as these affected your hearts with a sense of your iniquities humbly betake your selves to God and lay open all before him by a free and full confession acknowledge what wretched hainouâ— sinners you are and how unworthy of the least favour and beg of him to work and increase in you that true and kindly sorrow for sin which may fit you for mercy And cease not by your good will from this confession till you finde your souls even melted within you in the apprehension of your own vilenesse but however cease not till you finde in your hearts a loathing of every sin and of your selves by reason of it And if you have but an inward sense of your sores and pollutions you will not want such words to expresse it as will be acceptable to God only see that you be sincere and let your heart make your confessions rather than your tongue Labour to be as sensible of your case as you would be if now you stood before a King whom you had offended from whom except you could beg a pardon you must presently be put to death of which pardon there was good hope if he did but perceive you to be really sorry for your fault Oh how affectionate and earnest would you be in this case and would have words at will to expresse your self How passionately would you acknowledge and bewail the offence you had committed and with what vehemence professe against ever being guilty of the like And how importunately would you beg for mercie when you saw no other way but present death if your importunitie did not prevaile Thus behave your selves towards God and believe that he stands over you now in your Closet and hearkens to your Prayers and observes whether you be heartie in them or not But remember all this while it is an inward-dislike and abhorrence of sin wherein the truth of your Repentance consists more than in bare confessing it and speaking against it with the greatest fervour these are required too but beware of taking up with these Beware I say as ever you hope for mercie of retaining any secret liking to sin or the least thoughts of continuing in it still whilst with a great deal of stir you revile it as such an abominable thing But rather if you finde in your souls a kinde of hankering after some old lust not yet thorowlie mortified betake your selves to those considerations which may bring you out of love with it as how little its like to do for you what an happinesse it doth now and will hereafter deprive you of what a miserie it leads to with other the like formerlie laid down and quit not these thoughts till you finde your selves turned against it For once again let me assure you then and never till then is your Repentance right when you are not only brought to grieve for sin but to hate it when your hearts are not only broken in the remembrance of it but are broken off from and thorowlie bent against it Though this exercise of Repentance seems most properly preparative to the work you are going about yet in such a penitent humble frame would I have you be even when you are at the Lords Table If you eat this bread and mingle the Wine with tears it will be never the worse for your souls And must it not needs affect thee to behold Christs body broken and his blood poured out here in a figure and then to think with thy self This was sin my sin even my pride and earthlinesse and all the wickednesse of my heart and life was part of that load which he bare on his own bodie on the Cross when he cried out my God my God why hast thou forsaken me Might not the Lord call to me and even shew me the Print of my many grievous sins in his hands and feet and the deep stabs they gave him and yet ungratefull wretch that I am how little have I valued this his love how little hath my heart been affected herewith where had I been and what had become of me if he had not thus undertaken for me Oh what had my sins brought upon me if he had not interpos'd and kept it off how mad and senslesse have I been in venturing upon sin harbouring and delighting in sin Sin which is so hainous a thing that without shedding of blood it will never be remitted and for which no blood but that of Christs could obtain a remission How more especially hainous then is my guilt in undervaluing this blood so much and so long as I have done How base was my heart to give entertainment to sin after I had heard what it had done against Christ and to deny entertainment to him after I had heard how much he had done for me Was his kindnesse such as to bleed for my sins and shall not I weep for them especially for the unkindnesse I have shewn to him As God never shew'd greater love to Man than in delivering up his Son for our offences so he never shew'd greater hatred of sin than by this action and therefore conformably as we ought hereby to be brought to the greatest love of God so to the deepest hatred of sin and humiliation for it But I have formerly more fully shewn how the consideration of Christs death may bring us to true Repentance and what I there spoke chiefly of a change of state may be applied to the particular exercise of Repentance wherefore I shall insist no more on this Onely let me meet with an Objection that may perhaps be in the minds of some namely That sorrow for sin at this time scarce seems consistent with that hope of mercy that joy and thankfulnesse which are chiefly required in the Communicant Know therefore that I presse no sorrow but what is a preparation to joy and doth even animate and exalt it whilst the humble Christian reflects upon his own nothingnesse and unworthinesse and thence is carried forth to the greater admiration of that mercy that hath so favourably regarded him And take notice farther that I would have the sense of Divine bounty chiefly to raise and keep up this humiliation whilst we think with our selves Oh what wretched creatures are we thus to offend so loving a Father who notwithstanding all our provocations is yet compassionate towards us and upon our return to him is so readily reconciled To retain this apprehension of love in the midst of our mournings will make them most ingenuous and even pleasant to our souls and though it will make us sincere and deep in our repentance yet it will so moderate our spirits that we shall not sorrow as those without hope and I could wish that Christians in all their sorrowings would observe this rule But then that such an ingenuous shame and sorrow as this is consistent with the greatest confidence of mercy there is not the least doubt for which to omit all further proof of a matter so plain see that very
thou dar'st not affirm either of these beware how thou mincest and lessenest thy sins when thou should'st repent of and bewail them for by so doing thou dost in effect thus blaspheme God Oh then let sin be call'd to the barre indict it for a murtherer as well thou mayst accuse it as guilty of the bloody death of the Lord of Life shew all the wounds and stabs that it gave him and see that thou pronounce sentence against it even utter death without any pity or remorse and heartily lament thy own basenesse in having so long given loving entertainment to such a monstrous murtherer and traitour And when ever thou find'st any favourable thoughts of sin arising in thy breast call to mind what it did against Christ and let that make thy heart rise against it and even boil with an holy hatred and desire of revenge And let the frequent remembrance of those streams of blood which thy sins fetcht from him open thy eyes to shed streams of tears or however work thy heart to an unfeigned sorrow for all thy iniquities for which thy Saviour was thus wounded 2. The next thing I would have have thee to enlarge thy meditations upon in the sufferings of Christ in order to the bringing of thee to a kindly repentance is that unspeakable love which is hereby manifested to the lost sons of men when I speak of Repentance I mean not meerly thy shedding of a few tears but an inward change of thy mind as I before shewed that thou should'st turn from Sin to the love of God and I know not what can be more likely to produce this than to shew thee the intolerable evil and mischief of sin that thou maist turn from it and the infinite goodnesse of God that thou maist be drawn to him Both these the Crosse of Christ most admirably holds forth so that well might the Apostle call Christ crucified the wisdome of God and the poweâ— of God 1 Cor. 1.23 24. How it shews the evil of sin to bring us to loath and leave it I have already shown and shall doe more in two following particulars That which I would now set thy thoughts upon is the inconceivable love of God in giving Christ for us and of Christ in being willing to lay down his life that as many as believe in him might not perish but have everlasting life Consider seriously how the great God hath sent after thee a poor worm the God whom thou hadst sinn'd against makes thee offers of peace the God who needs thee not yet appears desirous of thy happinesse when he might have poured out everlasting wrath upon thee he was willing to shew his compassion And see what he hath done in order to thy recovery He hath sent his own Son made of a woman made under the Law and delivered him to death for our offences and accepted of the satisfaction he hath made on the behalf of all that shall by him come to that God from whom they are faln and by his death not onely pardon of sin and deliverance from hell but a glorious Kingdome that shall never fade is purchast for all true Believers So that here 1. Thou seest plainly there is hope of pardon and acceptance upon thy hearty sorrow for and resolutions against sin And whom would not this encourage to come in freely acknowledging and protesting against their former backslidings and rebellions If indeed thou wast past hope it were as good keep thy sins while thou maist and make thy best of them But this is not yet thy case and if it hereafter should be thou maist thank thy own wilfulnesse For Jesus Christ hath brought in a better hope there is by him liberty proclaim'd to the captive freedome to all that are bound ease and rest to all that are burdened a pardon to all that are penitent And what will not this make thee stirre Is a golden Scepter held forth and wilt thou not lay hold of the opportunitie Is God willing to put up all the affronts he hath received from thee if thou wilt now come and submit thy self and will not this bring thee in Is he ready to be reconcil'd and art thou backward what dost thou rather hold off because he doth so invite and importune thee to him Because he is pleased with so much earnestnesse and compassion to call thee off from sin to himself dost thou the more securely run on in wickednesse Oh base ingratitude and meer madnesse Because there is hope of pardon discovered by the Gospel as procured by Christ therefore even therefore doe wretched sinners harden their hearts and embolden themselves to continue at a distance from God as if it was a matter of nothing to get their peace made with him or as if he must of necessity pardon and save them let them live as they list Thus vilely doe they pervert the very design of the Gospel Whereas were they ingenuous and reasonable they would acknowledge it to be a most forcible motive and engagement to cast away sin to hear that there was hopes of having forgivenesse and favour from God If a company of Subjects should rebell against their Prince what course would be more effectuall in all probability to reclaim them than to assure pardon to all that would throw down their arms But if they should be so base as to abuse the mercy of their Prince and think because he was so compassionate they might the safelier persist in their rebellion it is but just they should be destroy'd If thou love thy soul then beware how thou abusest the grace of God Wilt thou put away from thee the evil of thy doings wash thee and make the clean and so with humility and submission flie to God for mercy if so this mercy through Christ shall be assuredly thine But otherwise know there is not a word of comfort for thee in the whole Gospel nothing but what may strike thee with terrour For remember well that the death of Christ gives all the encouragement in the world to Repentance but not the least to Sin Yea it hath done more to destroy sin than all the terrours and threatnings of the Law Well then though thou art a lost sinner departed from God once without hope yet behold the God of heaven and earth takes pity on thee he would not have thee utterly perish though thou hast done so much to destroy thy self He calls thee back to him if thou wilt hearken and obey and humble thy self before him for thy departure from him and for all the dishonours done to his holy Name and wilt now at length devote thy self to his fear thou need'st not doubt of his favour So then here 's hope of mercy that may encourage all that hear it to Repentance 2. And in the next place there is so much love and goodnesse manifested in that way whereby this mercy is procured and tendered that may serve to work upon the hearts of all but flat
Infidels or bruitish sinners that will not be brought so much as once to consider of it or seriously regard it Here is love that passeth the full comprehension of Men or Angels Here are mysteries and unsearchable treasures of goodnesse Wherein could God commend his love more to the faln World than in giving his Son to die for us when we were without help And what greater love can be shewn than that which Christ hath manifested in laying down his life for his friends nay for enemies that they might be made friends for the ungodly that he might reconcile them to God Vile wretches that we are no more to be affected with this amazing discovery of divine bounty It s true indeed there are many things we are yet ignorant of which makes this love the lesse apprehended in its due dimensions Did we know more the infinite Majesty of God and our meannesse compared to him and how provoking a thing Sin is and how contrary to his nature did we know more what strange condescension there was in God's manifesting himself in flesh what bitter things our blessed Saviour endured for our sakes did we know the greatnesse of that misery he hath sav'd Believers from and of the glory he hath prepar'd for them did we clearly know these and all other heightning circumstances our admiration and astonishment would be unexpressible as it will be when they are more fully reveal'd to us But though at present we â—re much in the dark yet so much of them we know that would we duly ponder them we should even amazed cry out oh the depth of the riches of the wisdome and goodnesse of God! And what will not this prevail with thee oh back-sliding sinner to deal ingenuously and dutifully with that God who hath revealed such abundant mercies to win thee to himself when thou hadst undone thy self and the Law which thou hadst broke had past its sentence upon thee when thou mightest justly have expected the execution behold without thy seeking a gracious reprieve And more than so when thou might'st have had a Pursuivant speedily dispatcht to hurry thee to deserved torment behold a Saviour interposing to prevent thy ruine Instead of an unchangeable doom behold an Act of oblivion assuring pardon upon easie conditions Doe but deliberately weigh these things with that seriousnesse which becomes a man and see if there be nothing in them that may perswade thee to a sound repentance for sin and a speedy return to the God of love What dost thou think if thou wast a mean Tenant and hadst wilfully in some discontended fit pluckt down the House thou liv'st in so wast in danger to lie in the open fields and to be severely punisht as thou hadst deserved what now if after all this thy Landlord pitying the misery thou hadst brought thy self to should courteously come to thee and offer to build up thy House again in a more sumptuous manner than ever and set it at a lower Rent onely requiring thee to confesse thy former folly and promise to be so guilty no more but to live thy new-built House and doe thy best to keep it in repair and to accept of his help for what thou could'st not doe thy self and suppose he should even impoverish his own children through this courtesie to thee what dost thou think thou should'st now doe in this case is it any hard matter to determine would'st thou not think he dâ—served to be taken for a mad-man that should stand justifying his former offence and would not thankfully accept these courteous offers I dare say Reader if this was thy case thou art not so foolish or stubborn but thou would'st quickly resolve what to doe and this mercy and bounty of thy Landlord would even win thy heart for ever and thou would'st think thou could'st never be sufficiently thankfull for his kindnesse nor doe enough to make him amends And would indeed the gentlenesse and liberality of a man thy fellow-creature thus affect thee and shall not the loving kindnesse of God which hath appeared in Jesus Christ have much more power upon thee Dost thou not believe that our God hath done as much to engage his creatures to himself as this comes to Hath not he shewn as much pity and tendernesse to the souls of men as that would be to the body If thou doubt it look back upon the state of man and consider Gods gracious dealings with him Did not he by his own folly and disobedience cast himself out of Paradise and by wilful sin deface and even destroy the workmanship of God And yet did not God take pity on us in our blood when we were cast forth to the loathing of our persons Did not he contrive the way for our reconciliation to himself and beseech us to accept of it And doe we not read that in order to our enriching tâ—e Son of God did as it were impoverish himself and that we might be fill'd with the fulnesse of God emptied himself and became of no reputation And what an heart must that prodigall Son have who will not be affected with the kindnesse of his Father who takes care for and seeks after him when he had foolishly forsaken his Family and done what he could to put himself out of his Fathers care And is courteously entreated to return back to that comfortable â—tate and relation whence he had banisht himself and upon condition of his return sees another better estate provided for him instead of that he hath wasted and finds his arms opened to embrace him against whom he had lift up his hand Methinks if thou believ'st that God hath shewn such love to man it cannot but have some force upon thee to bring thee back again to him from whom thou hast run away and so long kept at a distance and must needs prevail with thee to cast away with grief and shame whatever is displeasing to him and doth estrange thee from him And except thou be an unreasonable Infidel thou canst not but believe it for it is plainly revealed in Gods holy Word where also we find the greatnesse of this love inculcated in Gods having regard to us and first looking after us when we took no thought for our selves how to get his favour 1 Joh. 4.10 Herein is love not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be a propitiation for our sins Rom. 5.6 8. For when we were yet without strength in due time Christ died for the ungodly God commendeth his love toward us in that whilst we were yet sinners Christ died for us And as Christ died to bring us to God so the consideration of this love should drâ—w us to him By this mercy chiefly we are engaged to offer up our selves a living sacrifice to God which is our reasonable service Judge thy self is it not most reasonable that we should give up our selves to that â—od who spared not his own Son but delivered him up for
wounded souls and are you not willing it should be applied Methinks common ingenuity should tell you that such matchlesse love as this should not be so sleighted If you was taken captive by the Turks and a dear friend should venture his own life to free you thence sure you would be willing to return with him though you might have great offers to stay behind if it was for nothing else but to gratifie your friend who had ventured so hardly for you that you might not give him cause to repent of his labour And what shall the blood of Christ be as it were spilt on the ground and have no effect on thee How hard is that rock whom this will not soften I beseech thee Reader again and again to think what Christ hath gone through to deliver thy soul from the jaws of death and then think whether it be just and reasonable that he should reurn without his errand I know I have mentioned this before but I shall not stick to inculcate it â—gaiâ— and again that it may have some force some power upon thy heart And to that end before I leave this Head let me entreat thee to imagine that thou saw'st Jesus Christ now before thee all in blood and wounds calling thee to him as he did Thomas bidding thee to thrust thy hands into his side and put thy fingers into the print of the nails and suppose thou heardest him saying to thee Look here Sinner behold these tokenâ— of my love see what I have endured on thy behalf oh be not faithlesse but believing be not perverse and obstinate but willing to come to me who have felt so much pain to procure thy ease if thou dost not wilfully refuse it Cast away those sins which have used me thus trust thy self with me who have given such costly evidences of my desire to doe thee good accept me for thy Redeemer who have paid so dear a price for thee own me for thy Lord who have thus bought thee out of slavery follow me in the way I shall shew thee that I may bring thee safe into the presence of the Father whom I have reconciled to thee Suppose I say thou should'st see Christ even covered over with his own blood importuning thee thus to forsake thy sins and accept of his grace and mercy what would'st thou say what answer would'st thou give could'st thou find in thy heart to contemn him to stop thy ears to his requests and go away without regarding him or would'st thou tell him he had not done enough to engage thee to him and that thou saw'st no reason to hearken to his offers that thy sins were more sweet and precious than grace and glory and any thing he would give could possibly be Surely thou durst not And if not then let not thy heart and practice return the same answer to me who in the name and stead of Christ beseech thee that thou wilt through him be reconciled to God Even by all those wounds which Christ suffered upon the Crosse by all those pangs and dolours which he felt in his soul by his cries and groans by his tears and blood I doe as upon my knees beseech thee to give an hearty entertainment to this Lord Jesus who was thus bruised and wounded for thy sake Oh let him in thee see the travell of his soul and be satisfied No longer cherish those lusts which resist his entrance off with thosâ— barres and bolts that have lockt him out down with those strongs holds that have stood out against him let the gates of thy heart flie open and let this King of glory come in cheerfully thankfully receive him and absolutely render up thy self to him to be disposed of as he shall think fit onely begging that thou maist be taken into the number of his Redeemed ones and be enabled to perform the duties enjoyned them and be fitted to enjoy the priviledges assured to them This is that faith in Christ which I would so fain perswade and beg thee to and that by the consideration of what thy Saviour hath endured upon this account that through faith in him thou mightest be pardoned and saved 4 Consider as what bitter things Christ underwent to purchase salvation for thee if thou reject him not so what a mâ—st reasonable câ—ndition he hath appointed thee to perform that thou mightest obtain salvation by him even thy unfeigned willingnesse to accept him for thy Redeemer and thankfully to receive the benefits which he hath purchast for thee And will not this induce thee to enter into Covenant with him when the terms there of are so fair and gracious This thy hearty consent that Christ shall perform the whole work of a Saviour to thee and for thee is the chief thing required to make thee one of his members This is the great Command of the Gospel to Believe in Jesus Christ. So that thou hast nothing to say on thy own behalf if thou should'st be found at last to have neglected this duty for tell me could'st thou have desired any thing more favourable If thou hadst been enjoyned some gâ—eat thing would'st thou not have done it much more now thou art onely required to be willing to have Christ and life with him and all shall be thine wilt thou not be brought to this But still remember the offices of Christ must not be divided nor his benefits separated He must be taken for thy Lord to rule in thy heart and govern thy life as well as for thy Saviour to keep thee from misery and thou must be as willng to feel in thy soul the power of his Crosse crucifying thy lusts as to have the merit of his Crosse procure thy pardon now thou must be brought to the love of heaven above earth if thou would'st be received thither by Christ when thou leavest the earth But yet in all this it is but the consent of thy soul which is principally required in order to the attainment of the offered mercies And would'st thou have matters brought down lower yet Would'st thou be sav'd against thy will And hal'd to heaven when thy heart is against it Or would'st thou have such kind of exceptions as these put in with the conditions of thy salvation That thou maist have liberty to trample on Christs blood and yet be wash'd in it from the guilt of sin that thou maist have leave to serve the Devil and yet receive from Christ the wages he gives his faithfull servants that thou maist be allowed to love creatures more than God and yet that God should love thee with his dearest love that thou maist live without grace and yet when thou diest be received into glory Would'st thou indeed make such terms as these if it was left to thy own choice Thou could'st not sure be so foolish so basâ—ly disingenuous If not then come in and submit to those conditions that are now offered thee than which thou canst not if thou beest well in thy wits wish
