IT is much to be desired; And how Sweet unto our Soul, would be the Desire Accomplished! That the TA­BLE of the LORD, may be more Generally, and after the most worthy manner Approach'd unto. The Table of the Lord, with His New-born Chil­dren, like Olive-plants about it, verily, Tis an Excellent Sight. Worthy Ap­proaches to the Table of the Lord, are Excellent Actions; and they have a Ten­dency to make Excellent Christians. At the Table of the Lord, we do according to His Direction, Celebrate a very great Appointment and Sacrament of the New-Testament. There can be nothing more Plain and Positive, than that Order of our Saviour unto His Disciples; Luk. XXII. 19. This do in Remembrance of Me: Repeated by the Apostles of our Lord, [Page 4]after He was Received up into Glory. [1 Cor. XI. 24, 25.] You need no Stronger proof, that some well known Seducers in our Days, are Lyars, and the Truth is not in them, in that they keep not, but Seduce others from keeping that In­disputable Commandment of our Lord Jesus Christ. But, how justly does the Holy Lord, by permitting the Rising & Hissing of such a Sect among them, Chastise His People, for neglecting the Ordinance which is decried and opposed by these Gainsayers! And, why, Oh! why, do so many that are far from the Heresies of that Sect, yet indulge them­selves in the Miscarriage, which one of their most noted Heresies does lead unto!

Our People generally confess, That it is their Duty, to draw near unto the Lord in this Holy, and Famous Institu­tion. And most certainly, if you did it in a Worthy manner, you would also find it unspeakably for your Interest. It would mightily confirm your Faith, yea, streng­then your Sight, of the Doctrine of God your Saviour. It would Exercise the Gra­ces [Page 5]of God in your Hearts; and the Ex­ercise would be a sensible Improvement of them. It would furnish you with Reme­dies for all the Distempers in your Minds; your Distempered Souls would be strange­ly relieved by the noble Medicines here dispensed unto us. It would Comfort you under your Temptations, and with Comfortable Seals thereof bring home the Everlasting Love of God unto you. It would admit you to intimate Interviews with Heaven, and advance you to Hea­venly Satisfactions and Assurances; be a Sweet Emblem of your coming to Sit with your Saviour in His Heavenly Places. Oh! why will you Deny, to your selves, these Great Conselations of God?

The common Apology made for this Omission is; I am afraid; I shall come Un­worthily; and by doing so, I shall Eat and Drink Judgment unto my self. But verily, This will imply something that will hardly be capable of an Apology. Have you done, all that you can do, that you may not come Unworthily? If you have not, then you Stay away Unworthily. Tis [Page 6]a Sin to Come Unworthily. But, Syrs, tis a Sin to stay away Unworthily. Suppose you had that Message by an infallible Hand brought unto you; Set all things in Order, for thou hast not one Month more to Live in the World; A Month shall devour thee! What would be your Course in this case? Doubtless you would immediately Set apart a portion of Time for it; ‘And Confess and Bewail all your Sins, and fly to the Blood of [...] Saviour for the Pardon of them, & earnestly de­clare, that you Look upon every one of them, with all Abhorrence of Soul; and give up your selves unto God, with very serious Resolutions to Ac­knowledge Him in all your [...]: And with unspeakable Agony beg the Spi­rit of Grace to take Possession of you.’ Have you done thus? If you have done this, you may with an Encouraged Soul, come on unto the Table of the Lord. Tho' you are not fully Sure, of your Sincerity, yet you may come, and may Do it in Faith; Inasmuch as you have no Evidence remaining, to Pro­clame and Pronounce a Predominant Hypocrisy: You have now no Evident [Page 7]Bar to your doing of your Duty; and so you may and must go on with your Duty. But if all this be still Undone, why do you continue in such an un­accountable Stupidity and Security! Why do you leave your Interior and Eternal State, at such desperate Uncer­tainty? How can you bear thus to Sleep on the Top of a Mast in the Midst of the Sea? In Hourly Danger, forought you know, of a Damnation that Slumbereth not. Your First Work must be immedi­ately to Do, what is to be done, by e­very man, who expects to Dy, & Pro­pounds a Death without a Sting; To Lay hold on Everlasting Life, in the Me­thods of a Repenting Faith immediately. Till This be done, you not only Live in your Sins, but also with a [...] Madness run the Extreme Hazard of Dying in them.

