in their Children It was one of the forest afflictions that almost ever any Saint of God met withal in his Children this affliction of Aaron at this time That two of his Sons and as I told you the last day renowned men in Israel newly consecrated to the Office of Priesthood that the very first day they came to offer in their Office they were struck before all the people with Fire from Heaven and were consumed Oh what a sad affliction was it to Aaron their Father when he saw his Sons in such a manner destroyed by God Himself Consider of this you that have Children and are ready to murmur and complain of every little affliction that is upon you in respect of your Children If so be that your Children be but a little sick or there be any miscarriage of them you think it is a heavy hand of God But especially if God take away your Children by death then you mourn and will not be comforted Yea but though God have taken away your Children by death yea perhaps it may be by a violent death as being drowned c. yet they have not been strucken with Fire from Heaven by God and they have not been of such publick use These here were renowned men and taken away in their very sin too your Children which have gone upon their lawful imployments and God hath taken away their lives there is no such cause of murmuring here but when God takes away Children in their sins and in such a way as by Fire from Heaven thus God took away Aarons Children and he was as dear to God as you are And yet thus God deals with his Saints with Aaron in regard of his Children and with his elder Children and with two of them together This Example may be enough to still and quiet the hearts of men and women that are afflicted in respect of any calamity that befals their Children You see what a hand of God is against the very Children of Aaron A further Note is this That Gods Judgments we see sometimes though the effect of them be visible yet they come in an invisible way For you shal find if you reade on in this story That they were smote with fire from Heaven but it did not appear what fire for it did not so much as consume their cloathes not their bodies but went through all and struck them dead and no body could tell how Gods judgments do come in a way that is invisible if it had been in a visible flame of fire all would have seen it and it would have burnt their cloaths or their bodies but you shall find in the 5. verse That they were carried away from the Sanctuary in their cloaths they were not burnt Another Note is this That though the lives of men be dear and precious to God yet they are not so precious as his Glory The Glory of his Name is a thousand thousand times more dear unto God than the lives of thousand thousands of People the lives of Nadab and Abihu must go that God may be Sanctified If it comes so in the way as I may so say the lives of men and the Sanctifying of Gods Name the Glory of God must pass on and must have its course let the lives of men go which way they will We think much to have the lives of men taken away but if we know what the Glory of God meant and what infinite reason there is that God should be glorified we would not think it much that the lives of never so many men should go for the Glory of God 'T is mercy that our lives have not gone many times for Gods Glory How often might God have glorified Himself in taking away our lives We have cause to bless Him that our lives have been preserved so long as they have Again Note That the neerer any men are unto God the more they had need take heed that they glorifie Him for they must expect to be spared the less if they sin against Him Nadab and Abihu the Priests of God and they came neer to God yet by their transgression though I told you We do not find in any place of Scripture directly in words that this Fire is forbidden but they should have gathered Gods mind by consequence And therefore by the way I only Note That we must not think to urge upon men in all things strict commands in very words but if it be commanded so as we may draw it by any consequence it 's a command as now here for the Negative they had not a Negative prohibition in words yet they had it by Consequence So for the Affirmative though we have not the Affirmative in express words yet if we may have it by consequence it is an Affirmative as well as the Negative when we have it by consequence But now the Note of Observation is That the neerer any comes to God if they sin against Him they must not expect to be spared Do not think that God will spare you the more because you are Professors of Religion or because you do often worship him I suppose you that are acquainted with Scripture know that place in Amos 3. 2. You only have I known of all the families of the Earth therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities Another Note is this That when a judgment is exemplary then we should have recourse to the Word of God to see how God doth make his Word good in that judgment So Moses doth This is that which the Lord hath said Do you see any remarkable hand of God in the execution of a judgment upon one have recourse to Gods Word and presently begin to think this What is there in Gods Word against that sin that this man hath been guilty of If you see a judgment of God upon a Drunkard remember the threats in the Word of God against Drunkenness and so the judgments of God upon unclean Persons Swearers Sabbath-breakers Lyars or any Prophane and ungodly persons have recourse to the judgments of God threatned in the Word against such and so likewise concerning Scorners and Opposers of Religion remember what is said in the Word of God against such and so learn to sanctifie Gods Name We might have mentioned some particular threats of God against particular sinners for the helping of you that when you see exemplary judgments to have recourse to the Word of God But we let that pass A further Note from this story is this That the great honor that God intends to his Name It is the making of his Name Holy I wil be Sanctified in them that draw nigh me and before all the people I will be glorified As Moses should say in Gods Name I must and will have glory from the people And how By making my Name appear to be Holy this is the glory that I stand upon above all other things that my Name may appear to be Holy that I may appear to be
