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 BV 824 .H4 1831 
 
 Henry, Matthew, 1662-1714. 
 The communicant's companion 
 


PUBLISHED BY 'WILLIAM COLLINS. GLASGOW. 
 
THE 
 
 COMMUNICANT’S 
 
 COMPANIO N; 
 
 OR, 
 
 INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE RIGHT RECEIVING 
 
 OF THE 
 
 LORD’S SUPPER. 
 
 BY THE 
 
 REV. MATTHEW HENRY. 
 
 WITH 
 
 AN INTRODUCTORY ESSAY, 
 
 BY THE 
 
 REV. JOHN BROWN, 
 
 EDINBURGH. 
 
 THIRD EDITION. 
 
 GLASGOW: 
 
 PRINTED FOR WILLIAM COLLINS; 
 
 OLIVER & BOYD, YVM. WHYTE & CO. AND WM. OLIPHANT, EDINBURGH; 
 W. F. WAKEMAN, AND WM. CURRY, JUN. & CO. DUBLIN ; 
 WHITTAKER, TREACHER, & ARNOT ; HAMILTON, ADAMS, & CO. 
 SIMPKIN & MARSHALL ; BALDWIN & CRADOCK ; 
 
 AND HURST, CHANCE, & CO. LONDON. 
 
 MDCCCXXXI. 
 
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 . 
 
 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 
 
 
 There is an important, though often an overlooked 
 difference between the results of human ingenuity, 
 as embodied in the principles of science and the in¬ 
 stitutions of civil society, and the results of divine 
 wisdom, as embodied in the doctrines of revelation 
 and the ordinances of the Christian church. Hu¬ 
 man science is the offspring of the observations and 
 experiments of beings limited in their faculties, and 
 liable to error, and admits, from this very circum¬ 
 stance, of constant growth, frequent correction, and 
 indefinite improvement. The principles of natural 
 philosophy are much better understood at present, 
 not only than they were, but than they could have 
 been a hundred years ago; and it is highly probable, 
 that, before the end of another century, they will 
 be still better understood than they are at present: 
 but, as the most finished work of the human mind is 
 necessarily imperfect, there will always be room for 
 the correction of mistakes, and the supply of de¬ 
 ficiencies. 
 
 It is altogether otherwise with the doctrines of Re¬ 
 velation. They flow forth absolutely pure from the 
 fountain of knowledge and of truth. They are an in- 
 
VI 
 
 fallible statement of a portion of the mind of Him 
 who alone hath wisdom. Human science is like the 
 statue, which, under the successive strokes of the 
 artist’s chisel, from a rude unformed block, gradually 
 assumes a striking resemblance to 6i the human form 
 divine.” Revealed truth is like our general parent, 
 rising at once into perfect form, and beauty, and life, 
 at the command of his Creator. The improvement 
 even of the most finished statue implies no absurdity ; 
 but the idea of mending the divine work were equally 
 replete with impiety and folly. Human science, 
 being the product of fallible reason, cannot be per¬ 
 fect. There must be deficiency, and there may be 
 error; and it admits of improvement both by correc¬ 
 tion and addition. There is room for neither in the 
 doctrines of revelation. Divine revelation is, from 
 its very nature, free from error, proceeding from him 
 who cannot be deceived, and who cannot deceive; 
 and though imperfect, inasmuch as it does not ex¬ 
 tend to all possible objects of religious knowledge, it 
 obviously admits of addition in no other way than 
 by a new revelation. He who has made known to 
 us a portion of his mind, may, if he pleases, make 
 known to us another portion of it; but till he does 
 so, the whole of our duty, in reference to the revela¬ 
 tion given, is to endeavour distinctly to apprehend 
 the meaning of its various parts, and the relations, 
 connections, and dependencies of these various parts, 
 and to yield up the whole of our intellectual and 
 active nature to its influence. It is equally incon¬ 
 sistent with this duty to attempt to make corrections 
 on the system of revealed truth, or to make additions 
 to it. 
 
Vll 
 
 It would have been a happy thing for the Chris¬ 
 tian world, if the obvious distinction which has now 
 been pointed out had been steadily kept in view by 
 the teachers of religion. The 6t truth as it is in 
 Jesus” would not then have been obscured by at¬ 
 tempts to illustrate it; nor the dogmas of a vain 
 philosophy mingled with the oracles of divine wis¬ 
 dom, or substituted in their room. The ingenuity, 
 and learning, and labour, which have been often 
 worse than wasted, in endeavouring, by working up 
 into a complete system of religion and morals, such 
 of the materials furnished by revelation, as seemed 
 fit for their purpose, along with such materials as 
 they could collect from other sources, while, without 
 ceremony, such portions of revelation as appeared 
 unsuitable to their object, were overlooked or re¬ 
 jected,—might have been devoted to a diligent in¬ 
 quiry into the meaning and connection of the sacred 
 oracles ; and thus have discovered there, made by his 
 hand who made the world, what they must for ever 
 in vain attempt to make for themselves; and we 
 would not have had reason to doubt, in an age when 
 human science has, in all its branches, attained to ati 
 unprecedented state of improvement, whether the 
 principles of revealed truth are not worse understood, 
 among those who profess to believe them, than they 
 were seventeen hundred years ago. 
 
 A similar distinction ought to be made between 
 the institutions of civil society and the ordinances of 
 the Christian church. The principles of civil go- 
 v ernment are at present much better understood than 
 t hey were, or could have been, in what are ordinarily 
 called the dark ages; and it is certain, whatever a 
 
VUl 
 
 blind reverence for antiquity may urge to the con¬ 
 trary, that the social arrangements which prevail in 
 our own country are incomparably superior to those 
 which existed even in the most illustrious ages of 
 Grecian and Roman history; and it is equally evi¬ 
 dent, whatever a partial fondness for the institutions 
 of our own country and age may suggest, that a 
 much more perfect form of social life is not only 
 easily conceivable, hut, at some future period, is likely 
 to be realized, than any that has yet been established 
 among mankind. These institutions are the result 
 of human ingenuity, and therefore are imperfect. 
 There is something wanting, and something wrong 
 with the best of them. 
 
 But it is otherwise with the ordinances of the 
 Christian church ; for they are the appointments of 
 infinite wisdom. They were originally given by 
 one who had a perfect knowledge of the end of such 
 institutions—the religious and moral improvement 
 of his people; and a perfect knowledge, too, of that 
 intellectual and moral constitution, for the improve¬ 
 ment of which they are intended,—and, like all the 
 divine works, they are perfect. They are all of 
 them characterized by a beautiful simplicity, which 
 ill accords with the ordinary, but depraved taste of 
 mankind for what is complicated and difficult; but 
 which is a leading feature in all the works and ar¬ 
 rangements of infinite wisdom. 
 
 It might have been expected, that the institutions 
 of Christianity, bearing on them the impress of su¬ 
 preme authority, would have been accounted too sa¬ 
 cred things to be tampered with by those who ad¬ 
 mitted the divine origin of that religion. But what 
 
IX 
 
 is there too presumptuous for man to attempt? The 
 same principle which led professed Christians to mo¬ 
 dify the doctrines of Christ, led them to alter his 
 institutions. In both cases, they flattered them¬ 
 selves that they were making improvements; but 
 what was the truth ? By their experiments on the 
 doctrines of Christ, they, in many cases, converted 
 the true elixir of immortal life into a deadly poison, 
 and, at the very best, robbed it of its healing virtues, 
 just in the proportion in which they have infused into 
 it baser ingredients : and by their experiments on the 
 institutions of Christ, they have rendered them ut¬ 
 terly unfit, for the purposes they were intended to 
 answer; and, instead of important means of religion 
 and moral improvement, they have made them mere 
 vehicles of amusement to the senses or imagination, 
 and, in many cases, the instruments of extensive de¬ 
 moralization and of fatal delusion. 
 
 No Christian ordinance has been more perverted 
 by superstition than the Lord’s Supper; and no por¬ 
 tion of Christian truth has been more involved in 
 obscurity and error than that which respects that or¬ 
 dinance. False opinions and superstitious usages 
 mutually produce and support each other. By this 
 malignant action and re-action, in reference to the 
 Lord’s Supper, where the emblematical nature of the 
 institution, and the figurative language in which of 
 course much of the truth respecting it was couched, 
 afforded peculiar facilities for misapprehension, mis¬ 
 representation, and delusion, we find, within the 
 course of a few centuries, the simple rite of an as¬ 
 sembly of Christians eating bread and drinking wine, 
 in grateful commemoration of the expiatory suffer- 
 
 a 3 
 
X 
 
 ings and death of Jesus Christ, converted into a 
 splendid and complicated ceremony;* and the plain, 
 intelligible doctrine, that in this ordinance we are 
 presented with an emblematical representation and 
 confirmation of the great principles of our religion, 
 which, by strengthening our belief, contributes to 
 our spiritual improvement, gives way to a portentous 
 dogma, of which it is impossible to say whether it 
 be more absurd or impious, that in this ordinance 
 the bread and the wine are, by the mystic power of 
 a priest’s repeating the words of institution, con¬ 
 verted into the body, and blood, and divinity of Jesus 
 Christ; which, after having been offered to God by 
 the priest, as an expiatory sacrifice for the sins of the 
 living and the dead, are literally eaten and drunk by 
 the recipients. So dangerous is it to deviate from 
 the purity of scriptural truth, and the simplicity of 
 primitive usage. It is impossible to say where we 
 will stop. The probability is, that we will not stop 
 till we land ourselves in the pravity of damnable error, 
 and in the absurdity of senseless superstition. 
 
 At the Reformation, the doctrine of transubstan- 
 tiation, and the practice of the sacrifice of the mass, 
 were discarded by all the Protestant churches; but 
 there was but a partial return to the purity and sim¬ 
 plicity of primitive doctrine and observance. By 
 the Lutheran church, a variety of unauthorized rites 
 were retained, and the doctrine of consubstantiation, 
 
 * “ That feast of free grace and adoption to which Christ in¬ 
 vited his disciples to sit as brethren and co-heirs of the happy co¬ 
 venant which at that table was to be sealed to them, even that 
 feast of love and heavenly-admitted fellowship, the seal of filial 
 grace, became the subject of horror, and glouting admiration pa- 
 geanted about like a dreadful idol.”— Milton. 
 
XI 
 
 or the real, though impalpable and invisible, pre¬ 
 sence of the body and blood of Christ, along with, 
 and under the substance of bread and wine in the 
 consecrated elements, was substituted in the room of 
 the not more absurd, and certainly not less intel¬ 
 ligible dogma of transubstantiation; and, although 
 most of the reformed churches rejected both these 
 equally unscriptural doctrines, and approximated much 
 more closely to both the principles and practice of 
 apostolical times, yet still it cannot be denied, that in 
 most of their symbolical books there is much mystical 
 statement, respecting the spiritual presence of Jesus 
 Christ in the Lord’s Supper, and the manner in 
 which Christians participate of his body and blood 
 when they observe it; as if Christ’s presence in this 
 ordinance were not essentially the same as his pre¬ 
 sence in any other ordinance, when, by the operation 
 of his Spirit, through the instrumentality of the 
 truth, he communicates to the believing mind know¬ 
 ledge, and purification, and comfort;—as if u the 
 eating Christ’s flesh, and drinking Christ’s blood,” 
 in‘this ordinance, were something else than that par¬ 
 ticipation of those blessings procured by his suffer¬ 
 ings and death, which all true Christians enjoy, 
 whenever they believe the divine testimony respect¬ 
 ing these sufferings and deathand as if all the 
 peculiarities of this ordinance did not originate in the 
 emblematical form in which it brings Christian truth 
 and its evidence before the mind. 
 
 It is obvious, that to be conducive to the spiritual 
 improvement of those who engage in it, the Lord’s 
 Supper must be “ a rational service,”—an exercise 
 of the mind and of the heart: and it is equally oh- 
 
Xll 
 
 vious, that, for the purpose of rendering it a rational 
 service, it is not our business to endeavour to in¬ 
 vent a spiritual meaning to the emblems which are 
 employed in it; but to endeavour to discover the 
 spiritual meaning, which he who appointed the ordi¬ 
 nances intended to be attached to these emblems. 
 Some writers on the nature and design of this 
 ordinance, seem to have overlooked this; and, of 
 course, their works, though replete with pious fancies, 
 are rather deficient in such distinct, scripturally sup¬ 
 ported views, as are calculated at once to satisfy the 
 mind and guide the exercise of the devout Christian. 
 It is often treated of as an oath of allegiance—-a 
 federal transaction between God and the communi¬ 
 cant—an unbloody sacrifice, or a feast upon a sacri¬ 
 fice—and much fruitless controversy has taken place, 
 which of these, or whether any of them, affords a 
 just representation of its nature, design, and advan¬ 
 tages. Figurative descriptions of an emblematical 
 ordinance do not seem peculiarly well fitted for ex¬ 
 plaining it; and there is a considerable hazard lest, 
 in our following out our tropical illustrations, we 
 end in making the ordinance something altogether 
 different from what Jesus Christ made it; and as 
 the promise of his blessing is attached only to the 
 observance of his institution, we shut ourselves out 
 from the advantages we might have enjoyed from its 
 observance, if we do not, in simple submission to his 
 authority, and reliance on his Spirit, eat bread and 
 drink wine, in believing remembrance and religious 
 commemoration of his expiatory sufferings and death. 
 
 The simplest, and, to our own minds, the most 
 satisfactory view of the Lord’s Supper which we have 
 been able to take, is that which considers it as, on 
 
Xlll 
 
 the part of Him who instituted it, an emblematical 
 representation and confirmation of the grand peculi¬ 
 arities of the Christian institution; and, on the part 
 of him who observes it, an emblematical expression 
 of a state of mind and heart in accordance with this 
 statement of Christian truth and its evidence. 
 
 That there is something more in the Lord’s Sup¬ 
 per than meets the external senses—-that its emble¬ 
 matical elements are meant to embody Christian 
 
 9/ 
 
 doctrine, and its emblematical actions to express 
 Christian thought and feeling,-;—there can be no 
 doubt; and in order to discover what is the Chris¬ 
 tian truth which the instituted symbols represent, 
 we are not left to conjecture how such emblems may 
 be naturally interpreted. In the statements of our 
 Lord, and of his inspired Apostles, we have abun¬ 
 dant and satisfactory information. The following is 
 a short account of the institution of the Lord’s Sup¬ 
 per, as narrated by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and 
 Paul:—“ The Lord Jesus, that night in which he 
 was betrayed, while observing with his apostles the 
 Jewish passover, took bread, and when he had given 
 thanks, he brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and 
 said, ‘Take, eat; this is my body which is broken 
 for you : this do in remembrance of me.’ After the 
 same manner he took the cup, when he had supped, 
 and gave it to them, saying, ‘ This cup is my blood 
 of the new covenant, which is shed for many, for the 
 remission of sins : drink ye ail of it. This do ye as 
 oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.’”* The 
 
 * Matth. xxvi. 26, &c. Markxiv, 22, &c. Luke xxii. 19, kc. 
 1 Cor. xi. 23, &c. 
 
XIV 
 
 meaning of the highly figurative phrases, te eating 
 Chrises flesh, and drinking Christ’s blood,” may be 
 easily ascertained, from the following quotations from 
 one of our Lord’s discourses:—“ He that believeth 
 on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life. 
 If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: 
 and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I 
 will give for the life of the world. Except ye eat 
 the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye 
 have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and 
 drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise 
 him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat in¬ 
 deed, and my blood is drink indeed.”* The apos¬ 
 tle Paul, in his first epistle to the Corinthians, 
 makes the following observations in reference to the 
 meaning of the emblems in the Lord’s Supper:— 
 “ The cup of blessing, or thanksgiving, which we 
 bless, or over which we give thanks, is it not the 
 communion-—the mutual participation of the blood 
 of Christ? the bread which we break, is it not the 
 communion—the mutual participation of the body 
 of Christ ? for we being many, are one bread and 
 one body: for we are all partakers of that one 
 bread.”f These passages of Scripture are the legi¬ 
 timate materials from which we are to form our judg¬ 
 ments as to the meaning of the emblems in the 
 Lord’s Supper; and they certainly warrant us to 
 affirm, that this ordinance is an emblematical repre¬ 
 sentation of all the grand peculiarities of the Chris¬ 
 tian system. 
 
 Truth may be brought before the mind in two 
 
 * John vi. 47— 55. 
 
 f 1 Cor. x. 16, 17. 
 
XV 
 
 ways,—by verbal statement, or by emblematical re¬ 
 presentation. The first is best fitted for conveying 
 new information; the second is admirably calculated 
 for recalling, in a striking manner, to the mind, in¬ 
 formation formerly presented to it. The first me¬ 
 thod of presenting the leading truths of Christianity 
 is adopted in the written and spoken gospel; the se¬ 
 cond, in the Lord’s Supper: and it will be found, on 
 examination, that that ordinance is, as it were, a mi¬ 
 niature picture of the same series of divine dispensa¬ 
 tions, of which we have a detailed history in the 
 word of the truth of the gospel. 
 
 It may be worth our while to expand this remark 
 a little, and show how full of Christian truth is 
 every part of this emblematical institution. Let us 
 contemplate the symbolical elements and actions, and 
 apply to our Lord and his Apostles for their spiri¬ 
 tual signification. In this ordinance we have bread 
 and wine: and of the bread, our Lord says, “ This 
 is my bodyand of the wine, 6i This is my blood.” 
 These words admit but of two modes of interpreta¬ 
 tion,—the literal, which conducts directly into all 
 the absurdities and blasphemies of transubstantia- 
 tion; and the figurative, which represents the bread 
 and the wine, as emblems of the body and blood of 
 the Redeemer; just in the same way as the rock 
 which supplied the Israelites with water during their 
 wanderings in the wilderness, is called Christ. The 
 words plainly imply, that he who used them had a 
 body and blood—was a possessor of human nature: 
 and the elements, to a well-instructed Christian, 
 naturally recall the grand fundamental doctrine of 
 the incarnation. In silent, but expressive language, 
 
 0 
 
XVI 
 
 they proclaim, 44 The word was made flesh, and 
 dwelt among men: inasmuch as the children were 
 partakers of flesh and blood, he also took part of the 
 same. Great is the mystery of godliness : God was 
 manifest in the flesh.” 
 
 But in the Lord’s Supper we not only have bread 
 and wine, but broken bread and poured-out wine. 
 Our Lord has unfolded the meaning of these em¬ 
 blems also: 44 This is my body broken, ray blood shed ; 
 my body broken, my blood shed for you; my body 
 broken, my blood shed for remission of sin unto 
 many.” The broken bread and the poured-out wine 
 are, when thus explained, calculated to suggest to 
 Christian minds, that the incarnate Saviour, after a 
 life of suffering, died a violent death ; that these 
 sufferings and this death were vicarious and expia¬ 
 tory, undergone in the room of sinners, to obtain 
 their salvation. It concentrates, as it were, the prin¬ 
 cipal statements both of the prophets and the evan¬ 
 gelists ; and, with one glance of the eye, we see the 
 wondrous plan of human redemption through the 
 mediation of the incarnate only-begotten. It tells us 
 more ouchingly than words could do, that 44 Christ 
 died for our sins, according to the Scriptures; that 
 he was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised 
 for our iniquities; that in him we have redemption 
 through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins; that 
 he has given himself for us a sacrifice and an offer¬ 
 ing, and has thus brought us unto God.” 
 
 But the doctrines of the incarnation and the atone¬ 
 ment are not the only principles of Christian truth 
 which are embodied in the Lord’s Supper. Had 
 their representation been its sole object, it might 
 
XVII 
 
 have been gained by the minister’s exhibiting bread 
 and wine; and, while he pointed to them, proclaim¬ 
 ing, 66 This is Christ’s body broken; this is Christ’s 
 blood shed for you.” But this is not the Lord’s 
 Supper. In that ordinance, we have not only broken 
 bread and poured-out wine; but the broken bread is 
 eaten, and the poured-out wine is drank. This also 
 is replete with spiritual meaning. From the passage 
 above quoted from one of our Lord’s discourses, it is 
 plain, that eating Christ’s flesh and drinking Christ’s 
 blood, is significant of that interest in his sufferings 
 and death, which, by the divine appointment, is con¬ 
 nected with the belief of the truth respecting them : 
 so that here we are furnished with an emblematical 
 representation of that cardinal doctrine of Christian¬ 
 ity, that u whosoever believeth in Christ Jesus shall 
 not perish, but have everlasting life.” As bread 
 and wine, though in themselves most nutritious food, 
 will not nourish us, unless we eat the one and drink 
 the other; so the expiatory sufferings and death of 
 the incarnate Son of God, though of themselves ade¬ 
 quate to the salvation of the greatest sinner, will not 
 save us unless we believe. 
 
 But we have not yet exhausted the spiritual mean¬ 
 ing of the emblems in the Lord’s Supper. Had it 
 been our Lord’s object merely to embody, in an em¬ 
 blematical institution, the principles, £< that the only- 
 begotten of God in human nature suffered and died 
 in the room of sinners, to procure their salvation ; and 
 that faith in these truths is at once absolutely neces¬ 
 sary, and completely sufficient to secure to the sinner 
 an interest in this salvation ;” it is probable that the 
 sacred rite would have been of such a nature as ad- 
 
XV111 
 
 mitted of performance by a single individual. But 
 this is not the case with the Lord’s Supper. It is a 
 social institution, and Christians must 66 come to¬ 
 gether to eat the Lord’s Supper.” Without any 
 explicit revelation on the subject, knowing, as we do, 
 from other passages of Scripture, that a very intimate 
 relation does subsist among all the true followers of 
 Jesus Christ, we might perhaps have warrantably 
 concluded, that this mystical feast was intended em¬ 
 blematically to represent their holy fellowship. But 
 it is our wish to say nothing in reference to the mean¬ 
 ing of this ordinance, but what we are distinctly 
 taught in Scripture. Indeed, there is no necessity 
 to have recourse to inference. The passage already 
 quoted from the apostle Paul is most explicit. In 
 partaking of the cup of blessing, there is a commu¬ 
 nion, or mutual participation of the blood of Christ; 
 in partaking of the broken bread, there is a commu¬ 
 nion, or mutual participation of the body of Christ; 
 and the consequence of this mutual participation is, 
 that the partakers are all one body and one bread. 
 The reality and the nature of that intimate relation 
 which subsists among all Christ’s genuine followers, 
 is there strikingly exhibited. They are holy so¬ 
 ciety, bound together by their common faith in the 
 grand leading truths of Christianity, embodied in this 
 emblematical institution, and, by their common love 
 to that Saviour who is in it, “ evidently set forth cru¬ 
 cified and slain.” 
 
 It is deeply to be regretted, that this part of the 
 meaning of the Lord’s Supper has been so much over¬ 
 looked and forgotten, and that “ the symbol of our 
 common Christianity” should have been almost uni- 
 
XIX 
 
 versally converted into 6( the badge and criterion of 
 a party, a mark of discrimination applied to distin¬ 
 guish the nicer shades of difference among Chris¬ 
 tians.”* It was not so from the beginning. The 
 church of Christ was originally one body: the ordi¬ 
 nance of the Lord’s Supper is suited to such an order 
 of things ; and however perverted from its original 
 purpose, though, instead of the common place of 
 friendly meeting for all who believe the truth and 
 love the Saviour, it has in many cases become 66 the 
 line of demarcation, the impassable boundary which 
 separates and disjoins them,” still, in its obvious em¬ 
 blematical meaning, it sounds a retreat from the un¬ 
 natural divisions which prevail among the genuine 
 followers of the Saviour, by proclaiming that they are 
 indeed all “ one in Christ Jesus.” 
 
 There is just one other important principle of 
 Christian truth which we consider as embodied in 
 the Lord’s Supper. The Lord’s Supper is a positive 
 institution. It is entirely founded on the authority 
 of Jesus Christ, as Him to whom all power in heaven 
 and earth belongs. It does not, like what may be 
 termed the moral part of our religion, necessarily 
 arise out of the relations in which we stand to God 
 as the God of salvation, and to Jesus Christ as the 
 Redeemer of mankind, such as faith, confidence, and 
 obedience. The sole obligation of this ordinance 
 arises out of its appointment by Christ. It would 
 have been our duty to have gratefully and devoutly 
 remembered our Saviour’s dying love, though no ex¬ 
 press command had been given us to that effect; but 
 
 * Hall. 
 
XX 
 
 it would not have been our duty to have expressed 
 this grateful and devout recollection by the eating 
 and drinking wine, had not Jesus Christ said, 6< Do 
 this in remembrance of me.” The ordinance, then, 
 embodies in it Christ’s claims on the implicit obe¬ 
 dience of his followers, and holds him forth as their 
 Lawgiver as well as their Saviour. 
 
 Thus have we seen how replete with Christian 
 truth is this emblematical institution. It forcibly 
 presents to the Christian’s mind these great funda¬ 
 mental principles of his religion, <c that Jesus Christ, 
 the Son of God, assumed human nature, and suffered 
 and died in the room of sinners, to obtain their sal¬ 
 vation ; that all who believe God’s testimony con¬ 
 cerning this method of salvation, shall be saved ; that 
 all who are thus interested in this Christian salvation 
 form a holy fellowship, bound together by the faith 
 of the same truth, and reliance on the same Saviour; 
 and that all who belong to this Christian fellowship 
 are bound to submit implicitly to the Saviour’s au¬ 
 thority, and to walk in all his ordinances and com¬ 
 mandments blameless.” 
 
 But the Lord’s Supper contains in it an emblemati¬ 
 cal confirmation , as well as an emblematical exhibit 
 tion , of Christian doctrine. It presents to us not 
 only the truth, but its evidence. The Lord’s Sup¬ 
 per involves in it satisfactory evidence of the truth 
 of Christianity in general. It has been remarked, 
 by one of the most ingenious defenders of Christian¬ 
 ity,* that there can be no reasonable doubt of the 
 reality of any event which is of such a nature as that 
 
 * Leslie. 
 
XXi 
 
 men’s senses can clearly and fully judge of it, which 
 took place publicly, and in commemoration of which 
 public institutions were immediately appointed, and 
 have continued to be observed, with uninterrupted 
 succession, till the present time. The facts of our 
 Lord’s death and resurrection are facts to which these 
 characters belong. They were events, of the reality 
 of which, men, in the exercise of the senses com¬ 
 mon to the species, could clearly and fully judge— 
 they took place publicly,—in the institution of the 
 Lord’s Supper and the Lord’s day, institutions more 
 closelv connected than seems generally to be appre¬ 
 hended by Christians in the present age, we have 
 public observances instituted in commemoration of 
 these events, and which we know, from the most in¬ 
 dubitable evidence, have been uninterruptedly ob¬ 
 served from the period of their institution down to 
 our own times. It is impossible for the ingenuity of 
 infidelity to account satisfactorily for these facts, on 
 any principle which does not involve in it the truth 
 of Christianity; and it does not seem possible to con¬ 
 ceive of a more simple, yet more effectual method of 
 transmitting unimpaired the principal evidences of 
 the truth of Christianity, in the miraculous events 
 accompanying the Saviour’s death and resurrection, 
 than by wrapping it up, if I may use the expression, 
 in the two kindred positive institutions of the Lord’s 
 Supper and the Lord’s day. 
 
 The use of the Lord’s Supper, as confirming 
 Christian truth, is however by no means confined to 
 this general proof of the truth of Christianity, as a 
 system which it involves. It not only proves that a 
 certain system of principles, denominated Christian- 
 
XXII 
 
 ity, is true and divine, but it proves that the doc¬ 
 trines which it emblematically embodies, form the 
 leading principles of that true and divine system. It 
 does not, like some very clear and convincing state¬ 
 ments of the evidences of Christianity, leave you in 
 the dark as to what Christianity is. And here we 
 have much reason to admire the e< manifold wisdom” 
 discovered in this emblematical institution. Even 
 a slight variation in its details would have rendered 
 it completely unfit for answering this most important 
 purpose. Had our Lord merely enjoined that his 
 followers should frequently assemble around the same 
 board, and eat bread and drink wine together, the 
 rite might have been plausibly represented as no¬ 
 thing more than an exhibition of the tendency and 
 design of Christianity to put an end to all unfriendly 
 divisions among mankind, and to bind them together 
 in the bands of fraternal affection. Had he even 
 gone somewhat farther, and, on appointing such an 
 institution, proclaimed, This is the bread of life; 
 be who eateth of it shall never hunger—this is 
 the wine of the kingdom; he that drinketh of it 
 shall never thirst—eat, drink, and live for ever,” 
 —still, without doing any violence to the meaning 
 either of the symbols, or of the words explicatory of 
 them, we might have been told, that all that was 
 meant was an emblematical representation of the ten¬ 
 dency and design of the doctrine of Jesus Christ, to 
 make men good, and wise, and happy. But it is 
 impossible thus to give meaning to the emblems in 
 the Lord’s Supper, as explained by our Lord, with¬ 
 out admitting that the incarnation and the atone¬ 
 ment are essential parts of Christianity: and the 
 
XX111 
 
 same evidence which proves Christianity to be divine, 
 proves this to be Christianity. The doctrine of sal¬ 
 vation, through the sufferings and death of Jesus 
 Christ, as the substitute of sinners, is so wrought 
 into the very substance of this ordinance, that no in¬ 
 genuity can extract it. So long as the Lord’s Sup¬ 
 per continues in the church—so long as the words 
 of the institution are repeated, and the instituted 
 symbols displayed, there never shall be wanting in 
 the church a clear demonstration, that the death of 
 the Son of God, as a sacrifice for sin, was a doctrine 
 of the primitive age of Christianity. 
 
 It is thus that the Lord’s Supper confirms, as well 
 as exhibits the leading principles of Christianity; 
 and it is thus that it answers to the description which 
 is often given of it as a sealing ordinance. To this 
 denomination, which, by the way, is not a scriptural 
 one, very confused, and, in some cases, dangerously 
 mistaken ideas are attached. The covenant of mercy 
 was ratified, or sealed, by the blood of the Son of 
 God, shed on Calvary; and of this blood-shedding, 
 the Lord’s Supper is not the repetition, but the 
 commemoration: and as to the Lord’s Supper seal¬ 
 ing to the recipient his individual interest in the 
 blessings secured by that covenant, the only scrip¬ 
 tural idea that can be attached to these words is, that 
 this ordinance is fitted as an exhibition both of truth 
 and its evidence, to confirm that faith in the gospel, 
 which at once connects us with the Saviour, and 
 produces the consciousness of enjoying some, and 
 the well-grounded hope of enjoying all the blessings 
 of his salvation. 
 
XXIV 
 
 The Lord’s Supper, which is thus, on the part of 
 him who instituted it, an emblematical exhibition 
 and confirmation of the leading principles of Chris¬ 
 tianity, is, on the part of him who observes it, an 
 emblematical expression of a state of mind and of 
 heart, accordant with this statement of Christian 
 truth and its evidence. And here lies one of the 
 principal differences between the verbal exhibition of 
 Christian truth and evidence, in the written or spoken 
 gospel, and the emblematical exhibition of Christian 
 truth and evidence in the Lord’s Supper. In both 
 cases, it is the duty of those to whom the exhibition 
 is made, to meet it with a corresponding state of 
 thought and affection; but it is in the latter case 
 only that a solemn profession of such an accordance 
 of mind and heart is made. The taking the bread 
 into our hands and eating it, the taking the wine 
 into our hands and drinking it, are the appointed 
 emblematical method of professing our faith of the 
 truths represented in this ordinance; our reliance 
 on Jesus Christ as our own Saviour, our unreserved 
 submission to his authority, and our cordial love to 
 all who, through the faith of the truth, rely on this 
 Saviour, and are interested in his salvation. 
 
 The intelligent and believing communicant re¬ 
 sponds, as it were, to the voice of the Saviour, 
 <c This is my body broken, my blood shed for many, 
 for the remission of sins:” “ It is thy body broken, 
 it is thy blood shed for many, for the remission of 
 sins. I know, and am sure, that this is a faithful 
 saying, that Jesus Christ, God’s Son in human nature, 
 
 suffered and died in the room of sinners, to obtain 
 
 % 
 
 their salvation, and that whosoever believeth in him 
 shall not perish, but have everlasting life.” 
 
XXV 
 
 But, in observing the Lord’s Supper, there is 
 more than an expression of the belief of the gospel 
 testimony in its general form, as embodied in this 
 emblematic institution; there is also a profession of 
 personal reliance on the Saviour’s sufferings and 
 death, as the expiation of our guilt, and the price of 
 our salvation. This is the necessary and immediate 
 result of the belief of the testimony in its true ex¬ 
 tent, and is so closely connected with it, that it is 
 not much to be wondered at if it has sometimes been 
 identified with it. The emblems, as explained by 
 our Lord, not merely intimate in general that Christ 
 died for men—for sinners ; but that he died for those 
 in particular for whom this ordinance is intended, 
 that is, for believers :— (( This is my body broken 
 for 2/02/, this is my blood shed for you.” The state 
 of mind and heart corresponding to such a declara¬ 
 tion, is a personal reliance on the Saviour, a cordial 
 reception of his salvation; and the language of the 
 conduct of the believing communicant is, MY Lord 
 and my God, my Saviour and my all. 
 
 In the observance of the Lord’s Supper, there is 
 also a profession of an accordance of mind and heart 
 with the view which the ordinance emblematically 
 exhibits of the unity of the body of Christ. The 
 believing communicant embraces, in the arms of his 
 affections, the whole brotherhood of believers, and 
 the language of his conduct, in eating of the com¬ 
 mon loaf, and drinking out of the common cup of 
 the Christian family, is, 66 I love them all in the 
 truth, for the truth’s sake which is in them, and will 
 abide in them for ever.” The observation of the 
 Lord’s Supper does not imply in it a profession of a 
 
 B 22 
 
XXVI 
 
 complete accordance of sentiment with every indi¬ 
 vidual, or even with the religious body, along with 
 whom we observe it. It implies a profession of our 
 union with them in the faith of the truth, which the 
 ordinance emblematically represents. It necessarily 
 implies this, but it implies no more. 
 
 Finally, in observing the Lord’s Supper, there is 
 plainly implied, a profession of unreserved and impli¬ 
 cit submission to the authority of Jesus Christ. The 
 ordinance, as we have shown above, is a positive in¬ 
 stitution. It involves in it an assertion of the au¬ 
 thority of Jesus Christ over the conscience ; and the 
 observance of the ordinance is an unequivocal acknow¬ 
 ledgment of this authority. The only reason why 
 we observe it is, that Jesus Christ has commanded 
 us to observe it; and in observing it, we say, “ We 
 do this just because Christ has commanded us to do 
 it, and we are ready to do whatever he commands 
 us, and ask no better reason than that he hath com¬ 
 manded us.” When Jesus Christ puts the cup 
 into our hands, he as it were says, (( The man in 
 whose hand this cup is found shall be my servant 
 for ever;” and on taking it, we as it were respond, 
 4t Truly, O Lord, we are thy servants—we are thy 
 servants, thou hast loosed our bonds; thine we are, 
 and thee we will serve: we will walk in all thy com¬ 
 mandments and ordinances blameless.” 
 
 This view of the Lord’s Supper—as on the part 
 of him who instituted it, an emblematical represen¬ 
 tation and confirmation of the grand peculiarities of 
 the Christian institution; and on the part of him 
 who observes it, an emblematical expression of a state 
 of mind and of heart in accordance with this state- 
 
XXV11 
 
 raent of Christian truth and its evidence—has at least 
 this advantage, that it is completely free of mysti¬ 
 cism ; it enables us distinctly to see why the observ¬ 
 ance of this ordinance should be restricted to persons 
 possessed of a peculiar character, to explain the man¬ 
 ner in which this ordinance contributes to spiritual 
 improvement, and furnishes us with a plain, palpable 
 rule, to ascertain whether we may safely observe the 
 Lord’s Supper, and to guide our devotional exercises 
 when at the communion table. 
 
 The exclusion of all but genuine Christians from 
 a right to observe the Lord’s Supper, is not an ar¬ 
 bitrary arrangement : it rises out of the nature of 
 the case, and, like all the appointments of the God 
 of nature and of grace, is found characterized by 
 wisdom, equity, and benignity. How can a grossly 
 ignorant person derive any advantage from observ¬ 
 ing such an ordinance as the Lord’s Supper ? To a 
 mind in some measure enlightened in the meaning 
 and evidence of Christian truth, the ordinance is 
 calculated to recall and impress the great realities 
 of the Christian economy, and to subject the whole 
 of the inner man to their purifying and blissful in¬ 
 fluence. But to the man who does not know well 
 who Jesus Christ is, in what his mediation consists, 
 what made it necessary, what blessings he has pro¬ 
 cured for mankind, and how we, as individuals, are 
 to obtain these blessings, of what intellectual or 
 moral benefit can it possibly be to observe the Lord’s 
 Supper? He eats a little bread and drinks a little 
 wine, and profanes a divine institution, and sinks 
 himself deeper in guilt and delusion than ever. 
 
 The unbeliever is obviously equally unfitted for 
 
 B 2 
 
XXV111 
 
 deriving spiritual advantage from this ordinance, and 
 indeed cannot observe it without making a false pro¬ 
 fession—without “ lying, not to men, but to God.” 
 This remark is equally applicable to those who, in¬ 
 stead of relying solely on Jesus Christ, crucified for 
 salvation, are going about to establish their own 
 righteousness, not submitting themselves to the 
 righteousness of God—to those who are strangers 
 to the love of the Christian brotherhood—and to 
 those who are living in the habitual neglect or vio¬ 
 lation of any of the laws of Jesus. From the very 
 nature of the institution, it is impossible that such 
 persons can engage in it without dishonouring God 
 and injuring their own souls; and of course that law 
 of Christ is a holy, and just, and good one, which 
 forbids such persons to approach the communion table. 
 
 There is a beautiful unity of principle pervading 
 all the various methods adopted in the scheme of 
 grace, for promoting man’s spiritual improvement. 
 The truth as it is in Jesus, known, and believed, and 
 meditated on, is the grand instrument by which the 
 Holy Spirit performs all his wonders in the new crea¬ 
 tion. It is delightful to observe this principle exem¬ 
 plified even in the ritual part of Christianity. There 
 are many who seem to ascribe a sort of magical power 
 to the Lord’s Supper. The consecrated elements, 
 as they like to phrase it, (and with them consecration 
 does not refer to the Saviour’s appointment, but to 
 the mysterious effects of certain words uttered by the 
 officiating minister,) are considered as a species of 
 talismans, of miraculous efficacy in guarding the soul 
 from the attacks of the powers of darkness. The 
 Lord’s Supper does us good just in the same way as 
 
XXIX 
 
 the gospel does us good. In both, the truth as it 
 is in Jesus, in its meaning and evidence, is held forth 
 to us ; and just in the degree in which it is appre¬ 
 hended by us will we be made good and happy. It 
 is a great mercy that the communication of saving 
 blessings by the Lord’s Supper and other ordinances, 
 is not confined to those who can satisfactorily explain 
 to their own minds the manner in which these insti¬ 
 tutions work out their intended results. At the 
 same time, there is no doubt that such knowledge 
 is of high importance, and greatly and directly tends 
 to promote both the holiness and comfort of the true 
 Christian. 
 
 These observations will be strangely misconceived, 
 if they are considered by any one, as intended to cast 
 into the shade the cardinal doctrine of the necessity 
 of the influence of the Holy Spirit, in order to our 
 deriving saving advantage from the Lord’s Supper. 
 But the influence of the Holy Spirit operates not 
 miraculously, but according to the established laws 
 of the human mind; and in the Lord’s Supper, it 
 is by his fixing the mind, and keeping it fixed on 
 the emblematical display of Christian truth and its 
 evidence, that he renders the ordinance effectual to 
 the strengthening of our faith, and through the 
 strengthening of our faith, to the general improve¬ 
 ment of our spiritual character. 
 
 The work of self-inquiry, which, from the nature 
 of the case, ought to precede our observing the Lord’s 
 Supper, is often represented as a peculiarly difficult 
 and operose business ; but if the above views of that 
 ordinance be correct, the point to be ascertained is 
 brought within a narrow limit, and little, except an 
 
XXX 
 
 honest wish to know the truth, should be necessary, 
 for the resolution of the question. If a man is ig¬ 
 norant of the way of salvation through Christ Jesus, 
 if he does not really believe that the Son of God in 
 human nature suffered and died, the just in the room 
 of the unjust, that he might bring them to God, if 
 he does not rely on Jesus Christ, and on him alone, 
 for salvation, if he does not love genuine Christians, 
 just because they are genuine Christians, and if he 
 habitually neglects or violates any of the laws of 
 Jesus Christ, in his present condition, he is utterly 
 incapacitated from deriving any spiritual advantage 
 from this ordinance. And on the other hand, if a 
 man understands and believes the testimony of God 
 concerning his Son, trusts in him as his only and 
 all-sufficient Saviour, loves all who love him, and are 
 like him, and while conscious of much wanting and 
 much wrong, has the testimony of his conscience, 
 that he delights in the law of the Lord after the in¬ 
 ward man,—such a person ought to avail himself of 
 every opportunity of obeying Christ’s commandment, 
 64 Do this in remembrance of me,” and may reason¬ 
 ably anticipate, from such obedience, both spiritual 
 enjoyment and improvement. 
 
 If we wish to obtain either, however, it is of 
 importance that we keep steadily in view the nature 
 and design of the Lord’s Supper. When engaged 
 in eating bread and drinking wine, in obedience to 
 our Redeemer’s command, our great endeavour 
 should be to yield up our minds to the native influ¬ 
 ence of the truth and its evidence, as represented to 
 us in the ordinance. The business of the communi¬ 
 cant is simple; and, were we in any good measure 
 
XXXI 
 
 what we should be, easy. It is to look to Jesus, 
 plainly set forth, crucified and slain—to behold the 
 Lamb of God bearing, and bearing away the sin of 
 the world, and to allow these truths, so strikingly 
 exhibited, so powerfully confirmed, to produce that 
 love to God and to his Son, that penitence, humility, 
 and resignation, that love to the brotherhood, and 
 benevolence to all men, that weanedness from the 
 world, and that earnest longing for a better one, 
 which are their natural results. The best prepara¬ 
 tion for comfortable, profitable communicating, is 
 habitually to 44 let the word of Christ dwell in us 
 richly.” The more thoroughly we are acquainted 
 with Christian truth, the more firmly we believe it, 
 the more readily will the instituted symbols in the 
 Lord’s Supper recall that truth and its evidence, 
 and, under the influence of the good Spirit, contri¬ 
 bute the more to our sanctification and consolation. 
 
 It is to the Bible that we have endeavoured to 
 send our readers for their views of the nature and 
 design of the Lord’s Supper; and it is to the Bible 
 we would wish to send them, as furnishing them 
 with the best of all 44 Sacramental Directories,” the 
 only infallible 44 Guide to the Lord’s Table.” At 
 the same time, we are disposed to think, that, when 
 kept in their own place, those Treatises, whether 
 doctrinal or devotional, which pious men have given 
 to the world, on the Lord’s Supper, may be turned 
 to good account by the intelligent Christian. From 
 almost all of them, important and useful instruction 
 may be derived; but, perhaps, none of these Trea¬ 
 tises possess more excellencies, and fewer defects, than 
 MatthewHenry’s Communicant’s Companion. 
 
XXXII 
 
 It is much more than a general account of the nature 
 and design of the Lord’s Supper, and a set of rules 
 for the observance of that institution; it contains in 
 it an admirable view of Christian doctrine, experi¬ 
 ence, and duty, and is peculiarly fitted to prevent 
 persons from taking that insulated view of the ordi¬ 
 nance, which, with too many, converts it into a mere 
 rite, a “ piece of bodily service, which profits little.” 
 It is distinguished, in a high degree, by the charac¬ 
 teristic good qualities of the minor works of its Au¬ 
 thor, who, on a scale of literary merit, graduated on 
 the principle which will regulate the judgment of the 
 last day, would occupy a high place among English 
 writers. It is very plain, very pious, and very 
 practical. There is a simplicity, a naturalness, and 
 a familiarity, which renders it peculiarly delightful 
 reading, and makes us almost fancy ourselves enjoy¬ 
 ing the conversation of its venerable Author. With 
 these views of the following Treatise, we cannot but 
 apprehend that much good must be derived from its 
 attentive, prayerful perusal; but the advice we would 
 give, as to reading this or any other human compo¬ 
 sition, is that of the apostle— 4t prove all things, 
 
 HOLD FAST THAT WHICH IS GOOD.” 
 
 Edinburgh, April , 1825. 
 
 J. B. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 1 
 
 Page 
 
 To the Reader, ....... 35 
 
 CHAP. I.—The Names by which this Ordinance is usually 
 called,.39 
 
 CHAP. II.—The Nature of this Ordinance, . . 54 
 
 CHAP. III.—An Invitation to this Ordinance, . . 72 
 
 CHAP. IV.—Helps for Self-examination before we come to 
 this Ordinance, ....... 103 
 
 CHAP. V.—Instructions for Renewing our Covenants witli 
 God in our Preparation for this Ordinance, . . 133 
 
 CHAP. VI—Helps for Meditation and Prayer in our pre¬ 
 paration for this Ordinance,.159 
 
 CHAP. VII.—Directions in what frame of Spirit we should 
 come to, and attend upon this Ordinance, . . . 183 
 
 CHAP. VIII_Some Account of the affecting Sights that 
 
 are to be seen by Faith in this Ordinance, . . 206 
 
 CHAP. IX.—Some account of the precious Benefits which 
 are to be received by Faith in this Ordinance, . . 228 
 
 CHAP. X.—Helps for the Exciting of those Pious and De¬ 
 vout Affections which should be working in us while we 
 
 attend this Ordinance,.254 
 
 B 3 
 
XXXIV 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 Page 
 
 CHAP. XI.—Directions concerning the solemn Vows we 
 are to make to God in this Ordinance, . . . 279 
 
 CHAP. XII.—Directions concerning the Frame of our 
 Spirits when we come away from this Ordinance, , 300 
 
 CHAP. XIII.—An Exhortation to order the Conversation 
 aright after this Ordinance,.330 
 
 CHAP. XIV.—Some Words of Comfort which this Ordi¬ 
 nance speaks to serious Christians, .... 351 
 
TO THE READER. 
 
 I here humbly offer you, Christian reader, some 
 assistance in that great and good work, which you 
 have to do, and are concerned to do well, when you 
 attend the table of your Lord; a work in which I 
 have observed most serious people desirous of help, 
 and willing to use the helps they have; which I 
 confess was one thing that invited me to this under- 
 
 I offer this service with all due deference and 
 respect to the many excellent performances of this 
 kind, with which we are already blessed, done by far 
 better hands than mine; who yet have not so fully 
 gathered in this harvest, but that those who come 
 after may gather up plentiful gleanings, without 
 robbing their sheaves:—“ Lord, it is done as thou 
 hast commanded, and yet there is roomroom 
 enough to enlarge upon a subject so copious, and of 
 so great a compass that it cannot be exhausted. 
 
 I do this also with a just sense of my own un¬ 
 worthiness, and unfitness to bear the vessels of the 
 Lord, and to do any service in his sanctuary. Who 
 am I, and what is my father’s house, that I should 
 
36 
 
 have the honour to be 44 a door-keeper in the house 
 of my God/’ to show his guests the way to his table? 
 And that I should be employed thus to 44 hew wood, 
 and draw water for the congregation of the Lord ?” 
 
 I reckon it true preferment, and 44 by the grace of 
 God,” his free grace, 44 I am what I am.” It is 
 service which is its own recompense. Work which 
 is its own wages. In helping to feed others, we 
 may feast ourselves; for our master hath provided 
 that the mouth of the ox be not muzzled when he 
 treads out the corn. For my part, I would not ex¬ 
 change the pleasure of converse with the Scriptures 
 and divine things, for all 44 the delights of the sons 
 and daughters of men, and the peculiar treasures of 
 kings and provinces.” It was a noble saying of the 
 Marquis of Vico, 44 Let their money perish with 
 them, who esteem all the wealth of this world worth 
 one hours communion with God in Jesus Christ.” 
 
 In doing this, I hope I can truly say, my desire 
 and design is to contribute something to the faith, 
 holiness, and joy of those who in this ordinance have 
 given up their names to the Lord Jesus. And if 
 God, by his grace, will make this endeavour in some 
 degree serviceable to that end, I have what I wish, 
 I have what I aim at; and it will not be the first 
 time that praise hath been 44 perfected, and strength 
 ordained out of the mouths of’ babes and sucklings.” 
 
 In this essay I have an eye particularly to that 
 little handful of people among whom I have been 
 (in much weakness) ministering in these holy things 
 seventeen years; during all which time, through the 
 good hand of our God upon us, we have never once 
 been disappointed of the stated solemnities, either of 
 
37 
 
 our new moons, or of our sabbaths. As I designed 
 my Scripture Catechism, and the other little one 
 that followed it, to be a present, and perhaps ere 
 long it may prove my legacy to the young ones, the 
 lambs of the flock; so I recommend this to the adult, 
 and leave it with them, being desirous that the sheep 
 we are charged to feed, “ may go in and out, and 
 find pasture.” And I earnestly wish, that both these 
 may prove successful expedients to preserve some of 
 those things they have been taught from being quite 
 forgotten; and that, after my decease, they and theirs 
 will have those things always in remembrance. 
 
 And lastly, I send this abroad under the protec- 
 tion and blessing of heaven; with a hearty prayer 
 to God to forgive whatever is mine, that is, what is 
 amiss and defective in the performance; and gra¬ 
 ciously to accept what is his own, that is, whatever is 
 good and profitable; hoping that, if God pardon my 
 defects and infirmities, my friends also will overlook 
 them; and that, if he favourably accept my endea¬ 
 vours through Christ, they also will accept them; 
 for truly it is the height of my ambition to approve 
 myself 
 
 A faithful Servant to Christ and Souls, 
 
 MATTHEW HENRY. 
 
 « 
 
 Chester, June 21, 1704. 
 
COMMUNICANT’S COMPANION. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 The Names by which this Ordinance is usually called . 
 
 I. We call it the Sacrament; that is, a sign and an oath. II. 
 The Lord’s Supper; a supper, our Lord’s Supper. III. The 
 Communion; having in it communion with Christ, and with 
 the universal church. IV. The Eucharist; Christ in the in¬ 
 stitution of it gave thanks, and we in the participation. V. 
 The Feast; a royal feast, a marriage feast, a feast of memorial, 
 a feast of dedication, a feast upon a sacrifice, and a feast upon 
 a covenant. 
 
 In discoursing of this great and solemn ordinance, 
 which every serious Christian looks upon with a pe¬ 
 culiar regard and veneration, I purpose, as God shall 
 enable me, to open the doctrine as well as the duty 
 of it; it will therefore be proper enough, and I hope 
 profitable, to take some notice of the several names 
 by which it is known. 
 
 I. We call it the sacrament.—This is the name 
 we commonly give it, but improperly, because it 
 doth not distinguish it from the ordinance of bap- 
 
40 
 
 tism, which is as much a sacrament as this; a sacra¬ 
 ment which we have all received, by which we are 
 all bound, and are concerned to improve, and live up 
 to: but, when we call this ordinance, fi the sacrament/ 
 we ought to remind ourselves that it is a sacrament; 
 that is, it is a sign, and it is an oath. 
 
 1. It is a sign, an outward and visible sign of an 
 inward and spiritual grace; for such sacraments are 
 designed to be.—It is a parable to the eye; and in 
 it God uses similitudes, as he did of old by his ser¬ 
 vants the prophets. In it Christ tells us earthly 
 things, that thereby we may come to be more fami¬ 
 liarly acquainted, and more warmly affected, with 
 spiritual and heavenly things. In it Christ speaks 
 to us in our own language, and accommodates him¬ 
 self to the capacities of our present state. Man con¬ 
 sists of body and soul, and the soul admits impres¬ 
 sions, and exerts its power, by the body ; here is an 
 ordinance, therefore, which consists of body and soul 
 too, wherein Christ, and the benefits of the new 
 covenant, are, in the instituted elements of bread 
 and wine, set before us, and offered to us. We live 
 in a world of sense, not yet in a world of spirits; 
 and, because w r e therefore find it hard to look above 
 the things that are seen, we are directed, in a sacra¬ 
 ment, to look through them, to those things not 
 seen, which are represented by them. That things 
 merely sensible, may not improve the advantage they 
 have from our present state wholly to engross our 
 thoughts and cares, in compassion to our infirmity, 
 spiritual things are in this ordinance made in a man¬ 
 ner sensible. 
 
 Let us, therefore, rest contented with this sign 
 
41 
 
 which Christ hath appointed, in which he is <c evi¬ 
 dently set forth crucified among us,” and not think it 
 can be any honour to him, or advantage to ourselves, 
 but, on the contrary, a dishonour to him, and an in¬ 
 jury to ourselves, to represent, by images and pic¬ 
 tures, the same things of which this ordinance was 
 designed to be the representation. If infinite wisdom 
 thought this sign sufficient, and most proper to affect 
 the heart, and excite devotion, and stamp it accord¬ 
 ingly with an institution, let us acquiesce in it. 
 
 Yet let us not rest contented with the sign only, 
 but converse by faith with the things signified, else 
 we receive the grace of God in this appointment in 
 vain ; and sacraments will be to us, what parables 
 were to them that were wilfully blind, blinding them 
 the more. What will it avail us to have the shadow 
 without the substance, the letter without the Spirit? 
 “ As the body without the soul is dead,” so our see¬ 
 ing and receiving bread and wine, if therein we see 
 and receive not Christ crucified, is dead also. 
 
 2. It is an oath.—That is the ancient signifi¬ 
 cation of the word sacrament. The Romans called 
 the oath which soldiers took to be true to their ge¬ 
 neral, Sacramentum militare ; and our law still uses 
 it in this sense: dicunt super sacramentum suum , 
 “ they say upon their oathso that to take the 
 sacrament, is to take an oath, a solemn oath, by 
 which we bind our souls with a bond unto the Lord. 
 It is an oath of allegiance to the Lord Jesus, by 
 which we engage ourselves to be his dutiful and loyal 
 subjects, acknowledging him to be our rightful Lord 
 and Sovereign. It is as a freeman’s oath, by which 
 we enter ourselves members of Christ’s mystical 
 
42 
 
 body, and oblige ourselves to observe the laws, and 
 seek the good of that Jerusalem which is from above, 
 that we may enjoy the privileges of that great charter 
 by which it is incorporated. An oath is an appeal 
 to God’s knowledge of our sincerity and truth in 
 what we assert or promise; and in this ordinance we 
 make such an appeal as St. Peter did: 44 Lord, thou 
 knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee.” 
 An oath is an imprecation of God’s wrath upon our- 
 selves, if we deal falsely, and wilfully prevaricate; 
 and something of that also there is in this sacrament; 
 for if we continue in league with sin, while we pre¬ 
 tend to covenant with God, 44 we eat and drink judg¬ 
 ment to ourselves.” 
 
 Let us, therefore, according to the character of a 
 virtuous man, fear this oath; not fear to take it, for 
 it is our duty, with all possible solemnity, to oblige 
 ourselves to the Lord; but fear to break it, for oaths 
 are not to be jested with. God hath said it, and 
 hath sworn it by himself: 44 Unto me every tongue 
 shall swear.” But he hath also said, that we must 
 swear to him 44 in truth, in judgment, and in right¬ 
 eousness;” and having sworn, we must perform it. 
 If we come to this sacrament carelessly, and incon¬ 
 siderately, we incur the guilt of rash swearing; if we 
 go away from the sacrament, and walk contrary to 
 the engagements of it, we incur the guilt of false 
 swearing. Even natural religion teacheth men to 
 make conscience of an oath; much more doth the 
 Christian religion teach us to make conscience of 
 th is oath, to which God is not only a witness, but 
 a party. 
 
 II. We call it the Lord’s Supper, and very pro- 
 
43 
 
 perly, for so the Scripture calls it, (1 Cor. xi. 20.) 
 where the Apostle, reproving the irregularities that 
 were among the Corinthians in the administration of 
 this ordinance, tells them, 6i This is not to eat the 
 Lord’s Supper.” 
 
 1. It is a supper.—A supper is a stated meal for 
 the body; this is so for the soul, which stands in as 
 much need of its daily bread as the body doth. Sup¬ 
 per was then accounted the principal meal; this or¬ 
 dinance is so among Christ’s friends, and in his 
 family it is the most solemn entertainment. It is 
 called a supper, because it was first instituted in the 
 evening, and at the close of the passover-supper; 
 which, though it tie not us always to administer it 
 about that time, because it would be inconvenient 
 for religious assemblies; yet it signifies, 1st, That 
 Christ now, in the end of the world, in the declining 
 part of its day, as the great evening sacrifice, i( hath 
 appeared to put away sin.” This glorious discovery 
 was reserved for us, “ upon whom the ends of the 
 world are come.” 2d, That comfort in Christ is 
 intended for those only that dwell in God’s house, 
 and for those only that have done the work of the 
 day in its day, according as the duty of every day 
 required. They only that work with Christ, shall 
 eat with him. 3d, That the chief blessings of the 
 new covenant are reserved for the evening of the day 
 of our life. The evening feast is a supper designed 
 for us, when we have “ accomplished as a hireling 
 our day,” and come home at night. 
 
 2. It is the Lord’s Supper, the Lord Christ’s Sup¬ 
 per.—The apostle, in his discourse concerning this 
 ordinance, (1 Cor. xi. 23, &c.) all along calls Christ 
 
44 
 
 the Lord, and seems to lay an emphasis upon it; for 
 as the ordaining of this sacrament was an act of his 
 dominion, and as lord of his church, he appointed it; 
 so, in receiving this sacrament we own his dominion, 
 and acknowledge him to be our lord. This also puts 
 an honour upon the ordinance, and makes it look truly 
 great; however, to a carnal eye it hath no form nor 
 comeliness, that it is the Supper of the Lord. The 
 sanction of this ordinance, is the authority of Christ; 
 the substance of this ordinance, is the grace of Christ. 
 It is celebrated in obedience to him, in remembrance 
 of him, and for his praise. Justly is it called the 
 Lord’s Supper; for it is the Lord Jesus that sends 
 the invitation, makes the provision, gives the enter¬ 
 tainment. In it we feed upon Christ, for he is the 
 bread of life; we feed with Christ, for he is our be¬ 
 loved and our friend, and he it is that bids us wel¬ 
 come to his table. In it ts Christ sups with us, and 
 we with him; he doth us the honour to sup with us, 
 though he must bring his own entertainment along 
 with him; he gives us the happiness of supping with 
 him upon the dainties of heaven. 
 
 Let our eye, therefore, be to the Lord, to the 
 Lord Christ, and to the remembrance of his name, 
 in this ordinance. We see nothing here, if we see 
 not the beauty of Christ; we taste nothing here, if 
 we taste not the love of Christ. The Lord must 
 be looked upon as the Alpha and the Omega, the 
 beginning and the end, and all in all in this solem¬ 
 nity. If we receive not Christ Jesus the Lord here, 
 we have the supper, but not the Lord’s Supper. 
 
 III. We call it the Communion, the holy com¬ 
 munion, and fitly do we call it so: for, 
 
45 
 
 1. In this ordinance we have communion with 
 Christ, our Head.— <6 Truly our fellowship is with 
 him.” He here manifests himself to us, and gives 
 out to us his graces and comforts; we here set our¬ 
 selves before him, and tender him the grateful re¬ 
 turns of love and duty. A kind correspondence be¬ 
 tween Christ and our souls is kept up in this ordi¬ 
 nance, such as our present state will admit. Christ, 
 by his word and spirit, abides in us : we by faith and 
 love abide in him: here, therefore, where Christ 
 seals his word, and offers his Spirit, and where we 
 exercise our faith, and have our love inflamed, there 
 is communion between us and Christ. 
 
 This communion supposeth union; this fellowship 
 supposeth friendship; for, “ can two walk together 
 except they be agreed ?” We must, therefore, in 
 the bond of an everlasting covenant, join ourselves 
 to the Lord, and combine our interest with his; and 
 then, pursuant thereto, concern him in all the con¬ 
 cerns of our happiness; and concern ourselves in all 
 the concerns of his glory. 
 
 2 . In this ordinance we have communion with the 
 universal church, <s even with all that in every place 
 call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both 
 theirs and ours.”—Hereby we profess, testify, and 
 declare, that “ we, being many, are one bread and 
 one body,” by virtue of our common relation to our 
 Lord Jesus Christ; “ for we are all partakers of that 
 one bread, Christ, the bread of life,” signified and 
 communicated in this sacramental bread. All true 
 Christians, though they are many, yet they are one; 
 and we express our consent to, and complacency in 
 that union, by partaking of the Lord’s Supper. I 
 
46 
 
 say, though they are many, that is, though they are 
 numerous, yet, as a vast number of creatures make 
 one world, governed by one providence, so a vast 
 number of Christians make one church, animated by 
 one Spirit, the soul of that great body. Though 
 they are various, far distant from each other in place, 
 of distinct societies, different attainments, and divers 
 apprehensions in lesser things; yet, all meeting in 
 Christ, they are one. They are all incorporated in 
 one and the same church, all interested in one and 
 the same covenant, all stamped with one and the 
 same image, partakers of the same new and divine 
 nature, and all entitled to one and the same inheri¬ 
 tance. In the Lord’s Supper we are “ made to 
 drink into one Spirit.” And therefore, in attending 
 on that ordinance, we are concerned not only to 
 preserve, but to cultivate and improve Christian love 
 and charity; for what will this badge of union avail 
 us without the unity of the Spirit ? 
 
 IV. We call it the Eucharist; so the Greek 
 church called it, and we from them. It signifies a 
 thanksgiving , and it is so called, 
 
 1. Because Christ in the institution of it gave 
 thanks.—-It should seem that Christ frequently of¬ 
 fered up his prayers in the form of thanksgivings, as, 
 “ Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me;” 
 and so he blessed the bread and the cup, by giving 
 thanks over them; as the true Melchizedek, who, 
 when he “ brought forth bread and wine to Abraham, 
 blessed the most high God.” Though our Saviour, 
 when he instituted the sacrament, had a full prospect 
 of his approaching sufferings, with all their aggrava¬ 
 tions, yet he was not thereby indisposed for thanks- 
 
47 
 
 giving; for praising God is a work that is never out 
 of season. Though the Captain of our salvation 
 was now but girding on the harness, yet he gives 
 thanks as though he had put it off, being confident 
 of a glorious victory : in the prospect of which, even 
 before he took the field, he did in this ordinance 
 divide the spoils among his followers, and (( gave 
 gifts unto men.” 
 
 2. Because we, in the participation of it, must 
 give thanks likewise.—It is an ordinance of thanks¬ 
 giving appointed for the joyful celebrating of the 
 Redeemer’s praises. This sacrifice of atonement 
 Christ himself offered once for all, and it must not, 
 it cannot be repeated ; but sacrifices of acknowledg¬ 
 ment Christians must offer daily, that is, “ the fruit 
 of our lips giving thanks to his name.” The cup 
 of salvation must be a cup of blessing, with which, 
 and for which, we must bless God, as the Jews were 
 wont to do very solemnly at the close of the passover 
 supper; at which time Christ chose to institute this 
 sacrament, because he intended it for a perpetual 
 thanksgiving, till we come to the world of praise. 
 
 Come, therefore, and let us sing unto the Lord 
 in this ordinance; let the high praises of our Re¬ 
 deemer be in our mouths and in our hearts; would 
 we have the comfort, let him have the praise of the 
 great things he hath done for us; let us remember 
 that thanksgiving is the business of the ordinance, 
 and let that turn our complaints into praises; for, 
 whatever matter of complaint we find in ourselves, 
 in Christ we find abundant matter for praise, and 
 that is the pleasant subject upon which, in this ordi¬ 
 nance, we should dwell. 
 
48 
 
 % 
 
 V. We call it the feast, the Christian feast.— 
 Christ c< our passover being sacrificed for us,” in 
 this ordinance we keep the feast, (1 Cor. v. 8.) They 
 that communicate are said to feast with us. This 
 name, though not commonly used, yet it is very signi¬ 
 ficant; for it is such a supper as is a feast. Gospel 
 preparations are frequently compared to a feast: “ And 
 in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto 
 all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on 
 the lees; of fat things full of marrow, of wines on 
 the lees well refined.” The guests are many, the in¬ 
 vitation solemn, and the provision rich and plentiful, 
 and therefore fitly is called a feast of souls: “ a 
 feast is made for laughter,” so is this for spiritual 
 joy; the wine here designed to make glad the heart. 
 A feast is made for free conversation, so is this for 
 communion between heaven and earth; in this ban¬ 
 quet of wine the golden sceptre is held out to us, 
 and this fair proposal made, 66 What is thy petition, 
 and it shall be granted thee ?” 
 
 Let us see what kind of a feast it is. 
 
 1. It is a royal feast; 66 a feast like the feast of 
 a king,” that is, a magnificent feast. It is a feast 
 like that of king Ahasuerus: “ A feast for all his 
 servants,” and designed, as that was, not only to 
 show his good will to those whom he had feasted, 
 but to “ show the riches of his glorious kingdom, 
 and the honour of his excellent majesty.” The 
 treasures hid in Christ, even his unsearchable riches, 
 are here set open, and the glories of the Redeemer 
 illustriously displayed. He who is King of kings, 
 and Lord of lords, here issues out the same order 
 that we find him giving: “ Come gather yourselves 
 
49 
 
 together to the supper of the great God and that 
 must needs be a great supper. The wisest of kings 
 introduceth Wisdom herself as a queen or princess 
 making this feast: 44 Wisdom hath killed her beasts, 
 and mingled her wine.” At a royal feast, the pro¬ 
 vision, we may be sure, is rich and noble, such as 
 becomes a king to give, though not such beggars as 
 we are to expect; the welcome also we may be sure 
 is free and generous; Christ gives like a king. 
 
 Let us remember, that in this ordinance we sit 
 to eat with a Ruler, with a Ruler of rulers, and 
 therefore 44 must consider diligently what is before 
 us,” and observe a decorum. He is a King that 
 comes in to see the guests, and therefore we are 
 concerned to behave ourselves well. 
 
 2. It is a marriage-feast; it is a feast made by a 
 King, at the marriage of his Son : so our Saviour 
 represents it, not only to speak exceeding rich and 
 sumptuous, and celebrated with extraordinary ex¬ 
 pressions of joy and rejoicing, but because the cove¬ 
 nant here sealed between Christ and his church is a 
 marriage-covenant, such a covenant as makes two 
 one; a covenant founded in the dearest love, found¬ 
 ing the nearest relation, and designed to be perpetual. 
 In this ordinance, 1st, We celebrate the memorial 
 of the virtual espousals of the church of Christ when 
 he died upon the cross, to 44 sanctify and cleanse it, 
 that he might present it to himself.” 44 That was 
 the day of his espousals, the day of the gladness of 
 his heart.” 2d, The actual espousals of believing 
 souls to Christ, are here solemnized, and that agree¬ 
 ment ratified: 44 My beloved is mine, and I am his.” 
 The soul that renounces all other lovers that stand 
 
 22 
 
 C 
 
50 
 
 in competition with the Lord Jesus, and joins itself 
 by faith and love to him only, is in this ordinance 
 “ presented as a chaste virgin to him.” 3d, A pledge 
 and earnest of the public and complete espousals of 
 the church of Christ at his second coming, is here 
 given; “ then the marriage of the Lamb comes,” 
 and we, according to his promise, hereby declare that 
 we look for it. 
 
 If we come to a marriage-feast, we must not come 
 without a wedding garment, that is, a frame of heart, 
 and a disposition of soul agreeable to the solemnity, 
 conformable to the nature, and answering the inten¬ 
 tions of the gospel, as it is exhibited to us in this 
 ordinance. 6i Holy garments, and garments of 
 praise,” are the wedding garments : u Put on Christ, 
 put on the new man,” these are the wedding gar¬ 
 ments. In these we must, with our lamps in our 
 hands, as the wise virgins, go forth, with all due 
 observance, to attend the royal bridegroom. 
 
 3. It is a feast of memorial, like the feast of the 
 passover, of which it is said, “ This day shall be 
 unto you for a memorial, and you shall keep it a 
 feast to the Lord,—a feast by an ordinance for ever.” 
 The deliverance of Israel out of Egypt was a work 
 of wonder never to be forgotten; the feast of un¬ 
 leavened bread was therefore instituted to be annually 
 observed throughout all the ages of the Jewish 
 church, as a solemn memorial of that deliverance, 
 that the truth of it being confirmed by this tradi¬ 
 tional evidence, might never be questioned; and that 
 the remembrance of it, being frequently revived by 
 this service, might never be lost. Our redemption 
 by Christ from sin and hell, is a greater work of 
 
51 
 
 wonder than that was, more worthy to be remem* 
 bered, and yet (the benefits that flow from it being 
 spiritual) more apt to be forgotten ; this ordinance 
 was therefore instituted, and instituted, in the close 
 of the passover supper, (as coming in the room of it,) 
 to be a standing memorial in the church, of the 
 glorious achievements of the Redeemer’s cross; the 
 victories obtained by it over the powers of darkness, 
 and the salvation wrought by it for the children of 
 light. u Thus the Lord hath made his wonderful 
 works to be remembered.” 
 
 4. It is a feast of dedication.—Solomon made 
 such a feast for all Israel, when he dedicated the 
 temple, as his father David had done, when he 
 brought the ark into the tabernacle. Even the 
 children of the captivity “ kept the dedication of the 
 house of God with joy.” In the ordinance of the 
 Lord’s Supper, we dedicate ourselves to God as liv¬ 
 ing temples; temples of the Holy Ghost, separated 
 from every thing that is common and profane, and 
 entirely devoted to the service and honour of God 
 in Christ. To show that we do this with cheerful- 
 ness and satisfaction, and that it may be done with 
 an agreeable solemnity, this feast is appointed for the 
 doing of it, that we may, like the people of Israel, 
 when Solomon dismissed them from his feast of 
 dedication, “ Go to your tents joyful, and glad of 
 heart, for all the goodness that the Lord hath done 
 for David his servant, and for Israel his people.” 
 
 5. It is a feast upon a sacrifice.—This, methinks 
 is as proper a notion of it as any other. It was the 
 law and custom of sacrifices, both among the Jews, 
 and in other nations, that when the beast offered 
 
 c 2 
 
was slain, the blood sprinkled, the fat, and some se¬ 
 lect parts of it burnt upon the altar, and the priest 
 had his share out of it, then the remainder was given 
 back to the offerer; on which he and his family and 
 friends feasted with joy. Hence we read of Israel 
 after the flesh, eating the sacrifices, and so partaking 
 of the altar: “ Behold Israel after the flesh. Are 
 not they which eat of the sacrifices partakers of the 
 altar?” That is, in token of their partaking of the 
 benefit of the sacrifice, and their joy therein. And 
 this eating of the sacrifice was a religious rite, ex¬ 
 pressive of their communion with God in and by the 
 sacrifice. 
 
 (1.) Jesus Christ is the great and only sacrifice, 
 who, by being <s once offered, perfected for ever them 
 which are sanctified;” and this offering need never 
 be repeated, that once was sufficient. 
 
 (2.) The Lord’s Supper is a feast upon this sa¬ 
 crifice, in which we receive the atonement, as the 
 expression is: {{ And not only so, but we also joy 
 in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom 
 we have now received the atonement.” That is, we 
 give consent to, and take complacency in the method 
 which infinite wisdom hath taken of justifying and 
 saving us by the merit and mediation of the Son of 
 God incarnate. In feasting upon the sacrifice, we 
 apply the benefit of it to ourselves, and ascribe the 
 praise of it to God with joy and thankfulness. 
 
