Posthumous Sermons.
Part IV.
Sermons Published MDCCLX.
The dedication and preface to these Sacramental Discourses sufficiently explain in what circumstances they were given to the world. The original publication of them was superintended by the Rev. Richard Winter, B.D., an excellent and useful minister in London, the co-pastor and successor of the Rev. Thomas Bradbury, in the Independent Church, New Court, Carey Street. An edition of them appeared in 1844, with a brief recommendatory preface by William Lindsay Alexander, D.D., of Edinburgh. We avail ourselves of an extract from it, as a just estimate of their character. Among works designed to promote the right observance of the Lord’s Supper, these Discourses, he affirms, “by the venerated and learned John Owen, have long occupied a prominent place in the esteem of all competent judges. Though issued originally under the most unfavourable circumstances, — having been not only a posthumous publication, but derived from notes taken from the author’s spoken addresses, which were never, in any shape, subjected to his subsequent revision, — they contain so much valuable instruction, profitable exhortation, and pious reflection, in a small compass, that even had they appeared under the sanction of a less illustrious name, it would not have been surprising that they should have gained an extensive and permanent reputation.” He commends this work of Owen to all “not already acquainted with its excellencies, as, upon the whole, one of the most useful and instructive companions to the Lord’s table with which the literature of our country can supply them.” — Ed.
Madam, — Four years ago the world was favoured, through your means, with a volume of Dr Owen’s sermons which never before appeared in print; and it is at your instance that the following Sacramental Discourses of that same venerable divine are now made public. Hereby, madam, you at once express your high value and just esteem for the memory and works of that incomparable author, with your generous concern and prevailing desire of being serviceable to the cause of Christ; — a cause much more dear to you than all the worldly possessions with which the providence of God has blessed you.
With the greatest sincerity it may be said, your constant affection to the habitation of God’s house, — your steady adherence to the peculiar doctrines of Christianity, — your kind regards to the faithful ministers of the gospel, — your extensive benevolence to the indigent and the distressed, — your affability to all you converse with, — and, in a word, your readiness to every good work, are so spread abroad, that, as the apostle says to the Thessalonians, “There is no need to speak any thing.”
That the Lord would prolong your valuable life, daily refresh your soul with the dew of his grace, and enable you, when the hour of death approaches, to rejoice in the full prospect of eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ, is the prayer,
Madam,
Of your affectionate and obedient servant,
Richard Winter.
Tooke’s Court,
Cursitor Street,
March 4, 1760.
The preceding dedication is sufficient to acquaint the public that these Sacramental Discourses are the genuine productions of that great man of God, Dr John Owen, who was for some time, in the last age, vice-chancellor of Oxford. They enter the world through the same channel as his Thirteen Sermons on various occasions, published four years since, — namely, they were at first taken in short-hand from the Doctor’s mouth, and, by the late Sir John Hartopp, baronet, Mrs Cooke’s pious grandfather, were transcribed into long-hand.
Mr Matthew Henry has this note in his annotations on
If we inquire of the former age, we shall find there flourished in it some of the greatest and best of men; for whose printed works many acknowledge they have abundant cause to bless God to eternity. Among these, the writings of Dr Owen shine with a peculiar lustre, in the judgment of judicious Christians; and I am persuaded they who peruse them with the spirit of love and of a sound mind, will be as far from asserting that, in his manner of maintaining the doctrine of faith, his right arm appeared to be weakened, as from saying that his right eye was darkened, and unable to discern the object of it.
As to the following Discourses, which the Doctor calls “Familiar Exercises,” they are now printed in hopes they will be made useful, through the divine blessing, to assist the meditations of Christians of all denominations in their approaches to the Lord’s table, seeing they are so well adapted to answer that sacred purpose.
Posthumous Sermons.
Delivered October 10, 1669.
“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no
sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” —
I shall not enter into the opening of this Scripture, but only propose some few things that may be a suitable subject for your present meditation.
There are three things concerning God the Father, three things concerning the Son, and three things concerning ourselves, all in these words that I have mentioned, and all suitable for us to be acting faith upon.
I. I would remember, if the Lord help me, the sovereignty of God the Father, his justice, and his grace: — His sovereignty, “He made him,” — God the Father made him; his justice, “He made him to be sin,” — a sacrifice and an offering for sin; and his grace, “That we might be made the righteousness of God in Christ:” —
1. The sovereignty of God. I could mention that this sovereignty of God extends itself to all persons chosen, and show for whom Christ should be made sin; for he was not made sin for all, but for them who became “the righteousness of God in him:” also, the sovereignty of God over things, dispensing with the law so far, that He suffered for sin “who knew no sin;” and we, who had sinned, were let go free; the sovereignty of God in appointing the Son to this work, “He made him;” for none else could, — he was the servant of the Father. So that the whole foundation of this great transaction lies in the sovereignty of God over persons and things, in reference unto Christ. Let us, then, remember to bow down to the sovereignty of God in this ordinance of the Lord’s supper.
2. There is the justice of God. “He made him to
be sin,” — imputed sin unto him, reckoned unto him all the sins of the
elect, caused all our sins to meet upon him, made him a sin-offering, a
sacrifice for sin, laid all the punishment of our sins upon him. To this
end he sent him forth to be a propitiation for sin, to declare his
3. There is the grace of God, [which] manifests itself in the aim and design of God in all this matter. What did God aim at? It was “that we might become the righteousness of God in him,” — that we might be made righteous, and freed from sin.
II. There are three things that lie clear in the words, that we may call to remembrance, concerning the Son. There is his innocency, his purity; he “knew no sin.” There is his sufferings; he was “made to be sin.” And there is his merit; it was “that we might become the righteousness of God in him.” Here is another object for faith to meditate upon:—
1. There are many things in Scripture that direct us to thoughts of the spotless purity, righteousness, and holiness of Christ, when we think of his sufferings. A “Lamb of God, without spot.” He “did no sin, nor had any guile in his mouth.” He was “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners.” Faith should call this to mind in the sufferings of Christ, that he “knew no sin.” That expression sets sin at the greatest distance from Jesus Christ.
2. The sufferings of Christ. “He was made sin;” — a comprehensive word, that sets out his whole sufferings. Look, whatever the justice of God, the law of God, whatever the threatenings of God did require to be inflicted as a punishment for sin, Christ underwent it all. They are dreadful apprehensions that we ourselves have, or can take in, concerning the issue and effect of sin, from the wrath of God, when under convictions, and not relieved by the promises of the gospel; but we see not the thousandth part of the evil of sin, that follows inseparably from the righteousness and holiness of God. The effects of God’s justice for sin will no more enter into our hearts fully to apprehend, than the effects of his grace and glory will; yet, whatever it was, Christ underwent it all.
3. Then there is the merit of Christ; which is
another object of faith that we should call over in the celebration of this
ordinance. Why was “he made sin”? It was “that we might become the
righteousness of God in him.” It is answerable to that other expression in
III. We may see three things concerning ourselves:—
1. Our own sin and guilt: he was made sin “for us.” If Christ was made sin for us, then we were sinners.
3. God would have us remember and call to mind the state whereinto we are brought, — which is a state of righteousness; that we may bless him for that which in this world will issue in our righteousness, and in the world to come, eternal glory.
These things we may call over for our faith to meditate upon. Our minds are apt to be distracted; the ordinance is to fix them: and if we act faith in an especial manner in this ordinance, God will be glorified.
Delivered November 26, 1669.
“The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the
communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the
communion of the body of Christ?” —
There is, in the ordinance of the Lord’s supper, an especial and peculiar communion with Christ, in his body and blood, to be obtained. One reason why we so little value the ordinance, and profit so little by it, may be, because we understand so little of the nature of that special communion with Christ which we have therein.
We have this special communion upon the account of the special object that faith is exercised upon in this ordinance, and the special acts that it puts forth in reference to that or those objects: for the acts follow the special nature of their objects, Now, —
1. The special object of faith, as acted in this
ordinance, is not the object of faith, as faith; that is,
the most general object of it, which is the divine veracity: “He that hath
received his testimony, hath set to his seal that God is true,”
2. The special object of faith, as justifying, is
not the special object of faith in this ordinance. The special object of
faith, as justifying, is the promise, and Christ in the promise, in
general, as “the Saviour of sinners:” so when the apostle called men “to
repent and believe,” he tells them, “The promise is unto you,”
3. The special and peculiar object of faith, the immediate object of it in this ordinance, in its largest extent is, —
(1.) The human nature of Christ, as the subject
wherein mediation and redemption was wrought. Christ is considered to come
as a sacrifice; that is laid down as the foundation of it,
(2.) Faith goes farther, and doth not consider merely the human nature of Christ, but considers it as distinguished into its integral parts, — into body and blood; both which have a price, value, and virtue given unto them by their union with his human soul: for both the body of Christ and the blood of Christ, upon which the work of our redemption is put in Scripture, have their value and worth from their relation unto his soul; as soul and body, making the human nature, had its value and worth from its relation unto the Son of God: otherwise, he saith of his body, “Handle it, it is but flesh and bones.” But where the body of Christ is mentioned, and the blood of Christ is mentioned, there is a distribution of the human nature into its integral parts, each part, retaining its relation to his soul; and from thence is its value and excellency. This is the second peculiar in the object of faith in this ordinance.
(3.) There is more than this: they are not only considered
as distinguished, but as separate also; — the blood
separate from the body, the body left without the blood. This truth our
apostle, in
The Papists, we know, do sacrilegiously take away the cup
from the people; they will give them the bread, but they will not give them
the cup: and as it always falls out that one error must be covered with
another, or else it will keep no man dry under it, they have invented the
doctrine of concomitance, — that there is a concomitance; that is,
whole Christ is in every kind, — in the bread, and in the wine, — the one
doth accompany the other: which is directly to
Here, then, is a threefold limitation of the act of faith, even in this ordinance, in a peculiar manner restraining it to a special communion with God in Christ:— that it hath a special regard to the human nature of Christ; to his human nature as consisting of body and blood; and as it respects them as separated, body and blood. Yea, —
(4.) It respects them as separate in that manner. You all along know that I do not intend these objects of faith as the ultimate object, — for it is the person of Christ that faith rests in, — but those immediate objects that faith is exercised about, to bring it to rest in God. It is exercised about the manner of this separation; that is, the blood of Christ comes to be distinct by being shed, and the body of Christ comes to be separate by being bruised and broken. All the instituted sacrifices of old did signify this, — a violent separation of body and blood: the blood was let out with the hand of violence, and so separated; and then sprinkled upon the altar, and then towards the holy place; and then the body was burned distinct by itself. So, the apostle tells us, it is “the cup which we bless, and the bread which we break;” the cup is poured out, as well as the bread broken, to remind faith of the violent separation of the body and blood of Christ. From this last consideration, of faith acting itself upon the separation of the body and blood of Christ by way of violence, it is led to a peculiar acting of itself upon all the causes of it, — whence it was that this body and this blood of Christ were represented thus separate: and by inquiring into the causes of it, it finds a moving cause, a procuring cause, an efficient cause, and a final cause; which it ought to exercise itself peculiarly upon always in this ordinance.
[1.] A moving cause; and that is, the eternal love
of God in giving Christ in this manner, to have his body bruised, and his
blood shed. The apostle, going to express the love of God towards us,
tells you it was in this, that “he spared not his own Son,”
[2.] It reflects upon the procuring cause; —
whence it is, or what it is, that hath procured it, that there should be
this representation of the separated body and blood of Christ; and this is
even our own sin. “He was delivered for our offences,” — given for our
transgressions, — died to make reconciliation and atonement for our sins:
they
[3.] There is the efficient cause; — whence it was that the body and blood of Christ were thus separated; and that is threefold:— principal, instrumental, and adjuvant.
What is the principal efficient cause of the
sufferings of Christ? Why, the justice and righteousness of God. “God
hath set him forth to be a propitiation, to declare his righteousness,”
Again, there is the instrumental cause; and that is the law of God. Whence did that separation, which is here represented unto us, ensue and flow? It came from the sentence of the law, whereby he was hanged upon the tree.
Moreover, the adjuvant cause was those outward
instruments, the wrath and malice of men: “For of a truth against thy holy
child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with
the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,”
Faith considers the cause whence it was that Christ was thus given up, the eternal love of God; the procuring cause was our own sins: and if once faith takes a view of sin as that which hath nailed Christ to the cross, it will have a blessed effect on the soul. And it considers the efficient cause; which is the justice and righteousness of God: the law of God was the instrument in the hand of righteousness, which was holpen on by those outward instruments who had a hand in his suffering, but none in his sacrifice.
[4.] Faith considers in this matter the end of this
separation of the body and blood of Christ which is thus represented;
and that is, ultimately and absolutely, the glory of God. He “set him
forth to declare his righteousness,”
The very nature of the ordinance itself gives us a peculiar communion; and there are four things that attend the nature of this ordinance that are peculiar:— It is commemorative, professional, eucharistical, and federal:—
1. The ordinance is commemorative: “Do this in
remembrance of me.” And there is no greater joy to the heart of sinners,
and a man knows not how to give greater glory to God, than to call the
atonement of sin unto remembrance. It is observed in the offering for
jealousy,
2. It has a peculiar profession attending it. Saith the apostle, “Doing this, ‘ye show forth the Lord’s death till he come;’ you make a profession and manifestation of it.” And, give me leave to say it, they that look towards Christ, and do not put themselves in a way of partaking of this ordinance, they refuse the principal part of that profession which God calls them unto in this world. The truth is, we have been apt to content ourselves with a profession of moral obedience; but it is a profession of Christ’s institution by which alone we glorify him in this world. “I will have my death shown forth,” saith Christ, “and not only remembered.” The use of this ordinance is to show forth the death of Christ. As Christ requires of us to show forth his death, so, surely, he hath deserved it by his death.
3. It is peculiarly eucharistical. There is a
peculiar thanksgiving that ought to attend this ordinance. It is called
“The cup of blessing,’’ or “The cup of thanksgiving;” — the word εὐλογία is used promiscuously for “blessing”
and “thanksgiving.” It is called “The cup of blessing,” because of the
institution, and prayer for the blessing of
4. It is a federal ordinance, wherein God confirms the covenant unto us, and wherein he calls us to make a recognition of the covenant unto God. The covenant is once made; but we know that we stand in need that it should be often transacted in our souls, — that God should often testify his covenant unto us, and that we should often actually renew our covenant engagements unto him. God never fails nor breaks his promises; so that he hath no need to renew them, but testify them anew: we break and fail in ours; so that we have need actually to renew them. And that is it which we are called unto in this ordinance; which is the ordinance of the great seal of the covenant in the blood of Christ.
Upon all these accounts have we special communion with Christ in this ordinance. There is none of them but I might easily enlarge upon, but I name these heads: and my design is, to help my own faith and yours from roving in the administration of this ordinance, or from a general acting of itself, — to fix it to that which is its particular duty; that we may find no weariness nor heaviness in the administration. Here in these things is there enough to entertain us for ever, and to make them new and fresh to us. But while we come with uncertain thoughts, and know not what to direct our faith to act particularly upon, we lose the benefit of the ordinance.
For the use, it is, —
1. To bless God for his institution of his church; which is the seat of the administration of this ordinance, wherein we have such peculiar and intimate communion with Christ. There is not one instance of those which I have named, but, if God would help us to act faith upon Christ in a peculiar manner through it, would give new strength and life to our souls. Now, in the church we have all this treasure. We lose it, I confess, by our unbelief and disesteem of it; but it will be found to be an inestimable treasure to those that use it, and improve it in a due manner.
2. Doth God give us this favour and privilege, that we should be invited to this special communion with Christ in this ordinance? Let us prepare our hearts for it in the authority of its institution; let us lay our souls and consciences in subjection to the authority of Christ, who hath commanded these things, and who did it in a signal manner the same night wherein he was betrayed: so that there is a special command of Christ lies upon us; and if we will yield obedience to any of the commands of Christ, then let us yield obedience to this. Prepare your souls for special communion with him, then, by subjugating them thoroughly to the authority of Christ in this ordinance.
Delivered December 10, 1669.
“The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the
communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the
communion of the body of Christ?” —
I have been
treating somewhat about the special communion which believers have with
Christ in the ordinance of the Lord’s supper. There remains yet something
farther to be spoken unto, for our direction in this great work and duty;
and this is taken from the immediate ends of this ordinance. I
spake, as I remember, the last day to the speciality of our communion, from
the consideration of the immediate ends of the death of Christ: now I shall
speak to it in reference unto the immediate ends of this ordinance; and
they are two, — one whereof respects our faith and our love, and the other
respects our profession: which two make up the whole of what is required of
us; for, as the apostle speaks,
I. There is that which respects our faith. The great work of faith is to make things that are absent, present to a soul, in regard to their sweetness, power, and efficacy; whence it is said to be “the evidence of things not seen:” and it looks backward unto the causes of things, and it looks forward unto the effects of things, — to what hath wrought out grace, and to what grace is wrought out; and makes them, in their efficacy, comfort, and power, to meet and centre in the believing soul.
Now, there are three things in reference unto the death of Christ that faith in this ordinance doth recognise, call over, and commemorate. The first is, the faith of Christ in and for his work; the second is, the obedience of Christ; and the third is, the work itself:—
1. Faith calls over the faith of Christ. Christ had a double faith in reference to his death:— one with respect unto himself, and his own interest in God; and the other in respect to the cause whose management he had undertaken, and the success of it. He had faith for both these.
(1.) The Lord Christ had faith in reference to his own
person and to his own interest in God. The apostle, declaring
(
[1.] Because the soul is then entering into a new state, whereof there are these two properties that will try it to the utmost:— that it is invisible; and that it is unchangeable. I say, there are two properties that make this a great act of faith:—
1st. The state is invisible. The soul is going into a condition of things that “eye hath not seen, nor ear heard;” — that nothing can take any prospect into but faith alone. However men may talk of the invisible state of things which our souls are departing into, it is all but talk and conjecture, besides what we have by faith. So that to give up a soul cheerfully and comfortably into that state, is a pure act of faith.
