willing is the Almighty the Soul be out of doubt of its Sanctification here and Salvation hereafter To which God of his infinite mercy for the merits of his Son by the conduct of his holy Spirit at last bring us Amen The End of the First Sermon The Second SERMON On Micah 2.7 Is the Spirit of the Lord straitned July the 20th 1673 Do not my words do good to him that walketh upright or uprightly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A Word spoken upon his Wheels is like Apples of Gold in pictures of Silver I may say of this 'T is verbum super rotas a word in season then will the Sermon be most profitable when the subject is most seasonable The Text is like a well-drawn picture it hath an eye on every man as you will see anon I shall draw aside the curtain that so you may view it and it may view you I will waste no time in the beginning that I may want no time in the end I am shewing when this Ordinance of the Supper doth work for the Saints benefit and advantage I have hinted seven and shall now proceed methodically unto the eighth in order of which succinctly For enough is better than all 8 Then doth this Ordinance work for your good when your Souls are more corroborated and strengthned and your power is more encreased Observe it pray The Ministry of the Word begets spiritual life The Sacrament preserves and increaseth spiritual life The Word lays the Basis or Foundation of Grace the Sacrament carries on the Building The Word is instituted to implant Grace to work the truth of Grace where it is not The Sacrament is to promote the growth of it where it is The Ministry of the Word is a converting Ordinance the Sacrament is a confirming Ordinance That 's the breeding and this the feeding Ordinance If now you come to the Lords Table very weak your Graces very feeble your Faith and Love and other Graces very little If it may be said of you as it was of the Church of Philadelphia Rev. 3.8 Thou hast but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a little strength and then you go away stronger your Faith more encreased your hope more quickened your obediential and penitential resolutions more strengthned your corruptions more easily subdued temptations more easily repulsed your assections more raised and enlarged your hearts more established duties more spiritually performed the world more easily conquered and vanquished If now you find your selves more able to do to suffer for God or from God if now you are more fitted for active and passive obedience if you can go thorow all Christian duties with more alacrity and cheerfulness if you can apply the promises and live by Faith upon the Fatherly providence and faithful promises of God When thus you find it then hath this Ordinance been doing you good 9 When at and by the Sacrament your love to Jesus Christ is more enflamed when this little drop swells into an Ocean and this spark becomes a flame when it may be said of your love to God to Christ to his way day people Ordinances as is said of the Waters of the Sanctuary Ezek. 47.3 4 5. that 't is still higher and higher from the ankles to the knees thence to the loins and then unpassable so in the present case Is it possible we should be such constant Guests at the Lords-Table and daily see before our eyes a crucified Christ and yet go thence with so little love to him and longings after him Can we fee so much love in his heart to us and shall we be contented with so little love in our hearts to him Per vulnera videmus viscera 'T is an heart of Adamant that will neither impendere nor rependere which will neither begin in love nor love him then who has thus begun Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed on us in bestowing his Son upon us We call not upon people to behold things common and ordinary Paul calls it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 great love Eph. 2.4 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a love passing knowledg Heart-warming words indeed See Ephes 3.19 He laid down his precious life and dearest blood for us he died Nostro loco in our place and stead Nostro commodo for our benefit and good for our sin as the meritorious cause and for our good as the final cause Dan. 9.26 1 Pet. 3.18 Greater love than this can no man shew Did ever Mother love her own Child so as to wash it in her own blood thus lov'd he us Rev. 1.5 God so loved the world so How 's that so wonderfully so infinitely so but I cannot tell you how and therefore must leave it so admiring and not once attempting to express it but the Son of God can Even as the Father loved me so have I loved you Joh. 15.9 Here was the highest purest freest sweetest and choicest love that ever was in the world We conclude they love us who will speak kindly and courteously to us or a word in season for us much more if they will hazzard their lives and fortunes by espousing our cause and quarrel did not our dear Redeemer all this and more Lord now says the poor Christian thou hast laid down thy life and thereby hast manifested thy love to me Now will I part with my dearest lusts I will be their death and so shew my love to thee shall a damning lust live and a saving Christ die Shall the man die that kills my Son or Father and shall my Sin live which slays my Saviour Well if I can do no more I will do no less than love thee my dearest Lord with all my heart and might and strength The more vile thou wast made for me the dearer to my dying day shalt thou be unto me When thus it works then it does you good indeed 10 When your hearts which were before at a distance from him are by it drawn nearer to him and your desires are more drawn out after him There is a twofold distance between God and Man The one is natural as he is the Creator Man a creature He infinite Man finite this is an infinite distance The other is Moral as he is Holy and Man impure this is a greater distance than the former if we may suppose an infinito infinitius By nature we are all afar off from God n = * Non intervallo locorum sed pravitate morum by Grace through Christ we are made nigh Ephes 2.13 yet nigher we may be by much than yet we are and 't is our great business in every Ordinance to get nearer to him if you scan that famous place Heb. 10.22 Let us draw near with a true heart If now we find our confidence drawn more out after him and that we can rest more upon him and trust more in him if for what our Souls want we can with an humble boldness go to him and say Lord Here is
cadendi exempluÌ„ propositum est sed si ceciderie resurgendi non sit delectatio minorum lapsus majoruÌ„ Aug. in Psal 51. Their failings indeed are recorded but for our caution not for our imitation their errors are set up not as Stars to guide us but as Rocks to warn us not as Land-marks to go by but as Sea-marks to shun by Sit casus majorum timor minorum Aliorum perditio tua sit cautio Excellent is that of Saint Ambrose Lib. 4. Ep. pag. 127. In omnibus actibus tuis imitare bonos aemulare sanctos habeto ante oculos eorum exempla c. 3. We have an upright Rule to walk by the Word of God 't is that should guide us here by that we shall be judged hereafter This is a perfect Rule 2 Tim. 3.16 17. an upright and holy Rule so is not the Light within and as for the Spirit he is our guide Rom. 8.14 not our Rule Again 4. We have an upright way to walk in the way of his Commandments this is an underfiled and an undefiling way a pure and holy and perfect and pleasant way paths of life and peace and righteousness all which call for Uprightness Si vis esse beatus esto in via immaculatus Aug. in Psal 119.1 5. We have upright Companions to walk with indeed the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are not so the most do walk in crooked paths but in all ages there are some who are undefiled in the way whose Hearts are sound in Gods statutes and follow the Lord fully and keep themselves from their iniquities see St. Ambrose his Epistle to Florianus ubi supra 6. We have an upright a perfect account to give of our walkings and workings Though now we live as if we