mightily pleased and wonderfully well satisfied with those directions which you have given me and am resolved by God's blessing with care and Conscience to observe them I know I cannot do it so well as I should but I will do it as well as I can and I hope God will accept my willing mind and pardon my weaknesses and infirmities But Sir You did also promise to direct me how to demean and behave my self when I am at this holy Feast so that I may not displease and offend my blessed Saviour who hath been and still is so kind to me Pastor It is very true I did promise you that also and I hope I shall not fail you therein because I intend to take two unerring Guides along with me viz. The blessed Jesus and his holy Apostle St. Paul The former of which not only commandeth us to do this but to do it in remembrance of him Luk. 22.19 and the latter tells us that in the doing of it there ought to be a Discerning of the Lord's Body 1 Cor. 11.29 1. When we come to this holy Feast we ought to call to mind all that the blessed Jesus hath done and suffered for us He who commandeth us to do this commandeth also to do it in remembrance of him This holy Feast was never intended by the blessed Author and Instituter of it to be an Expiatory or propitiatory Sacrifice nor as the Papists call it an unbloody offering for the sins both of the quick and dead nor for a scenical and histrionical representation of the Death of Christ But it was designed to be an Eucharistical Sacrifice or a Sacramental action whereby Christians are to commemorate that bloody Sacrifice which Jesus Christ offered upon the Cross for the sins of Mankind And therefore St. Paul reciting the words of Institution applyeth them to this holy action saying This do ye in remembrance of me 1 Cor. 11.24 25. And that he might be the better understood he explaineth himself in the following words saying As often as ye eat this bread and drink this Cup ye shew forth or shew ye forth the Lord's death till he come v. 26. Now the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is here used and rendered to shew forth doth not signify to express one thing by the likeness of another nor to represent it by histrionical gestures but to preach and declare the thing as it is i. e. by celebrating this holy Feast to keep up the memorial thereof and thereby declare what a deep sense we have of all that our blessed Saviour hath done and suffered for us Whence by the way I may note unto you the vanity of that Popish Figment of Transubstantiation For if the blessed Jesus had designed to have been always really and bodily present with his people in this holy Feast this command of his would have been very insignificant for Remembrance doth not respect things future or things present but things past But to return to our business To do this in remembrance of him and in so doing To shew forth the Lord's Death seem to be expressions exegetical or explanatory of one another And therefore it may not be amiss to enquire into the sense and meaning of both that we may the better understand how to behave our selves at this holy Feast To that purpose I shall take them in order and show you 1. What it is To do this in remembrance of him 2. What it is To shew forth the Lord's Death 1. What it is To do this in remembrance of him Ans An idle and unconcerned remembrance of the sufferings and death of Christ such as men sometimes have when they call to mind things past which are of no great concern to them is not the thing here intended No it must be an effectual remembrance i. e. Such an one as may stir up our minds to apprehend and apply Christ with all his benefits to our selves so to remember the Sacrifice and Death of Christ that we may thence reap Comfort Joy Peace of Conscience increase of Faith and Charity and an assured hope of future life and felicity on that account So to remember the love that he hath shown unto us therein as to be always thankful to him for it But to be more particular 1. When we come to God's Table and there see the two Elements of Bread and Wine ready prepared to be delivered to and received by us we ought to call to mind that Jesus Christ is a perfect Saviour and that his Body and Blood which are represented thereby are the true Bread and Water of Life to all that believe in him and worthily receive that holy Sacrament 2. When we see the Bread and Wine set a-part by the Minister and by him Consecrated to that holy purpose by repeating the Promises and Prayers made for that end we ought to remember that Jesus Christ was also ordained of God appointed and set a-part by him to be our Mediator and Redeemer to make intercession for us at the Throne of Grace and redeem us from all our sins 3. When we see the Bread broken and the Wine poured out it should put us in mind how the Body of Christ was broken and his Blood shed for us how he was Crucified and slain and all this for our sins and that if he had not thus once died for us we must have died ever i. e. we must have undergone an ever yet never dying Death 4. The Sacramental actions of giving and receiving the Elements should put us in mind That God doth truly and really give Christ with all his merits and all the efficacy of them to every worthy Receiver in this Sacrament 5. The consideration of these two last Meditations should put us upon renewing our Faith and Repentance For 1. When we remember that his Body was broken and his Blood shed for us it should stir up in us a godly sorrow and unfeigned repentance for our sins which have been the causes of so great sufferings to our blessed Saviour 2. When the Minister giveth the Bread and Wine and we receive them we should at the same time lift up our hearts to Heaven in a deep sense of God's goodness and our own unworthiness and endeavour to apprehend and apply Christ with all his benefits to our selves believing that he was made man for us and that he suffered and died not for the remission of sins in general but of our sins in particular 6. The consideration of the dying Love of the blessed Jesus represented to us in this holy Sacrament ought to put us in mind how necessary a charitable frame and temper of mind is this Feast If Christ have so loved us then certainly we ought to love him and if we would do this well let let us take his own directions who saith If ye love me keep my Commandments John 14.15 And if God so loved us we ought also to love one another 1 John 4.11 Love to the Brethren
the way You have furnished me with a better notion of Sacraments than I had before and thereby given me so great satisfaction that you shall not need to bespeak my attention hereafter I beseech you therefore since you have well dispatched the notion of Sacraments in general that you would now proceed to that of the Lord's Supper in particular Pastor I shall very willingly comply with your desire and in so doing I shall endeavour to do these two things I. To show you plainly what notion you ought to have of the Lord's Supper II. That the Celebration thereof is a duty incumbent upon us by vertue of a divine Command I. We must look upon this Supper as a Sacrament properly so called I have already shown you what conditions are requisite to constitute such a Sacrament and if I make it appear that all those conditions are to be found in this then may it be justly reckoned as one of that number The Conditions I told you were these four 1. A Divine Institution Now that this holy Supper was instituted and ordained by Christ that it owes its Original to none other but only the Son of God and our Saviour will plainly appear from the concurrent testimonies of St. Matthew St. Mark and St. Luke St. Matthew gives us this account of it As they were eating Jesus took Bread Matth. 26. v. 26 27 28 29 30. and blessed it and brake it and gave it to the Disciples and said Take Eat This is my Body And he took the Cup and when he had given thanks he gave it to them saying Drink ye all of it For this is my blood of the New Testament which is shed for many for the remission of sins But I say unto you I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the Vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's Kingdom And when they had sung an Hymn they went out into the Mount of Olives Much to the same purpose is that account which St. Mark gives of it And as they did eat Jesus took bread Mark 14. v. 22 23 24 25 26. and when he had given thanks he brake it and gave it to them and said Take Eat this is my Body Also he took the Cup and when he had given thanks he gave it to them and they all drank of it And he said unto them This is my blood of the New Testament which is shed for many Verily I say unto you I will drink no more of the fruit of the Vine until that day that I drink it new in the Kingdom of God. And when they had sung an Hymn they went out into the Mount of Olives St. Luke also with little variation gives the same account And he took bread Luke 22. v. 19 20. and when he had given thanks he brake it and gave it to them saying This is my body which is given for you this do in remembrance of me Likewise also after Supper he took the Cup saying This Cup is the New Testament in my blood which is shed for you And if we call in St. Paul to give his suffrage with these three Evangelists we shall find him according with them all in the History of the Sacrament and the Institution of it but most expresly with St. Luke 1 Cor. 11.23 24 25 26. I have received of the Lord that which I also have delivered unto you That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread and when he had given thanks he brake it and said Take Eat This is my body which is broken for you this do ye in remembrance of me After the same manner he took the Cup when he had supped saying This Cup is the new Testament in my blood this do as oft as you drink it in remembrance of me For as often as you eat this Bread and drink this Cup ye do shew or shew ye forth the Lord's Death till he come Thus have I shown you all those Scriptures which give any account of the History of this Sacrament and the institution of it and you see plainly they do all agree that it was ordained and instituted by Christ that it owes its Original to none other but only the Son of God the Lord 's Christ and our Jesus and if so then the first thing requisite for the constitution of a Sacrament properly so called viz. A Divine Institution doth evidently appear in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper 2. The second thing requisite for the constitution of a Sacrament properly so called is a visible sign And that there are such things in the Lord's Supper is visible and apparent for by the words of Institution Bread and Wine which are substantial and visible things are appointed to be the Elements thereof And though these in their own essence and nature do nothing differ from common Bread and Wine yet in regard of their designation and use they do very much differ therefrom For in this holy Supper they are designed for and used as outward and visible signs of inward and spiritual grace and in respect of that secret thing which is hidden under them and represented by them they become Sacramental 3. The third thing requisite for the constitution of a Sacrament properly so called is a divine promise added to the sign which importing spiritual grace here and eternal life hereafter may firmly unite the sign and thing signified and that this is to be found in the Lord's Supper is plain from the words of institution where the Bread blessed and broken is called the Body of Christ and the Cup the New Testament in his blood which is shed for many for the remission of sins And our Saviour expresly saith John 6.35 I am the bread of life he that cometh unto me shall not hunger and he that believeth on me shall never thirst And again v. 54 55 56. Whosoever eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day For my flesh is meat indeed and my blood is drink indeed He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me and I in him Which plainly declareth an Union of the sign and thing signified by vertue of a divine word and promise in which Union consists the nature of a Sacrament properly so called 4. The fourth thing requisite for the constitution of a Sacrament properly so called is That it be given to the whole Church as a perpetual sign to continue so long as the external form of divine Worship instituted by God doth remain in that Church Now that this was given to the whole Church appears plainly from the institution of it for the Disciples to whom it was first given were the Representatives of the whole Church And that it was given for perpetuity seemeth plain from those words of our blessed Saviour Matth. 26.29 I say unto you that I will not drink henceforth of this fruit
