Twenty-Three Sermons, Lecture 17
THE SEVENTEENTH LECTVRE VPONUPON THE SACRAMENT OF THE LORDS SVPPER.
NOw wee are to proceed, as God ſhall inable us, in the handling of the 26. verſe of the 11. chapter of the firſt Epiſtle to the Corinthians, becauſe this afternoones exerciſe we muſt ſpend in the matter of preparation againſt the next Sabbath, for the receiving of the Lords Supper, 1 Cor. 11.26. For as often as ye ſhall eate this bread, and drink this cup, ye ſhew forth the Lords death till hee come. We divided this Scripture, as you may remember, into theſe two parts: firſt, an action to bee performed, in the former part of the verſe, namely, the receiving of the Sacrament of the Lords Supper, ſet forth here by the name of eating this bread, and drinking this cup. Secondly, the caution that this action is to bee performed withall, that we have in the latter part of the verſe, ye ſhew forth the Lords death till he come. In this caution in the latter part of the verſe, we obſerved the caution it ſelfe, namely, to ſhew forth the Lords death: ſecondly, the often uſing, or the often obſerving of this caution: For though that be not here expreſſed, yet it is to be ſupplyed out of the former part of the verſe, and is in common underſtanding to be read thus, As often as ye ſhall eat this bread and drinke this cup, ſo often yee ſhew forth the Lords death till he come. Thirdly and laſtly, here is the continuance of it, how long this is to continue, why till the end of the world, till the day of Iudgement, till the comming of our Lord Ieſus Chriſt; ye ſhew forth the Lords death till he come.
In the caution, firſt we obſerved the matter that is to be remembred, that is the Lords death: then ſecondly, we told you here wee muſt conſider of the manner of the remembring of it: how muſt it be remembred? by a ſhewing forth, by a lively and a kinde of ſenſible expreſſing of it, yee ſhew; forth the Lords death till he come. Concerning the matter to bee remembred, namely, the Lords death, there wee ſhewed you firſt what is meant by the death of the Lord, namely, both the act of his death in reſpect of himſelfe, and likewiſe the benefit of his death in reſpect of us, for that alſo muſt be remembred in the receiving of the Sacrament. Then when as it is ſaid here, it is the Lords death, I ſhewed you that howſoever Chriſt as he was Lord could not dye, yet notwithſtanding the death that Chriſt did ſuffer is rightly called the death of the Lord, becauſe Chriſt being man was alſo God and Lord: yet by reaſon of the union of both theſe natures in one and the ſame perſon, therefore that which is proper to Chriſt as he is man, is rightly affirmed of him as being God and Lord.
And thence we drew this obſervation, in that it is here called the Lords death, namely, that howſoever Chriſt Ieſus was cruelly and ſhamefully crucified and put to a moſt cruel and ignominious death upon the Croſſe as ever any man could bee put unto, yet notwithſtanding even in that ſtate of his death he was the Lord, and ſhewed himſelf to be the glorious Lord of heaven and earth. It followes now that we are to goe on: Wee have ſpoken hitherto touching the Lords death as it is conſidered abſolutely in it ſelfe, we are yet further to ſpeake of the Lords death by way of application, or by way of reference of it to the Sacrament of the Lords Supper; for ſo you ſee here the Apoſtle ſpeakes of it reſpectively unto this Supper, As often as ye ſhall eate this bread, and drinke this cup, ye ſhew forth the Lords death till he come: where by it is plaine, that looke what the Apoſtle ſpeakes here concerning the Lords death, the ſame is confined expreſſety to the reference of the Lords death, to the Lords Supper: we muſt alwayes remember the death of the Lord Chriſt Ieſus; every one of us that looke to have any part, or to have any benefit by it, muſt remember it at all times; but yet when as we come to communicate in the Sacrament of the Lords Supper, then there is required of us a more ſpeciall meditation thereof than generally at other times. Again, even in the participation of the Sacrament of the Lords Supper, we muſt meditate upon whole Chriſt, Chriſt borne, Chriſt living, Chriſt dying, Chriſt buried, Chriſt riſen againe; for Chriſt was given wholly for us upon the Croſſe, and Chriſt is given wholly unto us in the Lords Supper, and therfore there we muſt receive Chriſt wholly, and meditate upon whole Chriſt. I but yet in this caſe when wee come to receive the Sacrament, then wee muſt more meditate, and our hearts, and our mindes muſt more runne upon the death of Chriſt than upon any thing elſe that ever Chriſt did or ſuffered for us: it is the death of the Lord that we muſt take ſpeciall notice of in the Sacrament of the Lords Supper.
