all such as at any time met together in the House of God to hear the Scriptures should be Excommunicated if they stayed not to Receive the Holy Communion Devotion which now is as it were vanish'd into Smoak in those times shined in a mighty Flame The Hearts of Men were on fire and their Zeal was Active and Sprightly in this particular because they reckoned it a necessary piece of Religion I confess the Practice of the Church is not that which maketh a thing Necessary Yet 't is a fair and strong Argument of its Necessity as being a good Comment upon our Lord's Command The continued Practice of the Church from the Apostles downward doth shew that the Wisest and most Learned among them did look upon themselves greatly obliged by the Law of Christ to a frequent Participation of this Mystery Because he said Do this as oft as ye drink it in remembrance of me they concluded themselves bound to do it often and lest they should not do it often enough they did it daily BUT I will not urge the Necessity of a daily Communion Yet this we must affirm indefinitely and in general that 't is necessary to Communicate often so that if nothing be wanting but a willing and ready Mind to omit it is a Sin a Violation of Christ's Law And if we think the Primitive Christians did it too often they are infinitely more to be followed yet than many now a days who either do it not at all or at most but once or twice a year and even then it may be questioned whether it be not something else besides the Love of Christ that doth constrain them 2. THUS much may suffice to be spoken of that Necessity which is grounded upon our Lord's Command But besides this we are to consider that the neglect of this Sacrament is Evil not in it self only but in respect of a very Evil Cause whence this shameful Neglect cometh for that cannot well be supposed to be any other than some lurking Sin and Wickedness in Mens Hearts which makes this Sacrament so formidable in their Eyes Since at this Ordinance God offereth to Men all the Mercies of the Gospel and nothing can hinder the conveyance but an Impenitent and Wicked Heart on the Recipient's part Hardly would any Man refuse so great Salvation did not his Conscience tell him that by Reason of his Love of Sin he may take Poyson into his Mouth instead of the Bread of Life It must needs be that the great Contempt of this Sacrament is caused mostly by some root of Bitterness that is in Men's Breasts which renders the Cup of Blessing very unsavoury and loathsome unto them The World generally is Evil and many Love to be so and for that Reason they dare not come to the Lord's Table How else comes it to pass that they croud many times into the Church in Throngs and Multitudes to Prayer and especially with itching Ears after a Sermon when yet we see a very slender appearance especially in some places at the Sacrament Certainly we must conclude or mistrust at least that People are Conscious to themselves of many Vices which they are fond of and willingly allow and indulge themselves in and rather than they will forsake those Vices they forbear this Ordinance because they cannot live Wickedly and Participate too without Eating and Drinking their own Damnation And is not this a most horrible Crime to value a few paltry Lusts above the Body and Blood of Christ And to prefer some Sensual and Bruitish Enjoyments before those Admirable and Astonishing Blessings which are tendred at the Lord's Table It was the Sin of the Jews and that which greatly kindled the Anger of the Lord against them that they slighted the Manna which David called the Food of Angels and lusted after the Fleshpots of Egypt the Cucumbers the Melons the Leeks the Onions and the Garlick Num. 11. Much more will it be lookt upon as an intolerable Crime in us if we make light of the greatest Blessings that Heav'n can bestow as the Comforts of the Holy Spirit the Fellowship of Christ the Pardon of our Sins the Peace of our Consciences an Assurance of a Glorious Immortality and whatsoever is the Felicity of Blessed Souls I say if we slight and reject all these out of favour to our Sensitive Appetites that we may still pursue the Unprofitable Works of Darkness and Enjoy the Pleasures of Sin which are both Beastly in their Nature and very short for their continuance As Maximus Max. Tyr. Ser. 20. Tyrius an Heathen Philosopher argued Who is so Mad so Bewitched so Byassed by his Affections that for the love of small and Transitory Pleasures of uncertain Enjoyments of doubtful Hopes and questionable Prosperities would not change his Life for a Better and betake himself to that which is Solid and Vnquestionable Happiness Yet of such corrupt and object Spirits are they who neither Love nor dare to partake of this Covenant Feast Men of such Debaucht Minds and Impure Consciences that they prize the most fordid Considerations above the Love of God and a Blessed Eternity like unclean Swine that contemn the sweetest Repose in comparison of a Dunghill and a Bed of Mire Were not Men Earthly and Sensual every one wou'd strive to be a Companion at the Altar 'T is a Polluted Heart that hindreth Men's approaches because they that are Wicked will be Wicked still and that is a great Reason why the Neglect of this Sacrament is Sinful forasmuch as it proceedeth from a sinful Cause an Evil and a Rotten Heart 3. I Heartily wish that all Persons who are