Sirs, The Embassadors of Peace have cause, for Weeping bitterly over you. ‘What? Have we been Labouring so many years, to bring our People Home unto their only Saviour; & have all our pains been so ineffectual, [Page 8]that not Half of our People have to this day come to those Dispositions of Piety, upon which they may venture to the Table of the Lord? Surely, We have Laboured in Vain, and Spent our Strength almost for Nought and in Vain; Or else we should see more of our People, with the Dispositions of a Regenerate Mind, accompanying of us, at the Holy Table!’

If this Consideration will make little Impression upon you, Oh! Look up to your only Saviour, and hear His Heart­breaking Expostulations. ‘What? Have my People so little Regard unto the Remembrance of their Dying Saviour? Did I, when I was going to lay down My Life, on their behalf, ask them to keep Alive the Memory of what I have done for them, in a Sacramental Commemoration of it; and will they Forget My Last Will and Testament? Do I give them a Precious Opportu­nity of Communion with Me, wherein One Hour is better than a thousand else­where; and are they so intangled in the Lusts of this World, that they [Page 9]will not make Ready, to meet me, where I would Commune with them? Oh! Consider of it.’

But that which I should rather pro­ceed unto, is; To Set before you, the Preparation, which you are to make, that you may not Come Unworthily unto the Table of the Lord. Having seen your selves Unable to do any thing, & Unworthy that God should enable you, Lift up a cry to Sovereign Grace, that you may be enabled. O Thou from whom is the Preparation of the Heart in Man, Grant, Grant unto me, the Preparati­on of thy Sanctuary!

And now;

First; You are to Set before you, the Covenant of Grace, in all the Proposals of it; and Express and Renew the Compliance of your Souls, with all that is Proposed.

The Demand of the Great GOD, is; Perishing Sinner, Shall I be thy God, and thy Portion? Wilt thou take me for thy Fa­ther, thy Saviour, thy Leader? Shall it be thy chief Blessedness, to Enjoy me, and to be Employ'd for me? Art thou Willing and [Page 10]Resolved, for ever to depend on my Jesus for every Good Thing and follow His Con­duct unto the Blessedness He has purchased and Prepared for His People? Now let the Answer of your very Souls within you, be; Lord, I am Willing; Thou hast made me Willing! This 'tis to come into the Covenant of God. Having Truly done this you may Safely come, & Seal the Covenant; Come, and Ratify your Act and Deed. This is your Business, at the Table of the Lord. Your coming thi­ther, must be on this very Account; it is for this that you are called unto it.

Secondly. You must behold a Sa­crificed Saviour; the Lamb of God! and make a fresh Application to the Sacrifice of your Saviour. Affect your selves with the view of your Sins, and of the Plagues to which you are Exposed by your Sins; and then, the Provision which God has made, in the Sacrifice of your Saviour, that your Sins may be all Forgiven you. Own, you Need such a Sacrifice, and Renounce all Hopes, but in That alone; and Admire the Favour of God that has provided such a Sacri­fice for you, and allow'd you to Plead [Page 11]it as your Atonement. Humbly Re­monstrate; O Holy God, Thy Christ has been made a Sacrifice for my Sin. Infinite­ly do I want such a Sacrifice. I despair of of all Help from any other. I present that most valuable Sacrifice before thee, and be­seech thee for the sake thereof to be Recon­ciled unto me. When you have Truly done this, you may Safely come, & put in your Claim for a Part in the Great Sacrifice. This is done by coming to the Table of the Lord. It is to be the Intent and Language of your coming thither!

Thirdly. Tho' you may be discou­raged by the Defects which may still attend the Work of Grace in your Souls, yet you must feel the working of Ho­ly Desires in your Souls, to have that work effectually carried on. A Work of Grace, lies in a Principle, inclining the Soul, ‘To Fear God, and Prize Christ, and Hate all Sin, and Sleight this World, and Do all the Good we can to all about us, and Look and Long for the Felicities of the Hea­venly World.’ You must be heartily [Page 12]desirous, as to have a Real Experience of this Work, so to have it carried [...] unto Perfection. The Table of the Lord has been Spread, for the nourishment of this Glorious Work. The Person who is heartily Desirous, to have this Work nourished in him will be wel­come to the Holy Table. The Good Things here, are for that Hungry and Thirsty Soul. Ah Soul above all things desirous to have the Image of God and His Christ brought unto Perfection in thee; Soul desirous to be cleansed from all Filthiness of Flesh and Spirit, and brought unto Perfection of Holiness; The Great King will say, Welcome to my Ho­ly Table; I have put a Wedding Garment on that Soul. The sense it has of its own Rags does bespeak a Wedding Garment for it.

