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A58940
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A sacramental-question concerning assurance how far necessary to a worthy communicant, practically answered, in a sermon, preparatory to the Lord's-Supper, Saturday, March 2, 1699/1700.
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J. S.
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1700
(1700)
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Wing S223A; ESTC R7898
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20,918
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72
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Effectual Calling Justification Adoption and Sanctification but such as have full Assurance that they have received all these there would be little Confession Prayer and Thanksgiving in the Christian World Is it unlawful to say I Believe while there is a mixture of Unbelief We must let alone a great part of our Religion if we may not act upon Hope short of Assurance And if all doubting trembling Christians should be debarr'd the Lord's Table till they have Certainty and Assurance there would not only be very few to partake of it but we should exclude some of the fittest the most acceptable and most welcom Guests at that Feast of Love Therefore we may have many Fears and Scruples yet if Conscience enlightned by the Word of God do not positively condemn us tho' upon Self-Examination it doth not clearly and fully absolve us we may come in Hope Seventhly Tho' you have not yet attain'd Assurance of the Love of God and of your reconciled justified State yet by waiting on God in the use of His Holy Ordinances you may expect and hope to attain it You may and ought to wait for the Communications of His Grace and Love in the use of all His Appointed Means and 't is one End and Use of The Lord's-Supper to strengthen weak Faith and to help doubting Christians You have there a Sign and Seal of the Righteousness of Faith The Blood of Christ is there represented as shed for the Remission of your Sins The Benefits of Redemption are offer'd to you in particular and you are called to apply them to yourself as if your Names were mention'd You are there call'd to profess your Acceptance of Christ and the offer'd Salvation of the Gospel and to surrender and give back your selves entirely to be the Lord's This Feast was not appointed only for those who are the most perfect Christians and highest in Grace but for the Relief and Supply of your Spiritual Wants You come there not only to be Thankful for what Grace you have received but to receive more What would you think if one should tell you You must not eat till your Hunger be first satisfy'd or not come to the Fire till you are first Warm or not take Physick till you have recover'd your Health The Seals of the Covenant are appointed for our greater Confirmation that the Heirs of the Promise might have more abundant Consolation and Joy And in this Ordinance our Saviour Speaks more solemnly more particularly and more pathetically to us for the help of our Faith than by the Ministry of the Word What is spoken in general by the Preaching of the Word is here particularly apply'd to individual Persons to support Weak and Doubting Christians as well as to confirm the Joy of their Stronger Brethren You may as well neglect hearing the Word and pray and hope for Faith as expect Assurance and neglect the Lord's Table The Primitive Christians who walked in the Fear of God and in the Comforts of the Holy Ghost continued in the practice of breaking the holy Bread partaking of this Ordinance and so could Eat their common Meat with gladness of Heart praising God It may be you 'll find as Jesus made Himself known to the two Disciples in breaking of Bread to allude to that Expression tho' I think it not meant of Sacramental Bread so you may find by waiting on God in this Ordinance your Doubts scatter'd your Jealousies remov'd your Difficulties clear'd your Objections answer'd and the goodness of your State which before was doubtful made manifest and evident to the Joy of your Souls Therefore refuse not o pay Homage to your Crucify'd Saviour by partaking of this Ordinance believing that you shall not do it in vain It may be e'er you are aware your Souls shall be as the Chariots of Aminadab you can't tell but your Attendance on this Institution shall be the happy means which God will make use of to scatter and cure your Doubts And by your neglect of this Ordinance you not only take the most likely course to increase and continue your Doubts and Fears but are in danger to lose that Seriousness of Spirit and sense of Religion which you now have by denying your self those Means and Helps by which it is preserv'd and maintain'd in other Christians Eighthly Consider that after Self-Examination you may sometimes find one Grace more evident than another A Christian can say sometimes more hopefully that he lives by Faith sometimes that he has true Repentance and Godly Sorrow for Sin sometimes he can say more concerning the truth of his Love to Christ sometimes concerning his Hunger and Thirst after Christ and the Spirituality and Earnestness of his Desires And if you can discover Truth and Integrity of Heart as to any of these you may so far take Comfort But especially as to Faith and Love the two Radical Graces which do influence and strengthen all others and by which you may make the best judgment of your self And a difference you must allow for different Times and Seasons Tho' it may be you cannot now say so much concerning this or the other particular Grace yet at such a time upon serious Reflection you could say a great deal to the Glory of God and to your own Consolation you think that it is much better now with others than with you but it may be the last Month at the last Sacrament you could say truly concerning your Communion with God and the Evidence of His Love and the Expression of your own and the Exercise of other Graces a great deal more than any of those Christians and Brethren whom you apprehend to be so much above and before you Remember how at such a time according to such a Scripture Character of an Upright Christian your Hearts could bear witness and God did bear witness by his Spirit that you were not Hypocrites Did you not record it Did you not promise to remember it and improve it Call to mind what hath pass'd between God and your Souls as to such things And if there be no notable declining to the World and the Flesh or commission of gross Sins or wilful Carelessness or Remissness which must be particularly repented of and reform'd in order to Pardon and Peace you may take comfort in former Evidences and Experience If a Father have forgiven a Child that had offended him and told him so must he be every day telling him again and again that he hath forgiven him or he won't believe it If God hath comfortably resolv'd your Doubts tho' some time since you may be encourag'd by it for you have not alway the same Opportunity or Help outward or inward to discern aright the State of your Soul not alway the same clearness of Apprehension or sedateness of Mind or Assistance of God's Spirit to determine and resolve the great Question 'T is unreasonable on every turn to expect a new Answer from God as if he had given you none before
