and substance of it. It is, in general, an instrument by which a right passeth, and is conveyed; and a title to some good thing given. The gospel revelation of God's grace and will, is both a testament and a covenant, and the Lord's Supper hath a reference to it as both.

1. It is the New Testament.-The everlasting gospel is Christ's last will, by which he hath given and bequeathed a great estate to his family on earth, with certain precepts and injunctions, and under certain provisions and limitations. This will is become of force, by the death of the Testator, and is now unalterable; it is proved in the court of heaven, and administration given to the blessed Spirit, who is as the executor of the will; for of him the Testator said, "He shall receive of mine, and show it unto you." Christ having purchased a great estate by the merit of his death, by his testament he left it to all his poor relations, that had need enough of it, and for whom he bought it; so that all those who can prove themselves akin to Christ, by their being born from above, their partaking of a divine nature, and their doing the will of God, may claim the estate by virtue of the will, and shall be sure of a present maintenance, and a future inheritance out of it.

The Lord's Supper is the New Testament; it is not only a memorial of the Testator's death, but it is the seal of the Testament. A true copy of it attested by this seal and pleadable, is hereby given into the hands of every believer, that he may have strong consolation. The general record of the New Testament, which is common to all, is hereby made particular.

The charge given by the will is hereby applied and enforced to us. The Testator hath charged us to remember him, hath charged us to follow him whithersoever he goes; he hath charged us to love one another, and the estate he hath left us is so devised, as not to give any occasion to quarrel, but rather to be a bond of union. He hath charged us to espouse his cause, serve his interest, and concern ourselves in his concerns in the world, to seek the welfare of the great body, and all the members of it. He hath likewise charged us to expect and prepare for his second coming; his word of command is, "Watch." Now, in the Lord's Supper, we are reminded of this charge, and

bound afresh faithfully to observe whatsoever Christ hath commanded, as the Rechabites kept the command of their Father.

The legacies left by the will, are hereby particularly consigned to us; paid in part, and the rest secured to be paid when we come to age, even at the time appointed by the Testator. What is left for us is not only sufficient to answer the full intention of the will, enough for all, enough for each; but is left in good hands, in the hands of the Spirit of truth, who will not deal unfaithfully with us; for, as Christ tells us, 66 we know him." Nay, Christ himself is risen from the dead, to be the overseer of his own will, and to see it duly executed: so that we are in no danger of losing our legacies, unless by our own fault. These are good securities, and upon which we may with abundant satisfaction rely; and yet our Lord Jesus" more abundantly to show the heirs of promise, the immutability of his counsel, hath confirmed it by an oath, (by a sacrament, which is his oath to us, as well as ours to him,) that by all those immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation," that have ventured our all in the New Testament.

2. It is the new covenant.-Though God is our sovereign Lord, and owner, and we are in his hands as the clay in the hand of the potter; yet he condescends to deal with us about our reconciliation and happiness in the way of a covenant, that they which are saved may be the more comforted, and they which perish may be rendered the more inexcusable. The tenor of this covenant is, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." Salvation is the great promise of the covenant, believing in Christ the great condition of the covenant; now, this cup is the covenant, that is, it is the seal of the covenant. There seems to be an allusion to that solemnity, which we read of where Moses read the book of the covenant in the audience of the people, and the people declared their consent to it saying, "All that the Lord hath said we will do, and will be obedient. And then Moses took the blood and sprinkled it upon the people, (part of it having before been sprinkled upon the altar,) and said, Behold the blood of the covenant which the Lord hath made with