Doctr. The Doctrine then and the obſervation that here arifeth for our inſtruction, is this, namely, The principall object, the chiefe matter that is to be conſidered and meditated upon in the participation of the Sacrament of the Lords Supper, is the Lords death, or the death of the Lord Chriſt Ieſus. In the 22. of Luke, at the 19. verſe our Saviour being inſtituting and adminiſtring the Sacrament of the Lords Supper, takes the bread, and breaks it, and gives it to his Diſciples, ſaying, This is my body which is given for you, doe this in remembrance of me: it is not enough for us when we come to the Sacrament, to meditate upon Chriſt his body, as being the body of a living man: but This is my body which is given for you, doe this in remembrance of me: we muſt meditate upon the body of Chriſt as it is given for us, as it was broken for us, as it was crucified for us, as it was put to death for us, and this is the right remembrance of the death of Chriſt in the ſacrament of the Lords Supper: and likewiſe concerning the other part, namely, the cup and the wine, it followes in the twentieth verſe, This cup is the New Teſtament, or this is my blood in the New Teſtament, which is ſhed for you; this is my blood which is ſhed for you. When we come to receive the Sacrament of the Lords Supper, we come to receive the blood of Chriſt ſpiritually, ſacramentally: we doe not receive the blood of Chriſt there as being a living thing within Chriſt, we doe not receive the blood of Chriſt as it is contained within the veſſell and veines of his body; but we receive the blood of Chriſt that is ſhed for us, that he poured out for us, for the remiſſion of our ſins, that is the right object that the hand of the faith of every true beleever doth ſeize and lay hold upon in the Sacrament of the Lords Supper, not the body, but the body broken for us, the body given for us; not the blood, but the blood ſhed and poured out for us; not ſimply Chriſt, but Chriſt dying for us; it is that which is the principall matter of the Sacrament. 1 Cor. 10.16. The cup of bleſſing which we bleſſe, is it not the communion of the blood of Chriſt? the bread which we breake, is it not the communion of the body of Chriſt? The Apoſtle likewiſe ſpeakes there of the Sacrament of the Lords Supper: What is it that the Lord doth communicate unto us in the Sacrament of the Lords Supper on his part? the body and blood of Chriſt; that is to ſay, the death of Chriſt. What is it that we doe communicate in? that we receive from God on our parts the very ſame thing that God gives unto us, the body and blood of Chriſt, that is to ſay, the death of Chriſt. Why then it is the body and blood of Chriſt, that is communicated unto us, (which cannot be communicated unto us without it bee broken & ſhed) that is it I ſay which we receive in the Sacrament of the Lords Supper, and that is the thing that is chiefly therein to bee reſpected. 1 Cor. 11.29. Hee that eates and drinkes unworthily, eates and drinkes his owne damnation. All of us are unworthy receivers of this Sacrament: who is worthy of ſuch great things as theſe are? we bring with us many failings and imperfections to the Lords table: the beſt of us all let us prepare our ſelves as well as we can, yet for theſe failings of ours we are to be humbled before the Lord, and to ſtrive againſt them: but though we have theſe failings, yet if ſo be we diſcerne the Lords body, that is to ſay, if our faith doth rightly ſeize upon the death of Chriſt in the Sacrament, here is the principall matter that is to be looked unto: I ſay, if we rightly apprehend the death of Chriſt in the Sacrament, then the principall is whole, our failings and our imperfections the Lord will graciouſly paſſe by them, and he will pardon them in mercy: and though we be unworthy in reſpect of our ſelves, yet the Lord will accept us as worthy in Chriſt Ieſus. I, but on the other ſide, if we do not diſcerne the Lords body, if when we come to receive the Sacrament of the Lords Supper, our hearts and our faith doe not rightly lay hold upon the death of Chriſt, why then wee faile in the very principall of the buſineſſe: and though wee ſhould bring other graces with us, as knowledge of God, ſorrow for ſin, and the like, yet all theſe ſhall not helpe us, but ſtill we are unworthy receivers: ſo we are in our ſelves, and ſo wee ſhall bee ſtill reputed of God: we ſhall be ſo farre from having any benefit, that on the contrary it ſhall turn to our judgement and condemnation, becauſe we diſcerned not the Lords body; that is to ſay, becauſe we doe faile in the principall matter that is tendred unto us, namely, the death of Chriſt. Thoſe places ſhall ſuffice for the confirmation of this point out of Scripture: now to confirme it further by reaſon, the Reaſons of this Doctrine are many.