 6. It is a feast upon a covenant.—The covenant 
 between Isaac and Abimelech was made with a feast. 
 So was that between Laban and Jacob, and their 
 feasting upon the sacrifices was a federal rite, in 
 token of peace and communion between God and his 
 
53 
 
 people. In the Lord’s Supper we are admitted to 
 feast with God, in token of reconciliation between 
 us and him through Christ. Though we have pro¬ 
 voked God, and been enemies to him in our minds 
 by wicked works, yet he thus graciously provides for 
 us, to show that now “ he hath reconciled us to him¬ 
 self.” His enemies hungering, he thus feeds them; 
 thirsting, he thus gives them drink; which if, like 
 coals of fire heaped upon their heads, it melts them 
 into a compliance with the terms of his covenant, 
 they shall henceforth, as his own familiar friends, 
 eat bread at his table continually, till they come to 
 sit down with him at his table in his kingdom. 
 
54 - 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 The Nature of this Ordinance . 
 
 I. It is a commemorating Ordinance, in remembrance of the 
 person of Christ, as an absent friend, and of the death of Christ 
 as an ancient favour. Hereby we preserve the memory of it 
 in the church, and revive the remembrance of it in our hearts. 
 II. It is a Confessing Ordinance; we profess our value and 
 esteem for Christ crucified, and our dependanee upon, and 
 confidence in Christ crucified. III. It is a Communicating 
 Ordinance; Christ and all his benefits ai'e here communicated 
 to us, and are here to be received by us. IV. It is a Cove¬ 
 nanting Ordinance; it is the New Testament, and the new 
 covenant, opened distinctly; God seals to us to be to us a 
 God, and we seal to him to be to him a people. 
 
 When the Jews, according to God’s appoint¬ 
 ment, observed the passover yearly throughout their 
 generations, it was supposed that their children would 
 ask them, “ What mean you by this service?” and 
 they were directed what answer to give to that in- 
 
 The question 
 
 cerning our gospel passover. What mean we by 
 
 th is service ? We come 
 
 select assembly of baptized Christians, under the con¬ 
 duct and presidency of a gospel minister; we take 
 
 bread and wine, sanctified by the word and prayer, 
 and we eat and drink together in a solemn religious 
 manner, with an eye to a divine institution, as our 
 warrant and rule in so doing. This we do often ; 
 
 this all the churches of Christ do, and have done in 
 
 every age, from the death of Christ down to this 
 
55 
 
 day; and, we doubt not, but it will continue to be 
 done till time shall be no more. Now, what is the 
 true intent and meaning of this ordinance. What 
 did Christ design it for in the institution ? And 
 what must we aim at in the observation of it ? 
 
 It was appointed to be a commemorating ordi¬ 
 nance, and a confessing ordinance, and a communi¬ 
 cating ordinance, and a covenanting ordinance. 
 
 I. The ordinance of the Lord’s Supper is a com¬ 
 memorating ordinance. This explanation our Lord 
 himself gave of it, when he said, “ Do this in re¬ 
 membrance of me.” Do it for my memorial. Do 
 it for a remembrance of me. In this ordinance he 
 hath recorded his name for ever, and this is his me¬ 
 morial throughout all generations. 
 
 We are to do this, 
 
 1. In remembrance of the person of Christ, as 
 an absent friend of ours.—It is a common ceremony 
 of friendship to lay up something in remembrance of 
 a friend we have valued, which we say, we keep for 
 his sake, when he is gone, or is at a distance; it is 
 usual likewise to drink to one another, remembering 
 such a friend that is absent. Jesus Christ is our 
 beloved and our friend, the best friend that ever our 
 souls had; he is now absent, he hath left the world, 
 and is gone to the Father, and the heavens must con¬ 
 tain him till the time of the restitution of all things. 
 
 Now, this ordinance is appointed for a remem¬ 
 brance of him. We observe it in token of this, that 
 though the blessed Jesus be out of sight, he is not 
 out of mind. He that instituted this ordinance, did, 
 as it were, engrave this on it for a motto:— 
 
 When this you see, 
 
 Remember me. 
 
56 
 
 Remember him ! Is there any danger of our for¬ 
 getting him? If we were not wretchedly taken up 
 with the world and the flesh, and strangely careless 
 in the concerns of our souls, we could not forget 
 him. But, in consideration of the treachery of our 
 memories, this ordinance is appointed to remind us 
 of Christ. 
 
 Ought we not to remember, and can we ever for¬ 
 get such a friend as Christ is ? A friend that is our 
 near and dear relation ; u bone of our bone, flesh of 
 our flesh, and not ashamed to call us brethren ?” A 
 friend in covenant with us, who puts more honour 
 upon us than we deserve, when he calls us his ser¬ 
 vants, and yet is pleased to call us friends. A frieild 
 that hath so wonderfully signalized his friendship, 
 and commended his love: he hath done that for us 
 which no friend we have in the world did, or could 
 do for us : he hath laid down his life for us, when 
 the redemption of our souls was grown so precious, 
 as otherwise to have ceased for ever. Surely we 
 must forget ourselves if ever we forget him, since 
 our happiness is entirely owing to his kindness. 
 
 Ought vve not to remember, and can we ever for¬ 
 get a friend, who, though he be absent from us, is 
 negotiating our affairs, and is really absent for us ? 
 He is gone, but he is gone upon our business; as 
 the forerunner he is for us entered; he is gone to 
 appear in the presence of God for us, as our agent. 
 Can we be unmindful of him who is always mindful 
 of us, and who, as the great High Priest of our 
 profession, bears the name of all his spiritual Israel 
 on his breast-plate, near his heart, within the vail? 
 
 Ought we not to remember, and can we ever for- 
 
57 
 
 get a friend, who, though he be now absent, will be 
 
 absent but a while? We see him not, but we ex- 
 
 # 
 
 pect to see him shortly, when he will <c come in the 
 clouds, and every eye shall see himwill come to 
 receive us to himself, to share in his joy and glory. 
 Shall we not be glad of any thing that helps us to 
 remember him, who not only remembered us once in 
 our low estate, but, having once remembered us, will 
 never forget us ? Shall not his name be written in 
 indelible characters upon the tables of our heart, who 
 hath graven us upon the palms of his hands? 
 Surely we must continually remember our Judge and 
 Lord, when, behold, the Lord is at hand, and the 
 Judge standeth before the door. Thus must we 
 show him forth till he come; for he comes quickly. 
 
 2. We are to do this in the remembrance of the 
 death of Christ, as an ancient favour done to us. 
 This ordinance was instituted on the night wherein 
 our Master was betrayed, that night of observations, 
 as the first passover night is called, (Exod. xii. 42. 
 margin,) which intimateth the special reference this 
 ordinance was to have to that which was done that 
 night, and the day following. In it we are <s to 
 know Christ and him crucified,’’ to remember his 
 sufferings, and, in a special manner, to remember his 
 bonds. All the saints and all the churches could 
 not see Christ upon the cross; therefore, in this or¬ 
 dinance, that great transaction is set before us, upon 
 which the judgment of this world turned : 66 Now is 
 the judgment of this world.” Here we remember 
 the dying of the Lord Jesus: that is, 
 
 (1.) We endeavour to preserve the memory of it 
 in the church, and to transmit it pure and entire, 
 
 c 3 
 
58 
 
 through our age, to the children which shall be born, 
 that the remembrance of it may be ever fresh, and 
 may not die in our hand. That good thing which 
 was committed to us as a trust, we must thus care¬ 
 fully keep, and faithfully deliver down, to the next 
 generation; evidencing, that we firmly believe, and 
 frequently think, of Christ’s dying for us, and desiring 
 that those who should come after us may do so too. 
 
 (2.) We endeavour to revive and incite the re¬ 
 membrance of it in our own hearts.—This ordinance 
 was intended “ to stir up our pure minds,” (our im¬ 
 pure minds we have too much reason to call them,) 
 by way of remembrance, that, giving such an earnest 
 heed to the things that belong to the great salvation, 
 as the solemnity of this ordinance calls for, we may 
 not at any time let them slip; or if we do, we may, 
 in the use thereof, speedily recover them. The in¬ 
 stituted images of Christ crucified, are, in this ordi¬ 
 nance, very strong and lively, and proper to make 
 deep impressions of his grace and love, upon the 
 minds that are prepared to receive them, and such 
 as cannot be worn out. 
 
 w e see, then, what we have to do in our attend¬ 
 ance upon this ordinance; we must remember the 
 sufferings of Christ there, else we do nothing. 
 
 1st, This supposeth some acquaintance with 
 Christ crucified; for we cannot be said to remember 
 that which we never knew.—The ignorant, therefore, 
 to whom the great things of the gospel are as a 
 strange thing, with which they are not concerned to 
 acquaint themselves, cannot answer the intention of 
 this ordinance; but they offer the blind in sacrifice, 
 not discerning the Lord’s body, and the breaking of 
 
59 
 
 it. It concerns us, therefore, to cry after this know¬ 
 ledge, and to labour after a clearer insight into the 
 mystery of our redemption by the death of Christ; 
 for, if we be ignorant of this, and rest in false and 
 confused notions of it, we are unworthy to wear the 
 Christian name, and to live in a Christian nation. 
 
 2d, It implies a serious thought and contemplation 
 of the sufferings of Christ, such as is fed and sup¬ 
 plied with matter to work upon, not from a strong 
 fancy, but from a strong faith. Natural passions 
 may be raised by the power of imagination, repre¬ 
 senting the story of Christ’s suffering as very doleful 
 and tragical; but pious and devout affections are best 
 kindled by the consideration of Christ’s dying as a 
 propitiation for our sins, and the Saviour of our souls; 
 and this is the object of faith, not of fancy. We 
 must here look unto Jesus as he is lifted up in the 
 gospel, take him as the word makes him, and so be¬ 
 hold him. 
 
 3d, The contemplation of the sufferings of Christ 
 must make such an impression upon the soul, as to 
 work it into a fellowship with, and conformity to, 
 Christ in his sufferings. This was the knowledge 
 and remembrance of Christ, of which blessed Paul 
 was ambitious to ii know Christ and the fellowship 
 of his sufferings,” and we all, by our baptism, are in 
 profession 6i planted together in the likeness of his 
 death.” Then we do this in remembrance of Christ 
 effectually, when we experience the death of Christ 
 killing sin in us, mortifying the flesh, weaning us 
 from this present life, weakening vicious habits and 
 dispositions in us, and the power of Christ’s cross, 
 both as a moral argument, and as the spring of spe~ 
 
60 
 
 cial grace, <c crucifying us to the world, and the 
 world to us,” when, in 66 touching the hem of his 
 garment,” we find, like that good woman, virtue 
 comes out of him to heal our souls, then rightly re¬ 
 member Christ crucified. 
 
 II. It is a confessing ordinance.—If the heart be¬ 
 lieve unto righteousness, hereby confession is made 
 unto salvation. The Lord’s Supper is one of the 
 peculiarities of our holy religion, by the observance 
 of which, the professors of it are distinguished from 
 all others. Circumcision, which was the initiating 
 ordinance among the Jews, by leaving its mark in 
 the flesh, was a lasting badge of distinction ; baptism, 
 which succeeds it, leaves no such indelible character 
 on the body: but the Lord’s Supper is a solemnity 
 by which we constantly avow the Christian name, 
 and declare ourselves not ashamed of the banner of 
 the cross under which we were enlisted, but resolve 
 to continue Christ’s faithful servants and soldiers to 
 the end of our lives, according to our baptismal vow. 
 
 In the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper we are said 
 to show forth the Lord’s death, 1 Cor. xi. 26. that is, 
 
 1. We hereby profess our value and esteem for 
 Christ crucified ; ye show it forth with commendation 
 and praise: so the word sometimes signifies. The 
 cross of Christ was to the Jews a stumbling-block, 
 because they expected a Messiah in temporal pomp 
 and power. It was to the Greeks foolishness, be¬ 
 cause the doctrine of man’s justification and salvation 
 by it, was not agreeable to their philosophy. The 
 wisdom of this world, and the princes of it, judged 
 it absurd to expect salvation by one that died a cap¬ 
 tive; and honour by one that died in disgrace; and 
 
61 
 
 turned it to the reproach of Christians, that they 
 were the disciples and followers of one that was 
 hanged on a tree at Jerusalem. They who put him 
 to such an ignominious death, and loaded him with 
 all the shame they could put upon him, hoped thereby 
 to make every one shy of owning him, or expressing 
 any respect for him; but the wisdom of God so or¬ 
 dered it, that the cross of Christ is that which above 
 any thing else Christians have cause to glory in. 
 Such are the fruits, the purchases, the victories, the 
 triumphs of the cross, that we have reason to call it 
 our crown of glory, and diadem of beauty. The 
 politicians thought it had been the interest of 
 Christ’s followers to have concealed their Lord’s 
 death, and that they should have endeavoured to 
 bury it in forgetfulness; but instead of that, they 
 are appointed to show forth the Lord’s death, and to 
 keep it in everlasting remembrance before angels and 
 men. 
 
 Th is, then, we mean, when we receive the Lord’s 
 Supper; we thereby solemnly declare that we do 
 not reckon the cross of Christ any reproach to Chris¬ 
 tianity : and that we were so far from being ashamed 
 of it, that, whatever constructions an unthinking un¬ 
 believing world may put upon it, to us it is the wis¬ 
 dom of God and the power of God; it is all our 
 salvation, and all our desire. We think never the 
 worse of Christ’s holy religion for the ignominious 
 death of its great Author; for we see God glorified 
 in it, man saved by it; then is the reproach of it 
 rolled away for ever. 
 
 2. We hereby profess our dependence upon, and 
 confidence in Christ crucified. As we are not 
 
62 
 
 ashamed to own him, so we are not afraid to ven¬ 
 ture our souls, and their eternal salvation with him, 
 believing him 46 able to save to the uttermost all 
 that come to God by him and as willing as he is 
 able, and making confession of that faith. By this 
 solemn rite we deliberately, and of choice put our¬ 
 selves under the protection of his righteousness, the 
 influence of his grace, and the conduct and operation 
 of his Holy Spirit. The concerns that lie between 
 us and God, are of vast consequence, our eternal * 
 weal or woe depends upon the right management of 
 them; now we hereby solemnly declare, that having 
 laid them near our own hearts in a serious care about 
 them, we choose to lodge them in the Redeemers 
 hands, by a judicious faith in him, for which we can 
 give a good reason. God having declared himself 
 well pleased in him, we hereby declare ourselves well 
 pleased in him too ; God having committed all judg¬ 
 ment to the Son, we hereby commit all our judg¬ 
 ment to him likewise, as the sole Referee of the 
 great cause, and the sole Trustee of the great con¬ 
 cern, 44 knowing whom we have believed, even one 
 who is able and faithful to keep what we have com¬ 
 mitted to him against that day/’ that great day when 
 it will be called for. 
 
 This then, we mean, when we receive the Lord’s 
 Supper; we confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, and 
 we own ourselves to be his subjects, and put our¬ 
 selves under his government; we confess that he is 
 a skilful physician, and own ourselves to be his pa¬ 
 tients, resolving to observe his prescriptions ; we con¬ 
 fess that he is a faithful advocate, and own ourselves 
 to be his clients, resolving to be advised by him in 
 
63 
 
 every thing. In a word, in this ordinance we pro¬ 
 fess that we are not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, 
 nor of the cross of Christ, in which his gospel is all 
 summed up, knowing it to be 6( the power of God 
 unto salvation to all them that believe,” and having 
 found it so to ourselves. 
 
 III. It is a communicating ordinance: here are 
 not only gospel truths represented to us, and con¬ 
 fessed by us; but gospel benefits offered to us, and 
 accepted by us; for it is not only a faithful saying, 
 but well worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus 
 died to save sinners. This is the explication which 
 the apostle gives of this ordinance: “ The cup of 
 blessing which we bless,” that is, which we pray to 
 God to bless, which we bless God with and for, and 
 in which we hope and expect that God will bless us, 
 it “ is the communion (or the communication) of 
 the blood of Christ; the bread which we break, is 
 the communion (or communication) of the body of 
 Christ,” which was not only broken for us upon the 
 cross, when it was made an offering for sin, but is 
 broken to us, as the children’s bread is broken to the 
 children in the everlasting gospel, wherein it is made 
 the food of souls. 
 
 By the body and blood of Christ, of which this 
 ordinance is the communion, we are to understand 
 all those precious benefits and privileges, which were 
 purchased for us by the death of Christ, and are as¬ 
 sured to us upon gospel terms, in the everlasting 
 covenant. 
 
 When the sun is said to be with us, and we say 
 we have the sun, as in the day, or as in the summer, 
 it is not the body and bulk of the sun that we have, 
 
64f 
 
 but his rays and beams are darted down upon us, 
 and by them we receive the light, warmth, and in¬ 
 fluence of the sun, and thus the sun is communicated 
 to us, accprding to the laws of creation: so in this 
 ordinance we are partakers of Christ, not of his real 
 body and blood, (it is senseless and absurd, unchris¬ 
 tian and inhuman to imagine so,) but of his merits 
 and righteousness for our justification, his Spirit and 
 grace for our sanctification. We must not dream 
 of ascending up into heaven, or of going down to the 
 depth to fetch Christ into this ordinance, that we 
 may partake of him ; no, the word is nigh thee, and 
 Christ in the word. 
 
 Unworthy receivers, that is, those who resolve to 
 continue in sin, because grace hath abounded, partake 
 of the guilt of Christ’s body and blood, and have com¬ 
 munion with those that crucified him; for, as much 
 as in them lies, they crucify him afresh. What they 
 do speaks such ill thoughts of Christ, that we may 
 conclude, that if they had been at Jerusalem when 
 he was put to death, they would have joined with 
 those that cried, “ Crucify him, crucify him.” 
 
 But humble and penitent believers partake of the 
 blessed fruits of Christ’s death; <£ his body and 
 blood” are their food, their medicine, their cordial, 
 their life, their all. All the riches of the gospel are 
 virtually in them. 
 
 1. Christ and all his benefits are here communi¬ 
 cated to us; here is not only bread and wine set 
 before us, to be looked at, but given to us to be eaten 
 and drank; not only Christ made known to us, that 
 we may contemplate the mysteries of redemption, 
 but Christ made over to us, that we may participate 
 
65 
 
 of the benefits of redemption. God, in this ordi¬ 
 nance, not only assures us of the truth of the pro¬ 
 mise, but, according to our present case and capacity, 
 conveys to us, by his Spirit, the good things pro¬ 
 mised; receive Christ Jesus the Lord, Christ and 
 pardon, Christ and peace, Christ and grace, Christ 
 and heaven ; it is all your own, if you come up to 
 the terms on which it is offered in the gospel. 
 
 Fountains of life are here broken up, wells of 
 salvation are here opened, the stone rolled away from 
 the well’s mouth, and you are called upon to come 
 and draw water with joy. The well is deep, but 
 this ordinance is a bucket by which it is easy to draw: 
 let us not forsake these living streams for stagnant 
 water. These are wisdom’s gates, where we are 
 appointed to wait for wisdom’s gifts; and we shall 
 not wait in vain. 
 
 2. Christ and all his benefits are here to be re¬ 
 ceived by us. If we do indeed answer the inten¬ 
 tion of the ordinance, in receiving the bread and 
 wine, we accept the offer that is made us : “ Lord, 
 I take thee at thy word; be it unto thy servant ac¬ 
 cording to it.” We hereby interest ourselves in 
 Christ’s mediation between God and man, and take 
 the benefit of it according to the tenor of the ever¬ 
 lasting gospel. Christ, in this ordinance, is gra¬ 
 ciously condescending to show us the print of the 
 nails, and the mark of the spear, to show us his 
 pierced hands, his pierced side, those tokens of his 
 love and power as a Redeemer; we, by partaking of 
 it, comply with his intentions, we consent to him, 
 and close with him, saying, as Thomas did, u My 
 Lord, and my God !” None but Christ, none but 
 Christ. 
 
66 
 
 We do here likewise set ourselves to participate 
 of that spiritual strength and comfort, which, through 
 grace, flows into the hearts of believers, from their 
 interest in Christ crucified. The gospel of Christ 
 here solemnly exhibited, is meat and drink to our 
 souls: it is bread that strengthens man’s heart, and 
 is the staff of life; it is wine that makes glad the 
 heart, and revives the spirits. Our spiritual life is 
 supported and maintained, and the new man enabled 
 for its work and conflicts, by the spiritual benefits of 
 which we here communicate; as the natural life, 
 and the natural body, are by our necessary food. 
 From the fulness that is in Christ crucified, we here 
 derive grace for grace, grace for gracious exercises, 
 as the branches derive sap from the root, and as the 
 lamps derive oil from the olive trees ; and so, like 
 healthful grown children, are nourished fi< up in the 
 words of faith and of good doctrine,” till we all come 
 to the perfect man, to the measure of the stature of 
 the fulness of Christ. Thus it is our communion 
 with, and communicating of, Christ’s body and blood. 
 
 IV. It is a covenanting ordinance.—This cup, 
 our Saviour tells us, (that is, this ordinance,) is the 
 New Testament; not only pertaining to the New 
 Testament, but containing it; it hath the whole New 
 Testament in it, and has the sum and substance of 
 it. It is, in general, an instrument by which a right 
 passeth, and is conveyed ; and a title to some good 
 thing given. The gospel revelation of God’s grace 
 and will, is both a testament and a covenant, and the 
 Lord’s Supper hath a reference to it as both. 
 
 1. It is the New Testament.—The everlasting 
 gospel is Christ’s last will, by which he hath given 
 
67 
 
 and bequeathed a great estate to his family on earth, 
 with certain precepts and injunctions, and under cer¬ 
 tain provisions and limitations. This will is become 
 of force, by the death of the Testator, and is now 
 unalterable; it is proved in the court of heaven, and 
 administration given to the blessed Spirit, who is as 
 the executor of the will; for of him the Testator 
 said, “ He shall receive of mine, and show it unto 
 you.” Christ having purchased a great estate by 
 the merit of his death, by his testament he left it to 
 all his poor relations, that had need enough of it, and 
 for whom he bought it: so that all those who can 
 prove themselves akin to Christ, by their being born 
 from above, their partaking of a divine nature, and 
 their doing the will of God, may claim the estate by 
 virtue of the will, and shall be sure of a present main¬ 
 tenance, and a future inheritance out of it. 
 
 The Lord’s Supper is the New Testament; it is 
 not only a memorial of the Testator’s death, but it 
 is the seal of the Testament. A true copy of it 
 attested by this seal and pleadable, is hereby given 
 into the hands of every believer, that he may have 
 strong consolation. The general record of the New 
 Testament, which is common to all, is hereby made 
 particular. 
 
 The charge given by the will is hereby applied 
 and enforced to us. The Testator hath charged us 
 to remember him, hath charged us to follow him 
 whithersoever he goes; he hath charged us to love 
 one another, and the estate he hath left us is so de¬ 
 vised, as not to give any occasion to quarrel, but 
 rather to be a bond of union. He hath charged us 
 to espouse his cause, serve his interest, and concern 
 
68 
 
 ourselves in his concerns in the world, to seek the 
 welfare of the great body, and all the members of it. 
 He hath likewise charged us to expect and prepare 
 for his second coming: his word of command is, 
 
 66 Watch.” Now, in the Lord’s Supper, we are 
 reminded of this charge, and bound afresh faithfully 
 to observe whatsoever Christ hath commanded, as 
 the Rechabites kept the command of their Father. 
 
 The 1 egacies left by the will, are hereby particu¬ 
 larly consigned to us; paid in part, and the rest se¬ 
 cured to be paid when we come to age, even at the 
 time appointed by the Testator. What is left for 
 us is not only sufficient to answer the full intention 
 of the will, enough for all, enough for each ; but is 
 left in good hands, in the hands of the Spirit of 
 truth, who will not deal unfaithfully with us ; for, 
 as Christ tells us, “ we know him.” Nay, Christ 
 himself is risen from the dead, to be the overseer of 
 his own will, and to see it duly executed : so that we 
 are in no danger of losing our legacies, unless by our 
 own fault. These are good securities, and upon 
 which we may with abundant satisfaction rely; and 
 yet our Lord Jesus, “ more abundantly to show the 
 heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, 
 hath confirmed it by an oath, (by a sacrament, which 
 is his oath to us, as well as ours to him,) that by all 
 those immutable things, in which it is impossible for 
 God to lie, we might have strong consolation,” that 
 have ventured our all in the New Testament. 
 
 2. It is the new covenant.—Though God is our 
 sovereign Lord, and owner, and we are in his hand 
 as the clay in the hand of the potter; yet he conde¬ 
 scends to deal with us about our reconciliation and 
 
69 
 
 happiness in the way of a covenant, that they which 
 are saved may be the more comforted, and they which 
 perish may be rendered the more inexcusable. The 
 tenor of this covenant is, 44 Believe on the Lord 
 Jesus Christ,” and thou shalt be saved.” Salvation 
 is the great promise of the covenant, believing in 
 Christ the great condition of the covenant; now, 
 this cup is the covenant, that is, it is the seal of the 
 covenant. There seems to be an allusion to that 
 solemnity, which we read of where Moses read the 
 book of the covenant in the audience of the people, 
 and the people declared their consent to it, saying, 
 44 All that the Lord hath said we will do, and will 
 be obedient. And then Moses took the blood, and 
 sprinkled it upon the people, (part of it having before 
 been sprinkled upon the altar,) and said, Behold the 
 blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made 
 with you concerning all these words.” Thus the 
 covenant being made by sacrifice, and the blood of 
 the sacrifice being sprinkled both upon the altar of 
 God and upon the representatives of the people, both 
 parties did, as it were, interchangeably put their 
 hands and seals to the articles of agreement. So the 
 blood of Christ having satisfied for the breach of the 
 covenant of innocency, and purchased a new treaty, 
 and being the sacrifice by which the covenant is made, 
 is fitly called the blood of the covenant. Having 
 sprinkled this blood upon the altar in his interces¬ 
 sion, when by his own blood he entered in once into 
 the holy place, he doth in this sacrament sprinkle it 
 upon the people ; as the apostle explains this mystery, 
 Heb.ix. A bargain is a bargain, though it be not sealed 
 but the sealing is the ratification and perfection of it. 
 
70 
 
 The internal seal of the covenant, as administered to 
 true believers, is the spirit of promise <c whereby we 
 are sealed to the day of redemption.” But the ex¬ 
 ternal seals of the covenant, as administered in the 
 visible church, are the sacraments, particularly this 
 of the Lord’s Supper. Sealing ordinances are ap¬ 
 pointed to make our covenanting with God the more 
 solemn, and consequently the more affecting, and 
 the impressions of it the more abiding. The cove¬ 
 nant of grace is a (( covenant never to be forgotten.” 
 This ordinance, therefore, was instituted to assure 
 us, that God will never forget it, and to assist us, 
 that we may never forget it. It is the seal of the 
 new covenant; that is, 
 
 1. God doth in, and by this ordinance, seal to us, 
 and be to us a God. This article of the covenant 
 is inclusive of all the rest; in giving himself to us 
 to be ours, he gives us all things, for he is God all- 
 sufficient. This is the grant, the royal grant which 
 the eternal God here seals, and delivers to true be¬ 
 lievers as his act and deed. He gives himself to 
 them, and empowers them to call him theirs. What 
 God is in himself, he will be to them for their good. 
 His wisdom theirs, to counsel and direct them ; his 
 power theirs, to protect and support them ; his justice 
 theirs, to justify them ; his holiness theirs, to sanc¬ 
 tify them ; his goodness theirs, to love and supply 
 them ; his truth is the inviolable security of the pro¬ 
 mise, and his eternity the perpetuity of their happi¬ 
 ness. He will be to them a Father, and they shall 
 be his sons and daughters, dignified by the privileges 
 of adoption, and distinguished by the spirit of adop¬ 
 tion. Their Maker is their husband, and he hath 
 
71 
 
 said, that <c he is married to them, and rejoiceth in 
 them as the bridegroom in his bride.” The Lord 
 is their shepherd, and the sheep of his pasture shall 
 not want. He is the portion of their inheritance in 
 the other world, as well as of their cup in this; he 
 hath prepared for them a city, and thereby “ is not 
 ashamed to be called their God.” 
 
 2 . We do in and by this ordinance, seal to him 
 to be to him a people. We accept the relation by 
 our voluntary choice and consent, and bind our souls 
 with a bond, that we will approve ourselves to him in 
 the relation. We hereby resign, surrender, and 
 give up our whole selves, body, soul, and spirit, to 
 God, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, covenant¬ 
 ing and promising, that we will, by his strength, 
 serve him faithfully, and walk closely with him in all 
 manner of gospel-obedience all our days. Claiming 
 the blessings of the covenant, we put ourselves under 
 the bonds of the covenant. O Lord, truly I am thy 
 servant, I am thy servant: wholly, and only, and for 
 ever thine. And this is the meaning of this service. 
 
72 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 An Imitation to this Ordinance. 
 
 All things are ready, (opened in many particulars,) therefore 
 come. I. Those that are unmeet for this ordinance, must 
 qualify themselves and come; a serious address to such in 
 three things. II. Those that are in some measure meet for it, 
 must enter themselves. Young people reasoned with in four 
 questions; those who are cold and indifferent, put upon con¬ 
 sidering two things; those that are timorous counselled and 
 encouraged in two things. III.Those that have given up 
 themselves to God in this ordinance must he constant; this 
 largely urged. 
 
 Plentiful and suitable provision is made in this 
 ordinance out of the treasures of the Redeemer’s 
 grace; and ministers, as servants, are sent to bid to 
 the feast, to invite those that the master of the feast 
 hath designed for his guests, and to hasten those that 
 are invited to this banquet of wine. Wisdom hath 
 sent forth her maidens on this errand, and they have 
 words put in their mouths — 66 Come, for all things 
 are now ready.” This is our message. 
 
 I. We are to tell you that all things are ready, 
 now ready; he that hath'an ear, let him hear this: 
 All things are now ready in the gospel-feast, that 
 are proper for, or will contribute to the full satisfac¬ 
 tion of an immortal soul, that knows its own nature 
 and interest, and desires to be truly and eternally 
 happy in the love and favour of its Creator. 
 
 All things are ready; all things requisite to a 
 noble feast. Let us a little improve the metaphor. 
 
73 
 
 1. There is a house ready for the entertainment 
 of the guests, the gospel church, wisdom’s house, 
 which she hath built upon seven pillars. God hath 
 set up his tabernacle among men, and the place of 
 his tent is enlarged, and made capacious enough ; 
 so that though the table has been replenished with 
 guests, yet still there is room. 
 
 2. There is a table ready spread in the word and 
 ordinances, like the table in the temple on which the 
 show-bread was placed, a loaf for every tribe. The 
 Scripture is written, the canon of it completed, and 
 in it a full declaration made of God’s good-will to¬ 
 wards men. 
 
 3. There is a laver ready for us to wash in. As 
 at the marriage-feast at Cana, there were six water 
 pots set for purification. Lest sense of pollutions 
 contracted should deter us from the participation of 
 these comforts, behold there is “ a fountain opened,” 
 come and wash in it, that, being purged from an evil 
 conscience by the blood of Jesus, you may, with 
 humble confidence, compass God’s altar. 
 
 4. There are servants ready to attend you, and 
 those are the ministers, w r hose work it is to direct 
 you to the table, and <c to give every one their 
 portion of meat in due season, rightly dividing the 
 word of truth.” They are not masters of the feast, 
 but only stewards, and 6< your servants for Christ’s 
 sake.” 
 
 5. There is much company already come ; many 
 have accepted the invitation, and have found a hearty 
 welcome: why then should your place be empty ? 
 Let the communion of saints invite you into com¬ 
 munion with Christ. 
 
 D 
 
 22 
 
74 
 
 6. A blessing is ready to be craved. He is 
 ready to bless the sacrifice. The great High Priest 
 of our profession, ever living to intercede for us, and 
 attending continually to this very thing, is ready to 
 command a blessing upon our spiritual food. 
 
 7. The Master of the feast is ready to bid you 
 welcome; as ready as the father of the prodigal was 
 to receive his repenting returning son, whom he saw 
 when t( he was yet a great way off.” God’s ear is 
 open to hear, and his hand open to give. 
 
 8. The provision is ready for your entertainment. 
 
 1. All things are ready : (1.) For our justification 
 
 —divine justice is satisfied, an everlasting righteous¬ 
 ness is brought in, an act of indemnity hath passed 
 the royal assent, and a throne of grace is erected, at 
 which all that can make it appear that they are in¬ 
 terested in the general act, may sue out their parti¬ 
 cular charter of pardon. There is a plea ready, an 
 advocate ready: “ Behold, he is near that justifieth 
 us.” (2.) For our sanctification—there is a fulness 
 of grace in Christ, from which we may all receive ; 
 the word of grace is ready as the means, the Spirit 
 of grace is ready as the author; every thing ready 
 for the mortification of sin, the confirming of faith, 
 and our furtherance in holiness. (8.) For our conso¬ 
 lation—a well of living water is ready, if we can but 
 see it; peace is left us for a legacy, which we may 
 claim if we will; promises are given us for our sup¬ 
 port, of which, if we have not the benefit, it is our 
 own fault. There is something in the new covenant 
 to obviate every grief, every challenge, every fear, if 
 we will use it. (4.) For our salvation ready to be re¬ 
 vealed—angels upon the wing are ready to convey us; 
 
75 
 
 Jesus, standing at the Father’s right hand, is ready 
 to receive us; the many mansions are ready prepared 
 for us : <s All things are ready.” 
 
 2. All things are now ready, just now, for <£ Be¬ 
 hold, now is the accepted time.” 
 
 1. All things are now readier than they were 
 under the law. Grace then lay more hid than it 
 doth now, when life and immortality are brought to 
 so clear a light by the gospel. Christ in a sacra¬ 
 ment is much readier than Christ in a sacrifice. 
 
 2. All things are now readier than they will be 
 shortly, if we trifle away the present season. Now 
 the door of mercy stands open, and we are invited 
 to come and enter ; but it will shortly be shut. Now 
 the golden sceptre is held out, and we are called to 
 come and touch the top of it; but it will be other¬ 
 wise when the days of our probation are numbered 
 and finished, and he that now saith, 6i Come for a 
 blessing,” will say, “ Depart with a curse.” 
 
 II. We must call you to come : this is now the 
 call, Come, come; (i the Spirit saith, Come, and the 
 bride saith, Come.” Come to Christ in the first 
 place, and then come to this ordinance. All things 
 are ready, be not you unready. 
 
 This exhortation must be directed to three sorts 
 of persons: 1. Those who are utterly unmeet for 
 this ordinance, must be exhorted to qualify them¬ 
 selves, and then come. 2. Those who, through 
 grace, are in some measure meet for this ordinance, 
 must be exhorted speedily to enter themselves. 3. 
 Those who have entered themselves, must be ex¬ 
 horted to be constant in their attendance upon it. 
 
 I. I must apply myself to those that, by their 
 
 d 2 
 
76 
 
 ignorance, profaneness, irreligion, or reigning world- 
 liness, put a bar in their cwn way, and may not be 
 admitted to this ordinance. If these lines should 
 fall under the eye of any such, let them know I have 
 a message to them from God, and I must deliver it, 
 whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear. 
 
 Dost thou live a carnal wicked life, in the service 
 of sin and Satan, without fear, and without God in 
 the world ? Light is come into the world, and dost 
 thou love darkness rather, not knowing nor desiring 
 to know the way of the Lord, and the judgment of 
 thy God ? Art thou a drunkard, a swearer, a Sab¬ 
 bath-breaker ? Art thou an adulterer, fornicator, 
 or unclean person ? Art thou a liar, a deceiver, 
 a railer, or a contentious person ? Art thou a mere 
 drudge to the world, or a slave to any base lust ? 
 Doth thy own conscience tell thee thou art the man, 
 or would it not tell thee so, if thou wouldst suffer it 
 to deal faithfully with thee? 
 
 (1.) Know then, that thou hast no part nor lot in 
 this matter; whilst thou continuest thus, thou art 
 not an invited guest to this feast; the servants dare 
 not bid thee welcome, for they know the Master will 
 not, but will ask thee, “ Friend, how earnest thou in 
 thither ? What hast thou to do to take God’s cove¬ 
 nant and the seal of it into thy mouth, seeing thou 
 hatest instruction ?” Read that scripture, and hear 
 God speaking to thee in it: 44 It is not meet to take 
 the children’s bread, and cast it to dogs.” Thou 
 art forbidden to touch these sacred things with thine 
 unhallowed hands; for 44 what communion hath 
 Christ with Belial?” If thou thrust thyself upon 
 this ordinance, whilst thou continuest under such a 
 
77 
 
 character, instead of doing honour to the Lord Jesus, 
 thou puttest a daring affront upon him, as if he were 
 altogether such a one as thyself; instead of deriving 
 any true comfort to thy own soul, thou dost but ag¬ 
 gravate thy guilt and condemnation; thy heart will 
 be more hardened, thy conscience more seared, Satan’s 
 strong holds more fortified, and thou eatest and 
 drinkest judgment to thyself, not discerning the 
 Lord’s body; nor puttest a difference between this 
 bread and other bread ; but trampling under foot the 
 blood of the covenant, as a profane and common 
 thing. 
 
 (2.) Know also, that thy condition is very miser¬ 
 able whilst thou debarrest thyself from this ordi¬ 
 nance, and art, as polluted, put from this priesthood. 
 How light soever thou mayest make of it, this is not 
 a small portion of thy miseries, that thou shuttest 
 thyself out of covenant and communion with the 
 God that made thee; and, in effect, disclaimest any 
 interest in the Christ that bought thee, as if thou 
 hadst taken the devils’ words out of their mouths, 
 “ What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son 
 of God ?” And if thou persist in it, so shall thy 
 doom be; thou thyself hast decided it. If now it 
 be as nothing to thee, to be separated from the sheep 
 of Christ, and excluded from their green pastures, 
 yet it will be something shortly, when thou shalt ac¬ 
 cordingly have thy place among the goats, and thy 
 lot with them for ever. Thou thinkest it no loss 
 now to want the cup of blessing, because thou pre- 
 ferrest the cup of drunkenness before it; but what 
 dost thou think of the cup of trembling, that will 
 ere long be put into thy hand if thou repent not ? 
 
78 
 
 Thou hast no desire to the wine of the love of God, 
 but rather choosest the puddle water of sensual plea¬ 
 sures ; but canst thou “drink of the wine of the 
 wrath of God,” which shall be poured out without 
 mixture in the presence of the Lamb? Thou 
 thinkest thyself easy and happy, that thou art not 
 under the bonds and checks of this ordinance; but 
 dost thou not see thyself extremely miserable, whilst 
 thou hast no right to the blessings and comforts of 
 this ordinance? If there were not another life after 
 this, thou mightest have some colour for blessing 
 thyself thus in thine own wicked way; (and yet, if 
 so, I should see no cause to envy thee;) but, 
 wretched soul, “ what wilt thou do in the day of 
 visitation ?” Thou that joinest thyself with the sin¬ 
 ners in Zion, and choosest them for thy people, 
 (i Canst thou dwell with devouring fire? Canst 
 thou inhabit everlasting burnings?” May God by 
 his grace open thine eyes, and give thee to see thy 
 misery and danger before it be too late ! 
 
 (3.) Yet know, that though thy condition is very 
 sad, it is not desperate. Thou hast space yet given 
 thee to repent, and grace offered thee. O refuse 
 not that grace, slip not that opportunity ! Leave 
 thy sins, and turn unto God in Christ; cast away 
 from thee all thy transgressions, make thee a new 
 heart, begin a new life, forsake the foolish, and live 
 to some purpose, and go in the way of understand¬ 
 ing: and then in wisdom’s name, I am to tell thee, 
 that notwithstanding all thy former follies, thou art 
 welcome to her house, welcome to her table, freely 
 welcome to “ eat of her bread, and to drink of the 
 wine which she hath mingled.” “ Now at least, 
 
79 
 
 now at last, in this thy day, know the things that 
 belong to thy peace be wise for thyself, be wise 
 for thine own soul, and cheat not thyself into thin® 
 own ruin. 
 
 Poor sinner ! I pity thee, I would gladly help 
 thee; the Lord pity thee and help thee ! He will, 
 if thou wilt pity thyself, and help thyself. Wilt 
 thou be persuaded by one that wishes thee well, to 
 exchange the service of sin, which is perfect slavery, 
 for the service of God, which is perfect liberty? to 
 exchange the base and sordid pleasures of a sensual 
 life, which level thee with the beasts, for the pure 
 and refined pleasures of a spiritual and divine life, 
 which will raise thee to a communion with the holy 
 angels ? I am confident thou wilt quickly find it a 
 blessed change. 66 Awake, shake thyself from the 
 dust, loose thyself from the bands of thy neck.” 
 Give up thyself in sincerity to Jesus Christ, and 
 then come and feast with him : thou shalt then have 
 in this ordinance the pledges of his favour, assur¬ 
 ances of thy reconciliation to him, and acceptance 
 with him, and all shall be well, for it shall end ever¬ 
 lastingly well. 
 
 2. I must next apply myself to those, who, having 
 a competent knowledge in the things of God, and 
 making a justifiable profession of Christ’s holy reli¬ 
 gion, cannot be denied admission to this ordinance, 
 and yet deny themselves the benefit and comfort of 
 it. Such are hereby exhorted, without further de¬ 
 lay, solemnly to give up their names to the Lord 
 Jesus, in and by this sacrament. Hear Hezekiah’s 
 summons to the passover: “ Yield yourselves unto 
 the Lord, give the hand unto the Lord—so the 
 
80 
 
 Hebrew phrase is: join yourselves to him in the 
 bond of the covenant, and then exchange the ratifi¬ 
 cations, enter into the sanctuary. First give your 
 own selves unto the Lord, and then confirm the sur¬ 
 render by the solemnity of this ordinance. 
 
 Let me direct this exhortation to young people 
 that were in their infancy baptized into the Christian 
 faith, and have been well educated in the knowledge 
 of God and of his holy ways, and are now grown up 
 to years of discretion, are capable of understanding 
 what they do, of discerning between their right hand 
 and their left in spiritual things, and of choosing and 
 refusing for themselves accordingly; and that have 
 had some good impressions made upon their souls by 
 divine things, and some good inclinations towards 
 God, and Christ, and heaven : such are invited to 
 the table of the Lord, and called upon to come, for 
 all things are now ready, and it is not good to delay. 
 
 You that are young, will you now be prevailed 
 with to be serious, and resolved for God? You 
 now begin to act with reason, and to put away child¬ 
 ish things; you are come to be capable of consider¬ 
 ing, and you are thinking how you must live in this 
 world; O that I could prevail with you to think firtft 
 how you may live for another world ! I am not per¬ 
 suading you to come rashly and carelessly to the 
 Lord’s table, as when you were little children you 
 went to church for fashion’s sake, and because your 
 parents took you with them; but I am persuading 
 you now, in the days of your youth, from a deep 
 conviction of your duty and interest, and a serious 
 concern about your souls and eternity, intelligently, 
 deliberately, and with a fixed resolution, to join 
 
81 
 
 yourselves unto the Lord in an everlasting covenant, 
 and then to come and seal that covenant at his table. 
 v "ou are now come to the turning time of life, to 
 ..hose years when ordinary people fix for their whole 
 lives; I beg of you for Christ’s sake, and for your 
 own precious soul’s sake, that now you will turn to 
 God, and fix for him, and set your faces heaven¬ 
 wards. 
 
 Come, and let us reason together a little, and I 
 beseech you to reason with yourselves: 
 
 1. Are you not by baptism given up unto the 
 Lord ? Are not the vows of God already upon 
 you ? Is not your baptism your honour ? Is it 
 not your comfort ? It is so; but you are unworthy 
 of that honour, unworthy of that comfort, if, when 
 you arrive at a capacity for it, you decline doing 
 that for yourselves, which was done for you when 
 you were baptized. How can you expect that your 
 parents’ dedication of you to God then, should avail 
 you any thing if you do not now make it your own 
 act and deed? Might not your backwardness to 
 confirm the covenant, by this solemn taking of it 
 upon yourselves, be construed as an implicit renun¬ 
 ciation of it, and be adjudged a forfeiture of the 
 benefit of it ? I believe you would not for a world 
 disclaim your baptism, nor disown the obligation of 
 it: you will not, I am confident you will not, throw 
 off your Christianity, nor join with those that say, 
 We have no part in David, or inheritance in the Son 
 of David. Come then and ratify your baptism; 
 either let these articles be cancelled, or now, that 
 you are of age, come and seal them yourselves; 
 either be Christians complete, Christian by your 
 
 d 3 
 
8-2 
 
 own consent, or not Christians at all. The matter 
 is plain; the bonds of both the sacraments are the 
 same: you are under the bonds of the one, which I 
 know you dare not renounce; therefore, come under 
 the bonds of the other. Consider, take advice, and 
 speak your minds. 
 
 2. How can you dispose of yourselves better now 
 in the days of your youth, than to give up yourselves 
 to the Lord? These are your choosing days; you 
 are now choosing other settlements, in callings, re¬ 
 lations, and places of abode; why should you not 
 now close this settlement in the service of God, 
 which will make all your other settlements comfort¬ 
 able? Choose you, therefore, this day whom you 
 will serve—-God, or the world; Christ, or the flesh; 
 and be persuaded to bring the matter to a good issue ; 
 determine the debate in that happy resolution to 
 which the people of Israel came, when they said, 
 44 Nay, but we will serve the Lord,” Why should 
 not he, who is the first and the best, have the first 
 and best of your days? Which I am sure you can¬ 
 not bestow better, and which it is both your duty 
 and interest to bestow thus. 
 
 3. What will you get by delaying it ? You in¬ 
 tend some time or other solemnly to give up your¬ 
 selves unto the Lord in this ordinance, and you hope 
 then to receive the benefit and comfort of it: but 
 the tempter tells you, ’Tis all good in time; and you 
 dismiss your convictions, as Felix did Paul, with a 
 promise, that 44 at a more convenient season you 
 will send for them.” You are ready to say, as the 
 people did, 44 The time is not come, the time that the 
 Lord’s house should be built:” you think you must 
 
83 
 
 build your own first; and what comes of those de¬ 
 lays ? Satan, ere you are aware, gets advantage 
 by them, and cheats you of all your time, by cheat¬ 
 ing you of the present time ; your hearts are in dan¬ 
 ger of being hardened, the Spirit of grace may hereby 
 be provoked to withdraw, and strive no more; and 
 what will become of you, if death surprise you before 
 your great work be done? 
 
 4. What better provision can you make for a 
 comfortable life in this world, than by doing this 
 great work betimes? You are setting out in a world 
 of temptations more than you think of; and how can 
 you better arm yourselves against them, than by com¬ 
 ing up to that fixed resolution which will silence the 
 tempter, “ Get thee behind me, Satan?” When 
 Noami saw that Ruth was <e steadfastly resolved, she 
 left off speaking to her.” The counsel of the un¬ 
 godly will not be so apt to court you to the way of 
 sinners, and the seat of the scornful, when you have 
 avowed yourselves set out in the way of God, and 
 seated already at the table of the Lord, You are 
 launching forth into a stormy sea, and this will fur¬ 
 nish you with ballast; your way lies through a vale 
 of tears, and therefore you have need to be well 
 stocked with comforts: and where can you stock 
 yourselves better than in this ordinance, which seals 
 all the promises of the new covenant, and conveys all 
 the happiness included in them ? 
 
 And now, shall I gain this point with young peo¬ 
 ple? Will they be persuaded betimes to resolve 
 for God and heaven ? “ Remember thy Creator, 
 
 remember thy Redeemer in the days of thy youth 
 and then it is to be hoped thou wilt not forget them, 
 nor will they forget thee when thou art old. 
 
84 
 
 Let me address this exhortation to those whose 
 inclinations are good, and their conversation blame¬ 
 less, but their desires are weak, and their affections 
 cool and indifferent, and therefore they keep off from 
 this ordinance. This is the character of very many 
 who are honest, but they want zeal and resolution 
 enough to bring them under this engagement. They 
 can give no tolerable reason why they do not come 
 to the sacrament: it may be they have bought a 
 piece of ground, or a yoke of oxen; their hands are 
 full of the world, and they are too busy, they are un¬ 
 settled, or not settled to their minds, and this makes 
 them uneasy, and they hope that therefore they may 
 be excused; but the true reason is, they are slothful 
 and dilatory, and the things that remain are ready 
 to die; they cannot find in their hearts to take pains, 
 the pains they know they must take in a work of this 
 nature; they are not willing to be bound to that 
 strict care and watchfulness to which this sacrament 
 will oblige them; they will be as they are, and make 
 no advances; they 44 have hid their hand in their 
 bosom, and it grieves them to bring it to their mouth 
 again , 57 that is, they will not be at the pains to feed 
 themselves. 
 
 What shall we say to rouse these sluggards? to 
 persuade them to press forward in their profession, 
 forgetting the things that are behind, and not rest¬ 
 ing in them ? Hear ye virgins, that slumber and 
 sleep, and let your lamps lie by neglected—hear the 
 cry, 44 Behold the bridegroom cometh, (cometh in 
 this ordinance to espouse you to himself; stir up 
 yourselves, and) go ye forth to meet him . 55 Blear 
 ye servants, ye slothful servants, your Master's 
 
85 
 
 voice, “ How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard ?” 
 Is it not high time to awake out of sleep, and apply 
 thyself more closely and vigorously to the business 
 of a Christian ? Is it not far in the day with thee, 
 perhaps the sixth hour, or further on; and yet hast 
 thou no appetite to this spiritual feast to which thou 
 art invited ? Thou hast lost a great deal of time 
 already, should not thou now' think of redeeming 
 time for thy soul and eternity ? And how can that 
 be better done, than by improving such advantageous 
 opportunities as sacraments are ? Hear that call to 
 careless and trifling professors, as if thou thyself 
 wert called by name in it: “ Awake, thou that 
 sieepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall 
 give thee light.” 
 
 1. Consider what an affront you put upon the 
 Lord Jesus, while you live in the neglect of this 
 ordinance; you contemn his authority, who hath 
 given this command to ail his disciples, (and among 
 them you reckon yourselves,) M Do this in remem¬ 
 brance of me.” And is it nothing to live in the 
 omission of a known duty, and in disobedience to an 
 express precept ? Is the law of Christ nothing with 
 you? If you know to do good, and do it not, is it 
 not sin ? Is not this as much an ordinance of Christ, 
 as the word and prayer? You would not live with¬ 
 out them; nor would you be yourselves, or suffer 
 your children to be without baptism; why then is 
 this neglected ? You arraign Christ’s wisdom : he 
 instituted this ordinance for your spiritual good, 
 your strength, and nourishment; and you think you 
 need it not, you can do as well without it: this ap¬ 
 pointment, you think, might have been spared; that 
 
86 
 
 is, you think yourselves wiser than Christ. You 
 likewise hereby put a great slight upon the grace 
 and love of Christ, which hath made such rich pro¬ 
 vision for you, and given you so kind an invitation 
 to it. 
 
 This is excellently well urged in the public form of 
 invitation to the holy communion, which warns those 
 that are scandalous to keep off, in these words: “ If 
 any of you be a blasphemer of God, a hinderer or 
 slanderer of his word, an adulterer, or be in malice 
 or envy, or in any other grievous crime; repent you 
 of your sins, or else come not to that holy table; 
 lest, after the taking of that holy sacrament, the devil 
 enter into you, as he entered into Judas, and fill you 
 full of all iniquities, and bring you to destruction of 
 both body and soul.” 
 
 But the other exhortation stirs up those that are 
 negligent, in these words: 66 Ye know how grievous 
 and unkind a thing it is, when a man hath prepared 
 a rich feast, decked his table with all kind of pro¬ 
 vision, so that there lacketh nothing but the guests 
 to sit down, and yet they who are called (without any 
 cause) most unthankfully refuse to come. Which 
 of you in such a case would not be moved? Who 
 would not think it a great injury and wrong done 
 unto him? Wherefore, most dearly beloved in 
 Christ, take ye good heed, lest ye, withdrawing 
 yourselves from this holy supper, provoke God’s in¬ 
 dignation against you. It is an easy matter for a 
 man to say, I will not communicate, because I am 
 otherwise hindered with worldly business; but such 
 excuses are not so easily accepted and allowed before 
 God. If any man say, I am a grievous sinner, and 
 
87 
 
 therefore am afraid to come; wherefore then do you 
 not repent and amend ? When God calleth you, are 
 ye not ashamed to say, Ye will not come? When 
 ye should return to God, will you excuse yourselves, 
 and say, You are not ready? Consider earnestly 
 with yourselves, how little such feigned excuses will 
 avail before God. They that refused the feast in 
 the Gospel, because they had bought a farm, or 
 would try their yokes of oxen, or because they were 
 married, were not so excused, but counted unworthy 
 of the heavenly feast.” 
 
 2. Consider what an injury you hereby do to 
 your own souls. You know not what you lose while 
 you live in the neglect of this ordinance. If you be 
 deprived of opportunities for it, that is an affliction, 
 but not a sin; and, in such a case, while you lament 
 the want of it, and keep up desires after it, and im¬ 
 prove the other helps you have, you may expect that 
 God will make up the want some other way; though 
 we are tied to ordinances, God is not: but if you 
 have opportunities for it, and yet neglect it, and 
 when it is to be administered, turn your back upon 
 it, you serve your souls as you would not serve your 
 bodies; for you deny them their necessary food, and 
 the soul that is starved is as certainly murdered as 
 the body that is stabbed, and his blood shall be re¬ 
 quired at thy hands. “ No man ever yet hated his 
 own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth it;” yet 
 thou deniest thine own soul that which would nourish 
 and cherish it, and thereby showest how little thou 
 lovest it. If thou didst duly attend on this ordi¬ 
 nance, and improve it aright, thou wouldst find it of 
 unspeakable use to thee for the strengthening of thy 
 
88 
 
 faith, the exciting of holy affections in thee, and thy 
 furtherance in every good word and work. So that 
 to thy neglect of it, thou hast reason to impute ali 
 thy weakness, and all the strength and prevalency of 
 thy temptations; all the unsteadiness of thy resolu- 
 ions, and all the unevenness of thy conversation, 
 tiow can we expect the desired end, while we persist 
 in the neglect of the appointed means ? 
 
 Think not to say within yourselves, We are not 
 clean, surely we are not clean, therefore we come not 
 to the feast. If you are not, why are you not ? Is 
 there not a fountain opened? Have you not been 
 many a time called to wash }mu, and make you clean? 
 You are not ready, and therefore you excuse your¬ 
 selves from coming: but is not your unreadiness your 
 sin, and will one sin justify you in another? Can 
 a man’s offence be his defence ? You think you are 
 not serious enough, nor devout enough, nor regular 
 enough, in your conversations, to come to the sacra¬ 
 ment ; and perhaps you are not: but why are you 
 not? What hinders you? Is any more required 
 to fit you for the sacrament, than is necessary to fit 
 you for heaven ? And dare you live a day in that 
 condition, in which, if you die, you will be rejected 
 and excluded as unmeet for heaven ? Be persuaded, 
 therefore, to put on the wedding-garment, and then 
 come to the wedding-feast. Instead of making your 
 unreadiness an argument against coming to this or¬ 
 dinance, make the necessity of your coming to this 
 ordinance an argument against your unreadiness. 
 Say not, I am too light, airy, too much addicted to 
 sports and pleasures; I am linked too close in vain 
 and carnal company, or plunged too deep in worldly 
 
89 
 
 '’are and business, and therefore I must be excused 
 from attending this ordinance; for this is to make ill 
 worse: but rather say, It is necessary I come to the 
 Lord’s Supper, and come in a right manner; my soul 
 withers and languishes, dies and perishes, if I do 
 not; and therefore I must break off this vain and 
 sensual course of life, which unfits me for and indis¬ 
 poses me to that ordinance; I must disentangle my¬ 
 self from that society, and disengage myself from 
 that encumbrance, whatever it is, which cools pious 
 affections, and quenches the coal. Shake off that, 
 whatever it is, which comes between you and the 
 comfort and benefit of this ordinance; trifle no longer 
 in a matter of such vast moment, but speedily come 
 to that resolution : 6i Depart from me ye evil-doers, 
 and evil doings; for I will keep the commandment 
 of my God.” 
 
 Let me address this exhortation to those whose 
 desires are strong towards the Lord, and towards the 
 remembrance of his name in this ordinance; but they 
 are timorous, and are kept from it by prevailing fears. 
 This is the case of many, who, we hope, fear the 
 Lord, and obey the voice of his servant, but they 
 v/alk in darkness, and have no light;” who follow 
 Christ, but they follow him trembling. Ask them 
 why they do not come to this sacrament, and they 
 will tell you they dare not come; they are unworthy, 
 they have no faith, no comfort in God, no hope of 
 heaven; and therefore, if they should come, they 
 should 6( eat and drink judgment to themselves.” 
 They find not in themselves that fixedness of thought, 
 the flame of pious and devout affections, which they 
 think should be; and, because they cannot come as 
 
90 
 
 they should, they think it better to stay away. 
 What is said for the conviction and terror of hypo¬ 
 crites and presumptuous sinners, notwithstanding our 
 care to distinguish between the precious and the vile, 
 they misapply to themselves : and so the heart of the 
 righteous is made sad, which should not be made 
 sad. We are commanded to (i strengthen the weak 
 hands, and confirm the feeble knees; to say to them 
 that are of a fearful heart, Be strong; fear not.” 
 But wherewith shall we comfort such, whose souls 
 many times refuse to be comforted. If we tell them 
 of the infinite mercy and goodness of God, the merit 
 and righteousness of Christ, the precious promises 
 of the covenant, their jealous hearts reply, All this is 
 nothing to them; the Lord, they think, hath forgotten 
 them, their God hath forsaken them, and utterly se¬ 
 parated them from his people : 66 As vinegar upon 
 nitre, so is he that singeth songs to a heavy heart.” 
 
 But O ye of little faith, who thus doubt, would 
 you not be made whole ? Would you not be streng¬ 
 thened ? Is it not a desirable thing to attain to 
 such a peace and serenity of mind, as that you may 
 come with an humble, holy boldness to this precious 
 ordinance ? 
 
 For your help, then, take these two cautions:— 
 
 1. Judge not amiss concerning yourselves. As 
 it is a damning mistake, common among the children 
 of men, to think their spiritual state and condition 
 to be good, when it is very bad; for “ there is that 
 maketh himself rich, and yet hath nothing,”—so it 
 is a disquieting mistake, common among the children 
 of God, to think their spiritual state and condition 
 to be bad, when it is very good; for “ there is that 
 
» 
 
 91 
 
 maketh himself poor, and yet hath great riches.” 
 But it is a mistake which, I hope, by the grace of 
 God, may be rectified: and though a full assurance 
 is rarely attained to, and we ought always to keep 
 up a godly jealousy over ourselves, and a holy fear, 
 lest we seem to come short; yet such good hope 
 through grace, as will enable us to rejoice in God, 
 and go on cheerfully in our work and duty, is what 
 we should aim at, and labour after, and of which we 
 ought not to deny ourselves the comfort, when God 
 by his grace hath given us cause for it: wherever 
 there is such a serious concern about the soul and 
 another world, as produces a holy fear, even that 
 gives ground for a lively hope. 
 
 You think you have no grace, because you are not 
 yet perfect; but why should you look for that on 
 earth, which is to be had in heaven only? A child 
 will at length be a man, though as yet he 44 think 
 as a child, and speak as a child.” Blessed Paul 
 himself had not yet attained, nor was already perfect. 
 Gold in the ore is truly valuable, though it be not 
 yet refined from its dross. 44 Despise not the day 
 of small things,” for God doth not. Deny not that 
 power and grace which hath brought you out of the 
 land of Egypt, though you be not yet come to Canaan. 
 
 You think you have no grace, because you have 
 not that sensible joy and comfort which you would 
 have; but those are spiritually enlightened who see 
 their own deformity, as well as those that see Christ’s 
 beauty. 44 The child that cries, is as sure alive as 
 the child that laughs.” Complaints of spiritual 
 burdens are the language of the new nature, as well 
 as praises for spiritual blessings. 
 
92 
 
 Drooping soul, thou art under grace, and not 
 under the law; and therefore judge of thyself by the 
 measures of grace, and not by those of the law. 
 Thou hast to do with one that is willing to make the 
 best of thee, and will accept the willingness of the 
 spirit, and pardon the weakness of our flesh. Take 
 thy work before thee, therefore, and let not the peni¬ 
 tent, humble sense of thy own follies and corruptions 
 eclipse the evidence of God’s graces in thee, nor let 
 the diffidence of thyself shake thy confidence in 
 Christ. Thank God for what he has done for thee : 
 let him have the praise of it, and then thou shalt 
 have the joy of it. And this is certain, either thou 
 hast an interest in Christ, or thou mayest have. If 
 thou doubt, therefore, whether Christ be thine, put 
 the matter out of doubt, by a present consent to him : 
 I take Christ to be mine, wholly, only, and for ever 
 mine: Christ upon his own terms, Christ upon any 
 terms. 
 
 2. Judge not amiss concerning this ordinance. 
 It was instituted for your comfort, let it not be a 
 terror to you; it was instituted for your satisfaction, 
 let it not be your amazement. Most of the messages 
 from heaven which we meet with in Scripture, de¬ 
 livered by angels, began with, <( Fear not;” and par¬ 
 ticularly that to the women who attended Christ’s 
 sepulchre: “ Fear not ye; for I know that ye seek 
 Jesus.” And do not you seek him ? Be not afraid 
 then. Chide yourselves out of these disquieting fears, 
 which steal away your spear and your cruise of water, 
 rob you both of your strength and of your comfort. 
 
 You say you are unworthy to come; so were all 
 that ever came, not unworthy to be called children, 
 
93 
 
 nor to eat of the children’s bread : in yourselves there 
 is no worthiness; but is there none in Christ ? Is 
 not he worthy, and is not he yours ? Have you not 
 chosen him ? Appear therefore before God in him. 
 Let faith in his mediation silence all your fears; and 
 dismiss their clamours with that™* 6 But thou shall 
 answer, Lord, for me.” 
 
 You say you dare not come, lest you should eat 
 and drink judgment to yourselves; but ordinarily, 
 those that most fear that, are least in danger of it. 
 That dreadful word was not intended to drive men 
 from the sacrament, but to drive them from their sins. 
 Can you not say, Through grace you hate sin, you 
 strive against it, you earnestly desire to be delivered 
 from it? Then certainly your league with it is 
 broken; though the Canaanites be in the land, you 
 do not make marriages with them. Come then and 
 seal the covenant with God, and you shall be so far 
 from eating and drinking judgment to yourselves, that 
 you shall eat and drink life and comfort to yourselves. 
 
 You dare not come to this sacrament; yet you 
 dare pray, you dare hear the word. I know you dare 
 not neglect either the one or the other: and what 
 is the sacrament but the doing the same thing by a 
 visible sign, which is and ought to be done in effect 
 by the word and prayer ? Nor ought we to put such 
 an amazing distance between this and other ordi¬ 
 nances. If we pray in hypocrisy, our prayers are 
 an abomination; if we hear the word and reject it, 
 it is a savour of death unto death : shall we therefore 
 not pray, not hear? God forbid. Commanded 
 duty must be done: appointed means must be used: 
 and that which unfits and hinders us must be re- 
 
94 
 
 moved, and we must in sincerity give up ourselves to 
 serve God; do as well as we can, and be sorry we 
 can do no better: and then, having a High Priest, 
 who is touched with the feeling of our infirmities, 
 we may come boldly to the throne of grace, and to 
 this table of grace. 
 
 You say your faith is weak, pious affections are 
 cool and low, your resolutions unsteady, and there¬ 
 fore you keep away from this ordinance. That is 
 as if a man should say, he is sick, and therefore he 
 will take no physic; he is empty, and therefore he 
 will take no food ; he is faint, and therefore he will 
 take no cordials. This ordinance w r as appointed 
 chiefly for the relief of such as you are ; for the 
 strengthening of’ faith, the inflaming of holy love, 
 and the confirming of good resolutions: in God’s 
 name, therefore, use it for these purposes; pine not 
 away in thy weakness, while God has ordained thee 
 strength ; perish not for hunger, while there is bread 
 enough in thy father’s house, and to spare; die not 
 for thirst, while there is a well of w^ater by thee. 
 
 III. This chapter must conclude with an exhorta¬ 
 tion to those who have given up their name to the 
 Lord in this ordinance, and have sometimes sealed 
 their covenant with God in it, but they come very 
 seldom to it, and allow themselves in the neglect 
 and omission of it. Frequent opportunities they 
 have for it, stated meals provided for them, the table 
 spread and furnished. Others come, and they are 
 invited; but time after time they let it slip, and turn 
 their hacks upon it, framing to themselves some sorry 
 excuse or other to shift it off. 
 
 I desire such to consider seriously, 
 
95 
 
 1. How powerful the engagements are which we 
 lie under, to be frequent and constant in our at¬ 
 tendance on the Lord in this ordinance ? It is 
 plainly intimated in the institution, that the solem¬ 
 nity is oft to be repeated; for it is said, i( Do this, 
 as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.” Bap¬ 
 tism is to be administered but once, because it is the 
 door of admission, and we are but once to enter in 
 by that door: but the Lord’s Supper is the table in 
 Christ’s family, at which we are to eat bread conti¬ 
 nually. The law of Moses prescribed how oft the 
 passover must be celebrated, under very severe pe¬ 
 nalties; but the gospel being a dispensation of a 
 greater love and liberty, only appoints us to observe 
 its passover oft, and then leaves it to our own inge¬ 
 nuity and pious affections to fix the time, and deter¬ 
 mine how oft. If a deliverance out of Egypt me¬ 
 rited an annual commemoration, surely our redemp¬ 
 tion by Christ merits a more frequent one, especially 
 since we need not go up to Jerusalem to do it. If 
 this tree of life, which bears more than twelve man¬ 
 ner of fruits, yieldeth her fruit to us every month, I 
 know not why we should neglect it any month. 
 Where there is the truth of grace, this ordinance 
 ought to be improved, which, by virtue of divine ap¬ 
 pointment, has a moral influence upon our growth 
 in grace. The great Master of the family would 
 have none of his family missing at meal-time. 
 
 Wh ile we are often sinning, we have need to be 
 often receiving the seal of our pardon; because, 
 though the sacrifice be perfect, and able to perfect 
 for ever them which are sanctified,” so that that needs 
 never to be repeated; yet the application of it being 
 
96 
 
 imperfect, has need to be often made afresh. The 
 worshipper, though once purged, having still con¬ 
 sciences of sins in this defective state, they must oft 
 have recourse to the fountain opened for the purging 
 of their consciences, from the pollutions contracted 
 daily by dead works, to serve the living God. Even 
 he that is washed thus, needs to wash his feet, or he 
 cannot be easy. 
 
 While we are often in temptation, we have need 
 to be often renewing our covenants with God, and 
 fetching strength from heaven for our spiritual con¬ 
 flicts. Frequent fresh recruits and fresh supplies, 
 are necessary for those that are so closely besieged, 
 and are so vigorously attacked, by a potent adversary. 
 He improves all advantages against us, therefore it 
 is our wisdom not to neglect any advantage against 
 him, and particularly this ordinance. 
 
 While we are often labouring under great cold¬ 
 ness and deadness of affection towards divine things, 
 we need oft to use those means which are proper to 
 kindle that holy fire, and keep it burning. We 
 And, by sad experience, that our coal from the altar 
 is soon quenched, our thoughts grow flat and low. 
 and unconcerned about the other world, by being so 
 much conversant with this; we have therefore need 
 to be often celebrating the memorial of Christ’s death 
 and sufferings, than which nothing can be more af¬ 
 fecting to a Christian, nor more proper to raise and 
 refine the thoughts; it is a subject that more than 
 once has made the disciples’ 66 hearts to burn within 
 them.” 
 
 Much of our communion with God is kept up 
 by the renewing of our covenant with him, and the 
 
97 
 
 frequent interchanging of solemn assurances. It is 
 not superfluous, but highly serviceable, both to our 
 holiness and our comfort, oft to present ourselves to 
 God as living sacrifices, alive from the dead. It is 
 a token of Christ’s favour to us, and must not be 
 slighted, that he not only admits, but invites us oft 
 to repeat this solemnity, and is ready again to seal 
 to us, if we be but ready to seal to him. Jonathan, 
 therefore, “ caused David to swear again, because 
 he loved him.” And an honest mind will not startle 
 at assurances. 
 
 2. Consider how poor the excuses are with which 
 men commonly justify themselves in this neglect. 
 They let slip many an opportunity of attending upon 
 the Lord in this ordinance, and why do they? 
 
 Perhaps they are so full of worldly business, that 
 they have neither time nor heart for that close ap¬ 
 plication to the work of a sacrament which they 
 know is requisite: the shop must be attended, ac¬ 
 counts must be kept, debts owing them must be got 
 in, and debts they owe must be paid; it may be, 
 some affair of more than ordinary difficulty and im¬ 
 portance is upon their hands, of which they are in 
 care about the issue, and till that be over, they think 
 it not amiss to withdraw from the Lord’s Supper. 
 And is this thy excuse? Weigh it in the balances 
 of the sanctuary then, and consider, is any business 
 more necessary than the doing of thy duty to God, 
 and the working out of thine own salvation? Thou 
 art careful and troubled about many things; but is 
 not this the one thing needful, to which every thing 
 else should be obliged to give way? Dost thou not 
 think thy worldly business v/ould prosper and sue* 
 
 E 22 
 
I 
 
 98 
 
 eeed the better for thy care about the main matter? 
 If it were left whilst thou comest hither to worship, 
 mightest thou not return to it with greater hope to 
 speed in it ? And dost thou not spare time from 
 thy business for things of much less moment than 
 this? Thou wilt find time, as busy as thou art, to 
 eat and drink, and sleep, and converse with thy 
 friends; and is not the nourishment of thy soul, its 
 repose in God, and communion with him, much more 
 necessary ? I dare say, thou wilt own it is. 
 
 If indeed thou canst not allow so much time for 
 solemn secret worship in preparation for this ordi¬ 
 nance, and reflection upon it, as others do, and as 
 thou thyself sometime hast done, and wouldst do, 
 yet let not that keep thee from the ordinance; thy 
 heart may be in heaven, when thy hands are about 
 the world; and a serious Christian may, through 
 God’s assistance, do a great deal of work in a little 
 time. If the hours that should be thus employed, 
 he trifled away in that which is idle and impertinent, 
 it is our sin; but if they be forced out of our hands 
 by necessary and unavoidable avocations, it is but 
 our affliction, and ought not to hinder us from the 
 ordinance. The less time we have for preparation, 
 the more close and intent we should be in the ordi¬ 
 nance itself, and so make up the loss. A welcome 
 guest never comes unseasonably to one that always 
 keeps a good house. 
 
 But if, indeed, thy heart is so set upon the world, 
 so filled with the cares of it, and so eager in the 
 pursuits of it, that thou hast no mind to the com¬ 
 forts of this ordinance, no spirit nor life for the 
 business of it,—surely thou hast left thy first love, 
 
99 
 
 and thou hast most need of all to come to this ordi¬ 
 nance for the recovery of the ground thou hast lost. 
 Dost thou think that the inordinacy of thine affec¬ 
 tions to the world, will he a passable excuse for the 
 coldness of thine affections to the Lord Jesus? 
 Make haste, and get this matter mended, and con¬ 
 clude, that thy worldly business then becomes a snare 
 to thee, and thy concern about it is excessive and 
 inordinate, and an ill symptom, when it prevails to 
 keep thee back from this ordinance. 
 
