Sacramental Discourses Before and After the Lords Supper, Discourse 6

Sacramental Discourses Before and After the Lords Supper · Discourse 6

The Sixth Diſcourſe, After the LORD'S SUPPER. OF Chriſt's Laſt Paſſover, And its Accompliſhment.

From LUKE XXII. 15, 16, 17, 18.

With deſire have I deſired to eat this Paſſover with you befo…e I ſuffer.

For I ſay unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the Kingdom of God.

And he took the Cup, and gave thanks, and ſaid, Take this, and divide it among your ſelves.

For I ſay unto you, I will not drink of the Fruit of the Vine, until the Kingdom of God ſhall come.

GReater Love hath no Man than this, ſaith our Bleſſed Lord, than to lay down his Life for his Friend; To part with that for Another, which, of all things, is the deareſt and the moſt valuable to himſelf. p. 200In all Ages of the Chriſtian Church, there have been ſome, ready to give this Proof of their Love to Him who ſpake theſe words, by not loving their Lives unto the Death, when they ſtood in Competition with their Fidelity to Chriſt. And with how much the greater Chearfulneſs and Alacrity, Willingneſs and Deſire, they did it; by ſo much the more powerful, and conſtraining was the Principle of Love. By this we may make ſome Judgment, what manner of Love it was, wherewith the Lord Redeemer loved us, when he gave Himſelf for us an Offering, and a Sacrifice of a ſweet ſmelling Odour unto God. The Voluntarineſs of his Sacrifice argued the Excellency of his Incomparable Love.

Though his Death was Neceſſary, with reſpect to the Eternal Purpoſe and Appointment of Heaven, For it was by the determinate Counſel of God, that the Meſſiah ſhould ſuffer Death; And though it were Violent, with reſpect to the Inſtrumentality of Men in his Crucifixion, they did it with violent hands: Yet with reference to himſelf, his Death was voluntary, He made a willing Sacrifice of his own Life; He laid it down; None elſe could have taken it from him. He gave himſelf a Ranſom, He became Poor, p. 201He made himſelf of no Reputation, He poured out his Soul unto Death, It was not rent from him. He was obedient to Death, even the Death of the Croſs. This gave an extraordinary value to his Sufferings: Upon this depended the Merit of his Sacrifice, and the Efficacy of his Blood. And this is one endearing Circumſtance, which heightens his Love, and calls for our thankful Admiration.

He willingly offered himſelf in the firſt Council of Peace about our Redemption, and undertook to ſuffer for us, and make ſatisfaction to Divine Juſtice. And after his Incarnation, he always knew, and frequently foretold his own Sufferings and Death. He reproves Peter, as if he acted the Devil's part, when he would have diſſwaded him from it. Yea, he moſt earneſtly deſired this moſt bloody Baptiſm, I have a Baptiſm to be Baptized with, and how am I ſtraitened till it be accompliſhed? Luke 12.50. The night before his Sufferings he makes his laſt Will and Teſtament, and leaves it with his Diſciples, Giving his blood to drink in the Sacrament, to ſhow, h…w willingly he would pour it out the next d…y upon the Croſs. And on this Account he ſo earneſtly deſired to eat this Paſſover, which the Text ſpeaks of, becauſe it was the laſt, before he ſhould ſuffer Death. And afterwards, even the ſame Evening he goe… out into the Garden, where he knew he ſhould be betrayed; And ſo in effect, he brings himſelf to the Door of the Tabernacle, to be offered to God a Sacrifice for us.

With deſire have I deſired to eat this Paſſover with you, before I ſuffer. As if he had ſaid, The Sufferings I have ſo often ſpoke of, are now approaching; The hour is at hand, when I ſhall be betrayed, and Crucified; This is the laſt Paſſover I ſhall ever keep with you, before I am lifted up from the Earth; And therefore I moſt earneſtly deſire it, becauſe it is the laſt, that will precede my Death: Whereby I ſhall put an end to theſe legal Services, which have all along referr'd to me, and to the Sacrifice and Oblation I am to make for ſin. Henceforth I will eat and drink no more of the Paſſover Supper, for my own Sufferings and Death is that which they ſignified, and related to. I am the true Paſchal Lamb, All the Rites and Obſervances about the killing, and eating of it, were but Typical of my Paſſion, and ſhall now be fulfilled.

p. 203And here, 1. I ſhall conſider the Paſſover, which our Lord deſired to eat of. 2. His ardent Deſire to eat of this Paſſover, and the Reaſon of it. 3. The Company with whom he deſired to eat it, With you. 4. The Time when, Before I ſuffer. 5. The Accompliſhment of it in the Kingdom of God. What we are to underſtand by the Kingdom of God, and what by the fulfilling of it therein. 6. His Reſolution and Declaration, That he would eat and drink no more ſo, till it were Accompliſhed. Lastly, Some Reflections, as the Application of the whole.

1. Concerning the Feast of Paſſover. You have the Inſtitution of it, Exod. 12. the beginning. Where we find, that it was appointed by God, as a Memorial of the Iſraelites ſlavery in Egypt, and their Deliverance out of it. Former Miracles having been unſucceſsful upon Pharaoh, God intends to ſlay all the Firſt-born of Egypt in one Night; whereby, in part, the Curſe of God pronounc't on Cha…, is exec…ted on his Poſterity▪ viz. the Egyptians; in deſtroying All the Firſt-born of bot… Man and Beaſt. The Iſraelites were ordered by Moſes to ſlay a Lamb, on the Fourteenth day of the Firſt Month, which anſwers to our p. 204March, and to Sprinkle the Poſts of their Doors with the Blood of that Lamb, and to feed upon the Fleſh of it, in their ſeveral Families. That very Night the deſtroying Angel ſtrikes the Firſt-born of every Family, where this Command, of ſprinkling the Door-poſts with the Blood of the Lamb, was not obſerved. On this, you know, they were delivered out of Egypt the Egyptians not only giving leave, but d…ſiring them to be gone. And this Deliverance being the Foundation of the Jewiſh State, was to be perpetually obſerved by them in their Generations, and to be an Ordinance for ever, Exod. 12 42.

