A short and plain instruction for the better understanding of the Lord's supper

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Class jiX51AS

GPO

A SHORT f^:^

Preface

I have often considered and found by experience, that there is no way so likely to influence the lives of christians ; to inspire young people with a sense of religion; to keep them from backsliding ; and to secure, if possible, the growing age from the sad contagion of the present ; as by leading them very early to an ordinance, in which all the means of grace and salvation are exhibited to their view, and in order to which they are always required to consider their ways ; to renew their purposes of obedience ; and to beg those graces which are necessary to fit them for Heaven and happiness. I have therefore, in the following papers, endeavoured to make this holy ordinance, and the duties required, as piain as may be to the meanest capacity.

VV PRE FACE.

And I hope I have taken care, a^ on one hand not to flatter sinners, so on the other, not to fill the minds of yonng people with unnecessary feara and scraples, or with the difficulties of a due preparation, with respect to a duty which ought to be the practice of their whole lives : as if nobody ought to go to this sacrament, but such as are as perfect as ever they hope to be.

I have therefore, in these short devotions, consulted both the capacities and tempers of young commiinu cants ^ for whoseiise this is chiefly intended^ who are apt to be impatient and weary of long prayers.

And I would hope that the specimen of devotions, before and after the communion, will not only answer that end, but will be of use to lead christians to make proper reflec- Jtions, when they read, at other times: for want of which these Holy writings are too often read and heard without any great benefit, and with* iW

PREFACE. T

oivt affecting the minds, or influencin«* the lives of those who hear them daily.

iraving observed, with eoncerno how often people distract themselves with turning to other hooks of devo« tion, when they should attend to the public service of the church j to prevent this, 1 have added the whole communion service, with such short observations, prayers, ejaculations, ^•c. as may be proper to help devout minds, without diverting them from the duty they are about.

And the observations upon the Bubricks, upon the commandments and warnings, ^c. which should be consulted at home, will be of use to show those of our communion, how well the church has provided for the instruction^ edification^ and salvation^ of all her members.

In short, there is nothing wanting

. to make this Holy ordinance to be

reverenced, and closed with, by all

VI PREFACE,

persons, and upon all occasion s, but a true uac^erstanding of its meaning, and the blessings annexed to it : where this end is in any good measure attained, either by this, or any other books on this subject, God will be ^ greatly glorified ; which is the great enu iiitended by the following papers, and prayed for, by

THE AUTHOR

A SHORT

Introduction to the true understanding of the

LORD'S SUPPER;

With preparatory devotionSfiniendedfor the benefit of young covirminicants*

Section I

THERE are two Holy ordinances or sacraments appointed by Jesus Christ as most especial means of obtaining grace and salvation : which no christian who hopes to be saved, must wilfully neglect. These are baptism^ and the Lord'^s supper.

It must be supposed, that you have already been made partaker of one of these two sacraments, viz : that of baptism^ by which you were admitted into the congregation of Christ's flock, were restored to the favour of God, and had the Holy Spirit communicate4 to you, for a principle of a new anw spiritual life ; iu order to awaken you^ and to direct and assist that natural reason with which God has endued all mankind.

But forasmuch as you have done many things contrary to the promise made in your name, when you were baptized, and will stand in need of greater degrees of grace and assistance, to enable you to resist the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil, and to do your duty in that state of life unto which the Providence of God shall call you ; you are therefore now called upon to be partaker of the other sacrament, that of the LovdPs supper ; by which, upon your sincere repentance, you may obtain the pardon of all your past sins, and such other graces as you stand in need of, to bring you to eternal life and happiness.

Take eare therefore, that you understand what you are called to, as well as you are able : and God expects no more.

For if you go to the Lord^s supper without considering the iieason of

TO THE LORD^S SLTPER. 6

that ordinancej and tlie very great concern you have in it; without seeing the necessity and blessing of a Redeemer, you will go with indifference, and return without such benefit as you might otherwise hope for.

To prevent this, you should seriously consider what account the Holy' Scriptures have given us of the condition we are in, both with respect to this life and the life which is to come.

That is, that we are by nature sinners ; and that as such, Grod cannot take pleasm*e in us ; and that if we die, before we are restored to his favour, we shall be separated from Him, and miserable forever.

This will lead you to enquire, how the nature of man came to be thus disordered, and prone to evil ; for you must not imagine, that God, who is infinitely good, created man in such a state of corruption, as you now see and feel him to be ; but that he must have fallen into this wretched condition, since he came out of the hands of bis creator.