2dly. It is unchangeable. It is a state wherein there is no alteration, and though all alterations should prove for the worse, yet it is in the nature of man to hope good from them; but here is no more alteration left: the soul enters into an unchangeable state. And, —
[2.] The second reason is, — because the total sum of a man’s life is now cast up, and he sees what it will come to. While men are trading in the world, though they meet with some straits and difficulties, yet they have that going on which will bring in something, this way or that way; — but when it comes to this, that they can go no farther, then see how things stand with a departing soul; the whole sum is cast up, there is no more venture to be made, no more advantage to be gained, — he must stand as he is, And when a man takes a view of what he is to come to, he needs faith to obtain a comfortable passage out of it. And, —
[3.] Even death itself brings a terror with it, that
nothing can conquer but faith; I mean, conquer duly. He is not
crowned, that doth not overcome by faith. It is only to be done through
the death of Christ. “He delivered them who through fear of death were all
I touch on this by the way, to manifest the glorious success the faith of Christ had; who, in his dying moments, cried out, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.” And this is that we are to call over in the remembering of his death. It is a very great argument the apostle uses to confirm our faith, when, speaking of the patriarchs of old, he says, “These all died in faith.” But that “all” is nothing to this argument, that Jesus Christ, our head and representative, who went before us, “He died in faith.” And this is the principal inlet into life, immortality, and glory, — the consideration of the death of Christ, dying in that faith that he gave up his soul into the hands of God, and was persuaded “God would not leave his soul in hell, nor suffer his Holy One to see corruption;” but that he would show him the “path of life,” and bring him to his “right hand, where there are pleasures for evermore.”
(2.) Christ had a faith for the cause wherein he was
engaged. He was engaged in a glorious cause, a great undertaking; —
to deliver all the elect of God from death, hell, Satan, and sin; to answer
the law, to undergo the curse, and to bring his many children unto glory.
And dreadful oppositions lay against him in this his undertaking. See what
faith he had for his cause,
It is matter of great comfort and support, to consider that
when the Lord Jesus Christ had in his eye all the sins of all the elect
upon the one hand, and the whole curse of the law and the wrath of God on
the other, yet he cried, “I shall not be confounded;” — “I shall go through
it, I shall see an end of this business, and make an end of sin, and bring
in everlasting righteousness; and God will justify me in it.” We are in an
especial manner to call to remembrance the
There is one objection lies against all this, and that is
this: “But did not Christ despond in his great agony in the garden, when he
cried three times, ‘Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me?’
and in that dreadful outcry upon the cross, which he took from the
I answer, In this difficult inquiry two things are to be stated:— first, in reference to his person, That it was impossible Christ should have the indissolubility of his personal union utterly hid from him. He knew the union of his human nature unto the Son of God could not be utterly dissolved, — that could not be utterly hid from him; so that there could not be despair, properly so called, in Christ. And, secondly, this is certain also, That the contract he had with the Father, and the promises he had given him of being successful, could never utterly be hid from him. So that his faith, either as to his person or cause, could not possibly be utterly ruined. But there was a severe and terrible conflict in the human nature, arising from these four things:—
First. From the view which he was exalted to take of
the nature of the curse that was then upon him. For the curse was
upon him,
Secondly. It arose from hence, that the comforting
influences of the union with the divine nature were restrained. Jesus
Christ was in himself “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;” but
yet, all the while, there were the influences of light and glory from the
divine nature to the human, by virtue of their union; — and now they are
restrained, and instead of that, was horrible darkness, and trembling, and
the curse, and sin, and Satan, round about him; all presenting themselves
unto him: which gave occasion to that part of his prayer,
Fourthly. It was from the unspeakable extremity of the things that he suffered; — not merely as to the things themselves which outwardly fell upon his body, but as unto that “sword of God which was awakened against him,” and which had pierced him to the very soul. The advantage which he had in his sufferings by his divine union, was that which supported and bore him up under that weight, which would have sunk any mere creature to nothing. His heart was enlarged to receive in those pains, that dread and terror, that otherwise he could not have received. And notwithstanding all this, as I showed before, Christ kept up his faith in reference to his person, and kept up his faith in reference to his cause; and a great example he hath given unto us, that though the dog and the lion should encompass us, though we should have desertion from God and pressures more than nature is able to bear, yet there is a way of keeping up faith, trust, and confidence through all, and not to let go our hold of God.
Now, this is the first thing we are to call over in remembrance of Christ, in reference to his death; that faith he had, both for his person and his cause, in his death. For if you remember any of the martyrs that died, you will stick upon these two things, more than upon the flames that consumed them: they expressed great faith of their interest in Christ, and in reference to the cause they died for. They are things you will remember. And this you are to be remembering of him who was the head of the martyrs, — our Lord Jesus Christ’s faith.
2. We are to call over his obedience in his death.
The apostle doth propose it unto us,
(1.) Consider his love, which is one of the
principal things to be regarded in this obedience of Christ; — the love
wherewith it was
And now I pray God to enable me to consider this with my own soul, what that love would stick at, that did not stick at this kind of death we have been speaking of. If Jesus Christ had reserved the greatest thing he was to do for us unto the last, we had not known but his love might have stuck when it came to that, — I mean, when it came to the curse of the law, — though he had done other things. But having done this, he that would not withdraw, nor take off from that, because he loved us, what will he stick at for the future? Our hearts are apt to be full of unkind and unthankful thoughts towards him; as though, upon every dark and black temptation and trial, he would desert us, whose love was such as he would not do it when himself was to be deserted and made a curse. Call over, then, the love of Christ in this obedience. “Yes; but love prevails sometimes,” you will say, “with many, to do things that they have no great mind to: we come very difficultly to do some things, when yet, out of love, we will not deny them.” But it was not so with Christ; his love was such that he had, —
(2.) An eternal readiness unto his work. There
are two texts of Scripture inform us of it:
(3.) We are to remember his submission to the great
work he was called unto. This he expresses,
There is one objection arises against this submission; and that is the prayer of Christ in the garden: “Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.”
I answer, That was an expression of the horror which was upon the human nature, which we mentioned before. But there were two things that Christ immediately closed upon, which gave evidence to this submission, that he did not draw back, nor rebel, nor hide himself, nor turn away his face from shame and spitting; — one was this, “Father, thy will be done,” saith he; and the other was this, that he refused that aid to deliver him which he might have had: “Know ye not that I could pray the Father, and he would give me more than twelve legions of angels?” He then suffered under the Roman power, and their power was reduced to twelve legions. Saith he, “I could have more than these;” which argues his full submission unto the will of God.
(4.) We are to call over his patience under his
sufferings, in his obedience,
You see, then, the end of this ordinance of the Lord’s supper, is to stir us up to call over the obedience of Christ, both as to his love in it, as to his readiness for it, submission to the will of God in it, and patience under it.
3. Faith is to call over the work itself; and that
was the death of Christ. I shall not now be able to manifest
under what consideration in this ordinance faith calls over the death of
Christ; but these are the heads I shall speak unto:— It calls it over as a
sacrifice, in that it was bloody; it calls it over as shameful, in that it
was under
(1.) He delights in him. The thoughts of Christ are sweet unto him, as of an absent friend; but only in spiritual things we have this great advantage, we can make an absent Christ present to us. This we cannot in natural things. We can converse with friends only by imagination; but by faith we make Christ present with us, and delight in him.
(2.) There is thanksgiving towards him. That love which is fixed upon the person of Christ will break forth in great thankfulness; which is one peculiar act of this ordinance: “The cup which we bless,” or give thanks for.
(3.) It will greatly incline the heart to keep his word. “If ye are my disciples, ‘if ye love me, keep my commandments.’ ” Every act of love fixed upon the person of Christ, gives a new spring of obedience to all the ordinances of Christ: and the truth is, there is no keeping up our hearts unto obedience to ordinances, but by renewed acts of obedience upon the person of Christ; — this will make the soul cry, “When shall I be in an actual observation of Christ’s ordinance, who hath thus loved me, and washed me with his own blood, — that hath done such great things for me?”
This is the end of the death of Christ which concerns our faith and love, — the end of commemoration, or calling to remembrance.
II. There is an end of profession also; which is,
to “show the Lord’s death till he come.” But this must be spoken to at
some other time. If we come to the practice of these things, we shall find
them great things to call over, — namely, the whole frame of the heart of
Christ in his death, and his death itself, and our own concern
Delivered December 24, 1669.
“As often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup,
ye do show the Lord’s death till he come.” —
One end, you see, of this great ordinance, is to show the Lord’s death — to declare it, to represent it, to show it forth, hold it forth; the word is thus variously rendered. And in the especial ends of this ordinance it is that we have special communion with our Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, there are two ways whereby we show forth the Lord’s death; the one is the way of representation to ourselves; and the other is a way of profession unto others:—
I. The way of representation to ourselves. The work of representing Christ aright to the soul is a great work. God and men are agreed in it; and therefore God, when he represents Christ, his design is to represent him to the faith of men. Men that have not faith, have a great desire to have Christ represented to their fancy and imagination; and, therefore, when the way of representing Christ to the faith of men was lost among them, the greatest part of their religion was taken up in representing Christ to their fancy. They would make pictures and images of his cross, resurrection, ascension, and every thing he did.
There are three ways whereby God represents Christ to the faith of believers:— the one is, by the word of the gospel itself as written; the second is by the ministry of the gospel and preaching of the word; and the third, in particular, is by this sacrament, wherein we represent the Lord’s death to the faith of our own souls:—
1. God doth it by the word itself. Hence are
those descriptions that are given of Christ in Scripture to represent him
desirable to the souls of men. The great design of the book of Canticles
consists, for the most part, in this, — in a mystical, allegorical
description of the graces and excellencies of the person of Christ, to
render him desirable to the souls of believers; as in the
This is the first way whereby God doth this great work of representing Christ unto the faith of men; which men having lost, have made it their whole religion to represent Christ unto their fancy.
2. The second way is, by the ministry of the word.
The great work of the ministry of the word is to represent Jesus Christ.
The apostle Paul tells us,
Abraham’s servant (in the
3. The special way whereby we represent Christ unto our souls through faith, is in the administration of this ordinance; which I will speak to upon the great end of showing forth the death of the Lord.
Now, the former representations were general, this is particular; and I cannot at this time go over particulars. I bless the Lord, my soul hath many times admired the wisdom and goodness of God in the institution of this one ordinance; that he took bread and wine for that end and purpose, merely arbitrary, of his own choice, and might have taken any thing else, — what he had pleased; that he should fix on the cream of the creation: which is an endless storehouse, if pursued, of representing the mysteries of Christ. When the folly of men goes about to invent ceremonies that they would have significant; when they have found them out, they cannot well tell what they signify. But, though I do acknowledge that all the significancy of this ordinance depends upon the institution, yet there is great wisdom in the fitting of it; the thing was fitted and suited to be made use of to that end and purpose.
One end of the ordinance itself is, to represent the death of Christ unto us; and it represents Christ with reference to these five things:— 1. It represents him with reference to God’s setting him forth. 2. In reference to his own passion. 3. In reference to his exhibition in the promise. 4. To our participation of him by believing. And, 5. To his incorporation with us in union.
1. The great end of God in reference to Christ, as to his
death, was, his setting of him forth,
2. There is a plain representation of his passion, of his suffering and death, and the manner of it. This, with all the concerns of it, I treated of the last Lord’s day, under the head of Recognition, or calling over the death of Christ, “This do in remembrance of me;” and so I shall not again insist upon it.
3. There is a representation of Christ in it as to the exhibition and tender of him in the promise. Many promises are expressed in invitations, “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come;” — “Take, eat:” there is a promise in it. And in the tender that is made even of the sacramental elements, there is the exhibition of Christ in the promise represented to the soul. I told you before, God hath carefully provided to represent Christ unto our faith, and not to our fancy; and, therefore, there is no outward similitude and figure. We can say concerning this ordinance, with all its representations, as God said concerning his appearing to Moses upon mount Horeb, “Thou sawest no similitude.” God hath taken care there shall be no natural figure, that all representations made may stand upon institution. Now, there is this tender with an invitation. The very elements of the ordinance are a great representation of the proposal of Christ to a believing soul. God holds out Christ as willing to be received, with an invitation. So we show forth the Lord’s death.
4. There is in this ordinance a representation of Christ as to our reception of him; for hereon depends the whole of the matter. God might make a feast of fat things, and propose it to men; but if they do not come to eat, they will not be nourished by it. If you make a tender of payment to a man, if he doth not receive it, the thing remains at a distance, as before. Christ being tendered to a soul, if that soul doth not receive him, he hath no benefit by it. All these steps you may go:— there may be God’s exhibition of Christ, and setting of him forth; there may be his own oblation and suffering, laying the foundation of all that is to come; there may be an exhibition of him in the promise, tender, and invitation: and yet, if not received, we have no profit by all these things. What a great representation of this receiving is there in the administration of this ordinance, when every one takes the representation of it to himself, or doth receive it!
5. It gives us a representation of our incorporation in Christ; the allusion whereto, from the nature of the elements’ incorporation with us, and being the strength of our lives, might easily be pursued. This is the first way of showing forth the Lord’s death.
II. I shall now speak a few words to the profession of it among ourselves, and to others.
1. That visible profession is a matter of more
importance than most men make of it; as the apostle saith,
Now profession consists in these two things:— (1.) In an abstinence from all things, with reference to God and his worship, which Christ has not appointed. (2.) In the observation and performance of all things that Christ has appointed.
Men are apt to think that abstinence from the
pollutions that are in the world through lust, the keeping themselves from
the sins and defilements of the world, and inclining to that party that is
not of the world, is profession. These things are good; but our profession
consists in the observation of Christ’s commands, what he requires of us.
“Go, teach them.” What to do? “Whatsoever I have commanded you; and, lo,
I am with you alway, unto the end of the world.” There is an expression,
2. There is in this ordinance a special profession of Christ. There is a profession of him against the shame of the world; a profession of him against the curse of the law; and a profession of him against the power of the devil. All our profession doth much centre, or is mightily acted, in this ordinance.
(1.) The death of our Lord Jesus Christ was in the world a shameful death, and that with which Christians were constantly reproached, and which hardly went down with the world. It is a known story, that when the Jesuits preached the gospel, as they call it, in China, they never let them know of the death of Christ, till the Congregation “De Propagandâ Fide” commanded it; for the world is mightily scandalized at the shameful death of the cross.
(2.) In our profession we show forth the death of the Lord, in the celebration of this ordinance, in opposition “to the curse of the law;” — that whereas the curse of the law doth lay claim to us because we are sinners, here we profess that God hath transferred the curse of the law to another, who underwent it. So they did with the sacrifices of old: when they had confessed all the sins and iniquities of the people over the head of the goat, then they sent him away into destruction. So it is in this ordinance: here we confess all our sins and iniquities over the head of this great sacrifice, and profess to the law, and all its accusations, that there our sins are charged. “Who shall lay any thing to our charge? and who shall condemn? It is Christ that died.” We confront the claim of the law, shake off its authority, as to its curse, and profess to it that its charge is satisfied.
(3.) We make a profession against the power of Satan; for the great trial of the power and interest of the devil in, unto, and over the souls of men, was in the cross of Jesus Christ. He put his kingdom to a trial, staked his all upon it, and mustered up all the strength he had got, — all the aids that the guilt of sin and the rage of the world could furnish him with. “Now,” saith Christ, “is your hour, and the power of darkness;” — “He comes to try what he can do.” And what was the issue of the death of Christ? Why, saith the apostle, “He spoiled principalities and powers, and triumphed over them in his cross:” so that, in our celebration of the death of Christ, we do profess against Satan; that his power is broken, that he is conquered, — tied to the chariot wheels of Christ, who has disarmed him.
This is the profession we make, when we show forth the Lord’s death, against the shame of the world, against the curse of the law, and the power of hell. This is the second general end of this ordinance; and another means it is whereby we have especial communion with Christ in it: which was the thing I aimed at from the words I had chosen. And now I have gone through all I intend upon this subject.
A word or two of use, and I have done:—
1. It is a very great honour and privilege, to be
called of God unto this great work of showing forth the death of Christ. I
think it is as great and glorious a work as any of the children of men can
be engaged in, in this world. I have showed you formerly, how all the acts
of the glorious properties of God’s nature centre themselves in
2. Then, surely, it is our duty to answer the mind of God in this work, and not to attend to it in a cold, careless, and transient manner. But, methinks, we might rejoice in our hearts when we have thoughts of it, and say within ourselves, “Come, we will go and show forth the Lord’s death.” The world, the law, and Satan, are conquered by it: blessed be God, that has given us an opportunity to profess this! O that our hearts may long after the season for it! and say, “When shall the time come?”
3. We may do well to remember what was spoken before concerning the great duty of representing God to our souls, that we may know how to attend to it. I would speak unto the meanest of the flock, to guide our hearts and thoughts, which are too ready to wander, and are so unprofitable, for want of spiritual fixation. We would fain trust to our affections rather than to our faith; and would rather have them moved, than faith graciously to act itself. And when we fail therein, we are apt to think we fail in our end of the ordinance, because our affections were not moved. Set faith genuinely at work, and we have the end of the ordinance. Let it represent Christ to our souls, as exhibited of God, and given out unto us; as suffering, as tendered to us, and as received and incorporated with us.
Delivered January 7, 1669–70.
“But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of
that bread, and drink of that cup.” —
I have been
treating of that special communion which believers have with Christ, in the
administration of the ordinance of the supper of the Lord; and thought I
should have treated no more of that subject, having gone through all the
particulars of it which were practical, such as might be reduced to present
practice. But I remember
There were many disorders fallen in this church at Corinth, and that various ways, — in schisms and divisions, in neglect of discipline, in false opinions, and particularly in a great abuse of the administration of this great ordinance of the supper of the Lord. And though I do not, I dare not, I ought not, to bless God for their sin, yet I bless God for his providence. Had it not been for their disorders, we had all of us been much in darkness as to all church way. The correction of their disorders contains the principal rule for church communion and the administration of this sacrament that we have in the whole Scripture; which might have been hid from us, but that God suffered them to fall into them on purpose that, through their fall, in them and by them he might instruct his church in all ages to the end of the world.
