Self-examination a necessary Duty. and wrath against those who have offended them, and have not mourned over and carried these hate ful tempers to Jesus, to subdue them. What a horrid profanation for such to pretend to a communion of saints, or to belong to that body, where every part hath the most tender care for its fellowmembers! These surely are under wrath. They must repent, and have their hearts changed, or wrath will shortly come upon them to the uttermost. Secondly, Positively. We must be found in the exercise of charity; that is, we must have a tender feeling for the bodies and souls of men, whether believers or unbelievers; and this expressed in all proper acts of kindness and love towards them, according to their several states. 1. To unbelievers, those that are not in a state of reconciliation with God; who, though they may be professors in the Church, evidence in their lives the unrenewed state of their hearts. These we must pity and pray for; must never be provoked to hatred with their wickedness; must bear with their opposition, abuse, or reviling; must labour to return them good for evil, and blessing for cursing; must be ready to shew our affection, by helping their bodies in any time of want, and readily ministering to their necessities out of our abundance; and especially desiring to help their souls, to seize any convenient occasion of conversing with them on their state, to apprize them of their danger, to improve any impressions which God's grace or providence may have made; and labouring every way to pluck Self-examination a necessary Duty. such brands from the burning, whether by undeceiving them, if they rest on a form of godliness, or warning them, if careless and utterly negligent. Are you shewing forth any such exercise of love? Have you ever thus tenderly rebuked sin upon your brother? Have you pitied the misery of sinners? Have you borne with meekness and long-suffering their provocations? Are you gentle towards all men; not easily provoked; ready to pass by a transgression; and never avenging yourself, by withholding assistance from your greatest enemy in his necessities? Are you ready to do every good word and work for him, heaping coals of fire upon his head, to melt him down, if possible, to a sense of his ingratitude? Or whatever reluctance to it you find in your remaining corrupt nature, is it your burden, and resolutely opposed? Can you pray affectionately for your bitterest enemy, and long for his conversion, that God may pardon him, as you are willing to do? This is a small, very small part of the exercise of this extensive grace; but, I fear, enough to condemn us, who are ready to kindle at every affront, to be impatient under provocation, to want compassion, to be destitute of those bowels of mercies which were in Jesus Christ, to forget how much God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven us. Yet to this we must seek to come, after this we must press, or we can never come to Christ's table acceptably; for he cannot bear to be approached by any heart, where love unfeigned hath not wrought this powerful work. 2. We must shew our love especially to believ Self-examination a necessary Duty. ers to those who are of the same body, whose conversation testifies the truth of the grace which is in them; over these we must delight, with these especially associate, at Christ's table, or elsewhere; their bodies must be dear to us; whilst we do good to all, we must particularly regard the household of faith. But their souls especially we must watch for, mutually jealous over and caring for each other, bearing with each other's infirmities, desiring each other's growth in grace, contributing to it by conversation, by example, by prayer, and every other means in our power; exhorting and admonishing one another, praying for and with each other, as brethren of the same family, as children of the same father, as partakers of the same table, as hoping for the same inheritance; we must love as brethren a love which hath been declared by many to be equal, I might say, to exceed that which nature implants in the dearest relations of life. The true believer can say, as Jesus Christ did of those who told him of his mother and his brethren, he that heareth Christ's word, and doth it, the same is my brother, my sister, and mother. Have you such affection towards the children of God? Do you delight in those who love God, and keep his commandments? Are you seeking to approve yourself in every labour of love toward them, and receiving with thankfulness their labours of love towards you? Have you the same regard for their welfare, that your body hath for the several members of it? and do you feel for them and with them in their trials, and alleviate their burdens by partaking of them? I have not space to enlarge the enquiry; but these may serve as short hints for Self-examination a necessary Duty. your instruction, from whence you may draw a conclusion concerning your state and temper, how far you are really found in the exercise of these dispositions. Blessed are they who have obtained any measure of these graces; blessed are they who are seeking after them. The sincere desire after an increase of grace is true grace, and shall have a growing accomplishment. "Judge therefore yourselves, "brethren, that ye be not judged of the Lord; repent you truly for your sins past; have a lively "and stedfast faith in Christ our Saviour; be "thankful; amend your lives, and be in perfect "charity with all men ;" and this not superficially, but from the heart, in simplicity and godly since 66 rity, and " so shall ye be meet partakers of those "holy mysteries." Considerations at the Lord's Supper. CHAPTER IV. CONSIDERATIONS PROPER AT THE TIME OF THE CELEBRATION OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. HAVING in the last chapter set before you what was necessary to be examined into, in order to come to a right judgment of our state, and to approach with suitable dispositions the table of our Lord, I come now particularly to enter into the consideration of that frame of spirit which we should be in at the solemnity itself. Having the general requisites for the feast, there is also required a particular exercise of these graces, like trimming our lamps to go forth to meet the bridegroom. For this end, when we are purposing to renew our approach to the Lord's table, it will be useful at some season of leisure, to enquire particularly how we stand, what progress we make in each of the aforementioned tempers, and that we spend some time in meditation and prayer, with a view to the ordinance. Not that I mean to tie down any believer to a regular form which he may not omit, or drive him from the table because the ordinance was unexpected, or some peculiar calls prevented him |