their hands for it was for sâ—ch â—hat I did chiefly intend it If I say thou who art reading these lines be guilty of neglecting this Ordinance of Christ from one year to another when thou hast frequent opportunities and invitations to partake of it let me ask thee how thou hast the face to say thou remembrest Jesus Christ when thou wilt not do such a small thing as he enjoyns thee to do in remembrance of him never taking care to prepare thy self and come to his holy Table Canst thou remember him and yet forget his command and absent thy self from those who meet together to celebrate his remembrance at an ordinance appointed by Christ himself for that very purpose Ah poor creatures that you did but well know your selves and your own necessities and concernments then could you never bee sounmindful of Jesus Christ you would as soon forget your daily bread Oh did you well know what he hath done for you and under what engagements you stand to him you would sooner forget your dearest friend who had sav'd you from death and daily fed you and cloathed you and kept you alive for indeed this and much more than this do you owe to the Redeemer of mankinde Oh that you would but beleive and consider what glorious unspeakable treasures of love and goodness he hath purchast for and will bestow upon you if you will accept them upon his terms and then you would no more forget him than you could forget your Prince or Landlord from whose bounty you were in daily expectations of a plentiful estate And if you would but see to get your selves well informed of the nature of this holy Ordinance distinctly and clearly to apprehend the reason and use of it and what priviledges and blessings are contained in represented and sealed by it I dare say you would more long to partake of it than of the most delicious banquet or sumptuous feast that ever was prepar'd But what do
to stay away But this is a Parable shewing what entertainment the most do give to the Gospel whereby we are invited not only to a wedding feast but to be even married our selves to the Lord Jesus Christ the everlasting Son of the Father And yet this message the matchless mercy whereof may astonish men and Angels I say this message is sleighted Men will not come to Christ that they may have life Adulterous souls go after other Lovers and will not be espoused to the Lord of glory They see no form nor comeliness in him why they should desire him They hear great commendations of him indeed what an excellent glorious person he is no less than the Son of God made man whose love was so great to mankind that he laid down his life for them but in the mean time What has he what 's to be got by him what estates will he settle on them what honours will he advance them to what why they shall through him have their sins pardoned and subdued their hearts sanctified and at length shall be receiv'd into everlasting glory Nay if this be all they have no mind to come on but when their consent is desired they have some excuse or other ready at hand and either they will not come at all or else not yet or not so thorowly and heartily as they are commanded and in such a wilful refusal of grace do thousands persist and perish And though I suppose this fore-mentioned Parable doth not directly and primarily belong to the Lords Supper yet it may by consequence be very well applied thereto Since here is a Marriage-feast of the Kings Son here are the great blessings and mercies of the Gospel held forth and offered and all who come duly prepar'd and sincerely dispos'd to accept the same shall be assur'd of them and hither do Gods Ministers exhort all to come in the appointed regular way And what 's the effect of their Message why the most make light of it Hither to this holy Table are people call'd to give up themselves to God to testifie the truth of their sorrow for sin and to renew their resolutions against it and so to receive a sealed pardon and a title to life everlasting but for their parts they have no such liking to these spiritual good things which are so freely tendered them The truth is their sins as yet they are loath to leave for they see no great hurt in them nay they think they find much good at present and do not use to trouble themselves much with the thoughts of that mischief they may hereafter do them and therefore they have no such high thoughts of Christ for his being able to mortifie and remove their lusts and so to save them from the misery these would bring them to They can very hardly be perswaded that there is any such excellency in an holy life that they should so speedily and solemnly resolve upon it And though they can like well enough to go to heaven when they must needs leave this world yet they look upon that day so far off that they are in no great haste of making sure their future happiness but think it may bee time enough to do that a great while hence And can any man wonder if those who are no more sensible of any benefit they have by Christ are very slack and negligent in a thankful remembrance of his death and of those benefits which thereby we enjoy and hope for which is the great end of Celebrating this Sacrament No marvel if such as these alwaies finde one excuse or other to keep away from that which they have no more love to and the necessity and advantage whereof they are no more acquainted with If there was but any matter of gain to be got by it any thing which made for the flesh wee should need no such ado to get them thither We may be sure if the King should but proclaim that he would give six pence a piece to all the poor throughout London that would repair to White-Hall there would need nothing but the knowledge of it to get them together Oh what running and crowding and craving would there be He need not send any Messengers to beseech and perswade them to receive his Charity But when the Soveraign Majesty of Heaven and Earth by his Heraulds Proclaims to all Ho every one that is willing let him prepare himself and come hither to receive an earnest of infinite and everlasting treasures there are few will accept the offer as if it was of no value and as if the Apostle was mistaken when hee prefers the blood of Christ before such corruptible things as silver and gold Nay I 'le warrant you in those Parishes where you shall find so few at a Communion did but any rich man amongst them make a feast and invite the whole Town to it you should finde but few stay at home But now when God himself calls them to his Table and there hath provided them food which came from Heaven true Spiritual Manna even the Body and Blood of Christ which is meat and drink indeed they finde no great appetite to this Banquet All the great words they hear of it work not with them For in all such cases 't is not other mens words and opinions that we judge by but our own relish and feeling And whilst men have got such corrupt dispositions and carnal affections that they savour onely those things which are grosse and earthly like themselves What wonder is it if they undervalue that which is so unsuitable to them and in which they can feel no more taste than in the white of an Egge A Swine prefers his own swill before the greatest dainties that can be provided And a voluptuous sinner that is wallowing in the mud of fleshly pleasures would not willingly exchange conditions with the glorious Angels that alwaies behold the face of God Oh whither is the Soul of man degenerated Into what a low and sad estate is it faln that it findes sweetness in any thing rather than in that which is truly pleasant How chearfully and contentedly can people set themselves to any thing rather than to that only work which God hath appointed them even the working out of their Salvation From morning to night they can follow their worldly business without complaining and yet know not how to spend one day in seven nor one half hour in a day in the service of God for the saving of their own Souls Oh what pains do many poor men take only to get a livelihood in the world and yet think everlasting life worth no regard or care at all They can bee content to spend their thoughts and strength and time upon vanity to lay out their money for that which is not bread and to labour for the wind but when God saith but give me your hearts he is denied If this careless generation had but Houses and Lands Money and Goods