And so the scripture informs us. In the third chapter of Genesis, we have this following account of the state of man, hefore and after the fall :

That Adam and Eve, from whom sprang all mankind, were created in the image of God ; that is, holy and innocent; having a perfect knowledge of their duty, a command of their will and affections, and a power^ through the grace of God, to do what they saw fit to be done.

In this condition they were placed in Paradise, in a ^tate of trial, with the promise of immortal life and happiness, if they should continue to fear, to love, to honour, and obey their creator; as also with an express waining, of the dreadful consequence of their disobedience.

Notwithstanding which warnings they, through the temptation of the Devil, transgressed the commands of God ; and, by doing so, they did not only forfeit all right to the promise of eternal life and happiness^ but al-

SO contracted such a blindness in the understanding, such a disorder in their will and affections, as all their posterity feel to their sorrow ; and became subject to sin, and the punishment of sin, which is misery and death.

Concerning the nature and greatness of this sin, we are to judge of it by the greatness of the punishment inflicted upon them, and their posjterity. For God being infinitely just and Holy, could not inflict a punishment greater than their sin deserved.

Now this was the occasion of that universal corruption and wickedness which you see and hear of in the world, and which you cannot but, in some measure, feel in your own nature ; for, as the scripture informs us, Genesis v. 3. Adam begat his children in his own likeness ; that is, with such a depraved nature as his was then become.

And now consider into what a sad condition these unhappy offenders

S A SHORT INTRODUCTION

had brought themselves; and remember that this is your own condition, and the condition of all their posterity.

The law of nature and reason was full in force, and could not possibly be dispensed with. At tbe same time they found, by sad experience, that, as St. Paul describes the fallen state of man, there was a law in their members warring against the law of their minds ; so that the good which they would, they did not ; but the evil that they would not, that they did. Rom. vii.

There could not sure be a condition more deplorable than this; to live only to contract evil habits -, and, by doing so, to increase their guilt, to displease their creator, and to leave an offspring as miserable as themselves.

This therefore, gave occasion to God to manifest another of his most glorious perfections, that is, his infinite goodness and mercy.

For God foreseeing this lamentable condition into wliicli they had fallen by departing from tlieir obedience, his goodness had provided such a remedy, as that neither they nor any of their posterity should, on account of their fall, be eternally miserable, except through their own fault.

He therefore, in consideration of a redeemer, one of the seed of the wo* man, who should make full satisCaction to the divine justice for their transgression, and who should bruise the he^id, or break the power, of that serpent (the devil) which tempted them to sin ; in consideration of this promised seed, God entered into a new covenant with them, by v>ay of remedy for what was past, and could not be undone.

We have reason to believe that this new covenant was more fully explained to Adam, than is set down in this short account given us by Moses, and as it is more fully explained in the gospel ; and w hich was to this purpose ; that, on condition of their sin-

B a A SHORT INTRODUCTION

cere repentance and sincere obedience afterwards, they should be restored to the favour of God ; and after death, to that life and happiness, Tvhich in their state of innocence was promised to them without tasting of death ; w hich favour they had forfeited by their disobedience.

And when we consider that our first parents, now become sinners, stood in need of an atonement, without which, while under the displeasure of God, their very lives must be a burden ; and it being decreed by God, as it afterwards appeared, that without shedding of blood there was to be no remission of sin, i. e. without the death of the sinner, or some one in his stead ; we do therefore conclude, that, at this time, God did appoint sacrifices, or sin-oflferings, to make an atonement for the soul, and to foreshew the sacrifice of Jesus Christ (which we now commemorate) until he should be ofl'ered in behalf of them, and all their posterity.

And this appears from what follows ifii the next chapter of Genesis, where we find Ahel by faith, (that is believing and depending upon tliis ordinance of God, for the remission of sins, until the promised redeemer should come ; we find him) offering a sacrifice which was acceptable to Godj that is a sin-offering, which his brother not doing was rejected.

But here take notice, and remember, that these sacrifices could not take away sin, but only through obedience to the ordinance of God, and through faith in the promised seed.

They were, indeed, very instructive, and proper to lead sinners to repentance, and amendment of life, when they saw that their sins could not be forgiven, but by the death of an innocent creature, bleeding and dying before their eyes, to make an atonement for their sin.

