remitteth Sins and Trespasses unto another as concerning the Pardoning of the Private Offence Q. Whether is Remission of Sins freely given A. Albeit God remitteth not our Sins unto us except a most sufficient Price or Punishment be first paid for them yet he remitteth them freely unto us for Christ's sake Q. But Christ did Merit Remission therefore Remission is not Free A. It was God's Free Grace to give Christ unto us and therefore whatsoever cometh by Christ cometh freely Q. For what is Remission of Sins given A. Besides the Free Mercy of God Remission of Sins is granted by the Vertue Passion and Intercession of Christ Behold the Lamb of God that taketh Joh. 1. 29. away the sins of the world Christ hath once suffered for our sins 1 Pet. 3. 18. the just for the unjust that he might bring us to God The blood of Christ cleanseth us from 1 Joh. 1. 7. all sin It pleased the Father that in Christ Col. 1. 19 20. should all fulness dwell and by him to reconcile all things to himself and to set at peace through the blood of his cross both the things in earth and things in heaven Ye are come to Jesus the Mediator of Heb. 12. 24. the New-Testament and to the blood of sprinkling that speaketh better things than that of Abel By Christ we have redemption through Eph. 1. 7. his â—â—ood even the forgiveness of sins Q. How could it stand with the Iustice of God to punish Christ for us A. Christ was willing to be punished for our Sins yea he offered himself freely for us Walk in love as Christ hath loved us Eph. 5. 2. and hath given himself for us to be an offering and a sacrifice of a sweet-smelling savour to God Christ loved the Church and gave himself Chap. 5. 25. for it that he might sanctifie it He gave himself for us that he might Tit. 2. 14. redeem us from all iniquity Q. Doth not Christ as well deliver us from the Punishment as the Guilt of Sin A. Yes as plainly appeareth And therefore what Judgments are executed upon the Elect after Justification are not properly Punishments but Fatherly Corrections and of Love Being justified by faith we have peace Rom. 5. 1. with God Even Jesus which delivered us from â— Thes 1. 10. wrath to come The END of the Catechism A Preparatory SERMON For the Worthy Receiving of the Holy Sacrament OF THE Lord's Supper As it was Preach'd in SERJEANTS-INN-CHAPPEL IN Fleet-street London By JAMES CLIFFORD M. A. Chaplain to the Honourable SOCIETY Psal xxvi 6. I will wash mine hands in innocency O Lord and compass thine Altar LONDON Printed for J. Deacon at the Angel in Gilt-spur-street without Newgate 1694. And are to be Sold by the Booksellers of London and Westminster A PRAYER PRevent us O Lord in all our doings with thy most gracious favour and further us with thy continual help that in all our works begun continued and ended in thee we may glorifie thy holy Name and finally by thy mercy obtain everlasting life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let us pray for the whole State of Christ's Catholick Church dispers'd over the face of the whole Earth That it may please God to govern it universally in the right way Let us pray for the Lord 's Anointed King WILLIAM and Queen MARY of England Scotland France and Ireland Defenders of the Faith c. For Catherine the Queen Dowager Princess Anne of Denmark and all the Royal Family Let us pray for all the Lords of Their Majesties most Honourable Privy Council all the Nobility Judges Gentry and Commons of this Land * If Sitting more-especially for the Honourable High Court of Parliament now assembled Les us pray for the whole Body of the Clergy whether Archbishops Bishops or other inferiour Priests and Deacons And for a Supply of their Mortality water with the Dew of thy Blessing the Two Famous Universities Oxford and Cambridge and especially for this Honourable Society of Law and Equity Lastly O Lord we return unto thee for a Blessing upon our selves here met together O Lord be present both with Speaker and Hearer bless me O Lord that am to speak bless these thy People that are to hear open unto me the Door of Utterance that I may deliver thy Word plainly powerfully and profitably open we pray thee not only the Ears but the Hearts of these thy People that they may receive the Word not as the Word of sinful Men but as the Word of thee the ever Living God which is able to save their Souls Grant good God that they may hear it attentively conceive it readily apply it wisely lay it up in their Memories faithfully meditate and practice it in their Lives and Conversations conscionably so that it may prove to none of