The whole Inſtitution of the Paſchal Lamb is called by the Name of the Paſſover, though it refer eſpecially to the firſt Lamb in Egypt, whoſe blood was ſprinkled on the Door-poſts of the Iſraelites Houſes, when the deſtroying Angel paſſed them by. And the Reaſon of that Name, Paſſover, is becauſe of the Angels paſſing by their Houſes, and their conſequent Deliverance out of Egypt, paſſing out of the Houſe of Bondage into Liberty. And nothing is more uſual, than to give to the Cauſe the Name of the Effect. Upon which Account Chriſt is called our Righteouſneſs, Wiſdom, p. 205Reſurrection, and Life, &c. But the ſame Name, Paſſo…er, is alſo given to thoſe Lambs which were ſlain every year afterwards: This Feaſt being Annually obſer…ed, in remembrance of that Deliverance of theirs out of Egypt. This being a conſtant Memorial of the firſt Paſſover, has the ſame Name given it, with that to which it re…ated. And this alſo is common in Scripture, to give the Name of the thing ſignified, to the Sign which repreſents it. So the Jews are ſaid to k ll the Paſſover, that is, the Paſchal Lamb, which was in remembrance of the Angels paſſing by their Houſes, and their conſequent Deliverance out of Egypt. Thus Circumciſion is called the Covenant of God, And the Rock in the Wilderneſs is called Christ, And the Seven Candlesticks in St. John's Viſion, are the Seven Churches, That is, Theſe are ſignified, and repreſented by them.

'Tis therefore very abſurd for the Romaniſts to inſiſt upon theſe Words, This is my Body, to prove, that the Subſtance of Chriſt's Fleſh and Blood is in the Sa rament. They may as well argue, That the Paſchal Lamb that Chriſt did eat with his Diſciples, was the ſame with that which was ſlain by the Iſraelites p. 206in Egypt; Or that it was not an Animal, becauſe it is called a Paſſover; Or that the Paſchal Lamb was Tranſubſtantiated into the Fleſh of Chriſt, becauſe Chriſt is called our Paſſover, and ſometimes called the Lamb of God, as well as the Bread in the Sacrament called his Body, and the Wine his Blood.

Before I leave this Head, I might mention the Hiſtorical Evidence, that agrees to that of the Holy Scriptures, concerning the Iſraelites Paſſover in Egypt and the ſprinkling of their Door-poſts with the Blood of the Lamb, in that Memorable Night of their Delîverance. For the better underſtanding whereof, we may conſider,

1. That the Jews, after the Death of Moſes and Joſhua, were ſeveral times in Subjection to the Neighbouring Nations, and could not have had the Confidence to keep up ſuch a S…lemn Memorial of this thing every Year, if the matter of Fact had not been known to the Egyptians, and their other Neighbours …ound about, to be true; which yet the Jews continued to obſerve every Year, till heir laſt General Diſperſion: And to this day they have ſomething in p. 207Imitation of it, wherever they are ſcattered upon the Face of the Earth. Beſides this,

2. The Tribe of Levi were ſet apart by God, and Conſecrated to him in a Solemn manner, in ſtead of the Firſt-born of the People of Iſrael, that were preſerved in Egypt, as you read, Numb. 3.12, 13. For when I ſmote all the Firſt-born in Egypt, I hallowed unto me all the Firſt-born of Iſrael. They are mine, and the Levites inſtead of them. So that every Levite was a living Memorial of that Miracle.

3. Beſides the conſtant Law injoyned upon the Jews, and obſerved to this day, concerning the Redemption of every, Firſt-born among them, and of unclean Beaſts, Numb. 18.15.

4. The Memory of the Death of the Firſt-born in Egypt, which gave occaſion to the Ceremony of the Paſſover, continued among the Egyptians even after the Death of Chriſt. For**Haereſ. 18. adverſ. Nazaraeos. Epiphanius relates, That at the ſame time of the Year, the Night before the Iſraelites p. 208went out of Egypt, when the Firſt-born in Egypt were ſlain, the Egyptians were wont to mark their Houſes, their Trees, their Sheep, &c. with red; by that, as by a kind of Taliſman, thinking to avoid ſome ſuch Miſchief and Calamity as their Fathers experienced at that time, and which the Iſraelites eſcaped, by following the Advice of Moſes, to Sprinkle the Door-poſts of their Houſes with Blood. Some ſuch Cuſtom as this continued in Egypt, even after the Incarnation of Chriſt.

II. Having ſpoken thus much concerning the Jewiſh Paſſover, Let me now conſider our Lord's deſire to eat of it. With deſire have I deſired to eat of this Paſsover before I ſuffer. With deſire have I deſired. An uſual Hebraiſm, to ſignifie the earneſtneſs, and vehemency of his Deſire. The Evangeliſt Luke hath many Inſtances of this, agreeable to other Expreſſions in other places, as Heb. 6.14. In bleſſing I will bleſs thee, and in multiplying I w…ll multiply thee. The Zeal, and Earneſtneſs, and Ardency of his Deſire is expreſſed by it: Agreeable to that forementioned place, which referr'd to his Death and Sacrifice, Luk. 12.50. I have a Baptiſm to be baptized with, and how am I p. 209ſtraitened till it be accompliſhed. As if he could not live in Eaſe, have no Reſt or Quiet, till he was made a Sacrifice. And that is the firſt and great Reaſon of deſiring this Paſſover,

1. Becauſe this was to be the Laſt before he Suffered. Therefore he ſo earneſtly deſires it. The near approach of his Sufferings did not at all abate his Reſolution, and Deſire of S…ffering, but rather gave an Edge to his Affection. He was ſo far from being diſheartened by the near Proſpect of his Crucifixion, that the nearer he comes to it, the more he deſires it; And therefore deſires to eat of this Paſsover, which was to be his laſt: And then makes his Laſt Will, and Inſtitutes this Supper the ſame Evening, being deſirous every thing ſhould be diſpatched, that was neceſſary or fit to be done before he Suffered.