The apostle is here rectifying abuses about the administration of the Lord’s supper, which were many; and he applies particular directions to all their particular miscarriages, not now to be insisted on; and he gathers up all directions into this one general rule that I have here read, “Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat,” etc. Now, this self-examination extends itself unto the whole due preparation of the souls of men for the actual participation of this ordinance. And I shall endeavour, by plain instances out of the Scripture (which is my way in these familiar exercises), to manifest that there is a preparation necessary for the celebration or observance of all solemn ordinances; and I shall show you what that preparation is, and wherein it doth consist; and then I shall deduce from thence what is that particular preparation which is incumbent upon us, in reference unto this special ordinance, that is superadded unto the general preparation that is required unto all ordinances.
I. I shall manifest that there is a preparation
necessary for the celebration of solemn worship. We have an early
instance of it in
When God came to treat with the people in that great
ordinance of giving the law, which was the foundation of all following
ordinances,
It was an ordinance of God that Paul had to perform, and we
would have thought it a thing that he might easily have done without any
great forethought; but it had that weight upon his spirit,
The caution we have,
I will name one place more,
I have a little confirmed this general proposition, that all take for granted; and I fear we content ourselves for the most part with the state and condition of those mentioned, who prepared their hearts to meet the Lord God of their fathers, not considering how they may be prepared “according to the purification of the sanctuary.” You will ask, “What is that preparation?”
This question brings me to, —
II. The second general head I propounded to speak unto: I answer, that the general preparation that respects all ordinances hath reference unto God, to ourselves, to the ordinance itself:—
1. It hath respect unto God. This is the first
thing to be considered; for this he lays down as the great law of his
ordinances, “I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me,”
(2.) We are to consider God in Christ as the immediate object of that worship which in every ordinance we do perform. You will ask, “What special apprehensions concerning God are particularly necessary to this duty of preparation for communion with God in an ordinance?” I answer, Two are particularly necessary, that should be practically upon our thoughts in every ordinance, — the presence of God, and the holiness of God. As God is the object of our worship, these two properties of God are principally to be considered in all our preparations:—
[1.] The presence of God. When Elijah (
1st. A special sense of his omnipresence.
God requires that we should put in all ordinances a speciality of faith
upon his general attributes.
2dly. We are to remember the gracious presence
of God. There was a twofold presence of God of old; — the one,
temporary, by an extraordinary appearance; the other, standing, by a
continued institution. Wherever God made an extraordinary appearance,
there he required of his people to look upon him to have a special
presence. It was but temporary when God appeared to Moses in the bush.
“Draw not nigh hither,” saith God; “put off thy shoes from off thy feet,
for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground,” because of God’s
special appearance: but the next day, as far as I know, sheep fed upon that
holy ground. It was no longer holy than God’s appearance made it so. So
he said to Joshua, when he was by Jericho, “Loose thy shoe from off thy
foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy,”
[2.] The second property which is principally to be
considered in God in his ordinances, as he is the object of them, is
his holiness. This is the general rule that God gives in all
ordinances, “Be ye holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.” And Joshua,
I do but choose out these things, which, in the way of
ordinances, I would say are (I may say, [I] desire should
be) most upon my heart and spirit: I might easily enlarge it to other
considerations; but let these two considerations dwell upon our minds, as
our preparation for our access unto God, thoughts of his glorious and
gracious presence, and of his holiness
(3.) Our preparation respects God as he is the end of ordinances; and that to these three purposes, if I could insist upon them:— he is the end of them, as we aim in them to “give glory unto him;” he is the end of them, as we aim in them “to be accepted with him;” he is the end of them, as we aim in them “to be blessed by him.” These are the three things that are our end in all ordinances that we celebrate.
[1.] The first is, the general end of all that we
do in this world; we are to do all to the glory of God: it is the immediate
end of all our worship. “If I am a father,” saith he, “where is mine
honour?” — “where is my glory?”
[3.] To be blessed according to his promise, — that “God will bless us out of Zion.” What the particular blessings are we look for in particular ordinances, in due time, God assisting, I shall acquaint you with, when we come to the special and particular preparation for that ordinance we aim at; but this is necessary to all, and so to that.
2. This preparation respects ourselves. There are three things which I desire my heart may be prepared by, in reference to the ordinances of God:—
(1.) The first is indispensably necessary, laid down in
that great rule,
(2.) The second head of preparation on our own part is
self-abasement, out of a deep sense of the infinite distance that
is between God and us, whom we go to meet. “I have taken upon myself to
speak to the great possessor of heaven and earth, who am but dust and
ashes.” Nothing brings God and man so near together as a due sense of our
(3.) A heart filled with love to ordinances is a
great preparation for an ordinance. How doth David, in the
I would not load your memories with particulars. I mention plain practical things unto those for whose spiritual welfare I am more particularly concerned; that we may retain them for our use, and know them for ourselves: and they are such as I know, more or less (though, perhaps, not so distinctly), all our hearts work after: and in these things our souls do live.
3. Our preparation in reference unto any ordinance itself; which consists in two things:—
(1.) A satisfactory persuasion of the institution of the ordinance itself, that it is that which God hath appointed. If God should meet us, and say, “Who hath required these things at your hand?” and Christ should come and tell us, “Every plant that my heavenly Father hath not planted shall be plucked up;” or, “In vain do ye worship me; teaching for doctrines the commandments of men;” — how would such words fill the hearts of poor creatures with confusion, if engaged in such ways that God hath not required! We must be careful, then, that, for the substance of the duty, it be appointed of God.
(2.) That it be performed in a due manner. One
failure herein, what a disturbance did it bring upon poor David! It is
observed by many, that, search the whole course of David’s life, that which
he was most eminent in, which God did so bless him for and own him in, was
his love to the ordinances of God. And I cannot but think with what a full
heart David went to bring home the ark; with what longings after God; with
what rejoicings in him; with what promises to himself, what glorious things
there would be after he had the ark of God to be with him; — and yet, when
he went to do this, you know what a breach God made upon him, — dashed all
his hopes and all the good frame in him. God made a breach upon Uzzah; and
it is said the thing God did displeased David, — it quite unframed him, and
threw a damp on his joy and delight for the present. But he afterward
gathers it up,
This is what we have to offer to you concerning the two general propositions:— that there is a preparation required of us for the observance of all solemn ordinances; and that this preparation consists in a due regard to God, to ourselves, and to the ordinance, whatever it be; — to God, as the author, as the object, and as the end of ordinances; to ourselves, to remove that which would hinder, — not to regard iniquity, — to be self-abased in our hearts with respect to the infinite distance that there is between God and us, and with a love unto ordinances; with respect unto the ordinance itself, that it be of God’s appointment for the matter and manner. These things may help us to a due consideration whether we have failed in any of them or not.
I have mentioned nothing but what is plain and evident from the Scripture, and what is practicable; nothing but what is really required of us; such things as we ought not to esteem a burden, but an advantage: and wherein soever we have been wanting, we should do well to labour to have our hearts affected with it; for it hath been one cause why so many of us have laboured in the fire under ordinances, and have had no profit nor benefit by them. As I said before, conviction is the foundation. Custom is the building of most in their observation of ordinances. Some grow weary of them; some wear them on their necks as a burden; some seek relief from them, and do not find it; — and is it any wonder if this great duty be wanting, having neither considered God nor ourselves in what we go about? And, above all things, take heed of that deceit I mentioned (which is certainly very apt to impose itself upon us), that where there is a disposition in the person there needs no preparation for the duty. There was a preparation in those whom God broke out upon because they were not prepared according to the preparation of the sanctuary; that is, in that way and manner of preparation, — they had not gone through those cleansings which were instituted under the law.
Delivered January 21, 1669–70.
“But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of
that bread, and drink of that cup.” —
I have been treating, in sundry of these familiar exercises, about communion with Jesus Christ in that great ordinance of the Lord’s supper, intending principally, if not solely, the instruction of those who have, it may be, been least exercised in such duties. I have spoke something of preparation for it; and on the last opportunity of this kind, I did insist upon these two things:— that there is a preparation required unto the due observance of every solemn ordinance; and I did manifest what in general was required to that preparation. I have nothing to do at present but to consider the application of those general rules to the special ordinance of the supper of the Lord; for the special preparation for an ordinance consists in the special respect which we have to that ordinance in our general preparation: and I shall speak to it plainly, so as that the weakest who are concerned may see their interest in it, and have some guidance to their practice.
And there are two things which may be considered to this purpose:— the time wherein this duty is to be performed; and the duty of preparation itself.
I. The time of the performance of the duty; for that, indeed, regards as well what hath been said concerning preparation in general as what shall now be farther added concerning preparation in particular, with respect to this ordinance.
Time hath a double respect unto the worship of God, as a part of it (so it is when it is separated by the appointment of God himself), and as a necessary adjunct of those actions whereby the worship of God is performed; for there is nothing can be done but it must be done in time, — the inseparable adjunct of all actions.
And therefore, having proved that a preparation is necessary, I shall prove that there is a time necessary; for there can be no duty performed but it must be performed, as I said, in some time.
For the right stating of that, therefore, I shall give you these rules:—
1. That there is a time antecedent to the
celebration of this ordinance to be set apart for preparation unto it. The
very nature of the duty, which we call preparation, doth
inevitably include this, that the time for it must be antecedent to the
great duty of observing the
2. The second rule is this, — That there is no particular, set time, neither as to the day or season of the day, as to the beginning or ending of it, that is determined for this duty in the Scripture; but the duty itself being commanded, the time is left unto our own prudence, to be regulated according to what duty doth require: so that you are not to expect that I should precisely determine this or that time, this or that day, this or that hour, so long or so short; for God hath left these things to our liberty, to be regulated by our own duty and necessity.
3. There are three things that will greatly guide a man in the determination of the time which is thus left unto his own judgment, according to the apprehension of his duty:—
(1.) That he choose a time wherein the preparation of it may probably influence his mind and spirit in and unto the ordinance itself. Persons may choose a time for preparation when there may be such an interposition of worldly thoughts and business between the preparation and the ordinance, that their minds may be no way influenced by it in the performance and observation of the duty. The time ought to be so fixed, that the duty may leave a savour upon the soul unto the time of the celebration of the ordinance itself. Whether it be the preceding day, or whether it be the same day, the work is lost unless a man endeavours to keep up a sense of those impressions which he received in that work.
(2.) Providential occurrences and intimations are great
rules for the choosing of time and season for duties. Paul comes to
Athens,
(3.) Be sure to improve surprisals with gracious
dispositions; I mean, in the approach of solemn ordinances. Sometimes
the soul is surprised with a gracious disposition, as in
These things will a little direct us in the determination of the time for preparation; which is left unto our own liberty.
4. Take care that the time designed and allotted does neither too much intrench upon the occasions of the outward man, nor upon the weakness of the inward man. If it doth, they will be too hard for us. I confess, in this general observation which professors are fallen into, and that custom which is in the observation of duties, there is little need to give this rule. But we are not to accommodate our rule unto our corruptions, but unto our duties: and so there is a double rule in Scripture fortifies this rule. The one is that great rule of our Saviour, that “God will have mercy, and not sacrifice.” Where these duties of observing sacrifices do sensibly intrench upon duties of mercy, God doth not require it; which hath a great regard even unto our outward occasions. And the other rule is this, — that bodily exercise profits little. When we assign so long a time as wearies out our spirits, and observe the time because of the time, it is bodily exercise, when the vigour of our spirits is gone; which is a sacrifice God delights not in. As Jacob told Esau, if the cattle were driven beyond their pace they would die; so we find by experience, that though with strong resolutions we may engage unto duties in such a manner as may intrench upon these outward occasions or those weaknesses, they will return, and be too hard for us, and instead of getting ground, they will drive us off from ours: so that there is prudence to be required therein.
5. Let not the time allotted be so short as to be
unmeet for the going through with the duty effectually. Men may be
ready to turn their private prayers into a few ejaculations, and going in
or out of a room may serve them for preparation for the most solemn
ordinance. This hath lost us the power, the glory, the beauty of our
profession.
6. The time of preparation is to be extended and made more solemn upon extraordinary occasions. The intervention of extraordinary occasions must add a solemnity to the time of preparation, if we intend to walk with God in a due manner. These extraordinary occasions may be referred to three heads:— particular sins; particular mercies; particular duties:—
(1.) Is there an interveniency upon the conscience of any special sin, that either the soul hath been really overtaken with, or that God is pleased to set home afresh upon the spirit? — there is then an addition to be made unto the time of our preparation, to bring things to that issue between God and our souls that we may attend upon the ordinance, to hearken what God the Lord will now speak; and then he will speak peace. This is the first, principal, extraordinary interveniency that must make an addition to the time of preparation for this ordinance.
(2.) The interveniences of mercies. The ordinance hath the nature of a thank-offering, and is the great medium or means of our returning praise unto God that we can make use of in this world. And then are we truly thankful for a temporal mercy, when it engages our hearts to thank God for Christ, by whom all mercies are blessed to us. Hath God cast in any special mercy? — add unto the special preparation, that the heart may be fit to bless God for him who is the fountain and cause of all mercies.
(3.) Special duties require the like. For it being the solemn time of our renewing covenant with God, we stand in need of a renewal of strength from God, if we intend to perform special duties; and in our renewing covenant with God, we receive that especial strength for these special duties.
These rules I have offered you concerning the time of this
great duty of preparation which I am speaking unto; and I shall add one
more, without which you will easily grant that all the rest will fall to
the ground, and with which God will teach you all the rest; and that is,
be sure you set apart some time. I am greatly afraid of
customariness in this matter. Persons complain that, in waiting upon God
in that ordinance, they do not receive that entertainment at the hand of
God, that refreshment, which they looked for. They have more reason to
wonder that they were not cast out, as those who came without a “wedding
garment.” That is not only required of us, that we come with our wedding
garment, which every believer hath, but that we come decked with this
garment. A man may have
II. I shall now speak a little to the duty itself of preparation for that ordinance; remembering what I spake before of preparation in general unto all solemn ordinances, which must still be supposed.
Now, the duty may be reduced to these four heads:—
meditation; examination; supplication; expectation. And, if I mistake not,
they are all given us in one verse; and though not directly applied to this
ordinance, yet to this, among other ways, of our intimate communion with
Christ,
1. The first part of this duty of preparation consists in meditation; and meditation is a duty that, by reason of the vanity of our own minds, and the variety of objects which they are apt to fix upon, even believers themselves do find as great a difficulty therein as any.
I shall only mention those special objects which our thoughts are to be fixed upon in this preparatory duty; and you may reduce them to the following heads:—
(2.) The purity, the holiness, and the
severity of God, that would not pass by sin, when it was charged
upon his Son. “He set him forth,”
(3.) Would you have another object of your meditation in
this matter? — let it be the infinite wisdom and the infinite love of
God, that found out this way of glorifying his holiness and justice,
and dealing with sin according to its demerit. “God so loved the world,”
(4.) Let the infinite love of Jesus Christ himself
be also at such a season had in remembrance.
(5.) There is the end, what all this came to.
This guilt of sin, this holiness of God, this wisdom of grace, this love of
Christ; what did all this come to? Why, the apostle tells us,
Some may say, that they would willingly meditate upon these things, but they cannot remember them, they cannot retain them, and it would be long work to go through and think of them all, and such as they have not strength and season for.
I answer, — First. My intention is not to burden your memory or your practice, but to help your faith. I do not prescribe these things, as all of them necessary to be gone through in every duty of preparation; but you all know they are such as may be used, every one of them, singly in the duty; though they that would go through them all again and again would be no losers by it, but will find something that will be food and refreshment for their souls. But, —
Secondly. Let your peculiar meditation be
regulated by your peculiar present condition. Suppose, for
instance, the soul is pressed with a sense of the guilt of any sin, or of
many sins, let the preparative
I have one rule more in these meditations:— Doth any thing fall in that doth peculiarly affect your spirits, as to that regard which you have to God? — set it down. Most Christians are poor in experience, — they have no stock; they have not laid up any thing for a dear year or a hard time, — though they may have had many tokens for good, yet they have forgot them. When your hearts are raised by intercourse between God and yourselves in the performance of this duty, be at pains to set this down for your own use; if any thing do immediately affect your spirits, you will be no loser by it: it is as easy a way to grow rich in spiritual experiences as any I know. This is the first part of this duty of preparation; which, with the rules given, may be constantly so observed as to be no way burdensome nor wearisome to you, but very much to your advantage. The other duties I shall but name, and so have done.
2. There is examination. Examination is the word of my text, and that duty which most have commonly spoke unto, that have treated any thing about preparation for this ordinance. It respects principally two things, — namely, repentance and faith.
(1.) Our examination as to repentance, as far as it concerns preparation unto this duty, may be referred to three heads:—
[1.] To call ourselves to account whether indeed we have habitually that mourning frame of spirit upon us which is required in them who converse with God in the cross of Jesus Christ. “They shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and mourn.” There is an habitual mourning frame of spirit required in us; and we may do well to search ourselves about it, whether it is maintained and kept up or no, — whether worldly security and carnal joys do not devour it; for spiritual joys will not do it. Spiritual joys will take off nothing from spiritual mourning; but worldly security and carnal joy and pleasures will devour that frame of spirit.
[2.] Our examination as to repentance respects actual
sins, especially as for those who have the privilege and advantage of
frequent and ordinary participation of this ordinance. It respects the
surprisals that have befallen us (as there is no man that doeth good, and
sinneth not) since we received the last pledge of the love of God in the
administration
[3.] Whether we have kept alive our last received pledges of the love of God. It may be, at an ordinance we have received some special intimations of the good-will of God. It is our duty to keep them alive in our spirits; and let us never be afraid we shall have no room for more. The keeping of them makes way for what farther is to come. Have we lost such sensible impressions? — there is then matter for repentance and humiliation.
(2.) Examination also concerns faith; and that in general and in particular. In general:— Is not my heart hypocritical? or do I really do what in this ordinance I profess? which is, placing all my faith and hope in Jesus Christ, for life, mercy, salvation, and for peace with God. And in particular:— Do I stir up and act faith to meet Christ in this ordinance? I shall not enlarge upon these things, that are commonly spoken unto.
