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
any other condition than forsaking them If bare confession and begging of mercy might serve turn or if coming to the Sacrament might serve turn and yet still they might live as they list few would go without a pardon But remember God nowhere assures pardon to any man absolutely but upon a certain condition which except we perform we cannot look for the promised mercy What this condition is I have before told you even that you should repent of and give diligence to forsake all sin and receive Christ to be your perfect Saviour upon no other terms therefore expect to have a pardon confirmed to you by the Sacrament which will no farther avail you than as it receives power and efficacy from the promise without which it is a seal to a blank paper that will warrant you to claim nothing Suppose a Landlord should make you a Lease of an House upon condition that you would own your self his Tenant yearly pay him some small quit-rent should set his seal to this Lease all this would stand you in no stead if you denied that you was his Tenant and refuse to pay the Rent he required Wherefore to know whether your hope of pardon be upon good grounds and such as will not fail you examine whether you are such kind of persons as I have before described whether you are humbled for and brought out of love with every sin and doe with firm purpose of heart cleave to the Lord Jesus To bring you thus to depend upon Christ for a pardon in a right manner and upon sure grounds the considerations I laid down under the last particular may be of use since this is one part of that faith in Christ which I there exhorted you to that was an acceptance of him in all his Offices this hath a peculiar respect to his Priestly Office and is called Faith in his blood Rom. 3.25 Onely to adde a word or two more for the quickning of all such who have not much laid it to heart how to get their sins pardoned as if they thought it was a thing of no great consequence Consider I beseech you whether the Incarnation Life and Death of Christ was not a matter of huge importance to the world and tell me Reader dost not think thou art as much concerned herein as any other man Hadst not thou as much need of his Death as any And therefore doth it not stand thee upon to see whether thou sharest in the benefits of it as much as it doth any man breathing And tell me farther if all this preparation in the Gospel had been made for thee onely and Christ had come down from heaven and suffered on the Crosse for thy sake alone that thou mightest be saved by him on the same terms that now thou maist and should have sent thee a message calling thee by thy particular name assuring thee of all this and beseeching thee to accept of these offers of life dost thou think all this would have convinced thee of the greatnesse of Divine love and of thy need of mercy And would it have awakened thee to make out after the same and to doe all that was required to obtain it If so why then wilt thou not now be perswaded to the same care Since the Gospel speaks to thee as particularly as if it named thee and the mercy is as great and thy need of it as much as if thou alone wast concerned in it and thou shalt never have the lesse benefit nay rather more by having others to share with thee in it but thy misery if thou misse of a pardon will be never the lesse for having many companions in the same sad case with thy self Once again let me ask thee thou who now art so insensible of thy need of a pardon that thou wilt not take pains to get it in the way thou art commanded wouldest thou be contented at any rates absolutely and expresly to part with all hopes and expectations of it If thou might'st be hired with a thousand or ten thousand pounds would'st thou for such a summe of money professe thou didst renounce all right and title to Jesus Christ and all hopes of mercy through him Or would'st thou give this under thy hand in writing to the Devil or to any man that would help thee to a great Estate what would'st thou think of those who should doe thus would'st thou not look upon them as most wretched forlorn creatures Why be it known to thee if through negligence and stupidity thou seek not out after an interest in Christ that thou maist be pardoned and saved by him thy condition will at length be found as miserable as theirs If there should be certain acres of ground in Ireland promised to any one that would go thither to possesse them he that would not take the pains to go over would have no more advantage by them than he that should formally renounce his righâ— thereto Even so by carelesnesse and sloth maist thou lose all benefit by Christ as certainly as those poor creatures that are drawn to make compacts with the Devil and sell away their souls for a thing of nought To conclude if nothing I have hitherto said will move thee consider I entreat thee whether this thy undervaluing of pardoning mercy will remain always Sins thou hast I know thou wilt acknowledge yea many and great sins such as would sink thee to the lowest hell if they be laid to thy charge Dost thou not grant this And thou canst not but know that there will at length come a day of reckoning for these thy sins and dost thou think when thou must stand before the Judge and give up thy account that thou shalt not earnestly desire a pardon then will it then seem as indifferent a thing as now it does Then I say when without it thou must be sentenced to keep company with the Devils in the midst of scorching flames for ever and ever And thou canst not sure be so ignorant as not to know that none shall have a pardon then but those who got it now that 's a day for examining and declaring what our estates are whether good or bad that we may be dealt with accordingly not a time for getting them made better if they were naught before Wherefore if thou beest not a very bruit onely to mind what 's before thee if thou hast any foresight any belief of this Judgement-day that thou art going to now rouze up thy self and with all speed and industry labour to get that pardon which within a while to thy own most lively sense will be so needfull and stand thee in so much stead And when thou art wrought to such a sight of thy misery as makes thee desire after mercy and to such a loathing of thy sins as fits thee for it then thou maist be assured that God for Christ sake will be gracious to thee and thou maist comfortably addresse thy self to the Sacrament and take
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
for prayer or receiving Sacraments who are listlesse to all duties and feel no sweetnesse in them all such may hence learn what is the root and ground of this distemper what it is that makes them out of tast with these rich and savoury provisions which all healthfull souls doe so dearly love even because their secret but most powerfull thoughts are that they have nothing better than their Bodies to provide for and that to doe this is the chiefest businesse they have and that nothing is of any great use which makes not for this end But it would be quite otherwise with them if they were indeed clearly convinced and soundly perswaded that they have souls which will never die and that these are their best part and deserve most care and are as much to be preferred before the body as a man before the horse which he rides on and that these their immortall souls can onely be made happy by the favour of God out of which they are faln by sinning against him and that the great work of this life is to get all breaches made up betwixt God and them that so when they leave this world they may be restored to perfect happinesse in the enjoyment of God and that they can no way be thus reconciled to God but by Jesus Christ by whose merits and mediation their sins may be pardoned and by whose holy Spirit which is given by the Father through him they can onely be so changed and sanctified that they may be made meet for the inheritance of the Saints in the heavenly light of Gods presence and love Was the sound belief of these plain great and commonly acknowledged truths but well rooted in the hearts of men so as to overpower and change their affections we should soon perceive them to be other kind of persons in all their behaviour If they took it for the business of their lives to work out their salvation being convinced that they had nothing in the world to doe but this and what is in order to it then would they diligently labour after a saving knowledge of a crucified Christ which comprehends in it the whole of religion And then they would highly prize and diligently attend upon those means which Christ hath appointed for the manifesting himself and conveying his saving benefits to the soul. They would take care to be found in those ways wherein Christ is like to be found Whatever had relation to him would be very much esteemed by them and they would never be at quiet till they had done their best to make it sure that they had got an interest in him and through him a title to the Fathers everlasting love They would then rightly inform themselves what 's required of all that must be saved by Christ and these conditions they would endeavour to come up to and perform They would be willing to enter into the most solemn Covenant with him to take him for their Saviour in all his Offices by him to be brought to that glory which God hath prepared for true Believers and the keeping of this Covenant would be their study and care through the whole course of their life Now though considering these things it might appear a very fit method for the curing of mens mistakes and direct them in the way to blessedness first to represent and demonstrate to them that they have immortal souls and that the love of God is their onely portion and that this can no way be obtained but by the Lord Jesus and then to shew what is required to make us partakers of happinesse by him yet since these things are in some sort known and readily confest by the most I shall at present wave this method and chuse rather to drive at the last of these which will be found to contain all namely to direct and exhort poor souls to enter into Covenant and make a thorow closure with Jesus Christ that through him their sins may be subdued and pardoned their persons and natures reconcil'd to God that they may be blessed for ever in communion with him And even this is my chief design in laying down the following Directions to a due preparation for and a right receiving of the Lords Supper and in giving Motives to the serious and frequent performance of that duty which I look upon principally as a solemnizing and ratifying our Covenant with God by Jesus Christ and the sincerity of the heart in making this Covenant and our faithfulnesse in keeping it is the very heart and scope of Christianity For my intention in treating of this subject is not meerly to perswade people to come to the Lords Table alas what a poor thing is that to be rested in but to instruct them for a right coming to and hearty receiving of Christ himself then to come to the Sacrament there to make and renew their Covenant with him in a more formall and expresse manner the more to affect and deeplier to engage themselves For this being a sensible and solemn thing will be apt to make the stronger impression upon mens spirits and perhaps they will be sooner perswaded to this work because it is so much fitted to sense it self But the great danger is least they should rush upon that which they understand not the reason of and think they have done enough by bare receiving the Sacrament without considering to what purpose they doe it which would be greater madnesse and of worse consequence than for a man to run and lay his hands upon the book and kisse it and use the like ceremonies of an oath and never mind what he swears to nor afterwards think what he hath done though it was about a matter of life and death And therefore I shall endeavour by Gods assistance to prevent this miscarriage by shewing what is the nature and design of this Ordinance in a right participation whereof consists so much of religion since hereby a man professeth and engageth himself to be a sincere obedient Christian which may be understood by this comparison before I come to speak to it more fully that more ignorant Reader may the sooner have the notion fixt on his mind It is much what as if the Governour of a City after there had been a seditious insurrection of the Citizens should offer pardon to all that would acknowledge their fault beg his pardon and return to their former subjection and peaceable behaviour and moreover should enjoyn all that were thus affected to come take a piece of money which he would give abroad or to partake of a feast which he would make on purpose for the entertainment of such now would it not be madnesse and grosse impudence and dissembling for any to receive this money or go sit at this Table who were resolved yet to continue their rebellion and would imploy that very money and the strength they received from his meat against him that gave them whenas hereby they were to testifie their resolutions
