Monthly Preparations for the Holy Communion

p. 1A Monthly Preparation for our Holy Communion with Christ and his Church, in the Lord's Supper.

THIS is a holy Feast that is purposely provided by the King of Saints, for the Entertainment of his Family; for the refreshing of the weary, and the making glad the mournful Soul. The night before his bitter Death, he instituted this Sacramental Feast; He caused his Disciples to sit down with him, and when they had partaked of the Passover, the Sacrament of Promise, and had their taste of the old wine, he giveth them the new, even the Sacrament of the better Covenant, and of the fuller Gospel-Grace: He teacheth them that his Death is Life to them: and that which is his bitterest suffering, is their Feast: and his sorrows are their Joyes; as p. 2our sinful pleasures were his sorrows. The slain Lamb of God our passover that was Sacrificed for us, that taketh away the sins of the world, was the pleasant food; which Sacramentally he himself then delivered to them, and substantially the next day offered for them. The bread of God is he which cometh down from Heaven, and giveth life unto the world, John 6. 33. He is the living bread which came down from Heaven: If any man eat of this Bread he shall live for ever: and the Bread which he giveth is his flesh which he hath given for the life of the world. verse 50, 51. Except we eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, we have no life in us: Whoso eateth his flesh and drinketh his blood, hath eternal life, and he will raise him up at the last day: For his flesh is meat indeed, and his blood is drink indeed: He that eateth his flesh, and drinketh his blood, dwelleth in Christ, and Christ in him: As the living Father hath sent the Son, and he liveth by the Father, so he that eateth him, shall live by him. This is that bread that came down from Heaven: not as the Fathers did eat Manna and are dead: he that eateth this bread shall live for ever.

p. 3I shall here only give you some brief Directions for your private duty herein.

p. 3Direct. 1. Understand well the proper ends, to which this Sacrament was instituted by Christ; and take heed that you use it not to ends, for which it never was appointed. The true ends are these, 1. To be a solemn Commemoration of the Death and passion of Jesus Christ, Mat. 26. 28. Mar. 14. 24. Luke 22. 20. to keep it, as it were, in the eye of the Church, in his bodily absence till he come, 1 Cor. 11. 24, 25, 26. 2. To be a solemn renewing of the Holy Covenant which was first entred in Baptism, between Christ and the Receiver; and in that Covenant it is on Christ's part, a solemn delivery of himself first, and with himself the benefits of Pardon, Reconciliation, Adoption, and right to Life eternal. Heb. 9. 15, 16, 17, 18. 1 Cor. 10. 16, 24. And on mans part, it is our solemn acceptance of Christ with his Benefits, upon his terms, and a delivering up our selves to him, as his Redeemed ones, even to the Father as our reconciled Father, and to the Son as our Lord and Saviour, and to the Holy Spirit as our Sanctifier, with p. 4Professed Thankfulness for so great a benefit. 3. It is appointed to be a lively objective means, by which the Spirit of Christ should work to stir up and exercise, and increase the Repentance, Faith, Desire, Love, Hope, Joy, Thankfulness, and New-Obedience of Believers; by a lively Representation of the evil of sin, the infinite love of God in Christ, the firmness of the Covenant or Promise, the greatness and sureness of the Mercy given, and the Blessedness purchased and promised to us, and the great obligations that are laid upon us. And that herein believers might be solemnly called out to the most serious exercise of all these Graces, 1 Cor. 11. 27, 28, 29, 31. 1 Cor. 10. 16, 17, 21. 1 Cor. 11. 25, 26. 2 Cor. 6. 4. and might be provoked and assisted to stir up themselves to this Communion with God in Christ, & to pray for more as through a sacrificed Christ. 4. It is appointed to be the solemn Profession of Believers, of their Faith, and Love, and Gratitude, and Obedience to God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, and of continuing firm in the Christian Religion. And a Badge of the p. 5Church before the World. Acts 2. 42, 46. & 20. 7. 5. And it is appointed to be a sign and means of the Unity, Love, and Communion of Saints, and their readiness to Communicate to each other.

p. 5The false mistaken ends, which you must avoid, are these. 1. You must not with the Papists, think that the end of it is to turn Bread into no Bread, and Wine into no Wine, and to make them really the true Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. For if sense (which telleth all Men that it is still Bread and Wine) be not to be believed, then we cannot believe that ever there was a Gospel, or an Apostle, or a Pope, or a Man, or any thing in the World. And the Apostle expresly calleth it Bread three times, in three Verses together, after the Consecration, 1 Cor. 11. 26, 27, 28. and he telleth us, that the use of it is (not to make the Lords Body really present, but) to shew the Lords Death till he come; that is, As a visible representing and commemorating sign, to be instead of the Bodily presence till he come.

2. Nor must you with the Papists use this Sacrament to sacrifice Christ again p. 6really unto the Father, to propitiate him for the quick and dead, and ease Souls in Purgatory, and deliver them out of it. For Christ having died once dieth no more, and without killing him, there is no sacrificing him: By once offering up himself, he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified; and now there remaineth no more sacrifice for sin: Having finished the sacrificing work on Earth, he is now passed into the Heavens, to appear before God for his Redeemed ones. Ro. 6. 9. 1 Cor. 15. 3. 2 Cor. 5. 14, 15. Heb. 9. 26. and 10. 12, 26. and 9. 24.