The Communicant's Companion
glory, and withhold no good thing from them; that thou wilt never fail them, nor forsake them?" Now, Lord, let those words which thou hast spoken concerning thy servant (and many other the like,) be established for ever, and do as thou hast said; for they are the words upon which thou hast caused me to hope.
2. We must pray, that he will enable us to fulfil those promises which we have made to him in this ordinance. David's prayer for this is," O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the hearts of thy people, and prepare, or confirm their hearts unto thee." Have there been some good affections, good desires, and good resolutions in the imagination of the thoughts of our hearts at this ordinance, some good impressions made upon us, and some good expressions drawn from us by it? We cannot but be sensible how apt we are to lose the good we have wrought, and therefore it is our wisdom by prayer to commit the keeping of it to God, and earnestly to beg of him effectual grace, thoroughly to furnish us for every good word and work, and thoroughly to fortify us against every evil word and work. We made our promises in the strength of the grace of God, that strength we must therefore pray for, that we may be able to make good our promises. Lord, maintain thine own interest in my soul; let thy name be ever hallowed there, thy kingdom come, and thy will be done in my heart, as it is done in heaven.
When we come away from this ordinance, we return to a cooling, tempting, distracting world; as when Moses came down from the mount, where he had been with God, he found the camp of Israel dancing before the golden calf to his great disturbance. In the midst of such sorrows and such snares as we are compassed about with here, we shall find it no easy matter to preserve the peace and grace which we hope we have obtained at the Lord's table; we must therefore put ourselves under the divine protection. Methinks it was with an affecting air of tenderness, that Christ said concerning his disciples, when he was leaving them, "Now I am no more in the world," the days of my temptation are at an end; "but these are in the world," they have their trial yet before them. What then shall I do for them? "Holy Father, keep through thine own name them which thou hast given me." That prayer of his was both the great example, and the great encouragement of our prayers. Now, at the close of a sacrament, it is seasonable thus to address ourselves to God: I have not yet put off this body; I am not yet clear of this world; yet I am a traveler exposed to thieves, yet I am a soldier exposed to enemies. Holy Father, keep through thine own name the graces and comforts thou hast given me; for they are thine. Mine own hands are not sufficient for me; O let thy grace be so, to preserve me to thy heavenly kingdom.
Immediately after the first administration of the Lord's Supper, our Savior, when he had told Peter of Satan's design upon him, added this comfortable word, "I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not;" and that is it which we must pray for, that this faith, which we think is so strong in the day of its advantage, may not prove weak in the day of its trial; for, as they who would have the benefit of the Spirit's operation, must strive for themselves; so they that would have the benefit of the Son's intercession, must pray for themselves.
VII. We should come from this ordinance with a charitable disposition.— Anciently, the Christians had their love-feasts, or feasts of charity, annexed to their Eucharist; but what needed that, while the Eucharist itself is a lovefeast and a feast of charity? And surely that heart must be strangely hardened and soured, that can go from under the softening, sweetening powers of this ordinance in an uncharitable frame.
The fervent charity which we now should have among ourselves, must be a loving, giving, and forgiving charity. Thus it must have its perfect work.
We must come from this ordinance with a disposition to love our fellow
Christians. Here we see how dear they were to Christ, for he purchased them with his own blood; and from thence we may infer how dear they ought to be, and how near they should lie, to our hearts. Shall I look strangely upon them that have acquaintance with Christ? or be indifferent towards them whom he has so much concern for? No; we that are many, being one bread and one body, and having been all made to drink into one
Spirit, my heart shall be more closely knit than ever to all the members of that one body, who are quickened and acted by that one Spirit. I have here beheld the beauty of the Lord, and therefore must love his image wherever I see it on his sanctified ones. I have here joined myself to the Lord in an everlasting covenant, and thereby have joined myself in relation, and consequently in affection, to all those who are in the bond of the same covenant. I have here bound myself to keep Christ's commandments, and this is his commandment, "that we love one another," and that brotherly love continue.