concern'd would seriously consider these things and be so Provident too as to look upon the sad Consequence of this Neglect and see what an immediate and irreparable Injury they are like to do to their own Souls by it which is the Third and last Consideration For the words of Christ are plain Joh. 6. Except ye Eat the Flesh of the Son of man and drink his Blood ye have no life in you This place of Scripture all the Ancients do with one a Illud in primis animadvertendum occurrit quoties apud veteres agitur de hoc Sacramento verba Domini nostri quae Joan. cap. 6. referuntur caro mea verè est cibus sanguis meus verè est potus Panis quem ego dabo caro mea est Et nisi ederitis carnem silii hominis c. ad hoc Sacramentum omnes applicant Nec audiendi sunt qui tanta nube testium refragante negant illud caput Joannis huc referendum Diallacticon Edit Londin 1688. p. 15. 9. v. consent and mouth apply to this Blessed Sacrament and St. Austin himself urged it to prove the necessity even of Infant Communion which was then a Custom in the Church That indeed was an Error that proceeded from the abundant Piety of those times and the Reason upon which that Custom was grounded was not strong
enough because we cannot suppose whatever St. Austin did imagine that when Christ spake those words he intended that even those should Communicate who were not capable of Preparation and consequently could not eat his Flesh nor drink his Blood after a due manner However it seems most manifest that the words do refer to this Sacrament in a secondary sense and construction Primarily they mean the eating of Christ's Spiritual Flesh and the drinking of his Spiritual Blood and that after a Spiritual manner and this a man may do though he cannot come to the Sacrament All Divines do affirm that Christ may be received Spiritually when he is not received Sacramentally meaning that we may receive vital influences from him which are his Spiritual Body though we do not communicate of the Sacred Elements and I doubt not but that Children and young Members of the Church do so But this is no Encouragement for any Adult Persons who are not under any Incapacity this is no encouragement to such to despise or neglect this Ordinance for to such as these the Receiving of the Sacramental Bread and Wine is the ordinary Means of Receiving Christ without using these Means they cannot have any Reasonable Assurance of so great a Blessing nor such solid grounds as others have for their Hopes of Salvation PEOPLE may build their Hopes of Salvation upon Faith and Repentance and the like and the truth is these are the Conditions of our Everlasting Peace But yet there are several things which well deserve to be considered 1. That the Promise of Salvation upon Faith and Repentance doth suppose that Men are in the Communion of the Church and that they express and shew that Communion by a Regular Use of this and all other Religious Ordinances for every one is obliged to do This as well as to Believe and Reform his life 2. That Man's Faith and Repentance is very much to be suspected who Refuseth to eat of this Bread and to drink of this Cup. For how can the Truth of his Faith appear to himself that doth not own and confess Christ's Authority over him by his Subjection to it in this particular Or if he believeth this Ordinance to be Necessary and himself to be obliged to the Observance of it then how can the sincerity of his Repentance appear when he continues in That which he must acknowledge to be a sin Obedience to the Evangelical Commands is the only thing that Tryes a man and shews him to be what he really is and he hardly deserves the Name of a Christian that declines a Duty which is so easie so comfortable so advantageous to every one that is a Penitent indeed Suppose such a man lay upon his sick Bed with a troubled Conscience and the terrours of Death about him I would fain know how he could satisfie himself that he is a Convert in Truth and Reality seeing he hath lived in a continual Breach and Defiance of Christ's Law 3. But suppose his Faith and Repentance be such as is required yet still 't is Necessary for him to Receive the Holy Communion because 't is needful for him to have the Seal of that Righteousness which he hath by Faith We know that Abraham Believed and found favour with God before he was Circumcised and yet by Circumcision he was Assured of God's favour In like manner suppose a Believer to be forgiven before he comes to the Lord's Table yet he is Assured of his forgiveness by coming to it and 't is necessary for People ever to take that course which is most for their Safety and Satisfaction Every man is apt to think so in Civil Contracts so that though a Deed be drawn and agreed to yet they think themselves not sure enough 'till the Wax and the Seal be added And truly if the Children of Light were as wise in their Generation as the Children of this World are in their kind of Wisdom they would think every thing Necessary that helpeth to give them the more and more Assurance Now this blessed Ordinance hath such an Effect and Tendency so that let a Penitent's condition be never so good an honest-hearted Communicant's is much better his Confidence is better grounded his Hopes are built upon a surer basis and the Comforts of his heart must be stronger and the Peace of his Conscience must be greater and his Condition must needs