Reaſon 1 The firſt Reaſon is drawne from the compariſon of the ſtate of the former Teſtament with the ſtate of the new Teſtament: all the ſacrifices of the Law, and the Sacraments of the former Teſtament, they did all tend chiefly and pricipally to this end, that therein and thereby the beleevers might be led on to enter into a more ſerious conſideration of the death of Chriſt Ieſus; for ſo the Lord intended them, and ordained thoſe ſacrifices and Sacraments for that purpoſe, and for that very end; and there is no queſtion but ſo the faithfull did make uſe of them from time to time: never any beleever under the ſtate of the former Teſtament, that brought his beaſts, his Bulls, and his Goats to be ſacrificed for ſin, that reſted in them as if they were Sacrifices powerfull and effectuall to take away ſinne: no, ſaith the Apoſtle in the 10 to the Hebrewes, it is impoſsible that the blood of beaſts ſhould take away ſinne; and that the faithfull knew well enough; but yet they ſubmitted themſelves to thoſe ordinances, becauſe they were Gods laws, but ſtill the principall matter that they aymed at in all their ſacrifices, was the death of Chriſt, the death of the Meſſias that was to be ſlaine for the ſinnes of the whole world, for the perfect purging away of ſinne: And ſo in the Sacrament of the Paſſeover, there was never any true beleever that did eate of the paſchall Lambe, but ſtill he had an eye to the true Lamb of God that was ſlain from the beginning of the world; that as that Paſchall Lambe was a memoriall of the deliverance of the children of Iſraell out of Aegypt, and from the hands of Pharaoh, ſo the true Lambe of GOD, namely, the Sonne of God, hee ſhould come and deliver us from hell, death, and damnation: now if ſo be that it were ſo in the Sacrifices and Sacraments of the Old Teſtament, it muſt needs be ſo in the Sacraments of the New Teſtament too: if it were ſo with them that lived before the death of Chriſt, that had but the ſhadow in reſpect of us, how much more muſt it be ſo with us that live in the cleare light, Chriſt having already ſuffered in the fleſh. I grant, we have no ſacrifices propitiatory for ſinne, as they had: Chriſt Ieſus himſelfe the onelyonly true propitiation for our ſinnes, being once ſacrificed on the Croſſe, there is no further place or uſe for any other propitiatory ſacrifices whatſoever: but yet ſeeing our Sacraments are as much to us as both ſacrifices and ſacraments were to the Iewes, ſtill the reaſon holds that if the ſacrifices and ſacraments of the Law tended chiefly to the meditation of the death of Chriſt Ieſus the Meſſias, as that being the chiefe object that they were therein to lay hold upon; then certainly the principall and chiefe matter in the Sacraments of the new Teſtament, and ſo particularly of the Lords Supper, muſt be the death of Chriſt Ieſus.
Reaſon 2 A ſecond Reaſon is drawne from a compariſon of the Word with the Sacrament; it is ſo in the Word, therefore it is ſo in the Sacrament: it is ſo in the Word, that Chriſt Ieſus is the very ſubſtance of the Word, the chiefe contents of the Goſpell, and therefore the Goſpell is called the preaching of the Croſſe of Chriſt, that is to ſay, the preaching of the death of Chriſt, or the preaching of Chriſt crucified. 1 Cor. 1.18.23. We preach Chriſt crucified unto the Iewes even a ſtumbling block, and unto the Grecians fooliſhneſſe. And the Apoſtle in 1 Cor. 2.2. ſaith, I eſteemed not to know any thing among you, ſave Ieſus Chriſt, and him crucified: or as we may expound it according to the originall, I eſteemed nothing worthy to be knowne, ſave Ieſus Chriſt, and him crucified. What? nothing elſe worthy to be knowne? is not the rejecting of the Iewes a matter worthy to be knowne? is not the calling of the Gentiles a matter worthy to bee known? is not the reſurrection of the dead a matter worthy to be known? Yes, all theſe are worthy to be known, but nothing worthy to be known in compariſon of Ieſus Chriſt & him crucified: there is the chiefe matter, there is the ſubſtance of the Goſpell: now if ſo be that it be ſo in regard of the Goſpel, then it is ſo in the Sacraments too; for the Word & the Sacramēts as they muſt go together, ſo they tend to one & the ſame thing: that which the Word tels us, the Sacrament ſeales unto us. If it be ſo therfore in the Word, it is ſo in the Sacrament: and this we muſt know, as the letter of the word being only written or read, can never profit us to ſalvation, without we have the ſenſe and the ſpirit of the word, which is Ieſus Chriſt crucified: ſo the bread & the wine in the ſacrament profiteth nothing to ſalvation, without Chriſt be ſeized upon and apprehended in our hearts, all the other is but a ſhadow without this: we have not the ſubſtance, if we have not Chriſt crucified.