Those from whom we differ in, the less weighty matters of the law, though we agree in the great things of God, we should now think of, with particular thoughts of love and kindness, because from them our minds are most in temptation to be alienated; and of those to whom we have given the right hand of fellowship in this and in other ordinances, we should likewise be mindful, with particular endearments, because of the particular relation we stand in to them, as our more intimate companions in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ. Yea, after 22 such an ordinance as this, our catholic charity must be more warm and affectionate, more active, strong, and steadfast, and more victorious over the difficulties and oppositions it meets with; and, as the apostle speaks, we should "increase and abound in love one towards another, and towards all men;" and in all the fruits and instances of that love.
We must come from this ordinance with a disposition to give to the poor and necessitous, according as our ability and opportunity is. It is the laudable custom of the churches of Christ, to close the administration of this ordinance with a collection for the poor; to which we ought to contribute our share, not grudgingly or of necessity, but with a single eye and a willing mind, that our alms may be sanctified and accepted of God; and not only to this, but to all other acts of charity, we must be more forward and free after a sacrament. Though our Savior lived upon alms himself, yet, out of the little he had, he gave alms to the poor, particularly at the feast of the passover, to set us an example. Days of rejoicing and thanksgiving (and such our sacrament days are) used to be thus solemnized; for when we "eat the fat, and drink the sweet ourselves, we must send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared," that when our souls are blessing God, the loins of the poor may bless us. If our hearts have here been opened to Christ, we must evidence they are so by being open-handed to poor Christians; for, since our goodness cannot extend to him, it is his will that it should extend to them. If we have here in sincerity given ourselves to God, we have, with ourselves, devoted all we have to his service and honor, to be employed and laid out for him; and thus we must testify that we have heartily consented to that branch of the surrender. "As we have opportunity, we must do good to all men, especially to them that are of the household of faith: remembering that we are but stewards of the manifold grace of God." If our prayers have here come up for a memorial before God, as Cornelius', our alms, like his, must accompany them. We have seen here how much we owe to God's pity and bounty towards us: having therefore obtained mercy, we ought to show mercy; knowing the grace of the Lord Jesus, "that though he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor, that we through his poverty might be rich."
We must come from this ordinance with a disposition to forgive those that have been provoking and injurious to us. Our approach to the sacrament made it necessary for us to forgive, but our attendance on it should make it even natural for us to forgive; and our experience there of God's mercy and grace to us, should conquer all the difficulty and reluctancy of which we are conscious to ourselves therein, and make it as easy to forgive our enemies as it is to forgive ourselves, when at any time we have had a quarrel with ourselves. That which makes it hard to forgive, and puts an edge upon our resentments, is the magnifying of the affronts we have received, and the losses we have sustained. Now, in this ordinance, we have had honors put upon us sufficient to balance all those affronts, and benefits bestowed on us, sufficient to countervail all those losses; so that we may well afford to forgive and forget both. With ourselves we have offered up to God our names, estates, and all our interests; in compliance therefore with the will of God, (that God who bid Shimei curse David, and who took away from Job that which the Sabeans and Chaldeans robbed him of,) we must not only bear with patience the damage we sustain in those concerns, but must be charitably affected towards those that have been the instruments of that damage, knowing that men are God's hand, and to his hand we must always submit.
But the great argument for the forgiving of injuries, when we come from the table of the Lord, is taken from the pardons God has in Christ there sealed to us. The jubilee trumpet which proclaimed releases, sounded at the close of the day of atonement. Is God reconciled to us? Let us then be more firmly than ever reconciled to our brethren.
Let the death of Christ, which we have here commemorated, not only slay all enmities, but take down all partition walls; not only forbid revenge, but remove strangeness; and let all our feuds and quarrels be buried in his grave. Has our Master forgiven us that great debt, and a very great debt it was, and ought we not then to have compassion "on our fellow-servants?"
Let us, therefore, who have in this ordinance put on the Lord Jesus Christ, put on, "as becomes the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies and kindness, inclining us to forgive; humbleness of mind and meekness," enabling us to conquer that pride and passion which object against our forgiving; that if any man have a quarrel against any, it may be passed by, as God for Christ's sake has forgiven us.