be every way much safer than His can be who from time to time Neglecteth so great Salvation For in the Fourth place It is upon the due Use of God's Ordinances that he entitleth us to Eternal Life Though he be loving unto every man and is ready to pardon every true Penitent yet hath he set us our way to obtain our pardon he hath directed a method and course in order to our Salvation and men must observe that method and take that course if they will be happy 'T is not Peoples Fancies that can save them nor must they think to Capitulate with Almighty God or to prescribe Him Conditions but with all heartiness and readiness observe those Conditions which he hath prescribed Vs Now this is God's Method to bring men to Happiness upon a due Use of Sacraments as well as by other Performances and we must conclude that he who requireth those Duties we owe our Selves and our Neighbours will also and much rather exact that Duty we owe his Son In short men must go in God's Way and follow God's Directions and then depend upon his Goodness and Mercy in so doing If the Jews in the Wilderness intend to be healed of their Wounds they must look upon the Brasen Serpent Indeed God might have made them whole and sound only by a word from his Mouth but this was not his way and therefore there was a necessity for them to make use of the other way that he had ordered them Numb 21. And so if Naaman will be healed of his Leprosie he must go down into Jordan and wash seven times Indeed he muttered at the Prophet because he did not strike his hand over the place as he might have done and he bragged of Abana and Pharphar that they were as good Waters as any Rivers in Judea as perhaps they were and yet for all this the Prophet's hand must not heal him nor will all the Rivers of Damascus do him good but to Jordan he must go or else return a Leper as he went 2 Kings 5. Why thus it is in the present case God hath promised to pardon all penitent people and to heal them of their Wounds and Leprosies but withall he hath shew'd them whither they must go and what Means they must make use of he hath ordered us to Do This to Eat of this Bread and to Drink of this Cup for the remission of sins and we are not to begrudge our Duty but to follow God's Method and Command and so to expect his Blessing Men must not hold off and forbear because God can pardon them
saith Pythagoras For as Hierocles hath rightly Noted This Hyerocl in Pythag. pag. 210. course will serve very much either to Crown us with Joy for what we have done well or to increase our Repentance for whatever hath been done amiss But never should we be more careful of this than when we resolve to make our Approaches to the Table of the Lord then it is most necessary to lay aside some portion of time to enquire into our Condition with all diligence to peruse the Register of our Actions and to call our selves to an account even for our words and thoughts For hardly doth any Man walk so in this world but that he contracteth some filth daily some Defilements or other are apt to stick to his Heels Even the Conscientious mannagement of our common Affairs and our Lawful Callings though it be in its kind a good Preservative against Sin yet 't is apt to steal away our Hearts from God and to draw us sometimes into a Snare And for this Reason the most Righteous Man among us hath need to sequester some hours from other Employments and to enquire whether he be fit to come to the Supper of the Lamb. 2. BUT then Secondly we must note that this Examination is not required for it self but as a Relative Duty that is an Excellent Means to a farther end that a Man may be able after Tryal and search to make right Judgment of himself and may be provoked and perswaded to Correct the several Errata of his Life And this is the full meaning of St. Paul in that place where he doth chide the Corinthians for their shameful Miscarriages in the Church at the Communion time For first of all when ye come together in the Church I hear that there be Divisions among you saith the Apostle v. 18. And then in Eating every one taketh before other his own Supper and one is Hungry and another is drunken v. 21. These were Vile and Scandalous Actions and when the Apostle Commanded them to Examine themselves his meaning could not be that he would have them enquire whether Matter of Fact was not true or whether the things laid to their Charge were not Evil for all this was plain and open and manifest already and needed Censure rather than Examination But when he Commanded them to Examine his purpose was that they should Reform themselves and for the future take care not to meddle with that Sacred Mystery till upon searching of their Hearts they could approve themselves to God and the Church and to their own Consciences and should find themselves fit to be Communicants Examination here is as much as Approbation and in this Sense we find the word used as well in Prophane as in Sacred Writers The Men of Sparta were wont to be Tryed whether they had well observed the Laws of Lycurgus and such of them as were found to have done so were called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 approved Persons Men that were fit and well Qualified to be Citizens And according to this Sense we are to understand that of St. Paul 1 Tim. 3. 