Chapter XIV: Front Matter (14)

No reference is made in the text to the water of baptism, any more
than to the knife of circumcision in the preceding verse. The writer
is speaking of that baptism, and of that alone, in which we “are risen
with Christ, through the faith, which is the operation of God.” This
certainly can be nothing less than _spiritual_ baptism, or
regeneration; for the most violent advocate for dipping, or plunging,
or burying, will not pretend, that this, necessarily, is connected
with “faith;” he will allow it may be _possible_ for a man to be
plunged and buried in _water_, and yet not have “the faith, which is
the operation of God.” If he allow this, and allow this he must and
will, then our text is no support of his cause. It cannot be water
baptism which is mentioned.

Were not this the fact, nothing could be inferred respecting the
_mode_ of baptism. It would then only signify that, as Christ was
buried and separated from the world; so we in baptism are buried and
separated from a world of sin. The zeal for the literal construction
of this figure may, perhaps, be extinguished by indulging it in other
instances. St. Paul says, “I am crucified with Christ.” Would any
person suppose from this, that he had been led to Calvary, nailed to
the cross, and pierced by the soldier’s spear? Christians are said to
be “circumcised in Christ.” Does any one infer from this that all
Christians experience the bloody rite of the Jews? Or, because
Christians “are partakers of Christ’s sufferings,” are all christians,
therefore, betrayed by Judas, spit upon, buffeted, and crowned with
thorns? Or, because St. Paul says the Philippians were his “_crown_,”
were they, therefore, formed into a crown of honor, and worn as a
badge of future glory? Or, because the sacrament represents the
sufferings and death of Christ, are all worthy communicants crucified?
Were our baptist brethren consistent with themselves, such would be
their explanation of these passages of scripture.

It immediately follows our text; “wherein also you were risen with him
through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from
the dead.” Wherein, or in which baptism “we are risen,” actually
“risen with Christ by the faith” which God gives to the new creature.
You, who have this spiritual baptism, rise like Christ above the
selfish motives, and sensual pursuits of a fallen world. You seek the
kingdom of God; you aspire after divine good.

Persons, born again, like Jesus Christ, separate their hearts from the
world, and rise to a divine life. That this is the only true
construction of the text, may be inferred from a corresponding
passage, Rom. vi. 4. “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into
death, that like as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of
the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” By
spiritual baptism we partake the privileges of Christ’s death. By
dying to sin ourselves, as we do in the new birth, we resemble Jesus
Christ in his death, who died “to make an end of sin.” As Christ was
raised from the grave; so we, not in water baptism, but in
regeneration or spiritual baptism, are “raised” to walk in newness of
life. Old things are done away; _all_ things are become new. If we
have experienced this spiritual baptism, we shall have the Spirit of
Christ, We shall be separate from the world of sin, as Christ was in
the grave, and we shall like him rise to a holy, a new life. We obey a
new master, seek a new way of salvation, act from new motives, to
accomplish new designs; we choose new companions, experience new
sorrows, and new joys. As if buried, we are separate from our former
lives.

St. John says, “He [Christ] shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and
with _fire_.” The Selucians and Hermians understood this literally,
and maintained that material fire was necessary in the administration
of baptism. Valentinus, like our baptists, rebaptized those, who had
received baptism out of the sect, and _drew them through the fire_.
Herculian, cited by Clemens Alexandrinus, says that some applied a red
hot iron to the ears of the baptized. St. Paul says, we are buried
with Christ in baptism. This also has been understood literally; but
such persons forget that to be consistent, on their plan, they should
continue “buried” three days and three nights, the time Christ lay in
the earth. Should any object that this would drown them, the baptist,
in his way of treating figures, would have an easy answer, and readily
prove that drowning was the very design of baptism. Rom. vi. 4. “We
are buried with him by baptism into his death.” We are not merely
buried, for this is only a part, any more than sprinkling; but we are
buried to death, “buried into his death.” Thus he has scripture for
drowning all whom he baptizes, and precisely as much scripture for
drowning, as for burying. The very same passage, might he say, which
commands burying, commands drowning, commands “death.”

In the present mode of plunging, the resemblance is almost entirely
lost. What is the difference between laying a dead body in a rock,
covering it with a great stone; sealing it in a solemn manner; all
things continuing in this state, three days and three nights, what is
the resemblance between this, and suddenly plunging a living body into
water, and instantly lifting it out of the water? What possible
likeness is there between a _living person_ in the _water_, and a
_dead body_ in a _rock_? The similitude is little better than that of
the blind man, who supposed the light of the sun was like the noise of
a cannon. We have accordingly endeavoured to show in the introduction,
that the elegant scholar, the christian orator of Tarsus, had no
thought of any such resemblance; his object was to show, that in
regeneration or spiritual baptism, which is followed “with newness of
life,” or, a new life, “through faith which is the operation of God,”
we are dead and buried to sin, and raised or made alive to God, as
Christ was. The evident design of the text is to illustrate the
preceding verse, which speaks of spiritual circumcision made without
hands. This _baptism_ is that by which we are _raised with Christ_;
but in water baptism we are not always raised with Christ. If men are
plunged they may generally be raised from the water; but this has no
necessary connexion with “rising with Christ.” This baptism is also
effected “through faith which is the operation of God;” but a man may
be raised out of an ocean of water, every day of his life, and remain
destitute of faith; therefore, the text has no reference to water
baptism.

