tl! !!|rii iiliif!!!!' amraii I !i ll'i. # CL ,^ .5 /5f _Q. <« i 1 1 ,i*^ ;£ ^ Ha Q_ 1 \^ •S. ^ "o to $ ^ S - things the Scripture doth peculiarly- direct us to consider in the obedience of Christ unto death : the principle of it, which was love, — readiness to and for it, — submission under it, — his patience during it. They are things the Scripture reminds us of concerning the obedience of Christ in his death. DISCOLTiSE HI. SS J. Consider his love, which is one of the principal things to be regarded in this obedi- ence of Christ. The love wherewith it was principled : Gal. ii. 20. " He loved me, (saith the apostle,) and gave himself for me." 1 John iii. 16. " Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us." It was his love did it ; Rev. i. 5. ** Who loved us, and washed us from our sins in his o^vn blood." This gives life to the whole sufferings of Christ, and to our faith too. It was an high act of obedience to God, that he laid down his life ; but that obedience was principled with love to us. And now, I pray God, to enable me to con- sider this with my own soul, what that love would stick at, that did not stick at this kind of death we have been speaking of. If Jesus Christ had reserved the greatest thing he was to do for us until the last, we had not known but his love might have stuck when it came to that; I mean, wiien it came to the curse of the law, though he had done other things. But having done this, he that would not withdraw nor take off from that, because he loved us, what will he stick at for the fu- ture ? Our hearts are apt to be full of unkind and unthankful thoughts towards him, as though upon every dark and black temptation and trial he would desert us, whose love was such, as he would not do it when himself was to be deserted and made a curse. Call over then the love of Christ in this obedience. Yes ; but love prevails sometimes, you will say, with 34 DISCOUllSE III. many, to do some things, that they have no great mind to ; we come very difficultly to do some things, when yet out of love we will not deny them. But it was not so with Christ ; his love was such, that he had, 2. An eternal readiness unto his work. There are two texts of Scripture inform us of it ; Prov. viii. 30. where the holy Ghost de- scribes the prospect that the Wisdom of God, that is, the Son of God, took of the world, and the children of men, in reference to the time when he was to come among them : " I was," saith he, ''daily his delight, rejoicing always before him ; rejoicing in the habitable parts of his earth, and my delights were with the sons of men." He considered what work he had to do for the sons of men, and delighted in it: The 40th psalm expounds this, ver. 6, 7j 8. *' Sacrifice and oiFering thou didst not desire, mine ears hast thou opened : burnt-offering and sin-offering hast thou not required. Then said I, Lo, I come : in the volume of the book it is written of me," &c. Sacrifice and burnt- offering will not take away sin, saith he ; then, JiO, I come. But doth he come willingly ? Yes, I delight, (saith he,) to do thy will, O my God ; yea, thy law is within my heart. What part* of the will of God was it? the apostle tells you, Heb. x. JO. *' Offering the body of Jesus Christ once for all ; by which will we are sanctified." He came not only willingly, but with delight. The baptism he was to be baptized with, he was straitened till it was accomplished. The love he had unto DISCOURSE III. 35 the souls of men, that great design and project he had for the glory of God, gave him delight in his undertaking, notwithstanding all the difficulties he was to meet with. 3. We are to remember his submission to the great work he was called unto. This he expresses, Isa. 1. 5, 6. " The Lord God," says he, '' hath opened mine ear, and I was not re- bellious, neither turned away back. I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair. I hid not my face from shame and spitting." The Lord God called him to it, and he was not rebel- lious, but submitted unto it. There is one objection arises against this submission, and that is the prayer of Christ in the garden, " Father, if it be possible^ let this cup pass from me." I answer. That was an expression of the horror which was upon the human nature, which we mentioned before. But there were two things that Christ immediately closed upon, which gave evidence to this submission ; that he did not draw back, nor rebel, nor hide himself, nor turn away his face from shame and spitting. One was this, " Father, thy will be done," saith he ; and the other was this, that he refused that aid to deliver him which he might have had : " Know ye not that I could pray the Father, and he would give me more than twelve legions of angels }" He then suffered under the Roman power, and their power was reduced to twelve legions. Saith he, I could have more thin these ; which argues his full submission unto the will of God. S6 DISCOURSE in. Thirdly, We are to call over his patience un- der his suiterings, in his obedience, Isa. liii. 7- ^' Pie was oppressed, and he was afilicted, yet he opened not his mouth ; he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth" — the highest expressions of an abso- lute, complete, and perfect patience. Though he was alHicted, and though he had all man- ner of provocations, thjugh " he was reviled, he reviled not again." The apostle tells us, Heb. xii. 2., "he endured the cross," (that is he patiently endured it, as the word signifies,) "and despised the shamo. that he might sit down at the right hand of God " You see then the end of this ordinance of the Lord's supper, is to stir us up to call over the obedience of Christ, both as to his love in it, as to his readiness for it, submission to the will of God in it, and patience under it. Fourthly, Faith is to call over the work itself, and that was the death of Christ. I shall not now be able to manifest under what considera- tion in this ordinance faith calls over the death of Christ ; but these are the heads I shall speak unto. It calls it over as a sacrifice, in that it was bloody ; — it culls it over as shame- ful, in that it was under the curse ; — it calls it over as bitter and dreadful, in that it was pe- nal. It was a bloody, shameful, and penal death ; as bloody, a sacrifice ; as cursed, shame- ful ; and as it was penal, it was bitter. In the work of faith's calling over these things, there is a peculiar work of love also. Saith DISCOURSE III. 3 I our Saviour, " Do this in remembrance of me." These are tlie words we would use unto a friend, when we give him a token or pledge, *' Remember me." What is the meaning of it .-^ Remember my love to you; my kindness for you ; remember my per- son. There is a remembrance of love to- wards Christ to be acted in this ordinance, as well as a remembrance of faith ; and as the next object of faith is, the benefits of Christ, and thereby to his person ; so the next object of love, is the person of Christ, and thereby to his benefits; I mean as represented in this ordinance. * Remember me,' saith he, that is, *with an heart full of love towards me.* And there are three things wherein this remem- brance of Christ by love, in the celebration of this ordinance, doth consist : delight in him, — thankfulness unto him, — and the keeping of his word. He that remembers Christ with love, hath these three affections in his heart. 1. He delights in h'm. Thoughts of Christ are sweet unto him, as of an absent friend ; but only in spiritual things we have this great advantage, we can make an absent Christ pre- sent to us. This we cannot do in natural things. We can converse with friends only by imagina- tion : but by faith we can make Christ present with us, and delight in him. 2. There is thanksgiving towards him. That love which is fixed upon the person of Christ will break forth in great thankfulness, which is one peculiar act of this ordinance. " The cup which we bless, or give thanks for." D 88 DISCOURSE III. 3. It will greatly incline the heart to keep his word. If ye are my disciples, " if ye love me, keep my commandments." Every act of love fixed upon the person of Clirist, gives a new spring of obedience to all the ordinances of Christ: and the truth is, there is no keeping up our hearts unto ohedience to ordinances, but by renewed acts of obedience upon the person of Christ. This will make the soul cry. When shall I be in an actual observance of Christ's ordinance, who hath thus loved me and wash- ed me with his own blood, that hath done such great things for me ? This is the end of the death of Christ, which concerns our faith and love ; the end of com- memoration, or calling to remembrance. II. There is an end of profession also; which is to shew forth the Lord's death till he come. But this must be spoken to at some other time. If we come to the practice of these things, we shall find them great things to call over : viz. the whole frame of the heart of Christ in his death, and his death itself, and our own concern therein, and the great exam- ple he hath set unto us. Some of them, I hope, may abide upon our hearts and spirits for use. 39 DISCOURSE IV. December 24, 1669. 1 Cor. xi. 26. As often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, yc do shew the Lord's death until he come. One end, you see, of this great ordinance, is to shew the Lord's death, to declare it, to re- present it, to shew it forth, hold it forth ; the word is thus variously rendered. And in the especial ends of this ordinance it is, that we have special communion with our Lord Jesus Christ. Now there are two ways wherebv we show forth the Lord's death ; the one is, the way of representation to ourselves ; and the other is, a way of profession unto others. I. The way of representation to ourselves. The work of representing Christ aright to the soul, is a great work. Gud and men are agreed in it : and therefore God, when he represents Christ, his design is to represent him to the faith of men. Men that have not faith have a great desire to have Christ represented to their fancy and imagination ; and therefore, when the way of representing Christ to the faith of men was lost among them, the greatest part of their religion was taken up in representing Christ to their fancy. They would make pic- tures and images of his cross, resurrection, as- cension, and every thing he did. 40 DISCOURSE IV. There are three ways whereby God repre- sents Christ to the faith of believers ; the one is, by the word of the gospel itself, as writ' ten; the second is, by the miiiistri/ of the gos- pel, and preaching of the word ; and the third in particular is, by this sacrament, wherein we represent the Lord's death to the faith of our own souls. 1. God doth it by the word itself. Hence are those descriptions that are given of Christ in Scripture, to represent him desirable to the souls of men. The great design of the book of Canticles consists for the most part in this — in a mystical, allegorical description of the graces and excellencies of the person of Christ, to render him desirable to the souls of be- lievers ; as in the fifth chapter, from the ninth verse to the end, there is nothing but that one subject. And it was a great promise made to them of old, Isa. xxxiii. J 7- " Thine eyes shall see the King in his beauty." The promises of the Old Testament are much spent in repre- senting the person of Christ beautiful, desirous, and lovely to the faith of believers. And you will see in 2 Cor. iii 18., what is the end of the gospel ; " We all with open face, beholding as in a glass, the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as by the Spiiit of the Lord." The gospel is the glass here intended ; and looking into this glass, there is an image appears in it, not our own, but the representation the gospel makes of Jesus Christ, is the image that ap- pears in the glass. The design of the gospel DISCOUllSE IV. 41 is to make a representation of Christ unto us. As Christ makes a representation of the Fa- ther, and therefore he is called ''his image, the image of the invisible God ;" why so ? be- cause all the glorious properties of the invisible God are represented to us in Christ, and we, looking upon the image of Christ in this glass, that is the representation made of him in the gospel ; it is the effectual means whereby the Spirit of God transforms us into his image. This is the first way whereby God doth this great work of representing Christ unto the faith of men, which men having lost, have made it their whole religion to represent Christ unto their fancy. 2. The second way is, by the ministry of the word. The great work of the ministry of the word, is to represent Jesus Christ. The apos- tle Paul says, Gal. iii. 1. '' O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you ?" He is dcpictus criicijixiis, crucified be- fore their eyes. How was this } not before their bodily eyes; but the apostle had in his preaching made such a lively representation unto their faith of the death of Christ, that he was as one painted before them. One said well on this text, " Of old the apostles did not preach Christ by painting, but they painted him by preaching ;" they did in so lively a manner re- present him. Abraham's servant, (Gen. xxiv.) who was sent to take a wife for his son Isaac, is by all granted to be, if not a type, yet a resemblance 3 42 DISCOURSE IV. of the ministers of the gospel, that go forth to prepare a bride for Christ : and what does he do? Truly he is a great example ; when he came to the opportunity, though he had many things to divert him, yet he would not be diverted. There was set meat before him to eat, but he said, *• I will not eat till I have told my er- rand." Nothing should divert the ministers of the gospel, no not their necessary meat, when they have an opportunity of dealing with souls on behalf of Chrit^t. What course does Abraham's servant take? He saith, *'l am Abraham's servant; and the Lord hath blessed my master greatly, and he has become great ; and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and men-servants, and maid- servants, and camels, and asses." What is all this to Issac ? he was to take a wife for Isaac, not for Abraham. He goes on ; " And Sarah, my master's wife, bare a son to my master when she was old ; and unto him hath he given all that he hath." The way to procure this wife for Isaac, was to let them know, that this great man had given all that he had to Isaac. And it is the work of ministers of the gospel to let the people know, that God the Father hath given all things into the hands of his Son, they are to represent Christ, as Abraham's ser- vant does here his master Isaac, as one who in- herited all the goods of Abraham — So Christ is the appointed heir of all things, of the king- dom of heaven, the whole household of God. They are to represent him thus to the souls of men, to make him desirable to them. This is DlSCOL'llSL IV. 43 the great work of ministers, who are ambassa- dors of God ; they are sent from God to make ready a bride for Christ among the chil- dren of men. 3. The special way whereby we represent Christ unto our souls through faith, is in the administralwn of this ordinance, which I will speak to upon the great end of shewing forth the death of the Lord. Now the former representations were gene- ral, this is particular; but I cannot at thistiaje go over particulars. I bless the Lord my soul hath many times admired the wisdom and goodness of God in the institution of this one ordinance, that he took bread and wine for that end and purpose, merely arbitrary, of his own choice, and might have taken any thing else, what he had pleased ; that he should fix on the cream of the creation, which is an endless store-house, if pursued, of representing the mysteries of Christ. When the folly of men goes about to invent ceremonies that they would have significant ; when they have found them out, they cannot well tell what they sig- nify. But though I do acknowledge, that all the significancy of this ordinance depends upon the institution, yet there is great wisdom in the fitting of it ; the thing was fitted and suit- ed to be made use of to that end and purpose. One end of the ordinance itself is to repre- sent the death of Christ unto us ; and it re- presents Christ with reference to these hve things. 1. It represents him with reference to God's 44 DISCOURSE IV. seitiug him forlh. 2. In reference to his own passion. 3. In reference to his exhibition in the promise. 4. To our participation of him by believing. And, 5. To his incorporation with us in union. 1. The great end of God in reference to Christ as to his death, was, his setting of him forth. Rom. iii. 25. *' Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation." And in the very- setting forth of the elements in this ordinance, there is a representation of God's setting forth his Son, of giving him out for this work, of giving him up unto it to be a propitiation. 