had no God to serve no Souls to save no accounts at all to give yet surely we shall be call'd upon anon to give account of all Luk. 16.2 We read of the Counsel which Alcibiades gave unto Pericles whom going to visit he found busied about his accounts Why dost thou trouble thy self says he in seeking to make thy accounts rather think of some course to free thee from making any account at all Doubtless there are who do thus but the greater sorrow and shame shall they have at the last day Does not the due consideration hereof lay a mighty obligation on us to walk uprightly Nothing had so great an influence on St. Austin to recall him from and to recover him out of his sinful ways and to engage him to live an holy and upright life as Metus mortis extremi judicii the fear of Death and the day of Judgment O that we were wise then would we remember our latter end 7. The Reward we shall receive will be an upright just and perfect reward Verily there is a reward for the Righteous A sure reward Prov. 11.18 A full reward 2 Joh. 8. An everlasting reward 2 Cor. 4.17 It shall be well with the righteous their labour shall not be in vain in the Lord. He is not behind with them now nor will he then They shall have Pleasures without pain Treasures without trash Riches without rust Honours without envy Crowns without cares and Life without death If the consideration of these things prevail not with us thus to walk what shall If they have no influence upon us what will Having premised these things the fourth Query comes next in order to be discussed go along with me and it shall be fully resolved 4 Q. When does this Ordinance of the Supper work for their good who thus walk An account hereof take in the Twelve following particulars Then it doth such good and much good 1 When it makes them more zealous for God for his Way and Truth and in his Worship Zeal is Amor intensus the flame of Love as Aquinas describes it 'T is ignis quidam flagrantissimi amoris Usque ad Oâ—â—â—vum graâ—am as St. Austin long before him Or if you will 't is a compound of Love and Anger a mixt affection it carries forth ones love to God and his anger against sin in the most intense degree It consists in an earnest prosecution of what is good and in a vehement detestation of what is evil O the excellency of this frame of spirit You know 't is the spirit of wine that commends it the sparkle that gives worth to the Diamond as life gives an excellency to being so vivacity in operating gives an excellency to life this is that the Lord calls for in Rom. 12.11 this he owns and crowns Numb â— 25.11 This is most prevalent with God for good Jam. 5.16 Elijah's prayer fetcht fire from Heaven because it carried fire to Heaven Grace turns a Sinner into a Saint Zeal turns a Saint into a Seraphim Much more of this you heard the other day from Revel 3.19 Be zealous therfore If when you come to this Ordinance with chill and dull and frozen affections and dead hearts and there find them wrought upon and you go thence more brisk and lively more full of love to God and hatred of sin if now you can plead the cause of God and defend the Faith with more courage and resolution if now you can suffer for God more chearfully whose dearly beloved Son you here see suffer'd so much for you if now you can perform every holy duty with more vigour and activity if you who were so remiss and cold and slothful in the business of Religion in the great concerns of God and your Souls are now more rouzed quickned excited and enlarged When thus it works then it does you good indeed 2 When their Hearts are thaw'd and melted so that they can sorrow after a godly manner in the sight and sense of sin Tears are precious things one calls 'em the Wine of Angels another the fat Sacrifice Such Sacrifices were most acceptable Levit. 3.3 4 5. The Prayers of the Saints move their Tears compell the Lord to shew mercy says Jerome Were they not very precious he would not keep a bottle for them They never run in the right channel but when they are shed for sin then only they do us good as St. Chrysostom well observes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For this end were they made Philosophers tell us That only reasonable and sinful Creatures can gaudere maerere rejoyce and weep To speak properly no other upon earth can If now when you come to this Ordinance your Eyes affect your Hearts so that you can inwardly grieve and outwardly weep bitterly for your sin as one that is in heaviness for his only Son or first-born If when you behold a bleeding Christ you have bleeding Hearts a broken Christ you have broken Spirits then does this Ordinance work for your good In the time of the Law the Passover was to be eaten with bitter Herbs Exod. 12.8 those Herbs were five say the Jewish Doctors The Passover was a lively Type of Christ who is our Passover
my treasure my fullness my All I am dead but to thee I come for life and quickning grace I have a proud heart but unto thee do I address my self I know thou who givest more and better grace to the humble canst give me grace to be more humble I am impotent but to thee I come for strength against my corruptions and for holy duties Lord I am nothing I have nothing I can do nothing I am good for nothing I cannot plead my merits but thy mercy unworthy I am to live unfit I am to die When thus we find it with us at or after a Sacrament then has it been working for our good 11 When you have the Covenant of Grace sealed and the Characters thereof impressed upon your hearts when Sacrament-days are healing and sealing days the Saints are sealed with the holy Spirit of Promise such sacred stamps he sets upon their Souls as shall never be obliterated Many a child of God has here had monumentum aere perennius when by this Ordinance you gain such full evidences of his love such influences of his Grace such experiences of his Truth such assistances from his Spirit such ratifications and confirmations of the Gospel-promises as you never had before When thus you find it with you you may safely and solidly conclude it has been working for your good 12 Once more and in a word When more glorious conquests over your spiritual enemies are obtained when prevailing lusts are vanquished and fiery temptations are quenched and all these wonders one drop of his precious blood when taken down by Faith can do when you can go from this Ordinance triumphing over and trampling upon the neck of your unbelief and pride c. and this some have done when you can come from the Sacrament as Israel did out of the Red Sea and see your spiritual enemies bleeding gasping dying dead your lusts destroyed but your Souls preserved When thus you feel and find it surely the Sacrament has done you good and much good Q. 5. How doth it appear that the Spirit of the Lord is not so straitned but that he can cause this Ordinance to work for your good Answ 'T is a truth written with a Sun-beam 't is tanquam ex tripode dictum None of those Oracles may vye with this The Spirit of the Lord hath owned and blessed it to others and therefore can to you The Spirit of the Lord is God and what cannot a Great Almighty God do What will not a good and gracious God do by his Ordinances for his people His arm is not shortned nor love lessened or impaired Of all the Fathers were I confined to one alone I should fix on Ambrose Vide S. Ambrosii de sp s lib. 1. cap. 1 3 6 7 9 11 14 20. Lib. 2. cap. 4 9. 