as many as had sinned even for all the World for all saith St. Chrysostom are many When therefore we see this so plainly represented in the pouring forth of the Holy Chalice let us not only shew a high estimation of that most meritorious Blood which saves so many Souls effectually and hath virtue enough to redeem all the World but also actuate our devotion in some pertinent Soliloquies after this or the like form Methinks O my dear Redeemer while thou art pouring forth thy most precious blood thou lookest on me with a Countenance mixed of pity and upbraiding that I should take so little care to save this Soul which thou hast bought at such a rate Do I not behold those drops and streams to trickle down that have sealed the Covenant of Peace and confirmed all the Promises of the Gospel why then am I not swallowed up with admiration why do I not breath and pant after it I came not to quench my bodily thirst but to wash my Soul in this salutary Fountain oh how freely it flows how perfectly it cures Lord let me tast thereof Make it unto me the blood of Jesus for it is that my Soul thirsteth after And now that thy powerful word hath hallowed it let me not by evil thoughts or unbelief malice or impenitence make it to my self an unhallowed thing but as thou hast fitted it for the mystery oh fit me also to receive it I cannot now have any more low or common thoughts about it I will by Faith esteem it as my Saviours blood and though I am unworthy of so divine a Cordial yet my Soul gaspeth for it and without it alas I must die and perish § 13. Do this as oft as ye shall drink it in remembrance of me Amen We have here again a renewed injunction to Do this and if we have any sense of our Redeemers love or any care of our own Souls we shall not need to be pressed to it but shall desire to Do it often and yet always to Do it well not Drinking it as common Wine but as the memorial of his blood-shedding in remembrance of him and his inestimable kindness but of this we have spoken before § 10. Only we must note that this Amen in the end of this Prayer was antiently spoken z 1 Cor. 14.16 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Atque ubi Praeses orationes gratiarum actiones absolvit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Just Mart. Ap. 2. by the people with a loud voice not only to shew their joining in the desire that the Elements may become truly Consecrated but also to declare their firm belief that they are now to be esteemed as the very Body and Blood of Christ Let us therefore here most devoutly seal all that the Priest hath done and unfeignedly testifie our Faith by a hearty Amen Lord it is done as thou hast commanded and I doubt not but the mystery is rightly accomplished I am perswaded that here is that which my Soul longeth after a Crucifyed Saviour communicating himself to poor penitent Sinners Oh let me be reckoned among that number and then I shall assuredly receive thee holy Jesus Amen The Paraphrase of the Prayer of Consecration § 14. O Almighty God infinite in Power and wonderful in thy goodness Thou art our Heavenly Father who to save us from Eternal Misery of thy tender mercy and free Compassion didst give thy only and well-beloved Son Iesus Christ not only to be born in our nature but also to suffer a most grievous and bitter death upon the Cross that his life might be for our Redemption from everlasting Torments to which we were forfeited We believe and confess it was this thy Son who made there on the Cross by his own voluntary oblation of himsel◠to that accursed Death though he was but once offered in this manner a full perfect and sufficient Sacrifice Oblation and satisfaction to thy offended Justice not only for the sins of some times or some Persons but for the sins of all men that are were or shall be throughout the whole World so that there is none but might upon their Faith and Repentance be forgiven by the vertue thereof And because there needs no other Sacrifice for sin now therefore our Lord Jesus appointed and did institute this holy Sacrament to represent it And in his holy Gospel he doth accordingly plainly command us to observe this Rite thereby to continue a perpetual and lively memory of that his most meritorious and most precious Death So that his love may be fresh in our hearts until his coming again to judgment in the end of the World In obedience to this command we are now about to make this memorial of his Passion and that we may do it effectually Hear us O most merciful Father Consider our need of this Heavenly food We most humbly beseech thee in whose power it is alone to feed our Souls And grant that we receiving with a true repentance and lively Faith these thy Creatures of Bread and Wine which thou hast chosen to express this mystery and partaking of them according to thy Son our Saviour Iesus Christs gracious intention and most holy Institution namely in remembrance of his bitter Death and bloody Passion Let them Communicate him unto us that we by them may be partakers of his most blessed Body and Blood and of all the benefits of his Incarnation and his sufferings But it is not in us to make these Creatures to be a Sacrament wherefore we will do as our Lord did and say as he said And be thou pleased to grant that the Words of Jesus pronounced by thy Servant may have the same effect upon these Elements which they had when spoken with his blessed mouth Who in the same night that he was betrayed to his Crucifyers as one of the last tokens of his love Took Bread the staff of life as we now take this into our hands to resemble his taking our nature and when he had begged thy blessing as we do also thereon and given thanks shewing how chearfully he suffered for us He brake it as we this Bread into many pieces an Emblem of his broken and wounded Body and gave it to his Disciples to whom he designed the benefits of his Passion Saying Take this pledge of your Redemption most thankfully and by Faith Eat that you may be nourished by my Love for This is the Communion of my Body and shall make you partakers of it as it is a Sacrifice which is given to God to satisfie for you Provided you Do this in a most thankful remembrance of me and my all-sufficient Oblation Likewise also after the Paschal Supper that he might give himself wholly to us He took the Cup of Wine which maketh glad the heart of Man even as we take this And when he had begged thy blessing on it as we now do and also given thanks that his blood was accepted for the life of the World He
Essens d 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Porph. ut supr l. 4. c. 12. and the Christians e Tert. Ap. c. 39. Nec cibi sumantur nisi oratione praemissâ Hieron ep 22. ad Eustach began their common meals with a solemn Prayer for a blessing The Jews would not eat of the Sacrifice till Samuel came to bless it 1 Sam. 9.13 How much more then ought we to expect the Prayers of the Priest over this mysterious food of our Souls before we eat thereof especially since Jesus himself did not deliver this Bread and Wine until he had Consecrated it by giving thanks There are some other parts of this Office which may upon some occasions be omitted * Non prius discumbitur quam oratio ad Deum praegustetur but this must never be left out it being the most antient and Essential part of all some learned Men do believe that the Apostles themselves in their daily Communions did ever use the latter part of this form from who in the same night c. Alcuin de divin off and it is most certain that no Liturgy in the World hath altered that particular For in every Church the Priest repeats the words of our Saviours Institution and by those words the Consecration is made f Quomodo potest qui panis est esse corpus Christi Consecratione consecratio igitur quibus verbis est Domini Jesu paulò post ubi venitur ut conficiatur venerabile sacramentum jam non suis sermonibus sacerdos utitur sed Christi Ambr. de sacr l. 4. c. 4. ita D. Chrys serm de Judâ prodit Vbi Christi verba deprompta fuerunt jam non panis dicitur sed Corpus appellatur Aug. de verb. dom ser 28. ita Author de Card. op Christi ap Cypr. for it is not the power of the Priest but the efficacy of the Author which makes the Elements to become sacramentally the body and blood of Christ S. Chrys hom 2. in 2. ep ad Cor. versùs fin The Roman Church indeed hath made large additions to this Primitive Form so that it is not above a tenth part of the Canon of their Mass much of the rest being the names of Saints and commemorations of the dead But these corruptions and innovations being removed our excellent Reformers have given us the Apostolical and Catholick Form alone only with a short Prayer to introduce it and because all the Communicants ought to join with the Minister therein we will proceed so to explain it as may assist every ones understanding and devotion The Analysis of the Prayer of Consecration § 2. The Prayer of Consecration hath Three Parts 1. An Introduction shewing the Reasons of this Duty because 1. We have a dying Saviour given for us Almighty God our heavenly Father who of thy tender mercy didst give thy onely Son Iesus Christ to suffer death upon the Cross for our Redemption 2. That Death is so perfect and meritorious who made there by his own oblation of himself once offered a full perfect and sufficient Sacrifice Oblation and Satisfaction for the Sins of the whole World 3. We are commanded to remember it and did institute and in his holy Gospel command us to continue a perpetual memory of that his precious death until his coming again 2. A Petition for a Blessing on it intimating 1. The Author of this Blessing Hear us O merciful Father we most humbly beseech thee and grant 2. The occasion of desiring it considering 1. The Act which we are about to do that we receiving these thy Creatures of Bread and Wine 2. The Manner we intend to do it in according to thy Son our Saviour Iesus Christs most holy Institution in remembrance of his Death and Passion 3. The Blessing desired may be Partakers of his most blessed Body and Blood 3. The Consecration it self reciting 1. The time when it was instituted Who in the same night that he was betrayed 2. The Manner how it was Instituted 1. As to the Bread 1. The Preparation I. Took Bread II. And when he had given thanks III. He brake it 2. The Administration and gave it to his Disciples saying Take eat This is my Body which is given for you 3. The Direction Do this in remembrance of me 2. As to the Wine also 1. The Preparation Likewise also after Supper I. He took the Cup II. And when he had given thanks 2. The Administration He gave it to them saâ—â—ng Drink ye all of this â—or This is my Blood of the New-Testament which is shed for you and for many for the remission of sins 3. The Direction Do this as oft as ye shall drink it in remembrance of me Amen A Practical Discourse upon the Prayer of Consecration § 3. Almighty God our Heavenly Father who of thy tender mercy didst give thy only Son Iesus Christ to suffer death upon the Cross for our Redemption Our blessed Lord hath taught us to whom we should direct this Prayer even to God the Father of whom he himself did first beg this blessing and since the foundation of this Ordinance was the Death of Jesus Christ we do most fitly begin this Prayer with a Commemoration of that Mercy for how can we more effectually move Almighty God to give his blessing to us in this Sacrament than by acknowledging his infinite love in granting so glorious a Redemption to us And he that spared not his own Son but delivered him up to death for us all how shall he not with him also freely give us all things Rom. 8.32 He that made him a Sacrifice for us will certainly make these Symbols to communicate him to us if we be desirous and prepared to receive him It is the method of the divine bounty to give his second mercies meerly because he had freely given the first g Cui initio ratio non fuisset praestandi aliquid ei praestamus ob hoc quia praestitimus Sen. de benef l. 4. c. 15. especially when he finds the former thankfully accepted so that we cannot have a better introduction to this Petition than the acknowledgment of Gods goodness in first giving his own Son for us especially if we make it with an humble and graâ—eful heart Besides it must need be a mighty strengthening to our Faith and a great encouragement to our hope of prevailing in this request when we have first remembred so rare an experiment of Gods mercy already received Let us therefore most thankfully confess the incomparable bounty of our Heavenly Father in giving his only Son to suffer for our Redemption and then we may with more confidence beseech him to sanctifie these Elements that they may be his body and blood to us because the divine appointment hath made them to be the means whereby we may become partakers of the benefits of that Holy Passion § 4. Who made there by his own Oblation of himself once offered a full perfect and sufficient Sacrifice
Oblation and satisfaction for the sins of the whole World As we have declared the bounty of the Father so now we must acknowledge the merit of the Son before we did set forth the admirable love of the giver and next we magnifie the incomparable worth of the gift for God did not evidence his love to us by any insignificant testimony but by giving us the most real and inestimable benefit in the World The Death of this Saviour which he gave us though suffered but once was so infinitely meritorious as that it was sufficient to satisfie for the sins of all Mankind And where is it more proper to set forth that one all-sufficient Sacrifice in all its glories than here where we come peculiarly to celebrate it with our highest Praises and to make an everlasting memorial thereof If we regard the persons for whom this was done it is a Sacrifice if we respect him that did offer it it is a free Oblation if we consider him to whom it was offered it is a satisfaction and in every one of these respects it is full perfect and sufficient or particularly it is a full satisfaction a perfect Oblation and a sufficient Sacrifice not like the legal Offerings for the sins of one kind or the offences of one Nation or of one Person but for the sins of all the World Let none therefore mistake or imagine we are about to Sacrifice Christ again as the Roman Church falsly teacheth for that is not only needless and impossible but a plain contradiction to St. Paul who affirms that Jesus was to be offered but only once Heb. 9.26 Chap. 10.10 12. and by that one oblation h 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theop. in 10 Hebr. v. 12. Illo sacrificio singulari à peccatis omnibus mundaremur Aug. de Civ Dei l. 7. c 31. he hath for ever perfected them that are sanctifyed ver 14. so that there needs no more offering for sin ver 18. And besides if we think that in this Sacrament Christ is daily offered up it seems we do not believe that which he did on the Cross to have been sufficient and so we should exceedingly derogate from that most meritorious Sacrifice to which we pretend to do honour by this Commemoration nor shall we make any difference between the all-saving Death of our Saviour and the daily offerings of Mosaick Institution if this also be continually to be reiterated Wherefore we do deny this Communion to be any new sacrificing of Christ For there is but one Sacrifice saith S. Ambrose not many and this is but the exemplar of that i Ambr. in 10. ad Hebr. This is only a memorial which the Lord hath delivered to us instead of a Sacrifice saith Eusebius k Euseb praep Evang. l. 1. c. 10. The Sacrifice need not be reiterated it is sufficient to remember it with Eucharist and Thanksgiving Rejoyce ye poor repentant Sinners for the price is paid by Christ and accepted by his Father already Acknowledge it gratefully and believe it firmly express it with all the honour you can devise since you came to this Heavenly Feast on purpose to glorifie the compleat and absolute satisfaction which your Redeemer hath made Let no man deceive you for Christ on th◠Cross assured you that the work of expiation was then finished there is nothing left for you now to do but only to pray that these outward Elements may be so blessed as to convey unto you the benefit thereof § 5. And did institute and in his holy Gospel command us to continue a perpetual memory of that his precious Death until his coming again The work of our Redemption is so very excellent in it self that it deserves a perpetual memorial and who so fit to direct the particular manner of remembring it as he that did so nobly accomplish it and this is that very way which he himself hath instituted so that we have a most direct and powerful Argument to move our Lord to sanctifie these Elements because we celebrate this mystery in obedience to his own Commands Do this saith he in remembrance of me Luke 22.19 and we are bid to shew forth the Lords Death till he come 1 Cor. 11.25 26. And surely he will make these Symbols to be his Body and Blood to us because we are about to receive them purely by his Order no doubt he will establish that which he hath wrought for us l Grandis in rebus humanis est praerogativae ut aliquis operibus beneficiis faveat suis Amb. ser 10. in Ps 119. Psal 68.28 for otherwise he would seem saith S. Ambrose to abrogate that which he hath appointed We are desirous as much as in us lyeth to be partakers of his precious Body and Blood and according to his command we are come thus far but we can only strike the Rock it is he must bring forth the Water we must now stand still and see the Salvation of the Lord for till he have blessed the Bread and Wine we can go no farther Now if this Holy Rite were a meer humane device we could hardly expect to have so great a grace and power shewed for its ratification they that invocate God for those that are falsly called Sacraments cannot so rationally hope to be heard as we who only desire him to be favourable to the work of his Hands and to prosper us in that which we undertake by express Commission from the blessed Jesus O let us then revere this Ordinance which hath so divine an Author on which the Image of God is so plainly stamped let us with a mighty affection embrace our dying Saviours love who was so much afraid we should forget him and so desirous to be ever with us let us chearfully go on without doubts or fears knowing that he who hath bid us Do this is able to make it whatsoever he will or whatsoever we need let us not startle at the difficulty of this Sacramental change but rest satisfied in the power of the Author and Enjoyner let us call on him earnestly and then believe that he will so be present by his Spirit and his Grace as that we shall feel the virtue and efficacy thereof from time to time from one Communion to another even till we come to see him unvailed and face to face at his coming again in glory § 6. Hear us O merciful Father we most humbly beseech thee and grant that we receiving these thy Creatures of Bread and Wine according to thy Son our Saviour Iesus Christs most holy Institution in remembrance of his Death and Passion may be partakers of his most blessed Body and Blood We have now made a sufficient Introduction to this great Request by acknowledging the mercy and merit of Christs Death as also by declaring the divine Original of this Sacrament wherefore in the next place we come to the Petition it self which is the very Grace before this Coelestial food and herein
we follow the example of Jesus who though he was able by his very word to make the Elements what he pleased yet he did first give thanks or crave a blessing to shew us what we must do m 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theoph. in Math. 26. He had given thanks in order to the Passover before Luke 22.17 and therefore it is likely that he made a peculiar Thanksgiving now relating to this mystery n Vid. Buxt Synag Jud. cap. 13. for so the Jews were wont to have several forms for the Passover o Super Pacifica benedicunt cum comedunt ea hoc modo Benedictus tu Domine Deus noster qui sanctificasti nos praeceptis tuis mandasti nobis comedere de Pacificis R. Salom. for the Peace-offerings yea distinct Graces for the meat and for the drink What the very words were with which our Saviour blessed God is not recorded so that all Churches have used their liberty in the manner of expressing this with some variety in the Phrase but as to the substance and design they are the same nor doth any Liturgy want some such supplication The Latine Church saith We humbly beseech and intreat thee O most merciful Father by Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord that thou wouldst accept and bless these gifts c. in St. Ambrose Make this our Oblation valid reasonable and acceptable which is made for a figure of the body and blood of Jesus Christ In the Liturgy of St. Basil We beseech thee let thy holy Spirit come upon us and upon these gifts here set forth to bless and sanctifie them c. And to name no more in that called St. Clements We offer to thee O Lord our King according to his institution this Bread and this Cup and we beseech thee vouchsafe to look graciously upon these gifts set forth in thy sight Now it is requisite that the whole Congregation should in heart join in this part of the Prayer to make it the more prevalent with Almighty God Math. 18.19 And to quicken us to ask with the greater Ardency let us consider how great a thing it is which we desire how earnestly did Moses pray when he was to bring water out of the Rock how fervently did Elijah call on his God when his sacrifice was to be kindled from Heaven but we do now beg a greater matter and for a much more noble end We behold the Creatures of Bread and Wine and we know them to be as yet no more p Antequam ergo consecretur panis est Ambros de sacr l 4 c. 5. But we desire they may be made the body and blood of Christ to us that although they remain in substance what they were yet to the worthy Receiver they may be something far more excellent which nothing can effect but that word q Si ergo tanta vis est in sermonibus Domini Jesu ut inciperent esse quae non erant quanto magis operatorius est ut sint quae erant in aliud commutentur Idem which made all things out of nothing We are not now begging for the meat that perisheth but for that which endureth to everlasting life John 6.27 yet we ought to hope he will grant us this request because we are about to partake of this Ordinance both in a right manner as Christ did institute it and to a right end viz. for a memorial of his Death we long after our Saviour with a mighty Passion and in this manner he hath chosen to communicate himself therefore we may chearfully request that by the receiving this Bread and Wine which he hath chosen we may become partakers of his most blessed Body and blood for St. Paul assures us the Bread thus blessed is the Communion or Communication of Christs Body There needs no real change in the substance of the Elements for this participation is not by sense but by Faith This lively representation by the operation of the Spirit gives us a fresh remembrance of the Love and Merit of our Redeemers Passion so that by Faith we lay hold upon him as the only satisfaction for our sins and then the Power of God doth by these Symbols communicate our Lord unto us and convey unto our Souls all the salutary benefits of that great expiation We have all the real effects the virtue and the comfort of receiving Jesus though we do not tear his flesh with our teeth And if it may please God to make us partakers of the benefits of Christs Passion we will not inquire into the manner but we will believe because we feel the effects and rejoice in the graces that flow from him nor shall we desire more § 7. Who in the same night that he was betrayed took Bread The best pattern for the Celebration of this mystery is to be taken from the divine Author thereof our Lord Jesus whose Words and Actions are in this particular so punctually related in the Gospels on purpose to direct us in this solemnity and when the Rite was disordered in the Church of Corinth St. Paul 1 Cor. 11. sends them to the first Institution as to the Rule and Canon by which they ought to rectifie all that was amiss and for this reason as we have noted no Church in the World did ever omit these words of our Saviour by which they believed the Consecration to be principally made Wherefore let him that Ministers pronounce them with great deliberation and the profoundest reverence remembring he speaks in the person of Christ And let each Communicant think he is placed among the Disciples in the presence of Jesus at his first Supper and since every Word and Action is big with Mystery let him fix both his Eye and his heart upon the Holy Table and prepare to entertain every particular with a suitable Meditation And first when the time is mentioned in which this Heavenly Feast was instituted viz. The same night in which he was betrayed r 1 Cor. 11.23 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In quâ nocte tradebatur Litur Clem. In nocte quâ tradebat se ipsum pro vitâ mundi Lit. S. Basil Perperam itaque Missal Rom. habet Qui pridie quam pateretur even the last night which he lived in this mortal Body Then consider in this manner Behold what kind of Love O my Soul is expressed by thy Redeemer when our sins his treacherous servant and his enraged Enemies were contriving his Death he was designing an excellent benefit for us the stream of his affections was so strong that no baseness or ingratitude could check it we might have expected that the horror of this dismal night should have made him repent of his undertaking and have put him upon reversing all his former favours but lo he adds a greater than ever he had given before and appoints this as a seal to confirm and convey the rest unto us Thy Love was stronger than death and when all the terrors of
