it as a farther assurance from God that his promises of mercy shall be made good to thee CHAP. VII The second benefit is Sanctification 2. THe second great benefit purchast by the Death of Christ and held forth in the Sacrament is Sanctifying Saving Grace for the enlivening and strengthning the souls of Believers There is no truth more plain in the whole Gospel than that one great end of Christ's Death was to obtain from the Father that the holy Spirit should accompany the proclaiming of the Gospel to enlighten the minds and soften the hearts of those who should not wilfully resist his workings that they might entertain the truth in the love thereof and that on these greater measures of grace should be poured forth to make them in all things conformable to their Maker according to the capacity of their natures which was the great design of the Redeemer even to restore apostate creatures to the image of God wherein they were created that so they might be made meet for his service here and the fruition of him hereafter A most lamentable mistake it is to confine Christs death onely to the procuring of a pardon and keeping sinners out of Hell since this was but in order to a work of grace on their hearts and onely such who submit to this work shall at last have a share in the absolute pardon For suppose a company of prisoners were taken in Warre who being weak and wounded cannot return into their own Countrey but must presently be put to death by the King that took them and in the mean time comes their own Prince and pays a great sum to obtain that the execution of them may be put off for some time and that his Physician may use medicines and apply plaisters to as many as are willing and that all such when they are made whole shall be sent to their own homes and the rest who will not be ruled by the Physician but spit out his potions because they are bitter and throw away his plaisters because they make them smart they are to remain in their prison and be put to death as they were sentenced Here we see the ransome that was paid was first to stop the slaughter of the prisoners and to get liberty to use means for their recovery to health and soundnesse and secondly to obtain that the recovered should be set free to return to their own Countrey and not onely the contempt of the ransome but of the Physician would bring death Thus had we by the Fall both brought our selves into danger of present destruction and disabled our souls that we could not return to that state whence we fell but the Son of God undertaking our Redemption obtained for us that the sentence of condemnation should not speedily be executed and that there should be assured hopes of escaping destruction and returning to happinesse for all those who make not their condition desperate by continuance in sin and rejecting of the cure which his Spirit would work upon them now the work of his Spirit is to plant and encrease grace in their hearts to heal the diseases and remove the weaknesse which sin hath caused that they may be enabled to walk in the ways of holinesse to their everlasting rest and the sending forth of his healing Spirit was the fruit of his blood Now as it will assuredly damn men to despise the blood of Christ as if it was of no force to be a ransome nor to attain those ends for which the Gospel saith it was shed so is it as dangerous and damnable to resist and sleight the Spirit of Christ let them pretend what esteem they will for his blood A like mistake also it is flowing from the former to limit the notion of free grace to meer pardoning mercy whenas it includes sanctifying 〈◊〉 so for in the instance now given the Physick I hope was as free a gift to the prisoners as the ransome that was paid for them notwithstanding this was without them and the other to be taken into them And in like manner is the giving of the Spirit into us as purely from the grace and mercy of God though merited by Christ as the giving of his Son for us accepting of us for his sake This I was willing to hint least any when they hear or read of being saved by Free grace should dream of a salvation to be had by a meer pardon without being sanctified by the Spirit That the making men holy in their hearts and lives was a principall end of Christs Death without which no happinesse is to be attained is I say a truth so evident in the very tenour of the Gospel that it may seem needlesse to produce particular proofs yet amongst the rest read these few Eph. 2.10 We are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works c. Eph. 5.25 26 27. Christ loved the Church and gave himself for it that he might sanctifie and cleanse it c. and that it might be holy and without blemish 1 Joh. 3.8 The Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the Devil 1 Pet. 3.24 Who bare our sins that we being dead to sin should live unto righteousnesse Tit. 3.4 5 6. According to his mercy he saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour Read also Mat. 1.22 Luk. 1.75 Rom. 6.11 Galat. 1.4 Tit. 2.12 13 14. Heb. 9.14 Now though I acknowledge it is by the help of the Spirit that we are brought to believe for faith it self is the gift of God Eph. 2.8 yet I think we shall ordinarily find the promises of the Spirit to be made to those who are already Believers to advance and carry on the work of God upon their souls And to this end and of this nature is that Grace which is 〈◊〉 and given forth by the Sacrament even to refresh and nourish the souls of Believers to confirm and encrease those graces that are wrought in them and to bring them forward to farther degrees of perfection And this much the very elements themselves do teach us for as Bread is the support and stay of life and Wine that which makes glad the heart of man and both are needfull for the maintaining of life and encreasing our strength so are the Body and Blood of Christ alike necessary and usefull to our souls for he himself hath told us that his flesh is meat indeed and his blood is drink indeed and that he who eats his flesh and drinks his blood dwelleth in him and hath eternall life with much more to the same purpose Joh. 6. The proper meaning whereof as will appear by the Context and the occasion of that Discourse I suppose is That they who believe in him having the same expectations of spirituall life from him that they have of temporall life from their food and accordingly receive digest and improve
thou little regardest the health of thy soul whilst thou sleightest those means which through the blessing of the great Physician upon thy carefull use of them might tend so much to thy healing and strengthning If a shilling be offered me in earnest of a thousand pound to be given upon some certain conditions if I refuse to take it it is not so much the Earnest as the greater summe that I thereby reject Thus Heaven is assured to thee upon condition of thy faith and obedience and if thou likest it upon these terms the Sacrament shall be given thee in earnest but if thou wilt not take the Earnest thou putt'st away from thee everlasting life If a condemned man tear in pieces the Kings pardon which is brought to him his fault is not so much the tearing of a piece of paper as his contempt of the Pardon Thus shall it be laid thy charge not meerly thy despising a bit of Bread and sup of Wine but thy sleighting all those rich and unvaluable blessings which hereby were offered assured to Believers If indeed thou prizest these shew it by thy setting a due esteem upon that which hath so near a relation to them but if thou value them not think not much if thou go without them for ever for whom canst thou blame if thou misse of those things which thou caredst not for 4 Is not this neglect a sad sign that thou performest no duty as thou oughtest nor to those ends thou shouldest For if thou didst rightly improve any why should'st thou not be glad of all Art thou not ready to try all courses use all means for the continuance and encrease of thy outward welfare and yet thou thinkest every thing too much that 's enjoyned thee for thy spirituall advantage and therefore comest not to this Ordinance as thinking thou maist doe well enough without it They that are in health use not to say if they have one sort of food what should they doe with another or if they eat one meal in a day why need they eat another and yet this is thy language in reference to thy soul. So long as thou hast been baptized and comest to Church and saist thy prayers and it 's well if thou doe thus much why may not this serve thy turn without coming to the Sacrament Why tell mee pray thee what 's thy design in these duties Is it to get good to thy soul That thou maist grow in grace and get fitter for glory If it be why then is not every duty acceptable to thee which would help on this design But is it not rather to be feared that these are done out of custome without expecting and therefore without finding any great advantage from them And because the neglect of that duty I am urging thee to is too too common and so no great matter of disgrace therefore thou makest so light of it And withall perhaps there is somewhat more pains requisite to prepare thee for it and therefore out of meer sloth and lazinesse thou holdest off Oh that thou wast but set in as good earnest to inrich thy soul with grace as the most of men and it 's like thou thy self art to grow rich in the world How many ways will they wind and turn to get a little gain If one course will not serve they 'l take another and if that fail they 'l try a third what they misse in one bargain they 'l seek to make amends for in the next Thus would it be with thee wast thou a diligent Christian thou would'st turn every stone seek every corner for the pearl of price Didst thou once by experience know the worth and excellency of true Grace and the satisfying sweetnesse of conversing with God thou would'st be very diligent in the use of all those means whereby these advantages are to be attained what thou hadst gâ—t at one duty would prompt thee to another in hopes to find the like or if thou hadst mist of thy hopes in oâ—e it would put thee upon another there to get satisfaction If thou found'st thy self at a distance from God or under fears of his displeasure thou would'st never be at rest with thy self till thou hadst found him whom thy soul loved and hadst got a renewed sense of his love to thy soul in all those ways wherein he gives a comfortable meeting to his people would'st thou give constant attendance ever earnestly waiting for the gracious and comfortable manifestations of himself in thy soul. But since thou canst so contentedly misse one Priviledge and that of so great importance it 's a shrewd sign that thou improvest not any as thou oughtest and what a wretched starven case then must thy soul needs be in 5. Consider what a shame it is that thou should'st be thus regardlesse of the provisions made for thy soul whilst thou art so greedy and forward after any thing that makes for the graâ—iâ—ying of thy fâ—esh Generally in the world men refuse no pains to supply their bodily necessities and yet when here is food provided to their hands they have no mind to it because this is onely suited to their souls Hâ—w eagerly can they hunt after that which they are never like to obtain or which if they doe will neve satisfie and fill them whilst they put away from them the savoury meat which God hath brought to them which would be savoury if their taste was not spoil'd Whilst Manna is loathed that falls before the tent-door how doe they long after the Garlick and Onions and Fleshpots of Aegypt May I not justly say that the Table of Devils is more frequented than the Table of the Lord What though men now adays doe not offer sacrifices to Devils as those Idolaters did of whom the Apostle speaks yet doe they not sacrfice to their own lusts And is not this as acceptable service to the Devil and as provoking to God And doe they not maintain a fellowship with Devils whilst their nature is so conformable and their lives so subject to them Such are all swinish Epicures who serve their own belly rather than the Lord Jesus Oh what multitudes have we got of such voluptuous ones who had rather bring sicknesse upon their bodies and damnation upon their souls by pleasing their greedy unsatiable throat than come to refresh and strengthen themselves with such food as through the Spirit of life accompanying it will preserve both soul and body to everlasting life Wisdome in vain sends forth her Embassadours to stand in the highest places of the City to call passengers to the banquet she hath made whilst yet the destroyer of souls is hearkned to calling them off from the right way telling them that Stoln waters are sweet and bread eaten in secret is pleasant and with these unlawfull pleasures do foolish sinners glut themselves not remembring that he doth but feed them for the slaughter and that his guests are in the depth of hell Pro. 9. Oh
in all commanded acts of obedience an eager and ingenuous pursuance after the blessed God in all those waies where in he is to be found and whereby he communicates himself to the soul of Man so that there is no contradiction betwixt inward holinesse and outward duties but much-what the same relation that there is betwixt life and eating breathing and motion for in these the divine life is exprest exercised and nourished But to think that Sacraments Prayers and hearing c. may serve turn without any inward holinesse and universal sincere obedience is as if a Man should think that the forced motion of a Puppet should make it pass for a living creature that great promises may pass for performances and that knowing what we must do and talking of it may serve instead of doing what we are taught Let them lay this seriously to heart who when their practices are ungodly and loose think to salve all by keeping their Church and saying their Prayers and all such who make more adoe about the externals in devotion than about the right ordering of their hearts and lives whereas all our devotions should tend to better these 4. If you would make good the promises you have made at the Lords Table to live a strict and godly life you will find it of singular importance yea of flat necessity to retain a great watchfulnesse over all your ways Ever keep up a sense of the danger you are in by reason of the frailty of your nature the deceitfulnesse of your hearts and the many temptations you are every where exposed to And therefore let this care secretly run through the whole course of your actions to beware of being surprized by sin therein In all emploiments companies and affairs still keep up this watch And think beforehand where your danger is greatest where you are most apt to be overtaken and there place the strongest guard Set a watch over your eyes ears appetites tongues hearts and hands that you be not by them betraid into any miscarriage When you find your self endangered by a present temptation then have some solid reason ready at hand to repell it with store whereof you should alwaies be furnisht with reasons drawn from God Christ Heaven or Hell or from your Sacramentall engagements as I shewed before and be sure have a strong resolution to check the first risings and beginnings of sin before it have gone so farre that your judgment is brib'd and blinded by your affections and have speedy recourse to the God of all grace that he would send you help from above Consideration Resolution and Prayer are three weapons wherewith the Christian Souldier may do wonders against the tallest sons of Anak that shall assault him in his way to Canaan Often take account of your selves and review your behaviour in actions that are past and let one days experience still teach you how to live the next better But upon the sense of any miscarriage let not your guilt drive you farther from God put you into unprofitable vexations and horrors but presently make hast to the throne of grace get your peace made with God through Christ and renew your watch with more diligence than ever but alwaies with the most humble and absolute dependance upon divine assistance ' T is too probable that some lazy wretches will here flye out as Naaman in a rage did against the Prophet when he heard he must wash seven times in Jordan for the cure of his Leprosie which he thought would have been done with a word speaking so perhaps you 'l tell me that you had thought Receiving of the Sacrament would so have kill'd your lusts and cleansed your hearts that you need have been at litle care about them afterward and will be ready to ask what good you got by it if you must take all this pains notwithstanding You slothfull souls may you not as well ask what good you get by Christs death and the giving of the Spirit Since notwithstanding both these you must take pains or else you are never like to be saved For know God will have you employ the faculties he has given you and the work of Grace is to heal your faculties and enable them for their proper employments He that made you Reasonable creatures will make you holy and happy as such and the help which he affords is to bring you to diligence and assist you therein and by that means to save you Thus Sacraments are onely profitable to the diligent and industrious their use being to quicken and strengthen but they are no refuges for the slothfull no encouragements to idlenesse Never think that God will make such a way to heaven that you may walk in it without using your legs 'T is you that must do the things required though it be by Christ strengthning you for whose sake also your frailties are forgiven Wherefore let me renew my advice that at all times and in all things you would be watchfull and maintain an holy jealousie over those hearts that have too often shown what they have in them Take this for the greatest work you have to do in the world to beware of sin and to be carefull to please God as the Souldier's whole work is to serve his Generall and the Servant 's to obey his Master yea more absolutely than so ought a creature to study his Maker's will and account this work your own greatest happinesse So avoid sin and all occasions and appearances of it as you would do the Plague in a Visited Town and be as carefull to watch all opportunities of doing good both to the souls and bodies of others as men ordinarily are of laying hold on their gain Often ask your selves wherein God is honoured by you or others profited and be ashamed to live to no better purpose than to eat and drink to sleep and dresse your selves for work or play And do not object against this constant watchfulnesse that it will take up all your time and hinder your necessary employments for by using it awhile it will grow even naturall to you and will no more hinder you in your affairs than it hinders a traveller in his journey to take heed of running into bogs and ditches Is it any hard matter to be alwaies carefull least you should hurt your bodies Wherever you are and whatever you are doing cannot you keep up this care and yet follow your businesse well enough Why then can you not take the same heed of your souls with as little trouble or hindrance 5. To help you in this watchfulnesse and guide you in an exact circumspect walking it will be exceeding profitable for you at all times to retain upon your minds a very awfull sense of the presence of the most Holy God Whatever you are about remember he observes you and ponders all your paths though you perceive not him Wherefore always order and behave your selves as before him Speak your words as in his hearing Spend
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