It was the Laſt Night of his Life, and the Night wherein he was to be Betrayed and foreknew he ſhould be ſo. Other Paſſovers Prefigured his Death, this did both Prefigure and Accompany it: for his Death was now in a manner preſent. 'Twas this that made him long, and deſire to eat this Paſſover, Though at the ſame time he had ſo near a Proſpect of his Amazing Sufferings in the Garden that Night, and on the Croſs the next day. Could we underſtand the Agonies of his tormented mind, that made him complain, That his Soul was ſorrowful even unto death, and Pray with doubled and trebled Importunity, that the Cup might paſs from him; we may then judge of his Love in deſiring to eat of this Paſſover, for this reaſon, becauſe his Laſt.

2. Another Reaſon may be, To give us an Example of Obedience: And therefore, being made under the Law, he would exactly obſerve it; And ſo for our ſakes fulfil all Righteouſneſs, as in many other Inſtances, of Subjection to his own Creatures, of paying Tribute to his own Subjects, &c. And, to teach us Humility, a little before this, he would waſh the Feet of his own Diſciples, with thoſe hands, which, juſt after this Paſſover, had all Power in Heaven and Earth Solemnly given into them.

And not only as to the Moral Law, But he ſtooped down to the very Fringes of the Ceremonial Law, as an Example of Obedience. And therefore the p. 211Skin of his Fleſh was Circumciſed, and his Holy Mother Purified; And he that was the true Paſſover, would keep the Typical one; And ſo, as one well expreſſes it, did obediently ſtand under his own Shadow.

3. One Reaſon of his Deſire to eat of this Paſſover, might be, to put an end to the Sacraments of the Legal Inſtitution. And therefore after the eating of the Paſſover, he inſtituted the Lords Supper, which ſucceeds in its room; Which is a Feaſt upon the Sacrifice of Chriſt, the True Lamb of God, the true Chriſtian Paſſover, in Remembrance of our Deliverance by Him from Sin and Hell, from Death and the Devil. Thoſe things therefore that were but Types and Shadows of Him, muſt ceaſe after his Death, the Truth and Subſtance of them being now Accompliſhed, as I ſhall ſhew preſently.

4. Another Reaſon might be, That he might have Fellowſhip and Communion with his Diſciples. And that leads to the conſideration of the Third thing.

III. The Company with whom he deſires to eat this his laſt Paſſover, With You. The Jews tell us concerning the Number of thoſe that were to eat the p. 212Paſſover, That it was not to be under Ten, for the whole Lamb was to be eaten: Nor above Twenty, leſt they ſhould need two Lambs. Therefore our Lord ſent word to one of his Diſciples, to prepare every thing for that Solemnity; that the Houſe might be ſearched if there were any Leavened Bread left in it; Which they were wont to do very carefully in every corner, ſaying, Bleſsed art thou, O Lord, who haſt Sanctified us by thy Precepts: And then throwing a little Duſt into the Air, they uſed theſe words, or the like, If there be any leavened Bread in this Houſe, let it be as this duſt, cast into the Air. But the principal Reaſon of ſending word beforehand, might be, becauſe the Perſons in the Family were to be numbred. And it is not improbable, but there were more Men than the Apoſtles and our Lord, who were preſent at the eating of this Paſſover, and it may be ſome Women too. For,

1. It is probable, That the Man and his Family, in whoſe Houſe it was, did eat of the Paſſover with Chriſt and his Apoſtles. Secondly, The Expreſſions of the Evangeliſt are very conſiderable, concerning him that ſhould betray him. p. 213There is a Threefold Gradation; He ſays, firſt, in the General, One of you ſhall betray me: And afterwards he comes nearer, and ſays, One of the Twelve; Or, of my Apostles, often ſo called: So that at the eating of this Paſſover, there ſeemed to have been more preſent than the Twelve Apostles. And afterwards he particularizeth the Perſon, He that dippeth his hand with me in the diſh. Thirdly, We read that the Virgin Mary, and two or three other Women, did uſually accompany him, and were then at Jeruſalem to eat the Paſſover: For the next day the Virgin Mary was ſtanding by the Croſs, when our Lord was Crucified: And it being the Jewiſh Cuſtom for the Relations to join together at the Paſſover Supper, it is not unlikely that ſhe did eat the Paſſover with Chriſt; And it being in the Houſe of one of his Diſciples, ſhe might tarry there that night, while he went out from thence about Eleven or Twelve a Clock at Night into the Garden, where he was betrayed and taken; And ſhe hearing of his being taken, might go to the High Prieſts Hall, and be at the Croſs the next Morning, at Nine a Clock.

With deſire I have deſired to eat this Paſſover with you, before I ſuffer. VVith p. 214You, You, my Diſciples and Friends, with whom I ſhall never eat another Paſsover. Notwithſtanding the Proſpect of his Approaching Sufferings and Death, He did not decline, but earneſtly deſire Communion and Fellowſhip with them in ſuch an Ordinance.

When he gave 'em the Cup, 'tis obſervable he bids 'em divide it among themſelves. The Scripture ſaith not, that he gave the Elements into every one of their particular hands, much leſs into their mouths, without their touching the Bread or Cup with their own hands, except we will admit that Chriſt chang'd the poſture he was in, and alway uſed at Meals (and the Scripture ſaith not he did,) how could he reach it to ſo many as Eleven Perſons in the ſame Poſture?

IV. Let us conſider the Time when, Before I Suffer. There is a great Controverſie about the Time of this Paſsover. It was certainly upon Thurſday-night, He being Crucified on the Fryday in the Forenoon, though he did not give up the Ghoſt till Three in the Afternoon. But the Queſtion will be, whether it was at the ſame Time, that the Jews kept their Paſſover, p. 215or a Day ſooner; And if it was a Day ſooner, How could the Paſchal Lamb be killed, which was to be brought to the Temple, and be killed by the Prieſts, between the two Evenings of the Fourteenth day, the firſt whereof began when the Sun began to decline, or as ſoon as Mid-day was paſt; The other Evening was after Sun-ſet. Some Learned Men think it is plain, That the Time when our Lord did eat this Paſſover with his Diſciples, was the day before the Generality of the Jews kept theirs, from Joh. 18.28. Chap. 19.14.

