{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_58006/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_58006","id":"gutenberg_58006","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/58006","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Religion/Spirituality","Sermons, English -- 19th century"],"text":"Transcribed from the [1810?] R. Thomas edition by David Price, email\nccx074@pglaf.org\n\n\n\n\n\n                                   THE\n                          _Glorious Law-Giver_,\n                                 AND THE\n                            OBEDIENT SUBJECT:\n\n\n                          BEING THE SUBSTANCE OF\n\n                                A SERMON,\n\n                       On the DUTY of all BELIEVERS\n                TO COMMEMORATE THE DEATH OF THE REDEEMER,\n                                  IN THE\n                              LORD\u2019S SUPPER.\n\n                          INTENDING TO SET FORTH\n\n        _The Authority of Christ_; _the Nature of the Ordinance_;\n\n           And a DESCRIPTION of the PERSONS who have a Right to\n                           partake of the same.\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                              By J. CHURCH,\n                         MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL.\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n           \u201cYet have I set my King upon my holy Hill of Zion.\u201d\n                   \u201cObey his Voice; my Name is in him.\u201d\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                                SOUTHWARK:\n         PRINTED BY R. THOMAS, No. 11, RED LION STREET, BOROUGH.\n\n                       Sold at the Obelisk Chapel.\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n\n\n\nA SERMON.\n\n\n              1 CORINTHIANS, Chap. xi, Ver. 23, to the End.\n\n      _For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto\n                              you_, _&c._ _&c._\n\nOUR most adorable Redeemer is set forth in the sacred Scriptures, as the\nglorious Mediator of a better Testament.  In this character, he sustains\nthe three-fold office in his Church, of Prophet, Priest, and King\u2014from\neverlasting he was set up to be future man\u2014to ransom the elect, honor the\ndivine Law, and glorify all the sublime Attributes of God.  As\nMan-Mediator he was set up; for as the eternal Jehovah, he could not be\nhigher than he was; God having chosen his elect in him, accepted them in\nhim\u2014he appointed him to be _all_ to them; do all for them; and finally\nbring them to glory\u2014hence, he says, _Thy throne_, _O God_, _is for ever &\never_.  The Lord Jesus having engaged in the eternal Covenant, to be our\nSurety, Righteousness, Advocate, and Friend, immediately after the breach\nof the Covenant of Works, he graciously revealed himself in his lovely\noffices; and, as a Prophet, he foretold his own incarnation, threatened\nSatan, and pardoned our first Parents.  As a Prophet, he preached by the\nministry of Noah, to those souls now in the prison of hell\u2014was typified\nby all the pious prophets that appeared till his coming in the flesh,\nwhen he gave ocular demonstration that he was that Prophet that should\ncome into the world\u2014he carries on, and still executes this office in the\nhearts of his people, by his Word and Spirit\u2014enlightening their minds,\nand leading them into all truth; removing the veil of ignorance, and\ndelivering his people from all damnable heresies\u2014hence he says, _I am the\nLord thy God_, _which teacheth thee to profit_, _and leadeth thee in the\nway in which thou shouldest go_\u2014this is done by the holy Spirit\u2019s\ninhabitation.  As our Prophet, he is our light, and will be so for\never\u2014_for the Lord shall be thy everlasting light_, _& thy God thy\nglory_\u2014though this office will be carried on in heaven different to what\nit is on earth.  His character, as Mediator, includes his Priestly\nOffice; and this is of vast importance to us\u2014this was shadowed forth\nunder the old Law, by the calling and qualification of the High Priests,\nparticularly Aaron, though Christ was not of the same tribe with him, nor\nmade a Priest after that Law, but of one more ancient, and which\ncontinues to this day, and will for ever, _after the order of\nMelchisedec_\u2014ever blessing his people, and his blessing on Mount Zion is\nlife for evermore.  Yet Aaron was a figure of the High Priest of our\nProfession, in his separation from his brethren; in the holy unction,\nwhen installed into office; in the several vestments with which he was\ncloathed; his mitre, embroidered coat, ephod, and the girdle of it; with\nthe breast-plate of Judgment\u2014but more so in the sacrifices he offered up;\nall which held forth the Redeemer, who, through the eternal Spirit,\noffered up himself to God; being himself the Altar, Priest, and\nSacrifice.  He is still carrying on this office in the Church, and for\nhis people, by presenting his sacred Person, and meritorious Work, to the\nFather; making intercession, not as he did on earth, _with strong cries\nand tears to God_\u2014not as supplicating an angry Judge; but by shewing\nhimself, as having done, as our Surety, all that Law and Justice could\nrequire\u2014he is now our Advocate on high, offering up our prayers and\npraises, which become acceptable to God, through the sweet incense of his\nMediation.  Our spiritual holiness is derived from him as our Priest.  We\nare anointed by virtue of union with him\u2014the same divine anointing that\nwas on him, as the Head, runs down, even to the skirts of his cloathing,\non the meanest, lowest, and weakest of his saints; and it is the business\nof our faith to make use of him in every season of guilt and bondage.  