things super fluous or living in idlenesse and wantonnesse in pride and pomp with the applause of the world is any or all of this better than the love of God better than the fulnesse of joy to be had in his presence or better than the rivers of pleasure at his râ—ght hand for evermore But be they as good as they will dost thou think they will last always Or hath the Devil any future reward for his servants when their miserable slavery in this life is ended Amongst all his temptations did he ever so much as once bear thee in hand that he would make thee happy for ever It is possible for thee to be ignorant that the pleasures of sin besides their emptiness basenesse are but for a seasâ—n So that if thou remain without Christ thou hast no whiâ—her to go nothing to trust to that will not miserably fail thy expectations Look round about thee and see if thou canst find any other foundation to build upon to raise an happinesse to thy self And when thou hast but considered a while with that seriousnesse that beseemes one who hath a desire to doe himself good I doubt not but the language of thy soul will be like that of Peter to Christ Joh. 6.66 Lâ—rd whether shall I go thou onely hast the words of eternall life Thou oneâ—y hast revealed it thou alone directest to it thou onely hast purchast it thou onely hast promised it and thou alone canst bestow it upon thy people wherefore to thee Lord I betake my self renouncing all things that stand in competition with thee be thou my Lord let me be thy servant let me live to thee here and let me live with thee for ever hereafter pertaking of that glory which thou hast obtained of the Father for thy faithfull ones What saist thou Does thy very heart agree to these words or not Say yea or no before thou goest any farther I am sure thou hast nothing like reason to give why it should not Oh give not Christ cause to wonder at thy obstinacy and unbelief who when he came to bring thee salvation was rejected Once again I assure thee he comes not to undoe thee Think not thou shalt lose by him because he calls thee to mortification self-denyall and bearing the Crosse. If he would take thee from any thing which is dear to thee 't is onely because it is hurtfull and he 'll give thee better delights more noble employments than those he calls thee off from Thou shalt part with nothing by his service which thou could'st have kept long and instead of it thou shalt receive a treasure that shall never be taken from thee But if thou art so fast bound to thy profits thy pleasures and thy sweet sins to which thou hast been long accustomed that thou wilt not be perswaded to take thy love off them and set it on Christ but art so swallowed up with them that thou turnest the deaf ear to all these entreaties if this be thy resolution that Baal shall be thy god and him thou wilt worship that the world shall be thy portion and to it thou wilt cleave that sin shall be thy trade and in it thou wilt live Remember then thou hadst thy choice Christ tendered himself and all his saving mercies to thee but thou didst deliberately preferre other things before him and therefore thou hast no wrong done thee if thou goest without him If this be thy thanks to him for his matchlesse condescension in inviting thee to glory grudge not if hereafter he exclude thee from it And now get thee to thy idols which have so taken up thy heart that there was no room for Christ except he would have the leavings of the world and flesh which be it known to thee he never will he 'll have the highest place or none and since he must not have that go thy way I say and make the best of thy idols thy riches thy bravery thy carnall joys and empty honours thy dear friends and pleasant companions suck all the sweetnesse they will yield and keep them as long as thou canst and when thou seest where they leave thee and what thou hast brought thy self to then let thy Conscience reflect whether once thou hadst not an offer worth the acceptance 6. But this brings me to the sixth and last argument to prevail with thee to give up thy self to Christ and that is the sad and dolefull effects that are like to follow upon thy rejection of him If God be just and true thou art not like to go smoothly away with the guilt of this hainous sin Something to this purpose I mentioned before and therefore shall be the briefer now onely in faithfulnesse and love to thy immortall soul that thou maist never be able to say but that thou hadst fair warning given thee I now come to tell thee that if thou standest out against the mercy that 's so freely held forth to thee refusing to receive thy Saviour on those terms and to those purposes for which he demands acceptance thou art then like to be as miserable a forlorn undone creature both body and soul as ever trod upon the earth or saw the Sun Make as light of these threatnings now as thou wilt but if there be a God in heaven be assured they will be made good upon thee as shortly thou wilt feel to thy everlasting sorrow if thy speedy conversion doe not prevent it Think not I take any delight to dig in the bowels of hell and throw flashes of fire in thy face meerly to terrifie and daunt thee no but I would fain if possible prevent thy misery by discovering what it 's like to be if thou throw thy self headlong into it And oh that I could speak any thing that might make some impression upon thee not onely to bring thee to a fright and there leave thee but a little to awake thee to a sense what a mischievous thing that sin is which now thou art so deeply in love with that thou maist see to get thy hands rid of it before it be too late to wish thou hadst done so Even during this present life whilst thou art without Christ thy condition is most sad however thou maist applaud and blesse thy self in thy worldly enjoyments For thou art this while under the load of thy originall sin and all the transgressions which thou hast actually committed in thought word or deed since thou camest into the world the least of which without pardoning mercy would drown thee in perdition Thou hast no certainty for an hour of any of those things which thou possessest but art liablâ— to as short warning as the rich Fool in the Gospel who was call'd away in that night wherein he bid his soul take its ease eat drink and be merry For thou canst not shew any true title by virtue of a promise from God to the least of all thy comforts But thou standest always exposed to that
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
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
I talk of who can perswade carnal sensual stupid creatures to beleive that there is any substance any worth in those things that their senses cannot reach to what care they for that which no way tends to the pampering and pleasing of their flesh Give me leave before I come to what I principally design a little to lay open the wretched carelesnesses of the generality of men and briefly hint at the cause that they may be ashamed of themselves when they see their picture and description and seek out for the cure of their distempers Who would not by the lives of most conjecture that they thought themselves sent into the world on purpose to get food and raiment and to make provision for the flesh and that they had reason given them for nothing else but to be more witty and politick in carrying on their worldly designs And how well would it be for them at the last if those souls should have the greatest reward which were most loving to the body most solicitous for its welfare and did toil most in its service But what an heavy doom will light on them if they must hereafter fare as for certain they must according as they employed themselves in seeking their own proper happiness in the pleasing and serving of the great God Oh the strange folly and bruitishness of these men who are so forward of themselves to seek out after any thing which they believe makes for their temporal good and yet will not by any means be drawn or driven to that which is indeed for their spiritual and eternal good yea and their temporal too so far as may consist with these As if when they are contriving and working for the body then only they were about their own business but when they are minding the matters of their souls they were employ'd for some body else in works that will be of no use or advantage to them when yet God himself hath told us that in the matters of Religion If we are wise we are wise for our selves But this comes to pass by reason of that sottishness which inclines poor creatures to judge of all things by their sense and to measure their goodness by their suitableness to the flesh This makes the whole Gospel to be a meer riddle to them and little more regarded than a strange story for it treats of spiritual invisible things wherein immortal souls are concerned and they forget that they have such souls To hear of spiritual food and raiment to put on Christ and to feed upon him all which we meet with in the word are mysteries of which they are willing to be ignorant To be made glad with the light of Gods countenance to have fellowship with the Father and the Son to be beautified adorned and enricht with graces and good works and the like expressions are so dark and knotty that they know not what to make of them They account nothing beauty but what they can look on nor bravery which makes not a noise and show in the world They know no Rayment they need but what they wear on their backs nor any food but that which they put into their bellies That only do they account pleasure which they feel in their throats or which is so gross that horses and dogs have a share in it as well as they and nothing must pass for honour with them but having respect in the world and that they count their chiefest riches which they put in their purses and lay up in their bags And this same blindness and carnality amongst all other mischiefs that it does occasions the contempt of that sacred appointment of Christ the commemoration of his death by partaking of his Supper For here 's nothing provided to give that entertainment to greedy raging Sensualists which they covet and hunt after It is indeed very well worthy our observation that so far as our senses might be helpful to us in the service of God he hath graciously condiscended to use such means as might work upon and affect them that thereby faith it self our apprehension of those things which we see not may be quickned and advanced which as in some other instances so in this Sacrament especially is made manifest for here we have a crucified Christ plainly held forth to us and the benefits we receive by him are signified by those material things bread and wine which we eat and drink And thus far God hath made provision for sense it self the more to excite and stir up our dull spirits but so far as the pleasing and humouring the senses might bee an hindrance to the soul God hath made no provision for them Here 's no such pomp and gaudiness and outward splendour as may gratifie wanton carnal minds Papists may devise such things instead of Christs Institutions which they steal away from the people to the quenching of all true zeal and spiritual affection in Gods service but the Gospel warrants not any such hurtful devices and our Church doth justly reject them Nor is here a feast of dainties to satisfie a luxurious appetite or feed an hungry belly Here 's food for the soul indeed represented and convey'd by these Elements to the worthy receiver but the most are so ignorant of their concernments that they never yet found such a thing within them as a spiritual hunger What a soul be hungry how can that be Alas they have so much to do to supply the necessities of their bodies that they can't have while to regard their souls No they may sink or swim starve and damn for them for they have other matters to mind which they hold more necessary Is it not a wonder what we read Matth. 22. at the beginning that when the King had made a Marriage for his Son and prepared a feast and sent forth his servants to invite the guests they should make light of it and begin to frame excuses that they had other business to do and this and that way to go and therefore could not come What not come to a feast to a sumptuous Marriage-feast to a feast made for the Kings Son And when servants were sent on purpose to invite them to it Were not these a strange sort of stubborn foolish men that would disobey their own King sending them such a courteous message as this Reader dost thou not condemn them in thy own thoughts Dost thou not think thou wouldst never have been so silly and obstinate as they if thou hadst been so sent unto But for all thy thoughts it s well if thou prove not guilty of the very same fault thy self For what was the matter think'st thou that these people would not come when they were invited Why alas there was no such fare made ready as they had a mind to Be sure had there been but such good chear as would have fill'd their bellies they would have made hast enough and would have invented excuses how to get in rather than
to stay away But this is a Parable shewing what entertainment the most do give to the Gospel whereby we are invited not only to a wedding feast but to be even married our selves to the Lord Jesus Christ the everlasting Son of the Father And yet this message the matchless mercy whereof may astonish men and Angels I say this message is sleighted Men will not come to Christ that they may have life Adulterous souls go after other Lovers and will not be espoused to the Lord of glory They see no form nor comeliness in him why they should desire him They hear great commendations of him indeed what an excellent glorious person he is no less than the Son of God made man whose love was so great to mankind that he laid down his life for them but in the mean time What has he what 's to be got by him what estates will he settle on them what honours will he advance them to what why they shall through him have their sins pardoned and subdued their hearts sanctified and at length shall be receiv'd into everlasting glory Nay if this be all they have no mind to come on but when their consent is desired they have some excuse or other ready at hand and either they will not come at all or else not yet or not so thorowly and heartily as they are commanded and in such a wilful refusal of grace do thousands persist and perish And though I suppose this fore-mentioned Parable doth not directly and primarily belong to the Lords Supper yet it may by consequence be very well applied thereto Since here is a Marriage-feast of the Kings Son here are the great blessings and mercies of the Gospel held forth and offered and all who come duly prepar'd and sincerely dispos'd to accept the same shall be assur'd of them and hither do Gods Ministers exhort all to come in the appointed regular way And what 's the effect of their Message why the most make light of it Hither to this holy Table are people call'd to give up themselves to God to testifie the truth of their sorrow for sin and to renew their resolutions against it and so to receive a sealed pardon and a title to life everlasting but for their parts they have no such liking to these spiritual good things which are so freely tendered them The truth is their sins as yet they are loath to leave for they see no great hurt in them nay they think they find much good at present and do not use to trouble themselves much with the thoughts of that mischief they may hereafter do them and therefore they have no such high thoughts of Christ for his being able to mortifie and remove their lusts and so to save them from the misery these would bring them to They can very hardly be perswaded that there is any such excellency in an holy life that they should so speedily and solemnly resolve upon it And though they can like well enough to go to heaven when they must needs leave this world yet they look upon that day so far off that they are in no great haste of making sure their future happiness but think it may bee time enough to do that a great while hence And can any man wonder if those who are no more sensible of any benefit they have by Christ are very slack and negligent in a thankful remembrance of his death and of those benefits which thereby we enjoy and hope for which is the great end of Celebrating this Sacrament No marvel if such as these alwaies finde one excuse or other to keep away from that which they have no more love to and the necessity and advantage whereof they are no more acquainted with If there was but any matter of gain to be got by it any thing which made for the flesh wee should need no such ado to get them thither We may be sure if the King should but proclaim that he would give six pence a piece to all the poor throughout London that would repair to White-Hall there would need nothing but the knowledge of it to get them together Oh what running and crowding and craving would there be He need not send any Messengers to beseech and perswade them to receive his Charity But when the Soveraign Majesty of Heaven and Earth by his Heraulds Proclaims to all Ho every one that is willing let him prepare himself and come hither to receive an earnest of infinite and everlasting treasures there are few will accept the offer as if it was of no value and as if the Apostle was mistaken when hee prefers the blood of Christ before such corruptible things as silver and gold Nay I 'le warrant you in those Parishes where you shall find so few at a Communion did but any rich man amongst them make a feast and invite the whole Town to it you should finde but few stay at home But now when God himself calls them to his Table and there hath provided them food which came from Heaven true Spiritual Manna even the Body and Blood of Christ which is meat and drink indeed they finde no great appetite to this Banquet All the great words they hear of it work not with them For in all such cases 't is not other mens words and opinions that we judge by but our own relish and feeling And whilst men have got such corrupt dispositions and carnal affections that they savour onely those things which are grosse and earthly like themselves What wonder is it if they undervalue that which is so unsuitable to them and in which they can feel no more taste than in the white of an Egge A Swine prefers his own swill before the greatest dainties that can be provided And a voluptuous sinner that is wallowing in the mud of fleshly pleasures would not willingly exchange conditions with the glorious Angels that alwaies behold the face of God Oh whither is the Soul of man degenerated Into what a low and sad estate is it faln that it findes sweetness in any thing rather than in that which is truly pleasant How chearfully and contentedly can people set themselves to any thing rather than to that only work which God hath appointed them even the working out of their Salvation From morning to night they can follow their worldly business without complaining and yet know not how to spend one day in seven nor one half hour in a day in the service of God for the saving of their own Souls Oh what pains do many poor men take only to get a livelihood in the world and yet think everlasting life worth no regard or care at all They can bee content to spend their thoughts and strength and time upon vanity to lay out their money for that which is not bread and to labour for the wind but when God saith but give me your hearts he is denied If this careless generation had but Houses and Lands Money and Goods
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