for any that should be more suited to thy â—â—se and interest Hearken then to the free and affectionate invitations of Christ himself Ho! every that thirsteth let him come to me and drink and whosoever will let him take the water of life freely Isa. 55.1 Joh. 7.37 Rev. 22.17 Give not Christ cause to complain over thee that thou wouldest not come to him that thou mightest have life that he would have gathered thee as a Hen gathereth her chickens under her wings but thou wouldest not Oh what a cutting thought will this be in hell to remember at what cheap rates thou mightest have escaped that misery but wouldest not how easily how certainly thou mightest have been happy for ever but thou wouldest not The way was shewn thee and thou wast exhorted and besought again and again to walk in that way but wouldest not hearken Christ would have been thy Saviour as well others but thou wouldest have none of him being in the number of those rebellious ones who would not that he should reign over them And how utterly inexcusable wi lt thou be at the day of accounts when it shall be askt thee what reason thou hadst for thy not closing with Christ when he offered to have sav'd thee what answer canst thou then make except this may go for an answer that thou wast fully resolv'd against it What though thou hadst not wit or learning to improve for Christ nor an estate to lay out for him yet hadst thou not a will to embrace him and his tenders Couldst thou not have loved him and have given up thy self to him Could men or Devils or any thing but thy own wretched obstinacy and perversnesse have hindred this Thou who art now reading this who hast heard the Gospel again and again canst not pretend ignorance for thou hast been many times informed and once more let me assure thee that if thou art willing Christ is willing yea he is earnestly desirous of thy happinesse and had rather thou wouldest turn and live than go on and die yea he hath set himself full in the way to prevent thy damnation so that thou canst not get to hell but thou must tread him under thy feet who stands betwixt to keep thee thence If now at this very moment thou wilt comply with the design of Christ to save thee in the way he hath establish'd he will surely perform all his promises to thee But beware of deceiving thy self pretending that thou art willing to have Christ and that thy heart is wholly set on him whilst yet in thy actions and conversation thou art not subject to him for the tenour of thy life will be sure to follow the bent of thy heart If the temptations of Satan doe ordinarily prevail with thee against the commands of Christ doth not he possess thy heart who can thus put thee upon action If thou followest thy pleasures or worldly businesse to the neglect of Gods service is it not plain thou lovest the world and thy flesh more than God and holinesse Canst thou be diligent to please those whom thou hatest and to injure and provoke such as thou lovest best These are too grosse pretences to passe for currant and thy own conscience cannot but be convinced of their vanity and falshood If thou consentest that Christ alone shall be thy Saviour thou wilt depend upon him onely for thy salvation if thou art willing he should govern thee thou wilt in the course of thy life yield obedience to him If thou saist thou hast not power to be willing prethee examine what this means but that thou art absolutely unwilling and then whose fault is that Who is it I would fain know hinders thee from being willing or whom dost thou think to lay the blame on Be assured the holy God will clear himself if thou should'st lay the cause of thy damnation on him as if he did not give thee grace enough to change thy heart since thou didst not improve that measure of grace which was given thee and didst by thy wilfullnesse keep out what was farther offered to thee And thou wilt have small comfort in laying the fault on the Devil or thy wicked companions thy accusations of them will be far from acquitting thy self They shall dearly answer for what they have done but yet thou wilt still be left liable to justice yea thou wilt be found to belye the Devil himself if thou saist he was the chief cause of thy ruine for he could never have deceived and undone thee if thou hadst not been willing to hearken to him and be deluded by him Nor could thy companions have drawn thee to sin if thou hadst not first been in love with it for neither they nor the tempter whose instruments they were could thus prevail with them whose hearts were against it Neither will it excuse thy rejection of Christ to say thou never hadst sufficient reason given to draw thee to him and that thou never heardest of any such advantages to be had by him as might allure thee for thou shalt then be made to acknowledge that in the thing it self there was reason abundant reason for thy acceptance of him But if it did not prove sufficient to work upon thee why was this Was the Gospel unreasonable or wast not thou unreasonable in sleighting it Was it hid from thee If so was it not because thou didst permit the God of this world to blind thy mind and keep thee from the knowledge of the truth If thou art still in the dark is it not because thou lovest darknesse more than light Art thou not so fully bent upon the satisfaction of thy lusts that thou wilt hear of nothing that should draw thee from them Art thou not slothfull and negligent and wilt not mind things nor consider seriously of thy sin and danger of the love of Christ and thy need of him and the like subjects the meditation whereof through the blessing of God might have softened thy heart and bowed thy will to a thorough compliance with the Lord Jesus And dost thou indeed think that thy wilfull affected ignorance shall be held as a sufficient plea for the neglect of thy duty Iâ— when thou fett'st thy Servant to work in thy shop he should shut up the door and windows to keep out the sun or by night should purposely put out his Candle and then pretend he could not see to doe his work would'st thou take this for a good excuse And dost not thou doe thus who wilt not hearken to nor consider of the word without thee and putt'st out the light of thy Conscience thaâ— Candle of the Lord within thee whereby thou mightest be led to Christ had then criest thou canst not find the way to him If a Prince should send a Proclamation to Rebels promising pardon to those that would come in but threatning destruction to such as should persist if they stop their ears when it is read to them and will not enquire
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
or after to what purpose it is Canst thou be so silly as to imagine thou hast satisfied the will of Christ when thou hast done this Or canst thou think thy soul ever the better for it Wherefore remember what it was I first exhorted thee to namely to examine and prepare thy self and so to eat of this Bread and drink of this Cup to repent of and set thy self against all sin and to devote thy self to Christ and then to take the Sacrament as a testimony that thou dost so and as a bond to oblige thee firmer to him This I have frequently told thee and that thou maist be sure to understand my meaning and remember it take it once again in this plain comparison If a Master was about to bargain with one to be his Servant offering so much wages and a shilling in earnest and another that stands by having a mind to drive on the bargain should perswade the Servant not to stand off but to take his earnest doe you not know what he meant by this Doe you think he wisht the man onely to take the shilling and go his way without any more adoe surely no but to agree with him to become his Servant to do the work he should appoint him and to shew his consent to this should take the shilling that was to be given in earnest Thus Reader being earnestly desirous to drive on a match betwixt Christ and thy soul I would fain beg thee to take the Sacrament as an evidence of thy consent to become his faithfull servant but upon no other terms I 'le assure thee Wherefore if thou be resolved against the diligent service of God and yet venturest upon this Ordinance let the blame be upon thy own head Doe not think to excuse thy self by saying thou read'st a book that told thee it was Christ command to all that they should receive the Sacrament and that therefore thou didst as thou wast instructed for again and again have I made known to thee that none ought to do thus but true Christians such as believe in love and obey the Lord Jesus and this is that to which thou art implicity urged by that very command which he hath given for thy frequenting his Supper And this I would presse upon all that perform this duty rudely and negligently as well as on those that altogether omit it Let not such carelesse ones imagine they have hitherto rendred due obedience to this command For consider when a duty is enjoyned all that is necessary in order thereto is thereby enjoyned and the right manner of performing it also Thus when we are commanded to pray to God by that very command we are engaged to get the knowledge of God and to believe that he can hear and help us and also to be reverent and serious in our prayers for without these and the like qualifications we may say over a many words but we cannot properly be said to pray Thus when Christ commands us to eat Bread and drink Wine in remembrance of him he hereby commands us to get our hearts into such a frame that we may be fit and able to remember him with those affections and in that manner that it beseems ransomed men to remember their Redeemer And therefore we must know him and be sensible of our own slavery and be willing to be Redeemed by him and be thankfull for his love with the other qualifications which I have before shewn to be necessary to and included in our Remembrance of him If you make a Feast on purpose to entertain a friend you thereby suppose not onely that he should come to your Table but that he should come with a stomach to eat of your provisions And when Christ invites men to his Table where he hath provided spirituall food under the outward elements doe you not think he requires all that come that they should have an appetite to and desire after what he hath provided for them Thus then have I laid open to you the flat command of Christ whereby you are required to put your selves in a right posture and come to this Feast which he hath ordained in his Church as a memoriall of the Redemption he wrought for it Whether you will obey it or not I cannot tell I leave that to your choice if you have any reason that seems stronger than the will of Christ doe as you shall think fit onely remember the command I have been urging upon you was given you by that Jesus who will be your Judge and whose sentence will passe acccording to that word whereof this command is a part and if you think you have got any such excuse as will bring you off clear at that day though you be found guilty of contemning his Law I have no more to say but at your own perill be it Here I have given you faithfull warning Here I may farther adde that you have not onely Christs command but the example of his Apostles Disciples and the Primitive Christians to engage you to this duty wherein they were all conscientious and frequent Act. 2.42 They that were converted by the preaching of the Apostles continued stedfastly in their doctrine and fellowship and in breaking of bread and in prayers And this you may find was the practice of the Church of Corinth and by consequence of all other Churches then planted in that the Apostle rectifies the abuses they were guilty of therein as you may find at large 1 Cor. 11.17 to the end And are not we to walk as we have these for an example and to be followers of them as they are of Christ. Moreover they that are skill'd in Church History tell us that it is most certain it was the custome of the primitive Christians usually to celebrate this Sacrament every Lords Day at least And by the way take notice though we have no particular precept in Scripture how frequently we ought to doe it yet from thence we are taught that it ought to be done more than once and the practice of those who best knew the mind of Christ may inform us that it ought to be done often though the particular times are left to the prudence of Church-governours 2. In the next place I would wish you well to consider whether you have not good reason to conclude that you shall receive much advantage from the performance of that duty which is recommended to you by the expresse command of Christ and the example of his first followers Was there nothing else to be shewed but a command from him whom you acknowledge your Soveraign one would think it enough to silence all objections and bring you to obedience But doe you not moreover believe that Christ designed the good of his servants by the institution of this Sacrament in his Church Are any of his commands grievous or unprofitable Is not the whole design of Christian Religion evidently for our interest if we believe we have immortall souls And can
you have a greater evidence of the graciousness of his nature than that very mercy which you are going to remember even his giving his only Son to die for us whilst we were yet ungodly and enemies And did he of his own free grace without our asking and against our deserving provide a Saviour for us and is he yet unwilling to save us did he find out a means for our reconciliation to himself and is he now backward to be reconciled Does he importune us to take that which he is unwilling to give us Be not I beseech you of such an easie belief of the Devil 's grosse fallacies and so hardly drawn to believe what God hath not onely said but done so much to make it past all doubting See the Apostle arguing much after the same manner Rom. 5.6 7 8 9 10. Oh let your hearts then be fill'd with admiration of that love which God hath herein exprest to men the wondrous greatnesse whereof is such that it almost surpasseth our Faith and doth farre surpasse our full comprehension That there should be a way for the recovery of self-destroying sinners contrived by him whom they had offended and brought about by the death of his own Son that they might be raised to the highest happinesse even an eternity of the most ravishing joys in nearest communion with the Divine Majesty and all this to be had for a cordiall thankfull acceptance This is the Lords doing and well may it be marvellous in our eyes Great things hath the Lord done for us whereof let our souls be glad If an host of Angels came from heaven to proclaim these good tidings of great joy to all people shall not the Congregations of Christians eccho back their Glory be to God in the highest who hath sent on earth peace and shewn such good will to men Oh give thanks unto the Lord for he is good and his mercy endureth for ever Let the Redeemed of the Lord say so whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy Oh do you praise the Lord for his goodnesse and for his wonderfull works to the children of men who hath shewn mercy to such as sate in darknesse and in the shadow of death and hath broken the gates of brasse and cut the barres of iron in sunder and hath sent his word and healed you and delivered you from destruction Oh do you sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving and declare his works with rejoycing Psal. 107. Call upon your souls with the Psalmist in another place Blesse the Lord oh my soul and all that is within me blesse his holy name Blesse the Lord oh my soul and forget not all his benefits who fogiveth thine iniquities and healeth all thy diseases who redeems thy life from destruction and who crowns thee with loving kindnesse and tender mercies Psal. 103. at the beginning Oh think what a deplorable condition we had been in if God had left us in the hands of Satan to whom we had enslaved our selves and had never lookt after us more Oh what a dungeon had this world then been where we should have lived in darknesse and fetters in horrours and torments and all as but an inlet and passage to miseries infinitely worse and altogether unavoidable But oh blessed and for ever praised be his Name who hath visited the earth with his goodnesse and caused the rejoycing light to shine in dark and disconsolate places and hath proclaimed liberty to the captive and shewn a strong hold to which he hath called the Prisoners â—f hope to turn