12. Lib. 3. cap. 5 12 14 17 23 Tom. 4. for he hath writ enough to evince the Deity and divine operations of the Holy Ghost from him I might extract what would abundantly confirm the Proposition under our present consideration but I forbear As St. Paul reasoned concerning the Resurrection of the dead saying in his Apology for himself before King Agrippa Act. 20.8 Why should it be thought a thing unreasonable with you that God should raise the dead So may I say to you in this Apology for the power of the Spirit Why should it be thought a thing unreasonable for the Spirit of the Lord to do all these things in at and by this sacred and solemn Ordinance The Doctrine under debate neither exceeds the bounds of Faith nor is it contrary to the experience of the Saints Doubtless some within these walls have had sweet experience of the powerful influences and mighty workings of the Spirit of the Lord in their Hearts and upon their Spirits at this Ordinance But we will review and succinctly reflect upon some of the forementioned particulars we shall fix on four or five the rest you may clear up to your selves in your private Meditations I remember that Athenagoras an Athenian but a Christian Philosopher disputing for the Resurrection of the Dead hath a passage which is pertinent to what I have in hand The impotency of an Agent ariseth either from his ignorance something he would do but knows not what nor how or from his insufficiency or weakness though he knows what and how to effect yet a power is wanting to accomplish and bring it to pass neither of which says he truly can be affirmed of God who is infinitely wise and powerful The same say I of the Spirit of the Lord He is a Spirit of Wisdom and Power and both infinite they are really the same with his Essence 1. He knows how to break the Heart for Sin and he can as easily bring it into a melting mourning frame alas we may pray and hear and wait in the use of means and yet our Hearts remain as hard as Adamant Fortiter yet Suaviter but when the Spirit of the Lord once takes them in hand he works irresistibly and effectually a nullo duro corde respuitur when he breaks in and breaths upon the Soul then it begins to thaw and melt and mourn We read of Peters sins exceeding great and very many were they sadly circumstantiated highly aggravated Mat. 26.75 Peter even now and but just now had a forewarning from Christ Peter was dearly belov'd of Christ none of the Twelve more John ever excepted He was the first whom Christ call'd to be an Apostle Peter was often admitted when others were excluded He yielded easily to the Temptation and that of a poor silly Damsel He sinned not in a corner once and again and a third time denies Christ with cursing and swearing c. yet when our Blessed Saviour began to look and the Spirit of the Lord set in to work then Peter went out and wept bitterly Mat. 26. ult A strange look and a strong look it was that thus quickly broke his heart in pieces he lookt 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Theophylact observes with a look of love with a benign aspect Christ looks the Spirit works the Conscience stirs and out he goes and weeps exceedingly 2. He knows how to break the Heart from Sin and can easily do it be it a darling lust a Delilah never so near or dear a peccatum in deliciis He can make a full a final a total and an eternal Divorce between you and them though your lusts were mighty Hosts he can lay them dead at your feet I appeal from Gods Book to your own Breasts for the proof hereof 3. He can increase your Graces are they weak he can strengthen them if little he can increase them There is no Corruption so strong but he can make it weak no Grace so weak but he can make it strong This Men cannot Means cannot Angels cannot but He can 4. He can make you Holy as he is Holy that is for Quality not for Equality Holy in
way of resemblance Holy in all manner of Conversation all that Holiness in Saints or Angels is of his implanting 5. He can fill your Hearts with assurance of his Grace in you and of Gods Grace and Favour towards you The influences of the Spirit work Grace and the Evidences of the Spirit discover Grace 1 Cor. 2.12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world but the Spirit which is of God that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God He bears witness with our spirits that we are the Sons of God Et quando Spiritus testatur quaenam relinquitur ambiguitas The Spirit brings the Heart to the command that 's holiness he brings the promise to the heart that 's assurance In a word Sp. S. irradiat Intellectum inclinat voluntatem sigillat Animum c. he can turn your Water into Wine your night into day he can remove your fears resolve your doubts revive your Souls recruit your Comforts Others only walk in the light of Gods Providence he can make you to walk in the light of his Countenance 6. He also who reconciled Man to God can reconcile Man to Man He can cement your hearts The stones of the Temple were so closely cemented as if they all had been but one He can unite you thus too When the Sons of Brutus and the Vitellii conspired with Tarquinius his Embassadours against the Consul they drank the blood of a man to confirm their Amity and Unity You are now a going to drink the precious Blood of Jesus Christ what hinders but the Spirit of the Lord may shed abroad his love in your hearts and make you live in love what are all the motions of the Spirit but tenders of Love or what is the zeal of the Spirit but the print of love or the Graces of the Spirit but engagements to love He can give you such hearts as will be Afraid of every little Sin Amended with every little Cross Affected with every little mercy The Spirit of the Lord hath power enough to give a being to us and hath he not power enough to do any thing in and about us Can he give a being to his Ordinances and cannot he give a blessing to them He can do every thing and therefore This But that shall serve for the fifth Query The improvement of the point is not the least considerable part of my work and indeed 't is all that now remains Here is a word of Counsel and a word of Comfort something which concerns Sinners and something too which concerns the Saints I would not discourage the weak yet must I awaken the secure I begin with the Counsels such first as concern you that are Saints and I have something to say in General something in particular Two things would I say in general Is not the Spirit of the Lord so straitned but that he can cause this Ordinance to do you good Then see that 1. You believe this Truth and believe it firmly and undoubtedly The Spirit is God as Almighty as the Father or as the Son To an Almighty power nothing is impossible nay nothing difficult When God promised Abraham a Son in his old age what a hard task was here for God Sarah could not believe it she laughed but what saith the Lord Is any thing too hard for me He can do it because he is omnipotent and he will do it because he hath promised to do it 't is a truth as full of comfort to the Saints as is the Sea of water or the Sun of light therefore believe it stedfastly And see that you 2. Look for good for great workings in and by this Ordinance from the Spirit of the Lord. And look well to this Ordinance that it do you good for if it do you no good it will do you hurt if it be not bread it will be poyson it will set you either a step nearer to Heaven or nearer to Hell Who can say when he hath been at a Sermon or at a Sacrament as some Tradesmen may when their accompts are cast up I have neither got nor lost Be you well assured that if it do not strengthen your graces it will strengthen your corruptions This is a sad saying but not more sad than true others have found it so and so may you it will further you either in the way to glory or in the way to misery O that whilst the sound of these words is in your ears the savour of them were upon your hearts But to come yet more close to the business in order hereunto perhaps some of you may enquire And it brings me to the Sixth Query Q. 6. What course must a serious Christian take or hold that the Spirit of the Lord may cause this blessed Ordinance to work for his good In this numerous Auditory I am in hopes there are not many if any but they seriously desire the Ordinances may do their Souls good They would not pray nor hear nor receive in vain Well I will confine my discourse to this Ordinance before you take these ten Directions 1. Carefully prepare your hearts for it if you would profit by it Till the Earth be prepared you cast not in the seed till the Instrument be tuned you do not begin to play Till your Hearts be prepared you cannot receive worthly