3. The third part of our preparation is supplication; that is, adding prayer to this meditation and examination. Add prayer, which may inlay and digest all the rest in the soul. Pray over what we have thought on, what we have conceived, what we have apprehended, what we desire, and what we fear; gather all up into supplications to God.
4. There belongs unto this duty expectation also; that is, to expect that God will answer his promise, and meet us according to the desire of our hearts. We should look to meet God, because he hath promised to meet us there; and we go upon his promise of grace, expecting he will answer his word, and meet us: not going at all adventures, as not knowing whether we shall find him or not. God may, indeed, then surprise us; as he did Jacob, when he appeared unto him, and made him say, “God is in this place, and I knew it not,” — but we go where we know God is. He hath placed his name upon his ordinances, and there he is. Go to them with expectation, and rise from the rest of the duties with this expectation.
This is the substance of what might be of use to some in reference unto this duty of preparation for this great and solemn ordinance, which God hath graciously given unto any of you the privilege to be made partakers of.
Delivered July 7, 1673.
“He said, … Take, eat.” —
I shall show briefly what it is to obtain a sacramental part of Jesus Christ in this ordinance of the Lord’s supper.
It is a great mystery, and great wisdom and exercise of faith lie in it, how to obtain a participation of Christ. When the world had lost an understanding of this mystery, for want of spiritual sight, they contrived a means to make it up, that should be easy on the part of them that did partake, and very prodigious on the part of them that administered. The priest, with a few words, turned the bread into the body of Christ; and the people have no more to do but to put it into their mouths, and so Christ is partaken of. It was the loss of the mystery of faith in the real participation of Christ that put them on that invention.
Neither is there in this ordinance a naked figure,
— a naked representation: there is something in the figure, something in
the representation; but there is not all in it. When the bread is broken,
it is a figure, a representation that the body of Christ was broken for us;
and the pouring out of the wine is a figure and representation of the
pouring of the blood of Christ, or the pouring forth of his soul unto
death. And there are useful meditations that may arise from thence;
I shall a little inquire into it, to lead your faith into a due exercise in it, under the administration of this ordinance:—
First. The exhibition and tender of Christ in this ordinance is distinct from the tender of Christ in the promise of the gospel. As in many other things, so it is in this:— in the promise of the gospel, the person of the Father is principally looked upon as proposing and tendering Christ unto us; in this ordinance Christ tenders himself. “This is my body,” saith he; “this do in remembrance of me.” He makes an immediate tender of himself unto a believing soul; and calls our faith unto a respect to his grace, to his love, — to his readiness to unite and spiritually to incorporate with us. Again, —
Secondly. It is a tender of Christ and an exhibition of
Christ under an especial consideration; — not in general, but under this
consideration, as he is, as it were, “newly” (so the word is)
“sacrificed;” The reference is to
Christ makes a double representation of himself, as the great Mediator, upon his death and the oblation and sacrifice which he accomplished thereby.
He presents himself unto God in heaven, there to do whatever remains to be done with God on our behalf, by his intercession. The intercession of Christ is nothing but the presentation of himself unto God, upon his oblation and sacrifice.
He presents himself unto God, to do with him what remains to be done on our part, — to procure mercy and grace for us.
He presents himself unto us in this ordinance, to do with us what remains to be done on the part of God; and this answers to his intercession above, which is the counterpart of his present mediation, to do with us what remains on the part of God, — to give out peace and mercy in the seal of the covenant unto our souls.
There is this special exhibition of Jesus Christ; and it is given directly for this special exercise of faith, that we may know how to receive him in this ordinance.
1. We receive him as one that hath actually
accomplished the great work (so he tenders himself) of making peace
with God for
Brethren, can we receive Christ thus? are we willing to receive him thus? If so, we may go away and be no more sorrowful. If we come short herein, we come short of that faith which is required of us in this ordinance. Pray let us endeavour to consider how Jesus Christ doth hereby make a tender of himself unto us, — as one that hath actually taken away all our sins, and all our iniquities, that none of them shall ever be laid unto our charge; and to receive him as such, is to give glory unto him.
2. He tenders himself as one that hath done this work by his death; for it is the remembrance of his death in a peculiar manner that we celebrate. What there is of love, what there is of efficacy, of power and comfort in that, what there is of security, I may have occasion another time to speak unto you. At present this is all I would offer:— that for the doing of these great things, for the doing the greatest, the hardest things that our faith is exercised about, — which are, the pardon of our sins, and the acceptation of our persons with God, — for the accomplishment hereof he died an accursed death; and that death had no power over him, but the bands of it were loosed, — he rose from under it, and was acquitted. Let us act faith on Jesus Christ as one that brings with him mercy and pardon, as that which was procured by his death; against which lies no exception. I could show you that nothing was too hard for it, that nothing was left to be done by it which we are to receive.
3. To be made partakers of him in this sacramental
tender, by submitting unto his authority in his institutions, by
assenting unto the truth of his word in the promise that he will be present
with us and give himself unto us, and by approving of that glorious way of
making peace for us which he hath trodden and gone in, in his sufferings
and [death] in our stead; — to get a view of Christ as tendering himself
unto every one of our souls in this ordinance of his own institution, as
him who hath perfectly made an end of all differences between God and us,
and who brings along with him all the mercy and grace that is in the heart
of God and in his covenant; — to have such a view of him, and so to receive
him by faith that it shall be life unto our
4. And lastly, in one word, faith is so to receive him as to enable us to sit down at God’s table as those that are the Lord’s friends, — as those that are invited to feast upon the sacrifice. The sacrifice is offered; Christ is the sacrifice, — God’s passover; God makes a feast upon it, and invites his friends to sit down at his table, there being now no difference between him and us. Let us pray that he would help us to exercise faith to this purpose.
Delivered November 2, 1673.
“Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just
for the unjust, that he might bring us to God; being put to death in the
flesh, but quickened by the Spirit.” —
You know I
usually speak a few words to prepare us for this ordinance. You know it is
an ordinance of calling to remembrance: “This do in remembrance of me.”
There was, under the Old Testament, but one sacrifice to call any thing to
remembrance; and God puts a mark upon that sacrifice, as that which was
not, as it were, well-pleasing unto him, but only what necessity did
require, and that was “the sacrifice of jealousy,”
Now, there are sundry things that we are to call to remembrance. I have done my endeavour to help you to call the love of Christ to remembrance. The Lord, I trust, hath guided my thoughts now to direct you to call the sufferings of Christ unto remembrance. I know it may be a suitable meditation to take up your minds and mine in and under this ordinance. It is our duty, in this holy ordinance, solemnly to call to remembrance the sufferings of Christ.
It is said of the preaching of the gospel, that Jesus
Christ is therein “evidently set forth crucified before our eyes,”
Well, shall I a little mind myself and you how we may and how we ought to call to remembrance the sufferings of Christ?
Let us remember that we ourselves were obnoxious
unto these sufferings. The curse lay doubly upon us. The
original curse, “In the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely
die,” lay upon us all. The consequent curse, “Cursed be every one who
continueth not in all things that are written in the book of the law to do
them,” that also lay upon us all: we were under both the original and the
consequent curse. We know what is in the curse, even all the anger and
wrath that a displeased holy God can and will inflict upon sinful creatures
to all eternity. In this state and condition, then, all lay upon us, and
all must lie upon us: unless we come to have an interest in the sufferings
of Christ, there is no relief for us. I will not insist upon calling to
your mind that heaven and earth, and all God’s creation combining together,
could not have procured relief for one of our souls. Christ, the Son of
God, offered himself, and said, “Lo, I come.” Indeed, it was a good saying
of David, it was nobly said, when he saw the angel of the Lord destroying
the people with a pestilence; “Lord,” saith he, “it is I and my father’s
house that have sinned; but as for these sheep,” these poor people, “what
have they done?” It was otherwise with Christ; he came in the place of
sinners, and said, “Let not these poor sheep die.” If God would, by faith,
give your souls and mine a view of the voluntary substitution of Jesus
Christ in his person in our room and on our behalf, it would comfort and
refresh us. When the curse of God was ready to break forth upon us, God
accepted of this tender, of this offer of Christ, “Lo, I come to do thy
will,” to be a sacrifice. And what did he do? Why this God did. Saith
he, “Then if he will come, if he will do it, let him plainly know how the
case stands: the curse is upon them, wrath is upon them, — punishment must
be undergone; my holiness, faithfulness, righteousness, and truth, are all
engaged.” Yet saith Christ, “Lo, I come.” Well, what doth God do? He
tells you,
1. He suffered all that the justice of God did
require. Hence it is said that “God set him forth to be a
propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for
the forgiveness of sins,”
2. The sufferings of Christ did answer the law of
God. That makes the next demand of us. The law is that which
requires our poor guilty souls to punishment, in the name of the justice of
God. Why, saith the apostle, “He hath redeemed us from the curse of the
law, being made a curse for us,”
3. He suffered every thing that was required to repair and make up the glory of God. Better you and I, and all the world, should perish, than God should be endamaged in his glory. It is a truth, and I hope God will bring all our hearts to say, “Christ hath suffered to make up that.” The obedience that was in the sufferings of Christ brought more glory to God than the disobedience of Adam, who was the original of the apostasy of the whole creation from God, brought dishonour unto him. That which seemed to reflect great dishonour upon God was, that all his creatures should, as one man, fall off by apostasy from him. God will have his honour repaired; and it is done by the obedience of Christ much more. There cometh, I say, more glory to God by the obedience of Christ and his sufferings, than there did dishonour by the disobedience of Adam; — and so there comes more glory by Christ’s sufferings and obedience upon the cross than by the sufferings of the damned for ever. God loses no glory by setting believers free from suffering, because of the sufferings of the Son of God. This was a fruit of eternal wisdom.
(1.) Let us by faith consider truly and really this great substitution of Jesus Christ (the just suffering for the unjust) in our stead, in our room, — undergoing what we should have undergone. The Lord help us to admire the infinite holiness, righteousness, and truth, that is in it. We are not able to comprehend these things in it; but if God enables us to exercise faith upon it, we shall admire it. Whence is it that the Son of God should be substituted in our place? Pray remember that we are now representing this infinite effect of divine wisdom in substituting Jesus Christ in our room, to undergo the wrath and curse of God for us.
(2.) Let us learn from the cross of Christ what indeed is in our sins; that when Christ, the Son of God, in whom he was always well pleased, that did the whole will of God, was in his bosom from all eternity, came and substituted himself in our room, “God spared him not.” Let not any sinner under heaven, that is estranged from Christ, ever think to be spared. If God would have spared any he would have spared his only Son. But if he will be a mediator of the covenant, God will not spare him, though his own Son. We may acquaint you hereafter what it cost Christ to stand in the room of sinners. The Lord from thence give our hearts some sense of that great provocation that is in sin, that we may mourn before him, when we look upon him whom our sins have pierced.
(3.) Will God help us to take a view of the issue of all this; — of the substitution of Jesus Christ, placing him in our stead, putting his soul in the place of our souls, his person in the place of our persons; — of the commutation of punishment, in which the righteousness, holiness, and wisdom of God laid that on him which was due unto us? What is the issue of all this? It is to bring us unto God, — to peace with God, and acquitment from all our sins; and to make us acceptable with the righteous, holy, and faithful God; to give us boldness before him; — this is the issue. Let us consider this issue of the sufferings of Christ, and be thankful.
Delivered February 22, 1673–4.
“They worshipped him; but some doubted.” —
It is the
table of the Lord that we are invited to draw nigh unto. Our Lord hath a
large heart and bountiful hand, — hath made plentiful
Something of these several frames may be in us all; yet it may be one is predominant, one is chief, — one in one, another in another: and therefore I will speak a few words distinctly to them all:—
1. There are sinners who are believers, who cannot get
their hearts and spirits affected with sin so as they ought, and so as
they desire. There is not a sadder complaint of the church, as I know, in
the whole book of God, than that,
(1.) Upon the dolorous sufferings of Christ, which are represented here unto us. Let us take a view of the Son of God under the curse of God.
(2.) Remember that all these sufferings were for us: “They shall look upon me whom they have pierced,” and then “mourn.” The acting of faith upon the sufferings of Christ, as one that suffered for us, is the great means, in this ordinance, to bring our hearts to mourn for sin indeed. Therefore, pray let us beg of God, whoever of us are in any measure under this frame, that our insensibleness of the guilt and burden of sin may be our great burden. Let us try the power of faith in this ordinance, by getting our hearts affected with the sufferings of Christ in our behalf. Let us bind it to our hearts and consciences; and may the Lord give a blessing!
3. There may be some that live in full satisfaction of
the pardon of their sins, and are solicitous how their hearts may be
drawn forth unto thankfulness and fruitfulness. Remember that place,
Delivered May 17, 1674.
“Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I
have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the
world.” —
By “the end of
the world” we are to understand the consummation of all things; when all
church work is done, and all church duties are over; when the time comes
that we shall pray no more,
There are three things whereby Christ makes good this promise, and is with his church to the end of the world:—
First. By his Spirit. “Where,” saith he, “two or
three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them,”
Secondly. Christ is present with us by his word.
Saith the apostle,
Thirdly. Christ is present with us in an especial
manner in this ordinance. One of the greatest engines that ever the
devil made use of to overthrow the faith of the church was, by forging
such a presence of Christ as is not truly in this ordinance, to
drive us off from looking after that great presence which is true.
I look upon it as one of the greatest engines that ever hell set on work.
It is not a corporeal presence; there are innumerable arguments
against that. Every thing that is in sense, reason, and the faith
of a man, overthrows that corporeal presence. But I will remind you of one
or two texts wherewith it is inconsistent. The first is that in
I will give you a word or two what is the presence of Christ with us in this ordinance, what is our duty, and how we may meet with Christ when he is thus present with us; which is the work I have in hand. Christ is present in this ordinance in an especial manner three ways:— I. By representation; II. By exhibition; III. By obsignation or sealing.
1. A representation of himself, as he is the food of our souls.
2. A representation of himself, as he suffered for our sins.
These are two great ways whereby Christ is represented as
the food of our souls in the matter of the ordinance; and Christ
as suffering for our sins, is represented in the manner of the
ordinance; both by his own appointment. The apostle saith,
II. Christ is present with us by way of
exhibition; that is, he doth really tender and exhibit himself
unto the souls of believers in this ordinance; which the world hath lost,
and knows not what to make of it. They [the symbols] exhibit that which
they do not contain. This bread doth not contain the body of
Christ, or the flesh of Christ; the cup doth not contain the blood
of Christ: but they exhibit them; both do as really exhibit them
to believers as they partake of the outward signs. Certainly we believe
that our Lord Jesus Christ doth not invite us unto this table for the
bread that perishes, for outward food: it is to feed our
souls. What do we think, then? doth he invite us unto an empty,
painted feast? do we deal so with our friends? Here is something really
exhibited by Jesus Christ unto us to receive, besides the outward pledges
of bread and wine. We must not think the Lord Jesus Christ deludes our
souls with empty shows and appearances. That which is exhibited is
himself; it is “his flesh as meat indeed, and his blood as drink indeed;”
it is himself as broken and crucified that he exhibits unto us. And it is
the fault and sin of every one of us, if we do not receive him this
day, when an exhibition and tender
1. We receive our food that it may incorporate and turn into blood and spirits, — that it may become one with us; and when we have so done, —
2. Our end and design is, that we may be nourished, nature strengthened, comforted, and supported, and we enabled for the duties of life.
Christ doth exhibit himself unto our souls, if we are not wanting unto ourselves, for these two things:— incorporation and nourishment; to be received into union, and to give strength unto our souls.
III. Christ is present in this ordinance by way of obsignation: he comes here to seal the covenant; and therefore the cup is called “The new testament in the blood of Christ.” How in the blood of Christ? It is the new covenant that was sealed, ratified, confirmed, and made so stable, as you have heard, by the blood of Jesus Christ. For, from the foundation of the world, no covenant was ever intended to be established, but it was confirmed by blood; and this covenant is confirmed by the blood of Christ; and he comes and seals the covenant with his own blood in the administration of this ordinance.
Well, if Jesus Christ be thus present by way of representation, exhibition, and obsignation, what is required of us, that we may meet him, and be present with him? For it is not our mere coming hither that is a meeting with Christ; it is a work of faith: and there are three acts of faith whereby we may be present with Christ, who is thus present with us:—
1. The first is by recognition, answering his
representation. As Christ in this ordinance doth represent his
death unto us, so we are to remember it and call it over. Pray consider
how things were done formerly in reference unto it. The paschal lamb was
an ordinance for remembrance: “It is a night to be had in
remembrance;” and this they should do for a remembrance. And it was to be
eaten with bitter herbs. There was once a year a feast, wherein all the
sins, iniquities, and transgressions of the children of Israel were called
to remembrance; and it was to be done by greatly afflicting of their souls.
If we intend to call to remembrance the death of Christ, we may do well to
do it with some bitter herbs; there should be some remembrance
of sin with it, some brokenness of heart for sin, with
respect to him who was pierced and broken for us. Our work is to call over
and show forth the death of Christ. Pray, brethren, let us a little
consider whether our hearts be suitably affected with respect to our sins,
which were upon Jesus Christ when he died for us, or no; lest
2. If Christ be present with us by way of exhibition, we ought to be present by way of admission. It will not advantage you or me that Christ tenders himself unto us, unless we receive him. This is the great work; herein lies the main work upon all the members of the church. When we are to dispense the word, the first work lies upon ministers; and when the work is sufficiently discharged, they will be a good savour unto God in them that believe, and in them that perish: but in this ordinance, the main work lies upon yourselves. If in the name of Christ we make a tender of him unto you, and he be not actually received, there is but half the work done; so that you are in a peculiar manner to stir up yourselves, as having a more especial interest in this duty, than in any other duty of the church whatsoever; and you may take a better measure of yourselves by your acting in this duty, than of us by our acting in the ministry. Let Christ be received into your hearts by faith and love, upon this particular tender that he assuredly makes in this ordinance of himself unto you; for, as I said, he hath not invited you unto an empty, painted feast or table.
