The crucified Jesus, or, A full account of the nature, end, design and benefits of the sacrament of the Lords Supper with necessary directions, prayers, praises and meditations to be used by persons who come to the Holy Communion / by Anthony Horneck ...

The Preceding Considerations reduced to Practice.

I. IT must needs be great presumption, for Men and Women to enter into a solemn Covenant with God in this Sacrament, and not to consider the weight and importance of it. Christian, when thou enter'st in∣to this Covenant with the Holy Trinity, thou solemnly obligest thy self, that as thou hopest for Heaven and Happiness, as thou hopest for Pardon and Salvation, as thou hopest to have thy Sins wash'd away with the pre∣cious Blood of Christ, thou wilt take Christ's Yoke up∣on thee, endeavour to be humble and meek, as he was, learn of him, and die to the World, crucifie thy Lusts and Affections, fight against the vanities of the World, and labour to con••orm to the great example of that Sa∣viour, that spilt his dearest Blood for thee. Either thou understandest, what this engagement means, or thou dost not: If not, how darest thou touch the Sacred Ele∣ments with polluted Hands? If thou understandest it, and art not firmly resolv'd to take care to perform what thou promisest so solemnly, how dost thou think to escape the Judgement of God? Art thou afraid of breaking a solemn promise made to a Prince and great Man, whose Smile or Frown can either help or prejudice thee much,

and art thou not afraid of violating thy Engagements to the great God of Heaven? What dost thou make of God? Dost thou take him to be some Heathen Deity that hath Eyes, and sees not, Ears and hears not? Dost thou oblige thy self to be his Subject, and dost thou turn Rebel? His Child, and become a Prodigal? His Con∣federate, and conspire against him with his Enemies? Dost thou take him for thy Lord, and wilt not thou do what he saith? If these thy unfaithful dealings with thy Lord and Master, be enter'd into Gods Book of Ac∣counts, as certainly they are, and the black Roll shall at last be open'd and read in thine Ears, dost not thou think, what Terror, Amazement, and Confusion thou wilt be in! O Sinner! There is no jesting with such Bonds and Obligations. The God thou hast to deal withal, is a jealous God, and if these Engagements can∣not oblige thy Soul to a serious Conversation, they'll be witnesses to promote and hasten thy Condemnation.

II. See here, what a miserrble and doleful state it is, not to be in Covenant with God. He that is not, hath no security from the wrath of God, the Threatnings of the Gospel are in force against him, and he knows not, how soon the Thunderbolt will fall upon his Head: Like a condemn'd Malefactor, he is repriev'd for a while, and can promise himself a share only of the com∣mon Blessings, which the Great Creator bestows indif∣ferently upon his Friends and Enemies. Not to be in Covenant with him, is to be dead to his Paternal Grace and Favour, and to be depriv'd of those Influences, which make the Saints joyful in Glory, and cause them to sing aloud upon their Beds. Till you are in Covenant with your God, you can have no hopes of Pardon, your Sins remain upon you, and that load will crush you at last into de∣spair. O think of it you that never made such a Covenant with your God in good earnest: Notbeing in Covenant with him, Christ's Blood, and Death, and Wounds, and Agonies, do not profit you: And for you, O miserable Creatures, Christ died in vain, that Damnation, Christ came to deliver the World from, continues to be your

Portion; and should you die in that condition, you are undone to all intents and purposes. Till you are in Co∣venant with God, you are under the power of Dark∣ness, and under the Government of the worst of Ty∣rants; you are Slaves in the midst of all your jollities, Bondmen in the midst of your Pleasures: You laugh in Chains, triumph in your Fetters, and stand upon the brink of Destruction. O do not make light of this un∣happy state; your making light of it, speaks you des∣perate; but being concern'd at your danger, may yet be a means to free your selves from the Net, you are at present intangl'd in: Fear of being undone, may yet keep you from it, and sorrow that you have not seri∣ously thought of it, may yet turn the stream, and con∣vert the Heart of God to you into Mercy and Com∣passion; therefore it is, that we instruct you in meekness, if God, peradventure will give you Repentance to the ac∣knowledging of the Truth, and that you may recover your selves out of the Snare of the Devil, who have been taken captive by him at his Will, 2 Tim. 2. 26.

III. From hence it appears, how necessary it is for People, when young, to make or renew this Covenant with their God; As no Man can close too early with the offers of Grace; so if this Covenant were made by all young Men and Women seriously, and with delibe∣ration, what a restraint would it be upon their juvenal Desires! What a curb to their extravagant Fancies! What an Armour against Sin, and the ill examples of the World! How would this considerate Engagement keep them in, and fright them from consenting, when sinners do entice them! The reason, why it hath not this effect upon them, is, because it is not made with suitable applications of the Mind to the importance of it, or to the Greatness and Majesty of that God, with whom it is made, and to the danger and hazard they run, in breaking of it for every trifle that comes in their way, and when they have made it, they do not keep their Hearts warm by ruminating upon what they have

