holy table, that we may not poifon our precious fouls with that choice cordial, which is intended for our health and eternal welfare? DIRECT. VII. In order to your better preparation for the Lord's fupper, fequeftrate yourselves from worldly cares and bufinefs fome time before. WHEN you fee the time of this folemn approach drawing near, separate yourselves from the world, and fet earthly thoughts afide, that you may the better apply yourself to the fpiritual work you have in hand. Under the law, the Jews were unfit for keeping the paffover at the time appointed, in two cafes, Numb. ix, either if they had touched a dead body, or were in a jour The firft made a man unclean, fo that he behoved not to meddle with that holy ordinance, till he were cleansed according to the instituted method, which took up fome time to do it. The fecond made him unfit, in regard his mind and thoughts would be fo distracted with the business of his journey, that he could not be in a compofed frame for keeping the paffover; His heart would be unfixed and difturbed with worldly thoughts. ney. There are not a few who seem to think, if they be free from a dead body, i. e. if they be not defiled with fome grofs or fcandalous fin, they are fit enough for the facrament; and that they may approach to it, though they have their hearts in journeys travelling up and down after their worldly affairs. No, te not mistaken; a journey unfits you for the gofpel-paffover, as well as a dead body; a journeying earthly heart, as well as a notour defilement by any grofs fin. If you would be worthy receivers, you must be abftracted from the cares and #anities of this lower world, and feek after a stayed, fpiritual, and heavenly frame of heart. Be not as men in a journey when ye come to the Lord's table, but lay afide all wandering and earthly thoughts; for, if you harbour thefe about fuch a time, you will not be in cafe to to answer the apoftle's rule, 1 Cor. vii. 35. upon the Lord without distraction." "Attend We are told, that in the temple of Jerufalem, notwithstanding of the great abundance of flesh facrificed in it, not one flie was to be feen ftirring there. And fo it fhould be with us at the facrament; not a flie of an earthly or wandering thought fhould be allowed to buzz or ftir there. Now, if thefe flies be not driven away before-hand, they will furely pefter you in the temple, and trouble you when you have moft to do; nay, they will mar the duty, and corrupt the facrifice, as that grievous swarm of flies (mentioned Exod. viii. 24.) did the land of Egypt. It is a fhrewd fign, then, that thofe who bring earthly and wandering hearts with them to the Lord's table are Egyptians, not true Ifraelites; feeing they have the Egyptian plagues of flies upon them. In the forecited place we are told, that there came a grievous swarm of flies into the houses of Pharaoh and his fervants, and into all the land of Egypt, fo that the land was corrupted thereby; but in the land of Goshen, where the Ifraelites dwelt, there were no fwarms of flies. So, if ye would be worthy communicants, ye should be at the facrament, like the Ifraelites in Gothen, free of that Egyptian plague of flies; you must not have fwarms of earthly thoughts to trouble you there with their buzzing noife and importunity. And the only way to be free of them is to drive them away timeously before, and purge your hearts of earthly affections. You ought to do as Abraham, when he was called by God to facrifice Ifaac, on mount Moriah, Gen. xxii. 4. 5. "When he saw the place afar off, he faid to his young men, abide you here with the afs, and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again unto you. Abraham knew, if they had gone alongst with him, they would have fo disturbed him, with their calamour and noife, that he could not have offered the facrifice with any freedom and tranquillity of fpirit; therefore when Le faw the place afar off, he orders them to stay behind. The fame fhould we be doing with our worldly affairs when we see the time afar off, and much more when when we see the time approaching and at hand: Then we fhould give ftrict orders to all our earthly thoughts and bufinefs to ftand afide, and not only not to go to the mount with us, but to go to our clofets and retir ing places with us. Poffibly at fuch a time fome affair of importance may offer to thy mind, and require to be confidered; but treat all fecular avocations as Nehemiah did Sanballat and Gefhem, when they fent to him, Neh. vi. 2. faying, "Come let us meet together in fome of the villages," &c. But mark how he answers them, ver. 3. "And I fent meffengers to them, faying, I am doing a great work, fo that I cannot come down. Why fhould the work cease, whilft I leave it and come down to you?" And though these companions had so round and peremptory an answer, yet they were importuning him ftill, ver. 4. "Yet they fent unto me four times after this fort." But he ftill answered them in the fame manner. Thus it will be with a man when he begins to fequeftrate himself for actual preparation for the facrament; this and the other business will be calling up. on him, that it may be confidered