REV. E. PARISH’S SERMON.

Quest. CLXVII.

QUEST. CLXVII. _How is baptism to be improved by us?_

ANSW. The needful, but much neglected duty of improving our baptism,
is to be performed by us all our life long; especially in the time
of temptation, and when we are present at the administration of it
to others, by serious and thankful consideration of the nature of
it, and of the ends for which Christ instituted it, the privileges
and benefits conferred and sealed thereby, and our solemn vow made
therein, by being humbled for our sinful defilement, our falling
short of, and walking contrary to the grace of baptism and our
engagements, by growing up to assurance of pardon of sin, and of all
other blessings sealed to us in that sacrament, by drawing strength
from the death and resurrection of Christ, into whom we are
baptized, for the mortifying of sin, and quickening of grace, and by
endeavouring to live by faith, to have our conversation in holiness
and righteousness, as those that have therein given up their names
to Christ, and to walk in brotherly love, as being baptized by the
same Spirit, into one body.

In this answer we may observe,

I. That our baptism, together with the engagements which we are therein laid under to be the Lord’s, is to be improved by us; though this duty be too much neglected. That it ought to be improved is evident, inasmuch as it is an ordinance, or means of grace, for our attaining spiritual blessings; therefore we are not only guilty of a sinful neglect, but we lose the advantage that might be expected thereby, if we do not improve it so as to answer the valuable end thereof; and when we consider it as a professed dedication to God, as has been before observed, or a bond and obligation laid on us, to be entirely, and for ever, his, it cannot but be reckoned the highest affront offered to the divine Majesty, and a being unstedfast in his covenant, for us practically to disown the engagement, or, in effect, to deny his right to us. Now, it is farther observed, that this duty is much neglected, and the reason hereof is,

1. Because many have very low thoughts of this ordinance, and understand not the spiritual intent or meaning thereof, nor what it is to improve it. These reckon it no more than an external rite, established by custom, and commonly observed in a Christian nation, without duly weighing the end and design for which it was instituted, or what is signified thereby.

2. Others suppose, that there is nothing in it but a public declaration, that the person baptized is made a Christian, or has that character put upon him; but they know not what it is to be a Christian indeed, being utter strangers to the life and power of religion, and the spiritual blessings hoped for, or, through the grace of God, consequent upon our baptismal dedication.

3. Others have, indeed, right apprehensions of the sign and the thing signified thereby, yet through the prevalency of corruption, and the pride and deceitfulness of their hearts, they do not fiducially give up themselves to God, nor desire the spiritual and saving blessings of the covenant of grace. These therefore do not improve their baptism; and, it is to be feared, that this is the condition and character of the greatest number of professors: Which leads us to consider,

II. How baptism is to be improved by us, and that in several cases,

1. When we are present, at the administration of it to others. We are not, indeed, at that time, so immediately concerned in the ordinance, as the person who is publicly devoted to God therein. Nevertheless, we are not to behave ourselves as unconcerned spectators; and therefore,

(1.) We are to join herein with suitable acts of faith and prayer, as the nature of the ordinance calls for them, and to adore the persons of the Godhead whose name and glory is mentioned therein. And we are to apply ourselves to God, for the grace of the covenant, that is signified thereby, that he would be our God, as well as the God of the person who is particularly given up to him in baptism. We are also to bewail the universal depravity of human nature, and that guilt which we bring with us into the world, which is signified in infant-baptism; and this, together with the habits of sin, which we have contracted, is confessed by those who are baptized when adult, which we cannot but see a great deal of, in our daily experience. We ought also to entertain becoming thoughts of the virtue of the blood of Christ, and of the power of the Holy Ghost, which alone can take away the guilt of sin, and render this ordinance effectual to salvation; which we are not only to desire with respect to the person baptized, but that we ourselves may be made partakers of that grace, which we equally stand in need of.

(2.) We ought to confess before God, with sorrow and shame, how defective we have been, as to the improvement of our baptismal engagements; so that, though we have been devoted to him, our hearts and affections have been very prone to depart from him; and we ought to adore and acknowledge the goodness and faithfulness of God, in that, though we have been unstedfast in his covenant, through the treachery and deceitfulness of our hearts; yet he has been ever mindful thereof, and made good the promises contained therein, to all his servants who have put their trust in him.

2. Our baptism is to be improved by us in the time of temptation, in order to our resisting it, and preventing our being entangled and overcome thereby.

