Meditation Ii
Sacramental Meditations.
Now, which oftheſe is to be attended with adead, careleſs, andflight ſpirit ? Isitthe repreſentation of Chriſt's death ? God forbid! On ! iftherebe any ſubjectofmeditation intheworld, able to drink up the very fpirit ofa man, this is it !
The fun fainted, theheavens mourned in black, the very ocks rent in pieces, when this tragedy was acted ; and ſhall our hearts be more ſenſeleſs and obdurate than they, at the repreſentation ofit ? But, lo ! here is more than a repreſentation :
Chrift is fet forth in this ordinance, as crucified for you ; as fuffering, and enduring allthis, in yourroom andſtead. Now,
Suppoſe, reader, thyſelfto be juſtly condemned to thetorture of the rack, or ſtrappado ; and that thy father, brother, or dearest friend, preferringthy lifeto his own, would become thy ANTIPSYxos, ranſomer, by undergoing the torment for thee; and all that is left for thee to ſuffer, were only by way ofſympathy with him : ſuppoſe nowthyself ſtanding by that engine oftorture, and beholding the members ofthy dear friend distorted, and all out of joint; hearing his doleful groans, extorted by the extremity of anguish ; and under all theſe torments, ſtill maintaining a conſtant love to thee ; not once repenting his torments for thee ; couldestthou ſtandthere with dry eyes ? Could thy heart be unaffected, and ſtupid at ſuch a fight ? Write him rather a beaft, a stone, than aman, that coulddo fo.
But this isnot all: the believer's intereſtin Chriſt is fealed, as well as the ſufferingsofChriſt reprefented, in this ordinance.
And is a ſealed intereſt in Chriſt ſo cheap or common a thing, as that it should not engage, yea, fwallow up all the powers of thy foul ? Oh ! what is this ? what is this?
The feal ofGod, ſet to the foul ofa poor fimmer, to confirm and ratify its title to the perfon of Chriſt, and the ine . ſtimable treasures ofhisblood. Surely, as the fealing up of a mantodamnation, isthe ſum ofall miſery ; and that poor creature that is ſo ſealed, hath cauſe enough to mouin and wail to eternity; ſo the ſealing up ofa foul to ſalvation, is the ſumofall mercy andhappiness ; and the soul that is ſo ſealed, hathcauſe enough to lie at the feet ofGod, overwhelmed with theſenſe ofſo invaluable a mercy.
Reafon 2. As the nature and ends ofthis ordinance call for the greatest compoſedneſs of ſpirit; ſo the danger ofunworthy receiving, ſhould work our hearts to the moſt ſerious frame: for ifa man be here without his wedding-garment, if he eat and drink unworthily, it is at the greatest peril ofhis
Gg2
Sacramental Meditations . foul that he doth ſo ; 1 Cor. xi. 27. " Wherefore, whoſoever
" ſhall eat this bread, and drink this cup ofthe Lord unwor- " thily, ſhallbe guilty ofthe body and blood ofthe Lord."
To profane and undervalue that body andblood oftheLord, is a fin above meaſure ſinful; and the punishments of fuch fins, will be the most dreadful : for ſtill the more excellent the bleffings are thatcomeby any ordinance, the more dreadful the curſes are, that avenge the abuſe ofſuch mercies. How foonmay a man draw fearful guilt upon his foul, and dreadful judgments upon his body, by an heedleſs management of fuch ſacred myſteries ? "For this cauſe many are weak and " fickly among you, and many fleep ;" verſe 30.
It is a most weighty note, that a * worthy pen ſets upon this ſcripture :
They diſcerned notthe body of his Son Jeſus Chriſt, inhis ordinances ; but insteadofthat holy, reverend
' and deep-dyed behaviour, which was due to it, both from their inner and outward man, as being a creature of the highest and deepeſt ſanctification, that everGod ſanctified ; ſanctified not only to a more excellent and glorious condition; but alſo to many ends and purpoſes, offar higher and dearer concernment, both for the glory ofGod, and benefit
' ofmenthemſelves,than all other creatures whatsoever, whe- ، ⚫ther in heaven orearth : They handled, and dealt by it in ' both kinds, as if it hadbeenacommon unſanctified thing :
Thus they difcerned not the Lord's body.'
