Lesson That such and so great is the indispensable need that we have of the Lord Jesus Christ that without him we are undone for ever In the 53d verse of this exeellent Chapter Verily verily I say unto you except you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood you have no life in you He speaks there of eating of his flesh and drinking his blood in a spiritual manner You know there are many desires of the Soul that may be dispenced with but hunger is a desire that must be satisfied unless you have bread for your sustenance the body dies so unless you have Jesus Christ for your spiritual sustenance your Souls die and drop down into Hell for ever for look as the union of the Body with the Soul is the life of the Body so the union of the Soul with Jesus Christ is the life of the Soul O hearken to this thou that art yet in a natural and unregenerate estate uncalled unconverted that never was yet transplanted from off the old rotten stock of Adam and replanted into the true Vine the Lord Jesus Christ if thou livest in this estate and diest in this estate thou art undone for ever the poorest worm that crawls upon the ground is in a better condition than thou art in Acts 26.27 Believest thou the Prophets said St. Paul to King Agrippa I know that thou believest Believest thou this Doctrine say I to thee that art yet uncalled unconverted I know thou believest it not for if thou didst believe it thou couldest not rest contented in a Christless condition for one week no not for one day but wouldest by prayers and tears and supplications cry out Lord Jesus give me thy self whatever thou denyest me give me thy self though I be as poor as Job upon the Dunghil But we cannot perswade men that the danger of a natural estate and condition is so great as indeed it is but the Lord convince you and perswade you of it A second Doctrinal Inference that may be hence deduced is this If Jesus Christ be the living bread then it follows the vanity and emptiness and insufficiency of all Creature-accommodations is exceeding great name what you will of these outward accommodations that the World do so greedily gape after whether Riches or Honours or Pleasures or goodly brave Buildings this and that alas we may say of them they are not bread Isa 55.2 Wherefore do you spend your money for that which is not bread Your money that is your precious opportunities your time that is your money to make your Markets for Eternity with for Moments are the Markets for Eternity Wherefore do you spend your money for that which is not bread and your labour for that which satisfieth not Alas alas these outward things they are neither satisfactory nor permanent they are not satisfactory for Solomon tells us that He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver nor he that loveth abundance with encrease Eccles 5.10 As soom may you hope to fill a Chest with Wisdom and Knowledg as to fill a Soul which is a spiritual substance with temporal things And as these outward things are are satisfactory so neither are they permanent or lasting 1 Cor. 6.13 Meats for the belly and the belly for meats but God shall deslroy both it and them Look as the belly devours the meat so the worms at last shall devour the belly and so both meat and belly perish together But if you can but once get this spiritual bread the Lord Christ you shall never perish Alas alas consider your own folly and brutishness in seeking for satisfaction here below where none is to be found your bread without Christ is but gravel in your throats your moral Vertues without Christ are but glittering sins your bodies without Christ are but dust and ashes dust that will drop down into the Grave and ashes that are fitted for the Furnace of Hell-fire your Souls without Christ are but the Devils Palace your lives without Christ is but the service of sin and your deaths without Christ will be nothing else but the wages of sin Oh who would rest then in a Christless condition Who would sit down contented with these poor transitory shadowy comforts A third Lesson we may learn by way of Inference is this If Jesus Christ be the living bread then our main end and errand in coming to the Lords Table is not to feed the Body but to feed the Soul 1 Cor. 11.21 What have you not Houses to eat and to drink in saith the Apostle So that it is not the end of your coming to the Lords Table therefore you eat but a little piece of Bread and drink but a little draught of Wine to put you in mind that it is not the Body that you come to feed but you come to feed the Soul and therefore you should labour to get a preparation suitable to that spiritual bread that you are to taste of But what is that you will say I answer There should be something done before your coming and something done in the Administration of the Elements and something done after the receiving of the Elements First There should be something done before you come Oh beg a blessing upon your spiritual bread Man lives not by bread alone but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God Matth. 