the Son would make us free he would set the captive at liberty but must he not then take off his fetters We are polluted Sin is our filth Christ is the fountain opened for our cleansing and can we be clean if we will not be purged from our filthinesse We are slaves to Satan through our lusts by which he leads us whither he will Christ would deliver us from this slavery but must he not then break these chains Sin is the spawn or seed hell is the fruit and off-spring and if the seed be permitted to grow must there not needs be the fruit And this shews how man plainly destroys him self whilst he will hug his lusts which are a Serpent in his bosome presuming that for all that they will not sting him Man by his sins had deserved everlasting wrath Christ came to save him from sin and so from wrath and if men will not believe he came to this purpose or will not improve him in order thereto must they not needs die in their sins and so abide under that wrath which was before upon them and which still follows after sin Joh. 8.24 and 3.36 Acts 4.12 Ignorance of God is one part as well as cause of mans unhappinesse and if men wilfully close their eyes that the light which Christ brings to the world can have no entrance must they not of necessity remain in darknesse Excessive love to our bodies and to the comforts of this life which we shall be stript of and want of delight in God and his holy service is the great misery of a soul and doth engage it in those strifes with it's Maker that cast men into an hell upon earth and kindle the unquenchable fire and if they will not give way to the Spirit of Christ to turn the bent and inclination of their hearts from the world to God doe they not retain their own certain misery Thus thou seest how impossible it is even in the thing it self for all rejecters of Christ to escape damnation supposing they are but continued in being and left to themselves both which Scripture assures us will befall the impenitent in the future state But know moreover to the breaking of thy heart in time thy condemnation is like to be much more heavy for thy rejecting of Christ than it would have been if he had never come into the world or had never offered mercy to thee Canst thou in thy own Conscience think that thou who hast been so importuned and begg'd by so many arguments to accept of Christ shalt escape as easily as they that never heard of him or but very darkly Shall not he that abuseth ten Talents be more severely dealt with than he who hides but one why else does Christ denounce such woes against Chorazin and Bethsaida threatning them with worse punishments than Sodom and Gomorrah was it not because they enjoy'd more mercies and greater means for Repentance Doe we not read Heb. 12.25 that they who refuse to hear the Son speaking from heaven shall much lesse escape than they who refused to hear the Prophets of old And of a sorer punishment whereof they are worthy Heb. 10.29 Though I would not have thee neglect the means whilst there is any hope yet let me tell thee it had been better for thee to have never heard one word of the way to salvation by Jesus Christ than having heard to fleight and disregard it Every Sermon thou hast heard every Book thou hast read and every exhortation thou hast had and neglected will sink thee so much the lower into hell These very lines which thou art now reading if they be not improved will without Repentance be remembred to thy smart another day Be thou well assured though God be the Father of mercies and a God of bowels yet he takes account of the mercies he affords his Creatures and takes notice how they improve them and if they be abused they shall be severely reckoned for God will not be mocked by rebellious Creatures nor shall his precious gifts be trod under feet and they that doe such things escape unpunished Above all then how will the love of Christ in dying for them make their doom more sad if they be not constrained by this love What torments can be great enough for the ingratitude and perversenesse of such If thou Reader be one of them I dare appeal to thy self whether thou deservest not for thy unbelief and impenitency greater sufferings than if Christ had never died For suppose there was a traitor who for his treason being condemned to die the Kings own Son should be content to have his right hand cut off to satisfie the Law and terrifie the people from the like guilt hereafter that he might obtain a pardon of his Father for this poor man and when he had got it should come and tell him what he had done assuring him that if he will but take him for his deliverer relinquish all his traiterous designs and become a good Subject he shall not onely have a pardon but be taken into the Court and there live in the greatest favour and honour but suppose he when he hath heard all instead of a thankfull acceptance of his pardon upon these conditions should kick at the hand that offers it and turn his back upon him with contempt asking him who wisht him to trouble himself for him nay worse than this suppose whilst the Prince is holding forth his pardon he should endeavour with a Knife that he had got to stab him to the heart would'st thou not think that such a wretch deserved the greatest tortures that could be devised And more for this his latter obstinacy than for his first treason And if thou be found guilty of the very same yea worse perfidiousnesse and ingratitude against God thy Maker and Jesus Christ thy Redeemer will not thy own Conscience conclude it most just that the heaviest judgements should be thy portion Wast thou not liable to death to all kind of misery for thy sin Did not the Son of God humble himself to take on him thy nature and then to die a most shamefull cursed death to purchase thy pardon and yet when he offers it upon condition of thy acceptance of him for thy Saviour and becoming a faithfull subject to the Soveraign Majesty thou art so farre from being brought to this that thou rather takest encouragement from this mercy held forth by Christ in the Gospel to continue in disobedience to God than which thou could'st not offer a greater injury to thy Saviour to make him as it were a patron of thy wickednesse doing far worse than they that crucified him whilst thou endeavourest quite to pervert and take away the end of his Death which was to redeem us from all iniquity and purifie unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works Tit. 2.14 And if indeed this be thy case canst thou say one word in thy own excuse why all the plagues that are
he brings whilst they will have none of him or them on the terms that God propoundeth No no it is onely the broken-healed heart the humble raised soul that can be feelingly and affectionately thankfull to God for a Saviour who hath wrought so great works for them and in them and laid up such great provisions for the time to come They that were lost but are found they that were dead but are alive in these will their heavenly Father take pleasure and these will rejoyce in his love and return praise to him who sent his Son to seek and save that which was lost To bring men into such a state and frame that they may be disposed and enabled from an inward sense of his goodnesse to render such thanks to the Father of mercies as may be well-pleasing to him I should onely onely need to repeat what was before laid down to bring them to accept of Christ which when once they are brought to and arrived to any hopes of their acceptance with God through him then both in heart and voice with their lips and lives will they adore and praise him who called them out of darknesse into his marvellous light Wherefore study well your many and great necessities which Christ alone can supply Consider to what miseries by sin you stand exposed from which he alone can keep you Remember what he did and suffered how low he condescended for the sake of man and remember your own utter unworthinesse that ever the least love or regard should have been manifested to you and yet consider what great things are done for you into how good a state matters are brought what abundant blessings are freely bestowed on the humble and believing what rich and precious promises are made them what mercies are given for this life and that to come grace and glory and whatever is good for men nothing is withheld from them Let but the consideration of all the rich and precious priviledges which Christ gives to his servants sink into thy soul and then thou wilt find it even impossible not to magnifie the author and purchaser of such gifts nor wilt thou be able to refrain from expressions of thy gratitude and love and therefore maist worthily come to the Sacrament there to exercise and expresse those holy affections CHAP. X. VI. It must produce an holy love to Saints HE that rightly remembers the Death of Christ and and well considers the infinite love herein shewn to mankind cannot but be thereby wrought to an hearty love to all his fellow Christians And that 's the last qualification I shall mention necessary for all Communicants and which flows from their remembrance of Christ to wit that they be in charity with all men and have an especiall endeared love to all true Christians both those that communicate with them and others To this great duty of brotherly love we have the most forcible engagement that ever could be imagined by the example of our blessed Lord laying down his life for us and his behaviour at death even praying for his persecutors doth sufficiently tell us how we ought to behave our selves towards our bitterest adversaries We see then what a spirit we shall have wrought in us by a right remembrance of our dying Saviour not onely toward our friends but our enemies themselves As for that love that ought to be amongst all true Christians we find this is the new Command that he hath inculcated upon us and obliged us to by the great example of his unparalell'd love that we also should love one another Joh. 15.12 13. 1 Joh. 3.16 And this he hath made the very badge of his true disciples whereby they should be known from the rest of the world Joh. 13.34 35. And one particular end of our meeting together at the Lords Table is to testifie and strengthen our mutuall love This we shew by our eating and drinking together which is the custome of friends and this is one reason why this Sacrament is called the Communion in that Christians have here the most endearing fellowship with each other For hereby is not onely represented their union with Christ their Head and their spirituall communion with him but that nearnesse of relation they have amongst themselves being mystically united into one Body whereof Christ is the Head 1 Cor. 10.17 For we being many are one bread and one body for we are all partakers of that one bread Each Christian is so related to and joyned with the other that they go to the making up of one body as the severall grains compacted together make one bread and by their joynt participation of this one bread they declare themselves to be but one body the Children of one Father living in one Family and feeding at the same Table upon the very same food even upon Christ himself who is the true bread that came down from heaven and upon their being united to Christ as Head is founded this their so near and intimate relation to each other to be Fellow-members of the same body as they that have the same Soveraign are fellow Subjects they that have the same Parents are brethren And by their feeding on this Sacramentall food and Christ himself therein from whom the whole body being fitly joyned together makes increase unto the edifying of it self in love Eph. 4.15 16. having here a communion with him which fills and acts them with the same Spirit hereby I say they receive a farther bond and disposition to the greatest unity of hearts and affections So that we are especially engaged before our attendance upon this Ordinance to go our way and be reconciled to our brother The leaven of malice amongst all other wickednesse is to be purged out when we keep this Feast 1 Cor. 5.7 8. And indeed we shall find this the generall sense of people that they ought to be in charity with their neighbours before they come to the Sacrament whilst they discover too little sense of the necessity of other graces that are equally needful yea whilst they remain destitute of this very charity it self which they acknowledge to be so necessary for alas they are not so easily brought to the practice of their duty as to acknowledge and commend it For the plain truth is none can rise up to this excellent temper of spirit wherein one half of our Religion consists but he who is engrafted into Christ and transformed into his likenesse by the spirit of love which may dâ—rect those who are yet void hereof what course to take for the attainment of the same namely to get united to Christ by a living faith and fervent love whereby they shall find kindled in their breasts a new affection to all that doe with them love the Lord Jesus For certainly it is not enough for us that we have no malice in our hearts against any nor wish them any hurt this is a poor description of Christian charity and may be found in a Turk
or Jew but there ought to be in us beside a general love to all mankind which makes us desirous of their good a peculiar tender love of all Christs faithfull servants which causeth us to take delight in them as such in whom we behold the image of God shining forth in their holy conversations and begets in us unfeigned desires for their good both of soul and body and makes us willing to contribute our assistance thereto according to our ability and their necessities inward or outward and it inclines us to rejoyce in their good in some measure as if it was our own and hereby our hearts are so knit to them that we hold greatest familiarity with them and take pleasure in their society and conference and more especially in joyning with them in the worship and service of God This is a most sweet affection and the exercise of it is exceeding pleasant to a gracious soul which was it more common in the world would reform it from a wildernesse into a kind of Paradise and the perfection of it will be one great part of our future happinesse But this true Christian love can dwell in none but such in whom God dwells who is love Onely they who are recovered out of the selfish carnall state and are brought home to God by Jesus Christ are the men that are capable of this sincere love to their brethren for which many clear reasons might be given was it needfull and pertinent But this may suffice for all that this affection is grounded upon and follows our spirituall relation and therefore a man must first be in Christ himself before he can love another purely as his brother in Christ as a fellow-member of the same body He that hath not submitted himself to his Prince cannot love another upon account of his being a fellow-subject with him to the same Soveraign And hence it is we find this given in as a character of our Regeneration 1 Joh. 3.14 Hereby we know we are past from death to life because we love the brethren Most certain it is that they who find not in themselves a love to any people in the world upon account of their being made like to God in Holinesse are destitute of true love to God himself Wherefore I would advise you to try your selves by this note look into your own hearts and look abroad amongst those you hold your dearest friends and examine what it is that draws out your love towards them Are they therefore dear to you because they appear to you to be lovers of God and such as have a great zeal for his glory because they are of pious exemplary lives and therefore so farre as you can discern of gracious spirits Doe you love them as those that are bought with the same blood and sanctified by the same Spirit with your selves As such who are helpfull to your souls or receive help from you and walk in the same holy way and with whom you hope to live for ever in the same glory Or is not all your affection founded upon carnall reasons and bestowed onely upon your kindred or such that have done you courtesies in worldly matters but as for the rest you see no reason why you should love one more than another Nay farther doe you not find your hearts secretly rise against such holy persons as I before mentioned so that you had rather be in any company than theirs and could even wish the world rid of them because their blamelesse lives doe condemn and shame yours and sometimes their loving admonitions check and disturb you as Lot was a trouble to the Sodomites Are you not so farre from a reverent esteem of godlinesse that you can rather scoff at it though peâ—haps under oâ—her names and are prone to think it nothing else but fancy and folly to be so shy of sin and so extream carefull to please God If it be 〈◊〉 for certain you are no better than haters of God himself as he is holy and just though it may be you think not so much by your selves He that loves the Father will love the child also so farre as he 's like him he that loves the person will love his picture He that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen how can he love God whom he hath not seen 1 Joh. 4.20 Wherefore see to get your hearts deeply affected with the glories and excellencies of the blessed God and you will find your selves carried out to a great esteem of any shadows and resemblances of these in his people Let Christ be once the chiefest of ten thousand to your souls altogether lovely and desirable and then you will count those in whom he hath copied out himself and shed abroad his own Spirit to be the onely excellent ones upon earth in whom you will take great delight You will then so fall in love with his image wherever you discern it that in comparison thereof you will even disdain all those worldly excellencies which doe so dazle the eyes of short-sighted mean-spirited ones That humility purity reverence of the divine Majesty gentlenesse goodnesse and all other fruits of the Spirit which display themselves in the behaviour of the truly sanctified will make them appear more honourable in your eyes and render them farre more dear to you than those who have nothing to commend them to your esteem but that they have great Estates wear brave clothes and have high titles conferred upon them Though you must not be wanting in those respects that are due to outward greatnesse yet if you be Christians of a right stamp you will be such as David mentions when he describes a Citizen of Zion Psal. 15.4 One in whose eyes a vile person is contemned but he honoureth them that fear the Lord. Yea farther you will see more reason for your love to those that are holy than to your brethren or nearest kindred in the flesh or than to those that are onely of the same opinions and principles that you your selves are of which doe lamentably confine and regulate the affections of the most But the right Christian temper is farre more generous and large for being derived from the bowels of Christ it begets the same disposition in the souls wherein it dwells according to their capacity that is in Christ himself And therefore they hate none they envy none as for the wicked miserable ones they pity and even mourn over them as we find Christ did and with patience and meeknesse are ready to give them all the help they can to bring them out of their uncomfortable dangerous estates but all whom they have reason to believe Christ loves that walk as he hath enjoyned all his friends to doe these they dearly love And such errours or infirmities which will not cause Christ to withdraw his favour from them will not take off their affections for they dare not pretend to greater strictnesse than their Lord least what they might call pure