Reaſon 3 The third is drawne from the compariſon of this Sacrament with the other Sacrament in the new Teſtament, namely, Baptiſme: the chiefe contents, the chiefe ſubſtance of Baptiſme, what is it? It is the death of Chriſt. Rom. 6.3. Know ye not that all we which have been baptized into Ieſus Chriſt, have beene baptized into his death? What are wee baptized into? into the death of Chriſt; there is the ſubſtance of our Baptiſme: what is it that we are waſhed by? by the death of Chriſt, or the blood of Chriſt. Our Saviour ſaith in the 16. of Marke, and the 16. verſe, He that ſhall beleeve and be baptized, ſhall be ſaved; but he that will not beleeve, ſhall be damned: he that doth receive the Sacrament, and in or by the Sacrament doth apprehend Ieſus Chriſt crucified, and doth therein beleeve to bee waſhed and cleanſed from his ſin, hee ſhall be ſaved, ſaith our Saviour: there is the outward element in Baptiſme, as water; there is an outward action, as ſprinkling; but the outward element and action is nothing, without Ieſus Chriſt doe waſh us with his owne blood: So it is in the Sacrament of the Lords Supper; the ſubſtance of it is the death of Chriſt Ieſus; the bread and the wine are the elements; and they doe no more good of themſelves, than the water doth in Baptiſme. But the death of Chriſt being diſcerned in and by this holy myſtery, thus it comes to be a ſaving ordinance of God. The reaſon ſtands thus; The death of Chriſt being the ſubſtance of Baptiſme, it muſt alſo be the ſubſtance of the Sacrament of the Lords Supper; for Baptiſme we know enters us into that eſtate which the Lords Supper confirmes us in; and the Lords Supper confirmes us further in that holy eſtate, which Baptiſme enters us into: now we muſt not enter into one eſtate, and bee confirmed in another: Therefore the ſubſtance of each Sacrament muſt be one and the ſame; and ſo conſequently, the death of Chriſt being the ſubſtance of the one, it muſt alſo be the ſubſtance of the other.
Reaſon 4 A fourth reaſon is drawne from the nature of this Sacrament: it is the Teſtament of Chriſt; and a Teſtament cannot be of force without the death of the Teſtator. That the Sacrament is the Teſtament of Chriſt, it is our Saviours owne ſpeech in the 26. of Matth. verſe 28. For this is my blood of the new Teſtament that is ſhed for many for the remiſſion of ſinnes: there is the Sacrament called by the name of the new Teſtament; it is not properly the new Teſtament it ſelfe, but it is not called, becauſe it is a ſigne and a ſeale of the new Teſtament: now likewiſe that the Teſtament is not of force, but by the death of the Teſtator, that the Apoſtle Paul confirmes, in the 9. to the Hebrewes, the 14, 15, 16, and 17, verſes, by the example of mens Teſtaments, and applyes it to the Teſtament of Chriſt Ieſus: ſaith he, The Teſtament of man is not of force till he be dead: Lay all this together, and marke it well; Chriſt Ieſus himſelfe is the Teſtator, the Sacrament of the Lords Supper is his Teſtament, the Teſtament cannot bee of force without the death of the Teſtator: and ſo you ſee the whole force of the Sacrament of the Lords Supper conſiſts in the death of Chriſt Ieſus, and therefore that is the chiefe matter in the Sacrament.
Reaſon 5 The laſt reaſon is drawn from the benefit thereby confirmed unto us. What is the chiefe benefit? Remiſſion of ſinnes: and under that is compriſed all the good that we doe receive by Chriſt. Matth. 26.28. For this is my blood of the new Teſtament that is ſhed for many for the remiſsion of ſinnes. Remiſſion of ſinnes is the benefit; there is no remiſſion of ſinnes but onelyonly by the blood of Ieſus Chriſt: as it is in the 1. of Iohn 11.7. It is the blood of Ieſus Chriſt that clenſeth us from all our ſinnes. On the other ſide, in Hebr. 9.22. Where there is no ſhedding of blood, there is no remiſsion of ſinnes: then conſider of it, there is no purchaſing of remiſſion of ſinnes by Chriſt but by his blood; there is no obtaining of remiſſion of ſinnes by us, but onelyonly by participating or by communicating in the blood or death of Chriſt Ieſus: the death of Chriſt Ieſus is not communicated unto us in the Sacrament, except we partake of it, and ſeize upon it by faith in the Sacrament: therefore the chiefe and principall matter in the Sacrament, is the death of Ieſus Chriſt, if ſo be that in the receiving of the Sacrament we come with our harts ſprinkled with the blood of Chriſt Ieſus by the Spirit of God; why then we are ſure to be made partakers of the whole benefit of the Sacrament, remiſſion of ſinnes: but if wee doe not come with the blood of Chriſt ſo ſprinkled in our hearts by the Spirit of God, we doe not ſeize upon the death of Chriſt, wee have no benefit in the Sacrament; if there be not ſhedding of blood, there is no remiſſion of ſinnes: Chriſt himſelfe could never have redeemed us from death, without his blood had beene ſhed for us; and ſo we can never have any benefit by his redemption, without his blood be ſprinkled in our hearts, and we take faſt hold upon the death of Ieſus Chriſt. The Vſes of the doctrine are theſe.