2. There is a plain representation of his passion, of his suffering and death, and the manner of it. This, with all the concerns of it, I treated of the last Lord's day, under the head of recognition, or calling over the death of Christ, " Do this in remembrance of me ;" and so I shall not again insist upon it. 3. There is a representation of Christ in it, as to the exhibition and tender of him in the promise. Many promises are expressed in in- vitations, '' Ho ! every one that thirsteth, come," take eat : there is a promise in it. And in the tender that is made even of the sacramental elements, there is the exhibition of Christ in the promise represented to the soul. I told you before, God hath carefully provided to represent Christ unto our faith, and not to our fancy ; and therefore there is no outward similitude and figure. We can say concerning this ordinance with all its represen- tations, as God said concerning his appearing DISCOURSE IV. 45 to INIoses upon Mount Iloreb, " Thou sawest no similitude." God hath taken care there shall be no natural figure, that all representa- tions made may stand upon institution. Now there is this tender with an invitation. The very elements of the ordinance are a great re- presentation of the proposal of Christ to a be- lieving soul. God holds out Christ as willing to be received, with an invitation. So we show forth the Lord's death. 4. There is in this ordinance a representation of Christ as to our receplion of him ; for hereon depends the whole of the matter. God might make a feast of fat things, and propose it to men ; but if they do not come to eat, they will not be nourished by it. If you make a tender of payment to a man^, if he doth not receive it, the thing remains at a distance as before. Christ being tendered to a soul, if that soul doth not receive him, he hath no benefit by it. — All th.ese steps you may go. There may be God's exhibition of Christ, and setting of him forth ; there may be his own oblation and suffering, laying the foundation of all that is to come ; there may be an exhibition of him in the promise, tender and invitation, and yet, if not received, we have no profit by all these things. What a great representation of this receiving is there in the administration of this ordinance, when every one takes the represen- tation of it to himself, or doth receive it ! Lastlij, It gives us a representation of our incorporation in Christ ; the allusion whereof from the nature of the elements incorporation 46 DISCOURSE IV. with us, and being the strength of our lives, might easily be pursued. — This is the first way of showing forth the Lord's death. II. I shall now speak a few words to the profession of it among ourselves, and to others. Let me make one or two observations to make way for it. 1. That visible profession is a matter of more importance than most men make of it. As the apostle saith, Rom. x. 10. " With the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Look how indispensably necessary believing is unto righteousness, to justification ; no less in- dispensably necessary is confession or profession unto salvation. There is no man that doth be- lieve with his heart unto righteousness, but he will with his mouth (which is there taken by a synecdoche for the whole of our profession) make confession unto salvation. This is that which brings glory to God. The apostle tells us, 2 Cor. ix. 13. that men " by the experiment of this ministration, glorify God for your pro- fessed subjection to the gospel of Christ." Glory doth not arise out of obedience, so much as by your profession of it ; by the giving them experiment, both of your faith and the reality of it, and that by this fruit of your profession. Now profession consists in these two tilings ; (1.) In an abstinence from all things with re- ference to God and his worship, vvliich Christ has not appointed. (2.) In the observance and performance of all things which Christ has appointed. DISCOURSE IV. 47 Men are apt to think, that abstinence from the pollutions that are in the world through lust, the keeping themselves from the sins and defilements of the world, and inclining to tliat party that is not of the world, is profession. These things are good : but our profession con- sists in the observance of Christ's commands, what he requires of us. " Go teach them." What to do.^ '' Whatsoever I have command- ed them ; and lo, I am with 5'ou always to the end of the world." There is an expression, John xiv. 24. wherein our Saviour puts a trial of our love to him upon the keeping of his say- ings. '' He that loveth me not, keepeth not my sayings." To keep the sayings of Christ is to observe the comm.ands of Christ, which is the perfect trial of our love to him. 2. There is in this ordinance a special pro- fession of Christ. There is a profession of him against the shame of the world ; a profession of him against the curse of the law; and a pro- fession of him against the power of the devil. All our profession doth much centre, or is mightily acted in this ordinance. (1.) The death of our Lord Jesus Christ was in the world a shameful deaths and that with which Christians were constantly reproached, and which hardly went down with the world. It is a known story, that when the Jesuits preached the gospel, as they call it, in China, they never let them know of the death of Christ, till the congregation de propaganda Jide commanded it ; for the world is mightily scan- dalized at the shameful death of the cross. 48 BISCOURSI;: IV. Now in this ordinance we profess the death of Christ wherein he was crucified, as a male- factor, against all the contempt of the world. It was a great part of the confession of the Christians of old, and there is something in it still: here we come solemnly before God, and all the world, and profess that we expect all our life and salvation from the death of this crucified Saviour. (2.) In our profession we show forth the death of the Lord, in the celebration of this ordinance, in opposition to the curse of the law : that whereas the curse of the law doth lay claim to us because we are sinners, liere we profess that God hath transferred the curse of the law to another who underwent it. So they did with the sacrifices of old, when they had confessed all the sins and iniquities of the people over the head of the goat, then they sent him away into the wilderness. So it is in this ordinance: here we confess all our sins and iniquities over the head of this great sacrifice, and profess to the law and all its accusations, that there our sins are charged. " Who shall lay anything to our charge.'* and who shall condemn.'* It is Christ that died." We confront the claim of the law, shake off its authority as to its curse, and profess to it that its charge is satisfied. (3.) We make a profession against the pow- er of Satan. For the great trial of the power and interest of the devil in, unto, and over the souls of men, was in the cross of Jesus Christ. He put his kingdom to a trial, staked his all upon it, mustered up all the strength he had DISCOURSE IV. 49 got, all the aids that the guilt of s'n and tlie rage of the world could furnish him with. Now, saith Christ, is your hour and power of darkness. He comes to try what he can do ; and what was the issue of the death of Christ.'* Why, saith the apostle, he spoiled principalities and powers, and triumphed over them in his cross. So that in our celebration of the death of Christ, we do profess against Satan, that his power is broken, that he is conquered, tied to the chariot wheels of Christ, who has disarmed him. This is the profession we make when we show forth the Lord's death, against the shame of the world, against the curse of the law, and the power of hell. — This is the second general end of this ordinance, and another means it is whereby we have especial communion with Christ in it ; which was the thing I aimed at from the words I had chosen. And now I have gone through all I intend upon this subject. A word or two of use, and I have done. 1. It is a very great honour and privilege to be called of God unto this great work of show- ing forth the death of Christ. I think it is as great and glorious a work as any of the child- ren of men can be engaged in in this world. I have showed you formerly, how all the acts of the glorious properties of God's nature cen- tre themselves in this infinite, wise, holy pro- duct of them, the death of Christ: and that God should call us to represent and show forth this death. The Lord forgive us, where we have not longed to perform this work as we E 50 DISCOUESE IV. ought ; for we have suffered carnal fears and affections, and anything else, to keep us off from employing ourselves in this great and glorious work. The grace and mercy of God in this matter is ever to be acknowledged, in that he has called us to this great and glorious work. 2. Then surely it is our duty to answer the mind of God in this work ; and not to attend to it in a cold, careless, and transient manner. But methinks we might rejoice in our hearts when we have thoughts of it, and say within ourselves, Come we will go and show forth the Lord's death. The world, the law, and Satan, are conquered by it : blessed be God that has given us an opportunity to profess this. O that our hearts may long after the season for it, and say, When shall the time come.^* 3. We may do well to remember what was spoken before concerning the great duty of re- presenting God to our souls, that we may know how to attend to it. I would speak unto the meanest of the flock, to guide our hearts and thoughts, which are too ready to wander, and are so unprofitable for want of spiritual fixa- tion. We would fain trust to our affections rather than to out faith, and would rather have them moved, than faith graciously to act itself. And when we fail therein, we are apt to think we fail in our end of the ordinance, because our affections were not moved. Set faith genuinely at work, and we have the e7id of the ordinance. Let it represent Christ to our soulsj as exhibited of God and given out unto DISCOUIISE V. 51 US, as suffering, as tendered to us, and as re- ceived and incorporated with us. DISCOURSE V. Jannary^y 1669. 1 Cor. xi. 28. But let a man examine himself, and so Id him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. I HAVE been treating of that special communion which believers have with Christ in the admi- nistration of the ordinance of the supper of the Lord ; and thought I should have treated no more of that subject ; having gone through all the particulars of it, which were practical, such as might be reduced to present practice. But I remember I said nothing concerning prepaV' alien for it, which yet is a needful duty : and therefore I shall a little speak to tliat also; not what may cloctrinaUy be delivered upon it, but those things, or some of them at least, in which every soul will find a practical concern, that intends to be a partaker of that ordinance to benefit and advantage : and I have taken these words of the apostle for my ground-work — But let a man exaynine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. There were many disorders fallen in this church at Corinth ; and that various ways, in 5i2 DISCOURSE V. schisms and divisions, in neglect of discipline, in false opinions, and particularly in a great abuse of the administration of this great or- dinance of the supper of the Lord. And though I do not, I dare not, I ought not to bless God for their sin ; 5'et I bless God for his providence. Had it not been for their disorders, we had all of us been in much darkness as to all church- way. The correction of their disorders con- tains the principal rule for church-communion, and the administration of this sacrament, that we have in the whole Scripture ; which might have been hid from us, but that God suffered them to fall into them on purpose, that through their fall in them and by them, he might in- struct his church in all ages to the end of the world. The apostle is here rectifying abuses about the administration of the Lord's supper, which were many ; and he applies particular direc- tions to all their particular miscarriages, not now to be insisted on ; and he gathers up all directions into this one general rule that I have read. Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat, &c. Now this self-examination ex- tends itself unto the whole due preparation of the souls of men for the actual participation of this ordinance. And I shall endeavour, by plain instances out of the Scripture, (which is my way in these familiar exercises,) to mani- fest that there is a preparation necessary for the celebration, or observance of all solemn ordi- nances. — And I shall shevv you what that pre- paration is, and wherein it doth consist. — And DISCOURSE V. 53 then I shall deduce from thence, what is that particular preparation which is incumbent upon us, in reference unto this special ordi- nance, that is superadded unto the general preparation that is required unto all ordinances. First, I shall manifest, that there is a pre- paration necessary for the celebration of solemn worship. We have an early instance of it in Gen. XXXV. 1 — 5. In the first verse, " God said unto Jacob, Arise go up to Bethel, and make there an altar unto God." It was a solemn or- dinance Jacob was called unto, to build an altar unto God, and to offer sacrifice. What course did he take } you may see, ver. 2, 3. " And Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him. Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments ; and let us arise and go up to Beth- el ; and I will make there an altar unto God." I will not engage, saith he, in this great duty without a preparation for it ; and, saith he, the preparation shall be suitable. Peculiar, special preparation (to observe that by the way) for any ordinance, consists in the removal of that from us which stands in peculiar opposition to that ordinance, whatever it be. I am to build an altar unto God ; put away the strange gods ; and accordingly he did so. When God came to treat with the people in that great ordinance of giving the law, which was the foundation of all following ordin- ances, Exod. xix. 10. " The Lord said unto Moses, Go unto the people and sanctify them to-day and to-morrow, and let them wash their 3 O* DISCOURSE V. clothes, and be ready against the third day ; fof the third day the Lord will come down upon mount Sinai." I will not insist upon these typical preparations, but only say, it suiHciently proves the general thesis, that there ought to be such a preparation for any meeting with God in any of his ordinances. Saith he, " Sanctify yourselves, &c. and on the third day I will come." God is a great God with whom we have to do. It is not good to have carnal boldness, in our accesses and approaches to him; and therefore he teaches us, that there is a preparation due. And what weight God lays upon this, you may see, 2 Chron. xxx. 18 — ^20. A multitude of people came to the sacrifice of the passover; but, saith he, they had not cleansed themselves, there was not due preparation ; but " Heze- kiah prayed for them saying, The good Lord pardon every one that prepareth his heart to seek God, the Lord God of his fathers, though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary. And the Lord hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the people." Perhaps the people might have thought it enough, that they had their personal qualification, that they were believers, that they had prepared their hearts to seek the Lord God of their fathers ; a thing most persons trust unto in this matter. No saith the king, in praying for them ; they did prepare their hearts for the Lord God of their fathers, but they were not prepared according to the preparation of the sanctuary. There is an in- stituted preparation, as well as a personal dis- position, which if not observed God will smite DISCOURSE V. 55 them. God had smote the people ; given them some token of his displeasure ; they come with great willingness and desire to be partakers of this holy ordinance ; yet because they were not prepared according to the purification of the sanctuary, God smites them. It was an ordinance of God that Paul had to perform, and we would have thought it a thing that he might easily have done^ without any great fore-thought, but it had that weight upon his spirit, (Rom. xv. 30, 31.) that with all ear- nestness he begs the prayers of others that he might be carried through the performance of it ; " Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me ; that my service which I have for Jerusalem, may bo accepted of the saints." He had a service to do at Jerusalem. He was gathering the contributions of the saints, ( an ordinance of God), to carry it up to the poor at Jerusalem ; and it was upon his heart, that his service might find acceptance with them; there- fore he begs with all his soul, " I beseech you brethren," c^c. So great weight did he lay upon the performance of an ordinance, that one would think might easily be passed over, without any great regard. The caution we have^, Eccl. v. I. is to the same purpose : "Keep thy foot vAien thou goes into the house of God, and be more ready to hear than to give the sacrifice of fools ; for they con- sider not that they do evil." I shall not stand upon the particular exposition of any of these 56 DISCOURSE V. expressions, but it is a plain caution of diligent consideration of ourselves in all things we have to do in the house of God. A bold venturing upon an ordinance is but the sacrifice of fools: keep thy foot, look to thy affections ; be more ready to hear, saith he, that is, to attend unto the command, what God requires from thee, and the way and manner of it, than merely to run upon a sacrifice^ or the performance of the duty itself. I will name one place more : Psal. xxvi. 6. " I will wash my hands in innocency ; so will I compass thine altar, O Lord." I have a little confirmed this general pro- position, that all take for granted; and I fear we content ourselves, for the most part, with the state and condition of those mentioned, who prepai:e:d their hearts to meet the Lord God of their fathers, not considering how they may be prepared according to the preparation of the sanctuary. You will ask, what is that preparation .'