of the Vine until that day when I shall drink it new with you in my Father's Kingdom In which words the Holy Jesus seemeth to intimate two things to his Disciples 1. That this was the last time that he should ever celebrate this Feast with them in this World. 2. That though they were not to expect his Company his Bodily presence yet they and the whole Church represented by them should keep up the observation of this Feast till they met again to celebrate an Eternal Feast in his Father's Kingdom And that this latter was designed by him is evident from those words of St. Paul 1 Cor. 11.26 As often as ye do eat this Bread and drink this Cup ye do shew or shew ye forth the Lord's Death till he come Thus have I shown you that those four Conditions which are thought necessary to the constitution of a Sacrament properly so called are all to be found in this and therefore this may deservedly be reckoned as one of that number But to make the notion of this Sacrament yet more plain to you let us consider by what names it is usually known in holy Scripture It is called a Supper and the Lord's Supper 1 Cor. 11.20 It is also called a Feast and a Feast upon a Sacrifice 1 Cor. 5.7 8. Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us Therefore let us keep the Feast saith St. Paul. When therefore you fix your thoughts upon this holy Sacrament with a design to celebrate the same let me desire you to look upon it 1. As a Feast 2. As a Feast upon a Sacrifice 3. As a Feast upon a Sacrifice for sin 1. Consider it as a divine Feast which our Lord hath appointed to be kept in Commemoration of himself The cheer provided viz. Bread and Wine and the Body and blood of Christ The actions about it viz. Receiving Eating and Drinking The names given to it viz. Breaking of Bread and the Lord's Supper The design thereof which is to nourish up the members of Christ's Church unto Eternal Life do all of them sufficiently speak this notion of it And that it was ordained to be a Commemoration-Feast the very words of Institution tell us which say This do in remembrance of me Luke 22. v. 19. Nor were these kind of Feasts unusual in the World both before and at that time For as the Hebrews had their Feasts which were commonly signified by setting on Bread or Eating Bread. So the Greeks also had their sober Compotations 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 At which Feasts they did usually commemorate the worthy actions and glorious Examples of some memorable persons And this no doubt was the design of this most holy Feast wherein Christians have the honour not only to feast with but upon God the holy Jesus being both the Master of it and the cheer provided in it Wherein we have an opportunity of feasting with one another thereby the better to promote and preserve amity love and charity among our selves to keep up a lasting remembrance of our glorious Redeemer and to fix more deeply in our minds all that he hath done and suffered for us Hereby shall we be the better disposed with all thankfulness and humility to embrace such opportunities when offered with greater joy and alacrity to address our selves thereunto and made the more careful that in a becoming manner we appear before our Lord and Master therein In a word by this Commemoration-Feast we shall be the better disposed and hold our selves the more obliged to a cheerful observance of our Redeemer's Will and to pay a sincere and entire obedience to all his Laws 2. Consider it not only as a Feast but as a Feast upon a Sacrifice wherein we are more particularly to commemorate the sufferings and death of our blessed Saviour St. Paul doth very well explain those words of Christ Do this in remembrance of me Luke 22.19 when he saith As often as ye eat this Bread and drink this Cup of the Lord ye shew forth the Lord's Death till he come 1 Cor. 11.26 thereby teaching us that we ought herein to commemorate the dying love of the holy Jesus with such suitable praises and thanksgivings as may be agreeable to that great goodness which he expressed by dying for us As in all Feasts of this kind both among the Jews and Gentiles God had his Portion and the people had their portion wherewith to entertain themselves and their Friends so in this Christian Feast we also are made partakers of the Sacrifice in that by these representations of the Body and Blood of Christ Jesus we are admitted to feast upon it And as by eating of the Sacrifices offered at the Altar both Jews and Gentiles professed themselves to be the Worshippers and Servants of that God to whom the oblation was offered so we by partaking of this holy Feast do make a solemn profession of the Christian Religion of our Faith in Jesus and obedience to him We declare our selves to be the Disciples and Followers of him to whom we join our selves in Communion Eating and Drinking together was always esteemed a sign of Friendship and good understanding between the parties so doing But when a Feast was made on purpose to express their Friendship then was it the more notorious But when the Feast was upon a Sacrifice then the obligation between them was held the more sacred and inviolable We therefore by being partakers of this holy Feast do thereby engage our selves in a mutual Covenant with the blessed Jesus and by often doing this we make repeated protestations of our fidelity and renew our Baptismal Vow and Covenant taking as we usually say the Sacrament upon it that in all things we will be faithful and obedient to him 3. Let us consider this holy Action not only as a Feast nor only as a Feast upon a Sacrifice but as a Feast upon a Sacrifice for sin That Jesus Christ did offer up himself as a Sacrifice for sin is so plain and evident through the whole History of the New Testament that to produce instances to attest it would look like an uncharitable censure of others as if they had neglected to peruse those sacred Records which contain the Charter for their Inheritance in Heaven Now in the time of the Law when any Beast was slain and offered in Sacrifice for sin it was not permitted in that case nor indeed in any other neither to the People nor Priests themselves to eat of the blood Nor had they any portion of the flesh for that was wholly burn'd To partake of the sin-offering therefore was a priviledge reserved for Christians who at this holy Feast are allowed both to eat the Bread which represents the Body or flesh of Christ and drink the Cup which represents his blood And in this case that of the Apostle is fully verified We have an Altar i. e. a Sacrifice whereof they had no right to eat who served the Tabernacle Hebr. 13. v. 10. By vertue
of this priviledge we are made partakers of the Body and Blood of Christ and all the benefits thereof We are strengthned and refreshed in all grace and goodness and the remission of sins is not only offered but conveyed to every worthy Communicant The consideration whereof as it ought to beget in us a grateful sense of all God's favours and of this in particular so ought it to be an Obligation or Bond of Union between all Christian People For If God so loved us we ought also to love one another 1 John 4. v. 11. Thus have I performed the former part of my promise by shewing you what notion you ought to have of the Lord's Supper That it is a Sacrament properly so called having all the conditions that are or can be thought necessary to constitute such a thing That it is not only a Feast but a Feast upon a Sacrifice and which is more a Feast upon a Sacrifice for Sin. And under such a character as this I hope it will not appear to you with such a frightful visage as you tell me it hath been represented to you heretofore Parishioner No indeed Sir Instead of a dangerous and dreadful Precipice I have a plain path now before me instead of terrible and frightful objects I have a pleasant and delightful prospect instead of affrighting it doth now allure and invite me to it it seemeth to offer me such advantages as I once thought I could never reasonably hope for from it I confess Sir You have mightily relieved my mind by removing that pressure which prejudice and prepossession had put upon it I heartily thank you for the pains you have taken in it and am so well pleased and satisfied therewith that if it be not too great a trouble to you I would humbly beg the performance of the other part of your promise also Pastor No Neighbour Parishioner it will be no trouble to me I am better pleased with doing my duty than to think it so and therefore if you can but be contented to continue your Patience I shall not I hope grow weary of so good a work II. The other part of my promise was To make it evident to you That the Celebration of this holy Feast is a duty incumbent upon all Christians by vertue of a Divine Command And to do this I shall need only to have recourse to the words of institution as they stand recorded by St. Luke and repeated by St. Paul. In the Evangelist the words run thus He took Bread and when he had given thanks he brake it and gave to them saying This is my Body which is given for you This do in remembrance of me Likewise also after Supper he took the Cup saying This Cup is the New Testament in my blood which is shed for you Luk. 22.19 20. The Apostle is somewhat more large taking in the account which the other Evangelists also give of it for he tells the Church of Corinth 1 Cor. 11.23 24 25 26. That he had received from the Lord that which he delivered unto them viz. That the Lord Jesus in the same night in which he was betrayed took Bread and when he had given thanks he brake it and said Take Eat This is my Body which is broken for you This do ye in remembrance of me After the same manner also he took the Cup when he had supped saying This Cup is the New Testament in my blood This do as oft as ye drink it in remembrance of me For as often as ye eat this Bread and drink this Cup ye shew or shew ye forth the Lord's Death until he come These words as they are recorded by St. Luke are indeed directed to the twelve Apostles but then we are to consider that the Apostles in that holy action were the Representatives of the whole Church