the cross, he tryfts to meet the believing thief in heaven; and when the clouds of wrath were gathering, and ready to pour down upon him, he tryfts to meet believers on earth. And fhall we forget the tryft fet in that remarkable night? But ah! how many are there that will not be at pains to prepare for this ordinance, to examine themselves as to their ftate, frame,

c. They have built up mountains and walls of feparation betwixt Chrift and them, but are at no pains to remove them, nor to employ Chrift to level them. Do not these communicate unworthily?

3. Who do not avenge the treachery. How came Judas to betray him? Was it not the fins of his own people that were the fpring of the unhappy action? Your fins were the chief traitors. Then fure Chrift

inftituting this facrament at this time fays in effect concerning our lufts, as Pfal. cxxxvii. 7. 8. 9. Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom, in the day of ferusalem; who faid, Rafe it, rafe it, even to the foundation thereof. O daughter of Babylon, who are to be deftroyed: happy fhall be be that rewardeth thee, as thou haft ferved

us.

Happy hall he be that taketh and dafbeth thy little ones against the ftones. Can a worthy communicant partake of this ordinance, and mind the treachery his Lord met with, and not break his covenant with his lufts, and renounce his old mafter? No, furely. They communicate unworthily who come to this or dinance at peace with any luft; they react Judas's finkifs Chrift, and betray him.

Thirdly, Confider what is reprefented by the facred fymbols in this ordinance. The broken bread and wine reprefents Chrift's broken body, and his fhed blood, Chrift fuffering for finners. He is facramentally crucified before our eyes in that ordinance. Now, if the bread and wine reprefents to us Chrift's body broken for us, and his blood fhed for us, it is meet that in communicating, 1. We meditate believingly on thefe fufferings. 2. That our hearts be inflamed VOL. III.

3 H

with love to him. 3. That they be filled with forrow for and hatred of fin. Then,

1. They communicate unworthily, who do not in their partaking meditate believingly on the fufferings of Chrift. Chrift will afk that queftion at communicants, Matth. xvi. 15. Whom Say ye that I am? And I would ask beforehand, Do ye believe that Jefus the fon of Mary, who was crucified betwixt two thieves without the gates of Jerufalem, was the Son of God, the only Saviour of the world, and that Chrift? Do ye believe that Chrift fuffered? If ye do indeed believe it aright, I fay, as Matth. xvi. 17. Bleffed art thou: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but Chritt's Father which is in heaven. And fure I am if ye do believe, ye cannot fhun to meditate on it at the facrament. This wonderful fight will dazzle your eyes; a fight of God fuffering will blind your eyes as to other objects, and make you retire into yourself to see and wonder, and with admiration to think on this terrible fight. Do they not act most unworthily here who are not thus taken up? What would ye have faid of Mofes, had he not turned afide to fee that great fight, the bufh burning, yet not confumed? Exod. iii. Had ye been on mount Calvary, within hearing of Chrift's dying groans, within fight of his pierced, mangled, and racked body, and had unconcernedly turned your back and paffed all without notice, would ye not fay he had been juft had he turned you off that place quick into hell? Here ye have the tame fight; and it ye behold it unconcernedly, ye act a moft unworthy part, and oppofe yourfelves to the moft dire ful effects of his vengeance.

2. Who communicate without love to Chrift in exercite. Here is reprefented a King's fon in love with a beggar, loving her, and dying for her. O miferable mifcreant! does not this affect thy heart, who art this beggar? Can there be greater love? John xv. 13. What hellith cold has frozen thy affections, that this fire cannot warm, nay melt them? What a heart of a

devil aft thou, that Ch: ift in his glorious apparel, his red ga ments, cannot captivate? Be aftonished, O heavens, be horribly afraid; tremble, O earth; rent, O rocks; be ftruck blind, O glorious fun, in the firinament, when ye fee the communicants fitting without love to Chrift, when he is facramentally lying be fore them, broken, wounded, and pierced with the invenomed arrows of God's curfe, and all for them!

3. Who communicate impenitently. Have ye pierced him? How unworthy will ye be, if ye do not look upon him whom ye have pierced, and mourn for him, as one mourneth for an only fon, and be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his first-born, Zech. xii. 10. Will ye come to the table without the tear in your eye? O unworthy communicants, what has petrified your hearts, turned you into ftones harder than the adamant, which the blood of the goat will diffolve? Chrift's dying groans rent the rocks, and raised and alarmed the dead; and wilt thou fit ftupid? Where forrow for fin and hatred of it is wanting at a communion table, there is eating and drinking judgement, which, when it begins to work within you, will make you mourn bitterly either here or in hell.