10. where speaking of such as were to be chosen Deacons he said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 let them be first approved of let them be Esteemed as Men that are fit for that Function 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 persons that are blameless in every respect And speaking of himself being appointed to be an Apostle he useth the same Expression 1 Thess 2. 4. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 we were Approved of by God and thought Meet to be entrusted with the Gospel And many more places there are in the New Testament where the word signifies not only Examination but Approbation or Liking and questionless this chiefly is the meaning of St. Paul in this place Let a Man Examine himself that is let every Man see that he be fit to be a Receiver that he be rightly qualified and disposed that he be such as the Conditions and Laws of the Gospel require him to be His Conscience must not Condemn him for any known Sin Unrepented of He must have this Testimony within himself that his Heart is sincere He must be an Holy Person that makes use of this Mystery one that hath led an Holy Life or at least that hath now Holy Purposes and Vows that he will Redeem the time for the future and yield up the Members of his Body and the Faculties of his Soul as Instruments of Righteousness and Holiness He that hath not any Comfortable Confidence that he is thus Religiously and Honestly disposed ought not to Communicate of these Mysteries 3. FOR in the Third place to shew you yet further the Necessity of due Prepararation the Apostle tells us 1 Cor. 11. 27. Whosoever shall Eat this Bread and Drink this Cup of the Lord Vnworthily shall be guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord. And again v. 29. He that Eateth and Drinketh Vnworthily Eateth and Drinketh Damnation or Judgment to himself not discerning the Lord's Body In which two Verses the Apostle sets down the Sin and the Punishment of those who go to the Lord's Table as the Corinthians did with Factious Irreverent and Unprepared Hearts Their Sin is twofold 1. First they discern not the Lord's Body meaning that they make no difference between this Supper and an ordinary Meal they De iis erat Sermo qui domini corpus veluti quemlibet alium cibum indiscrete negligenterque sumebant August Tract 62. in Joan. Sic Hieron in Loc. Author Librorum de Cardinal oper Cypriano ascript S. Chrys in 1 Cor. 11. 29. take the Body of the Lord with the same Indiscretion and Negligence wherewith they take Vnhallowed and Common Food not considering the greatness of the things that are Exhibited nor the Amplitude of the Gift that is here given to every well Prepared Soul For no less than the Spiritual Body of Christ is tendered by the Elements And so Secondly the Unworthy and Irreverent Communicant Sinneth directly and immediately against the Body of his Saviour he becomes Guilty of his Body and Blood shewing by his Actions that he hath a very low and mean regard of that most Precious and Salutary Offering upon the Cross Now according to this twofold Sin the Unworthy Receiver hath a twofold Punishment 1. First he Eateth and Drinketh his own Damnation saith St. Paul As the Devout and Sincere-hearted Communicant Receives the Pledges of a Glorious Immortality by Receiving the outward Symbols so doth he that intrudes rudely take that which is the occasion of his Everlasting Ruine without true Repentance The Devil enters in with the Morsel as he did into Judas not to be cast out but by Prayer and Fasting and a strong Repentance For as the Bodily Presence of Christ in the Flesh was an occasion of Condemnation to those who Received him not then by Faith so doth his Mystical and Spiritual Presence here accidentally turn to the Prejudice of such as Receive him
be Absolutely Assured of all this is not necessary because we have no plain Revelation to ground that assurance upon 2. Because such an assurance were I possest of it could not be a Divine but an Humane Faith and consequently it would be Fallible and very uncertain For it must be grounded meerly on my reflecting upon my self and upon my comparing my Condition with the Word of God So that my Judgment touching mine own State is still but an Humane Act arising from those Observations which I my self make and I cannot as firmly and reasonably believe that I am a Penitent as I do believe that God will Pardon Penitents because I have His word for the latter and only my own word for the former And we know that every Man is ready to be Partial to himself and Naturally apt to think better things of himself than he ought to think and to take every Mole in his Face for a Beauty-spot Therefore since a Man cannot have any assurance of his State but by private Reflections upon himself seeing such a reflection is an Humane Act and since every work of Man is deceitful it plainly follows that such an assurance is not necessary I wish therefore that Men would be Modest in these and the like Cases and not impose such burdens upon their own and other Mens Consciences as may serve to rack and disquiet their Minds but cannot settle them upon a firm bottom The Faith of Christ is of an obvious Nature and since the way to Heaven is strait already Men should be very careful that they do not add to the difficulties by inventions of their own Brains and render that entrance impossible which already is so narrow that few there be that find it IN Answer