10. God hath the hearts of all men in his hands, and he can in an instant raise up a Cyrus to appear for his People, and his Cause; he can raise up Zerubbabels, Nehemiah's, and Ezrah's; he can, and he will raise up Kings to be the nursing Fathers, and Queens the nursing Mothers of his Church; he can turn the hearts of people, and make them willing to submit their necks to the yoak of the Lord; and he hath promised, that in the day of his power, the people shall be willing.
11. Lastly, consider what great things God hath done already for us; and if he had meant to have destroyed us, he would not have done all this for us: He hath broken the iron yoak of Prelacy, removed superstitious Ceremonies, and Service-book, established a more pure way of Ordination of Ministers, and of worshipping of God, and there are hopefull beginnings of this Government in many of our Congregations; and we doubt not, but that God, who hath been the Author, will be the Finisher of this mighty Work.
Let the consideration of these particulars exceedingly affect you, and stir you up to persevere, & hold out in that great office you have undertaken, in nothing being terrified or discouraged, but trusting in the great God, who never faileth those that put their trust in him.
OUr second Exhortation is unto those of our respective Congregations, that submit unto the Government, and are admitted unto the Sacrament of the body and bloud of Christ, in the Presbyterian way; That we are to exhort you unto, is,
1. That as you are Saints outwardly, and such who live (as we hope) unblameably in the eyes of the world; so you would labour to be Saints inwardly, approving not only your wayes unto men, but your hearts and consciences unto the heart-searching God. And for this purpose, we perswade you, [116]to wash not only your hands, but your hearts, from all iniquity, and not to suffer vain thoughts to lodge within you; To put away the evill of your doings from before Gods eyes; [117]To be Jews inwardly circumcised with the circumcision of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the Letter, whose praise is not of Man, but of God; To labour more to be good, then to seem to be good; to be more ashamed to be evill, then to be known to be evill; to strive more to get your sins cured, then covered; and to be not gilded, but golden Christians. Alas! what will it avail you, to be esteemed by your Minister and Elders reall Saints, when the Lord who is your Judge, knows you to be but painted Sepulchres: What will it profit you to have our Euge and approbation, when you have the Apage and disallowance of God, and all his holy Angels? And therefore our prayer to God for you is, that he would make you not only nominall, but reall Christians; not only Saints by profession, but by conversation; not only morally and formally, but Spiritually and Theologically good, having your persons, principles, and aims holy, as well as your actions. He and he only is a right Christian, whose person is united to Christ by a lively Faith; and whose nature is elevated by the Spirit of Regeneration, and whose principles, practices, and aims, are divine and supernatural.
Secondly, as it is your great honour and priviledg to be admitted to the Sacrament, when others by reason of ignorance or scandal are refused; so it must be your great care, to come worthily; and so to demean your selves, that you may be made partakers of the graces & consolations of this heavenly banquet; And for this end, we think it our dutie to propound certain necessary directions to you, for the right ordering of your Sacramental approaches; and to perswade you by the mercies of our Lord Jesus Christ, to the diligent and conscientious practice of these following particulars.
1. Not to rest contented with the examination of your Minister and Elders, but chiefly and especially to examine your selves, and so to eat of that bread, and drink of that cup: To examine your selves, whether you be in Christ or no, whether You do truly repent; whether You do hunger and thirst after Christ in the Sacrament; whether You have an unfeigned love to God, and Your Neighbour, manifested by an impartial respect unto all the Commandements and Ordinances of Christ: For though we may and ought to admit you upon the profession of these graces; yet Christ will not bid You welcome, unless You have them in truth and sinceritie. And though we cannot discern who are hypocrites, and who are sincere amongst You; yet he that can distinguish between star and star, can and will distinguish between a true Saint, and a formal Hypocrite: and therefore labour to be such, indeed and in truth, as You seem to Us, to be in word and profession.
Secondly, As not to come without preparation and examination; so also not to trust to your preparation and examination. Sacraments do not work as Physick, whether men sleep or wake, ex opere operato, by vertue inherent in them; but ex opere operantis, according to the disposition and qualification of the party that partakes of them. If the party be not qualified according to the tenour of the Covenant of grace, he eats and drinks damnation to himself, and not salvation; and when he hath done all he can by grace received, to prepare himself; yet he must not relie upon his preparation, for this were to make an Idol of it, and set up dutie in the room of Christ. Excellent is that saying of Austine[118], He that stands upon his own strength, shall never stand; and of Bernard[119], That man labours in vain, that doth not labour resting upon Christ and his merits; and therefore we exhort You, after all your care of preparation, to renounce it as to the point of confidence, and to come to Christ in the strength and confidence of Christ alone.