zeal for him should be found pure selfishnesse And therefore they dare not make their own private apprehensions which they find not in the Creed nor in the Gospel the standard and measure of such as must passe for godly and be thought worthy their regard and esteem which is the constant note of one addicted to a party but I say they would have their friendship as large as their Lord and Masters since 't is for his sake that they have any friends at all Such is the affection which Gods Spirit works in his people and with which they are possest so farre as they are fram'd and moulded by his Spirit But moreover the charity requisite in Communicants consists not onely in a cordiall love to the godly whom they are to reckon upon as dearest friends but also in forgivenesse of injuries to all that are their enemies and have done or endeavoured to doe them wrong which temper is of flat necessity to all that would come worthily to this Ordinance Hither men come expecting a pardon and can he look for a pardon of his many and hainous sins from the great God of heaven and earth who will not forgive some small offence that he may have received from his fellow-creature Small I say for the greatest injury that can be done us by another is exceeding small and not worthy our notice so farre as we our selves onely are concerned therein Selfish men will never believe this but it 's a certain truth and so plain that many sober heathens doe with great earnestnesse inculcate it Alas what can they doe but a little hinder out thriving in the world or deny us that respect we would have by their carelesse carriage or speak meanly or falsly of us to lessen our credit Such like trifles as these are the worst that we shall ordinarily meet with from our bitterest enemies And are these such unsufferable injuries that by all means we must seek to be revenged Surely such a wicked spirit cannot enter into the breast of a Christian that remembers what he hath done against God and yet what he expects from him and what he hath already received And indeed there is nothing more likely to bring us to the performance of this duty to our brother than the serious consideration of the infinite mercy God hath shown to us in sending his Son and freely tendering forgivenesse through him This we find prest upon us Eph. 4.32 And be ye kind one to another tender-hearted forgiving one another even as God for Christs sake hath forgiven you Col. 3.13 Forbearing one another and forgiving one another if any man have a quarrell against any even as Christ forgave you so also doe ye And to engage us the more our forgiving of others is made a condition of being forgiven our selves Mat. 6.14 15. For if ye forgive men their trespasses your heavenly Father will also forgive you but if you forgive not men their trespasses neither will your Father forgive your trespasses How hard-hearted must that Servant be who when his Lord hath forgiven him ten thousand talents takes his brother by the throat and casts him into prison for an hundred pence How just is it that all the former debt should be charged by his Lord upon such a servant as you may find in the parable at large Matth. 18. from 23. to the end where after Christ had told how terribly that unthankfull cruell servant was dealt with he addes ver lâ—st So likewise shall my heavenly Father doe also unto you if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespâ—sses To love God above all and our neighbour as our selves are the two great Commandments whereon depend the Law and the Prophets and which comprehend all our duty and to both of these we have the greatest help and strongest obâ—igation by the Death of Christ that ever could be thoâ—ght on Shall we not love him that hath thus loved us And shall we not shew pity and compassion to others who have received so much our selves Yea who shall be shut out from mercy if we be unmercifull No spirit in the world is so contrary to the Gospel as that of malice and revenge and retaining a secret enmity and spight against any person whatever As thou would'st escape the society and portion of Devils hâ—reafter beware how thou now entertainest this devilish nature than which nothing is more frequently forbidden in the Gospel and nothing more flatly enjoyned than the contrary temper Gal. 5.20 Now the fruits of the flesh â—re manifest which are these adultery fâ—rnicâ—tion c. hatred variance emulations wrath strife seditions heresies envyings murders ver 22. But the fruit of the Spirit is love joy peace long-suffering gentlenesse goodnesse fâ—ith meeknesse c. Col. 3.8 But now you also put off all these anger wrath malice blasphemy c. v. 12 13. Put on therefâ—re as the elect of God holy and beloved bowels of mercy kindnesse humblenesse of mind meeknesse long-sâ—ffering When the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians to rectifie the disorders they were guilty of in reference to the Lords Supper the first thing he falls upon is the Divisions that were amongst them 1 Cor. 11.18 That composednesse of soul that humility self-abasement and humble dependance upon free mercy which are so absolutely necessary for him that would profit by this Ordinance do all call for a quiet charitable frame of spirit toward our brethren when we betake our selves thereto And thus by Gods assistance have I in some measure shewn from the nature and design of this Ordinance which is to keep up the Remembrance of Christ how those persons must be qualified who can duly attend thereupon To repeat their description once again They who are furnisht with the knowledge of the necessary fundamentall truths of Christian Religion and doe believe them to be indeed truths being so verily perswaded that Christ is the Saviour of the world that they heartily consent to take him for their Saviour and therefore being humbled for and resolved presently to turn from all their evil ways doe humbly expect or at least earnestly desire the pardon of their sins from the mercy of God for his sake and are truly willing to have their hearts sanctified by the Spirit of God given out through him that they may lead an holy life and doe depend upon him to bring them to everlasting glory in the enjoyment of God upon whom they have set their dearest love and chose him as their onely portion being sincerely thankfull for the manifestations of his wonderfull love in Christ and by the power of this love are in charity with all men forgiving their enemies and having a peculiar affection to the members of Christ These and onely these are fit to partake of the Lords Supper Wherefore I entreat thee whoever thou art that would'st not wilfully delude thy own soul and rush upon this duty to thy hurt take thy self to task and
to stay away But this is a Parable shewing what entertainment the most do give to the Gospel whereby we are invited not only to a wedding feast but to be even married our selves to the Lord Jesus Christ the everlasting Son of the Father And yet this message the matchless mercy whereof may astonish men and Angels I say this message is sleighted Men will not come to Christ that they may have life Adulterous souls go after other Lovers and will not be espoused to the Lord of glory They see no form nor comeliness in him why they should desire him They hear great commendations of him indeed what an excellent glorious person he is no less than the Son of God made man whose love was so great to mankind that he laid down his life for them but in the mean time What has he what 's to be got by him what estates will he settle on them what honours will he advance them to what why they shall through him have their sins pardoned and subdued their hearts sanctified and at length shall be receiv'd into everlasting glory Nay if this be all they have no mind to come on but when their consent is desired they have some excuse or other ready at hand and either they will not come at all or else not yet or not so thorowly and heartily as they are commanded and in such a wilful refusal of grace do thousands persist and perish And though I suppose this fore-mentioned Parable doth not directly and primarily belong to the Lords Supper yet it may by consequence be very well applied thereto Since here is a Marriage-feast of the Kings Son here are the great blessings and mercies of the Gospel held forth and offered and all who come duly prepar'd and sincerely dispos'd to accept the same shall be assur'd of them and hither do Gods Ministers exhort all to come in the appointed regular way And what 's the effect of their Message why the most make light of it Hither to this holy Table are people call'd to give up themselves to God to testifie the truth of their sorrow for sin and to renew their resolutions against it and so to receive a sealed pardon and a title to life everlasting but for their parts they have no such liking to these spiritual good things which are so freely tendered them The truth is their sins as yet they are loath to leave for they see no great hurt in them nay they think they find much good at present and do not use to trouble themselves much with the thoughts of that mischief they may hereafter do them and therefore they have no such high thoughts of Christ for his being able to mortifie and remove their lusts and so to save them from the misery these would bring them to They can very hardly be perswaded that there is any such excellency in an holy life that they should so speedily and solemnly resolve upon it And though they can like well enough to go to heaven when they must needs leave this world yet they look upon that day so far off that they are in no great haste of making sure their future happiness but think it may bee time enough to do that a great while hence And can any man wonder if those who are no more sensible of any benefit they have by Christ are very slack and negligent in a thankful remembrance of his death and of those benefits which thereby we enjoy and hope for which is the great end of Celebrating this Sacrament No marvel if such as these alwaies finde one excuse or other to keep away from that which they have no more love to and the necessity and advantage whereof they are no more acquainted with If there was but any matter of gain to be got by it any thing which made for the flesh wee should need no such ado to get them thither We may be sure if the King should but proclaim that he would give six pence a piece to all the poor throughout London that would repair to White-Hall there would need nothing but the knowledge of it to get them together Oh what running and crowding and craving would there be He need not send any Messengers to beseech and perswade them to receive his Charity But when the Soveraign Majesty of Heaven and Earth by his Heraulds Proclaims to all Ho every one that is willing let him prepare himself and come hither to receive an earnest of infinite and everlasting treasures there are few will accept the offer as if it was of no value and as if the Apostle was mistaken when hee prefers the blood of Christ before such corruptible things as silver and gold Nay I 'le warrant you in those Parishes where you shall find so few at a Communion did but any rich man amongst them make a feast and invite the whole Town to it you should finde but few stay at home But now when God himself calls them to his Table and there hath provided them food which came from Heaven true Spiritual Manna even the Body and Blood of Christ which is meat and drink indeed they finde no great appetite to this Banquet All the great words they hear of it work not with them For in all such cases 't is not other mens words and opinions that we judge by but our own relish and feeling And whilst men have got such corrupt dispositions and carnal affections that they savour onely those things which are grosse and earthly like themselves What wonder is it if they undervalue that which is so unsuitable to them and in which they can feel no more taste than in the white of an Egge A Swine prefers his own swill before the greatest dainties that can be provided And a voluptuous sinner that is wallowing in the mud of fleshly pleasures would not willingly exchange conditions with the glorious Angels that alwaies behold the face of God Oh whither is the Soul of man degenerated Into what a low and sad estate is it faln that it findes sweetness in any thing rather than in that which is truly pleasant How chearfully and contentedly can people set themselves to any thing rather than to that only work which God hath appointed them even the working out of their Salvation From morning to night they can follow their worldly business without complaining and yet know not how to spend one day in seven nor one half hour in a day in the service of God for the saving of their own Souls Oh what pains do many poor men take only to get a livelihood in the world and yet think everlasting life worth no regard or care at all They can bee content to spend their thoughts and strength and time upon vanity to lay out their money for that which is not bread and to labour for the wind but when God saith but give me your hearts he is denied If this careless generation had but Houses and Lands Money and Goods
for prayer or receiving Sacraments who are listlesse to all duties and feel no sweetnesse in them all such may hence learn what is the root and ground of this distemper what it is that makes them out of tast with these rich and savoury provisions which all healthfull souls doe so dearly love even because their secret but most powerfull thoughts are that they have nothing better than their Bodies to provide for and that to doe this is the chiefest businesse they have and that nothing is of any great use which makes not for this end But it would be quite otherwise with them if they were indeed clearly convinced and soundly perswaded that they have souls which will never die and that these are their best part and deserve most care and are as much to be preferred before the body as a man before the horse which he rides on and that these their immortall souls can onely be made happy by the favour of God out of which they are faln by sinning against him and that the great work of this life is to get all breaches made up betwixt God and them that so when they leave this world they may be restored to perfect happinesse in the enjoyment of God and that they can no way be thus reconciled to God but by Jesus Christ by whose merits and mediation their sins may be pardoned and by whose holy Spirit which is given by the Father through him they can onely be so changed and sanctified that they may be made meet for the inheritance of the Saints in the heavenly light of Gods presence and love Was the sound belief of these plain great and commonly acknowledged truths but well rooted in the hearts of men so as to overpower and change their affections we should soon perceive them to be other kind of persons in all their behaviour If they took it for the business of their lives to work out their salvation being convinced that they had nothing in the world to doe but this and what is in order to it then would they diligently labour after a saving knowledge of a crucified Christ which comprehends in it the whole of religion And then they would highly prize and diligently attend upon those means which Christ hath appointed for the manifesting himself and conveying his saving benefits to the soul. They would take care to be found in those ways wherein Christ is like to be found Whatever had relation to him would be very much esteemed by them and they would never be at quiet till they had done their best to make it sure that they had got an interest in him and through him a title to the Fathers everlasting love They would then rightly inform themselves what 's required of all that must be saved by Christ and these conditions they would endeavour to come up to and perform They would be willing to enter into the most solemn Covenant with him to take him for their Saviour in all his Offices by him to be brought to that glory which God hath prepared for true Believers and the keeping of this Covenant would be their study and care through the whole course of their life Now though considering these things it might appear a very fit method for the curing of mens mistakes and direct them in the way to blessedness first to represent and demonstrate to them that they have immortal souls and that the love of God is their onely portion and that this can no way be obtained but by the Lord Jesus and then to shew what is required to make us partakers of happinesse by him yet since these things are in some sort known and readily confest by the most I shall at present wave this method and chuse rather to drive at the last of these which will be found to contain all namely to direct and exhort poor souls to enter into Covenant and make a thorow closure with Jesus Christ that through him their sins may be subdued and pardoned their persons and natures reconcil'd to God that they may be blessed for ever in communion with him And even this is my chief design in laying down the following Directions to a due preparation for and a right receiving of the Lords Supper and in giving Motives to the serious and frequent performance of that duty which I look upon principally as a solemnizing and ratifying our Covenant with God by Jesus Christ and the sincerity of the heart in making this Covenant and our faithfulnesse in keeping it is the very heart and scope of Christianity For my intention in treating of this subject is not meerly to perswade people to come to the Lords Table alas what a poor thing is that to be rested in but to instruct them for a right coming to and hearty receiving of Christ himself then to come to the Sacrament there to make and renew their Covenant with him in a more formall and expresse manner the more to affect and deeplier to engage themselves For this being a sensible and solemn thing will be apt to make the stronger impression upon mens spirits and perhaps they will be sooner perswaded to this work because it is so much fitted to sense it self But the great danger is least they should rush upon that which they understand not the reason of and think they have done enough by bare receiving the Sacrament without considering to what purpose they doe it which would be greater madnesse and of worse consequence than for a man to run and lay his hands upon the book and kisse it and use the like ceremonies of an oath and never mind what he swears to nor afterwards think what he hath done though it was about a matter of life and death And therefore I shall endeavour by Gods assistance to prevent this miscarriage by shewing what is the nature and design of this Ordinance in a right participation whereof consists so much of religion since hereby a man professeth and engageth himself to be a sincere obedient Christian which may be understood by this comparison before I come to speak to it more fully that more ignorant Reader may the sooner have the notion fixt on his mind It is much what as if the Governour of a City after there had been a seditious insurrection of the Citizens should offer pardon to all that would acknowledge their fault beg his pardon and return to their former subjection and peaceable behaviour and moreover should enjoyn all that were thus affected to come take a piece of money which he would give abroad or to partake of a feast which he would make on purpose for the entertainment of such now would it not be madnesse and grosse impudence and dissembling for any to receive this money or go sit at this Table who were resolved yet to continue their rebellion and would imploy that very money and the strength they received from his meat against him that gave them whenas hereby they were to testifie their resolutions
us all and with him freely gives all good things to his people Canst thou then find in thy heart to go on in provoking so good a God and in sleighting such matchlesse love If thou canst certainly thou hast banisht all gratitude and hast scarce one spark of common ingenuity left in thee yea thou hast put off thy manhood and art become little better than a senslesse bruit for what should sooner work upon a reasonable creature to love another than extraordinary and undeserved-kindnesse which he hath received from him Nay I might go farther and tell thee and that justly too the very beasts themselves have more good nature than such a stupid unthankfull sinner as thou For they have some sense of a good turn and some love to those that doe it they know those that feed them and keep them and use not to doe them any mischief The Dog does not use to bite his Master nor the Horse to kick at him that looks to him And so indeed God himself complains of ungratefull men that when the Ox knows his owner and the Asse his masters crib yet they did not know their Maker and Preserver But to be short let me tell the plainly if thou find'st thy heart nothing mov'd with all this love that God hath revealed in sending Christ to save us from wrath to come by his own sharp sufferings I can no way see but that thy case is full as bad yea rather worse than his who believes not a word of all I have said Nay how indeed can it be imagined that thou believest these things if they make no impression upon thee except thou never use to think of them after thou hast read or heard them but there 's the wonder if thou dost believe them how thou canst chuse but think on them and think again till at length they work some good effect upon thee But if thou hast hitherto been so strangely carelesse let me once again desire thee now at length to set upon the sober thoughts of this unconceivable mercy manifested in the Gospel that when thou hadst even destroy'd thy self God should make haste to thy help that he should send his own Son to undertake for thee who was also willing to this work and should upon him punish thy sins and now after all onely calls thee to cast away thy sin and to return to his love which if thou wilt doe he is willing to be reconcil'd to thee And see if there be not good cause that thou should'st hearken to these invitations and whether there can be given any just or tolerable excuse for thy disobedience If the bitterest enemy thou hadst in the world should but save thy life when it was in his hands much more if he should endanger himself or undergo any losse for thy safety I am confident this would soon take off thy spleen against him and make thee very ready to be restored to his friendship And why the goodnesse of God should not be as prevalent with thee I cannot imagine if it be but soundly believed and well thought on 3. I may farther adde to engage thee to return to the Lord from whom thou aâ—t faln another argument drawn also from the goodnesse of God shewn in the death of Christ as hereby it is most clearly discoverd That there is some unspeakable happinesse which was purchast by the Lord Jesus for those that come to God by him and to which he invites empty miserable creatures Thou canst not imagine that God makes all this adoe with men for nothing It was not upon any triviall errand that he sent his Son into the world nor are they any sleight inconsiderable things which he offers to as many as will receive him It s true the mercy had been rich and glorious if Christ had onely died to save us from misery and to have procured of God that we might have been reduced to nothing rather than to frie in everlasting burnings and no tongue can tell what a priviledge the damned in hell would account this But over and above we read of a Kingdome of glory which Christ will give to his followers And how great this is judge by the price that was paid for it not silver or gold or any such corruptible trifles but the precious Blood of the Son of God without price whose utmost value cannot be exprest by Men or Angels and no more can the glory hereby obtained For if the Merchant be wise the worth of his Jewel may be guest at by the price that he paid for it Precious is the Soul of Man and full dear did the redemption thereof cost more than the the whole world or ten thousand such worlds as this And is not think you the souls portion answerable to its own excellency And the purchased Possession answerable to the greatnesse of that cost that was laid out for it When a common Slave may be freed for a few shillings half a Kingdome will be thought little enough to redeem a captive Prince and we afterward see there is as much difference betwixt them when they have got their liberty the one sits on a dunghill the other on a throne For certain then Christ Jesus came into the world and laid down his life to exalt those that hearken to him to the highest joy and blisse of which the nature of man is capable in delivering them from all sin rendring them exactly conformable to God and placing them in constant full communion with him He that so loved his Church that he gave himself for it to sanctifie and cleanse it by all this design'd to present it â—o himself a glorious Church Upon this account therefore methinks thou should'st easily be perswaded to cast away sin which is thy misery and return to God who is thy onely life and happinesse and that no mean happinesse as I have told thee is evident amongst many other reasons by the infinite value of the price that was given for it Oh little doe any even the best and wisest on earth conceive what are the full fruits of Christs blood what miracles of divine love those are which through endlesse millions of ages will keep alive the admiration joy and praise of Angels and Saints and fill the mouths of Christs Redeemed ones with continuall thankfulnesse for that wisdome and mercy which contriv'd and wrought their delivery and exaltation So that you see laying these things together the death of Christ as discovering the mercy of God lays the greatest engagement that can be upon the sons of men to break off their sins and return to the obedience and love of God in that there is so much mercy procured and tendred as may beget hope and encourage to repentance which is not like to be rejected and as there is so great love exprest as may well call for the return of love and even soften the most stony heart and as it discovers so great a blessednesse to be had in God through