(1.) If the temptation takes its rise from the world, or we are thereby induced to lay aside, or be remiss in our duty to God, from the prosperous circumstances in which we are therein, we should consider, that in having been devoted to God in our infancy, or given up ourselves professedly to him, when adult, it has been intimated and acknowledged, that he is our portion, better to us than all we can enjoy in the world; and therefore we ought to acquiesce in him as such, and say, _Whom have I in heaven but thee; and there is none_, or nothing, _upon the earth that I desire besides thee_, Psal. lxxiii. 25.

Moreover, if we are tempted to be uneasy, and repine at the providence of God, by reason of the many evils that befal us in the world, we ought to consider, that when we were given up to God, this implied in it an obligation to be content to be at his disposal, and to be satisfied with whatever he allots for us, as not questioning the care and justice of his providence, in which we were under an indispensable obligation to acquiesce. Therefore when God tries us, by bringing us under various afflictions, our baptismal engagement obliges us to say, It is the Lord, let him do with us what seemeth good in his sight.

(2.) If we are exposed to the temptations of Satan, or those inward suggestions, whereby sinful objects are presented to our thoughts, and a false gloss put upon them, to induce us to a compliance therewith, we are to improve our baptismal engagement, by considering that it contains a solemn acknowledgment of God’s right to us, exclusive of all others: therefore, we cannot but dread the thoughts of submitting to be vassals to Satan, which is, in effect, to disown that allegiance which we owe to God, and to say, that other lords shall have dominion over us. This will have a tendency to induce us to adhere stedfastly to God, as the result of our having been devoted to him in this ordinance.

And if we are afraid of being ensnared by those wiles and methods of deceit, which Satan often makes use of, that are not always discerned by us, we are to consider ourselves as having been devoted to Christ; and, pursuant thereunto, if we have, in any instance, improved this solemn transaction, we have given up ourselves to him, in hope of being under his protection, and interested in his intercession, so that though we are _sifted as wheat_, our _faith_ may _not fail_, Luke xxii. 31, 32.

Moreover, when we are assaulted, and, as it were, wounded with Satan’s fiery darts, whereby great discouragements are thrown in our way, the guilt of sin magnified, as though it were unpardonable, and the stain and pollution thereof such, as can never be washed away: And when we are ready to conclude from hence, that our state is hopeless, and the comforts we once enjoyed, irrecoverably lost; this is, indeed, an afflictive case. Nevertheless, our baptism is to be improved by us, as considering that remission of sins was the blessing desired and hoped for, inasmuch as it was signified thereby; so that we are to be sensible that the blood of Christ cleanseth from all sin; and that, as we were given up to him, in hope of obtaining this privilege, and have been enabled since then, to give up ourselves to him by faith, and therein to improve our baptismal engagement; we therefore trust, that he will appear for us, rebuke the adversary, establish our comforts, and enable us to walk as those, who desire to recommend his grace to others, that they may be encouraged to adhere to him, by the comfortable sense which we have of his love shed abroad in our hearts, by the Holy Ghost.

3. Our baptismal engagement is to be improved by us, before and after we are brought into a converted state.

(1.) Unregenerate persons are to improve it, as it should afford them matter of deep humiliation, that though they have been devoted to God, and thereby were called by his name, and made partakers of the external blessings of his covenant; yet they have been alienated from the life of God, and strangers to the internal saving blessings thereof. There was a profession made, in baptism, that they stood in need of Christ’s mediation, to deliver them from the guilt of sin, and of being cleansed from the pollution thereof, which is of a spreading nature; but they have, notwithstanding, given way to it; and, how _pure_ soever they have been _in their own eyes, are not yet washed from their filthiness_, Prov. xxx. 12. Now such may take occasion from hence to plead earnestly with God for converting grace; which is the only means whereby they may know that he has accepted of their solemn dedication to him; or that they are not only born of water, but of the Spirit; and are made partakers of the thing signified in baptism, without which, the external sign will not afford any saving advantage. We may also plead with God, that as we are professedly his, he would assert his own right to us, overcome us to himself, and make us _willing in the day of his power_, Psal. cx. 3.

(2.) Our baptismal engagement is constantly to be improved by us, if we are brought into a state of grace, in order to the growth and increase thereof; especially if we are sensible of great declension therein, or that it is not, in all respects with us, as it once was; if we are sensible of deadness and stupidity, in holy duties, and stand in need of being quickened, excited, and brought into a lively frame of spirit, or to be restored after great back-slidings; if we would have sin mortified, and the secret workings thereof in our heart subdued, we ought to consider, that having been _baptized into Jesus Christ_, we were _baptized into his death_; and that we are obliged hereby to _walk in newness of life_; therefore _sin should not reign in our mortal bodies_, Rom. vi. 3, 4, 12. And as we hope and trust, that we are made partakers of the saving blessings signified in this ordinance, we desire to improve the relation we stand in to Christ, as his people, as a matter of encouragement, that when we are oppressed, he will undertake for us.

If we are destitute of assurance of his love, and our interest in him, we are to improve the consideration of our being his, not only by professed dedication, but by a fiducial adherence to him; this will encourage us to hope that he will enable us to walk holily and comfortably before him, and lift up the light of his countenance upon us, as our reconciled God and Father.