3. Know what you come to meet him for; which is, to seal the covenant, — solemnly to take upon yourselves again the performance of your part of the covenant. I hope I speak in a deep sense of the thing itself, and that which I have much thought of. This is that which ruins the world, — the hearing that God hath made a covenant of grace and mercy; it is preached to them, and declared unto them, and they think to be saved by this covenant, though they themselves do not perform what the covenant requires on their part. What great and glorious words do we speak in the covenant, — that God gives himself over unto us, to be our God! Brethren, there is our giving ourselves unto God (to answer this) universally and absolutely. If we give ourselves unto the world, and to our lusts, and to self, we are not to expect any benefit by God’s covenant of grace. If it be not made up by our sealing of the covenant of grace, or by a universal resignation of ourselves, in all that we are and do, unto him, we do not meet Jesus Christ; we disappoint him when he comes to seal the covenant. “Where is this people,” saith Christ, “that would enter into covenant with me?” Let it be in our hearts to see him seal the covenant of grace as represented in this ordinance; and to take upon ourselves the performance of what is required of us, by a universal giving up ourselves unto God.
Delivered August 9, 1674.
I shall now produce some few places of Scripture, one especially, that may administer occasion unto you for the exercise of faith, the great duty required of us at this time. You may do well to think of these words of the prophet concerning Jesus Christ, concerning his sufferings and death, which we are here gathered together in his name to remember. They are, —
“He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall
be satisfied.” —
There are two things that the Holy Ghost minds us of in these words:— First. That Jesus Christ was in a great travail of soul to bring forth the redemption and salvation of the church. Secondly. He minds us that Jesus Christ was satisfied, and much rejoiced in the consideration of the effects and fruits of the travail of his soul. I shall speak a word to both, and a word to show you how both these things are called over in this ordinance, — both the travail of the soul of Christ and his satisfaction in the fruit of that travail.
First. Christ was in a great travail of soul to bring forth the redemption and salvation of the church. It was a great work that Christ had to do. It is usually said, “We are not saved as the world was made, — by a word,” but there was travail in it: it is the word whereby the bringing forth of children into the world is expressed, — the travail of a woman. And there are three things in that travail:— an agony of mind, outcrying for help, and sense of pain: all these things were in the travail of the soul of Christ. I will name the Scriptures, to call them to your remembrance:—
1. He was “in an agony,”
2. There was an outcrying for help,
3. There was pain in it, which is the last thing in
travail; so that
Secondly. It was a satisfaction, a rejoicing unto
the Lord Jesus Christ, to consider the fruits and effects of this travail
of his soul, which God had promised he should see. He was satisfied in the
prospect he had of the fruit of the travail of his soul. So the apostle
tells us,
In one word, both these things — the travail of the soul of Christ, and the satisfaction he took in the fruit of his travail — are represented unto us in this ordinance.
There is the travail of the soul of Christ to us, in the
manner of the participation of this ordinance, — in the breaking of the
bread, and in the pouring out of the wine, representing unto us the
breaking of the body of Christ, the shedding of his blood, and the
separation of the one from the other; which was the cause of his death.
Now, though these were outward things in Christ (because the travail of his
soul cannot be represented by any outward things, wherein the
Brethren, let us be able by faith, not only to look through these outward signs to that which makes the representation itself unto us, — the body and blood of Christ; but even with them and through them to the travail of the soul of Christ, — the work that he was doing between God and himself for the redemption of the church.
And here is also a representation made unto us of that satisfaction the soul of Christ received in the fruit of his travail, having appointed it in a particular manner to be done in remembrance of him. No man will appoint a remembrance of that which he doth not delight in. When Job had no more delight in his life, he desired that the time of his birth might never be remembered. When God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, whereby he exalted his glory, he appointed a passover, and said, “It is a day greatly to be remembered.’’ Because the people had a great deliverance, and God received great glory and great satisfaction; therefore it was greatly to be remembered. We are to celebrate this ordinance in remembrance of Christ; and therefore there is a representation of that satisfaction which Jesus Christ did receive in the travail of his soul: so that he never repented him of one groan, of one sigh, of one tear, of one prayer, of one wrestling with the wrath of God. It is matter of rejoicing, and to be remembered; and do you rejoice in the remembrance of it.
Again; it is apparent from hence, because this ordinance is in an especial manner an ordinance of thanksgiving: — the bread that is blessed, or which we give thanks for; the cup which is blessed; — Christ gave thanks. Now, if hereby we give thanks, it is to call to remembrance, not merely the travail of Christ’s soul, but the success of that travail; [that] hereby all differences were made up between God and us; hereby grace and glory were purchased for us, and he became the captain of salvation unto us.
To shut up all; here is, by Christ’s institution, bread and
wine provided for us; but it is bread broken, and wine poured out. There
are two things in it:— there is the weak part, that is Christ’s;
there is the nourishing part, that is given unto us. The Lord
Christ hath chosen by this ordinance to represent himself by these things
that
Delivered February 21, 1674–5.
We are met here to remember, to celebrate, and set forth the death of Christ, — to profess and plead our interest therein. And there are two things that we should principally consider in reference to ourselves, and our duty, and the death of Christ. The first is, the benefits of it, and our participation of them; and the second, is, our conformity unto it. Both are mentioned together by the apostle in
I shall speak a word or two (upon this occasion of remembering the death of Christ) unto the latter clause, — of our “being made conformable unto his death,” — wherein a very great part of our due preparation unto this ordinance doth consist; and for the furtherance whereof we do in an especial manner wait upon God in this part of his worship. Therefore I shall in a few words mind you wherein we ought to be conformable unto the death of Christ, and how we are advantaged therein by this ordinance.
We are to be conformable unto the death of Christ in the internal, moral cause of it, and in the external means of it.
The cause of the death of Christ was sin; the means of the death of Christ was suffering. Our being conformable unto the death of Christ must respect sin and suffering.
The procuring cause of the death of Christ was sin. He died for sin; he died for our sin; our iniquities were upon him, and were the cause of all the punishment that befell him.
Wherein can we be conformable unto the death of Christ with
respect unto sin? We cannot die for sin. Our hope and faith is, in and
through him, that we shall never die for sin. No mortal man
To be conformable unto the death of Christ as to the outward means, is to be conformable unto him in suffering. We here remember Christ’s suffering. And I am persuaded, and hope I have considered it, that he who is unready to be conformable unto Christ in suffering, was never upright and sincere in endeavouring to be conformable unto Christ in the killing of sin; for we are called as much to the one as to the other. Christ hath suffered for us, “leaving us an example,” that we should also suffer when we are called thereunto. And our unwillingness to suffer like unto Christ arises from some unmortified corruption in our hearts, which we have not endeavoured to subdue, that we may be like unto Christ in the mortification and death of sin.
There are four things required, that we may be conformable
unto
1. The first is, that we suffer for Christ,
2. It is required that we suffer in the strength of Christ; — that we do not suffer in the strength of our own will, our own reason, our own resolutions; but that we suffer, I say, in the strength of Christ. When we suffer aright, “it is given unto us in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but to suffer for him.” As all other graces are to be derived from Christ, as our head and root, stock and foundation; so, in particular, that grace which enables us to suffer for Christ must be from him. And we do well to consider whether it be so or no; for if it be not, all our sufferings are lost, and not acceptable to him. It is a sacrifice without salt, yea, without a heart, that will not be accepted.
3. It is required that we suffer in imitation of Christ, as making him our example. We are not to take up the cross but with design to follow Christ. “Take up the cross,” is but half the command; “Take up the cross, and follow me,” is the whole command: and we are to suffer willingly and cheerfully, or we are the most unlike Jesus Christ in our sufferings of any persons in the world. Christ was willing and cheerful: “Lo, I come to do thy will. I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how am I straitened till it be accomplished,” saith he. And, —
4. We are to suffer to the glory of Christ.
These are things wherein we ought to endeavour conformity to the death of Christ, that we now remember. I pray, let none of us trust to the outward ordinance, the performance of the outward duty. If these things be not in us, we do not remember the Lord’s death in right manner.
How may we attain the strength and ability from this ordinance, to be made conformable to his death? that we may not come and remember the death of Christ, and go away and be more unlike him than formerly?
There is power to this end communicated to us, doctrinally, morally, and spiritually.
There is no such sermon to teach, mortification of
sin, as the commemoration of the death of Christ. It is the greatest
outward instruction unto this duty that God hath left unto his church; and,
I am persuaded, which he doth most bless to them who are sincere. Do
There is a moral way whereby it communicates strength to us; because it is our duty now to engage ourselves unto this very work. Meeting at the death of Christ, it is our duty to engage ourselves unto God; and that gives strength. And I would beg of you all, brethren, that not one of us would pass through or go over this ordinance, this representation of the death of Christ, without a fresh obligation to God to abide more constant and vigorous in the mortification of sin: we all need it.
And lastly; a spiritually beholding of Christ by faith is the means to change us into the image and likeness of Christ. Beholding the death of Christ by faith, as represented to us in this ordinance, is the means to change us into his image and likeness, and make us conformable unto his death, in the death of sin in us.
(1.) Take this instruction from the ordinance:— as you believe in Christ, as you love him, as you desire to remember him, sin ought to be mortified, that we may be conformed unto him in his death.
(2.) That we do every one of us bring our souls under an engagement so to do; which is required of us in the very nature of the duty.
(3.) That we labour by faith so to behold a dying Christ, that strength may thence issue forth for the death of sin in our souls.
Delivered April 18, 1675.
I have
generally, on this occasion, fixed on something particular that
may draw forth and guide present meditation; but I shall at present enter
on what may be farther carried on, and speak a little to you about the
nature and use of the ordinance itself, in which, it may be, some of
us (for there are of all degrees and sizes of knowledge
All these things are clearly comprised, in reference unto this ordinance of the Lord’s supper, in those words of the apostle:—
“For I have received of the Lord that which also I
delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was
betrayed, took bread: and, when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said,
Take, eat; this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance
of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped,
saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye
drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and
drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till he come.” —
You have both the institution and the nature, the use and ends of this ordinance in these words; and I shall speak so briefly to them, and under such short heads, as those who are young and less experienced may do well to retain:—
First. There is the institution of it: “I received,” said he, “of the Lord;” and he received it on this account, that the Lord appointed it: and if you would come in faith unto this ordinance, you are to consider two things in this institution:—
2. In the institution of it there is also his love; which is manifested in the time of its appointment: “The Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed.” One would think that our Lord Jesus Christ, who knew all the troubles, the distresses, the anguish, the sufferings, the derelictions of God, which were coming upon him, and into which he was just now entering, would have had something else to think of besides this provision for his church. But his heart was filled with love to his people; and that love which carried him to all that darkness and difficulty that he was to go through, — that love at the same time did move him to institute this ordinance, for the benefit and advantage of his church. And this I shall only say, that that heart which is made spiritually sensible of the love of Jesus Christ in the institution of this ordinance, and in what this ordinance doth represent, is truly prepared for communion with Christ in this ordinance. O let us all labour for this in particular, if possible, that through the power of the Spirit of God, we may have some impressions of the love of Christ on our hearts! Brethren, if we have not brought it with us, if we do not yet find it in us, I pray let us be careful to endeavour that we do not go away without it. Thus you have what is to be observed in the institution itself, — the authority and the love of Christ.
Secondly. I shall speak to the use and ends of this ordinance; and they are three:— 1. Recognition; 2. Exhibition; 3. Profession.
1. Recognition; that is, the solemn calling over and remembrance of what is intended in this ordinance.
There is an habitual remembrance of Christ; what
all believers ought continually to carry about them. And here lies the
difference between those that are spiritual and those that are carnal:—
They all agree that Christians ought to have a continual remembrance of
Christ; but what way shall we obtain it? Why, set up images and pictures
of him in every corner of the house and chapel; that is to bring Christ to
remembrance. That way carnal men take for this purpose. But the way
believers have to bring Christ to remembrance, is by the Spirit of Christ
working through the word. We have no
Concerning this remembrance, we may consider two things:— (1.) What is the object of this remembrance or recognition; and, (2.) What is the act of it; — what we are to remember, and what is that act of remembrance that is acceptable to God in this ordinance.
(1.) What is the object of this remembrance. The object of this remembrance principally is Christ; but it is not Christ absolutely considered, it is Christ in those circumstances wherein he then was. “Do it in remembrance of me,” saith he; “as I am sent of God, designed to be a sacrifice for the sins of the elect, and as I am now going to die for that end and purpose, so do it in remembrance of me.” Wherefore, there are these four things that we are to remember of Christ as proposed in those circumstances wherein he will be remembered; and I will be careful not to mention any thing but what the meanest of us may bring into present exercise at the ordinance:—
[1.] Remember the grace and love of God, even the
Father, in sending Christ, in setting him forth, and proposing him to
us. This is everywhere mentioned in Scripture. We are minded of this
in Scripture, whenever we are called to thoughts of the death of Christ:—
Now, how does this ordinance guide us in calling this love
and grace of God to remembrance? Why, in this, in that it is in the way of
a furnished table provided for us. So God has expressed his love in this
matter,
[2.] Remember, in particular, the love of Jesus Christ,
as God-man, in giving himself for us. This love is frequently
proposed to us with what he did for us; and it is represented peculiarly in
this ordinance. “Who loved me, and gave himself for me,” says the apostle.
Faith
I think we are all satisfied in this, that in calling Christ to remembrance, we should in an especial manner call the love of Christ to remembrance. And that soul in whom God shall work a sense of the love of Christ in any measure (for it is past comprehension, and our minds and souls are apt to lose themselves in it, when we attempt to fix our thoughts upon it), — that he who is God-man should do thus for us, [will find that] it is too great for any thing but faith; which can rest in that which it can no way comprehend, if it go to try the depth, and breadth, and length of it, to fathom its dimensions, and consider it with reason: for it is past all understanding; but faith can rest in what it cannot comprehend. So should we remember the love of Christ, of him who is God-man, who gave himself for us, and will be remembered in this ordinance.
[3.] We shall not manage our spirits aright as to this first part of the duty (the end of the ordinance in recognition), unless we call over and remember what was the ground upon which the profit and benefit of the sufferings of Christ doth redound to us.
Let us remember that this is no other but that eternal
covenant and compact that was between the Father and the Son, that
Christ should undertake for sinners, and that what he did in that
undertaking should be done on their behalf, should be reckoned to them and
accounted as theirs. So our Saviour speaks,
Christ does that in our behalf which sacrifice and
burnt-offerings could not perform. We have this covenant declared at
large,
[4.] Remember the sufferings of Christ; this is a main thing. Now the sufferings of Christ may be considered three ways:— 1st. The sufferings in his soul; 2dly. The sufferings in his body; 3dly. The sufferings of his person in the dissolution of his human nature, soul and body, by death itself.
(1st.) The head of Christ’s sufferings was in the divine desertion, whence he cried, out, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” It is certain Christ was forsaken of God; he had not else so complained, — forsaken of God in his soul. How? The divine nature in the second person did not forsake the human; nor did the divine nature in the third person forsake the human, as to the whole work of sanctification and holiness, but kept alive in Christ all grace whatsoever, — all grace in that fullness whereof he had ever been partaker: but the desertion was as to all influence of comfort and all evidence of love from God the Father (who is the fountain of love and comfort), administered by the Holy Ghost. Hence some of our divines have not spared to say, that Christ did despair in that great cry, “My God, my God,” etc. Now, despair signifies two things:— a total want of the evidence of faith as to acceptance with God; and a resolution in the soul to seek no farther after it, and not to wait for it from that fountain. In the first way Christ did despair, — that is penal only; in the latter he did not, — that is sinful also. There was a total interception of all evidence of love from God, but not a ceasing in him to wait upon God for the manifestation of that love in his appointed time. Remember, Christ was thus forsaken that his people might never be forsaken.
(2dly.) There were sufferings positive in
his soul, when he was made sin and a curse for us, and had a sense of
the wrath and anger of God on his soul. This brought those
expressions concerning him and from him: “He began to be sore amazed, and
said, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death.” He was “in an
agony.” I desire no more for my soul everlastingly to confute that
blasphemy, that Christ died only as a martyr, to confirm the truth he
had preached, but the consideration of this one thing: for courage,
resolution, and cheerfulness, are the principal virtues and graces in him
who dies only as a martyr; but for him who had the weight of the
wrath of God and the curse of the law upon his soul, it became him to
be in an agony, — to sweat great drops of blood, — to cry out, “My
God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? which, The close of this
sentence is obscure, and hardly develops and completes the author’s
argument. If it were not too great a liberty with the text, the following
alteration might have been made, and seems to elicit the meaning designed
to be conveyed:— “[whereas] had he been called to [die] for nothing else
but barely to confirm the truth he had preached, he would have done [it]
without much trouble or shaking of mind.” It must be borne in mind that
these discourses were not only posthumous, but printed from notes taken by
the hearers of Owen. — Ed.
I shall not now speak of the sufferings in his body, which I am afraid we do not consider enough. Some poor souls are apt to consider nothing but the sufferings of his body; and some do not enough consider them. We may call this over some other time, as also the sufferings of his person in the dissolution of his human nature, by a separation of the soul from the body; which was also comprised in the curse.
“This do in remembrance of me.” What are we to remember? These are things of no great research; they are not hard and difficult, but such as we all may come up to the practice of in the administration of this very ordinance. Remember the unspeakable grace and love of God, in setting forth Christ to be a propitiation. Remember the love of Christ, who gave himself for us notwithstanding he knew all that would befall him on our account. Remember the compact and agreement between the Father and the Son, that what was due to us he should undergo, and the benefit of what he did should redound to us. Remember the greatness of the work he undertook for these ends, in the sufferings of his whole person, when he would redeem his church with his own blood.
(2.) One word for the act of remembrance, and I have done. How shall we remember? Remembrance in itself is a solemn calling over of what is true and past: and there are two things required in our remembrance; the first is faith, and the second is thankfulness.
[1.] Faith; so to call it over as to believe it.
But who does not believe it? Why, truly, brethren, many believe the
story of it, or the fact, who do not believe it to that advantage
for themselves they ought to do. In a word, we are so to believe
it as to put our trust for life and salvation in those things that we
call to remembrance. Trust and confidence belong to the essence of
saving faith. So remember these things as to place your trust in
them. Shall I gather up your workings of faith into one expression? — the
apostle calls it,
[2.] Remember, that among the offerings of old which were
pointed to shadow out the death of Christ, there was a
thank-offering;
“For I have received of the Lord,” etc. —
The last time I spake to you on this occasion, I told you that the grace of God and our duty in this ordinance might be drawn under the three heads of recognition or calling over, of exhibition, and of profession. The first of these I then spake unto, and showed you what we are to recognise or call over therein.