they converst with and after some time this King taking pity on his banish'd Subjects should agree with his onely Son that if he would venture upon the hazards and troubles of so long a journey he should take a chief Officer along with him and go to these rebels with proclamation of pardon to all such who should acknowledge their crime and were willing to return into their own land there to live in the obedience and favour of their Soveraign and in order hereto would come to this Officer to be taught by him the language of their Countrey and how to behave themselves so as they might please their King and be fit to be in his presence when now the King's Son should come to these men and shew them his Commission and perswade them to be ruled by him who is come so tedious and dangerous a journey to free them from the miseries of banishment proposing the terms on which he will deliver them all those that believe he speaks true and hath power to help them and being willing to be delivered upon his conditions doe put their trust in him by his means to be restored to the favour of their Prince and their former habitations they doe by this very action manifest their love to their native Countrey and their willingnesse to live in obedience to their King whom they had displeased and doe hereby also engage to accept of this Officer that accompanies the Prince to teach them the language and manners of the Countrey they are about to return to The application of this to the matter in hand is very easie for in the same manner doth Faith in Christ and our acceptance of him implie our love to God and desire to live for ever in his favour which is that Christ offers us and by his death hath purchased for true Believers and it implies also our willingnesse to be sanctified by his Spirit that we may be made meet to live for ever in the love of God Oh hearken then and give ear all you lost sinners somewhat to pursue the former comparison all you that are the posterity of sinfull Adam who by his transgression banish'd himself out of Paradise you that are wandring up and down in this wildernesse and have even forgot the heavenly Countrey as if you were made onely to be inhabitants of this lower world here to live with the Beasts a miserable life for a while and hereafter to die like Beasts that perish and accordingly make it your onely work to run and ride to labour and toil for such things as are needfull for this present life without regarding that which is to come whilst you are thus estranged from God forgetfull of and daily running farther and farther from him behold a message of glad tidings and great joy is dispatch'd to you from heaven The great God that made you takes pity on you and is even grieved to see what a misery you have plunged your selves into when he made you so happy He is by no means pleased that such noble Creatures lately raised out of nothing for such glorious ends should through their own folly and the subtlety of the tempter be debased into such a wretched sordid slavery Wherefore in pursuance of his gracious designs for your recovery and to shew how his bowelâ— yearn over you he hath sent his own Son out of his bosome who is one with himself to take our nature upon him and to become one with us that he might be every way fit to be a Mediatour betwixt God and us that he might teach us by his doctrine encourage us by his example and make attonement for us by his death Accordingly all this is done the Son of God is come into the world and hath abundantly evidenced his Commission from the Father to treat with lost mankind about their reconciliation to him for the procuring of which reconciliation he laid down his life and being risen again he furnished his Ambassadors with authority to assure all that life was given to the world and this life was in the Son so that he who hath the Son hath life And this is that message which the Ministers of the Gospel at this day and to the end of the world are to proclaim to the sons of men This Sirs is the joyfull sound that is now in your ears If you will but trust your souls with Christ and consent that his Spirit should teach you the language of Canaan and work in you an heavenly nature and disposition suitable to the state and place he would bring you to then shall you be happy with God for ever What say you then shall Chriâ—â— be your Redeemer to bring you to glory upon these terms or not What have you to object against him Doe you think he does not mean as he speaks or that he cannot doe what he promiseth Dare you question his power his willingnesse or his truth If you will not believe his Word yet give credit to his Death Does not that tell you he is in good earnest with you and fully bent upon the Redemption of mankind And beside the miracles wrought by and upon him which fully witnesse for him let his Resurrection put you out of doubt that him hath God the Father sealed to this Office of Mediatour by this is assurance is given to all men that he is the Judge of to be world and therefore that all are delivered into his hands to save or condemn as he shall think fit and he hath plainly declared that to those who receive him he will give power to become the Sons of God but as for those who reject him upon them the wrath of God abides for ever But these things I shall branch out into two or three particular considerations to perswade you if it may be to accept of Christ the Prince of peace who comes with the tender of peace to your souls to accept of him I say to wash you in his Blood and sanctifie you by his Spirit that at length he may present you without spot or blemish into the presence of his Father CHAP. V. Perswasions to accept of the Redeemer and give up the Soul in Covenant to him 1. AND first consider I am onely perswading you to be Christians which you professe your selves to be And will you not indeed be what you professe Why doe you embrace the name if you dislike the thing I know you have false measures whereby you judge of Christianity and think perhaps that all who are Baptized and keep their Church and call themselves Christians are so indeed but you should rather say such doe professe themselves so to be but they are not so in Gods account except they are true to this profession He that wears a Noble-mans Livery seems to be his Servant but if he will not acknowledge him to be his Master by doing what he commands him you will scarce say such a one's his Servant however not a Servant to be
things super fluous or living in idlenesse and wantonnesse in pride and pomp with the applause of the world is any or all of this better than the love of God better than the fulnesse of joy to be had in his presence or better than the rivers of pleasure at his râ—ght hand for evermore But be they as good as they will dost thou think they will last always Or hath the Devil any future reward for his servants when their miserable slavery in this life is ended Amongst all his temptations did he ever so much as once bear thee in hand that he would make thee happy for ever It is possible for thee to be ignorant that the pleasures of sin besides their emptiness basenesse are but for a seasâ—n So that if thou remain without Christ thou hast no whiâ—her to go nothing to trust to that will not miserably fail thy expectations Look round about thee and see if thou canst find any other foundation to build upon to raise an happinesse to thy self And when thou hast but considered a while with that seriousnesse that beseemes one who hath a desire to doe himself good I doubt not but the language of thy soul will be like that of Peter to Christ Joh. 6.66 Lâ—rd whether shall I go thou onely hast the words of eternall life Thou oneâ—y hast revealed it thou alone directest to it thou onely hast purchast it thou onely hast promised it and thou alone canst bestow it upon thy people wherefore to thee Lord I betake my self renouncing all things that stand in competition with thee be thou my Lord let me be thy servant let me live to thee here and let me live with thee for ever hereafter pertaking of that glory which thou hast obtained of the Father for thy faithfull ones What saist thou Does thy very heart agree to these words or not Say yea or no before thou goest any farther I am sure thou hast nothing like reason to give why it should not Oh give not Christ cause to wonder at thy obstinacy and