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So that if labour and employment, either of himself not as an individual, but as a membody or mind, had no ufe, but what refpect-ber of the community; the interefts of which he is under an obligation to fupport with all his power; and that his elevated ftation gives him no other pre-eminence than that of being the more extenfively useful.

ed ourselves, they would be highly proper: but they have farther ufe.

We have an eafy rule given us in fcripture on this head; that all our duties in life fhould be performed "as to the Lord, and not unto man:" that is, we fhould confider our stations in life as trufts repofed in us by our Maker; and as fuch should discharge the duties of them. What, though no worldly truft be repofed? What, though we are accountable to nobody upon earth? Can we therefore fuppofe ourfelves in reality lefs accountable? Can we fuppofe that God, for no reason that we can divine, has fingled us out, and given us a large proportion of the things of this world (while others around us are in need) for no other purpose than to fquander it away upon ourselves? To God undoubtedly we are ac countable for every bleffing we enjoy. What mean, in fcripture, the talents given, and the ufe affigned: but the confcientious discharge of the duties of life, according to the advan tages, with which they are attended?

The neceflity of them is plain, from the want that all men have of the affiftance of others. If fo, this affiftance fhould be mu- Having thus feen, that we have all fome tual; every man fhould contribute his part. ftation in life to fupport-fome particular duWe have already feen, that it is proper there ties to discharge; let us now fee in what fhould be different ftations in the world-manner we ought to difcharge them. that fome fhould be placed high in life, and others low. The loweft, we know, cannot be exempt from labour; and the highest ought not though their labour, according to their station, will be of a different kind. Some, we fee, muft labour (as the catechifm phrafes it) to get their own living; and others fhould do their duty in that state of life, whatever that ftate is, unto which it hath pleafed God to call them." All are affifted: all fhould affift. God diftributes, we read, various talents among men; to fome he gives five talents, to others two, and to others one: but it is expected, we find, that notwithstanding this inequality, each fhould employ the talent that is given to the best advantage: and he who received five talents was under the fame obligation of improving them, as he who had received only one; and would, if he had hid his talents in the earth, have been punifhed, in proportion to the abufe. Every man, even in the highest sta- It matters not whether these advantages be tion, may find a proper employment, both an inheritance, or an acquifition: ftill they for his time and fortune, if he pleafe: and are the gift of God. Agreeably to their rank he may affure himself that God, by placing | in life, it is true, all men should live: human him in that station, never meant to exempt diftinétions require it; and in doing this prohim from the common obligations of fo-perly, every one around will be benefited. ciety, and give him a licence to spend his life in eafe and pleafure. God meant affuredly, that he should bear his part in the general Commerce of life-that he fhould confider,

Utility fhould be confidered in all our expences. Even the very amufements of a man of fortune fhould be founded in it.

In fhort, it is the conftant injunction of scripture,

feripture, in whatever station we are placed, to confider ourselves as God's fervants, and as acting immediately under his eye, not expecting our reward among men but from our great Mafter who is in heaven. This fanctifies, in a manner, all our actions: it places the little difficulties of our ftation in the light of God's appointments; and turns the most common duties of life into acts of religion. Gilpin. $59. On the Sacrament of Baptifm. The facrament of baptifm is next confidered; in which, if we confider the inward grace, we fhall fee how aptly the fign reprefeats it. The inward grace, or thing fignified, we are told, is "a death unto fin, and a new birth unto righteousness:" by which is meant that great renovation of nature, that purity of heart, which the chriftian religion is intended to produce. And furely there cannot be a more fignificant fign of this than water, on account of its cleanfing nature. As water refreshes the body, and purifies it from all contracted filth; it aptly reprefents that renovation of nature, which cleanses the foul from the impurities of fin. Water indeed, among the ancients, was more adapted to the thing fignified, than it is at prefent among us. They ufed immerfion in baptifing: fo that the child being dipped into the water, and raifed out again, baptifm with them was more fignificant of a new birth unto righteoufnefs. But though we, in thefe colder climates, think immerfion an unfafe practice; yet the original meaning is ftill fuppofed.

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If faith and repentance are expected at baptifm; it is a very natural queftion, Why then are infants baptised, when, by reason of their tender age, they can give no evidence of either?