Fourthly, Confider the bread and the wine is offered and given to you at the table of the Lord, in token of Chrift's offering himfelf to you with all his benefits, 1 Cor. x. 16. and your taking of both, eating and drinking, declares your acceptance of the offer and ap. plication of Chrift to your fouls. Surely then it is meet, 1. That ye, believe that Chrift is willing to be 2. That ye do fincerely and cordially accept

yours.

of the offer.

1. They are unworthy communicants who partake doubting of Chrift's willingness to be theirs, with all his faving benefits. Will ye not believe him, when he gives you a fealed declaration of his mind? To doubt of this is to fay he is but mocking and folemnly cheating you; fo that no wonder we fay, He that

doubteth is damned if he eat. What though ye be moft unworthy? he ftands not on that. Though your fins be many, the fea of his blood can drain them all, If. i. 18. Mic. vii. 18. If the devil get in thus far on you, it will be an error in the first concoction; and till ye get over it, it is impoffible to communicate aright, or get good of the facrament.

2. Who taking the elements, yet do not take Chrift by faith. Then it may be faid, as John i. 11. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. Is the bread or cup offered to you then? by that Christ says, Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlafting doors, and the King of glory fhall come in, Pfal. xxiv. 7. Therefore we ought to fet our hearts wide open, clafp him in the arms of faith, embrace and welcome him into our fouls. To take the bread in your mouths, and yet to hold Chrift out of your hearts, is to put a folemn cheat upon the King of glory, which will bring upon you the curfe of the deceiver, Mal. i. 14. which hath in his flock a male, and voweth and facrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing; and the cheat will be difcovered, if ye repent not, before the whole affembled world at the great day, to your everlafting confufion. This is to betray Chrift with a witnefs. Either then meddle not with these facramental fymbols, or take him by faith. And if take him, ye must let your lufts go.

ye

Fifthly, Confider this ordinance is a feal of the new covenant, I Cor. xi. 25. This cup is the new teftament in my blood. Chrift has covenanted and left in his teftament to his people all things neceffary for them. His word in itfelf is fufficient fecurity; but guilt is a fountain of fears; and we are guilty, and therefore fearful fouls. And therefore that it may be more fure to us, he has appended this feal. It is meet then, 1. That they be in the covenant who partake. 2. That we take the facrament as a feal of God's covepant to us. 3. That we believe more firmly

1. They are unworthy communicants who are not in covenant with God, and yet come to his table. It is a profaning of God's feal to fet it to a blank. It is a feaft for friends, not for enemies, Cant. v. 1.; and if ye come in a state of enmity, ye can expect no kind entertainment; For can two walk together except they be agreed? Amos iii. 3. ; yea ye will get a fad welcome, fuch as the man got who wanted the wedding garment, Mat. xxii. 11. 12. If there be not a mutual confent, it is no marriage; and if there be no marriage, ye have nothing ado with the marriagefeaft.

2. They that use it as a feal of their covenant with God, and not of God's covenant with them. Surely the facrament is an obligatory ordinance to obedience; but this is not the principal end of it, but rather to be a feal of God's covenant with us.

The

reason why fo many afterwards appear to have been unworthy communicants is, that they go to that ordinance rather to oblige themfelves to obedience, than to get a full covenant fealed to them for obedience. All our ftrength lies in Chrift; and worthy communicants go to Chrift in the facrament to get influences of grace fecured to them under his own feal, that they may in time of need afterwards know what quarter to betake themselves to for fupply.

3. They whofe faith of the benefits of the covenant is not more confirmed. This is to fit down at the table, but not to tafte of the meat that is fet thereon. Why does the Lord give us fuch encouragement, and yet we grow never a whit ftronger in faith; and though he give us new confirmations, yet we have never a whit more confidence in him? Would not a man think himfelf affronted to be thus treated?

Sixthly, Confider this ordinance is appointed for ftrengthening of our fouls, for the nourishing of the Lord's people, and their growth in grace. It is a fupper, a feaft where Chrift is both maker and matter, whofe flesh is meat indeed, and whofe blood is drink