Gods Dispensations are generally suited to our Dispositions Those Beasts which came in to Noahs Ark unclean went out again unclean You know the Jews had their preparation for the Passover Job 19.14 And is not this an Ordinance every way as holy and venerable When our Blessed Saviour was about to institute this Ordinance it was his pleasure the House should first be fitted and prepared in which he was to do it Mark 14.15 Is there not as much nay much more need our hearts be fitted and prepared Well then say I to you as Samuel did to the Elders of Bethlehem 1 Sam. 16.5 Sanctifie your selves and come with me unto the Sacrifice put your hearts in order These two things have a special eye unto 1 To get an Understanding 2 An humble Heart 1 Get an Understanding Heart when the Lord appear'd to Solomon in Gibeon and said unto him Ask what I shall give thee 1 King 3.5 Give unto thy Servant an understanding Heart says Solomon in vers the 9th Some render the words Cor dicile Sapientiam circa agenda Cor capax divinarum legum Cor audiens an hearing Heart others Cor intelligens aut sapiens an understanding wise heart He asked Wisdom with a great deal of Wisdom had not he been wise before he had not known the worth of wisdom When you are about these Sacramental duties pray for an Understanding heart Amongst the Graces requisite to qualifie a Communicant Knowledg is neither the last nor the least considerable Knowledg of what may some say I answer I the Knowledge of our selves Est Disâ—iplinarum omniuÌ„ pulcherrima
Ambrose his Counsel with you Toto animo odi damna quod diligit mundus Tanquam mortuus a labe affectu illius te separa Epistolarū lib. 4. Floriano sicut sepultus nil habeas carum de saeculo tanquam defunct us omni terreno te abdica negotio contemne vivens quae post mortem habere non poteris 10 Walk watchfully 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 uprightly As it is not enough that you be and do good for a day or two before you come to the Sacrament but your care must be to walk uprightly so it must be your care when you are gone thence to walk thus Go then and sin no more Joh. 5.14 no more so wilfully so prefumptuously To sin after a Sacrament is to sin with a witness To sin against clearest light and dearest love provokes exceedingly and yours will be found of this nature To provoke God in a Wilderness is not so bad or sad as to provoke God in a Paradise 'T was an aggravation of Eves sin to listen to the whisperings of the Serpent when placed there 't is so for you who have been sealed with the holy Spirit of promise now to listen to the delusions of that lying Spirit Enar. in Psal 29 Adam in stercore says St. Austin est cautior quam Adam in Paradiso Sacramentum est juramentum every wilful iniquity now comes little short of perjury There are some sins which the fallen Angels were never guilty of they sinned not against the Patience of God non expectavit Angelos they suffered immediately as they had sinned Nor against the tenders and offers of Grace the golden Scepter was never held out nor pardon offer'd to them Nor against the Death and Passion of Jesus Christ he died not for them if now we sin not out of weakness but out of wilfulness our sins will be found such as the Devils themselves are not guilty of What higher priviledg is or can mortal man be capable of on this side Heaven than to be feasted at the Lords Table with these Heavenly viands Now the greatness of the Priviledg adds to the greatness of the crime Ubi sublimior praerogativa ibi major culpa Salv. de Gub. Dei lib. 4 pag 128. your sins after a Sacrament cannot take Christ from you but they may take rest from you Psal 38.3 They cannot take Grace from you but they may take peace from you God may break your bones and leave you long in the dark you may never recover that comfort and assurance which you had before Wicked men have their Heaven here and their Hell hereafter and some good men have their Hell here and their Heaven hereafter Now Sirs you have been at the Lords Table you have seen what Sin cost Christ what buffetings what bruisings what woundings what bleedings and shall not this engage us to greater circumspection to our dying day having received so much good from the Spirit of the Lord shall not we watch our ways and keep our Hearts and Eyes and Tongues Obstrue quinque Fenestras i.e. quinque sensus ut luceat Domus Prov. Arab. and All with more care and diligence If Israel play the Harlot yet Judah must not transgress Having now been at such an Ordinance as this shall we again return to break his Commandments Every mercy is a motive to duty and to walk circumspectly watchfully wisely uprightly is one without dispute Eph. 5.15 Mark 13.37 Col. 4.5 Let not the increase of our mercies be the decrease of our duties Though we walk in yet let us not walk after the Flesh but after the Spirit of the Lord who by this Institution hath done us all this good Once more Walk Penitently You must renew your repentance as well after as before this Ordinance Call to remembrance the deadness of your Hearts the coldness of your Love the unactiveness of your Faith the many wandrings and distractions of your minds and spirits when about this duty There are some special seasons for the renewing of repentance As 1. When you are a dying though we must not defer it till death yet we must be sure to renew it at death We should take our fill of repentance before we take our leave of repentance thus St. Austin did he caus'd the Penitential Psalms to be fixt before him on the wall and as he lay in bed he wept and read and read and wept abundantly Intuebatur legebat jugitr ac ubertim flebat as Possidonius relates it De vita Aug. cap. 31. 2. And when you are suffering for God or from God under some great afflictions though repentance must not be limited to a time of affliction yet it must be renewed in a time of affliction for Gods end and design in and by them is not to break our backs but to break our hearts Once more 3. When you are a doing or have done any great and more solemn duty What is there nothing now you have been at this Ordinance to renew your repentance for was all so well done did corruption act so weakly and Grace so vigorously and strongly was the evil spirit so chained and restrained and did the good Spirit of the Lord so enlarge enliven and strengthen is there no need of praying over your prayers again of repenting that your repentance was no more Evangelical Did you thorowly consider as you ought your Saviors Passion in the matter and quality of it in its bitter ingredients and heightning circumstances of it or your own sins the meritorious cause of it You had some light about this in your heads but was it attended with power and efficacy upon your hearts for the clearest notions without suitable impressions will not advantage you And thus have we dispatcht the counsels which concern you Saints and also resolv'd the seventh Query If thus you walk you will much honour the Spirit of the Lord who is the great Agent in your Regeneration Illumination Conversion and in your proficiency by this sacred institution And as you are concern'd to honour the Son for what he hath done without so are you concern'd to honour the Spirit for what he hath done within You will honour this Ordinance too and advantage your selves and you will be instrumental to bring in others whose hearts are too full of disgusts and prejudices against this high and holy Institution I told you of something I had to say to sinners I could be well contented to say nothing at all had I none at all to speak to But there are two ranks or sorts of them 1. Such as peremptorily but most perniciously and erroneously assert that they are above Ordinances this or that Sans-or supra-ordinance men in what predicament to place them how to call them or how to cure them I well know not Is not the Spirit of the Lord straitened can he do his people good by this Ordinance why then is there no breaking of Bread no Sacrament of the Lords Supper