is given for you Our Heavenly Physician being about to cure the Diseases of our Souls having thus prepared the Remedy and presented it to us he doth first direct the use of it a Medicus non tantum curat sed etiam monet Sen. ep 94. and Secondly Tell us what it is We are not taught to carry it about to gaze at and to be adored but to Take and Eat it For Christ having made himself a Sin-offering for us desires that Sacrifice may be accepted as ours and would have us to share in the benefits thereof wherefore he hath made this a Peace-offering as the memorial of it and invited us to take and eat our Portion that so he may be one with us and we with him And when we hear him so lovingly call us to feast with God upon the remainders we may very fitly fall into these Contemplations There is indeed a mighty difference between the feeding of my Body and the refreshing of my Soul that which enters in by the mouth cannot of it self reach thither yet I am commanded when I come for spiritual relief to Take and Eat and I will not enquire but obey because he that prescribes this method can work wonders and at once satisfie both Body and Soul wherefore I will perform the outward part and at the same time lift up my Soul above these visible representations and being sensible of my offences against Heaven while my mouth is chewing the holy Bread my Faith b Quod esca est carni hoc animae fides Cypr. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Basil shall feast upon the satisfaction made by my Redeemers Passion until I find my Soul is nourished with the Joy the Peace and the Comfort which it draws from thence As he hath made his Oblation mine by his designing it for me so I will make it mine also by a particular application O strengthen my hand by a lively Faith and open my mouth by fervent desires so will I take and eat this and rejoice in so lively an Emblem which leads me into that within the vail and while I am performing the bodily part let my soul feel the spiritual efficacy of thy grace that I may not eat unworthily or to Condemnation Lord I feed upon thy love I lay hold upon thy Promises I will take and eat these as well as the material part if thou wilt please to enable me so to do Furthermore lest I should be mistaken and either not understand or not believe the true worth of this incomparable gift he is pleased to tell me what it is This is my Body saith he which is given for you and by that word he makes it to be so to every true Believer wherefore the Minister ought to pronounce this so reverently and so deliberately that the Communicants may have time to exercise their Faith because their senses cannot discover any material alteration For the true understanding whereof let me here digress a little for the satisfaction of such as are not prejudiced nor contentious We know how stifly the Roman Church contends for the literal exposition of this Text and what Tragedies have been acted upon those who did not so understand it but we have great reason to believe That our Saviour did not intend by these words to change the substance of the Bread and Wine into his natural Flesh and Blood For I. The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This being Neuter cannot agree with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Bread which is Masculine and it is very probable that our Lord did herein as in other things imitate that Phrase which the Jews used at the Feast of the Passover This is the Bread of affliction which our Fathers did eat c. and This is the Body of the Paschal Lamb which our Fathers did eat c. as the Talmud tract de Pasch declares For as that was not the very Bread nor the very Lamb yet they called it so because it did represent and continue the memorial of that and was used to the same purpose so in like manner He calls this his own Body who was the true Paschal Lamb because This Action doth signifie and remember it and by this Bread we are partakers thereof Secondly St. Paul the best interpreter of his Master expounds This is my Body and Blood by this is the Communion of my Body and Blood 1 Cor. 10.16 that is most plainly This blessed Bread is that which will make you partakers of Christs Body c. and 1 Cor. 11.26 he calls it no more but Bread even after the Consecration ver 24 25. And the same Apostle c Solet autem res quae significat ejus rei nomine quam significat nuncupari ut Petra erat Christus Hebraeis non signum Christi dicit Apostolus Aug. in Levit. Quaest 57. saith That Rock was Christ d 1 Cor. 10.4 not intending to make us believe the Rock was Transubstantiate but only that it was the figure and symbol of Christ and so might be called by his name Thirdly Nor did the most antient Fathers thus apprehend our Saviours meaning when they called this the Antitype of his Body the Type of a great Mystery the Figure of his Body and a Symbol called by the name of his Body e 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Nazianzen 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cyril Mys cat 5. Hoc est corpus meum i. e. figura corporis mei Tertul. in Marc. l. 4. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 viz. Ego sum panis vitae 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 viz. Hoc est corpus meum Theod. Dial. cap. 8. and much more to this purpose Fourthly Nor will this opinion of Transubstantiation agree with the most antient Liturgies for in the most genuine part of them the Prayer of Consecration all those forms called from St. James St. Clement St. Basil and St. Chrysostome do pray after they have pronounced the words of Christ This is my Body that the Holy Spirit may descend and make that Bread so they still call it the Body and that Cup the Blood of Christ Yea in the Roman Church it self one of the most authentick parts of the Canon of the Mass hath these words That this Oblation may be made Vnto us the body and blood of thy most beloved Son our Lord Jesus Christ Which doubtless may be done without any real change in the Elements themselves Yea and in the last part of the Canon long after the Priest hath said Hâ—c est Corpus meum by which they suppose the substances to be changed they say Through Jesus Christ our Lord by whom thou dost always create sanctifie quicken bless and give us these good things Which words being only applicable to the Bread and Wine do shew f Haeretici hujus seculi rident hanc Canonis particulam eò quod post Consecrationem adjecta sit quasi ea verba intelligi nequeunt nisi de pane vino nam Corpus sanguinem Christi non
semper Deus Creat Durant de rit Eccl. l. 2. c. 44. that the antient Roman Church did not believe the substances to be annihilated no not after the Consecration Fifthly It was long before Rome it self did determine this Doctrine of Christs very flesh and blood being in the Sacrament g Ante Lateranense concilium Transubstantiatio non fuit dogma fidei Scot. 4. sent d. 11. q. 3. In Synaxi serò Transubstantiationem definivit Ecclesia diu satis erat credere sive sub pane Consecrato sive quocunque modo adesse verum corpus Christi Eras not ad 1 Corinth viz. not much above 400. years ago nor was it only opposed by Berengarius but the Master of the Sentences h Pet. Lomb. sent l. 4. c. 12. affirmed it was only a memorial and representation of the true Sacrifice and the famous Rabanus Maurus An. 850. plainly holds i Sacramentum in alimentum corporis redigitur virtute autem sacramenti aeterna vita adipiscitur Rab. Maur. de inst Cler l. 1. c. 3. The outward part still to remain and as Bread to be turned into the substance of the Body yea Scotus writ a peculiar Treatise against this then growing Doctrine which was condemned unjustly by Leo the IX not to mention now the Book of Bertram on this subject Sixthly To this we may finally annex many cogent reasons why this Transubstantiation is not to be believed viz. Because it is needless for us to expect to eat the natural flesh of Christ here where we come to seek a spiritual Union with him by Faith and an interest in his Death to which the eating his flesh would nothing conduce Again it is contrary to the nature of a Sacrament where the visible part must remain as the Water in Baptism doth to be a foundation for the inward and spiritual grace And further since the Heavens must contain Christs Body to the end of the World it is impossible it should be but one and yet many in several places at once always whole yet often broken received intire by every person and yet then at the right hand of God existing before yet Created by the Priest We must deny our Reason as well as our Senses if we can believe so great and absurd Contradictions Nor is it imaginable if this were the intent of our Lords words how he who was then alive and sitting at the Table could break and give himself or be eaten and yet remain intire and finally since we see and feel and tast it to be only Bread and Wine as to the substance still unless we will deny this great foundation of all our notions yea and of our Faith also we must not give credit to so strange and monstrous a conceit Yet still we do believe that every duly disposed Communicant doth receive really the Body and Blood of Christ in and by these Elements but it is by Faith and not by sense If we receive them in the manner and to the end which Christ appointed they give us a lively remembrance of his love and all-sufficient merit and thereby invite our Faith to embrace this Crucifyed Redeemer as the satisfaction for our sins whereupon he who is most ready to close with penitent Sinners doth by this rite of his own appointing give himself and the salutary benefits of his Death unto such and although the manner be mysterious yet the advantages are real and the effect more certain than if we eat or drunk his natural flesh and blood But we have diverted too far and therefore will reserve the Meditation upon this part until we come to the Administration Sect. III. § 3. § 10. Do this in Remembrance of me Having told us what it is which is presented to us our Lord goes on to prescribe the manner how we must make use of it viz. as a memorial of him The Ministers are to Do this which he hath done even to bless the Bread and break it and distribute it in remembrance of his Institution the people also are to Do this that is to take eat c. in Remembrance of his Passion And this being the great end of the Institution the Antients were wont always here to Commemorate all the principal Acts which Jesus hath done for us especially his Death k 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in omnibus Graec. Liturg. Memores passionis Lit. Clem. Memorantes ergo nos salutarium ejus passionum Lit. Basil Memores gloriâ—sissimae ejus passionis ab inferis resurrectionis in coelum ascensionis Ambr. de sacr l. 4. c. 5. upon the Cross Our Master desires us not to celebrate his sufferings with a present expression of sorrow but by a perpetual remembring of them even as the brave Germannicus lying upon his Death-Bed desired his friends not to prosecute his Funerals with useless tears but if they would shew their love to him to do it by remembring his Will and executing his Commands Tacit. Let us then do this last Command of our dying Lord and remember him in these or the like thoughts It is but too apparent Blessed Lord how apt we are to forget thy dear love to us and thy bitter sufferings for us our continual transgressions publish it and our present stupidity and indevotion do declare it Praised therefore be thy goodness for these lively Emblems of thy most meritorious Cross and Passion oh that we may behold them with the same affections with which we should have been moved had we been spectators of thy horrid Tragedy so shall they imprint the Characters of thy love so deep upon our hearts that neither time nor temptation can obliterate them Behold we do here most affectionately call to mind the humility of thine Incarnation the merit of thy Death the power of thy Resurrection and the glories of thine Ascension And thus by thine own appointment Dearest Jesus we do shew our Thankfulness for thy Passion our Faith in thy Resurrection and our hope of thy second coming l In commemorationem mei i. e. hoc modo Mortem meam praedicabitis resurrectionem annuntiabitis adventum sperabitis donec iterum adveniam Ambros ut supr We will commemorate thy all-sufficient sacrifice before the Almighty to pacify his anger against us before the World to testifie our hope in a Crucified Saviour and before our selves to renew our sense of thy inexpressible love We will Do this so often and so sincerely with so much zeal and holy Passion that if it be possible neither we nor any others shall ever become unmindful of Thee and when we cannot have the Symbols before our Eyes the Impressions of them shall remain in our minds and our lives shall witness that we are not forgetful of thee § 11. Likewise also after Supper he took the Cup and when he had given thanks The life of Man requires not only meat but drink also to sustain it and therefore Christ hath set forth himself under both these to
forth the Death of Christ and that homage and service which thou commandest us to perform Wherefore Dear Lord be thou pleased with this so sincere though poor acknowledgment not weighing or considering our merits by which we cannot pretend any right to thy acceptance but pardoning our offences which might cause thee to reject us Oh do thou deal thus with us through the Merits and Intercession of Iesus Christ our Lord by whom as our Mediator and with whom as thy only Son in the unity of and together with the Holy Ghost we desire all honour and glory may be given unto thee O Father Almighty both now in this World and for ever in the World which is without end Amen SECT III. Of the second Prayer in the Post-Communion § 1. WHen we communicate often it may be very grateful and sometimes very helpful to our devotion to vary the form for which cause the Church hath supplyed us with an other Prayer that so according to the temper of our spirit we may make our choice This being more full of praises and acknowledgments will be most fit when our minds have a joyful sense of the benefits received in this Sacrament as the former consisting chiefly of Vows and resolutions is more proper when we would express our selves in love or duty And yet we may use either of them at any time because neither doth the former want Thanksgivings nor this Petitions for Grace The Composition of this also is regular and judicious pious and extracted out of antient forms and as the former Prayer it will not only serve to close our Devotions within the Temple a Non est vera Religio quae cum templo relinquitur Lactantius but it offers very useful Meditations for the Closet also after we return home as the ensuing method will demonstrate The Analysis of the Second Prayer in the Post-Communion § 2. This Second Prayer consists of Four Parts 1. A hearty Thanksgiving for the present Favour describing 1. The Object of our Praise Almighty and everlasting God we most heartily thank thee 2. The Subject thereof for that thou hast vouchsafed to feed us who have duly received these holy Mysteries with the spiritual Food of the most precious Body and Blood of thy Son our Saviour Iesus Christ 2. A free Confession of the Benefits assured thereby 1. In possession 1. The Love of God And dost assure us thereby of thy favour and goodness towards us 2. Union with the Saints and that we are very Members incorporate into the mystical Body of thy Son which is the blessed Company of all faithful People 2. In reversion Eternal Life And are also Heirs through hope of thy everlasting Kingdom by the Merits of the most precious Death and Passion of thy dear Son 3. An humble Petition that we may retain them shewing 1. The Thing requested And we most humbly beseech thee O heavenly Father so to assist us with thy Grace 2. The Ends why we do request it viz. for 1. Perseverance that we may continue in that holy Fellowship 2. Fruitfulness and do all such good works as thou hast prepared for us to walk in 3. The Motive to obtain it Through Iesus Christ our Lord 4. A concluding Doxologie to whom with thee and the Holy Ghost be all honour and glory world without end Amen A Practical Discourse upon the second Prayer with Meditations after the Communion § 3. Almighty and everliving God we most heartily thank thee for that thou hast vouchsafed to feed us who have duly received these holy Mysteries with the spiritual food of the most precious Body and Blood of thy Son our Saviour Iesus Christ This Act of Thanksgiving may be expressed in various words but it must not be omitted after the Communion and therefore it is put into both these forms We ought not at any time rudely to ask for blessings from God until we have prepared the way by Praises b Arrogans oratio si ab homine quid petiturus dicas statim da mihi hoc Peto Debet inchoari oratio à laude Dei ut sequatur supplicatio Ambr. de Sacr. l. 6. c. 5. But having so lately received so great mercy it would be unsufferable to pray for more till we have acknowledged that which is already bestowed on us And by confessing the former mercy in the very entrance of this Prayer we do both encourage our selves to ask and expect further blessings c Sequentium rerum certitudo est praeteritorum exhibitio Greg. in Evang. hom 1. and we do also by our gratitude engage the Almighty to give us more d Ascensus gratiarum descensus gratias Cassiod Efficacissimum genus est rogandi gratias agere Plin. Paneg. Indignus est dandis qui ingratus est pro datis Aug. de temp 112. Besides the very gift it self now imparted to us is the greatest and the best the most sweet and most necessary for us in the World we bless God for our daily Bread our common food how much more then ought we to praise him for this spiritual food which nourisheth our Souls unto life everlasting True it is that carnal and unworthy Receivers have little cause of joy e Sacrificia non sanctificant hominem non enim indiget Deus sacrificio sed conscientia ejus qui offert sanctificat hominem pura existens Irenae l. 4. c. 34. for they have eat the Bread and drank the Wine not discerning the Lords Body and Blood but those that prepared themselves by Repentance and received by Faith those I say have fed upon the spiritual part and therefore they have the most reason with all their powers to bless the Lord in this wise An Act of Thanksgiving It is a mighty favour to me O my God that thou hast made bread to grow out of the Earth to nourish my mortal body but O how far hast thou transcended that mercy in giving me the Bread of Life from Heaven to feed my immortal Soul Whom was there in Heaven or Earth that I could have wished for in comparison of Jesus Christ and now thou hast given him to me whom my Soul longed for and in him thou hast given me all for he is all in all He is the fairest of ten thousand for whose sake I will trample upon all that this World accounts desirable O my Soul bless thou the Lord I came not to gaze at or taste of the outward part but to satisfie the longings of my sin-sick Soul by laying hold of the merits of a Crucified Saviour yet I have received the Sacred Elements and thou hast made them to me that which I needed and desired even the Body and Blood of thy Son I have received his flesh in Sacrament but his grace in reality f Ideo in similitudine quidem accipis sacramentum sed verae naturae gratiam virtutemque consequeâ—is Ambr. de sacr l. 6. And O how it fills my Soul with joy to behold thy Majesty
reports of my Neighbour § Have I not incouraged such ill-reports nor published the faults of another to his disgrace § Have I not undervalued good or flattered bad men and given a false Character to please a friend § Have I not suffered an innocent persons good name to be traduced when I had opportunity or power to clear it § Have I not by pride conceived or by boasting uttered false things concerning my self § Have I neither sought unjustly to uphold or wilfully to blast my own Credit Lord have mercy c. And encline c. X. Commandment § Have I not secretly murmured at the Providence of God as if others had too much and my self too little § Have I not greedily coveted the Estate honours o◠comforts of my neighbours nor sought by evil means to procure them to my self § Have I not envyed any so as to be grieved at their prosperity or to wish or rejoice in their losses and calamities § Have I not been apt to undervalue all my own things and neglected to give God thanks for them § Have I not too passionately pursued riches and honours so as to neglect my Soul and Religion upon these accounts § 7. Whosoever hath particularly and seriously asked his own Soul the foregoing Questions will be far from the vanity of the young Man in the Gospel nor is it likely that he will now have the confidence to say as he Matth. 19.20 All these have I kept from my youth For his own Conscience will tell him in most inquiries that He is the Man And accordingly the Church hath provided the Publican Confession Luke 18.12 Lord have mercy upon us Which now may be fitly used First As an humble and dolorous Confession that we are Guilty very Guilty For when the Prisoner falls down and craves Mercy It shews he is convinced of his fault and in that phrase is supposed to acknowledge it Secondly As a passionate and earnest Exclamation for Pardon which now appears infinitely needful when this black and dreadful Bill is set before us Yet lest all this should not be sufficient to produce that sorrow and shame which is necessary for this solemn Confession but our hearts remain still obdurate and unrelenting Let every one lay before himself these Considerations First Meditate of the nature of all these Sins of which thou art guilty They are the Actions of a poor helpless depending Creature done against the holy Will and most gentle and reasonable Commands of that Majesty who could destroy thee in a Moment and whom Angels and all the World besides exactly do obey And besides thou maist upbraid thy self with the folly of Anger the fury of Revenge the filthiness of Lust and the shame of Lying the beastliness of Drunkenness and the misery of Covetousness the unreasonableness of Pride and the vanity of seeking humane Praise the restlesness of Ambition and the vexation of a discontented mind Consider the malignity of all Sin and the baseness of every particular and surely it will appear it was impudence and ingratitude simplicity and madness in thee ever to commit them Secondly Meditate of the number of them And think that if there be so much evil in one Sin How deplorable is thy Case who hast offended in so many kinds Oh how often hast thou acted or designed the greater and more notorious wickednesses And for those which we account the lesser What is wanting in the odiousness of the single Acts thou hast supplyed by frequent repetitions Few days nay minutes passing in thy whole life in which thou dost not sin in these instances I doubt not but thy memory now presents a vast number to thee but alas those that were never observed are far more and those that are forgotten are much more numerous than both Yet these are all noted in the Records of Heaven So that if thou couldest apprehend this formidable Army it would lay thy confidence in the dust and strike thee with amazement to consider how many times thou hast deserved Condemnation Thirdly Meditate of the Desert of these Sins viz. that the wages of any the least unobserved or forgotten sin is death Rom. 6.23 And then how many times hast thou deserved to be cut off Consider how thou art by these transgressions exposed to the wrath of God and to suffer all those Temporal Spiritual and Eternal miseries which the Righteous Judge of all the World hath threatned in his holy word And if thy heart be apt to excuse its faults on pretence of a corrupt Nature a violent Temptation or a sudden surprize and will not believe or fear that God is so highly displeased then tell thy own Soul that for one offence the Angels were cast out of Heaven and Adam out of Paradise and He that is the lover of Men for lighter or fewer Crimes doth lay dreadful Plagues and Miseries upon thy Brethren And God is no respecter of Persons He spared not his own Son when he stood in the place of Sinners and shall He spare thee Oh look up to the Cross of Jesus and behold his Agonies and his Sorrow hear his groans and cryes observe his anguish and his pains Is not God highly displeased with Sin when he makes his own Son the Example of his wrath to his offending Servants In short know that if Repentance do not now procure thy Pardon thou shalt have God and all Creatures thy Enemies and maist justly expect Losses and Crosses Poverty and Reproach Diseases and an evil Death and which is more horrid to be deprived of the aids of Gods Spirit and the offers of Grace and to be left in thy own hardness and impenitency as one that refuseth to be reclaimed And if any or all these have not yet faln upon thee it is only because the Lord will try whether at this time thou wilt seriously Repent but thou art not acquitted though he do awhile forbear Fourthly Meditate of those Aggravations which make thy Sins worse than those of other Men and that will convince thee that thou deservest no less For First Have not many of them been committed against thy knowledge and reason and in despite of all the checks and reluctancies of thy Conscience Secondly And although thou hast made so many vows and taken so many resolutions never to act them more yea and engaged this upon the holy Sacrament of Christs body and blood Yet hast thou not entertained them again Thirdly Have not all those mercies and favours spiritual and temporal wherewith thy Heavenly Father hath courted thy Love been abused by thee and cast away upon thee when all this could not prevail to make thee leave one lust or perswade thee to give over piercing him that hath died for thee Fourthly Hast thou not proceeded in thy evil Courses after all those Examples of divine vengeance on others and all those Calamities which Sin hath brought upon thy own self Hast thou feared any longer than the smart remained Hast thou not made the
such as shall be religiously c. 3. The Matter to be done the most comfortable Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ 4. The manner how it is to be done 1. In Commmemoration to be by them received in remembrance of his c. 2. With thanksgiving both for 1. Christs death Wherefore it is our duty to render most humble c. 2. This Sacrament But also to be our spiritual food and sustenance c. 2. Exhortation in which note 1. The ground of this Exhortation viz. 1. The benefit of doing it well Which being so divine and comfortable a thing to them c. 2. The danger of doing it ill and so dangerous to them that will presume c. 2. The Paâ—ts of it which are 1. To consider of 1. The Dignity of this Sacrament My duty is to exhort you in the mean season to consider c. 2. The danger of profaning it and the great peril of the unworthy receiving thereof 2. To examine directing 1. In what manner and so to search and examine your own c. 2. To what end 1. Purity but so that ye may come holy and clean c. 2. Acceptance and be received as worthy Partakers 3. Directions unto 1. The Penitent to come fitly who must 1. Examine himself The way and means thereto is first to examine your lives c. 2. Confess to God and whereinsoever there to bewail your own sinfulness and to confess c. 3. Satisfie the wronged And if ye shall perceive your offences but also against your Neighbour c. 4. Forgive his enemies and being likewise ready to forgive others that have offended c. 2 The Impenitent that they may not come so shewing 1. The reason of this Warning For otherwise the receiving of this holy Communion c. 2. The Persons warned Therefore if any of you be a blasphemer c. 3. The Warning it self Repent you of your sins or else come not c. 4. The danger of despising it Lest after the taking of that Holy Sacrament the Devil c. 3. The doubting that they may come with comfort 1. Why this Advice is given And because it is requisite that no Man should come but c. 2. To whom it is given Therefore if there be any of you who by this means cannot c. 3. The Couâ—sel it self directing them 1. Whither to go Let him come to me or some other c. 2. What to do and open his grief 3. For what benefit 1. Absolution that by the Ministry of Gods holy Word c. 2. Direction together with ghostly counsel c. 3. Comfort to the quitting c. A Practical Discourse upon this Warning § 3. Dearly Beloved on next I purpose through Gods assistance to Administer to all such as shall be religiously and devoutly disposed the most comfortable Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ It is the manner of mighty Princes whose entertainment requires extraordinary preparation to give notice by their Harbingers to those places where they intend to lodge and thus our Lord Jesus when he came in the flesh had St. John Baptist for his Herald to bid the World prepare Math. 3. and sent his Disciples as his Harbingers before his face to every City whither he intended to come Luke 10.1 thus also his Messengers do now proclaim his approach in this Sacrament wherein he comes in the Spirit to Feast with us Revel 3.20 and to dwell in us John 6.56 And oh how should this awaken us to prepare a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Philo lib. de Cherub for what provision is sufficient to make for the King of Kings who comes from Heaven in pure love to visit us and to do us good Why should we not receive the news with the same joy that Zachaeus expressed when he heard that Jesus purposed to be his Guest since wheresoever he is well received he brings Salvation to that House Luke 19.6 7 c. The Minister who hath appointed it in love to you seems by his courteous salutation to be well-pleased that he hath so good tidings to tell you and lest by ignorance or surprize you should lose the benefit of this blessed opportunity he gives you this timely intimation and fixes the very time as positively as Man can or ought to do we have not the time to come in our own power and so should always add if God please viz. that our life or health shall last so long b 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Graeca Versio Liturg. Angl. James 4.15 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Socr. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Plato in Alcibiade and by his assistance viz. if he vouchsafe to afford us grace since we do but Administer the outward part Which short Parenthesis should also mind us how dangerous it is to neglect wilfully this next Sacrament because either we may not live to have another opportunity or not have the like grace and assistance from God if we despise this offer This warning is given to all but yet in the very first clause is signified that we would not willingly cast our Pearls before Swine c Sancta Sanctis ut Diac. clamat in Litur Graec. Math. 7.6 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Clem. Alex. nor give this Sacrament to any but such as are religiously and devoutly disposed and for those who are so they need not be pressed or urged to come to the Holy Table since this most comfortable Ordinance doth attract them sufficiently by its own sweetness it is most comfortable to pious Souls and they who have found it so long for it and this very warning is to them a great pleasure and a sufficient invitation But if filthly wretches who relish nothing but Swinish pleasures and are full of Earthly things loath this Honey-Comb or despise this Manna it is no wonder let it be no prejudice to the mystery nor no hindrance to our preparation for if we upon this Summons do immediately endeavour to procure religious and devout dispositions we shall taste the comfort of it more fully than any words can express § 4. To be by them received in remembrance of his meritorious Cross and Passion whereby alone we obtain remission of our Sins and are made Partakers of the Kingdom of Heaven The necessity of this early and serious Warning is here further shewed from the two great Duties which all Christians are here to perform First We are not to be idle Spectators of the Mystery as they are in the Roman Church where if the people Communicate but once a year it is thought sufficient by the Lateran Council and at other times they only look on while the Priest alone Communicates Conc. Trident. Sess 22. Can. 8. a practice unknown to all Antiquity But we are commanded to receive the Symbols our selves in Remembrance as St. Paul speaks 1 Cor. 11.24 25. of that one offering once for all Hebr. 9.26.28 whereby Jesus hath for ever perfected them that are sanctified