God Don't you Believe from your Hearts that he is able to Reconcile you to God That His Blood can Cleanse from all Sin That you are lost and undone without Him That if ever you are Reconcil'd Pardon'd and Sav'd it must be by Him Don't you desire this above all things Are you not willing to take Him as your Saviour and Lord in all His Offices to be taught by His Word to be guided by His Spirit to be govern'd by His Law to depend on His Righteousness Sacrifice and Intercession for all your Hopes of Acceptance with God Don't you look for all your Supplies of Grace and Strength to conquer Temptation and perform every Duty from His Spirit as the Purchase of His Blood Don't you Believe all the Promises He hath made shall be fulfill'd and desire nothing more than that you may have a Share and Interest in the Blessings of the New Covenant purchased and promised by Christ And from your very Souls are willing to be His upon any terms so that there is no Sin but you would be free from rather than keep and accordingly are faithful and constant in following after Holiness You can't deny this and yet after all you 'll say you have no Faith because no Assurance Doth not all this argue true Faith You want the Knowledge of your true State but you don't want true Faith in Christ Therefore you ought to come to the Table Nay tho' you have not conquer'd all your Doubts about the great Truths of the Gospel and the Life to come and the Mediation of Christ if yet you have such a prevailing Perswasion of those Truths as brings you to consent to the Covenant of Grace to take God for for your God and Christ for your only Saviour and the Holy Ghost for your Sanctifier and Guide His Law for your Rule His Promise for your Security and the Heavenly Glory for your Rest and Happiness resolving by the Grace of God to forsake all that stands in Competition you are True Believers and ought to come to Eat of the Children's Bread Fifthly There is a vast difference as to the Lord's Supper between the Case of an Hypocrite who does not know himself to be one and the Case of a sincere real Christian who doth not know himself to be Sincere You must not imagine these two Cases to be alike The one has true Grace tho' he discern it not and consequently hath a right to the Blessings of the Covenant and is bound to know and discern his Title and so come and partake of the Privileges that belong to his State But suppose another Professor comes to the Lord's Table who hath no true Repentance or Faith and so his Heart not right with God but he is under the Reign Power and Dominion of Sin He hath as yet no right to the Blessings of the Covenant but is bound to know his true State that he may be brought to Repentance 't is a greater Sin for him do demand and take what doth not belong to him than to tarry away for a while in order to his Recovery and Preparation For if such a one comes he Hypocritically professes that Repentance Faith and Devoutness to God which he hath nothing of but is secretly an Enemy to God and Holiness He comes and claims the Childrens Bread with a Lye in his Mouth and Heart against the Holy Ghost and he takes the Name of God in vain There is a great difference in this Case from that of a doubting Christian who truly Believes and cannot say he is assured of it There is a further difference in point of Comfort for a real Christian tho' he come with many Doubts and Fears yet there are some secret Testimonies of the Love of God there is some Influence of the Holy Spirit to bear up his Hope which is much better than all the groundless Joys of Hypocrites in a false perswasion of the Goodness of their State The Penitent Upright Believer who wants Assurance hath a right to the Ordinance and is accepted with God tho' he can't affirm it or say that he unfeignedly Believes in Christ and Loves God with all his Heart yet he hopes 't is true He is willing to be the Lord 's on his own terms 'T is the favour of God in Christ that he values and seeks above all things This he aims at nothing else will content him he would rejoyce in it more than in any Earthly Prosperity if he could attain more certain knowledge of it Is not such a one accepted of God And supposing a competency of knowledge about the nature of the Sacrament to understand his Work and to discern the Lord's Body he hath a right to come tho' his timerous Scruples may keep him off a while yet they can't deprive him of his Right or disoblige him from his Duty to shew forth the Lord's Death this way He doth truly consent to the Covenant and should come to signifie that Consent and receive the Seal of the Covenant And remember this That the Covenant of Grace is mutual between God and You so that from your Consent to be the Lord's you may infer that He is Your God Your choice of Him is an Evidence of your Interest in Him by a Covenant-Relation The Relation is mutual equally and at once on both sides therefore as soon and as long as you can say Lord I am Thine and I desire to abide continue Thy Servant I would not depart from Thee As soon and as long as you find within you such a Disposition of Heart you may be assur'd that God is your God and will be your God for Ever and Guide unto Death Sixthly There is a true discerning of our Faith and Repentance which is short of Assurance upon which we may act tho' we are not fully certain There is true Love to Christ that is short of delighting and rejoyceing Love even desiring and mournin Love Tho' there be not the Witness and Seal of the Holy Spirit to give Joy there may be so much knowledge of our good Estate attain'd in a way of Duty as to prevent trouble and terror of Mind even a good Hope through Grace short of Certainty and full of Perswasion And if a Man may not act upon some good Hopes tho' he have not an assured certain Judgment concerning his State a great deal of God's Service in the Christian Church would be laid aside For Instance He only that 's Penitent should profess himself Penitent only he that truly desires Christ and His Grace should say he doth desire it only they that have received Saving Grace should give God thanks for having received it And yet if none should confess Sin and profess Repentance but such as knew certainly and with Assurance that they are truly Penitent and if none should beg Grace with a Profession that they desire it till they have Assurance of the truth of those Desires if none should give Thanks to God for Redemption