4.4 I may apply it thus Your Souls will not live by this Sacramental Bread but by the Word of Gods blessing If God will bless this spiritual food to you your Souls shall live On therefore beg the Blessing of God upon this Heavenly Bread Secondly And then there is something to be done while you are eating this Bread you should get your hearts all on fire with love to this blessed Redeemer that was contented to be made bread to be prepared food as I told you even now to be threshed and winnowed and ground and bak'd and scorch'd in the Oven of his Fathers Wrath Oh how should your hearts be all on a flame with Love as the two Disciples were going to Emaus As Jesus Christ brake bread and gave it to them and opened to them the Scriptures their hearts did burn within them Luke 24.32 they were as it were all on a fire So should it be with you when you come to the Lords Table you should have your meditations wholly taken up with that which is the life of the Sacrament even the death of our Saviour let not your hearts be roving and wandering about watch them narrowly you will hardly keep them close to a duty two Minutes without great watching Thirdly There is something to be done after when you have eaten of this living bread that is to be exceeding thankful study to walk worthy of the Lord unto all well-pleasing That 's the first Use of Information The second Vse is of Exhortation Is Jesus Christ that living bread that gives eternal life to all those that have a
supported him in that great distress On the contrary under less temptations and troubles if God do not support a man he will fall see it in Ahitophel because his counsel was not accepted God not supporting him under this light trouble he goes and hangs himself For the use of this If this be one way of Gods hearing our prayers when he strengthens us with strength in our souls Then call your selves to an account whether God hath strengthned your souls yea or no here is divers of you that have been made partakers of a strengthening Ordinance this day namely the Lords Supper which the Lord Jesus hath appointed for your spiritual confirmation and corroboration Now will it not nearly concern you to ask your own souls this question Hath God strengthened you with strength in your souls It may be you will say to me how shall we do to know it Answer me but these four or five questions and you may know it First tell me What are you in the time of troubles and temptations for what a man is in tryals that is the man Can you live in a time of straits fears doubts and dangers as the strength of a ship is tryed in the time of a storm if she can live in a storm then you may say she is a strong ship the strength of a Castle is tryed in the time of battel if it can endure the roaring Cannon then its a strong Castle now if you can keep your standing in a time of danger this argues you have received spiritual strength in your souls Secondly Can you bear variety of conditions without fainting can you pass through good report and ill report through honour and dishonour through a prosperous estate and decayed estate can you pass through these with an equal temper and frame of spirit as you are not puft up with prosperity so you are not too much cast down with adversity Saint Paul had this strength I have learnt saith he in what estate soever I am therewith to be content Thirdly Can you cleave close to Jesus Christ without weariness constantly if you be off and on if your way be uneven it 's a token you have little strength Fourthly Are you able to do duties in a spiritual manner the spiritual performance of holy duties argues the receiving of some spiritual strength By these and the like questions you may know whether you have received some of this spiritual strength yea or no. A second use I shall make it is by way of Exhortation Oh labour to read this Text experimentally read it I say so as your own hearts may make a commentary on it Oh Lord thou hast answered me Lord I can speak by experience I was as weak as water but thou hast strengthened me with strength in my soul Whatever was written aforetime was written for our learning that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope This instance of David was written for your imitation and consolation O labour for this spiritual strength To press you to attain it I shall use but this one motive Consider the great need you have of this spiritual strength at all times but especially in times of general fears and dangers then you have special need of it In what regard may be you will say do we need so much strength in our souls I will tell you in these four respects especially or on this fourfold account First In regard of Duties that are to be performed Secondly In regard of Afflictions that are to be endured Thirdly In regard of the Enemies that are to be encountered Fourthly In regard of the danger of Apostacy that is to be prevented First You have great need of this spiritual strength in regard of the Duties that are to be performed Oh a Christian hath much work lying upon his hands in reference to eternity a great work it is to provide oyl in your Lamps grace in your hearts a great work it is to get the hazzard of eternity over to get an interest in Jesus Christ and to get an assurance