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
except the Father draw him That ye may know what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us ward who 〈…〉 eve according to the working of His mighty power which He wrought in Christ when He raised Him from the dead c. Here is the exceeding greatness of Gods power and the working of His mighty power which is expressed as much in the conversion of a sinner and in working saving Faith in his heart as it was manifested in raising Christ from the dead O the great power Eph. 2. 4. 56. riches inmercy and greatness of the love of God to poor sinners And to me in especial Where-with He hath loved us even when we were dead in trespasses and sins hath quickned us together with Christ and hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus Furthermore the principal efficient cause of Faith is God the impulsive cause is His free grace by which we are elected and called the instrumental cause whereby Faith is given to us in those of ripeness of age is ordinarily the word of God Faith cometh by hearing and Rom. 10. 17. hearing by the word of God And yet not the preaching of the word alone but as it is joyned with the efficacy of the Holy Spirit For the Lord opened Acts 16. 14. the heart of Lydia that she attended to those things spoken by Paul Thâ—â—â—â—tter of our Faith which is as the obâ—ect largely is the Word of God properly the free promises of the Gospel founded upon Jesus Christ The righteousness of God Rom. 3. 22. verse 25. which is by Faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation Rom. 10. 9. through Faith in His blood If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shall believe in thine heart that God raised Him from the dead thou shalt be saved So then justifying Faith consists in these two things 1. In having a mind to know Christ 2. In having a will to rest upon Him Whosoever sees so much excellency in Christ that thereby he is drawn to embrace Him as the only Rock of Salvation that man truly believes to justification Thus far of the description of Faith the several kinds of Faith and the causes of it that we may know the nature of true justifying saving Faith Such a Faith as our Saviour here requires Oh! this precious Faith of what 2 Pet. 1. 1. absolute necessity is it Necessary to everlasting Salvation We are kept by 1 Pet. 1. â— the power of God through Faith unto salvation Believe on the Lord Jesus Acts 16. 32. Christ and thou shalt be saved Which was the answer the jaylor had of Paul when he asked What he must do to be saved Without Faith it is impossible Heb. 11. 6. verse 2. to please God by Faith the elders obtained a good report Faith causes us to apprehend those deep mysteries of salvation which by the eye of Sense we can never fathom as Trinity in Unity the Incarnation of the Son of God c. The Word is unprofitable to us if it be not mixt with Faith In the Sacrament Heb. 4. 2. we receive no more than we do believe hast thou no Faith thou reapest no fruit or benefit or comfort If thou prayest thou must pray in Faith nothing Jam. 1. 5 7. wavering else do not think to receive any thing of the Lord. Whatsoever Mark 11. 24. things ye desire when ye pray believe that ye receive them and ye shall have them So we see that Faith is of absolute necessity in all our spiritual duties Worship and Services Pray we therefore with the disciples Lord increase Lord strengthen our Faith Luk. 17. 5. Acts 15. 9. Rom. 3. 28. Gal. 2. 16. Faith it purifies the heart Aman is justified by Faith We are justified before God only by Faith in Christ i. e. by Christs righteousness imputed to us by God and received and laid hold on by us with a lively Faith As Faith justifies it also quickeneth The righteousness of God Rom. 1. 17. is revealed from faith to faith as it is written the just shall live by faith Faith is the means of obtaining and professing a spiritual life From faith to saith that is to say more and more according as Faith increases and grows stronger so it doeth more and more enjoy the benefit of this righteousness of Christ imputed Labour therefore to be strong in faith Abraham being strong in faith gave Rom. 4. 20. glory to God The stronger in Faith the more glory mayest thou bring to God They which be of faith are blessed Gal. 3. 9. with faithful Abraham Our faith must be a working faith Faith worketh by Gal. 5. 6. love It shews it self by the fruits of a new-life which are comprehended under the love of God and our neighbour 1 Thess 1. 3. We read of the work of faith our faith must not be a dead and idle faith but a lively and working faith shewing it self by its fruits and effects Jaâ—m 2. 