us the savour of Death unto Death but unto every Soul here present the savour of Life unto Life that hereby our Understandings may be enlightned our Hearts purified our Consciences pacified our sinful Lives reformed and our precious Souls eternally saved at the Day of the Lord Jesus These and all other needful Mercies we beg at thy hands for the sake and worthiness of Jesus Christ the Righteous the Son of thy Love in whom thou art well pleased in whose Name and Words we call upon thee Our Father c. 1 COR. xi 27 28 29. Whosoever shall eat this bread and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily eateth and drinketh damnation to himself not discerning the Lords body THE Apostle having declared the true Institution of the Sacrament and the right End to be observed in the Celebration of it viz. The perpetual Commemoration of Christ's Death in the fore-going Words In the next place he shew the great Danger Men run into by an undue and unworthy Participation of this Ordinance They commit a great Sin which draws upon them great Judgments both Temporal and Eternal unless by a diligent Examination of themselves the Sin be prevented and the Punishment warded off In these Words we have I. The Sin of Unworthy Receiving Ver. 27. II. The Means to avoid this Sin Ver. 28. which is careful Examination of one's self before the Sacrament III. The Punishment which they Ver. 29. incurr who Commit the Sin and Neglect the Means and that is Judgment or Damnation First Here 's the Sin of Unworthy Ver. 27. Receiving laid down Whoso shall eat this bread and drink the cup of the Lord unworthily shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 1. In which Words we may take notice 1. Of the Sin it self 2. Of the Quality of this Sin First Here 's the Sin it self Unworthy Receiving There 's a Twofold Unworthiness 1. Of
Adam all die By the offence of one the fault came on Rom. 5. 18. all men to condemnation By one mans disobedience many were Ver. 19. made sinners Q. Is Original Corruption found in every one equally A. Yes it is for that which is born of Natural Generation is nothing but Corruption For as St. John saith That which is born of flesh is flesh Joh. 3. 6. Q. Doth this Corruption of Nature break forth and shew it self equally and in all Men alike A. No Though Original Corruption be found equally and alike in all Men naturally yet doth God for the Good of Humane Society limit Man's Corruption and restrain Man from notorious Crimes y their Natural Temper by Fear of Shame and Punishment Desire of Honour and Reward and such like Q. Now what is Actual Sin A. It is a Fruit of Original Corruption and it is a Particular and Actual Breach of God's Law For out of the heart come evil thoughts Mat. 15. 19. murders adulteries fornications thefts and such like When lust hath conceived it bringeth Jam. 1. 15. forth sin Q. How is Actual Sin distinguished A. Into Inward and Outward It is either the Inward Faculties of the Soul as the Mind or Will and Affections or in the Outward Members of the Body Q. What is the Actual Sin of the Mind Will and Affections A. It is the evil Thought or Intent of the Mind which comes either by the Conceiving of the Mind it self or by Satan's Suggestion The Lord saw that the wickedness of Gen. 6. 5. man was great in the earth and all the imaginations of his heart were only evil continually And Satan stood up against Israel and 1 Chron. â—1 1. provoked David to number Israel Also it is every Motion and Lust and Desire stirring in the Heart contrary to God's Law For the flesh lusteth against the spirit Gal. 5. 17. and the spirit against the flesh and these are contrary one to the other Q. What is Outward Actual Sin in the Outward Members of the Body A. It is that which is committed by the Members of the Body carrying with it the Faculties of the Soul Q. How is Actual Sin effected A. Two ways Either by Omission or Commission either by omitting that which ought to be done or by committing that Evil that is forbidden and ought not to be done whether it be inwardly in the Mind Will or Affections or outwardly in Word or Deed. Q. What is the State of Misery following the Fall of Man A. It is a continual Subjection to the Curse of God whereby Man by the just Sentence of God is continually subject and liable to God's Curse for Sin Cursed is every one that continueth not Gal. 3. 10. in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them And that in this Life both in Body and outward Estate The Lord shall make the pestilence cleave Deut. 28. 