Hebr. 10.14 It was the part of Jesus to offer up that most meritorious Sacrifice once upon the Cross d Offerimus quidem sed recordationem facientes mortis ejus una est haec hostia non multae quia semel oblata in Sancto Sanctorum hoc autem sacrificium exemplar illius est Ambr. Com. in 10. ad Heb. but it is our duty to keep a perpetual memorial of that most valuable and never to be forgotten propitiation For thereby alone and not by the merits or Prayers of Saints or Angels our Salvation was obtained Now if the pardon of our sins and the purchasing Heaven for us who were Heirs of Hell be the greatest mercies consider with what devout affections we should celebrate the memorial of that which was the price thereof How far did the deliverance of Israel from Egypt and the destroying Angel come short of this and yet that was thought worthy to be remembred with the solemnity of a Passover so long as the Nation did endure We cannot then think that this can be remembred to the end of the World as it ought to be unless we proclaim it early and prepare for it diligently and celebrate it with the deepest resentments alas we can never imprint it sufficiently upon our Souls without frequent and serious Commemorations and he doth not understand or not consider the excellency of this mercy of our Redemption that doth not wish it were written on his heart in indelible Characters and carefully set himself upon this intimation to prepare to make the most grateful memorial of his enfranchisement by the Death of Jesus § 5. Wherefore it is our duty to render most humble and hearty thanks to Almighty God for that he hath given his Son our Saviour Iesus Christ not only to die for us but also to be our spiritual food and sustenance in that holy Sacrament The second part of the Communicants Duty is to receive it with thanksgiving for if we are obliged to praise God for the least and most common Mercies then sure our ordinary praises are not sufficient for this which is the first the greatest and the foundation of all the rest when we remember our unworthiness of such unspeakâ—able mercies we cannot but return our most humble thanks and when we reflect upon the benefit we have by them surely we shall offer up our most hearty praises Because God hath not only spared us when he might have destroyed us and set ordinary food before us as the King of Israel did 2 Kings 6.22 23. but he hath ransomed us fully by the Sacrifice of his Son John 15.13 and made us a Feast upon the remainders of this Sin-offering this sheweth his Justice is fully satisfied in that he receives us into the nearest Unions and our admission to eat and drink of our Lords body and blood is not only to shew forth that there is a great expiation for all the World but to assure us that we may have an interest in it and shall be particularly forgiven as the benefit of the Sacrifices of old were supposed to descend upon all that were admitted to eat thereof Now this pledge of Gods peculiar love and this seal of a gracious Pardon doth give such courage and strength to poor Sinners that the believing it is called spiritual food and nourishment and eating and drinking the body and blood of Christ for it even ravishes the Soul of the humbled Penitent to receive such a Testimony of Gods being reconciled to him Hence are all those ecstasies of joy which holy Men here express and God hath on purpose instituted this Ordinance to be a most solemn and mysterious manner of offering up these humble and hearty thanks for which cause it is called the Cup of blessing e 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Heb. 13.15 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Cor. 10.16 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Origen in Cels l. 8. and the Eucharist that is the office of Thanksgiving Oh summon up therefore all your powers and labour so to affect your hearts with these incomparable acts of the divine goodness that you may here offer up his praises in the highest key and rejoice before him with the most affâ—ctionate gratulations § 6. Which being so divine and comfortable a thing to them who receive it worthily and so dangerous to them who will presume to receive it unworthily my duty is to exhort you in the mean season First To consider the dignity of that holy mystery and the great peril of the unworthy receiving thereof This Sacrament like all things that are high and fair hath excellency enough to invite us to desire it and yet danger sufficient to make us afraid to go about it rashly And here our spiritual guide having surveyed them both makes a faithful report as Caleb and Joshuah did Numb 14.6 7. he doth not deny there is hazard and pains in the attempt but the honour and advantage doth far outweigh them both It is he considers a Divine f 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Divinissimum Sacramentum vocatur apud Antiquos Patres thing as the Ancients called it to be a Companion of Gods Table and to be made partaker of his nature and also it is the sweetest g Mihi ante omnia supra omnia summa dulcedo Rom. Missal comfort in the World to behold these lively representations of our perfect expiation to receive the pledges of pardon and immortality so that humble and devout receivers do often find their hearts transported with ecstasies of holy joy and ravishments of delight in the due performance of this duty On the other side our spiritual guide considers that for the obstinate and prophane for those that have sinned and will sin it is very dangerous to press into this Coelestial Banquet for such presume meerly upon the outward part and would fain perswade themselves this will acquit their old scores so that they may more freshly begin to sin again but God is not so mocked and therefore they provoke him abuse the mystery and delude their own Souls Wherefore upon the whole inquiry the Minister doth exhort us to spend the time between this and the Sacrament well for if we come not to it we lose this divine comfort if we come unworthily we run into an unknown danger he is unwilling therefore we should be deprived of the comfort or incur the mischief And therefore he doth exhort us to prepare for so we shall be sure of the advantage and avoid the Evil. Now there are two things especially to be done in this mean season the first is Consideration of the dignity of the Sacrament which St. Paul calls discerning h 1 Corin. 11.29 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Just Mart. Apol. 2. 1 Cor. 11.21 the Lords body that is making much difference between this and our ordinary food The second is that which St. Paul and we both call Examination 1 Corin. 11.28 And these are no more than what every prudent
man considers before he set upon any great affair First He surveys the nature of the work Secondly He examines his own fitness to undertake it Thus did Solomon when he was to build the Temple 1 Kings 3.3.8 9. and when a marriage with Sauls Daughter was proposed to David Seemeth it saith he a light thing unto you to be a Kings Son c. so must we meditate of this divine Ordinance and say to our own Souls O how dreadful is this place Gen. 28.17 seemeth it a small thing unto thee to be feasted with God waited on by Angels fed with the body of Jesus and refreshed with a Cup of that saving blood which hath attoned the sins of the World What meaneth this secret that so poor a Wretch and sinful a Rebel should receive so mighty a favour and be received to so near embraces How can I approach to these Terrible Mysteries till I have pulled back the Veil and worshipped him that feeds my body to convey grace to my Soul and makes that stoop to the Eye of sense which Angels cannot behold with open faces The Minister's considering this before doth not excuse us from considering it also but we our selves must as he adviseth consider withal the dignity to make us full of desires and humble and the danger to put us upon the strictest care and preparation And if the peril of unworthy receiving do only make us more diligent to come well it becomes its own Cure and the consideration of this danger makes that really there is none to those who come humbly esteeming this Ordinance as it doth deserve § 7. And so to search and examine your own Consciences and that not lightly and after the manner of dissemblers with God but so that ye may come holy and clean to such an Heavenly Feast in the marriage garment required by God in holy Scripture and be received as worthy partakers of that holy Table Having spent some time in a serious contemplation of the dignity of this mystery our next duty is to search and try how we are fitted for it we must not only admire the Guest but prepare and cleanse the House for his reception and if we have done the first part so as that we have begot in our Souls a due esteem of the blessed Jesus we shall not dare to bring him into a filthy heart the receptacle of his Enemies and his Murderers When Augustus found but mean entertainment at the House of a Roman Citizen to whom he was invited he accounted it a disrespect to his Person and in anger said Sir I thought you and I had not been so familiar but our Lord is not offended at the meanness of his treat if there be no mixtures of uncleanness and iniquity Pythagoras his mystical precept not to cast Bread into a draught i 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may fitly warn us not to put this Bread of Life into a Soul more odious to the Eyes of God than the receptacles of abomination can be to ours How careful was Joseph and Nicodemus to wrap his dead body in the purest linnen and shall we shew a less regard to his Person now that he liveth for ever But surely no Christian need be urged to so plain and so necessary a Duty only let us note those excellent directions for the manner of doing it which are here given us viz. That which we must search is the the Records of Conscience which if we examine l Salvatorem nostrum suscepturi totis viribus debemus nos cum iplius adjutorio praeparare omnes latebras animae nostrae diligentèr aspicere ne fortè sit in nobis aliquod peccatum absconditum quod conscientiam nostram confundat oculos divina Majestatis offendat Ambros de Sacram. seriously and strictly we may find there an impartial account of all the good we have omitted and all the evil which we have committed for there are those remembrances which will either accuse or excuse us at the holy Table Rom. 2.15 Wherefore we must take heed that we do not this lightly only out of Custom before a solemn time or meerly that we may seem to have done it as most men do who only gently touch these sores and give a slight and superficial glance at some of their greatest or latest committed sins but never care for searching into the bottom and looking into the inward Corners of their Corruptions These alas are but Dissemblers with God who only seek for some matter to confess and tell a sad story without any sorrow or real purposes of amendment yet call this preparation and come to this Sacrament with expectations of pardon and acceptance But truly we had as good do nothing neither God nor Conscience will so excuse us we do but lose our labour and cheat our selves with a shadow for the substance unless we do it impartially and with real designs to see our sins clearly and be humbled deeply for them so that we may hate and forsake them for ever hereafter Now that our Examination may be thus performed let us as the wise man adviseth Remember the end and we shall never do amiss Ecclus 7.16 We must consider therefore in the present case That we are so to try our selves First That we may come to this Heavenly Feast holy and adorned with the Wedding Garment Math. 22.2 that is we must examine not only till we see our sin but till we hate it and instead of those filthy rags have put on pure and pious dispositions which are that clean Linnen even the Righteousness of the Saints Revel 19.8 for by these Ornaments are holy Souls fitted for that Coelestial Company which is to be met at this Solemnity And secondly another end of our Examination is that we may be accepted by God himself as worthy Communicants that he who seeth the heart may approve the sincerity of our Repentance and the great King who comes in to see the Guests may by his gracious estimation supply the defects of our performance and call us worthy though strictly we are not so It is not that men may think we have duly prepared but that the All-seeing God may receive us that is treat us nobly and entertain us kindly as the word to receive signifies Math. 18.5 Act. 21.17 at this Heavenly Banquet And can we think a formal search will procure these graces or prevail for the divine acceptance nothing less than a through Repentance will suffice to this end and how to perform that the next Paragraph will discover § 8. The way and means thereto is first to examine your lives and Conversations by the Rule of Gods Commandments and whereinsoever ye shall perceive your selves to have offended either by Will Word or Deed there to bewail your own sinfulness and to confess your selves to Almighty God with full purpose of amendment If all that hath been said have convinced us of the necessity and advantage of a strict preparation
blessed to us to approach the terror is not to affright us from this Heavenly Feast but from impenitence and an angry spirit which turn this food of life into very poison § 11. Thereâ—ore if any of you be a Blasphemer of God an hinderer or slanderer of his Word an Adulterer or be in Malice or Envy or in any other grievous Crimes Repent you of your sins or else come not to that holy Table lest after the taking of that holy Sacrament the Devil enter into you as he entred into Judas and fill you full of all iniquities and bâ—ing you to destruction both of Body and Soul The first Ages of Christianity considered how positively our Saviour had forbidden us to give that which is holy to the malicious and to cast this Pearl as they interpreted it of the Lords Body to those that wallow in Swinish pleasures Math. 7.6 and observed how plainly St. Paul had described the danger of such if they should receive it 1 Cor. 11.29 Wherefore they did very strictly forbid all such to approach these Mysteries and by Canons of Councils and the Sentence of Excommunication did keep back all notorious sinners And if any such presumed to come the Jewish Priests did not more zealously oppose the Kings offering Incense 2 Chron. 26.17 than the Christian Bishops did the prophane accesses even of the Emperours themselves to whom in all things else they submitted Thus was Philippus the Emperour placed among the Poenitentes before he might be Communicated a Euseb hist Eccles l. 6 cap. 25. Anno 246. And Theodosius was resolutely kept back by the famous St. Ambrose b Theodor. in hist Tripaâ—titâ l. 9. c. 30. till he had bitterly lamented the slaughter of the Thessalonians St. Chrysostome also protested he would dye rather than Administer this Sacrament to the Unworthy But besides all this when the Celebration was to begin then did the Deacon stand up and proclaim that all unbaptized Infidels Hereticks c. c Nullus Catechumenus nullus auditor nullus infidelis nullus haereticus Qui primam orationem perfecistis Discedite pueros Recipite Matres Ne Quis contra aliquem Const Apost should depart and none to stay that had any quarrel nor any to come in Hypocrisie which custom is imitated by our Church in this Denunciation wherein we most plainly shew obstinate sinners their danger as St. Peter did to Simon Magus Acts 8.21 22 23. we appeal to their own Consciences charging them to examine faithfully and if they find themselves guilty we warn them as they love their Souls not to come till they have repented We do not finally bid them not to come at all but only to stay till they have repented because it may be useful as St. Augustine notes for such notorious offenders to stay till another Communion and to meditate that their being excluded here on Earth whilst others enter in to have Communion with Christ is the sad Emblem of that Day when if they do not now repent they shall see many holy Persons go in and sit down with Abraham c. in the Kingdom of God while they themselves are cast out So that whether by Excommunication or by this Warning they are excluded for the present it is the Ministers love to them and is intended only for their Souls health d Quid prodest non ejici è coetu piorum nam ejici remedium est gradus ad recuperandam sanitatem ejectionem meruisse summa malorum est Cypr. de dupl Martyr to bring them to repentance that they may be fit against another opportunity As to the sins enumerated they are the most scandalous and heinous both against God and Man viz. Swearing and Blasphemy Opposing or despising Gods Word Adultery and Fornication Malice and Envy with other grievous Crimes such as Murder or Theft Drunkenness or Oppression of which whosoever is guilty St. Paul affirms they shall not enter into the Kingdom of God 1 Cor. 6.9 10. and therefore how can they be received to this Holy Table It were easie to shew out of Tertullian St. Cyprian and the ancient Councils that every one of these offenders were of old rejected and not suffered ever to come into these Mysteries unless upon a very great Repentance and publick humiliation after five or seven years separation Which pious Custom did make very much for the honour of this Sacrament and for the bringing such to repentance that so they might escape everlasting vengeance The very Heathens would not offer their Sacrifice until the Herald had warned all unhallowed persons to depart nor might the Sacrificer proceed till he were assured there were none present but such as were duly prepared e Hostis Vinctus Mulier Virgo Exesto 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Stuckius Apud Graecos Sacerdos quaerit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Resp populi 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Sard. de Mor. Gent. l. 3. c. 15. Have we not then much more reason to enjoin the absence of all wicked wretches from this Heavenly Mystery And yet we imitate our Master herein who did not by force drive out the Jews John 8. but set their own Conscience upon them Even so f Nos à Communione quenquam prohibere non possumus nisi aut sponte confessum aut in aliquo judicio Ecclesiastico vel seculari nominatum atque convictum Aug. Homil. 50. we violently cast out none unless publick and convicted Criminals But we appeal to every Mans Conscience and set before them the danger of coming with wicked purposes for so they imitate Judas who notwithstanding that plain Caution Math. 26.24 sat down with a heart full of Treachery and Covetousness John 13.26 27. but instead of being a partaker of Christ Satan did enter into him and confirmed his wicked purposes so that he came to destruction of Body and Soul Repent therefore Oh you prophane Wretches being warned by so terrible an Example or else your judgment is inevitable for if you continue in these damnable sins you die and if you think to find favour by laying hold of Christs Body you are mistaken g Jerem. 11.15 Nunquid carnes Sanctae auferent à te malitias tuas Vulg. Lat. Vide Math. 12.45 Heb. 10.26 for you prophane the mystery violate Gods Covenant trample on the Blood of Christ to which you have no right so long as you live in open defiance to his Laws and if you will come thus you give Satan more power over you both to corrupt you and to ruine you yet if you stay away you cannot escape unless you do repent and if you would do that after a while you might be received However we have delivered our Souls by giving you this warning do not you cast away yours by despising it § 12. And because it is requisite that no man should come to the Holy Communion but with a full trust in Gods Mercy and with a quiet Conscience therefore if there be any of you
would have men do by us if we were so served we should think we had good cause to be moved and do we well to be angry let us observe whether the Almighty have not higher provocations by our denying to come to this mysterious Solemnity For first Let us consider who it is that invites not our equal nor our superiour in a few degrees but the King of Kings and Lord of Lords who shews admirable condescension in that he will admit us and doth grace us by this invitation with the greatest honour of which we are capable Ahasuerus might have taken it ill if his Princes Esther 1.3 and Herod if his Captains Mark 6.21 had not attended their Royal Festivals But for us to reject the Feast with God is more impudent than for a Beggar to slight the relief of an Emperour more base than for a Malefactor to refuse to eat at the Table of that King who had lately sealed his Pardon and were desirous to shew him some more peculiaâ— token of his love Secondly Consider we whaâ— it is which is provided for us in this Feast it is the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the World And oh how much it cost to furnish the Holy Table thus Hâ—aven was ransackt and the Son of God taken fâ—om the embraces of his Bosom and cloathed with râ—gs of humanity instead of Robes of Glory but this is not all this Jesus must be slain with most exquisite torments he must smart and bleed and die his body must be all broken and his vital blood poured forth beâ—ore he could become our Sacramental food God could more easily and with less expence have slain all Creatures in the World to treat us but Heaven and Earth with all their store could afford no other food but this at which an offended God and his sinful Creatures could Feast together nothing could make such a Sacrament but the remainders of that Sacrifice which expiated the sins of the whole World And can we dare we refuse to tast of that which was so dearly bought for us Perhaps we think it is but one dish 'T is true but in this one it is verified what the Jews boasted of their Manna Wisdom 16.20 viz. that it contains all kinds of tasts and sutes it self to every Appetite Christ alone is all in all Meat and Medicine Pardon to the Penitent light to the ignorant strength to the weak and comfort to the troubled Spirit he is all that we need or can desire And do we slightly pass it by Thirdly Add to this that we who are the Persons invited do own God for our God and call Jesus our Lord nay we have in our Baptism vowed to be his Servants and Souldiers so that to go back when he calls is treacherously to withdraw t In versione Graecâ Liturg. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Vide Hebr. 10.38 39. h. e. signis relictis è bello aufugere from our Allegiance and to break our Baptismal Vow And besides we do starve our Souls by depriving them of this Heavenly food u Vt perdunt propriam mortalia corporia vitam Si nequeunt escas sumere corporeas Sic animae nisi deliciis rationis alantur Dum verbi aeterni pane carent pereunt Nam quid erit quod dira procul fastidia pellat Cum se ipso refugit Mens saturare Deo Prosp so that we are false to God and injurious to our selves if we come not to this Feast Fourthly Let us weigh the Reason why our Heavenly Father hath invited us hither it is no ordinary Festival but a most mysterious Rite wherein because we are so unapt to be wrought upon unless it be by sensible x In ratione sacrorum par est animae corporis causa nam plerumque quae non possunt per animam fieri fiunt per Corpus Servius ad Aen. things the Symbols which may be seen and tasted are contrived to remember us of our great expiation to encourage us to rely upon it to express the willingness of Jesus to pardon and receive us We come hither to behold the price of our Redemption to embrace Christ with all his graces and that we may with all possible joy and gratitude surrender up our Souls and all our powers to his service for ever We come to praise God to pray for all the World to exercise the graces which we have and to procure those which we want Wherefore let us take good heed lest by abstaining and refusing this Divine Ordinance we be found rejecters of Christ and despisers of the offers of his grace He that neglecteth that Ordinance wherein the whole design of the Gospel is Acted by the prepared Communicant wherein our Saâ—â—our is held out and remembred given and received will scarce acquit himself by pretending that he doth all this by Faith at home for if so why do not we act our Faith in Gods way or why do we omit the solemnity unless we would not be so publickly obliged We pretend we fear we shall offend God if we come But do we not anger him more by staying away without any endeavours to be fitted Is not God tender of having his love abused and his Son despised Can we think he will not be displeased at us whenas in this one act we affront his goodness and slight our own Salvation § 6. It is an easie matter for a man to say I will not Communicate because I am otherwise hindred with Worldly business But such excuses are not so easily accepted and allowed before God If the Lord would dispense with our Obedience as often and as easily as we can find out an Apology for our neglect we should never do any duty at all for he that is unwilling to obey and desirous to be deceived shall never want excuses so long as Satan can suggest them and though they be slight and trifling and such as we would not accept from our Neighbour yet we are so favourable in our own cause that we fancy they are sufficient to clear us before God but alas such excuses do never make the sin less and yet they make the Sinner more apt to do evil and more confident when he hath committed it Wherefore the Church doth prudently vouchsafe to examine the most principal of those poor pretences by which men are wont to put off their Communicating and to give them a particular answer First Our Worldly business and appointments our Company and concerns are such we say as cannot at this time be dispensed with And it is though rarely yet sometimâ—s possible some occasion may fall out which can not be put off nor could not be foreseen and yet must not be neglected and then it may for once excuse us but the Church minds us that this is not so easily accepted by God who knows the true state of our affairs as it is alledged by men to palliate their own unwillingness For First The Almighty