that engagement And suppose they do sometimes come to the Communion yet did they ever come to it with such a kinde of Spiritual appetite and expectation of strength and benefit as they go to an ordinary meal Or are they careful before hand to fit themselves for the Duty so as to profit by it What-ever they may pretend it is most manifest that Religion is not taken by them for the great work of their lives They are far from spending their time and busying their mindes like men that were sent into the world on purpose to serve God which they can say is the reason why God made them It is not their chief study and work so to know and please their Maker and to get their Peace made with him through the Lord Jesus that they may live with him hereafter in Glory for ever No no to the Consciences of these men I dare appeal this is the least matter of a thousand with them and there 's scarce any thing which they lesse regard They hear their Minister about these things as if he was telling them a story of no concernment or spoke in a strange Language which they understood not Was he but telling them the way to thrive in the world and get store of riches they would hear him more attentively and remember better what he said to them and not think they had done enough when they had stood in the Church for an hour as now they do He that hath made any trial may easily see that this sort of people do not give the same heed to one that discourseth to them about the matters of their own souls as they do to him that speaks of earthly things If you talk with a Citizen about his trade or with a Country-man about his Corn or Cattel or the weather or any the like subjects they can hold discourse with you well enough but if you come to speak of the unseen Kingdome and the way thereto What need we have to search into our souls to see that we have got a good sound Title to that Glory If you do but tell them of the shorness and uncertainty of life exhorting them therefore to get well prepared for death and Judgement How strange is such language as this to the ears of many Some laugh at it as babling others give you a bare hearing but are little affected with the weightiest matters delivered in the most piercing words that a man knows how to speak Nay many times they 'l be taken up with other things so much as not to minde or understand what is said to them nor do they afterwards remember it but are as much moved with the barking of a Dog or blowing of the winde as with the most serious affectionate exhortations you can give them And indeed how can men take any great pleasure to hear of things that are not in their own element but as it were out of their reach Would not the plain Country-man be ready to laugh and wonder at a Scholar that should talk to him in Latin or make him tedious discourses of any point in Philosophy though he spoke in plain English What 's all this to him He understands it not or if he did he may think what should he be the better for it And does not the Word of God tell us that the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit but they seem foolishness to him because they are Spiritually discerned The Doctrine of Regeneration by the Spirit to those that never felt it is still as strange as it was to Nicodemus And except we have before-hand got some inward apprehension of the things that we hear of all talk of them is but as an empty sound that signifies nothing Wherefore no marvel if they who think so seldome and understand so little of God and Christ and a work of grace to be wrought on their hearts are no more affected nor stirred when they hear of them And whilst they perceive no profit they should get by these things what should they hearken to them for They cannot by all you say get one penny more in their purse nor a meals meat nor a suit of cloaths and these are the most desirable enjoyments they are acquainted with And it 's no great wonder when we consider the education of the common sort if they be of such a wretched temper For perhaps they were born and brought up by Parents like themselves that knew not how to acquaint them what they were made for in any such manner as was likely to do them good and it may be never so much as seâ— them to School to learn to read English and in their childish years it cannot be thought they should have much understanding in Religion when they think of little else but their meat and play and when they grow up to riper years they are set to Trades and to work for their livings I speak of the meaner sort and when they come to be settled in the world and have Wife and Children then they have enough to do to provide for their Families and cannot spare time to learn the way to Heaven and if they live to be aged they think themselves too old to learne and are too deep rooted in their waies to be drawn to forsake them without little lesse than a miracle and so there are multitudes even within the sound of the Gospel that live and dye in lamentable ignorance and senselesness I know all this while in every state and time through which they pass the most have opportunities for learnâ—ng their duty if they had any heart to it but their mindes are still possessed with something else And though they may be somewhat constant in keeping their Church yet this being a thing they have always been wont to before they knew what they did they still hold on in a customary manner without duly considering what they come thither for not thinking that the Minister speaks to them and about matters that are for life or death the discourses also which they hear being upon particular subjects they are like to profit the lesse by them in that they have not such a sound and clear knowledge of the chief points of Religion as may enable them to understand and profit by Sermons And though from Children they may some of them be able to repeat their Creed and Commandments and Lords Prayer yet truly its very easie to say these over a thousand times without being much affected with them or well understanding them onely pattering them over by rote especially if they never had these principles clearly laid open and explained to them It may be also many of these never had any particular close counsel given them tending to awaken them to an apprehension of their condition to convince them of their sin and misery by nature and put them upon searching in good earnest after the way to escape damnation and be truly happy for ever Or if
find that thou art such a one still as ever thou wast as earthly and carnall as ever as hard-hearted and stupid and as mad of Sin as ever and know'st not what it means to have thy heart broken for thy offences committed against the great God of Heaven and Earth Nay it may be thou prid'st thy self in being of the very same mind and disposition that thou art now ever since thou canst remember Thou art one that hast always lov'd God and believed in Christ and bore a good conscience towards all men and then I fear all 's little better than stark naught with thee for though there may be multitudes of good people in times of light and having good education that cannot distinctly tell when they were in a more especiall manner wrought upon and brought home to God yet few if any but can remember that once they were much worse than they are even that they were too like the rest of the world but now they find they are washed and cleansed Perhaps when thou hast sworn or been drunk or committed any the like wickednesse thou could'st cry God forgive me and say thou art a great sinner but still goest on and remainest as bad as thou wast If this indeed be thy case if thou art yet a meer stranger to this work of Christ upon thy soul who is exalted in 〈◊〉 first place to give repentance thou art at present very unfit to drink of that Blood which was shed for and which seals the Remission of sins Now that I may proceed in the method I promised by directing to the attainment of those graces which are wanting in order to the breaking of thy hard heart and humbling thy soul for Sin I might advise thee in the first place to look back into thy heart and life to find out thy particular sins not being content in the generall to confesse thy self a sinner as all men are for this is not so likely much to work upon thee but to fasten upon thy most remarkable sins and dwell upon and bewail them and so all lesser evils and that body of death which thou carriest about thee continually which was born with thee and is the ground of all the rest In this method partly may you find David's confession Psal. 51. at the beginning to the 5. verse Further I might direct thee earnestly to beg of God to open thy eyes and shew thee what thy estate is and discover to thee more of the evil of Sin before thou feel its sad effects when repentance will come too late Moreover thou art to use all other means appointed for the working of a true and saving sorrow for Sin as to observe what God speaks against it in his Word and to attend diligently to the most searching and awakening Preaching and to be much employ'd in those considerations that have a special tendency to the begetting of this frame and of this sort I might name severall as for instance to think frequently how great and gracious a God sin is committed against and what particular reasons thou hast to serve and please him from the mercies and means thou enjoyest think how he stands related to thee as thy Creator Preserver and Ruler and therefore disobedience to him is most odious impudent and undutifull Withall its good to consider how much hurt Sin doth to the soul which is so excellent a Being how it defiles debaseth and disquiets it how it exposeth the whole man to all kind of evils and sufferings here on earth and to everlasting torments hereafter and deprives men of those unspeakable joys which are to be had with and from God But to avoid tediousnesse I shall passe over these and many the like considerations and keeping to the Subject in hand shall rather direct thee to fetch matter for humiliation and repentance from the Crosse of Christ the remembrance whereof at the Sacrament should still keep up and renew thy godly sorrow If then thou art one who never yet sawest any great hurt in Sin but for all the ill language which is given it canst quietly and lovingly entertain it let me beseech thee a while to fix thy thoughts upon a crucified Saviour and then remain of this wretched opinion if thou canst Behold the Son of God become Man a most innocent holy person whose whole life was spent in doing good who heal'd Diseases cast out Devils pitied all that were afflicted taught the ignorant pray'd and wept for poor Sinners after all behold this blessed Jesus who had never in all his life been guilty of the least sin in thought word or deed nor ever gave just cause of offence to any man living behold him I say in the Garden a little before his crucifying sorrowfull even to the death in such a bitter agony that he sweat great drops or clots of bloud and what inward pains and sorrows dost thou think must those needs be which put him into such an unnaturall sweat as this though his patience was as much greater than any mortall mans as his sufferings themselves were for we cannot imagine that he who so calmly bore all those indignities and cruelties which were offered and inflicted by insolent men should be lesse patient in regard of those sufferings which he underwent immediately from God but we may conclude that these were infinitely the greater Then after this beginning of sorrows and after he had been most vilely abused and set at nought by the Rulers the chief Priests the Souldiers and common people after he had in a jeer been cloathed in a purple Robe with a Crown of Thorns on his Head and a Reed in his Hand after he had been laught at spit on whipt and buffeted behold him brought forth to be stretcht upon the Crosse where his enemies stood gazing shouting and wagging their heads at him whilst his tender hands and feet are struck through with nails that fasten him to the wood and in his soul he felt that pain which wrung from him that doleful complaint My God my God why hast thou forsaken me Now let me beg thee to dwell a while upon this Subjâ—ct with the reason and bowels of a man and then tell me whetheâ— in thy Conscience thou think'st it was for a small matter that the Lord of Glory underwent such grâ—evous sufferings What was Christ so prodigall of his Blood as to shed it for a trifle or was God so cruel as to put his own dearly beloved Son to all this smart for an inconsiderable thing Certainly if thou art a Christian thou canst not harbour any such base thoughts Well then what was it that put Christ to all this sorrow and shame and smart Ah friend it was thy sin and mine and the rest of the worlds that was the cause and canst thou then imagine it an harmlesse thing If thou doubt of what I say hear the plain word of God Isa. 53.4 5 6. Surely he hath born our griefs and carried our sorrows yet we
this canst thou without tears and groans look back upon all the disorders of thy life whereby thou hast done all that in thee lay to make those wounds of thy tender compassionate Saviour bleed afresh which he first receiv'd upon thy account I believe thou thought'st not of this no if thou hadst one would think thou could'st never have done it Thy design was onely to please thy flesh by all thy sensuall courses thou wast onely full of projects to maintain and raise thy self and thy posterity by all thy worldly designs and businesses wherewith through thy whole life though hast been so swallowed up But thou seest how the case stands that this while thou hast been most viley rejecting and even trampling upon the Lord Jesus who would have have brought thee off from thy vain conversation from all thy ungodlinesse and worldly lusts and hath followed thee with his Word and Spirit to that end and hath prest thee with arguments drawn from his matchlesse love discovered by his Death and hath besought thee to regard him yea to take pity on thy self but thou hast made light of all and hast gone on as securely and quietly in the ways of sin as if thou hadst never heard what sin did upon Christ. And what art thou resolv'd to doe so still shall nothing stop thee in thy career wilt thou not stay to hearken what a way it is thou walkest in nor think what unvaluable mercies thou all this while treadest under feet Hast thou not yet sufficiently abused thy Redeemers love and patience hast thou not made him wait long enough in vain wilt thou still make shew of deafnesse to all those messages he sends thee If so yet be thou sure of this thou shalt not be able to say at thy appearance before him that thou never knewest that sin was such an evil thing and so provoking to him for beside all other warnings that thou hast had I now declare to thee who readest or hearest these words that if thou still continuest in thy loose ungodly life living in swearing cursing drunkennesse whoredome covetousnesse cozening malice or any other known sin and wilfully neglectest thy duty to God going whole days without prayer or reading Gods Word profaning the Lords Day neglecting Sacraments if thou hold on this course thou dost no better than again crucifie and deny the Lord that bought thee and so hast no reason to complain if thou fall under the same condemnation which thou thy self wilt acknowledge Judas and Pilate and the rest of Christs enemies deserve and therefore that thou maist not be found amongst them loaded with the same guilt at Judgement I doe once again in the name of Christ beseech thee with all speed to change thy heart and life and use all means appointed to that end and after all thy wandrings now at length return to him the good Shepherd of souls who laid down his life for his sheep 4. Lastly the Death of Christ may powerfully move thee to repent of and forsake all sin as it holds forth this weighty but sad truth That all those who are despisers of this Death and by living and dying in their sins reap no saving benefit by it shall in their own persons undergo insupportable torments for this their unbelief and wilfull impenitence If thou believest the Gospel thou canst not but acknowledge that all men had been in a most miserable condition if Christ had not died and thou wilt grant that sin is a most perilous mischievous thing and an unspeakable provocation to the most holy God since nothing could appease his wrath but the Death of Christ without whose bloodshed we had obtain'd no remission And what then dost thou think is like to be thy case if through thy own fault thou art never the better for all Christ hath done but must thy self answer for thy sins and bear the punishment they have deserved Let the Death of Christ I say instruct thee what thou art like to expect if this be thy condition If as he himself speaks such things were done to the green tree what shall be done to the dry If he who was without the least stain of originall or actuall sin drank such a bitter cup when he stood in our stead what will be the portion of their cup who being poor frail creatures must make satisfaction for their own sins How will they ever up under all the load of Gods hottest wrath when he shall meet them in judgement and cause his fury to rest upon them And above all thy impenitent obstinate continuance in sin and contempt of Christ will lie heaviest upon thee in the day of vengeance These sins aganst the Gospel against mercy the greatest and freest mercy are most provoking to God most inexcusable in themselves and will therefore prove most pernicious to sinners Methinks then if thou hadst but any regard to thy self to thy own ease and comfort this should make thee out of love with sin to consider how dear its like to cost thee how pleasant soever it may now seem It was not for nothing that Christ felt so much sorrow and pain as thou shalt know to thy everlasting woe if thou pluck the heavy judgements of God on thy own head by sleighting him who would have kept them from off thee Assure thy self poor sinner as bold and confident as now thou art thou wilt never be able to contest with that wrath which exercised even the strength of Christ to bear it thou art never like to go away lightly with that which he felt so heavy For shame at length leave thy foolish plea that God will be more mercifull than to torment his creatures for hast thou not seen how he bruised his own Son who never offended him how he bruised him I say for our iniquities and will he then spare thee who in thy own person hast been a most stubborn hard-hearted rebel and hast cast away with loathing the mercies that were again and again even prest upon thee Thou hast no reason for such fond expectations What wilt thou tell Christ at Judgement that thou didst not believe that ever God would be so severe as to punish thee so dreadfully and everlastingly as his Word threatned and that therefore thou took'st somewhat more liberty in thy life than he allowed thee Darest thou come with such a plea as this But if thou should'st what wilt thou answer to Christ when he shall lay open what he underwent for thy sake and how thou madest light of his love will not this soon silence thee If he ask thee whether thou hadst not evidence and proof enough of the evil and danger that was in sin by his suffering so much for others transgressions wilt thou have any pretence left to justifie thy self I may perhaps urge this consideration but I mention it now as offered to us by the sufferings of Christ which doe most plainly declare that dolefull are the miseries prepared for those who
subjection yet all this is but in order to his carnal self for the procuring for it such things as cannot be had without God so that God is regarded but as a means to Self and with a respect hereto is all his service of God for the manner and measures of it fram'd and limited Thus may the covetous man whose chief end is to enrich himself pray to God for riches praise him for riches be so far just and charitable as he thinks may forward his thriving yea he may be in all things so far religious as hinders not his chief end but let this once come in competition with any duty to God so that by serving him he should impoverish himself you shall soon perceive what is his God and what rules him most as you have an example in the young man that came to Christ Mat. 19.21 22. wherefore examine I say whether thou art not a lover of thy self more than God Does not thy own will and fancy ordinarily guide thee in thy actions and affairs and is not that course taken which most conduceth to the interest of thy flesh should'st thou not then account thy self well enough provided for if thou wast but compleatly furnisht with all that in the world which tends to the accomplishing and gratifying of man as he is an inhabitant of the earth And is not thy labour most for thy desire after thy delight in such things as tend to the pleasing and advancing thy self in the world Hast thou not been most taken up in making provisions for thy flesh thinking with thy self that to be happy was to live a merry life and take thy ease and pleasure or else to get more money than thy neighbours and to have more respect and esteem that wherever thou goest thou maist be praised and admired Hast thou not taken those for the happiest men that have the greatest share of these things and hast thou not therefore envied them and hated them if they have stood in thy way and kept thee from the like Reader what saith thy conscience to this Doe but hearken and it will speak plain and tell the truth Sure thou canst not but know what thou makest the great end of thy life what it is for that thou desirest to stay in the world what thou risest for every morning and for what thou goest into this company and that and takest all thy journeys and wholly employest thy hands and head All this is either for God or for carnall Self principally for there cannot be two chief ends And if thou art one that livest to and idolizest thy self for shame take not on thee to love God above all as thou usest to doe for indeed thou dost not truly and properly take him to be God nor thy God Again let me ask thee hast thou ever found in thy soul powerfull and prevalent convictions that thou hast no way to attain true happinesse nor to escape misery but by the Lord Jesus Christ And hast thou thereupon heartily consented to his offers and to the conditions he hath appointed for the saving of thy soul being willing to be taught and govern'd by him onely hoping for pardon of sin grace and glory to be given to thee by God through him and for his sake Put the question to thy own heart didst thou ever yet see an absolute necessity of Christ so that thou took'st thy self for an undone creature without him And hath thy soul been kindly and thankfully affected with this amazing mystery of love that God hath shown to poor helplesse sinners through his Son Hath it warmed and rejoyced thy heart to consider it Thus in some good measure will it be with thee if thou art a true believer in Christ. And this depends upon the former for if thou hast taken the everlasting enjoyment of God for thy chief happinesse thou wilt then be ready to comply with that way which leads to this end and that 's onely shew'd to us in and by Christ who is himself the way to the Father and none can come to God but by him And when thou art once thoroughly perswaded of this thou canst not but willingly resign thy self to him consenting to be sav'd by him on what terms and in what way he shall appoint and prescribe to thee and this firm and prevalent consent of thy soul is true and saving faith to which the pardon of sins and everlasting life is promised This is coming to Christ receiving him and severall other way it 's exprest in Scripture but most commonly call'd our believing in him which includes in it our trusting to him for all mercy our hearkning to his teachings and our resolution sincerely to obey his commands and imitate his example Examine thy self well then whether thou hast such a sound faith wrought in thee or not Hast thou not rather contented thy self with a sluggish unfruitfull belief that Christ is the Saviour of the world without ever minding thy own particular need which thou stand'st in of him nor ever making enquiry what he would have thee doe to be saved Have not thy eyes been so far blinded that thou never yet saw'st so much evil in sin as should make thee look out for a deliverer and prize him who hath done so much to redeem thee but canst make shift well enough to live without Christ so thou canst but get those things which thou now takest to be more usefull for thee in order to thy happinesse Thus will it be with thee if thou hast set thy heart upon the pleasing and advancing of thy carnall self thou art not then like to see any great need of Christ or any excellency in him that should make him desirable for he came not into the world to help carnall wretches to the enjoyment of their idols but to turn their hearts off them to the living and true God And therefore as they who have chose this God for their portion doe make it their great work to get an interest in Christ the Mediatour and doe live upon and make use of him to bring them to their portion so they that have made the pleasing of their flesh with any worldly thing their ultimate end they are diligent in the using of all means that may help on this their base end The voluptuous bruitish sinners hunt after sensuall pleasures in their meat and drink wantonnesse sloth excessive sports and merry joviall company The covetous man who hath a greedy insatiable fancy to gratifie wholly spends himself in treasuring up wealth and he tasts sweetnesse in nothing but his gains His Bonds and Bills and Leases are better things to him than the Covenant of Grace and his Houses and Lands and Money more precious than the Blood of Christ. And so the proud and ambitious that would fain have much esteem and honour in the world which is the most naturall vice to almost every man they pursue their design by labouring to get into high places to make