and therefore to be considered under a double capacity viz. either as Governours and Ministers intrusted by Christ with the power of dispensing and administring the Sacrament or as ordinary and Lay Communicants If we look upon them in the former capacity as Governours of the Church and Stewards of the sacred mysteries then the duty to which they are obliged by the express command of Christ is to take the Bread into their hands to bless and consecrate it to that mysterious and divine use to which he designed it to break it to give it to the Communicants as he gave it to them And so in like manner to take the Cup to bless it and give it to the people Whence it is plain That there is an unavoidable necessity upon them and their Successors to administer this holy Sacrament And if they stand obliged to give it then certainly there must be some who are obliged to receive it And if we look upon them in the other capacity as private men and Lay Communicants we have a plain evidence hereof For it is evident that in that capacity their duty in obedience to the Command of Christ was to take and receive the consecrated Elements of Bread and Wine to Eat and Drink and to do all this in commemoration of his wonderful love in giving his Body to be broken and his Blood to be shed for the sins of the World. But if we will suffer St. Paul who well knew it to explain the mind of his Master the matter will be yet more plain and evident For though he give the same account of the History of the Sacrament and the institution of it as the Evangelists do yet doth he not therein address himself to his Fellow-Apostles or their Successors but to the people of the Church of Corinth thereby plainly showing that the Command of our Blessed Saviour This do doth equally oblige both the one and the other That as the Priest is bound to prepare and give it so the people are bound to prepare and receive it and both by vertue of a divine Command For that these words Do ye this were not spoken by way of Counsel but Command will plainly appear if we consider that whatsoever may be thought requisite to render any expression preceptive and obligatory are to be found in this For 1. There was sufficient power and authority in the person commanding viz. Jesus Christ the Eternal Son of God and our Saviour 2. The Terms in which he is pleased to signify his divine will and pleasure are imperative Do this 3. The obedience which he expects thereunto is to be perpetual till his coming again 1 Cor. 11.26 4. St. Pauls interpretation and application of this command to the Lay Communicants in the Church of Corinth doth plainly speak the design of our blessed Saviour which was to oblige them and all Christians to do this in remembrance of him i. e. to express their thankful acknowledgments of what he did and suffered for them by their dutiful obedience to this Command Thus have I performed the other part of my promise to you and I hope made it sufficiently
cannot do it to please you and therefore he will not go about to do it at all You command another to do the same thing and he answereth he cannot do it so well as he should but in obedience to your command he will do it as well as he can and he hopeth you will be pleased with his endeavours Which of these two would you account the better and more acceptable Servant I do not doubt but that you would prefer the latter Well this is your very Case God Commands you to Do this though you cannot do it so well as you should yet do it as well as you can by so doing you obey the Command of God who knows your infirmities and instead of punishing will pity them Though God expect all that we can do for him yet he expects no more than we can do For if there be first a willing mind it is accepted according to that a man hath not according to that he hath not 2 Cor. 8.12 2. Whether it be not a thing certain that you and I and all men must once die and if so Whether we shall not then be called to an account for the doing or not doing of this duty There is an appointed time for all men once to die and after that the Judgment Hebr. 9.27 At which time all men must receive the things done in the body according to that he hath done whether it be good or bad 2 Cor. 5.10 3. Whether any of us know the time when we must die if not it may be this moment as well as the next and if we be not fit to receive the Sacrament we are not fit to die and if we be taken in the act of disobedience to a known command what can we expect but a fearful looking for of Judgment and fiery indignation to devour us 4. What is the reason that we are not fitted and prepared for this holy Sacrament Is the fault in God or Christ No they kindly invite and command us too to do our duties and this duty in particular Is it in the Sacrament it self No that is ready prepared for us Is it in the Ministers who are employed about these holy things No they in the name of God and Christ do earnestly invite and intreat us and are ready to deliver the same unto us If therefore we are unfit and unprepared the fault must be in our selves and what is this but to double our guilt by doubling our sin i.e. by disobeying the Command of God and persevering in so doing to contract a greater guilt When you have asked your self these Questions and seriously considered what answer is to be given unto them then be advised seriously to ponder Whether this Plea of unfitness and unpreparedness will stand you in any stead at the Day of Judgment When that great Day of the Lord shall come as none of us knows how soon it may come when the Books shall be opened and the Consciences of all men displayed when every thing shall be open and bare before the great Judge of Heaven and Earth then will you wish when it is too late that you had been more careful and conscientious in the discharge of your duties and more complying with God and Christ in the observation of their Commands Then will you wish that you had your Lives to live over again that you had once more those opportunities offered which you have so often slighted and neglected Then will you wish that you were but once more invited and once more admitted to feast with God and Christ How would you then improve the opportunity You would certainly so bestir your selves that every moment should be a step toward Heaven and Happiness Consider this therefore whilst you have yet time neglect not your present opportunities Remember Opportunity is bald behind it is not easily retrieved after it is once passed by us Let it therefore be your care whilst it is called to day so to improve every occasion offered that when God shall call you may be ready to go and take possession of that Eternal Inheritance prepared for you in Heaven Parishioner Sir I have with great satisfaction attended to your Discourse and have great reason to thank you for the pains you have taken to rectify my judgment in this particular I do plainly find I have been too much imposed upon and for want of considering so well as I ought have blindly swallowed that which I ought not But being better instructed I hope for the future I shall be more careful and make it my business to be always ready to do my duty when God shall please to give me an opportunity Pastor I shall think my self very happy Neighbour Parishioner if either this Discourse or any other weak endeavour of mine shall by God's blessing thereupon prove instrumental to reduce you or any of my People to your duties and to direct you in the right way to Heaven and Happiness To do all the good I can in this station wherein God hath placed me I know and acknowledge to be my duty and in the performance thereof I bless God I am willing to spend and be spent to lay out all my strength and all those abilities which he hath been pleased to endow me with I am never better pleased than when thus employed either in resolving the doubts or otherwise instructing those committed to my care and charge And therefore if you have any thing more to offer let us not lose the opportunity propound it freely and I will endeavour with as much clearness as possible to resolve you Obj. 4. Parishioner Sir I have heard some scruple the posture in which we are required to receive the Sacrament viz. Kneeling fearing lest there should be either Superstition or Idolatry or both in it And I must confess it hath very much startled me nor am I yet thoroughly satisfied about it Pastor Our Church in her Appendix to the Rubrick after the Communion-Service hath very well obviated this objection for she there declareth two things 1. That no adoration is hereby intended nor ought to be done either to the Sacramental Bread and Wine there Bodily received or to any corporal presence of Christ's natural flesh and blood For 1. She declareth that the Sacramental Bread and Wine do remain still in their very natural substances and therefore ought not to be adored for that were Idolatry to be abhorred by all faithful Christians 2. That the natural Body and Blood of our Saviour Christ are in Heaven and not here It being against the truth of Christ's natural Body to be at one time in more places than one 2. That this posture is only meant 1. To signify thereby our humble and grateful acknowledgment of the benefits of Christ therein given to all worthy Receivers 2. To prevent such profanation and disorder in the holy Communion as might otherwise ensue Now after such a plain Declaration as this one would think there should be no
of Angels but that which far surpasseth those Quails and that Manna wherewith the Israelites were so miraculously fed for forty Years together in the Wilderness The dainties which are now prepared are not only Bread and Wine but the Body and Blood of Christ Jesus the tendency whereof is not only to preserve life here but to fit and prepare us for Eternal Life hereafter So that if we consider either the Excellency of this Feast the dignity of its Author the greatness of his preparations the goodness of the things prepared the greatness of its ends or those glorious advantages which may thence accrew unto us have we not great reason to proceed cautiously herein to take the advice which St. Paul giveth us and examine our selves before we presume to eat of this Bread and drink of this Cup. But if we consider the unworthiness of the persons who are invited to this great Feast it will render the advice yet more reasonable Who are they for whom the holy Jesus prepares so great a Feast and whom he invites to so noble an Entertainment Men they are but fallen men Men in an estate of sin in a depraved and degenerate condition who by their original pravity have lost their primitive purity and thereby unfitted themselves for Communion with so holy a God. Whose Parents have been attainted of High-Treason against Heaven and have involved their Children in the same guilt Who have not only been sold under sin but are become willing slaves thereunto who are not only guilty by derivation but more criminal by their own actual transgressions who are not only by nature the Children of wrath but by their own personal crimes liable to eternal ruine who have not only sinned but repeated their sins against Heaven and by their iterated provocations have challenged the utmost of divine fury and indignation Who have been forward enough to make Vows and Promises of better Obedience unto God and as ready upon all occasions to break those Vows and violate those Engagements Who have been always willing to close with