21. unto thee until he have consumed thee from off the land whither thou goest to possess it The Lord shall smite thee with a consumption Ver. 22 c. and with a fever and with an inflammation and with an extreme burning and with the sword and with blasting and with mildew and they shall pursue thee till thou perish c. And also in Soul and that with Blindness of Mind Hardness and Astonishment of Heart Horrour of Conscinece and such like And the Lord shall smite thee with Deut. 28. 28. madness and with blindness and with astonishment of heart And not only in this Life but also in the End of this Life and that is the Power of Corporal Death the Death of the Body whereby the Soul is severed from the Body And also after this Life is ended And that by Eternal Death of Body and Soul in Hell Fire called the Second Death which is a final Separation from the comfortable Presence of God the Father Son and Holy Ghost and a sense and feeling of God's Wrath in that Separation whenas it shall be said to them I never knew you Depart from me Mat. 7. 23. ye that work iniquity Depart from me into everlasting fire Chap. 25. 41. which is prepared for the devil and his angels Q. Seeing then by the just Iudgment of God we are subject both to Temporal and Eternal Punishment Is there yet any Way or Means remaining whereby we may be delivered from these Punishments and be reconciled to God A. God will have his Justice satisfied Wherefore it is necessary that we satisfie either by our selves or by another For The soul that sinneth it shall â—ie Exod. 18. 4. Q. Are we able to satisfie our selves A. Not a whit Nay rather we do every Day encrease our Debt For If thou O Lord shouldest mark our Psal 130. 3. iniquities O Lord who should stand Q. Is there any Creature which only is a Creature in Heaven or Earth able to satisfie for us A. None For first God will not punish that Sin in any other Creature which Man hath committed For The soul that sinneth it shall die Exod. 18. Neither can that which is nothing but a Creature sustain the Wrath of God against Sin and deliver others from it Who can stand before his wrath or Nah. 1. 6. who can abide in the fierceness of his wrath Q. What manner of Mediator then and Deliverer must we seek for A. Such a one verily as is very Man For since by man came death by man 1 Cor. 15. 21. came also the resurrection of the dead And perfectly Just For such an high priest it became us to Heb. 7. 26. have which is holy harmless undefiled separate from sinners Q. Wherefore is it necessary that he be very Man A. 1st That he might die and suffer the Punishment due to Sin which the Godhead could not do Forasmuch then as the children were Chap. 2. 14. partakers of flesh and blood he also himself likewise took part with them that he might destroy through death him that had the power of death that is the devil 2dly Because the Justice of God requireth that the same Humane Nature which sinned do it self likewise make Recompence for Sin The righteousness of the righteous shall Exod. 18. 20. be upon him and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself Q. Why also must he be very God A That he might by his Godhead sustain in his Flesh the burthen of God's Wrath For the Lord thy God is a consuming Deut. 4. 24. fire and a jealous God And might recover and restore unto us that Righteousness which we had lost He was wounded for our transgressions Isa 53. 5. he was broken for our iniquities the chastisement of our peace was upon him and with his stripes we are healed Yet the Lord would break him and Ver. 10. make him subject to infirmities when he shall make his soul an offering for sin
make us understand how much he detesteth Sin that so also we might detest it and withal he tameth the Rebellion of our Flesh and daily more and more teacheth us Obedience It is good for me that I was afflicted Psal 119. 71. that I might learn thy statutes 3dly God worketh in us that we should learn to pity such as be in distress for no Man hath Compassion or suffereth with another who himself hath not suffered before For We have not an high priest which cannot Heb. 4. 15. be touched with our infirmities but such an one as was in all things tempted in the like sort yet without sin 4thly By Afflictions the Lord shaketh off our Deadness and Drowsiness and doth stir us up the more earnestly to come and call upon him by fervent and hearty Prayer Call upon me in the time of thy trouble Psal 50. 