done, nor do they renew it so often as they might, and should do, Were it preserv'd fresh and green, and flou∣rishing in their Minds, it would harden them against impression of all those little allurements, which now draw their Affections and their Souls another way; Did they think, when a sinful shew, when vain company, when a glozing pleasure, when a base suggestion invites them to consent, I have wash'd my Feet, how shall I defile them again! I have given my self up to the disposal of him, to whom all Power in Heaven and Earth is given, How can I be faithless, and escape his Anger! I have in this Sacra∣ment made a resignation of my Heart to him, that rescued me from the burning Lake, how shall I break with him, and escape his displeasure! I have consecrated my self to a greater Ma∣ster, How shall I debase my self, and serve such pitiful no∣things! I have but one Soul, and have given that away to my Redeemer, How shall I espouse this Vanity! I have pro∣mis'd Obedience to him, that washed me with his Blood, How shall I obey his Enemy! Such Thoughts as these, repeated often, would make the Heart inflexible to all the charm∣ing intreaties of the World, or the Devil; and Oh! that you would but make this Tryal, you would find, that we are not Mad, but speak the words of Truth and Sober∣ness, as St. Paul told Festus, in a case not much unlike this, Acts 26. 25.

IV. It's no very difficult thing, to come to a Holy certainty, and assurance, that we are in Covenant with God. It must needs be difficult to the unwilling; and to him that hopes, God's Favour will fly into his Mouth without seeking it, any thing seems hard; and if it were difficult, the difficulty is not insuperable, especially if we look into the conditions of the Covenant, There is no man that is in his Wits, but may upon a diligent search find, and know, whether he heartily agrees to the con∣ditions, and whether he promises, what is required on his part, out of love to the ways of Religion, and whe∣ther he makes conscience of performing his promises. It's true, the Heart is deceitful, but that it is so, is our

own fault, we may remedy that deceitfulness, if we will search it, and, by the Rules Christ hath prescribed in the Gospel, bring it into order. It is not to be imagin'd, that God would leave us in uncertainties, in so great a concern as this, and he that bids us apply the Comforts of this Covenant, must be supposed to have left us signs and characters, whereby we may know that we are con∣federates with him, and have a right to what he hath said, he'll do for us, and there can be no greater cha∣racter, than the testimony of our Conscience, that our engagements influence our Spirits, keep us in awe, pre∣vail with us to be cautious, and can do more with us, than a base Lust, or any sinful gain and pleasure. If thou freely resignest thy self to the guidance and directi∣on of thy Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier, and the love of God, manifested in this Covenant, works upon thine Affections, and thou art content to be ruled by ois Law, art sensible of the equity and reasonableness of it, consentest to his injunctions, not only professest subjection, but actually endeavourest to submit to what he commands, and art willing without any reserves, that not only thine Understanding, Will, and Desires, but thine outward Man too, thine Eyes, and Ears, and Feet, and Gestures, and Behaviour, thy Reason, Me∣mory and Passion should all be at his beck, move by his prescription, act according to his appointment, be sea∣soned with his Grace, and conducted by his Wisdom; If thou art content, that all shall go, rather than his Fa∣vour; if his Love, or a share in it, be dearer to thee, than the dearest of all outward enjoyments; be of good cheer, it's a good sign, and thou mayst rationally infer, that thou art in Covenant with thy Lord, and hast a right to all the priviledges, that are annex'd to it for thy encouragement.

V. And here, we may justly reflect, what a mercy it is to be in Covenant with God; a mercy indeed, which no Tongue can express, nay, no Apollos neither, as eloquent as he was, can describe, no Tertullus, no Cicero,

no Demosthenes represent according to its worth; a mer∣cy, which no Man knows, save he who receives it; a mercy weich fills the Tongues of departed Saints with praises; a mercy which unhappy Souls that groan among Devils, would give Millions for, if they had them; a mercy which sweetens all Conditions, makes Sickness easie, and Iron Chains sit soft, mitigates pain, and tem∣pers grief and anguish; A mercy, which made the penitent Publican stand confounded, amaz'd the hum∣ble Magdalen, caused St. Paul to go chearfully through Stripes and Imprisonment, and encouraged the Belie∣vers of old to defie death and torments. He that is in Covenant with God, enjoys all that Son of God en∣joys, though not as yet in fruition and possession, yet in title and reversion; God the Father carries him on his Wings, as the Eagle doth her young, the Eternal Son of God is his faithful Friend; The Holy Spirit of God speaks to him in the still voice of peace and comfort. He that is in this Covenant, is safe in the midst of Spears and Arrows, safe when he goes through the Water, safe when he passes through the Fire, safe when the Waves do roar, safe when Hell gapes upon him, safe in a Storm, safe at Sea, safe on the Shore, safe in his Life, safe in his Death; God is concern'd for him, in all his afflictions He is afflicted; The Lord Jesus is touch'd with his infir∣mities, and the Spirit of God makes intercessions for him with groans that cannot be utter'd. In a word, there is no Condemnation to them, that are in Christ Jesus, to them, that walk not after the Flesh, but after the Spirit, Rom. 8. 1.