In these things, there lies that which we call, An Habitual Preparation for the Table of the Lord. There is an Actual Preparation also to be Endeavoured. And in order to this, A Time is to be set a­part for it, a little before your coming. You must not begrutch Time for such [Page 13]a weighty and awful affair. Shake off your Secular Encumbrances, and com­mand so much Time, as is requisite for the bringing of your Souls, into an Heavenly Temper.

Now, In your Actual Preparation, One thing is to be this; You must ac­tually go over again the Poincs of your Habitual Preparation. Actually On each of those Three Things over again; by which you will make it sure, That you have Really done them. No Proof like this; You best prove that you have done the Things that accempany Salvation, [...] Doing of them.

But then, another thing of great consequence to be now attended is, A Self-Examination. So tis required, 1 Cor. XI. 28. Let a man Examine him­self, and so let him Eat of that Bread, and Drink of that Cup. In the management of your Self-Examination, First Implore the Help of God; Lord, Search me, Try me; see, and cause me to see, if there be a­ny way of Wickedness in me, and let not a Deceived Heart cause me to Perish with a Eye in my Right Hand. Then take the [Page 14] Marks by which the Converts of Zion are to be distinguished; and Examine your selves, how far those Marks are to be found upon you. Put the Question to your selves, and let not your Hearts put you off, without a Satisfactory An­swer to it.

Enquire; ‘Is a Glorious CHRIST most acceptable to me in all His Offi­ces; and with all His Kindnesses; and would I fain have Him to be All that unto me, which He is unto all the Heirs of salvation? Do I rely on Him, as my Sacrifice and my Advo­cate, before the Righteous God; and also my Leader in the Paths of Righte­ousness? Do I see Him out shining all Creatures in all their Beauties; and is it the Grand wish of my Soul, to be Con­formed unto Him? Does it unspeakably Please me to Resemble and Imitate Him, in all Vertuous Things? Yea, is it a Pleasure also unto me, to see my self in Sufferings made like unto Him?’

Enquire; ‘Do I Look upon Sin, as the Worst of Evils? Has the contempt [Page 15]which my Sin has offered unto [...] Great GOD, been the inexpressible Trouble of my Soul? Do I abhor e­very thing, that I take to be a Sin? Am I afraid of Indulging so much as a Sinful Thought in my Mind? Have I chosen Affliction rather than Sin; when I must undergo that, for the Avoiding of Sin? And can I rejoyce in that Affliction, which I find Morti­fies my Sin, and prevents and pre­serves me from falling into Sin?’

Enquire; ‘Does the Infinite GOD, appear in every Thing Desirable to me; in every thing, worthy to be Lo­ved, worthy to be Praised? Have I Placed my chief Happiness, in an Ac­quaintance, and Fellowship with such a God; and in having His Favour; and in being used in Service for Him; and in being brought where He shall be All in All unto me? Is my Delight in those things that bring me near unto Him? And is it my Study to ad­vance His Kingdom in the World?’

Enquire; ‘Do I desire the Prosperity of my Neighbours? Am I glad when [Page 16]things go well with them; Griev'd when they go Ill? Is it my Endea­vour to Do Good unto them, who have Done Hurt unto me? And wherever I see in any of them the Piety, which intimates their being Related & U­nited unto my Saviour, does this ve­ry sensibly Endear them to me? Do I Love them, as my Brethren; the Chil­dren of my Father?’

Enquire; ‘Have I Renounced the Idols, by following of which the Un­godly are led into Perdition? Do I Deny my Flesh every thing, that God has Forbid? Am I unwilling to Offend God, that I may Get any Thing, or Please any Man, in this World? Is it my course to resist the Temptations of Satan, and reject them with De­testation?’