For the better underſtanding of this, you muſt know that the Time for the Obſervation of the Jewiſh Feſtivals, was Regulated by the Appearance of the New Moon. They had not Almanacks**Dr. Wallis of the Chriſtian Sabbath, in Anſwer to Mr. Bampfield, Page 13. in thoſe days, as we have now, to tell us beforehand when will be a New-Moon. But (if we may believe the Jewiſh Writers) about the time when they expected a New Moon, they ſent Men to watch for it on the Top of ſome Hill, or High place; and he who could firſt diſcover a New-Moon, was to tell the Prieſt, and he to Blow the Trumpet, to give p. 216the people notice, that there was a New-Moon. But, in caſe of Cloudy weather, if in Three days time, from their firſt expectation, no Man could ſee a New-Moon, they did then venture (but not before) to blow the Trumpet without ſeeing it, which muſt needs cauſe a very great Ʋncertainty, and the ſame Moon be ſooner ſeen at one place then at another, and the Paſsover kept accordingly.

So that ſometimes there was a Miſtake of One day, or more. Now it hath been**Dr. Cudworth's Notion of the Lord's Supper, Page. 50, 70, &c, proved, out of Epiphanius, and others, that there was a Contention and Tumult amongſt the Jews, at this very Paſſover, concerning the Time, or the Day, wherein it was to be obſerved, and that the Senate had appointed a Day too late, and had not determined according to the True Phaſis, or Appearance of the Moon: 'Tis manifeſt our Saviour kept the Paſſover on one Day, and the Generality of the Jews on another (perhaps he, about a Fortnight before, might ſee a New-Moon, a Day ſooner than they did.) And therefore we may ſuppoſe our Lord, and the more Pious p. 217Jews, did not Approve of that Order of the Sena e, but followed the true Appearance of the Moon, confirmed by ſufficient, and aſſured Witneſſes; The Paſsover being to be kept on the Fifteenth Day, from the Appearance of the New-Moon.

But you will ſay ſtill, How could that Lamb be brought to the Temple, and killed there, if it were not on the ſame Day the Jewiſh Paſsover was generally Obſerved? Unto which it is Anſwered, That either the Maſter of the Family might be permitted on that day to kill the Lamb; Not all the Lambs, to be eaten by the Paſchal Societies, were to be killed by the Prieſts at the Temple, and their blood poured out upon, or at the Foot of the Altar; but ſome of 'em in ſtead of All. Or that as to this and other Feaſts, whoſe Time depended upon this Determination, that it was uſual, in Doubtful Caſes, to permit the Feaſt to be Solemnized for two days together. Many Inſtances can be brought of this out of the Writings and Practices of the Jews, and it is probable it was ſo now. It is certain it was the Night before he …red that he did thus eat the Paſſover, and the Day wherein Iſrael went out of Egypt. And it is a Tradition among the Jews, ſays p. 218Grotius, That then Iſrael ſhould be delivered and redeemed in the Days of the Meſſiah, even on the ſame day wherein they were delivered out of the Houſe of Bondage in Egypt. Thus admirably did the Wiſdom of God concur, to make the Antitype agree with the Type, as will appear more diſtinctly under the next Head.

V. The Accompliſhment of this Jewiſh Paſſover in the Kingdom of God. For I ſay unto you, I will eat no more thereof, until it be fulfilled in the Kingdom of God. Which denotes it ſhould be accompliſhed very ſhortly in that Kingdom. But Ʋntil will not argue, as if he ſhould have afterwards eaten of it again. That will not follow, any more than that Michal Saul's Daughter had Children after her death, becauſe it is ſaid, She had no Child till the day of her death.

1. What is meant by the Kingdom of God?

2. What by the Fulfilling of the Paſſover therein? And how, or wherein it was then Accompliſhed, and Fulfilled?

1. W… are we to underſtand by the Kingdom of God, or the Kingdom of Heaven? Sometimes the expreſſion is uſed for the Kingdom of Glory. Bleſſed p. 219are the poor in ſpirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of God. Sometimes for his Providential Government, His Kingdom ruleth over all. Sometimes for the Execution of Judgment on the Nation of the Jews, Mark 9.1. Some ſtanding here ſhall not taſte of Death, till they ſee the Kingdom of God come. But moſt uſually it is taken for the Kingdom of Grace, in General, The Meſſiah's Kingdom, with what belongs thereto. The outward Means of Salvation are ſometimes ſo called, Math. 21.43. If I cast out Devils by the Spirit of God, then is the Kingdom of God come unto you. The Internal Renovation of the Soul is alſo ſo expreſſed, The Kingdom of God is within you, and cometh not with obſervation, Luk. 17.20, 21. The Eſſentials of Chriſtianity are alſo expreſſed by this Phraſe, Rom. 14.17. The Kingdom of God is not Meat and Drink, but Righteouſneſs, and Peace, and Joy in the Holy Ghoſt. But the Church-State, or the Evangelical Diſpenſation by the Meſſiah, is moſt commonly underſtood; As when the Kingdom of God is ſaid to be at hand, by the Preaching of Chriſt, and his Apoſtles. And no greater Prophet than John the Baptiſt, yet the least in the Kingdom of Heaven, or the meaneſt Miniſter of the New Teſtament, p. 220who Preacheth the Accompliſhment of thoſe things, which the Baptiſt ſaw but the beginning of, is greater than John the Baptist, for he died before the Sacrifice of Chriſt. So in this Text, our Lord ſayes, He will eat no more of the Paſſover, and drink no more of the Fruit of the Vine, till it be accompliſhed in the Kingdom of God; that is, till what was repreſented in the Figure, and Type of the Jewiſh Paſſover, was really fulfilled by the Meſſiah's Offering himſelf a Sacrifice upon the Croſs. Which Sacrifice and Death of Chriſt was ſuppoſed, and anticipated in the Lord's Supper, as the firſt Inſtitution of this New Kingdom, or Goſpel-Diſpenſation, My body broken for you. And this brings me to conſider,

2. The Fulfilling of this Paſſover, in the Kingdom of God, Or the Accompliſhment of the Legal Paſſover, when Chriſt, the Lamb of God, who taketh away the Sins of the World, was Sacrificed for us. And here we may conſider in the General,

1. That ſomething more than the History was intended.

p. 2212. That theſe things did refer to the Meſſiah.