VIII. We should come from this ordinance longing for heaven.—Every good Christian lives in the belief of the life everlasting, which God, that cannot lie, has promised, looking for the blessed hope; and doubtless much of the power of godliness consists in the joyful expectation of the glory to be revealed. But though we should look upon ourselves as heathens if we did not believe it, and as desperate if we had not some hopes of it; yet we have all reason to lament it, as not only our infelicity, but our iniquity, that our desires towards it are so weak and feeble. We are too apt to take up our rest here, and wish we might live always on this earth; and we need something to make us hunger and thirst after that perfect righteousness, that crown of righteousness, with which only we shall be filled. For this good end the Lord's Supper is very improvable, to hasten us towards the land of promise, and carry out our souls in earnest breathings after the felicities of our future state.
The complaints we find cause to exhibit at this ordinance, should make us long for heaven; for whatever is defective and uneasy here, we shall be for ever freed from when we come to heaven. When here we set ourselves to contemplate the beauty of God and the love of Christ, we find ourselves in a cloud, we see but through a glass darkly; let us therefore long to be there where the veil shall be rent, the glasses we now make use of laid aside, and we shall not only see face to face, but, which will yield us more satisfaction, we shall see as we are seen, and know as we are known. When here we would soar upwards upon the wings of love, we find ourselves clogged and pinioned; this immortal spirit is caged in a house of clay, and does but flutter at the best. Let us therefore long to be there, where we shall be perfectly delivered from all the incumbrances of a body of flesh, and all the entanglements of a world of sense; and love, in its highest elevations, and utmost enlargements, shall survive both faith and hope. When here we would fix for God, and join ourselves closely to him, we find ourselves apt to wander, apt to waver, and should therefore long to be there, where our love to God will be no longer love in motion, constant motion, as it is here, but love at rest, an everlasting rest. Here we complain, that, through the infirmity of the flesh, we are soon weary of well-doing; and, if the spirit be willing, yet the flesh is weak, and cannot keep pace with it; but there we shall run and not be weary, we shall walk and not faint; and shall not rest, because we shall not need to rest day nor night from praising God. O when shall I come to that world where there is neither sin, nor sorrow, nor snare; and to the spirits of just men made perfect there, who are as the angels of God in heaven!
The comforts which through grace we experience in this ordinance, should make us long for heaven. The foretastes of those divine joys should whet our appetites after the full fruition of them. The bunch of grapes that meets us in this wilderness should make us long to be in Canaan, that land of overflowing plenty, where we shall wash our garments in this wine, and our clothes in the blood of the grape. If communion with God and grace here afford us such a satisfaction, as surpasses all the delights of the sons of men, what will the fulness of joy be in God's presence, and those pleasures for ever more? If the shadows of good things to come be so refreshing, what will the substance be, and the good things themselves? If God's tabernacles be so amiable, what will his temple be? If a day at his courts, an hour at his table, be so pleasant, what then will an eternity within the veil be? If I find myself so enriched with the earnest of the purchased possession, what then will the possession itself be? If the joy of my Lord, as I am here capable of receiving it, and as it is mixed with so much alloy in this imperfect state, be so comfortable, what will it be when I shall enter into that joy, and bathe myself eternally in the spring-head of these rivers of pleasure?
Pant then, my soul, pant after those fountains of living water, out of which all these sweet streams arise; that boundless, bottomless ocean of delight into which they are all run. Rest not content with any of the contentment's here below; no, not with those in holy ordinances, (which are of all others the best we meet with in this wilderness,) but long for the enjoyments above in the vision of God. It is good to be here, but it is better to be there; far better to depart, and be with Christ. Whilst thou art groaning under the burdens of this present state, groan after the glorious liberties of the children of God in the future state. Thirst for God, for the living God: O when shall I come and appear before God? That the day may break, and the shadows flee away, "make haste, my beloved, and be thou like to a roe or to a young hart upon the mountains of spices."
Chapter 13. An Exhortation to Order the Conversation Aright After this Ordinance. e will now suppose the new moon to be gone, the Sabbath to be past, and the solemnities of the sacrament-day to be over; and is our work now done? No: now the most needful and difficult part of our work begins; which is, to maintain such a constant watch over ourselves, that we may, in the whole course of our conversation, exemplify the blessed fruits and effects of our communion with God in this ordinance. When we come down from this mount, we must, as Moses did, bring the tables of the testimony with us in our hands, that we may in all things have respect to God's commandments, and frame our lives according to them. Then we truly get good by this ordinance, when we are made better by it, and use it daily as a bridle of restraint to keep us in from all manner of sin, and a spur of constraint to put us on to all manner of duty.