 Perhaps some unhappy quarrels, with some rela¬ 
 tions or with neighbours, some vexatious law-suit 
 they are engaged in, or some hot words that have 
 passed, are pleaded as an excuse for withdrawing from 
 the communion. They are not in charity with 
 others, or others are not in charity with them; and 
 they have been told, and it is undoubtedly true, that 
 it is better to stay away than come in malice; but 
 then the malice is so far from being an excuse for 
 the staying away, that really the staying away is an 
 aggravation of the malice. The law in this case is 
 very express: If thy brother has ought against thee, 
 that is, if thy conscience tell thee that thou art the 
 party offending, do not therefore leave the altar, but 
 leave thy gift before the altar, as a pawn for thy 
 return, and go first and be reconciled to thy brother, 
 by confessing thy fault, begging his pardon, and 
 making satisfaction for the wrong done, and then be 
 sure to come and offer thy gift. But, on the other 
 hand, if ye have ought against any, if thou be the 
 party offended, then forgive. Lay aside all un¬ 
 charitable thoughts, angry resentments, and desire 
 of revenge, and be in readiness to confirm and evi- 
 
 E 2 
 
100 
 
 deuce your love to those that have injured you; and 
 then, if they will not be reconciled to you, yet your 
 being reconciled to them, is sufficient to remove that 
 bar in your way to this ordinance. In short, strife 
 and contention, as far as it is our fault, must be truly 
 repented of, and the sincerity of our repentance evi¬ 
 denced by amendment of life, and then it needs not 
 hinder us; as far as it is our cross, it must be pa¬ 
 tiently borne, and we must not be disturbed in our 
 minds by it, and then it need not hinder us. And 
 that law-suit which cannot be carried on without 
 malice and hatred of our brother, had better be let 
 fall, whatever we lose. Law is costly indeed, when 
 it is followed at the expense of love and charity. 
 
 3. If the true reason of your absenting yourselves 
 so often from the Lord’s Supper be, that you are 
 not willing to take that pains with your own hearts, 
 and to lay that restraint upon yourselves both before 
 and after, which you know you must if you come; 
 if, indeed, you are not willing to have your thoughts 
 so closely fixed, your consciences so strictly examined, 
 and your engagements against sin so strongly con¬ 
 firmed, as they will be by this ordinance; if this be 
 your case, you have reason to fear that the things 
 which remain are ready to die, and your works are 
 not found filled up before God.” It is a sad sign 
 of spiritual decay, and it is time for thee to “ re¬ 
 member whence thou art fallen, and to repent, and 
 do thy first works.” Time was, when thou hadst 
 a dear love to this ordinance, when thou longedst 
 tor the returns of it, and it was to thee “ more than 
 thy necessary food: such was the kindness of thy 
 youth, such the love of thine espousals;” but it is 
 
101 
 
 otherwise now. Do you now sit loose to it? Are 
 you indifferent whether you enjoy the benefit of it 
 or not? Can you live contentedly without it? 
 You have reason to fear lest you are of those that 
 are drawing back to perdition. Having “ begun 
 in the spirit, you now end in the flesh ?” What 
 iniquity have you found in this ordinance, that you 
 have thus forsaken it? Has it been £S as a barren 
 wilderness to you, or as waters that fail?” If ever 
 it were so, was it not your own fault ? Return, 
 therefore, ye backsliding children, be persuaded to 
 return; return to God, return to your duty, to this 
 duty; be close and constant to it, as you were for¬ 
 merly; for I dare say, “ then it was better with 
 you than now.” 
 
 Those that, by the grace of God, do still keep 
 up a love for this ordinance, should contrive their 
 affairs so, as if possible not to miss any of their 
 stated opportunities for it. Thomas, by being once 
 absent from a meeting of the disciples, lost that joy¬ 
 ful sight of Christ which the rest then had. It is 
 good to have a nail in God’s holy place. Blessed 
 are they that dwell in his house; not those that turn 
 aside to tarry but for a night, but those that take it 
 for their home, their rest for ever. 
 
 Yet, if God prevent our enjoyment of an expected 
 opportunity of this kind; though we must lament it 
 as an afflictive disappointment, yet we may comfort 
 ourselves with this, that though God has tied us to 
 ordinances, he has not tied himself to them, but by 
 his grace can make providences work for the good 
 of our souls. It is better to be, like David, under 
 a forced absence from God’s altar, and have our 
 
102 
 
 hearts there, than to be, like Doeg, present under 
 a force, <c detained before the Lord,” and the heart 
 going after covetousness. It is better to be lament¬ 
 ing and longing in the want of ordinances, than 
 loathing in the fulness of them. 
 
103 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Helps for Self-examination before we come to this 
 
 Ordinance. 
 
 What it is to examine ourselves, illustrated in six similitudes, 
 particularly six questions to be put to ourselves. I. What am 
 I? Four inquiries by which to find out what our spiritual 
 state is; two directions what to do thereupon. II. What have 
 I done? Twelve questions to be put to ourselves, to bring to 
 remembrance, and directions thereupon. III. What am I 
 doing? In two things. IV. What ground do I get? Four 
 questions by which to try our growth in grace. V. What do 
 I want? What grace? What comfort? VI. What shall 1 
 resolve to do? In two things. 
 
 How earnest soever we are in pressing people to 
 join themselves to the Lord in this ordinance, we 
 would not have them to be “ rash with their mouth, 
 nor hasty to utter any thing before God.” It must 
 be done, but it must be done with great caution and 
 consideration. Bounds must be set about the mount 
 on which God will descend, and we must address 
 ourselves to solemn services with a solemn pause. 
 It is not enough that we seek God in a due ordi¬ 
 nance, but we must “ seek him in a due order,” 
 that is, we must 6i stir up ourselves to take hold on 
 him.”—“ Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.” 
 Those that labour under such an habitual indisposi¬ 
 tion to communion with God, and liable to many 
 actual discomposures, as we are conscious of to our¬ 
 selves, have need to take pains with their heart, and 
 should, with a very serious thought and steady re¬ 
 solution, engage them to approach unto God. 
 
104 
 
 Now, the duty most expressly required in our 
 preparation for the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper, 
 is that of self-examination. The apostle, when he 
 would rectify the abuses which had sullied the beauty 
 of this sacrament in the church of Corinth, prescribes 
 this great duty as necessary to the due management 
 of it, and a preservative against sharing in the guilt 
 of such corruptions. “ But let a man examine 
 himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink 
 of that cup.” He that desires the Lord’s Supper, 
 desires a good work; but let these also first be 
 proved, let them prove their own selves, and so let 
 them come; upon that condition, and with that pre¬ 
 paration, “ I will wash my hands in innocency, so 
 will 1 compass thine altar.” In this method we 
 must proceed. 
 
 “ Let a man examine himself,”—signifies either 
 to prove, or to approve, and appoint such an appro¬ 
 bation of ourselves, as it is the result of a strict and 
 close probation; and such a probation of ourselves 
 as issues in a comfortable approbation according to 
 the tenor of the new covenant. It is so to prove 
 ourselves, as to approve ourselves to God in our 
 integrity. u Lord, thou knowest all things, thou 
 knowest that I love thee;” so as to appeal to God’s 
 inquiry, “ Examine me, O Lord, and prove me.” 
 
 To examine ourselves is to discourse with our 
 own hearts; it is to converse with ourselves; a very 
 rational, needful, and improving piece of conversa¬ 
 tion. When we go about this work we must retire 
 from the world, “ sit alone, and keep silence;” we 
 must retire into our bosoms, and consider ourselves, 
 reflect upon ourselves, inquire concerning ourselves, 
 
105 
 
 enter into a solemn conference with our own souls, 
 and be inquisitive concerning our state. Those who 
 are ignorant and cannot do this, or careless and secure, 
 and will not do it, are unmeet for this ordinance. 
 
 I shall illustrate this by some similitudes. 
 
 1. We must examine ourselves, as metal is ex¬ 
 amined by the touchstone whether it be right or 
 counterfeit. We have a show of religion; but are 
 we what we seem to be ? Are we current coin, or 
 only washed over, as “ a potsherd covered with silver 
 dross ?” Hypocrites are reprobate silver. True 
 Christians, when they are tried, come forth as gold. 
 The word of God is the touchstone by which we 
 must try ourselves. Can 1 through grace answer 
 the characters which the Scriptures give of those 
 whom Christ will own and save? It is true, the 
 best coin has an alloy which will be allowed for in 
 this state of imperfection; but the question is, Is it 
 sterling,—is it standard? Though I am conscious 
 to myself there are remainders of a baser metal, 
 yet is love to God the predominant principle? Are 
 the interests of Christ the prevailing interest in my 
 soul, above those of the world and the flesh ? I bear 
 God’s image and superscription : Is it of God’s own 
 stamping? Is it upon an honest and good heart? 
 Is it a matter of great consequence, and in which it 
 is very common but very dangerous to be imposed 
 upon, and therefore we have need to be jealous over 
 ourselves? When we are bid to try the spirits, it 
 is supposed we must begin with our own, and try 
 them first. 
 
 2. We must examine ourselves, “ as a malefactor 
 is examined by the magistrate,” that we may find 
 
 e 3 
 
106 
 
 out what we have done amiss. We are all criminals; 
 that is readily acknowledged by each of us, because 
 it is owned to be the common character: 6t All have 
 sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” We 
 are ail prisoners to the divine justice, from the arrests 
 of which we cannot escape, and to the processes of 
 which we lie obnoxious: being thus in custody, that 
 we may not be judged by the Lord, we are com¬ 
 manded to judge ourselves. We must inquire into 
 the particular crimes we have been guilty of, and 
 their circumstances, that we may discover more sins, 
 and more of the evil of them, than at first we are 
 aware of: dig into the wall as Ezekiel did, and see 
 the secret abominations of your own hearts; look 
 further, as he did, and you will see more and greater. 
 The heart is deceitful, and has many devices, many 
 evasions to shift convictions; we have therefore need 
 to be very particular and strict in examining them, 
 and to give them that charge which Joshua gave to 
 Achan, when he had him under examination : “ Give 
 glory unto the God of Israel, and make a confession 
 unto him; tell me now what thou hast done, hide 
 it not from me.” 
 
 3. We must examine ourselves, as a copy is ex¬ 
 amined by the original to find out the errata, that 
 they may be corrected. As Christians, we profess 
 to be i( the epistles of Christ,” to have his law and 
 love transcribed into our hearts and lives; but we 
 are concerned to inquire, whether it be a true copy, 
 by comparing ourselves with the gospel of Christ, 
 whether our affections and conversations be conform¬ 
 able to it, and such as become it. How far do I 
 agree with it, and where are the disagreements? 
 
107 
 
 What mistakes are there? What blots and what 
 omissions ? That what hath been amiss may be 
 pardoned, and what is amiss may be rectified. In 
 this examination faith must read the original, and 
 then let conscience read the copy, and be sure that 
 it read true, because there will shortly be a review. 
 
 4. We must examine ourselves, as a candidate is 
 examined that stands for preferment. Inquiry is 
 made into his fitness for the preferment he stands 
 for; we are candidates for heaven, the highest pre¬ 
 ferment, to be to our God kings and priests. We 
 stand for a place at the wedding-feast: Have we on 
 the wedding-garment ? Are we made meet for the 
 inheritance? What knowledge have we? What 
 grace ? Are we skilled in the mystery we make pro¬ 
 fession of? What improvement have we made in 
 the school of Christ ? What proficiency in divine 
 learning? What testimonials have we to produce? 
 Can we show the seal of the Spirit of promise? If 
 not, we shall not be welcome. 
 
 5. We must examine ourselves, as a wife is ex¬ 
 amined of her consent to the levying of a fine for the 
 confirming of a covenant. It is a common usage of 
 the law\ A covenant is to be ratified between God 
 and our souls in the Lord’s Supper: Ho we freely 
 and cheerfully consent to that covenant, not merely 
 through the constraint of natural conscience, but 
 because it is a covenant highly reasonable in itself, 
 and unspeakably advantageous to us? Am I will¬ 
 ing to make this surrender of myself unto the Lord ? 
 Am I freely willing, not because I cannot help it, 
 but because I cannot better dispose of myself? We 
 must examine ourselves as Joshua examined the 
 
108 
 
 people, whether they could choose to serve the Lord 
 or not; and the product of the inquiry must be a 
 fixed resolution, like theirs, “ Nay, but we will serve 
 the Lord.” 
 
 6. We must examine ourselves, as a way-faring 
 man is examined concerning his business. Our 
 trifling hearts have need to be examined as vagrants, 
 whence they come, whither they go, and what they 
 would have; we are coming to a great ordinance, 
 and are concerned to inquire what is our end in com¬ 
 ing? What brings us thither? Is it only custom 
 or company that draws us to this duty? or is it a 
 spiritual appetite to the dainties of heaven ? Our 
 hearts must be catechized, as Elijah was: “ What 
 dost thou here, Elijah ?” That we may give a good 
 account to God of the sincerity of our intentions in 
 our approaches to him, we ought, before we come, 
 to call ourselves to an account concerning them. 
 
 More particularly, to examine ourselves, is to put 
 serious questions to ourselves, and to our own hearts; 
 and to prosecute them till a full and true answer be 
 given to them. These six questions (among others,) 
 are good for each of us to put to ourselves in our 
 preparation to the Lord’s Supper, both at our ad¬ 
 mission, and in our after approaches to it: “ What 
 am I? What have I done? What am I doing? 
 What ground do I get? What do I want? and, 
 What shall I resolve to do?” 
 
 J. Inquire, What am I?—-It needs no inquiry, 
 but it calls for serious consideration, that I am a rea¬ 
 sonable creature, lower than the angels, higher than 
 the brutes, capable of knowing, serving, and glorify¬ 
 ing God in this world, and of seeing and enjoying 
 
109 
 
 him in a better. I am made for my Creator, and 
 am accountable to him. God grant I have not such 
 a noble and excellent being in vain ! But here this 
 question has another meaning:, all the children of 
 men, by the fall of the first Adam, are become sin¬ 
 ners; some of the children of men, by the grace of 
 the second Adam, are become saints: some remain 
 in a state of nature, others are brought into a state 
 of grace: some are sanctified, others unsanctified. 
 This is a distinction which divides all mankind, and 
 which will last when all other divisions and subdivi¬ 
 sions shall be no more: for according to this will the 
 everlasting state be determined. Now, when I ask, 
 What am I ? the meaning is. To which of these two 
 do I belong? Am I in the favour of God, or under 
 his wrath and curse ? Am I a servant of God, or a 
 slave to the world and the flesh ? Look forward and 
 ask, “ Whither am I going ?” To heaven or hell ? 
 If I should die this night, (and I am not sure to live 
 till to-morrow,) whither would death bring me? 
 Where would death lodge me ? In endless light, or 
 in utter darkness ? Am I in the narrow way that 
 leads to life, or in the broad way that leads to de¬ 
 struction ? I am called a Christian, but am I a 
 Christian indeed ? Have I a nature answerable to 
 the name ? 
 
 It highly concerns us all to be strict and impartial 
 in this inquiry. What will it avail us to deceive 
 ourselves ? God cannot be imposed upon, though 
 men may. It is undoubtedly true, if we be not 
 saints on earth, we shall never be saints in heaven. 
 It is not a small thing about which I am now per¬ 
 suading thee to inquire: no, it is thy life, thy pre- 
 
110 
 
 cious life, the life of thy soul, thine eternal life, 
 which depends upon it. Multitudes have been de¬ 
 ceived in this matter, whose ways seemed right, but 
 the end of it proved the ways of death; and after 
 they had long flattered themselves in their own eyes, 
 they perished at last, with a lie in their right hand. 
 We also are in danger of being deceived, and there¬ 
 fore have need to be jealous over ourselves with a 
 godly jealousy; and being told that many who eat 
 and drink in Christ’s presence, will be disowned and 
 rejected by him in the great day, we have each of us 
 more reason to suspect ourselves than the disciples 
 had, and to ask, 66 Lord, is it I ?” 
 
 But it especially concerns us to insist upon this 
 inquiry, when we draw near to God in the Lord’s 
 Supper. It is children’s bread that is there prepared : 
 Am I a child ? If not, I have nG part nor lot in the 
 matter. I am there to seal a covenant with God; 
 but, if I never made the covenant, never in sincerity 
 consented to it, I shall put the seal to a blank, nay, 
 to a curse. 
 
 Therefore, that I may consider, in some measure, 
 what my spiritual state is, let me seriously inquire, 
 
 1. What choice have I made?—Have I chosen 
 God’s favour for my felicity and satisfaction, or the 
 pleasures of sense, and the wealth of this world? 
 Since I came to be capable of acting for myself, and 
 discerning between my right hand and my left, have 
 I made religion my deliberate choice? Have I 
 chosen God for my portion, Christ for my Master, 
 the Scripture for my rule, holiness for my way, and 
 heaven for my home and everlasting rest ? If not, 
 how can I expect to have what I never chose? If 
 
Ill 
 
 my covenant with the world and the flesh (which 
 certainly amounts to a covenant with death, and an 
 agreement with hell,) be still in force, and never yet 
 broken, never yet disannulled, what have I to do to 
 take God’s covenant, and the seal of it into my 
 mouth ? But if I have refused Satan’s offers of the 
 kingdom of this world, and the glory of them, and 
 given the preference to the gospel offer of a kingdom 
 in the other world, and the glory of that, I have 
 reason to bless the Lord who gave me that counsel, 
 and to hope that he, who hath directed me to choose 
 the way of truth, will enable me to t£ stick to his 
 testimonies.” 
 
 2. What change have I experienced ?—When 
 I ask, Am I a child of wrath, or a child of love? I 
 must remember that I was by nature a child of wrath. 
 Now, can I witness to a change ? Though I cannot 
 exactly tell the time and manner, and the steps of 
 that change, yet “ one thing I know, that whereas 
 I was blind, now I see.” Though, in many respects, 
 it is still bad with me, yet, thanks be to God, it is 
 better with me than it has been. Time was, when 
 I minded nothing but sport and pleasure, or nothing 
 but the business of this world; when I never seri¬ 
 ously thought of God and Christ, and my soul and 
 another world: but now it is otherwise; now I see a 
 reality in invisible things. I find an alteration in 
 my care and concern ; and now I ask more solicitously, 
 “ What shall I do to be saved ?” than ever I asked, 
 u What shall I eat, or what shall I drink, or where¬ 
 withal shall I be clothed ?” Time was, when this 
 vain and carnal heart of mine had no relish at all of 
 holy ordinances, took no delight in them, called them 
 
112 
 
 a task and a weariness. But now it is otherwise; I 
 love to be alone with God, and though I bring little 
 to pass, yet I love to be doing in his service. If I 
 have, indeed, experienced such a change as this; 
 if this blessed turn be given to the bent of my soul, 
 grace, free grace, must have the glory of it, and I 
 may take the comfort of it. But if I have not found 
 any such work wrought in my heart; if I am still 
 what I was by nature, vain, and carnal, and careless; 
 if Jordan runs still in the old channel, and was never 
 yet driven back before the ark of the covenant; I 
 have reason to suspect the worst by myself. If all 
 go one way without struggle or opposition, it is to be 
 feared it is not the right way. 
 
 3. What is the bent of my affections?—The 
 affections are the pulse of the soul. If we would 
 know its state, we must observe how that pulse beats. 
 How do I stand affected to sin? Do I dread it as 
 most dangerous, loathe it as most odious, and com¬ 
 plain of it as most grievous? Or do I make a light 
 ' matter of it, u as the madman that casteth fire¬ 
 brands, arrows, and death, and saith, Am not I in 
 sport?” Which lies heavier, the burden of sin, or 
 the burden of affliction ; and of which am I most de¬ 
 sirous to be eased ? What think I of Christ? How 
 do I stand affected to him ? Do I love him, and 
 prize him as the fairest among ten thousand ? Or 
 hath he in mine eyes no form nor comeliness, and is 
 he no more than another beloved ? How do I stand 
 affected to the word and ordinances? Are God’s 
 tabernacles amiable with me, or are they despicable ? 
 Am I in God’s service, as in my element, as one that 
 calls it a delight ? Or am I in it as under confine- 
 
113 
 
 ment, and as one that calls it a drudgery ? How do 
 I stand affected to good people ? Do I love the 
 image of Christ whenever I see it, though it be 
 in rags, or though not in my own colour? Do I 
 honour them that fear the Lord, and choose his 
 people for my people, in all conditions ? Or do I 
 prefer the gaieties of the world before the beauties 
 of holiness ? How do I stand affected to this world ? 
 Is it under my feet, where it should be; or in my 
 heart, where Christ should be? Do I value it, and 
 love it, and seek it with a prevailing concern? Or 
 do I look upon it with a holy contempt and indiffer¬ 
 ence ? Which have the greater command over me, 
 and which, in my account, have the most powerful 
 and attractive charms; those riches, honours, and 
 pleasures that are worldly, or those that are spiritual 
 and divine? How do I stand affected to the other 
 world ? Do I dread eternal misery in a world of 
 spirits, more than the greatest temporal calamities 
 here in this world of sense? Do I desire eternal 
 happiness in a future state, more than the highest 
 contentments and satisfactions to which this present 
 state can pretend ? Or are the things of the other 
 world, though sure and near, looked upon as doubt¬ 
 ful and distant, and consequently little ? By a close 
 prosecution of such inquiries as these, with a charge 
 to conscience, in God’s name, to make a true answer 
 to them, we may come to know our own selves. 
 
 4. What is the course and tenor of our conversa¬ 
 tions?—The tree is known by its fruits. Do I 
 work the works of the flesh, or bring forth the fruits 
 of the Spirit ? The apostle gives us instances of 
 both. Be not deceived yourselves, neither let any 
 
114 
 
 man deceive you: “ He that doth righteousness, is 
 righteous.’' And the surest mark of uprightness 
 is, “ keeping ourselves from our own iniquity.” Do 
 I allow myself in any known sin, under the cloak of 
 a visible profession ? Dare I, upon any provoca¬ 
 tion, swear or curse, or profane God’s holy name, 
 and therein speak the language of his enemies ? Dare 
 I, upon any allurement to please my appetite, or 
 please my company, drink to excess, and sacrifice my 
 reason, honour, and conscience, to that base and 
 brutish lust? Dare I defile a living temple of the 
 Holy Ghost by adultery, fornication, uncieanness, or 
 an act of lasciviousness ? Dare I tell a lie for my 
 gain or reputation ? Dare I go beyond or defraud 
 my brother in any matter, cheat those I deal with, 
 or oppress those I have advantage against ? Dare 
 I deny relief to the poor that really need it, when it 
 is in the power of my hand to give it? Dare I bear 
 malice to any, and study revenge ? If so, I must 
 know that these are not the spots of God’s children. 
 If this be the life I live, I am certainly a stranger to 
 the life of God. But if, upon search, my own heart 
 tells me that I keep myself pure from these pollu¬ 
 tions, and tc herein exercise myself, to have alwa}'s a 
 conscience void of offence, both towards God and 
 towards man if I have respect to all God’s com¬ 
 mandments, and make it my daily care in every thing 
 to frame my life according to them, and to keep in 
 the fear of God every day, and all the daylong; and 
 wherein I find I am defective, and come short of my 
 duty, I repent of it, and am more watchful and dili¬ 
 gent for the future: I have reason to hope, that 
 though I have not attained, neither am already per- 
 
115 
 
 feet, yet there is a good work begun in me, which 
 shall be performed unto the day of Christ. 
 
 Thus we must examine our spiritual state; and, 
 that the trial may come to an issue, we must earnestly 
 pray to God to discover us unto ourselves, and must 
 be willing to know the truth of our case : and the 
 result must be this: — 
 
 1. If we find cause to fear that our spiritual state 
 is bad, and that we are yet unsanctified and unre¬ 
 generate, we must give all diligence to get the matter 
 mended. If our state be not good, yet, thanks be 
 to God, it may be made good: <e There is hope in 
 Israel concerning this thing.” Rest not, therefore, 
 in thy former faint purposes and feeble efforts; but 
 consider more seriously than ever the concerns of thy 
 soul. Pray more seriously than ever for the sancti¬ 
 fying grace of God; put forth thyself more vigor¬ 
 ously than ever to improve that grace; resolve more 
 firmly than ever to live a holy life, and depend more 
 closely than ever upon the merit and strength of Jesus 
 Christ, and I hope thou wilt soon experience a blessed 
 change. 
 
 2. If we find cause to hope that our spiritual state 
 is good, we must take the comfort of it, and give God 
 the praise, and not hearken to the tempter when he 
 would disturb our peace, and hinder our progress, by 
 calling it in question. Though we must always abase 
 ourselves, and be jealous over ourselves, yet we must 
 not derogate from the honour of God’s grace, nor 
 deny its work in us. God keeps us all, both from 
 deceiving ourselves with groundless hopes, and from 
 disquieting ourselves with groundless fears. 
 
 II, Inquire, What have I done?—We come to 
 
116 
 
 
 1 
 
 the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper, to receive the 
 remission of our sins, according to the tenor of the 
 new covenant. Now, one thing required of us, in 
 order to peace and pardon, is, that we confess our 
 sins. If we do that, “ God is faithful and just to 
 forgive them.” But if we cover them, we cannot 
 prosper. Not that we can, by our confession, in¬ 
 form God of any thing he did not know before, as 
 earthly princes are informed by the confessions of 
 criminals; but this, we must give glory to God, and 
 take shame to ourselves, and strengthen our own 
 guard against sin for the future. In the confession 
 of sin, it is requisite that we be particular ; the high 
 priest, on the day of atonement, must confess over 
 the scape-goat, ts all the iniquities of the children of 
 Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins.” 
 It is not enough to say, as Saul, “ I have sinned 
 but we must say, as David, “ I have sinned, and 
 done this evil;” as Achan, c< I have sinned, and 
 thus and thus have I done.” A broken heart will 
 thereby be more broken, and better prepared to be 
 bound up; a burdened conscience will thereby be 
 eased, as David’s was when he said, £{ I will confess.” 
 Commonly, the more particular and free we are in 
 confessing our sins to God, the more comfort we have 
 in the sense of the pardon : deceit lies in generals. 
 
 It is therefore necessary, in order to a particular 
 confession of sin, that we “ search and try our ways;” 
 that we examine our consciences, look over their re¬ 
 cords, examine the actions of our past life, and seri¬ 
 ously call to mind wherein we have offended God in 
 any thing. The putting of this question is spoken 
 of as the first step towards repentance : <f No man 
 
 
 
117 
 
 repenteth him of his wickedness, saying, What have 
 I done ?” For want of this inquiry duly made, when 
 men are called to return, they baffle the call with 
 that careless question, “ Wherein shall we return ?” 
 Let us therefore set ourselves to look back, and re¬ 
 member our faults this day : it is better to be minded 
 of them now, when the remembrance of them will 
 open us a door of hope, than be minded of them in 
 hell, where sin remembered will aggravate an endless 
 despair. 
 
 We ought to be often calling ourselves to an ac¬ 
 count : in the close of every day, of every week, the 
 day’s work, the week’s work should be reviewed. It 
 is one of the richest of Pythagoras’ golden verses, 
 wherein, though a heathen, he adviseth his pupil, 
 every night before he sleeps, to go over the actions 
 of the day, and revolve them three times in his mind, 
 asking himself seriously these questions :—Where¬ 
 in have I transgressed ? What have 1 done ? What 
 duty hath been omitted ?” The oftener it is done, 
 the easier it is done: even reckonings make long 
 friends. But it is especially necessary that it be 
 done before a sacrament: former reflections made, 
 ought then to be repeated; and with a particular ex¬ 
 actness we must consider what our ways have been 
 since we were last renewing our covenants with God 
 at his table, that we may be humbled for the follies 
 to which we have returned since God spoke peace to 
 us, and may be more particular and steady in our 
 resolutions for the future. 
 
 To give some assistance in this inquiry, I shall 
 instance some heads of it. Let the interrogatories 
 be such as these :— 
 
118 
 
 1. How have I employed my thoughts ? Hath 
 God been in all my thoughts ?—It is well if he has 
 been in any. When I awake, am I still with him ? 
 Or am I not still with the world and the flesh ? 
 When I should have been contemplating the glory 
 of God, the love of Christ, and the great things of 
 the other world, hath not my heart been with the 
 fool’s eyes in the ends of the earth, e< following after 
 lying vanities, and forsaking mine own mercies?” 
 How seldom have I thought seriously, and with any 
 fixedness, on spiritual and divine things ? I set my¬ 
 self sometimes to meditate, but I soon break off ab¬ 
 ruptly, and this treacherous heart starts aside like a 
 broken bow, and nothing that is good is brought to 
 any head; but bow have vain and vile thoughts lodged 
 within me, gone out and come in with me, lain down 
 and risen up with me, and crowded out good thoughts? 
 Hath not the “ imaginations of the thoughts of my 
 heart” been evil, only evil, and that continually? 
 
 2. How have I governed my passions?—Have 
 they been kept under the dominion of religion and 
 right reason ? Or have they not grown intempe¬ 
 rate and headstrong, and transgressed due bounds ? 
 Have not provocations been too much resented, and 
 made too deep an impression ? Hath not my heart 
 many times been bot within me, too hot, so that its 
 heat hath consumed the peace of my own mind, and 
 the love I owe my brother ? Hath not anger rested 
 in my bosom ? Have not malice and uncharitable¬ 
 ness, secret enmities and antipathies, been harboured 
 there, where love and peace should have reigned and 
 given law. 
 
 3. How have I preserved my purity?—Have I 
 
119 
 
 possessed ray vessel in sanctification and honour, or 
 am I not conscious to myself of indulging the lust 
 of uncleanness? If, by the grace of God, I have 
 kept my body pure, yet hath not my spirit been de¬ 
 filed by impure thoughts and affections ? I have 
 made a covenant with mine eye not to look and lust, 
 but have I made good that covenant? Have I in 
 no instance transgressed the laws of chastity in my 
 heart, and modesty in my behaviour? Let this in¬ 
 quiry be made with a strict guard upon the soul, lest 
 that which should not be named among Christians, 
 be thought of without that just abhorrence and de¬ 
 testation which becometh saints. 
 
 4. H ow have I used my tongue?-—It was de¬ 
 signed to be my glory, but has it not been my 
 shame? Hath not much corrupt communication 
 proceeded out of my mouth, and little of that which 
 is good, which might either manifest grace, or minis¬ 
 ter grace? Have not I sometimes spoken unad¬ 
 visedly, and said that in haste which at leisure I 
 could have wished unsaid? Have not I said that, 
 by which God’s great name hath been dishonoured, 
 or my brother’s good name reproached, or my own 
 exposed ? If, for every idle word that I speak, I 
 must give account to God, I had best call myself to 
 an account for them, and I shall find innumerable 
 evils compassing me about. 
 
 5. How have I spent my time ?—So long as I 
 have lived in the world, to what purpose have I 
 lived ? What improvement have I made of my days 
 for doing or getting good ? It is certain I have lost 
 time; have I yet begun to redeem it, and to repair 
 those losses? How many hours have I spent that 
 
120 
 
 might have been spent much better ? There is a 
 duty which every day requires, but how little of it 
 has been done in its day ? 
 
 6. How have I managed my worldly calling ?— 
 H ave I therein abode with God, or have I not in 
 many instances of it w’andered from him ? Have 
 I been just and fair in all my dealings, and spoken 
 the truth from my heart? Or have I not some¬ 
 times dealt deceitfully in bargaining, and said that 
 which bordered upon a lie? Hath not fleshly wis¬ 
 dom governed me mere than that simplicity and godly 
 sincerity which becomes an Israelite indeed ? Have 
 I no wealth got by vanity, no unjust gain, no blot 
 of that kind cleaving to my hand ? 
 
 7. Ho w have I received my daily food ?—Have 
 I never transgressed the law of temperance in meat 
 and drink, and so made my table my snare ? Have 
 not God’s good gifts been abused to luxury and 
 sensuality, and the body, which, by the sober use of 
 them, should have been fitted, by the excessive use 
 of them, unfitted to serve the soul in the service of 
 God ? Have I not eaten to myself, and drunk to 
 myself, when I should have eaten and drunk to the 
 glory of God? 
 
 8. How have I done the duty of my particular 
 relations?—The word of God hath expressly taught 
 me my duty as a husband, a wife, a parent, a child, 
 a master, a servant; but have I not in many things 
 failed of my duty? Have not I carried myself dis- 
 respectly to my superiors, disdainfully to my in¬ 
 feriors, and disingenuously to my equals ? Have I 
 given to each that which is just and right, and ren¬ 
 dered to all their dues? Have I been a comfort to 
 my relations, or have I not caused grief? 
 
m 
 
 9. How have I performed my secret worship ?—-■ 
 Have I been constant to it, morning and evening; or 
 have I not sometimes omitted it, and put it by with 
 some frivolous excuse ? Have I been conscientious 
 in it, and done it with an eye to God; or have I 
 not kept it up merely as a custom, and suffered it to 
 degenerate into a formality? Have I been lively 
 and serious in secret prayer and reading; or have I 
 not rested in the outside of the performance, without 
 any close application and intention of mind in it ? 
 
 10. How have I laid out what God has given 
 me in the world ?—I am but a steward ; have I been 
 faithful? Have I honoured the Lord with my sub¬ 
 stance, and done good with it; or have I wasted and 
 misapplied my Lord’s goods ? Hath God had his 
 dues, my family and the poor their dues, out of my 
 estate? What should have been consecrated to 
 piety and charity, hath it not been either sinfully 
 spared, or sinfully spent ? 
 
 11. How have I improved the Lord’s day, and 
 the other helps I have had for my soul ?—I enjoy 
 great plenty of the means of grace; have I grown in 
 grace in the use of those means, or have I not re¬ 
 ceived the grace of God therein in vain ? Have I 
 6i called the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, 
 and honourable;” or have I not snuffed at it, and 
 said, 4C When will the Sabbath be gone ?” How 
 have I profited by sermons and sacraments, and the 
 other advantages of solemn assemblies ? Llave I 
 received and retained the good impressions of holy 
 ordinances; or have I not lost them, and let them 
 slip ? 
 
 12. How have I borne my afflictions?-—When 
 
 F 22 
 
122 
 
 providence bad crossed me, and frowned upon me, 
 what frame have I been in, repining or repenting? 
 Have I submitted to the will of God in my afflic¬ 
 tions, and patiently accepted the punishment of my 
 iniquity; or have I not striven with my Maker, 
 and quarrelled with his disposals? When mine 
 own foolishness hath perverted my way, hath not my 
 heart fretted against the Lord ? What good have 
 I gotten to my soul by my afflictions ? What in¬ 
 ward gain by outward losses? Hath my heart been 
 more humbled and weaned from the world ; or have 
 I not been hardened under the rod, and trespassed 
 yet more against the Lord ? 
 
 Many such queries might be instanced, but these 
 may suffice for a specimen. Yet it will not suffice 
 to put these questions to ourselves, but we must dili¬ 
 gently observe what return conscience, upon an im¬ 
 partial search, makes to them. We must not do as 
 Pilate did, when he asked our Saviour, What is 
 truth ? but would not stay for an answer. No, we 
 must take pains to find out what hath been amiss, 
 and herein must accomplish a diligent search. 
 
 And, as far as we find ourselves not guilty, we 
 must own our obligations to the grace of God, and 
 return thanks to that grace, and let the testimony 
 of conscience for us be our rejoicing. u If our 
 hearts condemn us not, then we have confidence to¬ 
 wards God.” 
 
 As far as we find ourselves guilty, we must be 
 humbled before God for it, mourn and be in bitter¬ 
 ness at the remembrance of it, cry earnestly to God 
 for pardon of it, and be particular in our resolutions, 
 by God’s grace, to sin no more. Pray as Job is 
 
ns 
 
 taught—“ That which I see not teach thou me;” and 
 promise follows there-—“ Wherein I have done ini¬ 
 quity, I will do so no more.” 
 
 III. Inquire, What am I doing?—When we 
 have considered what our way hath been, it is time 
 to consider what it is. “ Ponder the path of thy 
 feet.” 
 
 1. What am I doing in the general course of my 
 conversation ? Am I doing any thing for God, for 
 my soul, for eternity; any thing for the service of 
 tny generation; or am I not standing all the day 
 idle? It is the law of God’s house, as well as of 
 ours, (i He that will not labour, let him not eat.” 
 
 If I find that, according as my capacity and oppor¬ 
 tunity is through the grace of Christ, I am going on 
 in the way of God’s commandments, this ordinance 
 will be comforting and quickening to me; but if I 
 give way to spiritual sloth and slumber, and do not 
 mind my business, let this shame me out of it, and 
 humble me for it: How unworthy am I to eat my 
 master’s bread, while I take no care to do my mas¬ 
 ter’s work ! 
 
 2. What am I doing in this approach to the or¬ 
 dinance of the Lord’s Supper ?—I know what is to 
 be done, but am I doing it ? Do I apply myself to 
 it in sincerity, and with a single eye; in a right man¬ 
 ner, and for right ends ? Am I by repentance un¬ 
 doing that which I have done amiss? And am I, 
 by renewing my covenant with God, doing that 
 better, which I have formerly done well? Am I 
 joining myself unto the Lord, with purpose of heart 
 to cleave unto him to the end? It is the prepara¬ 
 tion of the passover; am I doing the work of that 
 
 F 2 
 
I 
 
 124 
 
 day in its day? Am I purging out the old leaven, 
 buying such things as I have need of against the 
 feast, without money and without price? Am I en- 
 gaging my heart to approach unto God, or am I 
 thinking of something else? Am I slothful in this 
 business, or do I make a business of it ? 
 
 Here it is good to examine, whether, beside the 
 common and general intentions of this ordinance, 
 there be not something particular, which I should 
 more especially have in my eye, in my preparation 
 for it. Ho I find my heart at this time more than 
 usually broken for sin, and humbled at the remem¬ 
 brance of it ? Let me then set in vigorously with 
 those impressions, and drive that nail. Or, is my 
 heart in a special manner affected with the love of 
 Christ, and enlarged in holy wonder, joy, and praise? 
 Let its outgoings that way be quickened, and those 
 thoughts imprinted deep, and improved. 
 
 IV. Inquire, What ground do I get?-—If, upon 
 examination, there appear some evidences of the 
 truth of grace, I must then examine my growth in 
 grace; for grace, if it be true, will be growing: 
 6< That well of water will be springing up, and he 
 that hath clean hands will be stronger and stronger.” 
 There is a spiritual death, or at least some prevail¬ 
 ing spiritual disease, where there is not some im¬ 
 provement and progress towards perfection. 
 
 By what measures, then, may I try my growth in 
 grace ? 
 
 1. Ho I find my practical judgment more settled 
 and confirmed in its choice of holiness and heaven? 
 If so, it is a sign I am getting forward. We can¬ 
 not judge of ourselves by the pangs of affection ; 
 
125 
 
 > 
 
 those may be more sensible and vehement at first; 
 and their being less so afterwards, ought not to dis¬ 
 courage us. The fire may not blaze so high as it 
 did, and yet may burn better and stronger. But do 
 I see more and more reason for my religion ? Am 
 I more strongly convinced of its certainty and ex¬ 
 cellency, so as to be able, better than at first, to 
 “ give a reason of the hope that is in me ?” My 
 first love was able to call religion a comfortable ser¬ 
 vice ; was my after light better able to call it a rea¬ 
 sonable service? I was extremely surprised, when, 
 at first, 44 I saw men as trees walking;” but, am I 
 now better satisfied, when I begin to see all things 
 more clearly ? Am I, through God’s grace, better 
 rooted ? Or am I, through my own folly, still as a 
 44 reed shaken with the wind ?” 
 
 2. Do I find my corrupt appetites and passions 
 more manageable; or are they stiil as violent and 
 headstrong as ever ? Doth the house of Saul 
 grow weaker and weaker, and its struggles for the 
 dominion less frequent, and more feeble ? If so, it 
 is a good sign : the house of David grows stronger 
 and stronger. Though these Canaanites are in the 
 land, yet do they not make head as they have done, 
 but are under tribute: then the interests of Is¬ 
 rael are getting ground. Do I find that my desires 
 towards those things that are pleasing to sense are 
 not so eager as they have been, but the body is kept 
 more under, and brought into subjection to grace 
 and wisdom; and it is not so hard a thing to me, as 
 it had been sometimes to deny myself? Do I find 
 that my resentment of those things which are dis¬ 
 pleasing to the flesh, are not so deep and keen as 
 
126 
 
 they have been ? Can I bear afflictions from a right¬ 
 eous God, and provocations from unrighteous men, 
 with more patience, and better composure and com¬ 
 mand of myself, than I could have done? Am 1 
 not so peevish and fretful, and unable to bear an 
 affront or disappointment, as sometimes I have been ? 
 If so, surely He that hath fis begun the good work, 
 is carrying it on.” But if nothing be done towards 
 the suppressing of these rebels, towards the weeding 
 out of these “ roots of bitterness which spring up 
 and trouble us,” though we lament them, yet we do 
 not prevail against them ; it is to be feared we stand 
 as a stay, or go back. 
 
 3. Do I find the duties of religion more easy and 
 pleasant to me; or am I still as unskilful and un¬ 
 ready in them as ever? Do I go dexterously about 
 a duty, as one that understands it, and is used to it, 
 and as a man that is master of his trade goes on with 
 the business of it; or do I go awkwardly about 
 it, as one not versed in it? When God calls, Seek 
 ye my face; do I, like the child Samuel, run to Eli, 
 and terminate my regards in the outside of the ser¬ 
 vice; or do I, like the man David, cheerfully 
 answer, “ Thy face, Lord, will I seek ;” and so enter 
 into that within the vail ? Though, on the one 
 hand, there is not a greater support to hypocrisy, 
 than a formal customary road of external perform¬ 
 ances; yet, on the other hand, there is not a surer 
 evidence of sincerity and growth, than an even, con¬ 
 stant, steady course of lively devotion, which, by 
 daily use, becomes familiar and easy, and, by the new 
 nature, natural to us. A growing Christian takes 
 this word before him, and sings at it. 
 
127 
 
 4. Do I find my heart more weaned from this 
 present life, and more willing to exchange it for a 
 better; or am I still loath to leave it? Are 
 thoughts of death more pleasing to me than they 
 have been, or are they still as terrible as ever ? If, 
 through grace, we are got above the fear of death, 
 by reason of which many weak and trembling Chris¬ 
 tians are all their life-time subject to bondage, and 
 can truly say, “We desire to depart and to be with 
 Christ, which is far better,” it is certain we are get¬ 
 ting ground, though we have not yet attained it. 
 
 5. If, upon search, we find that we make no 
 progress in grace and holiness, let the ordinance of 
 the Lord’s Supper be improved for the furtherance 
 of our growth, and the removal of that, whatever it 
 is, which hinders it; if we find we thrive, though 
 but slowly, and though it is not so well with us as it 
 should be, yet, through grace, it is better with us 
 than it hath been, and that we are not always babes, 
 let us be encouraged to abound so much the more. 
 “ Go and prosper, the Lord is with thee, whilst 
 thou art with him.” 
 
 V. Inquire, What do I want?—A true sense of 
 our spiritual necessities is required to qualify us for 
 spiritual supplies. The hungry only are filled with 
 good things. It concerns us, therefore, when we 
 come to an ordinance, which is as a spiritual market, 
 to consider what we have occasion for, that we may 
 know what to lay hold on, and may have an answer 
 ready to that question which will be put to us at that 
 banquet of wine—“ What is thy petition, and what is 
 thy request ?” Or that which Christ put to the blind 
 man—“ What will ye that I shall do unto you?” 
 
128 
 
 u Grace and peace from God the Father, and 
 from our Lord Jesus Christ, are inclusive of all the 
 blessings we can desire, and have in them enough to 
 supply all our needs. Since, therefore, we must act 
 <and receive, that our joy may be full, it concerns us 
 to inquire what particular grace and comfort we need, 
 that we may, by faith and desire, reach forth towards 
 that in a special manner. 
 
 1. What grace do I most want?—Wherein do 
 I find myself most defective, weakest, and most ex¬ 
 posed ? What corruption do I find working most 
 in me? The grace that is opposite to that, I must 
 need. Am I apt to be proud or passionate? Hu¬ 
 mility and meekness, then, are the graces I most 
 want. Am I apt to be timorous and distrustful ? 
 Faith and hope, then, are the graces I most want. 
 With what temptations am I most frequently as¬ 
 saulted ? Which way doth Satan get most ad¬ 
 vantage against me,—by my constitution, calling, or 
 company? There I must want help from heaven, 
 and strength to double my guard. Am I in danger 
 of being drawn by my outward circumstances to in¬ 
 temperance or deceit, or oppression or dissimulation ? 
 Then sobriety, justice, and sincerity are the graces 
 I most want. What is the nature of the duties I 
 am mostly called out to, and employed in? Are 
 they such as oblige me to stoop to that which is 
 mean ? Then self-denial is the grace I most want. 
 Are they such as oblige me to struggle with that 
 which is difficult and discouraging ? Then courage 
 and wisdom are the graces I most want. Whatever 
 our wants are, there are promises in the new cove¬ 
 nant adapted to them, which, in this ordinance, wg 
 
129 
 
 must, in a particular manner, apply to ourselves, and 
 claim the benefit of it, and receive as sealed to us. 
 If we cannot bethink ourselves of particular promises 
 suited to our case, yet there is enough in the gen¬ 
 eral ones: i( I will put my Spirit within you, and 
 cause you to walk in my statutes/’ “ I will put my 
 law in your hearts,” £t and my fear,” and many such 
 like. And we know who hath said, <£ My grace is 
 sufficient for thee.” 
 
 2. What comfort do I most want?-—What is the 
 burden that lies most heavy? I must seek for sup¬ 
 port under that burden. What is the grief that is 
 most grieving? I must seek for a balance to that 
 grief. The guilt of sin is oft disquieting to me: O 
 for the comfort of a sealed pardon ! The power of 
 corruption is very discouraging : O for the comfort of 
 victorious grace ! I am often tossed with doubts and 
 fears about my spiritual state, as if the Lord had 
 6i utterly separated me from his people, and I were 
 a dry tree:” O for the comfort of clear and un¬ 
 clouded evidences ! I am sometimes tempted to say, 
 The Lord hath forsaken me, my God hath forgotten 
 me:” O that he would seal to my soul that precious 
 promise, “ I will never leave thee nor forsake thee!” 
 But my greatest trouble arises from the sense of my 
 own weakness, and tendency to backslide; and I am 
 sometimes ready to make that desperate conclusion, 
 “ I shall one day perish by the hand of Saul:” O 
 that I may have the comfort of that promise, “ I 
 will put my fear in their hearts, that they will not 
 depart from me.” There is, in the covenant of 
 grace, a salve for every sore, a remedy for every ma¬ 
 lady, comforts suited to every distress and sorrow-;, 
 
 f 3 
 
130 
 
 but that we may have the benefit of them, it is re¬ 
 quisite that we <£ know every one his own sore, and 
 his own grief,” that we may spread it before the 
 Lord, and may apply to ourselves that relief which 
 is proper for it, and 46 from the fulness which is in 
 Jesus Christ, may receive, and grace for grace/'’ 
 grace for all occasions. 
 
 Here it may be of use to take cognizance even of 
 our outward condition, and inquire into the cares 
 and burdens, the crosses and necessities of that; for 
 even against those there is comfort provided in the 
 new covenant, and administered in this ordinance, 
 44 Godliness hath the promise of the life that now 
 is.” When Christ was inviting his disciples to come 
 and dine with him, he asked them first, 64 Children, 
 have ye any meat ?” Christ’s inquiry into our af¬ 
 fairs, directs us to make known before him in parti¬ 
 cular, the trouble of them. Let every care be cast 
 upon the Lord in this ordinance, lodged in his hands, 
 and left with him; and let our own spirits be eased 
 of it, by the application of that general word of 
 comfort to this particular case, whatever it is, 44 He 
 careth for you.” What is the concern I am most 
 thoughtful about, relating to myself, my family, or 
 friends? Let that way be committed to the Lord, 
 and to his wise and gracious conduct and disposal; 
 and then let my thoughts concerning it be established. 
 What is the complaint I make most feelingly ? Is 
 it of a sickly body, disagreeable relations, a declin¬ 
 ing estate, the removal of those by death that were 
 very dear? Whatever it is, spread it before the 
 Lord, as Hezekiah did Rabshakeh’s letter, and allow 
 no complaint that is not fit to be spread before him. 
 
331 
 
 When God came to renew his covenant with Abra¬ 
 ham, and to tell him that he was his shield, and his 
 exceeding great reward, Abraham presently puts in 
 a remonstrance of his grievance: i6 Behold, to me 
 thou hast given no seed.” Hannah did so, when 
 she came up to worship. And we also must bring 
 with us such a particular sense of our afflictions, as 
 will enable us to receive and apply the comforts here 
 offered to us, and no more. Holy David observed 
 how his house was with God, and that it was not 
 made to grow, when he was taking the comfort of this, 
 that, however it were, “ God hath made with him 
 an everlasting covenant.” 
 
 VI. Inquire, What shall I resolve to do?—This 
 question is equivalent to that of Paul, fi< Lord, what 
 wilt thou have me to do?” We come to this ordi¬ 
 nance solemnly to engage ourselves against all sin, 
 and to all duty; and therefore it is good to consider 
 what that sin is which we should particularly covenant 
 against, and what that duty to which we should most 
 expressly oblige ourselves. Though the general 
 covenant suffice to bind conscience, yet a particular 
 article will be of use to mind conscience, and to make 
 the general engagement the more effectual. It is 
 good to be particular in our pious resolutions, as well 
 as in our penitent reflections. 
 
 For our assistance herein let us inquire, 
 
 1. Wherein have we hitherto missed it most ?— 
 Where we have found ourselves most assaulted by 
 the subtlety of the tempter, and most exposed by our 
 own weakness, there we should strengthen our de¬ 
 fence and double our guard. What is the sin that 
 hath most easily beset me—the well-circumstanced 
 
132 
 
 sin ? That is it which I must more particularly resol ve 
 against in the strength of the grace of God. What 
 is the duty 1 have most neglected, have been most 
 backward to, and most careless in ? To that I must 
 most solemnly bind my soul v;ith this bond. 
 
 2. Wherein we may have the best opportunity of 
 glorifying God?—-What can I do in my place for 
 the service of God’s honour, and the interests of his 
 kingdom among men? “ The liberal deviseth li¬ 
 beral things,” and so the pious deviseth pious things, 
 that he may both engage and excite himself to those 
 liberal pious things, in and by this ordinance. What 
 is the talent I am entrusted with the improvement 
 of? My Lord’s goods I am made steward of. 
 What is it that is expected from one in my capacity ? 
 What fruit is looked for from me? That is it that 
 I must especially have an eye to in my covenants 
 with God; to that I must bind my soul; for that I 
 must fetch in help from heaven, that, having sworn, 
 I may perform it. 
 
138 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Instructions for Renewing our Covenants with God¬ 
 in our Preparation for this Ordinance . 
 
 I. In what method we must renew our covenant with God. 
 (r.) We must repent of our sins, by which we have rendered our¬ 
 selves unworthy to be taken into covenant: three things to 
 be lamented, (n.) We must renounce the devil, the world, and 
 the flesh: opened in three things, (in.) We must receive Christ 
 as offered to us, consenting to bis grace, and to his government, 
 (iv,) We must resign, and give up ourselves to God in Christ; 
 devote ourselves to his praise, and submit ourselves to his' 
 power: in three things, (v.) W T e must resolve to abide in it: 
 opened in two things, (vi.) We must rely on the righteousness 
 and strength of Christ herein: opened in two things. II. 
 After what manner we must renew our covenant; intelligently, 
 considerately, humbly, cheerfully, and in sincerity. 
 
 It is the wonderful condescension of the God of 
 heaven, that he hath been pleased to deal with man 
 in the way of a covenant, that, on the one hand, we 
 might receive strong consolations from the promises 
 of the covenant, which are very sweet and precious; 
 and, on the other hand, might lie under strong obli¬ 
 gations from the conditions of the covenant, which, 
 on this account, have greater cogency in them than 
 mere precept, that we ourselves have occasioned to 
 them, and that we have therein consulted our own 
 interest and advantage. 
 
 The ordinance of the Lord’s Supper, being a seal 
 of the covenant, and the solemn exchanging of the 
 ratifications of it, it is necessary we make the cove- 
 
134 
 
 nant before we pretend to seal it. In this order, 
 therefore, we must proceed,—first give the hand to 
 the Lord, and then enter into the sanctuary; first in 
 secret consent to the covenant, and then solemnly 
 testify that consent: this is like a contract before 
 marriage. They that <c ask the way to Zion, with 
 their faces thitherward, must join themselves to the 
 Lord in a perpetual covenant.” The covenant is 
 mutual, and in vain do we expect the blessings of the 
 covenant, if we be not truly willing to come under the 
 bonds of the covenant. We must 66 enter into cove¬ 
 nant with the Lord our God, and into his oath else 
 he doth not “ establish us this day for & people unto 
 himself.” We are not owned and accepted as God’s 
 people, though we c< come before him as his people 
 come,” and sit before him as his people sit, if we 
 do not in sincerity “ avouch the Lord for our God.” 
 In our baptism this was done for us, in the Lord’s 
 Supper we must do it for ourselves, else we do nothing. 
 
 Let us consider then, in what method, and after 
 what manner, we must manage this great transaction. 
 
 I. In what method we must renew our cove¬ 
 nant with God in Christ, and by what steps we must 
 proceed. 
 
 (i.) We must repent of our sins, by which we have 
 rendered ourselves unworthy to be taken into cove¬ 
 nant with God. Those that would be exalted to 
 this honour, must first humble themselves. <c God 
 layeth his beam in the waters.” The foundations 
 of spiritual joy are laid in the waters of penitential 
 tears, therefore this sealing ordinance sets that before 
 us which is proper to move our godly sorrow: in it 
 we look on him whom we have pierced, and if we do 
 
135 
 
 not mourn, and be not in bitterness for him, surely 
 “ our hearts are as hard as a stone, yea, harder than 
 a piece of the nether millstone.” Those that join 
 themselves to the Lord, must go weeping to do it: 
 so they did—“ In those days, and in that time, 
 saith the Lord, the children of Israel shall come, 
 they and the children of Judah together, going and 
 weeping: they shall go, and seek the Lord their 
 God. They shall ask the way to Zion, with their 
 faces thitherward, saying, Come, and let us join our¬ 
 selves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that shall 
 not be forgotten.” That comfort is likely to last, 
 which takes rise from deep humiliation and contrition 
 of soul for sin. Those only that go forth weeping, 
 bearing this precious seed, shall come again rejoicing 
 in God as theirs, and bring the sheaves of covenant 
 blessings and comforts with them. Let us therefore 
 
 begin with this: 
 
 1. We have reason to bewail our natural estrange¬ 
 ment from this covenant. When we come to be for 
 God, we have reason to be affected with sorrow and 
 shame, that ever we were for any other; that ever 
 there should have been occasion for our reconciliation 
 to God, which supposeth that there hath been a 
 quarrel. Wretch that I am, ever to have been a 
 stranger, an enemy to the God that made me, at war 
 with my Creator, and in league with the rebels 
 against his crown and dignity ! O the folly, and 
 wickedness, and misery, of my natural estate ! My 
 first father an Amorite, and my mother a Hittite, 
 and myself a transgressor from the womb, alienated 
 from the life of God, and cast out in my pollution. 
 Nothing in me lovely, nothing amiable, but a great 
 
136 
 
 deal loathsome and abominable. Such as this wa3 
 my nativity} my original. 
 
 2. We have reason to bewail our backwardness 
 to come into this covenant. Well may we be 
 ashamed to think how long God called, and we re¬ 
 fused ; how oft he stretched forth his hand before we 
 regarded; how many offers of mercy we slighted, 
 and against how many kind invitations we stood out; 
 
 how long* Christ stood at the door and knocked be- 
 © 
 
 fore we opened to him; and how many frivolous ex¬ 
 cuses we made to put off this necessary work. What 
 a fool was I to stand in my own light so long ! 
 How ungrateful to the God of love, who waited to 
 be gracious ! How justly might I have been for 
 ever excluded from this covenant, who so lonjj ne- 
 glected that great salvation ! Wherefore I abhor 
 myself. 
 
 3. We have reason to bewail the inconsistency of 
 our hearts and lives to the terms of this covenant, 
 since first we professed our consent to it. In many 
 instances we have dealt foolishly, it is well if we have 
 not dealt falsely in the covenant. In our baptism 
 we were given up to Christ to be his, but we have 
 lived as if we were our own; we then put on the 
 Christian livery, but we have done little of the 
 Christian’s work; we were called by Christ’s name 
 to take away our reproach, but how little have we 
 been under the conduct and government of the Spirit 
 of Christ? Since we became capable of acting for 
 ourselves, perhaps we have oft renewed our covenant 
 with God, at his table, and upon other occasions; 
 but we have despised the oath, “ in breaking the co¬ 
 venant, when, lo, we had given the hand !” Our 
 
137 
 
 performances have not answered the engagements 
 have solemnly laid ourselves under. Did we not 
 say, and say it with the blood of Christ in our hands, 
 that we would be the faithful servants of the God of 
 heaven ? We did; and yet instead of serving God, 
 we have served divers lusts and pleasures, we have 
 made ourselves slaves to the flesh, and drudges to 
 the world; and this <£ hath been our manner from 
 our youth up.” Did we not say, <s we would not 
 transgress, we would not offend any more?” We 
 did ; and yet c< our transgressions are multiplied, and 
 in many things we offend daily. Did we not say, 
 we would walk more closely with God, more circum¬ 
 spectly in our conversation, we would be better in our 
 closets, better in our families, better in our callings, 
 every way better? We did; and yet we are still 
 vain and careless, and unprofitable; all those good 
 purposes have been to little purpose; this is a lamen¬ 
 tation, and should be for a lamentation. Let our 
 hearts be truly broken for our former breach of co- 
 vanant with God, and then the renewing of our cove¬ 
 nant will be the recovery of our peace, and that which 
 was broken shall be bound up, and made to rejoice. 
 
 (n.) We must renounce the devil, the world, and 
 the flesh, and every thing that stands in opposition 
 to, or competition with, the God to whom we join 
 ourselves by covenant. If we will indeed deal sin¬ 
 cerely in our covenanting with God, and would be 
 accepted of him therein, our <e covenant with death 
 must be disannulled, and our agreement with hell 
 must not stand.” All these foolish, sinful agree¬ 
 ments, which were indeed null and void from the 
 beginning, by which we had alienated ourselves from 
 
138 
 
 our rightful owner, and put ourselves in possession 
 of the usurper, must be revoked and cancelled, and 
 our consent to them drawn back with disdain and 
 abhorrence. When we take an oath of allegiance to 
 God and Christ as our rightful king and sovereign, 
 we must herein adjure the tyranny of the rebellious 
 and rival powers. 44 O Lord our God, other lords 
 besides thee have had dominion over us,” while sin 
 hath reigned in our mortal bodies, in our immortal 
 souls, and every lust hath been a lord; but now we 
 are weary of that heavy yoke, and through God’s 
 grace it shall be so no longer; for, from henceforth, 
 44 by thee only will we make mention of thy name.” 
 
 The covenant into which we are to enter is a mar¬ 
 riage covenant, 44 thy Maker is to be thy husband,” 
 and thou art to be betrothed to him ; and it is the 
 ancient and fundamental law of that covenant, that 
 all other lovers be renounced, all other beloved ones 
 forsaken, and the same is the law of this covenant: 
 44 Thou shalt not be for another man, so will I also 
 be for thee.” Quitting all others, we must cleave 
 to the Lord only; lovers and crowned heads will not 
 endure rivals; on these terms, and no other, we may 
 covenant with God: 44 If ye do return unto the 
 Lord with all your hearts, then put away the strange 
 gods and Ashtaroth,” else it is not a return to God. 
 
 1. We must renounce all subjection to Satan’s 
 rule and government. Satan’s seat must be over¬ 
 turned in our hearts, and the Redeemer’s throne set 
 up there upon the ruins of it. We must disclaim 
 the devil’s power over us, cast off that iron yoke, and 
 resolved to be deceived by bim no more, and led 
 captive by him at his will no more. We must quit 
 
139 
 
 the service of the citizen of that country, and feed 
 his swine no longer, feed upon his husks no more, 
 that we may return to our father’s house, where there 
 is bread enough and to spare. We must renounce 
 the treacherous conduct of the evil spirit, that we 
 may put ourselves under the guidance of the holy 
 and good Spirit. All that turn to God, must turn 
 from the power of Satan : for what communion hath 
 Christ with Belial. Our covenant with God en- 
 gageth us in a war with Satan; for the controversy 
 between them is such as will by no means allow us 
 to stand neutral. 
 
 2. We must renounce all compliance with the 
 wills and interests of the flesh. The body, though 
 near and dear to the soul, yet must not be allowed 
 to have dominion over it. The liberty, sovereignty, 
 and honour of the immortal spirit, by which we were 
 allied to the upper world; that world of spirits must 
 be asserted, vindicated, and maintained against the 
 usurpation and encroachments of the body, which is 
 of the earth earthly, and by which we are allied to 
 the beasts that perish. The elder too long hath 
 served the younger, the nobler hath served the baser ; 
 it is time that the yoke should be broken from off* 
 its neck, and that that part of the man should rule 
 under Christ, whose right it is. The servants on 
 horseback must be dismounted, the lust of the flesh 
 denied, and its will no longer admitted to give law 
 to the man : and the princes, who have walked like 
 servants upon the earth, must be raised from the 
 dunghill, and made to inherit the throne of glory; 
 the dictates I mean of right reason, guided by reve¬ 
 lation, and, consulting the true interest of the better 
 
140 
 
 part, must have the commanding sway and empire 
 in us. We must never more make it our chief good 
 to have the flesh pleased, and the desires of it grati¬ 
 fied, nor ever make it our chief business to make 
 provision for the flesh, that we may fulfil the lusts 
 of it. Away with them, away with them; crucify 
 them, crucify them; for, like Barabbas, they are 
 robbers, they are murderers, they are enemies to our 
 peace. We will not have them to reign over us; 
 no, no, we know them too well; we have no king 
 but Jesus. 
 
 3. We must renounce all dependence upon this 
 present world, and conformity to it. If we enter 
 into a covenant which ensures us a happiness in the 
 other world, on which we look with a holy concern, 
 we must disclaim the expectations of happiness in 
 this world, and therefore look upon this with a holy 
 contempt. God and mammon, God and gain, these 
 are contrary the one to the other. So that if we 
 will be found loving God, and cleaving to him, we 
 must despise the world, and sit loose to that. We 
 must so far renounce the way of the world, as not 
 to govern ourselves by that, and take our principles 
 and measures from it; for we must not be <c con¬ 
 formed to this world,” nor “ walk according to the 
 course of it.” We must so far renounce the men 
 of the world, as not to incorporate ourselves with 
 them, nor choose them for our people; because, 
 though we are in the world, we are not of the world, 
 nor have we received the spirit of the world, but 
 Christ hath chosen and called us out of it. We 
 must so far renounce the wealth of the world, as not 
 to portion ourselves out of it, nor lay up our trea- 
 
141 
 
 sure in it; nor to take up with the things of this 
 world, as our good things, as our consolation, as our 
 reward, as the penny we agree for. For in God’s 
 favour is our life, and not in the smiles of this world. 
 The Lord make us cordial in thus renouncing these 
 competitors, that we may be found sincere in cove¬ 
 nanting with God in the Lord Jesus Christ ! 
 
 (in.) We must receive the Lord Jesus Christ, as 
 he is offered to us in the gospel. In renewing our 
 covenants with God, it is not enough to enter our 
 dissent from the world and the flesh, and to shake 
 off Satan’s yoke, but we must enter our consent to 
 Christ, and take upon us his yoke. In the ever¬ 
 lasting gospel, both as it is written in the Scripture, 
 and as it is sealed in this sacrament, salvation by 
 Christ, that great salvation, is fairly tendered to us 
 who need it and are undone for ever without it. We 
 then come into covenant with God, when we accept 
 of this salvation, with an entire complacency and con¬ 
 fidence in those methods which infinite wisdom hath 
 taken, of reconciling a guilty and obnoxious world 
 to himself by the mediation of his own Son, and a 
 cheerful compliance with those methods for ourselves 
 and our own salvation.—Lord, I take thee at thy 
 word : be it unto thy servant according to that word, 
 which is so well ordered in all things, and so sure ! 
 
 We must accept the salvation in Christ’s way, and 
 upon his terms, else our acceptance is not accepted. 
 
 By a h earty consent to the grace of Christ, we 
 must accept the salvation in his own way, in such a 
 way as for ever excludes boasting, humbles man to 
 the dust, and will admit no flesh to glory in his pre¬ 
 sence ; such a way as, though it leaves the blood of 
 
142 
 
 them that perish upon their own heads, yet lays all 
 the crowns of them that are saved at the feet of free 
 grace. This method we must approve of, and love 
 this salvation; not going about to establish our own 
 righteousness, as if, by pleading not guilty, we could 
 answer the demands of the covenant of innocency, 
 and so be justified and saved by that,—but submit¬ 
 ting 6i to the righteousness of God by faith.” All 
 the concerns that lie between us and God, we must 
 put into the hands of the Lord Jesus, as the great 
 Mediator, the great manager; we must be content 
 to be nothing, that the Lord alone may be exalted, 
 and Christ may be all in all. God hath declared 
 more than once by a voice from heaven, 6i This is 
 my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” To 
 consent to Christ’s grace, and accept of salvation in 
 his way, is to echo back that solemn declaration,— 
 This is my beloved Saviour in whom I am well 
 pleased: the Lord will be pleased with me in him ; 
 for out of him I can expect no favour. 
 
 By a hearty consent to the government of Christ, 
 we must accept the salvation on his own terms. 
 When we receive Christ, we must receive an entire 
 Christ; for, <e is Christ divided ?” A Christ to 
 sanctify and rule us, as well as a Christ to justify 
 and save us; for lie is a priest upon his throne, and 
 the council of peace is between them both. What 
 God has joined together, let us not think to put 
 asunder. He saves his people from their sins, not 
 in their sins ; and is the author of eternal redemption 
 to those only that obey him. That very “ grace of 
 God which bringeth salvation, teacheth us to deny 
 ungodliness, and worldly and fleshly lusts, and to 
 
143 
 
 live soberly, righteously, and godly in this world.” 
 Life and peace are to be had on these terms, and on 
 no other; and are we willing to come up to these 
 terms? Will we receive Christ and his law, as well 
 as Christ and his love ? Christ and his cross as 
 well as Christ and his crown ? Lord, I will, saith 
 the believing soul; Lord, I do. 6i My beloved is 
 mine, and I am his,” to all the intents and purposes 
 of the covenant. 
 
 (iv.) We must resign and give up ourselves to 
 God in Christ.—God in our covenant makes over 
 not only his gifts and favours, but himself to us: 
 
 I will be to them a God.” What he is in him¬ 
 self, he will be to us a God all-sufficient: so we in 
 the covenant must offer up, not only our services, 
 but ourselves; our own selves, body, soul, and spirit, 
 to God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, accord¬ 
 ing to the obligations of our baptism, as those that 
 are bound to be to him a people. This surrender 
 is to be solemnly made at the Lord’s table, and sealed 
 there; it must therefore be prepared and made ready 
 before. Let us see to it, that it be carefully drawn 
 up without exception or limitation, and the heart 
 examined, whether a free and full consent be given 
 to it. We must first give our ownselves unto the 
 Lord, and I know not how we can dispose of our¬ 
 selves better. By the mercies of God, which are 
 inviting, and very encouraging, we must be wrought 
 upon to present our bodies and souls to God a living 
 sacrifice of acknowledgment, not a dying sacrifice 
 of atonement; which, if it be holy, shall be accepta¬ 
 ble, and it is our reasonable service. Thus he that 
 covenants with God, is directed to say, “ I am the 
 
IU 
 
 Lord’s, and for the greater solemnity of the transao 
 tion, to subscribe with his hand unto the Lord.” 
 Not that we do, or can hereby transfer or convey to 
 God any right to us which we had not before. Pie 
 is our absolute Lord and owner, and hath an incon- 
 testible sovereignty over us and propriety in us, as 
 he is our Creator, Preserver, Benefactor, and Re¬ 
 deemer; but hereby we recognize and acknowledge 
 his right to us. We are his already by obligation, 
 more his than our own; but, that we may have the 
 benefit and comfort of being so, we must be his by 
 our own consent. More particularly, 
 
 1. To resign ourselves to God, is to u dedicate 
 and devote ourselves to his praise.” It is not 
 enough to call ourselves by his name, and associate 
 ourselves with those that do so, to take away our 
 reproach; but we must consecrate ourselves to his 
 name, as living temples. It is a gift, a gift to God ; 
 all I am, all I have, all I can do is so; it is a dedi¬ 
 cated thing, which it is sacrilege to alienate. All 
 the powers and faculties of our souls, all the parts 
 and members of our bodies, we must, as those that 
 are alive from the dead, freely yield unto God as 
 instruments of righteousness, to be used and em¬ 
 ployed in his service for his glory. All our endow¬ 
 ments, all our attainments, all those things we call 
 accomplishments, must be accounted as talents, which 
 we must trade with for his honour. All being of 
 him and from him, all must be to him and for him. 
 Our tongues must not be our own, but his in nothing 
 to offend him, but to speak his praise, and plead his 
 cause, as there is occasion. Our time not our own, 
 but as a servant’s time, to be spent according to our 
 
145 
 
 Master’s directions, and some way or other to our 
 Master’s glory, every day being in this sense our 
 Lord’s day. Our estates not our own, to be spent 
 or spared by the direction of our lusts, but to be 
 used as God directs: “ God must be honoured with 
 our substance,”— u and our merchandise and our 
 hire must be holiness to the Lord.” Our interest 
 not our own, with it to seek our own glory, but to 
 be improved in seeking and serving God’s glory; 
 that is, God’s glory must be fixed and aimed at as 
 our highest and ultimate end, in all the care we take 
 about our employments, and all the comforts we take 
 in our enjoyments. “ As good stewards of the 
 manifold grace of God,” we must have this still in 
 our eye, “ that God in all things may be glorified 
 through Jesus Christ.” By this pious attention 
 common actions must be sanctified, and done “ after 
 a godly sort.” Our giving up ourselves to be to 
 God a people, is thus explained: 44 To be to him 
 for a name and for a praise, and for a glory.” 
 
 2. To resign ourselves to God, 44 is to subject 
 and submit ourselves to his power;” to the sanctify¬ 
 ing power of his Spirit, the commanding power of 
 his law, and the disposing power of his providence. 
 Such as this is the subjection to which we must con¬ 
 sent, and it hath in it so much of privilege and ad¬ 
 vantage, as well as duty and service, that we have no 
 reason to stumble at it. 
 
 (1.) We must submit ourselves to the sanctifying 
 power of God’s Spirit.—We must lay our souls as 
 soft wax under this seal, to receive the impressions 
 of it; as white paper under this pen, that it may 
 write the law there. Whereas we have resisted 
 
 22 
 
 G 
 
146 
 
 the Holy Ghost, quenched his motions, and striven 
 against him when he hath been striving with us, we 
 must now yield ourselves to be led and influenced 
 by him, with full purpose of heart in every thing to 
 follow his conduct, and comply with him. When 
 Christ in his gospel breathes on us, saying, <£ Re¬ 
 ceive ye the Holy Ghost,” my heart must answer, 
 <s Lord, I receive him,” I bid him welcome into my 
 heart; though he comes as a spirit of judgment, and 
 a spirit of burning, as a refiner’s fire, and fuller’s 
 soap, yet, et blessed is he that cometh in the name of 
 the Lord.” Let him come and mortify my lusts 
 and corruptions, I do not desire that any of them 
 should be spared; let them die, let them die by the 
 sword of the Spirit, Agag himself not excepted, 
 though he comes delicately. Let every thought 
 within me, even the inward thought, “ be brought 
 into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” Let the 
 blessed Spirit do his whole work in me, and fulfil it 
 with an almighty power. 
 
 (2.) We must submit ourselves to the command¬ 
 ing power of God’s law. The law, as it is in the 
 hand of the Mediator, is God’s instrument of go¬ 
 vernment; if I yield myself to him as a subject, I 
 must in every thing be observant of, and obedient 
 to, that law: and now I covenant to be so, in all my 
 way to walk according to that rule; all my thoughts 
 and affections, all my words and actions, shall be 
 under the direction of the divine law, and subject to 
 its check and restraint. God’s judgments will I lay 
 before me, and have respect to all his commandments; 
 by them I will always be ruled, overruled. “ Let 
 the word of the Lord come,” as a good man once 
 
147 
 
 said, " and if I had six hundred necks, I would bow 
 them all to the authority of it.” Whatever appears 
 to me to be my duty, by the grace of God I will do 
 it, how much soever it interfere with my secular in¬ 
 terest; whatever appears to me to be a sin, by the 
 grace of God I will avoid it, and refrain from it, 
 how strong soever my corrupt inclination may be to 
 it: <fi All that the Lord shall say to me, I will do, 
 and will be obedient.” 
 