unbelief who when he came to bring thee salvation was rejected Once again I assure thee he comes not to undoe thee Think not thou shalt lose by him because he calls thee to mortification self-denyall and bearing the Crosse. If he would take thee from any thing which is dear to thee 't is onely because it is hurtfull and he 'll give thee better delights more noble employments than those he calls thee off from Thou shalt part with nothing by his service which thou could'st have kept long and instead of it thou shalt receive a treasure that shall never be taken from thee But if thou art so fast bound to thy profits thy pleasures and thy sweet sins to which thou hast been long accustomed that thou wilt not be perswaded to take thy love off them and set it on Christ but art so swallowed up with them that thou turnest the deaf ear to all these entreaties if this be thy resolution that Baal shall be thy god and him thou wilt worship that the world shall be thy portion and to it thou wilt cleave that sin shall be thy trade and in it thou wilt live Remember then thou hadst thy choice Christ tendered himself and all his saving mercies to thee but thou didst deliberately preferre other things before him and therefore thou hast no wrong done thee if thou goest without him If this be thy thanks to him for his matchlesse condescension in inviting thee to glory grudge not if hereafter he exclude thee from it And now get thee to thy idols which have so taken up thy heart that there was no room for Christ except he would have the leavings of the world and flesh which be it known to thee he never will he 'll have the highest place or none and since he must not have that go thy way I say and make the best of thy idols thy riches thy bravery thy carnall joys and empty honours thy dear friends and pleasant companions suck all the sweetnesse they will yield and keep them as long as thou canst and when thou seest where they leave thee and what thou hast brought thy self to then let thy Conscience reflect whether once thou hadst not an offer worth the acceptance 6. But this brings me to the sixth and last argument to prevail with thee to give up thy self to Christ and that is the sad and dolefull effects that are like to follow upon thy rejection of him If God be just and true thou art not like to go smoothly away with the guilt of this hainous sin Something to this purpose I mentioned before and therefore shall be the briefer now onely in faithfulnesse and love to thy immortall soul that thou maist never be able to say but that thou hadst fair warning given thee I now come to tell thee that if thou standest out against the mercy that 's so freely held forth to thee refusing to receive thy Saviour on those terms and to those purposes for which he demands acceptance thou art then like to be as miserable a forlorn undone creature both body and soul as ever trod upon the earth or saw the Sun Make as light of these threatnings now as thou wilt but if there be a God in heaven be assured they will be made good upon thee as shortly thou wilt feel to thy everlasting sorrow if thy speedy conversion doe not prevent it Think not I take any delight to dig in the bowels of hell and throw flashes of fire in thy face meerly to terrifie and daunt thee no but I would fain if possible prevent thy misery by discovering what it 's like to be if thou throw thy self headlong into it And oh that I could speak any thing that might make some impression upon thee not onely to bring thee to a fright and there leave thee but a little to awake thee to a sense what a mischievous thing that sin is which now thou art so deeply in love with that thou maist see to get thy hands rid of it before it be too late to wish thou hadst done so Even during this present life whilst thou art without Christ thy condition is most sad however thou maist applaud and blesse thy self in thy worldly enjoyments For thou art this while under the load of thy originall sin and all the transgressions which thou hast actually committed in thought word or deed since thou camest into the world the least of which without pardoning mercy would drown thee in perdition Thou hast no certainty for an hour of any of those things which thou possessest but art liablâ— to as short warning as the rich Fool in the Gospel who was call'd away in that night wherein he bid his soul take its ease eat drink and be merry For thou canst not shew any true title by virtue of a promise from God to the least of all thy comforts But thou standest always exposed to that
it as a farther assurance from God that his promises of mercy shall be made good to thee CHAP. VII The second benefit is Sanctification 2. THe second great benefit purchast by the Death of Christ and held forth in the Sacrament is Sanctifying Saving Grace for the enlivening and strengthning the souls of Believers There is no truth more plain in the whole Gospel than that one great end of Christ's Death was to obtain from the Father that the holy Spirit should accompany the proclaiming of the Gospel to enlighten the minds and soften the hearts of those who should not wilfully resist his workings that they might entertain the truth in the love thereof and that on these greater measures of grace should be poured forth to make them in all things conformable to their Maker according to the capacity of their natures which was the great design of the Redeemer even to restore apostate creatures to the image of God wherein they were created that so they might be made meet for his service here and the fruition of him hereafter A most lamentable mistake it is to confine Christs death onely to the procuring of a pardon and keeping sinners out of Hell since this was but in order to a work of grace on their hearts and onely such who submit to this work shall at last have a share in the absolute pardon For suppose a company of prisoners were taken in Warre who being weak and wounded cannot return into their own Countrey but must presently be put to death by the King that took them and in the mean time comes their own Prince and pays a great sum to obtain that the execution of them may be put off for some time and that his Physician may use medicines and apply plaisters to as many as are willing and that all such when they are made whole shall be sent to their own homes and the rest who will not be ruled by the Physician but spit out his potions because they are bitter and throw away his plaisters because they make them smart they are to remain in their prison and be put to death as they were sentenced Here we see the ransome that was paid was first to stop the slaughter of the prisoners and to get liberty to use means for their recovery to health and soundnesse and secondly to obtain that the recovered should be set free to return to their own Countrey and not onely the contempt of the ransome but of the Physician would bring death Thus had we by the Fall both brought our selves into danger of present destruction and disabled our souls that we could not return to that state whence we fell but the Son of God undertaking our Redemption obtained for us that the sentence of condemnation should not speedily be executed and that there should be assured hopes of escaping destruction and returning to happinesse for all those who make not their condition desperate by continuance in sin and rejecting of the cure which his Spirit would work upon them now the work of his Spirit is to plant and encrease grace in their hearts to heal the diseases and remove the weaknesse which sin hath caused that they may be enabled to walk in the ways of holinesse to their everlasting rest and the sending forth of his healing Spirit was the fruit of his blood Now as it will assuredly damn men to despise the blood of Christ as if it was of no force to be a ransome nor to attain those ends for which the Gospel saith it was shed so is it as dangerous and damnable to resist and sleight the Spirit of Christ let them pretend what esteem they will for his blood A like mistake also it is flowing from the former to limit the notion of free grace to meer pardoning mercy whenas it includes sanctifying 〈◊〉 so for in the instance now given the Physick I hope was as free a gift to the prisoners as the ransome that was paid for them notwithstanding this was without them and the other to be taken into them And in like manner is the giving of the Spirit into us as purely from the grace and mercy of God though merited by Christ as the giving of his Son for us accepting of us for his sake This I was willing to hint least any when they hear or read of being saved by Free grace should dream of a salvation to be had by a meer pardon without being sanctified by the Spirit That the making men holy in their hearts and lives was a principall end of Christs Death without which no happinesse is to be attained is I say a truth so evident in the very tenour of the Gospel that it may seem needlesse to produce particular proofs yet amongst the rest read these few Eph. 2.10 We are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works c. Eph. 5.25 26 27. Christ loved the Church and gave himself for it that he might sanctifie and cleanse it c. and that it might be holy and without blemish 1 Joh. 3.8 The Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the Devil 1 Pet. 3.24 Who bare our sins that we being dead to sin should live unto righteousnesse Tit. 3.4 5 6. According to his mercy he saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour Read also Mat. 1.22 Luk. 1.75 Rom. 6.11 Galat. 