* This question brings me to the Seco?id general head I propounded to speak unto. I answer, that the general preparation that respects all ordinances, hath reference unto God, to ourselves, and to the ordinance itself. Lst, It hath respect unto God. This is the first thing to be considered; for this he lays down as the great law of all his ordinances ; '* I will be sanctified in them that draw nigh unto me," Lev. x. 3. God is, in the first place, to be considered in all our drawings nigh unto him ; as that is the general name of all ordinances, a DISCOUKSE V. 57 drawing nigh, an access nnto God, '- I will be sanctified/' &c. Now God is to be considered three ways that he may be sanctified in any ordinance; as the author, as the object, as the end of it. I shall speak only to those things that lie practically before us, and are indispensa- bly required of us in waiting upon God, in any and every ordinance. 1. Our preparation in reference unto God, consists in due consideration of God as the author of any ordinance wherein we draw nigh unto him. For this is the foundation of all ordinances ; Rom. xiv. 11. *' As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to me." A practical sense of the au- thority of God in every ordinance, is that which is required in the very first place for our pre- paration. I know full well, how that the mind of man is to be influenced by general convictions and particular customs. Particular usages built upon general convictions, carry most people through their duties : but that is no preparation of heart. There is to be an immediate sense of the authority and com.mand of (a)d. 2. We are to consider God in Christ, as the immediate object of that worship which in every ordinance we do perform. You will ask, what special apprehensions concerning God are par- ticularly necessary to this duty of preparation for communion with God in an ordinance ? I answer. Two are particularly necessary, that should be practically upon our thoughts in every ordinance, the presence of God and the holiness of God. As God is the object of our 58 DISCOURSE V. worship, these two properties of God are prin- cipally to he considered in all our preparations. (1 ) The presence of God. When Elijah (1 Kings xviii. 27). derided the worshippers of Baal, the chief part of his derision was, he is on a journey ; you have a god that is absent, saith Elijah : and the end of all idolatry in the world is to feign the presence of an absent deity. All images and idols are set up for no other end, but to feign the presence of what really is absent. Our God is present in all his ordinances. I beg of God, I may have a double sense of his presence. 1. A special sense of his omnipresence. God requires, that we should put in all ordinances a specialty of faith upon his general attributes. Gen. xxviii. 16. Jacob, when God appeared to him, though but in a dream, awaked out of sleep, and said, " Surely the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not." I would say so con- cerning every ordinance whereunto I go ; the Lord is in that place. I speak now only con- cerning his real presence : for if idolaters adorn all their places of worship with pictures, images and idols, that they might feign the presence of a god ; I ought to act faith particularly upon the real presence of the immense and omnipresent God. He bids us consider it in the business of his worship ; Jer. xxiii. 23. '' Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off.? " Consider my glorious presence is every where. As we ought always, wherever we are, and whatever we do, to carry a sense with us of the presence of God ; to say, God is here, that we DISCOURSE V. 59 may not be surprised in our journies, or in any thing that may befal us, suppose a broken leg or a broken arm ; then we may say, God is in this place, and I knew it not ; so particularly where we have to do in his ordinances, let there be an antecedent remembrance that God is in that place. 2. We are to remember the gracious presence of God. There was a twofold presence of God of old, the one temporary, by an extraordinary appearance ; the other standing, by a continued institution. Wherever God made an extra- ordinary appearance, there he required of his people to look upon him to have a special pre- sence. Jt was but temporary, when God ap- peared to Moses in the bush : " Draw not nigh," saith God, *^ put off the shoes from olf thy feet ; for the ground whereon thou standest is holy ;" because of God's special appearance. But the next day, as far as I know, sheep fed upon that holy ground. It was no longer holy than God's appearance made it so. So he said to Joshua, when he was by Jericho, " Loose thy shoe from off thy foot, for the place whereon thou standest is holy,' Josh. v. \^. It was a temporary ap- pearance of God ; there was his special presence. It was so on the institution of the tabernacle and temple ; God instituted them, and gave his special presence to them by virtue of his in- stitution. Our Saviour tells us, all this is departed under the gospel, John iv. 21. " You shall no longer worship God," saith he, " neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusa- lem ; but he that worshippeth God, must wor- 60 DISCOUliSE V. ship him in spirit and in truth." — Is there no special presence of God remains then ? Yea, there is a special presence of God in all his or- dinances and institutions. " Wherever I record my name, (as the name of God is upon all his institutions), there will I come unto you, and I will bless you," saith God, Exod. xx. 24. Let us exercise our thoughts then to this special pro- mised presence of God in every ordinance and institution. It belongs greatly to our due prepar- ation for an ordinance. It was no hard thing for them, you may think, of old, where God had put his presence in a place, to go thither, and expect the presence of God ; things that are absent are hard, things that are present are not so. But it is no harder matter for us to go and expect God's presence in his instituted ordinances now, than for them to go to the temple ; considering God, as the object of our worship, is no less present with us. (2.) The second property, which is prin- cipally to be considered in God, inhis ordinances, as he is the object of them, is his holiness. This is the general rule, that God gives in all ordinances: " Be ye holy, for I the Lord your God am holy." And Joshua, chap. xxiv. 19. tells the people what they were principally to consider in serving the Lord. " We will serve the Lord," say the people ; saith Joshua, " You cannot serve him, for the Lord is an holy God ;'* intimating, that they were to have due appre- hensions of his holiness ; and without it there is no approaching unto him in his service. The apostle gives a great and plain rule to this pur- ETSCOURSK V. 61 pose, Ileb. xii. 29. '^ Let us have grace," saith he, *' whereby we may serve God acceptablv, with reverence and godly fear." What doth he propose now as the principal reason why he requires this preparation ? " For," saith he, " our God is a consuming fire." What property of God is expressed by this word consujuins; Jire ? It is the holiness of God, the purity of God's nature, that can bear no corrupt nor de- filed thing. It is set forth by that metaphorical expression, a consuming fire. As fire is the most pure and unmixed element, and so power- ful of itself as that it will consume and destroy every thing that is not perfectly of its own na- ture ; so is God, saith lie, a consuming fire ; and in all your serving of him, and approaches unto him, labour to obtain a frame of spirit that becomes them who have to do with that God who is so pure and holy. I do but choose out these things, which in the way of ordinances, I would say, are, I may say, desire, should be m.ost upon my heart and spirit: I might easily enlarge it to other con- siderations. But let these two considerations dwell upon our minds, as our preparation for access unto God ; thoughts of his glorious and gracious presence, and of his holiness, Psal. xciii. 5. " Holiness becometh thine house, O Lord, for ever." That is the second thing with respect to God, as the object of all the ordin- ances of our worship (3.) Our preparation respects God as he is the end of ordinances ; and that to these three purposes, if I could insist upon them. He is F C2 Discounsi*: V. the end of them, as we aim in them to give glory unto him : he is the end of them, as we aim in them to be accepted with him : he is the end of them, as we aim in tiiem to be blessed by him. These are three things that are our end in all ordinances that we celel)rate. 1. The first is, the general end of all that we do in this world ; we are to do all to the glory of God : it is the immediate end of all our wor- ship. *' If I am a father," saith he, " where is my honour } where is my glory ?" Mai. i. 6. Do you come to worship me ? You are to give me honour as to a Father, glory as to a Master, as to a Lord. We come to own him as our Father, acknowledge our dependence upon him as a Father, our submission to him as our Lord and Master, and thus give glory to him. He hath never taken one step to the preparing his heart according to the preparation of the sanctuary^ in the celebration of ordinances, who hath not designed in them to give glory unto God. 2. Another end is, to be accepted with him ; according to that great promise, whit-h you have, Fzek. xliii. 27- " You shall mak-«^ your burnt offerings upon the altar; and I will ac- cept you, saith the Lord God." It is a promise of gospel-times; for it is in the description of the new, glorious temple. We come to God to have our persons and offerings accepted by Jesus Christ. And, 3. To be blessed according to his promise, that God will bless us out of Zion. What the particular blessings are we look for, and par- ticular ordinances, in due time, God assisting, DISCOURSE V. DD I shall acquaint you with, when we come to the special and particular preparation for that ordinance we aim at. liut this is necessary to all, and so to that. (4.) This preparation respects ourselves. There are three things which I desire my heart may be prepared by in reference to the ordinances of God. ]. The first is indispensably necessary, and is laid down in that great rule, Psal. Ixvi. 18. " If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me ;" that I bring a heart to or-r dinances without regard to any particular ini- quity. We have the dreadful instance of Ju- das, who came to that great ordinance of the passover with regard to iniquity in his heart, which particular iniquity was covetousness, and went away with the devil in his whole mind and soul. Ezek. xiv. 4. is another place to this pur- pose : '•' Therefore speak unto them, and say unto ihem, Thus saith the Lord God, Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumbling- block of his iniquity before his face, and Cometh to the prophet, I the Lord will answer him that cometh, according to the multitude of his idols." There is no more etfectuai course in the world to make poor souls incorrigible, than to come to ordinances, and be able to di- jest under them a regard to iniquity in our hearts. If we have idols, God will answer us according to our idols. What is the answering of men according to their idols } Why plainly 64 DISCOURSE V. it is this, allotting them peace while they have their idols ; you shall have peace with regard to iniquity ; you come for peace, take peace ; which is the saddest condition any soul can be left under ; you shall have peace and your idols together. Whenever we prepare ourselves, if this part of our preparation be wanting, if we do not all of us cast out the idols of our hearts, and cease regarding of iniquity, all is lost. 2. The second head of preparation on our own part, is self-abasement, out of a deep sense of the infinite distance that is between God and us, whom we go to meet. I have taken upon myself to speak to the great Possessor of heaven and earth, who am but dust and ashes. Nothing brings God and man so near together, as a due sense of our infinite distance : Isa. 1 vii. 15. '' Thus saith the high and lofty One who inhabiteth eternity, whose name is holy, I dwell in the high and holy place; with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit." 3. A heart filled with love to ordinances is a great preparation for an ordinance. How doth David in the eiglity-fourth psalm, pant and Ions', and breathe after the ordinances of God ! To love prayer, to love the word, is a great pre- paration for both. To love the presence of Christ in the supper, is a great preparation for it — to keep an habitual frame of love in the heart for ordinances. I would not load your memories with par- ticulars. I mention ])lain practical things un- to those, for whose spiritual welfare I am more particularly concerned ; that we may retain DISCOURSE V. 65 them for our use, and know them for ourselves ; and they are such as I know more or less (though perhaps not so distinctly) all our hearts work after, and in these things our souls do live. 3dly, Our preparation in reference unto any ordinance itself; which consists in two things. 