 (3.) We must submit ourselves to the disposing 
 power of God’s providence. This must be the rule 
 of our patience and passive obedience, as the former 
 of our practice and active obedience. All my affairs 
 relating to this life, I cheerfully submit to the divine 
 disposal; let them be directed and determined as in¬ 
 finite wisdom sees fit, and I will acquiesce. Let the 
 Lord save my soul, and then as to every thing else, 
 u let him do with me and mine as seemeth good unto 
 him.” I will never find fault with any thing that 
 God doth. “ Not as I will, but as thou wilt.” I 
 know I have no wisdom of my own; I am a fool, if 
 I lean to my own understanding; and therefore I 
 will have no will of my own : “ Father, thy will be 
 done.” 'The health of my body, the success of my 
 calling, the prosperity of my estate, the agreeable¬ 
 ness of my family, the continuance of my comforts, 
 and the issue of any particular concern, my heart is 
 open, I leave in the hands of my heavenly Father, 
 who knows what is good for me, better than I do 
 for myself. If in any of these I be crossed, by the 
 grace of God I will submit without murmuring or 
 disputing. All is well that God doth, and therefore 
 
 g 2 
 
148 
 
 welcome the will of God in every event; while he is 
 mine and I am his, nothing shall come amiss to me. 
 
 (v.) We must resolve to abide by it as long as 
 we live, and to live up to it. In our covenanting 
 with God, there must be, not only a present consent, 
 Lord, I do take thee for mine, I do give up myself 
 to thee, to be thine,—but this must be ripened into 
 a resolution for the future, ii with purpose of heart 
 to cleave unto the Lord.” We must lay hold on 
 wisdom, so as to retain it; and choose the way of 
 truth, so as to stick to it. “ The nail in the holy 
 place must be well cleansed, that it may be a nail in 
 a sure place.” Many a pang of good affections, and 
 many a hopeful turn of good inclinations, comes to 
 nothing, for want of resolution. It is said of Re¬ 
 hob oam, that he “ did evil, because he prepared not, 
 or he fixed not, his heart;” so the word is in the 
 margin, “ to seek the Lord.” The heart that is 
 unfixed, is unprepared. Joshua took pains with the 
 people, to bring them up to that noble resolution, 
 (( Nay, but we will serve the Lord.” And we 
 should not be content till we are also in like manner 
 resolved, and firmly fixed, for God and duty, for 
 Christ and heaven. This is the preparation of the 
 gospel of peace, wherewith our feet must be shod. 
 
 Let us inquire what that resolution is, to which, 
 in an entire dependence upon the grace of Christ, 
 we should come up, in our everlasting covenanting 
 with God. 
 
 1. We must come up to such a settled resolution 
 as doth not reserve a power of revocation for our¬ 
 selves. The covenant is in itself a perpetual cove¬ 
 nant, and as such we must consent to it; not as ser- 
 
149 
 
 vants hire themselves, for a year, or to be free at a 
 quarter’s warning; not as apprentices bind them¬ 
 selves, for seven years, to be discharged at the ex¬ 
 piring of that term; but it must be a covenant for 
 life, a covenant for eternity, a covenant never to be 
 forgotten; and in this even beyond the marriage- 
 covenant, for that is made with this proviso, ts Till 
 death us do part:” but death itself must not part us 
 and Christ. Our covenant must be made like that 
 servant’s, who loved his master, and would not go 
 out free; our ears must be nailed to God’s door-post, 
 and we must resolve to serve him for ever. A power 
 of revocation reserved, is a disannulling of the cove¬ 
 nant. It is no bargain, if it be not for a perpetuity, 
 and if we consent not to put it past recal. 
 
 Let not those that are young, and under tutors 
 and governors, think to discharge themselves of those 
 obligations, when they come to be of age, and to put 
 them off with their childish things; no, you must 
 resolve to adhere to it, as Moses did, when you come 
 to years. As children are not too little, so grown 
 people are not too big, to be religious. You must 
 resolve to live under the bonds of this covenant, 
 when you come to live of yourselves, to be at your 
 own disposal, and to launch out never so far into this 
 world. Your greatest engagements in care and 
 business, cannot disengage you from these. What¬ 
 ever state of life you are called to, you must resolve 
 to take your religion with you into it. 
 
 Let not those who are in the midst of their days 
 think it possible or desirable to outlive the binding 
 force of this covenant. If now we set out in the 
 way we should go, it must be with a resolution; if 
 
150 
 
 we live to be old, how wise and honourable soever 
 old age be, yet then we 6t will not depart from it;” 
 as knowing that the hoary hairs are then only <s a 
 crown of glory, when they are found,” as having been 
 long before fixed “ in the way of righteousness.” 
 
 2. We must come up to such a strong resolution 
 as will not yield to the power of temptation from 
 the enemy. When we engage ourselves for God, 
 we engage ourselves against Satan, and must expect 
 his utmost efforts to oppose us in our way, and to 
 draw us out of it. Against these designs we must 
 therefore arm ourselves, resolving to stand in the 
 evil day, and having done all in God’s name, to 
 stand our ground, saying to all that which would 
 either divert or deter us from prosecuting the choice 
 we have made, as Ruth did to Naomi, when she was 
 steadfastly resolved:-—Entreat me not to leave Christ, 
 or turn from following after him : for whither he 
 goes, I will follow him, though it be to banishment; 
 where he lodges, I will lodge with him, though it be 
 in a prison; for death itself shall never part us. 
 
 We must resolve, by God’s grace never to be so 
 elevated or enamoured with the smiles of the world, 
 as by them to be allured from the paths of serious 
 godliness; for our religion will be both the safety 
 and honour of a prosperous condition, and will sanc¬ 
 tify and sweeten all the comforts of it to us. 
 
 And we must in like manner resolve never to be 
 so discouraged and disheartened by the frowns of 
 the world, as by the force of them to be robbed of 
 our joy in God, or by the fear of them to be driven 
 from our duty to God. We must come to Christ 
 with a steady resolution to abide by him in all con- 
 
151 
 
 ditions: 66 Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever 
 thou goest. Though I should die with thee, yet will 
 I not deny thee. None of these things move me.” 
 
 (vi.) We must rely upon the righteousness and 
 strength of our Lord Jesus Christ in all this.— 
 Christ is the Mediator of this peace, and the gua¬ 
 rantee of it, the surety of this better covenant, that 
 blessed days-man, which hath laid his hand upon us 
 both, who hath so undertaken for God, that 4< in 
 him all God’s promises to us, are yea and amen 
 and unless he undertakes for us too, how can our 
 promises to God have any strength or stability in 
 them ? When, therefore, we enter into covenant 
 with God, our eye must be to Christ, the Alpha and 
 Omega of that covenant. When God had “ sworn 
 by himself, that unto him every knee should bow, 
 and every tongue shall swear,” immediately it fol¬ 
 lows: “ Surely shall one say,” every one that vows 
 and swears to God, “ in the Lord have I righteous¬ 
 ness and strength;” in the Lord Jesus is all my suf¬ 
 ficiency for the doing of this well. In making and 
 renewing our covenant with God, we must take in¬ 
 structions from that of David: 6i I will go on in the 
 strength of the Lord God; I will make mention of 
 thy righteousness, even of thine only.” 
 
 1. We must depend upon the strength of the 
 Lord for assistance, and for the working of all our 
 works in us and for us. In that strength we must 
 go, go forth, and go on, as those that know we can 
 do nothing that is good of ourselves; our own hands 
 are not sufficient for us, but we can 66 do all things 
 through Christ strengthening us.” Our work then 
 goes on, and then only, when we are “ strengthened 
 
1 52 
 
 with all might by his Spirit/’ This way we must 
 look for spiritual strength, as Nehemiah : “ Now, 
 therefore, O God, strengthen my hands.” On this 
 strength we must stay ourselves, in this strength we 
 must engage ourselves, and put forth ourselves, and 
 with it we must encourage ourselves. 
 
 We cannot keep this covenant when it is made, 
 nor make it at all, but in the strength of Christ. 
 Nature, corrupt nature, inclines to the world and the 
 flesh, and cleaves to them ; without the influences 
 of special grace, we should never move towards God, 
 much less resolve for him; we cannot do it well, but 
 in Christ’s strength, and in a dependence upon that. 
 If, like Peter, we venture on our own sufficiency, 
 and use those forms of speech which import a reli¬ 
 ance on the divine grace, only as words of course, 
 and do not by faith trust to that grace, and derive 
 from it, we forfeit the aids of it, our covenant is 
 rejected as presumptuous, and shall not avail us. 
 Promises made in our own strength betray us, and 
 do not help us, like the house built on the sand. 
 We cannot keep this covenant, when it is made, but 
 in the strength of Christ: for we stand no longer 
 than be by his grace upholds us; we go no further 
 than he by bis grace, not only leads us, but carries 
 us. Plis promises to us are our security, not ours 
 to him; from his fulness, therefore, we must expect 
 to receive grace for grace: for it is not in ourselves, 
 nor is it to be had any where but in him. 
 
 We then that are principals in the bond, knowing 
 ourselves insolvent, must put him in as surety for us. 
 He is willing to stand, and without him our bond 
 will not be taken. We are too well known to be 
 
153 
 
 trusted; for all men are liars, and the heart is de¬ 
 ceitful above all things. Go to Christ, therefore, 
 with that address—- 4 ‘ Be surety for thy servant for 
 good.” “ I am oppressed, undertake for me.” 
 
 2. We must depend on the righteousness of 
 Christ, making mention of that, even of that only, 
 for acceptance with God in our covenanting with 
 him : we have nothing in us to recommend us to 
 God’s favour, no righteousness of our own wherein 
 to appear before him; we have by sin not only for¬ 
 feited all the blessings of the covenant, but incapaci¬ 
 tated ourselves for admission into it. By sacrifice 
 therefore, by a sacrifice of atonement, sufficient to 
 expiate our guilt, and satisfy the demands of injured 
 justice, we must make a covenant with God; and 
 there is none such but that one offering by which 
 Christ has “ perfected for ever them which are sanc¬ 
 tified ;” that is, the blood of the covenant, which 
 must be sprinkled upon our consciences, when we 
 join ourselves to the Lord. That everlasting right¬ 
 eousness, which Messiah the prince hath brought in, 
 must be the cover of our spiritual nakedness, our 
 wedding-garment to adorn our nuptials, and the 
 foundation on which we must build all our hopes, to 
 find favour in the sight of God. 
 
 I shall not here draw up a form of covenanting 
 with God, both because such may be found drawn 
 up by far better hands than mine, as Mr. Baxter, 
 Mr. Alleine, and others, and because a judicious 
 Christian may, out of the foregoing heads, easily 
 draw up one for himself. 
 
 II. After what manner we must renew our cove- 
 
 G 8 
 
154 
 
 nant with God, that we may therein please God, 
 and experience the good effect of it on our souls. 
 
 1. We must do it intelligently.—Blind promises 
 will produce lame performances, and can never be 
 acceptable to the seeing God: ignorance is not the 
 mother of this devotion. Satan indeed puts out 
 men’s eyes, and so brings them into bondage to him, 
 and leads them blindfold; for he is a thief and a 
 robber, that comes not in by the door, but climbeth 
 up some other way: and therefore to him we must not 
 open. But the grace of God takes the regular way 
 of dealing with reasonable creatures,—opening the 
 understanding first, and then bowing the will: this is 
 entering in by the door, as the shepherd of the sheep 
 doth. In this method, therefore, we must see that 
 the work be done. We must first acquaint ourselves 
 with the tenor of the covenant, and then consent to 
 the terms of it. Moses read the book of the cove¬ 
 nant in the audience of the people, and then sprink¬ 
 led upon them the blood of the covenant. And we 
 must take the same method : first peruse the articles, 
 and then sign them. That faith which is without 
 knowledge, is not the faith of God’s elect. 
 
 2. We must do it considerately. We need not 
 take time to consider whether we should do it or 
 not, the matter is too plain to bear that debate; we 
 must seriously consider what we do, when we go 
 about it. Let it be done with a solemn pause, such 
 as Moses put Israel upon, when he said, u Ye stand 
 this day all of you before the Lord your God, that 
 thou shouldest enter into covenant with the Lord 
 your God, and into his oath.” Consider how 
 weighty the transaction is; that it may be managed 
 
155 
 
 with due seriousness: and of what consequence it is 
 that it be done well; for it is to be hoped, if it be 
 once well done, it is done for ever. We must sit 
 down and count the cost, consider the restraints this 
 covenant will put upon the flesh, the loss and ex¬ 
 pense we may sustain by our adherence to it, the 
 hazards we run, and the difficulties we must reckon 
 upon, if we will be faithful unto death,—and in the 
 view of this consent to the covenant, that hereafter, 
 when tribulation and persecution arise because of the 
 word, we may not say, This was what we did not 
 think of. Do it deliberately therefore, and then it 
 will not be easily undone. The rule in vowing is, 
 66 Be not rash with thy mouth, neither let thy heart 
 be hasty to utter any thing before God.” It is the 
 character of a virtuous woman, that <c she considers 
 a field and buys it.” And it hath been thought a 
 dictate of prudence, though it seem a paradox,— 
 “ Take time, and you will have done the sooner.” 
 Many that, without consideration, hath put on a 
 profession, when the wind hath turned, hath in like 
 manner, without consideration, thrown it off again. 
 Light come, light go. Those, therefore, that herein 
 would prove themselves honest, must prove them¬ 
 selves wise. 
 
 We must do it humbly.—When we come to 
 covenant with God, we must remember what we are, 
 and who he is with whom we have to do, that the 
 familiarity to which we are graciously admitted, may 
 not beget a contempt of God, or a conceit of our¬ 
 selves; but rather, the more God is pleased to exalt 
 us, and condescend to us, the more we must honour 
 him, and abase ourselves: “ Abraham fell on his 
 
156 
 
 face,” in a deep sense of his own unworthiness, 
 when God said, “ I will make my covenant between 
 me and thee,” and began to talk with him concern¬ 
 ing it. And afterwards, when he was admitted into 
 an intimate communion with God, pursuant to that 
 covenant, he drew near as one that knew his distance, 
 expressing himself with wonder at the favour done 
 him : 66 Behold, now I have taken upon me to speak 
 unto the Lord, who am but dust and ashes.” When 
 the covenant of royalty was confirmed to David, and 
 God regardeth him according to the estate of a 
 man of high degree,” he sits down as one astonished 
 at the honour conferred upon him, and humbly ex- 
 presseth himself thus —- u Who am I, O Lord God, 
 and what is mine house, that thou hast brought me 
 hitherto?” Thus must we cast ourselves down at 
 the footstool of God’s throne, if we would be taken 
 up into the embraces of his love. He that humbles 
 himself, shall be exalted. 
 
 We must do it cheerfully: for here, in a special 
 manner, God loves a cheerful giver, and is pleased 
 with that which is done, not of constraint, but wil¬ 
 lingly. In our covenanting with God, we must 
 not be actuated by a spirit of fear, but by a spirit of 
 adoption, a spirit of power and love, and a sound 
 mind* We must join ourselves to the Lord, not 
 only because it is our duty, and that which we are 
 bound to, but because it is our interest, and that by 
 which we shall be unspeakably gainers,—not with 
 reluctance and regret, and with a half consent extorted 
 from us, but with an entire satisfaction, and the full 
 consent of a free spirit. Let it be a pleasure to us 
 to think of our interest in God as ours, and our en- 
 
157 
 
 gagement to him as his; a pleasure to us to think 
 of the bonds of the covenant, as well as of the bless¬ 
 ings of the covenant. Much of our communion 
 with God (which is so much the delight of all that 
 are sanctified) is kept up by the frequent recognition 
 of our covenant with him, which we should make as 
 those that like their choice too well to change; and 
 as the men of Judah did, when <£ they sware unto 
 the Lord with a loud voice, and with shouting and 
 with trumpets, and all Judah rejoiced at the oath; 
 for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought 
 him with their whole desire.” Christ’s soldiers must 
 be volunteers, not pressed men; and we must repeat 
 our consent to him with such joy and triumph as ap¬ 
 pears in that of the spouse, This is ray beloved, 
 and this is my friend.” 
 
 We must do it in sincerity.—This is the chief 
 thing required in every thing wherein we have to do 
 with God : “ Behold, he desires truth in the inward 
 parts.” When God took Abraham into covenant 
 vrith himself, this was the charge he gave him, 
 “ Walk before me and be thou perfect,” that is, 
 upright; for uprightness is our gospel perfection. 
 Writing the covenant, and subscribing it, signing 
 and sealing it, may be proper expressions of serious¬ 
 ness and resolution in the transaction, and of use to 
 us in the review; but, if herein we “ lie unto God 
 with our mouth, and flatter him with our tongue,” 
 as Israel did, though we may put a cheat upon our¬ 
 selves and others, yet we cannot impose upon him: 
 “ Be not deceived, God is not mocked.” If we 
 only give the hand unto the Lord, and do not give 
 our hearts to him, whatever our pretensions, pro- 
 
158 
 
 fessions, ahd present pangs of devotion may be, we 
 are but as sounding brass, and a tinkling cymbal. 
 What will it avail us to say, we covenant with God, 
 if we still keep our league with the world and the 
 flesh, and have a secret antipathy to serious godli¬ 
 ness? Dissembled piety is no disguise before God, 
 but is hated as double iniquity. It is certain thou 
 hast no part nor lot in the matter, whatever thou 
 mayest claim, if thy heart be not right in the sight 
 of God. I know no religion but sincerity; our 
 vows to God are nothing, if they be not bonds upon 
 the soul. 
 
159 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 ► \ 
 
 Helps for Meditation and Prayer in our prepara - 
 tion for this Ordinance. 
 
 I. Of meditation, opened in general. It is thought engaged, and 
 thought inflamed, particularly meditate, (i.) On the sinfulness 
 and misery of man’s fallen state. ( 11 .) The glory of God’s at¬ 
 tributes in man’s redemption, (ni.) The person of the Re¬ 
 deemer and his undertakings. (iv.) His sufferings, (v.) His 
 present glories, (vi.) The riches of the new covenant, (vii.) 
 The communion of saints, and, (viii.) The happiness of heaven. 
 All these enlarged upon. II. Of prayer; why we must pray 
 before the sacrament, and what we must pray for; four things 
 to be prayed for. 
 
 Meditation and prayer are the daily exercise of 
 a devout and pious soul. In meditation we converse 
 with ourselves; in prayer we converse with God. 
 And what converse can we desire more agreeable and 
 more advantageous? They who are frequent and 
 serious in these holy duties at other times, will find 
 them the easier and the sweeter on this occasion; 
 the friends we are much with, we are most free with. 
 But if at other times, we be not so close and con¬ 
 stant to them as we should be, we have the more 
 need to take pains with our own hearts, that we may 
 effectually engage them in these services, when we 
 approach the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper. 
 
 Enter into thy closet, therefore, and shut the 
 door of that against diversions from without: be not 
 shy of being alone. The power of godliness withers 
 and declines, if secret devotion be either neglected, 
 
160 
 
 or negligently performed. Enter into thy heart also, 
 and do what thou canst to shut the door of that 
 against distraction from within. Compose thyself 
 for business, and summon all that is within thee to 
 attend on it: separate thyself from the world, and 
 thoughts of it; leave all its cares at the bottom of 
 the hill, as Abraham bid his servants, when he was 
 going up into the mount to worship God, and then 
 set thyself about thy work: gird up thy loins, and 
 trim thy lamp. Up and be doing, and the Lord be 
 with thee. 
 
 1. We must set ourselves to meditate on that 
 which is most proper for the confirming of our faith, 
 and the kindling of pious and devout affections in us. 
 Good thoughts should be oft in our minds, and wel¬ 
 come there; so should our souls often breathe to¬ 
 wards God in pious ejaculations that are short and 
 sudden. But as good prayers, so good thoughts 
 must sometimes be set and solemn: morning and 
 
 O 
 
 evening they must be so, on the Lord’s day also, 
 and before the Lord’s Supper. 
 
 Meditation is thought engaged, and thought in¬ 
 flamed. 
 
 It is thought engaged.—In it the heart fastens 
 upon, and fixes to a select and certain subject, with 
 an endeavour to dwell and enlarge upon it; not mat¬ 
 ters of doubtful disputation, or small concern, but 
 those things that are of greatest certainty and mo¬ 
 ment. And since few of the ordinary sort of Chris¬ 
 tians can be supposed to have such a treasury of 
 knowledge, such a fruitfulness of invention, and so 
 great a compass and readiness of thought, as to be 
 able to discourse with themselves, for any time, upon 
 
161 
 
 any one subject so closely, methodically, and perti¬ 
 nently as one would wish, it may be advisable, either 
 to fasten upon some portion of Scripture, and to read 
 that over and over, with a closeness of observation 
 and application, or to recollect some profitable sermon 
 lately heard, and think that over ; or to make use of 
 some books of pious meditations or practical dis¬ 
 courses, (of which, blessed be God, we have great 
 plenty and variety,) and not only read them, but 
 descant and enlarge upon them in our minds, still 
 giving liberty to our own thoughts to expatiate, as 
 they are able ; but, borrowing help from what we 
 read, to reduce them when they wander, refresh them 
 when they tire, and to furnish them with matter when 
 they are barren. In the choice of helps for this 
 work, wisdom and experience are profitable to direct, 
 and no rule can be given to fit all capacities and all 
 cases ; the end may be attained by different methods. 
 
 It is thought inflamed.—To meditate, is not only 
 to think seriously of divine things, but to think of 
 them with concern and suitable affection. (t While 
 we are thus musing, the fire must burn.” When 
 the heart meditates terror, the terrors of the Lord, 
 it must be with a holy fear; when we contemplate 
 the beauty of the Lord, his bounty, and his benig¬ 
 nity, which is better than life, we must do it with a 
 holy complacency, solacing ourselves in the Lord our 
 God. The design of meditation is to improve our 
 knowledge, and to affect ourselves with those things 
 with which we have acquainted ourselves, that those 
 impressions of them upon our souls may be deep and 
 durable, and that, by “ beholding .the glory of the 
 Lord, we may be changed into the same image.” 
 
162 
 
 Serious meditation before a sacrament will be of 
 great use to us, to make those things familiar to us, 
 with which in that ordinance we are to be conver¬ 
 sant : that good thoughts may not be to seek when 
 we are there, it is our wisdom to prepare them, and 
 lay them ready beforehand. Frequent acts confirm 
 a habit, and pious dispositions are greatly helped by 
 pious meditations. Christian graces will be the 
 better exercised in the ordinance when they are thus 
 trained and disciplined, and drawn out in our pre¬ 
 paration for it. 
 
 For our assistance herein, I shall mention some 
 few of those things which may most properly be 
 pitched upon for the subject of our meditations be¬ 
 fore a sacrament: I say, before a sacrament; because 
 though this be calculated here for the sacrament of 
 the Lord’s Supper, yet it may equally serve us in 
 our preparations for the other sacrament, both that 
 we may profit by the public administration of it, and 
 especially that we may, in an acceptable manner, pre¬ 
 sent our children to it; for which service we have as 
 much need carefully to prepare ourselves as for this. 
 As we must in faith join ourselves to the Lord, so 
 we must in faith dedicate ourselves to him. 
 
 That our hearts, then, may be raised and quick¬ 
 ened, and prepared for communion with Christ at 
 his table. 
 
 (i.) Let us set ourselves to think of the sinfulness 
 and misery of man’s fallen state. That we may be 
 taught to value our recovery and restoration by the 
 grace of the second Adam, let us take a full and dis¬ 
 tinct view of our ruin by the sin of the first Adam. 
 Come and see what desolations it hath made upon 
 
163 
 
 the earth, and how it hath turned the world into a 
 wilderness. “ How is the gold become dim, and 
 the most fine gold changed !” What wretched work 
 did sin make ! What a black and horrid train of 
 fatal consequences attended its entrance into the 
 world ! 
 
 Come, my soul, and see how the nature of man 
 is corrupted and vitiated, and lamentably degene¬ 
 rated from its primitive purity and rectitude. God’s 
 image defaced and lost, and Satan’s image stamped 
 instead of it. The understanding blind, and unapt 
 to admit the rays of the divine light : the will stub¬ 
 born, and unapt to comply with the dictates of the 
 divine law ; the affections carnal, and unapt to receive 
 the impressions of the divine love. Come, my soul, 
 and lament the change, for thou thyself feelest from 
 it, and sharest in the sad effects of it; for a nature 
 thus tainted, thus depraved, I brought into the world 
 with me, and carry about with me to this day sad 
 remainders of its corruption. It was a nature by 
 creation, little lower than that of angels, but be¬ 
 come by sin, much baser than that of brutes. It 
 was like the Nazarites, “ purer than snow, whiter 
 than milk, more ruddy than the rubies, and its po¬ 
 lishing was of sapphires ; but now its visage is blacker 
 than a coal.” Never was beauty so deformed, never 
 was strength so weakened, never was a healthful con¬ 
 stitution so spoiled, never was honour so laid in the 
 dust. How is the faithful city become an harlot! 
 Man’s nature was planted a choice vine, wholly a 
 right seed; but, alas, it is become <s the degenerate 
 plant of a strange vine.” I find it in myself by sad 
 experience. I am naturally prone to that which is 
 
164 
 
 evil, and backward to that which is good. Fool¬ 
 ishness is daily breaking out in my life, and by that 
 I perceive it is bound up in my heart: for these 
 things I tremble and am afraid ; “ for these things I 
 weep, mine eye, mine eye runs down with tears.” 
 
 Come, my soul, and see how miserably fallen man 
 is: see him excluded from God’s favour, expelled 
 the garden of the Lord, and forbidden to meddle 
 with the tree of life; see how odious he is become 
 to God’s holiness, and obnoxious to his justice, and 
 by nature a child of wrath. See how calamitous the 
 state of human life is; with what troops of diseases, 
 disasters, and deaths, in the most horrid and fright¬ 
 ful shapes, man is compassed about. Lord, “ how 
 are they increased that trouble him !” 
 
 See him attacked on every side by the malignant 
 powers of darkness that seek to destroy; see him 
 sentenced for sin to utter darkness, to the devour¬ 
 ing fire, to the everlasting burning. “ How art 
 thou fallen, O Lucifer, son of the morning !” O 
 what a gulf of misery is man sunk into by sin ! Se¬ 
 parated from all good to all evil; and his condition 
 in himself helpless and hopeless. A deplorable case ! 
 And it is my case by nature: I am of this guilty, 
 exposed, condemned race; undone, undone for ever; 
 as miserable as the curse of heaven, and the flames 
 of hell can make me, if infinite mercy do not inter¬ 
 pose. And shall not this affect me ? Shall not 
 this afflict me ? Shall not these thoughts beget in 
 me a hatred of sin, that evil, that only evil ? Shall 
 I ever be reconciled to that which hath done so much 
 mischief? Shall I not be quickened hereby to flee 
 to Christ, in whom alone help and salvation is to be 
 
165 
 
 had ? Is this, thy condition, O my soul, thine by 
 nature? And is there a door of hope opened thee 
 by grace. 44 Up, then, get thee out of this Sodom ; 
 escape for thy life, look not behind thee, stay not in 
 all the plain, escape to the mountain,” the mountain 
 of holiness, lest thou be consumed. 
 
 (n.) Let us set ourselves to think of 44 the glory 
 of the divine attributes, shining forth in the work 
 of our redemption and salvation.” Here is a bright 
 and noble subject, the contemplation and wonder of 
 angels and blessed spirits above, and in the admiring 
 view of which, eternity itself will be short enough 
 to be spent. 
 
 Come, then, O my soul, come and think of the 
 
 kindness and love of God our Saviour, his cood-will 
 
 6 . ® 
 
 to man, which designed our redemption, the spring 
 and first wheel of that work of wonder. Herein is love. 
 Though God was happy from eternity before man had 
 a being, and would have been happy to eternity, if 
 man had never been, or had been miserable; though 
 man’s nature was mean and despicable; though his 
 crimes were heinous and detestable; though by his 
 disobedience he had forfeited the protection of a 
 prince ; though by his ingratitude he had forfeited 
 the kindness of a friend ; and though by his perfi¬ 
 diousness he had forfeited the benefits of a covenant; 
 yet the tender mercies of our God moved for his re¬ 
 lief. Come and see a world of apostate angels passed 
 by, and left to perish, no Redeemer, no Saviour 
 provided for them ; but fallen men pitied and helped, 
 though angels had been more honourable, and would 
 have been more serviceable. 
 
 Come and think of God’s patience and forbear- 
 
166 
 
 ance exercised towards man : <{ the long-suffering of 
 our Lord is salvation.” Think how much he bears, 
 and how long, with the world, with me, though most 
 provoking. This patience left room for the salva¬ 
 tion, and gives hopes of it. ii If the Lord had been 
 pleased to kill us,” he would have done it before 
 now. 
 
 Come, and think especially of the wisdom of God 
 which is so gloriously displayed in the contrivance of 
 the work of our redemption. Here is the wisdom 
 of God 46 in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom 
 which God ordained before the world for our glory.” 
 Think of the measures God hath taken, the means 
 he hath devised, that the banished might not for 
 ever be expelled from him. Think with wonder how 
 all the divine attributes are by the method pitched 
 upon, secured from danger and reproach, so that one 
 is not glorified by the diminution of the lustre of 
 another. When sin had brought things to that 
 strait, that one would think either God’s justice, 
 truth, and holiness, must be eclipsed or clouded, or 
 man’s happiness must be ever lost; infinite wisdom 
 finds out an expedient for the securing both of God’s 
 honour, and of man’s happiness. It is now no dis¬ 
 paragement at all to God’s justice to pardon sin, nor 
 to his holiness to be reconciled to sinners; for by 
 the death of Christ justice is satisfied, and by the 
 Spirit of Christ sinners are sanctified. 44 Mercy and 
 truth here met together, behold righteousness and 
 peace kiss each other.” Be astonished, O heavens, 
 at this, and wonder, O earth. And thou, my soul, 
 that owest all thy joys, and all thy hopes to this con¬ 
 trivance, despairing to find the bottom of this un- 
 
167 
 
 fathomable fountain of life, sit down at the brink and 
 adore the depth ! “ O the depth of the wisdom and 
 
 knowledge of God !” 
 
 (in.) Let us set ourselves to think of the <fi person 
 of the Redeemer, and his glorious undertaking of 
 the work of our salvation.” Come, my soul, and 
 think of Christ, who thought of thee: think of him 
 as the eternal Son of God, “ the brightness of his 
 Father’s glory, and the express image of his person,” 
 who lay in his bosom from all eternity, and had an 
 infinite joy and glory with him before the worlds were, 
 and in whom dwells all the fulness of the Godhead; 
 the eternal wisdom, the eternal Word, that hath life in 
 himself, and is one with the Father, and who thought 
 it no robbery to be equal with God. He is thy 
 Lord, O my soul, and worship thou him. 
 
 Think of him as the Former of all things, with¬ 
 out whom was not any thing made that was made. 
 “ Thrones and dominions, principalities and powers, 
 all things were created by him, and for him, and he 
 is before all things, and by him all things consist.” 
 Let this engage my veneration for him, let this en¬ 
 courage my faith and hope in him. If I have my 
 being from him, I must consecrate my being to him, 
 and may expect my bliss in him. 
 
 Think of him as Emmanuel, the Word incarnate, 
 44 God manifested in the flesh,” clothed with our 
 nature, taking part of flesh and blood, that for us 
 in our nature he might satisfy the justice of God 
 whom we had offended, and break the power of 
 Satan, by whom we are enslaved. Come, my soul, 
 and with an eye of faith, behold the beauties, the 
 transcendent, unparalleled beauties, of the Redeemer. 
 
168 
 
 See him, c< white and ruddy, fairer than the chil¬ 
 dren of men,” perfectly pure and spotless, wise and 
 holy, kind and good; that he hath the infinite mer¬ 
 cies of a God, and withal, the experimental compas¬ 
 sions of a man that hath been “ touched with the 
 feeling of our infirmities.” See him by faith, as 
 John saw him in a vision. See him and admire him, 
 as one that in all things hath the pre-erninence; none 
 like him, or any to be compared with him. 
 
 Think of him as the undertaker of our redemp¬ 
 tion, the redemption of the soul, which was so pre¬ 
 cious, that otherwise it must have ceased for ever. 
 When the sealed book of God’s counsels concerning 
 man’s redemption was produced, <€ none in heaven 
 or earth was found worthy to open that book, or to 
 look thereon.” When sacrifice and offering for sin 
 would not do, and the blood of bulls and of goats 
 had been tried in vain, and found ineffectual, then 
 said he, 66 Lo, I come ; this ruin shall be under my 
 hands:” alluding to Isa. iii. 6. Come, my soul, 
 and see help laid upon one that is mighty; one 
 chosen out of the people, and every way qualified for 
 the undertaking, able to do the Redeemer’s work, 
 and fit to wear the Redeemer’s crown. See how wil¬ 
 lingly he offered himself to the service, how cheer¬ 
 fully he obliged himself to go through with it, and 
 engaged his heart to approach unto God as our 
 Advocate. It is “ the voice of thy beloved, O my 
 soul! behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, 
 skipping upon the hills,” making nothing of the dif¬ 
 ficulties that lay in his way. “ Behold, the king 
 cometh, thy bridegroom cometh; go forth, my soul, 
 go forth to meet him with thy joyful hosannas, and 
 
169 
 
 bid him welcome. Blessed is he that cometh in the 
 name of the Lord.” 
 
 (iv.) Let us set ourselves to think of the u cross 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ, the dishonours done to 
 him, and the honours done to us by it.”——Here is 
 a wide field for our meditations to expatiate in, nor 
 can we determine to know any thing before a sacra¬ 
 ment more proper and profitable than Jesus Christ, 
 and him crucified; lifted up from the earth, and 
 drawing all men unto him, as the attractive load¬ 
 stone of their hearts, and the common centre of their 
 unity. Come then, and behold the man; represent 
 to thyself, O my soul, not to thy fancy, but to thy 
 faith, u the Lamb of God taking away the sins of 
 the world by the sacrifice of himself.” 
 
 Come and look over the particulars of Christ's 
 sufferings, all the humiliations and mortifications of 
 his life, but especially the pains, agonies, and igno¬ 
 minies of his death. Review the story; thou wilt 
 still find something in it surprising and very affect¬ 
 ing; take notice of all the circumstances of his pas¬ 
 sion, and say, “ Never was any sorrow like unto his 
 sorrow.” Take notice especially of the disgrace and 
 reproach done him in his sufferings, the shame he 
 was industriously loaded with. This contributed 
 greatly to the satisfaction made by his sufferings. 
 God hath been injured in his glory by sin, and no 
 other way could be injured; he, therefore, who un¬ 
 dertook to make reparation for that injury, not only 
 denied himself in, and divested himself of, the hon¬ 
 ours due to an incarnate Deity, but, though most 
 innocent and most excellent, voluntarily submitted 
 
 H 22 
 
170 
 
 to the utmost disgraces that could be done to the 
 worst of criminals; thus he <c restored that which 
 he took not away.” See him, my soul, see him en¬ 
 during the cross, and despising the shame. 
 
 Come and see the purchases of the cross. The 
 blood there shed is the ransom with which we are 
 redeemed from hell; the prize with which heaven 
 is bought for us, see it a prize of inestimable value: 
 “ The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it, nor shall 
 it be valued with the gold of Ophir, with the pre¬ 
 cious onyx, or the sapphire.” No, my soul, thou 
 wast not redeemed with such corruptible things. 
 The pardon of sin, the favour of God, the graces of 
 his Spirit, the blessings of the covenant, and eternal 
 life, could not be purchased with silver and gold, but 
 are dearly bought and paid for with the precious 
 blood of the Son of God. All the praise be to the 
 glorious purchaser. 
 
 Come and see the victories of the cross; see the 
 Lord Jesus even then a conqueror, when he seemed 
 a captive; then spoiling principalities and powers, 
 when he seemed totally defeated and routed by them. 
 See Christ upon the cross breaking the serpent’s 
 head, disarming Satan, triumphing over death and 
 the grave, leading captivity captive, and going forth 
 in that chariot of war, conquering and to conquer. 
 
 Think, my soul, think what thou owest to the 
 dying of the Lord Jesus; the privileges of thy way, 
 and the glories of thy home; all thou hast, all thou 
 hopest for that is valuable, they are all precious 
 fruits gathered from this tree of life. Christ’s 
 wounds are thy healing, his agonies thy repose, his 
 conflicts thy conquests, his groans thy songs, his 
 
171 
 
 pains thine ease, his shame thy glory, his death thy 
 life, his sufferings thy salvation. 
 
 (v.) Let us set ourselves to think of the present 
 glories of the exalted Redeemer.—When we medi¬ 
 tate on the cross he bore, we must not forget the 
 crown he wears within the vail. Think, my soul, 
 think where he is at the right hand of the Father, 
 far above all principalities and powers, and every 
 name that is named; he is set down upon the throne 
 of the Majesty in the highest heavens. Having 
 obtained eternal redemption for us, he is entered 
 with his own blood into the holy place.” Think 
 how he is attended there with an innumerable com¬ 
 pany of angels, that continually surround the throne 
 of God and of the Lamb; think of the songs there 
 sung to his praise, the crowns there cast at his feet, 
 and the name he hath there above every name. 
 Think especially what he is doing there: he always 
 appears in the presence of God as the great High 
 Priest of our profession, to intercede for all those 
 that come to God by him ; and he attends con¬ 
 tinually to this very thing: there he is preparing a 
 place for all Ids followers, and thence he will shortly 
 come to receive them to himself, to behold his glory, 
 and to share in it. Dwell on these thoughts, O 
 my soul, and say as they did who saw his glory in 
 his transfiguration: It is good to be here; here 
 let us make tabernacles. Let these thoughts kindle 
 in thee an earnest desire (shall I call it a holy curi¬ 
 osity ?) to see him as he is, face to face. His ad¬ 
 vancement is thine advantage, as the forerunner he 
 is for me entered. Let the contemplation of the joy 
 he is entered into, and the power he is there girded 
 
 H 2 
 
172 
 
 with, have such an influence upon me, as that by 
 faith I may be raised up likewise, and “ made to sit 
 together with him in heavenly places.” 
 
 (vi.) Let us set ourselves to think of the unsearch¬ 
 able riches of the new covenant, made with us in 
 Jesus Christ, and sealed to us in the sacraments.— 
 Peruse this covenant in the several dispensations of 
 it, from the dawning of its day in the first promise, 
 to that of noon-day light, which life and immorta¬ 
 lity are brought to by the gospel. Read over the 
 several articles of it, and see how well ordered it is 
 in all things, so well that it could not be better. 
 Review its promises, which are precious and many, 
 very many, very precious, and sure to all the seed. 
 Search into the hidden wealth that is treasured up 
 in them; dig into these mines; content not thyself 
 with a transient view of these fountains of living 
 water, but bring thy bucket, and draw with joy out 
 of these wells of salvation. “ Go, walk about this 
 Zion, this city of God, tell the towers, mark well 
 the bulwarks, consider the palaces, and say, 'This 
 God, who is our God in covenant, is ours for ever 
 and ever; he will be our guide even unto death.” 
 
 Stir up thyself, therefore, O my soul, to medi¬ 
 tate on the privileges of a justified state; the liber¬ 
 ties and immunities, the dignities and advantages, 
 that are conveyed by the charter of pardon. O the 
 blessedness of the man whose iniquities are forgiven ! 
 See him secured from the arrests of the law, the 
 curse of God, the evil of affliction, the sting of 
 death, and the damnation of hell. Read with plea¬ 
 sure the triumphs of blessed Paul: (Rom. viii. 33, 
 Sic.) Happy thou art, my soul, and all is well with 
 thee, or shall be shortly, if thy sins be pardoned. 
 
173 
 
 Meditate on the honours and comforts of a state 
 of grace. If now I am a child of God, adopted and 
 regenerated, and have received the Spirit of adop¬ 
 tion, I have a sanctified use of my creature-com¬ 
 forts, my fellowship is with the Father, and with his 
 Son Jesus Christ; a all is mine, whether Paul, or 
 Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, 
 or things present, or things to come, all are mine.” 
 I have meat to eat that the world knows not of, joy 
 that a stranger doth not intermeddle with. Let 
 thoughts of these great privileges work in thee, O 
 my soul, a holy disdain of the pleasures of sense, 
 and the profits of the world; whenever they come in 
 competition with the gains of godliness, and the de¬ 
 lights of spiritual life, offer those to them that know 
 no better. 
 
 (vii.) Let us set ourselves to think of the communion 
 of saints.—This contributes something to our com¬ 
 fort in communion with Christ, that through him we 
 have fellowship one with another: 66 So that we, 
 being many, are one bread and one body ; for Christ 
 died to gather together in one the children of God 
 that were scattered abroad;” that all might be one in 
 him in whom we all meet, as many members in one 
 head, so making one body; many branches in one 
 root, so making one vine; and many stones on one 
 foundation, so making one building. 
 
 Enlarge thy thoughts, then, O my soul ! and let 
 it be a pleasure to thee to think of the relation thou 
 standest in to the whole family, both in heaven and 
 earth, which is named of Jesus Christ; to think 
 that thou art come, in faith, hope, and love, even to 
 the “ innumerable company of angels, and to the 
 
174 
 
 spirits of just men made perfect.” Even these are 
 thy brethren and fellow-servants. Rejoice in thine 
 alliance to them, in their affection to thee, and in 
 the prospect thou hast of being with them shortly, of 
 being with them eternally. Here we sit with a little 
 handful of weak and imperfect saints, and those 
 mixed with pretenders; but we hope shortly to have 
 a place and a name in the general assembly of the 
 first-born, and to “ sit down with Abraham, Isaac, 
 and Jacob, in the kingdom of our Father,” with all 
 the saints, and none but saints, and saints made per¬ 
 fect, and so to be together for ever with the Lord. 
 
 Please thyself also, O my soul, with thinking of 
 the spiritual communion thou hast in the acts of 
 Christian piety, and in the exercise of Christian 
 charity, with “ all that in every place on this earth 
 call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both 
 theirs and ours.” Some good Christians there 
 are, that fall within the reach of our personal com¬ 
 munion, to whom we give the right hand of fellow¬ 
 ship. Others, within the line of our acquaintance 
 and correspondence; and many more whom we know 
 not, nor have ever heard of, never saw, nor are ever 
 likely to see in this world; but all these are our 
 <c companions in the kingdom and patience of Jesus 
 Christ.” They and we are guided by the same rule, 
 animated by the same spirit, conformed to the same 
 image, interested in the same promises, and joined to 
 the same great body; they and we meet daily at the 
 same throne of grace, under the conduct of the Spirit 
 of adoption, which teaches us all to cry, Abba, Father ; 
 and they and we hope to meet shortly at the same 
 throne of glory, under the conduct of the same 
 
175 
 
 Jesus, who will gather his elect from the four winds, 
 and present them all together unto the Father. 
 Christ hath prayed, that 64 all that believe may be 
 one;” and therefore we are sure they are so, for the 
 Father heard him always. Let this subject yield us 
 some delightful thoughts here in a scattered world, 
 and a divided church. 
 
 (vm.) Let us setourselves to think of the happiness 
 of heaven.—A pleasant theme this is, very improv¬ 
 able, and pertinent enough to an ordinance which 
 hath so much of heaven in it. If indeed we have 
 heaven in our eye, as our home and rest, and our 
 conversation there, we cannot but have it much 
 upon our hearts. Have we good hope through 
 grace, of being shortly with Christ in the heavenly 
 paradise, where there is fulness of joy and pleasures 
 for evermore,—where we shall see God’s glory, and 
 enjoy his love immediately, to our complete and 
 eternal satisfaction ? Do we expect that yet a little 
 while the vail shall be rent, the shadows of the even¬ 
 ing shall be done away, and we shall see as we are 
 seen, and know as we are known ? Are we in pros¬ 
 pect of a crown of glory that fades not away, an in¬ 
 corruptible, undefiled inheritance ? 
 
 Raise thy thoughts, then, O my soul, to the 
 joyful contemplation of thy glory to be revealed. 
 Arise, then, and survey this land of promise, as 
 Abraham. Go with Moses to the top of Pisgah, 
 and take a view of it by faith. Get a Scripture map 
 of that Canaan, and study it well. Think, my soul, 
 what they see in that world, who always behold the 
 face of our Father, and in it see all truth and bright¬ 
 ness, and the perfection of beauty. Think what 
 
176 
 
 they have there, that eat of the tree of life, and the 
 hidden manna; whose faculties are enlarged, to take 
 in the full communication of divine love and grace, 
 and who have God himself with them as their God. 
 Think what they are doing there who dwell in God’s 
 house, and are still praising him, and rest not day 
 nor night from doing it. Think of the good com¬ 
 pany that is there, thousands of thousands of blessed 
 angels, and holy souls, with whom we shall have an inti¬ 
 mate and undisturbed converse in perfect light and love. 
 
 Compare the present state thou art in, my soul, 
 with that thou hopest for; and let it be a pleasure 
 to thee to think, that whatever is here, thy grief 
 and burden shall be there removed and done away 
 for ever. Satan’s temptations shall there no more 
 assault thee; thine own corruptions shall there no 
 more ensnare thee; the guilt of sin, and doubts 
 about thy spiritual state, shall there no more terrify 
 and perplex thee; no pain, nor sickness, nor sorrow', 
 shall be an alloy to the enjoyments of that world, as 
 they are to those of this world. All tears shall there 
 be wiped aw T ay, even those for sin. 
 
 On the other side, whatever is here thy delight 
 and pleasure, shall there be perfected. The know¬ 
 ledge of God, joy in him, and communion with him, 
 are here, as it were, thy running banquets; there, 
 they shall be thy continual feast. The work of 
 grace begun in thee, is that which reconciles thee to 
 thyself, and gives thee some pleasure now in thy re¬ 
 flections upon thyself. This work shall be there 
 completed, and the finishing strokes given to it, by 
 the same skilful and happy hand that begun it. 
 Come now, my soul, and “ neglect not the gift 
 
177 
 
 that is in thee, but meditate upon these things; give 
 thyself wholly to them.” Be thou in them, as in 
 thy business, as in thine element. Think of the 
 things of the invisible and unchangeable world, till 
 thou findest thyself so affected with them, as even to 
 forget the things that are here below, that are here 
 behind, and look upon them with a holy negligence, 
 that thou mayest, with great diligence, reach towards 
 C( the things that are before, and press towards the 
 mark for the high calling.” 
 
 II. We must not only meditate, but we must 
 pray, and cry earnestly to God for assistance and 
 acceptance in what we do. When the apostle had 
 reckoned up all the parts of the Christian’s armour, 
 he concludes with this, “ Praying always.” Prayer 
 must gird on the whole armour of God; for, with¬ 
 out prayer, all our endeavours are vain and ineffec¬ 
 tual. Therefore, in our preparations for the Lord s 
 Supper, time must be spent, and pains taken in 
 prayer, for two reasons :— 
 
 1. Because this is a proper means of quickening 
 ourselves, and stirring up our graces.—One duty- 
 of religion is of use to dispose and fit us for an¬ 
 other; and the most solemn services ought to be 
 approached gradually, and through the outer courts. 
 In prayer, the soul ascends to God, and converseth 
 with him; and thereby the mind is prepared to re* 
 ceive the visits of his grace, and habituated to holy 
 exercises. Even the blessed Jesus prepared him¬ 
 self for the offering up of the great sacrifice by 
 prayer, a long prayer in the house, and strong cry- 
 ings with tears in the garden. Three times was 
 Christ spoken to, while he was here on earth, by 
 
 h 3 
 
178 
 
 voices from heaven, and they all three found him 
 praying.—That at his baptism : (t Jesus being bap- 
 tized, and praying, the heaven was opened.”—That 
 at his transfiguration : tfi As he prayed, the fashion 
 of his countenance was altered.”—And at a little 
 before his passion, when he was praying, “ Father, 
 glorify thy name,” the voice came from heaven, u I 
 have glorified it,” &c. Saul of Tarsus prays, and 
 then sees a vision ; and afterwards, Cornelius had his 
 vision when he was at prayer, and Peter his. All 
 which instances, and many the like, suggest to us, 
 that communion with God in prayer prepares and 
 disposes the mind for communion with him in other 
 duties. 
 
 2. Because this is the appointed way for fetching 
 in that mercy and grace which God hath promised, 
 and which we stand in need of.—In God is our help, 
 and from him is our fruit found; and he hath pro¬ 
 mised to help us and to give us “ a new heart, to 
 put his Spirit within us, and to cause us to walk in 
 his statutes.” “ I will yet for all this be inquired 
 of by the house of Israel to do it for them.” How 
 can we expect the presence of God with us, if we 
 do not invite him by prayer? Or the power of 
 God upon us, if we do not by prayer derive it from 
 him ? The greatest blessings are promised to the 
 prayer of faith, but God will not give if we will not 
 ask : why should he ? 
 
 But what must we pray for, when we draw near 
 to God in this solemn ordinance? Solomon tells 
 us, that both the <c preparations of the heart in 
 man, and the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.” 
 To him, therefore, we must apply ourselves for both. 
 
179 
 
 The whole word of God is of use to direct us in 
 these prayers, and in it the blessed Spirit “ helpeth 
 our infirmities, forasmuch as we know not what to 
 pray for,” in this or in any other case, as we ought. 
 
 1. We must pray that we may be prepared for 
 this solemnity before it comes. Whatever is neces¬ 
 sary to qualify us for communion with God in it, is 
 spoken of in Scripture as God’s gift; and whatever 
 is the matter of God’s promise, must be the matter 
 of our prayers; for promises are given, not only to 
 be the ground of our hope, but also to be the guide 
 of our desire in prayer.” Is knowledge necessary ? 
 “ Out of his mouth cometh knowledge and under¬ 
 standing,” and at wisdom’s gates we must wait for 
 wisdom’s gifts, rejoicing herein 4< that the Son of 
 God is come, and hath given us an understand¬ 
 ing.” Is faith necessary ? That is not “ of our¬ 
 selves, it is the gift of God.” Him, therefore, we 
 must attend, who is both the author and the finisher 
 of our faith. To him we must pray, Lord, in¬ 
 crease our faith : Lord, perfect what is lacking in 
 it: Lord, fulfil the work of faith with power. Is 
 love necessary ? It is the fi< Holy Ghost that sheds 
 abroad that love in our hearts, and circumciseth our 
 hearts to love the Lord our God.” To that hea¬ 
 venly fire we must therefore go for this holy spark, 
 and pray for the breath of the Almighty to blow it 
 up into a flame. Is repentance necessary ? It is 
 God that gives repentance, that takes away the stony 
 heart and gives a heart of flesh; and we must beg 
 of him to work that blessed change in us. “ Be¬ 
 hold the fire and the wood,” the ordinance instituted, 
 and all needful provision made for our sacrifice; “ but 
 
180 
 
 where is the lamb for a burnt-offering?” Where is 
 the heart to be offered up to God ? If God did not 
 provide himself a lamb, the solemnity would fail. 
 To him, therefore, we must go to buy such things 
 as we have need of against the feast, that is, to beg 
 them ; for we buy without money and without price : 
 and such buyers shall not be driven out of God’s 
 temple, nor slighted there, however they are looked 
 on in men’s markets. 
 
 2. Pray that our hearts may be enlarged in the 
 duty. It is the gracious promise of God, that he 
 will open rivers in the wilderness, and streams in the 
 desert; and the joint experience of all the saints, that 
 they looked unto him and were lightened: such out¬ 
 goings of soul therefore towards God, as may receive 
 the incomes of divine strength and comfort, we should 
 earnestly desire and pray for. Pray that God would 
 grace his own institutions with such manifest tokens 
 of his presence as those two disciples had, who rea¬ 
 soned thus for their own conviction, that they had 
 been with Jesus, 44 Did not our hearts burn within 
 us ?” Pray that, by the grace of God, the business 
 of the ordinance may be faithfully done; the work 
 of the day, the sacrament day, in its day, according 
 as the duty of the day requires, (Ezra iii. 4.) Pray 
 that the ends of the ordinance may be sincerely aimed 
 at and happily attained, and the great intentions of 
 the institution of it answered; that you may not re¬ 
 ceive the grace of God therein in vain. O that my 
 heart may be engaged to approach unto God !—so 
 engaged as that nothing may prevail to disengage 
 it. Come, blessed Spirit, and breathe upon these 
 dry bones ! Move upon the waters of the ordinances, 
 
181 
 
 and produce a new creation ! 44 Awake, O north 
 
 wind; and come, thou south; and blow upon my 
 garden, that the spices thereof may flow forth. And 
 then let my beloved come into his garden,” (his it is, 
 and then it will be fit to be called his,) 44 and eat his 
 pleasant fruits.” 
 
 3. Pray that we may be favourably accepted of 
 God, both in the preparation and in the performance. 
 In vain do we worship, if God do not accept us. The 
 applause of men is but a poor reward, (such as the 
 hypocrites were content with, and put off with,) if we 
 come short of the favour of God. Herein therefore 
 we should labour, this we should be ambitious of as 
 our highest honour, the top of our preferment, 64 that 
 whether present or absent we may be accepted of the 
 Lord.” About this, therefore, we should be very 
 solicitous in our inquiries: 44 Wherewithal shall I 
 come before the Lord,” so as to please him ? For 
 this we should be very importunate in our prayers: 
 44 O that I knew # w'here I might find him !” O that 
 I might be met at the table of the Lord with a bless¬ 
 ing, and not with a breach ! O that God would 
 smile upon me there, and bid me welcome ! O that 
 the beloved of my soul would show me some token for 
 good there, and say unto me, I am thy salvation ! 
 44 Son, daughter, be of good cheer; thy sins are for¬ 
 given thee. Let him kiss me with the kisses of his 
 mouth, for his love is better than wine.” O that it 
 might be a communion indeed between Christ and 
 my soul ! That which is in vogue with the most of 
 men is, 44 Who will show us any good?” But when 
 I am admitted to touch the top of the golden sceptre, 
 this is my petition, this is my request: Lord, lift up 
 the light of thy countenance upon me ; and that shall 
 
182 
 
 put true gladness into my heart, greater than the joy 
 of harvest. 
 
 4. Pray that what is amiss may be pardoned in the 
 blood of Christ. This prayer good Hezekiah hath 
 put into our mouths, (God put it into our hearts !) 
 “ The good Lord pardon every one that prepareth 
 his heart in sincerity to seek the Lord God of his 
 fathers, and aims honestly, though he be not cleansed 
 according to the purification of the sanctuary.” We 
 cannot but be conscious to ourselves, that in many 
 things we come short of our duty, and wander from 
 it. The rule is strict, it is fit it should be so; and 
 yet no particular rule more strict than that general 
 and fundamental law of God’s kingdom, “ Thou shalt 
 love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and soul, 
 and mind, and might.” But our own hearts know, 
 and God, who is greater than our hearts, and knows 
 all things, knows that we do not come up to the rule, 
 nor <fi continue in all things that are written in the 
 book of the law to do them.” By our deficiencies 
 we become obnoxious to the curse, and should perish 
 by it if we were under the law; but we are encour¬ 
 aged by a penitent believing prayer to sue out our 
 pardon, having an advocate with the Father. 
 
 Would we take with us words in these prayers ? 
 David’s psalms and St. Paul’s epistles will furnish us 
 with great variety of acceptable words; words which 
 the Holy Ghost teacheth; and other helps of devo¬ 
 tion, which, thanks be to God, we have plenty which 
 may be used to much advantage: and if in these 
 prayers we stir up ourselves to take hold on God, 
 our experience shall be added to that of thousands, 
 that Jacob’s God never said to Jacob’s seed, (( Seek 
 ye me in vain.” 
 
183 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Directions in what frame of Spirit we should come 
 to, and attend upon this Ordinance . 
 
 I. With a fixedness of thought. II. With an easiness and calm* 
 ness of affection. III. With a holy awe and reverence of the 
 Divine Majesty. IV. With a holy jealousy over ourselves, 
 and an humble sense of our own unworthiness, suspecting our* 
 selves, and abasing ourselves. V. With a gracious confidence, 
 as children to a father. VI. With earnest desires towards 
 God. VII. With raised expectations. VIII. With rejoicing 
 and thanksgiving: two things matter of joy. IX. In charity 
 with all men, and a sincere affection to all good Christians, 
 bearing ill-will to none, and good-will to all. 
 
 To make up the wedding garment, which is pro¬ 
 per for this wedding feast, it is requisite, not only 
 that we have an habitual temper of mind agreeable 
 to the gospel, but that we have such an actual dis¬ 
 position of spirit as is consonant to the nature and 
 intentions of the ordinance. It is an excellent rule 
 in the Scripture directory of religious worship, 
 fi Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of 
 God;” that is, <c Keep thy heart with all diligence.” 
 Look well to the motions of thy soul, and observe 
 the steps it takes. When we are to see the goings 
 of our God, our King in the sanctuary, it concerns 
 us to see our own goings : “ Keep thy foot,” that is, 
 do nothing rashly; but, “ when thou goest to eat 
 with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee.” 
 It was not enough for the priests under the law that 
 they were washed and dressed in their priestly gar- 
 
184 
 
 merits when they were first consecrated, but they 
 must be carefully washed and dressed every time 
 they went in to minister, else they went in at their 
 peril. We are spiritual priests to our God, and 
 must do the office of our priesthood with a due de¬ 
 corum, remembering that this is that which the Lord 
 hath said, (God by his grace speak it home to our 
 hearts !) “ I will be sanctified in them that come 
 nigh me;” that is, I will be attended as a holy God 
 in a holy manner, ce and so before all the people I 
 will be glorified.” We then sanctify God in holy 
 duties, when we sanctify ourselves in our approaches 
 to them; that is, when we separate ourselves from 
 every thing that is common or unclean, 66 from all 
 filthiness both of flesh and spirit,” and consecrate 
 ourselves to God’s glory as our end, and to his ser¬ 
 vice as our business. If we would have the ordi¬ 
 nance sanctified to us for our comfort and benefit, 
 we must thus sanctify ourselves for it. Joshua’s 
 command to the people, when they were to follow 
 the ark of the covenant through Jordan, should be 
 still sounding in our ears the night before a sacra¬ 
 ment : <6 Sanctify yourselves, for to-morrow the Lord 
 will do wonders among you.” When the God of 
 glory admits such worms, such a generation of vipers 
 as we are, into covenant and communion with him¬ 
 self; when he gives gifts, such gifts, to the rebel¬ 
 lious ; when by the power of his grace he sanctifies 
 the sinful, and comforts the sorrowful, and gives such 
 holiness and joy as his life from the dead,—surely 
 then he does wonders among us. That we may see 
 these wonders done, and share in the benefit of them 
 •—that we may experience them done in our souls, 
 
185 
 
 “ Jordan driven back at the presence of the Lord, at 
 the presence of the God of Jacob,” to open a pas¬ 
 sage for us into the heavenly Canaan,—let us sanc¬ 
 tify ourselves, and earnestly pray to God to sanc¬ 
 tify us. 
 
 For our help herein, the following directions per¬ 
 haps may he of some use :— 
 
 I. Let us address ourselves to this service with a 
 fixedness of thought.—There is scarcely any instance 
 of the corruption of nature, and the moral impotence 
 which we are brought under by sin, more complained 
 of by serious Christians, than the vanity of the 
 thoughts, and the difficulty of fixing them on that 
 which is good. They are apt to wander after a 
 thousand impertinences; it is no easy matter to ga¬ 
 ther them in, and keep them employed as they should 
 be; we all find it so by sad experience. 66 Vain 
 thoughts lodge within us,” and are most a hinderance 
 and disturbance to us when good thoughts are in¬ 
 vited into the soul, and should be entertained there. 
 When, therefore, we apply ourselves to a religious 
 service, which will find work for all our thoughts, and 
 which presents objects well worthy of our closest con¬ 
 templation, we are concerned to take pains with our¬ 
 selves, to get ourselves engaged, and to “ bring every 
 thought into obedience to the law of this solemnity.” 
 
 This is a time to set aside the thoughts of every 
 thing that is foreign and unseasonable; and-all those 
 foolish speculations which used to be the unprofitable 
 amusement of our idle hours, and the sports and pas¬ 
 times of our carnal minds ; away with them all; clear 
 the court of those vagrants, when the doors are to 
 be opened for the King of glory to come in. Are 
 
186 
 
 they thoughts that pretend business, and are as 
 buyers and sellers in the temple? Tell them you 
 have other business to mind; bid them depart for 
 this time, and in a more convenient season you will 
 call for them. Do they pretend urgent business, as 
 Nehemiah’s enemies did when they sought to give 
 him a diversion ? Give them the repulse that he 
 gave, and like him repeat it as oft as they repeat 
 their solicitations, “ I am doing a great work; why 
 should the work cease, while I leave it and come 
 down to you ?” Do they pretend friendship, and 
 send in the name of thy mother and thy brethren 
 standing without to speak with thee? Yet dismiss 
 them as Christ did, by giving the preference to better 
 friends. Let not thoughts of those we love best, 
 divert us from thinking of Christ, whom we know 
 we must love better. 
 
 This is a time to summon the attendance of all 
 the thoughts, and keep them close to the business 
 we are going about. Suffer none to wander, none 
 to trifle; for here is employment, good employment 
 for them all, and all little enough. Though a per¬ 
 fect fixation of thought without any distractions 
 during the solemnity, is what I believe none can at¬ 
 tain to in this state of imperfection, yet it is what we 
 should desire and aim at, and come to as near as we 
 can. Let us charge our thoughts not to wander; 
 keep a watchful eve upon them, and call them back 
 when they begin to rove; keep them in full employ¬ 
 ment about that which is proper and pertinent, which 
 will prevent the starting aside to that which is other¬ 
 wise; come, “bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns 
 of the altar,” that it may not be to seek when it should 
 
187 
 
 be sacrificed. Be able to say through grace, “ O God, 
 my heart is fixed;” though unfixed at other times, 
 yet fixed now. Look up to God for grace to estab¬ 
 lish the heart and keep it steady; look with sorrow 
 and shame upon its wanderings; shut the door against 
 distractions; watch and pray against the temptation; 
 and when those birds of prey come down upon the sa¬ 
 crifices, do as Abraham did, “ drive them away.” 
 And while you sincerely endeavour to keep your 
 hearts fixed, be not discouraged; the vain thoughts 
 that are disallowed, striven against, and repented of, 
 though they are our hinderance, yet they shall not be 
 our ruin. 
 
 II. Let us address ourselves to this service with 
 an evenness and calmness of affection, free from the 
 disorders and ruffles of passion.—A sedate and quiet 
 spirit, not tossed with the tempests of care and fear, 
 but devolving care on God, and silencing fear with 
 faith; not sinking under the load of temporal bur¬ 
 dens, but supporting itself with the hopes of eternal 
 joys; easy itself, because submissive to its God: this 
 is the spirit fit to receive and return divine visits. 
 They were still waters, on the face of which the 
 Spirit moved to produce the world: the Lord was 
 not in the wind, “ was not in the earthquake.” The 
 prince of the power of the air raised storms, for “ he 
 loves to fish in troubled waters;” but the Prince of 
 Peace still storms and quiets the winds and waves, 
 for h e casts his net into a calm sea: “ The waters 
 of Siloah run softly,” and without noise. And that 
 “ river, the streams whereof make glad the city of 
 our God,” is none of those, the waters whereof roar 
 and are troubled. 
 
188 
 
 Let us therefore always study to be quiet, and, 
 however we are crossed and disappointed, 6i let not 
 our hearts be troubled, let them not be cast down 
 and disquieted within us.” Let us not create or 
 aggravate our own vexations, nor be put into a dis¬ 
 order by any thing that occurs; but let the peace of 
 God always rule in our hearts, and then that peace 
 will keep them. They whose natural temper is either 
 fretful or fearful, have the more need to double their 
 guard ; and, when any disturbance begins in the soul, 
 should give diligence to suppress the tumult with all 
 speed, lest the Holy Spirit be thereby provoked to 
 withdraw, and then they will have but uncomfortable 
 sacraments. 
 
 But especially let us compose ourselves, when we 
 approach to the table of the Lord. Charge the 
 peace then in the name of the King of kings; com¬ 
 mand silence when you expect to hear the voice of 
 joy and gladness; stop the mouth of clamorous and 
 noisy passions, banish tumultuous thoughts, 66 suffer 
 not those evil spirits to speak,” but expel them, and 
 let your souls return to God, and repose in him as 
 their rest. Bring not unquiet distempered spirits 
 to a transaction which requires the greatest calmness 
 and serenity possible. Let all intemperate hearts 
 be cooled, and the thoughts of that which hath made 
 an uproar in the soul be banished, and let a strict 
 charge be given to all about you, to all within you, 
 “ by the roes and the hinds of the field,” those in¬ 
 nocent and pleasant creatures, that they stir not up, 
 nor awake your love, nor give any disturbance to 
 your communion with him. 
 
 III. Let us address ourselves to it with a holy awe 
 
189 
 
 and reverence of the Divine Majesty.—We ought 
 to be in the fear of the Lord every day, and all the 
 day long, for he is our strict observer wherever we 
 are, and will be the judge of persons and actions, by 
 whose unerring sentence our eternal state will be 
 decided; but in a special manner he is ee greatly to 
 be feared in the assemblies of his saints, and to be 
 had in reverence of all them that are about him,’ 7 
 and the nearer we approach to him, the more reverent 
 we should be. Angels that always behold God’s 
 face, see cause to cover their own. Even then when 
 we are admitted to sit down at God’s table, we must 
 remember that we are worshipping at his footstool, 
 and therefore must lay ourselves very low before him, 
 and “ in his fear worship towards his holy temple.” 
 Let us not rush into the presence of God in a care¬ 
 less manner, as if he were a man like ourselves, nay, 
 so as we would not approach to a prince or a great 
 man; but observe a decorum, <s giving to him the 
 glory due unto his name,” and taking to ourselves 
 the shame due to ours. If he be a master, where is 
 his fear ? We do not worship God acceptably, if we 
 do not worship him with reverence and godly fear.” 
 
 1. We must worship him with reverence as a 
 glorious God, a God of infinite perfection and al¬ 
 mighty power, who “ covers himself with light as 
 with a garment,” and yet, as to us, makes darkness 
 his pavilion. Dare we profane the temples of the 
 Holy Ghost, by outward indecencies of carriage and 
 behaviour, the manifest indications of a vain and re¬ 
 gardless mind ? Dare we allow of low and common 
 thoughts of that God who is over all, blessed for 
 evermore ? See him, my soul—see him by faith upon 
 
190 
 
 a throne, high and lifted up; not only upon a throne 
 of grace, which encourages thee to come with bold¬ 
 ness, but upon a throne of glory and a throne of go¬ 
 vernment, which obliges thee to come with caution. 
 Remember that 6i God is in heaven, and thou art 
 upon earth; and therefore let thy words be few:” 
 
 Be still, and know that he is God,” that he is 
 great, and keep thy distance. Let an awful regard 
 to the glories of the eternal God, and the exalted 
 Redeemer, make thee humble and serious, very se¬ 
 rious, very humble, in thine approach to this ordi¬ 
 nance, and keep thee so during the solemnity. 
 
 2. We must also worship him with godly fear, 
 as a holy God, a God whose name is jealous, and 
 who “ is a consuming fire.” We have reason to 
 fear before him, for we have offended him, and have 
 made ourselves obnoxious to his wrath and curse ; 
 and we are but upon our good behaviour, as proba¬ 
 tioners for his favour. He is not a God that will 
 be mocked, that will be trifled with; if we think to 
 put a cheat upon him, we shall prove in the end to 
 have put the most dangerous cheat upon our own 
 souls. In this act of religion, therefore, as well as 
 in others, we “ must work out our salvation with 
 fear and trembling.” 
 
 IV. Let us come to this ordinance with a holy jea¬ 
 lousy over ourselves, and an humble sense of our own 
 unworthiness.—We must sit before the Lord in such 
 a frame as David composed himself into, when he 
 said, “ Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my 
 fathers house, that thou hast brought me hitherto?” 
 Nothing prepareth the soul more for spiritual com¬ 
 forts than humility. 
 
191 
 
 1. It may be we have reason to suspect ourselves 
 lest we come unworthily. Though we must not 
 cherish such suspicions of our state as will damp our 
 joy in God, and discourage our hope in Christ, and 
 fill us with amazement; nor such as will take off our 
 chariot-wheels, and keep us standing when we should 
 be going forward; yet we must maintain such a jea¬ 
 lousy over ourselves, as will keep us humble, and 
 take us off from all self-conceit and self-confidence; 
 such a jealousy of ourselves, as will keep us watch¬ 
 ful, and save us from sinking into carnal security. 
 And now is a proper time to think how many there 
 are that eat bread with Christ, and yet lift up the 
 heel against him : the hand of him that betrayeth 
 him, perhaps, is with him upon the table; which 
 should put us upon asking, as the disciples did, just 
 before the first sacrament, “ Lord, is it I?” Many 
 that eat and drink in Christ’s presence, will be re¬ 
 jected and disowned by him in the great day. Have 
 I not some reason to fear lest that be my doom at 
 last? To fear, Jest a promise being left me of en¬ 
 tering into rest, I should seem to come short? To 
 fear, lest, when the King comes to see the guests, 
 he find me without a wedding garment. Be not 
 too confident, O my soul, lest thou deceive thyself: 
 44 Be not high-minded, but fear.” 
 
 2. However, it is certain we have reason to 
 abase ourselves; for, at the best, we are unworthy to 
 come. If we 44 are less than the least of God’s 
 mercies,” how much less are we than the greatest, 
 than this, which includes all ? We are unworthy 
 of the crumbs that fall from our Master’s table, much 
 more unworthy of the children’s bread, and the dain- 
 
192 
 
 ties that are upon the table. Being invited, we may 
 hope to be welcome; but what is there in us that we 
 should be invited ? Men invite their friends and 
 acquaintance to their tables, but we are naturally 
 “ strangers and enemies in our minds by wicked 
 works,” and yet are we invited. Men invite such 
 as they think will, with their quality or merit, grace 
 their tables; but we are more likely to be a reproach 
 to Christ’s table, being poor and maimed, halt and 
 blind ; and yet are picked up out of the highways and 
 the hedges. Men invite such as they are under 
 obligations to, or have expectations from; but Christ 
 is no way indebted to us, nor can he be benefited by 
 us; our goodness extends not to him, and yet he in¬ 
 vites us. We have much more reason than Mephi- 
 bosheth had, when he was made a constant guest at 
 David’s table, to bow ourselves, and say, 6i What is 
 thy servant, that thou shouldcst look upon such a 
 dead dog as I am ?” They who thus humble them-* 
 selves shall be exalted. 
 
 V. Yet let us come to this ordinance with a gra¬ 
 cious confidence, as children to a father, to a father’s 
 table; not with any confidence in ourselves, but ip 
 Christ only.—-That slavish fear which represents 
 God as a hard master, rigorous in his demands, and 
 extreme to mark what we do amiss; which straitens 
 our spirits, and subjects us to bondage and torment, 
 must be put oflP, and striven against; and we must 
 come boldly to the throne of grace, to the table of 
 grace, not as having any thing in ourselves to recom¬ 
 mend us, but as having a High Priest, who is 
 touched with the feeling of our infirmities. As a 
 presumptuous rudeness is a provocation to the master 
 
193 
 
 of the feast, so a distrustful shyness is displeasing 
 to him; which looks as if we questioned either the 
 sincerity of the invitation, or the sufficiency of the 
 provision. 
 