We\nfeel the liberty of God\u2019s children, as we are led by the Spirit to Jesus,\nas our atoning and interceding Priest, putting away sin; whilst the\nSpirit bears testimony to the conscience, _that the blood of Christ\ncleaneth from all sin_.\n\nAnother office of vast importance to the Church of God, is the Kingly\nAuthority of our Redeemer; this he sustains, and this he exercises\u2014as God\nhe is King by nature, and has a kingdom, common to the three divine\nPersons\u2014hence he is called Lord of Hosts, or armies; the six armies\u2014two\nin heaven, elect angels and spirits of just men\u2014two on earth, the Church\nand the nations of the world\u2014two in hell, fallen angels and reprobate\ncharacters; and it is a most awful consideration, that all who despise\nhis Law, Gospel, and Grace, dying in such a state, he will make them feel\nhis kingly power, in _breaking them to pieces_.\u2014Psalm ii.  This office is\nexercised in the Church of God; the Father himself says, _Yet have I set\nmy King upon my holy hill of Zion_: the learned tell us it reads in the\nHebrew, I have _anointed_ my King upon my holy hill of Zion\u2014in allusion\nto their anointing kings at their inauguration\u2014_anointed with the oil of\ngladness_, _above their fellows_.\u2014In the Old Testament he was prophesied\nof and typified by pious kings.\u2014The Church of God is Christ\u2019s kingdom,\nand the members of it his subjects: the exercise of this office is first\nin the hearts of his saints, in rescuing them from the power of the\nDevil, by his almighty grace\u2014the King of Glory opens the doors of their\nhearts; first destroys the Devil\u2019s armour, even the veil of ignorance,\n(in which he trusts) then turns Satan out for ever.  _He makes us willing\nin the day of his power_, to come out of the world; to chuse him as our\n_better part_; to love him, to serve him all our days, _in the newness of\nthe Spirit_, _and not in the oldness of the Letter_\u2014the throne he sits on\nis our hearts, and this will be for ever\u2014_thy throne_, _O God_, _is for\never and ever_.  He displays this office in our defence; _for upon all\nthe glory shall be a defence from our enemies_; from the dominion and\ndamning power of sin; maintaining our graces, continuing and preserving\nus in the faith, keeps us from falling, finally, and preserves us to his\nheavenly kingdom and glory.\u2014This office is executed, externally, by the\nWord and Ordinances.  Christ, as King, is Law-Giver in his own Church;\nthe New Testament is our Rule of Conduct.  As Ministers, we are not to\nsend our hearers, nor go ourselves to Moses, for a Rule of Conduct; the\npreceptive parts of the New Testament are quite sufficient; and where\ntheir is faith in the soul, embracing the righteousness of Jesus, and the\nlove of God shed abroad in the heart, such are no Antinomians; for the\nrighteousness of the holy and righteous Law of God, is fulfilled in them\n_who walk not after the flesh_, _but after the Spirit_\u2014this is the end of\nthe Law, and the glory of the Gospel; and while we serve _in the newness\nof the Spirit_, we obey the external Precepts of the Law, as far as they\nextend to us, as creatures of God\u2019s power.  We have no spiritual King but\nJesus; he is the Head of the Church, and the Master of his House.  His\nlaws are spiritual, as they relate to spiritual Subjects\u2014_I will put my\nlaws in their hearts_, _and in their minds will I write them_.  These\nare, first, Faith, which is the Work of the Holy Ghost, and centers in\nthe Person and Work of Jesus.  The other is Love\u2014_a new commandment I\ngive unto you_, _that ye love one another_.  This love stands\ndistinguished from that mentioned in the old Covenant; _that_ respects\nall mankind, as our fellow creatures\u2014_this_ is the law of Love; a new\ncommandment Christ has given to us.  As King he has external Laws, which\nmust be obeyed in Faith and Love, called the Obedience of Faith, and\n_serving in the newness of the Spirit_; and I am very confident that\nwherever Christ has displayed his Prophetic office in teaching, and his\nPriestly office in anointing the soul, that all such characters accept\nChrist as their King, and say, from the heart, _Thine are we_, _Lord_,\n_and on thy side_, _thou blessed King Zion_\u2014_O King_, _live for ever_!\n_and take me as I am_\u2014_to thee I yield till my powers_, _and consecrate\nall my days_.\n\nI remark, then, that there are certain external Laws, which Jesus has\nissued out, and ought to be attended to; not one of them is grievous;\n_but this yoke is easy_, _and this burden is light_.  His commandments or\nordinances are not grievous, but pleasant; and when our Faith is in\nexercise, our Hope lively, and our Love glowing, we find _Wisdom\u2019s ways\npleasantness_, _and all her paths peace_.  I will mention some, and\nenlarge only upon one, which is the design of this Discourse.\n\n_First_\u2014The MINISTRY of the WORD.  This is the glorious _Magna Charta_,\nexhibiting the loveliness of the Saviour, the wisdom of God, the freeness\nof grace, the high privileges of all the elect.  I mention this because\nsome proud professors have written (and many have imbibed their error)\n_that every Christian is to be a Preacher_!\u2014and if so, Where would be the\n_Hearers_?  These men, to me, resemble the awful characters that\nconspired against Moses and Aaron, who said, _all the Lord\u2019s people are\nholy_; and why should not one be exalted to preach as well as another!