Well, then, the new testament is confirmed by them. Now the covenant bindeth mutually. God bindeth himself to give grace to us, and we bind ourselves to live unto God : Exod. xxiv. 6-8, ' And Moses- took half of the blood, and put it in a basin, and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people : and they said, All that the Lord hath said, will we do, and be obedient. And Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and said. Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words.'
Well, then, sacraments on God's part are signs and seals of the promise of grace ; on our part, an obligation to obedience. God bindeth himself to be our God, and we bind ourselves to be his people. God to be our God, that is to be a benefactor becoming an infinite and eternal power ; that is, the meaning of ' I will be your God,' Mat. xxii. 32, and Heb. xi. 16 ; that is. Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, will em- ploy all his wisdom, power, and goodness to keep us from all evil, and bestow on us all good: Gen. xv. 1, 'Fear not, Abraham; I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward ; ' and Ps. Ixxxiv. 11, * For the Lord God is a sun and a shield ; the Lord will give grace and glory ; no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.' Here a shield, hereafter a reward ; both in part here, both fully hereafter, when the sun is in his meridian. Again, on the other side, we bind ourselves to be his people ; that is, as to entrance and progress. As to entrance ; Acts xx. 21, ' Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance towards God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.' So it is an obligation to repentance and faith ; this is making the covenant. As to progress, continuance, and keeping covenant ; so
494 A SERMON ON THE ENDS OF THE SACRAMENT.
we bind ourselves to new obedience : Heb. v. 9, ' He is become the author of eternal salvation, unto all them that obey him.'
Now, then, if we come aright, we must come with a true heart, and in full assurance of faith, Heb. x. 22. With an assurance of faith, that God will be as good as his word, pardoning, sanctifying, blessing, and that he will keep us to everlasting glory ; and with a true heart bind our- selves to a retm'n to our duty, depending on the Eedeemer's sacrifice, and to walk in all new obedience. The oftener we renew this covenant, the more conscience we must have of both parts. In baptism we first bound ourselves to depend upon God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, as our benefactor, redeemer, and sanctifier ; as also 1 Peter iii. 21, to serve, worship, and obey Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, as our Lord, redeemer, and sanctifier. We often renew this in the Lord's supper. Our faith is the more confii-med, and our obedience more strengthened ; as the servant whose ear was bored, Exod. xxi. 6, bound himself to his master. The oftener we devote ourselves to God, the more conscience we should have of our oath. Eouse up yourselves there. Doth God give you bread and wine to be symbols of his wrath and backwardness to do you good ; or to be symbols of his grace and readiness to help us, and of his bounty towards us ? If he hath forgiven our sins, will he not forgive our infirmities ? If he gives the beginnings, will he not give the continuance ? If eternals, will he not give temporals ? Ps. xxiii. 1, ' The Lord is my shepherd ; I shall not want.' So also excite your obedience ; I am the Lord's, and shall I live to myself ? No ; ' His I am, and him will I serve,' Acts xxvii. 23. I am no longer my own, and shall I live as my own ? I shall he the most faithless man in the world. Breach of vows in an indifferent thing is a great crime, much more here : Acts v, 4, ' Whilst it remained, was it not thine own ? and after it was sold, was it not in thy own power ? Why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart ? Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.'
3. It is a pledge of heaven : Mat. xxvi. 29, ' But I say unto you, that I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until the day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom ; ' that is, after a new manner; then we enjoy the efiects of it, fulness of joy and eternal delights : Mat. viii. 11, ' Shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven ; ' sit down at an eternal feast. And Luke xxii. 30, ' That you may eat and drink at my table in my king- dom.' So John vi. 54, ' Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.' The man revived that touched the prophet's bones ; to eat Christ's flesh by faitli leaveth a quickening power. This is our refreshing in the house of our pilgrimage, as Israel had manna in the wilderness till they came into the land of Canaan ; so that if we come rightly to this holy duty, we come not mainly for any temporal good, but either heaven, or tem- poral things in order to heaven. He that believeth not the promise of eternal life with his whole heart, cometh in vain. Therefore, here we come to grow more heavenly-minded, to set mind and heart a-work, to look more and long more for the heavenly estate, and to quicken our selves to prepare for it, and to seek it in the first place, referring our selves to God for other things : Jilat. vi. 33, ' First seek the kingdom