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
that dangerous mistake that thy belief in Christ may serve turn well enough for thy salvation without an holy life for if thou leadst not an holy life it 's most certain thou dost not truly believe in Christ. For it is not enough to prove thee such a Believer as shall be saved to trust in Christs merits and hope God will be mercifull to thee for his sake but it is also of absolute necessity that thou believe in him as Prophet and King and accept of him to teach and govern thee if ever thou hope for any saving benefit by him and therefore thou must believe his Promises and threatnings and faithfully endeavour to yield an universal obedience to his Commands and to follow his footsteps So that to say thou hast a good faith in Christ whilst thou livest an ungodly life is as flat a contradiction as to say thou art faithfull to thy Prince whilst thou risest up in arms against him and so much as an oath of Allegiance and fidelity to their Soveraign doth tye men from Rebellion so much doth saving faith bind them against wicednesse And to talk of keeping thy faith firm whilst thou livest in disobedience to thy Lord is as if a Wife should say she was carefull in keeping her Marriage-covenant whilst she liv'd in open adultery Thus much here I was willing to speak of this that thou maist be the more plainly convinc't that if thou livest in or lovest any sin and wilt not leave it though Gods Word and thy own conscience condemn thee for it that then thou art not sincerely in covenant with God Wherefore look well into thy life consider thy ways how thou behavest thy self towards God man and in all thy carriage in the World Art thou not a wilfull neglecter of thy duty to thy Maker living without a sense or acknowledgment of him in all thy wayes not so much as once in a day or perhaps in a whole week setling thy self seriously to pray to him in thy Family or Closer nor taking any pleasure in reading his word or in thinking and speaking of him to thy own and others advantage Dost thou profane the Lords day and turn thy back with contempt upon the Ordinances of God Art thou not us'd to swearing cursing and taking the holy Name of God in vain in thy common discourse Or art thou not guilty of lying cozenage injustice in thy trading and dealing with men of oppression and unmercifulnesse to the poor Dost thou not live in envy and mallice allowing thy self in railing back-biting and slandering Or dost thou not riotously abuse the good creatures of God eating and drinking to excess unfitting thy self for Gods service and studying only to please thy pallat Dost thou not pollute thy soul with wanton thoughts discourses and unclean practices Dost thou not mis-spend thy time in idlenesse and vanity carelesly wasting precious hours that should be improv'd for Gods honour by getting or doing good Dost thou not give way to thy pride in thy discourse carriage or attire lavishing money and time for the gratifying of this base lust Put such questions as these to thy soul and answer them impartially and truly And if thou livest in any of these or the like wilfull sins be assur'd thou hast been false to the Covenant which thou wast entred to in Baptism But if thy conscience can truly witnesse for thee that thou hatest every false way hast a respect to all Gods Commandments earnestly desiring and diligently endeavouring in all thy waies to approve thy self to the most righteous God longing after nothing more than that thou maist walk unblameably before him then thou maist safely conclude that thou art one of Gods Covenant-people and as such he will own thee and to thee belong the priuiledges and benefits of the Covenant and therefore the Seals of it too so that thou hast very good warrant to addresse thy self to this Sacrament whereby all the Promises of God are confirm'd to his people and whereby they professe the hearty rendring up of themselves to him By this time I hope thou seest what it is to be cordially in covenant with God the Father Son and Holy Ghost which all are engaged to by Baptism and which Covenant they renew at the Lords Supper namely to love God above all and to account his love thy chiefest happiness to accept of Jesus Christ as thy only Saviour to bring thee to this happinesse and to be willing to be sanctified by the Holy Ghost and led by him in the waies of holinesse Now if thou findst thy self strange to all this and didst never yet feel thy soul brought under the bond of this Covenant my next work is to perswade thee to it even to beseech thee deliberately seriously but yet speedily to make a firm and everlasting Covenant with God to be his upon his own terms to be absolutely devoted to him in heart and life as thou wast in Baptism Something I shall say to prevail with thee if possible for the performance of this weighty indispensable Duty But by the way take notice that all I am exhorting thee to may well be included in this one word even Believing in Jesus Christ which is that qualification I am now upon discovering the necessity of it in all Communicants And this I would have thee to observe that thou maist the better understand what I mean when I presse thee to faith in Christ as making it all one with the Covenant now mentioned For as I have before intimated He that truly believes in Christ receives him in the quality and office of a Mediatiour by him to attain to that happiness which he offers to men consents to be brought to in that way which he thinks fit to direct Now the happinesse he offers is the enjoyment of God in glory and this he hath procured for Believers by his satisfaction and intercession and fits them for it by his Spirit which cures all their distempers and raiseth them to a perfect love of God and likenesse to him and so makes them capable of full communion with him which is their blessednesse So that to receive Christ as he offers himself to us which is our faith in him not onely signifies our dependance on his merits for the pardon of sin but also includes in it our love to God above all to whom we hope to be reconciled and brought nigh by Christ and contains in it our resolution to submit to the working and guidance of the Holy Ghost who purifies the heart enables us to follow after holinesse till we are brought to the sight and fruition of God I shall attempt to make it as plain as may be by an easie comparison Suppose a King had banisht a great company of Subjects for rebelling against him into a forreign Countrey where they stay so long that they have even forgot the manners and language of their own Nation are become wild and barbarous like the people
maintained but cashier'd and punished and if you are but such kind of Christians you will acknowledge it was as good you were open Infidels Will you think it enough to prove a man your friend that he calls you so and gives you many good words and promiseth you great matters and in the mean time secretly does all he can to hurt and displease you Even thus hath Christ decided the case and told us who are his friends not they that onely speak honourably of him and pretend great esteem for him no but they who doe what he commands them John 15.14 And if you will not doe thus and yet will needs please your selves with a conceit that you are Christians notwithstanding you may easily be convinced that if your Christianity will not bring you to be listed with the friends of Christ but leaves you amongst his enemies its like to doe you very little service Wherefore he is onely the true Christian who takes Christ in all those relations in which he is represented in the Gospel and is willing to perform the duties that these relations bind him to And to such a receiving of Christ I am urging you Can you be Christians without taking Christ for your Lord And can you doe this without you are willing to be governed by him Is he a Disciple of Christ that will not learn of him and that will not believe what he speaks to be truth To give an instance or two Christ bids you learn of him to be meek and lowly and if you will not doe thus are you indeed any of his Disciples He tells you his yoke is easie and his burden light and therefore requires you to take them on you if now you think them hard and heavy and therefore reject them doe you not in effect give him the Lye He tells you he is the author of eternall salvation to those that obey him and if you refuse obedience to him and yet pretend you hope to be sav'd by him can you count this believing in him When he would redeem you from your iniquities and you will not part with them doe you take him for your Redeemer So that its evident you are not really and in Gods account Christians except you are willing to be guided by Christ to happinesse in the way which he hath revealed wherefore you must see to come up to this or be reckoned as Heathens and Infidels and accordingly dealt with and chuse you whether if indeed you find any difficulty in the choice 2. Consider seriously what a kind of design it is that Christ comes to you upon and see whether it be not most reasonable you should comply with him He offers himself to be your Saviour and what can you say why you should not close with this offer Examine what hurt there is in that work of Christ upon your souls against which you are most prejudiced He would take off your affections from earthly things that cannot satisfie them and set them on things above which will prove a durable portion He would cure the blindness bruitishnesse and deadnesse of your souls and raise you to the greatest liberty and freedome of mind and to the most reasonable excellent life whereof you are capable He would bring you out of darknesse into light from pain and grief to the most manly joys he would deliver you out of the noise and tumult of your lusts and passions and settle you in a sweet and steady peace Instead of being unserviceable to God and Man and destroyers of your selves he would make you fruitfull and usefull in your generation and your own truest friends I speak of the present effects of his operation upon your souls which would receive an unspeakable advancement by being freed from the dominion of Sin and Satan wherein Christ finds you For certainly to be thus enslaved is the greatest misery that can at present befall you as it debases and defiles you and puts you out of that order in the Creation which God placed you in Nothing in all the world can be so much disgrace to you as this for of reasonable creatures you are hereby become like bruits yea in some sense worse and instead of the image of God you bear the image of the Devil through your love of sin and enmity to holinesse And doe you think there is no hurt in all this No not in becoming ideots and fools living contrary to and below your reason nor in being like the Devil whom you cry out upon and pretend to abhorre Is it no dishonour to you to have him to be your Father whilst you doe his works Well then I hope you have nothing to say against Christ who comes to recover you to your selves to bring you into your right wits to shew you your former folly and make you ashamed of and humbled for it that you may forsake it whose design is to raise you to the priviledge and dignity of your natures by repairing Gods image upon you which you had lost bringing you to love that which is best for you to beware of what would hurt you and to be weaned from those things that will leave you and cannot make you happy And if you have nothing to object against all this much lesse can you speak against his intention to keep you from misery and make you blessed for ever if you will hearken to him of which I shall speak by it self Where then does the matter stick what can hinder you from coming to Christ who onely calls you to him to take off your load and lighten your burden and to give you ease and rest 3. Consider what Christ hath undergone in order to the making of your peace with God on condition of your acceptance of him He became poor to make you rich He became the Son of man that you might be the Sons of God he came down from heaven to raise you thither He entred into combats with the Devil that you might be enabled to conquer him He bore the worst the world could doe and overcame all its assaults that you by him might overcome the world He drank the bitter cup the dregs whereof you had otherwise been drinking eternally When the sword of justice was even ready to sheath it self in your bowels he came betwixt received it into his own He willingly gave up himself to the death that bitter cruell shameful death that your souls might live for ever He bore your sins that they might not lie on you as an heavy load to sink you into the lowest hell He was made a curse that you might escape it and obtain a blessing And after all this that he that he hath done and suffered shall he be rejected Hath he done thus much in order to your deliverance and shall all be lost as to you as if it had never been done What hath the Son of God manifest in the flesh shed his warmest hearts-blood to be as a Balsome for your
wounded souls and are you not willing it should be applied Methinks common ingenuity should tell you that such matchlesse love as this should not be so sleighted If you was taken captive by the Turks and a dear friend should venture his own life to free you thence sure you would be willing to return with him though you might have great offers to stay behind if it was for nothing else but to gratifie your friend who had ventured so hardly for you that you might not give him cause to repent of his labour And what shall the blood of Christ be as it were spilt on the ground and have no effect on thee How hard is that rock whom this will not soften I beseech thee Reader again and again to think what Christ hath gone through to deliver thy soul from the jaws of death and then think whether it be just and reasonable that he should reurn without his errand I know I have mentioned this before but I shall not stick to inculcate it â—gaiâ— and again that it may have some force some power upon thy heart And to that end before I leave this Head let me entreat thee to imagine that thou saw'st Jesus Christ now before thee all in blood and wounds calling thee to him as he did Thomas bidding thee to thrust thy hands into his side and put thy fingers into the print of the nails and suppose thou heardest him saying to thee Look here Sinner behold these tokenâ— of my love see what I have endured on thy behalf oh be not faithlesse but believing be not perverse and obstinate but willing to come to me who have felt so much pain to procure thy ease if thou dost not wilfully refuse it Cast away those sins which have used me thus trust thy self with me who have given such costly evidences of my desire to doe thee good accept me for thy Redeemer who have paid so dear a price for thee own me for thy Lord who have thus bought thee out of slavery follow me in the way I shall shew thee that I may bring thee safe into the presence of the Father whom I have reconciled to thee Suppose I say thou should'st see Christ even covered over with his own blood importuning thee thus to forsake thy sins and accept of his grace and mercy what would'st thou say what answer would'st thou give could'st thou find in thy heart to contemn him to stop thy ears to his requests and go away without regarding him or would'st thou tell him he had not done enough to engage thee to him and that thou saw'st no reason to hearken to his offers that thy sins were more sweet and precious than grace and glory and any thing he would give could possibly be Surely thou durst not And if not then let not thy heart and practice return the same answer to me who in the name and stead of Christ beseech thee that thou wilt through him be reconciled to God Even by all those wounds which Christ suffered upon the Crosse by all those pangs and dolours which he felt in his soul by his cries and groans by his tears and blood I doe as upon my knees beseech thee to give an hearty entertainment to this Lord Jesus who was thus bruised and wounded for thy sake Oh let him in thee see the travell of his soul and be satisfied No longer cherish those lusts which resist his entrance off with thosâ— barres and bolts that have lockt him out down with those strongs holds that have stood out against him let the gates of thy heart flie open and let this King of glory come in cheerfully thankfully receive him and absolutely render up thy self to him to be disposed of as he shall think fit onely begging that thou maist be taken into the number of his Redeemed ones and be enabled to perform the duties enjoyned them and be fitted to enjoy the priviledges assured to them This is that faith in Christ which I would so fain perswade and beg thee to and that by the consideration of what thy Saviour hath endured upon this account that through faith in him thou mightest be pardoned and saved 4 Consider as what bitter things Christ underwent to purchase salvation for thee if thou reject him not so what a mâ—st reasonable câ—ndition he hath appointed thee to perform that thou mightest obtain salvation by him even thy unfeigned willingnesse to accept him for thy Redeemer and thankfully to receive the benefits which he hath purchast for thee And will not this induce thee to enter into Covenant with him when the terms there of are so fair and gracious This thy hearty consent that Christ shall perform the whole work of a Saviour to thee and for thee is the chief thing required to make thee one of his members This is the great Command of the Gospel to Believe in Jesus Christ. So that thou hast nothing to say on thy own behalf if thou should'st be found at last to have neglected this duty for tell me could'st thou have desired any thing more favourable If thou hadst been enjoyned some gâ—eat thing would'st thou not have done it much more now thou art onely required to be willing to have Christ and life with him and all shall be thine wilt thou not be brought to this But still remember the offices of Christ must not be divided nor his benefits separated He must be taken for thy Lord to rule in thy heart and govern thy life as well as for thy Saviour to keep thee from misery and thou must be as willng to feel in thy soul the power of his Crosse crucifying thy lusts as to have the merit of his Crosse procure thy pardon now thou must be brought to the love of heaven above earth if thou would'st be received thither by Christ when thou leavest the earth But yet in all this it is but the consent of thy soul which is principally required in order to the attainment of the offered mercies And would'st thou have matters brought down lower yet Would'st thou be sav'd against thy will And hal'd to heaven when thy heart is against it Or would'st thou have such kind of exceptions as these put in with the conditions of thy salvation That thou maist have liberty to trample on Christs blood and yet be wash'd in it from the guilt of sin that thou maist have leave to serve the Devil and yet receive from Christ the wages he gives his faithfull servants that thou maist be allowed to love creatures more than God and yet that God should love thee with his dearest love that thou maist live without grace and yet when thou diest be received into glory Would'st thou indeed make such terms as these if it was left to thy own choice Thou could'st not sure be so foolish so basâ—ly disingenuous If not then come in and submit to those conditions that are now offered thee than which thou canst not if thou beest well in thy wits wish
