happy meffenger, and tell you, in the name of the Lord, that whatever you think of your faith, and of yourselves, as the blackeft monsters of fin and guilt that ever were out of hell; yet you have the faith of God's elect, and you are married and matched with the man that is God's Fellow: yea, the Lord of hofts is your Father and Friend, reconciled in him, so as there is no fear of the fword of juftice with refpect to you. You are the sheep, and it awaked in all its fury and vengeance against the Shepherd, that the fheep might efcape; and in teftimony thereof, he invites you to commemorate this bloody facrifice in the facrament of the fupper, where you shall see the sword bathed in his heart's blood in your room, and hear the Lord of hofts giving his folemn orders, for that effect, that he might be fmitten, and you spared, faying, Awake, O fword, against my Shepherd, against the man that my Fellow.

is

The END of the SERMON.

DISCOURSE before the SERVICE of the TABLES.

OW, we are to proceed to the great work of the

Noa

.

day: and that I may accommodate my former purpose to the prefent work, you may remember the doctrine I am upon is, That by special orders from Jehovah, the great God of hofts, the man Christ, his Shepherd and Fellow, did fall a facrifice to the awakened fword of infinite juftice, in the room of the sheep.'

There are fome general inferences I have drawn from this doctrine; and now there are thefe four more particular inferences may be drawn from it, with a more immediate reference and relation to the great fealing ordinance we have before us.

1. Hence we may fee what is the nature and end of this facrament.

2. Hence we may fee who they are that stand debarred and excluded from meddling with thefe facred fymbols of the body and blood of Chrift.

3. Hence we may fee the character of these who have a right to approach, and are invited of God to it.

4. Hence

4. Hence we may fee in what manner believers are to approach, and come to a communion table.

Now, a word to each of these, and then we shall pro

ceed to the work.

1. Then, the doctrine I am upon, may give us fome infight into the nature and end of this facrament. Why, it is just a celebrating the memorial of the death of the man that is God's Fellow, when, as the glorious Shepherd, he yielded himself a facrifice to the awakened fword of justice, in the room of the sheep. In this facrament, Chrift is fet forth evidently crucified among us, and therein we may hear the Lord of hofts faying, Awake, O fword, against my Shepherd, against the man that is my Fellow; fmite the Shepherd. This facrament is appointed to be a commemorative fign of the death of Chrift; As often as you eat this bread, and drink this cup, you fhew forth the Lord's death till he come. Do this in remembrance of me; of me, who became a facrifice to the fword of juftice; by which facrifice all fpiritual bleffings, peace, pardon, reconciliation with God, grace, glory, and all good things, are purchafed. The fword of juftice having bathed itself, to fatisfaction, in the blood of this facrifice, the facrament of the fupper is a feaft upon the facrifice, 2 Cor. v. 7. Even Chrift our paffover is facrificed for us; therefore let us keep the feaft. "This is the feaft of fat things, and of wines on the lees well refined. Upon the body and blood of Chrift, represented by the elements of bread and wine, which is just a feeding upon, and viewing by faith, the value and virtue of the facrifice for fatisfying God, for expiating fin, for vanquishing hell, and for purchafing heaven, and all the means that lead unto it; as alfo, for fealing the covenant of grace, and all the promises of it, which are all yea and amen in Jefus Chrift, the teftament being ratified and confirmed by the death of the Teftator, Heb. ix. 16. But again,

2. From this doctrine we may fee who they are that ftand debarred and excluded from meddling with these facred fymbols of the body and blood of Chrift in this facrament; namely, in general, all unbelievers, who never having feen their wicked ftate, as liable to the ftroak

༢

of divine wrath, because of their fin and guilt, had not fled under the covert of the blood of the Shepherd, of the blood of the man that is God's Fellow, who was fmitten in the room of the fheep. What have these to do with the fign, who never apprehended the thing fignified, namely, the propitiation of the blood of Chrift? And therefore, in the great and awful name and authority of the great and glorious Jehovah, I folemnly debar and excommunicate, from the table of the Lord, all who never found themselves in any measure purfued by the avenger of blood, the fword of the Lord of hofts, and never have fled for refuge to the blood of Chrift, the man that is God's Fellow, to ftand between them and the avenging fword of justice; these that will not come to Chrift, let them not dare to come to his table, nor come to abuse the fymbols of his blood; who, by unbelief trample his blood under their feet, and will not make use of it as the facrifice to fatisfy juftice in their room. But, that it may appear more diftinctly, whom I here debar, in the name of the Lord, I fhall tell you who they are, that never made any faving use of the blood of Chrift, the man that is God's Fellow, but flight and neglect this facrifice and offering for fin, which he has made of himself to the fword of juftice, and fo ftand debarred and excommunicated from the table of the Lord.