Cor. 1.12 Our rejoycing is this the testimony of our Conscience that in simplicity and godly sincerity we have had our conversation in the world In an Evangelical sense one may walk perfectly and thus Zachary and Elizabeth did See Luk. 1.6 They walked in all the Commandments of the Lord blameless 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not sinless but blameless Sineâ—querela non sine peccato as St. Austin glosseth it in the end of his 95. Epist and since him Osiander and others 'T is a true saying of one They err egregiously who look for that in the Law which is only to be found in the Gospel for that in themselves which is only to be found in Christ and for that on Earth which is only to be had in Heaven i.e. A sinless perfection To dispatch this enquiry know that to this upright walking three things are necessary 1. A Rule is requisite a certain infallible and inflexible Rule by which we act that 's the Word 't is not only a rule of Knowledg but also a rule of Duty 2. A knowledg of this Rule and then there must be 3. An acting conformably suitably to our knowledg We must have an eye as well to the manner of our Obedience as to the matter of our Obedience For as Luther well Adverbia apud Deum praevalent verbis We must obey him as well in the spirit of the command as in the letter of it In those things which seem to make against us as in those that make for us Gen. 22.1 to the 12. v. We must not only not do that which is evil but we must do that which is good We must have respect to all his Commandments Psal 119.6 As good to none at all as not to all David fulfilled all Gods wills Act. 13.22 Gal. 3.10 3 Q. We shall now enquire after the Quae ratio of what importance and concernment is it that we thus walk It were easie to be voluminous but take hints That there is an absolute and indispensable necessity of walking sincerely uprightly that it is of great concernment we do so Appears 1. If we appeal to God under the Law there we see the Lord requires it Gen. 17.1 I am the Almighty God walk before me and be thou perfect or upright 2. If we appeal to Christ under the Gospel all his commands breathe Holiness and Uprightness and his promises are to the pure and sincere in Heart Mat. 5.8 He came to save us not in our sin nor with our sin but from our sin He requires us to be holy as he is holy and we must follow the example of his life if we hope to be saved by the Merits of his Death 3. If we appeal to the practise of the Saints under both Dispensations they ever made it their business to walk uprightly Enoch and Noah and David and Josiah and Hezekiah Hear one for all Remember now O Lord I beseech thee how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart says good Hezekiah Isa 38.3 For the New Testament consult 2 Cor. 1.12 and 1 Thes 2.10 Ye are witnesses and God also how holily and justly and unblameably we behaved our selves among you that believe Phil. 1.27 4. If we appeal to Conscience our own or others Conscience is a faculty or habit of the practical understanding whereby the mind of man by the discourse of Reason applys the light it hath to every particular moral act There is a Conscience convinced and awakened but not converted nor renewed Consult this and it will tell you that 't is a matter of importance to walk uprightly a Conscience upon the rack will confess it freely There is a good renewed Conscience and this will tell you there is a necessity of walking uprightly In every man God hath placed a Conscience 't is his bosom-preacher 't is a petty God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it reproves accuses checks and smites when we do evil Ask your Consciences when you are under some sore affliction or when upon your Death beds and they will bear witness to this truth that 't is your part and prudence your duty and discretion to be in the fear of the Lord all the day long To walk humbly and uprightly before God Excellent is that passage of Justin Martyr in his Defense for the Christians to Antoninus Pius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. If any be found who lives not as Christ hath taught 't is a certain Argument he is not a Christian 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 though with the Tongue he confess the Doctrine of Christ for not those which only profess but those who make good their profession doth Christ assure of Salvation But to ground the Point We are thus oblig'd to walk upon a sevenfold account 1. He is an upright God whom we walk before he is so in his Nature in his Attributes in his Mercy Love and Justice in his Precepts in his Promises in Threats he is so in his offers and tenders of Christ and Grace and of Pardon and eternal Salvation in Him is no iniquity no hypocrisie at all He is a God of Truth his eye is fixt upon it his heart is in love with it He disgusts and abhors all leaven of hypocrisie and vizors of piety all falseness 'T is not all you can say or do or suffer or lose that can make you precious in his eyes without this sincerity In that Psalm of Thanksgiving there is an excellent passage 2 Sam. 22.22 to the 28. I have kept the ways of the Lord. All his judgments are before me I was also upright before him For with the upright man thou wilt shew thy self upright David walkt before an upright God and it concern'd him the more to walk uprightly 2. We have an upright Pattern and upright Presidents to walk after The Lord Jesus is our pattern he hath left us an example 1 Pet. 2.21 and we must follow his steps who did no sin neither was guile found in his mouthâ— We must look at Jesus Heb. 12.2 He was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a pattern not only for patience in death but for holiness and uprightness of life too for this end and purpose is his life recorded in this sacred Volume Bonos tibi adjunge quia si socius fueris conversationis eris virtutis Ambr. that all his Members might lay it as a golden Samplar before them according to which they should work Upright Presidents the godly Patriarchs the holy Prophets and Apostles pious Princes and other religious persons of whom we read in Holy Story These are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Examples propounded for all our imitation In every Profession there are Chieftains The Roman Warriors had their Camilli Fabricii and Scipio's The Philosophers had their Plato Aristotle and Pythagoras We have the Prophets and Apostles Man is a ductile creature led as well by the eye as by the ear we must follow them so far as they follow Christ Non
that Rite was instituted to intimate that the Lamb of God is only savingly taken and eaten by those who are in bitterness of spirit and sorrow of soul for Sin and thus is this Holy Sacrament to be received Does not a broken bleeding Saviour call for a broken and bleeding Sinner How can we see the Bread broken and the Wine poured forth and so should you place your selves as you may see them both which do represent and shew his bloody Death and bitter Passions and yet have no remorse no contrition no compunction no godly sorrow in our Hearts for sin shall the Lord of Life thus suffer Death and shed his precious innocent blood for thy for my sins and shall not our Hearts be so affected with 'em as to weep and drop one tear for ' em What sad lamentation do we make for the death of our Relations especially when taken away by the hand of violence nay they are not interred without tears who die in their beds such so such was the death of our dearest Lord Vellosillus disputes the question Whether the Death of Christ might or ought to be lamented He cites Ambrose and Theophilact Vide Vellosill Advertentias in B. Amb. Quest 19. pag. 33. Beda and Erasmus holding the Negative from Luk. 23.28 but concludes for the Affirmative which most of the Fathers are for But out of dispute it is That he was wounded for our iniquities died for our sins and that it concerns us all to weep for our sins which had so deep an hand in his Death and Sacrament-days are proper times and seasons for godly sorrow When your Eyes and Hearts are wrought and brought into this melting