And as ail good men. before the coming of Christ, did most religiously keep up the remembrance of the promised seed, and obtained the pardon of theif sins, and acceptance witli

God, upon oftering sacrifices througli faith in a redeemer which was to come ; so all christians, since the coming of that redeemer, are obliged as they hope for pardon and favour from God, to keep up the remembrance of God's great mercy, in sending us a redeemer, and of what that redeemer has done to save us ; and this in the manner which he himself hath ordained.

Now, that you may be more sensible of, and thankful to God for this liis infinite loving kindness, and that you may be fully convinced of the necessity and blessing of a redeemer, you ought to know and consider, that our saviour and redeemer came not, until man had been tried in all conditions, in a state of innocence, under the government of his own reason, and under the law given by Moses. All which methods of Providence, through the perverse will of man, had been rendered inefiectual for the% amendment of the worltL Notwithstanding which, such was the goodness of God, that he sent, after al!^ his own beloved son, to take our nature upon him, and to assure mankind of the tender love which he had for his poor creatures, which were ruining themselves, without perceiving the danger they were in.

This was the promised seed ! promised to Adam, as he that should break the serpent's head, or power of the devil : promised to xVbraham, as he in whom all the nations of the eai'th should be blessed : promised to the people of Israel, as that prophet whom they should hear and obey at their peril : lastly, promised to David, as one whose kingdom should have no end. And indeed it was with this promise that God supported the spirits of all who feai'ed him, and were in fear for themselves, until the fullness of the time for his appear* ance should come.

And now this promised redeemer

being come, he &^st showed by his

own example, recorded in the gospel,

how men must live, so as to please

B 2

^Z A SHORT INTRODUCTION

God. And the law of nature as well as the law of Moses, having through sin heen much obscured and perverted, he explained them, and gave us such other laws and rules, as w ere absolutely necessary, to mend our nature, to restore us to the image of God, to keep us^from backsliding, and to fit us for heaven and happiness.

And because in the decrees of God, as was before observed, without shedding of blood there could be no remission of sin ; audit being impossible that the blood of life of any other creature^ or of any mortal man, could take away the guilt and punishment due to sin , our gracious God, both to give to mankind the greatest token of his love, and at the same time to shew how great his hatred to sin is, by the gi'eatness of the punishment it required, he sent his own son to be th€ propitiation of our own sins ; that is, to make satisfaction to his justice, and to take off the just displeasure which he had declared against sinnerSo

And his son (blessed forever be his goodness) knowing how dreadfully sad the condition would be of all such who should live and die under the displeasure of God, and what unconceivable happiness they would deprive themselves of ; he therefore^ moved with compassion for so great a calamity, undertook to obtain thek* pardon.

In order to this, he cloathed himself with our flesh, that, as man, he might suffer what our "sins had deserved; and, as he was the son of God, he might make a full and suitable satisfaction to the divine justice, offering himself a sacrifice for the sins of the whole world : and for the joy of delivering so many milfions of souls from misery, he endured the death of the cross, and all the afflictions leading to it, which we find recorded in the gospel.

And, by this worthy sacrifice, all mankind are restored to the favour of God, and put into a way and state cf salvation ; God having, for his son's i^ A SHORT INTRODUCTION

sake, promised to pardon all such as shall repent and forsake their sins, and hring forth fruits meet for repentance ; as also to give his Holy spirit to all such as shall sincerely desire him : and lastjy, to make them eternally happy after death, if during this &hort state of trial, which is designed to mend om' corrupt and disordered nature, they endeavoured to observe the rules which he has given them, and which are absolutely necessary to make thefli capable of Heaven and happiness.

Stop here a ><^hile, and adore the Infinite goodness of God, who did not overlook lost mankind, but sent his^ son to redeem us.

He might in strict justice have required men to have lived up to the law of nature and reason given in the state of innocence, on pain of being for ever separated from his presence: but, instead of that, he has been graciously pleased to accept of our sincere though imperfect obedience, aud of our sincere repentauee, wheja we have done amiss, and return to our duty.

Consider this seriously .- and you cannot but express your thankfulness after some such manner as this:

THE PRAYER.

Blessed be God for ever for this instance of his love to fallen mankindj in committing the miserable case of his unhappy creatures to no less a person than his own son! — We are not worthy of all the mercies which thou hast shewed thy servants. Grant, O God, that this wonderful love may not be lost upon me : But, that knowing my sad condition by nature, I may be truly convinced of the necessity and jblessing of a redeemer: and that I may, with a heart full of gratitude, joia with the church in giving our devoutestthanks to thee, and in keeping up the remembrance of what thy blessed son has done and suffered for us ; to whem^ with thee and the holy ghost, be dl honor, praise, and thanksgiving, for ever and ever. AmeUo

•TTS

16 .4 SHORT INTRODUCTION

SECT. IL

The end and institution of the Lord^s Supper.