\nBut let the above characters read their awful end, as recorded in the\n16th Chapter of _Numbers_.  The public Ministry of the Word is an\nOrdinance of Christ, for public good; this is plain from the Old and New\nTestament\u2014_See_, _then_, _that ye refuse not him that speaketh from\nheaven in Christ\u2019s name_; _for how can they preach_, to any good purpose,\n_except they be sent_?\n\n_Secondly_\u2014PRAYER, public and private; and good men ought always to\npray\u2014_I will that men pray every where_\u2014the Jews had their stated times\nfor Prayer; _in the evening_, _in the morning_, _and at __noon-day will I\ncry unto thee_.  In public, by Ministers, or private Christians at their\nPrayer-Meetings, which are praise-worthy, when carried on in a spirit of\nmodesty and humility, with life and fervor\u2014and here I would drop a Word\nof Exhortation\u2014Let your public Prayers be always short.  O that\nMinisters, Masters, Heads of Families, and those who conduct\nPrayer-Meetings, would adopt this method.  God forbid that I should limit\nthe Holy One of Israel to time, in leading the minds of his people to\nhimself, but we can certainly distinguish between access to God, and a\nlong, dry, formal address to the Deity.  How tedious the service when the\nMinister is nearly half an hour (and I have known it the case forty\nminutes) in Prayer, and the same old, dry, formal address to God twice,\nand perhaps three times a day.  O that Dissenters, Baptists, and\nPresbyterians particularly, were convinced how painful they render that\nservice that ought to be perfect freedom, to old and young.  The same\nhint I would drop to those who conduct Prayer-Meetings: Why should one\nbrother be so prolix as to engage a full half hour, and sometimes more,\nwounding the feelings of others that ought to be engaged, and rendering\nthe whole service tedious.  Perhaps this is one reason why our Prayer\nMeetings are so often neglected\u2014no brother ought to occupy more than one\nquarter of an hour, including the hymn, so that four might engage in one\nhour; and if there are not brethren enough to carry it on, then I\nrecommend the Scriptures to be read, and singing of Hymns.  Permit me,\nalso to advise the Heads of private families, where there are servants\nkept, and young people, children, and the various branches of that\nfamily, to use brevity in your Prayers; your servants, perhaps, have been\nhard at work all day\u2014they are tired and heavy: O what a burden they must\nconsider Religion when you keep them on their knees full half an hour;\nand I have known it too often forty-five minutes!  This renders the\nexternals of Religion an unpleasant service to those of your family who\nknow not God.  Contrive to make your evening services short; and if\ncircumstances would admit, it would be well if this were performed before\nsupper, before your and their powers are almost lost in sleep, or at\nleast heaviness.\u2014Try to make the very externals of Religion pleasant\u2014Let\nyour Prayers be grave, solid, and important; avoid nonsense, absurdities,\nloud speaking, or too low to be heard; above all, avoid levelling your\nspeeches in Prayer, at individuals present; why should any one make a\nthrone of grace a bow to discharge arrows at others.  I have mentioned\nthose things, as they have long hurt my mind; I hope it will prove a word\nin season, while none will take offence at my design, as I have no other\nend in view than the honor of Religion.\n\n_Thirdly_\u2014GODLY CONVERSATION must be considered an Ordinance.  This must\nbe carried on with humility of course; affection, kindness, and\ntenderness, to those of different denominations from ourselves; while the\nmain subject ought to be, the way the Lord has led us; the great things\nhe has done for us; what ideas God has been pleased to give us of Jesus,\nhis blood and obedience; his Covenant; what light to understand such a\nsweet text; how he applied such a Sermon, such an hymn, such a promise;\nhow wrought such a deliverance; appeared in such an hour of temptation.\nThese topics would encourage one another, comfort the feeble-minded,\nexalt the Saviour, and exclude scandal, wrath, bitterness, and a party\nspirit.\u2014_Come hither_, _all ye that fear God_, _I will tell you what he\nhas done for my soul_.\u2014_They shall speak of the glory of thy\nkingdom_.\u2014_They that feared the Lord_, _spake often one to another_,\nremembering the end of their Conversation, _Jesus Christ_, _the same\nyesterday_, _to-day_, _and for ever_!\n\n_Fourthly_\u2014SINGING his high Praises, with the understanding, and with\ngrace in the heart.  This is an Ordinance kept up in all ages of the\nChurch: _Is any merry_, _let him sing Psalms_.\u2014So another is, _Speaking\nto yourselves in Psalms and Hymns_, _and spiritual Songs_; _singing with\ngrace in the heart to the Lord Jesus_.  This Ordinance is not a carnal\none, nor is it to be despised: the Quakers, and some other characters I\nhave met with, set it aside as a carnal Ordinance.  O! what an awful\ninsult upon the Saviour! who, with his disciples, _sung an Hymn_, _and\nthen went out to the Mount of Olives_.  What an insult to set aside this\nOrdinance as carnal, seeing the Holy Ghost by the Apostles Paul and\nJames, has commanded it; and John heard the Songs of the redeemed, in the\nChurch militant\u2014and of Saints it is said, _Let the high Praises of God be\nin their mouths_.  Singing is only speaking in a musical voice; and the\nsubject-matter of it ought to be the precious Person of Immanuel; every\nHymn ought to be of him and to him\u2014this enlivens worship; God delights to\nhear it, and those characters that set it aside altogether, I am almost\nuncharitable enough to suppose they have nothing to sing about.  