1. A satisfactory persuasion of the institu- tion of the ordinance itself; that it is that which God hath appointed. If God should meet us, and say, " Who hath required these things at your hands?" and Christ should come and say, " Every plant that my heavenly Father hath not planted shall be plucked up," or, " In vain do you worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men :" how would such words fill the hearts of poor crea- tures with confusion, if engaged in such ways that God hath not required ? We must be careful then, that for the substance of the duty, it be appointed by God. 2. That it be performed in a due manner. One failure herein what a disturbance did it bring upon poor David ! It is observed by many, that search the whole course of David's life, that what he was most eminent in, which God did so bless him for, and own him in, was his love to the ordinances of God. And I can- not but think with what a full heart David went to bring home the ark ; with what long- ings after God; with what rejoicings in him; with what promises to himself, what glorious things there would be, after he had the ark of God to be with him ; and yet, when he went 3 60 DISCOURSE V. to do this, you know what a breach God made upon him, dashed all his hopes and all the good frame in him : God made a breach upon Uzzah ; and it is said, " the thing God did displeased David ;" it quite unframed him, and threw a damp on his joy and delight for the present. But he afterwards g-ithers it up, 1 Chron. xv. J2, 13. ''He spake to the Le- vites, Sanctify yourselves both ye and your brethren, that ye may bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel, unto the place that 1 have prepared for it. For because ye did it not at the tirst, the Lord our God made a breach up- on us, for that we sought him not after the due order." We sought him, saith he, but not af- ter the due order. And what that due order was he shows in the next verses, where he de- clares that the Levites carried the ark upon their own shoulders, with the staves thereon as Moses commanded, according to the word of the Lord ; whereas before they carried it in a cart, which was not for that service. It is a great thing to have the administration of an ordinance in the due order. God lays great weight upon it, and we ought to take care that the order be observed. This is what we have to offer to you concern- ing the two general propositions — That there is a preparation required of us for the observance of all solemn ordinances; and. That this pre- paration consists in a due regard to God, to ourselves, and to the ordinance, whatever it be.' To God as the author, as the object, and as the end of ordinances ; to ourselves^ to re- DISCOURSE V. 67 move that which would hinder, not to regard iniquity, to be self-abased in our hearts with respect to the infinite distance that there is be- tween God and us, and with a k)ve unto ordi- nances ; with respect unto the ordinance itself, that it be of God's appointment for the matter and manner. These things may help us to a due consideration, whether we have failed in any of them or not. I have mentioned nothing but what is plain and evident from the Scripture, and what is practicable; nothing but what is really requir- ed of us ; such things as we ought not to es- teem a burden, but an advantage ; and where- insoever we have been wanting, we would do well to labour to have our hearts affected with it; for it hath been one cause why so many of us have laboured in the fire under ordinances, and have had no profit or benefit by them. As I said before, conviction is the foundation, custom is the building of most in their obser- vance of ordinances. Some grow weary of them ; some wear them on their necks as a burden ; some seek relief from them, and do not find it ; and is it any wonder if this great duty be wanting ? having neither considered God, nor ourselves, in what we go about ! And above all things take heed of that deceit I mentioned, which is certainly very apt to im- pose itself upon us, that where there is a dis- position in the person there needs no prepara- tion for the duty. There was a preparation in those whom God broke out upon, because they were not prepared according to the preparation 68 DISCOURSE VI. of the sanctuary ; tLat is, in that way and man- ner of preparation ; they had not gone through those cleansings which were instituted under the law. DISCOURSE VI. January 21. 16G9. 1 Cor. xi. 28. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. I HAVE been treating in sundry of these familiar exercises about communion with Jesus Christ in that great ordinance of the Lord's sup- per, intending principally, if not solely, the in- struction of those who have, it may be, been least exercised in such duties. I have spoken something of preparation for it, and on the last opportunity of this kind I did insist upon these two things, That there is a preparation required unto the due observance of every solemn ordi- nance ; and I did manifest, what in general was required to that preparation. I have nothing to do at present^ but to consider the ap- plication of those general rules to the special ordinance of the supper of the Lord. For the special preparation for an ordinance consists in the special respect which we have to that or- dinance in our general preparation ; and I DISCOUUSE VI. 69 shall speak to it plainly, so as that the weakest, who are concerned may see their interest in it, and have some guidance to their practice. And there are two things which may be con- sidered to this purpose — the tiiy^e wherein this duty is to be performed ; and the duty of pre- paration itself. First, The time of the performance of the duty ; for. that indeed regards as well what hath been said concerning j)reparation in gene- ral, as what shall now be farther added con- cerning preparation in particular with respect to this ordinance. Time hath double respect unto the worship of God, as a part of it ; so it is when it is sepa- rated by the appointment of God himself; and, as a necessary adjunct of those actions whereby the worship of GckI is performed ; for there is nothing can be done, but it must be done in time, the inseparable adjunct of all actions. And therefore, having proved that a prepar- ation is necessary, I shall prove that there is a time necessary ; for there can be no duty per- formed, but it must be performed, as I said, in some time. For the right stating of that, therefore, I shall give you these rules. ]st. That there is a time antecedetil to the celebration of this ordinance to be set apart for preparation unto it. The very nature of the duty, which we call preparation, doth inevita- bly include this, that the tim.e for it must be antecedent to the great duty of observing the ordinance itself. vSo Matt, xxvii. 62. the even- 70 DISCOURSE VI. ing before the passover is called the prepara- tion of the passover, time set apart for the preparation of it. 2nd, The second rule is this. That there is no particulai' set time, neither as to the day, or season of the day, as to the beginning or ending of it, that is determined for this duty in the Scripture ; but the duty itself being command- ed, the time is left to our own prudence, to be regulated according to what duty doth require ; so that you are not to expect that I should precisely determine this or that time, this or that day, this or that hour, so long or so short ; for God hath left these things to our liberty, to be regulated by our own duty and neces- sity. 3rd, There are three things that will greatly guide a man in the determination of the time, which is thus left unto his own judgment ac- cording to the apprehension of his duty. 1. That he choose a time wherein the pre- paration of it may probably influence his mind and spirit in and unto the ordinance itself. Persons may choose a time for preparation, when there may be such an interposition of worldly thoughts and business, between the preparation and the ordinance, that their minds may be no way influenced by it in the perfor- mance and observance of the duty. The time ought to be so fixed, that the duty may leave a savour upon the soul unto the time of the cele- bration of the ordinance itself, whether it be the preceding day, or whether it be the same day. The work is lost unless a man endea- DISCOUliSE VI. 71 vour to keep up a sense of those impressions which he received in that work. 2. Providential occurrences and intimations are great rules for the choosing of time and season for duties. Paul comes to Athens, Acts xvii. and, in all probability, he intended not to preach immediately upon his journey. He in- tended to take some time for his refreshment. But observing the wickedness of the place, ver. ]6. " that they were wholly given to idolatry," and observing an altar to the unknown God, ver. 32. he laid hold of that hint of providence, that intimation given him by God's providence from these things, and immediately fell upon his work ; which God blessed with great suc- cess. There are a thousand ways, if I may so say, wherein an observing Christian may find God hinting and intimating duties to him. The sins of other men, their graces, mercies, dangers, may be all unto us intimations of a season for duty. Were none of us ever sent to God by the outrageous wickedness of others } by the very observation of it } And it is a sign of a good spirit to turn providential intimations into duties. The Psalmist speaks to that pur- pose, Psal. xxxii. 8, 9. *' I will guide thee by mine eye," saith he. The next words are, " Be not as the horse, or as the mule, which hath no understanding; whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle." God loves a pliable spirit, that upon every look of his eye will be guided to a duty. But those who are like horses and mules, that must be held with a strong rein, that will not be turned. 73 DISCOURSK VI. till God puts strength to it, are possessed with such a frame of spirit which God approves not. You are left at liberty to choose a time, but obser\'e any intimation of providence that may direct to that time. 3. Be sure to improve surprisals with graci- ous dispositions, I mean in the approach of so- lemn ordinances. Sometimes the soul is sur- prised with a gracious disposition, as in Canti- cles vi. 12. " Or ex'er I was aware, my soul made me like the chariots of Amminadab." I knew it not, saith the church, I was not aware of it, but I found my soul in a special willing manner drawn forth to communion with Christ. Is God pleased at any time to give us such gra- cious surprisals, with an holy disposition to be dealing with him, it will be the best season ; let it not be omitted. These things will a little direct us in the de- termination of the time for preparation, which is left to our own liberty. 4th, Take care that the time designed and allotted, does neither too much intrench upon the occasions of the outward man, nor upon the weakness of the inward man. If it doth they will be too hard for us. I con- fess that in the general carelessness which professors are fallen into, there is little need to give this rule. But we are not to accom- modate cur rule unto our corruptions, but unto our duties ; and so there is a double rule in Scripture that fortifies this rule. The one is that great rule of our Saviour, " That God will have mercy and not sacrifice." Where DISCOURSE VI. 75 these duties of observing sacrifices do sensibly intrench upon duties of mercy, God doth not require it ; which hath a great regard even unto our outward occasions. And the other rule is this, " That bodily exercise profits lit- tle." When we assign so long a time as wea- ries out our spirits, and observe the time, be- cause of the time, it is bodily exercise, when the vigour of our spirits is gone, which is a sac- rifice God delights not in. As Jacob told Esau, if the cattle were driven beyond their pace they would die ; so we find by experience, that though with strong resolutions we may en- gage unto duties in such a manner as may in- trench upon these outward occasions, or those weaknesses, they will return and be too hard for us, and instead of getting ground, they will drive us off ours ; so that there is prudence to be required therein. 5th, Let not the time allotted be so short as to be unmeet for the going through with the du- ty effectually. Men may be ready to turn their private prayers into a few ejaculations, and go- ing in or out of a room may serve them for pre- paration for the most solemn ordinance. This hath lost us the power, the glory, and the beauty of our profession. Never was profes- sion held up to more glory and beauty, than when persons were most exact in their prepar- ation for the duties of their profession ; nothing will serve their turn, but their souls having real and suitable converse with God, as to the duty that lies before them. Gth, The time of preparation is to be exer- G 74 DISCOURSE VI. cised and made more solemn upon extraordinary- occasions. The intervention of extraordinary occasions must add a solemnity to the time of preparation, if we intend to walk with God in a due manner. These extraordinary occasions may be referred to three heads, — particular sins, particular mercies, particular duties. J. Is there an interveniency upon the con- science of any special sin, that either the soui hath been really overtaken with, or that God is pleased to set home afresh upon the spirit ? There is then an addition to be made unto the time of our preparation, to bring things to that issue between God and our souls, that we may attend upon the ordinance, to hearken what God the Lord will now speak, and then he will speak peace. This is the first principal extraordinary interveniency, that must make an addition to the time of preparation for this or- dinance. 2. The interveniencies of mercies. The or- dinance hath the nature of a thank-oifering, and is the great medium, or means, of our re- turning praise unto God, that we can make use of in this world. And then are we truly thankful for a temporal mercy, when it en- gages our liearts to thank God for Christ, by whom all mercies are blessed to us. Hath God cast in any special mercy ? add unto the .special preparation, that the heart may be fit to bless God for him, who is the fountain and cause of all mercies. 3. Special duties require the like. For it being the solemn time of our renewing cove- DISCOURSE VI. tO nant with God, we stand in need of a renewal of strength from God, if we intend to perform special duties ; and in our renewing covenant with God, we receive that special strength for these special duties. These rules I have offered you concerning the time of this great duty of preparation, which I am speaking unto ; and I shall add one more, without which you will easily grant that all the rest will fall to the ground, and with which God will teach you ail the rest ; and that is. Be sure you set apart some time. I am greatly afraid of customariness in this matter. Persons complain, that in waiting up- on God in this ordinance, they do not receive that entertainment at the hand of God, that re- freshment which they looked for. They have more reason to wonder, that they were not cast out, as those who came without a wedding gar- ment. That is not only required of us, tliat we come with our wedding garment, which every believer hath, but that we come decked with this garment. A man may have a gar- ment that may ht very ill, very unhandsomely about him. The bride decks herself with her garments for the bridegroom. We are to do so for the meeting with Christ in this ordinance, to stir up all the graces God hath bestowed upon us, that we may be decked for Christ. There lies the unproiitableness under this ordi- nance, that though God hath given us the wed- ding.garment, that we are not cast out, yet we take not care to deck ourselves, that God and Christ may give us refreshing entertainment 76 DISCOURSE VI. when we come into his presence. Our failing herein evidently and apparently witnesses to the faces of most professors, that this is the ground of their unprofitableness under this ordinance. So much fur the time. Secondly, I shall now speak a little to the duty itself of preparation for this ordinance; remembering what I spake before of prepara- tion in general unto all solemn ordinances, which must still be supposed. Now the duty may be reduced to these four heads, — meditation, examination, supplication, expectation. And if I mistake not, they are all given us in one verse ; and though not di- rectly applied to this ordinance, yet to this among other ways of our intimate communion with Christ : Zech. xii. 10. '^ I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of suppli- cations, and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his first born." There is, 1. INIe- ditation : ihey shall look upon him ; this is no otherwise to be performed but by the medita- tion of faith. Our looking upon Christ is by believing meditation. Looking^ argues the fix- ing of the sight : and meditation is the fixing of faith in its actings. Looking is a fixing of the eye ; faith is the eye of the soul ; and to look is to fix faith in meditation. And there is, 2. Examination, which produceth the mourning here mentioned. For though it is DISCOURSE VI. 77 said, they shall mourn for him ; it was not to mourn for his sufferings ; for so he said, " Weep not for rne ;" but to mourn upon the account ( f those things wherein they were concerned in his sufferings. It brings to repentance ; which is the principal design of this examination. 3. There is Supplication ; for there shall be pour- ed out a spirit of grace and supplication. And 4. there is Expectation ; which is included also in that of looking unto Christ. 