pressions of an absolute, complete and perfect patience : though he was afflicted, and though he had all manner of provocations, though he was reviled, he reviled not again.' The apostle tells us, Heb. xii. 2. He endured the cross' (that is, he patiently endured it, as the word signifies) and despised the shame, that he might sit down at the right hand of God.'

You see then the end of this ordinance of the Lord's supper, is to stir us up to call over the obedience of Christ, both as to his love in it, as to his readiness for it, submission to the will of God in it, and patience under it.

3. Faith is to call over the work itself, and that was the death of Christ. I shall not now be able to manifest under what consideration in this ordinance faith calls over the death of Christ; but these are the heads I shall speak unto. It calls it over as a sacrifice, in that it was bloody; it calls it over as shameful, in that it was under the curse; it calls it over as bitter and dreadful, in that it was penal. It was a bloody, shameful, and penal death; as bloody, a sacrifice; as cursed, shameful; and as it was penal, it was bitter. In the work of faith's calling over these things there is a peculiar work of love also. Saith our Saviour,' Do this in remembrance of me.' These are the words we would use unto a friend, when we give him a token or pledge, Remember me.' What is the meaning of it? Remember my love to you; my kindness for you; remember my person. There is a remembrance of love towards Christ to be acted in this ordinance, as well as a remembrance of faith; and as the next object of faith is, the benefits of Christ, and thereby to his person; so the next object of love is the person of Christ, and thereby to his benefits; I mean, as represented in this ordinance. Remember me, saith he, that is, with a heart full of love towards me. And there are three things wherein this remembrance of Christ by love in the celebration of this ordinance doth consist: delight in him, thankfulness unto him, and the keeping of his word. He that remembers Christ with love, hath these three affections in his heart.

(1.) He delights in him. The thoughts of Christ are sweet unto him, as of an absent friend; but only in spiritual things we have this great advantage, we can make an absent Christ present to us. This we cannot in natural things.

We can converse with friends only by imagination. But by faith we make Christ present with us, and delight in him.

(2.) There is thanksgiving towards him. That love which is fixed upon the person of Christ will break forth in great thankfulness, which is one peculiar act of this ordiThe cup which we bless, or give thanks for.

nance.

(3.) It will greatly incline the heart to keep his word. If ye are my disciples, if ye love me, keep my commandments.' Every act of love fixed upon the person of Christ, gives a new spring of obedience to all the ordinances of Christ: and the truth is, there is no keeping up our hearts unto obedience to ordinances, but by renewed acts of obedience upon the person of Christ: this will make the soul cry, When shall I be in an actual observation of Christ's ordinance, who hath thus loved me, and washed me with his own blood, that hath done such great things for me?

This is the end of the death of Christ, which concerns our faith and love; the end of commemoration, or calling to remembrance.

There is an end of profession also; which is, to shew forth the Lord's death till he come.' But this must be spoken to at some other time. If we come to the practice of these things, we shall find them great things to call over; viz. the whole frame of the heart of Christ in his death, and his death itself, and our own concern therein, and the great example he hath set unto us. Some of them, I hope, may abide upon our hearts and spirits for our use.

DISCOURSE IV.*

As often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.-1 Cor. xi. 26.

ONE end, you see, of this great ordinance, is to shew the Lord's death, to declare it, to represent it, to shew it forth, hold it forth; the word is thus variously rendered. And in the especial ends of this ordinance it is, that we have special communion with our Lord Jesus Christ.

Delivered December 24, 1669.

Now there are two ways whereby we shew forth the Lord's death; the one is, the way of representation to ourselves; and the other is, a way of profession unto others.

I. The way of representation to ourselves. The work of representing Christ aright to the soul, is a great work. God and men are agreed in it; and therefore God, when he represents Christ, his design is to represent him to the faith of men. Men that have not faith have a great desire to have Christ represented to their fancy and imagination; and therefore, when the way of representing Christ to the faith of men was lost among them, the greatest part of their religion was taken up in representing Christ to their fancy. They would make pictures and images of his cross, resurrection, ascension, and every thing he did.

There are three ways whereby God represents Christ to the faith of believers; the one is, by the word of the gospel itself, as written; the second is, by the ministry of the gospel, and preaching of the word; and the third in particular is, by this sacrament, wherein we represent the Lord's death to the faith of our own souls.