18. verse 20. Shew me thy faith by thy works faith without works is dead There can be no justifying and saving faith separate from good works for he who truly doth good works hath a lively faith which is the root and spring of them and good works are proper perpetual and inseparable from a true and lively faith So we must reconcile those two places of Scripture which seem contrary to each other in Jam. 2. 24. Ye see then that by works a man is justified and not by faith onely and Rom. 3. 28 We conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law the meaning is thus We are justified before God only by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ but our good works which are the true fruits of saving lively faith declare us to be just before men Let us therefore be fruitful in every good Câ—â—â— 1. 10. Coll. 2. 7. 2 Thess 1. 3. Heb. 10. 22. 2 Pet. 1. 1. Jude 20. Rom. 3. 22. Rev. 14. 12. work and be stablished in the faith let our faith grow exceedingly that we may have that full assurance of faith This faith as it is a precious faith as we said before so it is a most holy faith It is called the faith of God Rom. 3. and the faith of Jesus Christ where the object is put for the subject And in our spiritual armour above all we are Eph. 6. 16. bid to take the shield of faith whereby we shall be able to quench the fiery darts of the Devil Now a shield is an instrument of War made for defence to award and keep off the blows of an enemy such a shield is faith to bear off and beat back the sierce temptations of Satan whom we must resist being sted fast in the faith 1 Pet. 5. 9.
punishment did grow from the fall of our first Parents The punishment of sin which we now speak of is the wrath and curse of God by whose just sentence man is delivered over for his sin into the power both of bodily and spiritual â—eath begun here and to be accomâ—lished hereafter Bodily death is the separation of the â—ul from the body with all personal â—iseries and evils that attend thereon â—â— make way thereunto Spiritual death is the final separation â—f both soul and body from God together with spiritual bondage and all â—re-runners of damnation Or more particularly All the misery â—f man God in this one word Death â—â—th comprehended In the day thou Gen. 2. 17. â—â—est of the tree of knowledg of good and â—â—il thou shalt dye There are four degrees of death 1. There is a spiritual death which a privation of spiritual life whereby man is destitute of saving Grace and â— lives only unto sin So Christ of the â—hurch of Sardis I know thy works Rev. 3. â— â—ou hast a name that thou livest but thou â—t dead 2. The second degree is of afflictions â—d miseries So Pharaoh said to Moses â—d Aaron Pray ye to the Lord that He Exod. 10. 17. â—ay remove from me this death only 3. Corporal death which is a privaâ—on of natural life and a resolution of the body into dust and returning oâ— the soul again unto God Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was and Eccles 12. 7. the spirit unto God that gave it 4. The fourth degree is everlasting death or the state of the damned Rev. 21. 8. which in respect of corporal death â—â— called the second death But it is the third of these corporal death which â—â— here meant Spiritual death hath three degrees 1. When a man who is alive in regard of corporal or temporal death lies dead in sins She that liveth in pleasures is dead while she liveth And this 1 Tim. 5. 6. is the case of all men by nature whâ— are children of wrath and dead in sinâ— Eph. 2. 1. and trespasses 2. The second degree is the very end of this life when the body is to be layed in the earth and the soul descendâ— to the place of torment 3. The third degree is in the day oâ— Judgment when the body and soul meâ—â— again and go both to the place of the damned there to be tormented for ever and ever But now we are to speak of temporaâ— or corporal death which is a punishment inflicted on man for sin Deatâ— passed upon all men for that all have Rom. 5. 12. â—inned This death is a miserable priâ—ation of life And yet this death is not so properly as by Gods appointment â—ut from God as revenging on Sin and so properly it is from Sin as the meritorious and procuring cause of it And so this death is not only a simple and a bare privation of life but joyned with a subjection unto misery Therefore it is not an annihilation of the Sinner because the subject of misery being â—aken away then misery it self should be â—aken away also Now sith we must all dye let us labour Heb. 9. 27. to dye well To dye well two things are requisite 1. A preparation 1. Preparation before death before death 2. A right behaviour and disposition in death 1. The preparation unto death is an action of a repentant Sinner whereby he makes himself â—it and ready to dye That which we can do but once how careful should we be to do it well sith there is no place after for amending of errours therein committed This preparation is a duty very necessary to which we are bound by God's Commandment Therefore we are bid to watch and pray As death leaves us so judgment finds us as the tree falleth so Eccles 11. 