(5.) Is it your defire to get your manifold wants fupplied out of Chrifts fulnefs? Is it your earneft defire that his ordinance may be an effectual mean, through the bleffing of God, for the weakening and killing of your fins and lufts, the nourishing and ftrengthening of your fouls, the curing of your difeafes and plagues, the increafe and exercife of your graces; particularly for ftrengthening faith, inflaming your love, kindling your defires, quickening your hope, and renewing your repentance and refolutions againft fin.

Again, is it your defign to get clearer evidences of your interest in Chrift, the fmiles of his face, and comforts of his fpirit? Would ye have a feal of your pardon, a difplay of the riches of free grace, a fight of the "Sun of rightecufnefs, the love of God fhed abroad in your hearts," and all your fears removed? Would ye have at this feaft furniture for your fpiritual journey, fupport under affliction, ftrength against temptations, and preparation for fuffering? Would ye have a pledge and foretaste of heaven, and the eternal communion that is above? Then thefe are good defigns; and, if you be fincere in them, you may expect a welcome from the mafter of the feast.

V. Of the Examination of our Graces.

A fifth thing you must examine yourfelves of, in order to prepare you for this holy table, is your graces and qualifications. Search diligently if you have thefe facramental graces requifite in worthy communicants; fuch as knowledge, faith, repentance, hungring defires, and new obedience.

1. We muft examine our knowledge, and fee if we have a competent understanding of the principles and grounds of Chriftianity, and of the nature, fignification and ufe of the Lord's fupper. Without this, we cannot know God nor ourselves; we can neither know God's infinite juftice and purity, our own natural corruption and mifery, nor Jefus Chrift our great help and remedy, the knowledge whereof is abfolutely neceffary to worthy communicating. In fome churches, in ancient times, infants and children were admitted to the Lord's fupper,

and

and the Greek and Armenian churches do the fame at this day: But we juftly diffent from them in this practice, because it is neceffary, in order to our being fit and worthy partakers, that we examine ourselves, and difcern the Lord's body in the sacrament, according to I Cor. xi. 28. 29. neither of which can be done by those that are not come to the years of understanding and difcerning.

A man without knowledge is not in covenant with God, and therefore hath no right to partake of the feals of the covenant, Heb. viii. 1o. II. "This is the covenant I will make, &c. all fhall know me from the least to the greateft." So that thefe who know not God have no intereft in this covenant, and confequently can have no title to his benefits, nor any gracious communion with God. Obferve how the promife runs, Jer. xxiv. 7. "I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the Lord; and they fhall be my people, and I will be their God." It is threatened as a heavy judgement, for perfons to die without knowledge, Job xxxvi. 12. "They fhall die without knowledge," It is as much as if it were threatened, they fhall die in their fins, and perifh for ever. Now, if it be a fad cafe to die without knowledge, fo is it to come to the facrament without knowledge; for that which makes a man unfit to die, makes him alfo unfit to communicate. No man is fafe to partake in that cafe, which he is not in fafety to die in.

Neither children nor focls are fit to receive the Lord's fupper, because they are not capable to examine themfelves and difcern the Lord's body. Now, ignorant perfons, in God's account, are both children and fools: fo he reckons them, Jer. iv. 22. "For my people is foolish, they have not known me, they are fottifh children, they have no understanding."

Under the law it was reckoned an abomination to offer that which was blind unto the Lord, Levit. xxii. 22. Now, a blind offerer, that hath the eyes of his underftanding darkened, is more abominable than a blind offering.

Error or ignorance makes a man morally unclean before God. When the leprofy affected the head, then

the

the priest was ordered to pronounce the man utterly unclean, and exclude him from the camp of Ifrael; why? because "the plague was in his head," Levit. xiii. 44. Every ignorant man has a plague in his head, a plague of fpiritual blindnefs and darknefs, befides many woful plagues in his heart; for without knowledge the mind is not good; (whatever ignorant folk fpeak of their good hearts, and good meanings) it is full of earthlinefs, enmity and backwardness to what is good, Prov. xix. 2. 1. Pet. i. 14. Surely then fuch unclean perfons are not fit to come to the holy table of the Lord. It concerns us then to examine our knowledge before we approach. As for the objects, properties and usefulnefs of this knowledge, I refer the reader to Sacram. Cat. (firft Edit.) p. 165, &c.