And, in the whole course of our conversation it will be of use, for the promoting the life of faith, which consists in an entire dependance on him, as those who are sensible that we can do nothing without him, to consider, that when we were first devoted to him, it was acknowledged, and from the time, wherein we have been enabled to give up ourselves to him by faith, we have been always sensible that we stand in need of daily supplies of grace from him, as all our springs are in him. Moreover, our baptismal engagement is to be improved, as it is an inducement to us to have our conversation in holiness and righteousness; whereby practical religion will be promoted in all its branches, when we consider that we are not our own, and therefore dare not think of living as we list, or serving divers lusts and pleasures, but that we are obliged to make his revealed will (whose we are, and whom we desire to serve,) the rule of all our actions.

And lastly, we ought to walk in brotherly love, as being _baptized by the Spirit into one body_, 1 Cor. xii. 13. They who are partakers of the saving blessings signified by baptism, have ground to conclude themselves members of Christ’s mystical body, or the invisible church, of which he is the head. This is a spiritual baptism, being the effect of divine power, and the special work of the Holy Ghost; and certainly this will be an inducement to all who are partakers thereof, to walk together in brotherly love, as those who are favoured with the same privileges, and hope to enjoy that complete blessedness, in which they, who are before devoted to Christ, shall be for ever with him. Thus concerning the ordinance of baptism.

And now we are led to speak concerning the sacrament of the Lord’s supper, which is considered either absolutely in itself, or as compared with baptism. And accordingly it is enquired; wherein they agree, or differ. In considering the nature of the Lord’s supper, it is farther enquired; how they, who are to partake of it, ought to prepare themselves for it before they engage therein? And there are also two cases of conscience answered; the one respecting those who are not satisfied concerning their meetness for it; the other respecting those who ought to be kept from it. We have also an account of the duties of communicants, while they are engaged in this ordinance; or those that are incumbent on them, after they have attended on it. These things are particularly insisted on in several following answers, which we are now led to consider.

Quest. CLXVIII., CLXIX., CLXX.

QUEST. CLXVIII. _What is the Lord’s Supper?_

ANSW. The Lord’s supper is a sacrament of the New Testament, wherein
by giving and receiving bread and wine, according to the appointment
of Jesus Christ, his death is shewed forth; and they that worthily
communicate, feed upon his body and blood, to their spiritual
nourishment and growth in grace, have their union and communion with
him confirmed, testify and renew their thankfulness, and engagement
to God, and their mutual love and fellowship each with other, as
members of the same mystical body.

QUEST. CLXIX. _How hath Christ appointed bread and wine to be given
and received in the sacrament of the Lord’s supper?_

ANSW. Christ hath appointed the ministers of his word, in the
administration of this sacrament of the Lord’s supper, to set apart
the bread and wine from common use, by the word of institution,
thanksgiving, and prayer, to take and break the bread, and to give
both the bread, and the wine to the communicants, who are, by the
same appointment, to take, and eat the bread, and to drink the wine,
in thankful remembrance, that the body of Christ was broken and
given, and his blood shed for them.

QUEST. CLXX. _How do they that worthily communicate in the Lord’s
supper, feed upon the body and blood of Christ therein?_

ANSW. As the body and blood of Christ are not corporally or carnally
present in, with, or under the bread and wine in the Lord’s supper,
and yet are spiritually present to the faith of the receiver, no
less truly and really than the elements themselves are to their
outward senses; so they that worthily communicate in the sacrament
of the Lord’s supper, do therein feed upon the body and blood of
Christ, not after a corporal, or carnal, but in a spiritual manner,
yet truly and really, while by faith they receive and apply unto
themselves Christ crucified, and all the benefits of his death.

There are several things contained in these answers, _viz._

I. The general description of this ordinance, as it is called a sacrament of the New Testament; in which we shall be led to speak concerning the person by whom it was instituted in common with other ordinances; and that is our Lord Jesus Christ.

II. We shall consider the persons by whom it is to be administered, namely, the ministers, or pastors of particular churches; inasmuch as it is an ordinance given only to those who are in church-communion.

III. We have an account of the matter thereof, or the outward elements, to wit, bread and wine.

IV. We shall consider the ministers act, antecedent to the church’s partaking of this ordinance, in setting apart the elements from a common to a sacred use; which is to be done by the word and prayer, joined with thanksgiving.

V. We have an account of the actions, both of the minister and people; the one breaks the bread, and pours out the wine. In order to their being distributed among those who are to receive them; the other, to wit, the communicants, partake of them, and join with him in eating the bread, and drinking the wine.

VI. We are to consider what is signified hereby, namely, the body and blood of Christ; which are not supposed to be corporally and carnally, but spiritually present to the faith of the receivers, upon which account they may be said to feed upon the body and blood of Christ, and apply the benefits of his death to themselves.

