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2. This holy facrament is childrens bread. none but gracious fouls are capable of managing it to their own advantage. How fhall they remember him who never knew him, declare their union with him who are not divorced from their lufts and idols, eat his flesh and drink his blood who have no appetite for fpiritual meat and drink; honour him whom they are daily dishonouring by their profane lives and converfations? None but thofe who believe in Chrift are fit guests for his table. Let all unbelievers be exhorted to receive and embrace Chrift as their Saviour, to be clothed with the wedding-garment of his righteousness, and then they will be fit to fit at the King's table

3. Prepare for this folemn ordinance, if God fhall allow us the opportunity. Delay not a moment to give yourselves to the Lord, by receiving and ein• bracing the Lord Jefus as your Saviour and Redeemer, and avouching him as fuch in this holy facrament. Let the mortality and fickness that fo generally prevails excite you to be more vigorous than ever in pre

This difcourfe was preached in April 1720, in which feafon a diftemper as mortal as epidemical raged in the parish of Ettrick. All the author's family, himfelf only excepted, were feized with it; but, through the goodrefs of God, happily recovered. It is to this diftemper that the author here alludes. And as a careful obfervance of the courfe of providence in general, with a fingular dexterity in connecting particular providences, was one of the moft diftinguishing traits i in this great man's character; fo it was his invariable practice, to adapt his public preaching to the courfe of providence, and to make u ufe of God's difpenfations towards his own parith in

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particular, to back and enforce his exhortations to his flock. Add to this that it was a practice of his not unufual, to obferve a congregational fait when any thing appeared uncommon in the course of providence, that his parithioners might be led to improve it properly; which, from his diary and the fermons then preached, ftill preferved, it appears, he did on the occafion alluded to in the inference. This fat was obferved on the 27th of April 1720. And as the fermoas then delivered may be useful on like occafions, which are not infrequent, they fhall be inferted at the end of this volume. And the propriety of giving them a place in this work will appear from this confideration, that while the ferious reader is employed in peru

paring for this folemn occafion, as perhaps it may be the last many of us may partake of. of us may partake of. O then let us prepare to keep the feaft in due manner.

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I CORINTHIANS Xi. 28.

But let a man examine himfelf, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.

TH

HESE words contain a means for preventing of the great evil which men åre apt to fall into with refpect to the Lord's fupper; and fo for our purpose they offer two things to be confidered.

1. An evil, a great evil, a hainous evil, 'which men must use means to prevent; that is, unworthy commmunicating. But let a man examine himself, &c. This looks back to the preceding verfe, wherein the apoftle had declared unworthy communicants to be guilty of Chrift's body and blood. But (fays he, to pre. vent this, and that ye may worthily partake) let a man examine himself, &c.

2. The way to be taken to prevent unworthy com. municating; Let a man examine himself, and fo let him eat of that bread, &c. A man, every man to whom the gofpel comes, and who has accefs to this ordinance, muft examine himself, as a judge does a matter of fact, or goldsmiths metals by the touch stone, to difcern what is true and what counterfeit. And so let him eat; not, And then let him eat, whatever cafe his foul be in; but let him follow out this duty till

fing a difcourfe treating of the nature of the Lord's fupper, in which there is a lively reprefentation of the death of Chrift, our paffover facrificed for us, it will be a profitable exercise for him at the fame time to be thinking of his own death, and to be so`numbering his days, that he may apply his heart unto wisdom.

he find his foul in fome fitnefs for that ordinance, and fo eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.

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The text affords this doctrine, viz.

-DOCT. "It is required of them that would worthi"ly partake of the Lord's fupper, that they examine "themfelves of their knowledge to difcern the Lord's body, of their faith to feed upon him, of their re"pentance, love, and new obedience, left coming "unworthily, they eat and drink judgement to "themfelves."

Here let us confider,

What worthinefs to partake is.

II. The duty of felf-examination neceffary for wor thy receiving of the Lord's fupper.

III. The neceffity of this felf-examination.
IV.Deduce an inference or two.

T. Let us confider what worthinefs to partake is: And, y

What is meant by it.

Wherein it confifts.

First, Let us confider what is meant by worthinefs to partake.

