House but he propounds some End for so doing otherwise 't is an irrational Enterprise The skilful Archer shoots not at random but the Mark is in his Eye The skilful Pilot propounds to himself the wished Haven as his End and all his endeavour tends thither Every one incoming to the Ordinance propounds one End or other but if thou propound a wrong End take what pains thou wilt thou wilt like the Pharisees Mat. 6.1,2 c. lose thy Reward if thou perform with them a Commanded Duty and aim not at God's Glory but thy own thou must look a Reward elsewhere and not from God The Papists as they Corrupt this Sacrament in leaving the Institution and making Additions and detractions of their own devising which never came into the mind of God so they pervert it to wrong Ends to further their own Hellish designs as to Murder Kings blow up Parliaments Massacree Protestants and conceal their Hellish Plots c. and many others I fear come with base low and unworthy Ends to this Sacrament Custom brings some shame others fear of the Law a third sort c. and coming in their sin with unprepared Hearts and vicious Lives They make the Table of the Lord the Table of Devils as the Apostle complains and instead of Sealing the Covenant with God they Seal a Covenant with the Devil to remain his Slaves and have the Curse of God and their own Damnation under Seal Now the Principal End which Christians should aim at is God's Glory in the Remembrance of the Death of Christ 1 Cor. 11.24.26 Do this saith Christ in Remembrance of me By eating this Bread and drinking this Cup we shew the Lord's Death till he comes These Elements set apart and Sanctified to this Holy Use being thus taken we profess and in a manner Preach to others the Death of Christ and the Benefits thereby procured which is the sum of the Gospel This Sacrament is unto Christians as the Pillar of Stone Erected in the midst of Jordan by Joshua for a Memorial of the wonderful passing of Israel over Jordan or as the Pot of Manna commanded to be kept in a Memorial that Israel was forty Years fed in the Wilderness with Bread from Heaven So is this Sacrament to be Received even to the End of the World in a Memorial of Christ's Death and Bloody Passion and the Benefits procured to the Church by it And if Israel had sufficient Cause to keep the Passeover for a Memorial of their Deliverance from the Egyptian Bondage much more and greater cause have Christians to keep this Feast for a Memorial of their Deliverance from this Hellish Pharaoh the Devil and his Slavery This is one End why God left us Sacraments that whenever we did partake of them we might Remember this Deliverance and bless God for it this should put us in mind what Christ hath done for us His Life his Doctrine his Miracles his Death and Passion and the whole work of our Redemption But alas many Men when they have the Sacrament in their Mouths have the Devil in their Hearts they seldom mention God's Name except in an Oath or vain speech But these Mens damnation sleepeth not Another End is the Sealing of the Covenant between God and us as I have often mentioned God on his part ratifies it and assures us by his Seal he will make it good And we on our part Dedicate our selves to his Service and annex our Seal He promises to be our God and we promise to be his People But many are not in the Covenant and have nothing to do with the Seal for this is not a begetting Ordinance but confirming those that are begotten such as these Seal a Covenant with Death and Hell Isa 28.15 This Sacrament is like the Water of Jealousie mentioned in the Law if a Woman that drinks of it were pure it would make her fruitful if defiled it would make her Thigh to rot and her Belly to swell Another End is for the increasing Faith and other Graces 't is not for the begetting but increasing Grace and therefore pre-supposeth Grace to be there as also for the maintaining Communion with God and Love one with another they being Members of the same Body and Heirs together of the same Glory 4. Direct If thou wouldst receive the Sacrament profitably examine what it is thou standest in need of and what thou wouldst have God to give thee or do for thee for the Sacrament was Ordained to supply our wants and heal our Diseases 'T is the Souls Market day now when a Man goes unto the Market he considers what he wants and what he needs to buy Now a Christian's wants which he here comes to supply are principally in his Graces 'T is Spiritual wants Soul wants that are here supplyed if Grace be wanting there is no supply promised but if it be weak there is Food may nourish a weak Man and make him stronger but it will not give Life to a dead Carkass The Sacrament is not a begetting but a nourishing Ordinance and God gives none leave to sit at his Table but such as are his Children Who will invite a dead Man to a Feast Now though all God's Children have the Truth of Grace yet have they many defects in Grace A Child that hath Life must have Food to maintain Life and to bring him to his Maturity and full growth Now the wants we should examine before the Sacrament are either defects in Grace and decays of Grace for here is a supply to be had for both if we make a right improvement of this Ordinance Defects in Grace are often discerned by the prevailing of Corruption examine thy self well concerning the state of thy Soul cast an Eye over the several passages of thy Life and bring thy Thoughts and Words and Actions to the Rule and compare them with the Word of God hereby thou maist see what is strait what is crooked look into this Glass of the Law and thou wilt see thy own spots when thou comparest it with the Rule thou wilt see thy Deviations and wilt find where thou hast come short and where thou hast gone out of the way Make a Catalogue of thy sins especially those since thy Conversion and since thy last renenewig thy Covenant with God by this Sacrament and consider thy sins with their several aggravations and when thou seest what thou shouldst have done and what thou hast done compare the one with the other and compare the difference and see how short thou comest 't is the Direction of the Holy Ghost Jer. 3.40 Search and try your ways and turn unto the Lord. Come then to God with shame in thy Face and sorrow in thy Heart and if possible with Tears in thine Eyes confess these thy sins with their aggravations Aaron was Commanded to lay his Hands upon the Head of the Scape-Goat and confess over him all the Iniquities of the Children of Israel and all their transgressions and