2. The second thing is exhibition and reception, — exhibition on the part of Christ, reception on our part; wherein the essence of this ordinance doth consist. I shall briefly explain it to you, rather now to stir up faith unto exercise than to instruct in the doctrine. And that we may exercise our faith aright, we may consider, — (1.) Who it is that makes an exhibition, that offers, proposes, and gives something to us at this time in this ordinance; (2.) What it is that is exhibited, proposed, and communicated in this ordinance; and, (3.) How or in what manner we receive it:—
(1.) Who is it that makes an exhibition? It is Christ himself. When Christ was given for us, God the Father gave him, and set him forth to be a propitiation; but in this exhibition it is Christ himself, I say, that is the immediate exhibiter. The tender that is made, of whatever it be, it is made by Christ. And as our faith stands in need of directions and boundaries to be given to it in this holy duty, it will direct our faith to consider Jesus Christ present among us, by his Spirit and by his word, making this tender, or this exhibition unto us. It is Christ that does it; which calls out our faith unto an immediate exercise on his person.
(2.) What is it Christ does exhibit and propose to us?
[1.] Not empty and outward signs. God never
instituted such things in his church. From the foundation of the world he
never designed to feed his people with such outward symbols. Those under
the Old Testament were not empty, though they had not a fullness like those
under the New. They had not a fullness, because they had respect to what
was yet to come and could not be filled with that light, that grace,
[2.] Does Christ give us his flesh and blood, taken in
a carnal sense. If men would believe him, he has told us a long time
ago, when that doubt arose upon that declaration of his [about] eating his
flesh and drinking his blood,
But then, what is it that Christ does exhibit, that we may exercise our faith upon? I say, it is himself as immediately discharging his great office of a priest, being sacrificed for us. It is himself, as accompanied with all the benefits of that great part of his mediation, in dying for us. May the Lord stir up our hearts to believe that the tender Christ makes unto us is originally and principally of himself; because all the benefits of his mediation arise from that fountain and spring, when God purchased the church with his own blood. A way this is which the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the wisdom of God, has found out and appointed, to make a special tender of his person to our souls, to be received by us. And he tenders himself, in the discharge of his mediation, in the most amiable and most glorious representation of himself to the soul of a sinner. Christ is glorious in himself, in all his offices, and in all the representations that are made of him in the Scripture unto our faith; but Christ is most amiable, most beautiful, most glorious to the soul of a believing sinner, when he is represented as dying, — making atonement for sin, making peace for sinners, as bearing our iniquities, satisfying the wrath of God and curse of the law, to draw out our hearts unto faith and love. Christ in this ordinance makes such a representation of himself, as bleeding for us, making atonement for our sins, and sealing the everlasting covenant: and he proposes himself unto us with all the benefits of his death, of that redemption he wrought out for us, — peace with God, making an end of sin, bringing in everlasting righteousness, and the like. I intend only to remind you of these things; for we are at a loss sometimes as to the exercise of faith in and under this duty.
3. There remains to be considered, reception; for
unless it be received, there is nothing done to any saving purpose.
Notwithstanding
There are two ways whereby we do receive Christ:— (1.) We receive him sacramentally, by obedience in church-order; and, (2.) We receive him spiritually and really by faith, or believing in him.
(1.) We receive him sacramentally. This consists in the due and orderly performance of what he has appointed in his word for this end and purpose, that therein and thereby he may exhibit himself to our souls. It doth not consist (as some have thought) in partaking of the elements; that is but one part of it, and but one small part. Our sacramental reception consists in the due observation of the whole order of the institution according to the mind of Christ.
(2.) We receive him by faith spiritually; and if we could rightly understand that special act of faith which we are to exercise in the reception of Christ, when he does thus exhibit himself to us, then should we glorify God, — then should we bring in advantage to our own souls.
I have but a word to say; and that is this, — it is that acting of faith which is now required of us which draws nearest unto spiritual, sensible experience. Faith has many degrees, and many acts; — some at a kind of distance from the object, in mere reliance and recumbency; and many other acts of faith make very near approaches to the object, and rise up to sensible experience. It should be (if God would help us) such an act of faith as rises up nearest to a sensible experience. It is that which the Holy Ghost would teach us by this ordinance, when we receive it by eating and drinking, which are things of sense; and things of sense are chosen to express faith wrought up to an experience. And they who had some apprehension hereof, — that it must be a peculiar acting of faith and rising up to a spiritual experience, — but finding nothing of the light and power of it in their own souls, gave birth to transubstantiation; that they might do that with their mouths and teeth which they could not do with their souls.
Faith should rise up to an experience in two things, — [1.] In representation; [2.] In incorporation:—
[1.] The thing we are to aim at, to be carried unto by faith in this ordinance, is, that there may be a near and evident representation of Christ in his tender unto our souls, — faith being satisfied in it; faith being in this matter the evidence of things not seen, making it exist in the soul, making Christ more present to the soul than he would be to our bodily eyes if he were among us, — more assuredly so. Faith should rise up to evidence in that near and close representation it makes of Christ in this exhibition of himself. And, —
[2.] Faith is to answer the end of eating and drinking,
which is incorporation. We are so to receive Christ as to receive him
into a spiritual incorporation, — that the flesh and blood of Christ, as
communicated
Delivered September 5, 1675.
I shall offer a few words to direct you in the present exercise of faith in this ordinance. I design no more but to give occasion to that particular exercise of faith which is now required of us, whereby we may sanctify the name of God in a due manner, give glory to him by believing, and receive establishment unto our own souls: and I would do it by minding you of that word of our Lord Jesus Christ in
What he means by his lifting up, the evangelist expounds in the next words, which are these, “This he said, signifying what death he should die.” So that the lifting up of Christ on the cross, is that which he lays as the foundation of his drawing sinners unto him. No sinner will come near to Christ unless he be drawn; and to be drawn, is to be made willing to come unto him, and to follow him in chains of love. Christ draws none to him whether they will or no; but he casts on their minds, hearts, and wills the cords of his grace and love, working in them powerfully, working on them kindly, to cause them to choose him, to come to him, and to follow him. “Draw me; we will run after thee.” The great principle and fountain from whence the drawing efficacy and power of grace doth proceed, is from the lifting up of Christ. Drawing grace is manifested in, and drawing love proceeds from, the sufferings of Jesus Christ on the cross.
But that which I would just mind you of at present is this,
that the look of faith unto Christ as lifted up is the only means
of bringing our souls near to him. Our faith is often expressed by
looking unto Christ:
Now, brethren, the end of this ordinance is, to lift up Christ in representation: as he was lifted up really on the cross, and as in the whole preaching of the gospel Christ is evidently crucified before our eyes, so more especially in the administration of this ordinance. Do we see, then, wherein the special acting of faith in this ordinance does consist? God forbid we should neglect the stirring up our hearts unto the particular acting of faith in Jesus Christ, who herein is lifted up before us. That which we are to endeavour in this ordinance is, to get a view by faith, — faith working by thoughts, by meditation, acting by love, — a view of Christ as lifted up; that is, as bearing our iniquities in his own body on the tree. What did Christ do on the tree? what was he lifted up for, if it was not to bear our sins? Out of his love and zeal to the glory of God, and out of compassion to the souls of men, Christ bore the guilt and punishment of sin, and made expiation for it. O that God in this ordinance would give our souls a view of him! I shall give it to myself and to you in charge at this time, — if we have a view of Christ by faith as lifted up, our hearts will be drawn nearer to him. If we find not our hearts in any manner drawn nearer to him, it is much to be feared we have not had a view of him as bearing our iniquities. Take, therefore, this one remembrance as to the acting of faith in the administration of this ordinance, — labour to have it fixed upon Christ as bearing sin, making atonement for it, with his heart full of love to accomplish a cause in righteousness and truth.
Delivered October 31, 1675.
To whet our minds, and lead us to a particular exercise of faith and love in this duty, I shall add a few words from that Scripture which I have already spoken something to upon this occasion, namely, —
This lifting up, as I said before, was the lifting up of Christ on the cross, when, as the apostle Peter tells us, “he bore,” or, as the word is, he carried up, “our sins in his own body on the tree.” Christ died for three ends:— 1. To answer an institution; 2. To fulfil a type; and, 3. To be a moral representation of the work of God in his death.
1. It was to answer the institution, that he
who was hanged on a tree was accursed of God,
2. Christ died that death to fulfil a type. For it was a bloody and most painful death, yet it was a death wherein a bone of him was not broken; typified of him in the paschal lamb, of which a bone was not to be broken. Christ was lifted up on the cross to fulfil that type: so that though his death was bitter, lingering, painful, shameful, yet not a bone was broke; that every one might have a whole Christ, an entire Saviour, notwithstanding all his suffering and rending on our behalf.
3. He was so lifted up that it might be a moral representation unto all; to answer that other type, also, of the serpent lifted up in the wilderness: so that he was the person that might say, “Behold me, behold me.” He was lifted up between heaven and earth, that all creatures might see God had set him forth to be a propitiation.
“And I, when I am lifted up,” — what will he then do? “When I have answered the curse, when I have fulfilled the types, when I have complied with the will of God in being a propitiation, ‘I will draw all men unto me.’ ” It is placed upon Christ’s lifting up. Now that is actually past; nor was it done merely while Christ was hanging on the cross. There are two ways whereby there is a representation made of Christ being lifted up to draw men unto him:—
2. It is represented in this ordinance of the Lord’s supper, wherein we show forth his death. Christ is peculiarly and eminently lifted up in this ordinance, because it is a peculiar and eminent representation of his death.
Now there are two ways of Christ’s drawing persons to himself:— 1. His way of drawing sinners to him by faith and repentance. 2. His way of drawing believers to him, as to actual communion with him.
Christ draws sinners to him by faith and repentance, as he is lifted up in the preaching of the word; and he draws believers to him, as unto actual communion, as by the word, so in an especial manner by this ordinance. I shall only speak a word on the latter, — how Christ is lifted up in this ordinance that represents his death unto us; or, how he draws us into actual communion with him.
1. He does it by his love. The principal thing
that is always to be considered, in the lifting up of Christ, is his love.
“Who loved me,” says the apostle, “and gave himself for me;” and, “Who
loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.” I could show you
that love is attractive, that it is encouraging and constraining. I will
only leave this with you: whatever apprehensions God in this ordinance
shall give you of the love of Christ, you have therein an experience of
Christ’s drawing you, as he is lifted up, unto actual communion with him.
It is of great concernment to you. Christ is never so lovely unto the soul
of a sinner as when he is considered as lifted up; that is, as undergoing
the curse of God, that a blessing might come upon us. O that he who has
loved us, and because he has loved us, would draw us with the cords of his
loving-kindness! as God says he does,
2. The sufferings of Christ in soul and body are
attractive of, and do draw the souls of believers to him. “They shall look
on me whom they have pierced, and mourn.” It is a look to Christ as
pierced for sin, under his sufferings, that is attractive to the souls of
believers in this ordinance; because these sufferings were for us. Call to
mind, brethren, some of these texts of Scripture; see what God will give
you out of them:— “He was made sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might
be made the righteousness of God in him.” “He was made a curse for us;”
and “he bore our sins in his own body on the tree;” and “died, the just for
the unjust, that he might bring us unto God.” If Jesus Christ be pleased
to let in a sense of his sufferings
3. Christ draws us as he is lifted up, by the effects of it. What was he lifted up for? It was to make peace with God through his blood: “God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself.” When? When “he made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin.” It is the sacrifice of atonement; it is the sacrifice wherewith the covenant between God and us was sealed. This is one notion of the supper of our Lord. Covenants were confirmed with sacrifice. Isaac made a covenant with Abimelech, and confirmed it with sacrifice; so it was with Jacob and Laban: and in both places, when they had confirmed the covenant with a sacrifice, they had a feast upon the sacrifice. Christ by his sacrifice has ratified the covenant between God and us, and invites us in this ordinance to a participation of it. He draws us by it to faith in him, as he has made an atonement by his sacrifice.
These are some of the ways whereby Christ draws the souls of believers unto communion with him in this ordinance, that represents him as lifted up:— by expressing his love, by representing his sufferings, and tendering the sealing of the covenant as confirmed with a sacrifice, inviting us to feed on the remainder of the sacrifice that is left to us, for the nourishment of our souls. O that he would cast some of these cords of love upon our souls! for if he should be lifted up, and we should not come, if we should find no cords of love cast upon us to draw us into actual communion, we should have no advantage by this ordinance.
How shall we come in actual communion unto Christ in this ordinance, upon his drawing? what is required of us? Why, —
1. We are to come by faith, to “receive the atonement,”
2. Faith comes and brings the soul to Christ as he is thus lifted up; but it is always accompanied with love, whereby the soul adheres to Christ when it is come.
3. It is to come with mourning and godly sorrow, because of our own sins. “Look unto him whom we have pierced, and mourn.” These things are very consistent. Do not think we speak things at random: they are consistent in experience, — that we should receive Christ as making an atonement, and have peace with God in the pardon of our sins, and nevertheless mourn for our own iniquities. The Lord give experience of them in your hearts!
Let us now pray that some of these cords wherewith he draws the souls of believers may be on our souls in this ordinance.
When we have opportunity of speaking to you on these occasions, it is for the direction of the exercise of your faith in this ordinance in a due manner. Here is a representation of the death of Christ; and there is in the word a representation of that which we should principally consider, and act faith with respect unto, in the representation that is made in this ordinance; and that is, of a blessed change and commutation that is made between Christ and believers, in the imputation of their sins unto him, and in the imputation of his righteousness unto them: and the principal part of the life and exercise of faith consists in a due consideration and improvement thereof. God taught this to the church of the Old Testament in the type of the offering of the scape-goat:—
“And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of
the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of
Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon
the head of the goat,” etc. —
Aaron was not only to confess all the sins and iniquities of the people over the head of the goat, but he was to put all their sins upon him. Here is a double act:— the confession of sin, which is, as it were, the gathering of all their sins together; and the putting of them on the goat, to give a lively representation of it unto faith. So God did instruct Aaron to the putting of the guilt of our iniquities typically upon the sacrifice, really upon Jesus Christ.
He doth not say, “He shall bear the punishment;”
but, “He shall take the sin itself” (that is, as to the
guilt of it), “and carry, it quite
The same exchange you have again in
The way to apply the benefits and advantage of this great
commutation to our souls, is in our minds, by faith, to [put our] seal to
these acts of God. Christ in the gospel, and especially in this ordinance,
is “evidently crucified before our eyes,”
Then the other act of God is, the imputation of the righteousness of Christ to us. It is not enough to us that our sins are all carried away into a land not inhabited; we stand in need of a righteousness whereby we may be accepted before God. He makes us to be the righteousness of God; we do not make ourselves so, but are made so by the imputation of the righteousness of Christ.
Our second act of faith, that God may stir us up unto in
this ordinance, is, to “receive the atonement.” So the apostle expresses
it,
Now, if the Lord will be pleased to stir up our hearts from under their deadness, — to gather them in from their wanderings, to make us sensible of our concern, to give us the acting of faith in this matter, that truly and really the holy God has laid all our iniquities upon Christ, and tenders to us life, righteousness, justification, and mercy by him, — we shall then have the fruit of this administration.
Delivered April 16, 1676.
I shall offer a few words, with a view to prepare our minds to the exercise of faith and communion with God in this ordinance: and because we ought to be in the highest exercise of faith in this ordinance, I shall take occasion from those words, which express as high an acting of faith, I think, as any is in the Scripture; I mean those words of the apostle in
Our inquiry now is, How we may act faith? It acts two ways:—
1. By way of adherence, — cleaving to, trusting and acquiescing in, God in Christ, as declaring his love, grace, and good-will in his promises. This is the faith whereby we live, whereby we are justified, — the faith without which this ordinance will not profit, but disadvantage us; for without this faith we cannot discern the Lord’s body, — we cannot discern him as crucified for us. This is that we are in an especial manner to examine ourselves about in reference to a participation of this ordinance; for self-examination is a gospel institution proper for this ordinance. And this is the faith whereby we are in Christ; without which a participation of the outward signs and pledges of Christ will not avail us. So, then, with faith thus acting, we are to be qualified and prepared unto a participation of this ordinance.
2. Another way by which faith ought to act in this
ordinance, is that of special application. “Who loved me, and
gave himself for me;” this is faith acting by particular application. I
hope the Lord has given us that faith whereby we may be prepared for this
ordinance. And now I am to inquire and direct you a little in that faith
which you may act in this ordinance. I say, it is this faith of special
application to our own souls that God now requires we should act; and I
prove it thus:— It is because in this ordinance there is a proposition,
tender, and communication of Christ to every one in particular.
In the promise of the gospel Christ is proposed indefinitely, to
all that believe; and so the faith I mentioned before (of acquiescence in
him) answers what is required of us by virtue of the promise in the gospel:
but in this ordinance, by God’s institution, Christ is tendered and given
to me and to thee, — to every one in particular; for it is by his
institution that the elements in this ordinance are
And then, moreover, one great end of the ordinance is, manifestly, that it requires the acting of faith in a particular way of application to every one of us. It is for a farther incorporation of Christ in our souls; it is for receiving Christ as nourishment, — as the bread that came down from heaven, — as giving his body and blood for spiritual food. Now every one knows, that whatever feasts be prepared in the world, unless every one in particular takes his own portion, and eats and digests it, it will not turn to nourishment unto him. This particular act of application answers that eating, drinking, and digesting, which the nature of the ordinance does require. So, brethren, this is that I aim at, — that it is our duty, in this ordinance, to act a particular faith as to the application of Christ and all his benefits, each one to his own soul.