St. Paul concludes his first epistle to the Corinthians with this remarkable direction ; — If any man love not the Lord Jesus, let him be anathema, maranatha ; that is, let him be separated from your communion, as one under the displeasure of God, and, without a timely repentance, in no possibility of bejng saved : — Nothing being more grievous in the sight of God, than for a sinner to slight the greatest instance of his mercy that ever was offered to man, as well as the only means of his salvation.

To prevent this, and to hinder sinners from forgetting (which they are but too apt to do) this token of God"s infinite lo\e, and to fix the love of Jeans Christ more surely in our hearts and memory, he himself hath taken care, that his love and mercy should throughout all generations, be remembered ; he did therefore ordain w^ this sacrament as a memorial of our redemption, and of his love for us ; as a pledge to assure us ot it ; and as an outward means and sign of testifying, as well as increasing, our love to liim.

The holy apostles of Christ, who w ere present when he first administered this sacrament, give us the following account of its end and institution :

They signify to us, in the first place, that this sacrament was ordained hy Christ the same night in which he was beti'ayed; and after they had observed the passover, which had been ordained to preserve the memory of their great deliverance from the bondage of Egypt, and which did prefigure, and was a prophecy of a much greater deliverance, which Jesus Christ was to be the author of, not only for them but for all mankind ; and which prophecy was surprisingly fulfilled by that people, without knowing what they were doing, when they crucified Jesus Clmst^ the true Paschal Lamb, the very same month, the very same day of the month, and the very same hour of the day, that the Paschal lamb was first ordained to be sacrificed.

Now, after the Paschal supper, as the apostles relate it, Jesus Christ took bread, and. blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, take, eat : tliis is my body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of mo. He took also the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, drink ye all of this ; for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for you, and for many, for the remission of sins : this do, as oft as ye shall drink it, in remembrance of me ; for as oft as ye shall eat this bread, and drink this cup, €lo ye show the Lord's death till he come.

In obedience therefore to this command of Jesus Christ, who has delivered us from a much greater bondage than that of Egypt, the christian church keeps up tlie memory of

TO THE LORD^S SUPPKK. i^

liis love, his sacrifice, and his sufferings, and death, after this solemn manner :

First, as an acknowledgment, that our lives, and all that we eat or drink to preserve them, are owing to the bounty of God, we present upon his table, by the hands of his own minister, a portion of his creatures, the best we have for the support and comfort of our natural life, namely, bread and wine. After this the bread and wine ar^ consecrated, the bread is broken, and the wine poured out, to represent the death of Christ, whose body was broken, and whose blood was shed for us.

Then the minister of God, as the steward of Christ's household, applies these blessings to every person, who receives this sacrament, in this devout prayer : the body and blood of Christ, which were given and shed for thee, preserve thy body and soul unto everlasting life. , And we may be assured of it, that this sacrament will be to every worthy communicant, ^vhat the tree of life would have been unto Adam and Eve in Paradise: and that as they, had thev continued obedient, would have been in no danger of temporal death; even so we, while we feed on this bread, now endued with a lifegiving spirit, and live as we ought to do, are in no danger of death eternal.

These being pledges to assure us, that as certainly as bread and wine do nourish our bodies, so do these seal to us all the benefits which Jesus Christ hath purchased for us, by his sacrifices and death.

And when any christian does wilfully, and for want of faith, deprive himself of this spiritual food, he falls, as our first parents did, into a state purely natural, and destitute of the means of grace and sahation.

For the happiness of the world, and of every soul in it, depends upon the sacrifice of Christ ; of which we are bound to keep up the remem^ brance after this solemn manner;

That, whenever we pray for any favoiir or blessing, we may remember to do it in his name : tliut, Avheiievei' we are so unhappy as to have done any thing which may displease God, we may remember to pray to be forgiven for Clirist's sake.

For God grants w hatever we ask, and which he sees to be for our good, when we ask in faith, that is, in liis son's name; and therefore the churcli concludes all her prayers in these most prevailing words ; " for Jesus Christ's sake.''