VII. We have an account of the persons who hope to enjoy these privileges, and partake of the Lord’s supper in a right manner; these are said worthily to communicate; as also the ends which they ought to have in view, namely, their spiritual nourishment, and growth in grace, their enjoying communion with Christ; and that love that they are obliged to express to each other, as members of the same mystical body.

I. It is an ordinance of the New Testament, instituted by our Saviour. That it is an ordinance, is evident, in that it is founded on a divine command; as appears from the words of institution, in Matt. xxvi. 26, 27. _Take eat, this is my body; and he took the cup, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it_, &c. And this is also intimated by the apostle, when, speaking particularly concerning it, as also the manner in which it is to be performed, he says, _I have received of the Lord, that which also I delivered unto you_, 1 Cor. xi. 23. Moreover, there is a blessing annexed to our partaking of it in a right manner; which may plainly be inferred from the apostle’s distinguishing those who receive it _worthily_, from others that receive it _unworthily_, or in an unbecoming manner; of whom the former are said to _come together for the better_, the latter _for the worse_, ver. 17. and to partake of the Lord’s supper for the better, is to partake of it for our spiritual advantage, which supposes, that there are some blessings annexed to it, which render it not only a duty, but an ordinance, or means of grace. And, that it is a gospel-ordinance of the New Testament, appears from the time of its being instituted by our Saviour, as well as the end and design thereof. It is particularly intimated, that Christ instituted this ordinance immediately before his last sufferings, as a memorial of his dying love. Thus the apostle says, _The same night in which he was betrayed, he took bread_, ver. 23. And that it was designed to continue as a standing ordinance in the church throughout all ages, appears from what he farther adds, _As often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death, till he come_, ver. 26.

The contrary to this is maintained by some modern enthusiasts, who deny it to be an ordinance, as they also do baptism; concluding that no ceremony, or significant sign, is consistent with the gospel-dispensation. And as for what the apostle says concerning our _shewing forth the Lord’s death till he come_, they suppose, that hereby is meant, till he comes by the effusion of the Spirit; and therefore, if it was an ordinance at first, it ceased to be so when the Spirit was poured forth on the church, in the beginning of the gospel-dispensation. To this it may be replied,

1. That ceremonial institutions are not inconsistent with the gospel-dispensation, inasmuch as they may not be designed to signify some benefits to be procured by Christ, as they did, which were instituted under the ceremonial law; but they may be considered as rememorative signs of the work of redemption, which has been brought to perfection by him.

2. When the apostle, in the scripture but now mentioned, says, that _we shew the Lord’s death till he come_, it cannot be meant concerning his coming in the plentiful effusion of the Spirit; inasmuch as this privilege was conferred on the church in the apostle’s days, at the same time, when he speaks of their shewing forth his death. Therefore, doubtless, he intends thereby Christ’s second coming, when this, and all other ordinances, which are now observed in the church, as adapted to the present imperfect state thereof, shall cease; we must therefore conclude from hence, that it was designed to be continued in the church in all ages, as it is at this day.

II. We are to consider the persons by whom this ordinance is to be administered; and these are only such as are lawfully called, and set apart to the pastoral office, whose work is to feed the church, not only by the preaching of the word, but by the administration of the sacraments, which are ordinances for their faith, in which they are said to receive, and spiritually feed upon Christ and his benefits; upon which account God promises to _give his people pastors according to his own heart, who should feed them with knowledge and understanding_, Jer. iii. 15. Now that none but these are appointed to administer this ordinance, is evident in that they, who partake of it, are said to have communion with him, and with one another therein, for their mutual edification and spiritual advantage; therefore it doth not belong to mankind in general, but the church in particular. And, to prevent confusion therein, Christ has appointed one, or more proper officers in his churches, to whom the management of this work is committed; who are called hereunto, by the providence of God, and the consent and desire of the church, to whom they are to minister.

III. We are now to consider the matter, or the outward elements to be used in the Lord’s supper; and these are bread and wine. Thus it is said, _Jesus took bread_, Matt. xxvi. 26. and _he also took the cup_; which, by a metonymy, is put for the wine: For, our Saviour referring to this action, speaks of his _drinking the fruit of the vine_, ver. 29. As for the bread that is to be used in this ordinance, there was a very warm debate between the Latin and Greek church concerning it; the former, as the Papists do at this day, concluding it absolutely necessary, that it should be unleavened bread, inasmuch as that kind of bread was used by our Lord, when he first instituted it, which was at the time of the passover, when no leaven was to be found in their houses. And they make it also a significant sign of the sincerity and truth with which the Lord’s supper ought to be eaten; for which, they refer to what the apostle says, in 1 Cor. v. 8. _Let as keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth._ But this seems only to be an allusion to the use of unleavened bread in the passover; which, it may be, might have a typical reference to that sincerity and truth with which all the ordinances of God are to be engaged in; but it does not sufficiently appear that he intends hereby that the bread used in the Lord’s supper should be of this kind, or, that it was designed to signify the frame of spirit with which this ordinance is to be celebrated.

