we are certified 1. By the analogy or proportion between the sign and the thing signified 2. By the promise which is added to the sign The analogy chiefly proposeth two things to us 1. The Sacrifice of Christ 2. Our Communion with him Because the bread is not only broken but also is given to us to eat Or more clearly thus The Lord's Supper is the second Sacrament of the New Testament wherein by the outward elements of Bread and Wine sanctified and exhibited by the Minister and rightly received by the Communicants assurance is given to those that are ingraâ—sed into Christ of their continuance in Him and receiving nourishment from Him unto eternal life In the same sense it is also called the Lord's Table thou dost therefore come to the banquet of Christ to be His guest as often as thou dost eat and drink of this Supper The Lord's Supper came in stead of the Passeover or Paschal Lamb not because He appointed it a Supper unto us but because He ordained it in room of the Passeover For in the same night wherein He was 1 Cor. 11. 23. betrayed immediately after He had eaten the Passeover with His Disciples He did both Himself with them celebrate Mat 26. 26. this Holy Sacrament and withal gave charge for continuance of the same in the Church until His second 1 Cor. 11. 20 coming The parts of the Lord's Supper are two 1. The earthly matter or the outward signs 2. The action requisite for the use of the outward sign The outward sign or earthly matter is again twofold 1. The Bread 2. The Wine 1. The Bread of the Lord is Christ's body given to death for us so Christ said This is my body which is given for you 2. The Cup of the Lord is that New Covenant through His blood which was shed for us By a Synechdoche the Cup is put for the Wine contained in the Cup. Then by a Sacramental Metonymie because neither the Cup nor the Wine in the Cup is substantially that very new Covenant which was confirmed by Christ's blood shed for us but it is the Sacrament of that Covenant and that in a double respect 1. Because it is an outward sign calling to our remembrance and as it were representing before our eyes that New Covenant or Testament established by the blood of Christ 2. Because it is a seal of our faith sealing up the certainty of that Covenant and the continuance of it with us So the Wine is a Sacrament of the blood of Christ not contained in the veins but shed out of His body upon the Cross or as it was shed for the forgiveness of sins So our Saviour said This Mat. 26. 28. is My blood of the New Testament which is shed for many for the remission of sins Also here by Bread and Wine is noted out unto us that we do perfectly and wholly find in Christ not meat alone but drink also that is not only one cause or part of Salvation and eternal life but whatsoever wholly is requisite or necessary thereunto Q. What are the ends of the Lord's Supper A. 1. To confirm our faith and to be a most sure testification of our union and communion with Christ For Christ by these signs testifies to us that He by His body and blood doth as truly nourish us to eternal life as truly as we receive these signs out of the hand of the Minister And this testification is directed to every particular person that with true faith receives these signs or symbols And we so receive these elements out of the hand of the Minister as if Jesus Christ Himself did reach it forth with His own hand unto us 2. That it may be a publick profession of our faith and a solemn thanksgiving with an obliging our selves to perpetual thankfulness and a celebration of this so great a benefit And these are included in Christ's words This do in remembrance Luk. 22. 19. of Me. This commemoration is chiefly faith in the heart joyned with a publick confession and thanksgiving 3. That it may be a publick distinction or discerning mark between the true Church of Christ and all other Nations and Sects whatsoever For the Lord instituted this for His Disciples and not for others 4. That it might be a bond of Love between all those who lawfully take it to become Members of one body under one Head the Lord Jesus Christ We being many are one bread and one body 1 Cor. 10. 7. for we are all partakers of that one bread Now the Members of the same body do mutually love each other 5. That it may be a bond of the publick meetings of the Church for the institution of this Sacrament is that it be done in the publick Assembly or Congregation Thence are those words When ye come together into one place And 1 Cor. 11. 