II. Examine your faith, before you approach to the Lord's table; for faith is abfolutely neceffary here. Without faith it is impoffible to please God in any duty, and far lefs in this, where faith is highly needful, and fo much to be employed. He that would receive Jefus Chrift in the facrament, must have an eye to fee Chrift and his worth, a foot to come to Chrift, a hand to lay hold on Chrift, and a mouth to feed on him; all thefe are neceflary in order to partake of Chrift at the Lord's fupper. Now, faith is all these to the believing communicant. 1. It is the eye of the foul, by which it fees Chrift, Ifa. xlv. 22. " look unto me and be ye faved, all the ends of the earth." 2." It is the foot whereby we come unto Chrift," John vi. 35. "He that cometh unto me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst." 3. It is the hand whereby we receive and lay hold on Christ," John i. 12. "To as many as received him he gave power to become the fons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” 4. "It is the mouth whereby we feed on Chrift," John vi. 35. Except ye eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of God, ye have no life in you." i. e. except ye believe on Chrift. Now, what can you do at the Lord's table without faith? Can a man fee without an eye, come without a foot, receive without a hand, and feed without a mouth?

Moreover,

Moreover, without faith you can have no right to this holy table, for it is childrens bread; and 'it is by faith you become children Without it you cannot enter into covenant with God; for faith is the very affent and confent of the foul unto the marriage-covenant which is tranfacted and fealed in the Lord's fupper.

Without faith you can have no communion with God in this or any ordinance; God will furely hide his face from them that come without it, Deut, xxxii. 20. "And he faid, I will hide my face from them:" and the reafon he gives for it, is, "for they are children in whom is no faith." So that without faith you can't fee God in the facrament; for, how can a man fee a veiled or hidden face? Unbelief cuts a man off from God, Rom. ti. 20. "Because of unbelief they were broke off". And, how can a man, cut off from God, have any communnion with God?

Without faith you can derive no virtue from Christ, nor benefit from this ordinance: For as a rich jewel can do you no good unless it be accepted, nor a fovereign medicine unless it be applied, nor a deep well without a bucket to draw with; fo neither will Christ's fhed blood or purchased salvation avail you, unless you bring faith to apply it to your fouls. The well is deep, faid the woman to Chrift, and thou haft nothing to draw with. So may I fay to thee, if faith be wanting Mofes faith to God's kindness to Ifrael, Deut. xxxii. 13. "He made him to fuck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock." Now Chrift is a rock that yields all manner of neceffaries to believers, honey and oil, fweetnefs and fatnefs, quickning and comfort. But, how do they come by it from this rock: It is faid, "He made him fuck honey out of the rock :" There is no honey or oil to be had without fucking, and there is no fucking without the mouth of faith. He that hath faith can fuck this honey and oil from Chrift in the facra ment; but he that wants it can fuck nothing: Unbelievers then must have a dry facrament of it: for they cannot fuck, though the breafts be full. Nay, which is worfe, unbelief lays reftraints on the virtue and healing power of Chrift in the facrament: For we are told, VOL. I. Mark

3 H

Mark vi. 5. 6. "He could there (i. e.) in his own country) do no mighty work because of their unbelief. Why? Could any thing bird our Redeemer's hands, or limit his mighty power? No; but he lays down this order of working which he will not altar, to "put forth his mighty power in and unto these that believe," Eph. i. 19. So that unbelief doth enervate the force and operation of the facrament.

Without faith you can never prepare for this ordinance, nor partake of it's virtue. Without faith you cannot put on the wedding-garment, you cannot difcern Chrift through the elements, you cannot feel the print of the nails, you cannot flee to the city of refuge, you cannot take hold of the horns of the altar, nor grip to the plank of mercy to fave thy perishing foul. And, what good can you get at the facrament if you do none of these? Precious faith is the wing whereby the poor trembling dove doth fly to the window opened in the fide of the ark; it is by this that it doth take shelter in the clifts of the rock. In a word, faith is the grace that puts life and vigour in a dead foul, it is the fpring and primum mobile of all the other graces; it doth fet repentance, love, defire, and all the reft on works: So that a man can do nothing at the Lord's table without faith, except it be to wound Chrift, and bring wrath on him felf.

You fee then what need you have of faith at this ordinance, and to examine if it be true and not counterfeit. As Philip examined the Eunuch of his faith before he admitted him to the facrament of baptifm, A&s viii. 37. "Believeft thou with all thine heart?" So fhould every man examine himself before the Lord's fupper; Do I believe with all mine heart? Do I esteem Chrift moft precious? Doth my heart bleed for piercing him? Do I embrace him in all his offices, and fay, He is all my falvation and all my defire? Well, if thou canst truly fay fo, thy faith will make thee whole, and thou mayft expect a kind welcome at thy Saviour's table. The Lord has furnished you with abundance of marks in his word, for the trial of your faith. See Sacram. Cat. (firft Edit) p. 172. &c. Try your faith now; for

you