opportunities of sinning but very unwilling to be reclaimed therefrom These are they who are invited to this holy Feast but be not mistaken for whilst such they have no encouragement to come thereunto And therefore St. Paul giveth us good counsel when he saith Let a man examine himself and so let him eat of this bread and drink of this Cup. Which Examination as I have already told you must be in order to amendment and reformation So that if we seriously consider either our original pravity or our actual iniquities our repeated sins against God our manifold breaches of Vows and Promises made unto him or our great unwillingness to be reclaimed from our sinful courses we must needs own our selves to be very unworthy Guests at God's Table and if so then we shall find great reason to be very cautious in our approaches thereunto and to think this advice very reasonable To examine our selves before we eat of this Bread and drink of this Cup. 2. The necessity of the thing we are advised unto viz. Self-Examination in order to a due participation of this holy Feast The necessity of Self-Examination in order to this end will appear to be very urgent if not indispensible when we consider That without a serious diligent and impartial tryal of our selves we can never fully understand wherein we have done amiss And so long as we are prepossessed with an opinion of being innocent we shall never endeavour to amend and if we do not that we can never expect to be well-come Guests at Gods Table and if we be not fit Guests there we cannot expect the advantages thereof But if notwithstanding our unpreparedness we will presume to come thereunto then may we look to meet with that dreadful Sentence pronounced against him who wanted the Wedding Garment which was To be bound hand and foot and to be cast into outer darkness where is weeping and gnashing of teeth Matth. 22.13 All which considered may fully evince the necessity of Self-Examination But though the advice which St. Paul giveth us be in it self so reasonable and the thing he adviseth us to be so necessary yet will not the want thereof excuse our disobedience to the command of Christ or our non-attendance upon him at this holy Feast It will rather condemn us because we refuse to gratify him in a business which is not only reasonable in it self but necessary for us To make an Apology for our not communicating upon this score were to excuse one fault by committing another For there can no other reason be assigned of our not doing our duty but only our negligence and unwillingness Let not any therefore hence forward dare to say they are not ready when Christ calls them but rather let them before hand consider what it is that is required of them and so prepare themselves that they may be always ready Let them make it their business to understand their duty and do it to search every corner of their hearts and every circumstance of their lives and amend what is amiss that so they may be always ready And to assist you herein I shall now apply my self to the next thing which I promised to show you viz. 3. What we are to examine our selves about There are two things which we ought especially to examine our selves about viz. Our by-past lives and conversations and our present thoughts and resolutions As to the former of these Let us consider under what obligations we stand unto Almighty God to live holily and righteously how far he hath obliged us by his mercies and goodness by his Promises and by his Providence by Mercies conducing both unto Life and Godliness here and to Eternal Life and never-failing Happiness hereafter How far we are engaged by our own Vows and Promises not only made but frequently repeated in the presence of God and of his People and by our constant and continued profession of Christianity Let us consider what rules he hath given us to live by how equitable they are in themselves how practicable as to us and how easy and pleasant he hath thereby rendered our way to Heaven and Happiness Let us call to mind how far we have violated those obligations and how often we have transgressed those rules and feriously examine what progress we have made towards repentance and amendment Those who are so considerative as to make these reflections upon the time past will find cause sufficient to be troubled for what they have done and to reform their way of Living by which only means they may in some measure capacitate themselves for this holy Feast But it is not only our by-past Lives and Conversations but our present thoughts and resolutions we are to examine our selves about We ought to consider what thoughts we have of the ways of God and the ways of sin towards which the byass of our affections doth most incline Whether we
is not only our duty but our greatest interest For thereby know we that we have passed from death to life because we love the brethren 1 John 3.14 The remembrance therefore of the dying love of the blessed Jesus ought to stir up in us at this time a love to God and to the Brethren 7. The consideration of the whole should create in us an humble and thankful frame and temper of mind It should put us upon offering the Sacrifice of Praise and Thanksgiving unto God not only in word but in every action of our life for Christ and all his benefits and to testify the reality of that gratitude by renewed acts of Faith Repentance and Obedience all our days Thus ought we to receive this Sacrament in remembrance of Christ 2. What it is to shew forth the Lord's Death till he come Ans An Historical Narrative of the Sufferings and Death of Jesus Christ to be able to tell that he died at Jerusalem in the Eighteenth Year of Tiberius the Emperour Pontius Pilate being the Roman Deputy in Judea and Josephus Caiphas the High Priest that same year This is not to shew forth the Lord's Death in the Apostles sense But such a serious Meditation thereof as may inhanse our hatred of sin our love to God and our thankfulness to Jesus Christ if it be constant and continued will best declare our sense of our Saviour's Sufferings and shew forth his Death till he come 1. When therefore we are at God's Table and there see all things prepared for us when we consider that Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us and that we are now invited to a Feast upon that Sacrifice We cannot but reflect upon the just anger and indignation of God against sin We cannot but observe that such was the severity of Divine Justice and the heinousness of sin that no reconciliation could be made between God and Sinners till the punishment due to sin was suffered So highly was God incensed so great was his wrath justly conceived against sin that he was not to be pacified by any thing but only the deprecation and Death of his own Son. These ought to be our thoughts especially at this time and if thus we employ our selves when we are at this holy Feast and in pursuance of these thoughts do for the time to come loath and abhor hate and avoid all manner of sin then and thereby shall we truly shew forth the Lords Death till he come 2. When we are at God's Table and there see the dainties provided for us that there is not only food for our bodies but for our Souls also not only such as may sustain our frail Bodies or support and maintain the union between our Souls and Bodies here but such as will nourish us up in grace here and fit us for Glory hereafter When we consider that such was the love of God to Mankind that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believed on him should not perish but have everlasting life John 3.16 have we not the greatest Specimen of God's mercy and goodness towards us that we can desire and is not this love writ in Characters so legible in this holy Sacrament that he that runneth may read them and if so what cause have we with grateful acknowledgments to own and declare the goodness and mercy of God to praise and thank him for it to love him again and to testify that our love by keeping his Commandments Which if we do and persevere in so doing then shall we truly declare and shew forth the Lord's Death till he come 3. When we are at God's Table and there under those symbolical Elements of Bread and Wine can clearly discover the Body and Blood of Christ really though not corporally offered to us how lively is the dying love of our blessed Saviour therein represented to us May we not therein plainly read those dreadful pangs those dying groans and those unspeakable sufferings which the blessed Jesus did willingly undergo for our sakes and ought we not with all possible expressions of love and gratitude to commemorate this his kindness This is all i. e. this with the dependencies thereupon that he requireth of us for all that he hath done and suffered for us viz. to celebrate this Feast in remembrance of him which if we rightly do and continue so doing then do we truly declare or shew forth the Lord's Death till he come For this Meditation cannot fail of filling our hearts with grateful sentiments of our Saviours Love and those sentiments will certainly imploy our tongues in thankful acknowledgments and engage our whole lives in dutiful returns unto him for it Thus have I shown you in the first place how you ought to demean and behave your self when you are at God's Table viz. you ought to do this in remembrance of Jesus Christ But there is one thing more yet required of you viz. 2. In the doing of this there ought to be a Discerning of the Lord's Body This expression hath been mightily strain'd by some who have racked their inventions to find out such notions of it as I am apt to believe were never intended by St. Paul but I shall not now either trouble my self or you with the Examination of them My design is only to instruct you plainly and make things as intelligible to you as I can In order whereunto all that I shall do at present shall be only to acquaint you with the full importance of the word Discerning and by that means to show you the true and genuine sense of the Apostle in this expression The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 here used and rendred Discerning imports only a discretional act whereby we do exempt some one thing from the common order of others and set a more honourable value and esteem upon it This sense of the word is warranted by the usage of it in other places St. Jude v. 22. adviseth us to have compassion of some making a difference 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. between such Sinners as are treatable and willing to be instructed and such as are intractable obstinate and disobedient And St. Paul putteth the question saying 1 Cor. 4.7 Who hath made thee to differ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. who hath separated thee from the rest of Mankind and placed thee in an higher Form than them from both which places the importance of the word is very plain that it implies only a discretional act whereby one thing is distinguished from another and more honour and respect paid thereunto than to the other To discern the Lord's Body therefore in St. Pauls sense is to look upon the sacred Elements of Bread and Wine in this holy Feast as the most precious symbols of the Body and Blood of Christ to put a difference between them and all other common meats and drinks to use them with a religious reverence and not to approach this holy Table without a lively Faith in
