out unto us in his death and sufferings whereon feeding wee get spirituall nourishment for grace and death of sinne The blood of Christ like the waters appointed for the triall of jealousie hath a double property to kill and to make fruitfull to kill our sinnes and make our graces grow to rot our sins and ripen our grace Well then remember that the great dish thou feedst on at this Feast be Christ himselfe Christo sublato nihil restat in sacramentis praeter inanespectaculum Dav. in col Thou canst not feed upon a promise untill thou first feed upon Christ he doth not onely give us title and interest in them but appetite to them If thou feed on him thy stomach will be quicker to feed on them nay if thou feed on him Christus est substantia sacramentorum ejus operatio est ipsa vita sacramentorum thou feedest on all the promises and hast an interest in all the good of them the sweet of all the promises is tasted in Christ All the promises are folded up in Christ and thou canst not feed on him but thou feedest on all and hast the blessing of every one in particular The promises of justification sanctification subduing of corruptions increase of grace upholding in grace interest in glory they are all of them folded up in Christ hee is all The promise doth not but Christ doth justifie Christ doth sanctifie you get nothing from the promise separate from Christ but all the good of the promise comes in by Christ and therefore here terminate your faith And so much for the second upon what object wee must terminate our Faith We come to the third For what benefit must Faith here be exercised Partic. 3. First faith must not bee here acted for your justification it is required you should be justified persons have your sins forgiven before you come hither He that comes hither under the guilt of sin goes away with more guilt and his former guilt is doubled and confirmed on him So that for this benefit faith is not to bee acted as wee shall shew hereafter Secondly faith must not be here acted for Regeneration It is required a man should be borne againe bee in the state of grace sanctified before hee come hither Here is the multiplying of grace but no begetting of grace As in the miracle of loaves Mat. 14.19 there was no new bread created but a multiplying of the bread they had So here is no giving of grace where there is none but a multiplying of grace where it is where grace is there it is increased but it is not here begotten A man may come to the Word though he be gracelesse Rom. 10.14 because the Word is an Ordinance set up for the gathering of men and begetting souls to Christ but none are to come to the Sacrament but such as are begotten anew the Sacrament is not the Font it is not the place where men are born but the table where men are nourished it is not the seed of the new birth but the meat of the new born we must be born before we eat bred before fed begotten before nourished If we come graceless hither we shall go graceless away and worse then we came In particular then Faith must here be exercised for the further assurance of our justification God hath cast down the soule by the ministery of the Word hee hath discovered and revealed the promise brought the soule over to the promise upon which it rests and is justified and hither we come to be further assured of it This was one end why the Sacrament was set up We know the strongest are but weake in faith Fides non toll it sed vincit omnem dubibitationem Dav. there is no such assurance in the world as to expell all doubts fears though to overcome them but though they may be suspended in their actings for a time and well subdued and conquered yet they are not altogether expelled if they were then were there no need of the Sacrament for this end to confirme and strengthen faith Fides potest habere aliquem modum dubitationis salvâ fide and so one of the ends wherfore God set up this Ordinance were in vaine to that man But I say there is no man so sure but may be surer there are degrees of assurance as well as faith and so may we grow up in assurance as well as faith And now for the further assurance of our justification God to the covenant of grace and mercie wherein he promised the free pardon of sin hath annexed the Seale of the covenant whereby we may be more assured Indeed here is no need of this in respect of God our justification is sure with him his intention is as good as his promise his promise as his oath his oath as his seale But it was God's goodnesse to us pitying the weaknesse of our faith he stooped below himself and was not only content to give us his promise but to confirm it with his oath the great seale of Heaven and to all this to afford his Sacraments to seale up all unto us Heb. 18.19 that we might have strong assurance and consolation Heb. 6.18 It was to this end to assure us who have such unbeleeving hearts that God gave word upon word