didest or shalt commit I am preswaded if people that have rested upon duties heretofore would but seriously have this thought in their minds That I must rest upon nothing for my acceptation for life and salvation but that that must have such worth in it as to satisfie God for all my sins that ever have been committed or shall be committed this would take them off for ever from resting in duties Yea and it must be such as must be the object of the Infinite holiness of God to take content in Surely the duties that we perform are no such duties to rest upon the truth is If we would seriously consider what they are at they come from us we would even abhor our selves in dust and ashes and account of them as the Prophet speaks of his own righteousness as menstruous cloathes they are such as if God should deal with us as justly he may do he might cast them and us to the dogs for they are as the Prophet saith torn and rent sacrifices now if a man in the time of the Law should bring to the Lord a Sacrifice that was all torn and rent before he brought it would such a sacrifice have been accepted All the duties we preform as they come from us they are such we reade in Exod. 22. 31. concerning such things as were torn and rent that they should cast them to the dogs Ye shall be holy men unto me saith he verse ult neither shall ye eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field ye shall cast it to the dogs because ye are holy men unto me Must the People of Israel manifest their holiness in this That they must eat nothing torn by beasts but cast it unto dogs Or was the holiness of the People of Israel such as God required them that they must eat nothing that was torn by beasts What then is the holiness of the infinite God Our services that we perform are of themselves such as are torn by our beastly lusts many times How many are there that bring Sacrifices to God that are as Carrion that Swine have been tearing beforehand and yet these are the Sacrifices that they bring to God and not only think that God should accept of them but they do rest upon them for their acceptation to eternal life How infinitely are these people mistaken how little do they know of God or of the way of acceptation to eternal life That is the first Use Secondly If all this be required for the Sanctifying of Gods Name in Duties that we cannot perform the Duties of Worship without this behavior of Soul Hence we see that the work of Religion is a hard and difficult work to flesh and blood A main work of Religion is the work of worshiping of God for indeed those that are not Religious and Godly they never worship God to any purpose then we come to worship God when we begin to be Religious and godly Now it must needs be a busie work to be a religious and a godly man because there is so much required in the Sanctifying of Gods Name in holy duties Many people think it a very easie matter to worship God and the worship that they tender up to God is an easie matter there is little in it If it were nothing else to worship God but meerly to go and say a few Prayers and come and hear a Sermon and take a piece of Bread and Wine then it were the easiest matter in the world to come and worship God but there is more required in the Duties of Gods Worship than thou hast been acquainted with there is a power of godliness in it That Text of Scripture is a very famous one that shews the difficulty that there is in the Worship of God and how men are mistaken in thinking it such an easie and slight matter to worship God it is in Josh 24. 16. 19. where Joshua doth call upon the people to worship God and they came off presently and said They would worship him so you shall find them profess verse 16. But mark what the Text saith in verse 19. And Joshua said unto the People Ye cannot serve the Lord for he is an holy God he is a jealous God and he will not forgive your transgressions and your sins As if he should say You think it is nothing to serve the Lord and that it is an easie matter to serve him you think to put off God with any thing Alas you cannot serve the Lord for he is a holy God and is a jealous God and you must have other manner of hearts than yet you have and you must understand his Worship in another manner than yet you do The Lord will be sanctified in those that draw nigh him and therefore until you understand God and his waies and Worship you cannot serve the Lord. Know that the work of Religion is a very hard and difficult work for it requireth all this and therefore the soul had need to be very diligent and laborious that would come to Worship God in a right way Thirdly Hence it is an Use of humiliation to us all even to the best of us Oh how little how little hath the best of us all sanctified the Name of God! how far have we all come short of the sanctifying of Gods Name in holy Duties And when we look abroad in the world and see what poor service God hath generally from the Men and Women of the Earth it should make our hearts bleed within us Where almost is the man or woman that according to that text in Isaiah stirs up himself to take hold on God And I verily beleeve that in the opening of this Point Of Sanctifying of the Name of God in holy Duties that I have been in the bosoms of as many as in the opening of any Point whatsoever and as many may have cause to lay their hands upon their hearts and say Certainly I have come short of what is required here and have not been acquainted with this way this mystery of Godliness Of Sanctifying of Gods Name in holy Duties as I ought to be Oh be humbled for this for all the uncleaness of your hearts in the performance of holy duties Exod. 27. 4 5. you reade that at the Altar where the Sacrifices were to be offered the Lord required that there should be a grate made Thou shalt make for it meaning the Altar a grate of net-work of brass and upon the net shalt thou make four brasen rings in the four corners thereof and thou shalt put it under the compass of the Altar beneath that the net may be even to the middest of the Altar There was as it were a grate for the ashes of the Altar to go thorow As you have grates in your fires to make them burn cleer and for the ashes to fall down so the Lord would have such a grate for the ashes of the Altar to fall down We had need of such a