Whether infants fhould be admitted to baptifm, or whether that facrament should be deferred till years of difcretion; is a question in the chriftian church, which hath been agitated with fome animofity. Our church by no means looks upon baptifm as neceffary to the infant's falvation. No man acquainted with the fpirit of chriftianity can conceive, that God will leave the falvation of fo many innocent fouls in the hands of others. But the practice is confidered as founded upon the ufage of the earliest times; and the church obferving, that circumcifion was the introductory rite to the Jewish covenant; and that baptifm was intended to fucceed circumcifion; it naturally fuppofes, that baptifm fhould be adminiftered to infants, as circumcifion was. The church, however, in this case, hath pro

The catechifm afferts the facrament to be

It is next afked, What is required of thofe only generally receffary to falvation, excepting who are baptifed? To this we anfwer, "Re-particular cafes. Where the ufe of them is inpentance, whereby they forfake fin; and faith, tentionally rejected, it is certainly criminal. whereby they stedfaftly believe the promises but though we may wonder both at their logic The Quakers indeed reject them on principle: of God, made to them in that facrament." and divinity, we should be forry to include them The primitive church was extremely ftrict in an anathema.

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§ 60. On the Sacrament of the Lord's

Supper.

vided fponfors, who make a profeffion of obe- |-In examining the facrament of baptifin, I dience in the child's name. But the nature endeavoured to thew, how very apt a fymbol and office of this proxy hath been already water is in that ceremony. Bread and wine examined, under the head of our baptifmal alfo are fymbols equally apt in reprefenting Gilpin. the body and blood of Chrift: and in the use of thefe particular fymbols, it is reasonable to fuppofe, that our Saviour had an eye to the Jewish paffover; in which it was a custom to drink wine, and to eat bread. He might have inftituted any other apt fymbols for the fame purpofe; but it was his ufual practice, through the whole fyftem of his inftitution, to make it, in every part, as familiar as poffible: and for this reafon he feems to have chofen fuch fymbols as were then in ufe; that he might give as little offence as poffible in a matter of indifference.

The first question is an enquiry into the original of the inftitution: "Why was the facrament of the Lord's fupper ordained?”

It was ordained, we are informed," for the continual remembrance of the facrifice of the death of Christ; and of the benefits which we receive thereby."

In examining a facrament in general, we have already feen, that both baptifm, and the Lord's fupper, were originally inftituted as the "means of receiving the grace of God; and as pledges to affure us thereof."

As our Saviour, in the inftitution of his fupper, ordered both the bread and the wine to be received; it is certainly a great error in But befides these primary ends, they have papifts, to deny the cup to the laity. They each a fecondary one; in reprefenting the fay, indeed, that, as both flesh and blood are two most important truths of religion; which united in the fubftance of the human body; gives them more force and influence. Bap-fo are they in the facramental bread; which, tifm, we have seen, reprefents that renovation of our finful nature, which the gospel was intended to introduce: and the peculiar end, which the Lord's fupper had in view, was the facrifice of the death of Chrift; with all the benefits which arife from it-the remiffion of our fins and the reconciliation of the world to God. "This do," faid our Saviour (alJuding to the pallover, which the Lord's fupper was defigned to fuperfede) not as hitherto, in memory of your deliverance from Egypt; but in memory of that greater deliverance, of which the other was only a type: "Do it in remembrance of me."

The outward part, or fign of the Lord's fupper, is "bread and wine"-the things fignified are the "body and blood of Chrift."

according to them, is changed, or, as they phrase it, transubstantiated into the real body of Chrift. If they have no other reafon, why do they adminifter wine to the clergy? The clergy might participate equally of both in the bread.-But the plain truth is, they are defirous, by this invention, to add an air of mystery to the facrament, and a fuperftitious reverence to the pricft, as if he, being endowed with fome peculiar holiness, might be allowed the use of both.

There is a difficulty in this part of the catechifm, which should not be paffed over. We are told, that "the body and blood, of Chrift are verily and indeed taken, and received by the faithful in the Lord's fupper." This expreffion founds very like the popith

doctrine,

men.

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doctrine, juft mentioned, of tranfubftantia- | of his death; and to be in charity with all tion. The true sense of the words undoubtedly is, that the faithful believer only, verily and indeed receives the benefit of the facrament; but the expreflion must be allowed to be inaccurate, as it is capable of an interpretation fo entirely oppofite to that which the church of England hath always profeffed.-tle indeed is faid in fcripture, of any particu

I would not willingly fuppofe, as fome have done, that the compilers of the catechifm meant to manage the affair of tranfubftantiation with the papifts. It is one thing to fhew a liberality of fentiment in matters of indifference; and another to speak timidly and ambiguously, where effentials are concerned. It is next asked, What benefits we receive from the Lord's fupper? To which it is anfwered, "The ftrengthening and refreshing of our fouls by the body and blood of Chrift, as our bodies are by the bread and wine." As our bodies are strengthened and refreshed, in a natural way, by bread and wine; fo should our fouls be, ín a fpiritual way, by a devout commemoration of the paffion of Chrift. By gratefully remembering what he fuffered for us, we thould be excited to a greater abhorrence of fin, which was the caufe of his fufferings. Every time we partake of this facrament, like faithful foldiers, we take a fresh outh to our leader; and should be animated anew, by his example, to perfevere in the fpiritual conflict in which, under him, we are engaged.