promise upon promise oath to oath seale to seale heaping mountain upon mountain and all to confirm our staggering hearts That we might be strong in him when weak in our selves faithfull in him when fearfull in our selves stedfast in him when we stagger in our selves And how should we exercise faith here and go doubting away How shall we go away trembling after all this confirmation An oath among men is the end of all controversie the concluding of all difference and disputes and shall not God's oath prevail thus much with you Why doe you suffer returne of feares and doubts after such a seale Woe be to us Vae nobis si nec juranti Deo credimus Aug. if we will not beleeve God no not upon his oath Doest thou desire better security Thou shalt never have it thou canst not If you would come up to God and take his security how could you doubt 2. A second benefit for the compassing of which faith must be exercised c. is the increase of our graces or perfecting of our sanctification My brethren we are weak in grace you know how much infidelity and how little faith how much enmity how little love how much obstinacie how little pliable conformity to his will what a deale of formality how little power what hardnesse of heart how little brokennesse of spirit for sin c. And being weak in grace there is a necessity that these graces should bee nourished As there is necessitie of daily bread for the nourishing and upholding of our bodies so there is necessitie of spirituall food for the nourishing of grace in our soules And as there is
which examination is more generall or more speciall 1. More generall of all our sins those before and those after our effectuall calling 2. Of our Graces 1. What knowledge of God 2. What faith 3. what repentance 4. what love 5. what hunger thirst c. 2. It is more speciall 1. how the soul hath carried it self under former Sacraments in particular since the last Sacrament what good it hath gotten what more strēgth of faith what more weakning of corruption what more increase of grace what more ability to serve God and what evil it hath done all which should be set on upon the soul with the many aggravations being sins against vowes promises against covenant which doth adde much guilt to sin and double the offence 2. The soul is to examine it self how it stands for present what aptness what fitness for the duty what Sacramentall sorrow what faith to close w th God in the present offer what fitness to joyn w th its fellow-members in holy cōmunion and love what hungring and thirsting after Christ in this Ordinance what spirituall appetite what present disposition of soul to renew bonds and covenants with God in this Ordinance Of these and the like are we to examine our selves that 's the first 2. There is required Excitation of our graces that wee stir up our faith our repentance our hunger and thirst c. 1. Our faith to close with a new offer of Christ 2. Our repentance to mourn afresh our hunger and thirst after Christ tendered here These are God's rules and if observed God is sanctified and that is the second 3. You may know whether you have sanctified God in this Ordinance if you examine whether you have observed God's ends Now God's ends are many viz. 1. to glorifie God 2. to get strength against our corruptions 3. to get increases for our graces But I shall only name one set down by the Apostle 1 Cor. 11.23 Do this in remembrance of mee Christ did a great work for us and hee is desirous it may may not be forgotten He hath taken care it should be remembred both in heaven and in earth As he remembers it in heaven it being a part of his intercession for us there to represent his blood and sufferings before God As under the Law the Priest when he had offered the sacrifice was to go with the blood before the Altar and Mercy-seat and shew it to the Lord So Christ having offered himself a sacrifice presents his blood within the vail appearing in the presence of God to intercede for us And as hee hath taken care to remember it in heaven Heb. 9.24 so he hath taken care to keep it in remembrance on earth And therfore he hath set up this ordinance to shew forth his death to put us in mind of his sufferings chargeth us to do this in remembrance of him And when we observe this end truly rightly as wee ought then do we sanctifie God in this Ordinance I say truly and rightly for every remembrance will not serve the turn 1. It must be a cordiall and hearty remembrance wee must remember him with an affected heart in Religion * Quod cor non facit noa sit what the heart doth not is not done Many remember him in a bare historicall way to recount his sorrows and yet their heart not affected It is not enough to remember Christ in the head but you must remember him in the heart words of knowledge imply affection It must be cordiall 2. It must be a gratefull and thankefull remembrance and there is great