20 33. when ye come together to eat c. Or more briefly thus The ends of the Lord's Supper are 1. To be a remembrance of Christ's Sacrifice performed on the Cross 2. To be a sign of the Covenant of Grace established by the blood of Christ 3. To be a Sacrament of the nourishing continuance and preservation of them in the Church which once by Baptism have been ingraffed into the Church of Christ Our Lord Jesus Christ by this Sacrament doth teach us by the communion of His body and blood that our Souls are nourished in hope of eternal life By the Bread Christ represent His body to us and by the Wine his blood to shew unto us that as there is in Bread a nourishing faculty to feed and strengthen our bodies for this present life So His body hath a nourishing and quickening power with it spiritually to nourish our souls In like manner also as Wine exhilarates and cheers the heart of him that drinks it refresheth his spirits and maketh the whole body the more strong Even so Christs blood doth strengthen our hearts and fill them with joy and gladness We do truly by faith feed on the body and blood of Christ when we are pâ—rswaded that we shall be saved by His obedience righteousness and satisfaction to His Father on our behalf as the Father imputeth it unto us Therefore we must necessarily have an interest in Christ for we can never be partakers of His good benefits unless first He had given Himself unto us By this Sacrament our communion with Christ is confirmed and sealed The Lord's Supper refers us to the death of Christ that we may so communicate of His virtue for upon the Cross that His own and perpetual Sacrifice was offered for our redemption He redeemed us by His blood and He made atonement for us by the blood of his Cross So we do not as the Papists say offer up the body of Christ to the Father for Christ Himself alone is worthy of that honour who was both Priest and Sacrifice and who offered up Himself He remains a Priest
for ever And when He said take and eat He commanded Heb. 5. 6. us not to offer up His body but only to feed on it So also another abuse of the Papists is to deny the Cup to the people whereas Christ in His institution said Drink ye all of this It is a high Sacrilegious impiety thus expresly to go against Christ's institution in His own words It is by faith alone we eat the body and drink the blood of Christ And yet we say not that the body of Christ is included in the Bread and His blood included in the Cup but if we will enjoy the truth and reality of the Sacrament we must have our hearts lifted up heaven-wards and look upwards where Christ is in the glory of His Father and from whence He shall come to be our Judge for he that seeks Him corporally in these corruptible elements manifestly errs So for me to eat the body of Christ crucified for me and to drink His blood shed for me is not only firmly to believe the whole passion and death of Christ and by it to obtain remission of Joh. 6. 35. to 54. sins and everlasting life but also by His Spirit which dwelleth in me to be more and more united to His blessed body as Christ there said He that eateth My Joh. 6. 56. â—lesh and drinketh My blood dwelleth in Me and I in him So that although Christ is in Heaven and we on Earth yet we are flesh of His flesh and bone of His bone Eph. 5. 30. 3. 16 17. 4. 15 16. Joh. 6. 57. Even as all the members of the body are quickened and directed by one soul so are we by one and the self same S-pirit So then our eating the body and drinking the blood of Christ which is not corporally but spiritually done signifies four things 1. Our believing of the passion and death of Christ 2. Our receiving remission of sins and everlasting life by faith in Him 3. Our union with Christ by His Holy Spirit which dwelleth both in Christ and us 4. The benefit of quickening by the same Holy Spirit So to eat the body and drink the blood of Christ is to believe that we through the merits of Christ are received by God into grace and favour and by the same faith we receive remission of sins and are reconciled unto God and that the Son of God that Word which was made flesh who hath Joh. 1. 14. united to Himself our humane nature which He personally took doth dwell in us and hath joyned us to Himself and His assumed humane nature by pouring upon us His Holy Spirit by which He regenerates us and restores light in us righteousness and eternal life the same which shineth in His assumed humane nature Or more briefly thus to eat the body of Christ is 1. To believe in Him 2. By faith to receive remission of sins 3. To be united unto Christ 4. To be made partaker of the life of Christ or to be conformable to Christ by His Holy Spirit which worketh the same things both in Christ and in us This our eating is our communion with Christ which the Scripture teacheth and which in this Sacrament we do profess namely our spiritual union with Christ such as is of the members with the head and of the branches with the vine This eating of His flesh Christ teacheth in John 6. and confirmeth it by these outward signs in the Lord's Supper For in the Lord's Supper as we do eat the Bread and drink the Wine even so there as surely Christ gives to all true believers His body to eat and His blood to drink This is clearly manifested to us in the words of institution Mat. 26. 26 27 28. 1 Cor. 11. 23 24 25. And this promise is repeated by St. Paul 1 Cor. 10. 