58 Reflections on the ordinance of the Lord's supper. SECT. him eat at his own house P; or at least take a home; that ye come demnation. And the xxii. kind of antepast, that may prevent any incon- not together unto con1 Cor. venience arising from a little necessary delay; rest will I set in order XI. 34. that you may not come together to your condem- when I come. nation, and in such a manner, as to provoke the IMPROVEMENT, WHAT just matter of thankfulness to our blessed Redeemer, does that account of the institution of the sacred supper afVer. ford us, which St. Paul assures us he received immediately from 23 him. Let us often reflect it was in that very night in which he was betrayed, that his thoughts so compassionately wrought for our comfort and happiness; when it might have been imagined, that his mind would be entirely possessed with his personal concerns, with the doleful scene of his approaching sufferings. We learn from this account, the perpetuity, as well as the great leading 26 design, of the ordinance. We shew forth the Lord's death, and we shew it forth till he come. If we do indeed desire to preserve the memory of Christ's dying love in the world, if we desire to maintain it in our own souls, let us attend this blessed institution; endeavouring by the lively exercise of faith and love, to discern, and in a spiritual sense, to feed upon, the Lord's body. Nor let any humble and upright soul be discouraged, by these 29 threatenings of judgment, to the profane sinners who offered such gross affronts to this holy solemnity; affronts, which none of us are in any danger of repeating. These scandalous excesses, when they pretended to be worshipping God on this great occasion, might justly provoke the eyes of his holiness, might awaken the 32 arm of his indignation. Yet even these sinners were chastised, that they might not be finally and for ever condemned. Let not any then be terrified, as if every soul that approached the ordinance without due preparation, must by necessary conse➡ quence, seal its own damnation. Thus to attend the table of the Lord is indeed a sin; but, blessed be God, not a sin too great to be forgiven. Let those therefore, who, though they feel in their p Let him eat at his own house.] Mr. Amyrant and Mr. Cradock, (Apost. Hist. p. 174,) understand this, as a prohibition of love-feasts; but 1 think it evident from heart antiquity, they were retained in the church long after; though dubious whether they prevailed so soon, The Apostle treats of the spiritual gifts ; xxii. hearts a reverential love to Christ, yet have hitherto refrained from SECT attending this feast of love, be engaged to come; to come with due preparation, and self examination, as to their repentance and Ver. faith, their love and obedience; then may they, with the most 28 hearty welcome from the great Lord of the feast, eat of this bread, 24 and drink of this cup; receiving it as the memorial of Christ's body broken, and of his blood shed for the remission of our sins. Through that blood alone, let us seek this invaluable blessing, without which indeed, nothing can be a solid and lasting blessing to us: and let us, on every occasion, treat our brethren with a tenderness and respect becoming those who have considered ourselves and them, as redeemed by that precious blood, and indebted to it for the hopes of everlasting salvation. In a word, let us never rest in the external rites or exercises of 17 worship, how decently and regularly soever performed; but look to our inward temper, and to the conduct of our minds, if we desire to maintain their peace, and that our coming together should be for the better, and not for the worse, SECT. XXIII. The Apostle comes to treat on spiritual gifts; and introduces what he had farther to say concerning them, by observing, that various as they are, they all proceed from the same sacred Agent, and are intended for the edification of the same body, in which all Christians are united. 1 Cor. XII. 1—13. 1 COR. XII. 1. NOW concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have jou ignorant. 1 CORINTHIANS XII. 1. 59 SECT. 1 Cor. XII. 1. IT is now time I should proceed to speak something concerning those spiritual gifts] with xxiii. which God hath been pleased so abundantly to bless you, my Corinthian brethren; and as to the right use and improvement of which, I would not by any means have you ignorant. 2 Ye know that ye Upon this head you in the general know, that 2 ried away unto these during your natural state, before the cheering dumb rays of the gospel broke in upon you, ye were were Gentiles, car VOL. IX. heathens, without any knowledge of the true were 60 And says, that none by the Spirit calls Jesus accursed. SECT. were blindly enslaved to the worship of such dumb idols, even as yè xx stupid forms, degrading as it evidently is to the were led. xxiii. 1 Cor. XII. 2. 3 rational nature of man; [just] as you were led 3 Wherefore, I give no man speaking by and that no man can Lord, but by the Holy And therefore I hope you will not allow yourselves to despise any of your brethren, on you to understand, that account of their deficiency in them: since there the Spirit of God, callis an important sense in which they may all be eth Jesus accursed: said to have been enriched by Divine and supernatural influences. For I give you to know, and desire you to admit and retain it, as a principle equally certain and weighty; that, as no one, speaking by the Spirit of God, calleth Jesus accursed; and consequently all pretences made to the Divine Spirit by the Jews are notoriously false and detestable; so, on the other hand, no one can sincerely say, [that] Jesus [is the] Lord: none can embrace his religion, and support the profession of it in truth, but by the powerful operation of the Holy Ghost on his heart; and therefore, as you are all in a sense spiritual, it à Therefore.] The force of this particle do, seems to be this; I am careful to give you the following hints concerning spiritual gifts, because in proportion to the degree in which God hath magnified his grace in calling you from idolatry to such extraordinary privileges and endowments, I am solicitous you may be preserved from abusing them, and engaged to improve them in the wisest and most faithful manner. b Calleth Jesus accursed.] Mr. Nathaniel Taylor, (on Deism, p. 60, 61,) thinks this refers in general to the test put on Christians by their persecutors, that they should not only deny, but blaspheme Christ. This the Gentiles indeed required, (see Plin. Epist. x. 97. Euseb. Eccles. Hist. iv. 15.) But I rather think this refers to