Page images
PDF
EPUB

for the inflitution itself. We fhould bear upon our minds, that the king is prefent at his own entertainment, "Who is "greatly to be feared in the affemblies of his faints, and to be "had in reverence of them that are about him." Let us come before him in the celebration of this lacrament, with "reverence and godly fear."

Thirdly, we fhould attend upon this duty with hungering and thirsting defires. "The defires of our fouls must be towards "the Lord and the remembrance of his name." To have communion with God, and to defire none upon earth befides him, is a fweet and comfortable state of mind. It brings heaven as it were into this world. And a special bleffing is pronounced upon all fuch. "Bleffed are they who hunger and "thirst after righteoufnefs for they fhall be filled." Let our defires be enlarged to-day. Let us feel fuch exercifes as poffelfed the Pfalmift when he faid, "I ftretch forth my hands Funto the; my foul thirfteth after thee, as a thirsty land. O "God, thou art my God, early will I feek thee; my foul thirst"eth for thee; my fleth longeth for thee,-to fee thy power and "thy glory,-that my foul may be fatisfied as with marrow "and fatnefs." Bleffed feelings, bleffed fpiritual breathings, and bleffed experiences. O that ours may be of a fimilar nature, and that all the defires of our hearts may be gratified at

this feafon.

Fourthly, let us approach this ordinance with elevated and exalted expectations. That faith in the beloved which enlarges the defires alfo raifes hopes, and matures them like Abraham's to an holy confidence. You are not led to day to fummer brooks, which difappoint the weary traveller, and as it is faid in Job, "Crfumed out of their place." But this ordinance directs you to living fountains, which iffue forth unfailing Arcams to everlafling life.-Let each communicant say to his fol; Draw near to the table of love, thy Redeemer has inftituted the feaft, and he has promifed for thee," abudently above

U

hat thou canst afk or think." Remember, O christain, your Saviour gives liberally and upbraids not, he gives like a king, yea, like a God, all things richly to enjoy.

However you may bow your heads at his table, let your. hearts afcend to heaven and all its glories, with full and affured expectation that all these will be yours and that forever. Remember the provifion in this feaft is Chrift, his atonement, his righteoufnefs, and all his benefits. What can you with, expect and hope for that will not be granted? Remember all is yours, earth is yours, life and death are yours, things present and things to come are yours, heaven is yours, and to comprehend all poffible blefings in one word, "God is yours." Surely you are not fit for the table of the Lord, if your fouls can expect or with for more.

Laftly, would we attend this divine inftitution to our comfort and edification, and in a worthy and acceptable manner, it must be performed in the exercifes of faith, love, humility, repentance, and in purposes of future obedience.

Faith is an effential grace of the chriftain life. We muft hereby look unto Chrift at all times, live upon him, deriving influence and communications from him, and depend upon him for fpiritual ftrength for the right performance of every duty, and in a particular manner to look unto him that he would enable us to keep this feast, that his death may be shown forth, his glory, and our own peace and happiness promoted. When we receive the facred elements, let our hearts ref on the trength of the Lord for affiftance that we may present and confecrate ourselves to him, a living, holy and acceptable facrifice. By faith let us live, by faith let us die, by faith let us obferve the holy communion, until we fhall enter into the perfest communion, of the celeftial regions.

The exercifes of divine love are of the higheft confequenss in every matter of a religious nature. Without love no religion. Without love no worthy participation of the facred fupper. Without love no union to Chrift-no favour of God -no peace of confcience-no well grounded hope of eternal glory. Did Christ love his church in such a manner, and to fuch a degree, as to fhed his most precious blood, and expire on the cross, on Calvary's hill, and fhall not a flame of fupreme love be kindled in our fouls to him ?--Shall we behold him exhibited in this ordinance in all the agonies and fufferings of his dying love, his body broken and his blood. poured forth, and fhall not our fouls, while we fit around his table, afcend on the wings of ardent affection to him?