of that interest A great work it is for you to make your calling and election sure sure to your own souls to be working out your salvation with fear and trembling a great work it is for you to be pondering the paths of your feet to keep your hearts above all keepings to be building up your selves in your most holy faith These are very great works It is the language of the Apostle Saint Jude verse 20 of his Epistle But ye beloved building up your selves in your most holy faith praying in the holy Ghost and to be pressing forward towards the mark for the price of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus Phil. 3.14 Nay a Christian hath yet a harder work than this to do for a Christian is to do that work that crosses his own carnal and corrupt will There are some difficult duties of Christianity that are to be performed as denying of our selves a hard duty the crossing of our carnal and corrupt Affections a hard duty the mortifying of a beloved Lust a very hard duty the plucking out of a right eye the cutting off of a right hand a parting with a sin that is as dear as our right hand and our right eye a difficult duty so for a man to be crucifying the flesh with the Affections and Lusts thereof to be contemning the world to trample upon the pleasures the flatteries the blandishments of it for a man to love his enemies to pray for them that persecute him to do good to them that despitefully use him How is it possible for a man to do all this work a difficult work this work which so much crosses his own carnal and corrupt frame if he have not a considerable portion of spiritual strength A weak Christian alas is offended with every thing he is ready to stumble at every straw every duty is a burthen to him every command of Christ seems grievous to him every yoke of Christ he is not able to take upon his neck it may be he may have some flashes of good desires now and then as Baalam had Oh that I might die the death of the righteous It may be he may have some good purposes and resolutions as Saul had 1 Sam. 26.21 Return my son David for I will no more do thee harm because my soul was precious in thine eyes this days But all his purposes came to nothing Nay may be sometimes he may have some endeavours faint feeble endeavours in the way of grace just like the third ground in the Parable which wanted root it brought forth indeed a blade but it brought forth the Text says nothing to perfection If a man be a weak Christian alas it is very little that he can do in the business of Eternity You have great need of strength therefore in this regard Secondly You have great need of strength in regard of the Afflictions Temptations Troubles and
nature he might be a merciful and faithful High-priest in things pertaining to God to make reconciliation for the sins of the people and that 's set down in Verse 17. And the ground of this Assertion the Apostle lays down in the words of the Text which I have now read unto you For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted he is able to succour them that are tempted So then the Text contains in it a singular benefit and advantage that believers have by Christs temptations namely a sanctified use of temptations and a gracious support under temptations For the clearing of this you must know all that ever our Lord and Saviour did here upon earth as Mediator was done not for himself alone but was done for us and for our good For example He took our flesh in the womb of a Virgin that he might sanctifie our nature He was born of a woman that he might sanctifie our birth He suffered in the flesh that he might sanctifie our sufferings He was buried in a grave that he might sweeten and perfume the grave that he might make the grave as a bed of spices He rose again from the dead that he might assure us that we shall be raised by his power 1 Cor. 6.14 And God hath both raised up the Lord and will also raise up us by his own power And he was tempted that he might be able to succour us when we are tempted Let me first open the words to you and then draw out the Doctrine I intend to pitch upon I shall dispatch this Text in one Sermon For in that he himself hath suffered The Lord Jesus Christ suffered indeed He was a great sufferer nay the greatest sufferer that you read of in the whole book of God He suffered in his Circumcision when he was but eight days old he condâ—scended to that painful Ceremony that painful Sacrament He suffered a painful pilgrimage for three and thirty years together and although he was heir of all things all the Kingdoms of the world were his yet he had not a house to hide his head in The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head Mat. 8.20 He suffered by Satan when he was led into the Wilderness to be tempted for forty days together which was a greater abasement to the Son of God than if the greatest Empress in the world should be solicited in her chastity by the basest Scullion that ever was Oh how did Satan hurry the body of our dear Lord and Saviour first to the pinacle of the Temple then he hurried it to a Mountain and carried it from one place to another Oh that the precious body of Jesus