16 17. The cup of blessing which we bless is it not the communion of the blood of Christ The bread which we break is it not the communion of the body of Christ For we being many are one bread and one body for we are all partakers of that one bread To explain this briefly It is called the cup of blessing or of giving thanks because it is received to this end that we should give thanks to Christ for His death and passion for us or that we should use it so as to put us in mind of Christ's benefits towards us and for these to give Him thanks Communion of the blood of Christ Communion is a participation of a common thing the Communion of the body and blood of Christ is by faith to be made partakers of Christ and all His benefits the same Spirit being in us which is in Christ and working the same thing in us which he doth in Christ It is a spiritual communion which believers have with Christ as members with the head and as branches with the vine For the Bread and Wine are the Communion that is the sign and testimony of our Communion with Christ This Communion as the Apostle there said consisteth in this that we being many are one body This makes against the corporal eating of the Papists in this Sacrament for our communion with Christ is only by faith and by the Holy Ghost Christ is the common head His benefits are common and communicated to all His members Hence also it follows that the members are common among themselves whence should flow mutual love and amity The Papists to uphold their Transubstantiation do say that we must take the words litterally and so immediately after the words of consecration at the last syllable of the last word that the Bread is transubstantiated or changed into the very body of Christ and the Wine into His blood But this is a Sacramental speech of Christ This is my body As St. Austin to that general rule about Sacramental actions adds this instance of eating the body of Christ This is a certain way said he of finding out whether such a phrase or speech be proper or figurative that whatsoever in Divine Word or holy Scriptures cannot be done by honest and good manners nor be properly referred to the truth of our faith we must know it to be a figurative speech And shortly after instances in that place Vnless ye eat the flesh of the Son of man Joh. 6. 53. and drink His blood ye have no life in you Doth our Saviour here command such a nefarious act to have the Jews fall upon Him kill and â—ley Him to eat His flesh and drink His blood No it is a figurative speech there Christ commands them to communicate with the passion and sufferings of the Lord and most sweetly to lay it up in remembrance that for us His body and flesh was crucified and wounded So also this is a figurative speech when our Saviour speaks of the Bread This is my body and of the Cup This is my blood This Cup is the New Testament in My blood where the
even so must we be and that in all the faculties and powers of our souls and in all the members of our bodies Let us therefore have holy and heavenly thoughts holy and gracious speeches Let our speeches be always gracious Col. 4. 6. seasoned with salt with the salt of wisdom and discretion that it may Eph. 4. 29. minister Grace unto the hearers that others may be edified and bless God for our holy and religious speeches and discourses And let our affections be set upon heaven Col. 3. 2. Phill. 3. 20. and heavenly things and our conversation be in heaven but the word here rendered conversation is in Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a City holding forth thus much that we are Burgesses Citizens free-Denizens of Heaven and therefore it is the property as well as the glory of all holy persons true believers to whom only Heaven belongeth to live in this world as if they were in Heaven already Sith God when we Eph. 2. 5 6. were dead in sins hath quickned us together with Christ and hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus The meaning is thus there is a most strict union between Christ our glorious Head and us His members that which is done to the Head is done and belongeth to all the members therefore the members of Christ's body in right and in virtue of the infallible cause and in certainty and assurance of faith are already raised up and glorified and at the appointed time shall really and effectually be so Thus as members of so blessed an Head in Heaven let us so live in this world as if we were in Heaven already bending all our thoughts and desires all our speeches and actions that way having heavenly thoughts when we are about our earthly and worldly employments And so walk in that way which is called the way of holiness that holiness to the Isai 35. 8. Zeâ—h 14. 20. Lord may be written both on our hearts and foreheads for the Lord hath called us not unto uncleanness but unto holiness that God may establish our hearts unblameable 1 Thess 4. 7. 3. 13. in holiness before Him That our holiness may not be like the righteousness of the Israelites as a morning-cloud and as the early dew that passeth Hos 6. 4. away therefore God threatned them That they should be as a morning-cloud and as the early dew that passeth away as the chaff that is driven with a whirlwind Hos 13. 3. out of the floore and as the smoak out of the Chimney that is they should not be stedfast or established but quickly dispersed and brought to nothing But let us walk as becometh holiness Titus 2. 