1. You must so remember Christ, as to find power coming out of Christ Sacramental, to break your hearts for all the sins you have committed against him. Christ is presented in the Sacrament as a broken Christ; his body broken, and his bloud poured out: and the very breaking of the bread understandingly looked upon, is a forcible argument to break your hearts. Was Jesus Christ rent and torn in pieces for you, and shall it not break you hearts, that you should sin against him? Was he crucified for you, and will you crucifie him by your sins? And besides, the breaking of the bread is not only ordained to be a motive unto brokenness of heart for sin, but also in the right use to effect that which it doth move unto.
2. You must so remember Christ Sacramentall, as to find power coming out of Christ, to subdue all your sins and iniquities; as the diseased woman felt vertue coming out of Christ, to cure her bloody Issue; so there is power in an applicative and fiduciall remembrance of Christ at the Sacrament, to heal all the sinfull issues of our souls. There is no sin so strong, but it is conquerable by a power derived from Christ crucified.
3. This is to remember Christ aright at the Sacrament, when you never cease remembring him, till your hearts be brought into a thankfull frame to God, for Christ and for his ineffable blessings and mercies exhibited in the Sacrament to a worthy receiver. And therefore it is called an Eucharist, or a feast of thanksgiving. It is as Justin Martyr saith, [125]food made up all of thanksgiving. It is a custome in Colledges and houses founded by the bounty of great men, to have a feastivall commemoration of the bounties of their Benefactors. The Sacrament is a commemoration day of your great Benefactor Iesus Christ, wherein you are to remember all those things which he suffered for you; and the proper duty of the day is thanksgiving.
4. You must not leave off remembring Christ Sacramental, till your hearts be inflamed with an ardent love to Jesus Christ; for he is set forth in this Sacrament, in all the endearing expressions, as a crucified Christ, as pouring out his blood for us. Now it is an excellent expression of Bernard: [126]The more vile Christ made himself for us, the more dear he ought to be unto us. You must never leave meditating of his love, [127]till he be as fast fixed in your hearts, as he was upon the Cross.
5. You must so remember Christ, as to be willing to do and suffer any thing for that Christ, that hath done and suffered so much for you; till you can say with David, What shall I render for all his blessings towards me? till you can say with Thomas, Come, let us go dye with him; and we add, for him: till with the Apostle, you can rejoyce to be counted worthy to be whipt for his names sake. And can with Ignatius that blessed Martyr, [128]call your iron chains, not bonds, but Ornaments, and Spirituall Pearls; till you can say, as Judg. 8.22. Rule thou over us, &c. for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian. There is nothing hard to that Christian, that doth rightly remember Christ Sacramental.
6. You must continue in remembring Christ in the Sacrament, till your hearts be wrought up to a through contempt of the world, and all worldly things. Christ instituted the Sacrament when he was going out of the world; and when he was crucifying, the whole world was in darkness and obscurity: and he is propounded in the Sacrament, as a persecuted, broken, crucified Christ, despising, & being despised of the world. And if you do practically remember the Sacrament of his death, you will finde vertue coming out thereof, to make you dead to the world, and all worldly things. The Sacrament is called by the Ancients, [129]a feast for Eagles, not for Dawes; and therefore it was a phrase ordinarily used in the administration of this Sacrament, Lift up your hearts to heaven where Christ is.
7. Cease not remembring Christ, till you be made partakers of the rare grace of humility. Of all the graces that Christ picks out, in which he would have Christians to imitate him in, humility is one of the chiefest, Matth. 11.29. Learn of me, for I am humble, &c. And Christ in the Sacrament is presented, as humbling himself to the death of the Cross, for our sakes. And what a shame is it, to remember an humble Christ, with a proud heart? The practicall remembrance of the humility of Christ Sacramental, when sanctified, is mighty in operation, to tame the pride of our hearts.
8. You must not fail to remember Christ in the Sacrament, till by faith you have applyed Christ, as your Christ: Till you can say with Paul, Gal. 2.20. Who loved me, and gave himself for me. Propriety in Christ, is that which sweetens all. For what are you the better for Christ, if he be not your Christ? The Divels and damned in Hell may remember Christ, but not with comfort, because they cannot remember him, but as their enemy. But you must so remember Christ, as to make him yours, by an appropriating Faith.
Quest.
But how shall we be inabled thus to apply Christ?