1st, The first part of this duty of prepara- tion consists in meditation : and meditation is 2 duty, that by reason of the vanity of our own minds, and the variety of objects which they are apt to fix upon, even believers themselves do find as great a difficulty therein as any. I shall only mention those special objects which cur thoughts are to be fixed upon in this preparatory duty ; and you may reduce them to the following heads : — 1. The principal object of meditation in our preparation for this ordinance, is the horrible guilt and provocation that is in sin. There is a representation of the guilt of sin made in the cross of Christ. There was a great representa- tion of it in the punishment of angels; a great representation of it is made in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah ; and both these are proposed unto us in a special manner, (2 Pet. ii. 4 — 6.) to set forth the heinous nature of the guilt of sin ; but they come very short, nay, give me leave to say, that hell itself comes short of representing the guilt of sin, in com- parison of the cross of Christ. And the Holv 3 78 DISCOURSE VI. Ghost would have us attend to it, where he saith, " He was made sin for us/' 2 Cor. v. 21. See what comes of sin, saith he, what demerit, what provocation there is in it j to see the Son of God praying, crying, trembling, bleeding, dying ; God hiding his face from him ; the earth trembling under him ; darkness round about him; how can the soul but cry out, 'O Lord, is this the effect of sin ! is all this in sin !' Here then take a view of sin. Others look on it in its pleasures and the advantages of it; and cry. Is it not a little one ? as Lot of Zoar. But look on it in the cross of Christ, and there it appears in another hue. All this is from my sin, saith the contrite soul. 2. The purity, the holiness, and the severity of God, that would not pass by sin, when it was charged upon his Son. ** He set him forth (Rom. iii. 35.) to declare his righteous- ness." As there was a representation of the guilt of sin, so there was an everlasting repre- sentation of the holiness and righteousness of God in the cross of Jesus Christ. He spared him not. And may the soul say, Is God thus holy in his nature, thus severe in the execution of his wrath, so to punish, and so to revenge sin, when his Son undertook to answer for it ? How dreadful is this God ! how glorious ! what a consuming fire ! It is that which will make sinners in Zion cry, " Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire .-^ who auj ong us shall dwell with everlasting burn- ^'fjgs?" Isa. xxxiii. 14. Consider the holiness " '' Neverthe- less, (saith our Saviour,) it is expedient for you that I go away : for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you." The cor- poral presence of Christ, and the evangelical presence of the Holy Ghost, as the Comforter, in the New Testament, are inconsistent. I must "go away, or the Comforter will not come." But he so went away as to his presence, as to come again with his bodily presence, as often as the priests call ! No, saith Peter, Acts iii. 21. *' The heavens must receive him ; (for how long }) till the time of restitution of all things." I go away as to my bodily presence, or the Comforter will not come ; and when he is gone away, the heavens must receive him until the time of the restitu- DISCOURSE X. 105 tion of all things. We must not therefore look after such a presence. I will give you a word or two, what is the presence of Christ with us in this ordinance; what is our duty ; and how we may meet with Christ when he is thus present with us ; which is the work I have in hand. Christ is present in this ordinance in an especial manner three ways, — by representation, by exhibition, by ob- signation or sealing. 1st, He is present here by representation. So in a low, shadowy way God was present in the tabernacle, in the temple, in the ark, and mercy-seat ; they had a representation of his glory. But Christ here hath given us a more eminent and clear representation of himself. I will name but two things. 1. A representation of himself, as he is the food of our souls. 2. A representation of himself, as he suffer- ed for our sins. These are two great ways whereby Christ is represented as the food of our souls, in the matter of the ordinance ; and Christ as suffer- ing for our sins is represented in the manner of the ordinance ; both by his own appoint- ment. The apostle saith. Gal. iii. 1. *• Jesus Christ was evidently crucified before their eyes." Evidcntlij crucijied, doth not intend particularly this ordinance, but the preaching of the gospel, which gave a delineation, a pic- ture and image of the crucifixion of Christ unto the faith of believers. But of all things that belong to the gospel, he is most evidently cru- 104' Discounsio X. cified before our eyes in this ordinance ; and it si agreed on all hands that Christ is represent- ed to the soul in this ordinance. How shall we do this ? shall we do it by crucifixes, pic- tures and images ? No ; they are all cursed of that God who said, " Thou shalt not make unto thyself any graven image." But that way by which God himself, and Christ him- self, hath appointed to represent these things unto us, that he blesses and makes effectual. This way, as 1 have often showed, is the way that was chosen by the wisdom and goodness of Jesus Christ ; the name of God is upon it ; it is blessed unto us, and will be effectual, if we are not wanting to ourselves. 2nd, Christ is present with us, by way of exhibition ; that is, he doth really tender and exhibit himself to the souls of believers in this ordinance, which the world hath lost, and knows not what to make of it. They exhibit that which they do not contain. This bread doth not contain the body of Christ, or the flesh of Christ ; the cup doth not contain the blood of Christ ; but they exhibit them ; both do as really exhibit them to believers, as they partake of the outward signs. Certainly we believe that our Lord Jesus Christ doth not invite us to this table for the bread that pe- rishes, for outward food ; it is to feed our souls. What do we think then ; doth he in- vite us unto an empty, j)ainted feast .'' do we deal so with our friends ? Here is something really exhib'ted by Jesus Christ unto us, to re- LiivCj beside? the outward pledges of bread DISCOURSE X. 105 and wine. We must not think the Lord Jesus Christ deludes our souls with empty- shows and appearances. That which is exhi- bited is himself, it is his ilesh as meat indeed, and his blood as drink indeed ; it is himself as broken and crucified, that he exhibits to us. And it is the fault and sin of every one of us, if we do net receive him this day, when an ex- hibition and tender is made unto us, as here, by way of food. To what end do we receive it ? Truly we receive it for these two ends, for in- corporation, for nourishment. 1. We receive our food, that it may incorpo- rate and turn into blood and spirits, that it may become one with us ; and when we have so done, 2. Our end and design is, that we may- be nourished, nature strengthened, comforted, and supported, and we enabled for the duties of life. Christ doth exhibit himself to our souls, if we are not wanting to ourselves, for these two things, incorporation and nourishment ; to be received into union, and to give strength unto our souls. 3rd, Christ is present in this ordinance by- way of obsignation : he comes here to seal the covenant; and therefore the cup is called, " the new testament in the blood of Christ." How in the blood of Christ } It is the new covenant that was sealed, ratified, confirmed, and made so stable, as you have heard, by the blood of Jesus Christ. For, from the founda- tion of the world, no covenant was ever in- 106 DISCOURSE X. tended to be established, but it was confirmed by blood ; and this covenant was confirmed by the blood of Clirist ; and he comes and seals the covenant with his own blood in the admi- nistration of this ordinance. Well, if Jesus Christ be thus present by way of representation, exhibition, and obsig- nation, what is required of us that we may meet him, and be present with him ? For it is not our mere coming hither that is a meet- ing with Christ, it is a work of faith : and there are three acts of faith whereby we may be present with Christ, who is thus present with us. 1. The first is by recognition, answering his representation. As Christ in this ordinance doth represent his death unto us, so we are to remember it, and call it over. Pray consider how things were done formerly in reference unto it. The paschal lamb was an ordinance for remembrance ; *' it is a night to be had in remembrance ;" and this they should do for a remembrance ; and it was to be eaten with bitter herbs. There was once a- year a feast wherein all the sins, iniquities, and transgres- sions of the children of Israel were called to remembrance : and it was to be done by great- ly afflicting of their souls. If we intend to call to remembrance the death of Christ, we may do well to do it with some bitter herbs ; there should be some remembrance of sin with it, some brokenness of heart for sin, with respect to him who was pierced and broken for us. Our work is to call over and shew forth the DI.SC0U11S& X. 107 death of Christ. Pray, brethren, let us a lit- tle consider, whether our hearts be suitably af- fected with respect to our sins which were upon Jesus Christ when he died for us, or no ; lest we draw nigh unto him with the outward bodily presence, when our hearts are far from him. 2. If Christ be present with us by way of exhibition, we ought to be present by way of admission. It will not advantage you or me, that Christ tenders himself unto us, unless we receive him. Tiiis is the great work; herein lies the main work upon all the members of the church. When we are to dispense the word, the lirst work lies upon the ministers; and when the work is sufficiently discharged, they will be a good savour unto God in them that believe, and in them that perish : but in this ordinance, the main work lies upon yourselves. If in the name of Christ we make a tender of him unto you, and he be not actually received, there is but half the work done ; so that you are in a peculiar manner to stir up yourselves, as having a more special interest in this duty, than in any other duty of the church whatso- ever; and you may take a better measure of yourselves by your acting in this duty, than of us by our acting in the ministry. Let Christ be received into your hearts by faith and love, upon this particular tender that he assuredly makes in this ordinance of himself unto you ; for, as I said, he hath not invited you unto an empty painted feast or table. 3. Know what you come to meet him for. 108 DISCOUKSK X. ■which is, to seal the covenant, solemnly to take upon yourselves again the performance of your part of the covenant. I hope I speak in a deep sense of the thing itself, and that which 1 have much thought of. This is that which ruins the world, the hearing that God hath made a covenant of grace and mercy; it is preached to them, and declared unto them, and they think to be saved by this covenant, though they themselves do not perform what the covenant requires on their part. What great and glorious words do we speak in th6 covenant, that God gives himself over unto us to be our God ! Brethren, there is our giving ourselves unto God (to answer this) universal- ly and absolutely. If we give ourselves unto the world, and to our lusts, and to self, we are not to expect any benefit by God's covenant of grace. If it be not made up by our sealing of the covenant of grace, or by an universal resig- nation of ourselves in all that we are and do unto him, we do not meet Jesus Christ ; we disappoint him when he comes to seal the co- venant. Where is this people, saitli Christ, that would enter into covenant with me ? Let it be in our hearts to see him seal the cove- nant of grace as represented in this ordinance; and to take upon ourselves the performance of what is required of us, by an universal giving up ourselves unto God. 109 DISCOURSE XL August 9. 1674. I SHALL now produce some few places of Scripture, one especially, that may administer occasion unto you for the exercise of faith, the great duty required of us at this time. You may do well to think of these words of the prophet concerning Jesus Christ, concerning his suffer- ings and death, which we are here gathered together in his name to remember. They are, IsA.liii. 11. He shall see of the travail of Ms soul, and shall be There are two things that the Holy Ghost reminds us of in these words. 1. That Jesus Christ was in a great travail of soul to bring forth the redemption and sal- vation of the church. 2. He reminds us that Jesus Christ was sa- tisfied, and much rejoiced in the consideration, the effects and fruits of the travail of his soul. I shall speak a word to both, and a word to show you bow both these things are called over in this ordinance, both the travail of the soul of Christ, and his satisfaction in the fruit of that travail. 110 Dis<:ouasE xi. First, Christ was in a great travail of soul to bring fortli the redemption and salvation of the church. It was a great work that Christ had to do. It is usually said, we are not sav- ed as the world was made, by a word ; but there was travail in it ; it is the word whereby the bringifij^ forth of children into the world is expressed ; the travail of a woman. And there are three ihings in that tra'/ail ; an a- gony of mind; outcrying for help ; and sense of pain. All these thing? were in the travail of the soul of Christ. I will name the scrip- tures, to call them to your remembrance. 1. He was in an agony, Luke xxii. 44. An agony is an inexpressible conflict of mind about things dreadful and terrible. So it was with Christ. No heart can conceive, much less can tongue express, the conflict that was in the soul of Jesus Christ, with the wrath of God, the curse of the law, the pains of hell and death, that stood before him in this work of our redemption. There was an agony. 2. There was an outcrying for help, Heb. V. 7' " VVho in the days of his flesh offered up prayers and supplications, with strong cry- ing and tears, unto him that was able to save him." Such is the outcry of a person in tra- vail, crying out unto them that are able to save thi?m. So it was with Jesus Christ when he was in the travail of his soul about our sal- vation. He made these strong cries unto God, to him that was able to save him. 3. There was pain in it, which is the last thing in travail ; so that he complained that DISCOURSE XI. Ill -^' the pains of hell had taken hold upon him." Whatever pain there was in the curse of the Jaw, in the wratl; of God ; whatever the jus- tice of God did ever design to inflict upon sin- ners, was then upon the soul of Jesus Christ ; so that he was in travail. This is the first thing I would remind you of ; that, in the bring- ing forth the work of our redc^mption and sal- vation, the Lord Jesus was in travail. Secondly, It was a satisfaction, a rejoicing unto the Lord Jesus Christ, to consider the fruits and effects of this travail of his soul, which God had promised he should see. He was satisfied in the prospect he had of the fruit of the travail of his soul. So the apostle tells us, Heb. xii. 2. '' that, for the joy that was set before him," which was the joy of bringing us unto God, of being the Captain of salvation unto them that should obey him, " he endured the cross, and despised the shame ;" he went through all with a prospect he had of the fruit of his travail ; there would joy come out of it ; the joy that was set before him ; as he spealcs, Psal. xvi. 6. where God presents unto hi ill what he shall have by this travail, what he shall get by it ; saith he, '' The lines are fallen unto me in a pleasant place, yea I have a good- ly heritage." It is the satisfaction that Jesus Chriit (who is there spoken of only in that psalm) takes in the fruit of the travail of his soul ; he is contented with it. He doth not do as Hiram, who when Solomon gave him the twenty cities in the land of Galilee, calls them * Cabiil, they were dirty, and they displeased 112 DISCOURSE XI. him/' 1 Kings ix. 11. &c. No : but " the lines are fallen unto me in a pleasant place ;" he re- joiced in his travail. It is expressed, in my apprehension, to the height, in Jer. xxxi. 25. 