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
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
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
the pleasing of your flesh that you should be thereby stupefied to a regardlesnesse of your soul. The luscious fare which the world affords cloys the mind of man and spoils his appetite and puts him out of relish with his own most proper food This is the undoing of the most they are so full of the creature if not in their hands yet in their hearts that they have no mind nor room to entertain any thing of God there Every man breathing finds himself a needy creature that cannot live upon himself but must have something from without brought in to give him satisfaction but then the misery is they think their wants are all of that nature that things here below may supply them The poor think there is nothing they need so much as better food and raiment more plenty and ease and esteem in the world and they who abound in these things because they see others excell them think they want such and such greater Estates and Dignities to make them happy Though they find after all their attainments that still they are restlesse discontented and wanting something else they scarce know what which might convince them that it is onely from God they can receive satisfaction by having their natures perfected with those graces which may fit them for that communion with him in love and delight wherein the soul of man can onely find rest and contentment This I say they might learn from those restlesse infinite desires of their own hearts if they would but heedfully attend to the nature thereof but being more cruell to themselves than any parent to his child when the soul calls for bread they give it a stone endeavouring to put it off with those things that concern the body alone whilst that within them which is most needy still remains so and is suffered to pine and starve As if an hungry man should fill his mouth with meat and let nothing down into his stomach Whilst you are fondly endeavouring to quiet your minds and accomplish your selves with any thing that is without your souls be it riches pleasures honours friends and all the accommodations of the outward man which the world most dotes upon you are as verily besotted and deceived as he that thinks to ease a violent pain at his heart with putting on a rich Suit of Clothes or to supply the want of enlivening blood and spirits by painting his face Your necessities and diseases are deep and inward your very souls are out of order and nothing in the world will doe you any good but what gets within you and changes your apprehensions desires and affections and makes you quite other persons than now you are Wherefore I would beg you to fix this truth deep into your minds That since you are become poor and naked through the losse of Gods image which was the riches and beauty of the reasonable creature it 's never like to be well with you till you be again restored to his image which is by being brought to the knowledge and love of him to an universall submission and exact conformity to his will 3. And when you are brought to this knowledge of your wants and the nature of them then consider well that it is by Jesus Christ alone that you can be satisfied and supplied The Law was given by Moses but by him comes grace and truth 1 Joh. 1.17 He is the Mediatour through whom and for whose sake we receive from God whatever our souls stand in need of He by his death hath purchast all things necessary for our salvation he is ascended on high and hath received gifts for his people As King and Head of his Church he communicates to his members those graces that by his death and intercession he hath obtained for them and they are replenisht with the fulnesse of him who filleth all in all And then you are to take notice that Christ hath appointed duties to be performed by us and set up Ordinances which we are diligently to attend upon and by his Spirit accompanying them he conveys grace to the hearts of those that are conscionable in the use of these means Such are hearkning to and meditating upon the word Joh. 17.17 Sanctifie them by thy truth thy word is truth 1 Pet. 2.2 As new born babes desire the sincere milk of the word that you may grow thereby And prayer to the Father in his name Joh. 14.13 Luke 11.13 How much more will your heavenly Father give the Spirit to those that ask him Jam. 1.5 If any man lack wisdome let him ask of God who gives to all men liberally and upbraideth not and it shall be given him Such also is the Sacrament of Baptisme being duly improved Gal. 3.27 For as many of you as have been Baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Rom. 6.3 4. 1 Pet. 3.21 And lastly this receiving of the Lords Supper which is our feeding upon Christ who is the Paschal Lamb sacrificed for us and herein to believers in a spirituall sense is afforded a communion of the body and blood of Christ as we may find in the Apostles words before mentioned And when you have but arrived to a sence of your own indigence and Christs fulnesse suitable thereto there will necessarily arise in you desires after a participation of that fulnesse which will bring you to and prepare you for those Ordinances wherein these desires may be gratified Lastly I would advise you to beware of ever entertaining a conceit that you are become so full now that you need nothing for that 's a plain sign you are poor and know it not Your stomachs are filled with wind instead of solid meat And whilst you are puft up with this self-conceit you will be hindred from seeking after what you really want He that thinks his Barns full when they are empty may through this mistake first lie in idlenesse and after come to beggary He that dreams of such a perfection as makes all helps Christ hath appointed needlesse to him neither knows himself nor considers what a God he hath to serve nor what a Law he hath given him to walk by It 's much to be feared that he who thinks he hath grace enough hath yet got no saving grace at all He that knows enough is very ignorant he that 's humble enough is still exceeding proud and so of the rest For he that hath tasted that the Lord is gracious longs after fuller communion with him He that drinks of the water Christ gives though his sickly thirst after creatures will be cured yet will such a thirst after more of Christ arise in him as will never be quencht till he be drencht into the ocean of grace and joy Wherefore study thy self study the duty of this whole present state wherein we are enjoyn'd to grow in grace and learn hence so much humility so much wisdome as to own thy necessities and not go about to cover them for they will not always be
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