you concerning all these words." Thus, the covenant being made by sacrifice, and the blood of the sacrifice being sprinkled both upon the altar of God and upon the representatives of the people, both parties did, as it were. interchangeably put their hands and seals to the articles of agreement. So the blood of Christ having satisfied for the breach of the covenant of innocency, and purchased a new treaty, and being the sacrifice by which the covenant is made, is fitly called the blood of the covenant. Having sprinkled this blood upon the altar in his intercession, when by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, he doth in this sacrament sprinkle it upon the people; as the apostle explains this mystery-A bargain is a bargain, though it be not sealed, but the sealing is the ratification and perfection of it. The internal seal of the covenant, as administered to true believers, is the spirit of promise "whereby we are sealed to the day of redemption." But the external seals of the covenant, as administered in the visible church, are the sacraments, particularly this of the Lord's Supper. Sealing ordinances are appointed to make our covenanting with God the more solemn, and consequently the more affecting, and the impressions of it the more abiding. The covenant of grace is a covenant never to be forgotten." This ordinance, therefore, was instituted to assure us, that God will never forget it, and to assist us, that we never may forget it. It is the seal of the new covenant; that is,

1st, God doth in, and by this ordinance, seal to us, and be to us a God. This article of the covenant is inclusive of all the rest; in giving himself to us to be ours, he gives us all things, for he is God all-sufficient. This is the grant, the royal grant, which the eternal God here seals, and delivers to true believers as his act and deed. He gives himself to them, and empowers him to call him theirs. What God is in himself, he will be to them for their good. His wisdom theirs, to counsel and direct them; his power theirs, to protect and support them; his justice theirs, to justify them; his holiness theirs, to sanctify them; his goodness theirs, to love and supply them; his truth is the inviolable security of the promise, and his eternity the perpetuity of their happiness. He will be to

them a Father, and they shall be his sons and daughters, dignified by the privileges of adoption, and distinguished by the spirit of adoption. Their Maker is their husband, and he hath said, that "he is married to them, and rejoiceth in them as the bridegroom in his bride." The Lord is their shepherd, and the sheep of his pasture shall not want. He is the portion of their inheritance in the other world, as well as of their cup inthis; he hath prepared for them a city, and thereby " is not ashamed to be called their God,"

2d, We do in and by this ordinance, seal to him to be to him a people. We accept the relation by our voluntary choice and consent, and bind our souls with a bond, that we will approve ourselves to him in the relation. We hereby resign, surrender, and give up our whole selves, body, soul, and spirit, to God, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, covenanting and promising, that we will by his strength, serve him faithfully, and walk closely with him in all manner of gospel-obedience all our days. Claiming the blessings of the covenant, we put ourselves under the bonds of the covenant. O Lord, truly I am thy servant, I am thy servant: wholly, and only, and for ever thine. And this is the meaning of this service.

CHAPTER III.

AN INVITATION TO THIS ORDINANCE.

PLENTIFUL and suitable provision is made in this ordinance out of the treasures of the Redeemer's grace; and ministers, as servants, are sent to bid to the feast, to invite those that the master of the feast hath designed for his guests, and to hasten those that are invited to this banquet of wine. Wisdom hath sent forth her maidens on this errand, and they have words put in their mouths"Come, for all things are now ready." This is our message.

FIRST. We are to tell you that all things are ready, now ready; he that hath an ear let him ear this: All things are now ready in the gospel-feast, that are proper for, or will contribute to the full satisfaction of an immortal soul, that knows its own nature and interest, and desires to be truly and eternally happy in the love and favour of its Creator.

All things are ready; all things requisite to a noble feast. Let us a little improve the metaphor.

1. There is a house ready for the entertainment of the guests, the gospel church, wisdom's house, which she hath built upon seven pillars. God hath set up his tabernacle among men, and the place of his tent is enlarged, and made capacious enough, so that though the table has been replenished with guests, yet still there is room.

2. There is a table ready spread in the word and ordinances, like the table in the temple on which the showbread was placed, a loaf for every tribe. The Scripture is written, the canon of it completed, and in it a full declaration made of God's good will towards men.

3. There is a laver ready for us to wash in. As at the marriage-feast at Cana, there were six water pots set for purification. Lest sense of pollutions contracted should deter us from the participation of these comforts, behold there is " a fountain opened," come and wash in it, that