themselves having laid help on one that is mighty sending forth the prisoners out of the pit by the blood of the Covenant Zach. 9.11 This is that blood which by the Wine in the Sacrament is represented to you yea which is thereby put into your hands and given you to drink in remembrance of that which was once shed for you And shall not the hearts-blood of your dearest Lord warm and revive your souls enflame and advance your love Will you not now begin that new song of the heavenly Chore ascribing blessing honour glory and power to him that sits upon the throne and to the Lamb for ever and ever who by his blood redeemed us and makes us kings and priests unto God Rev. 5. This is that blood to which you owe all that you have or hope for This quencht those flames which else had fed upon you for ever This satisfied that justice which else had laid hold on you for your disobedience This purchast an inheritance which silver and gold could not buy This purgeth the conscience from dead works and makes the soul fruitfull unto God This pacifies the Conscience and appeaseth the disturbances that sense of guilt is apt to raise By this blood of the Lamb it is that the Saints in all their conflicts do overcome And can you withhold the most affectionate hearty thankfulnesse for this precious all-healing blood Methinks we should even be pained in our selves as not knowing how to give vent enough to our affections especially when our bleeding Lord is set before us Oh let him wholly possesse your thoughts and do you view that transcendent love which he manifested in his whole course but chiefly in the close of it that all may beget in you some answerable returns of love Read as you have leisure those heavenly discourses which were his Farewell Sermons to his Disciples and his last prayer for them which you may find in the 14 15 16 17. Chapters of John and see there how love breathes in every line Follow him to the Garden and there hearken to his groans and behold his bloody sweat which proclaims him to be sick of love of a love that would not be quencht by those crimson streams No still he goes on and go thou after him with the Women that followed him to his Crosse and weep not if thou canst forbear whilst there thou seest him die for love even for love of thee poor soul who do'st sincerely love him Art thou not astonisht at the thoughts of it What could the Lord Jesus see in such miserable worms as we that should incline him to undergo all this on our behalf Nay there 's the wonder he saw nothing and therefore he underwent it Nothing did I say yes he saw our guilt and defilement for which he might have justly loathed us But he seeing all this our misery was rather moved to a compassion for us Such a compassion as never dwelt in a mortall 's breast that he should pity those who pittied not themselves and die to recover those who had even murdred themselves yea that he should die to make them happy whose sins were the cause of his Death and even merit mercy for such as had no mercy on him and give life to them who took his away All this was voluntarily done by the Son of God who became Man on purpose that he might die and do all this for the
good turns and to beware of offending such as can undoe them And yet do they account it such an hard matter to love and please that God who hath given them all the mercies they ever enjoyed and to take heed of provoking him to anger who can kill both body and soul and cast them into Hell Yea further let those very people that cannot read have a paper given them that tells them how to cure any disease they are troubled with they can go to a Neighbour and get him to read it to them and they can mark it so diligently as to follow its directions Or if they be in any trouble about their estates they can carry their Deeds and evidences to a Lawyer and pray him to peruse them and tell them how the case stands with them And what could they get no body to read the Bible or some good book to them that might direct them in the way to salvation Or could they not have hearkened carefully to their Minister whilst he was telling them what they must do Or might they not have gone to him in private and desired particular instructions for their souls Nay there are few Families of the poorest but one or other amongst them can read and might they not have taken some spare time and have read together and discoursed one with another about the state of their souls and what was to be done in order to everlasting happiness The plain truth is there are few but can shew diligence and skill enough in any worldly trifle that they think does at all concern them But as I hinted before they are so insensible of any advantage that 's to be got by minding the things of Religion that they disregard them as matters of no worth or consequence For I cannot imagine whence this strange and damnable carelesness should come but that first of all men forget that they have souls which will never die but must live for ever in another world either in joy or torment according as they behaved themselves in this For certainly the sound belief and frequent sober consideration of the true nature of the soul is the great foundation and support of seriousness in Religion the great design whereof is to help this immortal soul to an happiness suited to its Nature Wherefore if the soul it self be forgotten how can it otherwise bee but God will be forgotten also and the Duty we owe to him neglected For though if we were ingenuous his mercies to our bodies might engage us to love and serve him and the most carnal men may so far remember God as to look for health and wealth and outward comforts from him yet this cannot bring them to any heartiness in Religion which consists very much in denying the flesh and thinking meanly of all things here below and therefore no man can serve God as he ought but he who believes that he rewards his diligent Servants with an everlasting happiness in the fruition of himself for nothing but the hopes of this can bear out men in those difficulties of suffering and obedience which they may be call'd to But if men have no regard to their souls neither will they take any heed to please God nor make it their business to get to Heaven hereafter which is nothing else but a state of happiness principally prepared for a reasonable soul in the full enjoyment of God neither will they take care to prevent their falling into Hell which is that state of misery whereinto they that forget God are turned and chiefly appointed for the punishment of the Soul And hence it will unavoidably follow that they will undervalue the work of redemption and disregard the Lord Jesus who wrought this work in behalf of the Sons of men to recover their souls to God to purchase the pardon of sin and enable them sincerely to please God and so to prevent their damnation and bring them to eternal Glory And if they have no esteem for Christ then needs must they sleight the Word and Sacraments whereby they should be brought to acquaintance with him to be interested in and related to him and to receive the communications of grace from him Now though there are few that will acknowledge themselves guilty of such ignorance of themselves such contempt of God and glory and of Christ the way thereto yet their actions do to plainly shew it For certainly if they had any true knowledge of their own souls they could not but take more pains to save them than they do even out of love to themselves when as now they never in all their lâ—ves many of them are so much as once broughâ— seriously to ask the question How they should do to be saved No nor ever with-drew themselves into private for an hours time on set purpose to consider what their spiritual condition is and how they stand related to God whether as friends or enemies and whether they must go when they depart out of this life And tell me then do these people indeed remember to any purpose that they have souls that must either be saved or damned for ever What though they may sometimes hear Sermons or read the Bible yet do they use when they come home or when they have laid aside their Books soberly to think of what they have read or heard Do they consider how it concerns them Do they examine themselves by the Word and apply it home to their own consciences and guide their lives by it Do they regard it as that by which they must shortly be judged And though they may sometimes put up a prayer to God yet do they perform this duty as seeing any need of it taking any delight in it or as expecting any good from it Do they before hand think what they stand in need of and so pray to God for a supply of their wants not onely of their Bodies but Souls in as good earnest as they can ask their neighbour for any thing they lack And in the very act of praying have they any awe and sense of God upon their Spirits as they would have if they were putting up a Petition to a Prince or Judge And do they minde wâ—at they have been about when they come from the Duty Do they carefully wait for an answer of their Prayers and patiently expect those blessings which they desired from God such as strength against sin and grace to serve him And do they do what is in their Power to procure what they pray for Thus you may be sure it would be with them if they were in good earnest in their Prayers For when they go to any great man to request a favour from him they attend what answer he makes and their thoughts are much upon it and they are deeply concerned for the successe of their request Though they have been Baptized into the Name of Christ yet do they ever use to think what they are thereby engaged to and see to answer
they have been so exhorted yet they will not be brought to think of these things soundly by themselves and to seek to God by prayer for direction and assistance It is no easie nor trifling matter for a man wholly to change his thoughts purposes affections and manner of life as all must doe that turn from sin to true godlinesse Such a change as this is not likely to be wrought without much consideration and sober setled resolutions on mans part to which the grace of God would not be wanting to make them effectuall I know it is also the grace of God that puts upon them but yet it is Man himself that by the assistance of this grace must thus Consider and thus Resolve But now when should people set upon this work of considering what they should doe to be saved Something or other still happens in the way that keeps them from the work or takes them off before it comes to any good issue Either they are sleeping or working eating or drinking or playing and idling dressing or undressing or have some whether to go or somebody to speak to or in some company that they cannot leave or have some businesse in their heads which they are contriving or else are in sicknesse that unfits them for action or some trouble hath befaln them which puts their minds out of order or some happinesse and prosperity which puffs them up with a foolish flashy joy or they have some brave things in expectation which they are musing on and pleasing themselves with beforehand Some such matters as these I dare say fill the heads and hearts of most from one years end to another throughout their whole lives These and such like are the things that come into their minds as soon as they are awake and then presently they are set about one thing or other or light into some company that takes them up for that day and the like happens to morrow and the next day and whilst the present time never appears convenient for the solemn performance of this great work of Repentance it is by the most posted off till it is too late and then in vain doe they repent to all Eternity that they did not repent in Time Now it could not be that they should never have a spare day or hour for the consideration of and setting upon the work they were sent into the world for but that they are guided in the course of their lives by this practicall deep-rooted opinion that their onely businesse hereis to make this life as comfortable as they can and therefore that to get food and raiment and riches for themselves and their children to enjoy pleasures and be well accounted of in the world are the best things which can be imagined whereupon they wholly bend themselves to the attainment of these things and on they go in a giddy heedlesse manner never well examining whether this their way be not their folly nor taking much notice what the principles and opinions are which have the greatest power upon their lives and whence their actions flow which principles may be so wrought into their natures that they shall lead and rule them whilst they are secret and not distinctly known and weighed And indeed this conceit that the good things of this life are most to be set by and sought after hath its first rise from our corrupted natures which being faln off from God and contrary to him incline us to seek happinesse any where rather than in returning to his love And then in Childhood and for some years after we have very weak apprehensions of any thing but what 's before us being wholly rul'd by our senses And when our miserable mistakes have once taken root and are become naturall to us it s one of the hardest things in the world to be freed from them for we are prone to be so conceited of our own ways that we are by no means willing to be contradicted much lesse to call our selves fools for all we have done and begin the world anew as if we had never set one step forward in the right way And it must needs be the more difficult to convince men of the folly and basenesse of such a carnall worldly life because they observe it to be the custome of the most about them high and low even of such as are counted wise and judicious worshipfull and honourable persons And what may they think can they be so foully mistaken who did but follow the course which they saw such men lead before them And this indeed is one great cause of the mistakes and destruction of men that when they come into the world they chuse rather to follow the examples of their neighbours than the rules of right reason which they should gather from Gods holy word and a due examination of things and therefore they take to those actions and that manner of life which they see others follow without well thinking whether they doe wisely or not just as if a man should see a company of people upon the way running as for their lives pretending that they are in pursuit of some great matters and thereupon should presently set in with them and run along as fast as they without farther enquiring what they look for till at length when they are all tired he perceives they had no other design but perhaps to catch flies which when they have they know not what to doe with or to lay hold on some pretty bird which they could not overtake even thus when a man sees those about him running and riding striving and sweaâ—ing to get houses and lands and all outward enjoyments he thinks it needlesse to enquire whether these things be worthy all their labour no that 's taken for granted for sure may he think these men are no fools but know well enough what they doe and therefore without deliberation upon the matter he joyns with the rest in labouring and contriving for these worldly things taking all the pleasure in them that they will possibly yield And whatever help is afforded them for the carrying on of this design they will readily and thankfully comply with If you supply them with what they were seeking for they will greedily receive it or if you will give them sure directions how to get it they will hearken to you and diligently follow your advice But whatever is presented that no way conduceth to these their carnall ends that which makes them no richer nor higher in the world nor gives their senses any delight is like to be altogether sleighted by them What mean thoughts therefore must they needs have of Sermons Sacraments and all spirituall advantages which are onely means for the getting of an happinesse quite of another nature from that they are seekin after I hope this large preface which indeed I did not design will not be altogether uselesse nor seem impertinent since they who so little care for hearing or reading Gods word