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
the Son would make us free he would set the captive at liberty but must he not then take off his fetters We are polluted Sin is our filth Christ is the fountain opened for our cleansing and can we be clean if we will not be purged from our filthinesse We are slaves to Satan through our lusts by which he leads us whither he will Christ would deliver us from this slavery but must he not then break these chains Sin is the spawn or seed hell is the fruit and off-spring and if the seed be permitted to grow must there not needs be the fruit And this shews how man plainly destroys him self whilst he will hug his lusts which are a Serpent in his bosome presuming that for all that they will not sting him Man by his sins had deserved everlasting wrath Christ came to save him from sin and so from wrath and if men will not believe he came to this purpose or will not improve him in order thereto must they not needs die in their sins and so abide under that wrath which was before upon them and which still follows after sin Joh. 8.24 and 3.36 Acts 4.12 Ignorance of God is one part as well as cause of mans unhappinesse and if men wilfully close their eyes that the light which Christ brings to the world can have no entrance must they not of necessity remain in darknesse Excessive love to our bodies and to the comforts of this life which we shall be stript of and want of delight in God and his holy service is the great misery of a soul and doth engage it in those strifes with it's Maker that cast men into an hell upon earth and kindle the unquenchable fire and if they will not give way to the Spirit of Christ to turn the bent and inclination of their hearts from the world to God doe they not retain their own certain misery Thus thou seest how impossible it is even in the thing it self for all rejecters of Christ to escape damnation supposing they are but continued in being and left to themselves both which Scripture assures us will befall the impenitent in the future state But know moreover to the breaking of thy heart in time thy condemnation is like to be much more heavy for thy rejecting of Christ than it would have been if he had never come into the world or had never offered mercy to thee Canst thou in thy own Conscience think that thou who hast been so importuned and begg'd by so many arguments to accept of Christ shalt escape as easily as they that never heard of him or but very darkly Shall not he that abuseth ten Talents be more severely dealt with than he who hides but one why else does Christ denounce such woes against Chorazin and Bethsaida threatning them with worse punishments than Sodom and Gomorrah was it not because they enjoy'd more mercies and greater means for Repentance Doe we not read Heb. 12.25 that they who refuse to hear the Son speaking from heaven shall much lesse escape than they who refused to hear the Prophets of old And of a sorer punishment whereof they are worthy Heb. 10.29 Though I would not have thee neglect the means whilst there is any hope yet let me tell thee it had been better for thee to have never heard one word of the way to salvation by Jesus Christ than having heard to fleight and disregard it Every Sermon thou hast heard every Book thou hast read and every exhortation thou hast had and neglected will sink thee so much the lower into hell These very lines which thou art now reading if they be not improved will without Repentance be remembred to thy smart another day Be thou well assured though God be the Father of mercies and a God of bowels yet he takes account of the mercies he affords his Creatures and takes notice how they improve them and if they be abused they shall be severely reckoned for God will not be mocked by rebellious Creatures nor shall his precious gifts be trod under feet and they that doe such things escape unpunished Above all then how will the love of Christ in dying for them make their doom more sad if they be not constrained by this love What torments can be great enough for the ingratitude and perversenesse of such If thou Reader be one of them I dare appeal to thy self whether thou deservest not for thy unbelief and impenitency greater sufferings than if Christ had never died For suppose there was a traitor who for his treason being condemned to die the Kings own Son should be content to have his right hand cut off to satisfie the Law and terrifie the people from the like guilt hereafter that he might obtain a pardon of his Father for this poor man and when he had got it should come and tell him what he had done assuring him that if he will but take him for his deliverer relinquish all his traiterous designs and become a good Subject he shall not onely have a pardon but be taken into the Court and there live in the greatest favour and honour but suppose he when he hath heard all instead of a thankfull acceptance of his pardon upon these conditions should kick at the hand that offers it and turn his back upon him with contempt asking him who wisht him to trouble himself for him nay worse than this suppose whilst the Prince is holding forth his pardon he should endeavour with a Knife that he had got to stab him to the heart would'st thou not think that such a wretch deserved the greatest tortures that could be devised And more for this his latter obstinacy than for his first treason And if thou be found guilty of the very same yea worse perfidiousnesse and ingratitude against God thy Maker and Jesus Christ thy Redeemer will not thy own Conscience conclude it most just that the heaviest judgements should be thy portion Wast thou not liable to death to all kind of misery for thy sin Did not the Son of God humble himself to take on him thy nature and then to die a most shamefull cursed death to purchase thy pardon and yet when he offers it upon condition of thy acceptance of him for thy Saviour and becoming a faithfull subject to the Soveraign Majesty thou art so farre from being brought to this that thou rather takest encouragement from this mercy held forth by Christ in the Gospel to continue in disobedience to God than which thou could'st not offer a greater injury to thy Saviour to make him as it were a patron of thy wickednesse doing far worse than they that crucified him whilst thou endeavourest quite to pervert and take away the end of his Death which was to redeem us from all iniquity and purifie unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works Tit. 2.14 And if indeed this be thy case canst thou say one word in thy own excuse why all the plagues that are
his doctrine hoping for remission of sins through his Blood giving entertainment to his Spirit and are filled and fed with those graces which he gives out that all such shall live forever And then in a secondary sense these words may be applied to the Sacrament so farre as this faith in Christ whereby grace is expected and derived from him is here particularly acted for thus he who in the Sacrament eats the flesh and drinks the blood of Christ hath eternall life that is he who comes with that fitnesse of soul as to be made partaker of the blessings and mercies hereby presented and earnestly desires that of Christs fulnesse he may receive suitable supplies of grace To the same purpose seems the Apostle to speak 1 Cor. 10.16 17. The cup of blessing which we blesse is it not the communion of th◠blood of Christ and the bread which we break is it not the communion of the body of Christ For we being many members are one body As if he should have said Hereby we have a communion with Christ himself we professe our relation to and interest in him and the benefits which come by him are communicated to us who truly believe in him his Spirit is diffused and shed abroad upon us and thereby we who make up one mysticall body whereof he is the Head being united and ingrafted into him as members doe live by him being acted and upheld by that life and vigour which he gives and continues to us Since then here is spirituall food sanctifying grace held forth and communicated to souls rightly disposed this farther informs us what kind of persons Communicants ought to be The dispositions of soul particularly suited to this benefit are 1. An earnest desire after grace to be given in and 2. A resolution to improve this grace received Hither Christians are to come earnestly longing to have communion with Christ himself who is not onely the Master of the Feast but the very food whereupon the Believer lives and this communion we have by his liberall communications of the graces of his Spirit to necessitous souls This desire of grace is that which is signified by those expressions of hungring and thirsting which we so often meet with in Scripture answerable to which the spirituall things desired are represented by things to be eaten and drank as by Bread Meat Milk Water and Wine And they are her◠shadowed forth under the elements of Bread and Wine and must be hungred after by all that come 〈◊〉 this Ordinance which teacheth us that none are fit to come who have not already received such beginnings of grace as may cause them to long for more who have not such a spirituall life wrought in them as may put them upon care to have this life supported and increast None can feel hunger but they that live none can desire after greater measures of grace who have not in some sort known and tasted the sweatnesse and excellency thereof But no humble souls need therefore be discouraged as if they were not worthy to feast at this Table where none are welcome but such as have true grace wrought in them since they may be confident of their acceptance if they can really find in themselves an appetite to the provisions made for them an hearty and sincere desire that their spirituall wants may be supplied their weaknesse strengthned and all their distempers healed and what true Christian whose grace is never so low but finds in himself a love to and a longing after more But this indeed condemns those who feel no need of any nourishment for their souls and therefore either wholly neglect Sacraments and other means whereby it is to be had or else come without any Stomach at all and content themselves with the shell and outside of the duty which will never feed them These full souls that loathe the honey combe are like to be sent empty away whilst the hungry onely shall be filled with good things Now to such sickly listless souls that even nauseate the most wholsome food I would say something briefly in order to their cure to bring them so farre into frame that they may come with quickened appetites and enlarged desires to the Lords Table as perceiving there are such good things here to be had which they doe most of all stand in need of 1. In order hereto labour to get sensible what needy empty creatures you are for till then you are not like to seek out for a supply Consider I mean chiefly how to destitute you are by nature and to this very day of that which is the true riches the beauty and dignity of the soul in that you are so unlike to God so full of corruption and wickednesse so empty of that Spirituall wisdome that holinesse humility heavenly-mindednesse and the like excellencies which alone can render you amiable in the sight of your Maker You cannot imagine if you have well studied your own hearts that you brought into the world with you all that grace which is of absolute necessity to perfect and accomplish your natures and it is too sad a sign you are still without it whilst you have no more mind to those means which God hath ordained for the conveyance and increase of it How happy a thing now was it if you were but throughly convinced of your own wants when you doe but perceive you need food or rayment or physick how industrious and impatient are you till you have one way or other got what you would have And thus ardently desirous would you be after the graces of Gods Spirit if you did rightly apprehend that these are the food and cloathing and physick of the soul. But alas how doe people generally labour under the sottishnesse and self-conceitednesse which was charged upon the Laodicean Church that thought her self rich increast with goods needing nothing and knew not that she was wretched and miserable poor and blind and naked Revel 3.17 'T is one of the greatest difficulties in the world to bring men to judge of their poverty or riches by the temper and frame of their souls to convince them that they are poor and needy whilst they are gracelesse though they should overflow in wealth and abundance of all externall things 2. Wherefore in the next place let me advise you to beware of a secret mistake which ruines millions in imagining that outward comforts may serve well enough to make amends for all your necessities that the husks of worldly enjoyments may serve instead of the bread that is in the Fathers house Oh take heed of inordinate thirsting after these puddles or of wallowing in them Doe not so eagerly pursue such unsatisfactory trifles as carnall profits and pleasures which divert you from the pursuit of those things that most concern you but examine well what there is in them to doe good to an immortall soul which you cannot but account your best part Beware then of being so devoted to
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
how will this aggravate the condemnation of the pâ—ofane in our days that whilst they could not be kept out of the Alehouse and Tavern but lay there day and night drinking away their wit their money and of entimes theâ—r life it self yet no entreaties could bring them duly to prepare themselves and come to eat and drink at the Lords own Table Hadst thou but such a favour offered thee as Haman to be entertained at a banquet with the King and Queen how forwardly would'st thou accept it and with what a pride would'st thou boast of it as he did But yet when the King of glory invites thee to be his guest thou think'st not his invitations worth hearkning to so mean are thy thoughts of his company and fare Yea dost thou not see how importunate Beggars are for an alms They come to thy door and stand begging for bread and will hardly be driven empty away and yet when thou art thus begg'd to accept of bread that comes from heaven thou wilt not receive it Here men must be compell'd that is importunately woo'd to come in and yet they will not be prevailed with or if they doe come it is oftentimes in such a carelesse manner that gives as much displeasure to him who sent for them and brings as much mischief upon themselves as if they had staid away But of this I spake in the beginning wherefore I shall onely adde that it is to me a matter of astonishment that those who know their bodies will shortly be in the grave and who say they verily believe their souls must live for ever that those very men should with so much care and unweariednesse feed and maintain their bodies whilst willingly and out of meer sloth they suffer these immortall souls to starve and perish eternally 6. Consider this is a juncture of time wherin especially thou art engaged to doe all that in thee lies toward the speedy securing of thy everlasting happinesse and therefore in the most solemn manner to consecrate thy self to God at the Sacrament there renouncing all the ways of wickednesse whereby thou hast provoked him that so thy peace may be made with him For consider how he hath lately appeared in judgement against us and shewn that he hath a sore controversie with us and shall not we the surviving inhabitants of the Land learn righteousnesse hereby Shall not we be so wise as to meet him in the way before his anger be kindled against us in particular It is to be feared the neglect of this very duty and the grosse miscarriages in the manner of performing it have done much toward the hastening of those judgements we have lain under And shall not this teach thee what to doe for the future Wilt thou go on to provoke the Lord to jealousie so that his anger should not be turned away but his hand stretched out still And if thou art one who hast lately been preserved from the very graves mouth whereinto thou wast ready to fall being in continuall expectation of death through the Visitation or any other Distemper I would with thee to look back and consider what were the thoughts of thy heart at that time thou I mean who hadst lived a loose and carelesse life Did not thy Conscience fly in thy face for all thy wickednesse And didst thou not resolve that if God should spare thee thou would'st become a new man and lead another kind of life than thou hadst done Did it not terrifie thee to remember how thou hadst neglected praying hearing and receiving Sacraments And didst thou not make promises within thy self that if God would try thee once again it should be no more thus But that thou would'st be as diligent and constant therein for the time to come as thou hadst been slack and negligent before Well now God hath tried thee according to thy desire thou who might'st have been sent to the place where Repentance will do no good art yet kept upon earth to see what will be the fruit of thy afflictions where yet thou art within the reach of mercy if thou throw not thy self out of it What then shall become of all thy good purposes and promises Are they gone as soon as thy sicknesse and pain are gone Are they all forgotten already Yet be thou sure God will remember them and fain would I perswade thee to remember them too and now in particular having prepared thy soul to addresse thy self to the Lords Table and there renew all those vows and resolutions which thou madest in the time of sicknesse and danger and humbly implore mercy and pardon for thy former carelesnesse and all thy transgressions and help from God to walk more closely with him for the future Let me now in season be thy Remembrancer from the Lord and bring to mind what engagements thou hast made to him and see thou be faithfull to them But if they be sleighted and all that I have said to thee sleighted because now thou art lusty and well and seest no death near thee and hast something else to do than to trouble thy self with being so religious as dying men use to be yet let it sink into thy thoughts that there is just such another time coming upon thee very shortly thou wilt be sick again and cast upon thy death-bed and dost thou not think the very same thoughts will then come into thy mind again When thou shalt consider thy self just lanching forth into eternity shalt look back upon all thy ungodly deeds and thy undervaluing the means of grace by an improvement of which thou mightest have been made ready for such an hour as this wilt thou not then begin again to fall to wishing that it had been otheâ—wise and to purposing thou wilt be better hereafter if once again thou maist be recovered But when thy Conscience with a redoubled fury shall rise up and 〈◊〉 thâ—e remember how thou didst long ago in the same condition seem as penitent as this comes to but yet all câ—me to nothing and that therefore thou hast no reason to expect a farther triall and shall moreover tell thee that it is most likely all this is out of meeâ— slavish fear and not out of any true love to God and Holinesse how wilt thou be able to hold up under such a dreadfull charge as this from thy own awakened Conscience It is my great desire to prevent thy being then overwhelmed with such sad thoughts as these and if thou art but as willing they may be effectually prevented even by speedily setting upon such a course as will be the rejoycing of thy soul at that day when nothing else will rejoyce thee but the testimony of Gods Spririt witnessing with thy Conscience that by the Grace of God thou hast had thy conversation in simplicity and godly sincerity For without this it would be but a poor refuge for thee to call for a Sacrament on thy death-bed who didst sleight it in thy health 7.