 This is the fault of many good Christians: they 
 come to the sacrament rather like prisoners to the 
 bar, than like friends and children to the table; they 
 come trembling and astonished, and full of confusion. 
 Their apprehensions of the grandeur of the ordinance, 
 and the danger of coming unworthily, run into an 
 extreme, and become a hinderance to the exercise of 
 faith, hope, and love: this extreme we should care¬ 
 fully watch against, because it tends so much to God’s 
 dishonour, our own prejudice, and the discouragement 
 of others. Let us remember we have to do with one 
 who is willing to make the best of sincere desires 
 and serious endeavours, though in many things we 
 be defective; and who deals with 11 s in tender mercy, 
 and not in strict justice, and who, though he be out 
 of Christ a consuming fire, yet in Christ is a gracious 
 Father: let us, e( therefore, draw near with a true 
 heart, and in full assurance of faith.” It is related 
 e^ Titus the emperor, that when a poor petitioner 
 presented his address to him with a trembling hand, 
 he was much displeased, and asked him, Dost thou 
 present thy petition to thy prince, as if thou wert 
 giving meat to a lion?—Chide thyself for these 
 amazing fears: <e Why art thou cast down, O my 
 soul? and why art thou disquieted within me?” If 
 the Spirit undertake to work all my works in me, as 
 the Son hath undertaken to work all my works for 
 me, both the one and the other shall be done effec- 
 
 I 22 
 
 t 
 
194 
 
 tually: therefore “ hope thou in God, for I shall 
 yet praise him.” 
 
 VI. Let us come to this ordinance with earnest 
 desire towards God, and communion with him.—It 
 is a feast, a spiritual feast; and we must come to it 
 with an appetite, a spiritual appetite: for the full 
 soul loathes even the honey-comb, and slights the 
 offer of it; but to the hungry soul, that is sensible 
 of its own needs, every bitter thing is sweet, even 
 the bitterness of repentance, when it is in order to 
 peace and pardon. Our desires towards the world 
 and the flesh must be checked and moderated, and 
 kept under the government of religion and right rea¬ 
 son ; for we have been too long spending our money 
 for that which is not bread, and which is, at the 
 best, unsatisfying; but our desires towards Christ 
 must be quickened and stirring. “ As the hart, 
 the hunted hart, panteth after the refreshment of 
 the water brook, so earnestly must our souls pant 
 for the living God.” The invitation is given, and 
 the promise made to them only that hunger and 
 thirst; they are called to come to the waters, to 
 come and drink, and it is promised to them that 
 they shall be filled. It is necessary, therefore, that 
 we work upon our hearts the consideration of those 
 things that are proper to kindle this holy fire, and to 
 blow up its sparks into a flame. We are then best 
 prepared to receive temporal mercies, when we are 
 most indifferent to them, and content, if the will of 
 God be so, to be without them. “ Did I desire a 
 son of my Lord ?” said the good Shunamite. Here 
 the danger is of being too earnest in our desires, as 
 Rachel: “ Give me children, or else I die.” But 
 
195 
 
 we are then best prepared to receive spiritual mercies, 
 when we are most importunate for them: here the 
 desires cannot be too vehement. In the former case, 
 strong desires evidence the prevalency of sense; but 
 in this they evidence the power of faith, both realiz¬ 
 ing and valuing the blessings desired. The devout 
 and pious soul “thirsts for God, for the living God, 
 as a thirsty land.” It longs, “ yea, even faints for 
 the courts of the Lord,” and for communion with 
 God in them. It “ breaks for the longing it hath 
 unto God’s judgments at all times.”—Can our souls 
 witness to such desires as these ? O that I might 
 have a more intimate acquaintance with God and 
 Christ, and divine things ! O that I might have 
 the tokens of God’s favour, and fuller assurances of 
 his distinguishing love in Jesus Christ ! O that my 
 covenant-interest in him, and relation to him, might 
 be cleared up to me, and that I might have more of 
 the comfort of it! O that I might partake more of 
 the divine grace; and, by its effectual working on 
 my soul, might be made more conformable to the 
 divine will and likeness; more holy, humble, spiri¬ 
 tual, heavenly, and more meet for the inheritance ! 
 O that I might have the earnest of the Spirit in my 
 heart, sealing me to the day of redemption ! 
 
 Thus the desire of our souls must be towards the 
 Lord, and towards the remembrance of his name. 
 In this imperfect state, where we are at home in the 
 body, and absent from the Lord, our love to God 
 acts more in holy desires, than in holy delights. All 
 those who have the Lord for their God, agree to 
 desire nothing more than God, for they know they 
 have enough in him ; but yet still they desire more 
 
 i 2 
 
196 
 
 and more of God; for, till they come to heaven, they 
 will never have enough of him. Come then, my 
 soul, why art thou so cold in thy desires towards 
 those things which are designed for thy peculiar sa¬ 
 tisfaction, distinct from the body ? Why so eager 
 for the meat that perisheth, and so indifferent to that 
 which endures to everlasting life ? Hast thou no 
 desire to that which is so necessary to thy support, 
 and without which thou art undone? No desire to 
 that which will contribute so much to thy profit, and 
 yield thee inexpressible satisfaction ? Provision is 
 made in the Lord’s Supper of bread to strengthen 
 thee, will not the sense of thine own weakness and 
 emptiness make thee hunger after that ? Canst 
 thou be indifferent to that which is the staff of thy 
 life? Provision is made of pleasant food, fat things 
 full of marrow, and wines on the lees; art thou not 
 desirous of dainties, such dainties? Was the tree 
 of knowledge such a temptation, because it was 
 “ pleasant to the eye, and a tree to be desired to 
 make one wise,” that our first parents would break 
 through the hedge of a divine command, and venture 
 all that was dear to them to come at it? And shall 
 not the tree of life, which we are not only allowed, 
 but commanded to eat of, and the fruit of which will 
 nourish us to life eternal—shall not that appear more 
 pleasant in our eyes, and more to be desired ? God, 
 even thine own God, who hath wherewithal to sup¬ 
 ply all thy needs, and hath promised to be to thee a 
 God all-sufficient, a God that is enough,—he hath 
 said, “Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it;” 
 thou art not straitened in him, be not straitened in 
 thine own desires. 
 
197 
 
 VII. Let us come to this ordinance with raised ex¬ 
 pectations.—The same faith that enlargeth the de¬ 
 sire, and draws it out to a holy vehemence, should 
 also elevate the hope, and ripen it to a holy confi¬ 
 dence. When we come thirsting to these waters, 
 we need not fear that they will prove like the brooks 
 in summer, which disappoint the weary traveller; 
 for, when it is hot, they are consumed out of their 
 place.” Such are all the broken cisterns of the 
 creature; they perform not what they promise, or 
 rather what we foolishly promise to ourselves from 
 them: no, but these are inexhaustible fountains of 
 living waters, in which there is enough for all, 
 though ever so many; enough for each, though ever 
 so needy; enough for me, though most unworthy. 
 
 Come, my soul, what dost thou look for at the 
 table of the Lord ? The maker of the feast is God 
 himself, who doth nothing little or mean, but is 
 iS able to do exceeding abundantly above what we 
 are able to ask or think.” When he gives, he gives 
 like himself, gives like a king, gives like a God, all 
 things richly to enjoy; considering not what be¬ 
 comes such ungrateful wretches as we are to re¬ 
 ceive, but what it becomes such a bountiful bene¬ 
 factor as he is to give. A lively faith may expect 
 that which is rich and great from him that is pos¬ 
 sessor of heaven and earth, and all the wealth of 
 both; and that which is kind and gracious from him 
 that is the <£ Father of mercies, and the God of all 
 consolation.’’ A lively faith may expect all that is 
 purchased by the blood of Christ from a God who is 
 righteous in all his ways, and all that is promised in 
 the new covenant from a God who cannot lie nor de¬ 
 
 ceive. 
 
198 
 
 The provision in this feast is Christ himself, and 
 all his benefits; all we need to save us from being 
 miserable, and all we can desire to make us happy: 
 and glorious things, no doubt, may be expected with 
 him, in whom “ it pleased the Father, that all ful¬ 
 ness should dwell.” Let our expectations be built 
 upon a right foundation; not any merit of our own, 
 but God’s mercy, and Christ’s mediation : and then 
 build large, as large as the new covenant in its ut¬ 
 most extent; build high, as high as heaven in all its 
 glory. Come expecting to see that which is most 
 illustrious, and to taste and receive that which is 
 most precious; come expecting that with which you 
 will be abundantly satisfied. 
 
 Though what is prepared seems to a carnal eye 
 poor and scanty, like the five loaves set before five 
 thousand men; yet, when Christ hath the breaking 
 of those loaves, they shall all eat and be filled. In 
 this ordinance the oil is multiplied, the oil of glad¬ 
 ness; it is multiplied in the pouring out, as the wi¬ 
 dow’s oil. Do as she did, therefore: bring empty 
 vessels, bring not a few, they shall all be filled; the ex¬ 
 pectations of faith shall all be answered; the oil stays 
 not, while there is an empty vessel waiting to be 
 filled. Give faith and hope their full compass, and 
 thou wilt find, as that widow did, there is enough of 
 this oil, this multiplied oil, this oil from the good 
 olive, to pay thy debt, and enough beside for thee 
 and thine to live upon. As we oft wrong ourselves 
 by expecting too much from the world, which is va¬ 
 nity and vexation; so we often wrong ourselves by 
 expecting too little from God, whose 66 mercy is upon 
 us, according as we hope in him,” and who, in exert- 
 
199 
 
 ing his power, and conferring his gifts, still saith, 
 “ According to your faith be it unto you.” The 
 king of Israel lost his advantage against the Syrians, 
 by “ smiting thrice, and then staying, when he 
 should have smitten five or six times.” And we do 
 often, in like manner, prejudice ourselves by the 
 weakness of our faith : we receive little, because we 
 expect little; and are like them among whom “ Christ 
 could not do many mighty works, because of their 
 unbelief.” 
 
 VIII. Let us come to this ordinance with rejoicing 
 and thanksgiving.—These two must go together; 
 for whatever is the matter of our rejoicing, must be 
 the matter of our thanksgiving. Holy joy is the 
 heart of our thankful praise, and thankful praise the 
 language of holy joy; and both these are very sea¬ 
 sonable when we are coming to an ordinance, which 
 is instituted both for the honour of the Redeemer, 
 and for the comfort of the redeemed. 
 
 Beside the matter of joy and praise with which 
 we are furnished in our attendance on the ordinance, 
 even our approach to it is such an honour, such a 
 favour, as obligeth us to “ come before his presence 
 with singing, and even to enter into his gates with 
 thanksgiving”—“ With gladness and rejoicing shall 
 the royal bride be brought.” Those that in their 
 preparations for the ordinance have been ct sowing 
 in tears, may not only come again with rejoicing, 
 bringing their sheaves with them,” but go with re¬ 
 joicing to fetch their sheaves, to meet the ark, “ lift¬ 
 ing up their heads with joy, knowing that their 
 redemption,” and the sealing of them to the day of 
 redemption, draws nigh. Let those that are of a 
 
200 
 
 sorrowful spirit hearken to this; cheer up and be 
 comforted : 46 This day is holy unto the Lord your 
 God; mourn not, nor weep.” 66 It is the day that 
 the Lord hath made, and we must rejoice and be 
 glad in it;” and the joy of the Lord will be our 
 strength, and oil to our wheels. All things con¬ 
 sidered, thou hast a great deal more reason than 
 Haman had, “ to go in merrily with the king, to the 
 banquet of wine.” 
 
 Two things may justly be matter of our rejoicing 
 and thanksgiving in our approach to this ordi¬ 
 nance :— 
 
 1. That God hath put such a price as this in 
 our hands to get wisdom; that such an ordinance as 
 this was instituted for our spiritual nourishment and 
 growth in grace; that it is transmitted down to us, 
 is administered among us, and we are invited to it. 
 This is a token for good, in which we have reason 
 to rejoice, and be very thankful for, that our lot is 
 not cast either among those who are strangers to the 
 gospel, and so have not this ordinance at all, or 
 among those who are enemies to the gospel, and 
 have it wretchedly corrupted, and turned into an 
 idolatrous service; but that Wisdom’s table is spread 
 among us, and her voice heard in our streets, and 
 we are called to her feasts, we have a nail in God’s 
 holy place, a settlement in his house, and stated op¬ 
 portunities of communion with him,—“ if the Lord 
 had been pleased to kill us, he would not have shown 
 us such things as these. O what a privilege is it 
 thus to eat and drink in Christ’s presence ! to sit 
 down under his shadow at his table, with his friends 
 and favourites ! that we, who deserved to have been 
 
201 
 
 set with the dogs of his flock, should be set with the 
 children of his family, and eat of the children’s 
 bread ! nay, that we should be numbered among his 
 priests, and eat of the dedicate things ! 6i Bless the 
 Lord, O my soul !” 
 
 2. That God hath given us a heart to the price 
 in our hands. We have reason to be thankful that 
 he hath not only invited us to this feast, which is a 
 token of his good-will towards us; but that he hath 
 inclined us to accept the invitation, which is the 
 effect of a good work upon us. Many that are called 
 make light of it, and go their way to their farms and 
 merchandise; and, if we had been left to ourselves, 
 we should have made the same foolish choice, and, 
 in the greatness of our folly, should have gone 
 astray, and wandered endlessly. It was free grace 
 that made us willing in the day of power, and gra¬ 
 ciously compelled us to come in to the gospel feast; 
 it was distinguishing grace that revealed to us babes, 
 the things that were hid from the wise and prudent: 
 let that grace have the glory, and let us have the joy 
 of this blessed work. 
 
 IX. Let us come to this ordinance in charity with 
 all men, and with a sincere affection to all good 
 Christians.—It is a love feast, and if we do not 
 come in love, we come without the wedding gar¬ 
 ment, and forfeit the comforts of the feast. This 
 is to be seriously thought of when we bring our 
 gift to the altar, as we hope for acceptance there. 
 When we come to the sacrament, we must bring 
 with us ill-will to none, good-will to all, but espe™ 
 pecially to them who are of the household of faith. 
 
 1. We must bear ill-will to none; no, not to 
 
 i 3 
 
202 
 
 those that have been most injurious and provoking 
 to us: though they have affronted us ever so much 
 in our honour, wronged us in our interest, and set 
 themselves to vilify us, and do us mischief, yet we 
 must not hate them, nor entertain any malice to¬ 
 wards them; we must not be desirous or studious of 
 revenge, to seek their hurt in any respect, but must 
 from our heart forgive them, as we ourselves are, 
 and hope to be forgiven of God. We must see to 
 it, that there be not the least degree of enmity to 
 any person in the world lodged in our breast, but 
 carefully purge out all that old leaven; not only lay 
 aside the thoughts of it for the present, but wholly 
 pluck up, and cast out that root of bitterness, 
 6( which bears gall and wormwood.’’ Pure hands 
 must, in this ordinance, as well as in prayer, be 
 “ lifted up without wrath and doubting.” How 
 can we expect that God should be reconciled to us, 
 if we bring not with us a disposition to be reconciled 
 to our brethren ! for our trespasses against God are 
 unspeakably greater than the worst of our brethrens’ 
 trespasses against us. O that each would apply 
 this caution to themselves ! You have a neighbour, 
 that, upon some disgust conceived, you cannot find 
 in your hearts to speak to, nor to speak well of; 
 some one that you have entertained a prejudice 
 against, and would willingly do an ill turn to if it 
 lay in your power; some one, of whom it may be 
 you are ready to say, you cannot endure the sight. 
 And dare you retain such a spirit when you come 
 to this ordinance ? Can you conceal it from God ; 
 or do you think you can justify it at his bar, and 
 make it out that you do well to be angry? Let the 
 
203 
 
 fear of God’s wrath, and the hope of Christ’s love, 
 reduce you to a better temper; and when you cele¬ 
 brate the memorial of the dying of the Lord Jesus, 
 be sure you remember this, that he is our peace, 
 and that he died to slay all enmities. 
 
 2. We must bear good-will to all, with a par¬ 
 ticular affection to all good Christians. Christian 
 charity doth not only forbid that which is any way 
 injurious, but it requires that which is kind and 
 friendly. 
 
 The desire of our hearts must be towards the 
 welfare of all. If we be indeed solicitous about the 
 salvation of our own souls, we cannot but have a 
 tender concern for the souls of others, and be hearty 
 well-wishers to their salvation likewise; “for this is 
 good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, 
 who will have all men to be saved.” True grace 
 hates monopolies. We must thus love those whose 
 wickedness we are bound to hate; and earnestly 
 desire their happiness, even while we industriously 
 decline their fellowship. 
 
 But the “ delight of our souls must be in the 
 saints that are on the earth, those excellent ones,” 
 as David was. They are “ precious in God’s sight, 
 and honourable, and they should be so in ours; they 
 have fellowship with the Father, and with his Son 
 Jesus Christ:” and therefore, by a sincere and af¬ 
 fectionate love to them, we also should have fellow¬ 
 ship with them. Our hearts will then be comforted, 
 when they are “ knit together in love.” This love 
 must not be confined to those of our own commun¬ 
 ion, our own way and denomination: then we love 
 them for our own sakes, because they credit us; not 
 
204 
 
 for Christ’s sake, because they honour him : but, 
 since God is no respecter of persons, we must not 
 be such. 66 In every nation, he that fears God, and 
 works righteousness, is accepted of him,” and should 
 be so of us. Doubtless, there may be a diversity of 
 apprehensions in the less weighty matters of the law, 
 such as the distinction of meats and days, and diver¬ 
 sity of practice accordingly, and yet a sincerity of 
 mutual love, according to the law of Christ. Those 
 who think it is not possible, should be content to 
 speak for themselves only, and must believe there 
 are those who have much satisfaction in being able 
 to say, that they love the image of Christ wherever 
 they see it, and highly value a good man, though 
 not in every thing of their mind. He that casteth 
 out devils in Christ’s name must be dear to us, 
 though he follow not us. The differences that are 
 among Christians, though fomented by the malice 
 of Satan for the ruin of love, are permitted by the 
 wisdom of God for the trial of love, that they which 
 are perfect therein may be made manifest. Herein 
 a Christian commendeth his love, when he loves 
 those who differ from him, and joins in affection to 
 those with whom he cannot concur in opinion: this 
 is thank-worthy. The kingdom of God is not meat 
 and drink ; they that have tasted of the bread of life, 
 and the water of life, know it not; but it is t£ right¬ 
 eousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost: 
 he, therefore, that in these things serveth Christ, is 
 acceptable to God;” and therefore, though he esteem 
 not our days, though he relishes not our meats, he 
 should be acceptable and dear to us. 
 
 Let us then, in our approach to this sacrament. 
 
20 5 
 
 stir up ourselves to holy love, love without dissimu- 
 lation ; let us bear those on our hearts, whom the 
 great High Priest of our profession bears on his; 
 and, as we are (s taught of God to love one another, 
 let us increase therein more and more.” Christ 
 having loved us, is a good reason why we should 
 love him: Christ having loved our brethren also, is 
 a good reason why we should love them. 6i Behold 
 how good and how pleasant a thing it is for Chris¬ 
 tians to be kindly affectionated one towards another,” 
 of one heart, and of one soul! there the Lord com¬ 
 mands the blessing, and gives earnest of the joys of 
 that world, where love is perfected and reigns eter¬ 
 nally. 
 
 
206 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Some Account of the Affecting Sights that are to he 
 seen by Faith in this Ordinance . 
 
 I. In general: Come and see the Lamb that had been slain 
 opening the seals. II. In particular:—(i.) See the evil of 
 sin. (ii.) See the justice of God; in two things, (hi.) See 
 the love of Christ; opened in six properties of that love, (rv.) 
 See the conquest of Satan; how Christ conquered Satan in 
 two things, (v.) See the worth of souls; two inferences from 
 that sight, (vi.) See the purchase of the blessings of the new 
 covenant; opened in two things. 
 
 Care being taken, by the grace of God, to com¬ 
 pose ourselves into a serious frame of spirit agree¬ 
 able to the ordinance, we must next apply ourselves 
 to that which is the proper business of it. And the 
 first thing to be done is, to contemplate that which 
 is represented and set before us there. This David 
 aimed at when he coveted to dwell in the house of 
 the Lord all the days of his 66 life, that he might 
 behold the beauty of the Lord;” 6i might see his 
 power and his glory.” To the natural man, who 
 receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, there 
 appears in it nothing surprising, nothing affecting, 
 no form nor comeliness; but to that faith, which is 
 the u substance and evidence of things not seen,” 
 there appears a great sight, which, like Moses, it 
 will, with a holy reverence, turn aside now to see. 
 As, therefore, in our preparation for this ordinance, 
 we should pray, with David, “ Open thou mine eyes, 
 
<207 
 
 that I may see the wondrous things of thy law and 
 gospel;” so we should, with Abraham, 66 lift up our 
 eyes now and look.” 
 
 When the Lamb that had been slain had taken 
 the book, and was going to open the seals, St. John, 
 who had the honour to be a witness in vision of the 
 solemnity, was loudly called, by one of the four liv¬ 
 ing creatures, to come and see. The same is the 
 call given to us when, in this sacrament, there is a 
 door opened in heaven, and we are bidden to come 
 up hither. 
 
 I. In general, we are here called to see the Lamb 
 that had been slain opening the seals. This is the 
 (jeneral idea we are to have of the ordinance. We 
 
 O 
 
 would have thought ourselves highly favoured indeed, 
 and beloved disciples, if we had seen it in vision, as 
 John did; behold we are all invited to see it in a 
 sacramental representation. 
 
 In this ordinance is showed the Lamb as it had 
 been slain. John the Baptist pointed to him as the 
 Lamb of God, and called upon his followers to be¬ 
 hold him. A Lamb designed for sacrifice, in order 
 to the taking away of the sins of the world, a harm¬ 
 less, spotless Lamb; but John the Divine goes far¬ 
 ther, and sees him a Lamb slain, now sacrificed 
 for us in the outer court; and not only so, but ap¬ 
 pearing t£ in the midst of the throne, and of the four 
 beasts, and of the elders,” as if he were newly slain, 
 bleeding afresh, and yet alive, and “ lives for ever¬ 
 more,” constantly presenting his sacrifice within the 
 vail. The blood of the Lamb always flowing, that 
 it may still be sprinkled on our consciences, to purify 
 and pacify them, and may still speak in heaven for 
 
208 
 
 us, in that prevailing intercession which the Lord 
 Jesus ever lives to make there, in virtue of his satis¬ 
 faction. 
 
 In this ordinance, the Lord’s death is shown 
 forth; it is shown forth to us, that it may be shown 
 forth by us. Jesus Christ is here 66 evidently set 
 forth crucified among us,” that we may ct all with 
 open face behold, as in a glass, the glory of God 
 in the face of Christ.” Thus, as Christ “ was the 
 Lamb slain from the foundation of the world,” in 
 the types and prophecies of the Old Testament, and 
 the application of his merits to the saints that lived 
 then; so he will be the Lamb slain to the end of 
 the world, in the word and sacraments of the New 
 Testament, and the application of his merits to the 
 saints that are now, and shall be in every age. Still 
 he is seen as a Lamb that had been slain; for this 
 sacrifice doth not, like the Old Testament sacrifices, 
 decay and wax old. 
 
 This is the sight, the great sight: we are here 
 to see the bush burning, and yet not consumed; for 
 the Lord is in it his people’s God and Saviour. 
 The wounds of this Lamb are here open before us. 
 Come, see in Christ’s hands the very print of the 
 nails, see in his side the very marks of the spear. 
 Behold him in his agony, sweating as if it had been 
 t6 great drops of blood falling to the groundthen 
 accommodating himself to the work he had under¬ 
 taken ; couching between two burdens, and bowing 
 his shoulder to bear them. Behold him “ in his 
 bonds, when the breath of our nostrils, the anointed 
 of the Lord, was taken in their pits,” and he was 
 bound that we might go out free. Behold him at 
 
209 
 
 the bar prosecuted and condemned as a criminal, 
 because he was made sin for us, and had undertaken 
 to answer for our guilt. Behold him upon the cross, 
 enduring the pain, and despising the shame of the 
 cursed tree. Here is his body broken, his blood 
 shed, his soul poured out unto death; all his suffer¬ 
 ings, with all their aggravations, are here, in such a 
 manner as the divine wisdom saw fit, by an instituted 
 ordinance, represented to us, and set before us. 
 
 In this ordinance is shown us the Lamb that was 
 slain, opening the seals of the everlasting gospel: 
 not only discovering to us the glories of the divine 
 light, but dispensing to us the graces of divine love ; 
 opening the seals of the fountain of life, which had 
 been long as a spring shut up; and rolling away the 
 stone, that from thence we may draw water with joy; 
 opening the seals of the book of life, that things hid 
 from ages and generations might be manifested unto 
 us, and we might know the things which are freely 
 given us of God; opening the seals of God’s trea¬ 
 sures, “ the unsearchable riches of Christ,” which 
 should have been sealed up for ever from us, if he 
 had not found out a way to supply and enrich us out 
 of them ; opening the seals of heaven’s gates, which 
 had been shut and sealed against us, and consecra- , 
 ting for us <fi a new and living way into the holiest 
 by his own blood.” This is a glorious sight, and 
 that which cannot but raise our expectations of some¬ 
 thing further; this is the principal sight given us in 
 this ordinance: but when we view this accurately, 
 we shall find there is that in it which “ eye hath not 
 seen, nor ear heard.” 
 
 II. In particular, we are here called to see many 
 
210 
 
 other things which we may infer from this general 
 representation of the sufferings of Christ. It is a 
 very fruitful subject, and that which will lead us to 
 the consideration of divers things very profitable. 
 When we come to this sacrament, we should ask 
 ourselves the question, which Christ put to those 
 that had been John’s hearers, “ What went ye out 
 for to see?” What do we come to the Lord’s 
 table to see? We come to see that which, if God 
 gives us the eye of faith to discern, it will be very 
 affecting. Let this voice, therefore, be still sound¬ 
 ing in our ears, “ Come and see.” 
 
 (i.) Come and see the evil of sin. This we are 
 concerned to see, that we may be truly humbled for 
 our sins past, and may be firmly engaged by resolu¬ 
 tion and holy watchfulness against sin for the future. 
 It was for our transgressions that Christ was thus 
 wounded, for our iniquities that he was bruised; 
 “ know therefore, O my soul, and see, that it is 
 an evil and bitter thing, that thou hast forsaken the 
 Lord thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith 
 the Lord God of hosts.” That was a great provo¬ 
 cation to God, which nothing would atone for but 
 such a sacrifice; a dangerous disease to us, which 
 nothing would heal but such a medicine. “ This 
 is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it 
 reacheth unto thine heart.” 
 
 Here sin appears sin, and by the cross of Christ, 
 as well as by the command of God, it becomes ex¬ 
 ceeding sinful. The malignity of its nature was 
 very great, and more than we can conceive or ex¬ 
 press ; for it had made such a breach between God 
 and man, as none less than he who was both God 
 
and man could repair; none less than he durst un¬ 
 dertake to be made sin for us, to become surety for 
 that debt, and intercessor for such offenders. It 
 was impossible that the blood of bulls and goats 
 should take away sin; the stain was too deep to be 
 washed out so: “ sacrifice and offering God did not 
 desire,” would not accept as sufficient to purge us 
 from it; no, the Son of God himself must come to 
 “ put away sin by the sacrifice of himself,” or it will 
 for ever separate between us and God. 
 
 Here sin appears death, and in the cross of Christ 
 shows itself exceeding hurtful. Behold, my soul, 
 and see what mischief sin makes, by observing how 
 dear it cost the Redeemer, when he undertook to 
 satisfy for it; how he sweated and groaned, bled and 
 died, when the ft Lord laid upon him the iniquities 
 of us all;” look ou sin through this glass, and it 
 will appear in its true colour, black and bloody ! 
 nothing can be more so. The fatal consequences 
 of sin are seen more in the sufferings of Christ, than 
 in all the calamities that it has brought upon the 
 world of mankind. O what a painful, what a shame¬ 
 ful thing is sin, which put the Lord Jesus to so 
 much pain, to so much shame, when he bore our 
 “ sins in his own body upon the tree !” 
 
 See this, my soul, with application: it was thy sin, 
 thy own iniquity, that lay so heavy upon the Lord 
 Jesus, when he cried out, “ My soul is exceeding 
 sorrowful, even unto death.” It was thy pride and 
 passion, thy worldliness and uncleanness, the carnal 
 mind in thee, which is enmity against God, that 
 crowned him with thorns, and nailed him to the cross, 
 and laid him for a time under the sense of God’s 
 
212 
 
 withdrawing from him. Is this so? And shall I 
 ever again make a mock at sin ? Ever again make 
 a light matter of that of which Christ made so great 
 a matter? God forbid! 6i Is it a small thing to 
 weary men, but have I by my sin wearied my God 
 also?” “ Have I made him thus to serve, and thus 
 to suffer by my sins?” and shall I ever be reconciled 
 to sin again ? or, shall I ever think a favourable 
 thought of it any more? No : by the grace of God 
 I never will. The carnal pleasure, and worldly pro¬ 
 fit that sin can promise, will never balance the pain 
 and shame to which it put my Redeemer. 
 
 Meditate revenge, my soul, a holy revenge, such 
 a revenge as will be no breach of the law of charity; 
 such a revenge as is one of the fruits of godly sor¬ 
 row. If sin was the death of Christ, why should 
 not I be the death of sin ? When David lamented 
 Saul and Jonathan, who were slain by the archers 
 of the Philistines, it is said, “ He taught the chil¬ 
 dren of Judah the use of the bow,” that they might 
 avenge the death of their princes upon their enemies. 
 Let us thence receive instruction.—Did sin, did my 
 sin crucify Christ? And shall not I crucify it? 
 If it be asked, Why, what evil has it done ? say, It 
 cost the blood of the Son of God to expiate it: and 
 therefore, cry out so much the more, “ Cruoify it, 
 crucify it.” And thus all that are Christ’s, have in 
 some measure crucified the flesh. As Christ died 
 for sin, so we must die to sin. 
 
 (u.) Come and see the justice of God. Many 
 ways the great Judge of the world hath made it to 
 appear that he hates sin ; and, both by the judgments 
 of his mouth in the written word, and the judgments 
 
213 
 
 of his hand in the course of his providence, he hath 
 revealed fi< his wrath from heaven against all ungod- 
 liness and unrighteousness of men.” It is true, that 
 he is gracious and merciful; but it is as true, that 
 “ God is jealous, and the Lord revengeth.” God, 
 even our God, is a consuming fire, and will reckon 
 for the violation of his laws, and the injuries done to 
 his crown and dignity. The tenor of the Scripture, 
 from the second of Genesis to the last of Revelation, 
 proves this, u The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” 
 In many remarkable punishments of sin, even in this 
 life, it is written as with a sunbeam, so that he that 
 runs may read, That the Lord is righteous. 
 
 But never did the justice of God appear so con¬ 
 spicuous, so illustrious, as in the death and suffer¬ 
 ings of Jesus Christ set before us in this ordinance. 
 Here his “ righteousness is like the great moun¬ 
 tains, though his judgments are a great deep.” 
 Come and see the holy God, showing his displeasure 
 against sin in the death of Christ, more than in the 
 ruin of angels, the drowning of the old world, the 
 burning of Sodom, and the destruction of Jerusalem: 
 nay, more than in the torments of hell, ail things 
 considered. 
 
 God manifested his justice, in demanding such 
 satisfaction for sin, as Christ was to make by the 
 blood of his cross. Hereby he made it to appear 
 how great the provocation was which was done him 
 by tb e sin of man, that, not only such an excellent 
 person must be chosen to intercede for us, but his 
 sufferings and death must be insisted on to atone 
 for us. Sin being committed against an infinite 
 Majesty, seems by this to have in it a kind of infinite 
 
214 
 
 malignity, that the remission of it could not be pro¬ 
 cured, but by a satisfaction of infinite value. If 
 mere mercy had pardoned sin, without any provision 
 made to answer the demands of injured justice, God 
 had declared his goodness; but, when Jesus Christ 
 is set forth to be a propitiation for sin, and God is 
 pleased to put himself to so vast an expense for the 
 saving of the honour of his government in the for¬ 
 giveness of sin, this declares his righteousness; it 
 declares, “ I say, at this time, his righteousness; 
 that he might be just, and the justifier of him which 
 believeth in Jesus.” 
 
 Sin hath wronged God in his honour, for he can¬ 
 not otherwise be wronged by any of his creatures. 
 In breaking the law, we dishonour God; we sin and 
 come short of his glory. For this wrong, satisfac¬ 
 tion must be made: that which first offers, is the 
 eternal ruin of the sinner; let the sentence of the 
 law be executed, and thereby God may get him 
 honour upon us, in lieu of that he should have had 
 from us. But can no expedient be found out to 
 satisfy God, and yet save the sinner? Is it not 
 possible to offer an equivalent? <£ Will the Lord 
 be pleased with thousands of rams, or ten thousand 
 rivers of oil ? Shall we give our first-born for our 
 transgressions, the fruit of our body for the sin of 
 our soul?” No; these are not tantamount: no 
 submissions, sorrows, supplications, services, or suf¬ 
 ferings of ours, can be looked upon as a valuable 
 consideration for the righteous God to proceed upon, 
 in forgiving such injuries, and restoring such crimi¬ 
 nals to his favour. The best we do is imperfect; 
 the utmost we can do is already owing. Here, 
 
215 
 
 therefore, the Lord Jesus interposeth, undertakes 
 to make a full reparation of the injury done to God’s 
 glory by sin; clothes himself with our nature, and 
 becomes surety for us, as Paul for Onesimus: “ If 
 they have wronged thee, or owe thee ought, put 
 that on mine account; I have written it with mine 
 own hand, with mine own blood I will repay it.” 
 He was made sin for us, a curse for us, an offering 
 for our sin. He “ bore our sins in his own body 
 on the treeand thus the justice of God was not 
 only satisfied, but greatly glorified. Come and see 
 how bright it shines here. 
 
 God manifested his justice, in dealing as he did 
 with him who undertook to make satisfaction. Hav¬ 
 ing “ laid upon him the iniquity of us all, he laid 
 it home to him; for it pleased the Lord to bruise 
 him, and put him to grief. He was not only de¬ 
 spised and rejected of men, who knew him not, but 
 he was stricken, smitten of God and afflicted.” The 
 ancient way in which God testifieth his acceptance 
 of sacrifices, was by consuming them with fire from 
 heaven. The wrath of God, which the offerers de¬ 
 served should have fallen upon them, fell upon the 
 offering; and so the destruction of the sacrifice was 
 the escape of the sinner. Christ becoming a sacri¬ 
 fice for us, the fire of God’s wrath descended upon 
 him, which troubled his soul, put him into an agony, 
 and made him cry out, “ My God, my God, why 
 hast thou forsaken me ?” “ Come, then, and be¬ 
 
 hold the goodness and severity of God.” “ Christ 
 being made sin for us, God did not spare him.” 
 (( By the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of 
 God, he was delivered to them who, with wicked 
 
216 
 
 hands, crucified and slew him.” “ Awake, O sword,” 
 the sword of divine justice, furbished and bathed in 
 heaven !—awake “ against my Shepherd, and against 
 the man that is my fellow, saith the Lord of hosts; 
 smite the Shepherd.” 
 
 Let us look on the sufferings of Christ, and say, 
 as he himself hath taught us, “ If this be done in 
 the green tree, what shall be done in the dry?” 
 What was done to him, shows what should have 
 been done to us, if Christ had not interposed, and 
 what will be done to us if we reject him. If this 
 were done to the Son of God’s love, what shall be 
 done to the generation of his wrath ? If this were 
 done to one that had but sin imputed to him, who, as 
 he had no corruptions of his own for Satan’s temp¬ 
 tations to fasten upon, so he had no guilt of his own 
 for God’s wrath to fasten upon ; who was as a green 
 tree, not apt to take fire; what shall be done to those 
 who have sin inherent in them, which makes them as 
 a dry tree, combustible and proper fuel for the fire of 
 God’s wrath ? If this were done to one that had 
 done so much good, what shall be done to us that had 
 done so little ? If the Lord Jesus himself was put 
 into an agony by the things that were done to him, 
 was sorrowful, and very heavy, “ can our hearts en¬ 
 dure, or can our hands be strong, when God shall 
 deal with us ?” “ Who would set the briers and 
 
 thorns against him in battle ?” From the sufferings 
 of Christ, we may easily infer what a “fearful thing 
 it is to fall into the hands of the living God.” 
 
 (in.) Come and see the love of Christ. This is 
 that which, with a peculiar regard, we are to observe 
 and contemplate in this ordinance: where we see 
 
217 
 
 Christ and him crucified, we cannot but see the love 
 of Christ, which passeth knowledge. When Christ 
 did but drop a tear over the grave of Lazarus, the 
 Jews said, <fi See how he loved him !” Much more 
 reason have we to say, when we commemorate the 
 shedding of his blood for us, “ See how he loved 
 us !” Greater love hath no man than this, to lay 
 down his life for his friend. Thus Christ hath loved 
 us; nay, he laid down his life for us when we were 
 enemies. Herein is love—love without precedent, 
 love without parallel. Come and see the wonders of 
 this love. 
 
 It was free love.—Christ gave himself for us; 
 and what more free than a gift ? It was free, for 
 it was unasked : nothing cried for this mercy, but 
 our own misery; when no eye pitied us, of his own 
 good will he relieved us, (( said to us, when we were 
 in our blood, Live; yea, he said to us, Live.” That 
 was a time of love indeed. It was free, for it was 
 unmerited : there was nothing in us desirable, no¬ 
 thing promising; the relation we stood in to God as 
 creatures, did but aggravate our rebellion, and make 
 us the more obnoxious. As he could not obtain 
 any advantage by our happiness, so he would not 
 have sustained any damage by our misery. If there 
 was no profit in our blood, yet for certain there 
 would have been no loss by it; no, but the reasons 
 of his love were fetched from within himself, as 
 God’s love of Israel was. He loved them, because 
 he would love them. It was free, for it was un¬ 
 forced : he willingly offered himself. Here am I, 
 send me. This sacrifice was bound to the horns of 
 the altar, only with the cords of his own love. 
 
 K 22 
 
218 
 
 It was distinguishing love.—It was good-will to 
 fallen man, and not to fallen angels. He did not lay 
 hold on a world of sinking angels; as their tree fell, 
 so it lies, and so it is like to lie for ever: but on the 
 seed of Abraham he taketh hold. The nature of 
 angels was more excellent than that of man, their 
 place in the creation higher, their capacity for hon¬ 
 ouring God greater; and yet they were passed by. 
 Man that sinned, was pitied and helped; while an¬ 
 gels that sinned, were not so much as spared. The 
 deplorable state of devils, serves as a foil to set off 
 the blessed state of the ransomed of the Lord. 
 
 It was condescending love.—Never did love 
 humble itself, and stoop so low as the love of Christ 
 did. It was great condescension, that he should 
 pitch his love upon creatures so mean, “ man that is 
 a worm, the son of man that is a worm ;” so near 
 a-kin to the brutal part of the creation, especially 
 since the fall, that one would think he should rather 
 be the scorn than the love of the spiritual and purely 
 intellectual world : yet this is the creature that is 
 chosen to be the darling of heaven, and in whom 
 Wisdom’s delights are. But especially that, in pro¬ 
 secution of his love, he should humble himself as he 
 did : humble himself to the earth in his incarnation ; 
 humble himself into the earth in the meanness of life; 
 humble himself into the earth, when he went to the 
 grave, the place where mankind appears under the 
 greatest mortification and disgrace. 
 
 It was expensive love.— His washing the feet of 
 his disciples is spoken of as an act of love to them; 
 and that was condescending love, but not costly like 
 this. He loved us, and bought us, and paid dear for 
 
219 
 
 us, that we might be unto him a purchased people. 
 Because he loved Israel, he gave “ men for them, 
 and people for their life, even Egypt for their ran¬ 
 som.” But because he loved us, he gave himself for 
 us, even his own blood for the ransom of our souls. 
 
 It was strong love, strong as death, and which 
 many waters could not quench.—This was the great¬ 
 ness of his strength, in which the Redeemer tra¬ 
 velled, who is mighty to save; it was strong to 
 break through great difficulties, and trample upon 
 the discouragements that lay in his way. When he 
 had this baptism of blood to be baptized with, it was 
 love that said, <c How am I straitened till it be ac¬ 
 complished !” It was love that said, “ With desire 
 have I desired to eat this passover,” which he knew 
 was to be his last. It was the strength of his love 
 that reconciled him to the bitter cup which was put 
 into his hand, and made him waive his petition, 
 “ that it might pass from him;” which, for ought we 
 know, if he had insisted upon, it had been granted, 
 and the wrnrk undone. 
 
 It was an everlasting love.—It was from ever¬ 
 lasting in the counsels of it, and will be to everlast¬ 
 ing in the consequences of it. Not like our love, 
 which comes up in a night and perisheth in anight. 
 He loved to the end, and went on with his under¬ 
 taking till he said, u It is finished.” Never was 
 there such a constant lover as the blessed Jesus, 
 whose gifts and callings are without repentance. 
 
 (iv.) Come and see the conquest of Satan. And 
 this is a very pleasing sight to all those who through 
 grace are turned from the power of Satan unto God, 
 as it was to the Israelites, when they had newly 
 
 K 2 
 
"22 0 
 
 shaken off the Egyptian yoke, to see their task¬ 
 masters and pursuers dead upon the sea-shore. Come 
 and see our Joshua discomfiting the Amalekites ; our 
 David, with a sling and a stone, vanquishing that 
 proud Goliath, who not only himself basely deserted, 
 hut then boldly defied the armies of the living God. 
 Come and see, not Michael and his angels, but Mi¬ 
 chael himself; Michael our Prince, who trode the 
 wine-press alone, entering the lists with the dragon 
 and his angels, and giving them an effectual over¬ 
 throw; the seed of the woman, though bruised in the 
 heel, yet breaking the serpent’s head, according to 
 that ancient promise made unto the fathers. Come 
 and see the great Redeemer, not only making peace 
 with earth, but making war with hell; dispossessing 
 the strong man armed, “ spoiling principalities and 
 powers, making a show of them openly, and triumph¬ 
 ing over them in his cross. 
 
 (v.) Come and see Christ triumphing over Satan 
 at his death. Though the war was in heaven, yet 
 some fruits of the victory even then appeared on 
 earth. Though, when Christ was in the extremity 
 of his sufferings, there was darkness over all the 
 land, which gave the powers of darkness all the ad¬ 
 vantage they could wish for; yet he beat the enemy 
 upon his own ground. Satan, some think, terrified 
 Christ in his agony; but then he kept possession of 
 his own soul, and steadily adhered to his Father’s 
 will, and to his own undertaking: so he baffled Sa¬ 
 tan. Satan put it into the heart of Judas to betray 
 him ; but in the immediate ruin of Judas, who pre¬ 
 sently went and hanged himself, Christ triumphed 
 over Satan, and made a show of him openly. Satan 
 
221 
 
 tempted Peter to deny Christ, desiring to have him, 
 that he might sift him as wheat; but, by the speedy 
 repentance of Peter, who, upon a look from Christ, 
 went out and wept bitterly, Christ triumphed over 
 Satan, and baffled him in his designs. Satan was 
 ready to swallow up the thief upon the cross ; but 
 Christ rescued him from the gates of hell, and raised 
 him to the glories of heaven, and thereby spoiled 
 Satan, who was as a lion disappointed of his prey. 
 
 Come and see Christ triumphing over Satan by 
 his death; the true Samson, that did more towards 
 the ruin of the Philistines dying than living: having 
 by his life and doctrine destroyed the works of the 
 devil, at length by his death “ he destroyed the devil 
 himself, that had the power of death.” In him was 
 fulfilled the blessing of the tribe of Gad : “ A troop 
 shall overcome him, but he shall overcome at the 
 last;” and “ through him that loved us we are con¬ 
 querors, yea, more than conquerors.” 
 
 Christ, by dying, made atonement for sin, and 
 so conquered Satan. By the merit of his death he 
 satisfied God’s justice for the sins of all that should 
 believe in him ; and if the judge remit the sentence, 
 the executioner hath nothing to do with the prisoner. 
 We were ready to fall under the curse, to be made 
 an anathema, that is, to be delivered unto Satan ; 
 Christ said, Upon me be the curse: this blotted out 
 the handwriting that was against us, took that out of 
 the way, nailed that to the cross; and so Satan is 
 spoiled ;—Who shall condemn ? It is Christ that 
 died. When God forgives the iniquities of his 
 people, he brings back their captivity. If we shall 
 not come into condemnation, we are saved from com¬ 
 ing into execution. 
 
 O 
 
222 
 
 Christ, by dying, sealed the gospel of grace, and 
 purchased the Spirit of grace; and so conquered Sa¬ 
 tan. The Spirit acting by the gospel as the instru¬ 
 ment, and the gospel animated by the Spirit as the 
 principal, are become “ mighty to the pulling down 
 of Satan’s strong holds.” Thus a foundation is laid 
 for a believer’s victory over the temptations and ter¬ 
 rors of the wicked one. Christ’s victory over Satan 
 is our victory, and we overcome him 6t by the blood 
 of the Lamb.” Thus kings of armies did flee apace, 
 and even they that tarried at home, and did them¬ 
 selves contribute nothing to the victory, yet <£ divided 
 the spoil.” Christ having thus trodden Satan under 
 our feet, he calls to us, as Joshua to the captains of 
 Israel, “ Come near, put your feet upon the necks 
 of these kings.” 66 Resist the devil and he will flee 
 from you,” for he is a conquered enemy. 
 
 (vi.) Come and see the worth of souls.—Wejudge 
 of the value of a thing, by the price which a wise man 
 that understands it gives for it. He that made souls, 
 and had reason to know them, provided for their re¬ 
 demption, not corruptible things as silver and gold, 
 but the precious blood of his own Son.” It was not 
 a purchase made hastily, for it was the contrivance of 
 infinite wisdom from eternity ; it was not made for 
 necessity, for he neither needed us nor could he be 
 benefited by us; but thus he was pleased to teach us 
 what account we should make of our own souls, and 
 their salvation and happiness. The incarnation of 
 Christ put a great honour upon the human nature: 
 never was it so dignified, as when it was taken into 
 union with the divine nature in the person of Em¬ 
 manuel. But the death and sufferings of Christ add 
 
223 
 
 much more to its value, for lie laid down his own life 
 to be a ransom of ours, when nothing else was suffi¬ 
 cient to answer the price. “ Lord, what is man that 
 he should be thus visited, thus regarded !—that the 
 Son of God should not only dwell among us, but die 
 for us !” 
 
 Now, let us see this, and learn how to put a value 
 upon our own souls. Not so as to advance our con¬ 
 ceit of ourselves,—nothing can be more humbling 
 and debasing, than to see our lives sold by our own 
 folly, and redeemed by the merit of another; but so 
 as to increase our concern for ourselves, and our own 
 spiritual interests. Shall the souls, the precious 
 souls, upon which Christ put such a value, and paid 
 such a price for, debase and undervalue themselves so 
 far as to become slaves to Satan, and drudges to the 
 world and the flesh ? We are bought with a price; 
 and therefore we not only injure the purchaser’s right 
 to us, if we alienate ourselves to another, but we 
 reproach his wisdom in paying such a price, if we 
 alienate ourselves for a thing of nought. It is the 
 apostle’s argument against uncleanness, and against 
 making themselves the servants of men. Christ 
 having purchased our souls at such a rate, we dis¬ 
 parage them if we stake them to the trifles of this 
 world, or pawn them for the base and sordid plea¬ 
 sures of sin. Shall that birthright be sold for a 
 mess of pottage, which Christ bought with his own 
 blood? No; while we live, let our souls be our 
 darling, for his sake to whom they were so dear. It 
 Christ died and suffered so much to save our souls, 
 let us not hazard the losing of them, though it be to 
 gain the whole world. 
 
224 
 
 Let us see this, and learn how to put a value upon 
 the souls of others. This forbids us to do any thing 
 that may turn to the prejudice of the souls of others, 
 by drawing them to sin, or discouraging them in that 
 which is good. The apostle lays a great stress upon 
 this argument, against the abuse of our Christian 
 liberty, to the offence of others—“ Destroy not him 
 with thy meat for whom Christ died.” Shall not we 
 deny ourselves and our own satisfaction, rather than 
 occasion guilt or grief to them for whom Christ 
 humbled bimself, even to the death of the cross ? 
 Shall we slight those upon whom Christ put such a 
 value? Shall we set those with the dogs of our 
 flock, whom Christ purchased with his own blood, 
 and set among the lambs of his flock? God forbid. 
 
 This also commands us to do all we can for the 
 spiritual welfare and salvation of the souls of others. 
 Did Christ think them worth his blood ? and shall 
 not we think them worth our care and pains? Shall 
 not we willingly do our utmost to save a soul from 
 death, and thereby hide a multitude of sins, when 
 Christ did so much, and suffered so much, to make it 
 possible? Shall not we pour out our prayers for 
 them for whom Christ poured out his soul unto 
 death, and bear them upon our hearts whom Christ 
 laid so near his? Blessed Paul, in consideration 
 hereof, not only made himself the servant of all, 
 to please them for their edification, but was willing 
 to be “ offered upon the sacrifice and service of their 
 faith,” and so to fill up what was behind of the afflic¬ 
 tions of Christ for his body’s sake. And if we be 
 at any time called upon even to lay down our lives 
 for the brethren, we must remember that in that, as 
 
2Z5 
 
 well as in washing their feet, Christ hath left us an 
 example. 
 
 (vn.) Come and see the purchase of the blessings 
 of th e new covenant.— The blood of Christ was not 
 only the ransom of our forfeited lives, and the re¬ 
 demption of our souls from everlasting misery; but 
 it was the valuable consideration upon which the 
 grant of eternal life and happiness is grounded. 
 Christ’s death is our life; that is, it is not only our 
 salvation from death, but it is the fountain of all our 
 joys, and the foundation of all our hopes. All the 
 comforts we have in possession, and all we have in 
 prospect; all the privileges of our way, and all those 
 of our home, are the blessed fruits of that accursed 
 tree on which our Redeemer died. 
 
 See the blood of Christ, the spring from whence 
 all the blessings of the covenant flow. That is the 
 price of all our pardons, “ we have redemption 
 through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:” 
 without the shedding of blood, that precious blood, 
 there had been no remission. That is the purchase 
 of the divine favour, which is our life; we are made 
 accepted only in the beloved. Peace is made, a 
 covenant of peace settled, and peace secured to all 
 the sons—peace by the blood of his cross, and not 
 otherwise. That is the price paid for the “ pur¬ 
 chased possession, that they which are called may 
 receive the promise of eternal inheritance.” Christ 
 was made a curse for us, not only to redeem us from 
 the curse of the law, but that we through him might 
 inherit the blessing. Thus, e< out of the eater comes 
 forth meat, and out of the strong sweetness.” Be¬ 
 hold, he shows us a mystery. 
 
 k 3 
 
226 
 
 See the blood of Christ, the stream in which 
 all the blessings of the covenant flow to us. The 
 blood of Christ, as it is exhibited to us in this ordi¬ 
 nance, is this vehicle, the channel of conveyance by 
 which all graces and comforts descend from heaven 
 to earth. “ This cup is the new testament in the 
 blood of Christ,” and so it becomes a cup of bless¬ 
 ing, a cup of consolation, a cup of salvation. All 
 the hidden manna comes to us in this dew. It is the 
 blood of Christ speaking for us, that pacifies an of¬ 
 fended God : it is the blood of Christ sprinkled on 
 us, that purifies a defiled conscience. As it was the 
 <s blood of Jesus that consecrated for us the new and 
 living way,” and opened the kingdom of heaven to 
 all believers; so it is by that blood that we have 
 boldness “ to enter into the holiest.” 
 
 (viii.) Come and see how much we owe to the 
 death of Christ, the rich purchases he made for us, 
 that he might cause us to inherit substance, and 
 might fill our treasures.—Let this increase our esteem 
 of the love of Christ, which was not only so very 
 expensive to himself, but so very advantageous to 
 us. Let this also enhance the value of covenant¬ 
 ing blessings in our eyes. The blessings of this life 
 we owe to the bounty of God’s providence, but spi¬ 
 ritual blessings in heavenly things we owe to the 
 blood of his Son. Let these, therefore, be to us 
 more precious than rubies,—let these always have 
 a preference,—let us be willing to part with any 
 thing, rather than hazard the favour of God, the 
 comforts of the Spirit, and life eternal, remembering 
 what these cost,—let us never make light of wis¬ 
 dom’s preparations, when we see at what rate they 
 
227 
 
 were brought in. To them who believe they are 
 precious, for they know they were purchased by the 
 precious blood of Christ, which we undervalue as a 
 common thing, if we prefer farms and merchandise 
 before heaven and the present earnests of it. 
 
228 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Some account of the 'precious Benefits which are to 
 be received by Faith in this Ordinance, 
 
 I. The pardon and forgiveness of our sins; a renewed pardon of 
 daily trespasses, and a confirmed pardon of all trespasses. II. 
 The adoption of sons; the privileges of adoption, and the Spirit 
 of adoption. III. Peace and satisfaction to our minds; opened 
 in two things. IV. Supplies of grace, confirming gracious 
 habits, quickening gracious acts; instances of both. V. The 
 earnests of eternal bliss and joy, the assurances of it, and the 
 foretastes of it. 
 
 In the Lord’s Supper, we not only “ show the 
 Lord’s death,” and see what is to be seen in it, as 
 many who, when he was upon the cross, stood afar 
 off beholding;—no; we must there be more than 
 spectators*—we must eat of the sacrifice, and 6i so 
 partake of the altar.” The bread which came down 
 from heaven was not designed merely for show- 
 bread, bread to be looked upon; but for household 
 bread, bread to be fed upon, bread to strengthen our 
 hearts, and wine to make them glad ; and wisdom’s 
 invitation is, “ Come, eat of my bread, and drink of 
 the wine that I have mingled.” Christ’s feeding 
 great multitudes miraculously, more than once, when 
 he was here upon earth, was (as his other miracles) 
 significant of the spiritual provision he makes in the 
 everlasting gospel, for the support and satisfaction of 
 those that leave all to follow him. If we do not all 
 eat, and be not all filled abundantly with the good- 
 
<229 
 
 ness of his house, it is our own fault. Let us not 
 then straiten and starve ourselves, for the Master of 
 the feast has not stinted us; he has not only invited 
 us, and made provision for our entertainment, but he 
 calls to us as one that bids us hearty welcome—* 
 “ Eat, O my friends ! drink, yea, drink abundantly, 
 O beloved !” 
 
 All people are for what they can get: here is 
 something to be got in this ordinance, if it be rigidly 
 improved, which will turn to our account infinitely 
 more than the “ merchandise of silver, or the gain 
 of fine gold.” Christ and all his benefits are here 
 not only set before us, not only offered to us, but 
 settled upon us, under certain provisos and limita¬ 
 tions; so that a believer, who sincerely consents to 
 the covenant, receives some of the present benefits of 
 it, in and by this ordinance, both in the comfortable 
 experiences of communion with God in grace, and 
 the comfortable expectations of the vision and fruition 
 of God in glory. 
 
 Gospel ordinances in general, and this in particu¬ 
 lar, which is the seal of gospel promises, are wells of 
 salvation, out of which we may draw water with joy; 
 breasts of consolation, from which we may suck and be 
 satisfied; golden pipes, through which the oil of grace 
 is derived from the good olive, to keep our lamps 
 burning. We receive the grace of God herein in 
 vain, if we take not what is here tendered—gospel 
 blessings upon gospel terms. We are here to re¬ 
 ceive Jesus Christ the Lord, and since 44 with him 
 God freely gives us all things,” we must with him 
 by faith take what he gives — 44 all spiritual blessings 
 in heavenly things by Christ Jesus.” 
 
230 
 
 I. Here we may receive the pardon and forgiveness 
 of our sins. This is that great blessing of the new 
 covenant, which makes way for all other blessings, 
 by taking down that wall of partition which sepa¬ 
 rated between us and God, and hinders good things 
 from us : it is the matter of that promise which comes 
 in as a reason for all the rest—I will do so and so 
 for them, <e for I will be merciful to their unright¬ 
 eousness.” This is that great blessing which Christ 
 died to purchase for us : his blood was shed for many, 
 for the remission of sins; and perhaps he intimated 
 this to be in a special manner designed by him in 
 his sufferings, when the first word we find recorded 
 that he spoke, after he was nailed to the cross, was, 
 u Father, forgive themwhich seems to look not 
 only to those that had an immediate hand in his 
 death, but to those that are remotely accessary to it, 
 as all sinners are, though they know not what they do. 
 
 The everlasting gospel is an act of indemnity—an 
 act of oblivion we may call it, for it is promised that 
 our sins and iniquities he will remember no more: it 
 is indeed an act of grace; repentance and remission 
 of sins is by it published in Christ’s name to all na¬ 
 tions. It is proclaimed to the rebels, that, if they 
 will lay down their arms, acknowledge their offence, 
 return to their allegiance, approve themselves good 
 subjects for the future, and make the merits of him 
 whom the Father hath appointed to be the Mediator, 
 their plea in suing out their pardon, the offended 
 Prince will be reconciled to them, their attainder shall 
 be reversed, and they shall not only be restored to 
 all the privileges of subjects, but advanced to the 
 honours and advantages of favourites. Now, it 
 
231 
 
 concerns us all to be able to make it out that we are 
 entitled to the benefit of this act, that we are quali¬ 
 fied, according to the tenor of it, for the favour in¬ 
 tended by it; and if we be so indeed, in the Lord’s 
 Supper we receive that pardon to us in particular, 
 which in the gospel is proclaimed to all in general. 
 We do here receive the atonement, as the expression 
 is. God hath received it for the securing of his 
 honour, and we receive it for the securing of our 
 happiness and comfort; we claim the benefit of it, 
 and desire to be justified and accepted of God for 
 the sake of it. 
 
 The sacrament should therefore be received with 
 a heart thus lifting up itself to God: “ Lord, I am 
 a sinner, a great sinner, I have done very foolishly; 
 forfeited thy favour, incurred thy displeasure, and 
 deserve to be for ever abandoned by thee. But 
 Christ died; yea rather, is risen again, hath finished 
 transgression, made an end of sin, made reconciliation 
 for iniquity, and brought in an everlasting righteous¬ 
 ness; he gave his life a ransom for many, and if for 
 many, why not for me ? In him a free and full re¬ 
 mission is promised to all penitent, obedient believ¬ 
 ers; by him all that believe are justified, and to them 
 there is no condemnation. Thou, even thou, art he 
 that blottest , out their transgressions for thine own 
 sake, and art gracious and merciful; nay, thou art 
 faithful and just to forgive them their sins. Lord, 
 I repent,—I believe, and take the benefit of those 
 promises, those exceeding great and precious pro¬ 
 mises, which are to my soul as life from the dead. 
 I flee to this city of refuge, I take hold of the horns 
 of this altar; here I humbly receive the forgiveness 
 
232 
 
 of my sins, through Jesus Christ, the great propi¬ 
 tiation, to whom I entirely owe it, and to whom I 
 acknowledge myself infinitely indebted for it, and 
 under the highest obligations imaginable to love him, 
 and live to him. He is the Lord our righteousness, 
 so accept I him : let him be made of God to me 
 righteousness, and I have enough; I am happy for 
 ever.” 
 
 Every time we come to the Lord’s Supper, we 
 come to receive the remission of sins; that is, 
 
 1. A renewed pardon of daily trespasses.—In 
 many things we offend daily, and even he that is 
 washed, that is, in a justified state, needs to wash his 
 feet; and, blessed be God, there is a fountain opened 
 for us to wash in, and encouragement given to pray 
 for daily pardon as duly as we do for daily bread. 
 We have to do with a God that multiplies pardon. 
 Lord, the guilt of such a sin lies upon me like a 
 heavy burden; I have lamented it, confessed it, re¬ 
 newed my covenants against it, and now in this 
 ordinance I receive the forgiveness of that sin : and 
 here it is said to my soul, (t The Lord hath put 
 away thy sin, thou shalt not die.” Many a fault I have 
 been overtaken in since I was last with the Lord at 
 his table; and, having repented of them, I desire to 
 apply the blood of Christ to my soul, a particular 
 manner, for the forgiveness of them. 
 
 2. A confirmed pardon of all trespasses.—I come 
 here to receive further assurances of the forgive¬ 
 ness of my sins, and further comfort arising from 
 those assurances. I come to hear again that voice 
 of joy and gladness, which hath made many a broken 
 bone to rejoice—“ Son, daughter, be of good cheer; 
 
233 
 
 thy sins are forgiven thee:” I come for the father’s 
 kiss to a returning prodigal, which seals his pardon, 
 so as to silence his doubts and fears. When God 
 would by his prophets speak comfortably to Zion, 
 thus he saith—“ Thy warfare is accomplished, thine 
 iniquity is pardoned.” And the inhabitant shall not 
 say, t( I am sick;” that is, he shall see no cause to 
 complain of any outward calamity, if his iniquity be 
 forgiven. O that I might here have the white stone 
 of absolution, and my pardon written more legible ! 
 O that Christ would say to me, as he did to that 
 woman to whom much was already forgiven, 6i Thy 
 sins are forgiven !” This is what I come to receive, 
 O let me not go away without it. 
 
 II. Here we may receive adoption of sons. The 
 covenant of grace not only frees us from the doom of 
 criminals, but advanceth us to the dignity of chil¬ 
 dren : Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, 
 in order to this, that “ we might receive the adop¬ 
 tion of sons.” The children’s bread given us in 
 this ordinance is, as it were, livery and sasine, to as¬ 
 sure us of our adoption upon the terms of the gos¬ 
 pel, that if we will take God in Christ to be to us a 
 Father, to rule and dispose of us, and to be feared 
 and honoured by us, he will take us to be his sons 
 and daughters. ts Behold, what manner of love is 
 this !” Be astonished, O heavens! and wonder, O 
 earth ! Never was there such compassionate, such 
 condescending love ! God here seals us the grant 
 both of the privileges of adoption, and the Spirit of 
 adoption. 
 
 Here is a grant of the privileges of adoption 
 sealed to us.—Here we are called the children of 
 
234 . 
 
 God, and he calls himself our Father, and encourages 
 us to call himself so. 66 Seemeth it to you a light 
 thing,” saith David, 66 to be a king’s son-in-law, 
 seeing 1 am a poor man, and lightly esteemed ?” 
 And shall it not seem to us a great thing, an honour 
 infinitely above all those which the world can pre¬ 
 tend to confer, for us who are worms of the earth, 
 and a generation of vipers, children of disobedience 
 and wrath by nature, to be the adopted children of 
 the King of kings? “ This honour have all the 
 saints.” Nor is it an empty title that is here granted 
 us, but real advantages of unspeakable value. 
 
 The eternal God here saith it, and seals it to every 
 true believer: Fear not, I will be a Father to thee, 
 an ever-loving, ever-living Father: leave it to me to 
 provide for thee; on me let all thy burdens be cast; 
 with me let all thy cares be left, and to me let all 
 thy requests be made known; (( the young lions 
 shall lack and suffer hunger,” but thou shalt want 
 nothing that is good for thee, nothing that is fit for 
 thee; my wisdom shall be thy guide, my power thy 
 support, and 6i underneath thee the everlasting arms. 
 As the tender father pities his children, so will I 
 pity thee, and spare thee as a man spareth his son 
 that serves him.” Thou shalt have my blessing and 
 love, the smiles of my face, and the kisses of my 
 mouth, and in the arms of my grace will I carry thee 
 to glory, as the nursing father doth the sucking 
 child. Doth any thing grieve thee? Whither 
 shouldst thou go with thy complaint, but to thy Fa¬ 
 ther? saying to him as that child, “ My head, my 
 head; and thou shalt find that as one whom his mo¬ 
 ther comforteth, so will the Lord thy God comfort 
 
235 
 
 thee.” Doth any thing terrify thee? <{ Be not 
 afraid, for I am thy God ; when thou passest through 
 the rivers, I will be with thee; and through the wa¬ 
 ters, they shall not overflow thee.” Art thou in 
 doubt ? Consult me, and “ I will instruct thee in 
 the way that thou shouldst go; I will guide thee 
 with mine eye.” Acknowledge me, and I will direct 
 thy steps. Dost thou offend? Is there foolishness 
 bound up in thy heart? Thou must expect fatherly 
 correction: <s I will chasten thee with the rod of 
 men, and with the stripes of the children of men ; 
 but my loving-kindness will I not utterly take from 
 thee;” thine afflictions shall not only consist with, 
 but flow from covenant love; and but for a season, 
 when need is, shalt thou be in heaviness. 
 
 “ I will be a father to thee; and, son, thou shalt 
 be ever with me, and all that I have is thine; whether 
 Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or 
 death, or things present, or things to come, all are 
 thine,” as far as is necessary to thine happiness; nor 
 shall any thing ever be able to separate thee from 
 my love. I will be a father to thee, and then Christ 
 shall be thy elder brother, the prophet, priest, and 
 king of the family, as the first-born among many 
 brethren. Angels shall be thy guard; with the 
 greatest care and tenderness shall they bear thee up 
 in their arms, as ministering spirits charged to attend 
 the heirs of salvation. 
 
 Providence shall be thy protector, and the disposer 
 of all thine affairs for the best; so that whatever hap¬ 
 pens, thou mayest be sure it shall be made to work for 
 thy good, though as yet thou canst not see how or 
 which way. The assurances of thy Father’s love to 
 
236 
 
 thee, in his promises and communion with him in his 
 ordinances, shall be thy daily bread, thy continual 
 feast, the manna that shall be rained upon thee, the 
 water out of the rock that shall follow thee in this 
 wilderness, till thou come to Canaan. 
 
 Now art thou a child of God, but it doth not yet 
 appear what thou shalt be. When you was predes¬ 
 tinated to the adoption of sons, you was designed for 
 the inheritance of sons; if a child, then an heir. 
 Thy present maintenance shall be honourable and 
 comfortable, and such as is fit for thee in thy minority, 
 while thou art under tutors and governors; but what 
 is now laid out upon thee is nothing, in comparison 
 with what is laid up for thee; an inheritance incor¬ 
 ruptible, undefiled, and that fades not away. If 
 God be thy Father, no less than a crown, a kingdom 
 shall be thy portion, and heaven thy home, where 
 thou shalt be for ever with him. In thy Father’s 
 house there are many mansions, and one for thee, if 
 thou be his dutiful child. It is thy Father’s good 
 pleasure to give thee the kingdom. 
 
 Here is a grant of the Spirit of adoption sealed 
 to us.—As the giving of Christ for us was the great 
 promise of the Old Testament, which was fulfilled in 
 the fulness of time, so the giving of the Spirit to us 
 is the great promise of the New Testament, and a 
 promise that is sure to all the seed: this promise of 
 the Father, which we have heard of Christ, we in 
 this ordinance wait for, and it follows upon the for¬ 
 mer ; for, wherever God gives the privileges of chil¬ 
 dren, he will give the nature and disposition of chil¬ 
 dren ; regeneration always attends adoption— s< be¬ 
 cause ye are sons, God hath sent forth the spirit of 
 
237 
 
 his Son into your hearts.” Great encouragement 
 we have to ask this gift, from the relation of a Fa¬ 
 ther, wherein God stands towards us: if earthly pa¬ 
 rents “ know how to give good gifts to their chil¬ 
 dren,” such as are needful and proper for them, 
 “ much more shall our heavenly Father give the 
 Holy Spirit to them that ask him.” He will give 
 the Spirit to teach his children, and, as their tutor, 
 to lead them into all truth, to govern his children; 
 and, as the best of guardians, to dispose their affec¬ 
 tions, while Providence disposeth their affairs for the 
 best. His Spirit will renew and sanctify them, and 
 make them meet for his service in this world, and 
 his kingdom in a better; to be the guide of their 
 way, and the witness of their adoption, and to seal 
 them to the day of redemption. 
 
 An earnest of this grant of the Spirit to all be¬ 
 lievers in this ordinance, Christ gave, when, in his 
 first visit he made to his disciples after his resurrec¬ 
 tion, having showed them his hands and his side, his 
 pierced hands, his pierced side, (which in effect he 
 doth to us in this sacrament,) he breathed on them, 
 and said unto them, “ Receive ye the Holy Ghost.” 
 What he said to them, he saith to his disciples, mak¬ 
 ing them an offer of this inestimable gift, and be¬ 
 stowing it effectually on all believers, who are all 
 “ sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise.” Re¬ 
 ceive then the Holy Ghost, in the receiving of this 
 bread and wine; the graces of the Spirit, as bread to 
 strengthen the heart; his comfort, as wine to make 
 it glad. Be willing and desirous to receive the Holy 
 Ghost, let the soul and all its powers be put under 
 his operations and influences: “ Lift up your heads, 
 
238 
 
 O ye gates, and be lifted up, ye everlasting doors, 
 and then this King of Glory shall come in,” to all that 
 invite him and will bid him welcome. 
 
 <£ But will God in very deed thus dwell with men, 
 with such men upon the earth ?” And shall they 
 become temples of the Holy Ghost ? Shall he come 
 upon them ? Shall the power of the Highest over¬ 
 shadow them ? Shall Christ be formed in me a holy 
 thing? Say, then, my soul, say as the blessed vir¬ 
 gin did, Here I am, “ be it unto me according to 
 thy word.” I acknowledge myself unworthy the 
 being of a man, having so often acted like a brute, 
 much more unworthy the dignity of a son; I have 
 been an undutiful, rebellious prodigal; I deserve to 
 be turned out of doors, abandoned and disinherited, 
 and forbidden my Father’s house and table. But 
 who shall set bounds to infinite mercy, and to the 
 compassions of the Everlasting Father? If, not¬ 
 withstanding this, he will yet again take me into his 
 family, and clothe me with the best robe, though it 
 is too great a favour for me to receive, who am a 
 child of disobedience; yet it is not too great for him 
 to give, who is the Father of mercies. To thee, 
 therefore, O God, I give up myself, and I will 
 “ from this cry unto thee, My Father, thou art the 
 guide of my youth.” Though 1 deserve not to be 
 owned as a hired servant, I desire and hope to be 
 owned as an adopted son. Be it unto thy servant 
 according to thy promise ! 
 
 III. Here we may receive peace and satisfaction in 
 our minds.—This is one of the precious legacies 
 Christ hath left to all his followers; and it is here in 
 this ordinance paid, or secured to be paid, to all those 
 
239 
 
 that are ready and willing to receive it: (( Peace I 
 leave with you, my peace I give unto you;” such a 
 peace as the world can neither give nor take away. 
 This is the repose of the soul in God, our reconci¬ 
 liation to ourselves, arising from the sense of our re¬ 
 conciliation to God, the conscience being thus fully 
 purged from dead works, which not only defile, but 
 disturb and disquiet us. When the te Spirit is poured 
 out on high, then the work of righteousness is peace, 
 and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assur¬ 
 ance for ever.” The guilt of sin lays the foundation 
 of trouble and uneasiness; where that is removed by 
 pardoning mercy, there is ground for peace: but 
 there must be a further act of the divine grace to put 
 us in the actual possession of that peace; when he 
 who alone can open the ear to comfort, as well as 
 discipline, makes us to hear joy and gladness, then 
 the storm ceaseth, and there is a calm. The mind 
 that was disturbed with the dread of God’s wrath, is 
 quieted with the tokens of his favour and love. 
 
 This we should have in our eye at the Lord’s 
 table : here I am waiting to hear what God the Lord 
 will speak, and hoping that he, who speaks peace to 
 his people and to his saints, will speak that peace to 
 me, who make it the top of my ambition to answer 
 the character, and have the lot, of his people and 
 saints. This peace we may here expect to receive 
 for two reasons: 
 
 Because this ordinance is a seal of the promise of 
 peace; in it God assures us that his thoughts to¬ 
 wards us are thoughts of peace, and then ours to¬ 
 wards ourselves may be so. We are here among 
 his people, whom he hath promised to bless with 
 
240 
 
 peace, and we may apply that promise to ourselves, 
 plead it, and humbly claim the benefit of it. This 
 is that rest to the soul which our Master hath pro¬ 
 mised to all those that come to him, and take his 
 yoke upon them; and this promise, among the rest, 
 is here ratified, as yea and amen in Christ. 
 