disowned him from being a Christian who did not receive at least three times a year d Inter Catholicos non est annumerandus qui temporibus Paschae Pentecostes Nativitatis Domini non Communicaverit Concil Ellib and of old they Excommunicated those who coming to the Sermon went out before the Communion e Laici fideles Ecclesiam ingredientes scripturas audientes si non permaneant in Precatione sacrâ Communione sâ—gregantur Can. Apost 9. And our own Church doth by her Canons strictly enjoin this Duty and by her Ministâ—rs frequently exhort us to it The practice of the best Christians of our own and elder times also do all declare it is a duty imposed by God and are we not Ashamed to tell God and Men to their Faces we will not after so many Mâ—ssâ—ges and Calls and Commands from Christ and his Church do we dare give impudent denials take heed and consider and with the stubborn Son in the Gospel though you have said obstinately you would not yet now repent and come and wipe off your evil words by better Deeds hereafter Secondly They who defer their coming upon pretence they are not ready must consider this excuse can never serve but once and must not be used by any man that hath not begun to prepare himself for otherwise they may put it off thus for ever till the Bridegroom comes and then they shall have the fate of the foolish Virgins Math. 25.6 7. c. If they are not ready for the Sacrament much less are they ready to dye and yet they do not live in safety till they are prepared for Death and so had need immediately to begin have they not reason to set upon their work who have much to do and little time Our being ready is a good Argument why we should speedily and diligently prepare but no Apology for our staying away and truly he that will not labour to fit himself for this Sacrament will scarce repent upon any other occasion and he that often says he is not ready thus to meet Christ at his first Coming will be strangely surprized at his second and doubtless be as unready then Besides are we not told of these holy times long enough before had we any love for Jesus we should begin early to adorn our selves as that Jewish Doctor who put on his best habit on Friday in the Afternoon and sat longing for the Sun-setting the time when the Jewish Sabbath begins and said Veni Sponsa Come my Spouse for so he called that Sacred Day The Church History relates that St. Catherine was wont to long for the Communion as the Child for its Mothers Breasts but we are glad of an excuse to shift it off and neither desire it nor prepare for it on purpose that we may say we are not ready These are fine pretences to stop the mouths and blind the Eyes of Men and serve us to cozen our selves with but they are vain and insignificant before him that looks through these thin Veils and sees other Causes which keep us away from the Altar which we would gladly conceal for God perceives that many which make these excuses do really forbear the Communion either because 1. They love sin and hate Virtue and resolve not to be engaged against the one nor obliged too strongly to the other or Secondly They are unwilling to take that pains which a serious Repentance and a due preparation do require or Thirdly They harbour some secret malice and either are too proud to ask forgiveness or too revengeful to forgive And therefore let no man think these or the like empty Apologies will excuse him at Gods Tribunal § 9. They that refused the Feast in the Gospel because they had bought a Farm or would try their Yokes of Oxen or because they were Married were not so excused but were counted unworthy of the Heavenly Feast If all this do not effectually enough represent the danger of relying upon such pretences here is added a plain Example in a Parable spoken by Christ himself Luke 14.18 19 c. which admirably sutes this very Case I doubt not but those Guests thought their excuses as fair as we can do ours And when they had alledged such weighty and important impediments they did as little fear the Lords anger as we are wont to do Yet we see he was very wroth Luke 14.21 Math. 22.7 and because some preferred their profit others their pleasure before his noble Feast he blotted them out of the list of his Friends and resolved never to invite them any more Let us beware by so fair a warning and not dare upon the like accounts to reject this Heavenly Feast for in so doing we reject the memorial of Christs Death the Symbols of his Body and blood and the pledges of his grace and love and do as directly refuse Christ himself as we can do upon Earth because there is no Ordinance wherein he is so really present and by which he is so surely conveyed to the believing Soul how fair soever our Plea is we seem to judge our selves unworthy of Eternal Life Acts 13.46 and God may not only sentence us as unworthy of this Holy Feast but resolve we that value the enjoyment of him so little on Earth are unfit to partake of the f Nec sibi posthà c de eo honore blandiantur quo seipsos indignos judicaverunt Cod. de dign Celestial Banquet or to enter into the Mansions of Bliss for they that will not remember his sufferings ought not to share in his glories It seems we think it a small punishment to be counted unworthy of the Sacrament for we inflict this upon our selves in our abstaining from it but if God do esteem us unworthy ever to have the grace of this Sacrament offered to us again for our slight refusals the doom is very sad and without a speedy repentance is the Harbinger of a final rejection from which God deliver us § 10. I for my part shall be ready and according to mine Office I bid you in the Name of God I call you in Christs behalf I exhort you as you love your own Salvation tâ—at ye will be partakers of this holy Communion Our Lord appointed two of his Apostles to prepare the Passover Luke 22.8 as an Emblem of their Duty in after Ages to provide for this Holy Supper For to them and their Successors he hath enjoined the care of its Administration wherefore it concerns the Ministers to take heed least by too seldom and too few Communions or too short notice they be not the occasion of the peoples abstinence for then they cannot justly reprove them g Serò advenis inquit Pomponius ad Ciceronem Minimè seró respondit ille nihil enim hîc paratum video Plutar. Apotheg and they bring the guilt of this neglect upon themselves Our Lord hath made them Stewards of his Houshold and they must take care to give them
their meat in due season Math. 24.45 For this Cause the Antient Church appointed the Priests in great Cities to have a Communion every Day so that devout people might always find the Table spread whensoever they hungred after this Bread of Life and in such places our own Church still makes monthly preparations and also sends the Minister to the Altar upon every great Festival on purpose to mind the people that he is ready if they were so also But when the Table is actually spread methinks we should need no other Oratory than those holy Symbols to invite us did we know our need of that food and were we acquainted with the pleasures of that Celestial Banquet we should be attracted with the very sight of the Elements and long yea languish to participate of them and sure they upbraid those wretches who go away and turn their backs upon them but there are some who cannot or will not hear this still voice and therefore the Minister doth once again ex officio invite us in the Name of God who is the great Master of this Feast and in the behalf of Christ who is the precious food there provided beseeching us that we will not by neglecting affront the great God and slight his dear Son and further exhorting us by the most cogent Argument viz. for our own sakes as we love our Souls as we fear to be Condemned and wish for Salvation that we will come Cicero thought a man might as soon run away from himself as lose the desire after those things which conduced to his own happiness h Prius à se poterit quispiam discedere quam appetitum earum rerum quae sibi conducunt amittere lib. de fin 5. But we have some so wretched who know there is no Salvation but by the Sacrifice of Christs Death and no so proper and ready way to get an interest in that Sacrifice as to eat of the remainders thereof in Faith and yet are hardly perswaded by the most pressing invitations But let us Consider that by frequent and long omissions our devotion grows flat our purposes wavering our Faith weak and our Corruptions strong the Enemy gets ground of us and the Spirit begins to withdraw from us i Mens deficit quamnon recepta Eucharistia erigit ac accendit Cypr. Ep. 54. ad Cor. so that if we would go safely to Heaven we must not too long neglect this holy Sacrament § 11. And as the Son of God did vouchsafe to yield up his Soul by Death upon the Cross for your Salvation so it is your duty to receive the Communion in remembrance of the Sacrifice of his Death as he himself hath Commanded Although we be by Gods Embassadors strongly intreated to come to this Holy Feast yet we must not think it left to our choice to hearken or to disobey for if they should not invite us we are obliged to come hither by the strongest Bonds of reason and duty For if Jesus thought our Salvation worth his Death do we think it too dear of a little preparation is he willing to bleed for our sins and are we not willing to weep for them shall he yield up his Soul in the midst of the most dolorous agonies and will not we yield up our Lusts and come to remember his love in this Holy Sacrament Our Saviour hath satisfied the divine Justice obtained a Pardon and done his part towards our Salvation but our part is still behind viz. to sue out this pardon in the Commemoration of his Death and in this Communion of his Body and blood to apply his merits by Faith to our own Souls And that we should Do this was one of his last and dying Commands Luke 22.19 1 Cor. 11.25 and is it not our duty to obey it How wretched then are we if we refuse to kneel and extend our hand for this Pardon which was purchased at so vast a price How unworthy are we to have any part in this Redemption if we disobey so small a Command and deny so easie a Request of so dear a Master His last Precept was to keep the memorial of the last Act he did for us on the Earth and sure it is our duty never to let that be forgotten § 12. Which if ye shall neglect to do Consider with your selves how great injury ye do to God and how sore punishment hangeth over your Heads for the same If we be resolved in spite of all this still to neglect this divine Ordinance the Minister can do no more than sadly tell us First the grievousness of our sin Secondly The greatness of our danger First We are desired to consider the sin which is called a great injury to God even as we esteem it to our selves when our Guests slight our invitation § 4. 'T is true we cannot properly injure God Job 35.6 by taking away any of his essential happiness Yet because we owe Obedience to him as our Soveraign Lord we are said to wrong him of his due k Debitum contrahitur quoties delinquitur quod debitum solvi in gehennâ quandoque necesse est Aug. Serm. 126. de Temp. Creditor est qui minus quam quod suum est habet vel voluntario ut in mutuatione vel involuntariò ut in Criminibus Vide Grot. de sat Chris c. 2. when we refuse to observe his Commands And in this Case let us consider before we resolve not to come that hereby we shall rob our God of this solemn part of his worship reject a plain and loving command despise the Passion of his dear Son slight his provision refuse his invitation grieve his Servants by such rash and obstinate denials and perhaps bring an evil report upon the Ordinance it self when men see we must be dragged to it The Sacrifices of the Erecynian Venus came of their own accord to the Altar saith Aelian hist anim l. 10. c. 1. But we are forced hither as to a slaughter house is not this a great injury to the Master of this divine Feast But secondly The mischief in fine lights upon our own heads for no man provoketh this King but in so doing he sinneth against his own Soul Prov. 20.2 God is just as well as merciful and severe to revenge the abuses of his love He will not always pass by this scorn nor put up these affronts but punish us perhaps temporally with losses and crosses sickness or an evil Death which careless neglecters deserve as well as unworthy receivers 1 Cor. 11.30 for so those Israelites who laughed at Hezekiahs invitation to the Passover 2 Chron. 30.10 were carryed into a sad Captivity within two years after 2 Kings 18.9 And we must not think presently we are safe because as yet none of these Judgments have seized on us for they may hover over our heads as the Arrow over Julians and at last pierce us to the heart but if we do escape a while l Si nunc omne
1. ALthough it be a great satisfaction to him that Ministers to see Gods Table well furnished yet because he seeks the profit of the Communicants as well as his own pleasure he not only endeavours by the former Exhortation to encrease their numbers but by this to rectifie their dispositions that they may be not only many but good And howsoever this hath been done before they came to the Feast it will seem necessary to do it again now they are come if we consider either the danger of unworthy receiving or the dignity of this Ordinance which is made more reverend by being veiled with many Coverings The Aegyptians admitted none to converse with their Priests and to know the secrets of their mysteries till they had been initiated by abstinence patience and many labours a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Porphyr de abst l. 4. supposing they would learn to value them by the difficulty of access And so those who entred into the Persian Rites of Mithra b 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Greg. Naz. Orat. 1. in Jul. were to be first approved by 80. degrees of Tryal to be unpassionate and holy Persons c Nonnus Synag hist c. 5. The like difficulty of acceptance was practised in the entertainment of Scholars into Pythagoras his School d Jamblic l. 1. c. 17. and in the admission of Novices into the Monastical Societies of old e Cassian instit l. 4. c. 3. And can we then think it too much to pass one Exhortation more before we eat of this Celestial Banquet We derive this necessary part of the Office from the Greek Church where the Guests being placed the Priest standing on the steps to be seen of all stretched out his hand and lifted up his voice in the midst of that profound silence inviting the worthy and warning the unworthy to forbear f 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrysost hom in 9. ad Heb. Ethic. Which if it were necessary in those blessed days how much more requisite is it in our looser Age wherein men have learnt to trample upon Church Discipline and to come out of Custom at set times whether they be prepared or no Every one hopes to pass in the Croud but knowing the terror of the Lord we do again and again beseech our people diligently to prepare themselves before he come to try them And that this Exhortation may be effectual to this purpose this following Account may assist our devout improvement thereof The Analysis of the Exhortation at the Communion § 2. In this Exhortation we are incited to Two general Duties 1. Self-examination by 1. Propounding it more largely and shewing 1. The Persons enjoyned Dearly beloved in the Lord ye that mind to come c. 2. The Authority enjoyning it must consider how S. Paul c. 3. The Duty to be done diligently to try and examine themselves 4. The Time of doing it before they presume to eat c. 2. Pressing it with reasons taken from 1. The Benefits â—f worthy Receiving viz. 1. Participation of Christ For as the benefit is great if- c for then we spiritually eat the flâ—sh of Christ c. 2. Union with him then we dwell in Christ we are one with Christ and c. 2. The danger of unworthy Receiving as to 1. The Sin of it so is the danger great if we for then we are guilty of the body and c. 2. The Punishment following upon it we eat and drink our own damnation we kindle Gods wrath against us c. 3. Parting it by an Exhortation unto the special Duties of 1. Repentance Iudge therefore your selves Brethren Repent you truly for your sins c. 2. Faith Have a lively and stedfast faith c. 3. Reformation Amend your lives 4. Charity and be in perfect charity with all men So shall ye be meet c. 2. Giving of Thanks assisting us 1. By way of Consideration declaring 1. The Necessity of it And above all things ye must give most humble and hearty thanks 2. The Object of it to God the Father the Son c. 3. The Subject of it for the Redemption of the world by c. 4. The Particular Reasons as well 1. Why for this Redemption because of 1. The difficulty of the Work who did humble himself even unto the death c. 2. The Persons for whom for us miserable sinners who lay in darkness c. 3. The Ends for which it was wrought that he might make us the children of God and exalt us c. 2. Why in this Sacrament because of 1. The Reasons of its Institution And to the end that we should always remember 1. the exceeding great Love c. 2. and the innumerable Benefits which c. 2. The Author He hath instituted c. 3. His Design therein as pledges of his Love and for to our great and endless comfort 2. By way of Practice in a Form shewing 1. The Object of our Praise To him therefore with the Father and the Holy Ghost 2. The Manner how to offer it both 1. In Word let us give as we are most bounden continual thanks 2. In Deed by 1. Resignation submitting our selves wholly to his holy Will c. 2. Obedience and studying to serve him in true holiness all the days of our life Amen A Practical Discourse upon this Exhortation § 3. Dearly beloved in the Lord ye that mind to come to the holy Communion of the body and blood of our Lord and Saviour Christ must consider how St. Paul exhorteth all persons diligently to try and examine themselves before they presume to eat of that Bread and drink of that Cup. When the Guests of this blessed Feast are now drawing near and the King of Heaven is approaching to survey them The Minister out of a peculiar affection to those who have obeyed his Masters invitation salutes them in St. Pauls phrase Rom. 16.8 with Dearly beloved in the Lord and in the stile of the same Apostle minds them of the greatness of that work which they go about even to share in the Communion of Christs body and blood 1 Cor. 10.16 Their intentions are commendable and it is pitty but such pious purposes should have their desired success Wherefore he doth once more warn them to examine themselves before they eat a duty enjoined not by humane Authority nor prescribed meerly as the advice of a Friend but bound upon all by St. Paul himself and by the Spirit of God in him 1 Cor. 11.28 Let a man c. saith he that is every man examine himself and so let him eat c. intimating that none might eat without this renewed Examination and because the Discipline of the Corinthian Church was much impaired by the Schisms then within it the Apostle obligeth every man to do it to himself and that not with a slight inquiry but so throughly to search his own heart that he might be able to judge g Gr. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉
〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Suidas whether he were fitted to come or no. The Magistrates of Sparta were wont to examine all the Citizens how well they observed Lycurgus's Rules honouring those that were found blameless with the Title of Approved h 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Persons and shall we not think our pains well bestowed if our merciful Father give that Character of us I grant that after our strictest Examination we cannot bespeak our God with the confidence of the Grecian Wrastler who challenged Jove as he was just to give him the Victory if he had duly prepared all things for the Exercise Clem. Alex. but yet the severer search we make before we come the greater Comfort and the more success we shall have in our approaches Obj. But some will say it is too late for men to consider now when they are come to the Altar and it is impertinent to urge it here since all is done that can be done in this matter in order to this Communion Ans Not so for if any have presumed to come altogether unprepared it is not yet too late to warn them of their sin and danger And it were better for them to go out to day saith St. Cyril i 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cyril Hieros praef ad Catechum Meliùs est de mediâ viâ recurrere quam semper currere malé that they might come better fitted against the next opportunity yea Christ himself adviseth Math. 5.23 24. in some Cases to leave our gift before the Altar and retire till we are better disposed intimating that it offends Godâ— less to withdraw even from the beginning of his service than to proceed if we are unfit St. Ambrose knowing the Emperour Theodosius to be guilty of blood unrepented of although he was come to the Church with purposes to Communicate sent him back from thence with a serious Exhortation to Repentance k Recede igitur ne conare novo scelere scelus ante editum augere in vit D. Ambros So also St. Chrysostome being disturbed by a malicious and impertinent request just as he was about to consecrate the holy Symbols went out of the Church and desired another to finish the mystery which he durst not do being discomposed in his mind l Palladius in vit Chrysost Secondly But if we have in any measure prepared our selves yet is not this Exhortation to be thought unseasonable for as the most famous Orators though they had composed their Orations some days before yet were wont privately to recite them immediately before they spoke them to the Pâ—ople so it becomes us Christians to review the Records and sad Catalogues which we saw yesterday and briefly to act our Examination over again lest if the number and heinousness of our sins be at present out of our mind we should become as obdurate as if we never had beheld them What was done yesterday was to humble us just now and we are at this instant m 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Arr. in Epic. l. 1. to give the proof what we did in private and St. Pauls adding and so let him eat seems to direct us to make this the immediate duty before our receiving Let us then remember afresh what we found upon our inquiry and if we pass directly to the participation from this review of our offences we shall no doubt become so penitent and desirous of Pardon as not to be judged presumptuous Receivers § 4. For as the benefit is great if with a true penitent heart and lively Faith we receive that holy Sacrament for then we spiritually eat the flesh of Christ and drink his blood then we dwell in Christ and Christ in us we are one with Christ and Christ with us Although the command of God by his Apostle is enough to require our obedience yet it is here backed with two of the most prevailing motives of all shewing that it is not only required of us to examine our selves but necessary for us and that we ought to do it for our own sake n 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Arrian in Epic. l. 2. 1. Because of the great benefits of worthy receiving 2. The dreadful danger of coming unprepared And first if we bring with us a penitent heart and a lively Faith the benefits are so many and so excellent that whosoever considers them cannot but long for them and they that obtain them may despise all other pleasures because they are as blessed as they can be on this side Heaven and are they not worth a little pains to dispose our selves for them They are surely most unworthy of them who will lose them rather than submit to the trouble of a sincere Examination of themselves The particular benefits are here expressed in the words of Christ John 6.54 55 56. in that mystical Sermon wherein he did secretly prepare the minds of his Disciples for this Sacrament shortly to be instituted and clearly alludes to the same The first benefit is the spiritual eating Christs body and blood For the humbled Sinner believing in the Incarnation Death and Passion of Jesus and receiving this Bread and Wine in token that God hath given him for his sins and that he doth rely on him as his only Redeemer This doth convey to such a penitent Believer all the benefits of the Birth and the Death of Jesus and as the Bread and Wine being received do communicate to us all the strength and comfort that they contain so the worthy Receiver by apprehending and embracing a Crucified Saviour draws perswasions of his pardon and encouragement to his Graces and so hath spiritually eat the flesh and drunk the Blood of Christ and hence flows the second benefit viz. His Dwelling or remaining in us and we in him that is when he have thus received our Saviour there is a blessed Communion between him and our Souls for he communicates of his fulness to us and we open our necessities to him and Thirdly hereby there is produced so near an Vnion that God esteems us as members of his dear Son lays our sin upon him and imputes his satisfaction to us and consequently all those benefits are derived to us which are mentioned by many and found by the Devout Communicant hope of pardon encrease of Grace assurance of our Resurrection and the expectation of Eternal Glory O Blessed mystery which dost communicate my Saviour and convey his Graces to me which givest me an interest in him and makest me one with him whom my Soul loveth How am I ravished with the sweetness of this Heavenly Feast how strongly do these benefits attract me if any pains or cost trouble or difficulty stand in my way I will account the pains to be pleasures the cost gain the trouble delight and the difficulty easiness which leads me to such blessedness O my Soul dost thou not wish with all thy Powers to be reconciled to God to be one with Christ and to be filled with the Spirit behold the