15. and I will hear thee 5thly By them the Lord maketh tryal of our Faith for they do either Consume the Wicked through Impatience or else Harden them through Despair On the other side they Soften the Hearts of the Godly to make them call upon God and to trust the more upon him Blessed is the man that endureth temptation Jam. 1. 12. for when he hath been tryed he shall receive the Crown of life 6thly By Afflictions God doth call our minds away from these Earthly things that we may the more earnestly desire the Life to come Seeing then there is so many Comforts by Affliction My son despise not the chastning of the Heb. 12. 5 Lord neither faint when thou art corrected of him For whom he loveth he chasteneth 6. Q. Why is he said to be Almighty A. Because he is able to do whatsoever he will Whatsoever pleased the Lord that did Psal 135. 6. he in heaven in earth in the sea and in all the depths Yea he is able to do more than he will For I say unto you God is able of these Mat. 3. 9. stones to raise up children to Abraham Q. What Comfort is there in that God is said to be Almighty A. It strengthneth me in my Prayer to him assuring me that he can make good whatever Promises he hath made unto me in his Word Being fully assured that he which Rom. 4. 21. had promised was also able to do it And though I be weak and unable to resist mine Enemies bodily or spiritual and no way able to help or provide for my self yet my heavenly Father is of all Majesty and Power guiding and over-ruling continually Men Angels and Devils and all Creatures to serve for his own Glory and the Good of his Children Yea though I should walk through the Psal 23. 4. valley of the shadow of death I will fear none evil for thou art with me When the ways of man please the Lord Prov. 16. 7. he will make his enemies to be at peace with him Q. What is meant in saying He was Maker of Heaven and Earth A. That he formed and framed this whole World and all the Creatures that are therein only by the Power of his Word and Commandment even of Nothing By the word of the Lord were the heavens Psal 33. 6. made and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth Q. What Comfort cometh by this A. That although through Adam I had lost the Right both of Heaven and Earth and of every Creature so as I could have no Comfort in the Use of them yet through my Saviour the Second Adam since I truly Believed in him I am restored to a far better Estate being made in him a right Heir of all and all the Creatures are blessed and sanctified to me that I may have a holy Use of them For if we be children we are also Rom. 8. 17. heirs even the heirs of God and heirs annexed with Christ 2dly All the Creatures in Heaven and Earth are at league with me to help for my Good so far as may stand with his Glory For the stones of the field shall be in Job 5. 23. Hos 2. 18. 1 Cor. 3. 21. league with thee and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee Q. Declare unto me the Second Part of the Creed concerning Faith in God the Son Which is the Second Article A. And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord. Q. What is signified by that Word JESUS A. This Word signifieth a Saviour Thou shalt call his name Jesus for Mat. 1. 21. he shall call his people from their sins Q. Why is the Son of God called Jesus that is a Saviour A. Because he saveth us from all our Sins Therefore he is able also perfectly to Heb. â— 25. save them that come unto God by him Neither ought any Safety to be sought for from any other nor can elsewhere be found Neither is there salvation in any other Act. 4. 12. name â—â—der heaven whereby we must be saved I even I am the Lord and beside me Isa 43. 11. there is no saviour Q. Whom doth he save A. He saveth all and only the Elect and Believers which have been are or shall be even from the Beginning to the End of the World God so loved the world that he gave Joh. 3. 16. his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life Q. What Evils doth he deliver his Elect from A. From all Sin So the Angel testifieth He shall save his people from their Mat. 1. 21. sins The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us 1 Joh. 1. 7. from all sin And also from the Punishment of Sin For the Cause being taken away which is Sin the Effect is taken away which is Punishment Now then there is no condemnation to Rom. 8. 1. them that are in Christ Jesus I give unto them eternal life Q. How doth Christ save his Elect 1st He saveth us by his Merit or Satisfaction Because by his Obedience Passion Death and Intercession he hath merited for us Remission of Sins Reconciliation with God and Everlasting Life The blood of Jesus Christ his Son 1 Joh. 1. 7. cleanseth as from all sin By the obedience of one many shall be Rom. 5. 19. made righteous He was wounded for our transgressions Isa 53. 5. he was broken for our iniquities the chastisement of our peace was upon him and with his stripes we are healed He hath made him to be sin for us 2 Cor. 5. 21. which knew no sin that we should be made the righteousness of God in him Christ hath redeemed us from the curse Gal. 3. 13. of the law 2dly He saveth us by his Efficacy Power and Operation Because he not only obtaineth by his Meriting for us Remission of Sins and that Life which we had lost but also applieth effectually unto us by virtue of his Spirit through Faith the whole Benefit of our