And as they difcerned not his body, ſo neither didGod (in ſome ſenſe) difcern theirs ; butin thoſe ſore ſtrokes and heavy judgments which he inflicted on them, had them in no other regard or confideration, than as ifthey had been the bodies of his enemies, thebodies of wicked and ſinful men ; thus drawing the model and platform oftheir punishment (as uſually he doth) from the ſtructure and proportion of their fin.
Thus thejuſt and righteous God builds up the breaches that wemake upon the honour belongingto the bodyof his Son , with the ruins ofthat honour which hehad given unto ours, in health, ſtrength, life, and many other outward comforts and ſupports.
Othen what need is there of a moſt awful and compoſed ſpirit, whenwe approach the Lord in this ordinance ?
Reafon 3. As the danger ofunworthy receiving ſhould compoſe us to the greateſt ſeriouſneſs, ſo the remembrance ofthat frameand temper Chriſt's Spirit was in,when he actually fufMr. Tho. Goodwin's epiſtle to Mr. Fenner's fermons.
Sacramental Meditations.
fered thoſe things for us, ſhould compoſe our ſpirits, into a framemore fuitable and agreeableto his.
When we fee his death, as it were acted over again before our eyes : Was his heart roving and wandering in that day ? Did he not regard andmind the work he was going about ? Was his heart, like thine, ſtupid, andunaffected with theſe things ? Look but up-
onthattext, Luke xxii. 44. andyou shall fee whether it were ſo, or not.
It is faid (when this tragedy drew nigh, and his enemies were ready toſeize him inthegarden) That being " in " an agony, he prayed more earnestly ; and his ſweat was,
" as itwere, great drops ofbloodfalling to the ground." And Matth . xxvi. 38. he faith, " My foul is exceeding forrowful,
" even unto death."
His foul was full of forrow : And is thine fullofſtupidity ? Godforbid !
If thy heart be cold, Chriſt's was hot : If thou canst not ſhed a tear, he poured out clods of blood from every part.
O, how unfuitable is adry eye, and hard heart, to ſuch an ordinance as this !
Reason 4. As the frame Chriſt's Spirit was in at his death, ſhould command the moſt ſolemn frame uponour ſpirits, at the recognizing of it ; ſothe things here repreſented, require, and call for the highest exerciſe ofevery grace ofthe Spirit in our fouls : For we come not thither as idle ſpectators, but as active inſtruments, to glorifyGod, by exerciſing every grace upon Chrift, as crucified for us. Behold here are, among the reft,
First, The proper object of faith .
Secondly, The flowing ſpring of repentance.
Thirdly, The powerful attractive of love.
First, The proper object of faith is here. This ordinance, as a glaſs, repreſents to thine eye that glorious Perſon, of whom the Father ſaid, " This is my beloved Son, in whom I " am well pleaſed," Matth. xvii. 5. Ofwhom he said, " I " have laid help upon one that is mighty."
This was he that " was made fin for us, who had no fin, that we might be " made the righteouſneſs ofGod in him," 2 Cor. v. 21. Who trodethe wine-preſs alone, and is here to be ſeen in his red garments.
Every drop of his precious blood hath a tongue, calling for faithto behold it, poured forth as a facrifice toGod for fin.
" This (faith he) is the cup ofthe New Teftament " in my blood, which was ſhed for many, for the remiffion
" of fins ."
Andwhat footing couldthy faith findfor pardon and falvation any whereelfe ? It isChrift crucified that faith claſps, as the laft and only hope and refuge of a poor finner : Here al
Sacramental Meditations. believers drop anchor.
This is that bleſſed object, on whom they take thedead gripe, or laſt graſp, whentheir eye ftrings andheart-ſtrings are breaking. When you fee the blood of Chriſt flowing forth, how can faith be filent in thy foul ?
Whenhebids thee, as it were, toput thy fingerintohis fide, ſhews thee hishands, andhis feetthere ; it will cryout in thy foul, My Lord ! and my God!
Secondly, The flowing ſpring of repentance is here. Ifthere be any firethat can melt, or hammer that can break a hard heart, here it is ; Zech. xii. 10. " They ſhall look upon me,
" whom they have pierced, and mourn."
Nothing lays a gracious foul lowerin itſelf, than to fee how low Chriſt was laid in his humiliation for it.
Here the evil offin is alſo repreſented in the clearest glaſs, that ever theeye ofman ſaw it in.