1. Not a legal worthinefs, as if we could deferve it at the hands of God; for when we have done all thofe things which are commanded us, we must say, We are unprofitable fervants: we have done that which was our duty to do, Luke xvii. 10. Those who are that way worthy in their own eyes, are altogether unworthy for building their acceptance with the Lord in that ordinance upon their own good qualifications, they fhall meet with Simon's entertainment, Acts viii. 20. Thy money perifh with thee, because thou haft thought that the gift of God may be purchafed with money; for they run quite crois to the end of that ordinance, declaring in effect the death of Chrift to be in vain as to them, Gal. ii. ult. For if righteousVOL. III. 3 C

nefs come by the law, then is Chrift dead in vain.

2. But it is a gofpel meetness and fitnefs for that ordinance. As we are to bring forth fruits meet for repentance, Matth. iii. 8. fo one communicates worthily, when he is fit for receiving that facrament according to the rules of the gofpel, comes to it in fuch a manner as Chrift's bids and welcomes his guests. And much of that lies in coming with a deep fenfe of our utter vileness and emptiness, If. lv. 1.

Secondly, Wherein does this worthiness to partake confift? I answer, In two things.

1. In habitual meetnefs for it, in respect of a gracious ftate. The foul in the black ftate of nature is utterly unfit for this ordinance, Pfal. v. 5. The foolish fhall not fiand in thy fight, thou hateft all workers of iniquity. Such a foul is a dead foul, dead in trefpaffes and Jins, Eph. ii. 1. And a dead man is not fit for a feast, nor a dead foul for the Lord's table, but rather to be buried out of his fight. And from the Lord's table such a one may be expected to come away twice dead.

2. In actual meetnefs, in refpect of a gracious frame. In our addreffes to God, not only life, but liveliness is requifite, Pfal. lxxx. 18. A fleeping man is not fit for a feaft neither; and therefore even a true believer may communicate unworthily, as fome in the church of Corinth did, 1 Cor. xi. 30. 32. So it is neceffary that we not only have oil in our veffels, but have our lamps burning, if we would be fit, Cant. i. 12.

II. Let us confider the duty of felf-examination neceffary for worthy receiving of the Lord's fupper. And here,

1. The rule or touchstone by which we must examine.

2. The matter we are to examine ourselves about. First, Let us confider the rule or touchflone by which we must examine.

1. Beware of falfe ones. (1.) The common guise of the world. It is not enough that ye are like neigh

bour and other, aye and better than many, like the Pharifee, Luke xviii. 11. Though an ape be liker a man than a dog is, yet the one is no more a man than the other. Though mere moralifts and formalifts are liker true Chriftians than openly profane ones are, yet the one are no more true Chriftians than the others. (2.) One's being better than fome time before, 2 Cor. X. 12. One may be like Saul, who got another heart, but not the new heart, 1 Sam. x. 9. (3.) The letter of the law. So did the Pharifee, Luke xviii. 11. and Paul before his converfion, Rom. vii, 9. (4.) The feen practice of the godly, which is but their outfide, and fo is but an unfafe rule, in regard you cannot fee the principle, motives, and ends of their actions, which are great characteristics, whereby the fincere are diftinguished from hypocrites.

2. The only true rule or touchstone in this cafe is the word of God, If. viii. 20. To the law and to the teftimony, &c. The Spirit of the Lord fpeaking in the fcriptures is the fupreme Judge of all queftions in religion, whether relating to faith or practice; and the word itself is the rule by which the decifion is made. God hath given us marks in the word, by which one may know whether he be in Chrift or not, 2 Cor. v. 17. whether born of God or not, 1 John iii. 9. and the like.

Secondly, Let us confider the matter we are to examine ourselves about. The great thing to be inquired into and examined here, is the ftate of our souls before the Lord, whether we be in Chrift or not, regenerate or not, have true grace or not, 2 Cor. xiii, 5. This we fhould examine at all times with respect to death and eternity, because our eternal ftate depends on our being in a state of grace here. And this is to be examined in refpect of the facrament.

II.

The reafon is, This facrament is not a converting, but a confirming ordinance, as baptifm alfo is, Rom, iv. 11. It is a feal of the covenant, and fo fuppofes the covenant entered into before by the party. It is appointed for nourishment, which prefuppofes life. And

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