You must make it your great concern with all care and Conscience to perform your Baptismal Vow and Covenant in all the parts and branches thereof i. e. You must take care to spend the remainder of your lives in living holily towards God and righteously towards all men And thus have I endeavoured to perform the third and last part of my Promise by acquainting you what it is that will be expected from you after you have had the honour to be admitted a Guest at God's Table and to bear your part in the Celebration of this holy Feast Pashioner Sir You have to my great satisfaction fully performed all that you promised And now it is my part not only to remember but carefully to observe and conscienciously follow those good Rules and Instructions which you have given me And that from this time forward I will endeavour by God's Assistance to do I beg your Pardon for the trouble I have given you and heartily thank you for the pains you have taken with me I hope you will excuse the One and I will endeavour to improve the Other to those good Ends and Purposes which you design'd it And that I may the sooner set about that Work I will at present take my Leave of you Pastor God b'w'y ' good Neighbour Go and do as you have said and the Lord give a Blessing thereunto Be not you wanting to your self in your Endeavours and God Almighty will never be wanting to you in his assistance But that you may carry on this work the more comfortably be frequent in your Prayers to God for his blessing and direction and rest assured my Prayers shall not be wanting at the Throne of Grace that you may be successful therein A SHORT FORM OF PRAYERS Fitted for the more Worthy RECEIVING OF THE Holy Communion WITH A Morning and Evening Prayer for the Use of Private Families WHen you hear the Exhortation read by the Minister on the Sunday or Holy-day before and find your selves thereby invited to and admonished to prepare your selves for the Celebration of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper consider seriously by whom and to what you are invited imprint upon your minds a due sense of that great honour which is done you by God and of the great love of your dying Saviour and think with your selves with what Godly Preparation you ought to approach thereunto And that these impressions may not wear out let me advise you constantly to use this following or some such like Prayer and Confession every Morning and Evening the Week before O Almighty and most merciful Father who of thine infinite goodness hast been pleased to invite me not only to Feast with thee but to Feast upon thee who hast provided for me not only Sacramental Bread and Wine but the Bread and Water of Life the Body and Blood of my blessed Saviour How infinite is thy mercy and how unspeakable is thy loving kindness herein I am overwhelmed with the thoughts of it and lost in admiration But when I consider That Thou art a God of purer Eyes than to behold the least Iniquity That Thou neither dost nor canst approve of any Sin in any one then my fears arise and my confidence faileth me How shall I who am a great and grievous Sinner appear before thee How shall I dare to approach thy presence I cannot but own that both in thought word and deed I have grievously offended thy most Sacred Majesty and that too frequently and with too high an hand I have done what in me lay to forfeit thy favour and to provoke thy wrath and indignation against me What therefore can I expect but with him who wanted the Wedding-Garment to be rejected with scorn and exposed to Punishment But O Lord with Thee is mercy that thou mayst be feared It is thy property to have mercy and to forgive In confidence therefore of this thy great mercy and in hopes of Pardon and Forgiveness it is that I am now humbly bold to appear before Thee Behold me O Lord thus prostrate in thy presence with the tears of true and unfeigned Repentance bewailing the miscarriages of my by-past life and for thy mercies sake and for the merits sake of thy dear Son Jesus Christ humbly begging not only Pardoning Grace for Sins past but Preventing Grace against Sin for the time to come It was for my Sin that my Saviour suffered it was to wash away the stain thereof that he shed his Blood O let me not lose the benefit of it If there be any thing in me that may render me uncapable of it be pleased to remove it If there be any thing wanting in me to make me fit for it let thy Holy Spirit O Lord work it in me Subdue and mortifie all my Lusts and Corruptions and implant in me principles of Holiness and true Righteousness Teach me to love and fear Thee as I ought Give me an humble and obedient temper of mind Let it be my great pleasure to walk in thy ways and my only delight to keep thy commandments Make me thankful for all thy mercies and careful to improve them to thy glory my own comfort and the good of others Fit me for all states and conditions of life and prepare me for every good work but especially for the celebration of that Sacred Feast which I am now invited to Let nothing O Lord be wanting in me that Thou knowest requisite for me when I appear in thy presence Let me be found a welcome guest at thy Table and there receive that heavenly Food which alone can nourish up my Soul unto Eternal Life All which I humbly beg in the Name and Mediation of Jesus Christ and in that Sacred form of Words which he himself hath taught us saying Our Father which art in Heaven c. In the Morning of the Communion-Day before you go to Church use this following or some such like Prayer O Lord my God the Day the joyful Day is come on which Thou hast promised to provide and invited me to be a guest at a most Heavenly Banquet This day I am to Feast with Thee and Feed upon my blessed Saviour and Redeemer Give me I beseech Thee a due sense of that Honour and Happiness I am now going to be made partaker of and make me truly thankful for it I am now going to Thy Table good Lord fit and prepare me for it furnish me with such Graces and Ornaments of Mind as may be suitable to so high and honourable an entertainment fill my Soul with Fear and Reverence with Humility and Meekness with Piety and Devotion and with Faith and Charity that nothing may be found wanting in me when I appear before Thee Let thy Blessing go along with me and let Thy Holy Spirit guide and direct me Let me find a gracious reception there and a full satisfaction to all my wishes and desires Enable me so to Eat the Flesh and Drink the Blood of my blessed
plain that the Celebration of this Feast is a duty incumbent upon all Christians by vertue of a Divine Command And if so then how those who pretend to Christianity will at the great and general day of Judgment answer their neglect and refusal of it I wish they would seriously consider But my Friend can you and I reflect upon this as the Command and last Command of our dying Saviour Can we remember that he gave his Body to be broken and his blood to be shed for our sins Can we think of his being made subject to the wrath of God the hatred of Hell and the malice of Man and all this for our sakes and that for all this he requireth no more of us but only to keep a Feast wherein we may solemnly commemorate and perpetuate the memory of what he hath done and suffered for us Can we I say remember all this and yet at the same time be so unkind so ungrateful and so undutiful as to neglect opportunities when offered of paying the tribute of our acknowledgment to our great Saviour and mighty Redeemer To close up this Argument let me only read unto you one place of Scripture and desire you seriously to consider it John 6. v. 54 55 56. Except ye eat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood ye have no life in you Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my Blood hath Eternal Life and I will raise him up at the last day For my flesh is meat indeed and my Blood is Drink indeed He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my Blood dwelleth in me and I in him The inference from which words as they relate to this holy Feast is plain and easy viz. That as it is highly necessary for all who would be saved to be made partakers of the merits of Christ's Sacrifice and the efficacy of his Death and Sufferings so will it as highly concern them who have an opportunity to do it to partake of the Lord's Supper in order thereunto For those who refuse when they may to receive the tokens and signs of his Body broken and Blood shed for their sins and persist in that refusal and neglect can never hope to be owned and rewarded by him as his Friends Parishioner I must needs own Sir that you have very well acquitted your self in the performance of what you promised I am better instructed in the nature and notion of this holy Sacrament than I was before and am now very well satisfied that the Celebration of it is a duty upon me and all Christians by vertue of a Divine Command But Sir I have still some scruples upon me which if I did not fear I had too much tired you already I would have propounded in order to your resolution of them Pastor Let not any such fear trouble you I neither am nor can be weary of well doing If therefore you have any thing to offer be free in it and assure your self of my utmost endeavour to give you satisfaction Parishioner Sir You oblige me very much and seeing you are pleased to give me that freedom I will presume to make use of it Obj. 1. And the first thing I shall propound and desire to be resolved in is this Whether this duty be so strictly enjoined and so indispensibly required of all Christians that none of them are left at liberty either to Communicate or not as they shall think fit Pastor This Query seems to answer it self for 1. It supposeth the thing in question to be a Duty and if so then it ought to be out of question for every Duty implieth an obligation and every obligation layeth a restraint upon liberty and taketh away the indifferency of the thing it obligeth to To be at liberty therefore either to do or not do a thing must suppose the thing not only to be indifferent in its nature but also to be free from any command or obligation and so consequently to be no duty at all but only a prudential Act which a man may either do or leave undone as he in his discretion shall see cause 2. It supposeth the thing in question to be a Duty enjoined which implyeth a superiour power endued with full and just authority to impose the thing and by that imposition to make it necessary Now that power I have told you is God and that authority Divine which maketh the thing required to be a duty upon us by vertue of a Divine Command So that unless you can assign any power superiour to that of God which can and doth dispense with his Commands you can never fancy to your self any such liberty as you seem here to enquire after These two considerations might suffice to overthrow this pretence of liberty and show the necessity of the thing required but because I would willingly quiet your mind and give you all the satisfaction that I can I shall offer a few things more to your consideration and desire you to spend some serious thoughts upon them 1. Consider the extent of the Command and the unlimited obligation thereof The word of Command Do this is general and indeterminate it reacheth all Christians in all times and in all places and when all are included none are exempted And the obligation of duty and obedience thereunto is as general as the Command For unless we will call in question the power and authority of God and Christ we must needs acknowledge that to whomsoever it is said Do this they stand obliged both in duty and conscience to yield obedience thereunto If therefore the command reach all then the thing commanded must needs be a duty incumbent upon all And indeed I know no other limitation that this divine Command admits of save only one of these two viz. Either want of opportunity as when men are in a Journey in such a place and under such circumstances that though they do earnestly desire it yet can they not for want of an opportunity do the thing they desire Or some just impediment as when one is under a Church-censure or some indisposition which at present he cannot conquer In the former of these Cases men must in the latter they may forbear the doing of the thing required These Cases may limit but they do not lessen the Duty They may suffice as excuses for the present but they will not serve always For so soon as an opportunity can be had and the impediments be removed the obligation will return upon us and in obedience to this Command we ought to apply our selves to the performance of the duty required therein 2. Consider That to disobey the command of God when we have an opportunity and no just impediment to hinder us from yielding obedience thereunto is not only a sin but a sin of a deep die tinctured with so much pride and obstinacy and attended with such aggravations as maketh it not only highly displeasing unto God but if not timely repented of will render it