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
he brings whilst they will have none of him or them on the terms that God propoundeth No no it is onely the broken-healed heart the humble raised soul that can be feelingly and affectionately thankfull to God for a Saviour who hath wrought so great works for them and in them and laid up such great provisions for the time to come They that were lost but are found they that were dead but are alive in these will their heavenly Father take pleasure and these will rejoyce in his love and return praise to him who sent his Son to seek and save that which was lost To bring men into such a state and frame that they may be disposed and enabled from an inward sense of his goodnesse to render such thanks to the Father of mercies as may be well-pleasing to him I should onely onely need to repeat what was before laid down to bring them to accept of Christ which when once they are brought to and arrived to any hopes of their acceptance with God through him then both in heart and voice with their lips and lives will they adore and praise him who called them out of darknesse into his marvellous light Wherefore study well your many and great necessities which Christ alone can supply Consider to what miseries by sin you stand exposed from which he alone can keep you Remember what he did and suffered how low he condescended for the sake of man and remember your own utter unworthinesse that ever the least love or regard should have been manifested to you and yet consider what great things are done for you into how good a state matters are brought what abundant blessings are freely bestowed on the humble and believing what rich and precious promises are made them what mercies are given for this life and that to come grace and glory and whatever is good for men nothing is withheld from them Let but the consideration of all the rich and precious priviledges which Christ gives to his servants sink into thy soul and then thou wilt find it even impossible not to magnifie the author and purchaser of such gifts nor wilt thou be able to refrain from expressions of thy gratitude and love and therefore maist worthily come to the Sacrament there to exercise and expresse those holy affections CHAP. X. VI. It must produce an holy love to Saints HE that rightly remembers the Death of Christ and and well considers the infinite love herein shewn to mankind cannot but be thereby wrought to an hearty love to all his fellow Christians And that 's the last qualification I shall mention necessary for all Communicants and which flows from their remembrance of Christ to wit that they be in charity with all men and have an especiall endeared love to all true Christians both those that communicate with them and others To this great duty of brotherly love we have the most forcible engagement that ever could be imagined by the example of our blessed Lord laying down his life for us and his behaviour at death even praying for his persecutors doth sufficiently tell us how we ought to behave our selves towards our bitterest adversaries We see then what a spirit we shall have wrought in us by a right remembrance of our dying Saviour not onely toward our friends but our enemies themselves As for that love that ought to be amongst all true Christians we find this is the new Command that he hath inculcated upon us and obliged us to by the great example of his unparalell'd love that we also should love one another Joh. 15.12 13. 1 Joh. 3.16 And this he hath made the very badge of his true disciples whereby they should be known from the rest of the world Joh. 13.34 35. And one particular end of our meeting together at the Lords Table is to testifie and strengthen our mutuall love This we shew by our eating and drinking together which is the custome of friends and this is one reason why this Sacrament is called the Communion in that Christians have here the most endearing fellowship with each other For hereby is not onely represented their union with Christ their Head and their spirituall communion with him but that nearnesse of relation they have amongst themselves being mystically united into one Body whereof Christ is the Head 1 Cor. 10.17 For we being many are one bread and one body for we are all partakers of that one bread Each Christian is so related to and joyned with the other that they go to the making up of one body as the severall grains compacted together make one bread and by their joynt participation of this one bread they declare themselves to be but one body the Children of one Father living in one Family and feeding at the same Table upon the very same food even upon Christ himself who is the true bread that came down from heaven and upon their being united to Christ as Head is founded this their so near and intimate relation to each other to be Fellow-members of the same body as they that have the same Soveraign are fellow Subjects they that have the same Parents are brethren And by their feeding on this Sacramentall food and Christ himself therein from whom the whole body being fitly joyned together makes increase unto the edifying of it self in love Eph. 4.15 16. having here a communion with him which fills and acts them with the same Spirit hereby I say they receive a farther bond and disposition to the greatest unity of hearts and affections So that we are especially engaged before our attendance upon this Ordinance to go our way and be reconciled to our brother The leaven of malice amongst all other wickednesse is to be purged out when we keep this Feast 1 Cor. 5.7 8. And indeed we shall find this the generall sense of people that they ought to be in charity with their neighbours before they come to the Sacrament whilst they discover too little sense of the necessity of other graces that are equally needful yea whilst they remain destitute of this very charity it self which they acknowledge to be so necessary for alas they are not so easily brought to the practice of their duty as to acknowledge and commend it For the plain truth is none can rise up to this excellent temper of spirit wherein one half of our Religion consists but he who is engrafted into Christ and transformed into his likenesse by the spirit of love which may dâ—rect those who are yet void hereof what course to take for the attainment of the same namely to get united to Christ by a living faith and fervent love whereby they shall find kindled in their breasts a new affection to all that doe with them love the Lord Jesus For certainly it is not enough for us that we have no malice in our hearts against any nor wish them any hurt this is a poor description of Christian charity and may be found in a Turk
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