and attended: But let your anfwer be, "I am doing a great work, I am preparing myself for the facrament, I cannot wait upon you. Why, fhould the work of preparation ceafe whilft I leave it and attend on you?" And though they haunt and importune you many times after this fort, yet ftill anfwer them in the fame manner Likewife, remember how Nehemiah treated those merchants that violated the fabbath, Neh. xiii. 19. "When it began to be dark before the fabbath, I commanded the gates to be fhut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the fabbath; and fome of my fervants 1 fet at the gates." Do fo with your worldly affairs, fhut up the gates on your hearts against them, and let them not be opened till all the duties of the folemn bccafion be ended. Perhaps, like thofe merchants, they will be hovering about the gates for entrance: And therefore fet confcience to watch at the gates, teftify a gainst them, rebuke and threaten them, as Nehemiah did. Let thy fpirit, in a holy indignation, rife against them, check check and chace them from you, as coming most unfeafonably to the hurt and prejudice of thy precious foul. As our Saviour fays about prayer, Mat. vi. 6. "Enter into thy clofet, and when thou, haft fhut thy door, pray" fo may I fay concerning preparation for, the facrament, enter into thy clofet, and, when thou haft hut thy door, prepare thy felf by meditation, felf examination, and prayer; and efpecially fhut the doors of thy heart against fecular cares and earthly thoughts about, thy business, and then fet about the work. The work is fo weighty, that it requires all thy thoughts to be employed about it. It concerns you to put your foul in the fame order and state, as if God were calling you to furrender it to him by death; and, if you be not ready to die, neither are you to receive the facrament. All communicants should be in fuch a pofture as our Lord directs, Luke xii. 35. 36. "Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their Lord, that, when he cometh and knocketh, you may open to him immediately." Now, if your hearts be incumbered with wordly things, you cannot be in cafe to answer this direction; you cannot be in a fit attentive posture to meet with, and wait upon the Master of the feaft. O communicant, wouldít thou have this ordinance comfortable fay then, fometimes before it, Farewell, my wife and children, friends and fecular concerns; abide you here at the foot of the mount: Be hufhed and, mortified, all irregular paffions and affections; you are a clog to my foul, I have fomething else to do than attend you. It is moft lamentable to confider how many come to the facrament in fuch an unprepared manner. Many are in their journeys when thy fit down at the Lord's table; many, Egyptian-like, are environed with a farm of flies, wandering and earthly thoughts; many bring their fervants and affes to the very mount of facrifice; many leave the Lord's work in the very middle, to meet with their Sanballats and Gefhems; they open the gates on the very facrament-day to their merchants : Nay, the world is both in their hearts and mouths about this folemn occasion. VOL. I. 3 E If If we should ask the question at many communicants, which our Lord asked the two difciples he overtook going to Emmaus, Luke xxiv. 17. "What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk by the way?" What manner of conference and communications were thofe ye had together, when ye went home from the preparation-fermon? Nay, thofe ye had the very morning as ye walked together to the church to receive the facrament? How alhamed would many communicants be to tell what paft amongst them? There are many who could not anfwer them with these two difciples, v. 19. " concerning Jefus of Nazareth;" we were talking concerning a crucified Jefus, our lovely Redeemer; concerning the advantage of meeting with him in the facrament, and the preparation needful for that end. Nay, it is to be feared, the anfwer of many would be, if they fhould be ingenuous, we were talking about our corn, cattle, merchandise, families, relations, &c.; these things, alas, many bring in their mouths to the very church-door. But, fhould we fearch more narrowly, and propose another question: "What manner of thoughts were those you entertained that night, or that morning, before the facrament?" Oh, the world would cry, Fy and fhame on the thoughts of many if they were known. Well, remember it, our all seeing Lord knows them all, and you may expect he will anfwer you according to the idols of your heart. O purge your hearts from vain thoughts and fequeftrate yourselves from worldly business, if you would rightly prepare for this ordinance, and profit in partaking of it. DIRECT. VIII. Set fome time apart for the work of felf-examination, before you approach to the Lord's table. THIS is a duty indifpenfibly neceffary unto worthy partaking, 1 Cor. xi. 28. " But let a man examine himself, and fo let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. The word which the apostle useth here, dokimazeto, fignifies a diligent and narrow fearch into the na ture and properties of a thing, as a goldfinith proves the goodness |