 The covenant of grace is indeed a covenant of 
 peace, in the ever-blessed soil of which “ light is 
 sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright 
 in heart.” And this covenant of peace is that which 
 eternal truth hath said, shall never be removed, but 
 shall stand firm as a rock, when the 66 everlasting 
 mountains shall melt,” like wax, and the “ perpetual 
 hills shall bow.” Hath God so far consulted ray pre¬ 
 sent repose, as well as my future bliss, that he hath 
 provided not only for the satisfaction of his own justice, 
 but for the satisfaction of my conscience; and shall I 
 indulge my own disturbance, and refuse to be com¬ 
 forted ? No; welcome the promised peace, the calm 
 so long wished for, the desired haven of a troubled 
 spirit, tossed with tempest. Come, my soul, and 
 take possession of this Canaan; by faith enter into 
 this rest, and let not thine own unbelief exclude 
 thee. If the God of peace himself speak peace, 
 though with a still small voice, let that silence the 
 most noisy and clamorous objections of doubts and 
 fears; and, if he give quietness, let not them make 
 trouble. 
 
 Because this ordinance is an instituted means of 
 obtaining the peace promised. As the sacrifice was 
 ordained to make atonement for the soul, so the feast 
 upon the sacrifice was intended for the satisfaction of 
 the soul concerning the atonement made, to remove 
 
241 
 
 that amazement and terror which arose from the con¬ 
 sciousness of guilt. This ordinance is a feast ap¬ 
 pointed for that purpose. God doth here not only 
 assure us of the truth of his promise to us, but gives 
 us an opportunity of solemnizing our engagements to 
 him, and sealing to be his, which is appointed not to 
 satisfy him, (he that knows all things knows if we 
 love him,) but to satisfy ourselves, that, thus taking 
 hold of the hope set before us, we may have strong 
 consolation. The blood of Christ is in this ordi¬ 
 nance sprinkled upon the conscience, to pacify that, 
 having been already sprinkled upon the mercy-seat, 
 to make atonement there, so making the comers 
 thereunto perfect. 
 
 When the Lord Jesus appeared to his disciples 
 after his resurrection, the first word he said to them 
 was “ Peace be unto youand he saith the same 
 to us in this ordinance, Peace be unto this house, 
 peace to this heart. But the disciples of Christ, like 
 those that are apt to be terrified “and affrighted, 
 supposing that they had seen a spirit,” or apparition, 
 fearing that it is but all a delusion, it is too good 
 news to be true; what have they to do with peace, 
 think they, while their corruptions, follies, and in¬ 
 firmities are so many? But Christ, by this sacra¬ 
 ment, checks those fears; as these, “ Why are ye 
 troubled; and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? 
 Behold my hands and my feet!” There is that in 
 the marks of the nails, which is sufficient to stop the 
 mouth of unbelief, and to heal the wounds of a 
 broken and contrite spirit. There is merit enough 
 in Christ, though in us there is nothing but mean¬ 
 ness and unworthiness. Such considerations this 
 
 L 22 
 
242 
 
 ordinance offers as has often been found effectual, by 
 the grace of God, to create the fruit of the lips, 
 peace, and to restore comfort to the mourners. In 
 it Christ saith again, “ Peace be unto you,” as he 
 did unto the disciples. And sometimes a mighty 
 power had gone along with that word to lay a storm, 
 as it did with that, (Mark iv. 39.) (i Peace, be still 
 so that the soul so calmed, so quieted, hath gone 
 away, and said with wonder, “ What manner of man 
 is this, for even the winds and the seas obey him ?” 
 
 IV. Here we may receive supplies of grace.—Jesus 
 Christ is, in this ordinance, made of God to all be¬ 
 lievers, not only righteousness, but sanctification; 
 so we must receive him ; and having received him, 
 so we must walk in him. It is certain we have as 
 much need of the influences of the Spirit to furnish 
 us for our duties, as we have of the merit of Christ 
 to atone for our sins; and as much need of divine 
 grace, to carry on the good work, as to begin it. 
 We are in ourselves not only ungodly, but without 
 strength, impotent in that which is good, and in¬ 
 clined to that which is evil; and, in the Lord alone 
 have we both righteousness and strength. If, there¬ 
 fore, we have it in him, hither we must come, to 
 have it from him: for gospel ordinances, and this 
 particularly, are the means of grace, and the ordi¬ 
 nary vehicle in which grace is conveyed to the souls 
 of believers. Though God is not tied to them, we 
 are, and must attend with an expectation to receive 
 grace from God by them, and an entire submission 
 of soul to the operation and conduct of that grace. 
 This ordinance is as the pool of Bethesda, which our 
 weak and impotent souls must lie down by, waiting 
 
243 
 
 for the moving of the waters, as those that know 
 there is a healing virtue in them which we may ex¬ 
 perience benefit by as well as others. Here, there¬ 
 fore, we must set ourselves, expecting and desiring 
 the effectual workings of God’s free grace in us, 
 attending at wisdom’s gates for wisdom’s gifts, and 
 endeavouring to improve the ordinance to this end. 
 
 From the fulness that is in Jesus Christ, in whom 
 “ it pleased the Father that all fulness should dwell,” 
 we are here waiting to receive grace for grace, that 
 is, “ abundance of grace, and of the gift of right¬ 
 eousness.” Where there is true grace, there is 
 need of more, for the best are sanctified but in part; 
 and there is a desire of more forgetting the things 
 which are behind, and reaching forth to those which 
 are before, pressing towards perfection; and there is 
 a promise of more, for to him that hath shall be 
 given; and “ he that hath clean hands shall be 
 stronger and stronger.” Therefore, in a sense of 
 our own necessities, and a dependence on God’s 
 promises, we must by faith receive and apply to our¬ 
 selves the grace offered us. “ What things soever 
 we desire,” according to the will of God, “if we be¬ 
 lieve that we receive them,” our Saviour hath told 
 us, “ we shall have them.” “ According to thy faith, 
 be it unto thee.” 
 
 Reach forth a hand of faith, therefore, and receive 
 the promised grace, both for the confirming of gra¬ 
 cious habits, and for the quickening of gracious acts. 
 
 1. Let us here receive grace for the confirming 
 of gracious habits, that they may be more deeply 
 rooted. We are conscious to ourselves of great 
 weakness in grace : it is like a grain of mustard seed, 
 
 L 2 
 
244 
 
 as a bruised reed, and smoking flax;—we are weak 
 in our knowledge, and apt to mistake; weak in our 
 affections, and apt to cool; weak in our resolutions, 
 and apt to waver. How weak is my heart ! But 
 here is bread that strengthens man’s heart, signify¬ 
 ing that grace of God, which confirms the princi¬ 
 ples, and invigorates the powers of the spiritual and 
 divine life in the souls of the faithful. Come, my 
 soul, come eat of this bread, and it shall strengthen 
 thee: though perhaps thou mayest not be immedi¬ 
 ately sensible of this strength received, the improve¬ 
 ment of habits is not suddenly discerned; yet, 
 through this grace, thou shalt find hereafter, that 
 thy path hath been like the shining light, which 
 shineth more and more. 
 
 We find there is much lacking in our faith, in 
 our love, in every grace; here, therefore, we must 
 desire and hope, and prepare to receive from Christ 
 such gifts of the Holy Ghost as will be mighty, 
 through God, to increase our faith, that its disco¬ 
 veries of divine things may be more clear and dis¬ 
 tinct, and its assurances of the truth of them more 
 certain and confident; that its consent to the cove¬ 
 nant may be more free and resolved, and its com¬ 
 placency in the covenant more sweet and delightful. 
 And that which thus increaseth our faith will be 
 effectual to inflame our love, and make that strong 
 as death in its desires towards God, and resolutions 
 for him. We must here wait to be strengthened 
 with all might, by his Spirit in the inner man, unto 
 all patience in suffering for him, and diligence in 
 doing for him, and both with joyfulness. We here 
 put ourselves under the happy influence of that great 
 
245 
 
 and glorious power, which worketh mightily in them 
 that believe. 
 
 2. Let us here receive grace for the quickening 
 of gracious acts, that they may be more strongly ex¬ 
 erted: we come to this throne of grace, this mercy- 
 seat, this table of our God, that here we may not 
 only obtain mercy to pardon, but may find 6i grace 
 to help in every time of need,” grace to excite us, 
 to direct us in, and thoroughly furnish us for every 
 good word and work, according as the duty of every 
 day requires. It was a very encouraging word 
 which Christ said to Paul, when he prayed for the 
 removal of that messenger of Satan which was sent 
 to buffet him: “ My grace is sufficient for thee;” 
 and all true believers may take the comfort of it: 
 what was said to him is said to every person, what¬ 
 ever the exigence of the case is; they that commit 
 themselves to the grace of God, with a sincere reso¬ 
 lution in every thing to submit to the conduct and 
 government of that grace, shall be enabled to do all 
 things through Christ strengthening them. 
 
 3. Let a lively faith here descend to particulars, 
 and receive this grace with application to the various 
 occurrences of the Christian life. When I go about 
 any duty of solemn worship, I find I am not sufficient 
 of myself for it, not so much as to think one good 
 thought of myself, much less such a chain of good 
 thoughts as is necessary to an acceptable prayer, to 
 the profitable reading and hearing of the word, and 
 the right sanctification of a Lord’s day; but all our 
 sufficiency for these services is of God, and of his 
 grace. That grace I here receive according to the 
 promise, and will always go forth, and go on in the 
 strength of it. 
 
246 
 
 When an opportunity offers itself of doing good 
 to others, to their bodies, by relieving their neces¬ 
 sities, or contributing any way to their comfort and 
 support; or to their souls by seasonable advice, in¬ 
 struction, reproof, or other good discourse; we must 
 depend on this grace for ability to do it prudently, 
 faithfully, and successfully, and so as to be accepted 
 of God in it. I find I want wisdom for these and 
 such like services, and for the ordering of all my 
 affairs; and whither shall I go for it but to wisdom’s 
 feasts, whose preparations are not only good for 
 food, and pleasant to the eye, but greatly to be de¬ 
 sired to make one wise. Here therefore I receive 
 “ Christ Jesus the Lord, as made of God unto me 
 wisdom;” wisdom dwelling with prudence; wisdom 
 to understand my way, that wisdom in which every 
 doubtful case is profitable to direct. Having many 
 a time prayed Solomon’s prayer, for a wise and un¬ 
 derstanding heart, I here receive the sealed grant in 
 answer to it: “ wisdom and knowledge are given 
 thee,” so much as shall be sufficient for thee in thy 
 place and station, to guide thee in glorifying God, 
 so as that thou mayest not come short of enjoying 
 him. 
 
 When we are assaulted with temptations to sin, 
 we find how weak and ineffectual our resistance hath 
 often been; here, therefore, we receive grace to 
 fortify us against all those assaults, that we may not 
 be foiled and overcome by them. All that in this 
 sacrament list themselves under the banner of the 
 Captain of our salvation, and engage themselves as 
 his faithful soldiers in a holy war against the world, 
 the flesh, and the devil, may here be furnished with 
 
247 
 
 the whole armour of God, and that power of his 
 might, as it is called, wherewith they shall be able 
 to stand and withstand in the evil day. I now re¬ 
 ceive from God and his grace, strength against such 
 a sin that hath oft prevailed over me, such tempta¬ 
 tion that hath oft been too hard for me; “now 
 therefore, O God, strengthen thy hands. ,, Through 
 God I shall do valiantly. 
 
 When we are burdened with affliction, we find 
 it hard to bear up: we faint in the day of adversity, 
 which is a sign our strength is small; we grieve too 
 much, and are full of fears in a day of trouble, our 
 hearts many a time are ready to fail us; hither 
 therefore we come to receive grace sufficient for our 
 support under the calamities of this present time, 
 that, whatever we lose, we may not lose our com¬ 
 fort, and whatever we suffer we may not sink. 
 Grace to enable us, whatever happens, to keep pos¬ 
 session of our own souls, by keeping up our hope 
 and joy in God; that, when flesh and heart fail, we 
 may find God the strength of our heart; and if he be 
 so, “ as the day is, so shall thy strength be.” Such 
 assurances are here given to all believers of God’s 
 presence with them in all their afflictions, and the 
 concurrence of all for their good, that, being thus 
 encouraged, they have all the reason in the world 
 to say, Welcome the will of God; nothing can come 
 amiss. 
 
 We know not how we may be called on to bear 
 our testimony to the truths and ways of God in suf¬ 
 fering for righteousness’ sake; we are bid to count 
 upon them, and to prepare for them. We must in 
 this ordinance faithfully promise, that however we 
 
248 
 
 may be tried, we will never forsake Christ, nor turn 
 from following after him; though we should die 
 with him, yet will we not deny him. But we have 
 no reason to confide in any strength of our own, for 
 the making good of this promise; nor can we pre¬ 
 tend to such a degree of resolution, steadiness, and 
 presence of mind, as will enable us to encounter the 
 difficulties we may meet with. Peter, when he 
 shamed himself, warned us to take heed lest we fall, 
 when we think we stand. Here, therefore, we must 
 receive strength for such trials, that we may over¬ 
 come them by the blood of the Lamb, and by not 
 loving our lives unto the death, and that the prospect 
 of none of these things may move us. 
 
 4. How near our great change may be we can¬ 
 not tell, perhaps nearer than we imagine: we are 
 not sure that we shall live to see another opportunity 
 of this kind; but this we are sure of, that it is a 
 serious thing to die: it is a work we never did, and 
 when we come to do it, we shall need a strength we 
 never had. In this sacrament, therefore, from the 
 death of Christ, we must fetch in grace to prepare 
 us for death, and to carry us safely and comfortably 
 through that dark and dismal valley. I depend not 
 only on the providence of God, to order the circum¬ 
 stances of my removal hence for the best to me, but 
 upon the grace of God to take out the sting of death, 
 and then to reconcile me to the stroke of death, and 
 to enable me to meet death’s harbinger, and bear its 
 agonies, not only with the constancy and patience 
 that becomes a wise man, but with the hope and joy 
 that becomes a good Christian. 
 
 V. Here we may receive the earnests of eternal 
 
249 
 
 bliss and joy.—Heaven is the crown and centre of 
 all the promises, and the perfection of all the good 
 contained in them; all the blessings of the new 
 covenant have a tendency to this, and are in order 
 to it. Are we predestinated? It is to the inheri¬ 
 tance of sons. Called ? It is to his kingdom and 
 glory. Sanctified? It is that we may be made 
 meet for the inheritance, and wrought to the self¬ 
 same thing. This, therefore, we should have in 
 our eye, in our covenant and communion with God; 
 that eternal life which God that cannot lie promiseth. 
 We must receive the Spirit in his graces and com¬ 
 forts, as the earnest of our inheritance. They that 
 deal with God, must deal upon trust, for a happiness 
 in reversion, a recompense of reward to come; must 
 forsake the world in sight and present, for a world 
 out of sight and future. All believers consent to 
 this; they lay up their treasure in heaven, and hope 
 for what they see not. This they depend upon ; 
 and in prospect of it they are willing to labour and 
 suffer, to deny themselves, and take up their cross, 
 knowing that heaven will make amends for all: 
 though they may be losers for Christ, they shall not 
 be losers by him in the end; this is the bargain. 
 In the Lord’s Supper Christ gives us earnest upon 
 this bargain, and what we receive there, we receive 
 as earnest. An earnest not onlv confirms the bar- 
 gain and secures the performance of it, but is itself 
 part of payment, though but a small part in compari¬ 
 son with the full sura. 
 
 We here receive the earnest of our inheritance; 
 that is, 
 
 We here receive the assurance of it. The royal 
 
 l 3 
 
250 
 
 grant of it is here sealed and delivered by the King 
 of kincrs. God here saith to me as he did to Abra- 
 
 O 
 
 ham, “ Lift up thine eyes now, and look from the 
 place where thou art.” Take a view of the heavenly 
 Canaan, that land which eternally flows with better 
 things than milk and honey,—Emmanuel’s land. 
 Open an eye of faith, and behold the pleasures and 
 glories of that world, as they are described in Scrip¬ 
 ture. such as eye hath not seen, nor ear heard; and 
 know of a surety that all the land which thou seest, 
 and that which is infinitely more and better than 
 thou canst conceive, to thee will I give it, to thee for 
 ever. “ Fear not, little flock,” fear not ye little 
 ones of the flock, “ it is your Father’s good pleasure 
 to give you the kingdom.” Follow Christ and serve 
 him, and you shall be for ever with him ; continue 
 with him now in his temptations, and you shall 
 shortly share with him in his glories. Only be faith¬ 
 ful unto death, and the crown of life is as sure to 
 you, as if it were already upon your heads. Here 
 is livery and sasine upon the deed. Take this and 
 eat it, take this and drink it: in token of this 6i I 
 will be to thee a God;” that is, a perfect and ever¬ 
 lasting happiness, such as shall answer the vast ex¬ 
 tent and compass of that great word. “ But now 
 they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly: 
 wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their 
 God, for he hath prepared for them a city.” 
 
 Come now, my soul, and accept the security of¬ 
 fered. The inheritance secured is unspeakably rich 
 and invaluable; the losses and sufferings of this 
 present time are not worthy to be compared with it; 
 the title is good, it is a purchased possession, he 
 
25 1 
 
 that grants it hath power over all flesh, that he should 
 give eternal life. The assurances are unquestion¬ 
 ably valid, not only the word and oath, but the writ¬ 
 ing and seal of the eternal God, in the Scriptures 
 and sacraments: here is that, my soul, which thou 
 mayest venture thyself upon, and venture thine all 
 for; do it then, do it with a holy boldness. Lay 
 hold on eternal life, lay fast hold on it, and keep thy 
 hold. Look up, my soul, look as high as heaven, 
 the highest heaven; look forward my soul, look as 
 far forward as eternity, and let eternal life, eternal 
 joy, eternal glory, be thine aim in thy religion, and 
 resolve to take up with nothing short of these. 
 God hath been willing more abundantly to show to 
 the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel,” 
 and therefore hath thus confirmed it, so as to leave 
 no room for doubting, that by all these “ immutable 
 things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we 
 might have strong consolation, who have fled for re¬ 
 fuge to lay hold on the hope set before us.” Take 
 him at his word then, and build thy hope upon it. 
 Be not faithless, but believing; be not careless, but 
 industrious. Here is a happiness worth striving for; 
 <c run with patience the race that is set before us,” 
 with this prize in thine eye. 
 
 We receive the foretastes of it.—We have in 
 this ordinance, not only a ratification of the promise 
 of the heavenly Canaan, but a pattern or specimen 
 given us of the fruits of that land, like the bunch of 
 grapes which was brought from the valley of Esheol 
 to the Israelites in the wilderness; a view given us 
 of that land of promise, like that which Moses had 
 of the land of Canaan from the top of Pisgah. As 
 
252 
 
 the law was a type and figure of the Messiah’s king¬ 
 dom on earth, so the gospel is of this kingdom in 
 heaven; both are as “ shadows of good things to 
 come,” like the map of a rich and large country in a 
 sheet of paper. Our future happiness is, in this 
 sacrament, not only sealed to us, but shown to us; 
 and we hear taste something of the pleasures of that 
 better country. In this ordinance we have a sight 
 of Christ, he is evidently set forth before us; and 
 what is heaven, but to see him as he is, and to be 
 for ever beholding his glory? We are here receiv¬ 
 ing the pledges and tokens of Christ’s love to us, 
 and returning the protestations and expressions of 
 our love to him; and what is heaven but an eternal 
 interchanging of love between a holy God and holy 
 souls? We are here praising and blessing the Re¬ 
 deemer, celebrating his honour, and giving him the 
 glory of his achievements; and what is that but the 
 work of heaven ? It is what the inhabitants of that 
 world are doing now, and what we hope to be doing 
 with them to eternity. We are here in spiritual 
 communion with all the saints coming ir faith, hope, 
 and love to the general assembly and church of the 
 first-born; and what is heaven but that in perfec¬ 
 tion ? In a word, heaven is a feast, and so is this; 
 only this is a running banquet, that is an everlast¬ 
 ing feast. 
 
 Come, my soul, and see a door here opened in 
 heaven; look in at that door now, by which thou 
 hopest to enter shortly. Let this ordinance do 
 something of the work of heaven upon thee, God 
 having provided in it something of the pleasures of 
 heaven for thee. Heaven will for ever part be- 
 
253 
 
 tween thee and sin; let this ordinance, therefore, set 
 thee at a greater distance from it. Heaven will fill 
 thee with the love of God; in this ordinance, there¬ 
 fore, let that love be shed abroad in thine heart. In 
 heaven thou shalt enter into the joy of the Lord; 
 let that joy now enter into thee, and be thy strength 
 and thy song. Heaven will be perfect holiness; let 
 this ordinance make thee more holy, and more con¬ 
 formable to the image of the holy Jesus; heaven will 
 be everlasting rest; here, therefore, return to God 
 as thy rest, O my soul, and repose thyself in him. 
 Let every sacrament be to thee a heaven upon earth, 
 and each of these days of the Son of man, as one of 
 the days of heaven. 
 
254 * 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Helps for the Exciting of those Pious and Devout 
 Affections which should be working in us while we 
 attend this Ordinance. 
 
 I. Here we must be sorry for sin; three things here to excite 
 this sorrow. II. Confiding in Christ, in his power, in his 
 promise. III. Delighting in God; three things to be thought 
 of with pleasure. IV. Admiring the mysteries and miracles 
 of redeeming love; seven things instanced as marvellous. V. 
 Caring what we shall render; seven things which we must 
 render. 
 
 Wonderous sights are here to be seen where 
 the Lord’s death is shown forth ; precious benefits 
 are here to be had, where the covenant of grace is 
 sealed; the transaction is very solemn, very serious, 
 nothing more so on this side death. But what im¬ 
 pressions must be made hereby upon our souls? 
 How must we stand affected while this is doing ? Is 
 this service only a show, at which we may be uncon¬ 
 cerned spectators ? Or is it a market-place, in which 
 we may stand all the day idle? No, by no means; 
 here is work to be done, heart-work, such as requires 
 a very close application of mind, and a great liveli¬ 
 ness and vigour of spirit, and in which all that is 
 within us should be employed, and all little enough. 
 Here is that to be done which calls for fixed thoughts 
 and warm affections, which needs them, and well de¬ 
 serves them. What sensible movings of affection 
 we should aim at, is not easy to direct; tempers 
 
255 
 
 vary; some are soon moved, and much moved with 
 every thing that affects them : from such it may be 
 expected that their passions, which are strong at 
 other times, should not be weak at this ordinance i 
 and yet, no doubt, there are others whose natural 
 temper is happily more calm and sedate, that are not 
 conscious to themselves of such stirring of affections 
 as some experience at this ordinance, and yet have 
 as comfortable communion with God, as good evi¬ 
 dence of the truth and growth of grace, and as much 
 real benefit by the ordinance, as those that think 
 themselves even transported by it. The deepest 
 rivers are scarce perceived to move, and make the 
 least noise. On the other hand, there may be much 
 heat where there is little light, and strong passions 
 where there are very weak resolutions. Like the 
 waters of a land flood, which make a great show, but 
 are shallow and soon gone. We must not, therefore, 
 build a good opinion of our spiritual state upon the 
 vehemence of our affection. A romance may repre¬ 
 sent a tragical story so pathetically, as to make a 
 great impression upon the minds of some, who yet 
 know the whole matter to be both feigned and for¬ 
 eign; bodily exercise, if that be all, profits little. 
 And, on the other hand, there may be a true and 
 strong faith, informing the judgment, bowing the 
 will, and commanding the affections, and purifying 
 the heart and life, where yet there are not any trans¬ 
 ports, or pathetical expressions. There may be true 
 joy, where the mouth is not filled with laughter, nor 
 the tongue with singing; and true sorrow where yet 
 the eye doth not run down with tears. They whose 
 hearts are firmly fixed for God, may take the com- 
 
256 
 
 fort of that, though they do not find their hearts 
 sensibly flowing out towards him. 
 
 And yet in this sacrament, where it is designed 
 that the eye should affect the heart, we must not 
 rest in the bare contemplation of what is here set 
 before us, but the consideration thereof must make 
 an impression upon our spirits, which should be 
 turned as wax to the seal. If what is here done do 
 not affect us for the present, it will not be likely to 
 influence us afterwards; for we retain the remem¬ 
 brance of things better by our affections, than by our 
 notions: <c I shall never forget thy precepts, when 
 by them thou hast quickened me.” Here, therefore, 
 let us stir up the gift that is in us, endeavouring to 
 affect ourselves with the great things of God and 
 our souls; and let us pray to God to affect us with 
 them by his Spirit and grace, and to testify his ac¬ 
 ceptance of the sacrifice of a devoted heart, which 
 we are to offer, by kindling it with this holy fire from 
 heaven. 66 Awake, O north wind ! and come thou 
 south, and blow upon my garden.” Come, thou 
 blessed Spirit, and move upon these waters, these 
 dead waters, to set them a-moving in rivers of living 
 water: come and breathe upon these dry bones, that 
 they may live. O that I might now be in the mount 
 with God ! That I might be so taken up with the 
 things of the Spirit, and the other world, that for 
 the time I may even forget that I am yet in the 
 body, and in this world ! O that I might now be 
 soaring upwards, upwards towards God, pressing for¬ 
 wards, forwards towards heaven, as one not slothful 
 in business, but fervent in spirit, serving the Lord, 
 for here it is no time to trifle ! 
 
257 
 
 Let us then see, in some particulars, how we 
 should be affected, when we are attending on the 
 Lord in this solemnity, and in what channels these 
 waters of the sanctuary should run, that we may take 
 our work before us, and apply our minds to the con¬ 
 sideration of those things that are proper to excite 
 those affections. 
 
 I. Here we must be sorrowful for sin, after a 
 godly sort, and blushing before God at the thought 
 of it. Penitential grief and shame are not at all 
 unsuitable to this ordinance, though it is intended 
 for our joy and honour, but excellent preparatives 
 for the benefit and comfort of it. Here we should 
 be, like Ephraim, bemoaning ourselves; like Job, 
 abhorring ourselves, renewing those sorrowful reflec¬ 
 tions we made upon our own follies, when we were 
 preparing for this service, and keeping the fountain 
 of repentance still open, still flowing. Our sorrow 
 for sin needs not hinder our joy in God, and there¬ 
 fore our joy in God must not forbid our sorrow for sin. 
 
 Our near approach to God in this ordinance, 
 should excite and increase our holy shame and sor¬ 
 row. When we see what an honour we are ad¬ 
 vanced to, w’hat a favour we are admitted to, it is 
 seasonable to reflect upon our own unworthiness, by 
 reason of the guilt of sin, to draw near to God. A 
 man’s deformity and defilement is never such a mor¬ 
 tification to him, as when he comes into the presence 
 of those that are comely, clean, and fashionable; and 
 when we are conscious to ourselves, that we have 
 dealt basely and disingenuously with one we are un¬ 
 der the highest obligations to love and honour, an 
 interview with the person offended cannot but renew 
 our grief. 
 
258 
 
 I am here drawing nigh to God, not only treading 
 his courts with Christians at large, but sitting down 
 at his table with select disciples; but when I consider 
 how pure and holy he is, and how vile and sinful I 
 am, I am ashamed, and blush to lift up my face be¬ 
 fore him. To me belongs shame and confusion of 
 face. I have many a time heard of God by the 
 hearing of the ear, but now, how am I taken to sit 
 down with him at his table? Mine eyes see him, 
 see the King in his beauty; wherefore I abhor my¬ 
 self, and repent in dust and ashes.—What a fool, 
 what a wretch have I been, to offend a God who ap¬ 
 pears so holy in the eyes of all who draw nigh unto 
 him, and so great to all them that are about him ? 
 Wo is me, for I am undone, lost and undone for 
 ever, if there were not a Mediator between me and 
 God, because I am a man of unclean lips, and an 
 unclean heart. Now I perceive it, and my own de¬ 
 generacy and danger by reason of it, for mine eyes 
 have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. I have 
 reason to be ashamed to see one to whom I am so 
 unlike, and afraid to see one to whom I am so ob¬ 
 noxious. The higher we are advanced by the free 
 grace of God, the more reason we shall see to abase 
 ourselves, and cry, God be merciful to us, sinners ! 
 
 A sight of Christ crucified should increase, excite 
 our penitential shame and sorrow, and that evan¬ 
 gelical repentance, in which there is an eye to the 
 cross of Christ. It is prophesied, nay, it is pro¬ 
 mised, as a blessed effect of the pouring out of the 
 Spirit, in gospel times, <{ upon the house of David, 
 and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that they shall look 
 on him whom they have pierced, and shall mourn.” 
 
259 
 
 Here we see Christ pierced for our sins, nay, pierced 
 by our sins : our sins were the cause of his death, 
 and the grief of his heart. The Jew's and Romans 
 crucified Christ; but, as David killed Uriah with 
 his letter, and Ahab killed Naboth with his seal; so 
 the hand-writing that was against us for our sins, 
 nailed Christ to the cross, and so he nailed it to the 
 cross. We had eaten the sour grapes, and his teeth 
 were set on edge. Can we see him thus suffering 
 for us, and shall we not suffer with him? Was he 
 in such pain for us, and shall not we be in pain for 
 him? Was his soul exceeding sorrowful, even unto 
 death, and shall not ours be exceeding sorrowful, 
 when that is the way to life ? Come, my soul, see 
 by faith the holy Jesus made sin for thee; the glory 
 of heaven made a reproach of men for thee; his Fa¬ 
 ther’s joy made a man of sorrows for thy transgres¬ 
 sions; see thy sins burdening him when he sweat, 
 spitting upon him, and buffeting him, and putting 
 him to open shame; crowning him with thorns, and 
 piercing his hands and his side; and let this melt 
 and break this hard and rocky heart of thine, and 
 dissolve it into tears of godly sorrow. Look on 
 Christ dying; and weep not for him, (though they 
 who have any thing of ingenuity and good nature, 
 will see reason enough to weep for an innocent suf¬ 
 ferer,) but weep for thyself, and thine own sins; for 
 them be in bitterness, as one that is in bitterness for 
 an only son. 
 
 Add to this, that our sins have not only pierced 
 him, as they were the cause of his death, but as 
 they have been the reproach of his holy name, and 
 the grief of his Holy Spirit. Thus we have crucified 
 
260 
 
 him afresh, by doing that which he has often de¬ 
 clared to be a vexation and dishonour to him, as far 
 as the joys and glories of his present state can admit. 
 The consideration of this should greatly humble us ; 
 nothing goes nearer to the quick with a true peni¬ 
 tent, nor touches him in a more tender part than 
 this: (i They shall remember me among the nations 
 whither they shall be carried captives, because I am 
 broken with their whorish heart, which hath departed 
 from me.” A strange expression, that the great 
 God should reckon himself broken by the sins of his 
 people ! No wonder it follows, they 4< shall loathe 
 themselves for the evils which they have committed.” 
 Can we look upon an humbled broken Christ, with 
 an unhumbled unbroken heart ? Do our sins grieve 
 him, and shall they not grieve us ? Come, my soul, 
 and sit down by the cross of Christ, as a true 
 mourner; let it make thee weep to see him weep, 
 and bleed to see him bleed. That heart is frozen 
 indeed, which these considerations will not thaw. 
 
 The gracious offer here made us, of peace and 
 pardon, should excite and increase our godly sorrow 
 and shame. This is a gospel motive: 66 Repent, for 
 the kingdom of heaven is at hand ; that is, the pro¬ 
 mise of pardon upon repentance is published and 
 sealed, and whoever will, may come and take the be¬ 
 nefit of it. The terrors of the law are of use to 
 startle us, and put us into a horror for sin, as those 
 that are afraid of God; but the grace of the gospel 
 contributes more to an ingenuous repentance, and 
 makes us more ashamed of ourselves. This rends 
 the heart, to consider God so gracious and merciful, 
 so slow to anger, and ready to forgive. Let this 
 
261 
 
 loving-kindness melt thee, O my soul! and make thee 
 to relent more tenderly than ever. Wretch that I 
 have been, to spit in the face, and spurn at the 
 bowels, of such mercy and love, by my wilful sin ! 
 To despise the riches of gospel grace ! I am ashamed, 
 yea even confounded, because I do bear the reproach 
 of my youth. Doth God meet thee thus with terms 
 of reconciliation? Doth the party offended make 
 the first motion of an agreement ? Shall such an 
 undutiful, disobedient, prodigal son as I have been, 
 be embraced and kissed, and clothed with the best 
 robe? This kindness overcomes me. Now, it cuts 
 me to the heart, and humbles me to the dust, to 
 think of my former rebellions ; they never appeared 
 so heinous, so vile, as they do now I see them par¬ 
 doned. The more certain I am that I shall not be 
 ruined by them, the more reason I see to be humbled 
 for them. When God promised to establish his 
 covenant with repenting Israel, he adds, “ that thou 
 mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open 
 thy mouth any more, because of thy shame, when I 
 am pacified towards thee.” To see God provoked, 
 causeth a holy trembling; but to see God pacified, 
 causeth a holy blushing. The day of atonement, 
 when the sins of Israel were to be sent to a land of 
 forgetfulness, must be a day to afflict the soul. The 
 blood of Christ will be the more healing and com¬ 
 forting to the soul, for its bleeding afresh thus upon 
 every remembrance of sin. 
 
 II. Here we must be confiding on Christ Jesus, and 
 relying on him alone, for life and salvation. When 
 we mourn for sin, blessed be God, we do not sorrow 
 as those that have no hope; true penitents are per- 
 
262 
 
 plexed, but not in despair; cast down, but not de¬ 
 stroyed. Faith in Christ turns even their sorrows 
 into joy, gives them their vineyards from thence, and 
 even the valley of Achor (of trouble for sin) for a 
 door of hope. We have not only all-sufficient hap¬ 
 piness to hope for, but an all-sufficient Saviour to 
 hope in. Here, therefore, let us exercise and en¬ 
 courage that hope; let us trust in the name of the 
 Lord Jesus, and stay ourselves upon him; come up 
 out of this wilderness, leaning upon your Beloved. 
 Come, my soul, weary as thou art, and rest in Christ; 
 cast thy burden upon him, and he shall sustain thee; 
 commit thy way to him, and thy thoughts shall cer¬ 
 tainly be established; commit thyself to him, and it 
 shall be well with thee; he will keep, through his 
 own name, that which thou committest to him. 
 
 Commit thyself to him, as the scholar commits 
 himself to his teacher, to be instructed, with a reso¬ 
 lution to take his word for the truth of what he 
 teacheth; as the patient commits himself to the phy¬ 
 sician to be cured, with a resolution to take whatever 
 he prescribes, and punctually to observe his orders; 
 as the client commits himself to his counsel, to draw 
 his plea, and to bring him off when he is judged, 
 with a resolution to do all things as he shall advise; 
 as the traveller commits himself to his guide, to be 
 directed in his way, with a resolution to follow his 
 conduct; as the orphan commits himself to his guar¬ 
 dian, to be governed and disposed of at his discre¬ 
 tion, with a resolution to comply with him. Thus 
 must we commit ourselves to Christ. 
 
 We must confide in his power, trusting in him as 
 one that can help and save us. He hath an incon- 
 
263 
 
 testable authority, is a Saviour by office, sanctified 
 and sealed, and sent into the world for this purpose; 
 help is laid upon him. We may well offer to trust 
 him with our part of this great concern, which is the 
 securing of our happiness; for God trusted him with 
 his part of it, the securing of his honour, and declared 
 himself well pleased in him. He hath likewise an 
 unquestionable ability to save to the uttermost; he is 
 mighty to save, and every way qualified for the un¬ 
 dertaking ; he is skilful, for treasures of wisdom and 
 knowledge are hid in him ; he is solvent, for there is 
 in him an inexhaustible fulness of merit and grace, 
 sufficient to bear all our burdens, and to supply all 
 our needs. We must commit ourselves, and the 
 great affairs of our salvation unto him, with a full 
 assurance that he is “ able to keep what we commit 
 to him against that day,” that great day, which will 
 try the foundation of every man’s work. We must 
 consider him in this promise, trusting in him as one 
 that will certainly help and save us, on the terms 
 proposed. We may take his word for it, and this 
 is the word which he hath spoken—“ Him that 
 cometh unto me I will in nowise cast out;” a double 
 negative, “ I will not, no, I will not.” He is en¬ 
 gaged for us in the^covenant of redemption, and en¬ 
 gaged to us in the covenant of grace, and in both he 
 is the Amen, the faithful witness. On this, there¬ 
 fore, we must rely, the word on which he hath 
 caused us to hope. God hath spoken in his holi¬ 
 ness, that he will accept us in the Beloved, and in 
 that “I will rejoice; I will divide Shechem; Gilead 
 is mine, and Manasseh is mine.” Pardon is mine, 
 and peace mine, and Christ mine, and heaven mine: 
 
Q64< 
 
 “ for faithful is he that promised, who also will do 
 
 Come then, my soul, come thou, and all thy con¬ 
 cerns, into this ark, and there thou shalt be safe when 
 the deluge comes; flee, flee to this city of refuge, 
 and in it thou shalt be secured from the avenger of 
 blood. Quit all other shelters; for every thing but 
 Christ is a tc refuge of lies, which the hail will sweep 
 away.” There is not salvation in any other but in 
 him ; trust him for it therefore, and depend upon him 
 only. Reach hither thy finger, and, in this ordi¬ 
 nance, (s behold his hands; reach hither thy hand, 
 'and thrust it into his side,” and say, as Thomas did, 
 ** My Lord, and my God !” Here I cast anchor, 
 here I rest my soul. ct It is Christ that died, yea 
 rather that is risen again, and is, and will be, the 
 author of eternal salvation to all them that obey him.” 
 To him I entirely give up myself, to be ruled, and 
 taught, and saved by him ; and in him I have a full 
 satisfaction. I will draw near to God for mercy and 
 grace, in a dependence upon him as my righteous¬ 
 ness; I will go forth, and go on, in the way of my 
 duty, in a dependence upon him as my strength; I 
 will shortly venture into the invisible, unchangeable 
 world, in a dependence upon him as the “ captain of 
 my salvation;” who is able to bring many sons to 
 glory, and as willing as he is able. Ci Lord, I be¬ 
 lieve; help thou my unbelief.” 
 
 Having thus committed thyself, my soul, to the 
 Lord Jesus, comfort thyself on him. Please thyself 
 with the thoughts of having disposed of thyself so 
 well, and of having lodged the great concern of thy 
 salvation in so good a hand; now “ return to thy 
 
265 
 
 rest, O ray soul,” and be easy. Every good Chris¬ 
 tian may by faith triumph as the prophet doth, point¬ 
 ing at Christ: “ The Lord God will help thee, 
 therefore shall I not be confounded, therefore have 
 I set my face like a flint,” in a holy defiance of Sa¬ 
 tan and all the powers of darkness ; ** and I know 
 that I shall not be ashamed. He is near that justi- 
 fieth me, who will contend with me?” Take the 
 Bible, turn to the 8th of the Romans, and read from 
 verse 31. to the end of the chapter; if ever blessed 
 Paul rode in a triumphant chariot on this side hea¬ 
 ven, it was when he wrote these lines, “ What shall 
 we then say to these things,” &c. Apply those 
 comforts to thyself, 66 O my soul, thou hast said of 
 the Lord, he is my Lord; rejoice in him, then, and 
 be exceeding glad. Thy Redeemer is mighty, and 
 he rides upon the heavens for thy help, and in his 
 excellency on the sky—“ Do thou, then, ride upon 
 the high places of the earth, and suck honey out of 
 this rock, and oil out of this flinty rock.” Having 
 made sure of thy interest in Christ, live in a conti¬ 
 nual dependence upon him ; and being satisfied of 
 his love, be satisfied with it: thou hast enough, and 
 needest no more. 
 
 III. Here we must be delighting in God, and so¬ 
 lacing ourselves in his favour.—If we had not Christ 
 to hope in, being guilty and corrupt, we could not 
 have a God to rejoice in; but, having an Advocate 
 with the Father, so good a plea as Christ dying, and 
 so good a pleader as Christ interceding, we may not 
 only st come boldly to the throne of grace, but may 
 sit down under the shadow of it with delight, and 
 behold the beauty of the Lord.” That God who 
 
 M 22 
 
£66 
 
 is love, and the God of love, here showeth us his 
 44 marvellous loving-kindness; causeth his goodness 
 to pass before us; proclaims his name gracious and 
 merciful.” Here he gives us his love, and thereby 
 invites us to give him ours. It is a love-feast, the 
 love of Christ is here commemorated, the love of 
 God here offered; and the frame of our spirits is 
 disagreeable, and ajar in the harmony, if our hearts 
 be not here going out in love to God, the chief good, 
 and our felicity. They that come hither with holy 
 desires, must refresh themselves here with holy de¬ 
 lights. If we must 44 rejoice in the Lord always,” 
 much more now ; for a feast was made for laughter, 
 and so was this for spiritual joy; if ever 44 wisdom’s 
 ways be ways of pleasantness,” surely they must be 
 so when we come to 44 eat of her bread, and to drink 
 
 ■ at 
 
 of the wine which she hath mingled.” 
 
 Put thyself then, my soul, into a pleasant frame, 
 let the joy of thy Lord be thy strength, and let this 
 ordinance 44 put a new song into thy mouth.” Come 
 and hear the voice of joy and gladness. 
 
 Let it be a pleasure to thee to think, 4 that there 
 is a God, and that he is such a one as he hath re¬ 
 vealed himself to be.’ The being and attributes of 
 God are a terror to those that are unjustified and 
 unsanctified; nothing can be more so: they are wil¬ 
 ling to believe 44 there is no God, or that he is al- 
 together such a one as themselves,” because they 
 heartily wisL there vvere none, or one that they could 
 be at peace with, and yet continue their league with 
 sin : but to those who, through grace, partake of 
 a divine nature themselves, nothing is more agree¬ 
 able, nothing more acceptable, than the thoughts of 
 
267 
 
 God’s nature and infinite perfections. Delight thy¬ 
 self, therefore, in thinking that there is an infinite 
 and eternal Spirit, who is self-existent and self-suf¬ 
 ficient, the best of beings, and the first of causes; 
 the highest of powers, and the richest and kindest of 
 friends and benefactors; the fountain of being and 
 fountain of bliss; the “ Father of lights, the Father 
 of mercies.” Love to think of him whom thou canst 
 not see, and yet canst not hut know; who is not far 
 from thee, and yet between thee and him there is an 
 infinite, awful distance. Let these thoughts be thy 
 nourishment and refreshment. 
 
 Let it be a pleasure to thee to think of 4 the obli¬ 
 gations thou best under to this God as the Creator.’ 
 He that is the former of my body, and the Father 
 of my spirit, in whom I live, and move, and have m^ 
 being, is upon that account my rightful* owner, my 
 sovereign ruler, whom I am bound to serve. Be¬ 
 cause he made me, and not I myself, therefore I am 
 not mine own, but his. Please thyself, my soul, 
 with this thought, that thou art not thine own, but 
 his that made thee; nor left to thine own will, but 
 bound up by his; not made for thyself, but designed 
 to be to him for a name and a praise. Noble powers 
 are then intended for a nobler purpose. Delight 
 thyself in him, as the felicity and end of thy being, 
 who is the fountain and cause of it. Were I to 
 choose, I would not be mine own master, my own 
 carver, mine own centre; no, I would not, it is better 
 as it is. I love to think of the eternal God, as the 
 just director of all my actions, to whom I am account¬ 
 able, and the wise disposer of all my affairs, to whom 
 I must submit. I love to think of him as my chief 
 
 M 2 
 
268 
 
 good, who, having made me, is alone able to make 
 me happy; and as my highest end, <s of whom and 
 through whom, and to whom, are all things.” 
 
 Let it be a pleasure to thee 6 to think of the 
 covenant relations wherein this God stands to thee 
 in Jesus Christ/ This is especially to be our de¬ 
 light in this sealing ordinance: though the sacrament 
 directs us immediately to Christ, yet through him it 
 leads us to the Father. He died, <e the just for the 
 unjust, that he might bring us to God.” To God 
 therefore we must go as our end and rest, by Christ 
 as our way; to God as a Father, by Christ as Me¬ 
 diator. Come then, my soul, and see with joy and 
 the highest satisfaction, the God that made thee en¬ 
 tering into covenant with thee, and engaging to make 
 thee happy. Hear him saying to thee, my soul, 
 “ I am thy salvation, thy shield,” and not only thy 
 bountiful rewarder, but thine exceeding great re¬ 
 ward ; I am and will be to thee a God all-sufficient; 
 a God, that is enough. “ Fear thou not, for I am 
 with thee,” wherever thou art; “ be not dismayed, 
 for I am thy God;” whatever thou wantest, what¬ 
 ever thou losest, call me God, even thine own God,— 
 when thou art weak, I will strengthen thee, yea, when 
 thou art helpless, I will help thee; yea, when thou 
 art ready to sink, “ I will uphold thee with the right 
 hand of my righteousness.” The God that cannot 
 lie hath said, and here seals it to thee, 6i I will never 
 leave thee nor forsake thee.” Let this be to thee, 
 my soul, the voice of joy and gladness, making even 
 broken bones to rejoice. Encourage thyself in the 
 Lord thy God. He is thy Shepherd, thou shalt not 
 want any thing that is good for thee. “ Thy Maker 
 
269 
 
 is thy husband, the Lord of hosts is his name;” and 
 as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall 
 thy God rejoice over thee. He shall rest in his love 
 to thee : rest then in thy love to him, and rejoice in 
 him always. The Lord is thy lawgiver, thy king 
 that will save thee: swear allegiance to him, then, 
 with gladness and loud hosannas. ‘ c Let Israel 
 rejoice in him that made him, (that new-made him ;) 
 let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.” 
 What wouldst thou more? This God is thy God 
 for ever and ever. 
 
 Stir up thyself, my soul, to take the comfort which 
 is here offered thee. Let this strengthen the weak 
 hands, let it confirm the feeble knees. If God be 
 indeed the “ health of thy countenance and thy God, 
 why art thou cast down, why art thou disquieted?” 
 Die not for thirst when there is such a fountain of 
 living waters near thee, but draw water with joy out 
 of these wells of salvation. Shiver not for cold when 
 there is such a reviving, a quickening heat in these 
 promises; but say with pleasure, C( Ah, I am a worm, 
 I have seen the fire !” Faint not for hunger, now 
 thou art at a feast of fat things, but be abundantly 
 satisfied with the goodness of God’s house. The 
 God whose wrath and frowns thou hast incurred, 
 here favours thee and smiles on thee; let this there¬ 
 fore give thee a joy greater than the joy of harvest, 
 and far surpassing what they have that divide the 
 spoil. Though thou canst not reach to holy rap¬ 
 tures, yet compose thyself to a holy rest. Delight 
 thyself always in the Lord, especially at this ordi¬ 
 nance, and, by thus taking the comfort of what thou 
 hast received, thou qualifiest thyself to receive more; 
 
270 
 
 for then he shall give thee the desire of thy heart. 
 The way to have thine heart’s desire is to make God 
 thy heart’s delight. Triumph in his love, and thine 
 interest in him : his benignity is better than life, let 
 it be to thee sweeter than life itself. u Behold, God 
 is my Saviour, God is my salvation; I will trust and 
 not be afraid : for the Lord Jehovah is my strength, 
 and therefore my song ; the strength of my heart and 
 my portion for ever.” When you come to the altar 
 of God, call him, 6i God thy exceeding joy”—“ thy 
 God, thy glory.” 
 
 IV. Here we must be admiring the mysteries and 
 miracles of redeeming love.—They that worshipped 
 the beast are said to wander after him, so must they 
 that worship the Lamb, for he hath done marvellous 
 things. We have reason to say that we were fear¬ 
 fully and wonderfully made; but, without doubt, we 
 were more fearfully and wonderfully redeemed. We 
 were made with a word, but we were bought with a 
 price: stand still, then, and see the salvation of the 
 Lord, see it with admiration. Affect thyself, my 
 soul, with a pleasing wonder, while thou art seeing 
 this great sight. The everlasting gospel is here 
 magnified and made honourable, let it be so in thine 
 eyes; call it the glorious gospel of the blessed God. 
 
 Let us take a view of some of the marvellous things 
 
 which are done in the work of our redemption. 
 
 1. The contrivance of the salvation is marvel¬ 
 lous.—It would have for ever puzzled the wisdom of 
 angels and men, to have found out such a method of 
 salvation as might effectually satisfy God’s justice, 
 and yet secure men’s happiness ; save the life of the 
 law-breaker, and yet maintain the honour of the 
 
 
271 
 
 law-maker. This is that mystery which the angels 
 desire to look into, and of which the most piercing 
 eye of those inquisitive spirits, that see by the light 
 of the upper world, will not be able to eternity to 
 discern the bottom. O, the depth of this hidden 
 wisdom ! 
 
 2. The purposes of God’s love concerning it from 
 eternity are marvellous.—Be astonished, O my soul, 
 at this, that the God who was infinitely happy in the 
 contemplation and enjoyment of himself and his own 
 perfections, should yet entertain thoughts of love 
 towards a remnant of mankind, and towards thee 
 amongst the rest, and design such favours for them, 
 such favours for thee, before the worlds were ! 
 <{ How precious should these thoughts be unto us, 
 for how great is the sum of them !” 
 
 3. The choice of the person who should under¬ 
 take it is marvellous; the Son of his love, that in 
 parting with him for us he might commend his love. 
 —The eternal wisdom, the eternal word, that he 
 might effectually accomplish this great design, and 
 might not fail nor be discouraged. A person every 
 way fit, both to do the Redeemer’s work, and to 
 wear the Redeemer’s crown. It is spoken of as an 
 admirable invention—“ I have found a ransom 
 and, “ I have found David my servant.” On earth 
 there was not his like, nor in heaven either. 
 
 4. The Redeemer’s consent to the undertaking 
 is marvellous.—Considering his own dignity and 
 self-sufficiency, our unworthiness and obnoxiousness, 
 the difficulty of the service, and the ill requitals he 
 foresaw from an ungrateful world, we have reason to 
 admire that he should be so free, so forward to it; 
 
272 
 
 and should say, “ Lo, I come: here am I, send me.” 
 Never was there such a miracle of love and pity ; 
 verily it passeth knowledge. 
 
 5. The carrying on of his undertaking in his 
 humiliation is marvellous.—His name was Won¬ 
 derful. His appearance in the world, from first to 
 last, was a continued series of wonders; without con¬ 
 troversy, great was this mystery of godliness. The 
 bringing of the first begotten into the world was 
 attended with the adorations of wondering angels. 
 His doctrine and miracles, while he was in the world, 
 were admirable; they that heard the one, and saw the 
 other, were beyond measure astonished. But his 
 going out of the world was the greatest wonder of 
 all: it made the earth to shake, the rocks to rend, 
 and the sun to cover his face. Never was there such 
 a martyr, never such a sacrifice, never such a para¬ 
 dox of love as that was. <c God forbid that we should 
 glory, save in the cross of Christ,” which is so much 
 the wisdom of God and the power of God. 
 
 6. The honours of this exalted state are mar¬ 
 vellous.—He that was made a little lower than the 
 angels, a worm and no man, is now the Lord of an¬ 
 gels. One in our nature is advanced to the highest 
 honours, invested with the highest powers, having 
 an incontestable authority to execute judgment, even 
 for this reason, that he is the son of man ; not only 
 though he is so, but because he is so. This is the 
 Lord’s doing, and it is, and should be marvellous in 
 our eyes. 
 
 7. The covenant of grace, made also with us in 
 him, is marvellous.—The terms of the covenant are 
 wonderful, reasonable, and easy; the treasures of the 
 
273 
 
 covenant are wonderful, rich, and valuable. The 
 covenant itself is well ordered in all things, and sure ; 
 admirably well, both for the glory of God, and the 
 comfort of all believers. God in it 46 showeth us 
 his marvellous loving kindness,” and we answer not 
 the design of the discovery, if we do not admire it. 
 Other things, the more they are known the less they 
 are wondered at; but the riches of redeeming love 
 appear more admirable to those that are best ac¬ 
 quainted with them. 
 
 V. Here we must be caring what we shall render 
 to him that hath thus loved us. This wondrous 
 love is love to us; and not only gives the greatest 
 encouragements to us to come to God for mercy and 
 peace, but lays the strongest engagements upon us 
 to walk with God in duty and obedience. We are 
 bound in conscience, bound in honour and in grati¬ 
 tude, to love him, and to live to him who loved us 
 and died for us. This concern should much affect 
 us, and lie very near our hearts, how we may answer 
 the intentions of this love. 
 
 We should be affected with a jealous fear, lest 
 we prove ungrateful, and, like Hezekiah, 44 render 
 not again according to the benefit done unto us.” 
 We cannot but know something, by sad experience, 
 of the treachery and deceitfulness of our own hearts, 
 and how apt they are to start aside like a broken 
 bow; and therefore we have no reason to presume 
 upon our own strength and sufficiency. We are told 
 of many who eat and drink in Christ’s presence, and 
 yet are found at last unfaithful to him; and what it 
 I should prove one of those? This th oug ht is not 
 suggested here to amuse any that tremble at God’s 
 
 M 3 
 
274 
 
 word, or to weaken the hands and sadden the hearts 
 of those that are truly willing, though very weak; 
 but to awaken those that slumber, and humble those 
 that are wise in their own conceit. Distrust thyself, 
 
 O my soul, that thou mayest trust in Christ only; 
 fear thine own strength, that thou mayest hope in 
 his. He that hath done these great things for thee, 
 must be applied to and depended on to work those 
 great things in thee, which are required of thee. 
 Go forth, therefore, and go on in his strength. If 
 th e same that grants us those favours, give us not 
 wherewithal to make suitable returns for them, we 
 shall perish for ever in our ingratitude. 
 
 We should be filled with serious desires to know 
 and do our duty, in return for that great love where¬ 
 with we are loved. The affections of a grateful mind 
 are very proper to be working in us at this ordinance. 
 Doth not even nature teach us to be grateful to our 
 friends and benefactors? Let us be so to Christ 
 then, the best of friends, and kindest of benefactors. 
 Come, my soul, here I see how much I am indebted, 
 and how I owe my life, my joy, and hope, and all, to 
 the blessed Jesus: and is it not time to ask with holy 
 David, “ What shall I render unto the Lord for all 
 his benefits towards me?” Shall I not take the cup 
 of salvation, as he doth, with this thought, “ What 
 shall I render?” Let David’s answer to that ques¬ 
 tion, which we find in the 116th Psalm, be mine. 
 
 “ I love the Lord,” (ver. 1.) Love is the load¬ 
 stone of love ; even the publicans love those that love 
 them. Lord, thou hast loved me with an everlast¬ 
 ing love; from everlasting in the counsels of it, to 
 everlasting in the consequences of it: and shall not 
 
2?5 
 
 my heart, with this loving kindness, be drawn to 
 thee? Lord, I love thee; the world and the flesh 
 shall never have my love more : I have loved them 
 too much, I have loved them too long; the best 
 affections of my soul shall now be consecrated to 
 thee, O God, to thee, O blessed Jesus ! <£ Whom 
 
 have I in heaven but thee ? Lord, thou knowest all 
 things ; thou knowest that I love thee.” It is my 
 sorrow and shame that I am so weak and defective 
 in my love to thee : what a wretched heart have I, 
 that I can think, and speak, and hear, and see so 
 much of thy love to me, and be so little affected with 
 it! So low in my thoughts of thee, so cool in my 
 desires towards thee, so unsteady in my resolutions 
 for thee ! Lord pity me, Lord help me ! for yet I 
 love thee, I love to love thee. I earnestly desire to 
 love thee better, and long to be where love shall be 
 made perfect. 
 
 <s I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiv- 
 ing,” (ver. 17.) As love is the heart of praise, so 
 praise is the language of love. What shall I ren¬ 
 der? I must render to all their due; tribute to 
 whom tribute is due; the tribute of praise to God, 
 to whom it is due. We do not accommodate our¬ 
 selves to this thanksgiving feast, if we do not attend 
 it with hearts enlarged in thanksgiving: this cup of 
 salvation must be a cup of blessing; in it we must 
 bless God, because in it God blesseth us. Thank¬ 
 ful acknowledgments of God’s favour to us are but 
 poor returns for rich receivings; yet they are such 
 as God will accept, if they come from an upright 
 heart. (i Bless the Lord, therefore, O my soul, and 
 let all that is within me bless his holy name.” Speak 
 
276 
 
 well of him who hath done well for thee. Thank 
 him for all his gifts both of nature and grace, espe¬ 
 cially for Jesus Christ, the spring of all. c< As long 
 as I live I will bless the Lord, yea, I will praise my 
 God while I have my beingfor he is the God of 
 my life, and the author of my well-being: and when 
 I have no life, no being on earth, I hope to have a 
 better life, a better being in a better world, and to 
 be doing this work for ever in a better manner. 
 
 <£ O Lord, truly I am thy servant, I am thy ser¬ 
 vant,’’ (ver. 16.) I acknowledge myself already bound 
 to be so, and further oblige myself by solemn pro¬ 
 mise to approve myself so. What shall I render? 
 Lord, I render myself to thee, my whole self, body 
 and soul and spirit, not in compliment, but in truth 
 and sincerity; I own myself thy servant, to obey thy 
 commands, to be at thy disposal, and to be service¬ 
 able to thine honour and interest: it will be my credit 
 and ease, my safety and happiness, to be under thy 
 government, make me as one of thy hired servants. 
 
 “ I will call upon the name of the Lord,” (ver. 13.) 
 This is an immediate answer to that question, What 
 shall I render? and it is a surprising answer. It is 
 uncommon among men to make petitions for further 
 favours, or returns for former favours; yet such a 
 return as this, the God that delights to hear prayers 
 will be well pleased with. Is God my Father? I 
 will apply myself to him as a child, and call him 
 Abba, Father. Have I an advocate with the Father? 
 Then I will come boldly to the throne of grace. Are 
 there such exceeding great and precious promises 
 made me, and sealed to me ? Then will I never lose 
 the benefit of them for want of putting them in suit. 
 
277 
 
 As I will love God the better, so I will love prayer 
 the better as long as I live; and having given myself 
 unto God, I will give myself unto prayer, as David 
 did, till I come to the world of everlasting praise. 
 
 “ Return unto thy rest, O my soul,’’ (ver. 7.) 
 The God who hath pleasure in the prosperity of his 
 servants, would have them easy to themselves; and 
 that they can never be but by reposing in him : this, 
 therefore, we must render. It is work that has its 
 own wages : honour God by resting in him, please 
 him by being well pleased in him. Having received 
 so much from him, let us own that we have enough 
 in him, and that we can go nowhere but to him with 
 any hopes of satisfaction ? Lord, whither shall we 
 go? He hath the words of eternal life? 
 
 “ I will walk before the Lord in the land of the 
 living,” (ver. 9.) A holy life, though it cannot pro¬ 
 fit God, yet it glorifieth him ; and therefore it is in¬ 
 sisted upon as a necessary return for the favours we 
 have received from God. While I am here in the 
 land of the living, I will walk by faith, having mine 
 eyes ever towards the Lord, to see him as he reveals 
 himself, hoping that shortly in that land, which is 
 truly the land of the living, above, I shall walk by 
 sight, having mine eyes ever upon the Lord, to see 
 him as he is. God hath here sealed to be to me a 
 God all-sufficient: here therefore I seal to him, ac¬ 
 cording to the tenor of the covenant, that, his grace 
 enabling me, I will 66 walk before him and be up¬ 
 right.” 
 
 “ I will pay my vows unto the Lord,” (ver. 14, 
 18.) Those that receive the blessings of the cove- 
 
278 
 
 nant, must be willing, not only to come, but always 
 to abide under the bonds of the covenant. Here we 
 must make vows, and then go away and make them 
 good. More of this in the next chapter. 
 
279 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Directions concerning the Solemn Vows we are to 
 make to God in this Ordinance . 
 
 Four reasons why, at the Lord’s Supper, we must make vows. 
 
 I. We must, by solemn vows, bind ourselves up from all sin ; 
 largely opened in five things. II. We must bind ourselves up 
 to all duty. To the duties of religion in general; opened in 
 four things. To some duties of religion especially; opened in 
 four things. Duties which we have most neglected, which we 
 have experienced most benefit by, which we have most oppor¬ 
 tunity for; and the duties of our respective callings and rela¬ 
 tions. 
 
 A religious vow is a bond upon the soul; so it 
 is described, Numb. xxx. 2. where he that voweth a 
 vow unto the Lord, is said thereby to bind his soul 
 with a bond. It is a solemn promise, by which we 
 voluntarily oblige ourselves to God and duty, as a 
 “ willing people in the day of his power.” The 
 cords of a man, and bonds of love, wherewith God 
 draws us and holds us to himself, call upon us by our 
 own act and deed to bind ourselves; and these vows 
 also are cords of a man, for they are highly reason¬ 
 able ; and bonds of love, for to the renewed soul 
 they are an easy yoke, and a light burden. 
 
 From all the other parts of our work at the Lord’s 
 table, we may infer that this is one part of it: we 
 must there make solemn vows to God, that we will 
 diligently and faithfully serve him. 
 
 We are here to renew our repentance for sin, and 
 it becomes penitents to make vows. When we pro- 
 
280 
 
 fess ourselves sorry for what we have done amiss, it 
 is very natural and necessary to add, that “ we will 
 not offend any more as we have done; if I have done 
 iniquity, I will do so no more.” We mock God 
 when we say we repent that we have done foolishly, 
 if we do not at the same time resolve that we will 
 never return again to folly. Times of affliction are 
 proper times to make vows; and what is repentance 
 but self-affliction ? Trouble for sin was not the least 
 of that trouble which David was in, when his lips 
 uttered those vows which he spoke so feelingly of: 
 “ I will go into thy house with burnt-offerings; I 
 will pay thee my vows, which my lips have uttered, 
 and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble. ,, 
 Probably it was under this penitential affliction that 
 he 66 sware unto the Lord, and vowed unto the mighty 
 God of Jacob, that he would find a place for the ark.” 
 Vows against sin, resulting from sorrow for sin, shall 
 not be rejected as extorted by the rack, but gra¬ 
 ciously accepted as the genuine language of a broken 
 heart, and fruits meet for repentance. 
 
 We are here to ask and receive mercy from God, 
 and it becomes petitioners to make vows. When 
 Jacob found himself in special need of God’s gra¬ 
 cious presence, he vowed a vow, and set up a stone, 
 for a memorial of it. And Hannah, when she prayed 
 for a particular mercy, vowed a vow, that the comfort 
 she prayed for should be consecrated to God. Great 
 and precious things we are here waiting to receive 
 from God; and therefore, though we cannot offer any 
 thing as a valuable consideration for his favours, yet 
 it becomes us to promise such suitable returns as we 
 are capable of making. When God encourageth us 
 
281 
 
 to seek to him for grace, we must engage ourselves 
 not to receive his grace in vain, but to improve and 
 employ for him what we have from him. 
 
 We are here to give God thanks for his favours 
 to us,* now, it becomes us in our thanksgivings to 
 make vows, and to offer to God, not only the calves 
 of our lips, but the work of our hands. Jonah’s 
 mariners, when they offered a sacrifice of praise to 
 the Lord for a calm after a storm, as an appendix to 
 that sacrifice, made vows. The most acceptable vows 
 are those which take rise from gratitude, and which are 
 drawn from us by the mercies of God. Here I see 
 what great things God hath done for my soul, and 
 what greater things he designs for me : shall I not 
 therefore freely bind myself to that, which he hath 
 by such endearing ties bound me to ? 
 
 We are here to join ourselves to the Lord in an 
 everlasting covenant; and it is requisite that our 
 general covenant be explained and confirmed by par* 
 ticular vows. When we present ourselves to God 
 as a living sacrifice, with those cords we must bind 
 that sacrifice to the horns of the altar: and, while we 
 experience in ourselves such a bent to backslide, we 
 shall find all the arts of obligation little enough to be 
 used with our own souls. As it is not enough to 
 confess sin in the gross, saying, I have sinned, hut 
 we must enter into the detail of our transgressions, 
 saying, with David, “ I have done this evilso it is 
 not enough in our covenanting with God, that we en¬ 
 gage ourselves in the general to be his; but we must 
 descend to particulars in our covenants, as God doth 
 in his commands, that thereby we may the more effec¬ 
 tually both bind ourselves to duty, and mind ourselves 
 
282 
 
 of duty. If the people must distinctly say Amen to 
 every curse pronounced on Mount Ebal, much more 
 to every precept delivered on Mount Horeb. 
 
 Come then, my soul, thou hast now thy hand 
 upon the book to be sworn; thou art lifting up thy 
 hand to the most high God, the possessor of heaven 
 and earth; think what thou art doing, and adjust the 
 particulars, that this may not become a rash oath, in¬ 
 considerately taken. God is here confirming his 
 promises to us by an oath, to show the immutability 
 of his counsels of love to us. Here, therefore, we 
 must confirm our promise to him by an oath, to walk 
 in God’s law, and to “ observe and do all the com¬ 
 mandments of the Lord our God.” Some of the 
 oriental writers tell us, that the most solemn oath 
 which the patriarchs before the flood used, was, by 
 the blood of Abel, and we are sure that the blood of 
 Jesus is infinitely more sacred, and speaks much 
 greater and much better things than that of Abel. 
 Let us therefore testify our value for that blood, and 
 secure to ourselves the blessings purchased by it, by 
 our sincere and faithful dealing with God in that 
 covenant, of which this is the blood. 
 
 The command of the eternal God is, that we 
 “ cease to do evil, and learn to do well; that we 
 put off the old man, and put on the new.” And 
 our vows to God must accordingly be against all sin, 
 and to all duty; and under each of these heads we 
 must be particular, according as the case is. 
 
 I. We must here, by a solemn vow, bind our¬ 
 selves against all sin; so as not only to break our 
 league with it, but to enter into league against it. 
 The putting away of the strange wives, in Ezra’s 
 
283 
 
 time, was not the work of one day or two, but a work 
 of time; and therefore Ezra, when he had the people 
 under convictions, and saw them weeping sore for 
 their sin in marrying them, very prudently bound 
 them, by a solemn covenant, that they would put 
 them away. If ever we conceive an aversion to sin, 
 surely it is at the table of the Lord ; and therefore 
 we should improve that opportunity to invigorate 
 our resolutions against it, that the remembrance of 
 those resolutions may quicken our resistance of it, 
 when the sensible impressions we are under from it 
 are become less lively. Thus we must, by a solemn 
 vow, cast away from us all our transgressions, saying, 
 with Ephraim, “ What have I to do any more with 
 idols ?” 
 
 We must solemnly vow that we will not indulge 
 or allow ourselves in any sin. Though sin may re¬ 
 main, it shall not reign; though those Canaanites be 
 in the land, yet we will not be tributaries to them. 
 However it may usurp and oppress as a tyrant, it 
 shall never be owned as a rightful prince, nor have 
 a peaceful and undisturbed dominion. I may be in 
 some particular instances, through the surprise of 
 temptations, led into captivity by it; but I am fully 
 resolved, through Christ, never to join in affinity 
 with it, never espouse its cause, never plead for it, 
 nor strike in with its interest. 
 
 Bind thyself with this bond, O my soul, that 
 though, through the remainders of corruptions, thou 
 canst not say thou hast no sin; yet, through the be¬ 
 ginnings of grace, thou wilt be able to say thou lovest 
 none. That thou wilt give no countenance or con¬ 
 nivance to any s-in; no, not to secret sins, which, 
 
284 
 
 though they shame thee not before men, yet shame 
 thee before God and thine own conscience; no, not 
 to heart sins, those first-born of the corrupt nature, 
 the beginning of its strength. Vain thoughts may 
 intrude, and force a lodging in me, but I will never 
 invite them, never bid them welcome, nor court their 
 stay; corrupt affections may disturb me, but they shall 
 never have the quiet and peaceable possession of me : 
 no, whatever wars against my soul, by the grace of 
 God I will war against it, hoping in due time to get 
 the dominion, and have its yoke broken from off* my 
 neck, when “ judgment shall be brought forth into 
 victory,” and grace perfected in glory. 
 
 We must solemnly vow, that we will never yield 
 to any gross sin, such as lying, injustice, unclean¬ 
 ness, drunkenness, profanation of God’s name, and 
 such like, which are not the spots of God’s children. 
 Though all the high places be not taken away, yet 
 there shall be no remains of Baal, or of Baal’s priests 
 and altars in my soul. However my own heart may 
 be spotted by sins of infirmity, and may need to be 
 daily washed, yet, by the grace of God, I will never 
 spot my profession, nor stain the credit of that by 
 open and scandalous sin. I have no reason to be 
 ashamed of the gospel, and therefore it shall be my 
 constant endeavour, not to be in any thing a shame 
 to the gospel; it is an honour to me, I will never be 
 a dishonour to it; I will never do any thing, by the 
 grace of God I will not, which may give occasion to 
 the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme that worthy 
 name by which I am called. So shall it appear, 
 that I am upright, if I be innocent from these great 
 transgressions. 
 
28 5 
 
 We must solemnly vow, that with a particular 
 care we will keep ourselves from our own iniquity. 
 That sin, with which, in our penitent reflections, our 
 own consciences did most charge us, and reproach 
 us for, that sin we must in a special manner renew 
 our resolutions against. Was it pride? Was it 
 passion? Was it distrust of God, or love of the 
 world ? Was it an unclean fancy, or an idle tongue ? 
 —Whatever it was, let the spiritual force be mus¬ 
 tered and drawn out against that. The instructions 
 which Samuel gave to Israel, when they were la¬ 
 menting after the Lord, are observable to this pur¬ 
 pose — u If ye do return to the Lord with all your 
 hearts,” and would be accepted of him therein, “ then 
 put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth.” Was 
 not Ashtaroth one of the strange gods or goddesses ? 
 Yes; but that is particularly instanced in, because it 
 had been a beloved idol, dearer than the rest, that 
 especially must be put away. Thus, in our cove¬ 
 nanting with God, we must engage against all sin, 
 but in particular, against that which, by reason of 
 the temper of our minds, the constitution of our 
 bodies, or the circumstances of our outward affairs, 
 doth most easily beset us, and we are most prone to* 
 Knowest thou thine ownself, O my soul? If 
 thou dost, thou “ knowest thine own sickness, and 
 thine own sore,” that is, thine own iniquity : bring 
 that hither and slay it; let not thine eyes spare, 
 neither do thou pity it. Hide it not, excuse it not, 
 stipulate not for leave to reserve it as Naaman did 
 for his house of Rimmon; though it hath been to 
 thee as a right eye, as a right hand, as thy guide 
 and thine acquaintance, it hath been a false guide, 
 
286 
 
 an ill acquaintance, pluck it out, cut it off, and cast 
 it from thee. Now come and fortify thy resolutions 
 in the strength of Christ against that; fetch in help 
 from heaven against that; be vigorous in thy resis¬ 
 tance of that, and how many soever its advantages 
 are against thee, yet despair not of a victory at last. 
 
 We must solemnly vow, that we will abstain from 
 all appearance of evil; not only from that which is 
 manifestly sin, and which carries the evidences of its 
 own malignity written on its forehead, but from that 
 which looks like sin, and borders upon it. Wisdom 
 is here profitable to direct, so as that we may not on 
 the one hand indulge a scrupulous conscience, and 
 yet on the other hand may preserve a tender con¬ 
 science. Far be it from us to make that to be sin 
 which God hath not made so ; and yet in doubtful 
 cases it must be our care and covenant to keep the 
 safer side, and to be cautious of that which is sus¬ 
 picious ; “ he that walks uprightly walks surely.” 
 What we find to be rather a snare to us, and an oc¬ 
 casion of sin, or a blemish to us, and an occasion of 
 scandal, or a terror to us in the reflection, and an 
 occasion of grief or fear, it may do well express ly to 
 resolve against, though we be not very clear that it 
 is in itself sinful, nor dare censure it as an evil in 
 others; provided that this vow be made with such 
 limitations as that it may not afterwards prove an 
 entanglement to us, when, either by the improvement 
 of our knowledge, or the change of our circumstances, 
 it ceaseth to have in it an appearance of evil. 
 