cause it is the top-mercy that which purchased all for us Look on all coming swimming in a stream of blood See upon all your mercies ingraven The price of blood and you will see great cause to be thankfull 3. It must be a mourning bleeding remembrance So to look on him pierced as to be pierced on him wounded as to be wounded c. And indeed who can look upon Christ in blood who can behold what he hath suffered and conceive himself to be the actor of all this and yet the sharer in all the fruit and benefit for though we were actors of it yet hee put us not out of his Will and Testament he did not except against us in the partaking the fruit of it who can thus behold him but must weep over Christ as the old Prophet over the other alas my brother alas my brother so alas my CHRIST alas my CHRIST 4. It must be a crucifying remembrance such a remembrance of Christ crucified as crucifies our sinfull affections our lusts and corruptions as deals by sin Pro me Dei filius jugulatus iterum me peccare dilectat as sin hath dealt by Christ kills sin as sin hath killed Christ Oh! say shall I give life to that which hath been the death of Christ shall I cherish that hath killed Christ shall I take pleasure in that hath been so bitter to Christ shall I count that light which hath been so heavie to him shall I love and bosome the knife hath killed my husband Under the Law if an Ox goared a man the Ox was to die and shall sin kill Christ and shall it not die for it such a crucifying remembrance it must be as makes us take up weapons against sin And he that thus remembers Christ observes God's end and hee who observes God's ends doth sanctifie God in his Ordinance Well then would you know whether you have sanctified God in this Ordinance see if you have observed God's order God's rules God's ends before you come and so much for the first 2. Would you know whether you have sanctified God in this ordinance see if you have exercised God's graces in the time what those are and how to be exercised I have shewed at large 3. See whether you do return home w th God's quicknings with God's inlargements w th God's inablements are you more humble more serviceable Are you more thankfull Do you find corruptions weakned your graces strengthened Doth your indeavours afterward answer your care and conscience before Is your heart set further against sin Are the wayes of God more lovely to you Are your souls knit neerer to God your spirits more inflamed with love of him These are plain demonstrations that you have sanctified God in this ordinance and that God hath sanctified it to you But now on the contrary let me tell you 1. If thou hast broken God's order and method that thou hast come hither in a graceless Christless cōdition the soul never yet awakned to see sin and be humbled for it Thou knowst what sin is in the Catechisme but dost not know what sin is upon the conscience Thou canst tell mee what faith is in the book but art not acquainted with the working of it in thy soul and what repentance is but yet a stranger to it The day is yet to come wherein thou set thy self to mourn and
Ordinance then we do but as the Apostle saith as oft as you have opportunity do good so as oft as you have the opportunity take the occasions to meet God in his Ordinances 1. By them you see you draw neer to God you come into his presence you have to do with God's Name nay you have to do with God himself 2. By them God draws neer to you he walks among the Candlesticks he presents himself in his Ordinances Matth. 28.1 and there he directs us to finde him Cant. 1.7 8. 3. If wee keep not up a conscionable use of Ordinances distance will grow between God and you As the Water-man may lose more by the omission of one stroke then he is able to recover again by many so may you lose more by the omission of one duty then you are able to recover again by the performance of many especially if this omission hath arisen 1. from neglect of God 2. from carelesness 3. from sleighting of the converses with God 4. or from the importunities and solicitations of Satan and our corruptions 5. or from the blandishments of the world If upon such grounds little dost thou know what thou losest by such an omission If notwithstanding all indeavours it be so hard to keep communion with God what would it be if we should cast up our Oars and neglect it wholly You see what a distance was bred between God Israel Jer. 2. And what was the ground of it why saith the Text My people have forgotten mee dayes without number they had no care to keep and cherish cōmunion and acquaintance with him and so distances were bred between God and them neglect of duty breeds strangeness strangeness distance distance falling off A good caveat in these dayes when so many do cry down duty shall we look upon that as our burthen which is our glory our bondage which is our priviledge what is the happiness of a