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
get no good by him but die in their sins which may bring all that are not in love with damnation out of love with that sin which will at length plunge them into it And thus you see how many motives to true Repentance are afforded us from the serious meditation on the Cross and Passion of Christ as this discovers to us the hainous nature of sin and as there is such mercy and love hereby reveal'd as may work upon and reclaim all that are ingenuous gratefull or wise for themselves and as this makes sin more monstrously vile which shall be committed against such mercy and as it shews that all men living in sin dying out of Christ are like to undergo unsufferable torments for their obstinacy And thus I have finisht the second qualification which is necessary to all worthy Commucants to wit True Repentance an unfeigned sorrow for a detestation of and a turning from all wilfull sin in heart and life CHAP. IV. III. A right remembring the great end of the Death of Christ to Redeem us from all iniquity and sanctifie us Of Faith and Covenanting with Christ. IT must needs be that if we rightly Remember the Death of Christ in the Sacrament we must then Remember to what end and purpose this was and this we shall plainly find in Scripture to be that he might Redeem man from that sinfull miserable state he was faln into and restore him to a state of holinesse and happinesse in the enjoyment of God from whom he was faln So 1 Pet. 3.18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins the just for the unjust that he might bring us to God Ephes. 2.16 17 18. Heb. 7.25 And this is the meaning of all those places which speak of the Redemption we have obtain'd by Christ if we take it in its largest signification And to this purpose he offers himself to men to be their Redeemer to conferre upon them the pardon of their sin and give them victory over all their corruptions and the temptations of Satan and to lead them by his Spirit through this dangerous world till he shall bring them with triumph into the kingdome of the Father Now hence it follows that no man can Remember Christ as he ought who will not receive him to these ends and purposes for which he offers himself which is our believing in him For is he a fit man to celebrate Christs Remembrance who hath no love for him nor any liking to his undertaking nor will be perswaded to comply therewith And such are all they who reject him and the tenders of his mercy except they might have them in their own way and that doe flatly contradict his design in becoming our Mediatour by continuing still in their naturall corrupt estate alienated from God and liable to his wrath that is who are unbelievers So that here I mean no more than That without Faith in Christ we cannot rightly Remember him without we so believe that he is the onely Saviour of mankind that we resolve he and none but he shall be our Saviour in the way that he himself thinks fit But to make it yet plainer how unfit all such rejecters of Christ are to come to this holy Supper consider that our receiving of the Sacrament is appointed to be on our part as a token and sign of our making and renewing our Covenant with God in Christ in which if we be sincere then it is a seal on Gods part of his being in Covenant with us a confiâ—mation of our belief that he will be our God and fulfill all his promises to us and herein he gives us an earnest and pledge of the future blessings which we shall receive from him through his Son as I shall shew under the next Head Does it not then hence appear that all those who will not be held in any such Covenant are most unfit persons to come to this Sacrament the very design of our coming to which is to shew that we are a people in Covenant with God and by this solemn action taking and eating the Bread and drinking the Wine we are to testifie that we are so and doe hereby bind our selves so to remain What would this be but with much formality to mock that God who will not be mocked and even to run upon our own damnation provoking the Lord to destroy those who so impudently take his name in vain By this practice men are guilty of a down-right lye yea of grossest perjury for Christ in effect saiâ—h All you and you onely that take me for your Lord and Saviour come and partake of this Feast which I have appointed in remembrance of the Redemption I have wrought for you and yet multitudes who will not take him for their Lord to rule over them nor will be saved from their sins by him thrust in and partake of this Supper This is just as if a General of an Army having a mind to single out some of his Souldiers for some design should say All you that are willing to go along with me hold up your hands and yet many should hold up their hands who refuse to go what would this be but to befool themselves and abuse their Leader Or as if at the first appointment of the Passeover it had been commanded that they and they only should eat of the Paschal Lamb who would go out of Aegypt into Canaan under the conduct of Moses and yet many of the Israelites should prepare and eat it either because they were hungry or because they would do as the rest did without ever thinking what was the meaning of this action or what they hereby engag'd themselves to being resolv'd still to continue in Egypt neither caring for Moses nor the Canaan which he should lead them to Thus when Christ commands that all those who will depart out of the Egyptian bondage they are in to sin and Satan and be guided by him through the wilderness of this World till they come to the heavenly Canaan that they should appear at a Feast which he hath made on purpose to entertain them there throng in others to this Table who have no right to eat thereat as having no resolutions to leave their sin and thus to follow Christ who would lead them to glory These are the men that are found without their wedding garment whom the Master of the Feast will draw out from amongst the rest and dispose of them to a place and company more suitable for them as you may read Mat. 22.10 11 12 13. So that I hope you see that its a most unsuitable and unlawfull thing for any man to addresse himself to this Ordinance who is not heartily in Covenant with God since herein he professeth himself to be so and therefore if he be not he will be found a lyar both to God and Man But since this is made by some the very nature and design of the Lord's Supper to be a Foederal rite or an
action testifying and confirming a Covenant betwixt God and man as in the Eastern and other Countries they were wont to ratifie their Leagues by feasting together and as they who eat of the sacrifices offered to Devils therereby had fellowship with Devils as the Jews by eating of their sacrifices held communion with and profest subjection to God as you may see them paralleld 1 Cor. 10.16 17 18 19 20. since I say this is on mans part a sign of his being in covenant with God I shall somewhat fuller explain what this Covenant is that you may understand whether you are cordially entred thereinto and are willing to continue in it that so you may know whether you are like to be entertained as worthy guests at the Lords Table which is proper to his Covenant-people In a word then the Covenant which wee renew at the Lords Supper is the very same with that you were entred into in Baptism when you were baptiz'd in the Name of and thereby engaged to the Father Son and Holy Ghost and therefore to those duties which wee owe to God in the several relations wherein he stands to us which are denoted by the Persons of the sacred Trinity That is we are hereby oblig'd to acknowledge God the Father to be our Creator and Preserver and therefore to behave our selves as his creatures ought submitting our selves to his Commands and Providences and placing our happiness in pleasing him and enjoying his love God the Son made man that is Jesus Christ we are hereby bound to take for our onely Saviour through whom alone we hope for the pardon of our offences and for ability to serve and please God and for acceptance and happinesse with him And God the Holy Ghost wee promise to take for our Sanctifier to have our souls by him renewed after the Image of God and those graces given into us which were purchast for us by Christ and the evidences of Gods love and of our title to the future blessedness to bee clear'd up and assur'd to our consciences the Holy Word also which he inspir'd the Prophets and Apostles to write wee are hereby engag'd to take for the Rule of our faith and life And this is your entring inâ—o Covenant with and being consecrated to the Father Son and Holy Ghost which doth necessarily suppose and include our renouncing the flesh the world and the Devil which is in effect the same with Repentance for sin which I spoke to largely under the last Head For he who is truly humbled for and resolved to forsake sin doth hereby renounce his flesh which is pleas'd with sin and will not make carnal self his chief end and he also renounceth the world which is the fuell and food of his lusts all that wherewith the carnal part is gratified as matters of pleasure profit honour and the like not regarding them as means to his happiness and he renounceth the Devil who by temptations drawn from these wordly things would entice him to sin and that wicked nature also which does the office of a Tempter within him All you then who have been baptiz'd into the Christian Faith are thereby bound to take God for your Supream Governor and chief Happiness and Jesus Christ for your Mediatour and way to the Father and the Holy Spirit for your Sanctifier and Guide And since you were Infants when you thus were first dedicated to God it behooves you that are now come to the use of reason and are resolv'd by the grace of God to be stedfast in this holy Covenant to come to the Lords Table and there professe these resolutions and by the receiving of this Sacrament in the presence of the heart-searching God and all your fellow-Christians to renew your engagement that you will take God for your God and that you will be his people Since then it is so plain that they and they only are worthy Communicants who have in heart made this covenant with God in Christ which they are to profess solemnize and confirm by eating and drinking the Sacramental bread and wine it remains that all who would not venture upon damnation by doing this unworthily ought to enter into a faithful examination of themselves whether indeed this be their condition and frame of heart or not And let me beseech thee Reader faithfully to set upon this Work as a businesse of the greatest concernment that ever thou hadst to do in thy life namely to see that thou art sincerely in covenant with God through his Son for this is the very heart and substance of Religion the sum of all Christianity and that upon which thy everlasting happiness wholly depends Know but this once and thou maiest know that Heaven will be thy portion shouldst thou dye at this hour And here that I may do what in me lies to help thee to the true knowledge of thy self let me first advise thee to look carefully into thy own heart for that 's thy surest way if thou art but well acquainted with the workings thereof and wilt deal impartially And in this searching into the state and temper of thy Soul I would wish thee to put these questions to thy self which I shall ask thee and to give in a true answer I demand of thee then what is that great good on which thou hast plac't thy highest love the obtaining of which thou hast made the great business of thy life and which if thou couldst but attain to thou believest thou shouldst be satisfied and made perfectly happy Canst thou say and that truly that God hath the upmost place in thy heart that his Authority swaies thee most and that for the main all things that concern thee are regarded but in order to him Dost thou make it thy principal study and trade to please him And dost thou count of nothing as fit to make thee a portion but his everlasting love If it be thus with thee then thou maist safely conclude that indeed thou hast made God thy chief end But enquire diligently whether it be not quite otherwise and whether thou hast not set up thy self in a distinction from God becoming thy own Idol Art thou not possest with high thoughts of thy self loving and admiring thy self separate from him who gave thee thy being It s true the man who is most heartily devoted to God hath the greatest love and veneration of himself but it is as he is Gods creature and it is his soul which hath his highest esteem and he seeks his happinesse by subjecting himself to God and therefore preferres adores and admires God infinitely above himself regarding himself in and for God accounting it the end of his being to serve his Makers will desiring no other felicity than the feeling of that love of God which he manifests to all such humble obedient ones But the carnall man though he may have some reverence for God and may yield him some tribute of service some prayers some praises and some