On the other hand, the Greek church thought that the bread ought to be leavened, according to our common practice at this day, it being the same that was used at other times. And this seems most eligible, as it puts a just difference between the bread used in the passover, which was a part of the ceremonial law, and a gospel-institution, that is distinct from it. But, I think, there is no need to debate either side of the question with too much warmth, it being a matter of no great importance. As for the wine that is to be used in this ordinance, it is a necessary part thereof; and therefore the Papists are guilty of sacrilege in withholding the cup from the common people[97].

IV. We are now to consider what the minister is to do, antecedent to the church’s partaking of the Lord’s supper: He is to set apart the outward elements of bread and wine from a common, to this particular holy use. Upon which account it may be said to be _sanctified by the word of God and prayer_, 1 Tim. iv. 5. The words of institution contain an intimation that these elements are to be used in this ordinance, by Christ’s appointment; without which, no significant sign could be used in any religious matters. And, as for prayer, this is agreeable to Christ’s practice; for, he _took bread and blessed it_, or prayed for a blessing on it; and as the apostle expresses it; this was accompanied with thanksgiving, as he says; _When he had given thanks he brake it_, Matt. xxvi. 26. 1 Cor. xi. 24. which is agreeable to the nature and design of the ordinance, as herein we pray for the best of blessings, and express our thankfulness to him for the benefits of Christ’s redemption.

Here I cannot but observe how the Papists pervert this ordinance in the manner of consecrating the bread, which the priest does only by repeating these words in Latin; _This is my body_; and from thence they take occasion to advance the absurd doctrine of transubstantiation; and suppose, that, by these words pronounced, the bread is changed into the body and blood of Christ; which they assert, contrary to all sense and reason, as well as the end and design of the ordinance; and from hence it will follow, that man has a power to make the body and blood of Christ; and another consequence thereof, will be, that the human nature of Christ is omnipresent, which is inconsistent with a finite nature, and those properties that belong to it as such; from whence it is to be concluded, that it is no where else but in heaven; and it involves in it the greatest contradiction to suppose that it is bread, and having all the qualities thereof; and yet our senses must be so far imposed on, as that we must believe that it is not so, but Christ’s body. It also supposes, that Christ has as many bodies as there are wafers in the world; which is a monstrous absurdity. It likewise confounds the sign with the thing signified, and is very opposite to the sense of those words of scripture, _This is my body_; which implies no more, than that the bread, which is the same in itself, after the words of consecration, as it was before, is an external symbol of Christ’s body, that is, of the sufferings which he endured therein for his people.

V. We are now to consider the actions both of the minister and the church, when engaged in this ordinance, _viz._ breaking, distributing, eating the bread, pouring forth, and drinking the wine, for the ends appointed by Christ, in instituting this ordinance. Whether our Saviour gave the bread and wine to every one of the disciples in particular, is not sufficiently determined by the words of institution: For, though Matthew and Mark say, _He gave the bread and the cup to the disciples_, Matt. xxvi. 26, 27. and Mark xiv. 22, 23. Yet Luke speaking either concerning the cup used in the passover, or that in the Lord’s supper, represents our Saviour as saying to his disciples, _Take this and divide it among yourselves_, Luke xxii. 17. which seems to intimate that he distributed it to one or more of them, to be conveyed to the rest, that they might divide it among themselves; which is agreeable to the practice of several of the reformed churches in our day, and seems most expedient in case the number of the communicants is very great, and the elements cannot be so conveniently given by the pastor into the hand of every one.

Here I may observe how the Papists pervert this part of the Lord’s supper; inasmuch as they will not permit the common people to touch the bread with their hands, lest they should defile it; but the priest puts it into their mouths; for which purpose it is made up into small, round wafers; and the people are ordered to take great care that they do not use their teeth in chewing it; for that would be, as it were, a crucifying Christ afresh, as offering a kind of violence to what they call his body. But these things are so very absurd and unscriptural, that they confute themselves. And their consecrating a wafer to be reserved in a case prepared for that purpose, and set upon the altar in the church, to be worshipped by all that come near it, savours of gross superstition and idolatry.

We may farther observe, that they deny the people the cup in this ordinance, but not the priests; for what reason, it is hard to determine. And, they mix the wine with water; which, though it does not seem to be agreeable to Christ’s institution, yet it was often practised by the ancient church, from whence they took it; and their making this a sacramental sign of Christ’s divine and human nature, united together in one person, is much more unwarrantable; nor can I approve of what others suppose, viz. that it signifies the blood and water that came out of his side when he was pierced on the cross. And, I can hardly think some Protestants altogether free from the charge of superstition, when they so tenaciously adhere to the use of red wine, as bearing some small resemblance to the colour of Christ’s blood; for which reason others chuse to bear their testimony against this ungrounded opinion, by the using of white wine, without supposing that any thing is signified by it more than by red; and others chuse to use one sort at one time, and another at another, to signify that this is an indifferent matter; and these, I think, are most in the right.