the Jews, who while they uttered blasphemies against Christ themselves, (1 Tim. i. 13,) and extorted them, if possible, from those they apprehended to be his disciples, (Acts xxvi. 11,) pretended to the gifts of the Spirit, by which they undertook to cast out devils; and perhaps they might imitate some of the exorcisms which Christians under the operation of the Spirit perform would ed. Such a caution might therefore be c Sincerely say, [that] Jesus [is the] Lord.] Chrysostom well observes, this phrase of saying, that Jesus is the Messiah, must be supposed to proceed from true faith in him; and the expression is used to import a man's being a true Christian, because such strong temptations lay against professing Christ under this character, that they who maintained this doctrine were in heart real believers; though there might be a few excepted instances. This seems as plain a proof as could be desired, that true faith is the work of the Spirit of God upon the heart. See The third Letter to the Author of Christianity not founded on Argument, p. 34-36. d Diversities But among Christians there are diversities of gifts xxiii. 1 Cor. would be highly unreasonable, that the greatest ECT. should despise the least, on account of any distinction which may have been made in his favour; especially, when you consider who is XII. 4 Now there are di- the great Source of all. Now there are diversi- 4 versities of gifts, but ties of gifts in different persons, but there is one and the same Divine Spirit, from whom they are all derived; And though there are diversities 5 the same Spirit. tions, but the same Lord. 5 And there are differences of administra- of administrations, there is one and the same common Lord, who appoints bis ministers under their distinct offices, and gives them their powers, their ability, and their success. And 6 though there are diversities of operations and effects produced, yet it is one and the same God who worketh all these effects in all the persons concerned; and they can pretend to nothing more than being the subjects, or at most, the instruments of his almighty and universal 6 And there are diversities of operations, which worketh all in but it is the same God all. 7 But the manifesta given to every man to profit withal. agency. But to every one of his believing servants, who7 tion of the Spirit is are thus honoured, is given, according to his wise and holy distribution, a manifestation of the Spirit: (for that our portion of gifts may properly be called:) and this in such a degree, as is most agreeable and profitable for the interest of the whole; that all may harmoniously carry on the great design of glorifying God, in the edification and happiness of the whole body. For to one, for instance, who is placed in the g highest rank of the Christian church, is given by the Spirit, the word of wisdom; a comprehensive view of that grand scheme in which the wisdom of God is so wonderfully displayed, that even angelic intelligences are continually admiring it to another, by the same Spirit, such lower degrees of it, as may be called the word of knowledge; whether respecting the meaning 8 For to one is given by the Spirit, the word the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; of wisdom: to another, d Diversities of administrations.] Calling them administrations, or services, (diaxo49,) was a gentle manner of reminding them of the great design of these gifts; and so of reproving those who perverted them to contrary purposes. e Word of wisdom-and of knowledge.] There are, perhaps, few texts in the New Testament more difficult than some in this chapter, and in the xivth of this epistle, relating to the extraordinary gifts then in the church; which were at that time so well known, as not to need expli cation; and it is a noble instance of the ge- assert, 61 62 One hath the gift of faith, another of healing, &c. SECT. meaning of the Old Testament, or other things xxiii. in the Christian plan, which may render them 1 Cor. Superior to most of their brethren; though inXII. 9. ferior to the class I mentioned above. To another 9 To another, faith, is given such an extraordinary faith, by the by the same Spirit; to same Spirit, that he can commit himself to the healing, by the same another, the gifts of Divine protection in the midst of the extremest Spirit; dangers; and is thereby qualified courageously to assert the truth of the gospel, in the very face of its most violent persecutors: to another, the gifts of healing, by the same Spirit, in consequence of which, while under its operation, he can by a word, or a touch, remove the most 10 inveterate diseases. To another, the working of 10 To another, the miracles of a different kind, such as tak working of miracles; ing up serpents, drinking any deadly draught to another, discerning to another, prophecy;" unhurt, and especially the ejection of demons: of spirits; to another, to another the gift of prophecy; whereby he shall be able exactly to foretel some contingent future évent; to another, the discerning of spirits, so as authoritatively to determine by what impulse any one speaks, who pretends to inspiration; or to be capable of pronouncing on the sincerity of men's professions, or their fitness for any public work to be assigned to them; to another, the gift of speaking with various kinds of tongues, which he had never had the natural means of acquiring and to another, the no less useful, though less splendid endowment, which we distinguish from the former, by calling it the inter assert, (Mise. Sacr. ibid. p. 42-45, and are (,דעת and כמה) ,and knowledge mentioned together, wisdom is generally pretation divers f Faith.] Faith, as an extraordinary gift, in this connection, must in the general signify, "a firm persuasion of being called out by God, at any particular time, to perform some miracle, and accordingly going about it without any suspicion or fear, in confident dependence on a correspondent Divine interposition. g Working of miracles.] It is difficult to distinguish this from faith, as explained above. Some understand it of some very extraordinary miracles, such as taking up serpents, drinking any deadly draught unhurt, curing diseases by a shadow passing over the patient, &c. Compare Mark with Mous. Amyraut, (in his excellent xvi. 18; Acts v. 15. But I rather think, Paraphrase,) that everynpalle duraponey, delivering persons over to them. may refer to the dispossession of demons, or and that of healing, might be compreThis gift, hended in faith; but perhaps in some instances, it might work only in the one or the other of these effects. h To |