1.4 Tit. 2.12 13 14. Heb. 9.14 Now though I acknowledge it is by the help of the Spirit that we are brought to believe for faith it self is the gift of God Eph. 2.8 yet I think we shall ordinarily find the promises of the Spirit to be made to those who are already Believers to advance and carry on the work of God upon their souls And to this end and of this nature is that Grace which is 〈◊〉 and given forth by the Sacrament even to refresh and nourish the souls of Believers to confirm and encrease those graces that are wrought in them and to bring them forward to farther degrees of perfection And this much the very elements themselves do teach us for as Bread is the support and stay of life and Wine that which makes glad the heart of man and both are needfull for the maintaining of life and encreasing our strength so are the Body and Blood of Christ alike necessary and usefull to our souls for he himself hath told us that his flesh is meat indeed and his blood is drink indeed and that he who eats his flesh and drinks his blood dwelleth in him and hath eternall life with much more to the same purpose Joh. 6. The proper meaning whereof as will appear by the Context and the occasion of that Discourse I suppose is That they who believe in him having the same expectations of spirituall life from him that they have of temporall life from their food and accordingly receive digest and improve
say thou lovest Christ and art sincerely thankfull for his love and therefore wilt not joyn with thy fellow-Châ—istians in the remembrance of his mercy and expression of thy gratitude Does this sound like reason And yet no better is to be found in thy objection Might not the Apostles farre better have said they needed not the help of this Sacrament to put them in mind of Christ who was ever fresh in their thoughts But on the contrary because he was so much in their thoughts therefore were they so frequent in this duty And was thy spirit like theirs thy practice would not be so conâ—rary And let me tell thee farther it 's much to be feared thou hast little or no grace at all who sleightest any way that Christ hath ordained for the increase of grace A wise man useth not to say I enjoy my health well and therefore I care not for my food since this is the means for continuance of his health But it seemâ— thou deniest that thou canst get any good by this Ordinance wherefore 6. In the next place let me ask thee Do'st thou imagine thy self arrived to the utmost pitch of perfection so that thou lookest upon all means and Ordinances as things below thee If so I cannot now stand to shew thee the pride and ignorance of this conceit which are both so great that it's danger thou wilt not be convinced of either But wast thou indeed so excellent a creature as thou takest thy self to be yet methinks thou should'st not imagine that thou art above the exercise of grace or returning thanks for what thou hast received and even these reasons may bring thee to the duty I am now pleading for Or if this be none of thy conceit do'st thou imagine that the soul can get no good by externall means which work upon the senses If this be thy opinion thou seemest not to consider the nature and frame of man in this present state wherein bodily things do so mightily affect him and he is beholden to his senses for all or almost all the knowledge which he hath By this reason men could profit nothing by reading or hearing which is contrary to all experience And by this reason in the time of the Law no good was to be got by those Ceremonies that typified Christ to come which is a very bold assertion and most unreasonable and I hope the clearer representations of him and his benefits in our Sacraments have much the advantage of those darker shadows 7. Is it not very great impudence and ingratitude when Christ hath chosen to deal with us in such a sensible manner as he saw most suitable to our natures for us thereupon to call his wisdome and goodnesse in question when he calls us to offer our bodies as well as souls to him and to glorifie him both with soul body shall we say he cares not for bodily service and thereupon neglect all those services wherein the body is employed And when he out of indulgence to our weaknesse hath provided externall helps meet for us shall we think our selves too high for them Is not this most vile pride and ingratitude And consider whatever we dare to speak in disparagement of Christs Ordinances as if they were empty uselesse things will be found to reflect foully upon the honour of Christ himself the Law-giver 8. Where do we finde any of the pious Jews before Christs time complaining of their Ceremonies as burdensome unprofitable things Afterwards indeed when they were maintained in opposition to Christ whom they led to and ended in they are call'd beggarly Elements and carnall Ordinances but we hear not of this language before Though then God frequently exprest his very little regard to them compared to the more substantial duties of the moral Law yet where read we of any of the godly in those daies that rejected or disused them And what is our bondage sorer than theirs Hath Christ put a yoke upon his Disciples heavier than that he took off and what do they better than say thus who throw off his gracious institutions as a burden too heavy for them to bear 9. Methinks this is so like the language of Infidels that all who have any minde to be thought Christians should abhor it What wonder would it be for an Infidel to laugh at Baptisme or the Lords Supper if he should see them administred and ask what good was to be got from washing with water or receiving a little Bread and Wine But for one who pretends to owâ— the authority of Christ to speak after the same manner seems something strange If God give a command to wash in Jordan for the cure of a Leprosie it be-seems none but an Heathen Naaman to ask whether Abana and Pharphar Rivers of Damascus are not as good as the Waters of Israel And he discovers little more religion who shall sawcily demand why Bread and Wine at his own Table will not do his soul as much good as at the Sacrament 10 I would fain know of these Men whether Christ had power to appoint an Ordinance of this kinde to the use of which Christians in all succeeding Generations should be oblig'd if they grant he had as I suppose they dare not denie it then let them lay what he should have said or done more to lay this obligation upon them than he hath done in the present case If again they finde fault with the nature of this Ordinance as if it was not suited to be pertual because of its unprofitableness let them tell when it begun to be so Was it from the first institution or after a certain time If from the beginning what was it ordained for why would Christ set up an Ordinance that was good for nothing And why were the Disciples so frequent in it If afterwards let them name the time and give the reason of its degeneracy But farther was Christ able to make this Sacrament profitable to those who should conscienciouslie attend upon it They who say he was not must not take it ill to be thought Infidels but if they yield he was then let them alledge some reason why he would not or rather let them shew wherein he hath been wanting to it to make it so profitable If these fault-finders might have been at the first appointment hereof what a kinde of one would they have had it that it might have been more usefull than now they judge it is Is it not the death of Christ here set out before our eies and may not that in some sort affect us supposing we know the design of it as well as discourses that reach our eares may not this awake us to livelie thoughts of Christ of the reason and ends of his death and so quicken us to the exercise of repentance and faith and stir us up to desire after him and to thankfulnesse for his love and when our souls are wrought into so good a frame may we not reasonably expect