is so tender in this point Can. 28. and so far from giving encouragement unto such that instead of admitting she forbiddeth them and remitteth them home to their own Parish Churches and Ministers there to receive the Communion with the rest of their Neighbours In all these Cases you see our Church is very cautious and therefore no fear of such an universal and promiscuous admittance to God's Table as your Objection supposeth She is not so prodigally lavish as to cast her Pearl to Swine or give her Childrens Bread to Dogs But though these cases may limit yet do they not at all lessen our Duty Let our circumstances be what they will yet to Do this is still our Duty To continue therefore under these circumstances must needs be sin because it hindereth us from doing that which is our duty and to plead our excuse for Non-Communion upon that score is to add sin to sin and double that iniquity which was too great before What therefore is to be done in this case but as speedily as may be to put our selves out of these circumstances that we may the sooner set about the performance of our Duty Which whosoever refuseth or neglecteth to do he doth plainly declare that he hath a greater value for his own inordinate lusts and debaucht practices than for an holy Communion with God and Christ Parishioner I am mighty well pleased to understand That the Wisdom and Piety of our Mother the Church of England in taking so much care to guard the Table of the Lord and with so much caution to fence the Body and Blood of Christ against the bold approaches of ignorant prophane and wicked persons is far greater than I thought it had been or than many will yet believe it is But Sir I have something more still which if I did not fear I had too much tired you already I would gladly be satisfied in Pastor No more of these Apologies good Neighbour if your own leisure and patience will allow it mine will hold out And therefore now we are together and have so fit an opportunity for it speak your whole mind and speak it freely propound what ever scruples you have that I may apply my self to give you all the satisfaction I can Parishioner I humbly thank you Sir for the freedom you are pleased to give me which I shall willingly make use of The next thing I have to propound is a matter of great weight an Objection that hath and still doth very much startle me and I believe many others which if you can clear your so doing will very much smooth the way and encourage both me and them to communicate with you Obj. 3. St. Paul expresly saith He that eateth and drinketh unworthily eateth and drinketh damnation to himself not discerning the Lord's Body 1 Cor. 11.29 Now Sir I do not find my self worthy and I hope you would not have me to eat and drink my own Damnation Pastor This Scripture which you now cite hath been and still is made very much use of to deter and affright men from doing their duties from communicating with the Church and People of God in this holy Ordinance Some men who have usurped the Pulpit and invaded the Office of the Ministry in our late unhappy times have with so much zeal but little knowledge taken upon them to interpret the holy Scriptures that they have made them to speak other things than the holy spirit of God or his Amanuenses the Prophets and Apostles ever intended And I do not doubt but to make it plain to you that the Objection raised from this passage of St. Paul is founded in the misunderstandings of men and not in the Text it self or the true and genuine sense of the Apostle in this place In order whereunto I shall endeavour to lay before you the plain meaning of St. Paul in this Text and that by the resolution of these two Enquiries Qu. 1. What is here meant by eating and drinking unworthily Qu. 2. How and when men are said to eat and drink their own Damnation Qu. 1. What is here meant by eating and drinking unworthily Ans For Answer whereunto let me premise That the Worthiness here spoken of doth not consist in perfection or in an absolute and unsinning obedience to all the Laws of God. For if we were indeed thus perfect we should have no need or at least not so much need of this Sacrament Since the first Adam in the state of Innocency none save only the second Adam the Lord Christ Jesus could ever justly glory in being thus qualified Notwithstanding the vain pretensions of some Enthusiastical Catharists this certainly is a thing which is not attainable in this life For All have sinned saith St. Paul Rom. 3.23 cap. 5.12 There is none that doth good no not one saith holy David Ps 14.3 The just man falleth seven times saith the wise Solomon Prov. 24.16 And if any man say that he hath no sin he doth but deceive himself and the truth is not in him saith the Apostle John 1 Joh. 1.8 From all which Scriptures and many others which might be produced wherein the terms are so general that they cannot but include all and every individual it is plain and evident that perfection doth not belong to the present state of Mankind And if so then must we conclude that the great and wise God and the holy and blessed Jesus have instituted this Feast in vain and given out a command to no purpose A Table indeed may be spread and richly furnished but the rooms will be all empty for if none but those who are perfect be worthy there will none be found that are so This therefore cannot be the meaning of the Apostle in this place And as the worthiness here spoken of doth not consist in perfection i. e. in an intire and unsinning obedience to the whole Law of God So neither doth the unworthiness here mentioned consist in imperfection or sin It is not every failing not every weakness nor every sin that presently renders men unworthy to be Guests at God's Table For if so then all mankind would be excluded because all have sinned as appeareth from the Texts already quoted And consequently the Table of the Lord would be as empty and this great Feast as much want Guests upon this account as upon the other But this is so far from being the sense of the Apostle here that it is quite contrary to it For as Christ came into the World purposely to save Sinners so did he institute his holy Supper for the sake of those who were liable to sin and weak in the Faith that thereby they might be fortified against the one and strengthened in the other For any one to say then I am a Sinner and therefore Unworthy is a false consequence For it is not sin barely but an obstinate and impenitent continuance in sin that renders any one an unworthy Guest at God's Table as I shall show
v. 20 21. Now who they are that come without Charity will best appear if we consider that noble Character which St. Paul giveth of it and compare their manner of address therewith Are men impatient under sufferings Are they apt to murmur and repine at the dispensations of Divine Providence touching the ordering and governance of persons and things in this World Are they morose and unsociable Are they over-tenacious unfriendly and unliberal This betrayeth their want of Charity For Charity suffereth long and is kind Are men apt to be envious at the happy estate of their Brethren Do they look with an evil Eye upon the prosperity of others Do they macerate and wast themselves with vexing at the wellfare of other men This speaketh them strangers to this excellent grace for Charity envyeth not 1 Cor. 13.4 Are men proud and haughty Do they love to be the Trumpeters of their own praise and the proclaimers of their own worth Are they apt to swell and be puffed up with the conceit of their own excellency Do they entertain so high an opinion of themselves and their own virtue and goodness that they look with scorn and contempt upon all others Are they unwilling to be indebted even to God himself or to his mercy and blessing or to any thing else but only themselves for their success in all things This bewrayeth their want of love and Charity For Charity vaunteth not it self is not puffed up Are men censorious and contumelious Are they Railers Revilers Detracters and Backbiters of others Do they love to betray the secrets disclose the faults and expose the persons of others to contempt and scorn Can they please themselves with being unhandsome rude and unmannerly This showeth how empty they are of Love and Charity For Charity doth not behave it self unseemly v. 5. Are men wholly devoted to themselves Are they altogether led and acted by the dictates of their own interest Can they lay aside all care and concern for the good of that Community in which they live Can they be content that all publick good should truckle and give place to their private profit and advantage Are they so much in love with themselves that they love nothing besides or in comparison with themselves This plainly shows that they have no true Love and Charity in them For Charity seeketh not her own Are men passionate and suspicious Are their passions quickly raised but when up so ungovernable that they are not easily laid again Are they apt to take fire at every spark and be offended even with innocence it self if it happen to run counter to their humours and inclinations Are they so jealous and suspicious that every bush is taken for a Bugbear that nothing though never so good can occur in which they do not suspect some hidden evil or secret mischief design'd against them This is directly contrary to the rules of true Charity For Charity is not easily provoked thinketh no evil Are men carnal sold under sin Rom. 7.14 Do they love to walk in the vanity of their minds Are their understandings so darkened that they are become Aliens from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them Are they past feeling and have given themselves over unto lasciviousness to work all uncleanness with greediness Eph. 4. v. 17 18 19. Do they love to speak lies through hypocrisie having their Consciences seared with an hot iron 1 Tim. 4.2 Do they rejoice to do evil and delight in the frowardness of the wicked Prov. 2.14 Are