say there is more in this Sacrament to break the heart for sin than such a sight as that You will say If you should haue Christ to be crucified again before your eyes if you should see the body of Christ hanging upon the Cross and there behold him crucified and hearing of him cry out My God my God why hast thou forsaken me you would think if your hearts did not break for sin then that they were desperately hard know every time that thou hast come to receive the Sacrament thou hast come to see such a sight and it is as great an aggravation of the hardness of thy heart if it hath not broken at this sight as it would be if it should not break at that sight We reade in Gal. 3. 1. of Pauls speaking of the preaching of the Gospel he saith that Christ was crucified before those that did hear the word and foolish Galatians who hath bewitched you that you should not obey the truth before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth crucified among you he doth not mean that Christ was crucified in Galatia but that where the word was preached he was evidently set forth and crucified among them but now my brethren the crucifying of Christ in the Word is not such a real evident and sensible setting forth of Christ crucified as when he is set forth in this Sacrament and t is that which works with more efficacie to break the heart than that other sight and the reason that I give is this Because you do never find that God did set that apart as an Ordinance an institution appointed to that end that they should come to look upon that for the breaking of there hearts there was indeed a naturalness in it that if they did behold Christ it might break there hearts but it was not such an Ordinance it was not a Sacrament as this is now this being in a Sacramental way in the use of an Ordinance appointed by Jesus Christ to set forth his sufferings and al the riches of the Covenant of grace to the soul there may be expected here a further blessing than in the other though it 's true the other might work mightily upon the heart but yet this being a great ordinance of Christ in the Church a great institution of Jesus Christ for the setting out of his sufferings it hath a more special blessing that goes along with it every Ordinance hath a promise and a more special blessing than any other thing that is not an Ordinance So when you come here to behold Christ crucified before you you cannot see Christ naturally crucified as upon the Cross but you have Christ crucified before you in the way of a Sacrament in the way of a solemn institution of Jesus Christ that hath a special blessing which goes along with it therfore if the heart be not broken here there is an aggravation of the hardness of the heart as great as if we should behold Jesus Christ upon the Cross and our hearts not broken there and indeed this is a special reason why those are said to be guilty of the body and blood of Christ that receive unworthily as if a man had been then alive and had been before the Cross and there have seen how the blood of Jesus Christ was shed for sin and should not have been affected with it but should have accounted it as a common thing this man in some regard might have been said to be guilty of His death that is to have joyned and consented with those that 〈◊〉 crucifie Him for if a man sees another commit a sin if he 〈◊〉 affected with that sin and it does not stir his heart he may come to be partaker of his sin so that those that come to see Jesus Christ crucified and have not their hearts at all stir'd with the crucifying of Christ they are in som regard truly said to be guilty of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ And that 's the second thing brokenness of spirit is sutable to the light of a broken Christ 3. The Third thing that is here to be done in the Sanctifying of Gods Name is the purging and clensing of the heart from sin and actuall clensing and purging the heart from sin there ought to be The Jews in there Passover were to cast out all leaven and those that were of the custom of the Jews say that they were wont to do three things in the casting out of their Leaven 1. they made diligent search for Leaven they lighted Candles to look into every corner lest there should be any bit of Leaven left in the house 2. When they found it they cast it out 3. They used an execration they did curse themselves if they should willingly keep any leaven in the house So my brethren when we come to partake of this holy Ordinance there should be a diligent inquisition for sin for sin in Scripture is compared to leaven thou shouldest make a diligent search what sin there is in thy heart in any of the faculties of thy soul what sin there is in thy thoughts in thy conscience in thy understanding in thy will in any of thy affections what sin there hath been in thy life what family sins what personall sins thou shouldest make a diligent search to see whether there be not some leaven some evil in thy heart and what ever sin thou shalt come to find out in thy heart there must be a casting of it out that is thy soul must be set against it to apose it with all thy might what ever beloved sin whatever gainfull sin whatsoever become of thee thy soul must renounce that sin of thine yea and in a kind of execration of thy life that 's thus Lord as ever I expect to receive any good by this Body and Blood of Christ that I come now to receive so Lord here I profess against every sin that I have found out in my heart I desire to find out all and profess against all and renouuce all and would do to the uttermost that I am able for delivering of my soul fully from every known or beloved sin Oh that there might not be any remaining in my heart this must be the disposition of the soul coming hither and it must needs be thus or else we cannot sanctifie Gods Name because there is nothing more sutable than this disposition unto the receiving of the Sacrament for we come here to profess That we do acknowledg that sin did cost so much as it did that it cost the Blood of the Son of God now this cannot chuse but cause the heart to renonnce sin If indeed I do beleeve that sin hath cost the Blood of Christ that it cost him so deer as it did that it did trouble Heaven and Earth that there must be such a mighty wonderful way of satisfaction to God for my sin committed against him Certainly sin hath a dreadful evil in it Oh let me
