fers of that blood which they have fpilt, to wash them from the guilt of hedding it. And indeed it is this, and nothing but this, which is able to do it.

But, though God be patient and merciful, he will not bear always with fuch criminals; no, he hath many fpiritual and invifible judgements, which he inflicts upon them. He makes fearful breaches upon their fouls. He frequently lets loofe fatan against them, fo that fatan enters in with the fop. And, how fearful a thing is it, for the devil to be permitted to enter into a man or woman, and to do it at the Lord's table, fo that the man rifes up from this holy table with more eagernefs after his lufts, and with more refolution and itrength to do the devil's fervice, than before? And thus the table of the Lord becomes the table of devis, and the cup of the Lord the cup of devils, to fuch perfons. And, fhould God alfo let loose fatan against their bodies, as upon Judas after the fop, what terrible havock would he make among unworthy communicants? How fearfully would he revenge the blood of Chrift? Many comn union-tables would he turn into Golgothas and celdamas, places of skulls and fields of blood.

As the fweeteft wine becomes the fharpeft vinegar, fo communion-love, when abused, brings the forest wrath. The death and fufferings of Jefus Christ are the most serious and awful things that can be prefented in the world, and therefore not to be dallied with, The blood of Crift is the most precious thing in the world, and therefore a drop cannot be fpilt without a cry for vengeance. And, have not the beft of us, alas, ground to fear we have contracted much of this guilt? Were our hearts never hard, our affections dead, our fpirits carnal, and our minds wandering, when we have fat down at the Lord's table? Nay, have we not all reason to cry with David, Pfal li." Deliver me from bloodguiltinefs, O God, thou God of my falvation, and my tongue thall fing aloud of thy loving kindnefs ?" Ought we not all carefully to guard and earnestly to pray against this crying fin, and fo prepare ourselves for this

holy

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 yourfelf to the fpiritual work you have in hand. Under the law, the Jews were unfit for keeping the pasfover at the time appointed, in two cafes, Numb. ix, either if they had touched a dead body, or were in a journey. The first made a man unclean, fo that he behoved not to meddle with that holy ordinance, till he were cleanfed according to the inftituted 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,

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 af ter their worldly affairs. No, be 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 abstracted from the cares and vanities 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. "Attend upon the Lord without diftraction."

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 stirring there. And fo it fhould be with us at the facrament; not a flie of an earthly or wandering thought should 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 those 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 fwarm of flies into the houses of Pharaoh and his fervants, and into all the land of Egypt, so 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 fhould be at the facrament, like the Ifraelites in Gofhen, free of that Egyptian plague of flies; you must not have fwarms of earthly thoughts to trouble you there with their buzzing noise and importunity. And the only way to be free of them is to drive them away timeoufly 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 faw 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 alongft 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 he faw the place afar off, he orders them to ftay 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 should give ftrict orders to all our earthly thoughts and business to stand afide, and not only not to go to the mount with us, but to go to our closets and retiring 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 aufwers 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 ceafe, whilft I leave it and come down to you?" And though thefe companions had fo round and peremptory an anfwer, yet they were importuning him still, ver. 4. "Yet they fent unto me four times af

ter 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 upon him, that it may be confidered and attended: But let your answer be, "I am doing a great work, I am preparing myself for the facrament, I cannot wait upon you. Why, thould 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 fibbath, I commanded the gates to be fhut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the fabbath; and fome of my fervants I fet at the gates." Do fo with your worldly affairs, shut up the gates on your hearts against them, and let them not be opened till all the duties of the folemn occafion be ended. Perhaps, like those merchants, they will be hovering about the gates for entrance: And therefore fet confcience to watch at the gates, teftify against them, rebuke and threaten them, as Nehemiah did. Let thy spirit, in a holy indignation, rife against them,

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Direct. VII. Of Sequestrating ourselves from the World. 375

check and chace them from you, as coming moft 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 closet, and, when thou haft shut thy door, prepare thyfelf 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 fhould 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 can. not be in a fit attentive pofture to meet with, and wait upon the Master of the feaft. O communicant, wouldst 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 hushed and mortified, all irregular paffions and affections; you are a clog to my foul, I have fomething elfe to do than attend you.

It is most 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 fwarm 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 Gefbems; 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,

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