great men their friends recommending themselves to the world by their sumptuous Houses great Retinues rich Cloathes gentile deportment and the like braveries others by their strength beauty wit learning and the like accomplishments of body or mind Thus you see according to the nature of mens happinesse they make use of means to reach it Search well therefore whether some of these or the like empty trifles have not been more set by and laboured for than â—hâ—ist himself If so never say thou takest him for thy Mâ—diatour for it is apparent thou dost not make him so No but those things are indeed thy Mediatours which thou makest use of to accomplish thy selfish dedesigns And hereby thou dost in effect as much reject and vilifie Christ as if thou didst revolt from him and take Mahâ—met fâ—r thy Saviour Oh beware of deceiving thy self in this point which is so easie so common and dangerous to talk of trusting and relying on Christ whiâ—st the heart relies most upon some outward enjoyment to bring it to the happinesse it seeks for and the most they look for from Christ is to have him keep them from Hell after they have been all their days gratifying their lusts and serving the Devil but they never think of improving him as a Mediatour betwixt God and their souls expecting all their mercies of this life and the next to come by him and by him offering up all their services to God Wherefore I beseech you to remember that nothing will prove you sincerely in Covenant with Christ as one of his living members but a thorow stedfast willingnesse to be brought to happinesse by him in his own way and let it be your care to examine whether you are thus heartily willing And then lastly hast thou submitted thy soul to the powerfull workings of the Holy-Ghost to renew and regenerate thee Hast thou faithfully rendred up thy self to him to be transformed into the divine likenesse to have thy corruptions purged away and all saving graces implanted in thee It is the office of the Holy Ghost to carry on Christs interest in the souls of men to fulfill all the pleasure of his goodnesse and the work of faith with power to bring them to the Father by the Son No man can cry Abba Father and be fill'd with a child-like disposition and nature but he who hath received this Spirit of Adoption and no man can call Jesus Lord and be heartily subject to him but by the help of this almighty Spirit He shews men the vanity of the Creature and the goodnesse the fulnesse and all sufficiency of God and enables the heart firmly to cleave to him He convinces men of sin and shews them the odiousnesse and danger of it and discovers to them a Saviour by whom they may be Redeemed from all their iniquities from the dominion and from the condemnation of sin and he begets in the soul a saving faith making men not onely willing but earnestly desirous to accept of Christ to both these ends Reflect upon thy self then whether thou hast experienc'd any such workings in thy soul or not whether thou art changed by this divine power into a new and heavenly nature and art hereby become a new creature as all in Christ are old things being done away Hast thou ever found the vigorous and warm movings of this holy Spirit upon thy heart conveying light and life to thy dark soul dead in trespasses and sins Hast thou carefully cherisht these motions and complied with this sanctifying work which spreadâ— it self through the whole man And art thou willing to be governed by him to hearken to his voyce within thee and to that word which was inspired by him to be a lamp to thy feet If these things be so then indeed thou hast performed the engagement that was laid upon thee by being baptized into the name of the Holy Ghost But call thy self to account whether it hath not been quite otherwise with thee Dost thou not still remain in the carnall selfish state alienated from the life of God through a blind mind and a wicked stubborn will being still at enmity with him Hast thou not quenched the Spirit and stifled convictions and resisted his operations upon thy soul Art thou not rather guided by the seducing spirit and thy own unmortified lusts Doe not these still remain in strength and power so that whatever they draw thee to must be done let the Word and Conscience say what they will If it be thus never boast of having God to be thy Maker nor Christ thy Redeemer for if thou art not sanctified by the Holy Ghost God will never own thee for his who accepts of none but an holy people Thus by looking carefully into your hearts you may discern whether you are truly in covenant with God or not And if this seem any matter of difficulty to know what your hearts are or rather least you should pretend your hearts are thus right when it is no such thing I shall give one instance more whereby you may know how you stand related to God and that is by the consideration of your lives and conversations for if you are sincerely devoted to God in your hearts then you must needs shew it in the holinesse of your lives which is nothing else but the keeping of that Covenant which is made betwâ—xt God and the soul. If you do indeed fâ—llow after holinesse it 's a sign you account it your chief happiness to see God If you are patient and unwearied in well-doing it 's a sign you seek for honour and glory with God And if you keep the Commandments of Christ endeavouring to walk as he walk't it 's manifest that you love him and believe in him If you bring forth much fruit hereby you and all men may know that you are Christs Disciples that you are living branches of him the true Vine then have you received Christ if you walk in him And if you shew forth the fruits of the Spirit in your lives it 's a sure token that his graces are sown in your hearts If you are led by and walk after the Spirit then indeed the Spirit is with and in you and you live in him Gal. 5.25 But on the other hand it 's as certain thou art a stranger and Aliene from this Covenant I have beâ—ore described if thou be one that servest the Devil rather than the true God Make what profession thou wilt to love God and believe in Christ if thou allowest thy self in any one known sin all thy great pretences will at length come to nothing What doth that man love the Lord who doth not hate evil Nay who delights in that which the Lord abhorrs and wherewith he is griev'd and provokt to fury Doth hee take Christ for his Lord who will not be obedient to him Doth he take him for his Physitian who would not be heal'd but had rather keep his diseases Beware as thou lovest thy soul of
word and all providences shall help forward thy happinesse All thy outward affairs thy heavenly Father who knows what thou hast need of will see to and regard at all times he will so dispose of and provide for thee as shall be most for thy advantage no affliction shall befall thee but will prove as Physick to thy soul in all estates and conditions he will be near to thee to direct and preserve thee if thou retain thy integrity so that neither men nor Devils shall prevail against thee to thy ruine And the Holy Ghost will be thine to enlighten sanctifie guide and comfort thee to assist thee in duties and to seal thee up to everlasting happinesse When thou diest the Lord Jesus will receive thy Spirit and preserve thee from the roaring Lion and the pit of destruction and vouchsafe thee the beginnings of happinesse with himself which shall be compleated and perfected at the great Resurrection day when thou shalt be raised up by his power and brought into appearance not in wrath but in mercy and shalt be publickly owned by that Christ whose person and cause thou didst here embrace and own and by him thou shalt be openly justified from all accusations of Satan or the Law and shalt be presented pure and holy into the presence of the Father and shalt be eternally blessed in the enjoyment of all those treasures of infinite love and goodnesse which God hath laid up in store for believers This is the inheritance which we come to by Christ we are made heirs of God yea coheirs with his own Son we enter upon the joy of our Lord with him we shall abide in the mansions that are in our Fathers house Then at length we shall know all the designs of Divine wisdome and love when they shall be accomplish'd in us and for us and by the fruition we shall understand what is that exceeding and eternall weight of glory for which there were made such wonderfull contrivances such solemn preparations by that God who doth all things like himself being infinitely wise and good Then shall we reach to and find those glorious things that are spoken of the City of God yea those things which it was neither lawfull nor possible for Angels or Men to utter To be short thou shalt then be advanced to the utmost possible perfection of thy nature thy soul shall be fitted for those actions and employments which are most suitable to it even the loving and praising thy Maker Saviour and Sanctifier and shalt be made capable of tasting the most ravishing satisfying sweetnesse and joy in these employments in pleasing the blessing God and in feeling thy self encompassed with the warm embraces of his dearest love And as this thy blessedness shall be infinite and unspeakable so shall the continuance of it be eternall Nor shall thy delight be once abated or interrupted through all this eternity but be ever exalted to the highest pitch it shall always flow yea overflow but never ebbe This is the joy which hath no end no measures or decay This is the glory which Christ will give his servants not as the world gives gives he unto them This he tells us is the will of him that sent him that every one that sees the Son and believes on him may have everlasting life Joh. 6.40 The water which he gives us to drink shall be in those who partake of it a well of water springing up into everlasting life And some beginnings of this divine life now there are brought into the soul whilst it is made in its measure conformable to God and is carried out after him with the strong workings of love and desire and feels the shedding abroad of his love in it self and lives in the joyfull expectations of an advancement to the abundance of life the perfection of blisse which I before mentioned And now Reader if thou believest all this which I think thou must needs except thou take the Gospel for a cheat if then thou believest it to be true I would know of thee whether the invitations Christ makes thee to come to him be not backt with sufficient motives to prevail with all that are not quite beside their wits in matters of the greatest moment By this time I hope thou seest that thy Redeemer seeks thy interest whilst he is so importunate with thee What is all for in the result but this That thou would'st make thy self blessed for ever This he commands thee this he beseeches thee to And shall such commands be disobey'd shall such requests be denied Good Lord How strange a thing is this That man a reasonable Being whose wisdome sets him above all other creatures on earth should be thus woo'd thus call'd upon and entreated to be happy and yet that he should stand dallying and deliberating whether he had best be so or not yea that he should peremptorily refuse to be so Which should I most admire in this case the distraction and base ingratitude of man or the inconceivable mercy and patience of God so long to bear with such unworthy creatures and so frequently to renew the offers of blessednesse and even presse it upon them Well then dost thou think there is any gain in godlinesse Is there enough to be had with Christ to make him and his gifts worth the accepting For that I tell thee still is all that is expected from thee be but cordially willing to take him and all his benefits together and for certain all shall be thine Thou shalt find every promise of the book of God made good to thy comfort yea thou shalt find ten thousand times more than ever thou could'st understand or conceive from the fullest promises the highest expressions that ever thou mett'st with concerning the priviledges of Believers Shall all that is said then bring thee to be one of that number or not Dost thou know where to make a better bargain for thy self If so take thy own course and make thy best on 't for be assured Jesus Christ needs not thee His glory doth not so depend on thy subjection to him that it should be lessened in case of thy disobedience Doe thou as thou wilt he knows how to secure his own interest but fain he would perswade thee to take pity on thy self and save thy own soul. If there be any in all the world that hath done more for thee than Christ or that will doe more hearken to him and spare not But before thou conclude there is any such person or thing examine matters well on both sides and then doe as thou seest meet Indeed the case is so plain that the veriest child or fool almost may know how to decide it Bethink thee well what thou art like to have from the world from thy lusts from the service of the Devil or from any thing that would keep thee from Christ. Canst thou think that the satisfying of thy senses with what they call for or pleasing thy fancy with