say thou lovest Christ and art sincerely thankfull for his love and therefore wilt not joyn with thy fellow-Châ—istians in the remembrance of his mercy and expression of thy gratitude Does this sound like reason And yet no better is to be found in thy objection Might not the Apostles farre better have said they needed not the help of this Sacrament to put them in mind of Christ who was ever fresh in their thoughts But on the contrary because he was so much in their thoughts therefore were they so frequent in this duty And was thy spirit like theirs thy practice would not be so conâ—rary And let me tell thee farther it 's much to be feared thou hast little or no grace at all who sleightest any way that Christ hath ordained for the increase of grace A wise man useth not to say I enjoy my health well and therefore I care not for my food since this is the means for continuance of his health But it seemâ— thou deniest that thou canst get any good by this Ordinance wherefore 6. In the next place let me ask thee Do'st thou imagine thy self arrived to the utmost pitch of perfection so that thou lookest upon all means and Ordinances as things below thee If so I cannot now stand to shew thee the pride and ignorance of this conceit which are both so great that it's danger thou wilt not be convinced of either But wast thou indeed so excellent a creature as thou takest thy self to be yet methinks thou should'st not imagine that thou art above the exercise of grace or returning thanks for what thou hast received and even these reasons may bring thee to the duty I am now pleading for Or if this be none of thy conceit do'st thou imagine that the soul can get no good by externall means which work upon the senses If this be thy opinion thou seemest not to consider the nature and frame of man in this present state wherein bodily things do so mightily affect him and he is beholden to his senses for all or almost all the knowledge which he hath By this reason men could profit nothing by reading or hearing which is contrary to all experience And by this reason in the time of the Law no good was to be got by those Ceremonies that typified Christ to come which is a very bold assertion and most unreasonable and I hope the clearer representations of him and his benefits in our Sacraments have much the advantage of those darker shadows 7. Is it not very great impudence and ingratitude when Christ hath chosen to deal with us in such a sensible manner as he saw most suitable to our natures for us thereupon to call his wisdome and goodnesse in question when he calls us to offer our bodies as well as souls to him and to glorifie him both with soul body shall we say he cares not for bodily service and thereupon neglect all those services wherein the body is employed And when he out of indulgence to our weaknesse hath provided externall helps meet for us shall we think our selves too high for them Is not this most vile pride and ingratitude And consider whatever we dare to speak in disparagement of Christs Ordinances as if they were empty uselesse things will be found to reflect foully upon the honour of Christ himself the Law-giver 8. Where do we finde any of the pious Jews before Christs time complaining of their Ceremonies as burdensome unprofitable things Afterwards indeed when they were maintained in opposition to Christ whom they led to and ended in they are call'd beggarly Elements and carnall Ordinances but we hear not of this language before Though then God frequently exprest his very little regard to them compared to the more substantial duties of the moral Law yet where read we of any of the godly in those daies that rejected or disused them And what is our bondage sorer than theirs Hath Christ put a yoke upon his Disciples heavier than that he took off and what do they better than say thus who throw off his gracious institutions as a burden too heavy for them to bear 9. Methinks this is so like the language of Infidels that all who have any minde to be thought Christians should abhor it What wonder would it be for an Infidel to laugh at Baptisme or the Lords Supper if he should see them administred and ask what good was to be got from washing with water or receiving a little Bread and Wine But for one who pretends to owâ— the authority of Christ to speak after the same manner seems something strange If God give a command to wash in Jordan for the cure of a Leprosie it be-seems none but an Heathen Naaman to ask whether Abana and Pharphar Rivers of Damascus are not as good as the Waters of Israel And he discovers little more religion who shall sawcily demand why Bread and Wine at his own Table will not do his soul as much good as at the Sacrament 10 I would fain know of these Men whether Christ had power to appoint an Ordinance of this kinde to the use of which Christians in all succeeding Generations should be oblig'd if they grant he had as I suppose they dare not denie it then let them lay what he should have said or done more to lay this obligation upon them than he hath done in the present case If again they finde fault with the nature of this Ordinance as if it was not suited to be pertual because of its unprofitableness let them tell when it begun to be so Was it from the first institution or after a certain time If from the beginning what was it ordained for why would Christ set up an Ordinance that was good for nothing And why were the Disciples so frequent in it If afterwards let them name the time and give the reason of its degeneracy But farther was Christ able to make this Sacrament profitable to those who should conscienciouslie attend upon it They who say he was not must not take it ill to be thought Infidels but if they yield he was then let them alledge some reason why he would not or rather let them shew wherein he hath been wanting to it to make it so profitable If these fault-finders might have been at the first appointment hereof what a kinde of one would they have had it that it might have been more usefull than now they judge it is Is it not the death of Christ here set out before our eies and may not that in some sort affect us supposing we know the design of it as well as discourses that reach our eares may not this awake us to livelie thoughts of Christ of the reason and ends of his death and so quicken us to the exercise of repentance and faith and stir us up to desire after him and to thankfulnesse for his love and when our souls are wrought into so good a frame may we not reasonably expect
shapen in iniquity and being hereby a Childe of wrath Think how ignorant thou art of God how much at enmitie with him naturallie how exceeding prone to all sin and how averse from goodnesse as by experience thou hast sadly found and didst soon begin to finde so that thou maist well acknowledge that in thy flesh dwells no good thing And then remember with brokennesse of heart how early thou didst set upon a trade of actual sinning wherein thou hast been so constant all thy days And call to minde the several ages of thy life which thou hast past through and the particular sins of those times the sensuality and pride and all the follies of thy youth thy mispence of precious time in idlenesse and foolish sports and pastimes Reflect also upon the sins of thy riper years if thou art yet come to them such commonly as company-keeping drunkennesse and wantonnesse or on the other hand covetounesse over-eager following of the World to the neglect of Gods service injuring and over-reaching your neighbours uncharitableness to the poor Call to mind also the places and relations you have lived in and the sins you were therein guilty of as whilst you were at home with your Parents at School or in service or any other way dispos'd of think whether you were not guilty of telling lies of disobedience slothfulnesse and unfaithfulnesse which are the usual sins of those times You will finde it very profitable and affecting to be as particular and punctual as you can in this review as to think at such a place in such company I was guilty of such and such sins And then fetch in matter for your humiliation by considering the several aggravations of your sins as your being devoted to God by Baptisme and yet revolting from him when you came to the use of your reason receiving all you had from him and yet rebelling against him abusing your mercies to the dishonour of the giver Moreover your sins are much the more hainous who have had good education and been brought up to hear and read the word of God and have been plainly told what is your duty and yet have neglected it who have had many a time convictions of the sinfulnesse and danger of your courses and yet have gone on in them and have had some purposes of a reformation and yet have soon lost them or it may be under some pangs of conscience or in a fit of sicknesse you have made promises of amendment and yet all came to nothing but after that you went on in a carelesse course of life You whom I now suppose to be thorowly converted to God let it grieve your hearts thus to remember the sins of your unregenerate state that you should live so long estrang'd from God and entertain such unworthy thoughts of him and do so much to provoke him whom you have since found so good and gracious How can you with dry eies think of that time when you were like others foolish disobedient deceived serving divers lusts and pleasures Me thinks you should be fil'd with a kinde of horrour when you do but reflect upon that dismall state when you think how neer you were to the burning Lake and yet how secure and when you consider what a meer sink of loathsome sins your hearts once were Oh sirs was not that a sad time when you could take delight in nothing but in doing your selves mischief when nothing tasted sweet but draughts of poison when the very bent of your souls was contrary to God and godlinesse so that whatever had a tendencie hereto was nauseated by you Prayer was a burden hearing a burden holy conference strange and troublesome and a godly life was accounted the greatest toil and slavery in the World so that you could go whole daies and weeks without any thought of God and never feel any hurt in it Oh can you without shame remember how you have many a time hearkned to Satan's temptations whilst the good spirit of God hath been resisted and griev'd How did your loving Saviour follow you from time to time and by his spirit and Ministers beseech you that you would be reconcil'd to God and yet you did stubbornly and unkindly put him off when he had laid open to you what he had done for you and what advantages he came to bring you yet you slighted his offers as if they were inconsiderable things Are you not amazed at your own daring impudence and presumption to make the great God wait on you so long in vain He who in a moment could have stopt that breath which he gave you and thrown you into the Hell you deserved that yet you durst disobey his commands yea even reject the suit he made to you to save your own souls But to proceed you are also to call to minde your miscarriages since God by the power of his grace brought you home to himself and shew'd you so much of the evil of sin that you acknowledged your former behaviour to be full as vile as I have been representing it and did ingage your selves to him to become his obedient people Now consider how you have answered this engagement And though since that time your sins may not have been so gross nor so frequent as before they were yet they are now of another nature and capable of greater aggravations as being committed against greater light and experienced love even against that God who hath freely pardoned you and received you into his favour Think then how unsuitably you have walkt to the profession you have made and the means you have enjoy'd how unthankfull you have been for mercies how unfruitfull and unserviceable since you became the servants of God though heretofore you had done so much against him think how little you have done as Parents Masters and Neighbours to advance his glorie and consider and bewail all other failings in the duties of your Relations Oh think what folly it was in you so much as to venture upon the least sin who have been convinced that its your own greatest hurt or to start aside from the holy path to walk in which you have found to be infinitelie most for your own ease and advantage Let it grieve you to finde such remnants of sin yet in your selves any inclination to evil and backwardnesse to good With sorrow look back upon all your slips and haltings and partial backslidings that you have made no more progresse in holinesse nor got more good by the privâ—ledges vouchsaft you Be humbled in the remembrance of your dullnesse hypocrisie formality in religious duties being either prone to neglect them or slubber them over in a cold and drowsie manner or else to rest in them Call to minde also your unfaithfulnesse to the many promises you have made of better obedience in your Prayers or at the Lords Table and especially review your carriage since the last Sacrament you who have formerly received it And having by such like considerations
as these affected your hearts with a sense of your iniquities humbly betake your selves to God and lay open all before him by a free and full confession acknowledge what wretched hainouâ— sinners you are and how unworthy of the least favour and beg of him to work and increase in you that true and kindly sorrow for sin which may fit you for mercy And cease not by your good will from this confession till you finde your souls even melted within you in the apprehension of your own vilenesse but however cease not till you finde in your hearts a loathing of every sin and of your selves by reason of it And if you have but an inward sense of your sores and pollutions you will not want such words to expresse it as will be acceptable to God only see that you be sincere and let your heart make your confessions rather than your tongue Labour to be as sensible of your case as you would be if now you stood before a King whom you had offended from whom except you could beg a pardon you must presently be put to death of which pardon there was good hope if he did but perceive you to be really sorry for your fault Oh how affectionate and earnest would you be in this case and would have words at will to expresse your self How passionately would you acknowledge and bewail the offence you had committed and with what vehemence professe against ever being guilty of the like And how importunately would you beg for mercie when you saw no other way but present death if your importunitie did not prevaile Thus behave your selves towards God and believe that he stands over you now in your Closet and hearkens to your Prayers and observes whether you be heartie in them or not But remember all this while it is an inward-dislike and abhorrence of sin wherein the truth of your Repentance consists more than in bare confessing it and speaking against it with the greatest fervour these are required too but beware of taking up with these Beware I say as ever you hope for mercie of retaining any secret liking to sin or the least thoughts of continuing in it still whilst with a great deal of stir you revile it as such an abominable thing But rather if you finde in your souls a kinde of hankering after some old lust not yet thorowlie mortified betake your selves to those considerations which may bring you out of love with it as how little its like to do for you what an happinesse it doth now and will hereafter deprive you of what a miserie it leads to with other the like formerlie laid down and quit not these thoughts till you finde your selves turned against it For once again let me assure you then and never till then is your Repentance right when you are not only brought to grieve for sin but to hate it when your hearts are not only broken in the remembrance of it but are broken off from and thorowlie bent against it Though this exercise of Repentance seems most properly preparative to the work you are going about yet in such a penitent humble frame would I have you be even when you are at the Lords Table If you eat this bread and mingle the Wine with tears it will be never the worse for your souls And must it not needs affect thee to behold Christs body broken and his blood poured out here in a figure and then to think with thy self This was sin my sin even my pride and earthlinesse and all the wickednesse of my heart and life was part of that load which he bare on his own bodie on the Cross when he cried out my God my God why hast thou forsaken me Might not the Lord call to me and even shew me the Print of my many grievous sins in his hands and feet and the deep stabs they gave him and yet ungratefull wretch that I am how little have I valued this his love how little hath my heart been affected herewith where had I been and what had become of me if he had not thus undertaken for me Oh what had my sins brought upon me if he had not interpos'd and kept it off how mad and senslesse have I been in venturing upon sin harbouring and delighting in sin Sin which is so hainous a thing that without shedding of blood it will never be remitted and for which no blood but that of Christs could obtain a remission How more especially hainous then is my guilt in undervaluing this blood so much and so long as I have done How base was my heart to give entertainment to sin after I had heard what it had done against Christ and to deny entertainment to him after I had heard how much he had done for me Was his kindnesse such as to bleed for my sins and shall not I weep for them especially for the unkindnesse I have shewn to him As God never shew'd greater love to Man than in delivering up his Son for our offences so he never shew'd greater hatred of sin than by this action and therefore conformably as we ought hereby to be brought to the greatest love of God so to the deepest hatred of sin and humiliation for it But I have formerly more fully shewn how the consideration of Christs death may bring us to true Repentance and what I there spoke chiefly of a change of state may be applied to the particular exercise of Repentance wherefore I shall insist no more on this Onely let me meet with an Objection that may perhaps be in the minds of some namely That sorrow for sin at this time scarce seems consistent with that hope of mercy that joy and thankfulnesse which are chiefly required in the Communicant Know therefore that I presse no sorrow but what is a preparation to joy and doth even animate and exalt it whilst the humble Christian reflects upon his own nothingnesse and unworthinesse and thence is carried forth to the greater admiration of that mercy that hath so favourably regarded him And take notice farther that I would have the sense of Divine bounty chiefly to raise and keep up this humiliation whilst we think with our selves Oh what wretched creatures are we thus to offend so loving a Father who notwithstanding all our provocations is yet compassionate towards us and upon our return to him is so readily reconciled To retain this apprehension of love in the midst of our mournings will make them most ingenuous and even pleasant to our souls and though it will make us sincere and deep in our repentance yet it will so moderate our spirits that we shall not sorrow as those without hope and I could wish that Christians in all their sorrowings would observe this rule But then that such an ingenuous shame and sorrow as this is consistent with the greatest confidence of mercy there is not the least doubt for which to omit all further proof of a matter so plain see that very