It is laftly asked, "What is required of them who come to the Lord's fupper?" To which we answer, "That we should examine ourfelves, whether we repent us truly of our former fins-stedfaftly purpofing to lead a new life have a lively faith in God's mercy through Chrift--with a thankful remembrance

That pious frame of mind is here, in very few words, pointed out, which a christian ought to cherish and cultivate in himself at all times; but efpecially, upon the performance of any folemn act of religion. Very lit

lar frame of mind, which fhould accompany the performance of this duty; but it may cafily be inferred from the nature of the duty itself.

In the first place, "we fhould repent us truly of our former fins; ftedfaftly purpofing to lead a new life." He who performs a religious exercife, without being carneft in this point; adds only a pharifaical hypocrify to his other fins. Unless he seriously refolve to lead a good life, he had better be all of a piece; and not pretend, by receiving the facrament, to a piety which he does not feel.

Thefe "ftedfaft purposes of leading a new life," form a very becoming exercise to chriftians. The lives even of the best of men afford only a mortifying retrofpect. Though they may have conquered fome of their worft propenfities; yet the triumphs of fin over them, at the various periods of their lives, will always be remembered with forrow; and may always be remembered with advantage; keeping them on their guard for the future, and strengthening them more and more in all their good refolutions of obedience.- And when can these meditations arife more properly, than when we are performing a rite, inftituted on purpose to commemorate the great atonement for fin?

To our repentance, and refolutions of obedience, we are required to add "a lively faith in God's mercy through Chrift; with a thank

ful

ful remembrance of his death." We should imprefs ourselves with the deepest fenfe of humility-totally rejecting every idea of our own merit-hoping for God's favour only through the merits of our great Redeemer and with hearts full of gratitude, trufting only to his all-fufficient facrifice.

Lastly, we are required, at the celebration of this great rite, to be "in charity with all men." It commemorates the greatest inftance of love that can be conceived; and should therefore raife in us correfpondent affections. It should excite in us that conftant flow of benevolence, in which the fpirit of religion confifts; and without which indeed we can have no religion at all. Love is the very difzinguishing badge of chriftianity: "By this," faid our great Mafter, "fhall all men know that ye are my difciples."

doth not now exift, the apostle's reproof feems not to affect the chriftians of this age.

What the primary, and what the secondary ends in the two facraments were, I have endeavoured to explain. But there might be others.

God might intend them as trials of our faith. The divine truths of the gospel speak for themselves: but the performance of a po fitive duty refts only on faith.

Thefe inftitutions are alfo ftrong arguments for the truth of christianity. We trace the obfervance of them into the very earliest times of the gofpel. We can trace no other origin than what the fcriptures gives us. These rites therefore greatly tend to corroborate the fcriptures.

God alfo, who knows what is in man, might condefcend fo far to his weakness, as to give him thefe external badges of religion, to keep the fpirit of it more alive. And it is indeed probable, that nothing has contributed more than thefe ceremonies to preferve a fense of religion among mankind. It is a melancholy proof of this, that no contentions in the chriftian church have been more violent, nor carried on with more acrimony, and unchriftian zeal, than the contentions about baptifm and the Lord's fupper; as if the very effence of religion confifted in this or that mode of obferving thefe rites.-But this is the abuse of them.

One fpecies of charity fhould, at this time, never be forgotten; and that is, the forgivenefs of others. No acceptable gift can be offered at this altar, but in the spirit of reconciliation. Hence it was, that the ancient chrifzians inftituted, at the celebration of the Lord's fupper, what they called love-feafts. They thought, they could not give a better inftance of their being in perfect charity with each other, than by joining all ranks together in one common meal.-By degrees, indeed, this well meant cuftom degenerated; and it may not be amifs to obferve here, that the paffages in which these enormities are rebuked, have Let us be better taught: let us receive these been varioufly mifconftrued; and have fright- facraments, for the gracious purposes for ened many well meaning perfons from the fa- which our Lord injoined them, with gratitude, crament. Whereas what the apostle here fays, and with reverence. But let us not lay a hath no other relation to this rite, than as it greater ftrefs upon them than our Lord inwas attended by a particular abuse in receiv-tended. Heaven, we doubt not, may be ing it; and as this is a mode of abuse which

* See 1 Cor. xi.

gained, when there have been the means of receiving neither the one facrament nor the other. But unless our affections are right,

and

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