they so bent upon wickedness that they cannot sleep except they have done evil and their sleep departeth from them unless they have caused some to fall Prov. 4.16 This is a temper far different from that of true Charity For Charity rejoyceth not in iniquity but rejoyceth in the truth v. 6. Are men impatient of injuries and cannot bear the least affront Are they diffident and distrustful of all things propounded to them either by God or Man Have they no prospect of a future state nor can hope for any thing but what is before their Eyes and within the reach of their senses in this life This plainly demonstrateth that they are strangers to this excellent grace of Charity For Charity beareth all things believeth all things hopeth all things endureth all things v. 7. Thus have I shown you who they are that come to the Lord's Supper without Charity and by this and the two preceding rules you may plainly perceive what St. Paul meaneth when he speaks of eating and drinking unworthily Now if either you or any other be really thus unworthy it will nearly concern both you and them to consider what you do It will not be safe for you to approach this holy Table with such unworthiness about you But I hope better things of you and that upon this account you will have no just cause to absent your self from this holy Feast Parishioner I heartily thank you Sir for the pains you have taken to rectify my misunderstanding and inform me better I bless God I have no such low and mean thoughts of this Heavenly Banquet and though I confess I am a Sinner yet am I heartily sorry for my sins though I am not so charitable as I ought yet am I not such a stranger to it as you have now described And therefore if other obstacles be removed I do believe I shall not hereafter absent my self upon this account I am sorry that I have interrupted you but I could not forbear to testify my satisfaction in what you have said And now Sir I beseech you proceed to explain the other part of this Text by resolving that other enquiry viz. Qu. 2. How and when men are said to eat and drink their own Damnation Pastor I shall endeavour with all readiness and as much plainness to make good my promise and gratify your desire in the resolution of this enquiry also And in order thereunto let me premise this in the general viz. That the punishment of unworthy Communicants differeth according to the different degrees of their unworthiness 1. Some there are who come to these holy mysteries without any Faith or any repentance or any Charity at all So Infidels or Unbelievers Reprobates Hypocrites and inveterate Sinners come Now those who thus presume to approach this holy table they in the strictest sense may be truly said to be guilty of the body and blood of Christ 1 Cor. 11.27 i. e. They are as much guilty of his Death as those who Crucified him in the flesh These have no more value for the blood of Christ than those had and therefore may expect to be as severely punished as they were or shall be The Death of Christ will be unto them a savour of Death unto Death not of Life unto Life The Apostle's Argument is of great weight in this case He that despised Moses his law died without mercy under two or three witnesses Of how much sorer punishment
then suppose ye shall he be worthy who treadeth under foot the son of God and counteth the blood of the Covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing and doth despite to the spirit of grace Hebr. 10. v. 28 29. These are all comprised under that one general expression He that believeth not and of such an one our Saviour saith He shall be damned 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mark 16.16 Those therefore who being thus unworthy do presume to come to the Lord's Table they prophane this holy Feast they trample under foot the blood of the Covenant they are guilty of the Body and Blood of Christ and may in the strictest sence be said to eat and drink their own damnation But I do not take this to be the meaning of the Apostle in this place 2. Some come to the Lord's Supper who though they have some small glimmerings some little knowledge yet do they not so well discern the Lord's Body as they ought who though they have Faith yet is their Faith so weak and languid so low and faint that it doth not so powerfully work by love and repentance as it ought who do not so well discern the mystical Bread in this Sacrament from common food and therefore with too much rudeness and too little reverence approach thereunto Now such is the goodness and mercy of God that he is always willing to pity the weaknesses and infirmities of his people If there be but some beginnings of grace some weak efforts and faint desires to do their duties he is so far from discouraging that he is willing rather to encourage them therein that in time they may do better He will not break the bruised reed nor quench the smoaking flax Matth. 12.20 If there be but a willing mind it will be accepted according to that a man hath and not according to that he hath not 2 Cor. 8.12 But if men be not so careful as they ought to rectify their mistakes in time and amend their doings then God is pleased sometimes by Discipline and correction to inform them better to show them the folly of their doings and reduce them into the right way And this I conceive to be all that is imported in that Word which our Translators have rendered Damnation in this place To make this good I shall consider both the signification of the word here used and the design of the Apostle in using of it There are two words made use of by St. Paul in this Chapter The former of which 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is properly rendred Judgment and the latter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Damnation or Condemnation Now it is the former of these words that is used in this Text which is not so well rendered as it might have been For it doth not import the Judgment of Eternal Damnation as some would understand it but only a Temporal punishment which God is pleased sometimes to inflict upon Believers to correct what is amiss in them and stir them up the better to prepare themselves for the performance of their duties That such kind of punishments were more frequent in the primitive times of Christianity is sufficiently evident from the Writers of those times And that this is St. Pauls sense here is plain from the following words For this cause many are weak and sick among you and many sleep v. 30. But more plainly from the 32 Verse where St. Paul himself distinguisheth the two sorts of Judgments saying When we are judged 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 we are chastened of the Lord because we should not be condemned 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with the World. Whence it is very plain and evident that the word which is here rendered Damnation imports no more but a judgment of Correction or Discipline for our good And even that also may be prevented if we will take the right course In order whereunto St. Paul prescribeth us a most excellent rule For saith he If we would judge our selves we should not be judged v. 31. Now what he meaneth by judging our selves is plain from the 28 Verse where he saith Let a man examine himself and so let him eat of this bread and drink of this Cup. I have now considered and explained this Text of Scripture which I fear hath heretofore been made use of by some to very ill purposes and set up as a Mormo to affright many well-meaning people from their duties By vertue of this Text ill understood and worse applyed the Peace of the Church hath been disturbed the Bond of Union broken and those who should have lived together in love and amity like Fellow Citizens and Members of the same Family have been crumbled into Parties and Factions Christians have hereby been divided not only in their judgments but affections small differences at first have been improved into Schisms and Separations and those have produced such heats and animosities that the unity of the Spirit which should have been kept in the Bond of Peace hath thereby been dissolved and the Seamless-Coat of Christ Jesus hath been rent asunder I cannot believe that Zeal and Ignorance had the only hand in this business but that there must be a great deal of malice joined with them Those who pretended to be your Guides could not but know better and therefore must on set purpose impose upon themselves and you that underhand they might the better carry on their designs upon Religion and the Church of God In which they have been but too prosperous Instead of the substance the shadow of Religion was only left us instead of Order and Discipline nothing but disorder and confusion was to be seen among us Every one setting up for himself and drawing Parties and Factions after him And from whence came all this but from our breach of Union and Communion with that Church of which God had made us Members But when you have seriously considered what I have now said I hope you will find the Masque taken off and that this Text hath no such frightful visage as some have put upon it and in which they have formerly represented it to you that it is so far from discouraging any in their communicating with the Church in this holy Ordinance that it is rather a great enforcement of their Duty And now having thus cleared the way by explaining this Text of Scripture to you for the more easy removal or prevention of that Objection which is usually raised therefrom let me ask you or rather let me desire you to ask your self a few Questions 1. When God calls Whether it be fit for you or me or any of us to say we are not ready When he commandeth to Do this whether it will suffice us to say We cannot do it as we ought and therefore we will not do it at all Let me put you a plain Case and pray consider of it You are the Master of a Family and you command one of your Servants to do this he Answereth he