sweet Sleep Peace shall come they shall rest in their Isa 57. 2. beds 3dly Death is made a Gate and Passage into Eternal Life Lazarus died and was carried by the Luk. 16. 22. Angels into Abrahams bosom 4thly By virtue of Christ's Death the Church of God and every particular Member receiveth a spiritual Death to Sin Know ye not that all ye which are baptized Rom. 6 3. into Jesus Christ have been baptized into his death We are buried with him by baptism Vâ—r. 4. into his death Q. But since that Christ died for us why must we also die A. Our Death is not a Satisfaction for our Sins but the abolishing of Sin and our passage into Life Everlasting For my desire is to be loosed and to be Phil. 1. 23. with Christ which is best of all Q. To what end was he Buried also A. That thereby he might make manifest that he was dead indeed And when they had fulfilled all things Act. 13. 29. which were written of him they put him in a sepulchre Q. What Benefit doth the Church of God receive by virtue of Christ's Burial A. By virtue of this Burial of Christ in a Garden 1. Original Sin which was committed by Adam in the Garden of Eden is satisfied for Who shall condemn It is Christ which Rom. 8. 34. is dead 2dly The Power of Death is vanquished for us Death is swallowed up of victory 1 Cor. 15. 55. 3dly Hereby Sin is more and more wasted and consumed in us Q. Shew me what is meant by Christ's descent into Hell A. Hell in Scripture is taken Three ways 1st It signifies the Grave Gen. 4â— Psal 16. 10. Luk. 16. 23. Psal 139. 3. 2dly The Place of the Damned 3dly It signifieth the Pains of Hell that is the Terrours and Torments of Soul and Conscience When the snares of death compassed me Psal 116. 3. and the grief of the grave caught me in this 3d. sence I believe it is taken in this Article Q. Did not Christ totally descend into Limbo or into the Pit of Hell according to the Opinion of many who also will all edge Scripture for it A. If Christ descended locally into Hell he descended as touching his Godhead his Soul or his Body He did not as touching his Godhead for that is every where present Nor as touching his Body for that rested in the Grave three Days Nor as touching his Soul because Christ said of his Soul Father into thy hands I commend my Luk. 23. 46. spirit Therefore the Soul of Christ after his Death was in the hands of his Father in Paradise and not in Hell Q. Seeing then Christ descended not into Hell locally what then is the true meaning of these Words Namely That Christ endured in his Humane Soul the Sense of the fierce Wrath of God due for Man's Sins partly in the Garden and partly on the Cross when he said My God! My God! Why hast thou forsaken me The which intollerable sense of God's Wrath is commonly called in Scripture by a Metaphor Grief or Pain of Hell Not because the self-same in kind for Christ was not utterly Forsaken nor eternally Damned nor Tormented in Body with that Fire wherewith the Reprobates shall be Tormented for ever But this Sense of the fierce Wrath of God is called the Sorrows of Hell or a descending into Hell because it was nothing inferiour for the time it lasted to the very Torments of Hell it self Q. How is this proved That Christ suffered in Soul as well as in Body A. It is expressly proved out of the Gospel by St. Matthew in these words And he began to wax sorrowful and Mat 26. 37. grievously troubled and said My soul is very heavy even unto death Q. What Reasons are there for the better confirming of this That Christ suffered in his Soul the Sense of the fierce Wrath of God A. 1st Because all our Sins were imputed unto Christ The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity Isa 53. 6. of us all Therefore God's Justice requireth that he should bear the Punishments that are due to Sin both Spiritual and Temporal 2dly If Christ had not suffered in Soul as well as in Body he had only redeemed our Bodies and not our Souls But it is manifest that Christ redeemed the Soul as well as the Body Ye are bought with a price therefore 1 Cor. 6. 