and steadily bent to chuse him as your onely portion if it be so you may be sure you grow in grace and are bettered by the means you enjoy and may be therefore encouraged to continue in the use of them 4. But lastly however it be with you yet be you patient and constant in doing your work and then leave the event to God Wherein upon examination you find you have been wanting to your selves be more carefull for the future in the due preparing and managing of your own hearts and so wait upon God in his appointed way Let your desires be carried out after that which is most needfull for you and which God hath promised to give chiefly after grace and secondarily after comfort remembring all you have is to come from the free mercy of a wise God to whom you must referre it what measures of these you shall receive and how soon it shall be Onely I say let it be your businesse quietly to wait his leisure in the use of those means he hath prescribed you for which I might give many reasons but I shall wave all onely demanding of you whether those spirituall blessings you so earnestly long after are worth the waiting for If you say no you deserve to go for ever without them but if you grant they are then pray tell me whether is it more likely to attain them by waiting in that way wherein they are to be found or by turning out of it This I hope is no difficult case to resolve If your friend be gone a journey and you have a mind to meet him upon his return are you not more likely to meet with him by holding on still in that road which he 'll be sure to come than by going back again or turning to some by path meerly to gratifie your lazinesse or impatience Wherefore when your hopes are at the lowest ebbe it is most unreasonable and foolish to cry with that wicked King Why should we wait on the Lord any longer there is no hope wherefore let us leave our duties and cast aside all Be sure there is no hope in such a course as this but rather a certainty of perishing whereas if there be safety in any way it is in an obedient patient dependance upon God yea in this way there is certain safety embrace it therefore as your wisest your onely course Do but see that you wait for the Lord and assure your selves you shall not be ashamed your eyes shall not always fail Get into the Psalmists frame Psal. 130.5 6. To wait for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning and at length shall the Lord manifest himself to the joy of your souls as sure as the morning light will appear to those who watch for it CHAP. XIV The Objection of unfitnesse answered As proposed by the doubting and the carelesse 3 Obj. SOme again there are and those not a few that will be ready to say They find themselves unfit for the Sacrament and therefore dare not come least it prove to their hurt rather than to their advantage Severall sorts of persons may upon different grounds raise this objection First the sincere and humble Christian whose soul is in the dark and through ignorance of himself or not considering the tenour of the Covenant and through the prevalency of temptation or melancholy he may without reason condemn himself as if his estate was worse than it is To these I have something to say 1. Why is it you judge your selves unfit for this Ordinance Is it because you are not so qualified as I have before shewn all Communicants ought to be I am confident upon a true enquiry you will find the contrary Wherefore be not hasty and rash in passing a censure upon your selves as if you were resolved to comply with the design of Satan to keep you in sorrow but examine things soberly and without passion and then give judgement upon your state according to true evidence If you be found faithfull Disciples and unfeigned lovers of Christ you will grant your selves meet to come to that Feast which is made for such Tell me then in one word Are you not from your very souls willing that Christ should be your Saviour and take his own course with you to bring you to God in glory Is there any thing in all the world that your heart is seâ— more upon than this even that you may be saved by Jesus Christ would you not account the assurance of this a richer mercy than to be made owners of the whole world Yea would you not give a thousand such worlds as this if you had them for the love of God in Christ Is not this it which lies heaviest upon your spirits and makes you walk so sadly even the fears least you are without true grace and should go without God and Christ for ever And yet can the Devil so befool you as to perswade you all this while that you love not God Have you got any thing here below more dear to you than his favour Do you take delight in any course that you know is displeasing to him Do you not long to be made more conformable to him To know and love and enjoy him more and do him better service in the world Would it not be the great joy of your souls always to walk closely with him and retain a strong sense of his presence and all his excellencies upon your minds To converse with him more feelingly and powerfully and in all your approaches to him to be filled with a suitable reverence humility seriousnesse and all holy affections Would any thing please you more than to please your God Are you not then best at ease when you find your hearts most enlarged and carried out after him Had you not rather be following after God in the ways of holinesse and the duties of Religion than to enjoy all the pleasures and merriments of sensuall ones Is there any duty from which you would be dispensed with Any command that you would have abolisht Had not you infinitely rather your heart was brought up to the fullest compliance with it Have you any lust which you would fain be allowed to keep Is it a trouble to you that you must part with your sins or else be damned for them Or rather is it not your greatest trouble that you lived so long without God and did so much against him in the daies of your unregeneracie And if you had that time to passe over again would you not prefer a life of the greatest suffering before such a life of sinning And is not your soul really burdened with those remnants of corruption which you yet feel in your selves Do you not strive against them and earnestlie desire to be rid of them Would you not account it a blessed priviledge to be more free from ignorance pride earthlinesse distrust self-will dullnesse and distractions in holy duties Would not a deliverance from these be