a souâ— as well as a body and whether this soul must not remain in being and alive when thy body is rotting in the earth and whether then it doth not as much yea infinitely much more concern thee to seek out for somewhat that may at that time make thy soul happy than for what may now please thy senses Yea since thou must live somewhere for ever think whether it is not more worthy thy care to provide for an everlasting well-being than for the comforts of a frail short life If thou art thus farre convinced then make an impartiall search whether there be any thing here below that 's able to make thee perfectly happy Thy houses and lands thy pleasures and honours will any or all of these give in all that felicity which thou desirest or needest Are they of the same nature with thy soul or will they last as long as it will last must not all thy merry days at length come to an end And wilt thou be ever the better for all thou hast enjoy'd when once it 's over will the remembrance give thee any satisfaction In that night wherein thy soul will be required of thee what advantage wilt thou have from the goods thou hadst laid up for many years yea or from those goods thou hadst liv'd upon the years before When the earth and all its works shall be burnt up where will all thy possessions and treasures be If thou hast nothing to live on but what will be turned into flames what wilt thou then fix upon At that day when there shall be no marrying or giving in marriage no wives or children no relations or friends whose society will afford any such comfort as here it did when the interest of Princes and great ones whose favour was here thy shelter and thy pride shall all be vanisht what will thy confidence in men avail thee Examine these or any other outward prop whereon thou leanest and see whether it be not a broken reed And if so except thou art resolv'd against thy own happinesse methinks thou should'st now onely make choice of that which will never give thee cause to repent what thou didst as all things will but the eternall glory which God hath promised to those that love him But he that can once upon good grounds say This heaven is mine I shall see the face of God with joy and live in his love for ever may now lead a serene and chearfull life in the midst of all occurrences and need not be daunted at Death it self but rather rejoyced as it takes him to the possession of his treasure wafts him to his own home Wherefore if thou love thy life be perswaded to aim at this highest glory let nothing short of it content thee think no condition hard to get it rest not till thou hast made it as sure as thou canst that it 's thine and then having thus fixt thy end thou maist travell on with alacrity and speed and take abundance of comfort in the fore-thoughts of thy future blisse in using all helps afforded in thy journey to it and in the remembrâ—nce of that precious blood which was shed to purchase it and by consequence wil be fitted to celebrate the Sacrament CHAP. IX V. It must be a thankfull Remembrance IT is not possible that the death of Christ can be remembred as it ought without the most hearâ—y and unfeigned thankfulnesse to God for so great and glorious a mercy Hath he the heart of a man that can coâ—template the sufferings of Christ and the infinite unspeakable benefits thereby procured for poor sinners and not find himself raised to return thanks and praise to God for his gracious dealings with mankind This duty is so proper to the Lords Supper that hence it antiently obtained the name of Eucharist a return of thanks Since then every man who partakes thereof ought to be thus truly thankfull to God for his love revealed in Christ this again acquaints us what kind of persons Communicants must be namely such who are capable of rendring acceptable praise to God which doth but give farther evidence of the necessity of those qualifications before laid down None but such as have been made sensible of the evil of sin and of the danger they were thereby liable to will be heartily thankfull for that mercy which preventâ— this misery by purchasing and vouchsafing the forgivenesse of their sins How formall and hypocriticall are his thanks like to be for Christ who never yet saw what need he stood in of him Will he thank you for a plaister who never felt himself wounded Can he have any gratefull sense of the love that plucks poor sinners as brands out of the fire who never perceived himself in any such danger Can he be thankfull for ease and rest who never felt his strong lusts nor the curse of the Law and wrath of God as any load or burden upon him Nor can he be thankfull for the grace that is given by Christ who had farre rather keep his sins than be renewed and sanctified Little thanks will he return for the light who is but disturbed and troubled with it and so far shamed by it that he cannot pursue his wicked designs with that freedome and eagernesse as he could before whilst he was more in the dark where he had still rather remain How can he thank God for grace who rejects and despiseth it For being taken out of the snares of the Devil who wilfully fastens himself into them Will he praise God for liberty and ability to serve him who saith of his service what a wearinesse is it and thinks it would be better for him if he might live as he list and never be put upon so much trouble as godlinesse brings along with it Nor can he be thankfull for the glory to be had by Christ who hath not a sound perswasion of the certainty and excellency of it and who hath not firmly resolved to take it for his portion He that knows nothing better than bodily enjoyments and would think himself undone was he stript of these is like to be very cold in giving thanks for spirituall blessings In a word he that is sensible of no great benefit he shall have by Christ either here or hereafter cannot be expected to have any great measure of thankfulnesse for this mercy which he so little understands And this is the case of all unhumbled unsanctified ones to whom the Gospel is hid their minds being darkned by the God of this world And if these poor senslesse creatures should with a few feigned words pretend to give God thanks for Jesus Christ yet would it be but the sacrifice of fools a meer lip service and therefore no way acceptable to the most holy God Yea indeed they would hereby but very solemnly mock the Divine Majesty whilst they thank him for those mercies which they will not accept at his hands praising him for Jesus Christ and the benefits
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
zeal for him should be found pure selfishnesse And therefore they dare not make their own private apprehensions which they find not in the Creed nor in the Gospel the standard and measure of such as must passe for godly and be thought worthy their regard and esteem which is the constant note of one addicted to a party but I say they would have their friendship as large as their Lord and Masters since 't is for his sake that they have any friends at all Such is the affection which Gods Spirit works in his people and with which they are possest so farre as they are fram'd and moulded by his Spirit But moreover the charity requisite in Communicants consists not onely in a cordiall love to the godly whom they are to reckon upon as dearest friends but also in forgivenesse of injuries to all that are their enemies and have done or endeavoured to doe them wrong which temper is of flat necessity to all that would come worthily to this Ordinance Hither men come expecting a pardon and can he look for a pardon of his many and hainous sins from the great God of heaven and earth who will not forgive some small offence that he may have received from his fellow-creature Small I say for the greatest injury that can be done us by another is exceeding small and not worthy our notice so farre as we our selves onely are concerned therein Selfish men will never believe this but it 's a certain truth and so plain that many sober heathens doe with great earnestnesse inculcate it Alas what can they doe but a little hinder out thriving in the world or deny us that respect we would have by their carelesse carriage or speak meanly or falsly of us to lessen our credit Such like trifles as these are the worst that we shall ordinarily meet with from our bitterest enemies And are these such unsufferable injuries that by all means we must seek to be revenged Surely such a wicked spirit cannot enter into the breast of a Christian that remembers what he hath done against God and yet what he expects from him and what he hath already received And indeed there is nothing more likely to bring us to the performance of this duty to our brother than the serious consideration of the infinite mercy God hath shown to us in sending his Son and freely tendering forgivenesse through him This we find prest upon us Eph. 4.32 And be ye kind one to another tender-hearted forgiving one another even as God for Christs sake hath forgiven you Col. 3.13 Forbearing one another and forgiving one another if any man have a quarrell against any even as Christ forgave you so also doe ye And to engage us the more our forgiving of others is made a condition of being forgiven our selves Mat. 6.14 15. For if ye forgive men their trespasses your heavenly Father will also forgive you but if you forgive not men their trespasses neither will your Father forgive your trespasses How hard-hearted must that Servant be who when his Lord hath forgiven him ten thousand talents takes his brother by the throat and casts him into prison for an hundred pence How just is it that all the former debt should be charged by his Lord upon such a servant as you may find in the parable at large Matth. 18. from 23. to the end where after Christ had told how terribly that unthankfull cruell servant was dealt with he addes ver lâ—st So likewise shall my heavenly Father doe also unto you if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespâ—sses To love God above all and our neighbour as our selves are the two great Commandments whereon depend the Law and the Prophets and which comprehend all our duty and to both of these we have the greatest help and strongest obâ—igation by the Death of Christ that ever could be thoâ—ght on Shall we not love him that hath thus loved us And shall we not shew pity and compassion to others who have received so much our selves Yea who shall be shut out from mercy if we be unmercifull No spirit in the world is so contrary to the Gospel as that of malice and revenge and retaining a secret enmity and spight against any person whatever As thou would'st escape the society and portion of Devils hâ—reafter beware how thou now entertainest this devilish nature than which nothing is more frequently forbidden in the Gospel and nothing more flatly enjoyned than the contrary temper Gal. 5.20 Now the fruits of the flesh â—re manifest which are these adultery fâ—rnicâ—tion c. hatred variance emulations wrath strife seditions heresies envyings murders ver 22. But the fruit of the Spirit is love joy peace long-suffering gentlenesse goodnesse fâ—ith meeknesse c. Col. 3.8 But now you also put off all these anger wrath malice blasphemy c. v. 12 13. Put on therefâ—re as the elect of God holy and beloved bowels of mercy kindnesse humblenesse of mind meeknesse long-sâ—ffering When the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians to rectifie the disorders they were guilty of in reference to the Lords Supper the first thing he falls upon is the Divisions that were amongst them 1 Cor. 11.18 That composednesse of soul that humility self-abasement and humble dependance upon free mercy which are so absolutely necessary for him that would profit by this Ordinance do all call for a quiet charitable frame of spirit toward our brethren when we betake our selves thereto And thus by Gods assistance have I in some measure shewn from the nature and design of this Ordinance which is to keep up the Remembrance of Christ how those persons must be qualified who can duly attend thereupon To repeat their description once again They who are furnisht with the knowledge of the necessary fundamentall truths of Christian Religion and doe believe them to be indeed truths being so verily perswaded that Christ is the Saviour of the world that they heartily consent to take him for their Saviour and therefore being humbled for and resolved presently to turn from all their evil ways doe humbly expect or at least earnestly desire the pardon of their sins from the mercy of God for his sake and are truly willing to have their hearts sanctified by the Spirit of God given out through him that they may lead an holy life and doe depend upon him to bring them to everlasting glory in the enjoyment of God upon whom they have set their dearest love and chose him as their onely portion being sincerely thankfull for the manifestations of his wonderfull love in Christ and by the power of this love are in charity with all men forgiving their enemies and having a peculiar affection to the members of Christ These and onely these are fit to partake of the Lords Supper Wherefore I entreat thee whoever thou art that would'st not wilfully delude thy own soul and rush upon this duty to thy hurt take thy self to task and
examine well whether thou art such a one as I have here described yea if thou hast any desire to escape everlasting misery and be received into heaven when thou diest examine thy self for except thou beest or becomest such a one as sure as God is true thou art never like to be saved CHAP. XI An invitation to come to Christ and his Sacrament with Motives thereto Use. MY next work now is to call upon and exhort all thus to examine and prepare themselves and so to come and eat of this Bread and drink of this Cup. Ho! all you that have any love to the blessed Jesus who loved you to the shedding of his warmest hearts-blood for your sakes come hither and shew forth his death till he come If Christ be precious to you let his memory be precious and be you carefull to preserve it by your due and frequent attendance upon this Ordinance set up on purpose for the Remembrance of him All you whose eyes have been opened to discern the vilenesse of your natures and conversations come hither and give a kindly vent to your sorrow beholding sin at the worst in those wounds that it gave to your dearest Saviour All you that are indeed convinced that Christ is the true Messiah come forth from God to give life to the world and are resolved to hearken to him that your souls may live come hither and before God Angels and Men professe these resolutions and bind your selves over to him to be his Disciples and most obedient servants Be not asham'd of the Crosse of Christ but a vow it before all the world that your hope of happinesse is placed onely in that Jesus who was slain and hanged on a tree but is risen again and ascended into the heavens hereby own that you are Christians let others be what they will Come hither all you that hunger and thirst after righteousnesse and feed upon him who here conveys of himself to the empty longing soul and satisfies his people with good things suitable to their wants Come hither poor dejected drooping soul that dost unfeignedly love thy Lord but art afraid thou shalt never obtain his favour come and see what he hath done to assure thee of the reality the freenesse and fulnesse of his love Come and tast the provisions he hath made for thy comfort and rejoyce in the sense of his bounty All you that expect shortly to look your Redeemer in the face come hither and behold him where till then you may most clearly discern him Here stamp his imâ—ge firmly upon your minds that he may live in your breasts though for a while he is out of your sight that till you shall see him you may never be forgetfull of him Come hither young ones and betimes list your selves under Christ your Leader here Remember your Creatour and Redeemer in the days of your youth Come hither ye aged that have stood idle in the Market-place till the eleventh hour of the day now at length hire your selves under the Lord of the Vineyard to be more industrious in his service for the hour that is behind Come hither ye poor and partake of a Feast that shall cost you nothing Come hither ye rich to a Feast more precious and costly than ever you were at which cost the Master thereof his own life to provide it Come hither ye Masters and promise to become the servants of Christ. Come hither ye Servants and by taking Christ for your Lord become his Free-men Yea all you that have been the most estranged from God and greatest despisers of Christ yet now at length if you will come in acknowledging