Christ as may prevail with all that love themselves to make out after it and depart from sin which alone can keep them from it And that 's the second Consideration which the Death of Christ helps us to in order to the working of a kindly Repentance namely the great goodnesse of God hereby revealed to poor sinners 3. From all that hath been said will more clearly appear the hainous nature of sin as a farther motive to Repentance in that it is a contradiction to all this love of God and an undervaluing of the greatest mercy that was ever bestow'd upon the world being in effect a trampling under foot of the blood of the Lord Jesus whereby we should be sanctified And hereby I mean those sins which have been committed since men heard of the Gospel For as the evil of sin did appear in the greatnesse of those sufferings which Christ underwent to procure a pardon so these his sufferings doe exceedingly aggravate their sins who have continued in them after they have been told again and again what their Saviour hath done to make satisfaction for them if they would not undervalue and despise it Oh how have you made a shift so often to hear and read of the life and death of Christ and yet have done all that in you lies to crosse the end of his coming into the world and to make his Death of none effect to you whilst yet you pretend to believe that his design was wholly for your good Oh unthankfull wretches to make such a requitall for such unvaluable love As if you studied how you might most dishonour and displease him who thought not his own life too dear to lay down for you Could you see him upon the Crosse wounded torn and bruised for your sakes and could you think of no other recompence but to give him fresh wounds by your wilfull sins Did he once despise the shame and endure the crosse for you and could you find in your hearts again to put him to an open shame and as it were crucifie him afresh Did he indeed deserve such dealing as this at your hands Bethink thy self Reader whether this hath not been thy case Hast thou not liv'd in those sins which Christ died to deliver thee from And what hast thou thereby done lesse than proclaim That there is more to be got by thy lusts than by thy Saviour that its better to remain in thy polluted corrupt estate than to be washt in the blood of Christ whereby our consciences are purged from dead works to serve the living God And did they vilifie Christ more that contemn'd him jeer'd him and put him to death If thou take thy fleshly pleasures and worldly profits to be of greater advantage than any thing that can accrue to thee by Christs Death dost thou not think as basely of him as any of his Crucifiers did And hadst thou been there with this frame of heart is is not most likely thou would'st have joyn'd with them what ever thou maist now think As they hated Christ because he told them the truth and reprov'd them for sin and therefore did all they could to rid themselves of one whose preaching and presence was such a burden to them so dost thou appear in effect an hater of Christ his life and doctrine whilst thou walkest so flatly contrary thereto And what 's this lesse than desiring that there was no God nor Christ to govern and judge thee no such Rule as the Gospel to be thy guide Nay let me tell thee thou who hast profest thy self a Christian and yet hast behav'd thy self thus unworthily toward Christ thou art herein more guilty than the Jews themselves for what they did was very much out of ignorance but thou after thou hast known that he is the Son of God and that he laid down his life for our sins hast manifested all thy contempt of him and rejected him from being thy Saviour whilst thou would'st not be saved by him from thy reigning lusts which thou hast loved more than him as Judas loved the money for which he was hired to betray him After thou hast known of that friendship which by the Crosse of Christ was shewn to the ruined world yet thou hast been an enemy to this crosse whilst thou hast made thy belly thy God and minded earthly things whilst thou hast delightfully liv'd in the practice of any known sin What then were the Jews prickt to the heart when they were convinc'd that they had crucified that Jesus whom God had made Lord and Christ and shall it not have the same effect on thee to consider thou hast been guilty in some sort of the same wickednesse and hast shewn forth the very same spirit that was in them For think not thy self more blamelesse because thou never saw'st Christ nor hadst any hand in his Death nor didst joyn with his enemies in accusing condemning and reproaching him but criest out against them as monsters of men that persecuted the most spotlesse Innocence with such savage fierceness for all this while thy guilt may be as great as theirs whilst thou hast as great an enmity against the image of Christ and the Law of Christ as they had against his person And that thou dost not wound him and spit in his face is not from the goodnesse of thy nature but because he is out of thy reach for were he now before thee and could it gratifie thy lusts so to deal with him it s much to be feared thou would'st not stick at it Whilst the Pharisees condemned their fore-fathers for killing the Prophets they followed them in the very same sin And suppose a Father had two Sons the one at mans estate the other an infant and the elder of these by following wicked courses should break his Fathers heart and occasion his death and the younger when he was grown up should lead the very same life that the other did but yet should take on him very much to condemn his Brother for being so disobedient and hard-hearted as to bring his Father to the grave is it not plain for all this that had he been in his Brothers stead he would have done the same that he did since he also takes those courses which were so grievous to his Father Thus it is to be remembred that Sin was that which put Christ to death as well as the Jews and this Sin is it thou lovest though thou seemest to hate them And as those Jews put his body to pain by their cruelties so dost thou grieve his Spirit by thy wickednesse And know he takes it as hainously from thee that thou should'st thus displease him as he did from them that they should persecute him to the death Nor art thou like to get a pardon at any easier rates than they even no other way than looking on him whom thou by thy sins hast pierced and bitterly mourning for this thy bloodinesse and ingratitude What saist thou then after all
this canst thou without tears and groans look back upon all the disorders of thy life whereby thou hast done all that in thee lay to make those wounds of thy tender compassionate Saviour bleed afresh which he first receiv'd upon thy account I believe thou thought'st not of this no if thou hadst one would think thou could'st never have done it Thy design was onely to please thy flesh by all thy sensuall courses thou wast onely full of projects to maintain and raise thy self and thy posterity by all thy worldly designs and businesses wherewith through thy whole life though hast been so swallowed up But thou seest how the case stands that this while thou hast been most viley rejecting and even trampling upon the Lord Jesus who would have have brought thee off from thy vain conversation from all thy ungodlinesse and worldly lusts and hath followed thee with his Word and Spirit to that end and hath prest thee with arguments drawn from his matchlesse love discovered by his Death and hath besought thee to regard him yea to take pity on thy self but thou hast made light of all and hast gone on as securely and quietly in the ways of sin as if thou hadst never heard what sin did upon Christ. And what art thou resolv'd to doe so still shall nothing stop thee in thy career wilt thou not stay to hearken what a way it is thou walkest in nor think what unvaluable mercies thou all this while treadest under feet Hast thou not yet sufficiently abused thy Redeemers love and patience hast thou not made him wait long enough in vain wilt thou still make shew of deafnesse to all those messages he sends thee If so yet be thou sure of this thou shalt not be able to say at thy appearance before him that thou never knewest that sin was such an evil thing and so provoking to him for beside all other warnings that thou hast had I now declare to thee who readest or hearest these words that if thou still continuest in thy loose ungodly life living in swearing cursing drunkennesse whoredome covetousnesse cozening malice or any other known sin and wilfully neglectest thy duty to God going whole days without prayer or reading Gods Word profaning the Lords Day neglecting Sacraments if thou hold on this course thou dost no better than again crucifie and deny the Lord that bought thee and so hast no reason to complain if thou fall under the same condemnation which thou thy self wilt acknowledge Judas and Pilate and the rest of Christs enemies deserve and therefore that thou maist not be found amongst them loaded with the same guilt at Judgement I doe once again in the name of Christ beseech thee with all speed to change thy heart and life and use all means appointed to that end and after all thy wandrings now at length return to him the good Shepherd of souls who laid down his life for his sheep 4. Lastly the Death of Christ may powerfully move thee to repent of and forsake all sin as it holds forth this weighty but sad truth That all those who are despisers of this Death and by living and dying in their sins reap no saving benefit by it shall in their own persons undergo insupportable torments for this their unbelief and wilfull impenitence If thou believest the Gospel thou canst not but acknowledge that all men had been in a most miserable condition if Christ had not died and thou wilt grant that sin is a most perilous mischievous thing and an unspeakable provocation to the most holy God since nothing could appease his wrath but the Death of Christ without whose bloodshed we had obtain'd no remission And what then dost thou think is like to be thy case if through thy own fault thou art never the better for all Christ hath done but must thy self answer for thy sins and bear the punishment they have deserved Let the Death of Christ I say instruct thee what thou art like to expect if this be thy condition If as he himself speaks such things were done to the green tree what shall be done to the dry If he who was without the least stain of originall or actuall sin drank such a bitter cup when he stood in our stead what will be the portion of their cup who being poor frail creatures must make satisfaction for their own sins How will they ever up under all the load of Gods hottest wrath when he shall meet them in judgement and cause his fury to rest upon them And above all thy impenitent obstinate continuance in sin and contempt of Christ will lie heaviest upon thee in the day of vengeance These sins aganst the Gospel against mercy the greatest and freest mercy are most provoking to God most inexcusable in themselves and will therefore prove most pernicious to sinners Methinks then if thou hadst but any regard to thy self to thy own ease and comfort this should make thee out of love with sin to consider how dear its like to cost thee how pleasant soever it may now seem It was not for nothing that Christ felt so much sorrow and pain as thou shalt know to thy everlasting woe if thou pluck the heavy judgements of God on thy own head by sleighting him who would have kept them from off thee Assure thy self poor sinner as bold and confident as now thou art thou wilt never be able to contest with that wrath which exercised even the strength of Christ to bear it thou art never like to go away lightly with that which he felt so heavy For shame at length leave thy foolish plea that God will be more mercifull than to torment his creatures for hast thou not seen how he bruised his own Son who never offended him how he bruised him I say for our iniquities and will he then spare thee who in thy own person hast been a most stubborn hard-hearted rebel and hast cast away with loathing the mercies that were again and again even prest upon thee Thou hast no reason for such fond expectations What wilt thou tell Christ at Judgement that thou didst not believe that ever God would be so severe as to punish thee so dreadfully and everlastingly as his Word threatned and that therefore thou took'st somewhat more liberty in thy life than he allowed thee Darest thou come with such a plea as this But if thou should'st what wilt thou answer to Christ when he shall lay open what he underwent for thy sake and how thou madest light of his love will not this soon silence thee If he ask thee whether thou hadst not evidence and proof enough of the evil and danger that was in sin by his suffering so much for others transgressions wilt thou have any pretence left to justifie thy self I may perhaps urge this consideration but I mention it now as offered to us by the sufferings of Christ which doe most plainly declare that dolefull are the miseries prepared for those who
get no good by him but die in their sins which may bring all that are not in love with damnation out of love with that sin which will at length plunge them into it And thus you see how many motives to true Repentance are afforded us from the serious meditation on the Cross and Passion of Christ as this discovers to us the hainous nature of sin and as there is such mercy and love hereby reveal'd as may work upon and reclaim all that are ingenuous gratefull or wise for themselves and as this makes sin more monstrously vile which shall be committed against such mercy and as it shews that all men living in sin dying out of Christ are like to undergo unsufferable torments for their obstinacy And thus I have finisht the second qualification which is necessary to all worthy Commucants to wit True Repentance an unfeigned sorrow for a detestation of and a turning from all wilfull sin in heart and life CHAP. IV. III. A right remembring the great end of the Death of Christ to Redeem us from all iniquity and sanctifie us Of Faith and Covenanting with Christ. IT must needs be that if we rightly Remember the Death of Christ in the Sacrament we must then Remember to what end and purpose this was and this we shall plainly find in Scripture to be that he might Redeem man from that sinfull miserable state he was faln into and restore him to a state of holinesse and happinesse in the enjoyment of God from whom he was faln So 1 Pet. 3.18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins the just for the unjust that he might bring us to God Ephes. 2.16 17 18. Heb. 7.25 And this is the meaning of all those places which speak of the Redemption we have obtain'd by Christ if we take it in its largest signification And to this purpose he offers himself to men to be their Redeemer to conferre upon them the pardon of their sin and give them victory over all their corruptions and the temptations of Satan and to lead them by his Spirit through this dangerous world till he shall bring them with triumph into the kingdome of the Father Now hence it follows that no man can Remember Christ as he ought who will not receive him to these ends and purposes for which he offers himself which is our believing in him For is he a fit man to celebrate Christs Remembrance who hath no love for him nor any liking to his undertaking nor will be perswaded to comply therewith And such are all they who reject him and the tenders of his mercy except they might have them in their own way and that doe flatly contradict his design in becoming our Mediatour by continuing still in their naturall corrupt estate alienated from God and liable to his wrath that is who are unbelievers So that here I mean no more than That without Faith in Christ we cannot rightly Remember him without we so believe that he is the onely Saviour of mankind that we resolve he and none but he shall be our Saviour in the way that he himself thinks fit But to make it yet plainer how unfit all such rejecters of Christ are to come to this holy Supper consider that our receiving of the Sacrament is appointed to be on our part as a token and sign of our making and renewing our Covenant with God in Christ in which if we be sincere then it is a seal on Gods part of his being in Covenant with us a confiâ—mation of our belief that he will be our God and fulfill all his promises to us and herein he gives us an earnest and pledge of the future blessings which we shall receive from him through his Son as I shall shew under the next Head Does it not then hence appear that all those who will not be held in any such Covenant are most unfit persons to come to this Sacrament the very design of our coming to which is to shew that we are a people in Covenant with God and by this solemn action taking and eating the Bread and drinking the Wine we are to testifie that we are so and doe hereby bind our selves so to remain What would this be but with much formality to mock that God who will not be mocked and even to run upon our own damnation provoking the Lord to destroy those who so impudently take his name in vain By this practice men are guilty of a down-right lye yea of grossest perjury for Christ in effect saiâ—h All you and you onely that take me for your Lord and Saviour come and partake of this Feast which I have appointed in remembrance of the Redemption I have wrought for you and yet multitudes who will not take him for their Lord to rule over them nor will be saved from their sins by him thrust in and partake of this Supper This is just as if a General of an Army having a mind to single out some of his Souldiers for some design should say All you that are willing to go along with me hold up your hands and yet many should hold up their hands who refuse to go what would this be but to befool themselves and abuse their Leader Or as if at the first appointment of the Passeover it had been commanded that they and they only should eat of the Paschal Lamb who would go out of Aegypt into Canaan under the conduct of Moses and yet many of the Israelites should prepare and eat it either because they were hungry or because they would do as the rest did without ever thinking what was the meaning of this action or what they hereby engag'd themselves to being resolv'd still to continue in Egypt neither caring for Moses nor the Canaan which he should lead them to Thus when Christ commands that all those who will depart out of the Egyptian bondage they are in to sin and Satan and be guided by him through the wilderness of this World till they come to the heavenly Canaan that they should appear at a Feast which he hath made on purpose to entertain them there throng in others to this Table who have no right to eat thereat as having no resolutions to leave their sin and thus to follow Christ who would lead them to glory These are the men that are found without their wedding garment whom the Master of the Feast will draw out from amongst the rest and dispose of them to a place and company more suitable for them as you may read Mat. 22.10 11 12 13. So that I hope you see that its a most unsuitable and unlawfull thing for any man to addresse himself to this Ordinance who is not heartily in Covenant with God since herein he professeth himself to be so and therefore if he be not he will be found a lyar both to God and Man But since this is made by some the very nature and design of the Lord's Supper to be a Foederal rite or an
action testifying and confirming a Covenant betwixt God and man as in the Eastern and other Countries they were wont to ratifie their Leagues by feasting together and as they who eat of the sacrifices offered to Devils therereby had fellowship with Devils as the Jews by eating of their sacrifices held communion with and profest subjection to God as you may see them paralleld 1 Cor. 10.16 17 18 19 20. since I say this is on mans part a sign of his being in covenant with God I shall somewhat fuller explain what this Covenant is that you may understand whether you are cordially entred thereinto and are willing to continue in it that so you may know whether you are like to be entertained as worthy guests at the Lords Table which is proper to his Covenant-people In a word then the Covenant which wee renew at the Lords Supper is the very same with that you were entred into in Baptism when you were baptiz'd in the Name of and thereby engaged to the Father Son and Holy Ghost and therefore to those duties which wee owe to God in the several relations wherein he stands to us which are denoted by the Persons of the sacred Trinity That is we are hereby oblig'd to acknowledge God the Father to be our Creator and Preserver and therefore to behave our selves as his creatures ought submitting our selves to his Commands and Providences and placing our happiness in pleasing him and enjoying his love God the Son made man that is Jesus Christ we are hereby bound to take for our onely Saviour through whom alone we hope for the pardon of our offences and for ability to serve and please God and for acceptance and happinesse with him And God the Holy Ghost wee promise to take for our Sanctifier to have our souls by him renewed after the Image of God and those graces given into us which were purchast for us by Christ and the evidences of Gods love and of our title to the future blessedness to bee clear'd up and assur'd to our consciences the Holy Word also which he inspir'd the Prophets and Apostles to write wee are hereby engag'd to take for the Rule of our faith and life And this is your entring inâ—o Covenant with and being consecrated to the Father Son and Holy Ghost which doth necessarily suppose and include our renouncing the flesh the world and the Devil which is in effect the same with Repentance for sin which I spoke to largely under the last Head For he who is truly humbled for and resolved to forsake sin doth hereby renounce his flesh which is pleas'd with sin and will not make carnal self his chief end and he also renounceth the world which is the fuell and food of his lusts all that wherewith the carnal part is gratified as matters of pleasure profit honour and the like not regarding them as means to his happiness and he renounceth the Devil who by temptations drawn from these wordly things would entice him to sin and that wicked nature also which does the office of a Tempter within him All you then who have been baptiz'd into the Christian Faith are thereby bound to take God for your Supream Governor and chief Happiness and Jesus Christ for your Mediatour and way to the Father and the Holy Spirit for your Sanctifier and Guide And since you were Infants when you thus were first dedicated to God it behooves you that are now come to the use of reason and are resolv'd by the grace of God to be stedfast in this holy Covenant to come to the Lords Table and there professe these resolutions and by the receiving of this Sacrament in the presence of the heart-searching God and all your fellow-Christians to renew your engagement that you will take God for your God and that you will be his people Since then it is so plain that they and they only are worthy Communicants who have in heart made this covenant with God in Christ which they are to profess solemnize and confirm by eating and drinking the Sacramental bread and wine it remains that all who would not venture upon damnation by doing this unworthily ought to enter into a faithful examination of themselves whether indeed this be their condition and frame of heart or not And let me beseech thee Reader faithfully to set upon this Work as a businesse of the greatest concernment that ever thou hadst to do in thy life namely to see that thou art sincerely in covenant with God through his Son for this is the very heart and substance of Religion the sum of all Christianity and that upon which thy everlasting happiness wholly depends Know but this once and thou maiest know that Heaven will be thy portion shouldst thou dye at this hour And here that I may do what in me lies to help thee to the true knowledge of thy self let me first advise thee to look carefully into thy own heart for that 's thy surest way if thou art but well acquainted with the workings thereof and wilt deal impartially And in this searching into the state and temper of thy Soul I would wish thee to put these questions to thy self which I shall ask thee and to give in a true answer I demand of thee then what is that great good on which thou hast plac't thy highest love the obtaining of which thou hast made the great business of thy life and which if thou couldst but attain to thou believest thou shouldst be satisfied and made perfectly happy Canst thou say and that truly that God hath the upmost place in thy heart that his Authority swaies thee most and that for the main all things that concern thee are regarded but in order to him Dost thou make it thy principal study and trade to please him And dost thou count of nothing as fit to make thee a portion but his everlasting love If it be thus with thee then thou maist safely conclude that indeed thou hast made God thy chief end But enquire diligently whether it be not quite otherwise and whether thou hast not set up thy self in a distinction from God becoming thy own Idol Art thou not possest with high thoughts of thy self loving and admiring thy self separate from him who gave thee thy being It s true the man who is most heartily devoted to God hath the greatest love and veneration of himself but it is as he is Gods creature and it is his soul which hath his highest esteem and he seeks his happinesse by subjecting himself to God and therefore preferres adores and admires God infinitely above himself regarding himself in and for God accounting it the end of his being to serve his Makers will desiring no other felicity than the feeling of that love of God which he manifests to all such humble obedient ones But the carnall man though he may have some reverence for God and may yield him some tribute of service some prayers some praises and some