glorified Saint but only that he is alwayes under the line of love ever in the contemplation and converses with God And shall that be thought our burthen here which is our glory hereafter By this first you come to see the face of God secondly you have converses with him thirdly you get new quickenings fourthly new incouragements fifthly fresh strength against sin sixthly new supplies against the temptations of Satan the world seventhly fresh strength to walk with God eighthly armor against our lusts and this is enough to make us conscionable 4. We know not how soon we may be deprived of Ordinances wee have play'd with the breasts and God might put them up we have sinn'd in the light and God might put out our light How justly might God remove his Candlesticks let out his Vineyard to other Husbandmen and seek for other ground to sow the seed of his Ordinances upon seeing the ground where it hath been sown hath brought forth so little fruit how deservedly might hee suffer us to wish and wander to injoy one of the days of the Son of man which we have injoyed But though God do not take away the Ordinances from us yet hee may take us from the Ordinances and that not only by death but in life it self and a sad thought this will bring to thy soul when conscience shall report to you your former negligence in the use of Ordinances II. Let me exhort you not only to a conscionable use of ordinances but to Conscionableness in the use of them be not onely conscionable to use them but let your hearts be wrought up to a Conscionablenesse in the use of them The power of the Word the terror of the Law the fear of wrath and the hope of reward may put a man to do duty yea have power upon the spirit and ingage the conscience to doe duty You see many that dare not but pray and yet have no heart in prayer they have a conscience to doe duty but their hearts are not brought to any conscientiousness in the doing of it A common work of God may make men conscionable to doe many duties but nothing but the Spirit and Grace of Christ will work up the heart to a conscionablenesse in the doing of them To this conscionablenesse in the performance of Ordinances would I exhort you upon this ground because you draw neere to God have to doe with him And as in all so in particular in this Ordinance of the Lords Supper 1. Because otherwise ye get no good 1. no good of Grace no improvement of Holinesse 2. Nor no good of cōfort Comfort comes not in from the bare doing of the duty but from the manner of doing it is not the issue of conscience to doe but of conscionablenesse in the doing of them All the Sermons you have heard all the Prayers you have prayd all the Sacraments you have received though done out of conscience as you say will not minister one dram of true comfort to you upon your death-beds if your spirits have not been wrought up to a conscionablenesse in the doing of them 2. Because otherwise you provoke God to give him the carkasse and out-side of duty and to with-hold the life and spirit of duty is a provocation of God 3. Because otherwise you will contract much guilt and bring much evill upon your own souls This is sure that Ordinances used in an unconscionable way 1. They give Satan further possession of us 2. They put much weight to our sin 3. They set our soules at further distance with God 4. They ripen us to the great downfall the great sin lies among such 5. They make our conditions more irrecoverable When a man comes to be Ordinance-proofe prayer-proof Sermon and Sacrament-proofe that none of these can enter and work upon him he is out-grown the power of Ordinances that man's condition is very neere desperate There is nothing makes the condition of the soule more desperate and unrecoverable then the use of Ordinances in a formall and unconscionable way when a man doth harden under means of softning When a mans soar runs under the plaister nay when the plaister increaseth the soar when that which should draw us neere sets us at further distance this man's condition is dangerous Scarce one of many are ever wrought upon When once a man can heare and pray and receive and yet retaine his sinne too without disturbance all this doth not trouble him no weapon will pierce him no command no threatning of the Word no power of Ordinances can move him this man is in great danger to die in this condition And the use of Ordinances in a formall way brings men to such a condition As the use of Physick in an ordinary way doth take away the working of it so the use of Ordinances in a formall way doth take off the edge and blunt the power of working on the spirit Well then let me exhort you not onely to be conscionable to use but to a conscionablenesse in the use of