3. That the Faithful under the Old Teſtament did ſo regard them.

1. It is certain, that ſomewhat more than the Hiſtory was deſigned. All the Sacrifices and Ceremonies of the Moſaick Inſtitution, were but Shadows of good things to come, But the Subſtance is Chriſt, Coloſ. 2.17. He is ſo even of the Jewiſh Paſſover: For the Jews can never aſſign any pertinent and ſolid Reaſon of the Paſſover-Rites, if there were no Reference to the Meſſiah. What need of the Choice and Separation of a Lamb in that manner? What Vertue could there be in the killing of one, and the Sprinkling their Door-poſts with his Blood? What Influence could That have on their Deliverance out of Egypt? Could not God diſtinguiſh the Houſes of the Iſraelites, from thoſe of the Egyptians without this? No Reaſon can well be aſſign'd of ſuch Rites and Orders, but by the Doctrine of the New Teſtament: Theſe things are thereby diſcover'd to be Excellent Emblems of the great Myſtery of our Lord's Death.

p. 2222. The whole Deſign therefore of this Paſlover-Feast, had an Aspect upon the Meſſiah, and does Admirably Repreſent the Death and Sufferings of Chriſt, the Lamb of God, Sacrificed for us; By whoſe Blood we have a Spiritual Deliverance from Sin and Satan; as by the Blood of the Paſchal Lamb, they had a Deliverance from the deſtroying Angel; and afterwards a Deliverance from the Egyptian Bondage. Even the Hiſtory of the Inſtitution of this Paſſover, ſhows a manifeſt Reference to Jeſus Chriſt: For we read, Exod. 12.46. concerning the Paſchal Lamb; Neither ſhall ye break a Bone thereof. And this is ſaid to be fulfilled in Chriſt the Antitype, as if pronounced immediately of him, John 19. When the Souldiers found him dead, they brake not his Bones, as of the other two. And it follows Theſe things were done, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, which ſays, A Bone of him ſhall not be broken.

The Faithful under the Old Teſtament did ſo regard theſe Things: And therefore Moſes, who eſteemed the Reproach of Chriſt as greater Riches than the Treaſures of Egypt, and therefore did know him, is ſaid to have kept the Paſſover in Faith, Heb. 11.28. In which Chapter, the Apoſtle p. 223ſpeaks all along of Faith in the Mediator, and not of Faith in God ſimply. But,

2. Let us conſider more particularly, how theſe Things, with Relation to the Jewiſh Paſſover, were accompliſhed by Chriſt, as the Lamb of God to take away Sin. And that will appear, if we conſider four Things.

1. The Perſon of Christ as our Paſſover, or Paſchal Lamb

2. His Sufferings, and Sacrifice.

3. The Fruits and Benefits of them to us.

4. The way and manner of our Participation of theſe Benefits.

1. The Perſon of Christ, who is the true Paſchal Lamb. I ſhall not ſtay to conſider the Reſemblance of his Character, to a Lamb for Meekneſs, for Patience, for Submiſſion, and Obedience: He was brought as a Lamb to the Slaughter, and as a Sheep before the Shearers is dumb, ſo he opened not his Mouth. Nor that the Paſ…hal Lamb was to be without blemiſh, ſound and entire, without Bruiſe or Maim; Thus holy was Chriſt in his Conception, and Birth, and in all the Actions of his Life; A Lamb without blemiſh, and without p. 224ſpot, 1 Pet. 1.19. Holy, harmleſs, and undefiled, ſeparate from Sinners, Heb. 7.26. Nor how the Lamb was ſet apart, and choſen for three days, and killed the fourth; anſwered by Chriſt's being ſet apart to his Prophetical Office, wherein he manifeſted himſelf for about three years, before he offered himſelf a Sacrifice in the fourth year. Thoſe that write concerning the Types, are large upon this Subject.

2. We may conſider his Paſſion, and Sufferings, the Fulfilling of it as to his Death, and the Time of it. The Paſchal Lamb was to be Roaſted with Fire; Which might not only put them in Mind of the Hardſhips they endured, in the Brick Kilms of Egypt; but Prefigure the Sufferings of Chriſt, as crucified and preſſed, when his ſtrength was dryed up like a Potſheard, and his Tongue did cleave to his Jaws, Pſalm. 22.15. The Time alſo of his Suffering agreed with the Time of the Jewiſh Paſsover, About the Ninth Hour, or Three a Clock in the Afternoon, the uſual Time that the Paſſover was to be Killed.

p. 2253. As to the Fruits and Effects of his Sacrifice, there is a further Accompliſhment of the Type: For the deſtroying Angel is diverted from the Iſraelites Houſes. The Blood of a Lamb could not Merit, or procure this, but as it Repreſented the Blood of the Meſſiah: Whereby the Wrath of God is quenched, and we delivered from Satan the great Deſtroyer. And as this was the Earneſt of their Deliverance from their Bondage in Egypt; By the Death of Chriſt we are ſet free from a much worſe Slavery.

4. Conſider the manner how we partake of the Benefit, and Fruits of Chriſt's Sacrifice. Our Hearts muſt be ſprinkled with the Blood of Chriſt, as the Iſraelites were to ſprinkle, the Blood of the Lamb, on the Door-poſt of their Houſes. They were to feed upon the Fleſh of the Paſchal Lamb; We are in a Spiritual ſenſe to do ſo with Reference to Chriſt, John 6.53. They were to eat it with ſour Sauce, with bitter, or wild Herbs: Repentance for Sin muſt be joyned with Faith, in a Saviour. Ʋnleavened Bread was to be thrown out of the Houſe, And you know how the Apoſtle applies this, unto thoſe who are called to keep p. 226the Feaſt, even that Feaſt upon the Sacrifice of Christ, at his own Table, 1 Cor. 5.7, 8. Not with the Leaven of Malice, and Wickedneſs; But with the Ʋnleavened Bread of Sincerity, and Truth.