the folly of your former ways protesting against any longer continuance therein humbly imploring mercy and acceptance from God through his Son even you are invited hither to testifie the truth of your return to him and to receive the pardon that is ready for you Behold Wisdome hath builded her house and furnisht her table and calls to all to eat of her bread and drink of the wine that she hath mingled to all that are fully determined to forsake the foolish and go in the way of understanding Hearken you foolish prodigâ—ls whose souls are out of tast with all solid food through your feeding upon the luscious delights of sin and the creature which yet have onely deluded never satisfied you Cast away these empty husks and come to a plenteous Feast here made ready wherein you will acknowledge there is sweetnesse and fulnesse if your distempers be cured and your appetite and relish changed So large is the commission which Christ hath granted that in his name I dare confidently invite all whoever they are or whatever they have been even the most profane and sensuall drunkards and whoremonger the proud and covetous if now at last you will be perswaded to bid an everlasting farewell to all your ways of wickednesse and for the time to come to walk in the holy path see that you are sincere and you may come boldly to the Sacrament there to manifest and confirm these purposes If at length you are weary of that miserable drudgery wherein the enemy and tormentour of mankind the Devil hath imploied you labouring to keep you in bondage to sin than which there is not a more loathsome stinking dungeon more intolerable chains in all the world if I say you would fain be delivered from this slavery and will take on you Christs easie yoke that you may find rest for your souls come hither and enter your selves into his service engaging to be subject to him all the days of your life In a word all you that have been baptized into the name of the Father Son and Holy Ghost and understanding what that signifies doe consent to the obligations thereby laid upon you come to the Lords Supper and manifest this consent and renew this covenant to be the Lords Some considerations I shall lay before you to quicken you to the performance of this weighty duty which I propose not so much to those who are already prepared that they would come to this Feast but rather to all indifferently that they would prepare themselves and come away without any longer delay 1. To that end first consider this is the expresse command of Christ as you may find at his first institution of this Sacrament before mentioned Luk. 22.19 This do in remembrance of me And to whom was this command given do you think onely to the Apostles or in them to all Christians What reason can be given why it should be peculiar to them and not common to others They were lookâ— upon and spoke to here as Disciples and therefore all Christs Disciples are concerned therein And you cannot think this was an injunction that had reference to that time onely the very phrase Remembrance speaks the contrary for this implies something that 's past or absent which shews they were to do this after the Death of Christ should be past and
you imagine this one duty to be an exception from all the rest as having nothing in it which may make it worthy our performance Hath not he backt his commands with promises that we might have all kind of encouragement to his service Hath not he told us that to those who keep his Commandments he will manifest himself Doe you think then that when Christ first set up this Sacrament he hereby intended any advantage to those who should celebrate it If not he appointed them a meer piece of drudgery in some respect worse than the Jewish Ceremonies for they had their use to the spirituall and even as bad as thoâ—e buâ—densome ridiculous Ceremonies which make up so great a part of the Popish Religion but if you dare not affiâ—m this then I would know whether the same advantages doe not still continue to this Ordinance which were first intended to be communicated by it to the worthy Receiver Again did the Apostles and their companions get any good by it think you if not it 's strange they should be so exact and frequent in it iâ— they did fain would I know why the same good is not still to be got by serious diligent Christians Certainly Gods treasures of grace are not spent his fountain is not drawn dry no nor ever will be He that will be the everlasting portion of his people when this world is ended hath enough sure in himself for the supply of all their necessities whilst they are travelling through the world When millions of Saints have received that grace which leads them to glory there is not a jot the lesse for those that come after And as his graces are not exhausted so neither is the way of giving them forth changed in the same manner that his Spirit accompanied the word and Sacraments at any time since the Gospel was publisht in the same manner it accompanies them still for ought that any man living can shew to the contrary Christ is the same yesterday to day and for ever He who will be with his Ministers till the end of the world will be with his Ordinances till then with his people in the conscientious use of them Why should the first Christians be tied to that which we in after-ages may neglect Is not our case the same with theirs Are not our necessities as great And may not our profitings also if the fault be not our own To prosecute this a little farther as I promised Is not the Death of Christ as great a mercy to us in these latter days of his Church as it was to them in the first Have not we the same pardon offered to us the same promises given the same heaven prepared and the same sanctifying Spirit to bring us thereto Have we not then the same cause to be frequently mindfull of and thankfull for these mercies and the Death that purchast them in all ways prescribed to that purpose Are not we still of the same nature that men were then Such whose affections are much raised and quickened by sensible things by the help whereof we can with greater clearnesse and power conceive of thâ—ngs spirituall and can more affectionately remember what 's past when we see it represented and acted afresh before our eyes Is it not therefore our wisdome and duty to accept of such assistances as our Lord himself in his care of us hath afforded whereof the Sacrament of his Supper is a principall one every way fitted for that end Were they more dull than we that they should need such quickning means which we judge our selves past the use of Had not we as much need as they to be frequently renewing our more solemn repentance for sin and covenantings with God that so the consideration of those renewed engagements we lie under may the more overpower us to faithfulnesse and perseverance in his service Are not our wants of grace as great as theirs And therefore ought we not to wait in all those ways whereby these wants may be supplied which are the same now as formerly Is it not as rich a mercy now as ever to have all the blessings and priviledges of the Covenant of grace whether temporall spiâ—ituall or eternall not onely represented but made ovâ—r and assured to us in such a familiar manner Is not the exercise and strengthning of mutuall brotherly love by the maintaining of the most endearing Christian communion still a most pleasant and profitable duty now especially when all men have learnt to cry out how cold charity is grown Thus you see there are very many and those no small advantages that accrue to such as carefully manage this weighty duty and all of them continue still the same that they were in the time of the Apostles And let there be any other ground of their practice assigned or any other benefits which they hereby enjoyed and I question not to prove that we have the same or the like grounds and are capable of the same benefits with them Thus have I shewn you that to come in a due manner to the Lords Table is both your duty and your interest there is a command given by your Lord obliging you to what is good for your selves and indeed so doe all other his commands if well weighed And what more can be said to work upon men that have any Conscience or any self love to give obedience Wherefore if you be Christians yea if you be Men if you have any sense of Gods authority or of your own necessities make all possible hast out of that dangerous woefull estate which makes you unfit for and unwilling to this so profitable a duty and your souls being made ready let them bring your bodies hither Having been larger in these I shall be brief in those that follow 3 Is it not much to be feared that whilst yâ—u sleight the Sacrament you sleight those blessings which hereby are represented and assured to Believers You your selves would judge so by others in cases like this If the King should proclaim that he will give Estates in some of his Plantations to all that will come to the Court and take Patents from him and subscribe their nâ—mes to a Bond which onely ties them to acknowledge they had their Estates from his bounty and to live there accor-to his Laws is it not a sign that they who will not doe thus much doe very little care for the Estates that are offered them And doe not they manifest as little regard of heaven it self and all the promises of the Gospel who are loath to be at so much pains as to go to the Sacrament there to have all these confirmed to them being unwilling to bind themselves hereby to thankfulnesse and obedience to that God who makes them such large and bounteous offers He that refuseth a cheap and easie medicine which being duly taken may recover him from his sicknesse may well be said to undervalue his health Thus is it too apparent that
also 3. Pray tell me notwithstanding all these faults which you finde with your selves yet do you not hold on in the performance of other duties To instance in one do you not use to pray constantly If you doe why then will you not be brought to this work also For assure your selves if you be such whose prayers are acceptable to God your receiving will be acceptable also Without a dependance upon Christ the Mediatour and a resolution to conform your selves to the will of God your very prayers will be loathsome but if these things be in you all your services will be wel-pleasing to him Wherefore beware of pretending so much reverence for this Ordinance and so much necessity of preparation that least you should not demean your selves as you ought you will wholly neglect it for sure you cannot think this according to your Masters will that you should run away from your work for fear of miscarrying in it Nor pretend that this is of a nature so much different from all other duties that whilst you may do them you may not be admitted to this since if you be sincere and hearty in one as well as another endeavouring to improve them to the end for which they were appointed even to get neerer to God thereby be sure you shall be accepted in all Moreover bethink your selves what you would have done had you liv'd in the first ages of the Church when the Christians were wont for the most part at every time of their assembling to have a Sacrament Would you then have ordinarily with-drawn from them Or would you not rather have contented your selves with that measure of preparation that you had then been capable of making Though think not that I am this while encouraging you to lazinesse or to rush heedlesly and inconsiderately hereupon no be as diligent as ever you are able to prepare your selves for so near an approach to the great God but yet be not so over-scrupulous as to keep back from the Ordinance or make your coming lesse profitable through excessive fears And remember still that the habitual devotednesse of the soul to God without any hypocritical reserve is the best qualification for this and every other performance 4. Lastly one would think you of all persons should not be guilty of refusing your presence here where there is a commemoration made of the love of your dearest Lord. I speak to you that are serious Christians well may others slight this duty if you that lie under so great engagements to it will be kept back by any Ordinary pretences You are such that are somewhat acquainâ—ed with the greatnesse of that mercy manifested in the Redemption of the World and will you be easilie detained from shewing forth that death which procured it You are persons tender of your Master's honour and sensible of your own duty shew then that you are so by obeying his command and preserving the esteem due to his sacred Ordinances by your constant reverent attending upon them Others there are that may complain of their unfitnesse who finde themselves at a losse in their preparations for this duty which yet they are very willing to set about and are desirous of instructions for their right performance of it For these especially I have reserved some Directions to which I shall come presentlie But there are a third sort those the worst and I fear the most who will confess they are unfit for the Sacrament and therefore will by no means be drawn to it but will tell you though they are not fit now yet hereafter they hope they shall be whilst in the mean time there are no sâ—gns of any preparation they make for come to them one Moneth or Year after another still they are in the same posture and use the same excuses Now the very plain case of these persons I take to be this So much knowledge they have that they are convinc't no man ought to come to the Sacrament who is not firmly resolved to forsake his sins and to become a new man if before he have been a carelesse liver and yet their Consciences tell them that such and such sins they are guiltie of which they cannot endure to think of parting with and such and such duties they believe they ought to set upon which yet they have no mind to and therefore so much modesty they have that they will not come to bind themselves to that which they are not resolved to do and this while they fancy to themselves that their case is something better than if they should go and make promises of amendment and soon after break them and are apt to conceit that they may as yet safely take somewhat more liberty than will be lawfull for them when once they have taken the Sacrament whereby they imagine they should be strangely hampered and tied to a strictnesse which they have no liking to But yet hereafter when they have tasted a little more of the pleasures of the world they intend to be take themselves to such a course and then they 'l be constant at Sacraments and as devout as may be this they promise to themselves I dare appeal to the Consciences of many whether such as these have not been their thoughts Reader have they not been thy own And commonlie it is either tipling or wantonnesse or love to an idle and jolly life and a listlesnesse to all pains and diligence in spirituall affairs and a misapprehension of serious holinesse as if it was a most troublesome rigid thing that are the ordinarie causes of these and most mens continuance at a distance from godlinesse and make them so backward to devote themselves entirely to God Now these I confesse are not to be called immediately to the Sacrament but seriously to be dealt with in order to their recoverie from those sensuall inclinations and wretched delusions which render them so unfit for and averse from it to which purpose serve the former exhortations to Repentance and Faith whereon I staid so long Onely I shall here discover to them two dangerous mistakes wherewith they seem willing to impose upon themselves and which chiefly hinder the performance of their duty The first is A conceit that they may take some kind of liberty for a loose conversation before they have bound themselves to the contrary by the Sacrament which thereupon they are much more backward to Now first I shall grant that hereby a farther obligation is laid upon them to the greatest watchfulnesse against sin and to a faithfull discharge of their duty to God in the whole of their lives and the wilfull violation of solemn engagements renders sin much more hainous Wherefore it hath been my care all along to make you understand that it is not so much the bare Receiving that I would perswade you to as to get your souls into a fitnesse for the work and to do it in a right manner And once again let me warn you as you love