By the way then this may discover to us where the fault is when we return home our faith never the more strengthened our hearts never the more warm'd our graces never the more nourished our corruptiōs never the more weakned It is a shrewd sign faith did not play its part in the mount It is great suspition that your faith did succumbere in conatu did faile and sink in the encounter Faith was intrusted in this imploiment to goe over to Christ for these benefits and thy faith did faile in the undertaking therefore God suspends the bestowing of these benefits because thou suspendest thy faith A man may halt after his striving with God and yet overcome as Jacob did but when a man's spirit doth halt in striving with God when we doe not strive fully with God there is little hope of prevailing Well then if thou see not the fruit and benefit thou expected to come into thy soule in the use of this Ordinance charge thy faith with it and bewaile the weaknesse of it and for the future put it to its burden let it have its full and perfect worke and thou wilt then find the comfort and fruit of it Never did faith touch Christ in any Ordinance but vertue came from him But so much for the first Grace 2. 2d Grace to be exercised A second grace which is here to be exercised in the use of this Ordinance and requisite to the sanctification of God in it is Repentance The Sacraments they are the crucifixes of Christ in which Christ is represented as crucified afresh before our eyes the bread broken doth preach unto us the breaking of Christ The wine powred forth doth preach unto us the Blood of Christ poured forth for our sinnes And who is it that can with the eye of faith look upon a broken Christ but with a broken heart a wounded Christ but with a wounded spirit a bleeding Christ but with a bleeding soule God hath made in nature the same organ for seeing and weeping And in grace hee who sees clearly weeps throughly Lam. 3.5 The eye will affect the heart The Passeover under the Law was to be eaten with bitter herbs So Christ the true Passover is here to be eaten with bitternesse of soul as it was prophesied They shal look on him whom they have pierced and shall lament and mourne first seeing and then weeping c. Zach. 12.10 There is a twofold mourning 1. Historicall 2. Spirituall 1. Historicall mourning there is a naturall tendernesse in men and women whereby their hearts doe yearn and melt to heare the relation or behold the sight of some sad story Such a one as Augustine confesseth he had when he read the sad story of Dido and yet his heart was hard he could not mourn for sin Or such a one as they had whom Christ blamed in the Gospel who lamented the cruell usage of Christ out of naturall compassion only to whom he saith O daughters of Jerusalem weep not for me Homini non est necessarium ut Christū in ipsius passione deploret sed magis ut seipsum in Christo Of this the Father speaks It is not necessary you lament his passion so much as your sinnes which have caused his passion There is a kind of naturall tenderness in men and women wihch yet is often joyned with hardnesse of heart for sinne As an Historical faith with spirituall unbelief and an Historicall love with spiritual enmity so a natural tendernesse with spirituall hardnesse of heart for sin 2. There is a spirituall mourning which ariseth from spirituall grounds and causes and tends to spirituall ends A sorrow which is caused by faith looking upon heart-melting promises or taking up heart-breaking considerations or beholding a heart-softning object by which Faith doth draw waters out of the fountaines of the soul for sin as you have it 1 Sam. 7.6 they drew water as out of a well and poured it forth before the Lord. And this is that sorrow which is here to be exercised which will melt and mellow the heart and cause it to be more fruitfull in obedience Never doth the garden of graces better grow then after such a showre of repentant tears And therefore doth God preserve these springs in the soul to water the seeds of grace and make us more fruitfull which it surely doth when they are Sun-shine-showres such showres wherein the Sun appeares Christ is not hid from the eye of faith And my brethren here are many things in this ordinance which if but looked upon with the eye of faith will open all the springs of sorrow in the soule and call forth all the waters in him Bellarnine he layes down twelve considerations to provoke sorrow as the miseries of mankind by nature the sad condition of the souls in Purgatory and such like stuffe But we need not be beholding to him for such cōsiderations as these to occasion mourning Here is enough in the Sacrament presented to the eye of faith to open all the Springs thou hast and if thou had a fountaine of teares to spend them all for sinne We will name some particulars here which draw out mournings 1. Here is a discovery of the love and sweetnesse of God in giving his Son to die for us Joh. 3.16 So God loved the world c. enough to cause us to mourne that ever wee offended Oh that God should bee more tender