yours all that is in Heaven or Earth to do you good is yours also by vertue of that Covenant which shall never fail faithfull is he that hath promised and will do it Wherefore this Sacrament which you are about to receive being a seal of that Covenant you are to take it as an assurance and pledge that all the blessings of it such things as I directed you to pray for shall be bestowed upon you in that time and order which God sees best Here then you see is work for faith if you would receive the comfort which this Ordinance holds forth And more particularly I shall tell you in two words what it is for principally and in what manner you are here to exercise faith 1. Look upon the Sacrament as sealing to you a full and free pardon of all the sins you stand guilty of whether by nature or practice so that none of them shall be laid to your charge so as to condemn you at judgment And for your clearer proceeding herein you are to apprehend the Sacrament as joyn'd to the promise of pardon in the Gospel and so to look upon it as a Seal annext to a Writing that promiseth mercie to Rebels that submit themselves And if a King should send his Officers with many such Writings to a Companie of Men that were risen up in Arms against him and the Officer should tell them Sirs here 's a gracious message sent you from the King here are Papers under his own hand wherein he assures a Pardon to such of you that will now come in and here 's also his own Seal put to them for your greater assurance all which for your security I 'le put into your hand presently if you submit your selves They who upon this come in and take these Papers have a pardon thereby given them which they may boldly produce if afterward they should be accused Even thus are you to conceive God's Embassadour saying to you Aâ—l you that are willing to receive Jesus Christ to rule over you and save you he hath promised in his Gospel to forgive all your sins and beside that of Baptisme hath ordained the Sacrament of his Supper as a Seal of this gracious promise his Instrument of pardon and here I stand by his appointment to give out the same You now who find your selves willing thus to receive Christ are to take this Sacrament as an assurance that this promise shall be made good to you and so look upon it and with this quiet your conscience when it is unjustly clamorous and silence Satan when he haunts you with temptations to despair Then say within thy self Here 's the word of God assuring forgivenesse to all that take Christ for their Lord and Saviour which by his grace I finde my self inclined and enabled to do and he hath bound this word with his oath and to both he hath added his Sacraments as Seals and shall this three-fold cord be broken what should give me satisfaction if this do not wherefore be gone Satan shall I not rather believe thou art a liar who tellest me repent and believe and do all that I can my sins are so great they can never be forgiven than once suspect that the most true God will ever revoke that which he hath said and sworn and sealed to And at the great Judgment Day of Christ will own his Hand and Seal and then solemnly acquit thee whom he now pardons by his Gospel Safely then maist thou triumph with the Apostle Who shall lay any thing to the charge of Gods Elect It 's God that justifieth Who is he that condemneth It 's Christ that died c. And this Christ with his whole purchase is made over to thee oh believing soul. Even by this Sacrament is his blood as effectually made thine to wash off all the guilt that cleaves to thee as if thou hadst been bath'd in his warm blood to that purpose yea much more effectuâ—lly 2. The other Direction I would give you is That you take the Sacrament as an earnest of the everlasting glory which shall shortly without question be vouchsaft to you who remain stedfast in your Covenant with God Here in like manner you are to look upon the Gospel as a Deed of Gift whereby through Christ an Inheritance in the Heavens is setled upon you to which Deed also the Sacrament doth Seal Even as an House is made over by the delivery of a Key and Land by a Turf so there is a kinde of conveyance of Heaven it self made to you by the delivery of the Sacramental Bread and Wine into your hands And when you receive them imagine you heard God saying to you Here poor soul take this in earnest of that eternal life which I have prepared for and will bestow upon thee And if the heavenly Kingdome be thus assured to you on condition of your continuance in the love of God you need not question but all things needfull for your passage thither are herein comprehended If you shall have glory given you then be sure you shall have that grace which may fit you for and bring you to it whereof I shall speak particularly under the next head And if you are thus richly provided for as to your souls do you think your bodies shall be neglected No never fear it whatever shall be found really good for you shall be vouchsaft What shall you have Christ and his spirit grace and glory And do you question whether you shall have food and raiment Will the Father make his Son Heir of all when he comes to age and will he not afford him a maintenance till then only refer all your concernments to God to deal with you as he shall think fit and question not but hee 'l dispose of all to your contentment if you be reasonable The whole World is in the hands of your Father and it is not for want of power or love if you have not the greaâ—est share in it but it is from his wisdome and mercy which will rather give you the best He that spared not his own Son but delivered him up for you and hath given him to you how shall be not with him freely give you all things Rom. 8.32 Would you have a larger word Is there any thing you want not contained in this The like you may see 1 Cor. 3.21 22. Things present and things to come all are yours yee being Christs And as godlinesse thus hath the promises of this life and that which is to come so both sorts of promises are here confirmed to you by the Sacrament which is a seal of that full Covenant wherein blessings both of the right hand and of the left are given to Believers You may see then I hope by this time that this is no common Bread and Wine which is appointed for so great purposes If a tuig was given into your hands whereby some great estate was conveyed to you you would value it sure above a
common stick Wherefore if you would not be lamentably wanting to your selves and Enemies to your own comforts I beseech you all you that love the Lord Jesus know your own priviledges and fix these things firmly on your mindes and let not the greatnesse of them hinder your belief since they are as sure as great but see that you apprehend a reality in all that is done at this holy Table See Christ himself in the Minister see also the benefits that come by Christ in the Bread and Wine and stedfastly believe that these are given you by Christ as verily as the Elements are given you by the Minister For pardâ—n and right to eternal life are things to be believed not felt so that it is by believing that you must perceive the comfort of them Wherefore beg of God to clear up these things to your apprehensions to remove doubtings to strengthen your faith and to joyn the inward seal of his spirit to the outward administration of his Ordinance And do you take the boldnesse though with the greatest humility to professe to God that you take this Sacrament as an earnest of all those mercies which you hope for from his bounty as hereby you deliver up your selves and all you have and are to his will and pleasure And as an earnest engageth both the Servant and Master to do according to their agreement so is God graciously pleased hereby to engage himself to his Creatures so that not only from his bounty but from his justice and faithfulnesse may you expect whatever he hath promised to do for you There being thus a sacred Covenant transacted betwixt God and your souls see only that you be not treacherous and Heaven and Earth shall sooner fail than God will depart from one tittle of all that he hath said With confidence may you look upon God as your Father Christ as your Head and Husband the Holy Spirit as your Comforter and Guide the Angels as your friends ready at Christs command to do you service the Saints in both Worlds as your Brethren and the full enjoyment of God the Father Son and Holy Ghost in the joyfull communion of Saints and Angels your assured everlasting portion 6. Since you in your selves are poor impotent creatures who without Christ can do nothing but must be beholden to that grace which drew you to this Covenant to hold you in it and to help you to perform your part and since there is of this grace even now to be given but to the prepared soul Let it be your care to get very sensible of your spiritual wants and to come hither earnestly desiring and expecting a supply Consider well with your selves what graces you finde weakest and most wanting what duties you are prone most to fail in and humbly beg suitable help and assistance Examine what temptations you are most exposed to and oftnest overcome by what corruptions you finde yet strongest in you and especially what those sins are to which you are inclined most by nature and custome or are most in danger of by your employments or converse in the World and represent all this in your prayer before God and beg of him more power and strength against them and now by this Ordinance to convey it to you Look round about and consider well the work you have to do the difficulties you are to grapple with the several relations wherein you stand and the duties they bring along with them and noâ—â—ue out for direction and assistance in all And for your encouragement remember what I told you that God hath engaged himself to all you his Covenant-people to afford you whatever may conduce to your happiness now since you stand in present need of the supplies of his grace you may confidently expect the same He that will bring you to the end will give you the means As if a King should call some of his poor subjects to give them great possessions in another Country which he had conquered and should also furnish them with store of money and provisions for the way even thus bounteously wil God deal with you oh Believers Hee 'l put strength into your feet and revive your fainting spirits that you may hold on in your way you that wait upon the Lord though you have no power or might in your selves yet shall renew your strength and run and not be weary and walk and not faint till you come to your journies end By faith in Christ we are engrafted into him as a branch into the Vine and are related as a Member to the Head so that he is become the root of our life and from him shall sap and nourishment be communicated to our needy souls He is the dispenser and fountain of Grace and his Ordinances are as Conduit-pipes and conveyances of the same And of this nature is the Lords Supper Here Believers are made to drink into the Spirit 1 Cor. 12.13 Which words have a plain reference to this Sacrament Baptisme being mentioned at the beginning of the verse Come hither then oh yee thirstie souls and be refresht with the waters of life that shall flow in upon you in abundance Open your mouths wide and they shall be filled Be not straitned in your selves for the bowels of Christ are not straitned towards you Bring hither capacious enlarged hearts and you shall carry away accordingly The anointing of thâ— Spirit which is shed abroad upon you is like the Widdows Oyl 2 Kin. 4.6 It will not stay running whilst there is room to receive it Oh why is it then that we are so empty The fault is not in Christ we must needs acknowledge But let us examine whether we have not stuft our hearts with other things that leave little or no room for grace to be poured in there Are we not fill'd with the love of earthly things Is not our delight most of all in profits and pleasures And our desires eagerly carried out after them Do not Creature-comforts so possess and fill us that they even thrust forth the Holy Spirit from his habitation Do we not grieve him by our carnal joys and cause him to with-draw from us Oh! for shame let it be no longer thus with us Alas how little can these narrow hearts of ours contain of the fullness of God though they were widened to their utmost present capacity And shall we pinch and straiten them yet more by entertaining every trifle there This is that room which the King of Heaven would have entire to himself and shall every common guest every Beggar be lodged there Is it fit that Money-changers and Merchants should fill the house of God That it should be a thorow-fare for every Vessel every common and unclean thing Oh let your hearts then be consecrated as Temples for the Holy-Ghost not Dens of such Thieves as rob God of his due and draw away those desires and affections which he claims as his own And now let the gates of these Temples
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
sons of men Let Plays and Fictions be hist off the Stage let Romantick follies be shamed into obscurity for here is that which alone deserves the name of Love here 's such Truth as commands our belief such worth and weight as calls for our regard and such stupendious greatnesse as may raise our wonder Here behold the power of love in the fairest display of it that ever was made to the world since its foundations were first laid beyond which imagination it self cannot ascend nay which falls vastly short of it how vastly short then doth expression fall but yet oh that we could feel as much as that little which we speak Was it ever before known that the Shepherd should lay down his life for his sheep not for innocent sheep but to reduce wilfull straglers to his Fold that he who was Lord of all should die for his Subjects not for obedient Subjects but for Rebels appointed to the slaughter Thus continue thy meditations till they have so good an effect upon thee that if Christ should appear to thee at this instant as thâ—u art got alone and should call thee by Name as once he did Peter and ask thee Soul Lovest thou me thou mightest be able truly to return his answer Lord thou knowest that I love thee And then to affect thee yet mâ—re consider of Gods saving love in Christ parâ—icularly revealed to thy soul that he was pleased to say to thee when thou wâ—â—st in thy blood Live Calling thee out of darknesse into his marvellous light laying hold on thee by his Spirit and recovering thee to himself when thou wast running farre away from him and many a tiâ—e preventing and restoring thee by his grace when otâ—erwise thou hadst utterly ruin'd thy self Oh praise him that he left thee noâ— in Satan's kingdome under the power of thy lusts but with a strong hand and outstretched arm brought thee out of that house of bondage and magnifie his name when thou beholdest that blood wherein thy sins were drowned as the Egyptians in the Red-Sea Oh blesse his name that he did not suffer thee to remain dead in trespasses and sins yea that he did not strike thee dead in them and sentence thee to the second death after which there is life no more This is a fit season for recollecting all the special mercies of thy life which God hath shewn either to soul or body to thy self or thine all which thou art to look upon as vouchsaft through Christ which makes the mercy infinitelie greater And when you have thus endeavoured to get your hearts brim-full with love and joy come and let them rise higher and boil over at the Table of the Lord. Let no sadnesse appear in your looks nor a tormenting thought by your good will seize upon your hearts this day Come loathing sin as much as you are able but come loving Christ as much Have as low thoughts of thy self as thou wilt and be as humble as thou canst in remembrance of all thy vilenesse but yet let thy Soul magnifie the Lord and thy Spirit rejoyce in God thy Saviour Thy gracious Lord will not upbraid thee with any former unkindnesse and neglect of his love which thou art heartily