I shall endeavor, first, to give some general rules for the right ordering of the conversation after we have been at the Lord's Supper; and then, secondly, I shall mention some particulars, wherein we must study to conform ourselves to the intentions of that ordinance, and abide under the influence of it.
For the first, the Lord's Supper was instituted not only for the solemnizing of the memorial of Christ's death at certain times, but for the preserving of the remembrance of it in our minds at all times, as a powerful argument against every thing that is evil, and a prevailing inducement to every thing that is good; in this sense we must "bear about with us continually the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal bodies." It was instituted, not only for the sealing of the covenant, that it may be ratified, but for the imprinting of it upon our minds, that we may be ever mindful of the covenant, and live under the commanding power of it.
We must see to it, that there be an agreement between our performances at the Lord's table, and at other times; that we be uniform in our religion, and not guilty of a self-contradiction. What will it profit us, if we pull down with one hand what we build up with the other; and undo in our lives what we have done in our devotions? That we may not do so, let us be governed by these rules:—I. Our conversation must be such, that we may adorn the profession which in the Lord's Supper we have made.—We have in that ordinance solemnly owned ourselves the disciples and followers of the Lord
Jesus; we have done ourselves the honor to subscribe ourselves his humble servants, and he has done us the honor to admit us into his family; and now we are concerned to walk worthy of the vocation wherewith we are called; that, our relation to Christ being so much an honor to us, we may never be a dishonor to it. We are said to be taken into covenant with God for this very end, that we may be unto him for "a name, and for a praise, and for a glory," that we may be witnesses for him, and for the honor of his name among men.
We must therefore be very cautious, that we never say or do any thing to the reproach of the gospel, and Christ's holy religion, or which may give any occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme. If those who profess to be devout towards God, be unjust and dishonest towards men, this casts reproach upon devotion, as if that would consist with, and countenance immorality. If those who call themselves Christians walk as other Gentiles walk, and do Satan's drudgery in Christ's livery, Christianity suffers by it, and religion is wounded in the house of her friends. Injuries are done it which cannot be repaired; and those will have a great deal to answer for another day, for whose sakes the name of God and his doctrine are thus evil spoken of. By our coming to the Lord's Supper, we distinguish ourselves from those whose profession of Christianity, by their being baptized in infancy, seems to be more their chance than their choice; and, by a voluntary act of our own, we surname ourselves by the name of Israel: now, if, after we have thus distinguished ourselves, and so raised the expectations of our neighbors from us, we do that which is unbecoming the character we bear; if we be vain, and carnal, and intemperate; if we be false and unfair, cruel and unmerciful, what will the Egyptians say? They will say, Commend us to the children of this world, if these be the children of God; for what do they more than others? Men's prejudices against religion are hereby confirmed, advantage is given to Satan's devices, and the generation of the righteous is condemned for the sake of those who are spots in their feasts of charity. Let us therefore always be jealous for the reputation of our profession, and afraid of doing that which may in the least be a blemish to it; and the greater profession we make, the more tender let us be of it, because we have the more eyes upon us, that watch for our halting'; when we do good, we must remember the apostle's caution, "Let not your good be evil spoken of."
We must also be very studious to do that which will redound to the credit of our profession. It is not enough that we be not a scandal to religion, but we must strive to be an ornament to it, by excelling in virtue, and being forward to every good work. Our light must shine as the face of Moses did, when he came down from the mount; that is, our good works must be such, that they who see them may give religion their good word, and thereby "glorify our Father which is in heaven." "Our conversation must be as becomes the gospel of Jesus Christ," that they who will not be won by the word, may be won by it to say, We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you. If there be any virtue, if there be any praise, more amiable and lovely than another, let us think on these things. Are we children? Let us walk as obedient children, well taught, and well managed. Are we soldiers? Let us approve ourselves good soldiers, well trained and well disciplined; so shall we do honor to him that has called us. If God's Israel carefully keep and do his statutes, it will be said of them to their honor among the nations, "Surely they are a wise and understanding people." And this will redound to the honor of Christ; for thus wisdom is justified of her children.