mourning frame when your sorrows for 'em is quadrate adequate and proportionable to that delight and complacency you have taken in them when thus you find it at such a time as this then does this Ordinance work for your good O that Rivers of waters did this day run down our Eyes at the remembrance of that River of blood which ran down from his sides 3 When it makes their Hearts to die to Sin when they do not only discard but disgust it not only leave but loth it when there is not only a breaking of the Heart for Sin but also a breaking of it from Sin When their unbelief is blasted their pride and other lusts are mortified when they come with strong and impetuous lusts to the Lords-Table and there get though no more peace yet more power over them The death of Sin is the Souls life its ruin is our rise its falling is our advancing 't is sad to come and see Sin living in us and Christ bleeding for us to see a crucified Christ and yet to find in our hearts uncrucified lusts When you come to this sacred and solemn Ordinance and there can cry Lord Here is a proud unbelieving heart an heart that does not love thee I cannot I will not therefore love it it does not fear thee but I fear it O Lord help help thy poor servant with a better heart that I may lead a better life As it is I cannot serve thee and thou wilst not save me Oh let my Sin die but let my Soul live and it shall praise thee for ever Let not that which thou didst not make destroy what thine own hand hath made O kill my pride my passion As thy Son died unto Sin for satisfaction so inable me to die unto Sin by Mortification Let me see that Christ died for me even for me by the death of Sin in me Lord help me to revenge the Blood of my dearest Lord upon my dearest lusts When thus it works then it does you good indeed 4 When their Hearts and Affections are more firmly cemented and united animosities are removed breaches healed differences composed when their Heart-burnings are turn'd into Heart-breakings and more Hearty-breathings after love peace and unity St. Austin tells us of a Street in Rome call'd Via Sacra De Civit. Dei lib. 18. cap. 12. the Holy Street Ludovicus Vives gives the Reason viz. because Romulus and Tatius King of the Sabins made their League of Union there Well may this be called the Holy Sacrament as on other so on this account because of that Holy League the Saints renew with God and make one with another here This is the great Love-Feast one great end and design of God in this Ordinance is by it to increase and strengthen Love and Unity amongst his Servants by their Communion in this Ordinance they are made to drink into one Spirit or into oneness of Spirit 1 Cor. 12.13 But alas Nullum suit indoctius insaelicius saeculum in eo quippe nulli Scriplores illustres De Rom. Pontif lib. 4. cap. 12. what Bellarmine observ'd of the Tenth Century No Age was so unluckie and unlearned as that the like may I say of this Seventeenth No Age since our Saviours Passion no nor since the Worlds Creation was ever so divided and disunited as ours we live as if we had been born upon the Mountains of Bether i.e. the Mountains of Division and Baptized in the Waters of Meribah i.e. the Waters of Strife They who once did weep and pray together and did suffer together cannot now sit together at the Lords-Table this is a Lamentation c. Excellent is that passage of Paulinus in his Epistle to St. Austin Inter Augustini Epistolas Ep. 33. in Med. Paulinus Tâ—erasia Augustino It is no marvel though we both that are absent be yet present and being unacquainted yet know one another seeing as we have one Head so we live by one Bread walk in one Way c. When you who break Bread together are bound up together when such silver-showers of Love are rained down upon your hearts as cement them more firmly as heal your Schismes and repair your Breaches and make you like the Cherubims with your Faces looking one upon another when you go from this Ordinance with stronger resolutions to keep the Unity of the Spirit in the bond of Peace when by it you are more inabled as well as more engaged to love more purely to live more Christianly to forgive more cordially to forget injuries to pity and pray and live and love as Brethren as did those Primitive Christians Act. 2.46 47. When you that are one in so much will not be two in or for a trifle for vestures or gestures or such little matters When thus you find it at or after a Sacrament then indeed doth it work for your good 5 When their Holiness is thereby more promoted and advanced 't is the end and design of God in all his Ordinances especially in and by this to make them who are holy more holy them who are heavenly more heavenly When Moses had been with God in the Mount he came thence with his Face shining When you go from this Ordinance with your Graces shining then it does work for your good indeed
Nothing does grace a man as Grace 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrysostom 't is a Christians great Ornament What a pearl of price must holiness be when 't is the scope of Almighty God in all his Acts Ordinances and Providences in all his Mercies and Judgments in our Election Ephes 1.4 in our Redemption Tit. 2.14 in our Afflictions Heb. 12.10 Some Ordinances are for Conversion some are for Confirmation all are for our Sanctification This Golden Oyl comes from the two Olive Trees through the Golden pipes of his holy Institutions They say that Corn never ripens more than when the Sun is in Conjunction with the Dog-star sure am I Holiness never ripens more than when the Spirit of the Lord is in Conjunction with the Word and Sacraments When you go from this sacred Ordinance and find you are not only more for the doing of holy things but for the more holy doing of things more thankful for mercies more watchful over your hearts words and ways more spiritual in your Conversations more savory and fruitful in your Converses more conformable in every thing to the Image of your dear Redeemer When the power of this Ordinance runs through every vein of your Conversations when you trade buy and fell when you pray hear sanctifie his Day and do all in the strength of this Ordinance when you can stand at a greater distance from Sin and from the World when you can look upon all the beauty of the World as blackness and on all the fulness of it as emptiness when you can feast your selves in God whilst you are starving in the Creature when you can say in the sincerity of your Souls were all the Universe on a flame the fire does not touch my portion when you can stand upon its ruins and say triumphingly I have lost nothing or as that good man Lord Te pro omnibus prae omnibus the sauris aestimo Moller in Psal 73.25 thou knowest where all my good things are even in thee and above with thee Lord whom have I in Heaven but thee and there is none on earth that I desire in comparison of thee You have there the desire of Davids Soul and the Soul of his desire when thus you find it working it does you much good indeed 6 When their hearts are more humbled more deeply and thorowly humbled when they meet with such tasts of the Lords graciousness such manifestations of his rich mercy and discoveries of his free love as lays them as low as the very dust when they can say as David did 2 Sam. 7.18 19. Who am I O Lord God that thou hast brought me hitherto What shall such a poor pitiful piece of polluted clay such a map of misery be admitted to thy Table feasted at thy Board fed with the Body and Blood of the Son of God who am I that I should be embraced in his arms that he should ravish my heart with the sweet sound of his precious promises and rejoyce my drooping Soul with a well-grounded hope of his gracious pardons and of the acceptance of my person and performances I am not worthy the least crumb of bread which grows upon the earth or comes thence much less of that bread of life which came down from Heaven The condition of my Soul had been as doleful as any mans on earth had not free grace renewed me as dreadful as any damned souls in hell had