3. it lyeth This preparation is twofold 1 General 1. General preparation for death 2. Particular 1 General to prepare our selves to dye through the whole course of our life for we know not neither the time of our death nor the place of our death nor the manner how whether of a sudden death or of a lingring sickness Therefore all the days of my Job 14. 14. appointed time will I wait till my change shall come The best Art of living well is to learn the Art of dying well Balaam would dye the death of the righteous Numb 23. 10. and that his latter end might be like to his but he did not care to live the life of the righteous I protest by our rejoycing which I have in Christ Jesus our 1 Cor. 15. 31. Lord said St. Paul I dye daily That is in preparation for it meditation upon it and expectation of it This will keep us humble and further our daily repentance and help us to be contented in every condition and make us watchful over our selves to fly and avoid Sin careful to grow in Grace and to be frequent in Prayer to God that He would teach us so to number Psal 90. 12. our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom For if we would live for ever we must begin to live that blessed and everlasting life here before we dye to live the life of Grace here which is the life of Glory begun We all with open face beholding as in a 2 Cor. 3. 18. glass the glory of the Lord are changed into the same image from glory to glory aâ— by the spirit of the Lord that is we by faith contemplating the glorious light of God's mercy truth power c. by which means we are made like unto Hiâ— in the glory of holiness and newness of life by the Spirit of regeneration which hath its progresses in this life until such time as it cometh to its perfection in the life everlasting â— Of particular preparation before 2. Particular preparation â—oâ— death death this contains three duties 1. Concerning God 2. Our selves 3. Our Neighbour â— Concerning God to seek to be reconciled to Him in Jesus Christ This reconciliation is had by renewing our former faith and repentance To see and acknowledg that Visitation of sickness from God's hand and usually it is for sin 1. Therefore make we a new examination of our hearts and â—am 3. 3â— lives search and try our ways and turn again to the Lord. 2. Confess we our sins to the Lord and He will forgive the iniquity of our sins If we confess our sins He is saithful and just to forgive 1 Psal 32. 5. Joh. 1. 9. us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness 3. Pray earnestly unto God with sighs and groans of the Spirit for pardon of sin and that God would assure us of it and that He is reconciled to us in Christ Jesus our Surety 2. Concerning our duties to our selves and that 1. In reference to the Soul 2. In reference to the Body 1. In
that hideous cry Art thou come to torment us before the time This terrible fire these hideous torments prepared for the Devil and his Angels all wicked Mat. 25. 41. men must enter into and remain in and and that for ever Oh that dreadful word Eternity never never to have end The damned might think themselves some ways mitigated to endure these horrible pains and extremest horrors more millions of years than there be sands on the Sea-shore or stars in the firmament c. they would still comfort themselves with thinking that their misery will once have an end But alas this amazing word Never will rend their heart in pieces with much rage and hideous roaring and give still new-life to those insufferable pains and sorrows which infinitely exceed all expression or imagination There are in Hell both Corporal and Spiritual plagues and torments The punishment of loss and the punishment of sense 1. The pain of loss the privation of Gods glorious presence and eternal separation from those everlasting joys happiness and blessedness in Heaven which is a most unutterable and inexpressible torment 2. The pain of sense the extremity exquisiteness and perpetuity thereof no tongue can possibly express or heart of man conceive It doth not only exceed with an incomparable disproportion all possibility of patience and resistance but also even ability to bear it And yet notwithstanding it must of necessity be born so long as God is God They shall weep to see how that weeping it self can nothing prevail yea in weeping they shall weep more tears than there is water in the Sea for the water of the Sea is finite but the weeping of the reprobates shall be infinite Their Consciences shall ever sting them like an Adder when they think how God used all means for their Salvation how Christ wooed them by His Ministers to be reconciled unto God 2 Cor. 5. 