and think your selves secure enough if you come not hither in this evil mind If these be your thoughts pray answer me these two things 1. How can you desire of God the forgivenesse of your sins whilst you refuse to forgive others Have you the impudence to doe it Or the ignorance and presumption to think such desires would be granted See where the contrarie is expresly told you in that forementioned place Mat. 6.15 Nay tell me plainlie How dare you so much as say the Lords Prayer wherein you beg of God to forgive your trespasses as you forgive those that trespasse against you What do you pray that he would remember your iniquities and charge them upon you and take vengeance of you For thus it seems you deal with those that offend you Or do you think to make your case somewhat the better by never saying this Prayer or by leaving out this Petition Can you imagine this will hinder God from dealing with you according to the tenour thereof Methinks you should not be so weak No be you sure God will make good his word that if you forgive not you shall not be forgiven whether you give your consent or not If you say you do forgive your enemies then I ask you again why upon account of any differences you should neglect the Sacrament But if you dare not forgive them you see it 's as dangerous to say your Prayers whilst you are in this mind as to come to the Communion 2. But again If through these differences with your neighbours you are unfit for the Sacrament pray bethink you well whether upon the same account you are not as unfit for death And dare you continue in such a desperate condition as this Do you not believe that the charity which is required to make you fit for the Communion of imperfect Saints here on earth is as necessary for your admission into the communion of Saints in glory Are you not fit to go to the Lords Table and are you then fit to appear before his Tribunall Take this for an undoubted truth that if you so farre allow your self in malice or any other sin that you are according to the Gospel rule unworthy of the Sacrament if you die in this condition you will be thought unworthy of everlasting life Methinks then you should never dare to live in such an estate wherein you dare not die You take it to be a dangerous thing to die out of charity with any and is it safe think you to live out of charity or in any other sin for those that are liable to death every moment Wherefore to conclude my advice to you is that you would without any longer delay go to your brother and if you have wrong'd him acknowledge it and make all due reparation and do what in you lies to be reconciled to him but if he prove obstinate or have wrong'd you see that you heartily forgive and clear your breast of all spight or desire of revenge so being carefull in all other respects duly to prepare your selves come to the Lords Table there to receive a confirmation of peace betwixt God and your own souls And thus I have done with the severall objections that are made against this duty CHAP. XVI Directions for a due Preparation and right Receiving IN the last place according to my promise I come to give some Direction to those who are willing to addresse themselves to this work to instruct them for their immediate preparation to their behaviour in and after the same And though I have already at large shewn what the design of this Ordinance is that so we might the better know how to behave our selves thereat and have thence discovered what kind of persons Communicants ought to be yet I shall in a few words premise a repetition of the same that you may the better apprehend and remember it Know then that it pleased our blessed Lord Jesus in the evening of that night wherein he was betrayed to appoint this Sacrament of his Supper partly for the present comfort of his Apostles who began to be cast down upon the knowledge of his sufferings and removall from amongst them but principally for the benefit of them and all other Christians in the times that were to follow even till he should come to Judgement till which time it never ought to be laid down in the Church The great end of it was as I have said to preserve fresh in the minds of all Christians the memorie of their Lord and Master and especially of that unvaluable mercy shewn in his dying for them his Death being very clearly held forth by the breaking of the Bread and pouring out of the Wine But we must not think that it was for an idle uneffectuall Remembrance of him that he commanded this duty but for such a Remembrance as might tend to the great advantage of our souls even that by Remembring our Redemption we might be brought to have low mean thoughts of our selves who were lost and undone but recovered by Free-grace that we might keep up a sence of the exceeding great evil of sin which made us liable to those miseries whence onely his Death can deliver us and so might be stirr'd up to a greater sorrow for hatred of and resolutions against sin the occasion of his Death and that by the Remembrance of his love we might be the stronglier engaged to him and here in a visible and expresse manner might solemnize our Covenant with him and frequently renew our promises of faithfulnesse Moreover here Christ hath made a familiar representation of the blessings he hath obtained for Believers that hereby we might be quickned to earnest desires after them and so being at present fitted for the communications of grace to our souls might receive the same and might here also receive a confirmation of our faith that we shall in due time enjoy those priviledges that are invisible and yet to come And farther he hath ordained that his Death should in this lively manner at set times be represented to us that having it fresh in our thoughts we may be the more powerfully moved at such seasons as these to celebrate and adore that wisdome and goodnesse which hath so wonderfully appeared in the contrivance and accomplishment of our Redemption and that Fellow-Christians meeting together for this work may be the more endeared to one another and quickned to long after a perfect communion in the praises and love of God and their Redeemer in that future glory whereof they have here a shadow and forecast Now as the ends for which this Ordinance was appointed inform us what kind of persons they that frequent it ought to be as to their habituall qualifications so do they also teach us what ought to be the workings of our soul in our approches to it since here we are to exercise and put forth those graces which are before required to be wrought in us but yet for your plainer
apposite Text Ezek. 16.62 63. And I will establish my Covenant with thee and thou shalt know that I am the Lord That thou maist remember and be confounded and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done saith the Lord God It is to be considered moreover that the promises of joy are principally made to this frame The spirit of the humble and contrite God hath promised to revive They that mourn shall be comforted And they who come to the Table of the Lord weeping are most likely to return from thence rejoycing 4. And when you are wrought to this humiliation for and hatred of sin you will easily be brought to the next part of your work which is stedfastly to resolve by the grace of God never more to give willing entertainment to the same but to be entirely devoted to God by Jesus Christ to love please and serve him all your days I have told you how at the Lords Supper you renew your Covenant to perform those duties which you were engaged to by being Baptized into the Name of the Father Son and Holy Ghost Renouncing carnall self you professe to place your happinesse in the love of God and no farther to regard or please your selves than is consistent with his pleasure Renouncing the world your own abilities righteousnesse and worthinesse and all ways to to happinesse which are set up against Christ you professe to take him alone for your Redeemer and to resign up your selves to him that he may bring you to the fruition of God and therefore Renouncing the Devill who would draw you from God and Christ to gratifie your lusts with earthly things you professe your resolutions to be led by the Holy Spirit of God in those ways that lead to his everlasting kingdome You who are truly willing to all this for to such I speak I would have you in the most serious manner to professe the same before God and especially in the prayers that you make in preparation for the Sacrament Bind your selves over to him by the strictest vow that he shall be your God and you will be his people Professe to him that he shall be the portion of your souls that you will have none in heaven but him and will desire nothing on earth in comparison of him that if he will but vouchsafe you his saving love in Jesus Christ you shall be indifferent to all things here below as knowing that in his favour alone you are abundantly provided for Acknowledge his right to govern you and dispose of you being your Maker and Preserver infinitely wise and good and engage to take him for your Soveraign and Lord to render a sincere unlimited obedience to his commands and quietly to submit to his dispensations Professe to him that you relinquish all right to your selves and give up all into his hands to do with you what he pleaseth consecrating all to his glory whatever he doth or shall afford you being resolved through his assistance so to improve and employ it Promise to him that neither your own will nor the will of any mortall