But if\nwe have obtained Mercy, Righteousness, Redemption, and Pardon, let us\nsing of them\u2014_I will sing of Mercy & Judgement_\u2014_I will sing of thy\nRighteousness all the day_.  _They sung a new Song_, _saying_, _Worthy\nthe Lamb that redeemed us_.\n\n_Fifthly_\u2014BAPTISM is another Ordinance: this is evident from the\ncommandment of our Lord to his Apostles: _Go teach all nations_;\n_baptizing them in the name of the Three divine Persons_.  Some learned\nmen that have written against this Ordinance, tell us it is the Baptism\nof the Holy Ghost; and that the Greek text reads, _into the name_\u2014and\nsuppose it does, this is no argument against Water Baptism\u2014the Apostles\nwere never commanded to baptize any one with the Holy Ghost, that was the\nimmediate Work of the Spirit himself.  Besides, there is a vast\ndifference between baptizing into the _Name_ and into the _Nature_ of\nChrist; as much difference as between plunging the Body in Water and the\nRegeneration of the Soul; the one is an outward visible sign of the\nother, which is the Substance.  That it is a command it is evident\u2014_then\nhe commanded them to be baptized_.  God sent John to baptize, and Jesus\nsent his disciples.  It is an act of religious Worship, and it is\nintended to represent the Sufferings, Death, Burial, and Resurrection of\nthe Son of God.  It is intended to lead the mind to the Blood of Jesus\nfor its Pardon; and having this Pardon of Sin sealed home upon the\nconscience, this is the answer of a good conscience towards God; and this\nis the Work of Faith to apprehend and apply the Death of Jesus to the\nconscience, through the operation of the Holy Spirit.\u2014I now come to the\nprincipal Ordinance I mean to give my thoughts on, and in which, I\nbelieve, all who love the Saviour agree\u2014\n\n_Sixthly_\u2014The LORD\u2019S SUPPER.\u20141st.  I shall notice the Nature and Design\nof it.  2ndly.  Point out the Characters who have a Right to partake of\nit.  3rdly.  Answer some of the Objections brought against such a\npartaking of it, by some of those very Persons who have a Right to it;\nand in so doing I will not encourage the Pharisee or the Libertine, nor\nbolster up an Hypocrite with false evidences, but descend to the lowest\nclass of God\u2019s People; none else have any Right, either to Doctrines,\nPromises, Ordinances, or Evidences.  Reader, all the faults are mine, but\nthe truths are God\u2019s.\n\nThe Lord\u2019s Supper ought always to follow Baptism\u2014the one is preparatory\nto the other, and none but those who submit to the one, ought to be\nadmitted to the other; at least this was the ancient custom among the\nfirst Christians, who had light given them to see the Order and Design of\nthem both.  This is called the Body and Blood of Christ, not really so,\nbut symbolically represented to our faith.  Some call it the Ordinance\u2014so\nit is; but the term is not emphatic enough\u2014the Scriptures call it _the\nCommunion of the Body and Blood of Christ_, because the People of God\nheld communion with Christ and one another.  It is called _this Bread_,\nand _this Cup of the Lord_.  Sometimes it is expressed by the _Breaking\nof Bread_\u2014a part for the whole.  It is called _the Lord\u2019s Table_\u2014a Table\nhe has furnished, as an emblem of Christ.  It is called a _Feast_\u2014_Let us\nkeep the Feast_.  But the best phrase of all is the _Lord\u2019s Supper_\u2014a\nSupper, the last Ordinance the Lord instituted, and at which he has\npromised his gracious presence.  It was instituted and first eaten at\nnight; and was first performed by our Lord the evening in which he was\nbetrayed; nor does this detract from the grandeur of the entertainment;\nthough it is of little consequence what part of the day it is celebrated,\nyet I certainly give the preference to the evening, as it is better\ncalculated to remind us of that evening when our dear Redeemer went out\ninto the Garden of sad Gethsamane; the night Judas betrayed him\u2014the night\nChrist\u2019s holy soul endured the wrath of God\u2014the night he sweat drops of\nblood\u2014the night he struggled with, and overcame the powers of Hell; \u2019twas\non that dark, that doleful night!  Permit me here to observe, that this\nis the best time, much better than an afternoon, when people and\nministers are generally dull in their frames.  The divine authority we\nhave for keeping it is because it was instituted by Christ himself.  How\ndare Quakers and black Antinomians ridicule this as a carnal Ordinance!\nit is a spiritual Feast, made by a spiritual King, for a spiritual\nPeople, to be received in a spiritual way.  This is peculiar to the\nGospel Dispensation; perhaps typified in the Old Testament, by\nMelchisedec, who was the Priest of the most high God, and brought forth\nbread and wine to refresh Abraham and his weary troops; and how many\ntimes has the same High Priest refreshed his dear people in his\nOrdinances, particularly in the Supper-Scene?  Perhaps it was perpetually\nrepresented by Wisdom in the Proverbs, saying to simple souls, called out\nof darkness into light, _Come eat of my Bread and drink of the wine which\nI have mingled_.  And when we meet with Christ, and enjoy his presence in\nthis Ordinance, we know what is meant by the _mingled wine_.  This\nOrdinance appears a more clear command than any other, and it is to\ncontinue till Christ comes the second time; and this second coming\nreferred to, is in his power and glory, at the last day.  