Vſe 1 The firſt is this; this yeelds us matter of reproofe of divers that doe come unto the Lords Table, and yet are not ſenſible of the death of the Lord Ieſus Chriſt; they come to the Lords table, but they know not what they come about. Alas, as Salomon ſaith, Eccles. 4.17. Such men doe but offer the ſacrifice of fooles. they doe not know they doe evill; they doe but offer the ſacrifice of fooles, becauſe they doe not know what they doe; that is the meaning of the place, that they doe not heare or learne, they doe not underſtand, they are not well taught what it is that they muſt principally meditate upon when they come to the Sacrament of the Lords Supper. Sily men and women that ſo come to the Lords Table, alas they know not that they doe evill, they know not that they prophane the Sacrament, in that they doe not receive the holy things of the Sacrament, that is, the death of Chriſt; they know not that they make themſelves guilty of the blood of Chriſt, in that they receive not the body and blood of Chriſt by faith: Chriſt he is tendred unto them, but they know not that they doe eate their owne damnation, in that they apprehend not the death of Ieſus Chriſt which is the chiefe matter that is there tendred unto them, and that the Lord calls them unto: they offer the ſacrifice of fooles, they know not that they doe evill. I will give you a compariſon. If ſo be that a man ſhould goe into the market to fetch ſuch and ſuch commodities that he ſtands in need of, he makes himſelfe ready, and goes forth, and makes full accompt to bring them home with him, but the fooliſh man never conſiders the price of theſe things, what they will coſt him, and ſo hee takes no money to pay for them, when as the price is the chiefeſt thing to be reſpected in that he goes about, but he never conſiders that: Is not this a ridiculous man? is not that man like to come home as fooliſh and as emptie as he went out? It is ſo with many of our Communicants; many here come to the Lords Table; for what, forſooth? to furniſh themſelves with ſuch and ſuch commodities, for to receive the holy Sacrament, the body and blood of Chriſt, for to receive remiſſion of ſinnes, and grace, and comfort, and ſuch like; theſe they come to receive, I but they do not conſider the price of theſe things: what is that? the death of Chriſt, for theſe things coſt Chriſt Ieſus his moſt precious blood: they doe not bring faith in their hearts, whereby to purchaſe and get theſe things for themſelves, therefore ſuch men goe away as fooliſh and ridiculous, and as empty of grace as ever they were before; yea they are ſo much the more damnable, becauſe they come thus unfurniſhed. It is with many of us as it was with the Iewes that the Apoſtle ſpeakes of in the 2. to the Corinthians, chap. 3. verſ. 14, 15. Their mindes are hardned, for unto this day remaineth the ſame covering untaken away in the reading of the old Teſtament, which veile in Chriſt is put away: but even unto this day, when Moſes is read, the veile is laid over their hearts. They could ſee the outward things, the ſacrifices, the ceremonies, and the letter of the old Teſtament, as the Apoſtle ſpeakes; I, but ſaith the Apoſtle, they could not looke unto the end, they could not looke unto the ſubſtance of thoſe things that were tendred unto them in this outward ſhadow, that is to ſay, they could not looke upon Chriſt, that is the ſubſtance of all; no, ſaith the Apoſtle, there is a veile over their hearts, and to this day they continue in their hardneſſe: ſo I ſay it is with many among us, wee come here unto the Lords Table, we can ſee theſe outward things well enough, the bread and the wine; I but yet many of us doe not looke to the end of theſe things, to the ſubſtance that is tendred unto us in theſe holy myſteries, namely, to the death of Chriſt; wee doe not diſcerne the Lords body; there is a veile over the hearts of many of us, a covering of blindneſs over the harts of many of us, therefore though we doe come often, this month, and the next month, yet ſtill wee continue in the hardneſſe of our hearts: we are never the better till this veile be taken away, as the Apoſtle ſpeakes of the Iewes; till this veile be taken away by Chriſt, till Chriſt Ieſus doe take away this veile of blindneſſe, and ſhew them his death, and preſent his death unto them, and cauſe them to looke upon him whom they have pierced, till ſuch time that this veile be taken away, and that he preſent his death to their hearts by his Spirit, they ſhall never be the better for it, they do continue in their hardneſſe, and they ſhall continue in their hardneſſe for ever. Therefore, beloved, let us not deceive our ſelves, to thinke that wee are more holy and religious receivers than indeed we are: let us try our ſelves when wee come to the Lords Table, examine our ſelves upon this point, what apprehenſion we have of the death of Chriſt, what portion wee have in the death of Chriſt, and accordingly as thou findeſt ſome meaſure of this grace within thee, ſo come, and ſo expect a bleſſing from God: but if thou have a veile before thee, and thou canſt not ſee and behold the death of Chriſt, that is to ſay, Chriſt Ieſus crucified for the taking away of thy ſinnes, ſurely thou art not in caſe to come to the Table of the Lord.