great men their friends recommending themselves to the world by their sumptuous Houses great Retinues rich Cloathes gentile deportment and the like braveries others by their strength beauty wit learning and the like accomplishments of body or mind Thus you see according to the nature of mens happinesse they make use of means to reach it Search well therefore whether some of these or the like empty trifles have not been more set by and laboured for than â—hâ—ist himself If so never say thou takest him for thy Mâ—diatour for it is apparent thou dost not make him so No but those things are indeed thy Mediatours which thou makest use of to accomplish thy selfish dedesigns And hereby thou dost in effect as much reject and vilifie Christ as if thou didst revolt from him and take Mahâ—met fâ—r thy Saviour Oh beware of deceiving thy self in this point which is so easie so common and dangerous to talk of trusting and relying on Christ whiâ—st the heart relies most upon some outward enjoyment to bring it to the happinesse it seeks for and the most they look for from Christ is to have him keep them from Hell after they have been all their days gratifying their lusts and serving the Devil but they never think of improving him as a Mediatour betwixt God and their souls expecting all their mercies of this life and the next to come by him and by him offering up all their services to God Wherefore I beseech you to remember that nothing will prove you sincerely in Covenant with Christ as one of his living members but a thorow stedfast willingnesse to be brought to happinesse by him in his own way and let it be your care to examine whether you are thus heartily willing And then lastly hast thou submitted thy soul to the powerfull workings of the Holy-Ghost to renew and regenerate thee Hast thou faithfully rendred up thy self to him to be transformed into the divine likenesse to have thy corruptions purged away and all saving graces implanted in thee It is the office of the Holy Ghost to carry on Christs interest in the souls of men to fulfill all the pleasure of his goodnesse and the work of faith with power to bring them to the Father by the Son No man can cry Abba Father and be fill'd with a child-like disposition and nature but he who hath received this Spirit of Adoption and no man can call Jesus Lord and be heartily subject to him but by the help of this almighty Spirit He shews men the vanity of the Creature and the goodnesse the fulnesse and all sufficiency of God and enables the heart firmly to cleave to him He convinces men of sin and shews them the odiousnesse and danger of it and discovers to them a Saviour by whom they may be Redeemed from all their iniquities from the dominion and from the condemnation of sin and he begets in the soul a saving faith making men not onely willing but earnestly desirous to accept of Christ to both these ends Reflect upon thy self then whether thou hast experienc'd any such workings in thy soul or not whether thou art changed by this divine power into a new and heavenly nature and art hereby become a new creature as all in Christ are old things being done away Hast thou ever found the vigorous and warm movings of this holy Spirit upon thy heart conveying light and life to thy dark soul dead in trespasses and sins Hast thou carefully cherisht these motions and complied with this sanctifying work which spreadâ— it self through the whole man And art thou willing to be governed by him to hearken to his voyce within thee and to that word which was inspired by him to be a lamp to thy feet If these things be so then indeed thou hast performed the engagement that was laid upon thee by being baptized into the name of the Holy Ghost But call thy self to account whether it hath not been quite otherwise with thee Dost thou not still remain in the carnall selfish state alienated from the life of God through a blind mind and a wicked stubborn will being still at enmity with him Hast thou not quenched the Spirit and stifled convictions and resisted his operations upon thy soul Art thou not rather guided by the seducing spirit and thy own unmortified lusts Doe not these still remain in strength and power so that whatever they draw thee to must be done let the Word and Conscience say what they will If it be thus never boast of having God to be thy Maker nor Christ thy Redeemer for if thou art not sanctified by the Holy Ghost God will never own thee for his who accepts of none but an holy people Thus by looking carefully into your hearts you may discern whether you are truly in covenant with God or not And if this seem any matter of difficulty to know what your hearts are or rather least you should pretend your hearts are thus right when it is no such thing I shall give one instance more whereby you may know how you stand related to God and that is by the consideration of your lives and conversations for if you are sincerely devoted to God in your hearts then you must needs shew it in the holinesse of your lives which is nothing else but the keeping of that Covenant which is made betwâ—xt God and the soul. If you do indeed fâ—llow after holinesse it 's a sign you account it your chief happiness to see God If you are patient and unwearied in well-doing it 's a sign you seek for honour and glory with God And if you keep the Commandments of Christ endeavouring to walk as he walk't it 's manifest that you love him and believe in him If you bring forth much fruit hereby you and all men may know that you are Christs Disciples that you are living branches of him the true Vine then have you received Christ if you walk in him And if you shew forth the fruits of the Spirit in your lives it 's a sure token that his graces are sown in your hearts If you are led by and walk after the Spirit then indeed the Spirit is with and in you and you live in him Gal. 5.25 But on the other hand it 's as certain thou art a stranger and Aliene from this Covenant I have beâ—ore described if thou be one that servest the Devil rather than the true God Make what profession thou wilt to love God and believe in Christ if thou allowest thy self in any one known sin all thy great pretences will at length come to nothing What doth that man love the Lord who doth not hate evil Nay who delights in that which the Lord abhorrs and wherewith he is griev'd and provokt to fury Doth hee take Christ for his Lord who will not be obedient to him Doth he take him for his Physitian who would not be heal'd but had rather keep his diseases Beware as thou lovest thy soul of
word and all providences shall help forward thy happinesse All thy outward affairs thy heavenly Father who knows what thou hast need of will see to and regard at all times he will so dispose of and provide for thee as shall be most for thy advantage no affliction shall befall thee but will prove as Physick to thy soul in all estates and conditions he will be near to thee to direct and preserve thee if thou retain thy integrity so that neither men nor Devils shall prevail against thee to thy ruine And the Holy Ghost will be thine to enlighten sanctifie guide and comfort thee to assist thee in duties and to seal thee up to everlasting happinesse When thou diest the Lord Jesus will receive thy Spirit and preserve thee from the roaring Lion and the pit of destruction and vouchsafe thee the beginnings of happinesse with himself which shall be compleated and perfected at the great Resurrection day when thou shalt be raised up by his power and brought into appearance not in wrath but in mercy and shalt be publickly owned by that Christ whose person and cause thou didst here embrace and own and by him thou shalt be openly justified from all accusations of Satan or the Law and shalt be presented pure and holy into the presence of the Father and shalt be eternally blessed in the enjoyment of all those treasures of infinite love and goodnesse which God hath laid up in store for believers This is the inheritance which we come to by Christ we are made heirs of God yea coheirs with his own Son we enter upon the joy of our Lord with him we shall abide in the mansions that are in our Fathers house Then at length we shall know all the designs of Divine wisdome and love when they shall be accomplish'd in us and for us and by the fruition we shall understand what is that exceeding and eternall weight of glory for which there were made such wonderfull contrivances such solemn preparations by that God who doth all things like himself being infinitely wise and good Then shall we reach to and find those glorious things that are spoken of the City of God yea those things which it was neither lawfull nor possible for Angels or Men to utter To be short thou shalt then be advanced to the utmost possible perfection of thy nature thy soul shall be fitted for those actions and employments which are most suitable to it even the loving and praising thy Maker Saviour and Sanctifier and shalt be made capable of tasting the most ravishing satisfying sweetnesse and joy in these employments in pleasing the blessing God and in feeling thy self encompassed with the warm embraces of his dearest love And as this thy blessedness shall be infinite and unspeakable so shall the continuance of it be eternall Nor shall thy delight be once abated or interrupted through all this eternity but be ever exalted to the highest pitch it shall always flow yea overflow but never ebbe This is the joy which hath no end no measures or decay This is the glory which Christ will give his servants not as the world gives gives he unto them This he tells us is the will of him that sent him that every one that sees the Son and believes on him may have everlasting life Joh. 6.40 The water which he gives us to drink shall be in those who partake of it a well of water springing up into everlasting life And some beginnings of this divine life now there are brought into the soul whilst it is made in its measure conformable to God and is carried out after him with the strong workings of love and desire and feels the shedding abroad of his love in it self and lives in the joyfull expectations of an advancement to the abundance of life the perfection of blisse which I before mentioned And now Reader if thou believest all this which I think thou must needs except thou take the Gospel for a cheat if then thou believest it to be true I would know of thee whether the invitations Christ makes thee to come to him be not backt with sufficient motives to prevail with all that are not quite beside their wits in matters of the greatest moment By this time I hope thou seest that thy Redeemer seeks thy interest whilst he is so importunate with thee What is all for in the result but this That thou would'st make thy self blessed for ever This he commands thee this he beseeches thee to And shall such commands be disobey'd shall such requests be denied Good Lord How strange a thing is this That man a reasonable Being whose wisdome sets him above all other creatures on earth should be thus woo'd thus call'd upon and entreated to be happy and yet that he should stand dallying and deliberating whether he had best be so or not yea that he should peremptorily refuse to be so Which should I most admire in this case the distraction and base ingratitude of man or the inconceivable mercy and patience of God so long to bear with such unworthy creatures and so frequently to renew the offers of blessednesse and even presse it upon them Well then dost thou think there is any gain in godlinesse Is there enough to be had with Christ to make him and his gifts worth the accepting For that I tell thee still is all that is expected from thee be but cordially willing to take him and all his benefits together and for certain all shall be thine Thou shalt find every promise of the book of God made good to thy comfort yea thou shalt find ten thousand times more than ever thou could'st understand or conceive from the fullest promises the highest expressions that ever thou mett'st with concerning the priviledges of Believers Shall all that is said then bring thee to be one of that number or not Dost thou know where to make a better bargain for thy self If so take thy own course and make thy best on 't for be assured Jesus Christ needs not thee His glory doth not so depend on thy subjection to him that it should be lessened in case of thy disobedience Doe thou as thou wilt he knows how to secure his own interest but fain he would perswade thee to take pity on thy self and save thy own soul. If there be any in all the world that hath done more for thee than Christ or that will doe more hearken to him and spare not But before thou conclude there is any such person or thing examine matters well on both sides and then doe as thou seest meet Indeed the case is so plain that the veriest child or fool almost may know how to decide it Bethink thee well what thou art like to have from the world from thy lusts from the service of the Devil or from any thing that would keep thee from Christ. Canst thou think that the satisfying of thy senses with what they call for or pleasing thy fancy with
things super fluous or living in idlenesse and wantonnesse in pride and pomp with the applause of the world is any or all of this better than the love of God better than the fulnesse of joy to be had in his presence or better than the rivers of pleasure at his râ—ght hand for evermore But be they as good as they will dost thou think they will last always Or hath the Devil any future reward for his servants when their miserable slavery in this life is ended Amongst all his temptations did he ever so much as once bear thee in hand that he would make thee happy for ever It is possible for thee to be ignorant that the pleasures of sin besides their emptiness basenesse are but for a seasâ—n So that if thou remain without Christ thou hast no whiâ—her to go nothing to trust to that will not miserably fail thy expectations Look round about thee and see if thou canst find any other foundation to build upon to raise an happinesse to thy self And when thou hast but considered a while with that seriousnesse that beseemes one who hath a desire to doe himself good I doubt not but the language of thy soul will be like that of Peter to Christ Joh. 6.66 Lâ—rd whether shall I go thou onely hast the words of eternall life Thou oneâ—y hast revealed it thou alone directest to it thou onely hast purchast it thou onely hast promised it and thou alone canst bestow it upon thy people wherefore to thee Lord I betake my self renouncing all things that stand in competition with thee be thou my Lord let me be thy servant let me live to thee here and let me live with thee for ever hereafter pertaking of that glory which thou hast obtained of the Father for thy faithfull ones What saist thou Does thy very heart agree to these words or not Say yea or no before thou goest any farther I am sure thou hast nothing like reason to give why it should not Oh give not Christ cause to wonder at thy obstinacy and unbelief who when he came to bring thee salvation was rejected Once again I assure thee he comes not to undoe thee Think not thou shalt lose by him because he calls thee to mortification self-denyall and bearing the Crosse. If he would take thee from any thing which is dear to thee 't is onely because it is hurtfull and he 'll give thee better delights more noble employments than those he calls thee off from Thou shalt part with nothing by his service which thou could'st have kept long and instead of it thou shalt receive a treasure that shall never be taken from thee But if thou art so fast bound to thy profits thy pleasures and thy sweet sins to which thou hast been long accustomed that thou wilt not be perswaded to take thy love off them and set it on Christ but art so swallowed up with them that thou turnest the deaf ear to all these entreaties if this be thy resolution that Baal shall be thy god and him thou wilt worship that the world shall be thy portion and to it thou wilt cleave that sin shall be thy trade and in it thou wilt live Remember then thou hadst thy choice Christ tendered himself and all his saving mercies to thee but thou didst deliberately preferre other things before him and therefore thou hast no wrong done thee if thou goest without him If this be thy thanks to him for his matchlesse condescension in inviting thee to glory grudge not if hereafter he exclude thee from it And now get thee to thy idols which have so taken up thy heart that there was no room for Christ except he would have the leavings of the world and flesh which be it known to thee he never will he 'll have the highest place or none and since he must not have that go thy way I say and make the best of thy idols thy riches thy bravery thy carnall joys and empty honours thy dear friends and pleasant companions suck all the sweetnesse they will yield and keep them as long as thou canst and when thou seest where they leave thee and what thou hast brought thy self to then let thy Conscience reflect whether once thou hadst not an offer worth the acceptance 6. But this brings me to the sixth and last argument to prevail with thee to give up thy self to Christ and that is the sad and dolefull effects that are like to follow upon thy rejection of him If God be just and true thou art not like to go smoothly away with the guilt of this hainous sin Something to this purpose I mentioned before and therefore shall be the briefer now onely in faithfulnesse and love to thy immortall soul that thou maist never be able to say but that thou hadst fair warning given thee I now come to tell thee that if thou standest out against the mercy that 's so freely held forth to thee refusing to receive thy Saviour on those terms and to those purposes for which he demands acceptance thou art then like to be as miserable a forlorn undone creature both body and soul as ever trod upon the earth or saw the Sun Make as light of these threatnings now as thou wilt but if there be a God in heaven be assured they will be made good upon thee as shortly thou wilt feel to thy everlasting sorrow if thy speedy conversion doe not prevent it Think not I take any delight to dig in the bowels of hell and throw flashes of fire in thy face meerly to terrifie and daunt thee no but I would fain if possible prevent thy misery by discovering what it 's like to be if thou throw thy self headlong into it And oh that I could speak any thing that might make some impression upon thee not onely to bring thee to a fright and there leave thee but a little to awake thee to a sense what a mischievous thing that sin is which now thou art so deeply in love with that thou maist see to get thy hands rid of it before it be too late to wish thou hadst done so Even during this present life whilst thou art without Christ thy condition is most sad however thou maist applaud and blesse thy self in thy worldly enjoyments For thou art this while under the load of thy originall sin and all the transgressions which thou hast actually committed in thought word or deed since thou camest into the world the least of which without pardoning mercy would drown thee in perdition Thou hast no certainty for an hour of any of those things which thou possessest but art liablâ— to as short warning as the rich Fool in the Gospel who was call'd away in that night wherein he bid his soul take its ease eat drink and be merry For thou canst not shew any true title by virtue of a promise from God to the least of all thy comforts But thou standest always exposed to that
prevail with them when they saw in good earnest what was like to betide them And if Christ would take this course and shew heaven and hell if that were possible plainly to their eye-sight it s like the most stubborn sinners would be awakened but he will not doe thus nor is there any reason he should Since we are made men to be ruled by reason why should he deal with us like bruits that must be led by their senses yet because he will not take this way with them bruitish sinners disregard him as if they needed him not But ah Sirs all you that could see no need of Christ when he was so urged and prest upon you when shortly you shall see all the world stand before him and shall behold the devouring flames into which all they must be cast who have not a part in his love then you will see what benefit comes by Christ then you will no longer count them fools that took it for their greatest businesse to get an interest in him Then if the most passionate wishes that you had been so wise would doe you any good if the loudest roarings and bitterest cries for mercy might preval you would think them all well spent but alas all will be to no purpose Cry Lord Lord with never so much noise and earnestnesse if thou wast here a worker of iniquity no other answer shalt thou obtain but Depart from me I know thee not And thou thy self shalt be forced to acknowledge that this Sentence is as just as terrible For didst not thou here hid Christ to depart from thee thou desired'st not the knowledge of his ways and is it not just he should then command thee to Depart from him as one he will not know nor own Heaven thou didst refuse since it was to be had on no other terms than submission to Christ and therefore thou must needs fall into Hell since there is no third place provided But perhaps thou wilt flatter thy self with a conceit that none of these things shall come upon thee in that as thou pretendest thou putst thy whole trust in God that he 'll save thee and reliest upon thy Saviour Jesus Christ alone to be kept by him from hell and the power of the Devil But beware I beseech thee how thou cheatest thy soul into that misery whence no trick or wile can ever fetch thee Dost thou put thy trust in God he 'll take thee to heaven when thou diest who now allowest thy self in those very sins for which he hath threatned to turn men into hell If indeed thou dost so then I hope it is some promise of his that thou bottom'st thy trust upon or else it is a vain confidence now shew me if thou canst one promise in the whole book of God that gives thee the least ground to hope for happinesse whilst thou continuest in an unregenerate naturall estate in love with thy sins take thy Bible and turn it over from one end to the other and see if thou canst find any such place but I could shew thee an hundred Texts where wrath is threatned to all unconverted sinners continuing such So that in plain English thy trust in God is no more than a wretched presumption that he will be so mercifull as to break his word to save thee and if indeed this word prove false than thy confidence will not deceive thee but if it prove true as for certain it will then woe be to thee for all this pretended trust And of the very same stamp is thy reliance on Christ whilst thou rebellest against him For tell me prethee does the Gospel say that every man who shall believe that Christ will save him shall be saved by him let his heart and life be what it will I am sure neither Christ nor his Apostles ever made known such a doctrine and if thy faith be grounded upon any other Gospel than Christ hath revealed thou art like to go seek another heaven than that he hath promised For he hath told thee plainly that without holinesse thou shalt never see the Lord that he is the author of salvation onely to those that obey him and that he takes off condemnation from none but such who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit Now if thou dost truly believe in Christ thou wilt set thy self to seek for happinesse in the way that he hath appointed not in one of thy own devising for else it is a sign thou dost not depend upon him for salvation but on thy own fancy or Satans delusions or whoever it is whose directions thou followest rather than Christs If thou wast in a place where two ways meet and one man should bid thee follow him in this way and another should bid thee follow him in the contrary way if thou would'st come to thy journeys end is it not plain that thou believest him whom thou followest Or if thou hadst some dangerous disease and an able Physician should tell thee that if thou would'st depend upon him by the help of God he would recover thee and should leave with thee such and such Physick to take if in the mean time thou should'st take a conceit that thou mightest be well without following his advice and some one else should direct thee to an easier and cheaper way whereupon thou throwest away his medicines dost thou then depend upon this Physician for cure Thus the Lord Jesus the great Physician of souls assures thee if thou wilt depend on and trust thy self with him or believe in him he will keep thee from that everlasting death whereof thou art in danger and to this purpose he sends his Word and Spirit to cure thee of thy ignorance and wickednesse which is the disease of thy soul he would bring thee to Repentance and thoroughly purifie and sanctifie thy heart but thou think'st this a tedious course and wilt by no means submit to it come on it what will but fanciest thou maist be saved without so much adoe and that forsooth by reliance on Christ. Is not this a very wise businesse to rely on the Physician for health and throw away the Physick that should procure it I know well enough what thou would'st have Christ shall keep thee from hell but yet by all means he must give thee liberty to live in sin that is he must let thee carry fire in thy bosome but yet he must keep thee from being burnt he must let thee drink poison but yet he must keep it from griping thy bowels But believe it Christ came not into the World for any such ends This he hath purchast That no sins great or small shall damn the man that 's truly humbled for and forsakes them and depends upon him for a pardon and is made holy in heart and life but not that he who lives and delights in sin should escape misery which is indeed a kind of impossibility For man is in bondage and sin is his fetters now