Some have\nattempted to allegorize it, and they tell us we are not to keep this\nOrdinance now, because Christ did come the second time on the Day of\nPentecost, and then all Figures and Shadows vanished.  But this objection\nis groundless; the Shadows of the Ceremonial Law were abolished, but all\nfigures are not done away\u2014_Baptism_ is a Figure, and to be observed\u2014the\n_Lord\u2019s Supper_ is a Figure of his Body broken and his Blood shed, to\ntake away Sin.  And this is plain by the Text, which was received by Paul\nlong after the Descent of the Holy Ghost on the Day of\nPentecost\u2014delivered to him, and the Holy Spirit, by him, has commanded it\nto be kept till the end of the world.  The Matter of it First, _Bread_,\nnot wafer Cakes, which are not properly Bread, nor broken, nor fit for\nnourishment, and so not a proper emblem.  _The Bread which we break_, _is\nit not the Communion of the Body of Christ_?\u2014not his mystical Body, but\nan emblem of his natural Body, which he took into union with his\nGodhead.\u2014Secondly, _Wine_.  This is another part of the Ordinance; and\nthe Matter of it a symbol of the Blood of Christ\u2014_This is my Blood_.\u2014Paul\nsays, _The Cup of Blessing which we bless_, _is __it not the Communion of\nthe Blood of Christ_?\u2014_The Blood of the New Testament_.  Every action of\nthe Redeemer, in its institution, is worthy of our highest regard.  _He\ntook Bread_\u2014this was to shew his act of taking our flesh.  _He blessed\nit_, that it might be nourishing to our Faith, and encouraging to our\nHope.  _He brake it_\u2014to shew he should be broken for us.  _He gave it to\nhis Disciples_\u2014to shew he had given himself to his People, for their\neternal Salvation.  The grand Design, then, of this Ordinance appears to\nbe, simply, to preach Christ more clearly and sensibly\u2014to bring him more\nto their feelings or senses than hearing.  _Faith cometh by hearing_\u2014but\nin this Ordinance we taste, touch, handle, and have Christ evidently set\nforth as crucified, for our Faith to apprehend.  It is to remind us of\nhis Love, in that wonderful breaking forth of it, in his dreadful\nSufferings, and painful, though victorious Death.  This is designed to\narrest our attention, and call forth our love, wonder, admiration, and\npraise\u2014to lead us to the contemplation of his Agony and bloody Sweat\u2014when\nin a cold night, such was the agitation of his Soul, beneath the Wrath of\nGod, the Guilt of our Sin, and his Struggles with the Powers of Hell,\nthat he exclaimed _My Soul_ (being truly human) _is exceeding sorrowful_,\n_even unto death_.  _O_! _my Father_, _if it be possible_, _let this Cup\npass from me_.  Here it was his great mind took in all the evil,\napprehended all the vileness that was in Sin.  Our Sins here beset him,\nstared him in the face; encompassed him, and he felt their burden so\nheavy, he was filled with amazement and terror.  _Now it pleased the\nFather to bruise him_\u2014he was exposed to the whole storm of divine Wrath;\nhe was in an Agony, such as had never been felt before by any one\u2014it\ncovered his whole Body with a bloody Sweat, which started from his Veins,\ncame out at the Pores, and fell in clots on the ground!  The Curse due to\nthe Sins of the Elect, seized him and fell on him.\u2014Here it was he offered\nup _strong cries and tears to God_.  At this time his heart melted like\nwax, so that he might well say, _I am poured out like water_.  In the\nmidst of this Agony he was betrayed by an apostate Apostle, seized on by\nan insulting rabble, led from the Garden, first to Annas, next to\nCaiaphas, and then to Pilate; from him to Herod, then back again to the\nRoman Governor.  Here he endured the contradiction of Sinners against\nhimself\u2014He stands at Pilate\u2019s Bar\u2014then uncovered, bound to a pillar, and\nflogged by merciless men\u2014a thousand Roman soldiers, perhaps, around him,\nand each gave him a wound\u2014being bound so fast to the post, as that his\narms were ready to break.  Now the Ploughers _ploughed on his Back_, _and\nmade long furrows_\u2014he was wounded that his flesh was made black and blue\nwith blows\u2014they continued their strokes till they made him bare to the\nvery bone\u2014then he was untied and turned, and tied up again, so as to\nwound that part which yet remained whole\u2014then platting a crown of thorns,\ndrove them into his Temples, so that they entered into his Skull, so that\nthe pain was exquisite\u2014they put a reed or cane in his hand, struck him\nwith it\u2014mocked his Offices\u2014put on his Body an old coat\u2014they smote him\nwith their hands.\u2014He came forth, wearing the purple robe and crown of\nthorns.  But, O! what an object of grief, sorrow, and pain!  He looks\naround him, and exclaims, _Beheld the Man_! while his every step was\nmarked with blood!  The rabble still cry out, _Away with him_!  _Crucify\nhim_!\u2014He goes forth, and ascends the Hill, where his dear Body was nailed\nto the cursed tree.  See him giving his dear Hands, with all the meekness\nand patience of a Lamb, to the cruel executioners, while they, hard as\nadamant, drove the rugged iron through them.  His Body was stretched on\nthe cold Cross, his Hands and Feet bored through with iron pins, from\nwhich the Blood gushed out abundantly.  Here was _a fountain opened_,\nunder the Wrath of God!  The heavens gathering a dismal gloom, he cried\nout, _My God_, _my God_! _why hast thou forsaken me_?\u2014All these sorrows,\nand infinitely more than these, our Jesus experienced for our Salvation.\nThis is what is represented in the Supper\u2014and \u201cHard is the wretch that\nnever felt one soft affection move;\u201d for, \u201cDid ere such love and sorrow\nmeet, or thorns compose so rich a crown?