II. Our conversation must be such, that we may fulfil the engagements which at the Lord's Supper we have laid ourselves under.—Having at God's altar sworn that we will keep his righteous judgments, we must conscientiously perform it in ail the evidences of a holy, righteous, and sober conversation. The vows we have made, express or implicit, must be carefully made good by a constant watchfulness against all sin, and a constant diligence in all duty; because, "better it is not to vow, than to vow and not to pay."
When we are at any time tempted to sin, or in danger of being surprised into any ill thing, let this be our reply to the tempter, and with this let us quench his fiery darts, "Thy vows are upon me, O God." Did I not say, "I would take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue?" I did say so, and therefore "I will keep my mouth as with a bridle." Did I not make "a covenant with mine eyes?" I did; that therefore shall be to me a covering of the eyes, that they may never be either the inlets or outlets of sin. Did I not say, "I will not transgress?" I did so; and therefore, by the grace of God, I will "abstain from all appearance of evil, and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness." An honest man is as good as his word.
When we begin to grow slothful and careless in our duty, backward to it, and slight in it, let this stir up the gift that is in us, and quicken us to every good word and work: "O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord;" thou hast said it with the blood of Christ in thy hand; "he is thy Lord then, and worship thou him." "When a lion in the way, a lion in the streets," deters us from any duty, and we "cannot plough by reason of cold, nor sow or reap for fear of winds and clouds," let this help us over the difficulty with a steady resolution—It is what I have promised, and I must perform it; I will not, I dare not, be false to my God and my covenant with him: "I have opened my mouth unto the Lord; and, without incurring the guilt of perjury, I cannot go back."
III. Our conversation must be such, that we may make some grateful returns for the favors which we have here received.—The law of gratitude is one of the laws of nature; for the ox knows his owner, and the ass his master's crib: and some have thought that all our gospel-duty may very fitly be comprised in that of gratitude to our Redeemer. In the Lord's Supper we see what Christ has done for us, and we receive what he bestows on us; and, in consideration of both, we must set ourselves, not only to love and praise him, but to walk before him in the land of the living; that though we cannot return him any equivalent for his kindness, yet, by complying with his will, and consulting his honor, we may show that we bear a grateful mind, and would render again according to the benefit done unto us.
By willful sin after a sacrament, we load ourselves with the guilt, not only of treachery, but of base ingratitude. It was a great aggravation of Solomon's apostasy, that "he turned from the Lord God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice." More than twice, yea, many a time has God appeared, not only for us in his providences, but to us in his ordinances, manifesting himself in a distinguishing way to us, and not unto the world.
Now, if we carry ourselves strangely to him who has been such a friend to us, if we affront him who has so favored us, and rebel against him who has not only spared but ransomed us, we deserve to be stigmatized with a mark of everlasting infamy, as the most ungrateful wretches that ever God's earth bore, or his sun shone upon. Foolish people and unwise are we, thus to requite the Lord. Let us therefore reason thus with ourselves, when at any time we are tempted to sin:—after he has given us such a deliverance as this, shall we again break his commandments? Shall we spit in the face, and spurn at the bowels of such loving kindness After we have eaten bread with Christ, shall we go and lift up the heel against him? No, God forbid; we will not continue in sin after grace has thus abounded.
By an exact and exemplary conversation, we show ourselves sensible of the mighty obligations we lie under to love him, and live to him who loved us, and died for us; we should, therefore, from a principle of gratitude, always abound in the work of the Lord, and lay out ourselves with zeal and cheerfulness in his service; thinking nothing too much to do, too hard to suffer, or too dear to part with, for him that has done and suffered, and parted with so much for us. Let the love of Christ constrain us.