You will say, then, “What is the special object of this special faith?” Truly that which the apostle tells us here; — it is special love, in the first place; and it is the special design of the death of Christ, in the next place: “Who loved me, and gave himself for me.” The object you ought to fix upon, in the exercise of this faith of application to your own souls, is the special love of Christ, — that Christ had a special love, not only to the church in general, but the truth is, Christ had a special love for me in particular. It will be a very hard thing for you or me to rise up to an act of faith that Christ hath a love for us in particular, unless we can answer this question, Why should Christ love you or me in particular? What answer can I give hereto, when I know he does not love all the world? I can give but this answer to it, Even because he would. I know nothing in me, or in any of you, that can deserve his love. Was there ever such a thing heard of, — that Christ should have a particular love for such as we are? would ever any person go and fix his love on a creature who was all over leprous? is this the manner of man? Truly, Christ would never have fixed his love upon any of our poor, defiled, leprous souls, but upon this one consideration, I know I can cleanse them, and I will. He loved us.
But what will he do with such deformed, polluted creatures as we are? Why, “he loved the church, and gave himself for it, that he might wash and purify it, and present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing.” Though we are altogether deformed and defiled, — though no example, no instance can be given, in things below, or among the creatures, of any fixing love on such as we are, yet Christ has done it out of sovereign grace; with this resolution, that he would cleanse us with his own blood, to make us fit for himself.
This special love of Christ is not only to be considered by
us, in this special acting of faith, as free and undeserved, but
it is to be considered as invincible, — that would break through
all oppositions, or whatever stood in the way, — that nothing should hinder
or turn him aside in his design of doing good to our souls. It is a
glorious pitch that the spouse rises to in
I speak on this manner, and of these things, to encourage
and direct the weakest and most unskilful in the mysteries of the gospel, —
to instruct them in the exercise of faith in this ordinance: and therefore
I say, that as this special faith (which I proved to you to be our duty in
this ordinance) is to respect the love of Christ; so it is to respect more
especially the peculiar acting of the love of Christ, whereby he
gave himself for us. Gave himself! how is that? Truly thus,
brethren, — the Lord help me to believe it! — that I stood before the
judgment-seat of God, charged with my original apostasy from him, and with
all the sins of my life, multiplied above the hairs of my head, and being
ready to perish, to have the sentence pronounced against me; then Christ
came and stood in my place, putting the sinner aside, and undertaking to
answer this matter: “Let the poor sinner stand aside a while. Come, enter
into rest; abide here in the cleft of the rock; I will undertake thy cause,
and plead it out at God’s judgment-
So Christ loved me, and gave himself for me. Everlasting rest and peace will dwell upon our souls, if the Lord will be pleased to help us to exercise faith on Christ’s love in this ordinance, wherein all these things are represented to us.
Delivered June 11, 1676.
“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet
not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh
I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for
me.” —
The apostle in this place is expressing the vigour, and indeed the triumph, of the life of faith: “Nevertheless I live.” To show the excellency of that life, says he, “Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me,” etc. That which I would to our purpose observe from these words is this, that the exercise of faith on the death of Christ — “Who loved me, and gave himself for me” — is the very life of faith. This is that we are now called to, — to the exercise of faith on the death of Christ. And I cannot more recommend it to you than by this observation, to show that the life of faith does greatly consist in this peculiar exercise of it upon the death of Christ. And that, —
1. Because Christ in his death, as the ordinance of God for the salvation of believing sinners, is the proper and peculiar object of faith as it justifies and saves. Now, when faith is in its exercise upon its direct, immediate, proper object, it is like a person that is feeding on his proper food, which gives refreshment, spirits, and strength; for faith and its object are in Scripture set out as an appetite and food; and especially it is so represented to us in this ordinance, where the spiritual food of our souls is conveyed to our faith under the symbol and representation of food to our bodies, which we eat and drink. Therefore, brethren, our faith is in its proper place, it is about its proper work, it is directing the soul to its special food, when it is exercised about the death of Christ as the ordinance of God for the salvation of sinners.
2. As the death of Christ is thus the immediate and direct
object
Now let us see, that we may know how to exercise faith therein, what are those properties of the divine nature which God designs to manifest and glorify in the death of Christ; that our faith may stand in and be fixed upon them. I find several things that God distinctly proposes of his divine excellency for our faith to fix upon in the death of Christ:—
(1.) His righteousness:
(2.) God designed to glorify his love. This is more particularly insisted on than any property of God in this matter. “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son.” “God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” There is no property of the nature of God which he doth so eminently design to glorify in the death of Christ as his love. That we may know that God is love, that the Father himself loves us, he has sent Jesus Christ, out of his eternal love, to save sinners; and if we have not due apprehensions of these things, it is not our appearing in this place that will give glory to God.
(4.) God designed to glorify his wisdom.
Now, let us gather up these things:— The special, ultimate object of faith, whereby we are justified, are those divine properties of God’s nature which he designed to manifest in the death of Christ, — his righteousness, his love, his grace, his wisdom.
The reason, therefore, why the life of faith does consist in its exercise on the death of Christ, is, because the death of Christ is the immediate, proper object of faith, as the ordinance of God for the salvation of sinners; and because the glorious properties of the nature of God, which are manifested in the death of Christ, are the ultimate object of our faith, wherein we give glory to him, and find rest to our own souls.
Let us, then, be called on and be stirred up to this exercise of faith upon this present occasion. And to that end, —
1. We might consider the deplorable condition of all our souls without this blessed provision and ordinance of God for our deliverance by the death of Christ. We had been in a deplorable condition, the wrath of God abiding on us, had not God made this a blessed way for our deliverance.
2. If you would be found acting faith in this matter, labour to come up to a firm, vigorous assent of your minds, not only that these things are true, but that this is the way wherein God will be glorified to eternity. The truth of it is, that person who is firmly satisfied and heartily pleased that this way of the death of Christ for the salvation of sinners, by the forgiveness of sin, is the way whereby God is and will be glorified; I say, that person is a true believer. Now, let not your assent be only to this thing, — that it is true that Christ came into the world to save sinners; but to this, — that this is the way whereby God is and will be glorified. He will be glorified in pardoning such guilty creatures as we are, in imputing righteousness to such sinners as we are. He is glorified in laying all our iniquities on Christ. By this way, his righteousness, his love, grace, and wisdom, are all manifested; this is God’s being glorified. If our souls come up to a free close with these things, that all these properties are manifested in this way, — that is an act of faith; and may the Lord help us unto it!
3. Let us gather up our minds to this institution,
whereby these
Delivered September 3, 1676.
You have been minded of, and instructed in, the nature and benefit of our love to God; and I shall take occasion thence a little to mind you of the love of Christ unto us, the love, in an especial manner, which he showed in dying for us; which is that we are here gathered together to remember and celebrate; not barely the death of Christ, but that which is the life of that death, — the love of Christ in his death. And I would ground it on that which the apostle speaks in
This is that which I know you all long for, and prize above life: “The loving-kindness of God is better than life.” Why so? “For,” says he, “when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.”
An apprehension of the love of Christ, as dying for us ungodly creatures, is that which is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost. Do not let your minds go upon uncertainties. When the Holy Ghost gives you a due apprehension of Christ’s love in dying for ungodly sinners, as we are, then is this love shed abroad in our hearts. The apostle there proceeds to show how great this love was, in that Christ died. He died, not for good men, and righteous men, and for friends; but he died for the ungodly, for sinners, and for enemies. This was great love, indeed. We are here to remember that love of Christ wherewith he gave himself to death for us when we were enemies, and would have continued so to eternity, had he not loved us, and given himself for us.
Brethren, if we barely remember the love of Christ in the
way of an ordinance, and our hearts be not powerfully affected with it, we
are in danger of being disadvantaged by our attendance. Pray remember it;
you know how plainly I use to speak on these occasions: I say, we have
frequent opportunities of remembering the love of
I will add one word more. According as our hearts are affected with the love of Christ, so will be our love to Christ, and no otherwise. And truly, even that faith which discovers too much selfishness is very dangerous. If we come here to act faith, to look for no other effect of it but what evidence and sense we have of the pardon of our own sins, — how our consciences may be quieted and cleared, — faith ends in self; it is dangerous, lest it should be only a branch from, and commensurate with, convictions. True faith, acting itself on Christ in this ordinance, will work by love unto Christ: I would not say, principally, or in the first place, — I know poor creatures are apt to look after themselves, and their own relief; but it will so work also. And truly, brethren, this it will not do, we shall not have faith working by love towards him, unless we have some sense of the love of Christ on our hearts.
How shall we know whether our hearts are under the powerful influence of the love of Christ in dying for us? Why, the love of Christ in dying for us has three properties with it, which will have an influence on our souls, if we are affected with it:—
1. It has a transforming power, property, and efficacy with it. They are plain truths I am speaking, but of great concern to our souls, to know whether we are affected with the love of Christ or not. If we are rightly affected with it, I say, it will transform and change our whole souls in some measure into the likeness of Christ. How so? I will tell you in the most familiar manner I am able:— If you are affected with the love of Christ, it lays hold upon and possesses your affections; the affections being possessed, stir up many thoughts; thoughts are the very image of the soul, represent it, to show you what the soul is: and those things concerning which your thoughts do most abound, they carry the frame of the soul. Let a man profess what he will, if his thoughts are generally conversant about earthly and worldly things, he has an earthly and worldly mind; and if [his] thoughts are conversant about sensual things, he has a sensual and carnal mind: for, whatever he may outwardly say, as he thinks, so is he; — there is the image and likeness of the soul.
Now, if we are affected with the love of Christ, it will
beget in our souls many thoughts of Christ, in our lying down and in our
rising up, in our beds, in our ways, on our occasions, as well as in
ordinances. If, indeed, our hearts are affected with the love of Christ,
our thoughts of Christ will abound; and those thoughts will work again on
our affections, and conform our souls more and more unto the image of Jesus
Christ. That man who thinks much of the earth,
If it has been thus with us, brethren, in our preparation for this ordinance, or at any time, that thoughts of Christ have not abounded, verily there has been a failing in us. Let us strive for the future to amend it, that we may find the love of Christ begetting in us many thoughts of him, working upon our affections, and, with a transforming power, changing the frame of our souls into his own likeness.
Again: 2. The love of Christ, if we are affected with it,
has an attractive power:
3. Whenever we are affected with the love of Christ, it is
accompanied with a constraining power,
I have no more to say, but only to tell you that we should labour to have our hearts affected with the love of Christ in this ordinance. I have showed you the danger if it be otherwise; and given you some ways to examine your hearts, whether they are so affected or not. The Lord grant that where they are, it may be increased; and where they are not, that God would renew it by his Spirit in us.
Delivered October 29, 1676.
We have had, through the providence of God, so good and so seasonable a word unto the present occasion, that there is no need, as well as but little time, to offer any thing farther unto you; yet a few words, in compliance with what we have heard, may not be altogether unseasonable or unuseful.
Our business and duty is, to set forth the sufferings and death of our Lord Jesus Christ, and therein principally to call to mind his love. What you have heard may very well occasion us to think of that passage of the apostle wherein he earnestly prays for them, —
This is a peculiar kind of expression. The meaning is, that we may know that experimentally, which we cannot know comprehensively; — that we may know that in its power and effects, which we cannot comprehend in its nature and depths. A weary person may receive refreshment from a spring, who cannot fathom the depths of the ocean from whence it doth proceed. And if we would have our hearts, in this ordinance, and at other times, affected with the love of Christ, which is the thing we are to aim at (to know his love, and to experience the power of it), it is of great advantage to us to consider that it is such a love as passes knowledge; that our faith, concerning it must issue in admiration, not comprehension.
I shall name two or three things that may give a little sense of this love as it passes knowledge.
1. The love of Christ is the fountain and spring of all
the glory
Again: 2. This love of Christ passes the comprehension
and knowledge of angels; and therefore Peter tells us, Owen seems desirous, by
this paraphrase, to express the full meaning of the original word, παρακύψα. — Ed.
3. It passes knowledge, in that the effects of it in Christ himself pass all our knowledge and comprehension.
To give but two instances:— (1.) His condescension to
assume our human nature passes all our comprehension. No man can
fully understand the mystery of the assumption of our nature into the
personal subsistence of the Son of God. Some dispute whether we shall
understand the mystery of the incarnation in
heaven; here we believe it. It is love which passes
knowledge, that the eternal Son of God
(2.) We cannot fully understand his passion and sufferings. God alone knows what is in the curse of the law; we do not know it. God alone knows what is the true desert of sin; it cannot be fully understood by any but himself. They who undergo it must suffer to eternity; there is no end, — they never see, never know, what sin deserved. How do we know, then, what Christ suffered, when the punishment due to our sin, when all our iniquities met upon him, with the curse of the law? God only knows what is in these things. The fruits and effects of this love in himself, in his incarnation and passion, are past our knowledge; therefore the love itself surpasses our knowledge.
4. Give me leave to say, the very fruits of it in ourselves do pass knowledge. No man that lives knows what there is in these three general heads of the fruits of Christ’s love, — in justification and pardon of sin, — in the renovation and sanctification of our natures, and in the inhabitation and consolations of the Holy Spirit. No man living can find out these things to perfection. None of us fully understands and comprehends what it is to be justified in the sight of God, to have sin pardoned, to have our natures renewed and transformed into the likeness of God, and to have the Holy Ghost dwell in us. The love of Christ, therefore, passes all knowledge; for the very fruits of it in ourselves are beyond what we can comprehend, — there is a greatness in them we cannot reach unto. Why, then, my brethren, let us labour to have our hearts affected with this love. If God would be pleased to give unto every one of us some sense and impression of the greatness of this love of Christ, glance it into our hearts, beam it upon us in this ordinance, — we should have cause to bless him all the days of our lives. The faith and light of it issue in admiration; the light of glory will bring us to comprehension. Let us have such a sense as may cause us to admire what we cannot now comprehend.
(1.) I could speak something, but I will not now, to the actings of faith in admiration; it being the proper nature of faith to issue itself in the admiration of that which is infinite. If we can get our souls up to a holy admiration of this love, we have some gracious sense of it upon our hearts, if we can go no farther.
(2.) Let us learn to run up all the mercies we are
partakers of, whatsoever it be we value, to the proper spring:
“Who loved me, and gave himself for me.” If we have any relief, or supply,
or refreshment of soul, in a sense of pardon of sin, in spiritual light or
consolation, pray let us exercise ourselves to run up all these things to
(3.) In this let us be ashamed, [that] seeing the love of Christ to us is such as passes our knowledge, our love to him is so weak, that sometimes we know not whether we have any or not. For this let us be greatly humbled. This is not the way to answer that love which passes knowledge, to know not whether we love Christ again or not. Let us be ashamed for our want of love.
And lastly, let us abound in praise and thanksgiving for his love, and all the fruits of it.
For my part, I do not know whether that vision in
Delivered February 18, 1676.
“And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” —
We are met here to remember the death of Christ, in the way and by the means that he himself hath appointed; and in remembering the death of Christ we are principally to remember the love of Christ: “Who loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.” And that which on our part is required herein is faith in Christ, who died for us; and love to Christ, who loved us so as, to give himself an offering and a sacrifice to God for us.
1. That which I would now observe is this (to make way for
the stirring up of our love), that the person of Christ is the
adequate, complete object of the love of God, and of the whole creation
that
The person of Christ is the first complete object of the love of God the Father. A great part (if I may so speak, and I must so speak) of the essential blessedness of the holy Trinity consists in the mutual love of the Father and the Son, by the Holy Ghost; which is the love of them both.
That which I would now take notice of, I say, as the
foundation of all, is this, — that the divine nature in the person
of the Son is the only full, resting, complete object of the love of God
the Father. I will give you a place or two of Scripture for it, and so go
on to another instance:
The sole reason why there is such a thing as love in the world among the creatures, angels or men, — that God ever implanted it in the nature of rational creatures, — was, that it might shadow and represent the ineffable, eternal love that the Father had unto the Son, and the Son unto the Father, by the Spirit.
Contemplative men of old did always admire love; wherein
they would have the life, lustre, and glory of all things to consist: but
they could never see the rise of it; and they traced some things
to this, — that God necessarily loved himself. And it is true, it cannot
otherwise be; but God’s loving of himself absolutely as God, is nothing
2. The person of Christ, as vested with our nature, and undertaking the work of mediation, is the first object of the Father’s love wherein there is any mixture of any thing without himself.
The first love of God the Father to the Son is that which we call ad intra, where the divine persons are objects of one another’s actings; — the Father knows the Son, and the Son knows the Father; the Father loves the Son, and the Son loves the Father; and so, consequently, of the Holy Ghost, the medium of all these actings.
But now, I say, the first act of the love of God the Father
wherein there is any thing ad
extra, or without the divine essence, is the person of
Christ considered as invested with our nature. And had not the love of God
been fixed in the first place in all things upon the person of Christ,
there would have been no redundancy to us, nor communication of love unto
us. From the first eternal love of God proceeds all love that was in the
first creation; and from this second love of God, to the person of Christ
as incarnate, proceeds all the love in the second creation. See how God
expresses it in a prospect of what he should be,
Truly, I shall not go beyond this foundation to manifest to you that the person of Christ is the complete, adequate object of the love of the Father. The great satisfaction of the soul of God, wherein he rests and delights, consists in love to Christ as incarnate.
I will make but this one inference from it:— proportionable to the renovation of the image and likeness of God upon any of our souls, is our love to Jesus Christ. He that knows Jesus Christ most, is most like unto God; for there the soul of God rests, — there is the complacency of God: and if we would be like to God, have pledges in ourselves of the renovation of this image upon us, it must be in the gracious exercise of our love to the person of Jesus Christ. And pray let me observe it to you, the world, that is full of enmity to God, doth not exercise its enmity against God immediately under the first notion of God, but exerciseth its enmity against God in Christ: and if we return to God by the renovation of his image, we do not exercise our love to God immediately as God, but our love to God by and in Christ: “That ye through him might believe in God.” Here is a trial, brethren, of our return to God, and of the renovation of his image in us, — namely, in our love to Jesus Christ. There God and man do meet, there God and his church above and below centre. The Lord grant that this ordinance may be the means to stir up our hearts more to the exercise of this grace!
Delivered July 8, 1677.