Saviour that he may evermore dwell in me and I in him Grant this O Lord for Jesus Christ's sake our only Mediator and Advocate Amen When you Approach the Lord's Table and there see the Symbols of Christ's Body and Blood placed in order and ready to be Consecrated to that Holy Vse you may use this following or some other short Prayer to this purpose I Am here O Lord in Obedience to thy Command and am very desirous to do my Duty I come to renew my Covenant with Thee and beg thy assisting Grace That I may keep it better for the time to come To this end be pleased to increase and strengthen that Faith which Thou hast already wrought in me and grant That I may ever hereafter serve and please Thee in Newness of Life I find a Table spread for me blessed be thy Name for it give me I beseech Thee a Spiritual Appetite thereunto I am unfit I confess for so great an Honour I am unworthy to partake of these Holy Mysteries I have no Merits of my own to trust to but I have thy Mercies to depend upon and the Merits of my Blessed Saviour to plead for me Hear them O Lord and for their sakes look graciously down upon me upon their Account let me find Favour with Thee here and obtain Everlasting Life when Time shall be no more hereafter Amen When you see the Bread broken and the Wine poured out by the Minister then use this following or some other short Prayer to this purpose O Holy Jesu who for my sake didst suffer thy self to be Apprehended Arraigned and Condemned and at last to suffer Death upon the Cross for my Sins Give me Grace to be truly affected with the Remembrance of what Thou hast done and suffered for me Write it on the Tables of my Heart that I may ever be mindful of it and let the Consideration thereof cause me to hate Sin and love Holiness Create in me O Lord a new Heart and renew a right Spirit within me that for the future I may make it my business to Perfect Holiness in thy Fear That as Thou diedst for Sin so I may die to Sin That as thy Body was broken and Blood spilt upon the Cross for the Sins of Mankind so my Heart may be broken under the Sense of Sin and broken off from the love and likeing of any Sin and at last fixed upon Holy and stedfast Resolutions of better Obedience for the future Amen Whilst the Minister is Receiving the Sacrament himself and Administring it to the rest of the Communicants you may use this following or some other short Prayer to this effect O Blessed Lord God! Who am I that Thou shouldst be thus mindful of me That Thou shouldst admit me a Guest to thy Table I know I am unworthy to appear in thy Presence and should have wanted Confidence to approach this Sacred Place if I had not received thy Command so to do Lord Let me not suffer for my Obedience thereunto But as Thou hast thought fit to invite me hither so be pleased to prepare my Heart for the Reception of these Holy Mysteries provided for me And grant That my so doing may in some measure be instrumental to the Advancement of thy Glory the Good of my own Soul and the Edification of others And this I beg for Jesus Christ his sake Amen When you have Received the Holy Sacrament whilst the Minister is Administring it to others or returning to the Table and placing things decently and in order there you may use this following or some other short Prayer to this purpose O Almighty God and Heavenly Father I most heartily thank Thee for that Spiritual Food which I have now Received Let not I beseech Thee any Failure of mine deprive me of the Advantages of this Holy Feast But be pleased to add thy Blessing thereunto that so it may be Food indeed and nourish my Soul not only in Grace here but unto Glory hereafter I am so sensible of the Obligation that Thou hast been pleased now to lay upon me that I do henceforward devote and consecrate my self Soul and Body wholly to thy Service humbly beseeching Thee to accept this my bounden Duty and to give me Grace ever hereafter rightly and truly to perform the same to thy Honour and Glory through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen When you return Home and are retired into your Chamber or Closset you may use this following or some other Prayer to this purpose O Almighty and most Merciful Father who art Good and do'st Good Thou art an inexhaustible Fountain and an unfathomable Depth of Mercy and Goodness Of thy Fulness we all receive and are filled without lessening thy Store How great an instance have I this Day had of thy Bounty How large an Experience of thy Mercy I confess I am a Sinner and a great Sinner the unworthiest of those that worship Thee unfit for the Company of thy Saints and Servants And yet I have this Day had the Honour to sit at thy Table and to be entertain'd by Thee at a most Heavenly Banquet I have had the Happiness not only to Feast with my Saviour but to feed upon Him to eat his Flesh and drink his Blood which whosoever doth He hath assured me Shall have Everlasting Life and He will Raise him up at the last Day What shall I render unto Thee O Lord for all this Mercy and Goodness I will take the Cup of Salvation and call upon the Name of my God I will make it my business to serve and please Thee as long as I live These are my Resolutions Lord Let not thy assisting Grace be wanting to me for the Performance of them Write I beseech Thee this thy Mercy upon my Mind in such Characters as may never be blotted out Give me such a due Sense of it that my Heart may be unfeignedly thankful and that I may shew forth thy Praise not only with my Lips but in my Life by giving up my self to thy Service and by walking before Thee in Holiness and Righteousness all my Days through Jesus Christ our Lord In whose Blessed Name and Words I further Pray as He hath taught me saying Our Father which art in Heaven c. FOrasmuch as no Business either Religious or Civil can be well done by us without the Grace and Assistance of Almighty God nor any thing prosper under our Hands without his Blessing thereupon And that neither his Grace and Assistance nor his Blessing upon what we go about can reasonably be hoped for unless with Pious and Devout Hearts we faithfully and diligently Pray unto Him for the same It will highly concern us even in point of Interest as well as Duty to take the Counsel of St. Paul and Pray continually i. e. To keep our Hearts and Minds in such an Holy and Devout Frame and Temper that at all Times and upon all Occasions we may be ready to offer up pure Hearts and clean
I beg your Prayers and shall not fail to join my own that it may please God to pardon both me and them who have led me into it I am so well satisfied that I hope I shall not hereafter omit any opportunity of doing what I am commanded Sir I have given you a very great trouble though you are pleased not to think it so You have taken a great deal of pains and to good purpose for I am very well satisfied that all my scruples have been idle and ungrounded Cavils and that I had no just cause to separate my self from the Communion of the Church as I have hitherto done But Sir may I presume to give you a little more trouble You have removed my scruples and now I desire to be admitted into Communion with the Church and am resolved by the blessing of God to walk orderly and peaceably therein If therefore you will please to furnish me with some short rules which may direct me in my preparation for this holy Ordinance and instruct me how to behave my self both then and afterwards you will greatly oblige me and I shall make it my business to observe them Pastor I shall very readily and willingly comply with your desire and think it no trouble at all I am so far from thinking it so that I look upon it as my duty and am mighty well pleased when I meet with an opportunity of doing it so well that I could heartily wish that those whom God hath committed to my charge would often give me this occasion And to satisfy you that these are my real thoughts I shall now apply my self to answer your desire by giving you the best rules and directions that I can in this Case And to render them the more effectual I shall observe the method propounded by your self and endeavour to show you 1. What is required of those who come to the Lord's Supper 2. How they ought to demean and behave themselves when there 3. What will be expected from them afterwards 1. What is required of them who come to the Lord's Supper Ans Our Church hath given a short but very full Answer to this Question which is this They are required to examine themselves Ch. Catech. whether they truly repent them of their former sins stedfastly purposing to lead a new Life have a lively Faith in God's mercy through Christ with a thankful remembrance of his Death and be in Charity with all men Which Answer is founded upon that excellent Rule laid down by St. Paul in this Case Let a man examine himself and so let him eat of this bread and drink of this Cup 1 Cor. 11.28 To examine ones self imports a serious diligent and impartial Tryal in order to amendment and reformation A transitory glance upon the several Occurrences of our lives or a general survey of what we do or have done will not serve the turn but we must make a particular search and scrutiny into our several actions and the several circumstances wherewith they have been attended We must consider from what principle and by what rule we have acted and to what end our actions have tended and apply these to those several and respective duties we have been about For without the due consideration of these things an action though materially good may be formally evil This is to examine but whom are we to examine Not others but our selves Let a man examine himself God Almighty having endued man with reason and consideration having made him sensible of his duty and apprehensive of those hopes and fears that advantage and danger which usually attend the performance or non-performance thereof leaveth him to be his own Judge and remits him to his own Examination So that if men will flatter and deceive themselves in that which is their greatest concern they may blame themselves and none but themselves if danger ensue thereupon God would not have men either impertinently to meddle in the concerns of others or carelesly to trust others with what concerns themselves he would have every one do his own duty and take care of his own concern It may reasonably be supposed that every man either is or at least ought to be best known to himself and that he will be most just to himself And therefore God trusts man with himself and St. Paul in this very case refers man to himself saying Let a man examine himself But if after all this Men will be unfaithful to themselves and deceive their own Souls whom have they to blame but themselves Thus have I shown you both the importance of the word and the Subjects of the Duty what it is to Examine and who they be that are to undergo that Discipline There only remaineth to consider the end for which we are to examine our selves and that is In order to amendment and reformation God would not have us to ravel into our by-past lives on purpose to take pleasure in our former sins or from our impunity to take encouragement to go on still in the like iniquities but he would have us to understand wherein we have formerly transgressed our rule and done amiss to correct and amend it for the present and to resolve upon a more renewed course of living for the future This in the general is or ought to be the design of self-examination but to be more particular and bring it nearer to our present Case I shall endeavour to do these five things 1. To show you the reasonableness of this advice Let a man c. 2. The necessity of the thing we are advised to viz. Self-examination in order to a due participation of this holy Feast 3. What we are to examine our selves about 4. By what rules we are to proceed in examining our selves 5. For what end we ought to examine our selves 1. The reasonableness of this advice Let a man examine himself St. Pauls advice and counsel in this case will appear to be very reasonable if we consider either the excellency of the Feast we are invited to or the unworthiness of the persons who are invited It is no common and usual entertainment but a great and extraordinary Feast that we are invited to Nor is it only a bare Feast but a solemn Feast upon a Sacrifice and that Sacrifice no other than the offering up of the Son of God and our Saviour Christ our Passeover is sacrificed for us therefore let us keep the Feast saith St. Paul 1 Cor. 5.7 The Master of this Feast or he who makes this great entertainment for us is none other save only the holy Jesus It was he who as a Priest offered himself as a Sacrifice unto God the Father who hath instituted this holy Feast in memorial of his Death and Passion and therein prepared for us not only common food for the refreshment and sustentation of our decaying Bodies but such as may suffice to nourish both our Bodies and Souls unto Eternal Life not only the food