26. " I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul." What follows ? " Upon this I awaked, and beheld ; and my sleep was sweet unto me." They are the words of Jesus Christ ; and he speaks con- cerning his death, wherein he was as asleep in the grave. Now consider what was the effect and fruit of it ? It was sweet unto Jesus Christ after all the travail of his soul, that he had " satiated the weary soul, and replenished ev- ery sorrowful soul." In one word, both these things, the travail of the soul of Christ, and the satisfaction he took in the fruit of his travail, are represented unto us in this ordinance. There is the travail of the soul of Christ to us in the manner of the participation of this ordinance, in the breaking of the bread, and in the pouring out of the wine, representing unto us the breaking of the body of Christ, the shedding of his blood and the separa- tion of the one from the other, which was the cause of his death. Now, though these were outward things in Christ, (because the travail of his soul cannot be represented by any outward things, wherein the great work of our redemption lay), we are in this ordinance to be led through these outward things to the travail of the soul of Christ : we are not to rest in the mere outward act or acts DISCOURSE XI. lis of the breaking of the body of Christy and pouring out of his blood, the separation of the one from the other, and of his death thereby, but through all them we are to inquire, what is under them ? There was Christ's making his soul an offering for sin ; there was Christ's being made a curse under them, Christ's tra- vail of soul in an agony to bring forth the re- demption and salvation of the church. JBrethren, let us be able, by faith, not only to look through these outward signs to that which makes the representation itself unto us, the body and blood of Christ ; but even with them and through them, in the travail of the soul of Christ, the work that he was doing between God and himself for the redemption of the church. And here is also a representation made un- to us of that satisfaction the soul of Christ re- ceived in the fruit of his travail, having ap- pointed it in a particular manner to be done in remembrance of him. No man will appoint a remembrance of that which he doth not delight in. When Job had no more delight in his life, he desired that the time of his birth might never be remembered. V/hen God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, whereby he exalted his glory, he appointed a passover and said, *'' it was a day greatly to be rtmembered ;" because the people had a great deliverance, and God received great glory and great satisfaction, therefore it was greatly to be remembered. We are to celebrate this ordinance in remembrace of Christ, and there- in 114 DISCOUIISE XI. fore, there is a representation of that satisfac- tion which Jesus Christ did receive in the tra- vail of his soul, so that he never repented him of one groan, of one sigh, of one tear, of one prayer, of one wrestling with the wrath of God. It is matter of rejoicing, and to be remember- ed ; and do you rejoice in ihe remembrance of it? Again, it is apparent from hence, because this ordinance is in an especial manner an or- dinance of thanksgiving ; the bread that is blessed, or which we give thanks for ; the cup which is blessed : Christ gave thanks. Now, if hereby we give thanks, it is to call to re- membrance, not merely the travail of Christ's soul, but the success of that travail ,• hereby all differences were made up between God and us : hereby grace and glory were purchas- ed for us, and he became the Captain of salva- tion unto us. To shut up all, here is by Christ's institu- tion, bread and wine provided for us ; but it is bread broken, and wine poured out. There are two things in it ; there is the weak part, that is Christ's, there is the nourishing part tliat is given unto us : the Lord Christ hath chosen by this ordinance to represent himself by these things that are the staff of our lives ; they comprise the whole nourishment and sus- tenance of our bodies. He hath so chosen to represent them by breaking and pouring out, that shall signify his sufferings ; here are both, as the bread is broken, and as the wine is poured out, there is the representation of the DISCOURSE XII. 115 travail of the soul of Christ to us ; as bread is received, and the cup, which is the means of the nourishment of man's life, here is the fruit of Christ's death exhibited unto us, and his sufferings. The Lord help us to look into the satisfaction that Christ received from this, that we may be partakers of the one and the other. DISCOURSE XII. February 21. 1674. We are met here to remember, to celebrate and set forth the death of Christ, to profess and plead cur interest therein. And there are two things that we should principally consider in reference to ourselves, and our duty, and the death of Christ. The first is, the bene- fits of it, and our participation of them ; and the second is our conformity unto it : both are mentioned together by the apostle in PHiL.iii. 10. That I may know him, and the power of his re- surrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death. I shall speak a word or two (upon this oc- casion of remembering the death of Christ) unto the latter clause, of our being made con- 116 DISCOURSE XII. formable unto his death, wherein a very great part of our due preparation unto this ordinance doth consist ; and for the furtherance whereof we do in an ca.pecial manner wait upon God in this part of his worship. Therefore I shall in a few vvords, remind you wherein we ought be conformable unto the death of Christ, and how we are advantaged therein by this ordi- nance. We are to be conformable unto the death of Christ, in the internal, moral cause of it, and in the external means of it. The cause of the death of Christ was sin. The means of the death of Christ was suffer- ing. Our being conformable unto the death of Christ must respect sin and suffering. The procuring cause of the death of Christ was sin. He died for sin ; he died for our sin ; our iniquities were upon him, and were the cause of all the punishment that befel him. Wherein can we be conformable unto the death of Christ with respect unto sin ? We cannot die for sin. Our hope and faith is, in and through him, that we shall never die for sin. No mortal man can be made like unto Christ in suffering for sin. Those that under- go what he underwent, becaa e they were un- like him, must go to hell, and be made more unlike him, to eternity. Therefore the apos- tle tells us, that our conformity unto the death of Christ with respect unto sin lies in this, that as he died for sin, so we should die unto sin ; and that sin which he died for, should die DISCOUIISE XII. 117 in us. He tells us so, Rom. vi. 5. *' We are planted together in the likeness of his death ;" we are made conformable unto the death of Christ, planted into him, so as to have a like- ness to him in his death. Wherein ? " Know- \Tig that our old man is crucified with him," saith he, ver. 6. It is the crucifixion of the old man, the crucifying of the body of sin, the mortifying of sin, that makes us conformable unto the death of Christ as to the internal moral cause of it, that procures it. So another apostle tells us, 1 Pet. iv. I, 2. '^ Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind : for he that hath suffered in the flesh, hath ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh, to the lusts of men, but to the will of God." Here is our conformity to Christ as he suffered in the flesh, that we should no longer live to our lusts, nor unto the will of man, but unto the will of God. And, brethren, let me tell you, he who approacheth unto this remembrance of the death of Christ, that hath not laboured, that doth not labour for conformity to his death in the universal mortification of all sin, runs a hazard to his soul, and puts an affront upon Jesus Christ. O let none of us come in a way of thankfulness to remember the death of Je- sus Christ, and bring along with us the mur- derer whereby he was slain. To harbour with us, and bring along with us to the death of Christ, unmortified lusts and corruptions, such as we do not continually and sincerely endea- vour to kill and mortify, is to come and up- 118 DISCOURSE XII. braid Christ with his murderer, instead of ob- taining any spiritual advantage ; whr-t can such poor souls expect ? To be conformable unto the death < P Christ as to the outward means, is to be conformable unto him in suffering. We here remember Christ's sufferings. And I um persuaded, and hope I have considered it, that he who is un- ready to be conformable unto Christ in suffer- ing, was never upright and sincere in endea- vouring to be conformable unto Christ in the killing of sin ; for we are called as much to the one as to the other. Christ hath suffered for us, leaving us an example, tliat we should also suffer when we are called thereunto. And cur unwillingness to suffer like unto Christ, arises from some unmortified corruptions in our hearts, which we have not endeavoured to sub- due, that we may be like unto Christ in the mortification and denth of sin. There are four things required that we may be conformable unto the death of Christ in suf- fering ; for we may suffer, and yet not be like unto Christ in it nor by it. 1. The first is, that we suffer for Christ. 1 Pet. iv. 15, 16. "Letnojiii suffer as a mur- derer, or as a thief, or as an evil doer, &c. But if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed." To suffer as a Christian, is to suffer for Christ ; for the name of Christ ; for the truths of Christ ; for the ways of Christ ; for the worship of Christ. 2. It is required that we suffer in the strength of Christ ; that we do noi suffer in DISCOURSE XII. 119 the strength of our own will, our own reason, our own resolutions ; but that we suffer, I say, in the strength of Christ. When we suffer aright, *' it is given unto us in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him. but to suf- fer for him." ^s all ol,her graces are to be derived from Christ, as our head and loot, stock and foundation ; so in particular that grace which enables us to suffer for Christ, must be from him. And we do well to con- sider whether it be so or no ; for if it be not, all our sufferings are lost, and not acceptable to him. It is a sacrifice without salt, yea with- out an heart, that wiil not be accepted. 3. It is required, that we suffer in imitation of Christ, as making him our example. We are not to take up the cross, but with design to follow Christ. Take up the cross is but half the command : " Take up the cross, and follow me," is the whole command ; and we are to suffer willingly and cheerfully, or we are the the most unlike Jesus Christ in our sufferings of any persons in the world. Christ was will- ing and cheerful, " Lo, I come to do thy will : I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how- am I straitened till it be accomplished^?" saith he. And, 4. We are to suffer to the glory of Christ. These are things wherein we ought to endea- vour conformity to the death of Christ, that we now remember. I pray, let none of us trust to the outward ordinance, the performance of the outward duty. If these things be not in us, we do not remember the Lord's death in a right manner. 120 DISCOURSE XII. Hoiv may we obtain strength and ability from this ordinance, to be made conformable to his death, that we may not come and re- member the death of Christ, and go away and be more unlike him than formerly ? There is power to this end communicated to us doctrinally, morally, and spiritually. There is no such sermon to teach mortifica- tion of sin, as the commemoration of the death of Christ. It is the greatest outward instruc- tion unto this duty that God hath left unto his church ; and I am persuaded which he doth most bless to them who are sincere. Do we see Christ eminently crucified before our eyes ; his body broken, his blood shed for sin ; and is it not of powerful instruction to us, to go on to mortify sin ? He that hath not learned this, never learned anything aright from this ordin- ance, nor did he ever receive any benefit from it. There is a constraining power in this in- struction to put us upon the mortification of sin ; God grant we may see the fruit of it. It hath a teaching eflficacy ; it teaches, as it is peculiarly blessed of God to this end and pur- pose. And I hope many a soul can say, that they have received that encouragement, and that strength by it, as that they have been en- abled to more steadiness and constancy in fighting against sin, and have received more success afterwards. There is a moral way whereby it communi- cates strength to us ; because it is our duty now to engage ourselves unto this very work, meeting at the death of Christ, it is our duty LiscoriisE XIII. 121 to engage ourselves unto God, and that gives strength. And I would beg of you all, breth- ren, that no one of us would pass through or go over this ordinance, this representation of the death of Christ, without a fresh obligation to God to abide more constant and vigorous in the mortification of sin ; we all need it. And lastly, A spiritual beholding of Christ by faith, is the means to change us into the image and likeness of Christ. Beholding the death of Christ by faith as represented to us in this ordinance, is the means to change us into his image and likeness, and make us conform- able unto his death, in the death of sin in us. 1. Take this instruction from the ordinance, as you believe in Christ, as you love him, as you desire to remember him, sin ought to be mortified, that we may be conformed unto him in his death. 2. That we do every one of us bring our souls under an engagement so to do, which is required of us in the very nature of the duty. 3. That we labour by faith so to behold a dying Christ, that strength may thence issue forth for the death of sin in our souls. DISCOURSE XIII. April 18, 167o. I HAVE generally on this occasion fixed on something particular that may draw forth and L 122 DISCOURSE XIII guide present meditation ; but I shall at pre- sent enter on what may be farther carried on, and speak a little to you about the nature and use of the ordinance itself, in which, it may be, some of us (for there are of all degrees and sizes of knowledge in the church) ma} not be so well instructed. God has taught us, that the using of an ordinance will not be of advan- tage to us, unless we understand the institu- tion, and the nature and the ends of it It wa;, so under the Old Testament, when their worship was more carnal, yet God would have them to know the nature and the reason of that great ordinance of the passover, as you may see in Exod. xii. 24 — 27- " And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee, and to thy sons for ever. And it shall come to pass when ye be come to the land which the Lord will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service. And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you. What mean you by this service ? that ye shall say. It is the sacrifice of the Lord's passover/' &c. Carry along with you the institution ; it is the ordinance of God, you shall keep this service; then you must iiave the meaning of it, which is this, it is the Lord's passover ; and the occasion of the insti- tution was this, the Lord passed over our houses when he smote the Egyptians, and de- livered us out of Egypt. There is a great mystery in that word, it is the sacrifice of the Lord's passover : their deliverance was by the blood of a sacrifice ; it was a sacrifice which DISCOURSE XIII. 123 made them look to the great sacrifice, Christ our passover, who was sacrificed for us. And there is a mystical instruction ; it is the Lord's passover, says he ; it is a pledge and sign of the Lord's passing over and sparino; the Israel- ites, for it was not itself the Lord's passover. Christ snys, " this is mv body," that is, a pledge and token of it. Under the Old Testa- ment well as but little time to offer anything farther unto you. Yet a few words, in compliance with what we have heard, may not be altogether unseasonable or unuseful. Our business and duty is to set forth the sufferings and death of our Lord Jesus Christ, and therein principally to call to mind his love. What you have heard may very well occasion us to think of that passage of the apostle, wherein he earnestly prays for them. Eph. iii. 29. And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge. This is a peculiar kind of expression ; the meaning is, that we may know that experi- mentally, which we cannot know comprehen- sively j that we know that in its power and effects, which we cannot comprehend in its nature and depths. A weary person may re- ceive refreshment from a spring, who cannot fathom the depths of the ocean from whence it doth proceed. And if we would have our hearts in this ordinance, and at other time», 3 174) DISCOURSE XXI. affected with the love of Christ, wliich is the thing we are to aim at, (to know his love, and to experience the power of it) it is of great advan- tage to us to consider, that it is such a love as passes knowledge, that our faith concerning it must issue in admiration, not comprehension. I shall name two or three things, that may- give a little sense of this love as it passes kn owl edge - 1. The love of Christ is the fountain and spring of all the glory that is in heaven, or shall be there unto all eternity. God's eternal glory is eternally the same; " from everlasting to everlasting thou art God ;" but all the created glory that is in heaven, or ever shall be there, springs out of the love of Christ. It is true, the angels were not redeemed by him, but they were confirmed by him. They were not recovered out of a lost estate by him, but they were continued in their first estate by him. Hence it is, that God " gathered all things in heaven and earth unto an head in him," Eph. i. 10. And there is a great deal to the same purpose in that expression of the apostle, when he had mentioned " principalities and powers," Col. i. 7- " I" hi"^ all things con- sist," they have their consistence in him. All would dissolve and fall to nothing, if they had not their consistence in Jesus Christ. Certain- ly this is a love that passes knowledge, that is tlie fountain and spring of all the glory that is in heaven. If God help us by faith to look within the veil, and to take a view of all those glories wherewith the Holy God is enconipasS' DISCOClvSE XXI. 175 ed, we sliall see that this love is the fountain and spring of them ; the interposition of Christ saved the creation, and brought in that ever- lasting glory that shall dwell in heaven. God knows this love, God understands the way of it ; but as to us it passes knowledge. Again, 2. This love of Christ passes the comprehension and knowledge of angels ; and therefore Peter tells us, 1 Pet. i. 12. speaking of the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that followed, "Which things," says he, "the an- gels desire to bo'iv down, and look into." The angels in heaven live in an admiration of the love of Christ unto sinners, that is, that love he expressed in suifering, and in the glory that did ensue. And O ! what thoughts ought we to have of this love, who have all the benefits of it } The angels had no benefit by the suf- ferings of Christ, but their benefit and advan- tage ensued on the assumption of the human nature to bring the creation into a consistence, and his interposition between God and all his creatures. They admire and adore it. What ought such poor creatures as we are to do } It may well be said to pass our knowledge, for it passes the knowledge of all the angels in hea- ven. 3. It passes knowledge, in that the effects of it in Christ himself pass all our knowledge and comprehension. To give but two instances. 