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A34902 Advice to communicants for necessary preparation and profitable improvement of the great and comfortable ordinance of the Lords Supper that therein true spiritual communion with Christ may be obtained, and the eternal enjoyment of God sealed / by Robert Craghead ... Craghead, Robert. 1695 (1695) Wing C6791; ESTC R32371 116,968 168

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being begun on earth we must according to the measure given aim at the celebration of the glory of this love in the manner required by himself who hath instituted this Sacrament of the Lords Supper for a memorial of his love in humbling himself unto death requiring this his death to be shewed forth until he come again and allowing his people such Communion with himself in this Ordinance as shal be to them a Seal for their eternal Enjoyment of him when he cometh again to receive them to himself The Blessings of this Ordinance are so great that it 's our mercy we have it's institution it 's several Parts the signification of each Part the Manner of acting on our part the Benefits to the believing Receiver All particularly recorded And in the words of this Text we have all these blessings summed up in our obtaining Communion with Christ for he being ours all is ours The Connexion of this verse with the words immediately proceeding is not so very obvious as the Scope will make it appear for what end the Lords Supper is here mentioned The Apostle is giving seasonable warning to these believing Corinthians now eminent for Gifts to take heed lest they fall verse 12. For which end he gives them to understand that the people of God of old were priviledged above all other People with signal testimonies of Gods peculiar favour they were under the cloud miraculously carried through the red sea did eat the same spiritual meat and drink the same spiritual drink And all these mercies by Christ the Rock that followed them Yet with many of them God was not well pleased And among other evils whereby God was provoked their early Idolatry was most provoking Therefore saith the Apostle flee from Idolatry ver 14. and proposeth this Text as an Argument against Participation with Idolaters in their idolatrous service For saith he ye have solemnly professed Christ and Communion with him in the Sacrament of his Supper and therefore must renounce all Worship that 's inconsistent with the said Profession and Communion such as the Sacrifices of the Gentiles being but Sacrifices of Devils c. And ye cannot drink of the Cup of the Lord and the Cup of Devils ver 21. Now that this Ordinance is such a solemn professed Communion with Christ he asserteth as undenyable by this interrogation is it not c. Making the Affirmative strong being such as themselves could not deny In the words we have these four things First the general nature of this holy Sacrament that is the signs of Divine Institution and the promised Blessing thereto Appertaining 2. Both the signs distinctly discribed and both to be made use of by Believers 3. The special and great benefit of Communion with Christ represented by these Symbols 4. That in order to a Believers participation of Christs Body and Blood these visible signs must be blessed and set apart for that holy use the Apostle here beginneth with the Cup where we are to consider four things First what is understood by the Cup Secondly How it 's called a Cup of Blessing Thirdly How it 's said to be the Cup which we bless Fourthly That the Cup Blessed is the Communion of the blood of Christ For the First the Cup signifieth the Wine in the Cup and the Wine representeth Christs Blood and therefore evidently a figurative speech Mat. 26. 27. And he took the Cup and gave thanks and gave it to them saying drink ye all of it for this is my blood of the New Testament c. and Luke 22. 20. This Cup is the New Testament in my blood So that by the Cup is set forth the precious blood of Christ the price of our Redemption Ephes 1. 7. In whom we have redemption through his blood and 1 Cor. 6. 20. Ye are bought with a price Secondly It 's the Cup of Blessing being indeed a Cup of Salvation full of blessings to the believing Receiver being blessed with all spiritual blessings in Christ Eph. 1. 3. The cursed made blessed the guilty made righteous Next It 's the cup of Blessings or Praises the word also signifying giving thanks for hereby the blessings of many ready to perish come upon the Redeemer who loved and gave himself for them Thirdly It 's the Cup which we bless the cup must be blessed and set apart for representing of that precious blood Therefore we find that Christ blessed it He took the cup and gave thanks the benefit of which is yet to be expected by Believers Secondly and his servants by Office who in his Name administer this Ordinance and give the Cup pray for this blessing and in his Name bless and set apart the Cup for this sacred use that it may be to the partakers by Christs blessing the Communion of his Blood which is The fourth thing to be considered The Communion of his Blood The word signifieth Common or Communicable to others giving and receiving as 1 Tim. 6. 18. willing to Communicate It 's the same word So there is giving on Christs part and receiving by the Believer which is this Communion of his Blood so the same word is translated fellowship 1 Cor. 1. 9 You are called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Believers having most intimate fellowship with Christ they in him and Christ dwelling in their hearts by Faith So the word is also translated Partaking 2 Pet 1. 4. That by these you might be partakers of the Divine nature that is to have Communion with the Divine nature and possibly it had been as safe to have translated its Communion or Fellowship as partaking for some weak people have mistaken that Expression partaking of the Divine nature and over-stretched it to whom fellowship with the Divine Nature had been more plain as the word is translated 1 John 1 3. Our fellowship is with the Father and his Son Jesus Christ The Cup here is said to be the Communion of his blood that is the Cup being blessed according to Divine Institution and made use of by the believing Receiver he partakes of the benefit of Christ's blood his Death and Purchase he hath Communion with Christ crucified his Death being for him and in his stead he is said to be crucified with Christ Gal. 2. 20 satisfying the Justice of God in and by Christ crucified and so hath the Communion of his blood The next visible sign is the Bread where these three things are to be noted first that it's bread Secondly Bread broken and Thirdly that this Bread broken is the Communion of Christs Body For the first Bread is made use of by our Redeemer as that which is necessary for preserving the life of man and therefore fit to signifie and represent the Bread of life Christ is our spiritual food his flesh meat indeed John 6 55 Secondly It 's not any bread but this bread blessed and set apart for this representation Mat. 26 26 As they were eating Jesus
