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Of the Nature of a Sacrament.

CHAPTER I.

OF THE NATURE OF A SACRAMENT.

A SACRAMENT is defined by the Church, in our excellent though concise Catechism, to be "the "outward and visible sign of an inward and spi"ritual grace, given unto us, ordained by Christ

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himself, as a means whereby we receive the same, "and as a pledge to assure us thereof." In this Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, the bread and wine are the outward and visible signs, signifying the body and blood of Christ, which are received into the heart by faith. The sign of the bread represents Christ's broken body, the wine his blood shed for our sins; and feasting on the sacrifice with delight, we testify, in so doing, our dependence upon, and esteem of him, whose body and blood under these signs we spiritually partake of, as our passover sacrificed for us.

The word Sacrament is derived from the oath, by which the oman soldiers bound themselves to their general. Thus it is our oath of allegiance, wherein we swear fidelity to Jesus, the Captain of our salvation: as they swore that they would never

Of the Nature of a Sacrament.

desert their colours in the day of battle; we also herein solemnly engage to maintain irreconcilable war against all the enemies of Christ without and within us, fighting manfully under his banner against sin, the world, and the devil. So that whenever we presume to come to Christ's table, without this war against sin maintained in our conversation, we become guilty of the body and blood of Christ; we incur the awful guilt of perjury; and "eat and drink our own damnation, not dis"cerning the Lord's body."

This Sacrament hath in Scripture several particular names, which are expressive of the nature and design of it.

1. The Lord's Supper. It is a spiritual repast for the soul, as meat is for the body; and as our bodies are refreshed by the bread and wine, so much more is the believing soul by the body and blood of Christ therein shewn forth. It is a chief banquet in the family of Christ, as supper was among the ancients; and therefore none of the children should be absent, unless upon very urgent occasions, lest they not only lose their food, but incur the displeasure of their father for their neglect and irregularities. And it is emphatically styled the Lord's Supper, forasmuch as it was instituted by him at supper-time, the same night in which he was betrayed, and a constant memorial of it commanded by him. And herein it is so highly distinguished from all common food, whether you consider the Master of the feast, the Lord of glory,

Of the Nature of a Sacrament.

or the spiritual nourishment communicated, and received by faith through these consecrated elements.

2. It is called the Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ. It represents the intercourse there is between Christ, the head, and the members of his body, called in the prayer after the Communion, "the company of all faithful people." He communicates to them herein his favour and grace, his blood and righteousness; and they communicate their thanksgiving, acceptance, love, and gratitude; so that no persons can at all partake in it, till they have a living union with him by the Spirit, and are a part of his mystical body; for then only nourishment and support can be conveyed to them by these his instituted means. All who are not thus united to Christ, are as branches cut off and withered, and can receive no more benefit by coming to the Lord's table, than a dead body can from meat and drink. It is also a communion between the members themselves, as well as with their head, Jesus Christ, for we being many, are one body: and we eat of the same bread, and drink of the same cup, in token that we derive our life from one common source; that we are all actuated by the same spirit, and have as near an interest in, and affection for one another, as the members of the same body have for each other: for we are the body of Christ, and members in particular. What a strange absurdity, then, would it be for an uncharitable soul, for one who is not influenced by brotherly love, to approach Christ's table, who would be there only as a

Of the Nature of a Sacrament.

mortified limb, cut off from all living communication with the rest, and full of putrefaction!

3. It is called the New Testament in Christ's Blood. Where a testament is, there must of necessity, saith St. Paul, be the death of the testator; for a testament or will is only in force after men are dead. In the Sacrament this testament is opened: the blood of Christ, here emblematically poured out of his heart, shews it is valid by his death; and all the legacies therein contained, are to be applied for, and paid down, according to the purport of the will of the deceased. As on the renovation of the old covenant on Sinai, Moses sprinkled the blood of calves and goats with scarlet wool and hyssop on the book of the law, signifying thereby the sealing of the covenant; so here God condescends by this continual sign to seal to us visibly, for the assistance of our faith, all the blessings of the covenant of grace in Christ Jesus: assuring us, by such an ordinance of his own appointment, that this shall be, as the rainbow in the clouds, the pledge to us that no deluge of wrath shall ever again sweep away those who come to him by Jesus Christ.

The design, then, of the Lord's Supper may be partly seen from these names, and is fully expressed in one of our answers in the Catechism; it was ordained" for the continual remembrance of the "sacrifice of the death of Christ, and of the benefits which we receive thereby." To both of which points I shall speak a little.

Of the Nature of a Sacrament.

us.

First-It was ordained" for the continual re"membrance of the sacrifice of the death of "Christ." Here we are taught to look upon him as bleeding for us upon the accursed tree. Here the Lamb of God, as if he had been newly slain, is in the ordinance set forth as crucified among Here the broken bread represents his mangled body, torn with scourgings and buffetings, pierced by the thorns, the nails, and the spear. Here we may see his agonies, remember his mockery, reproach, insults, and all the complicated miseries which made his sufferings the most afflictive that ever the earth beheld: behold and see, all ye that pass by, is there any sorrow like unto my sorrow! Here also we see his blood gushing as from his side, when the soldier's spear entered his heart, and forthwith came thereout blood and water. This his bitter death we are to remember; and that it was a sacrifice for our sins. As under the law, the sinner laid his hand on the victim's head, in token of transferring the guilt of all his sins upon the substitute; so here we must especially remember that the transaction before us is sacrifical and vicarious; that Christ gave himself an offering for sin, made himself a curse for us, as it is written, cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree; so that we are to look upon him herein as "taking away sin by the sacrifice of himself," and bearing the burden of your and my iniquities in particular. And in this sacrifice of the death of Christ, many things are represented to us, as included in the transaction, and which we are called at the same time to remember. Such as,

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