In one word, we do by this sacrament keep up a continual correspondence with our Lord in Heaven ; and hold communion with him, and with all the members of his body, which receive nourivshment and growth from Him, as the branches from the tree in which they are grafted, and from which when they are separated, they can bear no fruit, and are only fit to be burned.

And as every christian is obliged, at the peril of his soul, to obs3n^ it, so the duty must be such, as every one, even the most unlearned, may understand, if it is not his own fault.

And so indeed it is : for as an Israelite, Levite, i. 4. under the law, being obliged to lay his hand upon the head of his sacrifice, confessing his sins, and laying them, as it w ere, upon that creature, as he did easily understand, that this was to shew him, that death was the due reward of sin; that this ought to humble him before God, and to give him the greatest abhorrence of sin, which could not be pardoned but by the loss of the life of an innocent creature :

As this was plain to the meanest Israelite, even so the most unlearned christian, when he considers, that our Lord Jesus Christ became a sacrifice for us, and that on him all our sins were laid, on him who knew no sin ; he will easily understand how sad our condition was, which required such a sacrifice : that this therefore ought to humble us, to lead us to repentance, to make us fearful of oflfending God, and to abhor those sins which cost

Jesus Christ his lifejhefore God could be prevailed with to pardon them.

He will also easily understand, that the love of Christ and the remembrance of his death, ought to be very dear to us ; and that the oftener we remember it in the manner he ordained, the more graces we shall receive from God : the firmer will be our faith, the surer our pardon^ and the more comfortable our hopes of meeting him, not as an enemy, but as a friend, at whose table we have been so often entertained.

And now, if you have considered what you have read with any degree of attention, you will pause a while, until you have expressed your gratitude for this mercy, after some such manner as this following :

THE PRAYER.

O Jesus, who hast loved us, and washed us from aur sins, and purchased us by thy own blood, and didst ordain this sacrament^ in order to secure us to thyself, by a grateful re-

C 2 membrance of >vhat thou hast done and suffered for us, and make me truly sensible of thy love, and of our sad condition, which did require such a sacrifice.

May I always receive this pledge of thy love, the oflfers of mercy, pardon, and grace, tendered to us in this holy ordinance, with a thankful heart and in remembrance of thee, our great and best benefactor; in remembrance of thy holy example, of thy heavenly doctrine, of thy laborious life, of thy bitter passion and death, of thy glorious resurrection, of thy ascension into heaven, and of thy coming again to judge the world !

And may I never forget the obligation thou hast laid upon us, to live as becomes thy disciples ; and to forsake every course of life contrary to thy gospel : cease not, O Lord, to love us ; and by the grace vouchsafed in rthis ordinance, cause us to love thee with all our hearts. Amen.

SECT. III.

How a christian ought to prepare himself for this sacrament.

As the above account of this holy ordinance is easy to be understood, even by the most learned christian j so the preparation required is such, as will neither puzzle the understanding, nor burden the memory, nor take up too much of the time, of those that are engaged in the most necessary employment of life.

The church had regard to all her members, when she gave this short and plain direction to such as prepare to go to the Lord's Supper.

That they examine themselves,

Whether they repent them truly of their former sins ?

Whether they stedfastly purpose to lead a new life ?

Whether they have a lively faith in God's mercy through Christ ?

Whether they have a thankful remembrance of his death ? and

Whether they be in charity with all men ?

NoAV, forasmuch as all christians, who are capable of examining themselves, and their own consciences, are bound, as they hope for salvation through Christ, to go to this sacrament : and because young people are often at a loss how to examine themselves upon these several heads : here follow a few plain directions, which they that can read, should read with care ; and they that cannot, if they have a true concern for themseh es, will find some good christian, who will be glad to read it to them, and do thereby a work which must be well pleasing to God.

Thejirst head on which you are to examine yourself^ iSy concerning repentance.

By what you have already heard concerning the fall of man, you un^ derstand how all men became subject and prone to sin ; and you cannot but feel it to be so by sad experience. We are assured also, and this by the spirit of God, that without a sincere repentance no man must hope to be saved.

Now by repentance you are to understand a man's condemning himself, for having done any thing displeasing to God ; — ^either such things as God has forbidden, to keep us from ruining ourselves ; or by omitting such duties as he has commanded^ in order to fit us for happiness when we die.

So that if either the fear of God's displeasure, or a love of him who has been so good to you, will weigh with you, you will most heartily condemn yourself for every thing you have done contrary to his will and command.