These are the Things, after which your Self-Examination, is to be Inquisi­tive. But I make some Remarks upon the Performance of this Excercise.

First. Tho' you do not, upon your Self-Examination, get beyond all Doubts and Fears, whether you have these [Page 17]things Really in you, yet you must not be by these Doubts and Fears hindred from going on, and coming to the Ta­ble of the Lord. If you have any pre­ponderating Hopes that you have these Things, or cannot fairly and justly Pronounce the Sentence, that you have them not; You may and should come. Come, as the Poor Woman, that came Trembling, to touch the Garment of our Saviour. Come and say, Lord, At thy Bidding I come. I durst not forbear, what thou hast bidden me to do.

Secondly. While you are in your Self-Examination, to Silence your Doubts and Fears, whether you have done these things or no, the best way is, not only to Ask whether you have done such things, but now to Do them. It is now a Sweet Season to Do all that belongs to the New Creature; To Do it, over & over again; The Doing of it, will render the Being of it Unquestio­nable. Upon every Stroke say, Lord, Now I do this, if I never did it before!

Thirdly. It is not only to be now Examined; Whether you have the Graces [Page 18]of a Regenerate Christian? But it must al­so come into your Examination, What there is yet wanting in your Graces? You should Enquire, In what you are still Defective? And from thence Prepare some Errand, and some Request, which you will carry unto the Table of the Lord; in order to the Relief of those Defects, which are still found upon you. Sirs, The Church is an Hospital; Tis to something like the Pool of Bethesda that you are now approaching. Find out the Maladies of which you are to make your Complaint, in Expectation of here finding some Relief.

Lastly. You cannot be insensible, That this your Self-Examination, must be accompanied with all other Devoti­ons, that may be suitable for a Soul Pre­paring to meet the Lord; with Contrition for Sin and Confession of it; with New Resolutions of a Better Life; with the Supplications of, One Striving to Enter into the Strait Gate; And with Reading the Word of God, and Books which may bring the Coals from the Altar to your Souls.

[Page 19] Having passed thro' this Preparation, I will now set before you, The Worthy Manner of coming unto the Table of the Lord. It shall be briefly recommended, in only Two Instructions; We will put upon you none other Burden.

First. You must behold the Sacramen­tal Elements, and the Sacramental Acti­ons; and affect your Hearts with suita­ble and Heart melting Meditations upon them.

When you see the Bread, your Thoughts must be on that Body which God Prepared for your Saviour, therein to make Himself a Sacrifice and an Of­fering. When you see the Wine, your Thoughts must be on that Blood of the Son of God, which cleanses from all Sin.

When the Bread is Taken by the Pas­tor; and so anon, when the Wine is Ta­ken, Your Thoughts must be on that Subject; I see, I see, how the Son of God has taken our Nature; How the Word was made Flesh!

When the Bread is Blessed; Your Thoughts are to be: Thus was my Jesus Consecrated, and set apart for the Work of [Page 20]a Redeemer. And anon, when the Wine has Thanks given upon it; your Thoughts are to be: Oh! what Thanks, what Thanks do I owe for my Jesus!

When the Bread is Broken; You are to think: Oh! what Griefs was my Jesus broken withal; when it pleased the Lord to bruise Him, and put Him to Griefs! And He was bruised for our Iniquities! And anon, when you see the Wine has been poured into the Cup; You are to think: Oh! how was the Blood of my Jesus poured out, when his Soul was made a Trespass-offering!

When the Bread is Given; You are to think: O my God, Wilt thou give thy Jesus to me! Yea, God bath so Loved the World!

When you Receive, the one first, and anon the other; it should be with such Thoughts as these; O my dear JESUS, I receive thee, I receive thee; No longer will I deny thee an Entrance into my Soul; at the Door whereof thou art now Knock­ing; O my Lard, and my God!

When you Eat the Bread, you are to Think, and wish; Oh! Let me be U­nited [Page 21]unto my Jesus, and Strengthened by Him. When you Drink the Wine, You are to Think, and wish; Oh! Let the Blood of my Jesus be applied unto me, as Purchasing Life Eternal for me! Oh! Let the Spirit of my Jesus Enter me, and Pos­sess me, and Quicken me for ever-more.