(1.) All these who think to make their peace with God, without minding the neceffity of any thing interveening between him and them; not knowing that peace with God must be founded upon the blood of the man that is his Fellow. Some are utterly carelefs how their peace be made, or whether it be made or not, they hope for it, and think to come at it, but they cannot tell how; and are careless to know the way. Others prefume, and think God loves them, because they love themselves; and though they know they have fin, they think God will not be fo ill-natured as to reckon with them; they think God loves them, but they cannot give a ground for it. Others think that God is merciful, and therefore they conclude they will be pardoned and accepted; because a merciful man fometimes feeks no fatisfaction, fo they think much more will a merci

ful

ful God feek none; not knowing, that though God be merciful, he will not fhew mercy to the prejudice of his justice. But the thought of these people is upon the matter, that they would have obtained mercy though Christ had never become a facrifice to the fword of juftice, without refpect to the mediation of the man that is God's Fellow. Thefe therefore I debar, in God's great name, from the table of the Lord.

W

(2.) Another fort, who despise this facrifice made to the fword of juftice, is, all these who take the legal way of making their peace with God. Not as if they thought to appear before God without fin and holiness, as the covenant of works requires; but who think, that if they fin, they will make amends; and that either by fomething negative, that they have not done, or fomething pofitive, that they have done; or fome internal qualification, that they reft upon. Some think to make amends to God by fomething negative; that they have not been fo ill as other people; and if they go to hell, they think few will go to heaven; and if they were to die, they think they care not, they have done no person any injury; they have carried very harmlefly, like the Pharifee, God, I thank thee, I am not like other men ; I am no drunkard, or adulterer, or oppreffor, or fwearer; and when they see any profane perfons, they are puffed up with a good opinion of themselves, because they are not so profane as they: these I debar, in the name of the Lord. Others think to make amends to God by fomething pofitive; they do many good duties, like the fame Pharisee, that boasted, I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I poffefs; if any duty be performed, or any good be done by them, their fingers are ready to ftick to it; they reft there, and hope God will be pleafed and pacified on this account: these I debar, in the name of the Lord. Others, upon this fame head, think to make amends by fome internal qualification, that they reft upon: if at any time they have liberty, and motions of affection in prayer, ftirrings of conviction in hearing; and joys of heart, like the ftony-ground hearers; any forrow of heart, or fadness for fin, these they think will do their turn, and they think they need no other facrifice to God,

but

but a broken heart; fadly mistaking the nature of a true evangelical brokenness of fpirit. It is certain, both from fcripture and experience, that many hundreds of profeffors dafh and perish on this ftumbling-block; They call themfelves of the holy city; yea, and ftay themfelves upon the God of Ifrael, Ifa. xlviii. 2. They feek him daily, and delight to know his ways; yea, delight in approaching to God, Ifa. lviii. 2. Expectation of happiness, grounded upon fome weak performance, and fome internal motions and qualifications, do cut the throat of many civil and difcreet men, that are not grofly profane.-All these, therefore, that make any of these things the ground of their hope of peace with God, I debar and excommunicate from the table of the Lord, as being ftrangers to the true ground of peace, the Man that is God's Fellow, becoming a facrifice to the fword of justice.

(3.) Another fort, who make no right use of this facrifice offered to the sword of justice, are these, who, though they make use of Christ, as the object of their worship, yet make not ufe of his blood as the ground of their juftification and peace with God: as if they would not altogether neglect Chrift, and yet they neglect his offering, and would make use of himself, but not of his facrifice; like the man that came to him, faying, Good mafter, what shall I do, that I may inherit eternal life? He was going upon the ground of his own righteousness; fo fome, they may come to Christ, to defire his help to enable them to do duty, that by doing thereof they may work out their own falvation; and be helped this way to make their peace with God: thus, by grace, fought and received from him, they hope to be their own Saviour and Peace-maker, with God; and fo were never brought to ground the making of their peace with God, upon Christ's facrifice and offering alone. These therefore I alfo debar from this holy table.

(4.) A fourth fort, that never made right use of this facrifice to juftice's fword, and propitiation in the blood of Christ, are all these, who never got fuch a view of the love of God, in this facrifice, as to kill the love of fin in them, and to bring down the reigning power of fin;

for