Vſe 2 The ſecond Vſe of this Doctrine is matter of inſtruction, and it ſerves to inſtruct us in many good Chriſtian duties. Is it ſo, that the very ſubſtance and the chiefeſt matter of the Lords Supper is the death of Chriſt Ieſus, then this ſhould teach us in the firſt place that wee ſhould hunger and thirſt & long after this Sacramēt: we muſt hunger & thirſt after grace, we muſt hunger & thirſt after righteouſneſſe: the death of Ieſus Chriſt is our grace, and our righteouſneſſe, and the ſame alſo is the ſubſtance of this Sacrament; therefore wee muſt hunger and thirſt after this Sacrament. Oh, beloved, that wee could but conſider with our ſelves the worth of the death of Ieſus Chriſt, which was as great a matter as the whole world beſides: or if we could but conſider the neceſſity of the death of Chriſt, that without the ſenſe and feeling of it in our hearts it is impoſſible that any man can be ſaved: or if we could but conſider the power of the death of Chriſt, what a force it hath to beat downe the power of ſinne, hell, and death: and if we could conſider the ſweetneſſe of Chriſt crucified, the crucifying of Chriſt is the very life of a man that is truly regenerate and converted to God: if wee could but conſider the benefit of Chriſt Ieſus crucified, all grace and all glory belongs unto us by the death of Chriſt: laſtly, if we could but conſider the glory of Chriſt crucified, Chriſt was moſt glorious upon the Croſſe, when he was in the height of his obedience, and ſo God beheld him, and then indeed did he procure moſt glory to us: as it was his glory, ſo it is our chiefeſt glory: I rejoyce in nothing but in Chriſt crucified, ſaith the Apoſtle: If wee could ſoundly taſte of theſe things, the worthineſſe of Chriſt crucified, the neceſſity of Chriſt crucified, the power of Chriſt crucified, the ſweetneſſe of Chriſt crucified, the benefit of Chriſt crucified, the glory of Chriſt crucified, we would hunger againe and againe after the Sacrament of the Lords Supper, after the death of Chriſt therein tendred unto us: it ſhould whet us on to a ſpirituall appetite to this heavenly banquet.
This teacheth us in the ſecond place, what bee the graces that every one of us muſt be furniſhed withall when we doe come to the Lords Table: What be the ſpeciall graces? why, all graces that are any way reſpective to the death of Chriſt; it is the death of Chriſt that there we come to celebrate; now becauſe every grace is in ſome ſort or other reſpective to the death of Chriſt, therefore every one of us ſhold come furniſhed in ſome meaſure or other with every grace: but yet there be ſome graces that be more proper and nearer reſpective to the death of Chriſt than others are, and theſe we muſt all be furniſhed withall when we come to the Sacrament; they be ſo neceſſary, that if we come not with them it is damnable for us to come at all. There bee many, I will but touch theſe five; Knowledge, Faith, Love, Obedience, & Thankfulneſſe. The firſt grace is knowledge; we muſt bee indued with knowledge, the knowledge of God generally, and likewiſe of all other matters that be neceſſary to ſalvation; but more ſpecially the knowledge of Chriſt Ieſus crucified: we muſt know the ſtory of his crucifying, the benefit and power of his crucifying; but yet more particularly we muſt know Chriſt Ieſus crucified in reference to the Lords Supper; there is the particular knowledge required of us, the preſence of Chriſt in that Sacrament, the power of Chriſt in that Sacrament, the benefits of Chriſt in that Sacrament, theſe bee the things that wee muſt be well acquainted withall, except we know theſe things wecome in a miſerable caſe. I ſhewed you that the death of Chriſt muſt bee meditated upon in the Sacrament of the Lords Supper; here is the eye whereby wee doe diſcerne Chriſt crucified in theſe holy myſteries, even the knowledge of Chriſt crucified in reference to the Sacrament of the Lords Supper; and therefore as ever thou lookeſt to have any benefit by the Sacrament of the Lords Supper, whoſoever thou art, ſee that thou be experienced, and well ſeene, and well grounded in the knowledge of Chriſt crucified, be not to ſeeke of this when thou doeſt come, ſee that thou have this knowledge before thou commeſt; hee that hath his money to ſeeke when he ſhould pay for his meat, is like to faſt; ſo if we have not this knowledge before we come to the Lords Supper, if we be not well experienced in this grace, we are like to faſt, we are like to him that hath his weapons to ſeeke when hee ſhould goe to fight, he is like to be beaten.