16. 6. I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood Live I die for thee that thou mayest not die I am come that thou mayest have Life then the Blessing of these who were ready to perish are poured out upon the Ransomer Then as Mic. 7. 18 Who is a God like unto thee that pardoneth iniquity The deeper thy Sense of Guilt be being joyn'd with some hope of Mercy thou art in the surer way for the rich Consolations of God they that Sowe in Tears shal reap in Joy the Lord hath appointed the Garment of Praise after the spirit of Heaviness Isai 61. 3. 6 And though thou has no fear of Wrath having ground to hope that thou art Reconciled to God by the Blood of Christ Yet come humbly because thy sins are against such Streams of Mercy runing upon thee and passing by others thou knowest that thou hast never lived Suitable to the Greatness of thy Mercy never fully payed thy Vows never Glorified God in body and spirit as it became one not his own but Bought with a Price much is required of thee because much is given thee let the Sense of this go deeper in thy heart for if hope of Pardon make thy sin easie thou has cause to suspect both thy self and thy hope There are no Convictions should be more humbling than foolish requiting of the Lord and no Grief more grieving than grieving of his Spirit who minded our griefs and knew our Souls in adversities Thou will not want Matter of humbling to take with thee to the Lords Table and need of Renewed Application of that Precious Blood If thou open thine eyes to see thy way Jer. 2. 23. 7. Come humbly in the Sense of thy sin that thou mayest value the least of Mercy and the very Crumbs that fall from his Table and if such a full Cup of Consolation be not poured out to thee as to others or as at other times to thy self yet to Justifie God in thy heart not thinking thou hast hard measure not wondering if he hide his face from thee but rather wondring if it shine upon thee considering thy Provocations This true Sense of thy unworthiness will make thee think O that I may have a Cup of Salvation when I go to his Table whether it be a Cup of present Consolation or not And that thou may'st approach with some humbling sense of thy sin Consider that there must be some more deadly poison in sin than we do apprehend when no less doth expiate the guilt than that Blood which is called the Blood of God that no other Sacrifice nor Offering could avail Study O Christian to know more of the demerit of sin the greatness of the Justice of God that would accept of no other Atonement and the greatness of thy deliverance if thou art now a Believer that the weight of wrath is not come upon thee And think with thy self thou by thy sins pierced him thou brought blessed Jesus to sweat these drops of Blood thou pressed on him with the weight of thy sins until he cryeth out My GOD my GOD why hast thou forsaken me Canst thou want a humbling sense of sin and think this was for thee Canst thou yet mind it and not mourn What hateful hearts have we that are not more pierced with the piercing of Christ and a wonder if many of us find an interest in that Death wherewith we are so little concerned 2. Be Particular and Impartial in searching out the Aggravations of thy Sin from thy Youth up and when convictions arise in thy Conscience choke them not but intertain them as a Mercy until they be ripened for gracious humbling Thou may'st soon lay aside thy convictions but not so soon take them up again it may be God gave thee the mercy of many Convictions but thy love to sin has mastered them all that now thy Conscience lets thee sin with ease being seared and thy heart hardned and no wonder for many wakenings of Conscience that still end in security makes our hearts as the Iron many heats and many cools makes the Iron harder 3. But when none of thy Meditations or Convictions can soften thy heart but thou can behold thy sin and not grieve and often confess it yet canst not mourn never get thy heart poured out to God except some weight of Affliction press thee and then thou wilt pour out a prayer when the Lord is chastening thee and when thy affliction is over the pouring out of thy heart is at an end I say when nothing prevaileth with thy obdured heart yet bless God that there is a promised spirit of mourning Zech. 12. 10. They shall look upon me whom they have pierced and they shal mourn Cry to God for this help that thou may'st go to this blessed Ordinance as is expressed Jer. 50. 4. going and weeping and verse 5. joyn thy self to the Lord in a perpetual Covenant CHAP. V. Communion with Christ should be known before Partaking The fourth Inference IF that the worthy Receiver at the Lords Table obtain the Communion of his Body and Blood then Communicants are obliged to understand what that is which is called Communion with Christ before they Partake lest they be found ignorant of it when they Partake Consider then that true Communion with Christ being the happiness and honour of all who obtain it meriteth the greatest seriousness to know how sinful Mortals partake of it And though it be wonderful yet the exceeding riches of free Grace hath made it sure for Believers have the priviledge of entering into the holiest by the blood of Jesus and so obtain a more gracious nearness to God than those who remain only in the outer Court and that this may appear for the incouragement of those who still retain a value for it but fears that this fellowship is reserved wholly for a better life I shal by the help of God shew first that Believers in this life partake a peculiar and intimate fellowship with Christ Secondly It 's preparatory Antecedents whereby they are brought unto it And Thirdly Wherein it consisteth and the way how it 's enjoyed so far as God giveth to understand it I can promise the Reader no more For the First This blessed Communion with the Lord is not only Commanded both in the Old and New Testament Micah 6. 8 walk humbly with thy God Joh. 15. 4. Abide in me I in you so is made the plain Duty of the People of God to seek after it but is also promised Psal 140. 13. The upright shall dwell in thy presence Joh. 14. 23. We will come unto him and make our abode with him So that Believers may expect success to their Prayers and endeav●urs after Communion with God For faithful is he who hath promised Heb 10. 23. Secondly The near Union that is between Christ and Believers doth undeniably prove this Communion he being the Head and Believers the Body supplied in every part by the Head