Moreover, the practice of the Papists, and some others, in receiving the Lord’s supper fasting, to the end that the consecrated bread may not be mixed with undigested food, is not only unwarrantable, but superstitious, as well as contrary to what we read concerning our Saviour and his apostles partaking of the Lord’s supper in the first institution thereof, immediately after having eaten the passover, and to what the apostle suggests, when he reproves the church at Corinth, for eating and drinking to excess immediately before they partook of the Lord’s supper; upon which occasion he advises them _to eat and drink_ (though with moderation) _in their own houses_, 1 Cor. xi. 21, 22.

Again, the administring the Lord’s supper privately, as the Papists and others do, to sick people, seems to be contrary to the design of its being a church-ordinance; and when, to give countenance to this practice, it is styled, as by the former of these, a viaticum, or means to convey the soul, if it should soon after depart out of the body, to heaven, they are much more remote from our Saviour’s design in instituting this ordinance; neither do they rightly understand the sense of the scripture, from whence they infer the necessity thereof, _except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you_, John vi. 53. when they apply it to this purpose.

There is another thing that must not be wholly passed over, viz. the various gestures used in receiving the Lord’s supper. The Papists not only receive it kneeling; but, they allege, that they ought to do so, as being obliged to adore the body and blood of Christ, which, as they absurdly suppose, is really present, inasmuch as the bread is transubstantiated, or turned into it. And the Lutherans, with equal absurdity assert, that the body of Christ, is really, though invisibly, present in the bread; which is what they call consubstantiation. Some other Protestants, indeed, plead for the receiving it kneeling, as supposing Christ to be spiritually, though not corporally, present therein; and therefore they do not worship the bread and wine, but our Saviour; which, they suppose, they ought to do with this becoming reverence.

What I would take leave to say, in answer to this, is, that we humbly hope and trust, that Christ, according to his promise, is present with his people in all his ordinances; yet, it is not supposed that we are obliged to engage in every one of them kneeling. But that which determines the faith and practice of all other reformed churches, who do not use this gesture in the Lord’s supper, is, because it is contrary to the example of our Saviour and his apostles, when it was first celebrated; which ought to be a rule to the churches in all succeeding ages.

If it be said, that this is a gesture most agreeable to prayer, or, at least, that sitting is not so. To this it may be replied, that it is not an ordinance principally or only designed for prayer; for, whatever prayers we put up to God therein, are short, ejaculatory, and mixed with other meditations, which may be performed with an awful reverence of the divine majesty, such as we ought to have in other acts of religious worship, though we do not use that gesture of kneeling. And besides, we think ourselves obliged to receive the Lord’s supper sitting, that being a table gesture in use among us, in like manner as that which our Saviour and his apostles used, was among the eastern nations.

As for the reformed Gallican churches, they receive it for the most part, standing; which, being a medium between both extremes, they suppose to be most eligible. But this not being a table-gesture, nor, in that respect, conformed to that which was used by our Saviour and his apostles, I cannot think it warrantable. Nevertheless, when the gesture of standing or sitting is made a significant sign as some do the former, of our being servants, ready to obey the will of Christ our great Lord and Master; or, as others explain it, as signifying our being travellers to the heavenly country; and the latter, _viz._ sitting, of our familiarity, or communion with Christ. These are rather the result of human invention, than founded on a divine institution, since we have not the least account in scripture, of these things being signified thereby. This leads us to consider,

VI. The thing signified in this ordinance, and in what respect Christ is said to be present therein, together with the benefits expected from him, as we are said to feed upon him by faith for our spiritual nourishment and growth in grace. I cannot but think that the general design hereof, is not much unlike to that which was ordained under the ceremonial law, in which, after the sacrifice was offered, part of it was reserved to be _eaten in the holy place_, Lev. vi. 16. which was a significant feast upon a sacrifice. In like manner, the Lord’s supper, which comes in the room of the passover, is ordained to be a feast on Christ’s sacrifice; so the apostle styles it, when he says, _Christ, our passover, is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast_, &c. 1 Cor. v. 7, 8. The fiducial application of Christ, and the benefits of his death, is the principal thing to be considered in this gospel-festival. However, there are some cautions necessary to be observed with respect to the things signified therein, as what may be useful to us that our faith may be exercised in a right manner. Therefore let it be considered,

1. That though the Lord’s supper was instituted in commemoration of Christ’s love, expressed in his death, which was the last and most bitter part of his sufferings for our redemption. Yet he did not design hereby to exclude his other sufferings in life; nor, indeed, his whole course of obedience from his incarnation to his death; since it is very evident that the death of Christ is often considered in scripture, by a synecdoche, as denoting the whole course of obedience, both active and passive, which is the matter of our justification; and therefore is to be the object on which our faith is to be conversant in the Lord’s supper, as well as his sufferings in, or immediately before his death.