1st, His condescension to assume our human nature passes all our comprehension. No man can fully understand the mystery of the as- sumption of our nature into the personal sub- 176 DISCOURSE XXI. sistence of the Son of God. Some dispute, whether we shall understand the mystery of the incarnation in heaven ; here we believe it. It is love which passes knowledge, that the eternal Son of God should take our nature into personal union with himself; it is that we may admire and ought to admire; and God help us, we are such poor earthly creatures, that we cannot admire it as we ought; though it be much in our nature to admire what we cannot comprehend. 2nd, We cannot fully understand his pas- sion and sufferings. God alone knows what is in the curse of the law ; we do not know it. God alone knows what is the true desert of sin ' it cannot be fully understood by any but himself. They who undergo it, must suffer to eternity ; there is no end ; they never see, never know what sin deserved. How do we know then what Christ suffered, when the punishment due to our sin, when all our ini- quities met upon him, with the curse of the law.'* God only knows what is in these things ; the fruits and effects of this love in himself, in his incarnation and passion, are past our knowledge, therefore the love itself surpasses our knowledge. 4. Give me leave to say, the very fruits of it in ourselves do pass knowledge. No man that lives knows what there is in these three general heads of the fruits of Christ's love, in justification and pardon of sin, in the renova- tion and sanctiHcation of our natures, and in tlje inhabitation and con5.o]a,tions of the Holy DISCOURSE XXI. 177 Spirit. No miin living can find out these things to perfection. None of us fully under- stands and comprehends what it is to be justi- fied in the sight of God, to have sin pardoned, to have our natures renewed, and transformed into the likeness of God, and to have the Holy Ghost dwell in us. The love of Christ there- fore passes all knowledge, for the very fruits of it in ourselves are beyond v.-hat we can com- prehend ; there is a greatness in them we can- not reach unto. Vv'hy then, my brethren, let us labour to have our hearts affected with this love. If God would be pleased to give unto every one of us some sense and impression of the greatness of this love of Christ, glance it into our hearts, beam it upon us in this ordin- ance, we should have cause to bless him all the days of our lives. The faith and light of it issue in admiration ; the light of glory v/ill bring us to comprehension. Let us have such a sense as may cause us to admire what we cannot now comprehend. 1st, I could speak something, but I will not now, to the actings of faith in admiration ; it being the proper nature of faith to issue itself in the admiration of that which is infinite. If we can get our souls up to an holy admiration of this love, we have some gracious sense of ic upon our hearts, if we can go no farther. 2nd, Let us learn to run up all the mercies we are partakers of, whatsoever it be we value, to the proper spring, '' Who loved rne, and gave himself for me." If we have any relief, Qr supply, or refreshment of soul, in a sense of 178 DISCOURSE XXI. pardon of sin, in spiritual light or consolation, pray let us exercise ourselves to run up all these things to the fountain : it is all from the love of Christ, that unspeakable love which passes knowledge. 3rd, In this let us be ashamed, seeing the love of Christ to us is such as passes our know- ledge, our love to him is so weak, that some- times we know not whether we have any to him or not. For this let us be greatly hum- bled. This is not the way to answer that love which passes knowledge, to know not whether we love Christ again or not. Let us be asha- med for our want of love. And lastly, Let us abound in praise and thanksgiving for his love, and all the fruits of it. For my part, I do not know, whether that vision in Rev. v. 9. does express the rejoicing of the church above, or the duty of the church below j but both, I am sure, are of so near af- finity, that apply it to which you will, you do not miss it. And what do they there } why, it is said, " They sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals of it : for thou wast slain, and has re- deemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred and tongue, and people and nation ; and hast made us unto our God kin/is and priests," &c. And it is said again. '' Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdoni, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing ;" and again he repeats it in ver. 13. I say, I know not whe- DISCOURSE XXII. 179 ther this be a representation of the rejoicing of the church above, or a representation of the duty of the church below ; but I can conclude from it, that the enjoyment of the one and the duty of the other, consists greatly in continual giving praise and thanksgiving to Christ, for his unspeakable love in our redemption. DISCOURSE XXII. February 18. 1676. We are met here to remember the death of Christ in the way and by the means that he himself hath appointed ; and in remembering the death of Christ, we are principally to re- member the love of Christ, '' who loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood ; and that which on our part is required herein, is faith in Christ who died for us, and love to Christ, who loved us so, as to give himself an offering and a sacrifice to God fur us. 1. That which I would now observe is this, (to make way for the stirring up of our love) that the person of Christ is the adequate complete object of the love of God, and t)f the whole creation that bears the image of God, I mean, the church of God above, the angels and saints; and the church of God below in be- lievers, which are the creation that has the image of God upon it. ISO DISCOURSE XXH. The person of Christ is the first complete o!y- ject of the love of God the Father. A great part (if I may so speak, and I must so speak) of the essential blessedness of the holy Trinity, consists in the mutual love of the Father and the Son, by the Holy Ghost, which is the love of them both. That which I would now take notice of, I Fay, as the foundation of all, is this, that the divine nature in the person of the Son, is the only full, resting complete object of the love of God the Father. I will give you a place or two of Scripture for it, and so go on to another instance. Prov. viii. 30. " Then (saith he, that is, from everlasting) I was by him, as one brought up with him ; and I was daily his de- light, rejoicing always before him," that is, as the special object of his love ; as among you men one that is brought up with you, as your child is. The delight of the Father from all eternity was in the Son. The ineffable love and mutual de- light of the Father and the Son by the Spirit, is that which is the least notion we have of the blessedness of the eternal God. John i. 18. '' The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father." Pray observe it that I yet speak only of the divine person of Christ antecedent unto his incarnation, and the ineffable mutual love of the blessed persons in the holy Trinity, which Jesus Christ wonderfully sets out in John xvii. There is his relation unto God, he is the only begotten Son, by eternal genera- tion ; what follows } he is in the bosom of the Father, is in the Father's eternal infinite love. DISCOUKSE XXII. ISI Herein is God's love ; and everything else of love is but a free act of the will of God, a free emanation from this eternal love between the Father and the Son. God never did any thing without himself, but the end of it was to mani- fest what is in himself. The old and new creation that God hath wrought, was to mani- fest what was in himself. God made this world to manifest his power and wisdom ; God made the new world by Jesus Christ, to manifest his grace, his love, goodness, &c. The sole reason why there is such a thing as love in the world, among the creatures, angels or men, that God ever implanted it in the nature of rational creatures, was, that it might shadow and represent the ineffable eternal love that the Father had unto the Son, and the Son unto the Father by the Spirit. Contemplative men of old did always admire love, wherein they would have the life, lustre, and glory of all things to consist; but they could never see the rise of it : and they traced some things to this, that God necessarily loved himself ; and it is true, it cannot otherwise be ; but God's loving of himself, absolutely as God, is nothing but his eternal blessed acquiescence in the holy, self-sufficing properties of his na- ture. This they had some reach after; but of this eternal ineffable love of the Father to the Son, and of the Son to the Father by the Spirit, that they had no conjecture of. But this is the fountain and spring-head ; and all such things as love in the old and new crea- tion, as I said, is but to resemble and shadow Q 1S2 ui&couRSE xxir. out this great prototype of divine love. I ac- knowledge there is little discerned of these things, by reason of the weakness of our under- standings ; but the Scripture having so directly declared to us the mutual love of the Father and the Son, (which truly is of such singular use, that I would fix persons upon it in conceiv- ing af the doctrine of the Trinity), that it is matter of admiration and thankfulness to us. Here lies the foundation of all love, whereunto we hope to reduce our love unto Christ, viz. in the unchangeable love of the Father to the Son. 2. The person of Christ as vested with our nature and undertaking the work of mediation, is the first object of the Father's love, wherein there is any mixture of any thing without him- self. The first love of God the Father to- the Son is that we call ad intra, where the divine per- sons are objects of one another's actings ; the Father knows the Son, and the Son knows the Father ; the Father loves the Son, and the Son loves the Father ; and so consequently of the Holy Ghost, the medium of all these actings. But now, I say, the first act of the love of God the Father, wherein there is any thing ad extra, or without the divine essence, is the per- son of Christ, considered as invested with our nature. And had not the love of God been fixed in the first place in all things upon the ])erson of Christ, there would have been no re- dundancy to us, nor communication of love unto us. From the first eternal love of God proceeds all love that was in the first creation ; DISCOURSE XXII. 185 %Tid from this second love of God to the pt-rson •of Christ, as incarnate, proceeds all the love in the second creation. See how God expresses it an a prospect of what he should be, Isa. xlii. 1. " Behold my servant whom I uphold, mine elect in whom my soul delighteth." And this is sin- gular in the whole Scripture, that God spake the same word« twi-ce from heaven immediatel;,', and they were these, " This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased ;" at his baptism. Mat. iii. 17- and at his entrance on his suffer- ings, Mat. xvii. 6. which was the voice which came from the excellent glory. I would observe this unto you, because I think it is what God would have us take notice of, the emphasis in the words, " Behold my servant, mine elect, my Son, my beloved Son ! (what of him ?) in whom I rest, in whom I am well pleased and delight- ed." All of them emphatical words. Saith Ood, Let the sons of men (I speak it from hea- ven again and again) tak« notice cf this that the infinite love of my whole soul is fixed on the person of Jesus Christ, as incarnate. And you will find the Lord Jesus Christ pleading this as the ground of that trust committed unto him, and all that he received, John iii. 35. ''Tlia Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand." John v. 20. " The Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that him- self doeth ; and will shew him greater works than these." He lavs the foundation of all the trust that God the Father committed unto him, hi the peculiar love of the Father to him as the Son incarnate. 184 DISCOURSE XXII. Truly I shall not go beyond this foundation, to manifest to you, that the person of Christ is the complete adequate object of the love of the Father. The great satisfaction of the soul of God, wherein he rests and delights, consists in love to Christ as incarnate. I will make but this one inference from it ; proportionable to the renovation of the image and likeness of God upon any of our souls, is our love to Jesus Christ. He that knows Jesus Christ most, is most like unto God, for there the soul of God rests, there is the complacency of God ; and if we would be like to God, have pledges in ourselves of the renovation of this image upon us, it must be in the gracious exercise of our love to the person of Jesus Christ. And pray let me observe it to you, the world, that is full of enmity to God, doth not exercise its enmity against God immediately under the first notion of God, but exerciseth its enmity against God in Christ : and if we return to God by the renovation of his image, we do not exercise our love to God immediately as God, but our love to God by and in Christ ; that ye through him might believe in God. Here is a trial, brethern, of our return to God, and of the renovation of his image in us, viz. in our love to Jesus Christ. There God and man do meet, there God and his church above and below centre. The Lord grant that this ordinance may be the means to stir up our hearts more to the exercise of this grace ! 185 DISCOURSE XXII.T. July 8. 1677. I SHALL speak to them who have a mind to be found performing their duty ; but it may be, it doth not occur to them what is particularly required of them. They are such as are least acquainted with this mystery that I would have most respect unto, that nothing of God's provision in his house may be lost to his chil- dren, for want of understanding aright to come to his table, where he makes this provision. I pray you, brethren, exercise your thoughts unto the institution of this ordinance, w'herein you exercise your obedience ; unto the proposi- tion of Christ in this ordinance, wherein con- sists the peculiar acting of your fa-'th ; and unto the exhibition of Christ in this ordin- ance, which is the ground of your thankful- ness. What shall I do that I may please God now, please Jesus Christ, and benefit my own soul in the administration of this ordinance ? Why, 1. Consider the institution of it, wherein we have the authority of Jesus Christ put forth, and acting towards our souls. " Do this in remembrance of me." Labour there- fore to bring your hearts into an actual obedi- ence to the authority of Jesus Christ in what we are about. This the Lord Jesus doth re- 3 186 DISCOURSE XXIII. quire at our hands. We do not come liere in a customary manner to satisfy our convictions, because we ought to come ; we do not come here merely to make use of our privilege, but our hearts are to bow to the authority of Jesus Christ. Consider, I pray you, the institution of this ordinance, and labour to bring your souls into actual obedience to Jesus Christ. We do it because Christ has required it of us. If our hearts are in that frame, that we are here upon the command of Christ, to do what he has appointed, and we can recommend our consciences unto him, that it is in obedience to his command that we are here, then our obedi- ence is in exercise. 