\u201d  And I must doubt the state of\nthose who despise this Ordinance as carnal, seeing it is the last request\nof him who is God-Man Mediator, our friend, and eternal _all_.\n\nI now proceed, 2ndly, _To point out the Characters that are incited_, for\nwhom this was instituted, and _who have a right to partake of this\nOrdinance_.  Negatively\u2014No Unbeliever, no ignorant Persons, who know\nneither God nor themselves; no immoral Character; no Pharisee, Worldling,\nor Hypocrite\u2014these, if they could be found out, ought to be denied; but\nthe _Tares and the Wheat_ must grow together till the _Harvest_\u2014the wise\nand foolish Virgins will keep on till the midnight Cry is made; the\nsacred Scriptures are the grand touch-stone\u2014all must be weighed in these\nBalances of the Sanctuary; Doctrines, Experience, Ordinances, and\nCharacters, must be according to this Word.  As all Promises, so all\nOrdinances are for the People of God; and these People go by various\nnames in Scripture\u2014perhaps the best is that of Children.  The most lovely\ncharacter of God is that of a Father, and the nearest idea of\nrelationship is that of Children: this term relates to the whole Election\nof Grace, among Jews and Gentiles.  God called the Israelites his\nChildren, and the same name is given to his chosen among the\nGentiles\u2014_More are the Children of the Desolate than the Children of the\nmarried Wife_, saith the Lord.  As Children, and by virtue of our\nadoption into his family, as the fruit of eternal love, all the\nOrdinances of the Gospel are ours\u2014_all are yours_, _and ye are Christ\u2019s_.\nAs Children, he has provided a Table, and he, as our Father, loves to see\nus at it\u2014we have a right to it; to this priviledge all the Children of\nGod were appointed\u2014_having predestinated us to the adoption of Children_;\nthis was an eternal act.  But I shall now consider, Why they are so\ncalled, which will give us to see whether we have any evidence in our\nsouls that we are the Children of God, and have the _Spirit of Adoption_,\nto say, _Father_, _Father_.  _Doubtless thou art our Father_.  If\nChildren, then, in the _First_ place, _We must be born again_: this\noriginates in his will\u2014_of his own will begat he us_.  This New Birth is\nthe sovereign Act of God\u2014_Born not of the will of the flesh_, _but of\nGod_.  This Work is solely through the Agency of God the Holy\nSpirit\u2014_Except a man be born of Water and the Spirit_, _he cannot see_\n(that is to say, _enjoy_) _the kingdom of Heaven_.  The means he usually\nmakes use of is the Word\u2014_being born_, _not of corruptible Seed_, _but\nthe Word of God_.  Sometimes through the Ministry of Men\u2014_My little\nChildren_, _for whom I travel in Birth\u2014Timothy_, _my own son in the\nFaith_.  This New Birth is produced by the inhabitation of the Spirit, he\nforms this new Man at once; our knowledge of it is progressive.  This\nwork on the heart consists.  First, in spiritual _Light_ in the mind.  By\nthis we are led to see our lost state by Nature, and the Suitableness of\nJesus.  This, (as an evidence it is of God, in a covenant way) is always\nattended with humble confession, self-abhorrence, seeking after Pardon in\nthe Atonement of Christ; after a better righteousness than our own, and a\nsense of God\u2019s favour; and wherever this Work is begun, such souls\ncannot, will not rest till they have found that _Pearl of greatest\nprice_\u2014their eyes are open to see the value of it.  Secondly, _Life_\u2014this\ndistinguishes a Believer from an Hypocrite, or a mere nominal Professor.\nThis is God\u2019s Blessing on Mount Zion; and it is felt by the most lively\nand keen sensations of the Burden of Sin; of the Guilt, the Power, and\nLove of it\u2014this arms Death\u2014this makes Judgment and Eternity formidable.\nThis Life is felt and discovered in hungering and thirsting after Christ,\nas the Rest of his Saints.  This is to be seen and felt under the\nWord\u2014sometimes in reproving, directing, comforting, instructing, and\nbuilding up.  This Life is felt when God proclaims Liberty to the Soul;\nfor as Life must be in the heart, to feel Bondage, so we can always tell\nby the same in Liberty.\u2014This New Birth is attended with much pain, many\nconflicts, and gloomy fears\u2014in some Children of God they are lighter than\nothers, but all are taught by the same Spirit, and the work is the same\nin all, in point of its Nature.\u2014The Third, is _Love_.  This is infused\ninto the mind as a holy Principle, though it is not shed abroad till it\nis felt, casting out fear, which hath torment\u2014_this is born of God_, _and\nsinneth not_.  When Light and Life come into the Soul, Love always\nattends it; and though it is but little exercised under the Workings of\nConviction, yet it is in the Heart\u2014this is evident, for let a Believer be\nunder what Law-Work he may, he, at times, feels a love to Truth and to\nJesus, though he cannot see his interest in him, yet he desires to love\nhim above all.  He feels a love to Ministers of the Truth, though he is\ncut up root and branch by them, yet he loves them.  He loves the\nOrdinances, and wishes he could see his right to them.  He loves the\nPeople of God, thinks they all excel him, and sometimes is envious of\ntheir felicity; not that he would deprive them of what they enjoy, but he\nis jealous lest God loves them and not him.  I might mention _Fear_, as\nit is a covenant Blessing; but wherever there is Love, there is a holy,\nchild-like, filial Fear.  