6i THE rjonx keceiyin'g.
of the circumcision, yet the Lord would have killed him if he had not done it. And so they that receive unworthily, you may see are guilty, as 2 Chron. XXX. 3, seq. : the sacrament there was not wholly omitted ; hut because they came to it without due preparation, as the Lord required, he smote the people ; for a multitude of Ephraim and Manasseh had not cleansed them- selves. Yet did they eat the passover, but not as it was written. The Lord also, you see, would have killed Moses, because he administered not circumcision to his son. Many other come unto this sacrament, but they come not according unto God's ordinance.
Well, Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, ' The good Lord be merciful unto them, who prepare their whole heart to seek the Lord God, the God of their fathers, though they be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary.' So that here you have a plain token, that God is dis- pleased when a man presumeth to come with unwashen hands. Now, when a good man prayeth for mercy, for whom doth he pray ? What ! for him who never rcspccteth God, but will be constant in a wicked course ? If all the hands in heaven and earth were lifted up for such a one, all possibly could do him no good. When Hezekiah prayed, the Lord, notwithstanding his ordinance was broken, was moved to be merciful. For whom ? for them that had an upright heart ; for them who prepared their hearts to seek him. So that here is an evidence, what a fearful thing it is for a man to come to the sacrament without this preparation. And to go no further for proof than where my test is now, ver. 29, ' He that eateth unworthily' — he that will come to this table without preparation, not addressing of his heart to entertain the Lord, — ' he eateth judgment to himself.' We see, therefore, what a fearful thing it is. Now that the law, which was prepared and ordained for life, is now become unto us as death, what is the cause of this ? The rebellion of thy heart hath turned the course of the law ; so that that which was appointed for life is now become death. Ay, but is not this also a heav}' thing, that the same is said also of the gospel ? that the gospel, which was ordained for life, is now by thy negligence proved to be thy death ? It is so : ' He that eateth iinworthily, he eateth destruction, he eateth judgment to himself.'
Now, judgment we must not take in the terrible sense, that he that cometh unworthily shall eat judgment presently. But it is taken otherwise. Wilt thou, his enemy, eat unworthily ? He will judge thee. If thou beest a child, he will whip thee ; if thou beest a wicked man, he will for ever con- demn thee ; if his servant, he will inflict other outward judgments upon thee. So that I take it in another sense : if the child of God come un- worthily, the Lord will make him smart ; if the wicked man, who resiles him daily, intrude himself to the Lord's table, he shall eat damnation ; so that neither the children of God nor the wicked shall escape judgment : the one shall have sentence of damnation, the other of sharp punishment. That this is the meaning of the apostle, it appeareth by the words follow- ing : * for this cause,' when he had said ' many eat judgment,' he addeth, ' many are sick,' where in particular he setteth down that judgment whereof he spake of before. God's children, if they come without preparation, unreverentty, they eat such judgment to themselves ; God will send sickness upon them. For this cause it is that many of you are punished with death itself; and it foUoweth, ver. 31, 'But when we are punished, we are chastened of the Lord.' Wliy ? ' Because we should not be condemned with the world.' You see judgment is opposed to condemnation. God's children eat judgment to themselves to avoid condemnation, which I stand
THE EIGHT EEOEmNG. G5
upon, because many tliink that if tbey come unworthily, they shall bo damned presently ; as I have known some who have abstained seven years, because they were afraid they should eat unworthily. 0 ! then bo not damned. The apostlo saith ' that we are chastised of the Lord, that wo may not be condemned.'
For the necessity of this duty then, seeing it is necessary for a man to examine himself, as hath been shewed, it followeth now that we consider
The properties rvherein a man is to examine himself.
Wherein must he examine himself ? I answer, this dependeth upon the know- ledge of the institution of the sacrament. Let us then consider for what end it was instituted, and let us see what that is which is done in the sacrament.
The end of a sacrament, Bom. iv. 11 — speaking of one sacrament — namely, of circumcision : Abraham received the sign of circumcision, as the seal of the righteousness of that faith which he had when he was uncir- cumcised. In those words you have a second use for a sacrament set down. It is appointed of God, Jirst, to bo ' a sign of the righteousness of faith.' A sign to inform the understanding, touching the benefits we have by the communion of Christ. And secondly, it is not only the bare sign, as words are, but it is also a seal, that is, a thing appointed of God, to confirm that there is a difference betwixt these two. As for instance : if a man hath the picture of a king, he hath a sign of the king ; but it he have a deed, con- fii'med with a seal from the king, this sheweth that he hath an interest in something which he receiveth from the king. Well then, the sacrament is a sign to inform the understanding of man, touching the benefits we have by Christ, and a seal to assure us of that there signified. The first use of the sacrament is, to open the mysteries of the gospel to all that have under- standing ; the second is, to seal the comforts which are there signified in the sacrament : for, as in the former use, it is not every one unto whom the gospel giveth knowledge, but to them that believe. So, doth this sac- rament seal unto all ? No ; but to them who besides understanding have grace. So that then here is the point : the sacrament is a sign to declare the mysteries of the gospel unto all that have understanding ; secondly, it is a seal to assure some of the comforts of Christ, and not to all, but unto them who have grace.