in receiving the Sacrament of the Lords Supper. 23 3 toyour Seal to fuch a thing and there were never any kind of tranfattions between this man andyou before you would ac- count it ridiculous, after there hath been agreements between you, ou life then to feal. So it mutt be here, Iwould appeal to manyof your confciences that have come to the Lords Supper, what tranfattions have there been between God and your fouls ? Gantt thou fay, the Lord was pleafed to reveal himfelf to me,to make known to me my wretched condition, and the way ofgrace and falvacion, and (hewedme that uponmy coming in to receive his Son, he would be merciful to me, and pardon my fins , and I have found the Spirit of God workingmy heart to jefus Chrift, the Lord from Heaven fpeaking to rue, and I fending an Anfwet. toHeaven again, howwilling my foul was to accept of the Co- venant, which the Lord bath made with poor creatures in the word of his Gofpel ; canft thou fay this in the uprightnefsof thy heart ; if not, know that this Seal belongs not to thee, until the Lord hath by his word fubdued thy heart tothis agreement firft with him. Secondly, This Ordinance, it is the Ordinance of Spiritual Nourithment, of eating the Flefh of Chrift, and drinking Blood in a Spiritual way. Now it mutt needs fuppofe that firft there, muff be life, before there can be any nourifhment received in. If; it be appointed to nourifh and encreale Grace, thenPurely there, mutt be grace bebre ; what nourithment can a dead child take ? The very fiat thing that is co be.done, is nourithment here :. The word hath power to convey life,and then to nourifh, but we reade of no fuch thing here , but that which is tribedone here, is pre- emly to feed, to ear, and to drink, that is the end. of the Sacra- ment ; therfore it mutt be fuppofed that thou muff have fpiritual life, theremuff come no dead foul to this Ordinance, but chore . who are quickned by theSpirit of jefus Chrift, theymufi.come for nourithtnenr. Thirdly, Theadhere requireddoth note, That only thole that are holy andgodly can receive this Sacrament ; we are required: by the Apofile examine our fell;ef. To examine our (elves of what? It mutt be of our Godlinefsl examine what work of God bath been upon the foul , how God hath brought the: foul to Himieif, and what Graces of the Spirit of God are- there::
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=