It was Remarkable as to the firſt Paſsover, It was to be eaten in haſt, with their Loins girt, Shoes on their Feet, and a Staff in their Hand: As Pilgims and Strangers here, who are haſtning to a better Country, which God hath promiſed, and which their Canaan may Mind us of, and make this alſo Applicable to our Caſe: Which will bring me to the Sixth, and last thing.

Sixthly and laſtly, The Reſolution amd Declaration of Chriſt, to eat and drink no more of this Paſſover, till it be accompliſhed. Some think that the 18th Verſe, I will drink no more of the Fruit of the Vine, till I drink it new with you in my Fathers Kingdome, is miſplaced and ought to come in after the Inſtitution of the Lord's Supper, as it is placed by the Evangeliſts, Matthew and Mark. **83. Homil. in Matthaeum.Chryſoſtom thinks it Refers to his Eating and Dr…nking with his Diſciples, after his Reſurrection in this World; That he would not any more p. 227Eat and Drink, till he had ſuffered Death, and was riſen again: And then, to manifeſt the Truth of his being Riſen, he did condeſcend to ſatisfie, and convince them in that manner. But there is little ground for that Interpretation.

It is not improbable, but our Lord may Allude here to the Cuſtom of the High Prieſts, who coming out of the Holy of Holies, did keep a Feaſt of Joy with his Friends: For if he were a Wicked Man, ſay the Jews, he died in the Place; If a good Man, he came out ſafe: And then he Rejoyced with his Friends, and kept a Feaſt, where they were wont to drink New Wine. To this Cuſtom our Lord may Allude in this Expreſſion, thereby telling his Diſciples, That he ſhould not ſink in the Performance of what he underto k; **Dr. Allix.in the great Offering that he was to make to God his Father; but come off with Succeſs: And then they ſhould Rejoyce, and Feaſt together; He would drink new Wine with them in the Kingdom of his Father.

p. 228Some think the Evangeliſt Luke, as to Chriſt's drinking new Wine, Refers to the Lord's Supper that was to follow. And as he Recites the Words, they are more Intelligible, than as they are mentioned by St. Matthew, or Mark. He Annexes them to the Paſſover Cup, though the other Recite this Paſſage after the Cup in the Lord's Supper: But the Words might have been ſpoken by Chriſt before. And 'tis eaſier to Tranſpoſe the Words in Matthew and Mark, to the unmentioned Occaſion, which was immediately before the Lord's Supper, than to Tranſpoſe the whole 19th and 20th Verſes in Luke, before the 17th Verſe, which would alſo make it a Tautology.

By the Kingdom of God, all the Evangeliſts ſeem to mean the Gospel Dispenſation which was to Commence in the Lord's Supper, as the firſt of that ſort; for the Baptiſm of John, and of the Diſciples of Christ, before his Death, was different from Baptiſm ſince, the New Testament Baptiſm, Acts 19.4, 5. The Lord's Supper by Anticipation did ſignifie, and ſhew forth the Lord's Death. This is my Body broken for you. He ſuppoſed it broken, and himſelf ſacrificed, and the Paſſover fulfilled: p. 229Jeſus Chriſt being the Lamb of God Typified, and Preſignified by the Paſchal Lamb, till his Sacrifice of himſelf. And ſo to put a Period to the former Oeconomy, on which the Gospel Dispenſation did enſue.

The Term New, (till I drink it New,) may be accounted for; and that ſome of the Evangeliſts ſay, that Day, I'll drink it New; though it were the ſame Hour, becauſe it Refers to a different Period, and Diſpenſation, viz. The ceaſing of the Moſaick, and the beginning of the Evangelical one. In the like ſenſe the ſame Word is uſed in other Places, as Zach. 14 6, 7. And that which anſwers to the Word New, is that it is oppoſed to the old Dispenſation; that it ſerves to Divine Purpoſes, by a new Institution, and ſo is made New: And it declares that the N w Gospel Dispenſation, to which it is appropriate, is now beginning, or to commence. I'll not drink of it, till I drink it New with you in my Father's Kingdom, or in the Kingdom of God, i. e. In the Lord's Supper, which is my Gospel Inſtitution, and the Beginning of the Peculiar Kingdom of God, as diſpens'd after my Actual Death and Sufferings.

p. 230No queſtion but the Senſe is very ſafe, to conſider it with Reference to the Heavenly Glory, as it is uſually underſtood, when all the Bleſſings of this Paſſover ſhall be fully Accompliſhed in the Heavenly Canaan.

Neither is it ſtrange or unuſual for the ſame Ancient Type, or Figure, to reſpect to ſeveral Objects, and ſo have ſeveral Degrees of Accompliſhment.**Les OEVRES Poſthumes de Mr. Claude, Tom. 2. l. 4. cap. 9. traité de J. Chriſt. This of the Paſchal Lamb might not only have Relation to the Angel's paſſing by the Houſes of the Iſrelites in Egypt, and their paſſage out of Bondage into Liberty, by the Deliverance that follow'd; but unto the Abſolution and Deliverance of Believers by the Blood of Chrsſt, and unto the Deliverance of Chriſt himſelf out of the Grace, and from a ſtate of Humiliation, to that of Glory; and to the paſſage of the Church Militant upon Earth, to a ſtate of Triumph in Heaven.

The Bleſſedneſs of Heaven is frequently ſet off by this Metaphor of Eating and Drinking. And at the Lord's Table, which was Inſtituted at the cloſe of the Paſſover Feaſt, the Thoughts of p. 231Heaven are proper. We meet at this Table, as thoſe who hope to ſit down with all the Children of the Kingdom at the laſt great Supper of the Lamb.

This Ordinance is a lively Reſemblance of the Heavenly Feaſt, and ſhould aſſiſt our Meditations on it. Our Lord doth here ſpeak to us ſuch kind of Language: Ere long we ſhall Feaſt together in Heaven: What is now done in Emblem, ſhall be then done in Reality. You have here the Earneſt Pledge and Aſſurance of it.