flie open that the King of Glory may come in Now in an especiall manner let your hearts be emptied of all trash that they may be fill'd with the good things which are here distributed If you were set to an heap of Gold and bidden to carry away as much as you could grasp you would keep no dirt nor stones in your hand that would make them hold so much the lesse Loosen your selves then from the inordinate love or thought of any created good your Houses or Lands your pleasures or employments withdraw your minds as much as possible from all temporall concernments with which whilst you are taken up the edge of your desire after heavenly things is extreamly abated And if you come not hither with great expectations you are like to be little the better If you have no higher designs but with a little seeming Devotion to eat Bread and drink Wine then Bread and Wine are the best things that you are like to meet with For is it probable you should find that which you never look after But if thou comest hither with an holy greedinesse after greater measures of grace thirsting for the living God as the Hart pants after the water-brooks and as the parched ground gapes for the refreshing showers then fear it not thy desires shall be gratified Thou canst not please God better than by looking for the greatest and best things from him which bring most glory to himself and do most good to thy soul. Beg earnestly then that by the power of his Spirit accompanying this Ordinance thou maist partake yet more of a new and divine nature that thou maist find strength and vigour diffused through thy whole man and maist now receive some communications of that light and life which Christ came into the world that his people might have and that they might have it more abundantly now pray that his Death and Resurrection may have their power and efficacy upon thee that virtue may issue forth from him for thy healing Beg that by this food thy lusts may be poisoned and destroy'd and every grace strengthned and encreast And be particular in thy desires Oh that something may be done this day against my pride and passion my worldlinesse and sensuality my distrustfull fears and discontents Oh that I may be delivered from that listlesnesse dulnesse and distractions wherewith I am haunted in holy duties Oh that I may find my heart hereby drawn nearer to God and carried out with more unweariednesse and cheerfulnesse in his service that I may be better enabled for a conscientious discharge of my duty in every place and relation that I do stand in and in the whole course of my life Blessed God thou who knowest the state of my soul give in to me I beseech thee what thou seest I need most I have an hard heart Lord soften it a dead heart Lord enliven it I am much in the dark Lord lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon me Make me more humble holy and heavenly Oh take this season for coming in upon my soul and bestowing more of thy self upon me that I may become more like to thee These oh God are the mercies thou hast promised to thy people and bidden them to ask these thou art wont to convey by thine ordinances for these things therefore do I wait upon thee this day with no lower aims do I come to thy Table with such precious things is the Lord Jesus wont to feast his guests and of his infinite fulnesse it is that I hope to participate through him it is I hope to be strengthned with might in my inner man even to be made strong by the Grace that is in Christ Jesus Oh will the Head let a member perish Shall a branch wither for want of succour and juyce Blessed Saviour thou who wast so willing to shed thy blood for us art thou not as willing to bestow the fruits of it upon us Art thou not still as mercifull and tender as ever thou wast Thou who didst once so readily heal diseases and cure all that came to thee hast thou not as much mercy to souls as to bodies Lord I believe thou art as able and ready to help as ever If thou wilt thou canst make me clean and it is my hope that thou wilt Outward means without thee cannot do it yet here thou hast bid us attend and thus I do waiting for the descent of thy Holy Spirit Oh grant the requests of thy poor creature Say to me Be it unto thee even as thou wilt yea even as thou wilt oh Lord let it be unto me who art ever readily and strongly inclined to do thy people good Thus stirre up your selves and actuate Faith in such holy breathings as these and be assured such additions of Grace as you are fitted for and God in his infinite wisdome sees meet at present to deal out shall be conferr'd upon you and being refresht and strengthned with this banquet you may cheerfully walk on your way to glory 7. From all that hath been said of the greatnesse of the mercies here commemorated bestow'd and sealed to it will appear most reasonable and just that the hearts of all Gods faithfull servants should here be raised to the greatest height of divine love thankfulnesse and joy I put these together because though in the notion they are different yet in the workings of the soul they usually go together That same goodnesse which works love and thankfulnesse causeth joy too as it 's begun to be enjoy'd or strongly hop'd for And this is a frame most proper to a Communicant all his preparations being much in order to it Therefore should he get sensible of his misery and humbled for his sin that he may have the more affectionate thankfull sense of the mercy that pitied and pardoned him Wherefore labour much with your selves even beforehand to rise up to this ingenuous and pleasant temper which will prove so acceptable both to God and your selves Dwell intently upon that amazing mercy which God hath revealed to mankind in Jesus Christ which thing the Angels themselves desire to look into Ponder well the severall heightning circumstances thereof the meannesse sinfulnesse and misery of man the Majesty of God the dignity of Christ the greatnesse of his condescension and sufferings the fulnesse and freenesse of his purchase and offers Study all his dealings with your selves in particular whereby he hath accomplisht in you the designs of his love and continue these musings till you feel a fire of love and joy kindled within you Let not Satan so farre have his will of you as to cast you into these dejections and groundlesse perplexities which will rob God of his praise and you of your comfort Let him not be able to perswade you that God is cruell and unmercifull and hardly reconciled to returning sinners Have you not the strongest and most unanswerable demonstration at hand to confute him would you desire or can
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
more have mercy upon me He I am sure will be true to his promises and shall I be false to mine and so fall under his threatnings And after this manner quicken your selves to duty when ever you are apt to grow listlesse to any part of God's service and also quiet your spirits when they are ready to rise up in tumult and discontent under any cross that befalls you Then think I have resign'd up my self to God as to a loving Father let him do with me what he please therefore be still my heart and rebell not against nor murmur at his righteous will If you can but thus finde your selveâ— more strongly bent against sin and better able to put off â—emptations to it this is the surest evidence you can have of profiting by the Sacrament And beware of imagining that any space of time can wear out the force of that obligation which is here laid upon you which as unreasonable as it is one would think was the opinion of mâ—ltitudes for they 'l be very demure and solemn a little before they go to the Communion and a day or two after but within a very little while all seems forgotten and they are just such as they were before But for certain God forgets not their promises though they do nor will he forget their breach of them as they will one day finde to their cost if they take not another course The bonds you are entred into to render homâ—ge and obedience to God will never be cancel'd For this is a debt you will owe as long as you live though you are alwaies paying it Baptism will be as strong an engagement upon you to godlinesse when you are sixâ—y as when you are but sixteen And the same strictnesse the Lords Supper binds you to for a day to the same doth it bind you all your days Think now what an horrible thing it would be to run into drunkenness whoredome or quarrelling the same day you have received it and know your sin is little lesse hainous though it be a Month or two or twenty after it for this breaks your oath as well as that If the Wife be guilty of Adultery twenty years after her marriage her crime is as great as if it had been within a week after for she had oblig'd her self to conjugall fidelity as long as she and her husband should live And thus your Covenant with God is not for a Month or Year only but for your whole lives If you should never but once have opportunity to receive the Sacramet this would ever after remain a forcible engagement upon you but yet God in his wisdome and good providence hath ordered that this duty should be frequently repeated that it might the more work upon and affect our mindes who are prone to be so forgetfull and dull Remember then the matter is now out of your hands you have given away your selves to God and cannot revoke this gift since indeed you gave him nothing but what was his own before After these vows there is no inquiry to be made whether they should be kept or not Yet this much I 'le say to you if you can finde a greater portion and surer friend than God a better Master than Christ better work than his service better wages than life eternal you may take your choice for I would wish you to nothing for your hurt or losse nor doth God you may be sure that blessed Beeing who wants nothing out of himself nor envies his Creatures any thing that 's truly good for them but till you can thus better dispose of your selves keep your first love and if you will keep it till then I shall never question your perseverance to the last And as you are thus to improve this Ordinance to quicken you to and help you in your duty so may you make advantage of it for your comfort by remembring how God stands engaged to you by that Covenant to which he hath here set his seal and which he will be sure to perform to you that depart not from him With this consideration repell all temptations to excessive doubtings and despair When the remembrance of former sins is ready to overwhelm you have recourse to your sealed pardon and confidently take the comfort it affords you When you finde the remnants of corruption yet so strong within you that you are afraid you shall never hold out remember the Holy Ghost is in Covenant with you to assist you in your combat and will bring you off Conquerour if you throw not away your weapons And let this encourage you the more to beg his assistance yea in all your addresses to God let it strengthen your faith to apprehend him as in covenant with you And if you are surprized by any sin yet whil'st it's matter of grief and shame to you and you are resolv'd to be more watchfull for the time to come let it not cast you into such a sorrow as tends only to disquiet and consume your spirits but remember God hath assured you through Christ the forgiveness of such weaknesses and they shall not put you out of Covenant with him but know if you are hereupon a whit the more encouraged to aâ—y sin it is a very great sign that this promise of pardon at present belongs not to you In a word whatever difficulties you are plunged into relating to soul or body let this still uphold you to consider that God hath engag'd himself to be with you in all estates and conditions and to order all things so that the issue of them shall be for your advantage And thus by a frequent consideration of your own engagements at the Lords Table and of the priviledges thereby confer'd upon you you will finde your selves not only comforted and cheared but very much advantaged for the walking on more steadily in the ways of holiness 2. And to the same end my next counsel is That the Lord Jesus whom you have here been remembring may ever live fresh in your thoughts Let not your remembrance of him be confin'd to Sacrament-seasons but let him ever dwell in your heâ—rts by faith and love Set his example before you and labour to walk as he walkt who counted it his meat and drink to be doing his Fathers will Behave your self as you believe he would have done was he in your case Consider how meek and lowly he was how little he regarded yea how much he contemned the riches honours and applause of the World and learn â—ou to valâ—e them at the same rate Consider how patient he was in sufferings how courteous and gentle to all to the vilest siâ—ners and his bitterest enemies doing hurt to none but seeking the good of all Copie out this lesson also Willingly deny your selves take up your cross and follow him Grudge not to be conformed to hâ—m though in suffering it self and complain not till you are in a worse case than he was who had not where to
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