any other condition than forsaking them If bare confession and begging of mercy might serve turn or if coming to the Sacrament might serve turn and yet still they might live as they list few would go without a pardon But remember God nowhere assures pardon to any man absolutely but upon a certain condition which except we perform we cannot look for the promised mercy What this condition is I have before told you even that you should repent of and give diligence to forsake all sin and receive Christ to be your perfect Saviour upon no other terms therefore expect to have a pardon confirmed to you by the Sacrament which will no farther avail you than as it receives power and efficacy from the promise without which it is a seal to a blank paper that will warrant you to claim nothing Suppose a Landlord should make you a Lease of an House upon condition that you would own your self his Tenant yearly pay him some small quit-rent should set his seal to this Lease all this would stand you in no stead if you denied that you was his Tenant and refuse to pay the Rent he required Wherefore to know whether your hope of pardon be upon good grounds and such as will not fail you examine whether you are such kind of persons as I have before described whether you are humbled for and brought out of love with every sin and doe with firm purpose of heart cleave to the Lord Jesus To bring you thus to depend upon Christ for a pardon in a right manner and upon sure grounds the considerations I laid down under the last particular may be of use since this is one part of that faith in Christ which I there exhorted you to that was an acceptance of him in all his Offices this hath a peculiar respect to his Priestly Office and is called Faith in his blood Rom. 3.25 Onely to adde a word or two more for the quickning of all such who have not much laid it to heart how to get their sins pardoned as if they thought it was a thing of no great consequence Consider I beseech you whether the Incarnation Life and Death of Christ was not a matter of huge importance to the world and tell me Reader dost not think thou art as much concerned herein as any other man Hadst not thou as much need of his Death as any And therefore doth it not stand thee upon to see whether thou sharest in the benefits of it as much as it doth any man breathing And tell me farther if all this preparation in the Gospel had been made for thee onely and Christ had come down from heaven and suffered on the Crosse for thy sake alone that thou mightest be saved by him on the same terms that now thou maist and should have sent thee a message calling thee by thy particular name assuring thee of all this and beseeching thee to accept of these offers of life dost thou think all this would have convinced thee of the greatnesse of Divine love and of thy need of mercy And would it have awakened thee to make out after the same and to doe all that was required to obtain it If so why then wilt thou not now be perswaded to the same care Since the Gospel speaks to thee as particularly as if it named thee and the mercy is as great and thy need of it as much as if thou alone wast concerned in it and thou shalt never have the lesse benefit nay rather more by having others to share with thee in it but thy misery if thou misse of a pardon will be never the lesse for having many companions in the same sad case with thy self Once again let me ask thee thou who now art so insensible of thy need of a pardon that thou wilt not take pains to get it in the way thou art commanded wouldest thou be contented at any rates absolutely and expresly to part with all hopes and expectations of it If thou might'st be hired with a thousand or ten thousand pounds would'st thou for such a summe of money professe thou didst renounce all right and title to Jesus Christ and all hopes of mercy through him Or would'st thou give this under thy hand in writing to the Devil or to any man that would help thee to a great Estate what would'st thou think of those who should doe thus would'st thou not look upon them as most wretched forlorn creatures Why be it known to thee if through negligence and stupidity thou seek not out after an interest in Christ that thou maist be pardoned and saved by him thy condition will at length be found as miserable as theirs If there should be certain acres of ground in Ireland promised to any one that would go thither to possesse them he that would not take the pains to go over would have no more advantage by them than he that should formally renounce his righâ— thereto Even so by carelesnesse and sloth maist thou lose all benefit by Christ as certainly as those poor creatures that are drawn to make compacts with the Devil and sell away their souls for a thing of nought To conclude if nothing I have hitherto said will move thee consider I entreat thee whether this thy undervaluing of pardoning mercy will remain always Sins thou hast I know thou wilt acknowledge yea many and great sins such as would sink thee to the lowest hell if they be laid to thy charge Dost thou not grant this And thou canst not but know that there will at length come a day of reckoning for these thy sins and dost thou think when thou must stand before the Judge and give up thy account that thou shalt not earnestly desire a pardon then will it then seem as indifferent a thing as now it does Then I say when without it thou must be sentenced to keep company with the Devils in the midst of scorching flames for ever and ever And thou canst not sure be so ignorant as not to know that none shall have a pardon then but those who got it now that 's a day for examining and declaring what our estates are whether good or bad that we may be dealt with accordingly not a time for getting them made better if they were naught before Wherefore if thou beest not a very bruit onely to mind what 's before thee if thou hast any foresight any belief of this Judgement-day that thou art going to now rouze up thy self and with all speed and industry labour to get that pardon which within a while to thy own most lively sense will be so needfull and stand thee in so much stead And when thou art wrought to such a sight of thy misery as makes thee desire after mercy and to such a loathing of thy sins as fits thee for it then thou maist be assured that God for Christ sake will be gracious to thee and thou maist comfortably addresse thy self to the Sacrament and take
it as a farther assurance from God that his promises of mercy shall be made good to thee CHAP. VII The second benefit is Sanctification 2. THe second great benefit purchast by the Death of Christ and held forth in the Sacrament is Sanctifying Saving Grace for the enlivening and strengthning the souls of Believers There is no truth more plain in the whole Gospel than that one great end of Christ's Death was to obtain from the Father that the holy Spirit should accompany the proclaiming of the Gospel to enlighten the minds and soften the hearts of those who should not wilfully resist his workings that they might entertain the truth in the love thereof and that on these greater measures of grace should be poured forth to make them in all things conformable to their Maker according to the capacity of their natures which was the great design of the Redeemer even to restore apostate creatures to the image of God wherein they were created that so they might be made meet for his service here and the fruition of him hereafter A most lamentable mistake it is to confine Christs death onely to the procuring of a pardon and keeping sinners out of Hell since this was but in order to a work of grace on their hearts and onely such who submit to this work shall at last have a share in the absolute pardon For suppose a company of prisoners were taken in Warre who being weak and wounded cannot return into their own Countrey but must presently be put to death by the King that took them and in the mean time comes their own Prince and pays a great sum to obtain that the execution of them may be put off for some time and that his Physician may use medicines and apply plaisters to as many as are willing and that all such when they are made whole shall be sent to their own homes and the rest who will not be ruled by the Physician but spit out his potions because they are bitter and throw away his plaisters because they make them smart they are to remain in their prison and be put to death as they were sentenced Here we see the ransome that was paid was first to stop the slaughter of the prisoners and to get liberty to use means for their recovery to health and soundnesse and secondly to obtain that the recovered should be set free to return to their own Countrey and not onely the contempt of the ransome but of the Physician would bring death Thus had we by the Fall both brought our selves into danger of present destruction and disabled our souls that we could not return to that state whence we fell but the Son of God undertaking our Redemption obtained for us that the sentence of condemnation should not speedily be executed and that there should be assured hopes of escaping destruction and returning to happinesse for all those who make not their condition desperate by continuance in sin and rejecting of the cure which his Spirit would work upon them now the work of his Spirit is to plant and encrease grace in their hearts to heal the diseases and remove the weaknesse which sin hath caused that they may be enabled to walk in the ways of holinesse to their everlasting rest and the sending forth of his healing Spirit was the fruit of his blood Now as it will assuredly damn men to despise the blood of Christ as if it was of no force to be a ransome nor to attain those ends for which the Gospel saith it was shed so is it as dangerous and damnable to resist and sleight the Spirit of Christ let them pretend what esteem they will for his blood A like mistake also it is flowing from the former to limit the notion of free grace to meer pardoning mercy whenas it includes sanctifying 〈◊〉 so for in the instance now given the Physick I hope was as free a gift to the prisoners as the ransome that was paid for them notwithstanding this was without them and the other to be taken into them And in like manner is the giving of the Spirit into us as purely from the grace and mercy of God though merited by Christ as the giving of his Son for us accepting of us for his sake This I was willing to hint least any when they hear or read of being saved by Free grace should dream of a salvation to be had by a meer pardon without being sanctified by the Spirit That the making men holy in their hearts and lives was a principall end of Christs Death without which no happinesse is to be attained is I say a truth so evident in the very tenour of the Gospel that it may seem needlesse to produce particular proofs yet amongst the rest read these few Eph. 2.10 We are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works c. Eph. 5.25 26 27. Christ loved the Church and gave himself for it that he might sanctifie and cleanse it c. and that it might be holy and without blemish 1 Joh. 3.8 The Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the Devil 1 Pet. 3.24 Who bare our sins that we being dead to sin should live unto righteousnesse Tit. 3.4 5 6. According to his mercy he saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour Read also Mat. 1.22 Luk. 1.75 Rom. 6.11 Galat. 1.4 Tit. 2.12 13 14. Heb. 9.14 Now though I acknowledge it is by the help of the Spirit that we are brought to believe for faith it self is the gift of God Eph. 2.8 yet I think we shall ordinarily find the promises of the Spirit to be made to those who are already Believers to advance and carry on the work of God upon their souls And to this end and of this nature is that Grace which is 〈◊〉 and given forth by the Sacrament even to refresh and nourish the souls of Believers to confirm and encrease those graces that are wrought in them and to bring them forward to farther degrees of perfection And this much the very elements themselves do teach us for as Bread is the support and stay of life and Wine that which makes glad the heart of man and both are needfull for the maintaining of life and encreasing our strength so are the Body and Blood of Christ alike necessary and usefull to our souls for he himself hath told us that his flesh is meat indeed and his blood is drink indeed and that he who eats his flesh and drinks his blood dwelleth in him and hath eternall life with much more to the same purpose Joh. 6. The proper meaning whereof as will appear by the Context and the occasion of that Discourse I suppose is That they who believe in him having the same expectations of spirituall life from him that they have of temporall life from their food and accordingly receive digest and improve
the pleasing of your flesh that you should be thereby stupefied to a regardlesnesse of your soul. The luscious fare which the world affords cloys the mind of man and spoils his appetite and puts him out of relish with his own most proper food This is the undoing of the most they are so full of the creature if not in their hands yet in their hearts that they have no mind nor room to entertain any thing of God there Every man breathing finds himself a needy creature that cannot live upon himself but must have something from without brought in to give him satisfaction but then the misery is they think their wants are all of that nature that things here below may supply them The poor think there is nothing they need so much as better food and raiment more plenty and ease and esteem in the world and they who abound in these things because they see others excell them think they want such and such greater Estates and Dignities to make them happy Though they find after all their attainments that still they are restlesse discontented and wanting something else they scarce know what which might convince them that it is onely from God they can receive satisfaction by having their natures perfected with those graces which may fit them for that communion with him in love and delight wherein the soul of man can onely find rest and contentment This I say they might learn from those restlesse infinite desires of their own hearts if they would but heedfully attend to the nature thereof but being more cruell to themselves than any parent to his child when the soul calls for bread they give it a stone endeavouring to put it off with those things that concern the body alone whilst that within them which is most needy still remains so and is suffered to pine and starve As if an hungry man should fill his mouth with meat and let nothing down into his stomach Whilst you are fondly endeavouring to quiet your minds and accomplish your selves with any thing that is without your souls be it riches pleasures honours friends and all the accommodations of the outward man which the world most dotes upon you are as verily besotted and deceived as he that thinks to ease a violent pain at his heart with putting on a rich Suit of Clothes or to supply the want of enlivening blood and spirits by painting his face Your necessities and diseases are deep and inward your very souls are out of order and nothing in the world will doe you any good but what gets within you and changes your apprehensions desires and affections and makes you quite other persons than now you are Wherefore I would beg you to fix this truth deep into your minds That since you are become poor and naked through the losse of Gods image which was the riches and beauty of the reasonable creature it 's never like to be well with you till you be again restored to his image which is by being brought to the knowledge and love of him to an universall submission and exact conformity to his will 3. And when you are brought to this knowledge of your wants and the nature of them then consider well that it is by Jesus Christ alone that you can be satisfied and supplied The Law was given by Moses but by him comes grace and truth 1 Joh. 1.17 He is the Mediatour through whom and for whose sake we receive from God whatever our souls stand in need of He by his death hath purchast all things necessary for our salvation he is ascended on high and hath received gifts for his people As King and Head of his Church he communicates to his members those graces that by his death and intercession he hath obtained for them and they are replenisht with the fulnesse of him who filleth all in all And then you are to take notice that Christ hath appointed duties to be performed by us and set up Ordinances which we are diligently to attend upon and by his Spirit accompanying them he conveys grace to the hearts of those that are conscionable in the use of these means Such are hearkning to and meditating upon the word Joh. 17.17 Sanctifie them by thy truth thy word is truth 1 Pet. 2.2 As new born babes desire the sincere milk of the word that you may grow thereby And prayer to the Father in his name Joh. 14.13 Luke 11.13 How much more will your heavenly Father give the Spirit to those that ask him Jam. 1.5 If any man lack wisdome let him ask of God who gives to all men liberally and upbraideth not and it shall be given him Such also is the Sacrament of Baptisme being duly improved Gal. 3.27 For as many of you as have been Baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Rom. 6.3 4. 1 Pet. 3.21 And lastly this receiving of the Lords Supper which is our feeding upon Christ who is the Paschal Lamb sacrificed for us and herein to believers in a spirituall sense is afforded a communion of the body and blood of Christ as we may find in the Apostles words before mentioned And when you have but arrived to a sence of your own indigence and Christs fulnesse suitable thereto there will necessarily arise in you desires after a participation of that fulnesse which will bring you to and prepare you for those Ordinances wherein these desires may be gratified Lastly I would advise you to beware of ever entertaining a conceit that you are become so full now that you need nothing for that 's a plain sign you are poor and know it not Your stomachs are filled with wind instead of solid meat And whilst you are puft up with this self-conceit you will be hindred from seeking after what you really want He that thinks his Barns full when they are empty may through this mistake first lie in idlenesse and after come to beggary He that dreams of such a perfection as makes all helps Christ hath appointed needlesse to him neither knows himself nor considers what a God he hath to serve nor what a Law he hath given him to walk by It 's much to be feared that he who thinks he hath grace enough hath yet got no saving grace at all He that knows enough is very ignorant he that 's humble enough is still exceeding proud and so of the rest For he that hath tasted that the Lord is gracious longs after fuller communion with him He that drinks of the water Christ gives though his sickly thirst after creatures will be cured yet will such a thirst after more of Christ arise in him as will never be quencht till he be drencht into the ocean of grace and joy Wherefore study thy self study the duty of this whole present state wherein we are enjoyn'd to grow in grace and learn hence so much humility so much wisdome as to own thy necessities and not go about to cover them for they will not always be
thou little regardest the health of thy soul whilst thou sleightest those means which through the blessing of the great Physician upon thy carefull use of them might tend so much to thy healing and strengthning If a shilling be offered me in earnest of a thousand pound to be given upon some certain conditions if I refuse to take it it is not so much the Earnest as the greater summe that I thereby reject Thus Heaven is assured to thee upon condition of thy faith and obedience and if thou likest it upon these terms the Sacrament shall be given thee in earnest but if thou wilt not take the Earnest thou putt'st away from thee everlasting life If a condemned man tear in pieces the Kings pardon which is brought to him his fault is not so much the tearing of a piece of paper as his contempt of the Pardon Thus shall it be laid thy charge not meerly thy despising a bit of Bread and sup of Wine but thy sleighting all those rich and unvaluable blessings which hereby were offered assured to Believers If indeed thou prizest these shew it by thy setting a due esteem upon that which hath so near a relation to them but if thou value them not think not much if thou go without them for ever for whom canst thou blame if thou misse of those things which thou caredst not for 4 Is not this neglect a sad sign that thou performest no duty as thou oughtest nor to those ends thou shouldest For if thou didst rightly improve any why should'st thou not be glad of all Art thou not ready to try all courses use all means for the continuance and encrease of thy outward welfare and yet thou thinkest every thing too much that 's enjoyned thee for thy spirituall advantage and therefore comest not to this Ordinance as thinking thou maist doe well enough without it They that are in health use not to say if they have one sort of food what should they doe with another or if they eat one meal in a day why need they eat another and yet this is thy language in reference to thy soul. So long as thou hast been baptized and comest to Church and saist thy prayers and it 's well if thou doe thus much why may not this serve thy turn without coming to the Sacrament Why tell mee pray thee what 's thy design in these duties Is it to get good to thy soul That thou maist grow in grace and get fitter for glory If it be why then is not every duty acceptable to thee which would help on this design But is it not rather to be feared that these are done out of custome without expecting and therefore without finding any great advantage from them And because the neglect of that duty I am urging thee to is too too common and so no great matter of disgrace therefore thou makest so light of it And withall perhaps there is somewhat more pains requisite to prepare thee for it and therefore out of meer sloth and lazinesse thou holdest off Oh that thou wast but set in as good earnest to inrich thy soul with grace as the most of men and it 's like thou thy self art to grow rich in the world How many ways will they wind and turn to get a little gain If one course will not serve they 'l take another and if that fail they 'l try a third what they misse in one bargain they 'l seek to make amends for in the next Thus would it be with thee wast thou a diligent Christian thou would'st turn every stone seek every corner for the pearl of price Didst thou once by experience know the worth and excellency of true Grace and the satisfying sweetnesse of conversing with God thou would'st be very diligent in the use of all those means whereby these advantages are to be attained what thou hadst gâ—t at one duty would prompt thee to another in hopes to find the like or if thou hadst mist of thy hopes in oâ—e it would put thee upon another there to get satisfaction If thou found'st thy self at a distance from God or under fears of his displeasure thou would'st never be at rest with thy self till thou hadst found him whom thy soul loved and hadst got a renewed sense of his love to thy soul in all those ways wherein he gives a comfortable meeting to his people would'st thou give constant attendance ever earnestly waiting for the gracious and comfortable manifestations of himself in thy soul. But since thou canst so contentedly misse one Priviledge and that of so great importance it 's a shrewd sign that thou improvest not any as thou oughtest and what a wretched starven case then must thy soul needs be in 5. Consider what a shame it is that thou should'st be thus regardlesse of the provisions made for thy soul whilst thou art so greedy and forward after any thing that makes for the graâ—iâ—ying of thy fâ—esh Generally in the world men refuse no pains to supply their bodily necessities and yet when here is food provided to their hands they have no mind to it because this is onely suited to their souls Hâ—w eagerly can they hunt after that which they are never like to obtain or which if they doe will neve satisfie and fill them whilst they put away from them the savoury meat which God hath brought to them which would be savoury if their taste was not spoil'd Whilst Manna is loathed that falls before the tent-door how doe they long after the Garlick and Onions and Fleshpots of Aegypt May I not justly say that the Table of Devils is more frequented than the Table of the Lord What though men now adays doe not offer sacrifices to Devils as those Idolaters did of whom the Apostle speaks yet doe they not sacrfice to their own lusts And is not this as acceptable service to the Devil and as provoking to God And doe they not maintain a fellowship with Devils whilst their nature is so conformable and their lives so subject to them Such are all swinish Epicures who serve their own belly rather than the Lord Jesus Oh what multitudes have we got of such voluptuous ones who had rather bring sicknesse upon their bodies and damnation upon their souls by pleasing their greedy unsatiable throat than come to refresh and strengthen themselves with such food as through the Spirit of life accompanying it will preserve both soul and body to everlasting life Wisdome in vain sends forth her Embassadours to stand in the highest places of the City to call passengers to the banquet she hath made whilst yet the destroyer of souls is hearkned to calling them off from the right way telling them that Stoln waters are sweet and bread eaten in secret is pleasant and with these unlawfull pleasures do foolish sinners glut themselves not remembring that he doth but feed them for the slaughter and that his guests are in the depth of hell Pro. 9. Oh