This Table is a Preparatory Entertainment for the Eternal Supper.**Biſhop Parick, Menſa myſtica, chap. 18. It is ſome foretaſte to ſtay our Longings, and yet excite our Deſires after the Heavenly Feaſt above. Here we break our Faſt (as I may ſay) but are made thereby very Hungry, till that Great Supper come. Here we have but a Praelibation, a little ſhort Antepaſt of ſome Rare things to come; yet ſeeing it is an Earneſt of thoſe Things, it creates in an holy Soul a wonderful Contentment, both from its own Sweetneſs, and the Hopes wherewith it feeds us. It nouriſhes in us moſt Delicious Longings, it makes the Soul even ſwell with Comfortable Expectations: And we Receive p. 232it not only as a Remembrance of what was done, but as a Pledge of what ſhall be. We taſte not only what he is to our Souls at preſent, but what he ſhall be for ever.

If it be a Priviledge to be Admitted to ſit at his Table, and to have his Covenant ſealed to me by the outward Ordinance, and his ſpecial Love by his Spirit to my Heart. All the Life and Comfort of theſe, is, That they Declare and Aſſure me of more and better Comforts hereafter. Their Uſe is darkly to ſignifie, and ſeal higher Mercies When I ſhall Drink with Chriſt of the Fruit of the Vine renewed. How pleaſant a Feaſt will that be? O… the Difference,**Mr. Baxter. as One hath well expreſt it; O the Difference between the laſt Supper of Chriſt on Earth, and the Marriage Supper of the Lamb at the Great Day! Here he is in an Ʋpper-Room accompanied with Twelve poor ſelected men, feeding on no curious Dainties, but a Paſchal Lamb with ſour Herbs, and a Judas at his Table, ready to betray him. But then his Room will be the Glorious Heavens; his Attendants, all the Hoſt of Angels and Saints; no Judas, nor unfurniſhed Gueſt comes there; p. 233but the humble Believers muſt ſit down by him, and the Feaſt will be their mutual Loving and Rejoycing.

You know nevertheleſs that when the Iſraelites were got out of Egypt, and delivered by the Blood of the Lamb, and had a Promiſe of Canaan, they had yet a Wilderneſs to paſs through; many Enemies to Encounter, and Difficulties to overcome, before they entred into Canaan; though God protected, and maintained, and ſupplyed them in the Wilderneſs, all that while. So is it with us Chriſtians, though we recover our Spiritual Liberty by Faith in the Blood of Jeſus, and are made a peculiar People unto God, a Nation of Kings and Prieſts unto the moſt High, and are marching towards the Heavenly Canaan, and have the Promiſe of it; We have yet a Wilderneſs to paſs through; We have Adverſaries on all ſides to reſiſt; We need a Pillar of Cloud, and of Fire to direct us, and Manna from Heaven to ſupply us: And this we ſhall have from time to time, till we come to Canaan; and then our Lord will eat and drink with us after a better manner; we ſhall have New Wine in his Kingdom: He is gone to prepare a Feaſt for us; to make ready the great p. 234Supper of the Lamb, for all the Children of the Kingdom.

After he was Sacrificed as the Lamb of God, he tarried Fourty Days upon the Earth, from his Reſurrection till he Aſcended into Heaven: As the Jews after their Paſſover in Egypt, wandred 40 years in the Wilderneſs before they entred into Canaan. But all Believers, after a few Years Difficulty and Tryals in this World, with the Preſence of God to Conduct, and Guide them; ſhall at laſt ſit down for ever with Chriſt, to Reap the full Harvest of his Sufferings, to receive the compleat Deliverance, which he hath procured, to enjoy all the bleſſed Fruits of his Death, all the Purchaſe of his Redeeming Blood; This he will come again to beſtow, upon thoſe who believe, expect, and prepare for it.

Some Inferences of Truth and Duty, may be collected, as the Application of what has been ſaid.

1. That Believers, under the Old Teſtament and under the New, have the ſame Object of Faith. They did eat the ſame ſpiritual Meat, and drink the ſame ſpiritual Drink Their Sacraments and ours p. 235have different Signs, but in Substance were the ſame: Theirs having Relation to Christ, the Meſſiah, as well as ours. Accordingly we read of Circumciſion, and the Paſſover, in a ſpiritual ſenſe under the Gospel; And that which anſwers to Baptiſm, and the Lord's Supper with us: Even they, under the Old Teſtament, had. 1 Cor. 10.2, 3. They were under the Covenant of Grace, though not ſo clear a Dispenſation of it as we; They were to be Saved by Faith in a Mediator, as well as we: The Gospel was preached unto them, as well as unto us.

2. Did Chriſt deſire Fellowſhip with his Diſciples, Friends, and Followers in the Paſſover; What ſhall we think of thoſe that deſpiſe ſuch Institutions, and look upon themſelves as above ſuch Ordinances, as if they had a nearer, and better way of Communion with God and Chriſt; then this Remiſsneſs and Indifference, as to theſe things, Neglect and Careleſneſs in Preparation for them, is likewiſe a degree of Contempt, that deſerves to be Reproved.

3. Was Chriſt ſo deſirous to eat his laſt Paſſover before he ſuffered for us, becauſe of his Willingneſs to Suffer? p. 236What Ingratitude does this imply in our Backwardneſs, and Cowardize, when we are called to ſuffer for him?

4. Did our Lord deſire to eat this Paſsover, becauſe it was the laſt, and conſequently was Willing to be a Sacrifice for us? What an Argument of his endearing Love does this afford us? And how ſhould it Enflame ours to him? It was not from Ignorance of what he was to Suffer; he fully knew what he had undertaken, he perfectly underſtood what his Baptiſm of Blood did ſignifie; and yet he earneſtly deſired it, and was ſtraitned, till it was Accompliſhed. He knew the Burden of Sin that he was to Expiate, as a Sin-Offering, when he bore our Sins in his own Body on the Tree, as a Sacrifice to Divine Justice for us: He knew the bitterneſs of that Cup, which he was to drink of before-hand; and yet for our ſakes he deſires it: What Thankfulneſs do we owe for ſuch ineſtimable Love!