3. how much soever holiness is slighted and derided by the prophane ungodly wretches of this world yet strive we to go on perfecting holiness in the fear of 2 Cor. 7. 1. God For without holiness no man shall Heb. 12. 14. see the Lord that is to his comfort So that yeilding our members servants Rom. 6. 19 22. to righteousness unto holiness we may have our fruit unto holiness and the end everlasting life To sum up this last briefly Hath God quickned us together with Christ and hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ That is not only so hath done spoken in the Preterperfect tense for the Future tense that He will assuredly do it or that it is as sure as if it were already done for that we do believe But this expression signifieth something more that as we are mystical members of the body of Christ quickned and raised up together with Him and made to sit together in heavenly places in Him How then should we have raised thoughts sanctified affections and a holy and heavenly conversation being cloathed with the long white robes of the Imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ the Sun of Righteousness to have the Moon Rev. 12. 1. which is in the lowest Orb that is all these sublunary and lower earthly things under our feet Therefore what manner of persons ought we to be in all holy conversation and Godliness looking for and hastning unto the coming of the day of God c. And sith we look for such things to be diligent that we 2 Pet. 3. 11 12 14 may be found of Him in peace without spot and blameless Wherefore as we are thus partakers Heb. 3. 1 2. 14. of the holy and heavenly calling let us consider the Apostle and great High Priest of our profession even Jesus the Son of God 6. 20. who as our forerunner is for us entered into the heavens and is gone to prepare a place for us so will He come again and Joh. 17. 17. 19. receive us unto Himself that where He is there we may be also that we may for ever behold the glory which His Father and our Father hath given Him Who when He was here upon earth prayed to His Father to sanctifie us through His truth his word is truth And for our sakes did he sanctifie himself that we also might be sanctified through the truth For both he that sanctifieth and they who Heb. 2. 11 are sanctified are all of one therefore he is not ashamed to call us brethren For our sake did he sanctifie himself the meaning is though He was perfectly holy and sanctified in His humane nature wherein for us He did accomplish all righteousness and all manner of holiness He did consecrate Himself to the death of the Cross to cleanse us from all our sins and to procure for us the gift of the Holy Ghost to regenerate us in a holy and permanent newness of life We are Gods house the Temple â—eb 3. 6. God's house under the Law was overlaid within with pure Gold Let us especially look to our hearts our inward parts and strive to cleanse our 2 Cor. 7. 1. selves from all filthiness of the spirit as well as of the flesh For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts murders adulteries Mat. 15. 19 â—0 c. These are the things which defile a man Oh these heart-wickednesses The heart is as a cage full of unclean birds The heart of man is deceitful Rev. 18. 2. above all things desperately Jer. 17. 9. wicked who can know it Let us give our hearts to God as He Prov. 23. 26. commands us For the Lord searcheth the heart and tryeth the reins and hath 1 Chron. 29. 17. pleasure in uprightness God is the great heart-maker He must be the heart-mender Go to God in these or the like expressions and pray O create in me a clean heart O Psal 51. 10. God and renew a right spirit within me Let my heart be perfect with Thee 1 Kin. 8. 61. that I may walk before Thee in truth in righteousness and in
reference to the Soul our duty is to arm our selves against the fear of death as not thinking on the paâ—gs of death which Christ hath sweetned and sanctified to all His but upon that blessed estate that is enjoyed after death And look upon death not as it is seâ— forth in the Law so it is a curse but as it is set forth in the Gospel so it is an entrance into Heaven consider also what God hath promised to the death of the Rev. 14. 13. righteous Blessed are they that die in the Lord for they rest from their labours and their works follow them As we die in the Lord both our Bodies and Souls are really joyned to Christ as it is expressed in the Covenant of Grace and though death make a separation of soul and body yet neither of them are sever'd from Christ our mystical union and conjunction with Christ our Head endures for ever c. God as He Isa 43. 2. is present with us in our sickness so especially will He be with us at our Death when the holy Angels are especially also present with us ready to carry the soul into heaven 2. In reference to the body our duty is To seek to preserve life to recover health as by Diet Physick that is such lawful means and worthy instruments called thereunto and this God requires of us to do 3. Concerning our Neighbour our duty is Reconciliation where any difference is forgiving all men and desiring to be forgiven by them serting our Families in order making our Will which indeed much rather should be in the time of our best health 1 Kings 2. 