These things evidence God is our Father, Christ\nour Friend, and shew our Right to this and every other\nOrdinance.\u2014_Secondly_, by our _Food_; the Holy Spirit having given us\nspiritual Appetites; and having graciously provided spiritual Food for\nhis Children, he has _been_ pleased to send his Ministers to proclaim it;\nand setting before his People the Blessings of an everlasting Covenant,\nin the everlasting Love of God, and made known in an everlasting Gospel,\nby Ministers of his own sending.  _Christ_, in the Glories of his Person,\nin the Love of his Heart, in his atoning Sacrifice, in his perfect\nObedience, in his Sufferings, victorious Death, Burial, Resurrection, and\nAscension, in his covenant Engagements, and lovely Offices.  This is the\nFood of an immortal mind, and well calculated to satisfy it.  All the\nPromises of the Word, the Invitations, and precious Declarations, are set\nforth as Food for his Children, and we can feed upon nothing else.  All\nthe Doctrines of the Gospel, and all the Perfections of God, as displayed\nin our complete Salvation\u2014if these things are precious to us, this is\nanother evidence that we are Children of God, and have a Right to his\nOrdinances.\u2014Thirdly, by our _Clothing_.  The Obedience of Christ to the\nLaw, is a Robe, the best, or first Robe, lined with Love, and hemmed\nround with every precious Promise.  This imputed to us by the Father,\nwrought out by the Son, brought into the Conscience by the Spirit, and\napprehended by the hand of Faith, we are justified freely, by this\ncovenant Act of Grace.  This we sweetly enjoy, when _the Spirit bears\nwitness to our spirits_\u2014at all times we depend on it, for our\nRighteousness before God.  _Humility_ is another part of our cloathing,\nas Children\u2014_be ye clothed with Humility_.  _Zeal_.\u2014This at times is put\non; the Exercises of the Graces of the Spirit, on their proper Objects,\nis called Garments; and while God says, _Put on thy beautiful Garments_,\nwe can say, _I will greatly rejoice in the Lord_, _for he hath clothed me\nwith the Garments of his Salvation_.  This shews our Right to the Lord\u2019s\nSupper.  _Fourthly_, in our _Education_.  God the Spirit trains us up in\nthe way we should go.  Hence it is written, _They shall be all taught of\nGod_.  We sit down at the feet of Christ, and learn the Emptiness of the\nCreature; the Vanity of the World; the Danger of a Form of Godliness\nwithout the Power; the dangerous Tendency of false Doctrines; the Devices\nof the Devil; the Workings of the old Man; the perpetual Warfare between\nthe Flesh and the Spirit; the Difference between the Law and the Gospel;\na Minister of the Spirit and one of the mere Letter; what it is to forget\nthe things that are behind, and to be pressing on to know, win, and\napprehend Christ as our Salvation, who first loved, choose, and\napprehended us.  These are some of the many Lessons we learn in his\nSchool\u2014and who teacheth like him?  We learn how to walk by Faith, live by\nFaith; to make use of Christ, as the whole Armour of God; and to rejoice\nin his eternal Love, and immutable Covenant\u2014and these evidence our Right\nto the sacramental Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ.\u2014I might\nhere mention the _Corrections_ we received\u2014_for whom the Lord loveth he\nchasteneth_, _and scourgeth every Son he receiveth_.  Mark that! they are\n_Sons_.  The kind Presents, the Love-Tokens, the Deliverances, the\nSupport, the Protection, Care, long Suffering, Kindness, Compassion which\nour Father manifests to us, in public and in private; the Letters he\nkindly accepts from us, while we are out at School; the kind Answers he\ngives; the Presents he sends; the Indulgences he grants; all evidence he\nis our Father, and we his Children.\u2014I now appeal to my own Soul, and to\nall who hear me, What know we of these Things?  Examine yourselves; let a\nMan examine by the Touchstone of God\u2019s Word: if the above are Things you\nhave felt and known, in some degree, then you are welcome to the\nSacrament.  Approach the Table, let nothing keep you back\u2014Obey his\nCommands, they are the Commands of a Father to his Children; of a King to\nhis Subjects; of a Master to his Servants; of a Captain to his Soldiers;\nbut, above all, the Intreaty of a dying Friend to those he loves.  This\nleads me,\n\n3rdly.  _To answer some Objections_\u2014there really is no end to objecting.\nI principally intend to answer the Objections of those who are Children\nof God, who through weakness of Judgment, and Faith, and for want of\nclear Evidences, scruple about their Right to the Lord\u2019s Supper.\u2014Here I\nscarcely know how to begin, the objections are so numerous.  I will\nanswer the few following: Some object, Because, say they, I am so very\nbad; I have such Evils in my Nature; such Thoughts in my Heart; such\nFears I shall never be saved.\u2014These Objections are frivolous; if you\ntarry till you are better, you will never come; you cannot come too bad\nto Jesus\u2014_I will in no wise cast out_.  You must come to every Ordinance,\nand to Jesus, as a Sinner, vile and polluted.  Away then with that legal\nnotion, that proud spirit! for this Objection arises from Pride: it is,\nin fact, saying, If I was better than I am, I should have less need of\nJesus, and less need of his Grace.  Besides, not any thing you feel can\njustify you in the breach of a plain Command.\u2014_Do this in remembrance of\nme_.  Another objects to the Table, because it is not essential to\nSalvation; then I wonder you do not object to hearing, to reading, to\npraying\u2014for none of these things are essential to Salvation; and though\nit is not essential to your Salvation, you may find it essential to the\nKnowledge and Enjoyment of it.  