means to accomplish all these desires Do but examine into thy own heart till thou relentest for thy sins and search into Gods Mercy till thou art perswaded of his love And with this penitent believing heart come and partake of this spiritual Banquet and though thou dost not press thy Saviours flesh with thy Teeth which would do thee no good yet thou shalt really partake of all the benefits of his Death and become one with him and receive all from him that thy Soul doth either need or desire § 5. So is the danger great if we receive the same unworthily for then we are guilty of the body and blood of Christ our Saviour we Eat and Drink our own Damnation not considering the Lords Body we kindle Gods wrath against us we provoke him to plague us with divers Diseases and sundry kinds of Death The fear of losing the former benefits will be a sufficient motive to an ingenuous temper to prepare yet many are so obdurate as to rush upon this Ordinance without any preceeding care But that we may deliver our Souls the Church enjoins not only in the former but in this present Exhortation also that the Minister shall warn them not to come in so rude a manner the Heathen Man allows not that any should worship their Gods en passant o 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Plutar. nor unless they had first prepared themselves at home and can such addresses be endured in the highest mystery of the best Religion Let such from the mouth of St. Paul hear and consider First The greatness of their sin 1 Cor. 11.27 29. Secondly The severity of their punishment ver 30.1 Their sin who come hither as to an ordinary solemnity and eat of this as common food not considering that the Lords Body and blood here p Nec se judicant nec sacramenta dijudicant sed sicut cibis communibus irreverentèr sacris utuntur lib. de Card. op Christi ap Cypr. is in Scripture q Hebr. 6.6 Chap. 10.29 accounted Crucifying the Son of God again as much as in them lyeth r 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 putting him to an open shame trampling upon him and accounting the blood of his Covenant as an unholy thing they use him as his Murtherers did shedding his blood not with design to be saved by it Å¿ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theophil in 11 1 Cor. but suffering it to be spilt in vain They receive no benefit by it and yet they make a memorial of it which wounds Christ deeper than all the Cruelty of his Crucifiers did from them he expected no other but from these he doth t Quid est autem reos esse nisi dare poenas mortis Domini occisus est enim ab iis qui beneficium ejus irritum ducunt Ambros in loc so that they are guilty of his Body and Blood and shall be proceeded against as those that offer violence to the Lord Jesus By eating and drinking of this memorial of his Sacrifice they own he hath died for them but by their impenitence and perseverance in evil they declare that they will not be saved thereby And thus this sacred and salutary Rite which in its own nature would assure their Salvation and is designed by Christ to convey his benefits unto them u 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theophylac ut supr is by their unpreparedness and iniquity turned into poison and a Curse and they being before fit for Condemnation by adding this Act of presumption they do accelerate and confirm it Secondly Their punishment will be answerable for they may be sure it will enflame the wrath of God to behold men so stupid and insolent to his dear Son and their Redeemer perhaps this wrath may only be expressed in temporal punishments shorter sicknesses lingring Diseases or sudden Death so it was at Corinth x 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theophyl ut supr Febribus infirmitatibus corripiebantur multi moriebantur Ambros in loc so were the Jews cut off who profaned the Passover Exod. 12.15 and thus many Apostates in the Primitive times were possest by the Devil for coming to the Eucharist before their reconciliation to the Church but if the Lord forbear shewing these visible judgments he hath ways enow and an Eternity coming on to chastise this presumption Wherefore ye bold and careless sinners who come in ignorance or in malice without Faith or Devotion sorrow for former or purposes against future iniquities consider what you do and what you must suffer for coming in this unfitness we tremble at the danger you run upon yet who shall pity those who might have escaped all the evil and gained infinite blessings only by a small preparation § 6. Iudge therefore your selves Brethren that ye be not judged of the Lord repent you truly of your sins past have a lively and stedfast Faith in Christ our Saviour amend your lives and be in perfect Charity with all men so shall ye be meet partakers of these holy mysteries That which God and his Church intend as caution to all that they may come better prepared is by the slothful and unbelieving made a pretence for their total abstaining but these dangers as St. Paul shews ver 31. might soon be avoided if we would judge our selves for then we should not be judged of the Lord Let us therefore set up a Tribunal in our own Breast y 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theophylac Bonum judicium quod divinum praevenit quod divino subducit volo praesentari vultui irae tuae judicatus non judicandus Bern. in Cantic 55. and laying Gods Law before us let our memory read the Indictment and our penitential thoughts urge the accusation and that till we be convinced and plead guilty so shall our Conscience pronounce the same sentence upon us which otherwise would more dreadfully have issued out against us from the Divine Judicature It will condemn us as foolish base ungrateful wretches deserving the wrath of God and Eternal Damnation And when we are thus convicted we shall see it necessary by Faith to lay hold of Gods Mercy and further this will most effectually move us to amend our lives z Deprehendas te oportet antequam emendes Sen. Ep. 28. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Simplic ad Epic. and discover what need we have to forgive all Men who our selves have so much to be forgiven so that it appears if we duly judge our selves all the other duties will follow in order let the danger of unworthy receiving therefore only make us more strict in our Examination for there is danger also if we do wholly stay away a Vtrobique grande periculum ideo magâ—â— necessitas instat ne indigni inveniamur Bern. de ordin vitae But the lesser hazard is on their side who set themselves to do their duty in the best manner they are able If we have by due process condemned our selves before it will
reply We lift them up n Chrysos homil de encoeniis c. The heart of holy men is daily directed to Heaven and therefore when the Priest admonisheth them to lift it up thither they may safely answer We lift c. p Corda fidelium coelum sunt quia in coelum quotidiè diriguntur dicente sacerdote Sursum corda securè Respondent Habemus ad Dominum Aug. de tempor ser 44. for where our Treasure is there will our heart be also And he that requires q Id. de ver Relig. c. 16. this duty of us will enable us to perform it O happy agreement when Priest and people are raised up above this sublunary World and ascended into the Holy Mount to converse with Jesus with whom it is good to dwell for ever § 4. Priest Let us give thanks unto our Lord God Answ It is meet and right so to do When the Soul is thus lifted up and enlarged by contemplating the glories of God it is then in right frame to celebrate his Praise wherefore the Priest improves the opportunity and invites us while we are thus disposed to give thanks c. Thus the Praecentor of the Jewish Choir was wont to call upon the rest to join with him in the divine Praises as appears by several of the Psalms Psal 34.3 81.1 95.1 96.1 And it may be from thence this excellent Exhortation was taken at first which hath been retained ever since Verbatim both in the Churches of the East and West as appears both from the Liturgies r 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Liturg. Basilii ap Cyril Hieros Ad haec inter sacra mysteria ad gratiarum actiones convertitur Cypr. de coen In ipso verissimo singulari sacrificio gratias agere admonemur Aug. de spir lit 11. and the observations of the ancients upon these words The Priest saith Let us give thanks unto the Lord And surely saith St. Cyril Å¿ Cyril Hierosol catech mystag 5. We ought to give thanks unto him who hath admitted us that are so unworthy unto such mighty favours that being Enemies he hath reconciled us and honoured us with the Spirit of Adoption And then you answer It is meet and right for when we give thanks to God we verily do a work that is just and due But when he granted so great a benefit and gave us such good things it was not an Act of his Justice but infinitely more than of right belonged to us thus he St. Augustine applies it somewhat otherwise but very well in this manner In the Sacrament of the faithful it is said that we should Lift up our hearts which is done by the gift of God for which gift we are admonished by the Priest to give thanks to the Lord our God and the people answer It is just and right so to do Å¿ Aug. de bon perseverant l. 2. And elsewhere t Idem de bon Viduit cap. 16. We do not attribute unto our selves the glory of this great good viz. the lifting up of our hearts But we give thanks unto the Lord God as we are presently warned because it is just and right so to do Let us then give thanks now for that which is past the gracious promise of Absolution Let us praise him for that which is present the Grace that elevates our hearts And bless him for that which is at hand the Banquet of his Sons most precious Body and Blood for nothing is more agreeable to this Office more fit for us to give nor more due for him to receive And if you do from your heart confess that the Lord deserves all honour and glory the Priest may rejoice in the success of his Exhortation for that very acknowledgment is it self an Act of Praise in which both Priest and People are now agreed to join with all possible Devotion § 5. It is very meet right and our bounden duty that we should at all times and in all places give thanks unto thee O Lord holy Father Almighty and Everlasting God These are still the words of Pious Antiquity the dependence whereof we learn from St. Chrysostom for the Priest saith he u 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrys Hom. 18. in 2. ad Cor. having received their suffrage doth gather their Confessions together and then begin the Sacrifice of praise Most joyful it is to the Holy Man to hear such an acknowledgment from the Congregation and that he may promote it as much as possible he doth confirm the truth of so pious an Assertion with many words much of the same signification saith Florus x Repetitio sermonis est confirmatio veritatis Flor. Magister Or as others y Dignum est quantum ad Dominum quia ipse Dominus Deus noster Justum est quantum ad nos quia nos sumus populus ejus Innocent Mist miss l. 2. in general it is very meet that is most fit and reasonable to praise God And as to him who is the object of it it is Just and Right because he deserves it as to our selves who are the offerers thereof it is our bounden duty because we are so infinitely indebted to him If it were possible we should rejoice in him evermore 1 Thess 5.16 and bless him in all places in private as well as publick for he bestows mercy on us at all times and in all places night and day at home and abroad in retirement and Company in sickness and health we are indebted to him for our Creation and preservation for our Bodies and our Souls for our Redemption for the means of Grace and the hopes of Glory so that we ought to give him thanks every moment But at this great Solemnity we must unite all our Powers and as the Christians were wont of old Bless him here for all together If the most ordinary single mercy challenges â—n Act of praise how should we raise our gratitude to the highest pitch now when we survey them all at once § 6. Therefore with Angels and Archangels and all the Company of Heaven we laud and magnify thy glorious Name That the Angels were present at the performance of divine mysteries hath been the opinion of both Heathens and of Christians z 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 esse dicit Plutar. lib. de Orac. Angelo orationis adhuc adstante Tertul de orat but that they are especially present at the Lords Supper is generally received Flesh and blood saith St. Chrysost a Chrys in Math. hom 10. is here made a part of the Angelick Choir And again b Idem Homil. de non contem Eccles Consider O man near whom thou standest in these terrible mysteries with whom thou art about to worship God with Cherubins and Seraphins and all the Heavenly Powers And surely it will mightily exalt our affections and stir us up to the most vigorous devotion to consider with whom we are to bear a part not
the Tenth concerning the Virgin Mary not till the year 1095. But our prudent Reformers have retained only five of the most ancient which are concerning the principal Acts of Christ His Incarnation Resurrection Ascension and sending of the Holy Ghost all which we may very properly bless God for over this Commemoration of his Passion because they are either the Precedents to his Death or the consequents thereof only that of the Holy Trinity is added both as it is a fundamental Article of our Faith and a great mystery and because many Sundays are reckoned by it Now for the use of these we must note that as the greater Feasts of the Jews continued seven or eight days so these Prefaces are to be repeated some days after the great day to which they principally belong both that the mercy may be better remembred by often repetition and also that all the people who in many places cannot Communicate in one day may join in praising God for it Which being the great end of them the best method to promote that and fit the receivers with peculiar praises for these solemnities will be to ground a devout Meditation upon every one of these Prefaces proper for those who do partake of the mysteries at any of these Times A Meditation for the Communion at Christmas § 9. Welcome thrice blessed Day the desire of all Nations whose distant glories made the Father of the faithful to rejoice and whose approaches fill'd the World with wonder and expectation thou wert ushered in with Angelick Hymns and celebrated ever since with Anthems of praise because thou didst bring forth joy and a Redeemer to Mankind Happy am I that I have a Sacrifice of Thanksgiving in my hand to express the delight which my heart doth feel This holy Table is the Altar upon which I offer my acknowledgments for all mercies and oh how many how great are those which this day brings to my remembrance so infinite they cannot be expressed and yet so excellent they must not be forgotten This day hath reconciled Heaven and Earth and made contradictions friends to find a way to help us as if nothing might disagree when man was at peace with God O my Soul summon all thy powers to admire and worship for all is Miracle and the height of Wonder Eternity begins to be the Maker of all is made himself an infinite Majesty is shrunk into the dimensions of a span The word is made flesh and God becomes Man yet remains God still Here is a Mother who knew no man a Son that had no Father on Earth a Child of Adam untainted with the Cantagion that infects all his Posterity an Infant honoured with a new and glorious Star adored by Kings worshipped by Angels yet born in the condition of the meanest fortune All hail sweetest Saviour how lovely is thy condescension how honourable thy abasement thou hast more splendor in the Rags of thy Humility than all the Grandeurs of this World could give thee thou art more a King because thou wouldst be like a slave for our sakes and conquerest more hearts by thy stupendious love and unparallel'd self-denyal O how shall I celebrate this great Solemnity wherewithal shall I set forth my gratitude for this most auspicious Day I will receive the Cup of Salvation and with ravishments of delight feast upon that precious Body and Blood which Jesus did this day assume for me It is not enough dearest Lord that thou wast born for me unless thou art also born again in me and as it were become incarnate in my heart In thy Birth thou wast made one with us thou didst put on flesh and wert a partaker of our humanity And thou hast appointed this holy Sacrament that I might be one with thee be replenished with thy Spirit and a partaker of thy divine nature Nor is it any incongruity if I remember thy Passion and praise thee for thy Incarnation at once for as soon as thou wast born thou didst begin to die and the life which was here begun compared to that glorious life which thou didst leave was it self a very Death but therefore thou wast born that thou mightest be capable to suffer that death for us which thy Divinity could not feel and thus thy Nativity was the first Scene of thy Passion for it introduced thy Death and that effected our Salvation so that I will remember both together For in both thou hast most admirably humbled thy self to the depth of misery and yet I doubt not but thou wouldst have stooped lower if it had been either necessary or possible But there needs no more testimonies of thy love Blessed Jesus I am already overwhelmed with these which are so strange and undeserved so sweet and ravishing that my Soul could not contain if it did not vent it self in thy Praises Therefore with Angels c. A Meditation for the Communion at Easter § 10. O my soul adorn thy self with the garments of gladness prepare thy most triumphant Hymns to go forth and meet this great returning Conqueror Thou didst rejoice when he was pleased to undertake the Combate and didst celebrate his entrance into the lists with Praises how then will it ravish thee to behold him come off with such success and honour His warfare is now accomplished and he hath passed through the scorn and cruelty of Men the malice and rage of Devils the just but severe anger of God yea the shaddow of Death and the Regions of Eternal horror and after all this thy Surety is set at liberty for he hath paid all thy Debts and cancelled all those dismal Bonds by which thou wert forfeited to eternal Ruine Thy Champion is Victorious and as the Trophees of his Conquest he hath the Keys of Death and Hell and leads them both in triumph vanquished and disarmed Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord We receive thee dearest Saviour as born to us a second time and this shall be thy Birth-day also the Nativity though not of our Emperor yet of thy Empire thy Restauration to a state of immortality Thy former Birth did shew thee to be the Son of Man but this declares thee to be the Son of God and now we know that our Redeemer liveth he that loved us so infinitely as to dye for us doth now ever live to interceed on our behalf he that expressed such kindness to us in his Passion hath so fully demonstrated his own Power in his Resurrection that we are sure he is as able as willing to deliver us Let the Heavens rejoice and the Earth be glad for this is the Day that the Lord hath made a day to be had in everlasting remembrance a Time destined to jubilee and rejoicing Behold how nature is raising it self from the grave of Winter and seems annually to celebrate the memory of her Lords Resurrection in her green and fresh attire A season chosen by God for Festival 3000. years ago and observed
ever since by Jews or Christians or both with the greatest solemnity See how those blinded Jews rejoice over their Paschal Lamb in the midst of all their Calamities for the deliverance of their Fathers But we have a nobler Passover for a greater deliverance Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us therefore let us keep the Feast and that upon the precious Body and Blood of the Lamb of God who was slain but is alive again and behold he lives for evermore Wherefore I will go to thy Altar with joy and tell out thy works with gladness O most mighty Saviour who hast not only died for my sins but risen again for my Justification and indeed what comfort could I have found in this memorial of thy Death if it had not been for thy Resurrection this Sacrament would have only remembred thy sufferings and renewed my sorrow to think that so excellent a Person had perished in the attempt of my deliverance but now it is become a Feast of joy because it is an assurance of thy Resurrection as well as a Commemoration of thy Passion And since thou livest sweetest Jesus we live also thy Resurrection raiseth our hearts from sad despair it gives a new life to our hopes it makes our sorrows light our labours easie our lives chearful and our death advantage because it hath lost its sting and is become the gate into immortality We can charm all our fears and troubles with this one word The Lord is risen yea the Lord is risen indeed For thou hast washed us in thy own blood and made us Kings and Priests to God to offer up at this thy Altar never-ceasing Praises Therefore with Angels c. A Meditation for the Communion on Ascension-Day § 11. I see O merciful Jesus thou art content for our sakes to stay here upon Earth when Heaven longs for thy return thou hast these fourty days denied thy self the full fruition of thy glories to dispel the sorrow and confirm the Faith of thy Disciples and yet at last their tears and embraces shew how loth they are to depart from thee But behold the day of thy Triumph is come and the holy Myriads are sent to wait upon thee the Heavenly Singers that go before cry Open your selves ye everlasting doors that the King of Glory may come in to whom the Angels which come out to meet him answer in extasies of amazement Who is the King of Glory and all the Chorus that follow after reply Even the Lord of Hosts he is the King of Glory and thus with hymns and joyful acclamations is Jesus welcomed to his antient and most glorious Throne And now O my soul why standest thou gazing into Heaven he is too high to be discerned too bright to be seen with mortal Eyes since Cherubins are dazled at his splendor He is gone to his proper place and ascended thither whither thy desires carry thee and where ere long thou shalt see him face to face Thou standest like Elisha looking after him and lamenting thy Masters departure but he hath left his Mantle behind him even the mysteries of this holy Sacrament which to thy Faith is the flesh which he was cloathed with all and is designed to convey a double portion of his spirit unto thee so that it appears he hath left his Love with us when his Person was taken from us Away then with these sighs and tears lament no longer the absence of thy Lord for he is in this Blessed Feast he is here in his comforts and graces here in his merits and his love and his spirit can Minister the same benefits hereby which his personal presence would have given thee Go then with all possible speed and taste of this Heavenly Provision delight in it above all the sweetnesses in the World because it contains so many pledges and emblems of thy glorious Redeemers love when thou beholdest him that is thy head so advanced make haste to unite thy self nearer to him by partaking of his Body and Blood that thou maist finally reign with him in the mean time raise up thy thoughts above this lower World declare thy desire to be with Jesus send thy heart before and protest if he had not left thee some little tastes of his sweetness in the repast of this holy Table by the way thou couldst not have endured so long without him There is nothing which he loves comparable with his Throne in Heaven unless it be an humble and thankful heart into which I am about to receive him and as the Coelestial Quire welcomed him thither so will I receive him with joy into my poor Soul Therefore with Angels c. A Meditation for the Communion on Whit-Sunday § 12. I will go to thy Altar O Lord with a New-Sacrifice of Praise because thou hast given me a fresh instance of thy Love this day thou art slow to punish thy Enemies but speedy to comfort thy servants for no sooner was thy misery changed into glory but we received the greatest demonstration of thy affections no sooner didst thou put on thy Crown in Heaven but the Earth felt the bounty of thy Dispensations for it was not possible for thee sweetest Jesus to let thy promise remain long unperformed or the sad expectations of thy Disciples unsatisfied Being assembled therefore this Day with one heart in one place they are suddenly surprized with wonder and inspired with a Heavenly Power such as they had never felt before vigorous as a mighty wind chearing as the morning light inflaming their hearts with zeal and filling their mouths with Anthems indited in the languages of all the World Oh wonderful change their ignorance is turned into learning their mistakes into infallibility their fear into courage their weakness into strength their sorrow into joy and they in a moment made able to confound the Arts and conquer the oppositions of the Heathen World and maugre all the devices of Satan to set up the Kingdom of the Lord Christ And shall not we praise thee for these miraculous dispensations by which the Gospel was made known even to us in these utmost corners and last of times Yes holy Jesus we will also meet with one accord at thy Table not doubting but thou wouldst give us the same measures of thy spirit there if our duty or our necessity did require it it is enough to us that thou knowest our needs more than will supply them we dare not ask less thou wilt not give Thou hast given us thy self wherefore we believe thou wilt not deny us thy spirit without which we can have no interest in thee nor benefit from thee We come not gracious Lord with the carnal Jews to devour thy flesh but to partake of thy spirit which only giveth life the flesh profiteth nothing Behold thy Spirit hath converted Millions let me therefore together with thy precious Body receive here such proportions of thy holy spirit as may suppress my evil affections revive my dead heart comfort