to those that I now do communicate with for it is the neerest Communion that possible can be in this world between one Creature and another and this is the reason why there should be that Ordinance of Christ set up every where to cast out those that are unworthy because it is the greatest union and Communion that possibly can be for it is the Sacrament and Communion of the same body they are the same Members of Christ Now if thou doest not think such an one to be a Member of Christ why doest not thou do what thou canst to have him cast out but so long as thou hast done nothing in private to him or in telling the Church thou doest own him to be a Member of Jesus Christ if thou doest so take heed how thy heart be estranged from him take heed how thou behavest thy self to them take heed how thou livest in a jarring and a contentious way with them and holdest them off at staves end or walking at a distance from them though they be never so poor and mean know that thou doest prophane this holy Ordinance every time thou comest to it when thou comest with such an heart as this is if thou dost not find this renewed love Lord there began to be a strangeness between me and those that have communicated with me but Lord thou art pleased to vouchsafe us to come once more to this Ordinance and Lord here we do profess that this Ordinance shall unite our hearts together more than ever they were I will study to do what good possibly I can to my brother that as we joyn here to the feast of the Lord with comfort so we may live together in peace love as it becomes the Saints of God and the Members of the Body of Jesus Christ Oh how far are people from any such work of God as this is The Lord expects this should be in you every time you come to the holy Communion Here hath been Nine particulars now mentioned for the sanctifying of the Name of God when we come to partake of the Sacrament but O Lord what cause have we to lay our hands upon our hearts for if this be to sanctifie thy Name then it hath been a riddle a mysterie to us Certainly my brethren these things are the Truths of God which I have delivered and so fare as you have been wanting in any of these know so far you have taken Gods Name in vain is this holy Ordinance you have not been worthy receivers of this Sacrament you have cause to look back to your former waies and spend much humiliation for your sin herein and not to be so greedy of it as some are they must have the Communion but I put it to your consciences Have you repented you for the profaning of Gods Name And that 's that we should further have spoken of That God will be sanctified that 's thus If we do not sanctifie Gods Name it will quite turn to the contrary it is the proper end of the Sacrament to seal up our salvation but if we sanctifie not Gods Name it will seal up our condemnation if it hath not been thy endeavor to sanctifie the Name of God so many times as thou hast received the Sacrament so many seals hast thou upon thee for the sealing up of thy condemnation But yet for thy comfort while thou art alive it is possible that these sels may be broken open as we reade in the Revelations that John saw the Book that had seven seals upon it and none could be found that was able to open it at length the Lamb that was slain he was found worthy to open the Book So I say thy condemnation is sealed up with many seals and there is no creature that is able to conceal these seals only the Lamb Jesus Christ yea that Christ whose blood thou hast shed and been guilty of only he is worthy and he is willing to open these seals for as it was with those that did crucifie Christ yet they were saved by the same blood that thay had shed as in Acts 2. So though thou hast been guilty of shedding the blood of Christ again and again by thy prophane coming to the Sacrament yet know seeing there is life in thee and the day of Grace is continued it is possible that thy soul may be sav'd by that blood that thou hast crucified Oh how many are cut off that have thus prophaned the Name of God in this Sacrament and never came to understand this danger they are cut off and now are undone for ever then bless God that thou art alive to hear more about this Sacrament and how Gods Name should be sanctified that thou art alive and hast time to repent the of this great evil of prophaning the Name of God in this holy Sacrament SERMON XIII Leviticus 10. 3. I will be Sanctified in them that come nigh me THere is one thing more about the Sanctifying the Name of God in the Sacrament which cleerly concerns us and that is To keep the Institution of the Sacrament for this is such a Worship of God as depends meerly upon institution that is upon a positive Law upon the wil of God There are some duties of Worship which are natural that we may know by the light of nature they are due to God but the Sacrament is a duty of worship that is only by institution and if God had not revealed it we had not been bound to it therefore in these duties of institution God stands very punctual upon them we must be very exact neither to err on the right hand nor the left to make any alteration in the points of Institution Now therefore for the Institution of this Sacrament we find it in divers of the Evangelists in Matth. 26. 26. there you shall find that Christ and his Disciples they eat the Sacrament together and this was the way of it They were together sitting at the same Table so it is called the Table of the Lord sometimes in Scripture therefore that 's the first thing that is according to the institution that those that do communicate must come to the Table as neer as they can as many as can sit about it and all to come as neer as they can and the reason is Because that otherwise you will not be able to attain the end why God should have you come to receive the end is to remember the death of Christ now except pou be able to see the Sight to see what is done to have your eye as well as your ear exercised you do not fully accomplish the end that is appointed for this is a Sacrament that doth present to our eyes the death of Christ and the great mysteries of salvation and therefore it is according to the institution that every Communicant must be where he may behold what is done he must be where he may see the breaking of the Bread and the powring forth of the