2. When Christ’s sufferings upon the cross are said to be signified by the bread and wine; we are not to conclude that these sufferings are to be so distinctly or separately considered, as that the bread broken, is designed to signify the pains that he endured upon the cross, when his body was as it were broken, its tendons, nerves, and fibres snapped asunder, and his joints dislocated, by being stretched thereon; and the wine poured forth, to signify the shedding his blood when his hands and feet were pierced with the nails, and his side with the spear, as some suppose; since all these things are to be made the subjects of our affectionate meditation in every part of this ordinance, while we are taken up with the contemplation of his last sufferings. And this seems to give countenance to the practice of many of the reformed churches, in consecrating and distributing the bread and wine together; though it is true, many think, on the other hand, that the elements are to be separately consecrated, as well as distributed, it being most agreeable to what is said concerning Christ’s blessing the bread, and giving it to his disciples, and afterwards taking the cup, and giving it to them, Matt. xxvi. 26, 27. However, if this be allowed of, it is not necessary for us to infer from hence, that each of these elements are designed to signify some distinct parts of Christ’s sufferings on the cross, but only that the ordinance is to be still continued, the whole including in it two external and visible signs to be used, each of which signify the means whereby he procured our redemption; and, indeed, when the wine is poured forth, and set apart for another part of this ordinance, we are not so much to enter on a new subject in our meditation, though the sign be different from that of the bread, as to proceed in thinking on, and improving the love of Christ, in his _humbling himself, and becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross_, Phil. ii. 8. and all this is signified by this sign, as well as the other, neither of which are adapted to this end, otherwise than by divine appointment.

3. We must take heed that we do not make more significant signs in the bread and wine than Christ has done; as some suppose, that almost every ingredient or action used in making them, is to be applied to signify some things that he has done or suffered for our redemption. It is a very great liberty that some take in expatiating on this subject, and applying it to this ordinance. We have a specimen hereof contained in an hymn, composed to be sung as a thanksgiving after the receiving the Lord’s supper[98]; in which the corn, as first living and growing, and afterwards cut down, and by threshing, separated from the husk, and then ground in the mill, and baked in the oven, are all made significant signs of the sufferings and torments which our Saviour endured. And the corn being united in one loaf, is made a sign of the union between Christ and his church. In like manner the grapes being gathered, pressed, and made into wine, is supposed to signify our spiritual joy, arising from Christ’s shedding his blood. And, as many grapes make one vine, so believers should be united by faith and love. What lengths is it possible for the wit and fancy of men to run, when they have a fruitful invention, and are disposed to make significant signs, and apply them to this ordinance without a divine warrant!

4. When we meditate on Christ’s sufferings, our faith is not to rest in, or principally be fixed on the grievousness of them, as Dr. Goodwin observes[99]; so that we should only endeavour hereby to have our hearts moved to a relenting, and compassion expressed towards him, and indignation against the Jews that crucified him, together with an admiring of his noble and heroical love herein; so that if persons can get their hearts thus affected, they judge and account this to be grace; whereas, it is no more than what the like tragical story of some great and noble personage (full of heroical virtues and ingenuity; yet inhumanly and ungratefully used) doth ordinarily work in ingenuous spirits, who read or hear of it; which, when it reacheth no higher, it is so far from being faith, that it is but a carnal and fleshly devotion; and Christ himself, at his suffering, found fault with, as not being spiritual, when he says, _Daughters of Jerusalem weep not for me, but for yourselves and for your children_, Luke xxiii. 28. that is, not so much for this, when you see me thus unworthily handled by those for whom I die, as for yourselves.

Moreover, he farther adds, that it was not the malice of the Jews, the falseness of Judas, the fearfulness of Pilate, the iniquity of the times he fell into, that wrought our Saviour’s death; God the Father had an higher design herein: And this our faith is constantly to be conversant about, considering it as the result of an eternal agreement between the Father and the Son, and of that covenant which he came into the world to fulfil; and his being made sin for us, to take away our sins by the atonement which he made hereby. And, besides this, we may add, that the highest and most affecting consideration in Christ’s sufferings, ought to contain in it the idea of his being a divine person, which is the only thing that argued them sufficient to answer the great ends designed thereby, as it rendered them of infinite value; and it was upon this account that his condescension expressed herein, might truly be said to be infinite. These things, I say, we are principally to rest in, when we meditate on Christ’s sufferings in this ordinance; though the other, which are exceedingly moving and affecting in their kind, are not to be passed over; since the Holy Ghost has, for this end, given a particular account thereof in the gospels, not barely as an historical relation of what was done to him, but as a convincing evidence of the greatness of his love to us.

Thus concerning Christ’s death, shewed forth or signified in this ordinance. We are farther, under this head, to consider how he is present, and they who engage in it aright feed on his body and blood by faith. We are not to suppose that Christ is present in a corporal way, so that we should be said to partake of his body in a literal sense; but he being a divine person, and consequently omnipresent; and having promised his presence with his church in all ages, and places, when met together in his name; in this respect he is present with them, in like manner as he is in other ordinances, to supply their wants, hear their prayers, and strengthen them against corruption and temptation, and remove their guilt by the application of his blood, which is presented as an object for their contemplation in a more peculiar manner in this ordinance.