3. Not be satisfied in the bare bringing of the forementioned graces with you to the Sacrament, but to labour according to the advice of the Apostle[120], to stir up the gift of God that is in you. The Greek is, to blow up, and cause the grace of God within us to kindle. Fire, as long as it lyeth raked up in the Embers, will give no heat; a man may die with cold, for all such a fire. Grace, as long as it lyeth dead in the habite, will not avail a man at the Sacrament. And therefore, that you may be worthy receivers, you must take pains to blow up the grace of God that is in you. You must arise and trim your spirituall lamps, (as the wise Virgins did,) that so you may be fit to meet with your Bridegroom. You must brighten your spirituall armour, & gird up the loins of your mind; You must not only have, but put on your wedding garment, and come to this heavenly feast apparrelled in all your spiritual ornaments. For it is a certain truth, that not only a wicked man, that wants grace, but a childe of God that hath true grace, may receive the Sacrament unworthily; though he cannot come unworthily as the wicked do, out of a total want of grace, yet he may come unworthily out of grosse negligence, and sinful carelesness, in not exciting and stirring up, and improving the grace of God that is in him.[121] For not to use grace, and not to have grace, in this case, do little differ in Gods account. And therefore, if you would be worthy guests at this Supper, you must not only have a true Faith, but a fit Faith; not only a true repentance, but a fit repentance; you must not only have grace, but act grace; you must set your Faith on work, to feed upon that blessed Sacramentall promise, Take, eat, this is my body which is broken for you; This is my blood which is shed for you. And you must labour to make strong and particular applications of Christ to your souls, and to believe, that as verily as you eat the Bread, and drink the Wine, so verily you are made partakers of Christs body and blood, to your everlasting happiness. And so likewise you must act repentance, love, thankfullness, and obedience, according to the direction of the Word of God.
4. To do all that you do at the Sacrament, in remembrance of Christ. For this is the main design of Christ, in appointing this Ordinance, that it might be a Love-token from Christ alwaies by us, and an effectual means to keep his death in perpetual remembrance, that it might be a lively picture of Christ crucified; and he that will receive aright, must be eying this Picture while he is at the Sacrament; and the more he minds it, the more he will admire it: The Angels[122] [123]stoop down to look upon Christ incarnate, and it is the happiness of heaven to have Christ alwaies before them; and it is our happiness on earth, that we have such a blessed commemoration of Christ crucified: As Christ is all in all, in all Creatures, in all Relations, in all Conditions, and in all Ordinances; so more especially in this: For the Elements of Bread and Wine are not appointed for natural ends and purposes, but Christ is all in all in them: They are Representations, Commemorations, Obsignations, and Exhibitions of Jesus Christ. You must labour with the Eye of Faith to see Christs name written upon the Bread and Wine, and you must read Christ in every Sacramental action: when You behold the Bread and Wine consecrated; You must remember how Jesus Christ was set apart by his Father, from all Eternity, to be the Redeemer of his People: And when the Minister breaks the bread, You must remember the great sufferings that Jesus Christ endured for Your sins; and when You take the Bread, and drink the Wine, you must do this in remembrance of Christ; You must believe, that now Christ giveth himself to be Your nourishment, and your Comforter unto eternal life; and you must labour by a lively Faith, to take him as your Lord and Saviour, and to cry out with Thomas in the highest degree (if it be possible) of rejoycing, My God, and my Lord: [124]And when you eat the Bread, and drink the Wine, you must remember, that Christ is the living Bread that came down from Heaven, and that whosoever eats of this Bread, shall live for ever: and that whosoever eateth the flesh of Christ, and drinketh his blood, dwelleth in Christ, and Christ in him. And you must endeavour to receive Soul-nourishment from Christ, as your bodies do by the bread you eat; and as the bread is turned into your substance, so to be made more and more one with Christ by faith: that having a reall, though spirituall union with him, You may have a happy interest and communion in all his purchases. This is the life of the Holy Sacrament, without which, all is but a dead and empty Ceremonie. But we adde further, That this remembrance of Christ must not be barely notionall, doctrinall, and historicall, but it must be also practicall, experimentall, and applicative; it must produce these and such like blessed effects and operations in your hearts.