Here at the table, God has met with many.\nBesides this, though not essential to Salvation itself, yet it is an\nessential Command of the eternal Jehovah\u2014_Do this_.  Let his Word be\nobeyed whether essential to Salvation of not.\u2014Another Objector says, I\nthink it best to stay till I know more of myself and of God, and then I\nwill come.  This is acting against yourself, as well as the Command: if\nthe Ordinances are designed to communicate Knowledge to the Mind, and you\nfeel your need of Knowledge, you ought, above every other, to be in the\nuse of that Ordinance, to gain a clearer Knowledge\u2014_In the keeping thy\nCommands there is great reward_.  We cannot get our Knowledge first, and\nthen come to Ordinances; but in the Ordinances God may be pleased to give\nyou clearer Knowledge.  But do you obey his voice?  _My Sheep hear_\n(_obey_) _my voice_\u2014_See that ye refuse not him that speaketh from\nHeaven_\u2014_Do this_, _in __remembrance of me_.\u2014Another Objector says, I\nthink it right to wait till I see my interest clear.  This appears very\nfeasible; but, upon examination, this Objection falls to the ground.\nWhen our Lord instituted it and gave it to his Disciples, they did not\nmake this Objection, and say, Oh, we cannot think of obeying your\nCommands, nor receiving the Bread and Wine at your Hands; because you\nhave not yet manifested yourself clearly to us.\u2014We read of no such\nObjection.  What Philip said to the Eunuch on another occasion, may be\napplied to this\u2014_If thou believest with all thine heart_, _thou mayest_.\nIf you believe on Jesus, in such a way as to depend on him, look to him,\nand desire nothing in comparison with him, your Faith is to grow\nexceedingly, even up to full Assurance.  By the use of Ordinances, then,\nin order to see your Interest clearly, obey his divine Word, _Do this_,\nand you shall be blessed, though not for, yet _in_ the deed,\n\n    Let not Conscience make you linger,\n       Nor of Fitness fondly dream;\n    All the fitness he requireth,\n       Is to feel your need of him.\n\nWith respect to others, in reference to Church Orders, this must be left\nto the Consciences of Believers, whether they are led to approve of\nstrict or mixt Communions; as there are Ministers who are faithful and\nexperimental, of both Parties.\u2014I must pass by many other Objections I\nhave heard, as scarcely worth attending to.  I close, with answering the\nold Objection, which arises from the Apostle\u2019s language, _He that eateth\nand drinketh unworthily_, _eateth and drinketh his own damnation_, _not\ndiscerning the Lord\u2019s Body_.  This has frightened many, and kept them,\nthrough their own legality, from the Table.  As to Worthiness, we shall\nnever possess it; we may as well object to every meal, to the light of\nthe sun, to every breath we draw, as object to the Table because of our\nUnworthiness.  To set this Passage in a fair light, it appears there was\na custom in the Corinthian Church, of having a Supper before the\nSacrament: this was, as they said, to imitate Christ, who, with his\nDisciples, first kept the Passover Feast, then celebrated his own Supper.\nAt this Anti-Feast or Supper, they acted so disorderly, exceeding the\nbounds of Temperance and Sobriety, that in the midst of such Cheerfulness\nand Gaiety, they were not fit to attend to the Lord\u2019s Supper.\u2014_See ver._\n20, 21.\u2014All are worthy whom he invites, his Friends, his Beloved, his\nChildren, because they in the Supper discern the Lord\u2019s Body; but all\nothers, who have no Knowledge of Christ, nor the Nature of the ordinance,\nare considered as unworthy, or unfit persons; and when this Ordinance is\ndishonored by such Characters, they dishonor the Saviour it holds forth,\nand eat and drink, not eternal _damnation_, but _condemnation_ to\nthemselves; God testifying his disapprobation of the Abuse of any of his\nOrdinances\u2014this he did in the Corinthian Church, (_see ver._ 30) the Lord\nchastened them who had behaved in such a disorderly manner, with bodily\ninfirmity; and although he saved their Souls in himself, yet he actually\ntook away some by Death.  The Unworthiness then spoken of in this Text,\nis not of the Persons, but of the unbecoming conduct of those who would\ncome in a state of Intoxication or Gluttony, to the Lord\u2019s Table; and the\nDamnation spoken of, is Guilt, and of course, the sad consequences\nattending it; so that this Objection to the Lord\u2019s Table must fail\u2014only\nlet a Man examine himself, whether he is a Child of God\u2014whether he is in\nthe Faith and the Faith in him\u2014a Faith, that works by Love\u2014goes out of\nself and embraces Christ as his Atonement, Righteousness, and\nStrength\u2014that produces good Works, and animates the Mind in the Prospect\nof that Joy which never fades away.\n\n    JESUS, thy Feast we celebrate,\n       We shew thy Death, we sing thy Name,\n    Till thou return, and we shall eat\n       The Marriage Supper of the Lamb.\n\n              [Picture: Decorative graphic with FINIS on it]\n\nThomas, Printer.  Red Lion St. Borough.","title":"The Glorious Law-Giver, and the Obedient Subject: Being the Substance of a Sermon, on the Duty of All Believers to Commemorate the Death of the Redeemer, in the Lord's Supper. Intending to Set Forth the Authority of Christ; the Nature of the Ordinance; and a Description of the Persons Who Have a Right to Partake of the Same.","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":7467}