not he in mercy to my Soul repriev'd me O what a poor starven Soul had mine been had not the Lord of Life refresh'd me The most genuine and natural effect which divine discoveries have upon a devout Soul is Humiliation nothing does it more kindly and that which humbles us does not hurt us when you can go from this Ordinance lothing and abhorring your selves and see more of your own nothingness as Creatures and vileness as Sinners when you can cry with Job Behold I am vile Chap. 40.4 With the poor Publican God be merciful to me a sinner I dare not lift mine eyes towards Heaven Luk. 18.13 When it makes and keeps us more humble then it doth us good indeed 7 When their peace and joy in the Lord is increased their Spiritual comforts are enlarged and their Souls are more assured of their interest in Christ and in the everlasting Covenant When they can go to Christ and say Thou art mine to the Promises and say all these are mine when they can lay hold on the blessings of the Covenant and say all these are sealed to me in this blessed Sacrament This lo this is the sweet fruit the Saints find at this holy Sacrament when their trembling Faith is turn'd into a triumphing Faith their Faith of adherence into a Faith of evidence and assurance There is a threefold fulness of Assurance a full allurance of Understanding Col. 2.2 of Hope Heb. 6.11 and of Faith Heb. 10.22 O what a sweet and precious what a rich and rare Jewel is this Grace purifies Assurance pacifies Grace brings the Soul to Heaven Assurance brings Heaven into the Soul Grace is better than Peace but Peace is sweeter than Grace Assurance is a flower of Paradise a sparkle of Glory Heaven on this side Heaven an Anchor at Sea a Shield at Land a Staff to support a Sword to defend Bread to strengthen Wine to chear and Balm to cure the Soul of man When at and by this precious Ordinance your Souls are fill'd with joy unspeakable and full of glory when those black clouds of fears and jealousies are dispersed and those bitter storms of Soul-troubles are blown over when brighter beams and clearer calms and sweeter comforts flow in upon your Souls when thus you find it then has the Sacrament been working for your good 'T is one great end of this Ordinance to seal his peoples Graces many a child of God can tell you that by this Ordinance they have arriv'd at a great measure of assurance they have come empty and gone hence full they have come with fears and doubts upon them and have gone away with abundance of joy and peace the Lord has met them at his Table has spoken peace unto their Consciences has clear'd up their Evidences for Heaven and now they can speak of the great things he has done in it and by it too for their precious Souls This Ordinance was instituted for his peoples growth in Grace and for their sense of Grace for the augmentation of it and for the manifestation of it By it Grace grows up to its full stature and just proportion 'T is for sealing too the Sacrament is a good friend to the Spirit be it spoken with reverence and the Spirit is a greater friend to the Sacrament and both are great friends to the Soul sealing it up unto the day of redemption Rom. 4.11 Ephes 4.30 As a Seal doth confirm and settle the mind of the Buyer so doth the Sacrament satisfie and assure the heart of a Believer O how
maxima seipsum nosse Cle. Alex. Paeda l. 3. in initio of our misery and of our malady of our want of Christ and of the worth of Christ of our interest in Christ in the Covenant and consequently of our right to this Ordinance which is one seal of that Covenant 2 The Knowledg of this Sacrament what it is and whose it is and for what ends it is a Physical potion may do the Patient good though he know not the ingredients of which it is compounded nor the Apothecary by whom it is prepared nor yet the Doctor by whom it is prescribed because it works physically naturally but in this case it is not so because the Sacrament works morally In short if you be found guilty of much ignorance I fear me you will find little good by this Ordinance for it works not ex opere operato but ex opere operantis Secondly above all let it be your care to bring with you an humble Heart At the Marriage of Peleus and Thetis Lud. Vives on Aug. lib. 3. c. 5. a Golden Ball was sent in amongst the Feasters having this Inscription on it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let the fairest have it Here are choicest comforts sweet sanctifying satisfying comforts to be had at the Lords Table such as will rejoyce and transport the Soul infinitely on them the Motto is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 let the humblest have 'em of all the Graces which Christ commands our imitation of him in humility is one of the first and choicest Mat. 11.29 Learn of me for I am meek and lowly q.d. Your care should be to be holy as I am holy and merciful as I am merciful But above all be sure to learn from me to be humble In the Lords eye no heart like the humble heart 't is the grand Sacrifice Psal 51.17 Isa 66.2 A proud man will presume to come to the Table of the Lord no man sooner but the Lord will not come nigh to him at his Table No he beholds him afar off How can he expect a gift in love from Gods hand who must not have a look in love from Gods eye A proud heart is not fit for this Ordinance nor was ever this Ordinance intended for a proud heart But the poor humble hungry Soul the Spirit of the Lord will enrich and fill with good things What Tully said of Pronuntiation in an Orator that says St. Austin is humility in a Christian 't is the first second and third Grace The humble heart is a spiritual vacuum Cor Humile est vacuum spirituale Guliel Paris Sicut natura non as the God of Nature will not permit a natural so the God of all Grace cannot permit a spiritual filled it shall be with Grace here and Glory hereafter I have often thought of that passage of St. Austin in his Enarrations on the 93. Pfalm Magis Deo placet humilitas in malis factis quà m superbia in Bonis The great God is better pleas'd with humility in a bad than with pride in a good action He that comes to this or that or any holy Ordinance without Faith and Humility whatever good is dispensed he goes without For he hath nothing to take a mercy with wanting the hand of Faith and nothing to put a mercy in not having an humble heart The Spirit rested on the Virgin Mary not for her Virginity Bernard but for her humility Secondly Would you have the Spirit of the Lord to do you good at and by this Ordinance then be serious in self-examination 'T is a necessary duty on this the stress is laid let a man examine himself and so let him come and take and eat c. This is a trying time and this is the trying Ordinance it trys how your pulse beats how you can pronounce Transubstantiation what propensions you have towards the Romish Faith As in the Marian times how mens inclinations stood towards the Reformed well as you are tryed by it so must you try your selves for it the knowledg of your selves is necessary as you heard even now Now the most expeditious way to know our selves is to try our selves Search 1 Then till you have found out the evil that is in you the pride Hypocrisie self-love unbelief c. and mortifie them enquire what error is in the head what blood is in the hand what lusts are in the heart what it is that hinders your growth in Grace that interrupts your peace that interposeth between you and the light of Gods Countenance Something there is at the bottom some Jonah that disturbs the Ship some Achan that troubles the Camp you would have more joy and peace Know the Spirit first sets the Soul a searching and then he comes a sealing God may hide his face in point of Soveraignty but he does it commonly in case of sin Lam. 3.40 Let us search c. 2 Search till you have found out the good that 's in you for you must acknowledg the Graces that you have before you can receive the comforts which you want Thirdly Be careful to excite and to blow up those graces which the Spirit of the Lord hath implanted in you 'T is not enough