Befides faith and love, we ought to draw near to this ordiance in humility, godly forrow and evangelical repentance. The greater nearnels to God, the more we are exalted in priviliges, the more we will feel our unworthiness, and the deeper will be our abafement before him. Angels veil their -faces in his prefence; Abraham proftrated himself on the ground; and David sat down astonished when the Most High · conferred honors upon him, and cried out, "Who am I, O "Lord God, and what is mine houfe, that thou haft brought "me hitherto?" True repentance and a Godly forrow becomes us at this facred board. Here we fhould look on him whom we have pierced by our fins, and mourn as he that mourns for an only begotten fon, and bewail ourselves in bitterness, as he who is in bitterness for a first born child. Here, tears of repentance, love, gratitude and pleasure ought freely to flow. -And all our graces and exercises ought to be accompanied with purposes and firm refolutions of future and perfevering. obedience. Our resolutions ought to be fuch as to exclude all future revocation. He who puts his hand to the plough, muft not look back. The Ifraelite who has paffed the red sea muf ever long for the defh pots of Egypt. Our cars must be nai.

led to the door polts of the temple of the Lord with full pur poles of heart to be his fervants forever Let the glory of God be our chief end, his unerring word our rule, the blood of the lamb our fupport and confolation, the Holy Ghoft our guide, counsellor and director, and this refreshing ordinance, the covenant of grace, and its promifès, be unto us the bread of life and the water of life, till we thall be introdu. ced to the felicities of the celestial itate.

Various and important are the ufes of inftruction, reproof, comfort and direction which flow from this fubject, of which I mult now only hint at a few.

!' . . .

First, we ought to lament the awful proneness of our hearts to neglect God and forget the bleed Saviour. This is matter of deep contrition, mourning and forrow. O that our heads were waters and our eyes a fountain of tears, that we might weep day and night over our failings, infirmities and forgetfulness.

Secondly, let our fouls blefs the Lord for the wonders of his patience, forbearance and long fuffering. Tho' we are apt to be unmindful of him who agonized in the garden, he con tinually and unremittingly remembers us. Our remembrance often intermits, but his never flumbers, no fleeps. Wherefore let our fouls blefs the Lord, and refolve no more to forget his benefits.

Thirdly, how acceptable to Chrift is the approach of his dear people to his fupper, in an holy, believing, humble and affectionate remembrance of him, in all his fufferings, humiliation and exaltation. He rejoices over them in an extacy of delight, faying, "I am come into my garden, my filter, my "fpoufe; I have gathered my myrrh with my fpice; I have

eaten my honey comb with my honey: I have drunk m wine with my milk; eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink al "bundantly, O beloved."

A brief fentence of counsel fhall relieve your attention at prefent:-Let us attend this folemn duty of our holy religion for the reafons and in the manner which has now been de lineated. You will find herein, peace of confcience, joy in the Holy Ghoft and an increase of grace. If you never remembered Chrift in a proper manner before, let this be the day in which this blessed work will begin. It is never too late to begin in well doing. Gather in every wandering thought; compofe your fouls into a spirit of devotion; let a reverential awe of a prefent Saviour, in all his wounds, bleeding at every pore, pollefs your hearts; hunger, thirst and long after great meatures of holiness; raife your hopes, elevate your expectations, and with faith, love, humility, repentance of fin and purposes of new obedience, take the holy fymbols and remember God your Saviour. Remember him in his life, remember his agony in the garden, remember his cruel mockings in the High Priest's hall, his tremendous fcourgings when the plowers plowed upon his back and made long and deep their furrows; remember him on the crofs, when fufpended between heaven and earth, and forfaken by both; his friends and difciples forfook him; his God hid his face from him; a darkness involved the world, fuch as never was before, nor fince, and the final diffolution of nature will hardly create fuch another. The fun ceafed to fhine, the moon had no rays, all nature was convulfed; earthquakes broke up the marble tombs; the dead started into life; the veil of the temple of God rended. afunder, and in this awful crifes, in the laft ftruggle of atonement for man, he cries, " My God, my God, why haft thou "forfaken me ?"

Now hall we not remember this bleffed and dying Saviour?

« PreviousContinue »