my dejected mind and turn my ignorance into knowledge my knowledge into practice and make that practice so sweet and easie that this may be a day of joy to me also solemnized in the white garments of sanctification and rejoicing And finally let not this Heavenly Inspiration be only expressed in extasies and holy fervors this day but let thy spirit rest upon me and dwell in me for ever So shall I always have cause to bless thee for so incomparable a gift Methinks I feel already the force thereof bearing down my corruptions and its bright beams driving away the mists of sin and error I find its flames warming my heart with Zeal and Charity and its quickning power opening my sealed lips to shew forth thy praise Therefore with Angels c. A Meditation for the Communion on Trinity-Sunday § 13. O admirable mystery to be adored in the profoundest silence by the contemplation whereof when I am struck with amazement I can learn humility and discover my own ignorance and I have the opportunity of exercising a nobler Faith than if I could comprehend it with my shallow reasonings and imperfect demonstrations The Trinity in Vnity and the Vnity in Trinity hath been derided by the Heathens and endeavoured to be perplexed by the wits of all kinds of Hereticks but it sufficeth me blessed Jesus that thou hast revealed it and thy Holy Church divided in too many other things hath universally agreed in this great Truth And I am the more confirmed in it because I learn by it to worship with a regular devotion from hence I am taught to pray to the Father in the name of the Son through the assistance of the Holy Ghost and as long as I live will I praise thee and magnifie thee in this manner I will bless thee particularly at this holy feast for so excellent a revelation for this Ordinance it self contains many things above my understanding and is all mystery The Trinity is the Article and this Sacrament the Rite which do distinguish thy true Religion from all the Sects in the World wherefore by observing this Rite I do embrace this Faith and upon the representation of thy death I do profess to live in it and die for it resolving never to have other Lord And when I find the Father giving the Son given and the Holy Ghost dispensing that gift unto my Soul in this sacred Communion it shall be a greater confirmation to my Faith in this Divine Mystery than can be acquired from the most curious search into it However I am resolved my Reason shall vail to thy Word and I will be content to stay for a full apprehension of this sublime Truth till I am advanced to a state of Angelick Perfection and come to behold the glories of the Trin-une God till then I will bless thee for what I know and believe more than I can conceive and I will worship the same Majesty which the Heavenly Quire doth in these addresses Therefore with Angels c. PARTITION III. Of the Celebration SECT I. Of the Address § 1. THE nearer we approach to these mysteries the greater reverence we must express The very Heathen could say men should be always best when they came to the Gods a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Pythag. ap Plur. de superstit and therefore so much better by how much they come nearer Our late rejoicing might savour of too much confidence if it were not allayed with this Act of humility which is the immediate Address to this holy Feast There is somewhat agreeable to this some Apology or acknowledgment in all antient Liturgies but that of St. James comes the nearest to this of ours I come to this divine and supercoelestial mystery unworthy indeed but relying on thy goodness And afterwards Turn not away from us sinners who are celebrating this dreadful and unbloody Sacrifice for we trust not in our own righteousness but in thy bountiful mercy c. But in none so fully as in this present form can the devout Soul express its sense of its own unworthiness and its desires to taste of this Heavenly Banquet as by our usual method will be more clearly manifested The Analysis of the Address Sect. 2. The Address hath two Parts 1. An Apology for this our approach shewing 1. The ground thereof 1. Negatively We do not presume to come to this thy Table O merciful Lord trusting in our own righteousness 2. Affirmatively But in thy manifold and great mercies 2. The persons coming We are not worthy so much as to gather up the Crumbs under thy Table 3. What he is to whom we come But thou art the same Lord whose property is always to have mercy 2. A Prayer for a blessing upon it noting 1. To whom we pray Grant us therefore gracious Lord 2. What we pray for so to eat the flesh of thy dear Son Iesus Christ and to drink his blood 3. For what end 1. A present advantage by the 1. Cleansing of our Bodies that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his Body 2. Purifying of our Souls and our Souls washed through his most precious blood 2. A continual benefit by an inseparable Uâ—ion And that we may evermore dwell in him and he in us Amen A Practical Discourse upon the Address § 3. We do not presume to come to this thy Table O merciful Lord trusting in our own righteousness but in thy manifold and great mercies When Josephs Brethren were invited to his House they durst not enter till they had made their Apology at the door because they esteemed themselves both criminal and unworthy Gen. 43.20 How then shall we that are greater offenders and more unworthy presume to sit down at the Table of the King of Kings before we have expressed our reverence and humility It is his goodness indeed to do us this honour but then it is at least our duty to be so just as to confess it is a free and undeserved favour agreeing rather to the nobleness of the giver than to the deserts of the Receivers b 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrysos Now how can we better declare this than in the words of that favourite of Heaven Dan. 9.23 the Prophet Daniel whose Prayer was heard before it was finished because he presented it not trusting in his own Righteousness but in Gods manifold and great mercies Dan. 9.18 And that we may speak these words with the same sincerity and make these addresses with the same sense of our own unworthiness Let us consider 1. How dangerous it is to come to this Holy Sacrament with a proud heart For Pride is foolish c 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theodoret. therap ser 1. and unreasonable in it self dishonourable and injurious to God offensive and troublesome to our Brethren hardening and mischievous to our selves and especially it is most odious and contrary to our Lord Jesus whose humility we are here to remember Solomon accounts it an uncomely
sight to see servants riding and Princes beside them walking on foot Eccles 10.7 But how much more abominable is it to see such evil and base servants as we are with proud hearts pretending to celebrate the memorial of the greatest and best Master who humbled himself to the death of the Cross if we are righteous why did he suffer if we be sinners why are we bold and puffed up be assured that this sin alone if there were no other would turn this Banquet into Poison or make us at least incapable to receive any benefit from it 2. Consider the great dignity of these terrible mysteries had we the purity of an Angel and the affections of a Seraphin we could scarce be worthy to come so near to a most holy and All-seeing God to lay such claim to the blessed Jesus and all his Merits and to be so wholly united to him as we are designing in this admirable Communion But thirdly We are so far from such excellencies that our late Confession is yet fresh in our memories wherein we did most truly accuse our selves of many and grievous offences and our own Conscience will check the vanity of all proud imaginations of our own merit by discovering to us that we have done very little good and that very imperfectly yet even that also by the grace of God and not by our own Power d Debetur enim merces si fiant sed gratia quae non debetur praecedit ut fiant Aug. in Julian How then can we fancy our selves worthy to make this approach Especially if we remember Fourthly That our preparation it self the only remaining suppletory hath been very imperfect if not deficient and who is there that can shew such a tender heart such strong desires so lively affections and so vigorous a Faith as this Ordinance doth require Upon all which accounts we have no reason to come presumptuously trusting in our own Righteousness We should be more likely to fly from this holy Table with shame and fear but only that we hear our God is merciful 1 King 20.31 and that Jesus will in no wise cast out those who come unto him John 6.37 We have manifold and great miseries and he hath manifold and great mercies and by these we are invited Our own righteousness is nothing the merits of others are insufficient for themselves but the compassions of God can never fail to these we fly for refuge and oh happy venture to take sanctuary in the divine mercy where there is no hazard e Pulchrum periculum confugere ad Deum D. Bern. but that he who is mercy it self should not pity us Wherefore behold O Lord we come unto thee thou mightest indeed justly censure this approach of such wretched Creatures to be the most daring presumption but we beseech thee condemn not the action but behold the motives that drew us hither even our own miseries and thy mercies and help us to supply in humility what we want in worthiness let our mean and just opinion of our selves our bended knees and broken hearts shew that we durst not have adventured so nigh if thy mercy had not held out the golden Scepter to us § 4. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the Crumbs under thy Table but thou art the same Lord whose property is always to have mercy Our Saviour adviseth us even at an ordinary Feast to take the lowest room Luke 14.10 and Solomon warneth us not to put our selves too forward in the presence of a King Prov. 25.6 How much more then is it our duty to think the meanest place too good for us at this Heavenly Feast of the King of Kings How scornfully do the great ones of this World sometimes look upon their poor Brethren thinking their footstool f Jam. 2.3 Populus terrae scabellum pedûm Pharisaeorum Proverb Hebr. or a place among their Dogs good enough for them Job 30.1 and is there not a much greater distance between God and us When Mephibosheth was admitted to King Davids Table he in great humility compares himself to a dead Dog 2 Sam. 9.7 8. but we have much more reason to esteem our selves as such before the Majesty of Heaven Had we always been dutiful and obedient Children we might then have expected to have been fed at our Fathers Table but we have been Rebels and therefore with Adonibezeks Captives might justly be made to gather up the Crumbs Jud. 1.7 under the feet of our great Lord Nay by our Anger Luxury Intemperance and especially by falling back into our old sins g Canis ad vomitum rediens Prov. 26.11 2 Pet. 2.22 we have behaved our selves like unto Dogs and therefore how dare we challenge the Childrens Bread We may well confess with the poor Canaanitish Woman that the Crumbs and Reliques h 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Eurip Cress 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Arist 2. de gen which are the part of Dogs are too good for us That is the common mercies of food and raiment health and habitations and the least measures of grace and comfort which are but small i 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theophyl in Math. 15. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Nazianz ep 45. considering the Power of God and his bounty to his own Children but very great considering our unworthiness If the Lord will please but to give us these necessary things and to bestow so much grace and comfort on us as will support us and encourage us in our Repentance we will be very thankful although we be not filled with extasies and assurance It is true this Heavenly bread is too good for us but only that our merciful Father is admirable in his condescensions he looks at our necessities but weigheth not our merits and doth most graciously receive us wherefore we will lie down in the dust and be as vile as may be before so good a God our acknowledgments shall lay us as low as ever our sins have done we will profess we are unworthy of the least favours that so we may the better set out the divine goodness which vouchsafeth to give us the greatest And no doubt they that thus humble themselves sincerely shall certainly be exalted Luke 14.11 For our God is always gracious and ever the same whose property it is to have mercy upon humble and contrite ones § 5. Grant us therefore gracious Lord so to eat the flesh of thy dear Son Iesus Christ and to drink his blood that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his body and our Souls washed through his most precious blood and that we may evermore dwell in him and be in us Amen In the midst of these our acknowledgments of our own unworthiness we are seasonably minded that we have a gracious Lord who is apt to pitty us even when we are justly miserable He sees our bodies are defiled and our Souls polluted and both empty and void of Christ and he hath appointed this
Blessed Sacrament on purpose to purifie us and unite us unto our dear Redeemer Why then do we stand looking one upon another Gen. 42.1 and not rather look up to him that only can help us all will not our own necessities open our mouths nor his tender mercies incourage us to call upon him to give us grace that we may eat and live We do intend to eat but we had better not eat at all than not eat So k 1 Cor. 11.28 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 So let him eat Psal 26.6 So will I compass c. as God requires and So as to be bettered thereby Now to the pure all things are pure but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure Titus 1.15 In vain therefore should we desire in the following Prayer of Consecration that these Elements should become the body and blood of Christ if we did not first pray that we might worthily receive them There must be a change in us or else though Christs natural flesh and blood were here and we should eat and drink thereof every day we could not partake of Christ l Qui discordat à Christo nec carnem ejus manducat nec sanguinem bibit etiamsi tantae rei sacramentum quotidiè indifferentèr accipiat Prosp sent 341. It is our eating with Faith and penitence love and holy purposes that makes it to be Christs body and blood to us most wisely therefore hath the Church ordered that before we pray for the Consecration of the Symbols we should desire to be Consecrated our selves Thus St. Ambrose in that Prayer said to be used by him before he Communicated saith O holy Bread which camest down from Heaven and givest life to the World come into my heart and cleanse me from all defilements of flesh and spirit enter into my Soul heal and sanctifie me within and without Let us consider the spots and stains the foulness and diseases with which our bodies and Souls are overspread and then behold this salutary and living Manna which hath power to restore us to an excellent purity and to make us amiable in the Eyes of God and then we shall heartily put up this Petition we shall hunger and thirst after it groan and long for it m Famelicus accedo ne recedam impastus si antequam comedam suspiro da vel post suspiria ut comedam August Med. c. 39. as it is reported St. Catherine was wont to do with the same passion that the Child doth for the Breast of its Mother Let us come then with most ardent desires and summon up all our Powers now the Angel is so near who makes our Bethesda Medicinal let us passionately cry out and say Lord hast thou set open this Fountain and wilt thou let a wretched Creature die for thirst in thy presence hast thou prepared such balm to heal me and shall I languish here before thee I know if thou wilt thou canst make me clean here is the very instrument in thy hand Grant therefore holy Jesus that I may duly apply it and rightly use it and then it shall prepare me for thee and unite me to thee by such inseparable Bonds as shall never break unless Eternity can have an end Blessed are they that So eat thy flesh and So drink thy blood So as thou requirest and So as thy Saints of old have done for they have been cleansed at this Fountain and here their Vnion with thee first began Oh happy season Excellent opportunity Lord let me do it well this once and I am thine for ever Amen The Paraphrase of the Address § 6. Holy God! thou mightest justly wonder to see so many grievous Sinners daring to come so near but We do not impudently rush upon these dreadful mysteries nor do we presume to come to this thy Table where Angels do attend as if we deserved this Honour O merciful Lord We do not approach trusting in our own Righteousness for alas we have done nothing which can bear that name but that which drew us hither was our confidence in thy manifold and great mercies which exceed our manifold and great offences And now that we are before thee we must still confess whatever favours thy goodness heaps upon us that we are not worthy by reason of our sinfulness and backslidings so much as with the Dogs to gather up the Crumbs which fall under thy Table not fit to receive the least mercies or measures of grace from thee much less to sit as guests before thy Majesty at this Heavenly Feast But yet we make bold to do this because thou art not to be changed by our sins being ever the same Lord whose property is to be unwearied with well-doing and never wanting in pity and thou art wont always to have mercy on those who confess their offences as we have done Grant unto us therefore gracious Lord by the present assistance of thy holy Spirit so to eat the flesh of thy dear Son Iesus Christ spiritually in this Sacrament and so to drink his blood as that we may receive all the benefits of his Cross and Passion even that our sinful and defiled bodies may be made clean by his holy and immaculate body and our Souls which are polluted in every faculty washed through his most precious blood which taketh away the sins of the World Let us be so wholly purifyed that we may now begin to be inseparably united to Jesus and that we by Faith may evermore dwell in him abiding in his love and that by his spirit he may dwell in us always Amen SECT II. Of the Prayer of Consecration § 1. AFter all this Preparation we need not ask with Isaac Gen. 22.7 where is the Lamb for the Burnt-Offering for God hath provided his own dear Son whose blood being already spilt is so efficacious and all-sufficient that there is now no need of any other but this unbloody Sacrifice a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cyril cat Myst 5. incruentam oblationem Liturg. 5. Marci sacrificium absque sanguine Liturg. S. Basil to be offered and that in memorial of that great Sin-offering which taketh away the sins of the World 1 Pet. 2.5 And for this purpose Christ himself hath b Ille mirabilem quandam victimam pro nostra omnium salute obtulit memoriam nobis tradens loco sacrificii continuo offerendam Euseb praep Evang. l. 1. c. 10. appointed these Creatures of Bread and Wine ordaining that because they are designed to express so great a Mystery they shall have a peculiar Consecration The antient Greeks and Romans would not taste of their ordinary Meat and Drink till they had hallowed it by giving the first parts thereof to their Gods c Romani Graeci in convictu familiari ciborum particulis vino in ignem conjectis libamina Diis dabant Alex. ab Alex. gen dier l. 5. c. 21. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Porph. de abst l 2. c. 20. The
shew his all-sufficiency for the life of our Souls And of all kinds of drink he hath chose Wine to represent his most precious blood for this is called the blood of the Grape m Deut. 32.14 1 Macc. 6.34 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Clem Alex. paed l. 2. and in colour comes the nearest to it this minds us of Jesus who is the true Vine John 15.1 and of the Wine-Press of his Fathers wrath Isai 63.2 3. wherein he was grievously pressed till all his holy blood yea and his Soul was exhausted And as Wine was given to chear mans heart n Jud. 9.13 Psal 104.15 Duo sunt liquores corporibus humanis gratissimi intus vini foris olei Plin. l. 4 c. 22. item ap Homer Il. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Odyss β. and raise his decaying spirits so was the blood of Jesus shed to revive poor disconsolate sinners with the hopes of the divine favour It was the Custom among the Jews for the Master of the Family after Supper to take a Cup of Wine in both hands and giving thanks to him that created the fruit of the Vine to drink to all the Guests as a Symbol of Charity Fag in Deut. 8.10 and among the Gentiles also their Feasts were concluded o Postremo Graeci Mercurio litabant bono daemoni cui gratias agebant 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Alex. ab Alex. l. 5. c. 21. Schol. Aristop Mos erat cum mensa auferenda sit bono genio litare Hoc hoc mensa claudatur scypho Sen. with a Cup offered to their good genius But our Lord hath spiritualized these usages and here we may behold him with hands and eyes lift up to Heaven Consecrating this Cup for an Excellent Mystery that it may be a Cup of Salvation and of Charity and may be offered up with praise to the most high when therefore we see the holy Man beginning to bless the Wine also let us say within our selves Oh what preparations is our gracious Master making for us he thinks it not enough to give us his blessed body with the merit of all those torments which he suffered in the flesh but he is pleased to pour out his blood and his life together with it that we might drink thereof and so take as it were his very Soul into us p 〈◊〉 â—7 14 ita 〈…〉 llud Virgil. 〈…〉 vomit ille â—â—â—â—tam Secundum eâ—s inquit qui sanguinem animam dicunt Alas we are faint and feeble ready to die and languish and he hath made us a Cordial with his own hearts blood miserable wretches as we are that nothing less will help us but oh how gracious a Redeemer have we that will not deny us this behold O Lord we thirst and this Wine of joy makes us more q Non facile esuriens positâ retinebere mensâ Et multum saliens incitat unda sitim Ovid. impatient to tast of this Cup of Salvation and Thanksgiving thou that hast prepared it for us make it thy holy blood and then it shall cleanse our Souls and make us thine for ever § 12. He gave it to them saying Drink ye all of this for this is my Blood of the New Testament which is shed for you and for many for the Remission of Sins Since our Saviour did give the Cup to every one of his Disciples and plainly commands both them and us all to drink of it r Math. 26.27 1 Cor. 12.13 Et Vulg. Editio Pontificiis Authentica 1 Cor. 10.17 addit Et de uno calice we have cause to bless God that we are not of that Church which hath lately Å¿ Secundum antiquam Ecclesiae consuetudinem omnes tam corpori quam sanguini communicabant quod etiam adhuc in quibusdam Ecclesiis servatur Aquin. in Johan 6. robbed the people of half the Sacrament and I wish that as the Legacy is preserved to us intire and a double portion provided for us that we would endeavour to receive with twice as much devotion as they do Furthermore when we hear the most efficacious words of Christ pronounced we must exercise our Faith and not only join our desires that this Wine may become the Blood of Christ but with our hearts say Amen for it is unto us according to our Faith if we believe it is to us the Blood of Christ and that which makes us partakers t 1 Cor. 10.16 communicatio sanguinis Christi Vatab. idem in Margin annotae vel participatio Graec. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the benefits thereof And although it be still Wine unto our senses because we naturally abhor to drink humane blood u Similitudinem pretiâ—si sanguinis bibis ut nullus horror cruoris sit pretium tamen operetur Redemptionis Ambros de sacr lâ—b 4 cap. 4. yet by the power of Jesus and the mercy of God it shall make our attonement be accepted as fully for our expiation as if our own lives had been laid down or our own blood spilt in a Sin-offering For it is now to be esteemed as the blood of the New Covenant or Testament w Math. 26.28 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 h. e. propriè â—â—â—guis novi foederis 〈◊〉 Grot. Ham. annâ—â— in Titul Beza in lâ—cum Latini autem Testamentum vertunt Grotius For the Original word signifies both 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In the first and common sense it is used for a Covenant and those of old were confirmed with blood x Exod. 24.8 Haustu mutui sanguinis foedus faciunt de Scythis Herodot l. 4. Quod idem refert etiam de Medis ut Solinus Cap. 20. but this New-Covenant between God and Man could not be made without it because God could not in justice grant remission unless some blood were spilt the visible Soul being given as a ransom for the invisible and this most precious Blood of Christ is that which was shed to appease the divine anger and so to engage God to enter into this Covenant with us wherefore it may be called the Blood of the New Covenant Secondly This word also is used for a Testament or Will y Heb. 9.16 17. Testamentum est voluntas defuncti Quintil. Viventis nulla est haereditas Digest Roman J. C. dicunt Testamentum morte confirmatur Grot. by this account we call the Gospel the New-Testament because it contains our Lords Will and therein he hath left us as Legacies his Merits and Graces his Spirit and his Peace and secured them to us by his Promise wherefore when we see this holy Blood it is to us as it were the Seal of the New-Testament because it shews us that the Testator hath dyed and consequently assures us that all those promises shall be made good unto us especially that of the pardon of our Sins for since we and many had deserved Eternal Death by our offences this Blood was poured forth to procure a Pardon not for us alone but for