He was willing to ſubmit to ſuch difficult Terms to bring about our Reconciliation to God: He was willing to be obedient to Death, even the Death of the Croſs, to turn away the Divine Displeaſure from us, and to reſtore us to the Divine Favour, and Image again. He p. 237was willing to be a Sacrifice for ſin, that we might be made the Righteouſneſs of God, through Faith in him. He was willing to bear the Curſe, that the Bleſſing of Abraham might come upon us. He was willing to be our Paſchal Lamb, to be ſlain and ſacrificed for us, that by the ſprinkling of his Blood we might be delivered from Sin and Hell, that by feeding on him as our Paſsover, we might be Partakers of Spiritual and Eternal Life. And even in the midſt of his Agony in the Garden, notwithſtanding the ſtrugling of his Humane Nature againſt the bitterneſs of the Cup, which made him pray for the paſſing of it away; yet as Mediator he was willing, and therefore adds. Not my Will, but thine be done; Father glorifie thy ſelf.

O matchleſs and incomprehenſible Love! How ſhould our Souls be Raviſhed with the Contemplation of it! How hard and inſenſible are our Hearts, if they feel no conſtraining Vertue in the Conſideration of ſuch Love! If we do not Sacrifice our Luſts in Requital of his being a willing Sacrifice for us. Shall not the Love of Chriſt, which bubbles up in every Drop of his Blood, and made him willing, and reſolved to ſhed it on our Account, make us hate that Sin, which he died to Atone for, and to deſtroy. Can p. 238we conſider him, Groaning, Sweating, Bleeding, Dying for Sin, and yet Retain an Affection to it? And ruſh into it through the Wounds, and Blood, and Agony, and Death of our Redeemer? Shall that ever be ſweet to us, which put ſo much Vinegar and Gall into his Cup?

Let me add a few Words for Counſel and Direction.

1. Did Chriſt earneſtly deſire to eat this Paſsover, and have Communion with his Diſciples therein? How earneſtly ſhould we deſire to have Communion with him in that Ordinance that ſucceeded to it, which was Inſtituted by Chriſt himſelf the ſame Evening, in the cloſe of the Paſchal Supper! Is not a Spiritual Communion with him, now he is in Glory, as deſirable, as his Bodily Pr…ſence was, when in a ſtate of Humiliation? Is it not the Spirit and Temper of all the Diſciples of Chriſt, in every Age of the Church, to value, and to deſire ſuch near Approaches to him? How did the believing Jews prepare themſelves for ſuch a Solemnity as the Paſſover? How did David's Heart pant, and faint, and long for Communion with God in the Services of the Temple? Pſalm 27.4. One thing have I deſired p. 239of the Lord, that will I ſeek after; that I may dwell in the Houſe of the Lord, all the days of my life, to behold the Beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his Temple.

The Iſraelites were to eat the Paſsover in haſte, with greedineſs of deſire; Non lento Corde, non languido Ore: And is it not a Shame to us to have no Appetite for ſuch a Feaſt? Is …t not for want of ſuch Deſires of Communion with Chriſt, that we meet with ſo little Satisfaction when we come? Let him that is a thirſt, come, and ſuch ſhall be filled, when others ſhall be ſent empty away: but the hungry Souls ſhall not be ſent empty away, from the Lord's Table.

We may likewiſe heighten our Deſires and Appetites when we come to this Table; by conſidering, For ought we know this may be the laſt Communion with Christ in ſuch an Ordinance, that we ſhall ever enjoy, before it be fully accompliſhed in Heaven.

2. Let us imitate Chriſt as our Paſſover; Both in his Readineſs to Suffer, and in his Character and Qualification, as the Spotleſs Lamb of God, in Meekneſs and Patience, and Submiſſion, &c. Without this we can never prove our Intereſt in him.

3. Let us thankfully Contemplate this Lamb of God, as deſiring to be Sacrificed for us. Let us ſeriouſly and often conſider the Voluntarineſs of his Death, and Sacrifice; the Fruits of his Suffering, the Merit of his Croſs: How Acceptable his Sacrifice was to God, how beneficial unto us; What a Deliverance we have by it, what a Bondage we are ſaved from, what a Glorious Liberty he has purchaſed, what a compleat Salvation we expect, when all ſhall be fulfilled in Heaven. Theſe are proper Thoughts for thoſe of us this Evening, who have Feaſted this Day on the Sacrifice of Chriſt. Every one of us in particular, not only in publick, but in ſecret, ſhould bleſs God for Jeſus Chriſt, Admiring the Matchleſs Grace and Love of the Redeemer, in being thus a Willing Sacrifice for us, and calling us to Feaſt upon it, having Inſtituted this Ordinance on purpoſe for that very end.

Laſtly, Live in the Daily Exerciſe of Faith on the Blood of Chriſt, as the Lamb of God Sacrificed for us. It was the ſprinkling of the Blood of the Paſchal Lamb, that was the Mark of the Iſraelites Deliverance; So the ſhedding of the Blood of Chriſt, with particular Application by Faith, is a… neceſſary for us; Without it we cannot eſcape the Stroke of the deſtroying Angel; Without it, the Blood of Chriſt will call for p. 241Vengeance, and his very Sacrifice and Sufferings plead againſt us.

We ſhould every Day, by freſh Acts of Faith, Apply this Blood for our Encouragement, and Conſolation, as the Purchaſe of our Peace with God and as that whereby we have Peace with Conſcience. All the Bleſſings we receive are owing to this Blood. All the Services we perform, muſt be Accepted through the ſprinkling of this Blood, and our Faith in it. Let us therefore continually apply, and plead it. The Vertue of it is ſtill the ſame, as when it was at firſt ſhed. We need not doubt but it is as Acceptable to God now, and of as ſweet ſmelling a Savour to him as ever. Therefore the Life that we live in the Fleſh, ſhould be by the Faith of the Son of God, having daily Recourſe unto his Blood for Pardon, and cleanſing, and ſtrengthning Vertue. The Lord teach us this Great Myſtery of Godlineſs.

THE END.