Christ should be thus basely used by a Vassal by a cursed Fiend by a cursed creature So he suffered by Satan And he suffered by men he suffered the contradiction of sinners he suffered himself to be reviled scorned reproached blasphemeed when they said Say we not well Thou art a Samaritan and hast a Devil Joh. 8.48 And he is mad and hath a Devil why hear ye him Joh. 10.20 He suffered on the Cross a shameful painful and cursed death He suffered in his body but most of all he suffered in his soul when he said My soul is heavy unto death is girt about with death Joh. 12.27 Now is my soul troubled and what shall I say He speaks as if he had been non-plust My soul is so troubled says he that I know not what to say I know not what to do So you see the Lord Jesus Christ he suffered Further the Text says he suffered being tempted Jesus Christ you know was tempted by Satan for forty days together and he was tempted by his Enemies the Pharises they required a sign of him tempting of him Luk. 11.16 Then he was tempted by the Herodians when they came with that captious question Shall we give tribute to Caesar or shall we not Mat. 22.17 18. Christ answered them Why tempt ye me ye hypocrites He was temptted by one of his Disciples Peter says he to him Master spare thy self and do not go up to Jerusalem insomuch that Christ sharply reproved him and said to him Get thee behind me Satan thou art an offence unto me for thou savourest not the things that be of God but those that be of men Mat. 16.22 23. And he was tempted even by his own dear Father when his Father hid his face from him when he seemingly did forsake him when he cryed out My God my God why hast thou forsaken me Mat. 27.46 So you see that our Saviour suffered and our Saviour was tempted And why was he tempted that he might succour them that are tempted saye the Text. Why may some say did the sufferings and temptations of Jesus Christ add any thing to his ability to succour his tempted Servants which he had not before To this I answer You must know he had an ability of Power which was irresistable he had an ability of Power as he was God but the Apostle speaks here of an ability of Compassion or of an ability of Experience as he was man as he says in the like case Heb. 5.8 He learned obedience by the things which he suffered How did he learn it he learnt it experimentally So here by his suffering and temptations he learnt to succour them that are tempted he learnt compassion by his temptations How did he learn compassion he learnt it experimentally for now he hath learned by experience to know the kinds of temptations to know the wounds that temptations make in the soul of a poor sinner and to know the proper means and medicines for the curing of temptations so that if you ask But why was the Lord Jesus Christ tempted I answer he was tempted for these three ends especially First That he might teach us this Lesson If Satan was so bold with him that was the dear Son of God he will be much more bold in tempting us poor creatures If he was so bold with the Master much more will he be bold with the Servants If he were so bold with the Captain of our salvation much more will he be bold with his Soldiers If he were so bold in tempting him who was the King of glory a pure and spotless Saviour a Lamb without spot and blemish in whose mouth could be found no guile 1 Pet. 2.22 Oh he will be much more bold with us that are poor sinful creatures that have such impure and defiled natures How abominable and filthy is man Job 15.16 When the Devil came to tempt our Lord and Saviour he found nothing in him he found no matter to work upon he found no corruption on which he might fasten his temptation Joh. 14.30 The Prince of this world cometh and hath nothing in me All the temptations of Satan upon our Saviour were but like the jogging of pure and clean water in a Chrystal glass where
Thirdly May a man come near to Heaven and yet come short of it O then take heed of these two sins Slothfulness and Apostacy Take heed of Slothfulness Be not slothful in business but fervent in spirit serving the Lord Rom. 12.11 The Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force Matth. 11.12 Give all diligence to make your calling and election sure set to the work with all your might put your whole strength to the work shake off all drowsiness and dulness And then take heed of Apotacy this makes many that come near to Heaven to come short of Heaven because they do not hold out to the end He that endures to the 〈◊〉 shall be saved blessed are they who notwithstanding all difficulties and discouragements that they meet with in Heavens way are resolved to hold out to the end and in the end Thus I have dispatcht the first Doctrine That it is possible for many that profess the Truth and are confident that they are in a State of Grace and seem to come near to Heaven and yet for all that to come short of Heaven Now I come to the second Doctrine in this last Branch of my Text from these words Come short of it And the Doctrine is this To come short of eternal Rest is such an unvaluable and unconceivable and irrecover able loss that it is to be trembled at