asham'd of and sorry for Wherefore though thou maist come blushing and weeping yet come not into his presence daunted and despairing He died on purpose to ease your souls of all those fears which make you all your life time subject unto bondage Will not you receive comfort for whom he hath shed his blood that it might be your Cordiall Let him see you then improve it this day to that purpose for your health and pleasure if it be solid is his delight And if he would have your joy at any time in this World full now it is If you must ever more rejoyce this I am sure is a fit season This is our most solemn Thanks-giving Feast Oh wonderfull That the commemoration of the Master's death should be the Servants Feast It is his pleasure to have it so and let us thankfully comply therewith Instead of his Vinegar and Gall he gives us Bread and Wine and better things than they Here he hath made according to his promise Isa. 25.6 A Feast of fat things a Feast of Wines on the Lees of fat things full of marrow Wines on the Lees well refined And you may be sure the Master of this Feast who entertains his guests with an affection as great as their fare is costly would not have them sit there sad and dejected as if they liked not their provisions or thought themselves not welcome Would it please you to see your friends in such a posture at your Table Oh question not your welcome all yee lovers of Christ but when you are there assembled imagine that you heard him saying to you Eat oh friends drink yea drink abundantly oh beloved Here he hath brought you into his Banquetting-House and his Banner over you shall be love Here will he comfort you with Heavenly Manna and stay with Flaggons all you that are sick of love You Children of Abraham that come from the slaughter of your lusts here doth your Lord meet you as his type Melchizedeck met your Father Gen. 14.18 Setting before you the Bread and Wine for your refreshment And here will he blesse you He shall cause you to sit under his shadow and his fruit shall be sweet to your tast Here may you expect the most comfortable commâ—nion with Christ that is to be had in this lower World Here then believing in and loving him whom you have not seen but whom you may here see represented do you rejoyce with joy unspeakable and full of glory 8. That your hearts may be more heavenly in this work and so more apt to be fill'd with joy and to break out in praise let me earnestly desire you here to have an eye to a glorified as well as a crucified Christ to remember not only his humiliation but his exaltation It was the minde of Christ that his Resurrection rather than his birth or death should consecrate a weekly thanksgiving to be observed by the Churh in all ages which should be call'd the Lords own day and be spent in his praise and service This being the accomplishment of his labours his finall victory over death and the grave and all Enemies that did assault his own person the memorial whereof must therefore needs be most rejoycing to his servants And as his Resurrection cannot be remembred without his birth and death which must of necessity precede it no more can his death be here rightly remembred without we also bear in mind his Resurrection and Ascension to Glory Can we remember what he was and not think what he is Sad meetings had we made indeed if our Lord had been held under the power of death if such a thing may be imagined All the World then might well be in the disconsolate posture of the two Disciples that were
never flack your watch nor let your expectations cool till either you see him comming in the clouds or shall be taken up beyond them With some such Meditations as these which I have suggested to you under each Head let your thoughts be taken up whilst you are emploied in this duty as you shall find your selves most inclined and as Gods Spirit shall direct you for you need not confine your self as to the method and form but rather let your affections have their free course Onely see that you watch narrowly over your hearts through the whole work that deadnesse and distractions may not possesse you Keep up a strong sense of God's presence with you and often lift up your hearts to him for life and quickning And let all the powers of your souls be summoned up and engaged in this action with all possible vigour and closenesse Let your minds be kept cleer from sadning and from impertinent thoughts that you may attend upon the Lord without distraction and be more capable of those sweet foretasts of his goodnesse which may be as a certain pledge of your everlasting enjoyment of all that he hath in store for his people 9. Lastly let me in a word or two direct you to be carefull in the exercise of brotherly love I need not stand I hope to repeat the advice I gave you to get all breaches made up betwixt your selves and brethren to do all that in you lies to obtain peace and if that cannot be had yet to forgive all injuries that have been done you and to cleanse your minds from rancour and malice and all desire of revenge to this let the love of Christ constrain you And moreover let your hearts be let out with a sincere and strong affection toward all your Fellow-members of that body whereof Christ is the Head A pleasant sight it will be to your Master who is in heaven to look down upon you his Disciples and see you here feasting together in mutuall love and delight in the remembrance of all that love which he hath shewn to you and in the joyfull expectation of what farther he hath promised And whilst your love is stirred up to Christ himself it cannot chuse but be imparted to his friends that are in sight such who sincerely love him on whom he hath set his heart and hath shed on them his Spirit whereby they are made like to him and therefore must needs be lovely in your eyes to whom Christ is precious as being also by this same Spirit made like to your selves and when in your joyning with them in this sacred action you remember that these shall be your everlasting companions in the joy of your Lord and shall there joyn with you in sounding forth his praises this will farther engage you to them as being heirs together of the grace of God and will work in you the beginnings of that love which will hereafter be perfect and perpetuall Whilst your love is built upon such right and Catholick principles as these being placed upon a Christian as a Christian you hold a Communion in the Spirit with all true Christians throughout the world though your affections will be most sensibly enlarged to those that you know and with whom you hold a locall communion in the worship of God And your joint assembling at this Table is a badge of your mutuall love and an engagement to the firm continuance of it Here are you made to drink into one Spirit by which you were Baptized into one body according to that Text I named 1 Cor. 12.13 This Sacrament is if I may so call it an Holy Philtre whereby Believers are united in more fervent love to their common Head and to one another The Blood of Christ is the onely cement and soder of souls And this is that Christian love which they are taught of God to which they are inclined by their new nature and which will easily be brought into exercise where the grace is first wrought in the heart wherefore it 's needlesse to stay longer hereon having also spoke somewhat largely to it before Onely one thing let me suggest before I conclude this namely that you take care to give a practicall demonstration of this love by contributing according to your abilities to the necessities of the poor members of Christ. This is a sacrifice wherewith God is well pleased a work never out of season but now most seasonable being an evidence not onely of your compassion to the poor but of the stedfastnesse of your belief in Christ and his promises and of your thankfulnesse for his bounty therefore you find both these mentioned together Heb. 13.15 16. As we must offer thanks so we must not forget to do good and communicate To quicken you to this charity both now and any other time when fit objects are presented Let me onely desire you to imagine to your selves that the Lord Jesus who was willing to part with his blood for you and thinks not an infinite glory too great to give you upon most easie terms that even he comes to you in one of his necessitous members to see what you can find in your hearts to bestow upon him If you that have Estates think he deserves nothing let him have nothing if he deserve but a little give him but a little if your lusts have more right to your riches than he then let your lusts have them rather than he Let Christ in his members starve whilst pride and luxury are maintained if you think this be just If you can improve your Estates better some other way take what you think the most gainfull course For remember Christ himself needs not anything you have or can do onely he 'll try the kindnesse of your hearts His is the earth and the fulnesse thereof and even his poor servants can he sufficiently provide for without you Wherefore if you give notwillingly and cheerfully you may keep your money to your self for any good that an extorted charity is like to do you But remember also you will be sure to lose and leave all that which God hath not one way or other but by giving it to him you send it before you and when all things here below fail you shall enjoy it with infinite advantage in the everlasting habitations And let this suffice by way of Direction for your preparation to and carriage in Receiving A few words for your behaviour afterwards and I shall come to a conclusion CHAP. XVII Directions for duty after the Sacrament 1. WHen you come home get alone and blesse God for the liberty and opportunity of a Sacrament which he hath afforded you and for all the priviledges that are thereby conferr'd upon you And let your souls chew the Cud and retain the savour of those pleasant things you have been entertained with keep them still lifted up and exceedingly gladded in the sence of that love which you have this day been celebrating and tasting in
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
your time and do all actions as in his sight You may easier run from under thâ— heavens than out of his eye And consider he do's not onely look on you but narrowly regard yoâ— and concerns himself with you being highly displeased when you run into sin and takes delight in your holy conversation In whatever company you are be not drawn away by them in a kind of flashy humour as if the generall loosness and jollity did engage you to conform to them but remember God is in the midst of you who never gives you a dispensation to be wicked and whom it more behoves you to please than all the world beside though avoid all ensnaring company as much as possible Let this keep you from fear or shâ—me when you are call'd to speak against Sin or for God and Holinâ—sse He 's near that will justifie you you may therefore set your face as a flint When you are alone think not you may sin the more securely for God is with you and eyes all your moâ—ions as if he had none but you to mind In your addresses to God a sense of his neaâ—nessâ— will much awaken and affect you and is one of the best helps against wandâ—ing thoughts that you can have Beware of ever being so farre swallowed up with the noise and hurry of businesses or pleasures as not to attend to him that stands over you He that is present every where should be remembred at all times Read to this purpoâ—e Psal. 139. Such a powerfull habituall sense of a present God should you work into your minds that you may walk as before him even when you do not actually think of him as a Servant is all day doing that work which his Master would have him though he may not half that time be thinkâ—ng of him So though it be needfull that you should often actually think of God yet above all see that you never so forget him as to do that which is displeasing to him And to conclude this in any doubtfull action let this be one rule that you go by not to do that which whilst you are about you dare not boldly think of Gods presence 6. The last thing I shall say to you for the carrying on of an holy life to which you are bound by the Sacrament is That you be much in serious meditation of the last things Death Judgement and Eternity The frequent and lively thoughts of these will have a mighty influence upon your whole course To consider your latter end is both a discovery of and the way to wisdome Live every day as he that knows not whether he hath another day to live Think often What if I had but another monâ—h or year to sâ—end in the world how strictly and holily should I then live that time How carefull should I be of my thoughts words and actions How thrifty of my time How serious and affectionate in all my approaches to God How ready and willing to do or receive good Why let me now live after this exact manner since it may be I have not so much as a month or year to come however very much I am sure I have not and my preparations be they never so soon will not be lost Let others funâ—ralls put you in mind of yours and flatter not your selves with the hopes of long life because you are young and healthfull but see to get your souls in such a condition that a long life may not be so much the matter of your hopes nor death the cause of your fears And remember you are always going on to the Judgement seat of Christ where you must have a triall of ten thousand times greater concernment than those that use to come before Earthly Princes and Judges when the case must be decided where you must live for ever whether in the highest joys or the sorest torments Had you not need then now to be getting a good cause for according to the life you led here in the flesh will that sentence passe The wicked must go into everlasting punishment and the righteous into life eternall The God who sees you now will Judge you then by Christ the Redeemer Think what a life you shall wish you had led when you come to the end of it and must be Judged for it and lead such an one now When the sugred baits of sin are presented and you have much ado to hold off them then think what bitternesse it will be in the end compare the honey with the gall the present delight which is vanisht in a moment with the sting and pain which endures eternally and then judge and act like reasonable creatures But above all let your thoughts be even steept and swallowed up in the pleasant contemplations of that glory which shall be revealed in and bestowed upon all that love the Lord Jesus Whenever you are ready to faint and give out remember the joy that is set before you and let that remembrance cheer and revive you Consider what that goodnesse is which God hath laid up in himself for them that fear him till you find your love enflamed towards him and let that love put you upon more frequent thoughts and earnest longings after him Onely see to fill up all your time with suitable actions and then let it even please you to see your days post away so fast Alwaies keep it on your thoughts that you are in a journey to a glorious Kingdome and be often saying Now I am one day or month or year nearer than I was before Stretch out thy self with a longing look towards thy Fathers house Shortly I shall be in the arms of my dear Saviour and shall be joyning with Saints and Angels in the triumphant praises of Jehovah and the Lamb. And remember this happinesse consists chiefly in being made perfectly holy and therefore here must that grace be sown and grow up that shall then be ripened into glory And the more holy you are the nearer to heaven will you get whilst you stay on earth and the meeter for it will you be when you are taken off from the earth Ever keep up such a sense of the excellency of this future blessednesse as may blast all other things in your esteem and deaden the temptations that are taken from pleasures riches and honours Oh think how perfectly provided for must he needs be who shall have God for his portion How mad are they that would lose the least hope of this happinesse for the whole world And they that look for such great things what manner of persons ought they to be in all holy conversation and godliness Oh let nothing weary you or turn you out of the way Hold out awhile longer and you shall be plac'd out of the reach of all temptations for ever Fasten upon nothing on this side heaven with any great delight or long stay But still tell your selves it's time enough to be happy when God shall take you to himself so he will but here vouchsafe you that converse with him whereof we in this state are capable Let every thing you meet with be as a step toward Mount Sion and raise you nearer to heaven and make you more desirous of it And when you have been thus meditating and preparing waiting and desiring a while you shall assuredly find that your labour was not in vain Wherâ—fore let such considerations as these make you stedfast unmoveablâ— alwaies abounding in youâ— Lords work till at length you shall be translated into his Joy And thus I have dispatcht those Directions I promised for the promoting of holinesse whâ—ch was the last thing I had to do It now remains that we set our selves resolvedly and sincerely to the practise of what God hath revealed to be our duty which if we do we need not doubt of his assistance and blessing but upon our perseverance in well-doing to which we have obliged our selves may through our Mediatour confidenâ—ly expect his gracious acceptance and his glorious Câ—own Now â—he Gâ—d of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus that great Shepherd of his sheep by the bâ—ood of the everlasting Covenant Make you perfect in every good work to do his will wâ—rking in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight through Jesâ—â— Christ to whom be glory for ever and ever Amen Heb. 13.20 21. FINIS