to us then to his owne Sonne not spare his Sonne that he might spare us give him to die that we might live poure the curse upon him that the blessing might bee poured on us Quis temperet à lachrymis O how should this affect us Who can think of this and with-hold from teares 2. Here is presented to us the sufferings and breakings of Christ enough to break our hardest hearts 1. The sufferings of Christ in se in themselves as those upon his body what breakings what woundings what scourgings what crownings piercings did he endure in his body and those in his soule What conflicts and struglings did he undergoe with the wrath of God the terrors of death the powers of darknes Oh what weight what burden what wrath did hee undergoe when his soule was heavie unto death beset with terrors as the word signifies when he drank that bitter cup 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Vndequaque tristis valde tristis Passor Supra modum dolens Scap. Obsitus terroribus Arist that cup mingled with curses which if Man or Angell had but sipt of it would have sunk them into hell Nay it made him who was God as well as man sanctified by the Spirit supported with the Deity comforted by Angels sweat such a sweat as never man sweat drops clods of blood 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 tanquam grumi sanguinis as the word implies 2. Consider them in Causâ as the meriting cause of all our good the procurers of all our peace salvation c. He was wounded
affections such affections as do arise from a holy heart there is the spring Unsound professours may sometime have some flashings in their devotions as you see Herod who heard John Baptist joyfully they may have some affections but 1. They are not holy affections 2. Not such as arise from a principle a spring within there 's no root 3. They are not orderly affections they break out before knowledge before faith 4. They are not constant affections but land-flouds for a time 5. They are not transforming affections such as change the heart and therefore such affections may be exercised yet they leave a man as they found him and such a man cannot sanctifie God in an Ordinance Secondly there must not only be holy affections but such as are sutable to the Ordinance Work in hand It is possible to have holy affections them stirred up in an ordinance and yet not sanctifie God in it because these are not sutable to the Ordinance Nihil ad rem nothing to the work in hand they sute not with the present ordinance that God hath called the soul out upon as I could shew you at large Thirdly there must not only be holy affections and sutable affections but those excited and stirred up A man may have holy affections and such as are sutable to an Ordinance as the Saints have in the frame of Grace and yet not sanctifie God in an Ordinance because not excited and stirred up * 1 Tim. 1.6 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signif ignâ—m sopitum ignem cineribus conditum folle aut flatu suscitare ut reardescat Passer Stir up the gift of God in thee saith the Apostle to Timothy that is excite and blow up the gifts and graces of God in thee When you are to do with God you must stir up those affections and graces which are within you And this requires a matter of pains affections are not ever at hand nor ever at command a man hath not his heart under lock and key And therefore God in mercy considering and respecting our weakness hath graciously allotted a time of preparation before he call us forth upon the performance of an Ordinance that so we might get our affections up our hearts in tune Once indeed wee reade that men were called out upon an ordinance and were straitned with time to prepare themselves according to the preparation of the Sanctuary as in Hezekiah's time 2 Chron. 30.18.19 They had habituall preparation but wanted actuall and in that case the want of time God pardoned it but it was prayed for it was sought for and sought for earnestly But we read another time that God punished the want of this actuall preparation and stirring up their graces affections yea and punished it severely with the weaknesse sicknesse death of many of the Corinthians For this cause many are sick many are weak many are fallen asleep yet were they habitually prepared 1 Cor. 11.1 God takes it for a great dishonour to him that we should come slightly on so great a worke to which all the affections we have and all the affections we can stir up are little enough Wee had need call in for all the strength of grace nay all the succours in Christ and all the supplies and aids of the Spirit to the performance of it By this you may gather what it is to sanctifie God in an Ordinance 2. How must wee sanctifie God in an Ordinance To sanctify God in an ordinance there is required something 1. Antecedent 2. CoÌ„comitant 3. Subsequent 1. Somthing Antecedent or before 2. Somthing in