22. The sacraments glasses to see God's love in Christ

The sacraments glasses to see God’s love in Christ

Now that we are to receive the sacrament, conceive the sacraments are glasses wherein we see the glory of the love and mercy of God in Christ. For take the bread alone, as it doth not represent and figure better things, and what is it? and take the wine alone, as it doth not represent better things, and what is the wine? But an ordinary poor creature. Oh, but take them as they are glasses, as things that convey to the soul and represent things more excellent than themselves, so they are glorious ordinances. Take a glass as a glass, it is a poor thing; but take the glass as it represents a more excellent thing than itself, so they are of excellent use; so bread and wine must not be taken as naked elements, but as they represent and convey a more excellent thing than themselves, that is, Christ and all his benefits, the love and mercy and grace of God in Christ; and so they are excellent glasses. Therefore I beseech you now, when you are to receive the sacrament, let your minds be more occupied than your senses. When you take the bread, think of the body of Christ broken; and when you think of uniting the bread into one substance, think of Christ and you made one. When the wine is poured out, think of the blood of Christ poured out for sin. When you think of the refreshing by the wine, think of the refreshing of your spirits and souls by the love of God in Christ, and of the love of Christ that did not spare his blood for your soul’s good. How doth Christ crucified and shedding his blood refresh the guilty soul, as wine refresheth the weak spirits. Thus consider them as glasses, where better things are presented, and let your minds be occupied as well as your senses, and then you shall be fit receivers, as ’in a glass.’

’We behold,’ &c.

God when he made the world, this glorious frame of the creatures, and all their excellencies, he created light to discover itself, and all other excellencies. For light is a glorious creature. It discovers itself. It goes with a majesty and discovers all other things, good and bad whatsoever; and together with light God created sight in man, and other senses, to apprehend the excellency of the creation. What were all this goodly frame of creatures, the sun, and moon, and stars, and glory of the earth, if there were not light to discover and sight to apprehend it by? Is it not so in this outward creation of the old heavens and old earth that must be consumed with fire? And is it not much more in the new creation? There is excellent glory, marvellous glory, wondrous grace in* Christ, &c. Must there be light, and must not there be an eye to discover this? Surely there must. Therefore it is said here, ’We behold.’

God puts a spiritual eye by his Spirit into all true believers, whereby they behold this excellent glory, this glorious grace, that God may have the glory, and we the comfort. Those are the two main ends. God intends his own glory and our salvation. There must be a ’beholding.’ How should he have glory and we comfort, unless all were conveyed by spiritual sight! Well then the Spirit creates and works in us spiritual senses. With spiritual life there are spiritual senses, sight, and taste, and feeling. Sight is here put for all, ’We behold.’

There are many degrees of sight. It is good to know them. Therefore I will name some of them.