IV. Our conversation must be such that we may preserve the comforts which we have tasted in the Lord's Supper.—Have we been satisfied with the goodness of God's house? Let us not receive the grace of God therein in vain, by the forfeiture or neglect of those satisfactions. "Fear the Lord and his goodness;" that is, fear lest you sin against that goodness, and so sin it away. Have we received Christ Jesus the Lord? Let us hold fast what we have received, that no man take our crown, and the comfort of it. Has God here spoken peace to us? Let us then never return to folly, lest we break in upon the peace that God has spoken; it is a jewel too precious to be pawned, as it is by the covetous for the wealth of this world, and by the voluptuous for the pleasures of the flesh. Have we tasted that the Lord is gracious? Let us not put our mouths out of taste to those spiritual and divine pleasures, by any carnal delights and gratifications. Has God made us to hear joy and gladness? Let us not set ourselves out of the hearing of that joyful sound, by listening to the voice of Satan's charms, charm he ever so wisely.
If we walk loosely and carelessly after a sacrament, we provoke God to hide his face from us, to take from us the cup of consolation, and to put into our hands instead of it the cup of trembling: we cloud our evidences, shake our hopes, and wither our comforts, and undo what we have been doing at this ordinance. That caution, therefore, which the apostle gives to the elect lady and her children, should be ever sounding in our ears, "Look to ourselves, that we lose not the things which we have wrought;" or, as the margin reads it, "the things that we have gained." Let us not, by our own folly and neglect, lose the benefit of what we have done, and what we have got at the Lord's table.
Especially, we should take heed lest Satan get an advantage against us, and improve that to our prejudice, which we do not take due care to improve as we ought, to our benefit. After the sop, Satan entered into Judas.
If the comforts which we think we have received in this ordinance do not make us more watchful, it is well if they do not make us more secure. If they be not a savor of life unto life, by deterring us from sin, there is danger lest they prove a savor of death unto death, by hardening us in sin. It was one of the most impudent words which that adulterous woman spoke, and she spoke a great many, when she allured the young man into her snares: "I have peace-offerings with me this day, I have paid my vows, therefore came
I forth to meet thee." I have been confessed, and absolved, and therefore can the better afford to begin upon a new score; I know the worst of it; it is but being confessed and absolved again. But shall we continue in sin, because grace has abounded, and that grace may abound? God forbid; far be it, far be it from us ever to entertain such a thought. Shall we suck poison out of the balm of Gilead, and wreck our souls upon the rock of salvation?
Is Christ the minister of sin? Shall the artifices of our spiritual enemies turn this table into a snare, and that on it, which should be for our welfare, into a trap? Those are but pretended comforts in Christ, that are thus made real supports in sin: "Be not deceived, God is not mocked." Hell will be hell indeed to those who thus "trample under foot the blood of the covenant as an unholy thing, and do despite to the Spirit of grace." Their case is desperate indeed, who are emboldened in sin by their approaches to God.
V. Our conversation must be such, that we may evidence the communion we have had with God in Christ at the Lord's table.—It is not enough to say that we have fellowship with him; the vilest hypocrites pretend to that honor; but, by walking in darkness, they disprove their pretensions, and give themselves the lie. We must therefore show that we have fellowship with him, by walking in the light, and as he also walked. By keeping up communion with God in providences, having our eyes ever towards him, and acknowledging him in all our ways; receiving all our comforts as the gifts of his bounty, and bearing all our afflictions as his fatherly chastisements,—we evidence that we have had communion with him in ordinances. They who converse much with scholars, evidence it by the tongue of the learned; as one may likewise discover by the politeness and refinement of a man's air and mien, that his conversation has been much with persons of quality: thus they that have communion with the holy God, should make it appear in all holy conversation, not suffering any corrupt communication to proceed out of their mouth, but abounding in that which is good, and to the use of edifying, that, by our speech and behavior, it may appear to what country we belong.
When Peter and John acquitted themselves before the council with such a degree of conduct and assurance, as one could not have expected from unlearned and ignorant men, not acquainted with courts, or camps, or academies; it is said, that they who marveled at it, "took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus." And from those who had been with Jesus, who had followed him, sat at his feet, and eaten bread with him, very great things might be expected. In this ordinance we have been with Jesus, we have been seeing his beauty, and tasting his sweetness; and now we should live so, that all who converse with us may discern it, and by our holy, heavenly converse, may take knowledge of us that we have been with Jesus.