the time 3. Afterwards These are generals which belong to every particular OrdinaÌ„ce as I could shew you at large In hearing the Word When you come to heare the word there is somthing required before as 1. Meditation into what place into whose presence about what businesse we goe 2. Examination of 1. our sins that here we might have them slain by the sword of the Spirit in the Ministery of the word 2. Our graces that here wee might have them strengthened and nourished by the spirituall food of our soules 3. Prayer for the Minister for the Congregation our selves that a blessing may be upon 2. In the time is required 1. Reverence 2. Attention 3. Submission of spirit and humility 4. Faith 3. Afterward Prayer again which must be the Alpha and Omega 2. Meditation 3. fruitfulness and obedience So for Prayer there is required Prayer 1. Before Meditation preparation 2. In the time faith fervencie humility * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ex radic 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ordinavit aciem disposuit sutablenesse of spirit inlarged desires 3. Afterward such a deportment and demeanour as is sutable to such who call upon God as to depart from sin to apply our hearts to obedience to expect the answer and return of our Prayers Psal 5.3 In the morning I will direct my prayer * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ex radic 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Speculando expectavit hinc 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 speculator and look up There are two military words he would not only pray but marshall up his prayers put them in array and when he had done hee would be as a Spie upon a tower to see whether he prevailed whether he got the day But to passe these come to the Ordinance we are to enter upon the Sacrament Sacrament To sanctifie God in which there is required 1. somthing before 2. somthing in the time and 3. something after 1. Something before which may be laid down in these two heads 1. Habituall 2. Actuall 1. Habituall preparation which doth consist in the whole frame of grace and sanctification It is an ordinance onely for such who are sanctified we are to have 1. A saving knowledge of God of our selves 2. lively faith 3. a true repentance 4. love 5. hunger and thirst after Christ this is a feast and no comming without stomach 6. Thankfulnesse 2. Actuall preparation and that consists in the actuall stirring up and exciting of those graces which are in you There must be a new exciting of faith a new exercise of repentance the latitude and extent whereof is for all sin but especially for those sinnes which you have committed since the last time you renewed your covenant with God in this Ordinance So a stirring up of our love affections our desires hunger thirst This is required before which because it is so largely treated upon Mr. Dike on the Sacrament Mr. Downam by many learned and godly Divines I shall purposely wave any further treaty of it referring you in this point to what they have so largely written Passing this therefore we fall upon the second which hath not been so frequently taught 2. As there is something then required before viz. Habituall and actuall preparation so secondly there is something required in the time and that is the exercise of Graces and gracions dispositions
that we might be healed scourged that we might be solaced drunk the cup of wrath a bitter cup to procure all our sweet draughts He was slain saith Daniel 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Dan. 9.26 but not for himself he was wounded for our transgressions broken for our iniquities the chastisement of our peace was upon him and by his stripes are we healed Isa 53.5 8. 3. Consider them as effectus peccati as the effects of our sin as those things our sins brought upon him Solvere gelicidium and needs must this melt and thaw our Icie stony hearts Oh will the soul say it hath been I who have been the traytor the murtherer my sins which have been bloody instruments to slay the Lord of glory I have sinn'd Ezek. 18. thou suffer'd 't was I that did eat the sowre grapes yet thy teeth were set on edge I have been thy death yet thy death hath given mee life I have wounded thee yet thou hast healed me yea and even out of that wound my sins made thou sent a plaister to heal mee This consideration must needs fill the heart with sorrow Zach. 12.10 They shall look upon him whom they have pierced and how shall this sight affect them why it follows they shall mourn and be in bitterness of soul as one in bitterness for their first-born They say if one man kill another and you bring the murtherer into the place where the slain person lies the dead will bleed afresh Wee are the murtherers of Christ and we come here to an Ordinance where Christ is represented in his blood as broken and wounded for our sins O! that our