20. offering them freely remission of sins and the Kingdom of Heaven if they would but believe and repent and how easily they might have obtained mercy in those dayes and yet they suffered the Devil and the World and their unruly lusts to lull them asleep and keep them still in impenitency and unbelief and how the day of mercy and grace is now past and will never dawn again Oh that men and women would timely and seriously think hereupon that they may never come into this place of torment to lye as it were in fire and brimstone kept in the highest flame by the unquenchable wrath of God and that for ever Where they shall have nothing about them but darkness and horror wailing and wringing of hands desparate yellings and gnashing of teeth Their old companions in sin and vanity cursing them with much rage and bitterness wicked Devils insulting over them with Hellish cruelty and scorn the never-dying worm of conscience feeding upon their Soul and flesh for ever and ever the smoak of their Rev. 14. 11. torments ascending also to all eternity This is the estate of the reprobates in Hell this is the second death the general perfect fulness of all cursedness and misery 4. Come we to the last head mentioned 4 Heaven Heaven When Christ by His Almighty power and Ministry of His Angels hath cast the Devils and all the reprobates into hell the righteous Psal 58. 10. shall rejoyce to see the vengeance and glorifie God in the confusion of His enemies and have cause then to say Verily there is a reward for the righteous verse 11. verily there is a God that judgeth in the earth Then the elect shall be by Christ carried up into Heaven and put in possession of His glorious Kingdom where they shall be unspeakably and everlastingly blessed and glorious in 1 Cor. 13. 10 12. Body and Soul Being freed from all imperfections and infirmities yea from such graces as imply imperfection as Faith Hope Repentance c. and endued with perfect Wisdom and Holiness possessed with all those rivers of pleasures Psal 16. 11. Rev. 3. 21. 2 Tim. 4. 8. 2 Pet. 3. 13. Psal 17. 16. 1 Thess 4. 17. Heb. 12. 22. which are at Gods right hand seated as Princes in thrones of Majesty Crowned with crowns of glory possessing the new-heaven and new-earth wherein dwelleth righteousness beholding and being filled with the fruition and enjoyment of the glorious presence of God and of the Lamb Jesus Christ in the company of innumerable Angels and holy Saints c. The efficient cause of this eternal blessed life generally is the whole Trinity But especially the Lord Jesus Christ who by His merits hath obtained it for us and by His effectual Power gives it unto us Hence He is called the eternal Father or rather the Father Isa 9. 6. of Eternity And the Lord our righteousness Jer. 23. 6. And He also calls Himself metonimically I am the life John 14. 6. This eternal happiness shall be clearly seen by our freedom from all evil both of sin and suffering and by the variety greatness and eternity of all joys and happiness God shall wipe away all tears from our eyes and there shall be Rev. 21. 4. no more death neither sorrow nor crying neither shall there be any more pain for the former things are passed away The variety of those Heavenly joys may farther appear and be seen in these following particulars 1. In the glorification of the whole man both Body and Soul 2. In the pleasantness and sweetness of those Heavenly mansions 3. In the blessed Society of the Angels and Saints 4. But above all in our communion with God To insist briefly upon these The variety of Heavenly joys appear 1. In the glorification of our whole man 1. Our bodies shall be endued with impassibility that is never capable to suffer more with nimbleness and agility with subtility and clearness shining as the light and as the Dan. 12. 3. brightness of the firmament and as the stars for ever and ever and fashioned like to Christs glorious body 2. Our Phil. 3. 21. Souls shall be far more perfect then shall we have understanding without error light without darkness wisdom without ignorance reason without obscurity memory without forgetfulness c. 2. The pleasantness and sweetness of these Heavenly mansions was shadowed by the temple of Solomon and the New-Jerusalem Glorious things are spoken Revel 20. 10 to 27. Psal 87. 3. of thee O thou city of God 3. The blessed Society of Saints and Angels we shall not only have a communion Mat 22. 30. Luk. 28. 36. with them but we shall be as Angels 4. The communion we shall have with God shall be such as we shall see Him without end love Him for ever and praise Him without weariness In Psal 16. 11. whose presence is fulness of joy and at whose right-hand are pleasures for evermore God so of His gracious good will distributeth glory that none shall have cause of