man shall be obey'd in contradiction to his And bethink your selves of those sins whereof you have been more especially guilty in thought word or deed and of the duties you have omitted and engage your selves particularly against those sins and to the performance of those duties And then Remember under what notion you enter into Covenant with God and what kind of creatures you are even poor lost sinners loaded with much guilt which you could never by any satisfaction of your own making take off from your selves and also exceeding weak so that you cannot by your own strength give that obedience to God which he requires nor vanquish the difficulties which you will meet with wherefore it is of absolute necessity that you accept of Jesus Christ as your Deliverer and your Strength for he onely who hath the Son hath the Father also Professe then before God your unfeigned willingnesse to close with the Lord Jesus to all those ends for which he offers himself to the world Acknowledge to him that you neither expect mercy for any merit of your own nor set upon duty in your own might nor look for acceptance of any service for its own worth but that you humbly depend upon Christ the Mediatour for all that you stand in need of Acknowledge his right to rule over and in you as having bought you out of slavery with his own most precious blood to whose mild and gracious government you will therefore submit your selves Professe your willingnesse and earnest desire to have your hearts purged and sanctified by his Holy Spirit and your lives thereby directed according to the precepts of the Gospel Thus professe your acceptance of Christ and submission to the Spirit that you may be brought into the favour of God and be enabled to please and glorifie him by your holy conversation for all tends to this even to make you holy in heart and life Therefore are we married to Christ that we may bring forth fruit unto God Râ—m 7.4 And the fruits of righteousnesse are by Jesus Christ unto the glory and praise of God Phil. 1.11 In him we are created unto good works This is the effect of his death and resurrection that we might be dead to sin but alive unto God Rom. 6. throughout They are Christs Disciples that bring forth much fruit to the glory of God the Father Joh. 15.8 And therefore is the Spirit of life given us through Jesus Christ that we may be made free from the power of sin and death that the carnall mind might be taken away and we made subject to God and able to please him yea that we might rise up to an higher kind of life more spirituall and heavenly than was ordinarily attainable under the Law Rom. 8. the former part of that Chapter This being then the summe of all to devote your selves to God by Jesus Christ to live in his love and fear and in strict obedience to his laws till you shall be taken glory you that are firmly purposed to do this and have made promises thereof betwixt God and your own souls Do you eat thâ— Bread and drink the Wine in the Sacrament as a confirmation of these promises Let this be remembred I beseech you whatever you forget That hereby you do most straitly engage your selves to live a Righteous Sober and Godly life from this very day and to the end of your days This some give as the reason why the Name Sacrament is put upon Baptisme and the Lords Supper because they are of a like nature with that Oath which Souldiers were wont to take to be obedient to their Generall and rather to die than to forsake their Colours which military Oath was called a Sacrament and thus both by Baptisme and the Lords Supper are we consecrated to the service of God
sons of men Let Plays and Fictions be hist off the Stage let Romantick follies be shamed into obscurity for here is that which alone deserves the name of Love here 's such Truth as commands our belief such worth and weight as calls for our regard and such stupendious greatnesse as may raise our wonder Here behold the power of love in the fairest display of it that ever was made to the world since its foundations were first laid beyond which imagination it self cannot ascend nay which falls vastly short of it how vastly short then doth expression fall but yet oh that we could feel as much as that little which we speak Was it ever before known that the Shepherd should lay down his life for his sheep not for innocent sheep but to reduce wilfull straglers to his Fold that he who was Lord of all should die for his Subjects not for obedient Subjects but for Rebels appointed to the slaughter Thus continue thy meditations till they have so good an effect upon thee that if Christ should appear to thee at this instant as thâ—u art got alone and should call thee by Name as once he did Peter and ask thee Soul Lovest thou me thou mightest be able truly to return his answer Lord thou knowest that I love thee And then to affect thee yet mâ—re consider of Gods saving love in Christ parâ—icularly revealed to thy soul that he was pleased to say to thee when thou wâ—â—st in thy blood Live Calling thee out of darknesse into his marvellous light laying hold on thee by his Spirit and recovering thee to himself when thou wast running farre away from him and many a tiâ—e preventing and restoring thee by his grace when otâ—erwise thou hadst utterly ruin'd thy self Oh praise him that he left thee noâ— in Satan's kingdome under the power of thy lusts but with a strong hand and outstretched arm brought thee out of that house of bondage and magnifie his name when thou beholdest that blood wherein thy sins were drowned as the Egyptians in the Red-Sea Oh blesse his name that he did not suffer thee to remain dead in trespasses and sins yea that he did not strike thee dead in them and sentence thee to the second death after which there is life no more This is a fit season for recollecting all the special mercies of thy life which God hath shewn either to soul or body to thy self or thine all which thou art to look upon as vouchsaft through Christ which makes the mercy infinitelie greater And when you have thus endeavoured to get your hearts brim-full with love and joy come and let them rise higher and boil over at the Table of the Lord. Let no sadnesse appear in your looks nor a tormenting thought by your good will seize upon your hearts this day Come loathing sin as much as you are able but come loving Christ as much Have as low thoughts of thy self as thou wilt and be as humble as thou canst in remembrance of all thy vilenesse but yet let thy Soul magnifie the Lord and thy Spirit rejoyce in God thy Saviour Thy gracious Lord will not upbraid thee with any former unkindnesse and neglect of his love which thou art heartily asham'd of and sorry for Wherefore though thou maist come blushing and weeping yet come not into his presence daunted and despairing He died on purpose to ease your souls of all those fears which make you all your life time subject unto bondage Will not you receive comfort for whom he hath shed his blood that it might be your Cordiall Let him see you then improve it this day to that purpose for your health and pleasure if it be solid is his delight And if he would have your joy at any time in this World full now it is If you must ever more rejoyce this I am sure is a fit season This is our most solemn Thanks-giving Feast Oh wonderfull That the commemoration of the Master's death should be the Servants Feast It is his pleasure to have it so and let us thankfully comply therewith Instead of his Vinegar and Gall he gives us Bread and Wine and better things than they Here he hath made according to his promise Isa. 25.6 A Feast of fat things a Feast of Wines on the Lees of fat things full of marrow Wines on the Lees well refined And you may be sure the Master of this Feast who entertains his guests with an affection as great as their fare is costly would not have them sit there sad and dejected as if they liked not their provisions or thought themselves not welcome Would it please you to see your friends in such a posture at your Table Oh question not your welcome all yee lovers of Christ but when you are there assembled imagine that you heard him saying to you Eat oh friends drink yea drink abundantly oh beloved Here he hath brought you into his Banquetting-House and his Banner over you shall be love Here will he comfort you with Heavenly Manna and stay with Flaggons all you that