Secondly, we muſt bring Faith with us, that is the ſecond grace; faith to apprehend the death of Chriſt, to apprehend Ieſus Chriſt crucified, and this is as it were the hand whereby we doe apply and lay hold upon Ieſus Chriſt; for it is but in vaine for us to know Chriſt crucified, except we doe apply him to our ſelves, the eie of knowledge cannot ſave us, without we doe apply him with the hand of faith: by faith we doe as it were lay hold upon Chriſt in the Sacrament, and lay his death upon our ſores, as a plaiſter to cure them, and as a cordiall to our ſoules to comfort them.
Thirdly, there muſt be Love in us; love to God, love to Chriſt, and love to our brethren for Gods cauſe, for the death of Ieſus Chriſt being firſt wel knowne and underſtood, then ſecondly, well beleeved and applyed by faith, worketh in us a kind of ſenſible feeling of the love of God towards us in Chriſt Ieſus, and thereby kindles in us a love to God himſelfe and to Chriſt, and then conſequently to our brethren: if God hath ſo loved us, we muſt alſo love him; and if Chriſt have ſo loved us as to give himſelfe for us, how ought we to love Chriſt, and to love one another for his ſake? This is the heart, as a man would ſay, whereby we do give entertainment unto Ieſus Chriſt crucified, whereby we doe embrace him within us: and ſurely whoſoever can come to this, that our hearts be ſeaſoned with a love to God, and to Chriſt, and to our brethren for his ſake, out of queſtion the Lord Ieſus Chriſt dwells in us, and lives in us, and we dwell and live in him.
The fourth grace is Obedience, even obedience to the whole will of God; here comes in the whole duty of a Chriſtian, as well repentance as new obedience. This is a grace ſpecially reſpective to the death of Ieſus Chriſt; Ieſus Chriſt he was perfectly obedient in his death; and whoſoever we are that have our hearts rightly ſeaſoned with the death of Chriſt, why ſurely it will worke a conſcionable obedience to the will and commandement of God, to be ſorrowfull for our ſins paſt, to deny our ſelves, to mortifie the luſts of the fleſh, to dye to ſinne, theſe be the naturall effects of the death of Chriſt in the hearts of beleevers, theſe we muſt bring with us, to bee conformable to the whole wil of God, as Chriſt was in his life, and ſpecially at his death. I am come, ſaith he, to doe thy will O God: and thus doth the death of Chriſt frame the hearts of every one of us to true obedience: I am content to doe thy will O God; this is as it were even the practiſing of the death of Chriſt crucified, namely, in our obedience to God, denying our owne ſelves, in mortifying our owne ſinfull luſts and affections; for wee muſt know that theſe meditations muſt not be dead meditations, but ſuch as muſt be lively and operative to quicken us up to obedience to Gods wil.
The laſt grace is Thankfulneſſe, to acknowledge all honour and thankes to be due unto God for this great worke of our Redemption by the blood of Ieſus Chriſt, this is a chiefe grace that we muſt chiefly bring with us to the Lords Supper, to give God the praiſe and glory of it: and this is our rejoycing in the death of Ieſus Chriſt: it is not poſſible that a man ſhould know Chriſt Ieſus, or that a man ſhould love Chriſt for his death, or that he ſhould obey Chriſt, but he muſt alſo rejoyce in the death of Chriſt: and how ſhould wee rejoyce in the Lord, but by giving him thanks, and ſinging of praiſe to him for this great benefit, every one muſt bring theſe graces in ſome meaſure, or elſe hee is not fit to come to the Sacrament of the Lords Supper: Now if ſo bee the Lord ſhould come among us, and make an inquirie, and rip up every one of us, alas how ſhould he finde every one of us to be empty of theſe graces, or elſe full of imperfections in every one of them: well, yet though we have failings, ſtill let us labour for theſe graces, let us pray to God for theſe graces, and let us never doubt if we do pray and labour for them conſcionably, but that firſt God will give us in ſome meaſure every one of them; ſecondly, if wee come with a true deſire, God will graciouſly accept of our deſire, as if we had poſſeſſion of the graces themſelves: but the chiefeſt matter is this, that that which wee have, and that which we want of theſe graces, the Lord will ſupply them all out of the fulneſſe of Chriſt, who is full of grace and truth, and of whoſe fulneſſe we all receive grace for grace, therefore let us ſeeke for theſe graces, and labour for them, and uſe the meanes, and let us put our ſelves to the mercy and leaſure of God, and let us not doubt but that the Lord will be mercifull unto us, and he will give them us ſo farre forth as ſhall ſuffice for the ſaving of our ſoules.