2. 1 Chron. 28. 9. Gen. 18 19. charging those of our Family to learn believe and obey the true Religion c. Thus let us strive to honour God dying as well as living Now Secondly of the second part 2dly bâ—haviâ—â— Death which is a right behaviour and disposition in Death which is a religious and holy behaviour especially towards God when we are nearer the agonie and pangs of death This religious behaviour contains Three especial duties 1. To Dye in or by Faith relying on Gods special love and mercy iâ— Christ As the Israelites stung with the Num. 21. 8 9. fiery Serpents looked to the brazen Serpent and were cured So we when we find death to draw near and his fiery sting to sting and pierce our hearts then let us fix the eye of a true and lively Faith upon Jesus Christ the true brazen Serpent lifted up and crucifi'd upon the Cross for our sins and for mine in particular and so by death we shall Joh. 3. 14 15 never perish but have everlasting life 2dly To dye in obedience to God As we must live in obedience to God's Cammandments so must we dye be ready willing to go out of the world whensoever God calls us and that withour murmuring or repining Imitating our blessed Saviour who said Father not my will but Thy will be Mat. 26. 39. done 3dly The last duty is To resign and render up our Souls into the hands of God as the most faithful keeper So did our Saviour in the very pangs of death when the dissolution of soul Luk. 23. 46. and body drew on He said Father into Thy hands I commit My Spirit and so gave up the Ghost So Stephen when he Acts 7. 59. was ston'd to death said Lord Jesus receive my spirit And so being dead Joh. 11. 11. Acts 7. 60. 1 Thes 4. 13. sob 7. 21. we are said to sleep which is by a Synechdoche part for the whole For the body only lyes in the earth Now I shall sleep in the dust that is my body only Let us then not fear death Christ hath taken away the sting of it from all true believers He hath sweetned it unto us and made it only a passage to our Fathers house And I saw the dead small and great stand before God that is all without exception shall personally appear before God and come to Judgment of what degree rank estate or condition soever whether Emperours Kings Princes or Beggars then there will be no distinction of persons we must all nakedly appear before this Tribunal we must all appear before the Judgment-Seat of Christ That every 2 Cor. 5. 10. one may receive the things done in his body according to that he hath done whether it be good or bad Observe the placing of the words small and great the small are put before the great to shew that there will be then no distinction of persons as I said before but all must promiscuously appear before God Then the high and great wicked ones who here through the pride of their countenance will not seek after God God was not in Psal 10. 4. all their thoughts except to swear by His Name or to curse God dam me but rather they think on their father Joh. 8. 44. Psal 2. 3. Jer. 5. 5. the Devil whose works they do and drink healths to him and wish the Devil take them so running on in the practice of all wickedness that no cords or bonds will hold them They altogether break the yoke and burst the bonds All Laws both Divine and Humane they trample under foot But then when the holy Angels shall most powerfully gather together from all quarters of the Earth and Sea all men and set them before the Judg even Jesus Christ from whose faâ—e the heaven Rev. 20. 11. 6. 14 15. 16. and the earth do â—ly away c. denoting the terror and Majesty of the Judg Himself when there shall be such a conclusion of all things Then those high ruffing Gallants will strive to hide themselves in Caves and Rocks of the mountains and cry to the mountains and rocks to fall on them and hide them from the face of Him that setteth upon the Throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. But all in vain for there is no hiding-place but all must appear and Heb. 4. 13. that before Him before whom all things are naked and open and so must be judged according to their works Which brings us to the Second Head that is Judgment I need not prove that there shall be 2. Judgment a Judgment although there are several reasons for it besides the dictates of our own Consciences it is an Article of our Faith And many places both in the Old and also in the New-Testament confirm it For brevity sake I will only cite the Texts and leave them to be read out of the Bible Read Dan. 7. 9 10. Jude 14. 15. Christ's Sermon in Matthew 24 25 Chapters Acts 17. 31. and 1 Thes 4. 16. Heb. â— 27. Now next to speak what this last Judgment is In the end of the world Christ the What is this Judgment Judg shall descend from Heaven in the Clouds in the Glory and Majesty of His Father with His holy Angels and all men shall