by all sorts of persons whatsoever It is a loss to be trembled at by all those that have not quite lost their sense and feeling For the confirmation of this truth there are these two Queries I shall speak to First What it is to come short of this eternal Rest Secondly How it may appear that this coming short of Heaven is such an unvaluable irrecoverable and unconceivable loss For the first What it is to come short of this eternal rest What is it Oh! God grant that neither you nor I nor any soul here present may ever experimentally know what it is to come short of Gods eternal rest let me shew you what it is that you may avoid this dreadful danger The Original word here used is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and it signifies to come too late just as those five foolish Virgins that had no oyl in their Lamps they came and knockt Lord Lord said they open to us but the door of Mercy was shut they came too late Matth. 25.10 11. It signifies likewise to fail of that which a man expects Heb. 12.15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God Or it signifies this for a man to miss the Gole or Prize that he runs for and so it is a Metaphor from runners in a Race if they be heavy or lumpish or careless they lose the Prize they miss the Gole So Christians that are secure and careless and slothful and mind every thing more than that one thing that is necessary they come too late they fail of Grace and Glory they miss the Gole they lose the Prize they are deprived of that eternal happiness they expected this is to come short of this eternal Rest Second It may be demanded How will it appear that this coming short of eternal Rest is such an unvaluable unconceivable and irrevocable loss that it is to be trembled at I answer It will appear by these three reasons They that come short of Heaven they lose 1. The Presence Of God in eternal happiness They that come short of Heaven they lose 2. The Favour Of God in eternal happiness They that come short of Heaven they lose 3. The Fruition Of God in eternal happiness First They that come short of this Eternal Rest they lose the presence of God how great how unconceivably great this loss is it passeth my skill to tell you But conceive it thus David tells us in Psalm 16. ult In his presence is fulness of joy and at his right hand are pleasures for evermore Now if in the presence of God be the fulness of joy then certainly in the want of his presence is the fulness of misery If at his right hand are pleasures for evermore then certainly at his left hand is wo and misery and calamity for evermore even such misery as the Prophet Ezekiel speaks of Ezek. 2. ult A roll of a book was written within and without lamentations and mourning and wo And it stands with reason it should be so for if God be light then a separation from God must needs be darkness If God be life then a separation from God must needs be death If God be the fountain of Bliss then the separation from him must needs be the possession of all misery and wo and calamity and distress that can possibly be expressed or conceived This punishment of loss in the opinion of all Divines doth incomparably torment the soul more than all the punishment and tortures and torments of Hell-fire Nay the loss of that heavenly and unconceivable Joy the loss of one hours communion with the crowned Saints in glory the loss of one glimpse of the glorified Body of Jesus Christ is a greater and far more and considerable loss than the loss of all the Kingdoms of the World besides I know that carnal men have very carnal conceits of Heaven and happiness because they look usually upon heaven and spiritual things with carnal eyes but if they did but look upon them with such an eye as Moses did Heb. 11.27 By the eye of Faith he saw him that was invisible if they would not look upon things that are seen but upon things that are not seen For the things that arn seen are themporal but the things that are not seen are spiritual and eternal as saith the Apostle 2 Cor. 4.18 If they could but look upon them with spiritual eyes then they would acknowledg that a thousand thousand rendings of the body from the soul are far less than one rending of the soul from God It was the speech of one Nicostratus a curious Painter to one that admired at him for looking so wishfully upon a curious Picture Oh said he if thou hadst but my eyes thou wouldst admire what I admire so may I say to men that will not now believe that the loss of Gods presence is such a loss hadst thou but spiritual eyes thou wouldst acknowledg the truth of what I now say That the loss of Gods presence is such a loss as can never never be sufficiently bewailed no not with tears of blood It was the speech of Chrysostom and it was a savoury speech I had rather endure a thousand Hells than to hear that one dreadful sentence Depart ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels And suitable to this was the speech of Augustine I could be contented to endure the torments of Hell for a while so I might but see the glorified body of Jesus Christ in Heaven for you know what our Saviour saith Father I will that they also whom thou