Another matter of inſtruction is this; this teacheth us what it is that wee muſt eſpecially looke after when wee come to the Sacrament of the Lords Supper, that which is ſpecially tendred unto us, the death of Chriſt. I ſhewed you firſt there muſt be hungring and thirſting; and ſecondly, what graces we muſt bring with us; now what is the chiefe matter that we muſt ayme at? the very death of Ieſus Chriſt, to diſcerne it: and here we muſt inlarge our thoughts to many conſiderations. Firſt and for moſt we muſt conſider with our ſelves that Chriſt dyed for us, that he ſuffered a ſhamefull and a cruell death; then when we have conſidered of that, we muſt conſider that Chriſts death is a ſufficient ranſome for mans redemption. I, but I muſt goe further, and ſay that I am one of the perſons that ſhed Chriſts blood, thogh it were the Iewes act, yet it was my ſinne: and then further, that that blood which I have ſpilt, the ſame ſhall bee effectuall through Gods rich mercy, for the ſaving of my ſoule: and then withall I muſt tye my ſelfe to obey the death of Ieſus Chriſt, and to be made like unto it, and conformable thereunto.
The laſt Vſe: It ſhould teach us what is the ſtraine, the higheſt ſtraine, the higheſt pitch that a man ſhould reach at in the receiving of the Sacrament: Wee muſt ſo diſcerne the death of Chriſt in the Sacrament, that we may bee made partakers of Chriſts death: Firſt, to be ſwallowed up of it with an holy admiration and a fervent meditation thereupon: and ſecondly, to be more and more incorporate into it by a holy kinde of union: thirdly and laſtly, to be ſaved by it, as by the all-ſufficient price of our redemption. Firſt, we muſt come to meditate, and ſo to partake of it, as that we be ſwallowed up with the meditation of the death of Ieſus Chriſt; the death of Ieſus Chriſt is a bottomleſſe depth, man cannot reach it, the Angels cannot reach it, and wee cannot comprehend it, and therefore the beſt way is, when we have conſidered all the occurrences of it that we can, let us lay our ſelves wholly into the hands of God, to be ſwallowed up with that holy meditation of the death of Chriſt, and to bee comprehended of that which wee are not able to comprehend. Secondly, to bee more and more incorporated into it by a holy kind of union, every man that is a true beleever, that is converted unto God, is already incorporated into Chriſt his death; ſo then when we come to the Sacrament of the Lords Supper, we muſt partake the death of Chriſt, ſo, as that we may be the more incorporated into it, that is, to be made more and more one with Chriſt in his death, than ever we were before, more crucified and more mortified than ever wee were before; there is no way whereby we can have part in Chriſt but by union, and there is no way whereby we can have uniō with Chriſt, but by being incorporate into him by the power of his death; and there is no better way to make us more incorporate into the death of Chriſt, than the Sacrament of the Lords Supper is; and therefore when we come to this, let this be our ſtraine, not onelyonly to bee ſwallowed up with the meditation of the death of Chriſt, but labour to be more and more incorporate into the death of Chriſt thereby.
Laſt of all, let us ſo labour to bee made partakers of it, that we may be ſaved by it, as being the all-ſufficient price of our Redemption, for by the death of Ieſus Chriſt the wrath of God is appeaſed, the Law of God is fulfilled, there the Iuſtice of God is ſatisfied, for there our ſinnes are pardoned, there our ranſome is payd, there is all performed whatſoever is neceſſary for the ſalvation of mankinde, and therefore as at all times, ſo then eſpecially when we come to the Sacrament of the Lords Supper, let us labour to be ſo made partakers of the Lords death, & of that infinite benefit that ariſeth by it, that wee may be ſaved by it, as by the all-ſufficient price of our Redemption.
The end of the ſeventeenth Lecture.