gave it to his Disciples to declare he would freely pour out his blood for them saying Drink ye all who desire a part in me of this Cup and apply to your selves the benefits of my blood-shedding For this is the Communion of my Blood which sealeth the New Covenant and is the Confirmation of the New-Testament with the promises thereof And it shall give you a right unto them for this is it which is shed to make Attonement for you in particular and for as many as believe it to be sufficient for the Remission of Sins Wherefore I charge you Do this as oft as may be and whensoever ye shall drink it let it be with great devotion in remembrance of me and of my love in laying down my life for you Amen It is finished according to thy will So be it and let all the people say Amen SECT III. Of the form of Administration § 1. WHen the time of distribution is come the Guests must not rudely and disorderly take every one his own part 1 Cor. 11.14 because God is the Master of the Feast and according to the Eastern Custom he hath provided Officers to divide to every one their portion a Gen. 42.34 1 Sam. 9.24 Heb. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Esth 2.9 fercula singulis apposita secundum morem Orientalem Vide Ham. Annot. Luke 8. a. Wherefore the people are to receive this from the Minister as from the hands of God himself and accordingly they ought to kneel in the most lowly manner as those do who are to receive a favour even from an Earthly Prince For it is now the Custom of the Eastern and Greek Churches of the Latine Church and Lutherans also yea of all the World saith Erasmus to receive kneeling and which is most considerable to us our own Church which hath power to determine these circumstances hath prescribed this posture and withal declared it is only for order and comeliness and to express our humility to God not to give any worship to the Elements * Non enim inclinaverunt carni sanguini sed tibi terribili domino Lit. S. Chrysos and it is a wonder any should refuse to receive kneeling meerly because the Church enjoins it since every considering and humble Christian would chuse that way if it were left indifferent The whole time of Communicating is spent in Prayers and Praises and therefore sure we ought to be upon our b Nemo carnem illam manducat nisi prius adoraverit August in Psal 98. knees if it were only that we might be ready to offer up our Prayers to God It is highly probable that this gesture hath obtained in the Western Church at least 1200. years and although of Old in the East they did stand c Stemus benè stemus in timore Lit. Basil yet it was with fear and trembling with silence and down-cast eyes for they groaned in spirit and kept their joy within saith St. d Chrysost homil de encoeniis Chrysost They came near saith St. Cyril c 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cyril Catech. Mystag 5. versus finem bowing themselves in the posture of Worship and Adoration As for the Words of Administration some think they contain a double form Both the Old Roman form and that which Calvin did prescribe both united by the Revisors of the Liturgy under Queen Elizabeth It is most certain that the Antient Church did use the first words The Body of our Lord Iesus Christ in the Administration To which the people answered Amen f Dicit tibi Sacerdos Corpus Christi tu dicis Amen h. e. verum quod confitetur Lingua teneat affectus Ambros de Sacram l. 4. c. 5. Vniversa Ecclesia accepto Christi sanguine dicit Amen Aug. Resp ad Oros qu. 49 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cyril Catech. myst 5. both to express their desire it might be Christs Body unto them and their firm belief that it was so The next words Preserve thy Body and Soul unto everlasting life as we are told by Durantus de Rit Eccles Cathol l. 2. c. 55. were added in St. Gregory lib. de Sacram. although the modern Missals have altered this now The other part Take and Eat c. have for their Author Christ himself who did Administer in these words and if we should leave them out as the Roman Church doth we should have but half his form And if we do well consider the whole frame it appears to be nothing else but a necessary Paraphrase upon our Saviours Words which doth expound and sit them for every ones private Meditation for therefore the Church appoints all these words to be repeated to each partaker that every one may have time and subject matter afforded for his own particular Meditations yet because all are not able themselves to fix and to enlarge their thoughts so as to deduce suitable Soliloquies and Devotions to entertain themselves within the time of Administration we judge the most practical handling of this rare Composure will be to draw proper Meditations from all the parts thereof when we have first discovered the method in this Analysis The Analysis of the form of Administration Sect. 2. The form of Administration hath three parts 1. A Commemoration declaring what it is The Body Blood of our Lord Iesus Christ Which was given shed for thee 2. A Petition that we may partake of the benefits thâ—â—eof Preserve thy Body and Soul unto Everlasting Life 3. A direction how to receive it 1. Externally Take and Eat this Drink this 2. Internally 1. In remembrance that Christ died Christs blood was shed for thee 2. And feed on him in thy heart by Faith with thanksgiving Be thankful Discourses and Meditations upon the Administration § 3. We must now lay by all other thoughts and diligently compose our Souls for the Acts of holy Communion remembring that we must feast with God by silence and Heavenly Contemplation Let us now therefore consider how great a work we are about to perform let us think what benefits we shall lose and what evil we shall fall into if we do it unworthily what Comforts and advantages we shall receive if we do it acceptably let us call to mind what need we have of the divine assistance and pray with Sampson Strengthen us O Lord only this once Jud. 16.28 Let us remember our sins afresh to humble us and review our wants Both that we may have them ready to spread before our Lord and that we may thereby stir up in our selves most fervent desires after his Grace and Mercy And let nothing divert us from these thoughts unless our Charity to our Brethren For when we hear the Minister use these words to the rest of the Congregation we shall do well most heartily to wish this holy Communion may be life to every Soul so that all who sit together at this blessed Feast may also meet in life everlasting And as the Minister is drawing near
yea upon all thy Merits and Graces Lord thou reachest out most freely that which I need infinitely and that which I wish for above all things Adored be thy admirable bounty in complyance wherewith unworthy though I am I do stretch out a trembling hand I do open my mouth yea my heart to receive thee Open your Doors O ye Gates of my Soul and the King of Glory shall come in Rejoice and be exceeding glad for behold thy King cometh meek and lowly to visit the meanest of his servants Come Lord Jesus come quickly A Meditation while we Eat the Bread §. 8. In remembrance that Christ died for thee An Act of Contrition O my Soul behold how thou hast incensed the Majesty of Heaven see how he gives up the most innocent and most holy Jesus thy best thy only friend and his own dear Son to be tortured and tormented for thy Sins O how cruelly was he scourged with whips wounded with Thorns loaden with the Cross torn with Nails pierced with a Spear and rackt on the most painful instrument of Death His lovely Face is defiled with blood and spitting his Ears filled with taunts and curses his Eyes drenched in tears for the ruine of his Enemies and his Soul amazed at the terrors of the divine wrath till at length all wounded broken and bloody with many groans yet with admirable patience he breaths out his holy Soul And yet whatever he suffered was my portion My pleasure hath been his pain my wicked life hath caused his bitter death Wretch that I am to live in such a manner that nothing else could satisfie or make my Peace But here I come this day to call my sin to remembrance I will look on thee whom I have pierced with a most tender and sympathizing affection and while I break this holy Bread with my Teeth I will commemorate how thou wast bruised for our iniquities and how our offences did grind thee with grief and pain Holy Saviour I am angry at my self and full of anguish to see what I hâ—ve brought upon thee I am sorry with all my heart that I have given harbour to thy Murtherers but I hope this most dismal spectacle l Est enim tanta vis crucis Christi ut si ante oculos ponatur in mente fidelitèr retineatur ita ut in ipsam mortem Christi intentis oculis adspiciatur nulla concupiscentia nulla libido nullus furor nulla potest superare invidia Origen in 7. ad Rom. shall mortifie in me all desires after Evil and make me abhor all those desperate pleasures which must be so dearly paid for by thee or else stand charged upon my Account for ever No no I will never crucifie thee again by renewing my disobedience for I have done too much already A Meditation after the receiving of the Bread §. 9. And feed on him in thy heart by Faith with thanksgiving An Act of particular Application and Gratitude Hail holy Lamb of God thrice welcome art thou to a poor perishing Sinner was it not enough that thou shouldst suffer so much for me but thou wilt also give all the purchase of those sufferings to me thy loving kindness is truly admirable Thou hast taken my sins on thy self and communicated thy Righteousness unto my Soul Lord while I believe and consider the benefits of thy Passion I am revived and filled with an unwonted vigour My Conscience doth accuse me of many and grievous sins but I do here most humbly and thankfully set forth this perfect Sin-offering before thy divine Majesty and I know thou canst not except against it I believe it is sufficient to attone thy anger what I owe he hath discharged what I have deserved he hath endured so that for his sake I hâ—pe thou wilt set me free Blessed Jesus how is my Soul refreshed that it is thus restored again to thy Fathers Love Let Heaven and Earth praise thee and declare the merit of this glorious Sacrifice and I will bless thee while I have my being I will love thee because thou hast loved me better than thy own life my heart shall feast with joy and Eucharist upon the pleasures and Comforts which I expect to draw from this Coelestial food I have received thine immaculate Body and it shall cleanse my sinful body and teach me by the vertue of so rare an example to relieve my poor Brethren for whom thou hast died and to conquer my Enemies by my Charity for thus thou hast done to me And both my lips and my life shall set forth thy Praise I begin to feel my self one with thee already and I will wait till I am perfectly united to thee in Everlasting Glory Amen Meditations before the receiving of the Cup. §. 10. The blood of our Lord Iesus Christ An Act of Acknowledgment It will not suffice me Dearest Saviour to receive thee in part only for I must be wholly thine and blessed be thy Name thou art willing to be wholly mine also Thou hast already given me thy holy Body to cleanse my nature and now thou art preparing thy precious Blood to wash away my guilt My sins have poured out every drop thereof wherefore thou presentest it to me by it self to shew how truly thou didst suffer Death for me And now O my Redeemer thou hast said this Cup is the Communion of thy blood and thy Truth is unquestionable thy power is infinite and thy love was such that thou gavest thy hearts blood for me I will receive it therefore as the Blood of the Everlasting Covenant the seal of all the Promises of thy holy Gospel I have indeed vile Sinner that I am drunk in iniquity like water and therefore am unfit to taste this Water of Life and yet I shall perish without it for I am all over defiled and this is the fountain which thou hast opened to cleanse us I am scorched with the flames of evil Lusts and unruly Passions and this is the Cup which thou hast provided to cool and refresh us O thou Medicine of immortality my Soul longeth for thee what value is sufficient for me to put upon this Heavenly Cordial how can I reverence it enough since the God of Heaven esteemed it a price sufficient for millions of perishing Mankind Lord let me taste and my soul shall live let me wash in this Laver before I come to thy great Tribunal so shall I be whiter than Snow §. 11. Which was shed for thee An Act of Repentance mixed with Faith Was there ever so base a wretch as I have been who have accounted those sins small and trivial yea and made them my sport and pleasure which have pressed down and wounded the holy Jesus till he is all over drenched in his own blood Woe is me I have easily committed that which nothing but these streams can wash away O ye accursed Lusts ye have by wicked hands taken Crucified and slain the Lord of Life and if he had
not sustained your fury ye had delivered me over to Everlasting Burnings I do abhor and detest ye all how dear soever you have been to me the sight of my bleeding Saviour hath stirred up my indignation against you and I will revenge his blood upon you by sacrificing you all at this Altar How can my Eyes but drop down tears of Contrition when they behold thee pouring forth Rivers of thy Blood but while I grieve to see thy bleeding wounds I must not forget for whom thou didst sustain them thy Blood was shed for me because my life was forfeited why art thou then so cast down O my Soul wilt thou dishonour that price by thy doubts and fears which God hath accepted for all the World cannot that Sacrifice which appeaseth the divine wrath satisfie thy Faith Be not afraid only believe and be assured he will not cast away those whom he hath bought at so dear a rate for thee it was shed for thee it is prepared open thy mouth wide and he will fill it §. 12. Preserve thy Body and Soul unto Everlasting Life An Act of Supplication O Lord I tremble at the apprehension of all those Evils that stand between me and thy glory behold the Grave gapeth for my Body the Infernal Pit threatens to swallow my Soul and Satan is ready were he permitted every moment to devour me wherefore I beseech thee sprinkle me with thy all-saving blood that the destroying Angel may pass over me let me drink of this Cup of Life and so shall my Body be free from Corruption and my Soul from Condemnation Death shall be defeated the Grave dismantled and Satan disappointed Let me drink of thy precious Blood that I may receive thereby abundance of thy Spirit so shall my Body be hallowed into a sacred Temple and my Soul shall be replenished with such Graces that I can never perish Sweetest Jesus how desireable are thy Provisions oh let us not always languish without them but pitty our dry and parched Souls and water them we intreat thee with these living streams for behold we thirst and long with a mighty Passion to drink of this Fountain of Life that we may not faint in our journey to those Rivers of pleasures which are at thy right hand Oh give us this divine Cordial at present and make it to us a Preservative for Body and Soul to everlasting life Amen A Meditation in the receiving of the Cup. §. 13. Drink this in remembrance that Christs blood was shed for thee An Act of Commemoration How chearing is this Cup to me Blessed Jesus which was so dreadful unto thee it was thy Agonies and thy Wounds which afforded me this Wine of Joy Thou didst find how bitter it was when thou wert appeasing an offended God but I tast how sweet it is now that thou hast made him a tender and reconciled Father I receive this Cup O my Saviour as a new plâ—dge of thy dearest love for from those pits whence these Rivulets did flow I can discern thy heart bleeding in pity to my misery and sick of Love And since thou dost here give me a right to that great expiation which thou hast made I do most humbly commemorate the same before the Father of Heaven as the full satisfaction for my innumerable debts and I will remember the dolours of thy Cross with a brisker sense than ever because thou hast made me drink of thy blood and given me thy Soul thy Life and thy Spirit so that now I will live no more but thou shalt live in me because we have mingled Souls and thou hast joined me to thy self by the Communications of thy Spirit O let nothing separate that which thou hast so graciously joined together A Meditation after the receiving of the Cup. §. 14. And be thankful An Act of Thankfulness and Resolution Praise the Lord O my Soul and all that is within me bless his holy name for now I find the Mercy and the Peace the Comfort and the Grace which flows from the Death of Christ let all the World know what he hath done for my Soul he hath rescued me and many of my poor Brethren round about me from the nethermost Hell wherefore I will love thee holy Jesus more than I can express and I will love them for thy sake And since thou hast given thy self thy merits and graces to me and sealed a New Covenant with me in thy own blood I do here bind my self by this sacred Cup to be sincerely thine m Mos est regibus quoties in societatem coeant implicare dextras pollicesque inter se vincire Mâ—x levi ictu cruorem eliciunt atque invicem lambunt id foedus arcanum habetur quasi mutuo cruore sancitum Tacit. Annal. lib. 12. I will spend my time and strength in thy service yea and Sacrifice my blood to bear witness to thy truth if ever thou callest me thereunto I will never betray nor forsake thee but live and die with thee for I have sworn and am stedfastly purposed to keep thy righteous judgments Oh let me never unhallow that body nor defile that Soul in which the Lord Jesus delights to dwell let no Oaths or lying prophane those lips no Obscenity or Intemperance pollute that mouth by which those holy Symbols have passed And methinks I feel new desires and new hopes my nature seems râ—newed my blood refined my Soul full of holy vigour blessed be thy name for it let thy mercy keep me in this happy temper till I have accomplished all my resolutions Amen § 15. By these and such like contemplations you must keep your minds imployed all the time that the Heavenly Banquet doth continue and if the Congregation be numerous and there be further opportunity the devout Soul will easily find more fuel to nourish these flames viz. by considering the necessities of all Mankind the Calamities of the Church the Miseries of the Sick the wants of the Poor the condition of our Relations Friends and Acquaintance and recommending them all with an effectual Charity to Almighty God through Christ Jesus As also by lamenting its own unworthiness and indispositions by recollecting all its present wants both spiritual and temporal by surveying the difficulties and dangers of that pious course now undertaken and by calling upon the Father of Mercies for grace and relief for courage and strength for support and protection in order to each of these So likewise by doing Acts of mental Charity to be put in Execution afterwards viz. Resolving for the sake of Jesus to forgive and do good to our Enemies to reprove Sinners instruct the ignorant help those that are in need And finally by contemplating of the wisdom and advantage of a holy Life the comfort and peace of a happy Death the joys and felicities of the life of Glory with the pleasures of those Souls that behold Jesus face to face these and many more which the good Spirit will offer we must improve
as much as the time will give us leave because to look about us or to unbend our thoughts while the Celebration is in hand is a sign of a carnal heart and a base spirit that is weary of conversing with God it is an affront to the blood of Christ it exposeth us to Satans malice and prepares us for evil suggestions which unguarded Souls fall into sooner here than elsewhere and to conclude it will make our Lord abhor us the Spirit forsake us and turn the Cup of Blessing into poison and a Curse Wherefore be very watchful that no evil or impertinent cogitation do divert you till the Post-Communion doth begin and then you must have no other imployment but to join with the Minister in that part of this holy Office also PARTITION IV. Of the Post-Communion SECT I. Of the Post-Communion in general and in particular of the Lords-Prayer § 1. IT is a rudeness in manners to depart from the House of our Friend as soon as the Tables are removed and an Act of Irreligion to rise from our common meals a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Porphyr de Essenis de abst lib. 4. Sect. 12. Gratias agere debent cum hymno à mensâ devenire Chrysos hom 83. in Math. without Prayer Thanksgiving How much more absurd and impious then were it for us to depart so abruptly from the Lords Table Our Church hath therefore here provided this concluding Banquet of Prayers and Praises imitating our Saviours Pattern who concluded his last Supper with that excellent Prayer John 17. as well as with that Hymn Math. 26.30 which is supposed to have been the Paschal Hallelujah and all Churches do finish this Heavenly Feast in like manner as the following particulars will demonstrate It is our part therefore to take care that the vigour of our devotion do not remit for we ought to perform these duties also with the same affections It is the first Testimony which we give of that Piety that we have vowed and if well done will be like the digestion and turning this Heavenly food into spiritual nourishment We do not eat our common meat only to please our palate but to support and strengthen our nature and to make us more fit for our imployment in like manner we do not partake of the Blessed Eucharist to put us into holy raptures at present only but to strengthen our Souls and put them into better frame for all Duties which we owe to Almighty God so that now we must give the first experiment of our having worthily received § 2. The Lords Prayer is placed in the first entrance upon this part of the Office both in imitation of Antiquity b Docuit Apostolos ut quotidiè in Corporis illius sacrificio credentes audeant loqui Pater noster Hieron in Pelag l. 3. Vid. Aug. ep 59. Greg l. 7. ep 63. and because it cannot any where be used more properly For having now been made partakers of Jesus and his Spirit it is fit the first words which we speak should be his as if not we but he lived and spake in us and surely these divine words can never be more effectual than when we have the blessed Author of them so fresh in our memories and have so lately set forth his most meritorious Death We have in this Sacrament received him and we know that unto as many as receives him he gives them power to become the Sons of God so that we may all with one heart and voice now say most chearfully Our Father and apply every Petition to the present occasion in this or the like manner The Paraphrase of the Lords-Prayer O Lord who hast now sealed our Adoption and made us Members of Christ we make bold to call thee Our Father and do lift up our hearts to thee which art in Heaven to bless thee for this mighty favour wishing that Hallowed and for ever blessed may be thy Name throughout all the World Thou hast made us thy servants now by grace therefore O let thy Kingdom of glory Come as soon as thou pleasest In the mean time since we have been fed with Angels food we pray that thy Will may be done by us thy servants in Earth as readily and as constantly as it is ever done by those blessed Spirits in Heaven We cannot distrust thy Providence for Earthly things since thou hast given us thy own Son and fed us with his Body and Blood wherefore we will only beseech thee to Give us this day so much as is necessary for our subsistence even our daily Bread to enable us to serve thee And â—orgive us by the merits of that prevailing Sacrifice now commemorated all our trespasses by which we have deserved that wrath which Jesus hath endured Lord pardon us therefore as we by thy Example in this Feast of love do freely forgive them that have done any trespass against us And do thou not only remit what is past but lest we lose our comfort and break our Vows O Lead us not neither suffer us to fall into temptation which we expect with more violence now that we have renounced the bondage of Satan But we trust in thee O Lord and call upon thee to deliver us from all Evâ—l temporal spiritual and Eternal * Note that the Doxology is here used because this part of the office is Eucharistical For thine is the Kingdom over all especially over us who have now sworn Allegiance unto thee Thou only hast the might and the Power to secure us And therefore to thee shall all the Praise and the Glory be given by Men and Angels for ever and ever O do thou therefore to these our requests say Amen that we may also join in thy Praises So be it SECT II. Of the first Prayer in the Post-Communion § 1. THat the Eucharist was always concluded with a Hymn is observed by all but we affirm there were Prayers also made after it as appears by that Prayer of our Saviour John 17. and also from the Custom of the Jews who finished the Paschal Solemnity with Prayers as well as Hymns a Hoc ita gesto pater familias precationes mensarias ad finem precari pergit Buxt Synag Cap. de Pasch 13. And for the Christians St. Cyril warns them b 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Cyril Mystag cat 5. not to depart till the last Prayer be done Besides the joint consent of all the antient Liturgies shew that all Churches had such Prayers As for this form the principal clause thereof of offering up our Bodies and Souls is taken from St. Paul Rom. 12.1 and it is a main end of this Sacrament though the Roman Mass is wholly silent in it the rest of this Prayer although the words be modern in sense agrees with many of the antient forms and is so well contrived as it may not only serve to exercise our devotion at present but teach how to demean our selves
so afterwards that we may retain the benefits which we have received as the more particular consideration thereof will shew The Analysis of the First Prayer in the Post-Communion § 2. This First Prayer consisteth of Three Parts 1. A Supplication to the Father 1. For the Acceptance of our Sacrifice of Praise O Lord our heavenly Father we thy humble Servants entirely desire thy Fatherly Goodness mercifully to accept this our Sacrifice of Praise and Thanksgiving 2. For the Benefits of the Oblation made by Jesus Christ Most humbly beseeching thee to grant that by the Merits and Death of thy Son Iesus Christ and through Faith in his Blood we and all thy whole Church may receive remission of our Sins and all other benefits of his Passion 2. An Oblation of our selves by 1. A solemn Dedication 1. The thing dedicated And here we offer and present unto thee O Lord our selves our souls and bodies 2. The end of the Dedication to be a reasonable holy and lively Sacrifice unto thee 2. A Petition for Grace to make good this Vow Humbly beseeching thee that all we who are Partakers of this Holy Communion may be full filled with thy Grace and heavenly Benediction 3. An Act of Humility expressed in 1. Acknowledging our unworthiness And although we be unworthy through our manifold Sins to offer unto thee any Sacrifice 2. Petitioning to be mercifully accepted yet we beseech thee to accept this our bounden Duty and Service not weighing our Merits but pardoning our Offences 3. A Doxology to the whole Blessed Trinity Through Iesus Christ our Lord by whom and with whom in the Vnity of the Holy Ghost all Honour and Glory be unto thee O Father Almighty world without end Amen A Practical Discourse upon the first Prayer with Meditations after the Communion § 3. O Lord our Heavenly Father we thy humble Servants entirely desire thy Fatherly goodness mercifully to accept this our Sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving The devout Soul being newly refreshed with these Heavenly Comforts and even ravished with joy to find him whom she loved and longed after desires now an opportunity to express her gratitude But alas what have we to return we can make no requital only we must acknowledge the favour and offer up a Sacrifice of Praise for it and since this is all we can do we had need do this very well but if we reflect upon the manner even of this Oblation we shall easily perceive there have been many defects so that without a merciful acceptance it could never avail us in the sight of God how apparent is it that we have not praised God so affectionately and unfeignedly as so infinite a mercy doth deserve Wherefore if we be really his humble Servants the first thought in our hearts and the first word in our mouths will be the confession of our failings even in the whole office from the beginning to the end for the Ancients called the whole Communion the Sacrifice of Praise c Ecclesia immolat in Corpore Christi sacrificium laudis Aug. l. 1. in advers legis cap. 20. as our Church here doth whereas the Romanists only call it a Sacrifice d Praesta ut hoc sacrificium quod oculis tuae Majestatis indignus obtuli Missal Rom. without any other addition but it is not the Sacrifice of Christ which we here speak of for that is always pleasing to God and was absolutely perfect but it is our own Peace-offering in Commemoration thereof in which there have bâ—en many failings and therefore we desire and beg that it may be accepted in mercy so that our infirmities may not deprive us of the benefit and the comfort thereof to which purpose let us thus Meditate When I compare thy acts with mine Holy Jesus I am exceedingly ashamed to behold so vast a disproportion thou givest me thy merits and graces thy life and thy love at present and hast promised thy Kingdom to me in reversion and I have scarce returned this with the intire devotion of one half hour Oh how little is my obdurate heart affected with the sense of my own guilt the fears of the divine wrath or the apprehensions of thy sufferings Yet Lord I do desire and did endeavour to praise thee so that I hope thou wilt consider my infirmities with much compassion and measure my services not by the exactnâ—ss of the performance but by the sincerity of my wishes so shall I be accepted before thy Heavenly Father and by the mercy of that acceptance be obliged unto thee for ever § 4. Most humbly beseeching thee to grant that by the merits and death of thy Son Iesus Christ and through Faith in his Blood we and all thy whole Church may obtain remission of our sins and all other benefits of his Passion Our Heavenly Father doth not at any time require our praises meerly for the advancement of his own glory but that we may thereby be the more fit to receive greater benefits from him e 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ch. in Gen. hom 52. thus in the design of this holy Sacrament he doth not only intend it as a Sacrifice of Praise for the Death of Christ but as a means to convey the blessings thereof to us Wherefore we must in the next place petition that we may find the happy effects of our Lords Passion and then we shall have good grounds to turn this memorial thereof into Eucharist and Thanksgiving We have beheld that sacred body broken and that precious blood spilt in a mystery which is sufficient to attone our sins and the sins of the whole Church and we have now perceived our own need of mercy and we are in perfect Charity with all Christian people so that it is now most proper for us to pray that that so excellent a price may not be paid in vain so glorious an offering may not want its due effects But that by this Sacrifice as the meritorious and moving cause and by our Faith therein as the instrumental we and the whole Church may find remission at the hands of God This is the great end of our Communicating and if we would most earnestly intreat for it we may thus enlarge our selves Gracious Lord we have beheld the efficacious and all-saving Sacrifice which thy Son hath offered for us we have remembred it and blessed thy name for it as well as we were able though not so highly as we are obliged to do f Gratias agimus Deus omnipotens non quantum debemus sed quantum possumus Liturg. S. Clement For the benefits thereof are inestimable Oh let them not all be lost unto us for want of Faith to believe and receive them There is no want of merit in Jesus to deserve no want of mercy in thee to bestow remission Oh let there not want in us or in any of those for whom Christ died grace to accept this Pardon Behold Lord how we struggle under a load of guilt