how will this aggravate the condemnation of the pâ—ofane in our days that whilst they could not be kept out of the Alehouse and Tavern but lay there day and night drinking away their wit their money and of entimes theâ—r life it self yet no entreaties could bring them duly to prepare themselves and come to eat and drink at the Lords own Table Hadst thou but such a favour offered thee as Haman to be entertained at a banquet with the King and Queen how forwardly would'st thou accept it and with what a pride would'st thou boast of it as he did But yet when the King of glory invites thee to be his guest thou think'st not his invitations worth hearkning to so mean are thy thoughts of his company and fare Yea dost thou not see how importunate Beggars are for an alms They come to thy door and stand begging for bread and will hardly be driven empty away and yet when thou art thus begg'd to accept of bread that comes from heaven thou wilt not receive it Here men must be compell'd that is importunately woo'd to come in and yet they will not be prevailed with or if they doe come it is oftentimes in such a carelesse manner that gives as much displeasure to him who sent for them and brings as much mischief upon themselves as if they had staid away But of this I spake in the beginning wherefore I shall onely adde that it is to me a matter of astonishment that those who know their bodies will shortly be in the grave and who say they verily believe their souls must live for ever that those very men should with so much care and unweariednesse feed and maintain their bodies whilst willingly and out of meer sloth they suffer these immortall souls to starve and perish eternally 6. Consider this is a juncture of time wherin especially thou art engaged to doe all that in thee lies toward the speedy securing of thy everlasting happinesse and therefore in the most solemn manner to consecrate thy self to God at the Sacrament there renouncing all the ways of wickednesse whereby thou hast provoked him that so thy peace may be made with him For consider how he hath lately appeared in judgement against us and shewn that he hath a sore controversie with us and shall not we the surviving inhabitants of the Land learn righteousnesse hereby Shall not we be so wise as to meet him in the way before his anger be kindled against us in particular It is to be feared the neglect of this very duty and the grosse miscarriages in the manner of performing it have done much toward the hastening of those judgements we have lain under And shall not this teach thee what to doe for the future Wilt thou go on to provoke the Lord to jealousie so that his anger should not be turned away but his hand stretched out still And if thou art one who hast lately been preserved from the very graves mouth whereinto thou wast ready to fall being in continuall expectation of death through the Visitation or any other Distemper I would with thee to look back and consider what were the thoughts of thy heart at that time thou I mean who hadst lived a loose and carelesse life Did not thy Conscience fly in thy face for all thy wickednesse And didst thou not resolve that if God should spare thee thou would'st become a new man and lead another kind of life than thou hadst done Did it not terrifie thee to remember how thou hadst neglected praying hearing and receiving Sacraments And didst thou not make promises within thy self that if God would try thee once again it should be no more thus But that thou would'st be as diligent and constant therein for the time to come as thou hadst been slack and negligent before Well now God hath tried thee according to thy desire thou who might'st have been sent to the place where Repentance will do no good art yet kept upon earth to see what will be the fruit of thy afflictions where yet thou art within the reach of mercy if thou throw not thy self out of it What then shall become of all thy good purposes and promises Are they gone as soon as thy sicknesse and pain are gone Are they all forgotten already Yet be thou sure God will remember them and fain would I perswade thee to remember them too and now in particular having prepared thy soul to addresse thy self to the Lords Table and there renew all those vows and resolutions which thou madest in the time of sicknesse and danger and humbly implore mercy and pardon for thy former carelesnesse and all thy transgressions and help from God to walk more closely with him for the future Let me now in season be thy Remembrancer from the Lord and bring to mind what engagements thou hast made to him and see thou be faithfull to them But if they be sleighted and all that I have said to thee sleighted because now thou art lusty and well and seest no death near thee and hast something else to do than to trouble thy self with being so religious as dying men use to be yet let it sink into thy thoughts that there is just such another time coming upon thee very shortly thou wilt be sick again and cast upon thy death-bed and dost thou not think the very same thoughts will then come into thy mind again When thou shalt consider thy self just lanching forth into eternity shalt look back upon all thy ungodly deeds and thy undervaluing the means of grace by an improvement of which thou mightest have been made ready for such an hour as this wilt thou not then begin again to fall to wishing that it had been otheâ—wise and to purposing thou wilt be better hereafter if once again thou maist be recovered But when thy Conscience with a redoubled fury shall rise up and 〈◊〉 thâ—e remember how thou didst long ago in the same condition seem as penitent as this comes to but yet all câ—me to nothing and that therefore thou hast no reason to expect a farther triall and shall moreover tell thee that it is most likely all this is out of meeâ— slavish fear and not out of any true love to God and Holinesse how wilt thou be able to hold up under such a dreadfull charge as this from thy own awakened Conscience It is my great desire to prevent thy being then overwhelmed with such sad thoughts as these and if thou art but as willing they may be effectually prevented even by speedily setting upon such a course as will be the rejoycing of thy soul at that day when nothing else will rejoyce thee but the testimony of Gods Spririt witnessing with thy Conscience that by the Grace of God thou hast had thy conversation in simplicity and godly sincerity For without this it would be but a poor refuge for thee to call for a Sacrament on thy death-bed who didst sleight it in thy health 7.
and steadily bent to chuse him as your onely portion if it be so you may be sure you grow in grace and are bettered by the means you enjoy and may be therefore encouraged to continue in the use of them 4. But lastly however it be with you yet be you patient and constant in doing your work and then leave the event to God Wherein upon examination you find you have been wanting to your selves be more carefull for the future in the due preparing and managing of your own hearts and so wait upon God in his appointed way Let your desires be carried out after that which is most needfull for you and which God hath promised to give chiefly after grace and secondarily after comfort remembring all you have is to come from the free mercy of a wise God to whom you must referre it what measures of these you shall receive and how soon it shall be Onely I say let it be your businesse quietly to wait his leisure in the use of those means he hath prescribed you for which I might give many reasons but I shall wave all onely demanding of you whether those spirituall blessings you so earnestly long after are worth the waiting for If you say no you deserve to go for ever without them but if you grant they are then pray tell me whether is it more likely to attain them by waiting in that way wherein they are to be found or by turning out of it This I hope is no difficult case to resolve If your friend be gone a journey and you have a mind to meet him upon his return are you not more likely to meet with him by holding on still in that road which he 'll be sure to come than by going back again or turning to some by path meerly to gratifie your lazinesse or impatience Wherefore when your hopes are at the lowest ebbe it is most unreasonable and foolish to cry with that wicked King Why should we wait on the Lord any longer there is no hope wherefore let us leave our duties and cast aside all Be sure there is no hope in such a course as this but rather a certainty of perishing whereas if there be safety in any way it is in an obedient patient dependance upon God yea in this way there is certain safety embrace it therefore as your wisest your onely course Do but see that you wait for the Lord and assure your selves you shall not be ashamed your eyes shall not always fail Get into the Psalmists frame Psal. 130.5 6. To wait for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning and at length shall the Lord manifest himself to the joy of your souls as sure as the morning light will appear to those who watch for it CHAP. XIV The Objection of unfitnesse answered As proposed by the doubting and the carelesse 3 Obj. SOme again there are and those not a few that will be ready to say They find themselves unfit for the Sacrament and therefore dare not come least it prove to their hurt rather than to their advantage Severall sorts of persons may upon different grounds raise this objection First the sincere and humble Christian whose soul is in the dark and through ignorance of himself or not considering the tenour of the Covenant and through the prevalency of temptation or melancholy he may without reason condemn himself as if his estate was worse than it is To these I have something to say 1. Why is it you judge your selves unfit for this Ordinance Is it because you are not so qualified as I have before shewn all Communicants ought to be I am confident upon a true enquiry you will find the contrary Wherefore be not hasty and rash in passing a censure upon your selves as if you were resolved to comply with the design of Satan to keep you in sorrow but examine things soberly and without passion and then give judgement upon your state according to true evidence If you be found faithfull Disciples and unfeigned lovers of Christ you will grant your selves meet to come to that Feast which is made for such Tell me then in one word Are you not from your very souls willing that Christ should be your Saviour and take his own course with you to bring you to God in glory Is there any thing in all the world that your heart is seâ— more upon than this even that you may be saved by Jesus Christ would you not account the assurance of this a richer mercy than to be made owners of the whole world Yea would you not give a thousand such worlds as this if you had them for the love of God in Christ Is not this it which lies heaviest upon your spirits and makes you walk so sadly even the fears least you are without true grace and should go without God and Christ for ever And yet can the Devil so befool you as to perswade you all this while that you love not God Have you got any thing here below more dear to you than his favour Do you take delight in any course that you know is displeasing to him Do you not long to be made more conformable to him To know and love and enjoy him more and do him better service in the world Would it not be the great joy of your souls always to walk closely with him and retain a strong sense of his presence and all his excellencies upon your minds To converse with him more feelingly and powerfully and in all your approaches to him to be filled with a suitable reverence humility seriousnesse and all holy affections Would any thing please you more than to please your God Are you not then best at ease when you find your hearts most enlarged and carried out after him Had you not rather be following after God in the ways of holinesse and the duties of Religion than to enjoy all the pleasures and merriments of sensuall ones Is there any duty from which you would be dispensed with Any command that you would have abolisht Had not you infinitely rather your heart was brought up to the fullest compliance with it Have you any lust which you would fain be allowed to keep Is it a trouble to you that you must part with your sins or else be damned for them Or rather is it not your greatest trouble that you lived so long without God and did so much against him in the daies of your unregeneracie And if you had that time to passe over again would you not prefer a life of the greatest suffering before such a life of sinning And is not your soul really burdened with those remnants of corruption which you yet feel in your selves Do you not strive against them and earnestlie desire to be rid of them Would you not account it a blessed priviledge to be more free from ignorance pride earthlinesse distrust self-will dullnesse and distractions in holy duties Would not a deliverance from these be
also 3. Pray tell me notwithstanding all these faults which you finde with your selves yet do you not hold on in the performance of other duties To instance in one do you not use to pray constantly If you doe why then will you not be brought to this work also For assure your selves if you be such whose prayers are acceptable to God your receiving will be acceptable also Without a dependance upon Christ the Mediatour and a resolution to conform your selves to the will of God your very prayers will be loathsome but if these things be in you all your services will be wel-pleasing to him Wherefore beware of pretending so much reverence for this Ordinance and so much necessity of preparation that least you should not demean your selves as you ought you will wholly neglect it for sure you cannot think this according to your Masters will that you should run away from your work for fear of miscarrying in it Nor pretend that this is of a nature so much different from all other duties that whilst you may do them you may not be admitted to this since if you be sincere and hearty in one as well as another endeavouring to improve them to the end for which they were appointed even to get neerer to God thereby be sure you shall be accepted in all Moreover bethink your selves what you would have done had you liv'd in the first ages of the Church when the Christians were wont for the most part at every time of their assembling to have a Sacrament Would you then have ordinarily with-drawn from them Or would you not rather have contented your selves with that measure of preparation that you had then been capable of making Though think not that I am this while encouraging you to lazinesse or to rush heedlesly and inconsiderately hereupon no be as diligent as ever you are able to prepare your selves for so near an approach to the great God but yet be not so over-scrupulous as to keep back from the Ordinance or make your coming lesse profitable through excessive fears And remember still that the habitual devotednesse of the soul to God without any hypocritical reserve is the best qualification for this and every other performance 4. Lastly one would think you of all persons should not be guilty of refusing your presence here where there is a commemoration made of the love of your dearest Lord. I speak to you that are serious Christians well may others slight this duty if you that lie under so great engagements to it will be kept back by any Ordinary pretences You are such that are somewhat acquainâ—ed with the greatnesse of that mercy manifested in the Redemption of the World and will you be easilie detained from shewing forth that death which procured it You are persons tender of your Master's honour and sensible of your own duty shew then that you are so by obeying his command and preserving the esteem due to his sacred Ordinances by your constant reverent attending upon them Others there are that may complain of their unfitnesse who finde themselves at a losse in their preparations for this duty which yet they are very willing to set about and are desirous of instructions for their right performance of it For these especially I have reserved some Directions to which I shall come presentlie But there are a third sort those the worst and I fear the most who will confess they are unfit for the Sacrament and therefore will by no means be drawn to it but will tell you though they are not fit now yet hereafter they hope they shall be whilst in the mean time there are no sâ—gns of any preparation they make for come to them one Moneth or Year after another still they are in the same posture and use the same excuses Now the very plain case of these persons I take to be this So much knowledge they have that they are convinc't no man ought to come to the Sacrament who is not firmly resolved to forsake his sins and to become a new man if before he have been a carelesse liver and yet their Consciences tell them that such and such sins they are guiltie of which they cannot endure to think of parting with and such and such duties they believe they ought to set upon which yet they have no mind to and therefore so much modesty they have that they will not come to bind themselves to that which they are not resolved to do and this while they fancy to themselves that their case is something better than if they should go and make promises of amendment and soon after break them and are apt to conceit that they may as yet safely take somewhat more liberty than will be lawfull for them when once they have taken the Sacrament whereby they imagine they should be strangely hampered and tied to a strictnesse which they have no liking to But yet hereafter when they have tasted a little more of the pleasures of the world they intend to be take themselves to such a course and then they 'l be constant at Sacraments and as devout as may be this they promise to themselves I dare appeal to the Consciences of many whether such as these have not been their thoughts Reader have they not been thy own And commonlie it is either tipling or wantonnesse or love to an idle and jolly life and a listlesnesse to all pains and diligence in spirituall affairs and a misapprehension of serious holinesse as if it was a most troublesome rigid thing that are the ordinarie causes of these and most mens continuance at a distance from godlinesse and make them so backward to devote themselves entirely to God Now these I confesse are not to be called immediately to the Sacrament but seriously to be dealt with in order to their recoverie from those sensuall inclinations and wretched delusions which render them so unfit for and averse from it to which purpose serve the former exhortations to Repentance and Faith whereon I staid so long Onely I shall here discover to them two dangerous mistakes wherewith they seem willing to impose upon themselves and which chiefly hinder the performance of their duty The first is A conceit that they may take some kind of liberty for a loose conversation before they have bound themselves to the contrary by the Sacrament which thereupon they are much more backward to Now first I shall grant that hereby a farther obligation is laid upon them to the greatest watchfulnesse against sin and to a faithfull discharge of their duty to God in the whole of their lives and the wilfull violation of solemn engagements renders sin much more hainous Wherefore it hath been my care all along to make you understand that it is not so much the bare Receiving that I would perswade you to as to get your souls into a fitnesse for the work and to do it in a right manner And once again let me warn you as you love