The fufferings of the Son of God difcover the evil of fin, more than the everlasting torments of the damned can do.
Sothat, ifthere be but one dropof ſpiritual forrow inthe heart of a Chriſtian ; here, methinks, it ſhouldbeſeen dropping from the eye offaith.
Thirdiy, The moſt attractive object of love is here.
Put all created beauties, excellencies, and perfections together ; and what are theybut blackneſs anddeformity, compared with the lovely Jefus ? My beloved (faith the enamoured ſpouſe)is white and ruddy, Cant. v. 10. Behold him at the table, in his perfect innocency, and unparalleled fufferings! This is He
"who was rich, but for our fakes became poor; that we, " through his poverty, might be rich," 2 Cor. viii. 9. This is he that parted with his honour first, and his life next; yea, he parted with his honourin his incarnation, thathe mightbe capable to part with his life for our redemption.
Behold here the degrees ofhis fufferings, and bythem meafurethe degrees of his love.
Behold in hisdeath, as in the deluge, all the fountains beneath, and the windows of heaven above, opened ; the wrath of God, the cruelty ofmen, the furyofhell, breaking in together upon him, and hisfoul furroundedwith forrow ; and how can this be repreſented, and thy foul not aftoniſhed at this amazing, matchless love of Chrift ? Surely one flame doth not more naturally produce another, thanthe love ofChriſt, thus repreſented to a gracious foul, doth produce love to Chriſt, andthat in the most intenſe degree.
Ufe 1. How naturallydoth this doctrine ſhameand humble thebest hearts, for their finful diſcompofures, vanity, anddeadzneſs ; for the rovings and wanderings of their hearts, even
Sacramental Meditations.
whentheycome near the Lord in ſuch afolemn ordinance as this is?
The holiest man uponearth may lay his hand upon his breast, and fay, Lord, how unſuitable is this heart of mine,
⚫to fuch an object of faith, as is here preſented to me ? Doth • ſuch a temper of ſpirit fuit thine awful prefence ? Should
• the reprefented agonies and fufferings of Chrift for me, be • beheld with a ſpirit nomore concerned, pierced,andwound- • ed for fin ? O how can I look upon him whom I have pierced, and not mourn, and be in bitterness for him, as for an ⚫only fon, a firſt-born ! O the ſtupifying and benumbing power of fin ! O the efficacy of unbelief!'
Itwas charged upon the Ifraelites, as the great aggravation oftheir fin, thatthey "provoked Godat the fea, even atthe
" red fea," Pfal. cvi. 7. the place where their miraculous falvationwas wrought. But, Lord Jefus! myhard heart pro . vokes thee in anhigher degree, even atthe redfea of thy precious invaluable blood, by which my eternal falvation was wrought. O myGod ! what a heart have I ? Did the blood of Chriſt run out ſo freely and abundantly for me ; and cannot I ſhed one tear for my fins, that piercedhim ? O let me never be friends withmy own heart, till it love Chrift better, and hate fin more..
Ufe 2. This fcripturehath alſo an awakening voice, to all that comenigh toGod in any of his ordinances, eſpecially in this ordinance. O Chriſtians ! bethink yourſelves where you are, andwhatyouare doing : Knowyou not, that theKing comes in tofee theguests ? Yea, you do know, that God is inthis place ; an awful Majeft beholds you ! " All the churches " ſhall know, thatIamhethat ſearcheththe heart andthereins,
" andwillgive to every one as his work ſhallbe," Rev. ii. 24.
Thybuſineſs, Chriſtian, is not with men, but with God ; and the folemneſt buſineſs that ever thythoughts were converfant about.
Thou art here to recognize the ſufferings ofthy Redeemer ; to take the feals and pledges ofthy falvation from. the hand ofhis Spirit : Imagine thefame thing, which is now tobe done fpiritually,andby the miniſtry of faith, were but to beperformed viſiblyand audibly, by the miniſtry ofthyſenſes.
Suppoſe Jefus Chriftdid perſonally ſhewhimselfatthis table, andwere pleaſed tomakehimselfknown in breaking of bread, as once he did to the diſciples.
Suppoſe thou ſaweſt him afpear at this table as he doth now appear in heaven, as a Lamb that had been flain : Imagine thou heardſt hint fay, Believer, this precious blood of mine was ſhed for