back again to thy self better than I received thee There needs no application but that every Communicant do as sincerely make oblation of their Souls and Bodies to God for this the poorest may give and yet this is more acceptable than thousands of Gold and Silver If these reasons do convince us of the justice and the necessity of our making this Oblation we may learn in the next place from the very form in this Prayer how and in what manner it may be done for we are taught therein I. What it is which we must offer viz. our whole selves not only our Bodies but our Souls also n Quodâ—si corpus quo inferiore tanquam famulo utitur anima sacrificium est quanto magis anima ipsa cum se refert ad Deum August Deinde cum plena resignatione integrâ voluntate offer teipsum in honorem nominis mei corpus tuum scil animam mihi fidelitèr câ—mmittendo Tho. à Kemp. de imit Christi l. 4. c. 6. for we consist of both these God hath created and redeemed both and each of them in their capacity can do him service wherefore we must give him both or he will accept neither o Pectora vestra duanon admittentia curas Juven 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Macrob. Saturn because he hath no equal he will have no Rival All the members of our Bodies and all the powers of our Souls our Limbs and Senses our Will and Affections our Reason and Understanding must be dedicated to him for so long as any of these are under the bondage of sin the rest cannot be intirely the Servants of God Math. 6.24 II. To what end we make this Oblation of our selves First To be a reasonable Sacrifice The offering up of our Souls and Bodies since we are rational Creatures is not like the Sacrifices of brute Beasts by dying but by living agreeable to the will of God and the rules of right reason p 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Epicharmus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Socrat. ap Stobaeum for reason as it is inlightned in us Christians doth direct us to approve of all things that are good and doth attest and confirm the Duties which God requires He therefore makes himself a reasonable Sacrifice who doth live prudently and piously and walk according to the dictates of the best reason he that is religious and just sober and humble meek and patient compassionate and charitable q Qui innocentiam colit Deo supplicat qui justitiam Deo libat qui hominem periculo subtrahit optimam victimam caedit Min. Foelix Vis Deos propitiare bonus esto satis illos coluit quisquis imitatus est Sen. ep 95. for these things are in themselves the most rational and we have the greatest reason and the highest obligations to perform them Secondly We offer our selves to be an Holy Sacrifice that is to be pure and spotless as all those offerings were appointed to be r 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 · Athenaeus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 · Suidas which were offer'd to the Divine Majesty And as all such offerings were set apart and sanctified never to be accounted the owners Å¿ Nullius autem scil hominis sunt res sacrae religiosae quod enim Divini juris est id nullius in bonis est Justinian instit l. 2. tit 1. Sect. 7. or to be used to any common or prophane use afterwards so when we are purified by the blood of Christ and dedicated to God it is with intent never to use our faculties as the servants of sin nor our members as the instruments of unrighteousness any more Our Eyes must not look towards wantonness our Ears must not hearken to vanity our tongues must not speak lies or slanders our hands must not wrong nor oppress nor our feet spurn the poor neither may our wit or reason our passions or our will be the slaves of Sin hereafter For we are Holy 1 Cor. 3.16 17. and if we unhallow our selves again it is a crime equal to Belshazzers sacrilegious drinking in the holy Vessels of the Temple Thirdly That we may be a Living Sacrifice for we do not vow to kill or destroy our selves as some of the Heathens did in honour to their less-deserving Deities but we resolve to Sacrifice our Lusts t Non enim sicut tunc corpora pro corporibus immolanda sed vitia corporis perimenda sunt S. Ambros in 12. ad Rom. by mortification because so long as they live we are dead to the service of God We engage to be living u Aqua viva Hebr. Dialecto est aqua fontana ebulliens perennis jugitèr manans that is lively and strong vigorous and persevering in all religious duties and that we will perform all kind of good works with such an alacrity as may express life and spirit so that although we do not or cannot return the love of Jesus by dying for him as he hath done for us yet we will live to him and desire our life no longer nor for no other end than to advance his glory and do his blessed pleasure And now if we do so far understand our own interest and are so really weary of the bondage of Satan as to desire and long for a better Master and do wish unfeignedly that we may be accepted as the servants of God let us resign up and dedicate our selves to him in this or the like form An Act of Oblation of our selves or the form of a Vow after the Holy Communion O most merciful Lord God I am amazed at the mighty faâ—â—â—â—s which thou hast shewed to me a sinful wretched Creature I cannot but acknowledge thy goodness although I can make no retribution had I all the World at my disposal I could freely give it all to thee as a testimony of my unfeigned gratitude but I hear thy gracious voice saying My Son give me thy heart It is not mine dearest Lord but me thou seekest sinful and miserable though I am yet I am that purchase for which Jesus hath left his glory laid down his life done and suffered all these things O marvellous condescension I am nothing I have nothing I am void of all good full of evil and deserving thy wrath so that I abhor my self and canst thou delight in me Be it so then for I will dispute no more with unsearchable mercy I believe O my God and wonder I can no longer resist thy condescending and Almighty Love I will with all the joy imaginable give my se f to thee for thou hast but lately restored me to my self Alas I have been a Prisoner to Satan a Slave to Sin and marked for destruction but thou hast procured my Pardon my Liberty and my Life requiring no more for so unexpressible bounty but only that I will intirely become thine Had I the life of an Angel the understanding of a Cherubin or the powers of one of the Heavenly Host
thou dost deserve it all I am sorry I am no better yet such as I am I do most freely surrender my self unto thee both Soul and Body avowing that I will be no more my own but thy servant in all things My understanding shall enquire after thee my will shall chuse thee my affections embrace thee my senses shall obey thee my passions shall be at thy command and my thoughts shall be always of thee O be thou pleased to come and reign over me take possession of me for thou hast won my heart I shall never be my own till thou hast made me thine but if now at last I may be accepted I hope I shall never be so unjust and ungrateful so foolish and absurd so perjured and sacrilegious as to rob thee of my self hereafter or wilfully to prophane my Body or Soul any more It is indeed a miserable gift that I offer a defiled Body a stained Soul and corrupt affections But it is all I have to give and all that thou requirest and it will be freer and better by being thine Let me never have other Master let me never sully that which the blood of Christ hath washed nor sell that to Satan which Jesus hath bought for God Grant me therefore gracious Lord that I may find by the workings of thy spirit within me that thou hast accepted me give me such help from thee to confirm my hope that I may always perform my Vows and never rob thee of that which I have dedicated to thee in the sincerity of my Soul I have sworn and am stedfastly purposed to keep thy righteous judgments I am thine O save me for thy mercies sake Amen Amen § 6. Humbly beseeching thee that all we who are Partakers of this holy Communion may be full-filled with thy grace and Heavenly Benediction There are too many who are forward enough to promise great things w 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theophylac in Math. 20. while their zeal is warm which they either do not intend or do not take care to perform x Quid enim est turpin◠quam promittere quae praestare aut nolis per ignaviam aut non possis per imbecilitatem Drus But the sincere Christian is not more ready to make his Vow than diligent to keep it wherefore he considers that this will prove but a vain oblation unless he can obtain the divine grace and Benediction to enable him to perform it and accordingly his next care is to pray most earnestly for the aid of Heaven both for himself and his Brethren We may perhaps be too confident and secure imagining the evil spirit to be cast out and both Soul and Body consecrated unto God but alas how easily may the Enemy return and recover his hold if the grace of God do not preserve us Let us therefore now consider how prudently we have made this vow and how blessed we may be in keeping it let us remember how often we have formerly been surprized and what danger there is of future failings and finally let us think how impossible it is to stand without the assistance of the holy Spirit and then doubtless we shall hunger and thirst after Righteousness and accordingly as he hath promised we shall be filled Math. 5.6 We shall not ask riches honours or pleasures for we have renounced them all but above all things we shall desire the grace of God and his blessing whereby we may have power to keep our Covenant with him made upon the blood of Jesus and this is that request which the Lord delights to hear and which now we have most need to make and doubtless if we be sincere it shall be granted to which purpose we may add this supplication as the enlargement of the preceeding Petition Behold O blessed Jesus how many of thy redeemed ones are here returned to their duty and allegiance we have all vowed our selves thy servants but we do yet tremble in expectation of those most furious assaults which will be made upon us by the Enemy from whom we have withdrawn and Alas we have too often returned again to folly But if thou pleasest to plant thy grace within us and send thy blessing upon us we fear not his policy nor his power We have received that heavenly food which is the means to convey this grace and we know that by this Coelestial Remedy many of thy servants have been dreadful to the powers of darkness and thou didst never cast off any humble Soul O bless then this life-giving mystery unto us that we may find such power and strength such courage and resolution flowing from thence that we may all stand firm to the purposes which we have made Sweetest Saviour we are now thy servants and O what quiet and comfort what safety and joy what honour and pleasure have we under so gracious a Lord how happy shall we be in enjoying a freedom from Anger and Intemperance Malice and Revenge Pride and Covetousness and all the furies which use to torture us O mark us for thine own therefore and deny us not that grace which is necessary to make thee ours and us to be thine if we feel not some effects thereof we shall sink and die for fear lest thou hast rejected us and our Oblation But who did ever seek thee and did not find who ever trusted in thee and was forsaken or why should we suspect thou shouldst make us the first instances of such a severity We are sure in thee all fulness of grace doth dwell O let it now overflow that of thy fulness we may all receive so shall we daily and always perform our Vows Amen § 7. And although we be unworthy through our manifold sins to offer unto thee any Sacrifice yet we beseech thee to accept this our bounden duty and service not weighing our merits but pardoning our offences To offer up the Sacrifice of Praise is properly the imployment of an Angel and to make whole Burnt-Offerings was the Office of the sacred Order alone But we Christians are every one so far become Priests as to be allowed to come near to Gods Altar and there we are admitted to offer the incense of our Praises and to make our selves a living Sacrifice Yet the more favour we have the more humility we should express because we are unworthy of it and we must not let our presumption grow upon the stock of the divine condescension Let us remember therefore that Aarons Motto was Holiness to the Lord Exod. 39.30 and that God destroyed his two Sons for making bold to offer unworthily declaring thereby that he would be sanctified in those that came near to him Levit. 10.3 so that we had need be exceeding humble and with all possible lowliness confess our unworthiness for alas we have been Enemies and Rebels treacherous and unfaithful full of vain thoughts and vile affections all which is most apparent to him before whom we stand so that we may justly
appeased my sins expiated my peace made and my Enemies vanquished It revives my spirit and refreshes me more than comparisons can express more than any can apprehend but thâ—y that feel the like O praise the Lord with me and let us magnifie his name together we should have thought it a great felicity to have beheld the glories of Jesus at a distance but he hath now sent him home to our hearts wherefore we will declare his mercy for ever Amen Hallelujah § 4. And dost assure us thereby of thy favour and goodness towards us When St. John was to introduce the Institution of this Sacrament he doth it with this Preface Chap. 13.1 Having loved his own he loved them to the end or as the word rather signifies g 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Johan 13.1 i. e. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theophylac He loved them in the highest degree intimating that this holy Communion is designed as a testimony that he loved us with a most perfect love And there are many considerations which do most clearly shew this to be an assured pledge of the favour of God unto us 1. If we consider it only as a Feast it hath always been a token of great respect and a symbol of intire friendship to admit especially our inferiours to our Table h Mensae ejusdem particeps quod magnum amicitiae symbolum olim creditum Grotius 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 · Philo. thus David expressed his kindness unto Mephibosheth 2 Sam. 9.7 and Joseph to his estranged Brethren Gen. 43.25 and no man willingly eats with those whose persons or manners he dislikes Gen. 43.32 Besides Feasts have been esteemâ—d a means to reconcile those who have been at variance whence it is a Proverb in Ben-Syra Spread the Table and the contention will cease And is it not matter of unspeakable joy to us who were Enemies Rebels and condemned wretches to be thus invited to feast with the Lords of Hosts Can we have a plainer Symbol of his favour than thus to be treated as his dear friends 2. But it is not an ordinary Feast for it is a Feast upon the Body and blood of Christ which was the great Sin-offering Now it was not lawful of old for any i 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 · Porph. de abst l. 4. Sect. 44. to tast of the Expiatory Sacrifices because those offerings could not wholly abolish sin nor remove the anger of God he was not so perfectly reconciled by them as to give back the Offerers any part on which they might feast with him But by the perfect oblation of Jesus Christ it is evident that the divine Justice is fully satisfied and therefore the flesh and blood of Christ is by God given back to us in Sacrament that we may eat thereof before him and thereby be assured that he will remember our sins no more but this is more largely described by others 3. It will further appear to be a pledge of Gods infinite love to us if we consider who it is that in this holy Rite he gives to us even Jesus Christ his dearly beloved Son May we not say as God to Abraham Gen. 22.12 Now know we that thou lovest us because thou hast not withheld thy Son thy only Son from us And justly may we argue with St. Paul Rom. 8.32 He that hath given us his own Son how shall he not with him also freely give us all things k 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrysost in Rom. when he hath given the greatest and best to us to make us his Friends shall he deny us any lesser matters when we are reconciled We may be confident there is nothing which God values more highly than his own dear Son and that his design in giving him to us in this Sacrament is to be a testimony how infinitely he loveth us and how earnestly he desireth our Salvation 4. That which adds weight to all the former is the consideration of the Giver who is the God of truth and is most sincere in all his dealings with us so that we may be assured of all imaginable reality on his part And now how should it fill our minds with joy that we have such a pledge of his favour l Non tam dono lata est quam abs te datum id verò triumphat serió Terent. Eun. 3.11 At illa quanto gratiora sunt quantoque in partem interiorem animi descendunt cum delectant cogitantem magis à quo quà m quid acceperit Sen. de ben l. 1. Sect. 15. who is Almighty in power and governs all the World whose goodness fills Heaven and Earth with joy Were the gift never so mean that were bestowed in token of his favour and goodness it ought to be esteemed above all things therefore let us thus acknowledge our gratitude for so excellent a gift upon so blessed an account from so glorious a Majesty An Act of acknowledgment Part. I. There are many O Lord who are most importunate to obtain thy favour and unquiet till they receive some testimonies thereof and yet when their desires are granted they are unmoved and ingrateful But I will endeavour to praise thee as heartily for these manifestoes of thy love as I desired them fervently I acknowledge therefore that I am full of wonder to find my self honoured with the highest priviledges and remarked with the most illustrious signals of thy endearing love I begged the mercy of gathering up the Crumbs under thy Table and behold thou hast placed me among thy servants and fed me with the choicest of thy preparations thou hast offered unto me a Crucified Saviour with all his merits and graces which is so great an assurance of thy good will towards me that it were folly and impudence to suspect it O Lord thou hast shewed this token upon me for good that all my Enemies may see it and be ashamed for all the Powers of darkness are confounded to behold me a poor despised wretch whose ruine they gaped for every moment thus to be made a Guest at thy Table and treated as one of thy dearest Children or best beloved Friends I will not be proud of this honour because I did not deserve it but I will rejoice in it and bless thy name for it because it hath revived my hope and cheared my drooping Soul and I am perswaded this fresh testimony of thy favour shall engage me to love thee with an unalterable affection There was nothing in the World I desired in comparison of thy Love nor could I have wished a more certain pledge of it than thy Son and my Saviour Welcom O my dearest Redeemer for thy own sake and thrice welcom as thou art the evidence of thy Heavenly Fathers love to me a miserable Sinner I will acknowledge it with delight as I am able at present and my whole life hereafter shall shew how deep a sense I have of this inestimable goodness and when life and breath doth fail it
stedfast and unmoveable always abounding in the work of the Lord. And I beseech thee give me constant and continual supplies of thy Grace that I may be able to perform whatsoever I have promised and let not forgetfulness or indevotion seize upon me hereafter Let me hold fast that which I have and daily strive to gain more and finally make me faithful to the Death so shall I receive the Crown of Life for he that endureth to the end shall be saved Amen § 8. Through Iesus Christ our Lord to whom with thee and the Holy Ghost be all honour and glory World without end Amen There is a mighty efficacy in the name of Jesus used by a devout Soul that hath lately beheld the Commemoration of his great Attonement Through him we beg this Grace therefore And to him together with the Father and the blessed Spirit we offer up all honour and glory for the favours imparted to us in this Communion which but just now we did acknowledge and these Prayers and Praises we have cause to sign with an unfeigned Amen For we need the grace desired and the blessed Trinity deserves the glory ascribed wherefore we say Amen So be it But of this we have spoken before The Paraphrase of the second Prayer O Lord who art ever able and always ready to help thy servants being an Almighty and everliving God whose power and mercy can never fail We thy poor Creatures according to our bounden duty do most heartily thank and most unfeignedly praise thee for that of thy infinite pitty and bounty thou dost vouchsafe at this thy holy Table to feed us who have with penitence and Faith devoutly and duly received these holy Mysteries For therein thou hast refreshed our Souls with the spiritual and most desirable food of life thou hast made us Partakers by Faith of the most precious Body and of the most holy blood of thy Son our Saviour Iesus Christ which was offered for the Redemption of the whole World We acknowledge O Lord that besides the present comfort of this inestimable gift thou hast convinced us And dost assure us thereby of that which though we do not deserve yet we esteem above all things even thy favour thy gracious designs and goodness towards us poor Sinners And further by this holy Rite thou hast declared us thy Children and that we are very certainly living Members incorporate in and united unto the mystical Body of thy Son even thy Holy Church which is the blessed Company which are redeemed reconciled and sanctifyed by Jesus consisting of all faithful People in whose Prayers Priviledges and hopes we have now a happy interest And are also together with those thy servants by this Seal of thy Covenant made Heirs through hope already of thy Everlasting Kingdom which was purchased by the Merits of the most precious Death and Passion of thy Dear Son whose sufferings are set forth and the benefits of them conveyed to us in this Sacrament And now lest we should lose these blessings again by relapsing to folly as we have formerly done We most humbly and earnestly beseech thee O Heavenly Father for thy mercy sake so constantly and powerfully to assist us with thy grace in all our endeavours to perform our Obligations and our Vows that we may continue for ever in that holy fellowship with thy Son and thy Saints to which thou hast admitted us And do all such good works of Mercy Piety and Vertue as thou hast by the direction of thy holy Word prepared for us to walk in who have professed our selves to be thy Servants All which we beg through the most powerful intercession of Iesus Christ our Lord by whom we have received these and all other Mercies To whom therefore with thee O Father Almighty and the Holy Ghost three Persons and one God let there be all honour and glory ascribed both now and World without end Amen Be it so SECT IV. Of the Gloria in Excelsis or the Angelick Hymn § 1. TO conclude this Office with an Hymn is so direct an imitation of our Saviours practice Math. 26.30 that it is observed in all Churches and hath been used in all Ages And although the forms may differ yet this is as Antient as any now Extant The former part of it is of an Heavenly Original and was sung by the Angels at our Lords Nativity Luke 2.14 and it seems from thence it was transcribed into the Oriental Liturgies for it is thrice repeated in that of St. James The latter part is by Hug. de S. Victor l. 2. said to be composed by St. Hilary Bishop of Poictiers but by Rabanus Maurus who lived 200. years before the said Hugo it is ascribed to Telesphorus about the year of Christ 139. Certain it is that it was added by the Ecclesiastical Doctors as we are informed by the fourth Council of Toledo a Concil Tolet. IV. Can. XII celebrated about 1000. years ago and yet those are accursed by that Council who shall reject this or the Gloria Patri or other Hymns because they are not verbatim in the Scripture for as is there well noted upon that pretence we might reject the most part of the Church Offices It is also to be noted that with very little difference we find this Hymn in Clement's Constitutions l. 17. cap. 48. so that it is likely to have been of very antient use in the Western Church And whereas in the present Roman Missal it stands in the beginning of this Office it is much more properly placed by our Liturgy here in the end of the Communion for every devout Communicant is now even full of gratitude and longeth for an opportunity to pour out his Soul in the praises of God and how fit this Hymn is for that purpose the Analysis and following discourse will shew The Analysis of the Angelick Hymn or Gloria in Excelsis § 2. The Angelick Hymn hath Two Parts 1. The Angels Song acknowledging 1. The Effect of Christs Death 1. Above Glory be to God on High and 2. Below in Earth Peace 2. The moving Cause of it good will towards Men. 2. A Descant upon it by 1. A Glorification of the Father expressing 1. The Manner how we offer this Praise We praise thee we bless thee we worship thee we glorifie thee we give thanks unto thee 2. The Reason why for thy great Glory 3. The Person to whom O Lord God Heavenly King God the Father Almighty 2. A Supplication to the Son who is 1. Confessed in his Titles O Lord the only begotten Son Iesu Christ O Lord God Lamb of God Son of the Father 2. Invocated by his 1. Office to 1. Pardon that takest away the sins of the World have mercy upon us Thou that takest away c. have mercy c. 2. Hear us Thou that takest away the sins of the World receive our Prayer 2. By his Glory also to pardon us Thou that sittest at the right hand of the Father