yours all that is in Heaven or Earth to do you good is yours also by vertue of that Covenant which shall never fail faithfull is he that hath promised and will do it Wherefore this Sacrament which you are about to receive being a seal of that Covenant you are to take it as an assurance and pledge that all the blessings of it such things as I directed you to pray for shall be bestowed upon you in that time and order which God sees best Here then you see is work for faith if you would receive the comfort which this Ordinance holds forth And more particularly I shall tell you in two words what it is for principally and in what manner you are here to exercise faith 1. Look upon the Sacrament as sealing to you a full and free pardon of all the sins you stand guilty of whether by nature or practice so that none of them shall be laid to your charge so as to condemn you at judgment And for your clearer proceeding herein you are to apprehend the Sacrament as joyn'd to the promise of pardon in the Gospel and so to look upon it as a Seal annext to a Writing that promiseth mercie to Rebels that submit themselves And if a King should send his Officers with many such Writings to a Companie of Men that were risen up in Arms against him and the Officer should tell them Sirs here 's a gracious message sent you from the King here are Papers under his own hand wherein he assures a Pardon to such of you that will now come in and here 's also his own Seal put to them for your greater assurance all which for your security I 'le put into your hand presently if you submit your selves They who upon this come in and take these Papers have a pardon thereby given them which they may boldly produce if afterward they should be accused Even thus are you to conceive God's Embassadour saying to you Aâ—l you that are willing to receive Jesus Christ to rule over you and save you he hath promised in his Gospel to forgive all your sins and beside that of Baptisme hath ordained the Sacrament of his Supper as a Seal of this gracious promise his Instrument of pardon and here I stand by his appointment to give out the same You now who find your selves willing thus to receive Christ are to take this Sacrament as an assurance that this promise shall be made good to you and so look upon it and with this quiet your conscience when it is unjustly clamorous and silence Satan when he haunts you with temptations to despair Then say within thy self Here 's the word of God assuring forgivenesse to all that take Christ for their Lord and Saviour which by his grace I finde my self inclined and enabled to do and he hath bound this word with his oath and to both he hath added his Sacraments as Seals and shall this three-fold cord be broken what should give me satisfaction if this do not wherefore be gone Satan shall I not rather believe thou art a liar who tellest me repent and believe and do all that I can my sins are so great they can never be forgiven than once suspect that the most true God will ever revoke that which he hath said and sworn and sealed to And at the great Judgment Day of Christ will own his Hand and Seal and then solemnly acquit thee whom he now pardons by his Gospel Safely then maist thou triumph with the Apostle Who shall lay any thing to the charge of Gods Elect It 's God that justifieth Who is he that condemneth It 's Christ that died c. And this Christ with his whole purchase is made over to thee oh believing soul. Even by this Sacrament is his blood as effectually made thine to wash off all the guilt that cleaves to thee as if thou hadst been bath'd in his warm blood to that purpose yea much more effectuâ—lly 2. The other Direction I would give you is That you take the Sacrament as an earnest of the everlasting glory which shall shortly without question be vouchsaft to you who remain stedfast in your Covenant with God Here in like manner you are to look upon the Gospel as a Deed of Gift whereby through Christ an Inheritance in the Heavens is setled upon you to which Deed also the Sacrament doth Seal Even as an House is made over by the delivery of a Key and Land by a Turf so there is a kinde of conveyance of Heaven it self made to you by the delivery of the Sacramental Bread and Wine into your hands And when you receive them imagine you heard God saying to you Here poor soul take this in earnest of that eternal life which I have prepared for and will bestow upon thee And if the heavenly Kingdome be thus assured to you on condition of your continuance in the love of God you need not question but all things needfull for your passage thither are herein comprehended If you shall have glory given you then be sure you shall have that grace which may fit you for and bring you to it whereof I shall speak particularly under the next head And if you are thus richly provided for as to your souls do you think your bodies shall be neglected No never fear it whatever shall be found really good for you shall be vouchsaft What shall you have Christ and his spirit grace and glory And do you question whether you shall have food and raiment Will the Father make his Son Heir of all when he comes to age and will he not afford him a maintenance till then only refer all your concernments to God to deal with you as he shall think fit and question not but hee 'l dispose of all to your contentment if you be reasonable The whole World is in the hands of your Father and it is not for want of power or love if you have not the greaâ—est share in it but it is from his wisdome and mercy which will rather give you the best He that spared not his own Son but delivered him up for you and hath given him to you how shall be not with him freely give you all things Rom. 8.32 Would you have a larger word Is there any thing you want not contained in this The like you may see 1 Cor. 3.21 22. Things present and things to come all are yours yee being Christs And as godlinesse thus hath the promises of this life and that which is to come so both sorts of promises are here confirmed to you by the Sacrament which is a seal of that full Covenant wherein blessings both of the right hand and of the left are given to Believers You may see then I hope by this time that this is no common Bread and Wine which is appointed for so great purposes If a tuig was given into your hands whereby some great estate was conveyed to you you would value it sure above a
flie open that the King of Glory may come in Now in an especiall manner let your hearts be emptied of all trash that they may be fill'd with the good things which are here distributed If you were set to an heap of Gold and bidden to carry away as much as you could grasp you would keep no dirt nor stones in your hand that would make them hold so much the lesse Loosen your selves then from the inordinate love or thought of any created good your Houses or Lands your pleasures or employments withdraw your minds as much as possible from all temporall concernments with which whilst you are taken up the edge of your desire after heavenly things is extreamly abated And if you come not hither with great expectations you are like to be little the better If you have no higher designs but with a little seeming Devotion to eat Bread and drink Wine then Bread and Wine are the best things that you are like to meet with For is it probable you should find that which you never look after But if thou comest hither with an holy greedinesse after greater measures of grace thirsting for the living God as the Hart pants after the water-brooks and as the parched ground gapes for the refreshing showers then fear it not thy desires shall be gratified Thou canst not please God better than by looking for the greatest and best things from him which bring most glory to himself and do most good to thy soul. Beg earnestly then that by the power of his Spirit accompanying this Ordinance thou maist partake yet more of a new and divine nature that thou maist find strength and vigour diffused through thy whole man and maist now receive some communications of that light and life which Christ came into the world that his people might have and that they might have it more abundantly now pray that his Death and Resurrection may have their power and efficacy upon thee that virtue may issue forth from him for thy healing Beg that by this food thy lusts may be poisoned and destroy'd and every grace strengthned and encreast And be particular in thy desires Oh that something may be done this day against my pride and passion my worldlinesse and sensuality my distrustfull fears and discontents Oh that I may be delivered from that listlesnesse dulnesse and distractions wherewith I am haunted in holy duties Oh that I may find my heart hereby drawn nearer to God and carried out with more unweariednesse and cheerfulnesse in his service that I may be better enabled for a conscientious discharge of my duty in every place and relation that I do stand in and in the whole course of my life Blessed God thou who knowest the state of my soul give in to me I beseech thee what thou seest I need most I have an hard heart Lord soften it a dead heart Lord enliven it I am much in the dark Lord lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon me Make me more humble holy and heavenly Oh take this season for coming in upon my soul and bestowing more of thy self upon me that I may become more like to thee These oh God are the mercies thou hast promised to thy people and bidden them to ask these thou art wont to convey by thine ordinances for these things therefore do I wait upon thee this day with no lower aims do I come to thy Table with such precious things is the Lord Jesus wont to feast his guests and of his infinite fulnesse it is that I hope to participate through him it is I hope to be strengthned with might in my inner man even to be made strong by the Grace that is in Christ Jesus Oh will the Head let a member perish Shall a branch wither for want of succour and juyce Blessed Saviour thou who wast so willing to shed thy blood for us art thou not as willing to bestow the fruits of it upon us Art thou not still as mercifull and tender as ever thou wast Thou who didst once so readily heal diseases and cure all that came to thee hast thou not as much mercy to souls as to bodies Lord I believe thou art as able and ready to help as ever If thou wilt thou canst make me clean and it is my hope that thou wilt Outward means without thee cannot do it yet here thou hast bid us attend and thus I do waiting for the descent of thy Holy Spirit Oh grant the requests of thy poor creature Say to me Be it unto thee even as thou wilt yea even as thou wilt oh Lord let it be unto me who art ever readily and strongly inclined to do thy people good Thus stirre up your selves and actuate Faith in such holy breathings as these and be assured such additions of Grace as you are fitted for and God in his infinite wisdome sees meet at present to deal out shall be conferr'd upon you and being refresht and strengthned with this banquet you may cheerfully walk on your way to glory 7. From all that hath been said of the greatnesse of the mercies here commemorated bestow'd and sealed to it will appear most reasonable and just that the hearts of all Gods faithfull servants should here be raised to the greatest height of divine love thankfulnesse and joy I put these together because though in the notion they are different yet in the workings of the soul they usually go together That same goodnesse which works love and thankfulnesse causeth joy too as it 's begun to be enjoy'd or strongly hop'd for And this is a frame most proper to a Communicant all his preparations being much in order to it Therefore should he get sensible of his misery and humbled for his sin that he may have the more affectionate thankfull sense of the mercy that pitied and pardoned him Wherefore labour much with your selves even beforehand to rise up to this ingenuous and pleasant temper which will prove so acceptable both to God and your selves Dwell intently upon that amazing mercy which God hath revealed to mankind in Jesus Christ which thing the Angels themselves desire to look into Ponder well the severall heightning circumstances thereof the meannesse sinfulnesse and misery of man the Majesty of God the dignity of Christ the greatnesse of his condescension and sufferings the fulnesse and freenesse of his purchase and offers Study all his dealings with your selves in particular whereby he hath accomplisht in you the designs of his love and continue these musings till you feel a fire of love and joy kindled within you Let not Satan so farre have his will of you as to cast you into these dejections and groundlesse perplexities which will rob God of his praise and you of your comfort Let him not be able to perswade you that God is cruell and unmercifull and hardly reconciled to returning sinners Have you not the strongest and most unanswerable demonstration at hand to confute him would you desire or can
sons of men Let Plays and Fictions be hist off the Stage let Romantick follies be shamed into obscurity for here is that which alone deserves the name of Love here 's such Truth as commands our belief such worth and weight as calls for our regard and such stupendious greatnesse as may raise our wonder Here behold the power of love in the fairest display of it that ever was made to the world since its foundations were first laid beyond which imagination it self cannot ascend nay which falls vastly short of it how vastly short then doth expression fall but yet oh that we could feel as much as that little which we speak Was it ever before known that the Shepherd should lay down his life for his sheep not for innocent sheep but to reduce wilfull straglers to his Fold that he who was Lord of all should die for his Subjects not for obedient Subjects but for Rebels appointed to the slaughter Thus continue thy meditations till they have so good an effect upon thee that if Christ should appear to thee at this instant as thâ—u art got alone and should call thee by Name as once he did Peter and ask thee Soul Lovest thou me thou mightest be able truly to return his answer Lord thou knowest that I love thee And then to affect thee yet mâ—re consider of Gods saving love in Christ parâ—icularly revealed to thy soul that he was pleased to say to thee when thou wâ—â—st in thy blood Live Calling thee out of darknesse into his marvellous light laying hold on thee by his Spirit and recovering thee to himself when thou wast running farre away from him and many a tiâ—e preventing and restoring thee by his grace when otâ—erwise thou hadst utterly ruin'd thy self Oh praise him that he left thee noâ— in Satan's kingdome under the power of thy lusts but with a strong hand and outstretched arm brought thee out of that house of bondage and magnifie his name when thou beholdest that blood wherein thy sins were drowned as the Egyptians in the Red-Sea Oh blesse his name that he did not suffer thee to remain dead in trespasses and sins yea that he did not strike thee dead in them and sentence thee to the second death after which there is life no more This is a fit season for recollecting all the special mercies of thy life which God hath shewn either to soul or body to thy self or thine all which thou art to look upon as vouchsaft through Christ which makes the mercy infinitelie greater And when you have thus endeavoured to get your hearts brim-full with love and joy come and let them rise higher and boil over at the Table of the Lord. Let no sadnesse appear in your looks nor a tormenting thought by your good will seize upon your hearts this day Come loathing sin as much as you are able but come loving Christ as much Have as low thoughts of thy self as thou wilt and be as humble as thou canst in remembrance of all thy vilenesse but yet let thy Soul magnifie the Lord and thy Spirit rejoyce in God thy Saviour Thy gracious Lord will not upbraid thee with any former unkindnesse and neglect of his love which thou art heartily asham'd of and sorry for Wherefore though thou maist come blushing and weeping yet come not into his presence daunted and despairing He died on purpose to ease your souls of all those fears which make you all your life time subject unto bondage Will not you receive comfort for whom he hath shed his blood that it might be your Cordiall Let him see you then improve it this day to that purpose for your health and pleasure if it be solid is his delight And if he would have your joy at any time in this World full now it is If you must ever more rejoyce this I am sure is a fit season This is our most solemn Thanks-giving Feast Oh wonderfull That the commemoration of the Master's death should be the Servants Feast It is his pleasure to have it so and let us thankfully comply therewith Instead of his Vinegar and Gall he gives us Bread and Wine and better things than they Here he hath made according to his promise Isa. 25.6 A Feast of fat things a Feast of Wines on the Lees of fat things full of marrow Wines on the Lees well refined And you may be sure the Master of this Feast who entertains his guests with an affection as great as their fare is costly would not have them sit there sad and dejected as if they liked not their provisions or thought themselves not welcome Would it please you to see your friends in such a posture at your Table Oh question not your welcome all yee lovers of Christ but when you are there assembled imagine that you heard him saying to you Eat oh friends drink yea drink abundantly oh beloved Here he hath brought you into his Banquetting-House and his Banner over you shall be love Here will he comfort you with Heavenly Manna and stay with Flaggons all you that are sick of love You Children of Abraham that come from the slaughter of your lusts here doth your Lord meet you as his type Melchizedeck met your Father Gen. 14.18 Setting before you the Bread and Wine for your refreshment And here will he blesse you He shall cause you to sit under his shadow and his fruit shall be sweet to your tast Here may you expect the most comfortable commâ—nion with Christ that is to be had in this lower World Here then believing in and loving him whom you have not seen but whom you may here see represented do you rejoyce with joy unspeakable and full of glory 8. That your hearts may be more heavenly in this work and so more apt to be fill'd with joy and to break out in praise let me earnestly desire you here to have an eye to a glorified as well as a crucified Christ to remember not only his humiliation but his exaltation It was the minde of Christ that his Resurrection rather than his birth or death should consecrate a weekly thanksgiving to be observed by the Churh in all ages which should be call'd the Lords own day and be spent in his praise and service This being the accomplishment of his labours his finall victory over death and the grave and all Enemies that did assault his own person the memorial whereof must therefore needs be most rejoycing to his servants And as his Resurrection cannot be remembred without his birth and death which must of necessity precede it no more can his death be here rightly remembred without we also bear in mind his Resurrection and Ascension to Glory Can we remember what he was and not think what he is Sad meetings had we made indeed if our Lord had been held under the power of death if such a thing may be imagined All the World then might well be in the disconsolate posture of the two Disciples that were
never flack your watch nor let your expectations cool till either you see him comming in the clouds or shall be taken up beyond them With some such Meditations as these which I have suggested to you under each Head let your thoughts be taken up whilst you are emploied in this duty as you shall find your selves most inclined and as Gods Spirit shall direct you for you need not confine your self as to the method and form but rather let your affections have their free course Onely see that you watch narrowly over your hearts through the whole work that deadnesse and distractions may not possesse you Keep up a strong sense of God's presence with you and often lift up your hearts to him for life and quickning And let all the powers of your souls be summoned up and engaged in this action with all possible vigour and closenesse Let your minds be kept cleer from sadning and from impertinent thoughts that you may attend upon the Lord without distraction and be more capable of those sweet foretasts of his goodnesse which may be as a certain pledge of your everlasting enjoyment of all that he hath in store for his people 9. Lastly let me in a word or two direct you to be carefull in the exercise of brotherly love I need not stand I hope to repeat the advice I gave you to get all breaches made up betwixt your selves and brethren to do all that in you lies to obtain peace and if that cannot be had yet to forgive all injuries that have been done you and to cleanse your minds from rancour and malice and all desire of revenge to this let the love of Christ constrain you And moreover let your hearts be let out with a sincere and strong affection toward all your Fellow-members of that body whereof Christ is the Head A pleasant sight it will be to your Master who is in heaven to look down upon you his Disciples and see you here feasting together in mutuall love and delight in the remembrance of all that love which he hath shewn to you and in the joyfull expectation of what farther he hath promised And whilst your love is stirred up to Christ himself it cannot chuse but be imparted to his friends that are in sight such who sincerely love him on whom he hath set his heart and hath shed on them his Spirit whereby they are made like to him and therefore must needs be lovely in your eyes to whom Christ is precious as being also by this same Spirit made like to your selves and when in your joyning with them in this sacred action you remember that these shall be your everlasting companions in the joy of your Lord and shall there joyn with you in sounding forth his praises this will farther engage you to them as being heirs together of the grace of God and will work in you the beginnings of that love which will hereafter be perfect and perpetuall Whilst your love is built upon such right and Catholick principles as these being placed upon a Christian as a Christian you hold a Communion in the Spirit with all true Christians throughout the world though your affections will be most sensibly enlarged to those that you know and with whom you hold a locall communion in the worship of God And your joint assembling at this Table is a badge of your mutuall love and an engagement to the firm continuance of it Here are you made to drink into one Spirit by which you were Baptized into one body according to that Text I named 1 Cor. 12.13 This Sacrament is if I may so call it an Holy Philtre whereby Believers are united in more fervent love to their common Head and to one another The Blood of Christ is the onely cement and soder of souls And this is that Christian love which they are taught of God to which they are inclined by their new nature and which will easily be brought into exercise where the grace is first wrought in the heart wherefore it 's needlesse to stay longer hereon having also spoke somewhat largely to it before Onely one thing let me suggest before I conclude this namely that you take care to give a practicall demonstration of this love by contributing according to your abilities to the necessities of the poor members of Christ. This is a sacrifice wherewith God is well pleased a work never out of season but now most seasonable being an evidence not onely of your compassion to the poor but of the stedfastnesse of your belief in Christ and his promises and of your thankfulnesse for his bounty therefore you find both these mentioned together Heb. 13.15 16. As we must offer thanks so we must not forget to do good and communicate To quicken you to this charity both now and any other time when fit objects are presented Let me onely desire you to imagine to your selves that the Lord Jesus who was willing to part with his blood for you and thinks not an infinite glory too great to give you upon most easie terms that even he comes to you in one of his necessitous members to see what you can find in your hearts to bestow upon him If you that have Estates think he deserves nothing let him have nothing if he deserve but a little give him but a little if your lusts have more right to your riches than he then let your lusts have them rather than he Let Christ in his members starve whilst pride and luxury are maintained if you think this be just If you can improve your Estates better some other way take what you think the most gainfull course For remember Christ himself needs not anything you have or can do onely he 'll try the kindnesse of your hearts His is the earth and the fulnesse thereof and even his poor servants can he sufficiently provide for without you Wherefore if you give notwillingly and cheerfully you may keep your money to your self for any good that an extorted charity is like to do you But remember also you will be sure to lose and leave all that which God hath not one way or other but by giving it to him you send it before you and when all things here below fail you shall enjoy it with infinite advantage in the everlasting habitations And let this suffice by way of Direction for your preparation to and carriage in Receiving A few words for your behaviour afterwards and I shall come to a conclusion CHAP. XVII Directions for duty after the Sacrament 1. WHen you come home get alone and blesse God for the liberty and opportunity of a Sacrament which he hath afforded you and for all the priviledges that are thereby conferr'd upon you And let your souls chew the Cud and retain the savour of those pleasant things you have been entertained with keep them still lifted up and exceedingly gladded in the sence of that love which you have this day been celebrating and tasting in