hearts might bleed as he bleeds afresh to us so that wee might bleed a fresh to him A Prince wil weep himself when the Page is whipped for him but how should the Page mourn when the Prince is scourged for him My brethren there is infinite more disproportion between Christ and us then between the Prince and the Page the Lord and the slave And how can we then look upon him as wounded scourged pierced for us not be affected with afflicted for our sin the cause of it Bernard saith * Sivis ipsum cognoscere sicut se fregit ita te frange If thou would be conformable to Christ in the Sacrament as thou beholdest a broken a bleeding Christ so labour to behold him w th a broken bleeding heart Look on him in this Ordinance as Mary looked upon him on the Cross when Simeon's Prophesie was fulfilled that a sword should pass through her soul Luke 2.35 for then indeed did a sword pass through her soul when she saw him pierced on the cross so when you see him pierced and broken in the Sacrament which is the lively representation of Christ broken Oh that then it might be as a spear to our hearts as a sword to our spirits that we by our sins have wounded and pierced him This is the second grace to be exercised in this Ordinance And beside these two there are many more to be exercised here viz. Our love to God our hungring and thirsting after Christ There is that in Christ represented to the eye of faith in this Sacrament that calls out for all the affections dispositions and desires in you You cannot see Christ here but it will make every grace within you stir every disposition within you to move every wheel go Who can see him but love him who is so exceeding lovely Who can see him but prize him who is so exceeding precious Who can see him but desire him who is so exceeding desireable Who can see him but delight in him who is the joy and delight of the soul You cannot possibly see him here but all the powers of the soul will be up 1. Your judgements to prize him your wills to choose him and make a new match with him your affections to love him embrace him delight in him And the clearer your sight is here of Christ by faith the more will your hearts be stirred your spirits moved Men that sit here as logs lumps of clay never stirred never taken up they see not Christ they see no higher then the table the Bread and Wine and therefore dead and sensless Oh! but if if one crevise of your hearts were opened to let in but one beam one glimpse of Christ it would set you all on a burning heavenly fire this would warm you indeed But besides these graces to be exercised there is required some demeanours in the soul in this Ordinance if we would sanctifie God in it 1. An humble and holy reverence which is the fruit of that dread and fear of God which is in the heart There is abundance of lightness looseness and vanity in the spirits of men by nature And the Majesty and dread of that great God with whom wee have to do in this Ordinance must consolidate and make our spirits weighty in these great Ordinances The Sacrament is called an Eucharist 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 grata beneficiorum recordatio it is a gratulatory service and God is fearfull in praises Exod. 15.11 which hath speciall respect to the affection wherewith you are to praise him 2. There is required a discharge dismission of all worldly thoughts and businesses When Abraham went up to the Mount to sacrifice he left his servants in the valley Thou art now to go up to the mount where God appears Oh! leave all your servile affections your worldly thoughts in the valley And if any enter do as Abraham did by the Birds that would have eaten up his sacrifice chase them away do by them as you do by straggling beggars give them their pass and send them away In the Temple though there was so much flesh for sacrifice yet there was not one Flie appeared stirring oh that it might be so with us this day that not one thought might arise upon our hearts unsutable to the place and work in hand It is a thing unbefitting these great imployments to have our hearts and thoughts taken up with other businesses what have you to do here with your shops your bags your chests What have you here to do with things of this world Quid proficit si meditationes tuae in lege Dei sint ipsae in se ipsis sine lege sint Bern. in Cant. Oh make not this place an Exchange a Shop for merchandize men are not able to do business in a crowd nor you so great a business as this in a crowd of thoughts But this is the misery you are servants and slaves to the world at other times and therefore the world will master you now If you pass over your hearts to the service of the world at other times the world will make you serve it now Because you have not spirituall hearts in your temporall employments therefore have you carnall hearts in your spirituall employments The lesse of the Sabbath in the