20. glorifie God in your body and in your spirit for they are the Lord 's Therefore Christ suffered in Soul as well as in Body 2dly If Christ had neither suffered Hell Torments himself nor the Wrath of God which was proportionable to Hell Torments Then it remaineth that Hell Torments remain still to be suffered by Mankind and so by necessary consequence Christ's Redeeming of us is no perfect Redemption Q. What Benefits redounds to God's Church by virtue of Christ's descent into Hell A. 1st Deliverance from God's Wrath Being now justified by his bloud we Rom. 5. 9. shall be saved from wrath through him 2dly The Church of God is delivered from a tormenting Conscience and from the beginning of Hell Fire which the Reprobates endure even in this Life These things have I spoken to you that Joh. 16. 33. in me ye might have peace 3dly 'T is an happy Deliverance from Hell it self and from all the eternal Torments of the same There is no condemnation to those that Rom. 8. 1. are in Jesus Christ Blessed and holy is he that hath part in Rev. 20. 6. the first resurrection for on such the second death hath no power Q. What is it therefore to Believe in Christ as he descended into Hell A. It is not only to believe That Christ suffered in his Humane Soul the full Viol of God's Wrath due for Man's Sins but also That I by virtue thereof am freed from God's eternal Wrath and my Troubles of Mind hereby are abated or at the least sanctified unto me and turned to my good yea by virtue of Christ's descent into Hell my Soul is delivered from Hell it self and from all the Torments thereof and that now the Gates of Hell shall not prevail against me Q. What is the Fifth Article A. The Third Day he arose again from the Dead Q. How is it proved that Christ rose again A. Many Evidences and Proofs doth the Scripture afford St. Paul saith Christ therefore died and rose again Rom. 14. 9. and revived But now is Christ risen again from the 1 Cor. 15. 20. dead Q. After what manner do you believe that Christ rose again A. I believe That Christ did rise truly and indeed so that his Soul did truly and indeed return into his Body from which it was severed by Death and he did truly come forth even out of the Grave also 2dly That he rose the very same Body which before was dead the same Jesus Christ God and Man according to the Nature wherein he
Meditation upon Christ's Death and the Benefits thereof The Bread and Wine separated by Consecration to this holy Use should re-mind us of Christ's being fore-ordained and set a-part by God from all Eternity to the work of Man's Redemption The Breaking of the Bread and the Pouring forth of the Wine should bring to our remembrance how Christ was torn in his Body with Wounds and Stripes and toâ—tur'd in his Soul with the sense of his Father's Wrath and Indignation and that for our Sins and Transgressions When the Minister offers to thee the Bread and Wine think of Christ given to thee of God freely and freely giving himself to thee if thou wilt receive him When thou receivest and eatest those Elements think on Christ the living Bread that gives Life to thy Soul and by his Merits preserve it from Eternal Death Let thy Heart cleave unto him by Faith throw thy self into his Arms wash thy Soul in his Blood hide thy self in the Holes and Clefts of this Rock from the stormy Tempest of God's Wrath. This is the Life of this holy Sacrament without which Spiritual Applications all is but a dead and empty Ceremony Now of the Affections that must be excited and stirred up in thiâ— Ordinance 1. Our Hearts must be drawn to a firm relying and dependance upon Christ as an All-sufficient Saviour having paid the utmost Farthing and trod the Wine-press defeated all the Powers of Darkness and purchased for us a Kingdom that cannot be shaken Let not greatness and difficulty of the Work of Redemption terrifie us Christ hath finished 2. The sight of Christ Crucified should beget in us a godly Sorrow for our Sins that were the Judasses Pilates Zech. 12. 