the Sacrament but without Faith they cannot be laid hold upon 6. Direct Having shewed you what Preparation is necessary and also what Qualifications and how thou shouldst stand affected when thou comest to this Ordinance I shall next shew thee how to demean thy self in the very Act of Receiving For thy External behaviour or outward demeanour it should be such as is suitable to the Ordinance and to the presence of the Great God Reverent Grave Seemly and such as bespeaks Humility and self-abasing not Light and wanton and gazish but such as becomes a Guest at such a Table yet beware of such Voluntary or Superstitious Humility such as the Papists and some others use which hath no Footing in the vvord of God the surest way is to take the Scripture for our Guide But for thy Inward Carriage which is most to be regarded be sure thy Heart be not wanting for God cannot endure Heartless Service if this Instrument be not in Tune the Musitioner is bad here if any where God calls Son give me thy Heart and nothing else will serve turn but the Heart and the Heart broken and bleeding Come with the Heart humbled God cannot endure a proud Person especially in an Ordinance that hold forth that which may humble thee here is Christ Crucified and his Blood shed for thy sin thou wast the Traytor that betrayed him the Judge that Condemned him and the Executioner that put him Death and will not this work upon thee Is it nothing to have Blood lying upon thee the Blood of the Innocent the Blood of a Friend the Blood of a King yea the Blood of the Son of God What ingenious Spirit but would melt at such a Consideration Every Sacramental Action of the Minister may further thy Meditation and help thee up to Heaven in thy Contemplation When thou beholdest the Minister who stands in the place of God setting apart and Consecrating the Bread and Wine by the Word and Prayer will not this bring to thy Mind the Love of God to thy Soul Who from Eternity set apart his only Son Jesus Christ to be thy Mediator and Advocate thy Surety and thy Saviour well may it be said God so Loved the World c. May not the thoughts of this furnish thee with Heart-raising Heart-warming Meditations And when thou seest thee Bread broken and the Wine poured out doth not this Lively represent the bitter Death and bloody Passion of the Son of God Jesus Christ thy sweet Saviour and Redeemer his Body was broken his precious blood was shed for the Remission of thy sins which otherwise could not have been forgiven Ah! what a wicked thing then is sin when nothing would satisfie Divine Justice but the death of the only begotten Son of God When the Bread and Wine thus separated thus set apart from common use are held forth to thee apprehend God himself giving Christ yea Christ offering himself with all his Treasures to be thy Husband thy Surety thy Mediator and thy Saviour Ah! what Soul-refreshing thoughts may this produce Well mayst thou say with David Lord what is Man that thou art mindful of him Or rather Lord what am I that thou regardest me and hast provided such a Feast of Fat things for me with Wine on the Lees When thousands are laid aside as good as I by Nature And when thou receivest the Elements at the Ministers hand let thy Faith lay fast hold and clasp fast about the Lord Jesus Christ and take him as given by God to be thy Husband and Resolve that the Devil and all his Instruments shall never draw off thy Affections from him but thou wilt all others being forsaken prove his faithful Spouse And when thou Eatest and Drinkest the Bread and Wine let thy Faith feed upon those Spiritual dainties hereby represented upon this Nectar and Ambrosia this Bread and this Water of Life Receive him and all the Benefits of the New Covenant by Faith and in the whole Action let thy Heart Close with God Father Son and Holy Ghost and let the whole bent of thy Soul be set upon him and by such Meditations stir up thy Heart to bless God and praise him for his Mercy and to Love him above all and to vow Obedience to him and as thou lookest upon thy sin with one Eye to hate and abominate it so look upon Christ with the other to keep thee from despair as he is offered up in the Sacrament a Sacrifice to satisfie Divine Justice and beg of God humbly yet believingly that he will accept of this Sacrifice as satisfactory for thy sin and pardon what is past and give thee power against Sin for the time to come Consider also the giving and receiving of this Sacrament is a further ratification of the Covenant as I said before wherein God offers Christ and all his Benefits and promises to be thy God and the God of thy Seed And thou promisest that thou and thine will Serve the Lord. Let this strengthen thy Faith in his Promises for he will never break his word and let it strengthen thy Resolution that thou wilt never break with him then this will be to thee an Happy Ordinance 7. Direct If thou wouldst receive Benefit by the Sacrament behave thy self well after thou hast received it All thy work is not done nay most is to be done when thou hast turned thy back upon the Congregation 't is not the making a Vow but the making it good the fulfilling of it that is the most of the work 't is not the preparing for the Duty or carrying thy self well in the Act of Receiving though this be necessary that is sufficient God expects some after-work A Servant that is refresht with wholsom meat and drink ought not to be Idle nor to spend his time vainly there is a greater tye lyes upon him to diligence and pains taking So he that comes from such a Feast and is refreshed with such Dainties should be more Active Lively Quick and Disposed to Spiritual Exercises plung not thy self too suddenly into worldly business distract not thy thoughts about things here below for as in sweats 't is dangerous to cool over-suddenly So 't is here when the Affections are raised to Heaven let them not suddenly grovel upon the ground when they are heated let not the cold wind of the World suddenly benumb them And when thou dost set about Worldly business remember there is a business of greater concernment lyes upon thy Hands and therefore do all in Subordination to God Redeem some time for Divine Meditation to consider what thou hast been about and with whom thou hast had to deal Thou hast been renewing that Covenant between God and thy Soul which was made in Baptism and therefore look to it that thou make it good It is better not to Vow than to Vow and not perform Consider whether God makes good his Promise Sealed by this Sacrament if not doubtless the fault is thine own God