that you have grace no no a man that hath grace may receive unworthily not acting his graces though he cannot be an unworthy receiver Now 's a proper season for the exerting and exercising of your Graces What Graces may some enquire I answer chiefly four Faith and Love Humility and Repentance all noble Graces they are Theologiae Quadriga Faith gets all Love spends all Humility keeps all the grace of Faith lays up for Christ the grace of Love lays out for Christ and the grace of Humility keeps all for Christ Of this last grace I have spoken in the first Direction of the other three a word or two now 1. Act Faith now the acting of Faith is the way to increase your Faith and to obtain peace and assurance all the Devils in Hell cannot do you that hurt at this Ordinance as your own unbelieving hearts can and will I dare and do assure you That if the Spirit do not weaken your unbelief your unbelief will straiten the Spirit Mat. 13. ult Fides non est necessaria accessuro ad Eucharistiam Cajetan at a Conference with Luther positively asserted That Faith is not necessary for an Evangelical Communicant Could I but pro tempore abjure Sense and Reason and so much unman my self as to admit that scandalous Doctrine and devilish figment of Transubstantiation I would concur with him in that ignorant and impudent assertion but no such trash will pass here you have not so learned Christ Well then act Faith and this will sanctifie you for this Ordinance Act. 15.9 and it will sanctifie this Ordinance to you Tit. 1.15 God the Father conveys all good to us through Christ and Christ conveys all good to us through Faith Dormit Fides dormit Christus Christ
is the Fountain the Sacrament is the Conduit Faith is the Cock the heart is the Vessel Turn but this Cock and the oyl of joy and peace will flow in abundantly into your Souls from the fountain of living waters There are two special seasons for a Christian to act faith in the former when under sore afflictions then he must live by Faith Faith is an inquisitive grace it will not be quiet till it have found out the Sin that hath provokt God and procur'd the rod Faith then eyes the Sin to humble the Soul and the promise to comfort the Soul Faith eyes the hand inflicting and works patience and it eyes the sin procuring and works repentance When God is striking for sin Faith will be striking at sin Faith will make great afflictions little bitter potions sweet unbelief makes short afflictions long and easie burdens heavy Faith will enable the Soul to pray Prayer i◠the very breath of Faith Faith is all for Prayer and Prayer is all for Faith the latter when about divine Institutions and holy Ordinances what Christ said to his Disciples Joh. 15.5 that faith Faith to us Without me ye can do nothing Nothing acceptable to God nothing profitable to your selves 2. Act Love and Charity now 's the time to have your Hearts fired inflamed with love to God and filled with love to Man As the Sacrament receiv'd without Faith is receiv'd without fruit so if receiv'd without love 't is receiv'd without life Love puts life into a Communicant and Love puts life into a Sacrament When the Lord Jesus was a dying on the Cross he stretcht out his Arms to both Malefactors to teach us surely when we come unto this Ordinance to be in charity with all men All men love their Friends but Communicants should love their enemies Amare est bonum alicui velle non nostrâ sed ejus causâ Aqu Amicos in te inimicos propter te Aug. else what do they more than others Mat. 5.47 The Spirit of the Lord is a Spirit of Love and loves to do good to such as live in love But we cannot live in love may some say No It may so happen you cannot live in peace I am for peace saith David but when I speak they are for war Well but you may live in love you may love them though they hate you If so you do your duty is done and you may come in hope and assurance to receive good by this Ordinance carry these two things along with you 1. 'T is connatural to a Sinner to hate a Saint if he chance to love him 't is because he is of a sweet nature or for some external Considerations not because he is of a sanctify'd nature Holiness is the thing he disgusts and hates 2. If any man love not the Lord Jesus think it not strange if he hate you never court his favour for his love is not worth the having who thinks not Christ worth loving See Tertullian's Book to Scapula who was a great enemy to Christians the beginning of it 3. Renew your Repentance and the Spirit of the Lord will do you good by this Ordinance The Jews before the Passover cleansed all their Vessels which they suspected might have any leaven in them they burned all they could find and what they could not find they cursed Thus should we do by our sins we should search every corner of our hearts and every passage of our lives if possible We should go with a Melius inquirendum What have I done since the last time I was at the Lords-Table What sin have I lapst into what dishonour have I done to God what disservice to Religion and now repent of all Do as the Royal Prophet did 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Calculavi Consultavi Psal 119.59 I considered my ways and turn'd my feet into thy Testimonies I considered i.e. I set my head and heart and mind on work I turned them over and over upside down I weighed them in the ballance I thought on them i.e. what they were whither they did tend in what they would end I saw they were not good holy right I durst not own them at the great day and I turned I saw 't was high time to turn I busied not my self about other mens ways and works my own found me work enough A serious Consideration of our ways helps us to a sight of the evil of them a sight of the evil of our ways helps us to godly sorrow for them 2 Cor. 7.10 and godly sorrow worketh repentance The Dunghill is never so lothsom and offensive as when you stir in it you never so fully discern the Bran as when you sift the Corn you will never discern sin mourn for sin or turn from sin till you consider your ways O pray remember only the true penitent is the right qualify'd Communicant Say Lord here is the sin by search I have found it out that hath so highly dishonoured thee so greatly troubled me 't is this that soiled my Evidences cankered my Assurance I loth my self now and repent in dust and ashes Apposite to what I have in hand is that passage of St. Ambrose Ita nos quando ad altare Domini communicaturi accedimus venemum pessimum viz. Iracundiā invidiam suberbiam avaritiam haec sunt animarum venena ista prius repellamus c. Feria 2. post Dom. 1. Quadrag the subject or argument of his Sermon is The universal or general day of Judgment Serpens cum venerit ad bibendum aquam priusquam bibit extra fontem evomit venenum suum Even as a Serpent coming to drink first it vomits up its poyson and then drinketh so when we come to the Lords Table we must first by humble confession which is vomitus sordium animae cast up and vomit out our poyson the worst of poysos viz. Anger and Hatred Envy Pride and Covetousness Sacriledg Theft and Luxury these are the poysons the bane of the Soul away with these and then we shall be satisfied with those Spiritual dainties and Heavenly viands viz. the body and blood of the Lord Jesus Athenagoras the Athenian Philosopher hath a parallel passage in the very beginning of his Book de Resur Mortuorum Nec Medicus infundere salutare pharmacum aegroto corpori apte potest nisi vitiosa prius expurgârit aut affluentem purulentilentiam cohibuerit c. Fourthly Constantly and conscientiously wait diligently and duly attend upon the Lord in every Ordinance if you would have the Spirit of the Lord to do you good in and by This let this be your practice and it shall be your praise if it be somewhat painful yet you shall find it very gainful it is your duty and your glory too The Merchants Ship takes not in all its Lading at one Port nor does the Christian enrich himself with treasures of grace and peace at one Ordinance only He hath instituted none to be kickt at or neglected