10. Jews Mourn over him 3. Thankfulness Because by Christ's Death is purchased for us the greatest Blessing that ever was Pardon Reconciliation Grace Glory 2. On our part the greatest Undesert that might be 3. Infinite Disproportion betwixt Christ and us the Just for the Unjust the Prince of Glory for Vassals of Baseness 4. Love unto Christ How should we love Christ that loved us and gave himself for us 1. A Man must Examine himself after he is come from the Sacrament to consider what Comfort and Encrease of Grace he hath received what quickning Vertue and Refreshment he hath found to flow out of Christ into his Soul Now upon such Examination a Man shall find that it hath â—een well with him at the Sacrament oâ— that it hath not and so accordingly he is to proceed First then If a Man hath found no Joy Comfort or Enlargement but upon Examination finds that he hath been unfruitful dead and dull then two things are to be done 1. Suspect thy self that thou hast been â—ailing either in thy Preparation to or Performance of the Duty Labour therefore to find out what it was that hinder'd the Efficacy of the Sacrament and be seriously humbled for it Yea if we can but be sensible of our Senselessness of Heart that holy Duty and truly mourn for it we need noâ—â—e much disheaâ—tned because this is one Fruit of the â—ife of Christ which was undoubtedly received in the Sacrament 2. Endeavour by after Pains and Humiliation to quicken and awaken tâ—e Efficacy of the Sacrament For we must know Sacraments do not always work for the present but the Efficacy may come afterwards The first Sacrament of the Supper the Disciples receiv'd it 's like they found not the Efficacy of it for the present for then they understood nothing of Christ's Death neither could it sink into their Heads that He should die but yet afterwards when they came more clearly to understand the Mysteries of Redemption and the whole â—octrine of Christ â—o question but they reaped the Benefit of that Ordinance which then they fully understood not 'T is with the Sacrament as with the Word Many a Man hears the Word and in some measure minds it but for the present it hath no Effect at all It 's possible it may work many Years after A Sermon preach'd seven Years before may prove the Means of a Man's Conversion seven Years after We have an Example in that kind All thingâ— that John spake Joh. 10. 41 42. of this man were true And many believed on him there This is written of some of John's Hearers John had preach'd Christ before They did not thereupon believe in Christ when he preach'd John was dead and gone but now when Christ comes among them they upon John's former Sermons preach'd a great while before do now believe John was dead but not his Word that works while he lies in his Grave Thus also may it be with the Sacrament it doth not always presently work it may and doth work with some a long time afterwards when a Communicant humbled for his Unprofitableness in the Duty endeavours by after-Diligence and Humility to quicken and put Life into it Though we have miscarried in our Preparations to the Sacrament and Disposition in the Sacrament yet may the Vertue Efficacy and Comfort of it be recovered by after-Diligence and after-Humiliation But if when the business is once over Men shall never look back nor reflect upon it more so as to be humbled for their Deadness Hardness and Indisposition in the Duty and have no care to make up that by after-Diligence which was wanting in the present Performance no marvel though they receive no Benefit or Advantage by it But Secondly If upon after-Examination and a Review of the Business we find that we were refreshed our Hearts comforted and enlarged that we had Vertue from and Communion with Christ 1. Let us bless God with our whole Soul for his Mercy and Goodness to us and with all thankfulness acknowledge his gracious dealing with us 2. Let us be careful to keep up and maintain that graciouâ— and holy frame of Spirit which we brought from the Sacrament Pray we as David did for the People when he saw them in a good frame of Spirit and that they offered willingly and freely towards the Building of God an House O Lord 1 Chron. 29. 18. keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people So when we find a good frame of Heart wrought in us at the Sacrament we should pray and endeavour that this frame of Heart might be still upheld and continued in us We should endeavour to keep alive as long as may be that holy fire that was kindled in our Hearts in the Use of the Sacrament It 's a great fault in us when we come from the Sacrament that we have no care to keep our Hearts in good frame by Prayer Meditation or good Conference but presently fall a discoursing about secular Business or foolish idle and unprofitable Matters This is a dangerous quenching of the Spirit and tends to the hardening of the Heart as thrusting red-hot Iron into Water makes it harder Such sudden coolings and dampings of spiritual heats got in