A Soul thus Engaged, is at a Feast of Fat things full of Marrow, of Wines on the Lees well refined.

Secondly. You may find Intervening Spaces while you are about this Work of the Lord, for to prosecute many Special Designs of Godliness, which would here have their most Effectual Prosecution. There are Intervening Pauses, whereof tis pity a moment should be lost. Now, it were all Wisdom and Prudence in you, before your coming hither, to Shape some Holy Designs, which you will come upon. Besides what the Sermons Preached on these Occasions may Lead you to think upon; you may aforehand ponder, What remarkable Deficiency in my Christianity should I now seek to have repaired? Or, What is the Distemper in my Soul, that I will now go to the Lord [Page 22]my Healer, for the Healing of? Or, What is the Temptation, with which I am now most in Danger to find the Temp­ter too hard for me? At the Table of the Lord, Look upon your Saviour, as first Purchasing that Favour of God, which you are now pursuing of. De­clare that you Receive what is before you, as a Yoken, that you Rely upon Him for that Favour. Then Look up­on your Saviour as on the Throne at the Right Hand of God, Able and Willing from thence to dispense it un­to you. So go on expressing the Reli­ance of your Soul upon Him, for that Favour in all the parts of it; Say, all that you would have; until you can conclude, Lord, All my Desire is before thee, and my Groaning is not hid from thee.

A TESTIMONY, address'd unto the People of New-England, from a Number of their Associated Pastors; Convened at Dedham, 4 d. III m. 1714.

FOrasmuch as by the Suggestions of the En­vious Enemy of Mankind, (Whose Design is to prevent Men of the Enjoyment of the Spi­ritual Influences & Blessings especially Obtain­able at the Holy Supper of the LORD) very many [Page 23]of the Children of the Covenant do contentedly Perse­vere in a most Scandalous & Criminal Neglect of that Holy Ordinance; most absurdly Justi­fying their Delinquency therein by an Allega­tion of their Unfitness and Unpreparedness for it, which itself is an heinous Iniquity: And foras­much as by this Means the Spiritual & Eternal Estates of Men are under no small Disadvan­tages; & the visible Covenant-People of GOD dreadfully exposed unto Unchurching & Discove­nanting Dispensations, under the Provoked Wrath of Heaven: Therefore we cannot but be Sensible, that 'tis our Duty to do all that we can (by the Help of our LORD JESUS CHRIST) for the Remedy & Redress of this great Evil; And we do hereby most Solemnly bear our Te­stimony against it; it being Diametrically Oppo­site to the required Glorifying of God's Name, & Advancement of His Kingdom, & doing of His Will, which, (as our blessed Saviour has Taught us) Men must have most at Heart on Earth, if they intend for Heaven. And forasmuch as, our Reverend and Worthy Brother, (whose Praise is in the Gospel throughout the Churches,) has, (according to the Wisdom given him of GOD) formed a Discourse, Intituled, A Monitor for Communicants, (which upon our Perusal this Day, we find, not only to be very Solid & Or­thodox, but also judiciously Adapted to the Re­moval of the Objection above-mentioned, of Mens Unfitness for the Table of the LORD:) we cannot but think that the general Spreading of it thro' the Land, might be, (by the blessing of CHRIST) not a little Conducive to the Putting [Page 24]forward the desired Reformation of the afore­said Neglect of the LORDS SUPPER. And we do earnestly Exhort all, (in the Bowels of Christ) into whose Hands the said Discourse may come, to Subject their Consciences and their whole Souls unto the Holy Word of GOD, and Will of CHRIST therein presented unto 'em; and in the Name of the LORD JESUS CHRIST, We solemnly Charge such of Our People as are guilty of the Scandalous Neglect of the Sacred Supper of the LORD, to Endeavour to Repent and Reform, as they will Answer it to their Great Judge at the Last Day.

Now, May the Precious Blood of CHRIST be Sprinkled upon them, and the Pardoning Mercy of our Heavenly FATHER be Dis­pensed to them, and the Verticordious In­fluences of the Eternal SPIRIT be vouch­safed to their Souls, for their Salvation! And may That Choice Discourse be Bles­sed to 'em for their Spiritual Good! AMEN.

With the Unanimous Vote and Consent of the whole Association.