I shall speak to them who have a mind to be found performing their duty, but, it may be, it doth not occur to them what is particularly required of them. They are such as are least acquainted with this mystery that I would have most respect unto, that nothing of God’s provision in his house may be lost to his children for want of understanding aright to come to his table, where he makes this provision.
What shall I do that I may please God now, please Jesus Christ, and benefit my own soul, in the administration of this ordinance?
Why, — 1. Consider the institution of it, wherein we have the authority of Jesus Christ put forth and acting towards our souls: “This do in remembrance of me.” Labour, therefore, to bring your hearts into an actual obedience to the authority of Jesus Christ in what we are about. This the Lord Jesus doth require at our hands. We do not come here in a customary manner, to satisfy our convictions, because we ought to come; we do not come here merely to make use of our privilege; but our hearts are to bow to the authority of Jesus Christ. Consider, I pray you, the institution of this ordinance, and labour to bring your souls into actual obedience to Jesus Christ. We do it because Christ has required it of us. If our hearts are in that frame, that we are here upon the command of Christ, to do what he has appointed, and we can recommend our consciences unto him, that it is in obedience to his command that we are here, then our obedience is in exercise.
2. Consider the proposition that is made of Jesus Christ in this ordinance to us, that our faith may be in its proper exercise.
The Lord take off our hearts from the consideration of the
outward signs merely! Christ in his love, Christ in his bloodshed, agony,
and prayer, Christ in his death, is here proposed before us. “Ye do show
the Lord’s death.” Who proposes it? He that hath appointed these things
proposes it. And there is the engagement of the faithfulness of God and
Christ in this proposition and tender that is made of Jesus Christ; and it
is a peculiar way, and, as I could prove, full of love, that God hath found
out a way to propound Christ as dying, and crucified, to all our souls.
Therefore stir up your hearts to this. To every one of you there is, by
the grace and faithfulness of God, a proposal of Jesus Christ in his death,
and all the benefits of it, unto your souls. The whole question is,
whether you will stir up your hearts to a new and fresh receiving of Jesus
Christ, who is thus proposed and tendered unto you, evidently crucified
before your eyes, offered to you by the love and faithfulness of God? But
if we do not endeavour, every one of us, in the participation of this
ordinance, a fresh acceptance of Jesus Christ, we do what we can to make
God a liar, as though he was not tendered unto us. The especial exercise
of your faith in this ordinance is upon the love, grace, and faithfulness
of God, proposing and tendering of Christ unto you, — the death
3. As your obedience is required with respect to the institution (we give this account before God, angels, and men, that we are here in obedience to the command of our Lord Jesus Christ), and as faith is required with respect to the proposition of Christ, whereby he is evidently proposed and tendered by God unto us; so in this ordinance, to them that believe, there is an exhibition of Christ. Christ is really exhibited and communicated to the souls of men who exercise faith upon him in this ordinance, — really exhibited, with all the benefits of his death. And want of receiving by faith in particular Christ as exhibited and communicated in this ordinance, is the great ground of our want of profiting by it, and thriving under it, — of our want of receiving strength, joy, and life by it; because we do not exercise ourselves to the receiving of Christ as he is exhibited, as God doth really give him out and communicate him to them that do believe.
That there is such an exhibition of Christ, appears, — (1.) By the sacramental relation there is between the outward elements and the thing signified. “This is my body,” says Christ, — “this bread is so;” and, “This is my blood.” It is the body of Christ and the blood of Christ that we are invited to the participation of. If there was no more in this ordinance exhibited but only the outward elements, and not, by virtue of sacramental relation upon God’s institution, the body and blood of Christ, his life, and death, and merits, exhibited unto us, we should come to the Lord’s table like men in a dream, eating and drinking, and be quite empty when we have done; for this bread and wine will not satisfy our souls.
(2.) As it is plain, from the sign and the thing signified, that there is a grant or a real communication of Jesus Christ unto the souls of them that do believe; so it is evident from the nature of the exercise of faith in this ordinance. It is by eating and drinking. Can you eat and drink, unless something be really communicated? You are called to eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of man; unless really communicated, we cannot eat it nor drink it. We may have other apprehensions of these things, but our faith cannot be exercised in eating and drinking; which is a receiving of what is really exhibited and communicated. As truly, my brethren, as we do eat of this bread, and drink of this cup, which is really communicated to us; so every true believer doth receive Christ, his body and blood, in all the benefits of it, that are really exhibited by God unto the soul in this ordinance: and it is a means of communicating to faith.
We come to receive a crucified Christ, come to be made
partakers of the body and blood of the Lord, — to have the Lord Jesus
really united to our hearts more and more. The Lord open our hearts to
Delivered September 30, 1677.
We are met together again, by the patience and kindness of God, for the celebration of this great ordinance; and therein to show forth the death of the Lord.
I have often spoken to you on this occasion concerning the nature of this ordinance, the expression of the love of God and Christ that is in it, and the especial acts of faith and love that are required of us in this ordinance.
I have one word now, somewhat of another nature, but yet such as I judge not unseasonable; and it is to this purpose, that we, who so frequently enjoy the privilege of the representation of the death of Christ unto us, ought to be very diligent in inquiring after an experience of the power of the death of Christ in us. Without this, our privilege will not be to our advantage.
The power and efficacy of the death of Christ, which we now remember in a peculiar manner, is twofold:—
1. Towards God, as the consummation of the sacrifice of atonement. This we have often spoke to.
2. Towards our own souls and towards the
church; and that is, to be an example, a precedent, a pattern of
what is, to be wrought in us. In this sense the power of the death of
Christ, is its efficacy to [produce] conformity with Christ in his death.
It is to be “crucified with Christ,” as the apostle speaks,
1. We are always to carry about the dying of Jesus Christ in our thoughts and meditations. O that our thoughts were much fixed upon it! I verily believe that the life of faith doth answer in proportion to our thoughts about the dying of Jesus. The dying of Jesus compriseth the love from whence he died, the death itself he died, and the end for which he died. Let us carry about us always thoughts hereof, for his sake who loved us, and who died for us. Meditate more on these things.
2. In our conversation. It is not a time to reflect upon any, unless I did it upon myself. But truly, brethren, I am afraid we do not carry about and manifest to all the dying of the Lord Jesus in our conversation; or perform all things so as it may appear and be made manifest to ourselves and others that our hearts are set upon his dying love, and that we have not such quick, such active and vigorous affections to the world and the things of the world, nor that fury of diligence after them and in them, as other men have, and we have had; we cannot do it, — the dying of the Lord Jesus crucifies our hearts. These are hard words, I know; — how far from our practice! But if we live not in an endeavour after it, in all things to manifest that our hearts are full of the dying of the Lord Jesus, we have not experience of the power of it in our souls. These things depend on one another. If we dwelt more upon this subject in our meditations, we should manifest it, and carry it about and represent it more in our conversation.
3. Carry it about, in a constant endeavour for conformity to Jesus Christ in all things in his death. Did Christ die, and shall sin live? Was he crucified in the world, and shall we have quick and lively affections to the world? O where is the temper and spirit of that apostle who, by “the cross of Christ, was crucified to the world, and the world crucified to him”? If there be any among us that should be indulgent to the life of any one lust or corruption, that soul can have no experience of the power of the death of Christ in himself, — cannot carry about him the dying of Christ. Endeavour to destroy sin, that we may be like unto Christ.
I will not make particular application of these things to
all the concerns of our walk, but leave it with you with this word; begging
Delivered September 20, 1682.
It is a
common, received notion among Christians, and it is true, that there is a
peculiar communion with Christ in this ordinance, which we have in no other
ordinance; that there is a peculiar acting of faith in this ordinance,
which is in no other ordinance. This is the faith of the whole church of
Christ, and has been so in all ages. This is the greatest mystery of all
the practicals of our Christian religion, — a way of receiving
Christ by eating and drinking, — something peculiar, that is not
in prayer, that is not in the hearing of the word, nor in any other part of
divine worship whatsoever, — a peculiar participation of Christ, a peculiar
acting of faith towards Christ. This participation of Christ is not
carnal, but spiritual. In the beginning of the ministry
of our Lord Jesus Christ, when he began to instruct them in the
communication of himself and the benefit of his mediation to believers,
because it was a new thing, he expresses it by eating his flesh, and
drinking his blood,
We may inquire, therefore, how faith doth peculiarly act itself towards Christ in this ordinance, whereby we have a distinct participation of Christ, otherwise than we have by and in any other ordinance whatsoever. And I would mention four things unto you, which you may make use of:—
All other ordinances draw upon the light of nature and upon the moral law, as prayer, preaching the word, and singing of psalms to the praise of God; but this, that we should receive Jesus by eating of bread and drinking of wine, it has no respect to the light of nature or the moral law at all: and we should as soon choose to honour God by sacrifices and eating the flesh of them, if it were not for the authority of Jesus Christ. Herein doth faith give honour to Christ in his kingly office. This is the most direct profession of the subjection of our souls and consciences to the authority of Christ in all our religion. We can give no other reason, we can take no allusion from things, but merely this, — Christ would have it so.
2. Faith hath a peculiar respect to the love of Christ in dying for us, making the atonement for us by his blood, and therein the glorifying of the wisdom, love, and grace of God the Father. Faith is led into special communion with Christ as dying for us to make the atonement; and therein we give glory to Christ in his priestly office in a peculiar manner in this ordinance, it respecting the sacrifice of Christ, whereby he made atonement for us.
3. Faith hath respect to this special manner of the exhibition of Christ to the souls of believers, under the outward signs and symbols of bread and wine, by his institution making such a sacramental union between the thing signified and the sign, that the signs remaining to be what they are in themselves, they are unto us the thing that is signified, by virtue of the sacramental union that Christ hath appointed between his body and blood and the benefits of it: and this bread and wine, though not changed at all in themselves, yet they become to us, by faith, not what they are in themselves, but what is signified by them, — the body and blood of Christ. Herein we give glory to Christ in his prophetical office. It is he who has revealed, taught, and instructed his church in this truth, which depends on the sacramental union which follows by his institution. That is the third thing wherein faith peculiarly acts itself in this ordinance.
4. The fourth thing is, the mysteriousness; which
I leave to your experience, for it is beyond expression, — the
mysterious reception of Christ in this peculiar way of exhibition.
There is a reception of Christ as tendered in the promise of the
gospel; but here is a peculiar way of his exhibition under
outward signs, and a mysterious reception of him in them, really, so as to
come to a real substantial incorporation in our souls. This is that which
believers ought to labour after an experience of in themselves, — to find
that indeed, under these four considerations, they submit to the authority
of Jesus Christ in a peculiar manner, giving him the glory of his
kingly office;
I have mentioned these things as those which lie in your practice, and to obviate that (if I may mention it) which you may be tried with. There is but one plausible pretence that our adversaries, who design to oppress us, have in this business: “If,” say they, “there be not a real presence and a real substantial transmutation of the elements into the substance of the body and blood of Christ, show you a way whereby you may have a peculiar communion with Christ, any more than in the word preached.” We say, we have in these things experience of a peculiar communion with Christ, in a way made proper to this ordinance, which is not to be found in any other ordinance.
Three Discourses Suitable to the Lord’s Supper.
In 1798 a volume was published in Edinburgh under the title, “The Lord’s Supper fully Considered, in a Review of the History of its Institution; with Meditations and Ejaculations suited to the several parts of the Ordinance: to which are prefixed Three Discourses delivered at the Lord’s Table; by the Late Rev. John Owen, D.D.” It needs but a glance at the three discourses in order to feel assured, from internal evidence, that they belong to Owen. The rest of the volume is assuredly not Owen’s, as it consists of “Remarks on the ‘Plain Account,’ ” etc., — a work published long after our author’s death. These remarks are directed against a treatise of the celebrated Hoadly, bishop of Bangor, and latterly of Winchester. His treatise bears the title, “A Plain Account of the Nature and End of the Lord’s Supper,” and was published in 1735. An answer to it was published by Thomas Brett, LL.D., an English divine and controversialist; but whether his answer is identical with the “Remarks,” we have failed to ascertain. The three discourses subjoined are not of much importance, but as they have already appeared in print, we include them in this edition. — Ed.
June 8, 1673.
Faith is
bounded, in every ordinance, by its objects and acts. The general object
of saving faith respecting God, is the truth of his word and promises,
First, The personal love of Christ to our persons, from
whence it was that he died for us. So saith the apostle, “Who loved me,
and gave himself for me,”
Secondly, The sufferings of Christ. In this ordinance we
are to act faith upon his death, as therein undergoing the punishment due
Thirdly, The effects of Christ’s death; which were, the
making an atonement for all our sins, — the making peace between God and
our souls, bringing in everlasting righteousness. Under the law we find
that “the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling
the unclean, sanctified to the purifying of the flesh,” and that the people
were thereby legally cleansed; “how much more shall the blood of Christ,
who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge
our conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”
The acts of faith in this ordinance are, first, recognition. That faith which is exercised on the death of Christ, that is past, is to call it over, and make it present to the soul. It is to realize it and bring it before us. It is not a bare remembrance of it, but such a one as makes it present. And where there is faith, there is the same advantage to a believing soul in the participation of this ordinance as there would have been if we had stood by the cross.
Secondly, Faith works by reflecting to humiliation. “They shall look on him whom they have pierced, and mourn” for all their unkindness and unthankfulness to their Saviour. And when we come to this work in this ordinance, self-abasement, self-abhorrence, and brokenness of heart, will be acted, and flow forth in abundance of love to Jesus Christ.
Thirdly, Another act of faith in this ordinance is, thankfulness to God for his wisdom and grace in contriving this way of our salvation; and thankfulness to Christ, in whom was this mind, that, “being in the form of God, and thinking it not robbery to be equal with God, he took upon him the form of a servant, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross,” that he might save us from our sins. If the Lord be pleased to lead us to act faith in any of these things, in some signal and eminent manner, we shall find an advantage in this ordinance.
July 6, 1673.
To help you in the exercise of faith in the administration of this ordinance, I would briefly show what it is to have a sacramental participation of Jesus Christ.
There is, indeed, a figure or representation in this ordinance; but that is not all. When the bread is broken, it is a figure, a representation, that the body of Christ was broken for us; but there is also a real exhibition of Christ unto every believing soul. This is distinct from the tender of Christ in the promises of the gospel. In the promises, the person of the Father is particularly looked upon as proposing and tendering Christ to us. In this ordinance, as God exhibits him, so Christ makes an immediate tender of himself, and calls our faith to have respect to his grace, to his love, and to his readiness to unite and spiritually incorporate with us. He tenders himself to us not in general, but under a special consideration, — namely, as having “made an end of sin,” and done all that was to be done between God and sinners, that they might be at peace.
Christ made a double presentation of himself, as the great mediator; — first, when he offered himself a sacrifice on the cross, for the accomplishing the work of man’s redemption; secondly, when he presented himself to God in heaven, there to do whatever remained to be done with God on our behalf by his intercession. The intercession of Christ is the presentation of himself to God upon his oblation and sacrifice. He presents himself to God, to do with him what remains to be done on our part, — to procure mercy and peace for us; and he presents himself to us in this ordinance (which answers to that intercession of Christ above, and is a counterpart of it) to do what remains to be done on the part of God, — to give in peace, and mercy, and the sealed covenant to us.
There is this special exhibition or tender of Jesus Christ; and this directs to a special exercise of faith, that we may know how to receive him in this ordinance. And, first, let us receive him as one that hath actually accomplished the great work of making peace with God for us, blotting out our sins, and bringing in everlasting righteousness; secondly, as one that hath done this work by his death. It is a relief when we have an apprehension that Christ can do all this for us: but he does not tender himself to us as one that can or will do it, upon such and such conditions as shall be presented, but as one that hath done it; and so we must receive him if we intend to glorify God in this ordinance, — namely, as having blotted out all our sins, and purchased for us eternal redemption.
August 10, 1673.
To a due attendance on this ordinance it is requisite not only that we be in a spiritual frame, but that we endeavour to bring and fix our hearts to some special thoughts with respect to this special ordinance; wherein the principal act on the part of God, and the principal act on our part with respect to Christ, are gloriously represented. The great act of God with reference to Christ is the exhibiting of him. God did two ways exhibit Christ:—
First, There was, as I may call it, on the part of God, a
legal exhibition of Christ, mentioned by the apostle,
Secondly, He doth exhibit Jesus Christ in the promises of
the gospel. And it might be with some respect to this ordinance that the
gospel invitations, which have the nature of promises, were in the Old
Testament set forth by eating and drinking:
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Joshua
1 Kings
2 Kings
1 Chronicles
2 Chronicles
Psalms
16:6 16:10 16:11 18:2 22:1 22:12-21 26:6 32:8-9 40:6 40:6-7 40:6-8 40:12 66:18 84 93:5
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
Song of Solomon
Isaiah
25:6 27:5 33:14 33:17 42:1 45:22 50:5-6 50:7-9 53:5-6 53:6 53:7 53:10-11 53:11 55:1 57:15 63:17 65:1
Jeremiah
Ezekiel
Zechariah
Malachi
Matthew
3:17 3:17 17:5 18:20 27:62 28:17 28:20
Luke
John
1:12 1:18 3:14-15 3:16 3:16 3:33 3:35 4:21 5:20 6:52 6:53 12:32 12:32 12:32 14:24 16:7 17
Acts
Romans
3:25 3:25 3:25 3:25 3:25 3:25 3:25 3:25-26 5:5 5:8 5:11 5:11 5:11 6:5 6:6 8:32 8:32 10:10 10:10 14:11 15:8 15:30-31
1 Corinthians
1:24 10:16 10:16 11:23-26 11:23-26 11:24 11:24 11:24-25 11:26 11:26 11:28 11:28
2 Corinthians
3:18 4:10 5:14 5:21 5:21 8:9 9:13
Galatians
2:20 2:20 2:20 2:20 2:20 2:20 3:1 3:1 3:1 3:1 3:1 3:13 3:13 3:13 3:13-14 3:13-14
Ephesians
1:6 1:6 1:8 1:10 3:10 3:10 3:17 3:19
Philippians
Colossians
Hebrews
2:13 2:14 5:7 9:13-14 9:16 10:5 10:10 10:20 12:2 12:2 12:28-29
1 Peter
2 Peter
1 John
Revelation
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