2. Consider the proposition that is made of Jesus Christ in this ordinance to us, that our faith may be in its proper exercise. The Lord take off our hearts from the con- sideration of the outward signs merely. Christ in his love, Christ in his bloodshed, agony and prayer, Christ in his death, is here pro- posed before us. " Ye shew forth the Lord's death." Who proposes it ? He that hath ap- pointed these things proposes it. And there is the engagement of the faithfulness of God and Christ in this proposition and tender that is made of Jesus Christ ; and it is a peculiar way, and as I could prove, full of love, that God hath found out a way to propound Christ as dying, and crucified, to all our souls. There- fore stir up your hearts to this. To every one of you there is, by the grace and faithfulness of God, a proposal of Jesus Christ in his death, DISCOURSE XXIII. 187 and all the benefits of it, unto your souls. The whole question is, Whether you will stir up your hearts to a new and fresh receiving of Jesus Christ, who is thus proposed and tendered unto you, evidently crucified before your eyes, offered to you by the love and faith- fulness of God ? But if we do not endeavour every one of us, in the participation of this ordinance, a fresh acceptance of Jesus Christ, we do what we can to make God a liar, as though he was not tendered unto us. The es- pecial exercise of your faith in this ordinance, is upon the love, grace and faithfulness of God, proposing and tendering of Christ unto you, the death of Christ, and the benefits of Christ in this way which he has chosen ; sub- mit unto it, and embrace it. 3. As your obedience is required with re- spect to the institution ; (we give this account before God, angels and men, that we are here in obedience to the command of our Lord Je- sus Christ j) and as faith is required with re- spect to the proposition of Christ, whereby he is evidently proposed and tendered by God unto us ; so in this ordinance, to them that be- lieve, there is an exhibition of Christ : Christ is really exhibited and communicated to the souls of men, who exercise faith upon him in this ordinance ; really exhibited with all the benefits of his death. And want of receiving by faith, in particular, Christ as exhibited and communicated in this ordinance, is the great ground of our want of profiting by it, and thriving under it; of our want of receiving 188 DISCOURSK XXIII. strength, joy, and life by it ; because we do not exercise ourselves to the receiving of Christ as he is exhibited, as God doth really give him out, and communicate him to them that do believe. That there is such an exhibition of Christ, appears, 1st, By the sacramental relation there is between the outward elements and the thing signified. " This is my body, (says Christ ; this bread is so ; and) this is my blood." It is the body of Christ and the blood of Christ, that we are invited to the participa- tion of. If there was no more in this ordi- nance exhibited, but only the outward ele- ments, and not by virtue of sacramental rela- tion upon God's institution, the body and blood of Christ, his life, and death, and merits exhibited unto us, we should come to the Lord's table like men in a dream eating and drinking, and be quite empty when we have done, for this bread and wine will not satisfy our souls. Snd, As it is plain from the sign and the thing signified, that there is a grant, or a real communication of Jesus Christ unto the souls of them that do believe ; so it is evident from the nature of the exercise of faith in this ordi- nance ; it is by eating and drinking. Can you eat and drink unless something be really com- municated ? You are called to eat the flesh, and drink the blood of the Son of man ; unless really communicated, we cannot eat it nor drink it. We may have other apprehensions of these things, but our faith cannot be exercised DISCOURSE XXIII. 189 in eating and drinking, which is a receiving of what is really exhibited and communicated. As truly, my brethren, as we do eat of this bread, and drink of this cup, which is really communicated to us, so every true believer doth receive Christ, his body and blood, in all the benefits of it, that are really exhibited by God unto the soul in this ordinance : and it is a means of communicating to faith. We come to receive a cruciHed Christ, come to be made partakers of the body and blood of the Lord, to have the Lord Jesus really united to our hearts more and more. The Lord open our hearts to embrace the tender, receive the exhibition, take in Jesus Christ as food, that he may be incorporated in our hearts by faiths that he may dwell in us plentifully, more and more ; that we may go away refreshed by this heavenly food, this glorious feast of fat things which the Lord has made in his mount for his people. The whole of our comfort depends on our particular receiving of Christ by faith, and carrying him away by believing. 1^3 DISCOURSE XXIV. September ^0. 1677- We are met together again, by the patience and kindness of God, for the celebration of this great ordinance, and therein to shew forth the death of the Lord. I have often spoken to you on this occasion concerning the nature of this ordinance, the expression of the love of God and Christ that is in it, and the especial acts of faith and love that are required of us in this ordinance. I have one word now somewhat of another nature, but yet such as I judge not unseason- able; and it is to this purpose, that we, who so frequently enjoy the privilege of the repre- sentation of the death of Christ unto us, ought to be very diligent in inquiring after an ex- perience of the power of the death of Christ in us. Without this, our privilege will not be to our advantage. The power and efficacy of the death of Christ, which we now remember in a peculiar manner, is two-fold. 1st, Towards God, as the consummation of the sacrifice of atonement. This we have often spoken to. 2nd, Towards our own souls, towards the church ; and that is to be an example, a pre- cept, a pattern of what is to be wrought in us. Discourse xxiv. I9I In this sense the power of the death of Christ is its efficacy to conformity with Christ in his death. It is to be " crucified with Christ," as the apostle speaks. Gal. ii. 20. Power comes forth from the death of Christ, if receiv- ed by faith in a due manner, to render us con- formable to him in the death of sin in us. The apostle has a great and glorious word concern- ing himself, 2 Cor. iv. JO. '' Always bearing about in the body, the dying of the Lord Je- sus." I acknowledge the words are usually applied to the representation of the suiFerings of Christ, in the sufferings of the ministers of the gospel, concerning which the apostle there discourses ; but the antithesis in the following words, " that the life of Jesus might be mani- fest in our body," does certainly lead to a larger sense. Then, brethern, we may have an ex- perience of the power of Christ in us, when we can say, we always carry about with us the dying of the Lord Jesus, to carry it in our medi- tation, to carry it in our conversation, to carry it in our constant universal endeavours for con- formity to it ; and without this we have not ex- perience of the power of his death in us,, and it will not avail us to have the nature of his death represented to us. 1. We are always to '' carry about the dying of Jesus Christ," in our thoughts and medita- tions. O that our thoughts were much fixed upon it ! I verily believe that the life of faith doth answer in proportion to our thoughts about the dying of Jesus. The dying of Jesus coni- priseth the love from whence he ditd the death J 92 DISCOURSE XXIV. itself he died, and the end for which he died. Let us carry about us ahvajs thoughts hereof, for his sake w ho loved us, and who died for us. Meditate more on these things. 2. In our conversation It is not a time to re- flect upon any, unless I did it upon myself. But truly, brethren, I am afraid we do not carry about and manifest to all the dying of the Lord Jesus in our conversation ; to perform all thino-s, so as it may appear, and be made manifest to ourselves and others, that our hearts are set up- on his dying love, that we have not such quick, such active, and vigorous affections to the world, and the things of the world, nor that fury of diligence after them and in them, as other men have, and we have had ; we cannot do it ; the dying of the Lord Jesus crucifies our hearts. These are hard words I know ; how far from our practice ! But if we live not in an endea- vour after it, in all things to manifest that our hearts are full of the dying of the Lord Jesus, we have not experience of the power of it in our souls. These things depend on one another. If we dwelt more upon this subject in our meditations, we should manifest it, and carry it about, and represent it more in our conversation. 3. Carry it about in a constant endeavour for conformity to Jesus Christ in all things in his death. Did Christ die, and shall sin live.^ Was he crucified in the world, and shall we have quick and lively affections to the world ? O where is the temper and spirit of that apos- tle, vvho by ''the cross of Christ was cruci- DISCOURSE XXV. 193 fied to the world, and the world crucified to him ?" If there be any among us that should be indulgent to the life of any one lust or corruption, that soul can have no experience of the power of the death of Christ in himself, cannot carry about him the dying of Christ. Endeavour to destroy sin, that we may be like unto Christ. I will not make particular application of these things to all the concerns of our walk, but leave it with you, with this word, begging of you, and my own heart, and of God for us all, that having these blessed representations of the death of Christ to us, we may have no rest in our spirits, but when we have experience of the power of the death of Christ in us. DISCOURSE XXV. September 20. 1682. It is a common received notion among Chris- tians, and it is true, that there is a peculiar com- munion with Christ in this ordinance, which we have in no other ordinance : that there is a pe- culiar acting of faith in this ordinance, which is in no other ordinance. This is the faith of the whole church of Christ, and has been so in all ages. This is the greatest mystery of all the practicals of our Christian religion, away of re- ceiving Christ by eating and drinking, some- thing peculiar that is not in prayer, that is not R 194 DISCOURSE XXV. in the hearing of the word, nor in any other part of divine worship whatsoever, a peculiar participation of Christ, a peculiar acting of faitli towards Christ. This participation of Christ is not carnal, but spiritual. In the beginning of the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ, when he began to instruct them in the communication of himself, and the benefit of his mediation to be- lievers, because it was a new thing, he expresses it by '' eating his flesh, and drinking his blood," John vi. 53. " Unless ye eat the flesh, and drink the blood of the Son of man, ye have no life in you." Thisofi'ended and amazed them. They thought he taught them to eat his natural flesh and blood. " How can this man give us his flesh to eat .^" They thought he instructed them to be cannibals. Whereupon he givesthat everlasting rule for the guidance of the church, which the church forsook, and thereby ruined itself ; saith he, '' It is the Spirit that quick- eneth, the flesh profiteth nothing ; the words that I speak, they are spirit, and they are life." It is a spiritual communication, saith he, of myself unto you ; but it is as intimate, and gives as real an incorporation, as if you did eat my flesh and drink my blood. The church for- saking this rule of a spiritual interpretation, ruined itself, and set up a monster, instead of this blessed mysterious ordinance. We may enquire, therefore, hovv faith doth peculiarly act itself towards Christ in this ordi- nance, whereby we have a distinct participa- tion of Christ, otherwise than we have in any other ordinance whatsoever. And I would CISCOURSE XXV. 195 mention four things unto you, which you may make use of. 1. That faith hath a peculiar respect to the sole authority of Christ in the institution of this ordinance. All other ordinances dravv upon the light of nature, and upon the moral law, as prayer, preaching the word, and singing of psalms to the praise of God ; but this, that we should re- ceive Jesus by eating of bread, and drinking of wine, has no respect to the light of nature, or the moral law at all ; and we should as soon choose to honour God by sacrifices, and eating the flesh of them, if it were not for the authority of Jesus Christ. Herein doth faith give honour to Christ in his kingly ofl5ce. This is the most direct profession of the subjection of our souls and consciences to the authority of Christ, in all our religion. We can give no other reason, ■we can take no allusion from things, but mere- ly this, Christ would have it so. 2. Faith hath a peculiar respect to the love of Christ in dying for us, making the atone- ment for us by his blood, and therein the glori- fying of the wisdom, love, and grace of God the Father. Faith is led into special com- munion with Christ as dying for us to make the atonement ; and therein we give glory to Christ in his priestly office in a peculiar manner in this ordinance, it respecting the sacrifice of Christ, whereby he made atonement for us. 3. Faith hath respect to this special manner of the exhibition of Christ to the souls of believ- ers, under the outward signs and symbols of R 196 DISCOURSE XXV. bread and wine by his institntion, making such a sacramental union between the thing signified and the sign, that the signs remaining to be what they are in themselves, they are unto us the thing that is signified, by virtue of the sacra- mental union that Christ hath appointed between his body and blood, and the benefits of it; and this bread and wine, though not changed at all in themselves, yet they become to us by faith, not what are in themselves, but what is signified by them, *^ the body and the blood of Christ." Herein we give glory to Christ in his prophet- ical office. It is he who has revealed, taught, and instructed his church in this truth, which depends on the sacramental union which follows by his institution. That is the third thing wherein faith peculiarly acts itself in this ordi- nance. 4. The fourth thing is, the mysteriousness, which I leave to your experience, for it is be- yond expression, the mysterious reception of Christ in this peculiar way of exhibition. There is a reception of Christ as tendered in the pro- mise of the gospel ; but here is a peculiar way of his exhibition under outward signs, and a mysterious reception of him in them really, so as to come to a real substantial incorporation in our souls. This is that which believers ought to labour after an experience of in themselves; to find that indeed, under these four consider- ations, they submit to the authority of Jesus Christ in a peculiar manner, giving him the glory of his kingly office ; mixing faith with him as dying and making atonement by his DISCOURSE XXV. 197 blood, so giving him the glory and honour of his priestly office ; much considering the sacramen- tal union that is, by his institution, between the outward signs and the thing signified, thus glorifying him in his prophetical office ; and raising up their souls to a mysterious reception and incorporation of him, receiving him to dwell in them, warning, cherishing, comforting, and strenghening their hearts. I have mentioned these things as those which lie in your practice, and to obviate that (if I may mention it) which you may be tried with. There is but one plausible pretence that our adversaries, who design to oppress us, have in this business : If, say they, there be not a real presence, and a real substantial transmutation of the elements into the substance of the body and blood of Christ, shew you a way whereby you may have a peculiar communion with Christ, any more than in the word preached. We say, we have in these things experience of a peculiar communion with Christ, in a way made proper to this ordinance, which is not to be found in any other ordinance. THE END. EPIKl'URGH, FRINTEl) BY J. RITCHIK.