1. God doth it by the word itself. Hence are those descriptions that are given of Christ in Scripture, to represent him desirable to the souls of men. The great design of the book of Canticles consists, for the most part in this, in a mystical, allegorical description of the graces and excellencies of the person of Christ, to render him desirable to the souls of believers; as in the fifth chapter, from the ninth verse to the end, there is nothing but that one subject. And it was a great promise made to them of old, Isa. xxxiii. 17. 'Thine eyes shall see the King in his beauty.' The promises of the Old Testament are much spent in representing the person of Christ beautiful, desirous, and lovely, to the faith of believers. And you will see in 2 Cor. iii. 18. what is the end of the gospel; 'We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.' The gospel is the glass here intended; and looking into the glass, there is an image appears in it, not our own, but the representation the gospel makes of Jesus Christ is the image that appears in the glass. The work and design of the gospel is to make a representation of Christ unto us; as Christ

makes a representation of the Father, and therefore he is called his image, the image of the invisible God.' Why so? Because all the glorious properties of the invisible God are represented to us in Christ, and we looking upon the image of Christ in this glass, that is the representation made of him in the gospel; it is the effectual means whereby the Spirit of God transforms us into his image.

This is the first way whereby God doth this great work of representing Christ unto the faith of men, which men having lost, have made it their whole religion to represent Christ unto their fancy.

2. The second way is, by the ministry of the word. The great work of the ministry of the word is to represent Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul tells us, Gal. iii. 1. 'O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth crucified among you?' He is depictus crucifixus,' crucified before their eyes. How was this? not before their bodily eyes; but the apostle had in his preaching made such a lively representation unto their faith of the death of Christ, that he was as one painted before them. One said well on this text, Of old the apostles did not preach Christ by painting, but they painted him by preaching;' they did in so lively a manner represent him.

Abraham's servant, in the twenty-fourth chapter of Genesis, that was sent to take a wife for his son Isaac, is by all granted to be, if not a type, yet a resemblance of the ministers of the gospel, that go forth to prepare a bride for Christ and what does he do? truly he is a great example; when he came to the opportunity, though he had many things to divert him, yet he would not be diverted. There was set meat before him to eat, but he said, 'I will not eat, till I have told my errand.' Nothing should divert the ministers of the gospel, no not their necessary meat, when they have an opportunity of dealing with souls on behalf of Christ. What course does Abraham's servant take? He saith, I am Abraham's servant; and the Lord has blessed my master greatly, and he is become great, and he hath given him flocks and herds, and silver and gold, and menservants and maid-servants, and camels and asses.' What is all this to Isaac? He was to take a wife for Isaac, not for

Abraham. He goes on; And Sarah, my master's wife, bare a son to my master when she was old, and unto him hath he given all that he hath.' The way to procure this wife for Isaac was to let them know, that this great man, Abraham, had given all he had to Isaac. And it is the work of ministers of the gospel to let the people know, that God the Father hath given all things into the hands of his Son; they are to represent Christ as Abraham's servant does here his master Isaac, as one who inherited all the goods of Abraham; so Christ is the appointed heir of all things, of the kingdom of heaven, the whole household of God. They are to represent him thus to the souls of men, to make him desirable to them. This is the great work of ministers, who are ambassadors of God; they are sent from God to take a wife for Christ; or to make ready a bride for him from among the children of men.

3. The special way whereby we represent Christ unto our souls through faith, is in the administration of this ordinance, which I will speak to upon the great end of shewing forth the death of the Lord.

Now the former representations were general, this is particular; and I cannot at this time go over particulars. I bless the Lord my soul hath many times admired the wisdom and goodness of God in the institution of this one ordinance, that he took bread and wine for that end and purpose, merely arbitrary, of his own choice, and might have taken any thing else, what he had pleased; that he should fix on the cream of the creation, which is an endless storehouse, if pursued, of representing the mysteries of Christ. When the folly of men goes about to invent ceremonies that they would have significant; when they have found them out, they cannot well tell what they signify. But though I do acknowledge, that all the significancy of this ordinance depends upon the institution, yet there is great wisdom in the fitting of it; the thing was fitted and suited to be made use of to that end and purpose.

One end of the ordinance itself is to represent the death of Christ unto us; and it represents Christ with reference to these five things:

1. It represents him with reference to God's setting him forth. 2. In reference to his own passion. 3. In reference