 And art thou willing, my soul, to come under this 
 bond ? Wilt thou put far from thee the accursed 
 thing ? Wilt thou in this ordinance make a cove- 
 
287 
 
 nant with thine eyes, and oblige them not to look on 
 the wine when it is red, nor to look on a woman to 
 lust after her ? Wilt thou shun sin as the plague, 
 and engage thyself, not only never to embrace that 
 adulteress, but never to come nigh the door of her 
 house. Thy vow being like that of the Nazarite, 
 not to drink of this intoxicating wine; let it be then 
 like his, not to eat any thing that cometh of the 
 wine, “ from the kernel to the husk.” Abandon 
 sin and all appurtenances, cast out Tobiah and all 
 his stulf. Resolve to deny thyself in that which is 
 most desirable, rather than give Satan any advantage; 
 to abridge thyself even in that which is lawful, 
 rather than come within thfeconfines of sin, or bring 
 thyself into danger of that which is unlawful. “ Hap¬ 
 py is the man that feareth always.” 
 
 We must solemnly vow, that we will have no 
 fellowship u with the unfruitful works of darkness, 
 neither be partakers of other men’s sins.” We live 
 in a corrupt and degenerate age, in which iniquity 
 greatly abounds. Our business is not to judge 
 others; to their own masters they stand or fall, but 
 our care must be, to preserve ourselves, and the pu¬ 
 rity and peace of our own minds; our covenant there¬ 
 fore must be, that we will never <£ walk in the coun¬ 
 sel of the ungodly, nor stand in the way of sinners.” 
 When David engaged himself to keep the com¬ 
 mandments of his God, pursuant to that engagement, 
 he said to evil-doers, <£ Depart from me.” And 
 St. Peter reminded his new converts of the necessity 
 of this care—“ Save yourselves from this untoward 
 generation.” 
 
 Let the Psalmist’s vow be mine then, Having 
 
288 
 
 hated the congregation of evil-doers, such as drunk¬ 
 ards, swearers, filthy talkers, and scoffers at godli¬ 
 ness, “ I will not sit with the wicked.” Though 
 I cannot avoid being sometimes in the sight and 
 hearing of such, yet I will never take those for my 
 chosen companions and bosom friends in this world, 
 with whom I should dread to have my portion in the 
 other world. Religion in rags shall be always valued 
 by me, and profaneness in robes despised. Having 
 chosen God for my God, his people shall always be 
 my people ,— 66 Lord, gather not my soul with sin¬ 
 ners.” If thou art in good earnest for heaven, re¬ 
 solved to swim against the stream, thou wilt find 
 that sober singularity is an excellent guard to serious 
 piety. On all that glory let there be this defence. 
 
 II. We must here, by a solemn vow, bind our¬ 
 selves up to all duty. It is not enough that we de¬ 
 part from evil, but we must do good; that we se¬ 
 parate ourselves from the service of sin, and shake 
 off Satan’s iron yoke; but we must devote ourselves 
 to the service of Christ, and put our necks under 
 the sweet and easy yoke of God’s commandments, 
 with a solemn promise faithfully to draw in that yoke 
 all our days. We need not bind ourselves to more 
 than we are already bound to by the divine law, 
 either expressly or by consequence; either as primary 
 duties, or secondary, in order to them. We are not 
 called to lay upon ourselves any other burden than 
 necessary things, and they are not heavy burdens, 
 nor grievous to be borne; but we must bind our¬ 
 selves by additional ties, to that which we are already 
 bound to. 
 
 We must, by a solemn vow, oblige ourselves to 
 
289 
 
 all the duties of religion in general.—Jacob’s vow 
 must be ours, “ Then the Lord shall be my God.” 
 Having avouched him for mine. I will fear him and 
 love him, delight in him and depend upon him, 
 worship him and glorify him, as my Lord and my 
 God. Having owned him as mine, I will even eye 
 him as mine, and 6i walk in his name.” David’s 
 vows must be ours; that we will “ keep God’s judg¬ 
 ments;” that we will keep in them as our way, keep 
 to them as our rule; that we will keep them as the 
 apple of our eye, keep them always unto the end. 
 
 In the strength of the grace of Jesus Christ, we 
 must here solemnly promise and vow, 
 
 (1.) That we will make religion our business.— 
 It is our great business in this world, to serve the 
 honour of him that made us, and secure the happi¬ 
 ness we are made for: this we must mind as our 
 business, and not, as they must do, make a by-busi¬ 
 ness of it. Religion must be our calling; the calling 
 we resolve to live in, and hope to live by: in the 
 services of it we must be constant and diligent, and 
 as in our element. Other things must give way to 
 it, and be made, as much as may be, serviceable to 
 it. And this must be our covenant with God here, 
 that, however we have trifled hitherto, henceforward 
 we will mind religion as the one thing needful, and 
 not to be slothful in the business of it, but fervent 
 in spirit, serving the Lord. And art thou willing, 
 my soul, thus to devote thyself entirely to the ser¬ 
 vice of God ? Shall that engage thy cares, fill thy 
 thoughts, command thy time, and give law to the 
 whole man? Let this matter be settled then, in 
 this day’s vows, and resolve to live and die by it. 
 
 N 22 
 
290 
 
 (2.) That we will make conscience of inside god¬ 
 liness.—Having in our covenant given God our 
 heart, which is what he demands, we must resolve to 
 employ it for him; for without doubt, he is a Jew, 
 he is a Christian, that is one inwardly; and that is 
 circumcision, that is baptism, that is true and pure 
 religion, u which is of the heart, in the spirit, and 
 not in the letter;”—-that we are really what we are 
 inwardly; and they only are the true worshippers, 
 that worship God in the spirit. This is the power 
 of godliness, without which the form is but a carcass, 
 but a shadow. “ The king’s daughter is all glori¬ 
 ous within.” This, therefore, we must resolve in 
 the strength of the grace of God, that we will keep 
 our hearts with all diligence, keep them fixed, fixed 
 upon God; that the desire of our souls shall ever be 
 towards God; our hearts shall be lifted up to God 
 in every prayer, and their doors and gates thrown 
 open to admit his word; and that our constant care 
 shall be about the ts hidden man of the heart, in that 
 which is not corruptible;” so approving ourselves to 
 God in our integrity in every thing we do in religion. 
 
 (3.) That we will live a life of communion with 
 God.— Without controversy, great is this mystery 
 of godliness; if there be a heaven upon earth, cer¬ 
 tainly this is it, by faith to set the Lord always be¬ 
 fore us, having an eye to him with suitable affections, 
 as the first cause, and last eud, of all things that 
 concern us; and so having communion with him in 
 providence as well as ordinances. When w 7 e receive 
 the common comforts of every day from his hand 
 with love and thankfulness; and bear the common 
 crosses and disappointments of every day, as ordered 
 
291 
 
 by bis will, with patience and submission; when we 
 commit every day’s care to him, and manage every 
 day’s business and converse for him, having a con¬ 
 stant habitual regard to God in the settled principles 
 of the divine life, and frequent actual out-goings of 
 soul towards him in pious ejaculations, the genuine 
 expressions of devout affections; then we live a life 
 of communion with God. Did we know by experi¬ 
 ence, what it is to live such a life as this, we would 
 not exchange the pleasures of it for the peculiar 
 treasures of kings and provinces. 
 
 Engage thyself, then, my soul, elevate thyself to 
 this spiritual and divine life, and every day may be 
 thus with thee a communion-day, and thy constant 
 fellowship may be with the Father, and with his Son, 
 Jesus Christ, by the Spirit. Let me resolve hence¬ 
 forward to live, more th an I have hitherto done, a 
 life of complacency in God, in his beauty, bounty, 
 and benignity; a life of dependence upon God, upon 
 his power, providence, and promise; a life of devot¬ 
 edness to God, to the conduct of his Spirit, and the 
 disposal of his providence; and thus to walk with 
 God in all holy conversation. 
 
 (4.) That we will keep heaven in our eye, and 
 take up with nothing short of it.—We are made for 
 another world, and we must resolve to set our hearts 
 upon that world, and have it always in our eye; seek¬ 
 ing the things that are above, and slighting things 
 below in comparison with them, as those that are 
 born from heaven, and bound for heaven. Bind 
 thyself, my soul, with this bond, that, “ forgetting 
 the things that are behind, as one that hath not yet 
 attained, neither is already perfect,” thou wilt reach 
 
 N 2 
 
292 
 
 forth to those things that are before, “ pressing 
 forwards towards the mark, for the prize of the high 
 calling.” My treasure is in heaven—my heart, hope, 
 and home, are there: I shall never be well till I am 
 there; there, therefore, shall my heart be, and to 
 that recompense of reward I will ever have respect; 
 with an eye to that joy and glory set before me in 
 the other world, I will, by the grace of God, pa¬ 
 tiently run the race of godliness set before me in this 
 world. 
 
 2. We must, by a solemn vow, oblige ourselves 
 to some duties of religion in particular.—As it is 
 good to engage ourselves by covenant against parti¬ 
 cular sins, that, by the help of resolution, our resis¬ 
 tance of them may he invigorated; so it is good to 
 engage ourselves to particular duties, that we may 
 be quickened diligently to apply ourselves to them, 
 and may see our work before us. 
 
 (1.) Weshould particularly obligeourselvesto those 
 duties, of which our own consciences have charged 
 us with the neglect. We have known that good 
 which our own hearts tell us we have not done; we 
 find upon reflection, it may be, that we have not 
 been constant in our secret devotion, that we have 
 not done that good in our families which we should 
 have done; we have been barren in good discourse, 
 careless of our duty to the souls of others, backward 
 to works of charity, unfurnished for and indisposed 
 to religious exercises; in these, or other things, 
 wherein we are conscious to ourselves that we have 
 been defective, we covenant for the future to be more 
 circumspect and industrious, that our works may be 
 found filled up before God. When the Jews in 
 
293 
 
 Nehemiah’s time made a sure covenant, wrote it, and 
 sealed to it, they inserted particular articles, relating 
 to those branches of God’s service which had been 
 neglected, and made ordinances for themselves, ac¬ 
 cording to the ordinances that God had given them; 
 so should we do, as an evidence of the sincerity of 
 our repentance for our former omissions, both of duty 
 and in duty. That work of our Lord, wherein we 
 have been most wanting, in that we must covenant 
 to abound most, that we may redeem the time. 
 
 (2.) Weshould particularly oblige ourselves to those 
 duties which we have found by experience to contri¬ 
 bute most to the support and advancement of the life 
 and power of godliness in our hearts. They that 
 have carefully observed themselves, perhaps can tell 
 what those religious exercises are, which they have 
 found to be most serviceable to the prosperity of 
 their souls, and by which they have reaped most 
 spiritual benefit and advantage. Have our hearts 
 been most enlarged in secret devotion ? Hath God 
 sometimes met us in our closets with special comforts, 
 and the unusual manifestations of himself to our 
 souls? Let us from thence take an indication, and 
 covenant to be more alone in secret communion with 
 God. Have public ordinances been to us as green 
 pastures, and have we sat down by them with de¬ 
 light ? Let us resolve to be so much the more dili¬ 
 gent in our attendance on them, and wait more 
 closely at those gates where we have so often been 
 abundantly satisfied. Though one duty must never 
 be allowed to intrench upon another, yet those duties 
 which we have found to be the most effectual means 
 of increasing our acquaintance with God, confirming 
 
294 
 
 our faith in Christ, and furthering us in our way to 
 heaven, we should, with a peculiar care, engage our¬ 
 selves to. 
 
 Though God hath strictly commanded us the 
 great and necessary acts of religious worship, yet, 
 for the trial of our holy ingenuity and zeal, he hath 
 left it to us to determine many of the circumstances; 
 that even instituted sacrifices may be in some respects 
 free-will offerings, he hath commanded us to pray 
 and read the Scriptures, but hath not told us just 
 how oft and how long we must pray and read: here, 
 therefore, it is proper for us to bind ourselves to that 
 which will best answer the intention of the command 
 in general, best agree with the circumstances we are 
 in, and best advance the interests of our souls; in 
 which we must take heed on the one hand, that we 
 indulge not spiritual sloth, by contenting ourselves 
 with the least proportions of time that may be, much 
 less by confining ourselves to them; and, on the 
 other hand, that we make not religious exercises a 
 task and burden to ourselves, by binding ourselves 
 to that at all times, which, in an extraordinary pang 
 of devotion, is easy and little enough. In making 
 resolutions of this kind, we ought to be cautious, 
 and not hasty to utter any thing before God, that 
 we may not afterwards say before the angel, tc It 
 was an error.” Though such is the decay of Chris¬ 
 tian zeal in the age that we live in, that few need 
 this caution, yet it must be inserted, ts because it is 
 a snare to a man to devour that which is holy, and 
 after vows to make inquiry.” 
 
 (3.) We should particularly oblige ourselves to those 
 duties by which we have opportunities of glorifying 
 
295 
 
 God, adorning our profession, and doing good in our 
 places. We are not born for ourselves, nor bought 
 for ourselves; we are born for God, and bought for 
 Christ: and both as men and as Christians, we are 
 members one of another, and we ought to sit down 
 and consider how we may trade with the talent with 
 which we are intrusted, though it be but one, to the 
 glory of our Creator, the honour of our Redeemer, 
 and the good of our brethren. The liberal and 
 pious deviseth liberal and pious things, and oblige 
 themselves to them. Think then, my soul, not only 
 what must I do, hut what may I do for God, who 
 hath done such great things for me? How may I 
 be serviceable to the interests of God’s kingdom 
 among men ? What can I do to promote the strength 
 and beauty of the church, and the welfare of precious 
 souls? And if we have thought of any thing of 
 this kind that falls within the sphere of our activity, 
 though but a low and narrow sphere, it may do well, 
 when we find ourselves in a good frame at the table 
 of the Lord, by a solemn vow, with due caution, to 
 oblige ourselves to it, that we may not leave room 
 for a treacherous heart to start back. Thus Jacob, 
 for the perpetuating the memory of God’s favour to 
 him, made it a part of his vow-— 44 This stone which 
 I have set for a pillar, shall he God’s house.” Thus 
 Hannah vowed, that if God would give her a son, 
 she would give him to the Lord. It is one of the 
 rules prescribed concerning cost or pains bestowed 
 for pious and charitable uses— 44 Every man accord¬ 
 ing as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give, so 
 let him do.” Now, lest that purpose should fail and 
 come to nothing, it is good, when the matter of it is 
 
296 
 
 well digested, to bring it to a head in a solemn pro¬ 
 mise, that the tempter seeing us steadfastly resolved, 
 he may cease soliciting us to alter our purpose. 
 
 (4.) We should particularly oblige ourselves to the 
 duties of our respective callings and relations. Much 
 of Christian obedience lies in these instances; and 
 in them we are especially called to serve God and 
 our generation, and should therefore bind ourselves 
 to do so. 
 
 They that are in places of public trust and power, 
 should here oblige themselves, by a solemn vow, to 
 be faithful to the trust reposed in them, and to use 
 their power for the public good. They that rule 
 over men, must here covenant that they will be just, 
 ruling in the fear of God. Their oaths must here 
 be ratified, and David’s promise must be theirs— 
 “ When I shall receive the congregation, I will 
 judge uprightly.” This ought to be seriously con¬ 
 sidered by all those who receive this holy sacrament 
 at their admission into the magistracy. When pub¬ 
 licans and soldiers submitted to the baptism of John, 
 and thereby obliged themselves to live a holy life, 
 they asked and received of John instructions how to 
 discharge the duty of their respective employments; 
 for, when we vow to keep God’s commandments, 
 though we must have a universal respect to them 
 all, yet we must have a special regard to those pre¬ 
 cepts which relate to the calling wherein we are 
 called, whatever it is. 
 
 The stewards of the mysteries of God, when they 
 administer this ordinance to others, receive it them¬ 
 selves as an obligation upon them to stir up the gift 
 that is in them, that they may make full proof of 
 
297 
 
 their ministry. Their ordination vows are repeated 
 and confirmed in every sacrament, and they are again 
 sworn to be true to Christ and souls. He that 
 ministereth about holy things, must here oblige him¬ 
 self to <e wait on his ministering; he that teacheth, 
 on teaching; he that exhorteth, on exhortation.” 
 
 Governors of families must here oblige them¬ 
 selves, as David did, to walk before their houses in 
 a perfect way, with a perfect heart; and they must 
 affix this seal to Joshua’s resolution, that, whatever 
 others do, “ they and their houses will serve the 
 Lord.” Here they must consecrate to God a church 
 in their house, and bind themselves to set up, and 
 always to keep up, both an altar and a throne for 
 God in their habitation, that they may approve them¬ 
 selves the spiritual seed of faithful Abraham, who 
 was famous for family religion. It is with this in¬ 
 tent, I suppose, that the rubric oF the public estab¬ 
 lishment declares it convenient, t( That new married 
 persons should receive the holy communion at the 
 time of their marriage, or at the first opportunity 
 after their marriage;” that, being engaged to each 
 other in a new relation, they may solemnly engage 
 themselves to discharge the duties of that relation in 
 the fear of God. And inferior relations must here 
 oblige themselves to do the duty they owe to their 
 superiors: children to be dutiful to their parents, 
 servants to be obedient to their masters; yea, all of 
 us to be subject one to another. They that are 
 under the yoke, as the apostle speaks, may here make 
 the yoke they are under easy to them, by obliging 
 themselves to draw in it from a principle of duty to 
 
 n 3 
 
298 
 
 God, and gratitude to Christ, which will both sanc¬ 
 tify and sweeten the hardest services and submission. 
 
 Whatever our employments are, and our dealings 
 with men, we must here promise and avow, that we 
 will be strictly just and honest in them; that what¬ 
 ever temptations we may be under to the contrary at 
 any time, we will make conscience of <e rendering to 
 all their due, and of speaking the truth from the 
 heart; that we will walk uprightly, and work right¬ 
 eousness, despise the gain of oppression, and shake 
 our hand from holding of bribes,” knowing that they 
 who do so “ shall dwell on high, their place of de¬ 
 fence shall be the munition of rocks, bread shall be 
 given them, and their waters shall be sure.” We 
 find it upon record, to the honour of Christ’s holy 
 religion, when it was first planted in the world, that 
 Pliny, a heathen magistrate, and a persecutor of 
 Christianity, giving an account to the Emperor Tra¬ 
 jan, of what he had discovered concerning the Chris¬ 
 tians, in an epistle yet extant, acknowledgetb, that in 
 their religious assemblies they bound themselves by 
 a sacrament, that is, they bound themselves not to 
 do any thing evil; that they would not rob or steal, 
 or commit adultery; that they would never be false 
 to any trust reposed in them, never deny any thing 
 that was put into their hands to keep; and the like. 
 The same is still the true intent and meaning of this 
 service; it is the bond of a covenant, added to the 
 bond of a command, that we ts do justly, love mercy, 
 and walk humbly with our God.” 
 
 Come then, my soul, come under these bonds, 
 come willingly and cheerfully under them, for he 
 that bears an honest mind doth not startle at assur- 
 
299 
 
 ances; be not afraid to promise that which thou art 
 already bound to do; for these vows will rather fa¬ 
 cilitate thy duty, than add to the difficulty of it; the 
 faster thou findest thyself fixed to that which is good, 
 the less there will be of uneasy hesitation and wa¬ 
 vering concerning it, and the less danger of being- 
 tempted from it. 
 
 Only remember, that all those vows must be made 
 with an entire dependence upon the strength and 
 grace of Jesus Christ, to enable us to make them 
 good. We have a great deal of reason to distrust 
 ourselves, so weak and treacherous are our hearts: 
 Peter betrayed himself by confiding in himself, when 
 he said, 6i Though I should die with thee, yet will 
 I not deny thee.” But we have encouragement 
 enough to trust in Christ: in his name therefore let 
 us make our vows, in this grace let us be strong; 
 surely u in the Lord alone have we righteousness 
 and strength;” he is the surety of the covenant for 
 both parties: into his custody, therefore, and under 
 the protection of his grace, let us pour out our souls, 
 and we shall find he is able to keep what we commit 
 to him. 
 
300 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Directions concerning the Frame of our Spirits when 
 we come away from this Ordinance. 
 
 I. We must come from this ordinance admiring the condescen¬ 
 sion of the divine grace to us; considering our meanness by 
 nature, and our vilene^s by sin. II. Lamenting our manifold 
 defects, either trembling, or at least blushing. III. Rejoicing 
 in Christ, and the great love wherewith he hath loved us; ex¬ 
 pressing itself in praises to God, and encouragements to our¬ 
 selves. IV. Much quickening to every good work. V. With 
 a watchful fear of Satan’s wiles, and a firm resolution to stand 
 our ground against them. Let us therefore fear, and therefore 
 fix. VI. Praying that God will fulfil his promises to us, and 
 enable us to fulfil ours to him. VII. With a charitable dis¬ 
 position, to love our fellow-Christians, to give to the poor, and 
 forgive injuries. VIII. Longing for heaven. Our complaints 
 and our comforts should make us long for heaven. 
 
 They that have fellowship with the Father, and 
 with his Son Jesus Christ, at the table of the Lord, 
 whose hearts are enlarged to send forth the workings 
 of pious and devout affections towards God, and to 
 take in the communication of divine light, life, and 
 love from him, cannot but say, as Peter did upon the 
 holy mount, i6 Lord, it is good for us to be here; 
 here let us make tabernacles.” They sit down un¬ 
 der the refreshing shadow of this ordinance with de¬ 
 light, and its fruit is sweet unto their taste. Here 
 they could dwell all the days of their life, beholding 
 the beauty of the Lord, and inquiring in his temple. 
 But it is not a continual feast; we must come down 
 
301 
 
 from this mountain; these sweet and precious minutes 
 are soon numbered and finished; supper is ended, 
 thanks are returned, the guests are dismissed with a 
 blessing, the hymn is sung, and we go out to the 
 Mount of Olives; even in this Jerusalem, the city 
 of our solemnities, we have not a continuing city; 
 Jacob hath an opportunity of wrestling with the 
 angel a while, but he must “ let him go, for the day 
 breaks,” and he hath a family to look after, a jour¬ 
 ney to prosecute, and the affairs thereof call for his 
 attendance. We must not be always at the Lord’s 
 table; the high priest himself must not be always 
 within the vail, he must go out again to the people 
 when his service is performed. Now, it ought to be 
 as much our care to return in a right manner from 
 the ordinance, as to approach in a right manner to it. 
 That caution is here needful: (i Look to yourselves, 
 that we lose not those things which we have wrought,” 
 “ which we have gained,”—so some read it. Have 
 we in this ordinance wrought any thing, or gained 
 any thing that is good? We are concerned to see 
 to it, that we do not undo what we have wrought, 
 and let slip what we have gained. 
 
 When the solemnity is done, our work is not 
 done; still we must be pressing forwards in our duty. 
 This perhaps is the mystery of that law in Ezekiel’s 
 temple service, that they should not return from 
 worshipping before the Lord, in the solemn feasts, 
 66 through the same gate by which they entered in, 
 but by that over against it.” Forgetting those 
 things which are behind, still we must reach forth to 
 those things which are before. 
 
 Let us inquire, then, What is to be done, at our 
 
302 
 
 coming away from the ordinance, for the preserving 
 and improving of the impressions of it? 
 
 I. We should come from this ordinance admir¬ 
 ing the condescensions of the divine grace to us.— 
 Great are the honours which have here been done 
 us, and the favours to which here we have been ad¬ 
 mitted : that God that made us hath taken us into 
 covenant and communion with himself; the King 
 of kings hath entertained us at his table, and there 
 we have been feasted with the dainties of heaven, 
 abundantly satisfied with the goodness of his house; 
 exceeding great and precious promises hath been 
 here sealed to us, and earnests given us of the eter¬ 
 nal inheritance: now, if we know ourselves, this 
 cannot but be the matter of our wonder, our joyful, 
 and yet awful wonder. 
 
 Considering our meanness by nature, we have 
 reason to wonder that the great God should thus 
 advance us. Higher than heaven is above the earth, 
 is God above us; between heaven and earth there 
 is, though a vast, yet only a finite distance; but be¬ 
 tween God and mail there is an infinite dispropor¬ 
 tion. “ What is man, then, (man that is a worm, 
 and the son of man that is a worm,) that he should 
 be thus visited and regarded, thus dignified and pre¬ 
 ferred ?” That favour done to Israel sounds great: 
 <c Man did eat angels’ food;” but here man is feasted 
 with that which was never angels’ food, the cs flesh 
 and blood of the Son of man,” which gives life to 
 the world. Solomon himself stood amazed at God’s 
 condescending to take possession of that magnificent 
 temple he had built; 6i but will God in very deed 
 dwell with men on the earth ?” And, which is more, 
 
303 
 
 shall men on the earth dwell in God, and make the 
 Most High their habitation ? If great men look 
 with respect upon those that are much their inferior, 
 it is because they expect to receive honour and ad¬ 
 vantage by them ; “ but can a man be profitable unto 
 God?” No, he cannot; “ our goodness extendeth 
 not unto him.” He was from eternity happy with¬ 
 out us, and would have been so to eternity, if we 
 had never been, or had been miserable; but we are 
 undone, undone for ever, if his goodness extends 
 not to us: he needs not our services, but we need 
 his favours; men adopt because they are childless, 
 but God adopts us purely because we are fatherless. 
 It was no excellency in us that recommended us to 
 his love, but poverty and misery made us proper 
 objects of his pity. 
 
 Come then, my soul, and compose thyself as king 
 David did, when, having received a gracious message 
 from heaven, assuring him of God’s kind intentions 
 to him and his family, he went in, and with a great 
 fixedness of mind sat before the Lord; and say, as 
 he said, “ Who am I, O Lord God, and what is 
 my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto ?” 
 That I should be so kindly invited to the table of 
 the Lord, and so splendidly treated there? That 
 one so mean and worthless as I am, the poorest 
 dunghill-worm that ever called God Father, should 
 be placed among the children, and fed with the chil¬ 
 dren’s bread ? And yet, as if this were a <c small 
 thing in thy sight, O Lord God, thou hast spoken 
 also concerning thy servant for a great while to come,” 
 even as far as eternity itself reaches ; and thus “ thou 
 hast regarded me according to the estate of a man of 
 
 O O 
 
304 
 
 high degree,” though I am nothing, yea, less than 
 nothing, and vanity. 66 And is this the manner of 
 men, O Lord God?” Could men expect thus to 
 be favoured ? No ; but thou givest to men, not ac¬ 
 cording to their poverty, but according to thy riches 
 in glory. Do great men use to condescend thus ? 
 No; it is usual with them to take state upon them, 
 and to oblige their inferiors to keep their distance; 
 but we have to do with one that is God, and not 
 man; whose thoughts of love are as much above ours, 
 as his thoughts of wisdom are; and therefore, as it 
 follows there, £t What can David say more unto 
 thee ?” What account can I give of this unac¬ 
 countable favour ? <e It is for thy word’s sake, and 
 according to thine own heart,” for the performance of 
 thy purposes and promises, that <£ thou hast done all 
 these great things, to make thy servant know them.” 
 
 Considering our vileness by sin, we have yet more 
 reason to wonder that the holy God should thus fa¬ 
 vour us. We are not only worms of the earth, be¬ 
 low his cognizance, but a generation of vipers, ob¬ 
 noxious to his curse; not only unworthy of his love 
 and favour, but worthy of his wrath and displeasure. 
 How is it, then, that we are brought so near unto 
 him, who deserved to have been sentenced to an 
 eternal separation from him ? He hath said, <c The 
 foolish shall not stand in his sight.” Foolish we 
 know we are, and yet we are called to sit at his table, 
 being through Christ reconciled to him, and brought 
 into covenant with him. Justice might have set us 
 as criminals at his bar; but behold, mercy sets us 
 as children at his board : and it is a miracle of mercy, 
 mercy that is the wonder of angels, and will be the 
 
305 
 
 eternal transport of glorified saints. See how much 
 we owe to the Redeemer, by whom we have access 
 into this grace. 
 
 Let me therefore set myself, and stir up myself, 
 to admire it; I have more reason to say than Me- 
 phibosheth had, when David took him to eat bread, 
 at his table continually, “ What is thy servant, that 
 thou shouldst look upon such a dead dog as I am ?” 
 I am less than the least of God’s mercies, and yet 
 he hath not withheld the greatest from me ! I have 
 forfeited the comforts of my own table, and yet I 
 am feasted with the comforts of the Lord’s table ! 
 I deserve to have had the cup of the Lord’s indig¬ 
 nation put into my hand, and to have drunk the dregs 
 of it; but behold, I have been treated with the cup 
 of salvation ! Were ever traitors made favourites ? 
 Such traitors made such favourites? Who can suf¬ 
 ficiently admire the love of the Redeemer, who “ re¬ 
 ceived gifts for men, yea, even for the rebellious 
 also,” upon their return to their allegiance, “ that 
 the Lord God might dwell among them ?” And 
 have I shared in these gifts, notwithstanding my re¬ 
 bellions? This is the Lord’s doing, and it is mar¬ 
 vellous. Whence is this to me, that not the mother 
 of my Lord, but my Lord himself should come to 
 me? that he should thus prevent me, thus dis¬ 
 tinguish me with his favours? u Lord ! how is it 
 that thou wilt manifest thyself to me, and not unto 
 the world ?” 
 
 II. We should come from this ordinance lamenting 
 our own manifold defects and infirmities in our at¬ 
 tendance upon God in it.—When we look back upon 
 the solemnity, we find, that as we cannot speak well 
 
306 
 
 enough of God and of his grace, so we cannot speak 
 ill enough of ourselves, and of the folly and treach¬ 
 ery of our own hearts. Now, conscience, thou art 
 charged in God’s name to do thine office, and to ac¬ 
 complish a diligent search ; review the workings of 
 the soul in this ordinance distinctly and impartially. 
 
 And if upon search thou findest cause to suspect 
 that all hath been done in hypocrisy, then set thy 
 soul a trembling; for its condition is sad, and highly 
 dangerous. If I have been here pretending to join 
 myself in a covenant with God, while I continue in 
 league with the world and the flesh; pretending to 
 receive the pardon of my sins, when I never repented 
 of them, nor designed to forsake them; I have but 
 deceived myself, and have reason to fear that I shall 
 perish at last with a lie in my right hand. While 
 this conviction is fresh and sensible, let care be taken 
 to mend the matter; and, blessed be God, it may be 
 mended. Have I reason to fear that my heart is 
 not right in the sight of God, and that therefore T 
 have no lot nor part in the matter, but am in the gall 
 of bitterness, and bond of iniquity? I must then 
 take the advice which Peter gave to Simon Magus, 
 when he perceived that to be his condition, after he 
 had received the sacrament of baptism : “ Repent, 
 therefore, of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if 
 perhaps the thoughts of thine heart may be forgiven 
 thee.” Let that be done with a double care after 
 the ordinance, which should have been done before. 
 
 But if upon search thou findest that there hath 
 been, through grace, truth in the inward part; yet 
 set thy soul a blushing, for it hath not been cleansed 
 according to the purification of the sanctuary. When 
 
307 
 
 we would do good, evil is present with us; our wine 
 is mixed water, and our gold with dross; and who is 
 there that “ doeth good and sinneth not,” even in 
 his doing good? We find, by sad experience, that 
 the sons of God never come together but Satan 
 comes also among them, and stands at their right 
 hand to resist them; and that, wherever we go, we 
 carry about with us the remainders of corruption, a 
 body of death, which inclines to that which is evil, 
 and indisposes us to that which is good. If the spirit 
 be willing, yet, alas! the flesh is weak, and we cannot 
 do the things that we would. 
 
 O what reason have I to be ashamed of myself, 
 and blush to lift up my face before God, when I re¬ 
 view the frame of my heart during my attendance on 
 this ordinance ! How short have I come of doing 
 my duty, according as the work of the day required ! 
 My thoughts should have been fixed, and the sub¬ 
 jects presented to them to fix upon were curious 
 enough to engage them, and copious enough to em¬ 
 ploy them; and yet they went with the fool’s eyes 
 unto the end of the earth, and wandered after a 
 thousand impertinencies. A little thing served to 
 give them a diversion from the contemplation of the 
 great things set before me. My affections should 
 have been raised and elevated, but they were low and 
 flat, and little moved; if sometimes they seemed to 
 soar upwards, yet they soon sunk down again, and 
 the things which remained were ready to die. My 
 desires were cold and indifferent, my faith weak and 
 inactive; nor were there any workings of soul in me 
 proportionable to the weightiness of the transaction. 
 Through my own dulness, deadness, and inadver- 
 

 308 
 
 tency, I lost a deal of time out of a little, and slept 
 much of that which might have been done and got 
 there, if I had been close and diligent. 
 
 This thought forbids us to entertain a good con¬ 
 ceit of ourselves, and our own performances, or to 
 build any confidence upon our own merit. While 
 we are conscious to ourselves of so much infirmity 
 cleaving to our best services, we must acknowledge 
 that boasting is for ever excluded; we have nothing 
 to glory of before God, nor can we challenge a re¬ 
 ward as of debt, but must ascribe all to free grace. 
 What good there is in us, is all of God, and he must 
 have the honour of it; but there is also much amiss, 
 which is all of ourselves; and we must take the shame 
 of it, lamenting those sad effects of the remainder of 
 sin in us, which we feel to our loss when we draw 
 nigh to God in holy ordinances. 
 
 This thought obligeth us, likewise, to rely on 
 Christ alone for acceptance with God in all our re¬ 
 ligious duties : he is that great and gracious High 
 Priest, who 66 bears the iniquity of the holy things, 
 which the children of Israel hallow in their holy 
 gifts,” that, notwithstanding that iniquity which is 
 repented of, “ the gifts may be accepted before the 
 Lord.” Of his righteousness therefore we must 
 make mention, even of his only; for the most spiri¬ 
 tual sacrifices are acceptable to God only through 
 him : 1 Pet. ii. 5. 
 
 III. We should come from this ordinance rejoicing 
 in Jesus Christ, and in that great love wherewith he 
 hath loved us.—From this feast we should go to our 
 tents, as the people went from Solomon’s feast of 
 dedication, “joyful and glad in heart, for all the 
 
309 
 
 goodness that the Lord hath done by David his ser¬ 
 vant, for Israel his people.” They that went forth 
 weeping, must come back rejoicing, as they have 
 cause, if they “ bring their sheaves with them.” 
 Hath God here lifted up the light of his countenance 
 upon us ? That should “ put gladness into our heart.” 
 Have we here lifted up our souls to God, and joined 
 ourselves to him in an everlasting covenant? We 
 have reason, with the baptized Eunuch, to “ go on 
 our way rejoicing.” The day of our espousals, 
 should be the day i6 of the gladness of our hearts.” 
 This cup of blessing was designed to be a cup of 
 consolation, and its wine ordained to make glad man’s 
 heart, to make glad the heart of the new man ; hav¬ 
 ing therefore drunk of this cup, let our souls “ make 
 their boast in the Lord, and sing in his ways, and 
 call him their exceeding joy.” 
 
 Let this holy joy give check to carnal mirth ; for 
 having seen so much reason to rejoice in Christ Jesus, 
 we deceive ourselves, if we rejoice in a thing of 
 nought: we are not forbidden to rejoice, but our joy 
 must be turned into the right channel, and our mirth 
 sanctified, which will suppress and silence the laugh¬ 
 ter that is mad. The frothiness of a vain mind must 
 be cured by a religious cheerfulness, as well as by a 
 religious seriousness. 
 
 Let it give check also to the sorrow of’ the world, 
 and that inordinate grief for outward crosses, which 
 sinks the spirits, dries the bones, and worketh death. 
 Why art thou cast down ? and why disquieted for 
 a light affliction, which is but for a moment ? when 
 even that is so far from doing thee any real preju¬ 
 dice, that it works for thee a far more exceeding and 
 
310 
 
 eternal weight of glory. Learn, my soul, to sit 
 down upon the ruins of all thy creature-comforts, by 
 a withered fig-tree, a fruitless vine, and a blasted 
 crop, and even then to sing to the praise and glory 
 of God, as the God of thy salvation. When thou 
 art full, enjoy God in all; when thou art empty, en¬ 
 joy all in God. 
 
 Let this holy joy express itself in praises to God, 
 and encouragement to ourselves. 
 
 Let it express itself in the thankful acknowledg¬ 
 ment of the favours we have received from God. 
 As spiritual joy must be the heart and soul of di¬ 
 vine praise, so divine praise must be the breath and 
 speech of spiritual joy. Whatever makes us joyful, 
 must make us thankful. Do we come from this ordi¬ 
 nance easy and pleasant, and greatly refreshed with 
 the goodness of God’s house ? Let the high praises 
 of God then be in our mouths, and in our hearts. 
 This is a proper time for us to be engaged with great 
 fixedness, and enlarged with great fluency in this 
 service. If we must give thanks for the mercies 
 we receive at our own table, which relate only to a 
 perishing body and a dying life, much more ought 
 we to give thanks for the mercies we receive at God’s 
 table, which relate to an immortal soul and eternal 
 life. 
 
 u When thou hast eaten, and art full, then thou 
 shalt bless the Lord thy God, for the good land 
 which he hath given thee.” Bless him for a Ca¬ 
 naan on earth, a land of light, and a valley of vi¬ 
 sion, in which God is known, and his name great; 
 and for the comfortable lot thou hast in that land, a 
 name among God’s people, and a nail in his holy 
 
311 
 
 place, a portion in Emmanuel’s land; bless him for 
 a Canaan in heaven which he hath given thee the 
 promise and prospect of, that land flowing with milk 
 and honey. Rejoice in hope of that, and sing in 
 hope. 
 
 “ Bless the Lord, O my soul, and let all that is 
 within thee,” all thy thoughts, and all thy powers, be 
 employed in blessing his holy name; and all little 
 enough. O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is 
 good; good to all, good to Israel, good to me. ** I 
 will mention the loving-kindnesses of the Lord, and 
 the praises of the Lord, according to all that the 
 Lord hath bestowed on us.” Give glory to the 
 exalted Redeemer, and mention to his praise the 
 great things he hath done for us. “ Worthy is the 
 Lamb that was slain,” to take the book, and open 
 the seals; worthy to wear the crown, and sway the 
 sceptre for ever; worthy to receive blessing, and hon¬ 
 our, and glory ; worthy to be adored by the innu¬ 
 merable company of angels, and the spirits of just 
 men made perfect; worthy to be attended with the 
 constant praises of the universal church; worthy of 
 the innermost and uppermost place of my heart, of 
 the best affections I can consecrate to his praise, and 
 the best services I can do to his name; for he was 
 slain, and hath “redeemed us to God by his blood; 
 and hath made us to our God kings and priests. He 
 hath loved us, and washed us from our sins in his 
 own blood;” a note of praise, which the angels 
 themselves cannot sing, though they have many a 
 song to which we are strangers. “ He loved me, 
 and gave himself for me,” to satisfy for my sin, and 
 to obtain eternal redemption for me. Blessed, and 
 
312 
 
 for ever blessed, be the great and holy name of the 
 Lord Jesus—that name which is as ointment poured 
 forth—that name which is above every name, which 
 is worthy of, and yet 46 exalted far above, every bless¬ 
 ing and praise.” 
 
 And whenever we confess that Jesus Christ is 
 Lord, let it always be done to the glory of God the 
 Father. His kindness and love to men was the ori¬ 
 ginal spring, and first wheel in the work of our re¬ 
 demption. It was he that 44 gave his only-begotten 
 Son, delivered him up for us all, and who was in 
 Christ reconciling the world unto himself;” glory, 
 therefore, eternal glory be unto God in the highest, 
 for in Christ there is on earth eternal peace and 
 good-will towards men. God hath in Christ glori¬ 
 fied himself, we must therefore in Christ glorify 
 him, and make all our joys and praises to centre in 
 him. In the day of our rejoicing, this must be the 
 burden of all our songs, Blessed be God for Jesus 
 Christ; thanks be unto God for this unspeakable 
 gift, the foundation of all other gifts. 
 
 Let this holy joy speak encouragement to our¬ 
 selves, cheerfully to proceed in our Christian course. 
 The comfort we have had in our covenant relation 
 to God, and interest in Christ, should put a sweet¬ 
 ness into all our enjoyments, and sanctify them to us. 
 We must see the love of God in them, and taste 
 that he is gracious, and this must make them com¬ 
 forts indeed to us ; see the curse removed from them, 
 see a blessing going along with them, and then 44 go 
 thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine 
 with a merry heart, for God now accepteth thy works.” 
 Have we good ground to hope, that through grace 
 
313 
 
 our works are accepted of God? If we sincerely aim 
 at God’s acceptance, make that our end, and labour 
 for it, with an eye to Christ as Mediator, we may 
 hope that our persons and performances are accepted ; 
 if we accept of God’s works, accept the disposals of 
 his providence, and the offers of his grace, with an 
 humble acquiescence in both, that will be a good 
 evidence that he accepts our works. And if so, 
 we have reason to rejoice with joy unspeakable and 
 fall of glory. €( Eat thy bread with joy,” for it is 
 thy Father’s gift, the bread wherewith the Lord thy 
 God feeds thee in this wilderness, through which he 
 is leading thee to the land of promise; 66 drink thy 
 wine with a merry heart,” remembering Christ’s love 
 more than wine ; what thou hast, though mean and 
 scanty, thou hast it with the blessing of God, which 
 will make the little thou hast, “ better than the 
 riches of many wicked.” 
 
 Rejoice in the Lord now, O my soul, rejoice in 
 him always; having kept his feast with gladness, as 
 Hezekiah and his people did, carry with thee some 
 of the comforts of God’s table to thine own, and there 
 eat thy meat with gladness, as the primitive Chris¬ 
 tians did. Live a life of holy cheerfulness, and the 
 joy of the Lord will be thy strength. 
 
 IV. We should come from this ordinance much 
 quickened to every good work.—Seeing ourselves 
 compassed about here with so great a cloud of wit¬ 
 nesses, bound by so many engagements, invited by so 
 many encouragements, and obliged to God and godli¬ 
 ness by so many ties of duty, interest, and gratitude ; 
 let us “ lay aside every weight, and the sin that most 
 easily besets us,” whatever it is, especially the evil 
 
 O 22 
 
314 
 
 heart of unbelief, which is our great hinderance, and 
 te let us run with patience the race that is set before 
 us, looking unto Jesus.” Let the covenant we have 
 renewed, and the comforts we have received, make 
 us more ready to every good duty, and more lively 
 in it; more active and zealous for the glory of God, 
 the service of our generation, and the welfare and 
 prosperity of our own souls. From what we have 
 seen and done here, we may fetch powerful consi¬ 
 derations to shame us out of our slothfulness and 
 our backwardness to that which is good, and to stir 
 us up to the utmost diligence in our Master’s work. 
 
 When Jacob had received a gracious visit from 
 God, and had made a solemn vow to him, it fol¬ 
 lows, “ Then Jacob went on his way.” The ori¬ 
 ginal phrase is observable: 66 Then Jacob lift up 
 his feet.” After that comfortable night he had at 
 Bethel, knowing himself to be in the way of his duty, 
 he proceeded with a great deal of cheerfulness, that 
 strengthened the weak hands, and confirmed the 
 feeble knees. Thus should our communion with 
 God in the Lord’s Supper enlarge our hearts to run 
 the way of God’s commandments. After such an 
 ordinance we should lift up our feet in the way of 
 God ; that is, as it is said of Jehoshaphat, we should 
 lift up our hearts in those ways, abiding and abound¬ 
 ing in the work of the Lord. 
 
 Rouse up thyself now, my soul, from thy spiri¬ 
 tual slumber; up, and be doing, for the Lord is with 
 thee. Awake, awake, put on thy strength, put 
 forth thy strength, that thou mayest push on thy 
 holy war, thy holy work with vigour; shake thyself 
 from the dust, to which thou hast too much cleaved; 
 
315 
 
 loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, with which 
 thou hast been too much clogged. Meditate more 
 fixedly, pray more earnestly, resist sin more reso¬ 
 lutely, keep Sabbaths more cheerfully, do good 
 more readily. Thou hast heard the sound of a 
 going in the tops of the mulberry trees, plain indi¬ 
 cations of the presence of God with thee, therefore 
 now thou shalt bestir thyself. Let the comforts of 
 this ordinance employ thy wings, that thou mayest 
 soar upwards, upwards towards God ; let them oil thy 
 wheels, that thou mayest press forwards, forwards 
 towards heaven: let God’s gifts to thee stir up his 
 gifts in thee. 
 
 V. We should come from this ordinance with a 
 watchful fear of Satan’s wiles, and a firm resolution 
 to stand our ground against them.——Whatever com¬ 
 fort and enlargement we have had in this ordinance, 
 still we must remember, that we are but girding on 
 the harness, and therefore we have no reason to 
 boast, or be secure, as though we have it put off. 
 When we return to the world again, we must re¬ 
 member, that we go among snares, and must pro¬ 
 vide accordingly; it is our wisdom so to do. 
 
 1. Let us therefore fear. He that travels with 
 a rich treasure about him, is in most danger of being 
 robbed. The ship that is richly laden, is the pirate’s 
 prize. If we come away from the Lord’s table re¬ 
 plenished with the goodness of God’s house, and the 
 riches of his covenant, we must expect the assaults 
 of our spiritual enemies, and not be secure. A strong 
 guard was constantly kept upon the temple, and 
 there needs one upon the living temples. The 
 mystical song represents the bed which is Solomon’s, 
 
 o 2 
 
316 
 
 thus surrounded by valiant men of the valiant of Is¬ 
 rael, 66 because of fear in the night.” The Holy 
 Ghost thus signifying, that believers in this world are 
 in a military state, and the followers of Christ must 
 be his soldiers. They that work the good work of 
 faith, must fight the good fight of faith. 
 
 We must always stand upon our guard, for the 
 goodman of the house knows not at what hour the 
 thief will come; but this we know, that immediately 
 after our Saviour was baptized, and owned by a 
 voice from heaven, “ he was led into the wilderness to 
 be tempted of the devil.” And immediately after he 
 had administered the Lord’s Supper to his disciples, 
 he told them plainly, “ Satan hath desired to have 
 you,” he hath challenged you, “ that he may sift you 
 as wheat;” and what he said to them, he saith to all 
 — <s Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temp¬ 
 tation.” W T e must then double our guard against 
 temptations to rash anger, and study to be more 
 than ordinarily meek and quiet, lest, by the tumults 
 and transports of passion, the Holy Spirit be tempted 
 to withdraw. If we have in this ordinance received 
 Christ Jesus the Lord, let a strict charge be given, 
 like that of the spouse, “ by the roes, and by the 
 hinds of the field, that nothing be said, nothing 
 done to stir up or awake our love until he please.” 
 Peace being spoken, peace made, let us be afraid of 
 every thing that may give disturbance to it. We 
 should also watch against the inroads of worldly cares 
 and fears, lest they make a descent upon us after a 
 sacrament, and spoil us of the comforts we have there 
 received. 
 
 But with a particular care we must watch against 
 
317 
 
 the workings of spiritual pride, after a sacrament. 
 When our Lord Jesus first instituted this ordinance, 
 and made his disciples partakers of it, they were so 
 elevated with the honour of it, that, not content to 
 be all thus great, a contest immediately arose among 
 them, which of them should be greatest. And when 
 St. Paul had been in the third heavens, he was in 
 danger of being “ exalted above measure with the 
 abundance of the revelations.” We therefore have 
 cause to fear lest this dead fly spoil all our precious 
 ointment, and to keep a very strict and jealous eye 
 upon our own hearts, that they be not lifted up with 
 pride, “ lest we fall into the condemnation of the 
 devil.” Let us dread the first risings of self-conceit, 
 and suppress them; for, “ What have we that we 
 have not received ? And if we have received it, 
 why then do we boast?” 
 
 2. Let us therefore fix; and let our hearts be 
 established with the grace here received. What 
 we have done in this ordinance, we must go away 
 firmly resolved to abide by all our days. I am now 
 fixed immoveably for Christ and holiness, against 
 sin and Satan. The matter is settled, never to be 
 called in question again, <fi I will serve the Lord.” 
 The bargain is struck, the knot is tied, the debate 
 is come up to a final resolve; and here I fix, as one 
 steadfastly resolved, with purpose of heart to cleave 
 unto the Lord. No room is left to parley with a 
 temptation; I am a Christian, a confirmed Chris¬ 
 tian, and, by the grace of God, a Christian I will 
 live and die; and therefore, “get thee behind me 
 Satan, thou art an offence unto me.” My resolu¬ 
 tions, in which before 1 wavered and was unsteady, 
 
318 
 
 are now come to a head, and are as a nail in a sure 
 place; I am now at a point, 6( I have opened my 
 mouth unto the Lord, and I cannot go back;” and 
 therefore, by the grace of God, I am determined to 
 go forward, and not so much as look back, or wish 
 for a discharge from those engagements. u I have 
 chosen the way of truth, and therefore in thy strength. 
 Lord, I will stick to thy testimonies.” Now my 
 foot stands in an even place, well shod with the pre¬ 
 paration of the gospel of peace. I am now like a 
 strong man refreshed with wine, resolved to resist 
 the devil, that he may flee from me, and never yield 
 to him. 
 
 VI. We should come from this ordinance pray¬ 
 ing; lifting up our hearts to God in ejaculatory 
 petitions; and retiring, as soon as may be, for solemn 
 prayer.—Not only before, and in the duty, but after 
 it, we have occasion to offer up our desire to God, 
 and bring in strength and grace from him. 
 
 Two things we should be humbly earnest with 
 God in prayer for, after this solemnity, and we are 
 furnished from the mouth of holy David with very 
 emphatical and expressive petitions for them both. 
 We may therefore take with us these words in ad¬ 
 dressing to God:— 
 
 1. We must pray that God will fulfil to us 
 those promises which he was graciously pleased to 
 seal to us in this ordinance. David’s prayer for this 
 is, “ Now, Lord, let the thing that thou hast spoken 
 concerning thy servant, and concerning his house, be 
 established for ever, and do as thou hast said.” 
 God’s promises in the word are designed to be our 
 pleas in prayer; and we receive the grace of God in 
 
319 
 
 them in vain, if we do not make that use of them, 
 and sue out the benefits conveyed and secured by 
 them. These are talents to be traded with, and 
 improved as the guide of our desires, and the ground 
 of our faith in prayer, and we must not hide them 
 in a napkin. Having here taken hold of the cove¬ 
 nant, thus we must take hold on God for covenant 
 mercies. 6i Lord, remember the word unto thy ser¬ 
 vant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope.” 
 Thou hast not only given me the word to hope in, 
 but the heart to hope in it. It is a hope of thy own 
 raising, and thou wilt not destroy, by a disappoint¬ 
 ment, the work of thy own hands. 
 
 Come, therefore, O my soul, come order thy 
 cause before him, and fill thy mouth with arguments. 
 Lord, is not this the word which thou hast spoken, 
 <c Sin shall not have dominion over you, the God of 
 peace shall tread Satan under your feet: There 
 shall no temptation take you but such as is common 
 to men, and the faithful God will never suffer you 
 to be tempted above what you are able?” Lord, be 
 it unto thy servant according to these words. Is 
 not this the word which thou hast spoken, u That 
 all things shall work for good to them that love thee; 
 that thou wilt be to them a God all-sufficient, their 
 shield, and their exceeding great reward; that thou 
 wilt give them grace and glory, and withhold no good 
 thing from them; that thou wilt never fail them, nor 
 forsake them ?” Now, Lord, let those words which 
 thou hast spoken concerning thy servant (and many 
 other the like,) be established for ever, and do as 
 thou hast said; for they are the words upon which 
 thou hast caused me to hope. 
 
320 
 
 2. We must pray, that he enable us to fulfil 
 those promises which we have made to him in this 
 ordinance. David’s prayer for this is, “ O Lord 
 God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, 
 keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts 
 of the hearts of thy people, and prepare, or confirm 
 their hearts unto thee.” Have there been some 
 good affections, good desires, and good resolutions 
 in the imagination of the thoughts of our hearts at 
 this ordinance, some good impressions made upon 
 us, and some good expressions drawn from us by it? 
 We cannot but be sensible how apt we are to lose 
 the good we have wrought, and therefore it is our 
 wisdom by prayer to commit the keeping of it to 
 God, and earnestly to beg of him effectual grace, 
 thoroughly to furnish us for every good word and 
 work, and thoroughly to fortify us against every evil 
 word and work. We made our promises in the 
 strength of the grace of God, that strength we must 
 therefore pray for, that we may be able to make good 
 our promises. Lord, maintain thine own interest in 
 my soul; let thy name be ever hallowed there, thy 
 kingdom come, and thy will be done in my heart, as 
 it is done in heaven. 
 
 When we come away from this ordinance, we re¬ 
 turn to a cooling, tempting, distracting world; as 
 when Moses came down from the mount, where he 
 bad been with God, he found the camp of Israel 
 dancing before the golden calf to his great distur¬ 
 bance. In the midst of such sorrows and such 
 snares as we are compassed about with here, we 
 shall find it no easy matter to preserve the peace and 
 grace which we hope we have obtained at the Lord’s 
 
82 1 
 
 table; we must therefore put ourselves under the 
 divine protection. Methinks it was with an affect¬ 
 ing air of tenderness, that Christ said concerning his 
 disciples, when he was leaving them, “ Now I am 
 no more in the world,” the days of my temptation are 
 at an end; <s but these are in the world,” they have 
 their trial yet before them. What then shall I do 
 for them ? 6i Holy Father, keep through thine own 
 name them which thou hast given me.” That prayer 
 of his was both the great example, and the great en¬ 
 couragement of our prayers. Now, at the close of 
 a sacrament, it is seasonable thus to address ourselves 
 to God: I have not yet put off this body; I am not 
 yet clear of this world ; yet I am a traveller exposed 
 to thieves, yet I am a soldier exposed to enemies. 
 Holy Father, keep through thine own name the 
 graces and comforts thou hast given me; for they 
 are thine. Mine own hands are not sufficient for 
 me; O let thy grace be so, to preserve me to thy 
 heavenly kingdom. 
 
 Immediately after the first administration of the 
 Lord’s Supper, our Saviour, when he had told 
 Peter of Satan’s design upon him, added this com¬ 
 fortable word, <c I have prayed for thee, that thy 
 faith fail not;” and that is it which we must pray 
 for, that this faith, which we think is so strong in 
 the day of its advantage, may not prove weak in 
 the day of its trial; for, as they who would have the 
 benefit of the Spirit’s operation, must strive for them¬ 
 selves; so they that would have the benefit of the 
 Son’s intercession, must pray for themselves. 
 
 VII. We should come from this ordinance with a 
 charitable disposition.—Anciently, the Christians had 
 
 o 3 
 
322 
 
 their love-feasts, or feasts of charity, annexed to the 
 Eucharist; but what needed that, while the Eucha¬ 
 rist itself is a love-feast and a feast of charity ? And 
 surely that heart must be strangely hardened and 
 soured, that can go from under the softening, sweet¬ 
 ening powers of this ordinance in an uncharitable 
 frame. 
 
 The fervent charity which we now should have 
 among ourselves, must be a loving, giving, and for¬ 
 giving charity. Thus it must have its perfect 
 work. 
 
 We must come from this ordinance with a dispo¬ 
 sition to love our fellow-Christians. Here we see 
 how dear they were to Christ, for he purchased 
 them with his own blood ; and from thence we may 
 infer how dear they ought to be, and how near they 
 should lie, to our hearts. Shall I look strangely 
 upon them that have acquaintance with Christ? or 
 be indifferent towards them that he has so much con¬ 
 cern for ? No ; we that are many, being one bread 
 and one body; and having been all made to drink 
 into one Spirit, my heart shall be more closely knit 
 than ever to all the members of that one body, who 
 are quickened and acted by that one Spirit. I have 
 here beheld the beauty of the Lord, and therefore 
 must love his image wherever I see it on his sanc¬ 
 tified ones. I have here joined myself to the Lord 
 in an everlasting covenant, and thereby have joined 
 myself in relation, and consequently in affection, to 
 all those who are in the bond of the same covenant. 
 I have here bound myself to keep Christ’s com¬ 
 mandments, and this is his commandment, “ that 
 we love one another,” and that brotherly love con¬ 
 tinue. 
 
323 
 
 Those from whom we differ in the less weighty 
 matters of the law, though we agree in the great 
 things of God, we should now think of with particu¬ 
 lar thoughts of love and kindness, because from them 
 our minds are most in temptation to be alienated ; 
 and of those to whom we have given the right hand 
 of fellowship in this and in other ordinances, we 
 should likewise be mindful with particular endear¬ 
 ments, because of the particular relation we stand in 
 to them, as our more intimate companions in the 
 kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ. Yea, after 
 such an ordinance as this, our catholic charity must 
 be more warm and affectionate, more active, strong, 
 and steadfast, and more victorious over the difficulties 
 and oppositions it meets with; and, as the apostle 
 speaks, we should “ increase and abound in love one 
 towards another, and towards all men;” and in all 
 the fruits and instances of that love. 
 
 We must come from this ordinance with a dispo¬ 
 sition to give to the poor and necessitous, according 
 as our ability and opportunity is. It is the laudable 
 custom of the churches of Christ, to close the admi¬ 
 nistration of this ordinance with a collection for the 
 poor; to which we ought to contribute our share, not 
 grudgingly or of necessity, but with a single eye and 
 a willing mind, that our alms may be sanctified and 
 accepted of God; and not only to this, but to all 
 other acts of charity, we must be more forward and 
 free after a sacrament. Though our Saviour lived 
 upon alms himself, yet, out of the little he had, he 
 gave alms to the poor, particularly at the feast of the 
 passover, to set us an example. Days of rejoicing 
 and thanksgiving (and such our sacrament days are) 
 
324 
 
 used to be thus solemnized; for when we <c eat the 
 fat, and drink the sweet ourselves, we must send por¬ 
 tions unto them for whom nothing is prepared,” that 
 when our souls are blessing God, the loins of the poor 
 may bless us. If our hearts have here been opened 
 to Christ, we must evidence they are so by being 
 open-handed to poor Christians; for, since our good¬ 
 ness cannot extend to him, it is his will that it should 
 extend to them. If we have here in sincerity given 
 ourselves to God, we have, with ourselves, devoted 
 all we have to his service and honour, to be employed 
 and laid out for him; and thus we must testify that 
 we have heartily consented to that branch of the 
 surrender, “ As we have opportunity, we must do 
 good to all men, especially to them that are of the 
 household of faith : remembering that we are but 
 stewards of the manifold grace of God.” If our 
 prayers have here come up for a memorial before 
 God, as Cornelius’, our alms, like his, must accom¬ 
 pany them. We have seen here how much we owe 
 to God’s pity and bounty towards us: having there¬ 
 fore obtained mercy, we ought to show mercy; know¬ 
 ing the grace of the Lord Jesus, “ that though he 
 was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor, that we 
 through his poverty might be rich.” 
 
 We must come from this ordinance with a dispo¬ 
 sition to forgive those that have been provoking and 
 injurious to us. Our approach to the sacrament 
 made it necessary for us to forgive, but our atten¬ 
 dance on it should make it even natural for us to 
 forgive; and our experience there is of God’s mercy 
 and grace to us, should conquer all the difficulty and 
 reluctancy which we are conscious to ourselves of 
 
325 
 
 therein, and make it as easy to forgive our enemies 
 as it is to forgive ourselves, when at any time we 
 have had a quarrel with ourselves. That which 
 makes it hard to forgive, and puts an edge upon our 
 resentments, is the magnifying of the affronts we 
 have received, and the losses we have sustained. 
 Now, in this ordinance, we have had honours put 
 upon us sufficient to balance all those affronts, and 
 benefits bestowed on us sufficient to countervail all 
 those losses; so that we may well afford to forgive 
 and forget both. With ourselves we have offered 
 up to God our names, estates, and all our interests; 
 in compliance therefore with the will of God, (that 
 God who bids Shimei curse David, and who took 
 away from Job that which the Sabeans aud Chal¬ 
 deans robbed him of,) we must not only bear with 
 patience the damage we sustain in those concerns, 
 but must be charitably affected towards those that 
 have been the instruments of that damage, knowing 
 that men are in God’s hand, and to his hand we 
 must always submit. 
 
 But the great argument for the forgiving of in¬ 
 juries, when we come from the table of the Lord, 
 is taken from the pardons God hath in Christ there 
 sealed to us. The jubilee trumpet which proclaimed 
 releases, sounded at the close of the day of atone¬ 
 ment. Is God reconciled to us? Let us then be 
 more firmly than ever reconciled to our brethren. 
 Let the death of Christ, which we have here com¬ 
 memorated, not only slay all enmities, but take down 
 all partition walls; not only forbid revenge, but re¬ 
 move strangeness; and let all our feuds and quarrels 
 be buried in his grave. Hath our Master forgiven 
 
3%6 
 
 us that great debt, and a very great debt it was, and 
 ought we not then to have compassion <c on our 
 fellow-servants ?” Let us, therefore, who have in 
 this ordinance put on the Lord Jesus Christ, put 
 on, 6< as becomes the elect of God, holy and beloved, 
 bowels of mercies and kindness, inclining us to for¬ 
 give; humbleness of mind and meekness,” enabling 
 us to conquer that pride and passion which object 
 against our forgiving; and if any man have a quarrel 
 against any, it may be passed by, as God for Christ’s 
 sake hath forgiven us. 
 
 VIII. We should come from this ordinance long¬ 
 ing for heaven.-—Every good Christian lives in the 
 belief of the life everlasting, which God, that cannot 
 lie, hath promised, looking for the blessed hope; and 
 doubtless much of the power of godliness consists in 
 the joyful expectation of the glory to be revealed. 
 But though we should look upon ourselves as hea¬ 
 thens if we did not believe it, and as desperate if we 
 had not some hopes of it; yet we have all reason 
 to lament it, as not only our infelicity, but our ini¬ 
 quity, that our desires towards it are so weak and 
 feeble. We are too apt to take up our rest here, 
 and wish we might live always on this earth ; and 
 we need something to make us hunger and thirst 
 after that perfect righteousness, that crown of right¬ 
 eousness, with which only we shall be filled. For 
 this good end the Lord’s Supper is very improvable, 
 to hasten us towards the land of promise, and carry 
 out our souls in earnest breathings after the felicity 
 of our future state. 
 
 The complaints we find cause to exhibit at this 
 ordinance, should make us long for heaven; for 
 
327 
 
 whatever is defective and uneasy here, we shall be 
 for ever freed from when we come to heaven. When 
 here we set ourselves to contemplate the beauty of 
 God and the love of Christ, we find ourselves in a 
 cloud, we see but through a glass darkly; let us 
 therefore long to be there where the veil shall be 
 rent, the glasses we now make use of laid aside, and 
 we shall not only see face to face, but, which will 
 yield us more satisfaction, we shall see how we are 
 seen, and know how we are known. When here 
 we would soar upwards upon the wings of love, we 
 find ourselves clogged and pinioned; this immortal 
 spirit is caged in a house of clay, and doth but flutter 
 at the best. Let us therefore long to be there, 
 where we shall be perfectly delivered from all the in¬ 
 cumbrances of a body of flesh, and all the entangle¬ 
 ments of a world of sense; and love, in its highest 
 elevations, and utmost enlargements, shall survive 
 both faith and hope. When here we would fix for 
 God, and join ourselves closely to him, we find our¬ 
 selves apt to wander, apt to waver, and should there¬ 
 fore long to be there, where our love to God will 
 be no longer love in motion, constant motion, as it 
 is here, but love at rest, an everlasting rest. Here 
 we complain, that, through the infirmity of the flesh, 
 we are soon weary of well-doing; and, if the spirit 
 be willing, yet the flesh is weak, and cannot keep 
 pace with it; but there we shall run and not be weary, 
 we shall walk and not faint; and shall not rest, be¬ 
 cause we shall not need to rest day nor night from 
 praising God. O when shall I come to that world 
 where there is neither sin, nor sorrow, nor snare; and 
 to the spirits of just men made perfect there, who 
 are as the angels of God in heaven ! 
 
328 
 
 The comforts which through grace we experience 
 in this ordinance, should make us long for heaven. 
 The foretastes of those divine joys should whet our 
 appetites after the full fruition of them. The bunch 
 of grapes that meets us in this wilderness should 
 make us long to be in Canaan, that land of over¬ 
 flowing plenty, where we shall wash our garments 
 in this wine, and our clothes in the blood of the 
 grape. If communion with God and grace here 
 afford us such a satisfaction, as surpasseth all the 
 delights of the sons of men, what will the fulness of 
 joy be in God’s presence, and those pleasures for 
 ever more? If the shadows of good things to come 
 be so refreshing, what will the substance be, and the 
 good things themselves? If God’s tabernacles be 
 so amiable, what will his temple be? If a day at 
 his courts, an hour at his table, be so pleasant, what 
 then will an eternity within the vail be? If I find 
 myself so enriched with the earnest of the purchased 
 possession, what then will the possession itself be ? 
 If the joy of my Lord, as I am here capable of re¬ 
 ceiving it, and as it is mixed with so much alloy in 
 this imperfect state, be so comfortable, what will it 
 be when 1 shall enter into that joy, and bathe my¬ 
 self eternally in the spring-head of these rivers of 
 pleasure ? 
 
 Pant then, my soul, pant after those fountains of 
 living water, out of which all these sweet streams 
 arise; that boundless bottomless ocean of delight 
 into which they all run. Rest not content with 
 any of the contentments here below; no, not with 
 those in holy ordinances, (which are of all others 
 the best we meet with in this wilderness,) but long 
 
329 
 
 for the enjoyments above in the vision of God. It 
 is good to be here, but it is better to be there; far 
 better to depart, and be with Christ. Whilst thou 
 art groaning under the burdens of this present state, 
 groan after the glorious liberties of the children of 
 God in the future state. Thirst for God, for the 
 living God: O when shall I come and appear before 
 God? That the day may break, and the shadows 
 flee away, 6( make haste, my beloved, and be thou 
 like to a roe or to a young hart upon the mountains 
 of spices.” 
 
830 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 An Exhortation to order the Conversation aright 
 
 after this Ordinance, 
 
 I. In general, we must live so as to adorn our profession. II. 
 To fulfil our engagements. III. To make grateful returns for 
 favours shown us. IV. To preserve the comforts we have 
 tasted. V. To evidence our communion with God. 1. In 
 particular, we must be—sincerely devout and pious. 2. Con¬ 
 scientiously just and honest. 3. Religiously meek and peace¬ 
 able. 4. Strictly sober and chaste. 5 . Abundantly charitable 
 and beneficent. 6. More weaned from this world, and more 
 taken up with another. 
 
 We will now suppose the new moon to be gone, the 
 Sabbath to be past, and the solemnities of the sacra¬ 
 ment-day to be over; and is our work now done? 
 No: now the most needful and difficult part of our 
 work begins; which is, to maintain such a constant 
 watch over ourselves, as that we may, in the whole 
 course of our conversation, exemplify the blessed 
 fruits and effects of our communion with God in this 
 ordinance. When we come down from this mount, 
 we must, as Moses did, bring the tables of the testi¬ 
 mony with us in our hands, that we may in all things 
 have respect to God’s commandments, and frame our 
 lives according to them. Then we truly get good 
 by this ordinance, when we are made better by it, 
 and use it daily as a bridle of restraint to keep us in 
 from all manner of sin, and a spur of constraint to put 
 us on to all manner of duty. 
 
33 1 
 
 I shall endeavour, first, to give some general rules 
 for the right ordering of the conversation after we 
 have been at the Lord’s Supper; and then, secondly, 
 I shall instance, in some particulars, wherein we must 
 study to conform ourselves to the intentions of that 
 ordinance, and abide under the influence of it. 
 
 For the first, the Lord’s Supper was instituted 
 not only for the solemnizing of the memorial of 
 Christ’s death at certain times, but for the preserving 
 of the remembrance of it in our minds at all times, 
 as a powerful argument against every thing that is 
 ill, and a prevailing inducement to every thing that 
 is good; in this sense we must 66 bear about with us 
 continually the dying of the Lord Jesus, so as that 
 the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal 
 bodies.” It was instituted, not only for the sealing 
 of the covenant, that it may be ratified, but for the 
 imprinting of it upon our minds, that we may be ever 
 mindful of the covenant, and live under the com¬ 
 manding power of it. 
 
 We must see to it, that there be an agreement 
 between our performances at the Lord’s table; and, 
 at other times, that we be uniform in our religion, 
 and not guilty of a self-contradiction. What will it 
 profit us, if we pull down with one hand what we 
 build up with the other ? and undo in our lives what 
 we have done in our devotions ? That we may not 
 do so, let us be ruled by these rules:— 
 
 I. Our conversation must be such, as that we may 
 adorn the profession which in the Lord’s Supper we 
 have made.—We have in that ordinance solemnly 
 owned ourselves the disciples and followers of the 
 Lord Jesus; we have done ourselves the honour to 
 
S3°2 
 
 subscribe ourselves his humble servants, and he hath 
 done us the honour to admit us into his family; and 
 now we are concerned to walk worthy of the vocation 
 wherewith we are called; that, our relation to Christ 
 being so much an honour to us, we may never be a 
 dishonour to it. We are said to be taken into co¬ 
 venant with God for this very end, that we may be 
 unto him for <c a name, and for a praise, and for a 
 glory, 5 ’ that we may be witnesses for him, and for 
 the honour of his name among men. 
 
 We must therefore be very cautious, that we never 
 say or do any thing to the reproach of the gospel, 
 and Christ’s holy religion, or which may give any 
 occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme. 
 If those that profess to be devout towards God, be 
 unjust and dishonest towards men, this casts reproach 
 upon devotion, as if that would consist with, and 
 countenance immorality. If those who call themselves 
 Christians walk as other Gentiles walk, and do Sa¬ 
 tan’s drudgery in Christ’s livery, Christianity suffers 
 by it, and religion is wounded in the house of her 
 friends. Injuries are done which cannot be repaired; 
 and those will have a great deal to answer for another 
 day, for whose sakes the name of God and his doc¬ 
 trine are thus evil spoken of. By our coming to 
 the Lord’s Supper, we distinguish ourselves from 
 those whose profession of Christianity, by their being 
 baptized in infancy, seems to be more their chance 
 than their choice ; and, by a voluntary act of our 
 own, we surname ourselves by the name of Israel: 
 now, if, after we have thus distinguished ourselves, 
 and so raised the expectations of our neighbours from 
 us, we do that which is unbecoming the character we 
 
333 
 
 bear; if we be vain, and carnal, and intemperate; if 
 we be false and unfair, cruel and unmerciful, what will 
 the Egyptians say ? They will say, commend us to 
 the children of this world, if these be the children of 
 God; for what do they more than others ? Men’s 
 prejudices against religion are hereby confirmed, ad¬ 
 vantage is given to Satan’s devices, and the genera¬ 
 tion of the righteous is condemned for the sake of 
 those who are spots in their feasts of charity. Let 
 us therefore always be jealous for the reputation of 
 our profession, and afraid of doing that which may 
 in the least be a blemish to it; and the greater pro¬ 
 fession we make, the more tender let us be of it, be¬ 
 cause we have the more eyes upon us, that watch 
 for our halting; when we do good, we must remem¬ 
 ber the apostle’s caution, 44 Let not your good be evil 
 spoken of.” 
 
 We must also be very studious to do that which 
 will redound to the credit of our profession. It is 
 not enough that we be not a scandal to religion, but 
 we must strive to be an ornament to it, by excelling 
 in virtue, and being forward to every good work. 
 Our light must shine as the face of Moses did, when 
 he came down from the mount; that is, our good 
 works must be such, as that they who see them may 
 give religion their good word, and thereby 44 glorify 
 our Father which is in heaven.” 44 Our conversa¬ 
 tion must be as becomes the gospel of Jesus Christ,” 
 that they who will not be won by the word, may be 
 won by it to say, 44 We will go with you, for we have 
 heard that God is with you. If there be any virtue, 
 if there be any praise, more amiable and lovely than 
 another, let us think on these things.” Are we 
 
334 
 
 children ? Let us walk as obedient children, well 
 taught, and well managed. Are we soldiers ? Let 
 us approve ourselves good soldiers, well trained and 
 well disciplined; so shall we do honour to him that 
 hath called us. If God’s Israel carefully keep and 
 do his statutes, it will be said of them to their honour 
 among the nations, 66 Surely they are a wise and un¬ 
 derstanding people.” And this will redound to the 
 honour of Christ; for thus wisdom is justified of her 
 children. 
 