are sick of love You Children of Abraham that come from the slaughter of your lusts here doth your Lord meet you as his type Melchizedeck met your Father Gen. 14.18 Setting before you the Bread and Wine for your refreshment And here will he blesse you He shall cause you to sit under his shadow and his fruit shall be sweet to your tast Here may you expect the most comfortable commâ—nion with Christ that is to be had in this lower World Here then believing in and loving him whom you have not seen but whom you may here see represented do you rejoyce with joy unspeakable and full of glory 8. That your hearts may be more heavenly in this work and so more apt to be fill'd with joy and to break out in praise let me earnestly desire you here to have an eye to a glorified as well as a crucified Christ to remember not only his humiliation but his exaltation It was the minde of Christ that his Resurrection rather than his birth or death should consecrate a weekly thanksgiving to be observed by the Churh in all ages which should be call'd the Lords own day and be spent in his praise and service This being the accomplishment of his labours his finall victory over death and the grave and all Enemies that did assault his own person the memorial whereof must therefore needs be most rejoycing to his servants And as his Resurrection cannot be remembred without his birth and death which must of necessity precede it no more can his death be here rightly remembred without we also bear in mind his Resurrection and Ascension to Glory Can we remember what he was and not think what he is Sad meetings had we made indeed if our Lord had been held under the power of death if such a thing may be imagined All the World then might well be in the disconsolate posture of the two Disciples that were
never flack your watch nor let your expectations cool till either you see him comming in the clouds or shall be taken up beyond them With some such Meditations as these which I have suggested to you under each Head let your thoughts be taken up whilst you are emploied in this duty as you shall find your selves most inclined and as Gods Spirit shall direct you for you need not confine your self as to the method and form but rather let your affections have their free course Onely see that you watch narrowly over your hearts through the whole work that deadnesse and distractions may not possesse you Keep up a strong sense of God's presence with you and often lift up your hearts to him for life and quickning And let all the powers of your souls be summoned up and engaged in this action with all possible vigour and closenesse Let your minds be kept cleer from sadning and from impertinent thoughts that you may attend upon the Lord without distraction and be more capable of those sweet foretasts of his goodnesse which may be as a certain pledge of your everlasting enjoyment of all that he hath in store for his people 9. Lastly let me in a word or two direct you to be carefull in the exercise of brotherly love I need not stand I hope to repeat the advice I gave you to get all breaches made up betwixt your selves and brethren to do all that in you lies to obtain peace and if that cannot be had yet to forgive all injuries that have been done you and to cleanse your minds from rancour and malice and all desire of revenge to this let the love of Christ constrain you And moreover let your hearts be let out with a sincere and strong affection toward all your Fellow-members of that body whereof Christ is the Head A pleasant sight it will be to your Master who is in heaven to look down upon you his Disciples and see you here feasting together in mutuall love and delight in the remembrance of all that love which he hath shewn to you and in the joyfull expectation of what farther he hath promised And whilst your love is stirred up to Christ himself it cannot chuse but be imparted to his friends that are in sight such who sincerely love him on whom he hath set his heart and hath shed on them his Spirit whereby they are made like to him and therefore must needs be lovely in your eyes to whom Christ is precious as being also by this same Spirit made like to your selves and when in your joyning with them in this sacred action you remember that these shall be your everlasting companions in the joy of your Lord and shall there joyn with you in sounding forth his praises this will farther engage you to them as being heirs together of the grace of God and will work in you the beginnings of that love which will hereafter be perfect and perpetuall Whilst your love is built upon such right and Catholick principles as these being placed upon a Christian as a Christian you hold a Communion in the Spirit with all true Christians throughout the world though your affections will be most sensibly enlarged to those that you know and with whom you hold a locall communion in the worship of God And your joint assembling at this Table is a badge of your mutuall love and an engagement to the firm continuance of it Here are you made to drink into one Spirit by which you were Baptized into one body according to that Text I named 1 Cor. 12.13 This Sacrament is if I may so call it an Holy Philtre whereby Believers are united in more fervent love to their common Head and to one another The Blood of Christ is the onely cement and soder of souls And this is that Christian love which they are taught of God to which they are inclined by their new nature and which will easily be brought into exercise where the grace is first wrought in the heart wherefore it 's needlesse to stay longer hereon having also spoke somewhat largely to it before Onely one thing let me suggest before I conclude this namely that you take care to give a practicall demonstration of this love by contributing according to your abilities to the necessities of the poor members of Christ. This is a sacrifice wherewith God is well pleased a work never out of season but now most seasonable being an evidence not onely of your compassion to the poor but of the stedfastnesse of your belief in Christ and his promises and of your thankfulnesse for his bounty therefore you find both these mentioned together Heb. 13.15 16. As we must offer thanks so we must not forget to do good and communicate To quicken you to this charity both now and any other time when fit objects are presented Let me onely desire you to imagine to your selves that the Lord Jesus who was willing to part with his blood for you and thinks not an infinite glory too great to give you upon most easie terms that even he comes to you in one of his necessitous members to see what you can find in your hearts to bestow upon him If you that have Estates think he deserves nothing let him have nothing if he deserve but a little give him but a little if your lusts have more right to your riches than he then let your lusts have them rather than he Let Christ in his members starve whilst pride and luxury are maintained if you think this be just If you can improve your Estates better some other way take what you think the most gainfull course For remember Christ himself needs not anything you have or can do onely he 'll try the kindnesse of your hearts His is the earth and the fulnesse thereof and even his poor servants can he sufficiently provide for without you Wherefore if you give notwillingly and cheerfully you may keep your money to your self for any good that an extorted charity is like to do you But remember also you will be sure to lose and leave all that which God hath not one way or other but by giving it to him you send it before you and when all things here below fail you shall enjoy it with infinite advantage in the everlasting habitations And let this suffice by way of Direction for your preparation to and carriage in Receiving A few words for your behaviour afterwards and I shall come to a conclusion CHAP. XVII Directions for duty after the Sacrament 1. WHen you come home get alone and blesse God for the liberty and opportunity of a Sacrament which he hath afforded you and for all the priviledges that are thereby conferr'd upon you And let your souls chew the Cud and retain the savour of those pleasant things you have been entertained with keep them still lifted up and exceedingly gladded in the sence of that love which you have this day been celebrating and tasting in