Secondly^ The subject, or the person that approaches unto God m his worship ; " His saints, and all that are about him." By saints, many interpreters do (in this place) understand the angels, called saints, from the purity and holiness of their nature ; and so make the next clause exegetical of this. Those that before were called saints in respect of their nature, are, in the next words said to be such as are round about him, his satellites, attendants, or those that stand as ser- vants about him, to do his pleasure ; where they are described by their office. Both these seem to be grounded upon the precedent verses : " Who in heaven can be compared to the Lord ? Who among the sons of the mighty," (or of God, so the angels are called. Job i. 6.) " can be likened to the Lord ?" And though it be true, that the angels worship, and serve the Lord with the greatest rever- ence and dread (for these are his nigh ones, or such as are round about him ;) yet there is no necessity to limit this scripture so narrowly, by excluding the people of God on earth ; they also are his saints, and more frequently so stiled, though they be saints of a lower class and order : and they also are round about him as well as the angels ; and when they worship him, he is in the midst of them. Mat. xviii. 20. And the place where they assemble to worship, is called the place of his feet, Isa. Ix. 13. But if we find not the saints on earth in the di- rect and immediate sense of this text, yet we must needs meet them in the rebound and consequence. For if creatures so much above us, as the angels, do perform their service, and pay their homage to the highest Majesty with so much fear and reverence ; shall not in- ferior creatures, the poor worms of the earth, tremble at his pre- sence ? And this brings us to the third thing ; namely,
Thirdly, The mode, or manner, in which the worship of God is to be performed ; viz. with great fear and reverence : " God is greatly to be feared." Piscator translates it, Vehementer formid- andus, to be vehemently feared ; and opposes it to that formal, careless, trifling, vain spirit, which too often is found in those that approach the Lord in the duties of his worship. The observation from hence will be this :
Observation. That the greatest composedness and seriousness of spirit is due to God, from all those that draw nigh unto him in his worship.
And this is no more than what the Lord expressly requires at our hands ; Lev. x. 3. " I will be sanctified in them that come nigh unto me." So Heb. xii. 28, 29- " Let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably, with reverence, and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire."
And as this disposition and temper of spirit is due to every act and part of God's worship ; so (to accommodate this general to our particular occasion) it is especially due to this great and solemn or- dinance of the Lord's supper. It is the observation of the Casuists, ihatsacramentum et jmrtisarti^
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cuius aquiparanter : The sacrament of the Lord's supper, and the very point of death, require equal seriousness : a man's spirit should be as deeply solemn and composed at the Lord's table, as upon a death-bed. We should go to that ordinance, as if we were then go- ing into another world.
The primitive Christians used to sit up whole nights in meditation and prayer, before their participation of the Lord's supper; and these nights were called Vigilia?, their watches. Such was the reverence the saints had for this ordinance (which they usually called myster^ ium tremendicm^ a tremendous mystery,) that they would not give " sleep to their eyes, or slumber to their eye-lids," when so great and solemn a day drew near. Chrysost. lib. 3. de sacerdot.
And that all this solemn preparation is no more than needs, will convincingly appear to us, upon the following grounds and reasons.
Reason 1. From the solemn nature and ends of this ordinance. For what is the express design and use of it, but a lively represen- tation of the Lord's death ? 1 Cor. xi. 26. As often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come." Jesus Christ is therein set forth crucified before us ; and not to make a bare representation of it to us, as a thing wherein we have no personal interest or concernment, but to represent his death live- ly, and seal our title to it firmly : " This is my body which is bro- ken for you," verse 24.
Now, v/hich of these is to be attended with a dead, careless, and slight spirit ? Is it the representation of Christ's death ? God for- bid ! Oh ! if there be any subject of meditation in the world, able to drink up the very spirit of a man, this is it !
The sun fainted, the heavens mourned in black, the very rocks rent in pieces, when this tragedy was acted ; and shall our hearts be more senseless and obdurate than they, at the representation of it ? But, lo ! here is more than a representation : Christ is set forth in this ordinance, as crucified for you ; as suffering, and enduring all this, in your room and stead. Now,
Suppose, reader, thyself to be justly condemned to the torture of the rack, or strappado; and that thy father, brother, or dearest friend, preferring thy life to his own, would become thy Antipsyxos, ran- somer, by undergoing the torment for thee ; and all that is left for thee to suffer, were only by way of sympathy with him ; suppose now thyself standing by that engine of torture, and beholding the members of thy dear friend distorted, and all out of joint ; hearing his doleful groans, extorted by the extremity of anguish ; and under all these torments, still maintaining a constant love to thee ; not once repent- ing his torments for thee ; couldst thou stand there with dry eyes ? Could thy heart be unafl'ected, and stupid at such a sight .^ Write him rather a beast, a stone, than a man, that could do so.
But this is not all ; the believer's interest in Christ is sealed, as well as the sufferings of Christ represented, in tliis ordinance.
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And is a sealed interest in Christ so cheap or common a thing-, as that it should not engage, yea, swallow up all the powers of thy soul ? Oh ! what is this ? what is this ?
The seal of God, set to the soul of a poor sinner, to confirm and ratify its title to the person of Christ, and the inestimable treasures of his blood. Surely, as the sealing up of a man to damnation, is the «um of all misery; and that poor creature that is so sealed, hath cause enough to mourn and wail to eternity ; so the sealing up of a soul to salvation, is the sum of all mercy, and happiness; and the soul that is so sealed, hath cause enough to lie at the feet of God, overwhelm- ed with the sense of so invaluable a mercy.