 II. Our conversation must be such, as that we may 
 fulfil the engagements which at the Lord’s Supper 
 we have laid ourselves under.—Having at God’s 
 altar sworn that we will keep his righteous judgments, 
 we must conscientiously perform it in all the instances 
 of a holy, righteous, and sober conversation. The 
 vows we have made, express or implicit, must be 
 carefully made good by a constant watchfulness 
 against all sin, and a constant diligence in all duty; 
 because, “ better it is not to vow, than to vow and 
 not to pay.” 
 
 When we are at any time tempted to sin, or in 
 danger of being surprised into any ill thing, let this be 
 our reply to the tempter, and with this let us quench 
 his fiery darts, <c Thy vows are upon me, O God.” 
 Lid I not say, “ I would take heed to my ways, that 
 I sin not with my tongue ?” I did say so, and there¬ 
 fore (i I will keep my mouth as with a bridle.” Lid 
 1 not make “ a covenant with mine eyes?” I did; 
 that therefore shall be to me a covering of the eyes, 
 that they may never be either the inlets or outlets 
 of sin. Lid I not say, “ I will not transgress ?” I 
 did so; and therefore, by the grace of God, I will 
 
335 
 
 (( abstain from all appearance of evil, and have no 
 fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness.” 
 An honest man is as good as his word. 
 
 When we begin to grow slothful and careless in 
 our duty, backward to it, and slight in it, let this stir 
 up the gift that is in us, and quicken us to every 
 good word and work: “ O my soul, thou hast said 
 unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord;” thou hast said 
 it with the blood of Christ in thy hand; “ he is thy 
 Lord then, and worship thou him.” 66 When a lion 
 in the way, a lion in the streets,” deters us from any 
 duty, and we “ cannot plough by reason of cold, nor 
 sow or reap for fear of winds and clouds,” let this 
 help us over the difficulty with a steady resolution— 
 It is what I have promised, and I must perform it; 
 I will not, I dare not, be false to my God and my 
 covenant with him : “ I have opened my mouth unto 
 the Lord, and, without incurring the guilt of per¬ 
 jury, I cannot go back.” 
 
 III. Our conversation must be such, as that we may 
 make some grateful returns for the favours which we 
 have here received.—The law of gratitude is one of 
 the laws of nature; for the ox knows his owner, and 
 the ass his master’s crib : and some have thought that 
 all our gospel-duty may very fitly be comprised in that 
 of gratitude to our Redeemer. In the Lord’s Sup¬ 
 per we see what Christ hath done for us, and we re¬ 
 ceive what he bestows on us; and, in consideration 
 of both, we must set ourselves, not only to love and 
 praise him, hut to walk before him in the land of the 
 living; that though we cannot return him any equi¬ 
 valent for his kindness, yet, by complying with his 
 will, and consulting his honour, we may show that 
 
336 
 
 we bear a grateful mind, and would render again 
 according to the benefit done unto us. 
 
 By wilful sin after a sacrament, we load ourselves 
 with the guilt, not only of treachery, but of base in¬ 
 gratitude. It was aggravation of Solomon’s apos- 
 tacy, that “ he turned from the Lord God of Israel, 
 which had appeared unto him twice.” More than 
 twice, yea, many a time hath God appeared, not 
 only for us in his providences, but to us in his ordi¬ 
 nances, manifesting himself in a distinguishing way 
 to us, and not unto the world; now, if we carry our¬ 
 selves strangely to him who hath been such a friend 
 to us, if we affront him who hath so favoured us, 
 and rebel against him who hath not only spared but 
 ransomed us, we deserve to be stigmatized with a 
 mark of everlasting infamy, as the most ungrateful 
 wretches that ever God’s earth bore, or his sun shone 
 upon. Foolish people and unwise are we, thus to 
 requite the Lord. Let us therefore reason thus 
 with ourselves, when at any time we are tempted to 
 sin:—after he hath given us such a deliverance as 
 this, shall we again break his commandments ? Shall 
 we spit in the face, and spurn at the bowels of such 
 loving kindness ? After we have eaten bread with 
 Christ, shall we go and lift up the heel against him ? 
 No, God forbid; we will not continue in sin after 
 grace has thus abounded. 
 
 By an exact and exemplary conversation, we show 
 ourselves sensible of the mighty obligations we lie 
 under to love him, and live to him who loved us, 
 and died for us; we should, therefore, from a prin¬ 
 ciple of gratitude, always abound in the work of the 
 Lord, and lay out ourselves with zeal and cheerful- 
 
337 
 
 ness in his service; thinking nothing too much to 
 do, too hard to suffer, or too dear to part with, for 
 him that hath done and suffered, and parted with so 
 much for us. Let the love of Christ constrain us. 
 
 IV. Our conversation must be such, as that we 
 may preserve the comforts which we have tasted in 
 the Lord’s Supper.—Have we been satisfied with 
 the goodness of God’s house? Let us not receive 
 the grace of God therein in vain, by the forfeiture 
 or neglect of those satisfactions. Fear the Lord 
 and his goodness; that is, fear lest you sin against 
 that goodness, and so sin it away. Have we re¬ 
 ceived Christ Jesus the Lord? Let us hold fast 
 what we have received, that no man take our crown, 
 and the comfort of it. Hath God here spoken 
 peace to us? Let us then never return to folly, 
 lest we break in upon that peace God hath spoken; 
 it is a jewel too precious to be pawned, as it is by 
 the covetous for the wealth of this world, and by the 
 voluptuous for the pleasures of the flesh. Have we 
 tasted that the Lord is gracious ? Let us not put 
 our mouths out of taste to those spiritual and divine 
 pleasures, by any carnal delights and gratifications. 
 Hath God made us to hear joy and gladness? Let 
 us not set ourselves out of the hearing of that joyful 
 sound, by listening to the voice of Satan’s charms, 
 charm he ever so wisely. 
 
 If we walk loosely and carelessly after a sacra¬ 
 ment, we provoke God to hide his face from us, to 
 take from us the cup of consolation, and to put into 
 our hands instead of it the cup of trembling; we 
 cloud our evidences, shake our hopes, and wither 
 
 P 22 
 
338 
 
 our comfort, and undo what we have been doing at 
 this ordinance. That caution, therefore, which the 
 apostle gives to the elect lady and her children, 
 should be ever sounding in our ears, (i Look to our¬ 
 selves, that we lose not the things which we have 
 wrought;’’ or, as the margin reads it, 66 the things 
 that we have gained.” Let us not, by our own 
 folly and neglect, lose the benefit of what we have 
 done, and what we have got at the Lord’s table. 
 
 Especially, we should take heed lest Satan get an 
 advantage against us, and improve that to our pre¬ 
 judice which we do not take due care to improve as 
 we ought to our benefit. After the sop, Satan en¬ 
 tered into Judas. If the comforts which we think 
 we have received in this ordinance do not make us 
 more watchful, it is well if they do not make us 
 more secure. If they be not a savour of life unto 
 life, by deterring us from sin, there is danger lest 
 they prove a savour of death unto death, by harden¬ 
 ing us in sin. It was one of the most impudent 
 words which that adulterous woman spoke, and she 
 spoke a great many, when she allured the young 
 man into her snares: 66 I have peace-offerings with 
 me this day, I have paid my vows, therefore came I 
 forth to meet thee.” I have confessed, and been 
 absolved, and therefore can the better afford to begin 
 upon a new score; I know the worst of it; it is but 
 being confessed and absolved again. But shall we 
 continue in sin, because grace hath abounded, and 
 that grace may abound? God forbid; far be it, far 
 be it from us ever to entertain such a thought. 
 Shall we suck poison out of the balm of Gilead, and 
 split our souls upon the rock of salvation ? Is 
 
339 
 
 Christ the minister of sin ? Shall the artifices of 
 our spiritual enemies turn this table into a snare, 
 and that on it, which should be for our welfare, into 
 a trap ? Those are but pretended comforts in Christ, 
 that are thus made real supports in sin: “ Be not 
 deceived, God is not mocked.” Hell will be hell 
 indeed to those who thus “ trample under foot the 
 blood of the covenant as an unholy thing, and do 
 despite to the Spirit of grace.” Their case is des¬ 
 perate indeed, that are emboldened in sin by their 
 approaches to God. 
 
 V. Our conversation must be such, as that we may 
 evidence the communion we have had with God in 
 Christ at the Lord’s table.—It is not enough to say 
 that we have fellowship with him; the vilest hypo¬ 
 crites pretend to that honour; but, by walking in 
 darkness, they disprove their pretensions, and give 
 themselves the lie. We must therefore show that 
 we have fellowship with him, by walking in the light, 
 and as he also walked. By keeping up communion 
 with God in providences, having our eyes ever to¬ 
 wards him, and acknowledging him in all our ways; 
 receiving all our comforts as the gifts of his bounty, 
 and bearing our afflictions as his fatherly chastise¬ 
 ments,—we evidence that we have had communion 
 with him in ordinances. They that converse much 
 with scholars, evidence it by the tongue of the learned; 
 as one may likewise discover by the politeness and 
 refinedness of a man’s air and mien, that his conver¬ 
 sation hath been much with persons of quality: thus 
 they that have communion with the holy God, should 
 make it appear in all holy conversation, not suffering 
 any corrupt communication to proceed out of their 
 
 p 2 
 
340 
 
 mouth, but abounding in that which is good, and to 
 the use of edifying, that, by our speech and beha¬ 
 viour, it may appear to w'hat country we belong. 
 
 When Peter and John acquitted themselves be¬ 
 fore the council with such a degree of conduct and 
 assurance, as one could not have expected from un¬ 
 learned and ignorant men, not acquainted with courts, 
 or camps, or academies; it is said, that they who 
 marvelled at it, <s took knowledge of them that they 
 had been with Jesus,” And from those who had 
 been with Jesus, who had followed him, sat at his 
 feet, and eaten bread with him, very great things 
 might be expected. In this ordinance we have been 
 with Jesus, we have been seeing his beauty, and 
 tasting his sweetness; and now we should live so, as 
 that all who converse with us may discern it, and by 
 our holy, heavenly converse, may take knowledge of 
 us that we have been with Jesus. 
 
 For the second thing proposed, let us instance, in 
 some particulars, wherein we ought, in a special man¬ 
 ner, to approve ourselves well after this solemnity, 
 that, “ as we have received Jesus Christ the Lord, 
 we may so walk in him.” 
 
 After we have been admitted into communion 
 with God, and have renewed our covenants with him 
 at his table, it behooves us to be careful in these six 
 things:— 
 
 1. We must see to it, that we be sincerely devout 
 and pious. It is not enough that we live soberly 
 and righteously, but we must live godly, in this pre¬ 
 sent world, and our sacramental engagements should 
 stir us up to abound therein more and more. After 
 an interview with our friends, by which mutual ac- 
 
341 
 
 quaintance is improved, and mutual affections con¬ 
 firmed, we are more constant and endearing in our 
 correspondence with each other; so we should be 
 with God after this ordinance, more frequent in holy 
 ejaculations, and breathings of soul towards God, 
 intermixed even with common business and conver¬ 
 sation ; more abundant in reading, meditation, and 
 solemn prayer; more diligent in our attendances on 
 public ordinances, more fixed and enlarged in closet 
 devotions, and more lively and affectionate in our 
 family worship. Those religious exercises wherein 
 we have formerly been remiss and careless, easily 
 persuaded to put them by, or put them off, we should 
 now be more constant to, and more careful in, more 
 close in our application to them, and more serious in 
 our performance of them. 
 
 If we have indeed found that it is good for us to 
 draw near to God, we will endeavour to keep near 
 him, so near him, as upon every occasion to speak 
 to him, and to hear from him. If this sacrament 
 has been our delight, the word will be our delight, 
 and we will daily converse with it; prayer will be 
 our delight, and we will give ourselves to it, and 
 continue instant in it. They that have been feasted 
 upon the sacrifice of atonement, ought to abound in 
 sacrifices of acknowledgment, the spiritual sacrifices 
 of prayer and praise, and a broken heart, which are 
 acceptable to God through Christ Jesus; and having 
 in our flock a male, we must offer that, and not a 
 corrupt thing. 
 
 It is the shame of many who are called Chris¬ 
 tians, and have a name and a place in God’s family, 
 that they are as backward and indifferent in holy 
 
342 
 
 duties, as if they were afraid of doing too much for 
 God and their own souls, and as if their chief care 
 were to know just how much will serve to bring 
 them to heaven, that they may do no more. They 
 can be content to go a mile, but they are not willing 
 to go twain. And doth it become those on whom 
 God hath sown so plentifully, to make their returns 
 so sparingly? Ought we not rather to inquire what 
 free-will offerings we may bring to God’s altar; 
 and how we may do more in religion than we have 
 used to do? They that have found what a good table 
 God keeps, and how welcome they have been to it, 
 should desire to dwell in his house all the days of 
 their life; and blessed are they that do so, “ they 
 will be still praising him.” 
 
 2. We must see to it, that we be conscientiously 
 just and honest. We not only contradict our pro¬ 
 fession, and give ourselves the lie, but we reproach 
 the religion we profess, and give it the lie, if, after 
 we have been at this sacrament, we deceive or de¬ 
 fraud our brethren in any matter; for this is that 
 which the Lord our God requires of us, that we do 
 justly; that is, that we never do wrong to any, in 
 their body, goods, or good name; and that we ever 
 study to render to all their due, according to the re¬ 
 lation we stand in, and the obligation we lie under 
 to them. That, therefore, which is altogether just 
 (“ justice, justice,” as the word is,) “ thou shalt 
 follow.” There are many who make no great pre¬ 
 tensions to religion, and yet natural conscience, sense 
 of honour, and a regard to the common good, keep 
 them Strictly just in'all their dealings, and they 
 would r scorn to do a base and dishonest thing; and 
 
343 
 
 shall not the bonds of this ordinance, added to those 
 inducements, restrain us from every thing that hath 
 but the appearance of fraud and injustice ? A Chris¬ 
 tian, a communicant, and yet a cheat! Yet a man 
 not to be trusted, not to be dealt with, but standing 
 on one’s guard ! How can these be reconciled ? 
 Will that man be true to his God whom he hath 
 not seen, that is false to his brother whom he hath 
 seen ? Shall he be intrusted with the true riches, 
 that is “ not faithful in the unrighteous mammon ?” 
 
 Let the remembrance of our sacramental vows be 
 always fresh in our minds, to give check to those 
 secret covetings, which are the springs of all frau- 
 dulent practices. I have disclaimed the world for a 
 portion: shall I then, for the compassing of a little 
 of its forbidden gain, wrong my brother, to whom I 
 ought to do good; wrong my profession, which I 
 ought to adorn; and wrong my own conscience, which 
 I ought to keep void of offence? God forbid ! I 
 have likewise renounced the hidden things of dis¬ 
 honesty, and promised not to walk in craftiness; 
 fi< by the grace of God, I will therefore ever have 
 my conversation in the world, in simplicity and godly 
 sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom.” They that are 
 so well skilled in the arts of deceit, as to save them¬ 
 selves from the scandal of it, and to be able to say 
 with Ephraim, though he had the balances of deceit 
 in his hands, “ In all my labours, they shall find no 
 iniquity in me that were sinyet cannot thereby 
 save themselves from the guilt of it, and the ruin 
 that attends it; for doubtless i( the Lord is the aven¬ 
 ger of all such.” Those that cheat their neighbours, 
 cannot cheat their God, but will prove in the end 
 
344 
 
 to have cheated themselves into everlasting misery; 
 and “ what is man profited, if he gain the whole 
 %orld, and lose his own soul ?” 
 
 3. We must see to it, that we be religiously 
 meek and peaceable. We must not only come from 
 this ordinance in a calm and quiet frame, but we 
 must always keep ourselves in such a frame. By 
 the meekness and gentleness of Christ, (which the 
 apostle mentions as a most powerful charm,) let us be 
 wrought upon to be always meek and gentle, as those 
 that have learned of him. The storms of passion 
 that are here laid, must never be suffered to make 
 head again; nor must the enmities that are here 
 slain, ever be revived. Having eaten of this gospel 
 passover, we must all our life long keep the feast, 
 without the 46 leaven of malice and wickedness.” 
 Having been feasted at wisdom’s table, we must 
 always abide under the conduct and influence of that 
 wisdom, which is 44 first pure, and then peaceable, 
 gentle, and easy to be entreated.” God was greatly 
 displeased with those that, after they released their 
 bond-servants, according to the law, recalled their 
 releases, and brought them into subjection again. 
 And so will he be with those who seem to set aside 
 their quarrels when they come to the sacrament, but, 
 as soon as the pang of their devotion is over, the 
 heat of their passion returns, and they resume their 
 quarrels, and revive all their angry resentments; 
 thereby making it to appear, that they did never truly 
 forgive, and therefore were never forgiven of God. 
 
 Let those that have had communion with God in 
 this ordinance, be able to appeal to their relations 
 and domestics, and all they converse with concern- 
 
345 
 
 ing this; and to vouch them for witnesses, that they 
 have mastered their passions, and are grown more 
 mild and quiet in their families than sometimes they 
 have been; and that even when they are most pro¬ 
 voked, they know both how to hear reason, and how 
 to speak it. Whatever others do, let us never give 
 occasion to the enemies of the Lord to say, that the 
 seriousness of religion makes men sour and morose, 
 and that zeal in devotion disposeth the mind to pee¬ 
 vishness and passion; but let us evidence the contrary, 
 that the grace of God doth indeed make men good- 
 natured, and that the pleasures of serious godliness 
 make men truly cheerful and easy to all about them. 
 Having been here sealed ts to the day of redemption, 
 let us not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,” that 
 blessed dove; and that we may now “ let all bitter¬ 
 ness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil¬ 
 speaking, be put away from us, with all malice.” 
 
 4. We must see to it, that we be strictly sober 
 and chaste. Gluttony, and drunkenness, and fleshly 
 lusts, are as great a reproach as can be to those that 
 profess relation to Christ, and the expectation of 
 eternal life. It becomes those that have been feasted 
 at the table of the Lord, and have there tasted the 
 pleasures of the spiritual and divine life, to be dead 
 to all the delights of sense, and to make it appear 
 that they are so, by a holy indifferency to them. 
 Let not the flesh be indulged to the prejudice of the 
 spirit, nor provision made for the fulfilling of the 
 lusts thereof. Have we been entertained with the 
 dainties of heaven ? Let us not be desirous of the 
 dainties of sense, nor solicitous to have the appetite 
 gratified, and all our enjoyments to the highest de- 
 
 P 3 
 
346 
 
 gree pleasing. When our Lord had instituted his 
 Supper, and gave this cup of blessing to his disciples, 
 he added, “ I will not drink henceforth of this fruit 
 of the vine. ,, Now welcome the bitter cup, the 
 vinegar, and the gall; teaching us after a sacrament 
 to sit more loose than before to bodily delights, and 
 to be better reconciled to hardships and disappoint¬ 
 ments in them. It was the sin and shame of the 
 Israelites in the wilderness, that while they were fed 
 with manna, angels’ food, they lusted, saying, “ Who 
 will give us flesh to eat?” And they sin after the 
 similitude of that transgression, who, when they had 
 eaten of the bread of life, and drank of the water of 
 life, yet continue to be as curious and careful about 
 their meat and drink, as if they knew no better 
 things, and had their happiness bound up in them ; 
 as if the kingdom of God were in this sense meat 
 and drink, and a Turkish paradise were their heaven. 
 Surely they that are of this spirit serve not our 
 Lord Christ, but their own bellies. 
 
 But if they thus shame themselves who indulge 
 the flesh, though their reason remaineth with them; 
 what shall we think of those who, by their intemper¬ 
 ance, put themselves quite out of possession of their 
 own souls, unfit themselves for the service of God, 
 and level themselves with the beasts ? A Christian, 
 a communicant, and yet a tippler, a drunkard, and a 
 companion with those that run to this excess of riot! 
 This, this is the sin that hath been the scandal and 
 ruin of many who, having begun in the spirit, have 
 thus ended in the flesh; this is that which hath 
 quenched the Spirit, hardened the heart, besotted 
 the head, debauched the cMiscieneej withered ttlfe 
 
347 
 
 profession, and so hath slain its thousands, and its 
 ten thousands. Against this sin, therefore, the 
 Lord’s prophet must cry aloud, and not spare; of 
 the danger of this, the watchmen are concerned to 
 give warning; and dare those who partake <e of the 
 cup of the Lord, drink of the cup of devils?” Can 
 there be so much concord between light and dark¬ 
 ness, between Christ and Belial? No, there can¬ 
 not; these are contrary, the one to the other. If 
 men’s communicating will not break them off from 
 their drunkenness, their drunkenness must break 
 them off from communicating; for these are spots in 
 our feasts of charity; and, if God be true, “ drunk¬ 
 ards shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” Let 
 me, therefore, with all earnestness, as one that de¬ 
 sires to obtain mercy of the Lord to be faithful, warn 
 ' all that profess religion and relation to Christ, to 
 stand upon their guard against this snare, which hath 
 been fatal to multitudes. As you tender the favour 
 of God, the comforts of the Spirit, the credit of your 
 profession, and the welfare of your own souls here 
 and hereafter, take heed of being entangled in any 
 temptations to sin; shun the society of these evil¬ 
 doers, abstain from all the appearances of this sin; 
 watch and be sober; he “ that loved us, and washed 
 us from our sins in his own blood, hath made us 
 unto our God kings and priests.” Are we priests ? 
 This was the law of the priesthood, and it was a law 
 made upon occasion of the death of Nadab and Abi- 
 hu, who probably had “ erred through wine.” “ Do 
 not drink wine or strong drink, when ye go into the 
 tabernacle of the congregation.” Are we kings? 
 “ It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings 
 
348 
 
 to drink wine; lest they drink and forget the law. 57 
 It is not for Christians to drink to excess, and to 
 allow themselves in those riotings and revellings, which 
 even the sober heathen condemned and abhorred. 
 
 Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, and lascivious¬ 
 ness, are likewise lusts of the flesh, and defiling to 
 the soul, which, therefore, all those must carefully 
 avoid that profess to be led by the Spirit: they are 
 abominable things which the Lord hates, and which 
 we also must hate. Are not our bodies temples of 
 the Holy Ghost? Dare we then defile them? 
 Are they not members of Christ? And shall we 
 make them the members of a harlot? Let those 
 that eat of the holy things, be holy both in body and 
 spirit, and “ possess their vessels in sanctification 
 and honour, and not in the lusts of uncleanness.” 
 Let those eyes never be guilty of a wanton look, 
 that have here seen Christ evidently set forth cruci¬ 
 fied among us; let not lewd, corrupt communication 
 proceed out of that mouth into which God’s covenant 
 hath been taken ; let not unclean lascivious thoughts 
 be ever harboured in that heart in which the holy 
 Jesus vouchsafes to dwell. Let those that have 
 eaten of wisdom’s bread, and drunk of the wine that 
 she hath mingled, never hearken to the invitations 
 of the foolish woman, who courts the unwary to 
 stolen waters, and bread eaten in secret, under pre¬ 
 tence that they are sweet and pleasant; “ for the 
 dead are there, and her guests are in the depths of 
 hell.” 
 
 5. We must see to it, that we be abundantly 
 charitable and beneficent. It is not enough that we 
 do no hurt, but if we would order our conversation 
 
S49 
 
 aright, we must, as we have opportunity, do good to 
 all men, as becomes those to whom God in Christ 
 is good, and doth good, and who profess themselves 
 the disciples and followers of him who went about 
 doing good. Shall we be selfish, and seek our own 
 things only, who have here seen how Christ humbled 
 and emptied himself for us? Shall we be sparing 
 of our pains for our brethren’s good, who have here 
 seen Christ among us, as one that serveth, as one 
 that suffereth, and as one who came not to be minis¬ 
 tered unto, <£ but to minister, and to give his life a 
 ransom for many ?” Shall we be shy of speaking 
 to, or speaking for our poor brethren, who have here 
 seen our Lord Jesus not ashamed to own us, and 
 intercede for us, notwithstanding our poverty and 
 meanness? Shall we be strait-handed in distribut¬ 
 ing to the necessities of the saints, who have here 
 found Christ so liberal and open-handed in imparting 
 to us, not only the gospel of God, but even his own 
 soul ? After we have been at this ordinance, we 
 should show how much we are affected with our re¬ 
 ceiving there, by being ready and forward <e to every 
 good work;” because our goodness extendeth not to 
 God, it ought to extend to the saints that are in the 
 earth. Thus we must be 6< followers of God as 
 dear children; we must walk in love, as here we see 
 Christ hath loved us, and given himself for us.” 
 
 6. We must see to it, that we be more taken 
 off from this world, and more taken up with another 
 world. A Christian then lives like himself, when 
 he lives above the things that are seen, which are 
 temporal, and looks upon them with a holy contempt, 
 and keeps his eye fixed upon the things that are not 
 
350 
 
 seen, which are eternal, looking upon them with a 
 holy coucern. We are not of this world, but we 
 are called out of it; we belong to another world, and 
 are designed for it: we must, therefore, s< seek the 
 things that are above, and not set our affections on 
 things beneath.” 
 
 The thoughts of Christ crucified should wean us 
 from this world, and make us out of love with it. 
 The world knew him not, but hated him; the princes 
 of this world crucified him; but he overcame the 
 world, and we also by faith in him may obtain a vic¬ 
 tory over it; such a victory over it, as that we may 
 not be entangled with its snares, encumbered with 
 its cares, or disquieted by its sorrows. By frequent 
 meditation on the cross of Christ, “ the world will 
 be crucified to us, and we to the world;” that is, 
 the world and we shall grow very indifferent one to 
 another, and no love shall be lost between us. 
 
 The thoughts of Christ glorified should raise our 
 hearts to that blessed place where Christ “ sitteth 
 on the right hand of God, and from whence we look 
 for the Saviour.” When we commemorate Christ’s 
 entrance within the vail as our forerunner, and have 
 good hopes of following him shortly ; when we think 
 of his being in paradise, and of our being with him ; 
 how should our affections be carried out towards that 
 joy of our Lord ! How studious should we be to 
 do the work of heaven, conform to the laws of hea¬ 
 ven, and converse as much as may be with the glo¬ 
 rious society there ! Having received the adoption 
 of sons, we should improve our acquaintance with, 
 and raise our expectations of, the inheritance of sons. 
 
351 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Some Words of Comfort 'which this Ordinance speaks 
 
 to serious Christians. 
 
 Four things premised. This ordinance may comfort us, I. 
 
 Against the remembrance of our former sins and provocations. 
 
 II. Against the sense of our sins of daily infirmities. III. 
 
 Against the sad remainders of indwelling corruption. IV. 
 
 Against prevailing doubts and fears about the spiritual state. 
 
 V. Against the troubles and calamities of this life. VI. 
 
 Against the fears of death. 
 
 The Lord’s Supper was intended for the comfort 
 of good people, not only while they are actually at¬ 
 tending on God in it, but ever after; not only that 
 their joy may be full, but that this joy may remain 
 in them. It is a feast which was made for laughter; 
 not that of the fool, which determines in a sigh, and 
 the end of it is heaviness, but that of the truly wise 
 man who hath learned to rejoice evermore, yea, to 
 rejoice in the Lord always; not that of the hypocrite, 
 whose triumphing is short, and his joys but for a 
 moment,” but that of the sincere Christian, whom 
 God causeth always “ to triumph in Christ.” The 
 water that Christ here gives, is designed to be a well 
 of water, living water, sending forth “ streams that 
 make glad the city of our God.” This feast, if it 
 be not our own fault, will be to us a continual feast, 
 a breast of consolation, from which we may daily 
 suck and be satisfied. 
 
 It is the will of God that his people should be'a 
 
352 
 
 comforted people. The most evangelical part of the 
 prophecy of Isaiah begins with this, “ Comfort ye, 
 comfort ye, my people, saith our God.” He takes 
 pleasure in their prosperity, he delights to see them 
 cheerful, and to hear them sing at their work, and 
 sing in his ways. Religion was never intended to 
 make people melancholy; wisdom’s adversaries do 
 her wrong if they paint her in mourning, and wis¬ 
 dom’s children do not do her right, if they give them 
 occasion to do so; for though they are, like St. Paul, 
 as sorrowful, yet they should be like him, always re¬ 
 joicing; because, though they seem perhaps to have 
 nothing, yet really “ they possess all things.” So 
 good a Master do we serve, that he hath been pleased 
 to combine interests with us, and so compound his 
 glory and our comfort, that, in seeking the one, we 
 seek the other also. He hath made that to be our 
 duty, which is indeed our greatest privilege; and that 
 is, to delight ourselves always in the Lord, and to 
 live a life of complacency in him. And it is the 
 New Testament character of a Christian indeed, that 
 he rejoiceth in Christ Jesus. 
 
 Good Christians have, of all people, most reason 
 to rejoice and be comforted. As for those that are 
 at a distance from God, and out of covenant with 
 him, they have reason to be afflicted, and mourn and 
 weep. “ Rejoice not, O Israel, for joy as other 
 people; for thou hast gone a whoring from thy God.” 
 To them that eat of the forbidden tree of knowledge, 
 this tree of life also is forbidden; but those that de¬ 
 vote themselves to God, have all the reason in the 
 world to delight themselves in God. They that 
 <s ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, 
 
353 
 
 though they go weeping to seek the Lord their 
 God,” yet they shall go on rejoicing, when they have 
 found him; for they cannot but find the way plea¬ 
 santness, and the paths of it peace. Have not they 
 reason to smile, on whom God smiles ? If God hath 
 put grace into the heart, hath he not put gladness 
 there, and a new song into the mouth ? Is Christ 
 proclaimed king in the soul? And ought it not to 
 be done with acclamations of joy? Is the atone¬ 
 ment received, and the true treasure found ? And 
 shall we not rejoice with joy unspeakable ? Have 
 we good hope through grace of entering shortly into 
 the joy of our Lord ? And have we not cause now 
 to rejoice in the hope of it ? 
 
 Yet those who have so much reason to rejoice are 
 often cast down and in sorrow, and not altogether 
 without cause. This state of probation and prepara¬ 
 tion is a mixed state, and it is proper enough it 
 should be so, for the trial and exercise of various 
 graces, and that God’s power may have the praise of 
 keeping the balance even. In those whose hearts 
 are visited by the day-spring from on high, the light 
 is neither clear nor dark, it is neither day nor night. 
 They have their comforts, which they would not ex¬ 
 change for the peculiar treasure of kings and pro¬ 
 vinces ; but withal they have their crosses, under 
 which they groan, being burdened. They have 
 their hopes, which are an anchor to the soul, both 
 sure and steadfast, entering into that within the vail; 
 but withal they have their fears, for their warfare is 
 not yet accomplished ; they have not yet attained, 
 neither are already perfect. They have their joys, 
 such as the world can neither give nor take away, 
 
354 . 
 
 joys that a stranger doth not intermeddle with; but 
 withal they have their griefs, their way to Canaan 
 lies through a wilderness, and their way to Jerusalem 
 through the valley of Baca. Their Master was 
 himself a man of sorrows, and acquainted with griefs, 
 and they are to be his followers. While we are 
 here, we must not think it strange, if, for a season, 
 when need is, we are in heaviness; we cannot expect 
 to reap in joy hereafter, unless we now sow in tears. 
 We must not therefore think, that either the present 
 happiness of the saints, which in this world they are 
 to expect, or their present holiness, which in this 
 world they are to endeavour, consists in such delights 
 and joys, as to leave no room for any mourning and 
 sense of trouble: no, there is a sorrow, that is, a 
 godly sorrow; a jealousy of ourselves, that is, a godly 
 jealousy. It is only a perfect love that casts out all 
 fear and all grief, which we are not to expect in this 
 imperfect state. All tears shall not be wiped away 
 from your eyes, nor shall sorrow and sighing quite 
 flee away, till we come to heaven ; while we are here, 
 we are in a valley of tears, and must conform to the 
 temper of the climate; we are at sea, and must ex¬ 
 pect to be tossed with tempests ; we are in the camp, 
 and must expect to be alarmed; while without are 
 fighting, no wonder that within are fears. 
 
 Our Lord Jesus hath therefore provided such 
 comforts for the relief of his people, in their present 
 sorrowful state, as may serve to balance their griefs, 
 and keep them from being pressed above measure; 
 and he hath instituted holy ordinances, and especially 
 this of the Lord’s Supper, for the application of 
 those comforts to them, that they may never fear, 
 
355 
 
 may never sorrow as those that have no hope or no 
 joy. The covenant of grace, as it is ministered in 
 the everlasting gospel, hath in it a salve for every 
 sore, a remedy for every malady; so that they who 
 have an interest in that covenant, and know it, may 
 triumph with blessed Paul: “ Though we are 
 troubled on every side, yet we are not distressed; 
 perplexed sometimes, but, thanks be to God, not in 
 despair; persecuted by men, but not forsaken of 
 God; cast down and drooping, but not destroyed 
 and lost.” This is that which bears them up under 
 all their burdens, comforteth them in all their griefs, 
 and enables them to rejoice in tribulation : God is 
 theirs, and they are his, and he hath 66 made with 
 them an everlasting covenant, well ordered in all 
 things, and sure; and this is all their salvation, and 
 all their desire, however it be.” 
 
 The word of God is written to them for this end, 
 “ that their joy may be full—and that through 
 patience and comfort of the Scriptures they may have 
 hope.” Precious promises are there treasured up, 
 to be the foundations of their faith and hope, and 
 consequently the fountains of their joy. Songs of 
 thanksgiving are there drawn up for them to refresh 
 themselves with in their weary pilgrimage, and to 
 have recourse to for the silencing of their complaints. 
 Ministers are appointed to be the helpers of their 
 joy, and to speak comfort to such as mourn in Zion. 
 The Sabbath is the day which the Lord hath made 
 for this very end, that they may rejoice and be glad 
 in it. Prayer is appointed for the ease of troubled 
 spirits, that in it they may pour out their complaints 
 before God, and fetch in comfort from him. “ Ask 
 
356 
 
 and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.” 
 This sacrament was ordained for the comfort of good 
 Christians, for the confirmation of their faith, in or¬ 
 der to the preservation and increase of their joy; and 
 they ought to improve it both for the strengthening 
 of the habit of holy cheerfulness, and their actual 
 encouragement against the several particular griev¬ 
 ances of this present time. And there is no com¬ 
 plaint which a good Christian hath cause to make 
 at any time, which he may not qualify, and keep 
 from growing clamorous, by comforts drawn from 
 what he hath seen and tasted, what he hath done and 
 received, at the Lord’s table. Let us therefore be 
 daily drawing water out of these wells of salvation; 
 and when our souls are cast down and disquieted 
 within us, let us fetch arguments from our communion 
 with God in this ordinance, both in chiding them 
 from their despondency, and encouraging them to 
 hope and rejoice in God. What is it that grieves 
 and oppresses us ? Why is our countenance sad, and 
 why go we mourning all the day long? Whatever 
 the occasion of the heaviness is, let it be weighed in 
 the balance of the sanctuary, and I dare say there 
 is that comfort to be fetched from this ordinance, 
 which is sufficient to be set in the scale against it, 
 and outweigh it. Let us instance in some of the 
 common causes of our trouble, and try what relief we 
 may from hence be furnished with :— 
 
 I. Are we disquieted and discouraged by the 
 remembrance of our former sins and provocations? 
 There is that here which will help to quiet and en¬ 
 courage us in reference to this. Conscience some¬ 
 times calls to mind the sins of the unconverted state. 
 
357 
 
 and charges them home upon the soul, especially if 
 they were heinous and scandalous; it repeats the 
 reproach of the youth; rips up the old quarrels, and 
 aggravates them; rakes in the old wounds, and 
 makes them bleed afresh; and from hence the dis¬ 
 consolate soul is ready to draw such hard conclu¬ 
 sions as these :—Surely it is impossible that so great 
 a sinner as I have been, should be pardoned and 
 accepted; that such a prodigal should be welcomed 
 home, and such a publican ever find mercy ! Can I 
 expect to share in that grace which I so long slighted 
 and sinned against? Or to be taken into that cove¬ 
 nant of which I have so often cast away the cords? 
 Will the holy God take one into the embraces of his 
 love, that hath been so vile and sinful, and fitter to be 
 made a monument of his wrath ? Can there be any 
 hopes for me? Or, if there be some hope yet, can 
 there be any joy ? If I may, through a miracle of 
 mercy, escape hell at last, which I have deserved a 
 thousand times, yet ought I not to weep mine eyes 
 out, and to “go softly all my years in the bitterness 
 of my soul?” Ought not I to go down to the grave 
 mourning ? Should not my soul refuse now to be 
 comforted, which so long refused to be so convinced ? 
 
 These are black and sad thoughts, and enough 
 to sink the spirit, if we had not met with that at the 
 Lord’s table which gives a sufficient answer to all 
 these challenges. We have been great sinners, but 
 there we have seen the great Redeemer, able to 
 save to the uttermost all that come to God by him; 
 and have there called him by that name of his, which 
 is as ointment poured forth, “ The Lord our right¬ 
 eousness.” Our sins have reached to the heavens, 
 
358 
 
 but there we have seen God’s mercy in Christ reach¬ 
 ing beyond the heavens. We have been wretchedly 
 defiled in our own ways, but there we have seen, not 
 only a laver, but a fountain opened for the house of 
 David to wash in; and have been assured that the 
 blood of Christ cleanseth from all sin, even that 
 which, for the heinousness of its nature, and the 
 multitude of its aggravations, hath been as scarlet 
 and crimson. That article of the covenant, which is 
 so expressive of a general pardon, hath been sealed 
 to me upon gospel terms: “ For I will be merciful 
 to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their 
 iniquities I will remember no more;” and this I rely 
 upon. Great sinners have obtained mercy, and why 
 may not I? 
 
 And though an humble remembrance of sin will 
 be of use to us all our days, yet such a disquieting 
 remembrance of it as hinders our faith in Christ, 
 and our joy in God, is by no means good; even sor¬ 
 row for sin may exceed due bounds, and penitents 
 may be swallowed up with over-much sorrow. The 
 covenant of grace speaks not only pardon, but peace 
 to all believers; and not only sets the broken bones, 
 but makes them to rejoice. When it saith, 66 Thy 
 sins be forgiven thee,” it saith also, “ Son, Daughter, 
 be of good cheer.” It is the duty of those that have 
 received the atonement, to take the comfort of it, and 
 to “ joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 
 Ac's of self-denial and mortification, are means and 
 evidences of our sanctification, and such as we ought 
 to abound in; but they are not the grounds of our 
 justification: it is Christ’s blood that makes the 
 sanctification, not our tears. Therefore we must not 
 
359 
 
 so remember former sins, as to put away, present 
 comforts; a life of repentance will very well consist 
 with a life of holy cheerfulness. * 
 
 II. Are we disquieted and discouraged by the 
 sense of our sins of daily infirmity ? There is that 
 here which will be a relief against this grievance 
 also:—I have not only former guilt to reflect upon, 
 contracted in the days of my ignorance and unbelief, 
 but alas ! I am still sinning, sinning daily. God 
 knows, and my own heart knows, that in many 
 things I do offend. I come short of the rule, and 
 short of the glory of God every day; vain thoughts 
 lodge within me, idle words proceed from me. If I 
 would count either the one or the other, they are 
 more in number than the sand. When I think of 
 the strictness and extent of the divine law, and com¬ 
 pare my own heart and life with it, I find that in¬ 
 numerable evils compass me about. Neglects of 
 duty are many, and negligences in duty are more. 
 Who can tell how oft he offends ? If the righteous 
 God should enter into judgment with me, and be 
 extreme to mark what I do amiss, I were not able 
 to answer him for one of a thousand. It might 
 have been expected, that when the God of mercy 
 had, upon my repentance, forgiven the rebellions of 
 my sinful state, taken me into his family, and made 
 me as one of his hired servants, nay, as one of his 
 adopted children, that I should have been a dutiful 
 child, and a diligent servant; but, alas ! I have been 
 slothful and trifling, and in many instances unduti- 
 ful; I am very defective in my duty, both to my 
 Master, and to my fellow-servants, and in many 
 things transgress daily. For these things I weep; 
 mine eyes, mine eyes run down with tears. 
 
360 
 
 But there is that in this ordinance which may 
 keep us from sinking under this burden, though 
 we have cause enough to complain of it. It is true, 
 
 I am sinning daily, and it is my sorrow and shame 
 that I am so; but the memorial of that great sacri¬ 
 fice which Jesus Christ offered once for all upon the 
 cross, is therefore continually to be celebrated on 
 earth, because the merit of it is continually pleaded 
 in heaven, where Christ ever lives to make interces¬ 
 sion in the virtue of his satisfaction. Having there¬ 
 fore celebrated the memorial of it at the table of 
 the Lord, here in the outer court I ought to take the 
 comfort of the continual efficacy of it within the 
 vail, and its prevalency for the benefit of all believers. 
 The water out of the rock, the rock smitten, follows 
 God’s Israel through this wilderness, in the precious 
 streams of which, they that are washed are welcome 
 to wash their feet from the pollutions they contract 
 in their daily walk through this defiling world; 
 and the best have need of this washing. That 
 needful word of caution, that we sin not, is imme¬ 
 diately followed with this word of comfort, but 44 if 
 any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father;” 
 one to speak for us, and to plead our cause; and he 
 hath a good plea to put in in our behalf, for 44 he is 
 the propitiation for our sins.” 
 
 Add to this, that the covenant of grace, which is 
 sealed to us in this ordinance, is so well ordered 
 in all things, and so sure, that every transgression 
 in the covenant doth not presently throw us out of 
 covenant. We do not stand upon the same terms 
 that Adam in innocency did, to whom the least fail¬ 
 ure was fatal. No; to us God hath 44 proclaimed 
 
36 1 
 
 his name gracious and merciful, forgiving iniquity, 
 transgression, and sin.” If we mourn for our sins 
 of daily infirmity, are ashamed of them, and humble 
 ourselves for them; if we strive and watch, and 
 pray against them, we may be sure they shall not be 
 laid under our charge, but in Christ Jesus they shall 
 be forgiven to us, for we are under grace, and not 
 under the law. The God we are in covenant with 
 is a God of pardon; <£ with him there is forgive¬ 
 ness.” We are instructed to pray for daily pardon 
 as duly as we pray for daily bread, and are en¬ 
 couraged to come boldly to the throne of grace for 
 mercy: so that, though there be a remembrance 
 made of sin every day, yet thanks be to God there 
 may be a remembrance made of the sacrifice for sin; 
 by which an everlasting righteousness was brought 
 in. 
 
 III. Are we disquieted and discouraged by sad re¬ 
 mainders of indwelling corruption?—We may from 
 thence derive support under this burden. All that 
 are enlightened from on high, lament the original 
 sin that dwelleth in them, as much as the actual 
 transgressions that are committed by them; not only 
 that they are defective in doing their duty, but that 
 they labour under a natural weakness and inability 
 for it; not only that they are often overtaken in a 
 fault, but that they have a natural proneness and 
 inclination to that which is evil. It was the bitter 
 complaint of blessed Paul himself, “ O wretched 
 man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body 
 of this death ?” And it is the complaint of all that 
 are spiritually alive, while they are here in this im¬ 
 perfect state. 
 
 Q 
 
 22 
 
36 % 
 
 The most intelligent find themselves in the dark 
 and apt to mistake; the most contemplative find 
 themselves unfixed, and apt to wander; the most 
 active for God find themselves dull and apt to tire; 
 when the Spirit, through grace, is willing, yet the 
 flesh is weak; and when we would do good, evil is 
 present with us. Corrupt appetites and passions 
 often get head, and betray us into many indecencies. 
 This makes the heart sad, and the hands feeble; 
 and, by reason of these remaining corruptions, many 
 a good Christian loseth the comfort of his graces. 
 Those Canaanites in the land are as thorns in the 
 eyes, and goads in the sides of many an Israelite. 
 
 But be not cast down, my soul! the covenant 
 which was sealed to thee at the table of the Lord, 
 was a covenant of grace, which accepts sincerity as 
 gospel perfection, not a covenant of innocency, which 
 accepts of nothing less than a sinless, spotless purity. 
 Were not these complaints poured out before the 
 Lord, and did he not say, 44 My grace is sufficient 
 for thee?” And what canst thou desire more? 
 Was not orders given at the banquet of wine, for 
 the crucifying of the adversary and enemy, this 
 wicked Haman; so that, though it be not yet dead, 
 it is a body of death, and ere long it shall be put off 
 for ever? Was it not there said to thee, was it not 
 sealed, 44 that sin shall not have dominion over thee; 
 but the God of peace shall bruise Satan under thy 
 feet shortly;” so that, though he may for a while 
 disturb thy peace, and his troops may foil thee, yet, 
 like Gad in Jacob’s blessing, thou shalt 44 overcome 
 at the last?” 44 The bruised reed shall not be 
 broken, nor the smoking flax quenched, but judg- 
 
363 
 
 ment shall in due time be brought forth into vic¬ 
 tory.” Grace shall get the upper hand of corruption, 
 and be a conqueror, yea, “ more than a conqueror, 
 through him that loved us.—Come then, come set 
 thy feet upon the necks of these kings,” and rejoice 
 in the hope of a complete victory at last. These 
 lusts which war against thee, make war with the 
 Lamb too, and oppose his interests; but, for cer¬ 
 tain, “ the Lamb shall overcome them; for he is the 
 Lord of lords, and King of kings, and they that are 
 with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.” 
 Thou hast seen on how firm a rock the kingdom of 
 God within thee is built, and mavest be sure that 
 the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Christ 
 hath given thee a banner to be displayed because of 
 the truth; 66 and through him thou shalt do va¬ 
 liantly, for he it is that shall tread down thine ene¬ 
 mies.” 
 
 Go on, my soul, go on to fight the Lord’s bat¬ 
 tles, by a vigorous resistance of sin and Satan; 
 maintain a constant guard upon all the motions of 
 thy spiritual enemies, hold up the shield of faith, 
 and draw the sword of the Spirit against their as¬ 
 saults. Suppress the first risings of corruption, 
 make no provision for it, resolve not to yield to it, 
 walk in the Spirit, that thou mayest not fulfil the 
 lusts of the flesh; never make league with these 
 Canaanites, but vex these Midianites, and smite 
 them ; mortify this body of death, and all its mem¬ 
 bers; strengthen such principles, and dwell upon 
 such considerations as are proper for the weakening 
 of the power of sinful lusts; and then, be of good 
 comfort, this house of Saul shall wax weaker and 
 
 2 2 
 
364 
 
 weaker, and the house of David stronger and 
 stronger. Thou hast seen, my soul, thou hast 
 tasted the bread and wine which the Lord Jesus, 
 that blessed Melchizedek, hath provided for the sup¬ 
 port and refreshment of all the followers of faithful 
 Abraham, when they return weary (and wounded 
 perhaps) from their spiritual conflicts. Make use 
 of this provision then, feast upon it daily, and go on 
 in the strength of it. Thank God (as St. Paul did 
 in the midst of these complaints) for Jesus Christ, 
 who not only hath prayed for thee, that you fail not, 
 but is now, like Moses, interceding on the top of 
 the hill, while thou art, like Joshua, fighting with 
 these Amalekites in the valley. Be faithful there¬ 
 fore unto the death, and thou shalt shortly have a 
 place in that New Jerusalem, into which no unclean 
 thing can enter. Now thou groanest, being bur¬ 
 dened, but in heaven there shall be none of those 
 complaints, nor any cause for them. 
 
 IV. Doth thy trouble arise from prevailing doubts 
 and fears about thy spiritual state?—We may draw 
 that from this ordinance which will help us to silence 
 those fears, and solve those doubts, and to clear it up 
 to us that God in Christ is ours, and we are his, and 
 that all shall be well shortly. Many good Chris¬ 
 tians, though they are so willing to hope the best 
 concerning themselves, as not to decline coming to 
 the Lord’s table, and there perhaps they may meet 
 with satisfaction; yet afterwards the tide of their 
 comforts ebbs, a sadness seizeth their spirits, the 
 peace they have had they suspect to have been a de¬ 
 lusion, and are ready to give up all for gone; unbe¬ 
 lief makes hard conclusions, clouds the evidences, 
 
365 
 
 shakes the hopes, withers the joys—that it is as good 
 to give up all pious pursuits, as thus keep them up in 
 vain; as good make a captain, and return into 
 Egypt, as perish in the wilderness, for this is not 
 the way to Canaan. And thus many are kept by 
 unbelief from entering into the present Sabbatism 
 or rest, which is intended for the people of God in 
 this life. 
 
 But, “ O thou of little faith, wherefore dost thou 
 doubt ?” Come, call to remembrance the former 
 days, the former sacrament days, and the sweet com¬ 
 munion thou hadst with God in them; days never 
 to be forgotten. Thou doubtest whether God loves 
 thee, and thou art ready to say as they did, “ Where¬ 
 in hath he loved me?” But dost thou not remem¬ 
 ber the love tokens he gave thee at his table, when 
 he embraced thee in the arms of his grace, kissed 
 thee with the kisses of his C( mouth, and his banner 
 over thee was love ?” Thou doubtest whether thou 
 be a child of God, and a chosen vessel or not, and 
 are sometimes tempted to say, i( Surely the Lord 
 hath utterly separated me from his people, and I am 
 a dry tree.” 66 How shall he set me among the chil¬ 
 dren, and give me a pleasant land?” But dost thou 
 not remember the children’s bread thou hast been 
 fed with at thy Father’s table, and the Spirit of adop¬ 
 tion there sent forth into thy heart, teaching thee 
 to cry, Abba, Father ? Thou calledst thyself a pro¬ 
 digal, and no more worthy to be accounted a son, 
 because thou didst bear the reproach of thy youth, 
 which made thee ashamed, yea, even confounded. 
 But did not God, at the same time, call thee, as he 
 did penitent Ephraim, a dear son, a pleasant child; 
 
366 
 
 were not his bowels troubled for thee? And did he 
 not say, I will surely have mercy on thee? Did 
 not thy Father meet thee with tender compassions? 
 Did he not call for the best robe, and put it on thee ? 
 Did he not invite thee to the fatted calf? and, which 
 was best of all, give thee a kiss which sealed thy 
 pardon ? And wilt thou now call that point in ques¬ 
 tion which was then so well settled ? “ Is God a 
 
 man, that he should lie, or the son of man that he 
 should repent ?” No; cs He is God, and not man.” 
 Thou doubtest whether Christ be thine or not; whe¬ 
 ther thou hast any interest in his mediation and in¬ 
 tercession ? Whether he died for thee or not. But 
 didst thou not, at his table, accept of him to be thine, 
 and consent to him upon his own terms? Didst 
 thou not say to him, with thy finger in the print of 
 the nails, “ My Lord, and my God ?” And did he 
 not answer thee with good and comfortable words, 
 saying unto thee, I am thy salvation ? Hast thou 
 revoked the bargain ? Or, dost thou fear that he will 
 revoke it? Was it not an everlasting covenant, 
 never to be forgotten ? Why art thou troubled ? 
 And why do doubts arise in thy heart ? Was not 
 Christ present with thee, and did he not show him¬ 
 self well-affected to thee, when, at his table, he said 
 unto thee, “ Behold my hands and my feet, that it 
 is I myself?” Thou doubtest whether thou hast 
 any grace or not, any love to God, any faith, any 
 repentance. But hast thou forgotten God’s work¬ 
 ings on thy heart, and the workings of thy heart to¬ 
 wards God at his table? Did not thine heart burn 
 within thee when thy dear Redeemer talked with 
 thee there. Didst thou not sit down under his sha- 
 
367 
 
 dow with delight, and say, “ It is good to be here ?” 
 Didst thou not desire a sign of the Lord, a token 
 for good ? Didst thou not say, “ Do not deceive 
 me?” And was there not a token for good shown 
 thee? Was not thy heart melted for sin ? Was 
 it not drawn out towards God ? Did it not appear 
 that God was with thee of a truth ? Wherefore, 
 then, dost thou doubt of that, of which thou hadst 
 then such comfortable evidences? “ Why sayest 
 thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is 
 hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over 
 from my God ?” Why dost thou entertain such hard 
 thoughts of God and thy own state? “ Hast thou 
 not known, hast thou not heard, that the everlasting 
 God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, 
 fainteth not, neither is weary ?” 
 
 And why art thou fearful and faint-hearted ? 
 Why dost thou look forward with terror and trem¬ 
 bling, while thou hast so much reason to look for¬ 
 ward with hope and rejoicing ? Alas, saith the trou¬ 
 bled spirit, God hath cast me out of his sight, and 
 I fear will cast off for ever, and will be favourable 
 no more: I shall no more see the Lord, even the 
 Lord in the land of the living ! My comforts are 
 removed, and all pleasant things are laid waste ! 
 “ My bones are dried, my hope is lost, and I am 
 cut off for my part.” But hearken to this, thou 
 that thus fearest continually every day, dost thou 
 not remember the encouragements Christ gave thee 
 at his table to hope in him, and to expect all good 
 from him ; did he not say, “ I will never leave thee 
 nor forsake thee?” And didst not thou promise, 
 that thou wouldst never leave nor forsake him ? Nay, 
 
368 
 
 did be not promise * c to put his fear into thy heart, 
 that thou mightest not depart from him.” He did, 
 66 and is not he faithful that hath called thee,” faith¬ 
 ful that hath promised, who also will do it? Thou 
 art afraid that some time or other Satan will be too 
 hard for thee, and thou shalt one day perish by his 
 hand; but hast thou not had that precious promise 
 sealed to thee, that u the faithful God will never 
 suffer thee to be tempted above what thou art able, 
 but will with the temptation make a way for thee to 
 escape ? His providence shall proportion the trial 
 to the strength ; or, which comes all to one, his grace 
 shall proportion the strength to the trial. Thou art 
 afraid, that, after all, thou shalt come short; that by 
 reason of the violence of the storm, the treachery of 
 the sea, and especially thine own weakness and un¬ 
 skilfulness, thou shalt never be able to weather the 
 point, and get safe into the harbour at last. But 
 shall I ask thee, thou that followest Christ trem¬ 
 bling, “ Host thou not know in whom thou hast be¬ 
 lieved ?” Is thy salvation intrusted with thyself, 
 and lodged in your own hands ? No; it is not. If 
 it were, thou wouldst have reason to fear the loss of 
 it. But hath not God committed it, and hast not 
 thou committed it to the Lord Jesus ? And is not he 
 “ able to keep that which is committed to him against 
 that day ?” That great day, when it shall be called 
 for ? Is not that a divine power that keeps thee ? 
 A divine promise that secures thee ? Be not fear¬ 
 ful then, “ Be not faithless, but believing.” 
 
 V. Are we disquieted and discouraged by the 
 troubles and calamities of this life ?—From our com¬ 
 munion with God in the ordinance of the Lord’s 
 
369 
 
 Supper, we may bring comfort and support under all 
 the afflictions of this present time, whatever they be. 
 Our Master instituted this sacrament on the night 
 wherein he was betrayed ;—and soon after he put off 
 the body, and pleasantly said, “ Now I am no more 
 in the worldbut when we have received this sa¬ 
 crament, we find ourselves still in a house of clay, 
 liable to many shocks, and so close is the union be¬ 
 tween the soul and the body, that what toucheth the 
 bone and the flesh cannot but affect the spirit at se¬ 
 cond hand. We are born and born again to trou¬ 
 ble; besides, that we are exposed with others to the 
 common calamities of human life, and the persecu¬ 
 tions which all that will live godly in Christ Jesus 
 must count upon; we are under the discipline of 
 sons, and must look for chastisement. Afflictions 
 are not only consistent with the love of God, but 
 they flow from it: 6i As many as I love, I rebuke 
 and chasten.” They are not only reconcilable with 
 the covenant, but a branch of it. I will chasten 
 their transgressions with the rod, and their sins with 
 stripes, is an article of the agreement with David and 
 his seed, with this comfortable clause added,Never¬ 
 theless, my loving-kindness will I not utterly take 
 from him ; my covenant will I not break.” 
 
 There is no disputing against sense. Christian¬ 
 ity was not designed to make men stocks and stones 
 and Stoics under their calamities. <s No affliction 
 for the present is joyous, but grievous.” Hence 
 the best men, as they have their share of trouble, so 
 cannot but have the sense of it; that is allowed them, 
 they groan, being burdened; but this sense of trou¬ 
 ble is apt to exceed due bounds: it is hard to grieve 
 
 S3 
 
370 
 
 and not to overgrieve; to lay to heart an affliction, 
 and not to lay it too near the heart. When grief 
 for an outward trouble overwhelms our spirits, im- 
 bitters our comforts, and hinders our joy in God, 
 stops the mouth of praise, takes off her chariot 
 wheels, and makes us drive heavily on our way to 
 heaven; then it is excessive and inordiuate, and 
 turns into sin to us. When sorrow fills the heart 
 and plays the tyrant there, when it makes us fretful 
 and impatient, breaks out in quarrels with God in 
 his providence, and robs us of the enjoyment of our¬ 
 selves, our friends, and our God; it is an enemy 
 that we are concerned to take up arms against. 
 
 And from our sacramental covenants and comforts 
 we may fetch plenty of arguments against the un¬ 
 reasonable insinuations of inordinate grief. Did I 
 not see at the table of the Lord a lively representa¬ 
 tion of the sufferings of Christ, the variety and ex¬ 
 tremity of his sufferings ? Did I not see his tears, 
 his sweats, his agonies, his stripes, the pain and 
 shame he underwent? And is the servant better 
 than his master, and the disciples than his Lord ? Did 
 Christ go by the cross to the crown, and shall a 
 Christian expect to go any other way? The Cap¬ 
 tain of our salvation was made perfect through suf¬ 
 ferings; have not we much more need of them for 
 the perfecting of what is lacking in us ? Is not 
 this one part of our conformity to the image of 
 Christ, that, as he was a man of sorrows, and ac¬ 
 quainted with grief, so we should be, that he might 
 be the first-born among many brethren ? A sight 
 of Christ’s afflictions should reconcile us to our own, 
 especially if we consider not only what he suffered. 
 
371 
 
 but how he suffered; and with what an invincible 
 patience and cheerful submission to his Father’s will, 
 leaving as example, (l Pet. ii. 21.) Have we cele¬ 
 brated the memorial of Christ’s sufferings? and have 
 we not yet learned of him to say, 44 The cup that my 
 Father hath given me shall I not drink it ?” Though 
 it be a bitter cup, 44 Father, not my will, but thine be 
 done.” Have we not yet learned of him, who was 
 led as a lamb to the slaughter, to be dumb, and not 
 to open our mouths against any thing that God doth : 
 to forgive our enemies, and pray for our persecutors, 
 and cheerfully submit ourselves to him that judges 
 righteously ? Let the same mind be in us which 
 here we have seen to be in Jesus Christ. 
 
 Yet this is not all: in the Lord’s Supper we give 
 up ourselves, and all we have, unto the Lord, with 
 a promise to acquiesce in all the disposals of his 
 providence concerning us and ours ; let us not there¬ 
 fore, by our discontent and uneasiness, revoke the 
 surrender that we then made, or go counter to it. 
 We there said it, and sealed it, that we would be 
 the Lord’s; and may he not do what he will with 
 his own, especially when it is so by our own con¬ 
 sent ? God there said it, and sealed it to us, that 
 he would be to us a Father; and can we take any 
 thing amiss from a Father? Such a Father, who 
 never chastens us, but for our own profit, that we 
 may be partakers of his holiness ? Inviolable assur¬ 
 ances were there given to us, that all things should 
 work together for our present good, and for our fu¬ 
 ture glory; that, as afflictions abound, consolations 
 should so much the more abound; and some experi¬ 
 ence we there had of the sweetness and power of 
 
372 
 
 those consolations, which we ought to treasure up, 
 that we may have them ready for our supports in the 
 evil day. Can we forget how sweet God’s smiles 
 were, which there we saw ? How reviving his com¬ 
 forts were, which we there tasted ? And are not 
 those sufficient to countervail the loss of the world’s 
 flattering smiles, and the comforts we have in the 
 creature? It is generally supposed, that the com¬ 
 fortable sermon which Christ preached to his disci¬ 
 ples on that text, <c Let not your hearts be trou¬ 
 bled,” immediately followed the administration of the 
 Lord’s Supper; for it is the will of Christ, that those 
 whom he hath raised up to sit with him by faith in 
 heavenly places, should not be cast down or dis¬ 
 quieted for any cross or disappointment in earthly 
 things. 
 
 Art thou sick, languishing perhaps under some 
 wasting distemper, which consumes thy strength 
 and beauty like a moth ? Or chastened it may be 
 with pain upon thy bed, and the multitude of thy 
 bones with strong pain ? Or labouring under the 
 infirmities and decays of old age ? Take comfort 
 then, from thy communion with the Lord at his 
 table. Didst thou not see there how Christ himself 
 bore our sickness, and carried our sorrows then, 
 when he bore our sins in his own body upon the 
 tree, and so took away the sting of them ; extracted 
 out of them the wormwood and gall, which he him¬ 
 self drunk in a bitter cup, and infused into them 
 the comforts of his love, which he hath given us to 
 drink of? Didst thou not there receive a sealed 
 pardon ? Did not God, in love to thy soul, cast 
 all thy sins behind his back, and tell thee so ? 
 
373 
 
 Thou hast then no reason to complain of bodily 
 distempers: u The inhabitants shall not say, I am 
 sick.” How so ? Can one that is sick avoid say¬ 
 ing, I am sick ? Why, it follows, “ The people 
 that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity.’'' 
 Sickness is next to nothing, to those who know that 
 their sins are pardoned. When thou didst present 
 thy body to God in that ordinance a living sacrifice* 
 and didst engage that it should be for the Lord, was 
 it not graciously added—“and the Lord for the 
 body ?” 1 Cor. vi. 13. And if the Lord be for the 
 body, he will strengthen thee upon the bed of lan¬ 
 guishing; and though he may not presently help thee 
 off it, yet he will sit by thee; and “ he will make all 
 thy bed in thy sickness.” And that bed cannot but 
 be easy which he maketh. 
 
 Art thou poor, crossed in thine affairs, disappointed 
 in lawful and hopeful designs, clogged with cares, 
 and perhaps reduced to straits ? Let the spiritual 
 riches secured to thee in that sealing ordinance, be 
 a balance to the affliction of outward poverty. The 
 God of truth hath said it, and thou mayest rely upon 
 it, That those that fear him and seek him, shall not 
 want any good thing, not any thing that infinite wis¬ 
 dom sees really good for them. “ Trust in the 
 Lord, therefore, and do good with the little thou 
 hast; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily 
 thou shalt be fed.” It is not promised that thou 
 shalt be feasted with varieties and dainties ; those 
 that are feasted at God’s table, need not to com¬ 
 plain, though they be not feasted at their own ; but 
 thou shalt be fed, fed with food convenient for thee. 
 Some good Christians that have been in a very poosr 
 
374 
 
 condition have said, that they have made many a 
 meal upon the promises, when they wanted bread : 
 66 Verily thou shalt be fed, be fed with faith.” 
 “ The just shall live by his faith.” “ Though the 
 fig-tree do not blossom, and there be no fruit in the 
 vine ;” yet, while thou hast in the Lord’s Supper 
 seen the rose of Sharon blossoming, tasted of the 
 true vine, thou hast reason enough to “ rejoice in 
 the Lord, and joy in the God of thy salvation.” 
 
 Are thy relations a grief to thee ? Do those af¬ 
 flict thee of whom thou saidst, These same shall 
 comfort me ? Suppose thy yoke-fellow unsuitable, 
 children undutiful, parents unkind, friends ungrate¬ 
 ful, neighbours injurious, the comfort of our relation 
 to God may suffice to make up the loss of any earthly 
 comfort. If man be harsh, yet God is gracious. 
 Though the waters of our rivers may be mudded or 
 turned into blood, yet the fountain of life runs 
 away clear, and its streams pure as crystal. On 
 the supposition of family disappointments, David in 
 his last words took comfort from the covenant of 
 grace made with him. 
 
 Are those dear to thee removed by death ? It 
 is fit that that which is sown should be watered. 
 But sacrament comforts will keep us from sorrowing 
 as those that have no hope. We have lost the sa¬ 
 tisfaction we used to have in them ; but is not God 
 better to us than ten sons? Far better than ten 
 thousand such relations could have been. And yet 
 they are not lost; they are only gone before, and 
 death itself cannot wholly cut us off from commu¬ 
 nion with them; for we are come to the spirits of 
 just men made perfect, and hope to be with them 
 
37 5 
 
 Are the calamities of the church and of the na¬ 
 tion our affliction ? It is fit they should be so, for 
 we have eaten and drunk into the great body, and, 
 as living members, must feel its grievances; but in 
 the Lord’s Supper we have seen what provision the 
 grace of God hath made for his household, and 
 from thence may infer the protection under which 
 the providence of God will always keep it safe. 
 The promises that are sealed to us, are sure to all 
 the seed, and the covenant of grace is the rock on 
 which the church is built, so firm that the gates of 
 hell shall not prevail against it. The Lord, we see, 
 hath founded Zion, and the poor of his people shall 
 trust to that. Let us at this ordinance learn this 
 new song, and sing it oft,—“ Hallelujah, the Lord 
 God omnipotent reigneth.” 
 
 VI. Are the fears of death a trouble and terror to 
 us?—We may fetch from the Lord’s Supper that 
 which will enable us through grace to triumph over 
 those fears. This is a fear which is often found to 
 have torment, and by reason of it, many weak Chris¬ 
 tians have been all 64 their life time subject to bon¬ 
 dage.” It is also a fear which often brings a snare, 
 exposeth us to many temptations, and gives Satan 
 advantage against us. There are many who we 
 hope, through grace, are saved from the second 
 death, and yet are afraid of the first death, being 
 more solicitous than they need be about a dying life, 
 and more timorous than they need to be of a living 
 death, a death that is their way to life. But the 
 arrests of death, and its harbingers, would not be at 
 all dreadful, if we did but know how to make a due 
 improvement of the comforts we are made partakers 
 
376 
 
 of at the table of the Lord. We there saw Christ 
 dying, dying so great a death, a death in pomp, armed 
 and attended with all its terrors, dying in pain, in 
 shame, in darkness, in agonies, and yet the Son of 
 God, and the heir of all things. This takes off the 
 reproach of death, so that now we need not be 
 ashamed to die; if Christ humbled himself, and be¬ 
 came obedient to death, why should not we ? It 
 likewise takes off the terror of death, so that now 
 we need not be afraid to die. When we walk 
 through that dark and dismal valley, we have no 
 reason to fear any evil, while the great Shepherd of 
 the sheep is not only gone before us, but goes along 
 with us ; <e his rod and his staff they comfort us.” 
 He is our leader, and we do not approve ourselves 
 his good soldiers, if we be not willing to follow him 
 whithersoever he goes. He went through death to 
 the joy set before him, and by that way can we fol¬ 
 low him. Through this Jordan we must enter Ca¬ 
 naan. 
 
 Christ’s death hath broken the power of death, 
 and taken from it all the armour wherein it trusted ; 
 so that now, let it do its worst, it cannot do a good 
 Christian any real prejudice; for it cannot “ sepa¬ 
 rate him from the love of God. Surely the bitter¬ 
 ness of death is now past,” by Christ’s tasting it. 
 The sharpness of death, Christ hath overcome, by 
 submitting to it, and so hath opened the kingdom of 
 heaven to all believers : “ The sucking child may 
 now play upon the hole of the asp, and the weaned 
 child may put his hand on the cockatrice’ den ; for 
 death itself shall not hurt or destroy in all God’s 
 holy mountain.” 
 
377 
 
 Nay, the death of Christ hath quite altered the 
 property of death. It not only ceaseth to be an 
 enemy, but it is become a friend : the covenant of 
 grace, sealed to us in the Lord’s Supper, assures us 
 of the unspeakable kindness that even death itself 
 shall do us : “ All things are yours,” and death 
 amongst the rest. As the death of Christ was the 
 purchase of our happiness; so our own death is the 
 passage to our happiness; it dischargeth us from our 
 prison, and conveys us to our palace. The promise 
 of eternal life sealed to us, and its earnests commu¬ 
 nicated to us in this ordinance, enable us to look 
 with comfort on the other side death, then we look 
 without terror on this. 
 
 Art thou afraid to give up thy soul? Thou hast 
 already given it up to God in Christ to be sanctified, 
 and therefore thou mayest, with holy cheerfulness, 
 give it up to God in Christ to be saved. The dy¬ 
 ing Jesus, by committing his spirit into the hands of 
 his Father, hath emboldened all his followers in a 
 dying hour to do the same. Why should that soul 
 be afraid to go out of the body, and leave this world 
 of sense, which is by faith acquainted with the blessed 
 world of spirits, and is sure of a guard of angels 
 ready to convey it to that world, and a faithful 
 friend ready to receive it ? 
 
 Art thou afraid to put off thy body; the covenant 
 sealed to thee at the Lord’s table is a covenant with 
 thy bones. Fear not the return of thine earth to 
 its earth; it is in order to its being refined, and in 
 due time restored to its soul, a glorious and incor¬ 
 ruptible body. Spiritual blessings are perhaps for 
 this reason, in the sacraments, represented and ap- 
 
378 
 
 plied by outward and sensible signs, in the partici¬ 
 pation of which, the body is concerned, that we 
 might thereby be confirmed in our believing hope of 
 the glory prepared and reserved for these bodies of 
 ours, these vile bodies, which even, while they lie in 
 the grave, still remain united to Christ, and, when 
 they shall be out of the grave, shall be made like 
 unto his glorious body. 
 
 Let the sinners in Zion be afraid to die, let fear¬ 
 fulness surprise the hypocrites, when their souls 
 shall be required of them ; let their hearts meditate 
 terror, and their face gather blackness, who, having 
 lived a carnal, worldly, sensual life, having no inter¬ 
 est in Christ and the promises; for they shall call 
 in vain to rocks and mountains to shelter them from 
 the wrath of the Lamb ; but let them that have joined 
 themselves to the Lord in an everlasting covenant, 
 and have obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful 
 to that covenant, lift up their heads with joy, for 
 their redemption draws nigh. Death will shortly 
 rend the interposing vail of sense, and time will 
 shortly scatter all the darkening and threatening 
 clouds which hang over our heads, and open to us a 
 bright and glorious scene in that blessed world of 
 life, and love, where we shall enjoy the substance of 
 those tilings of which at the Lord’s table we are re- 
 
 O 
 
 freshed with the shadow, and the full vintage of those 
 joys of which here we have the first fruits. 
 
 Learn then, my soul, learn thou to triumph over 
 death and the grave, “ O death, where is thy sting ? 
 O grave, where is thy victory ?” Having laid up 
 thy treasure within the vail, and remitted thy best 
 effects, and best affections thither; and having re- 
 
379 
 
 ceived the earnest of the purchased possession, be 
 still looking, still longing for that blessed hope. 
 Fear not death, for it cannot hurt thee; but desire 
 it rather, so it will greatly befriend thee. When 
 the 44 earthly house of this tabernacle shall be dis¬ 
 solved,” thou shalt remove to the 44 house not made 
 with hands, eternal in the heavens.” Wish then, 
 wish daily, for the coming of the Lord, for he shall 
 appear to thy joy ; 44 the vision is for an appointed 
 time, and at the end it shall speak and shall not lie.” 
 Look through the windows of this house of clay, 
 like the mother of Sisera, when she waited for her 
 son’s triumph, and cry through the lattice, 44 Why 
 is his chariot so long in coming ? Why tarry the 
 wheels of his chariot ? Come, Lord Jesus, come 
 quickly.” 
 
 FINIS. 
 
 Printed by W. Collins & Co. 
 Glasgow. 
 
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