then to this Enquiry What it is that every Communicant is bound to Believe I shall lay down this as a fair and satisfactory Truth that the Faith required is a Cordial and Comfortable Perswasion of the verity of the common Principles of Christianity comprised in the Creed and particularly that Christ is so the Saviour of the World that he is able to save all to the uttermost that come unto God by him which is the Sense of that Article touching the Remission of Sins These are plain Assertions for which we have the Authority of the Scriptures and when I call this a cordial and comfortable Perswasion I mean such a stedfast Belief in Christ as serves to apply Christ's Merits to a Man 's own self which Divines call a Particular Faith To believe in Christ Comfortably is not only to Assent to the Truth of the Gospel at Large and in a General Proposition but moreover to believe for ones self to be throughly satisfied that Christ was the True Messiah that came to seek and to Save that which was lost and to Save even Me among others That he Tasted Death for every Man and in particular for Me that his Blood is the Propitiation for the Sins of the whole World and even for Mine that he is an Advocate with the Father for my Brethren and for Me also that he hath Promised Eternal Life to all that do Obey him and that even I shall have benefit by his Promise if I make good the Condition In a word that He is the Redeemer of all Mankind and that with him there is Plenteous Redemption for Me and for Thee and for us All if we be not wanting to our selves To be thus perswaded is enough for any Communicant in genere fidei and as to Matters of Faith Indeed in genere morum as to Matter of Practice Repentance and Universal Obedience is necessary too But now we are considering not how much it is necessary for a Communicant to Practice but how much is needful for him to Believe and such a Faith as I have now described is sufficient if Men do but add to this Faith Virtue 1. THAT this is so will easily appear if we impartially consider first that this is the Faith which is necessarily required of all Christians and is sufficient for all This is Eternal Life that they know Thee the only True God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent saith our Blessed Saviour himself Joh. 17. 3. The Sense of which place is that the sincere and hearty acknowledgment of the True God and of his Holy Child Jesus is the Infallible way to Everlasting Happiness There are many Truths wrapped and folded up in the Bosome of that Text which the Compilers of the Apostolical Creed have drawn out into several Articles To know Jesus or to Confess him to be the Christ signifies in the Dialect of the Holy Ghost to own him to have been sent by God's Commission that he came to Redeem us and to Bless us and to Dye for us To have a deep Sense of the All-sufficiency of his Merits to believe that all Power both to Save and to Destroy is put into his hands and to be firmly perswaded that in and through him Forgiveness of Sins and a Glorious Immortality may be obtained by all that will lay hold on him and Love him in Sincerity Now if this Faith be sufficient as touching Matter of Faith to Entitle a Man to Eternal Life as our Saviour saith it is then it is enough also to give a Man the Liberty of Communicating because more cannot be required to admit us to the Lord's Table than is necessary for our admission into Heaven Certainly that Faith which sufficeth to bring us hereafter into the Presence of the Lamb must be sufficient to bring us to the Supper of the Lamb and that is not a confident Presumption of a Man's absolute Pardon and Election unto Happiness but a firm and comfortable Perswasion that Jesus Christ came into the World to Save Sinners which is a most faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation saith St. Paul 1 Tim. 1. 15. 2. THAT this Faith is enough for a Communicant will appear Secondly from its Anaglogy and Proportion to the Faith of the First Disciples It was St. Peter's Confession for which he was called Blessed Thou art Christ the Son of the Living God Matth. 16. 16. It was Martha's Confession Lord I believe that thou art Christ the Son of God that should come into the world Joh. 11. 27. It was the Eunuch's Confession I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God Act. 8. 37. Nay indeed it was the Confession of all the Apostles before every particular was extracted which lay hid and folded up in it We believe and are sure that thou art that Christ the Son of the Living God Joh. 6. 69. Now do but consider and judge in your selves Is it possible for any Ratianal Man to believe that the Faith which served for the Salvation of those will not be enough to Dispose and Fit Vs for the Sacrament Certainly by the same Faith whereby the Disciples of Old felt and handled the Word of Life we may also Feed on him For this
likely it is a Sin against Conscience which is the Highest aggravation any action is capable of So that let him palliate it as he can it is undoubtedly a Wilful Habit. And because it is so such a Repentance is necessary as changeth the whole frame of his Heart and Life such a Repentance as makes a Man lay aside utterly every vicious Custom such a Repentance as effectually bends his Mind to an entire Practice of Virtue and Religion For the great business of Religion being to transform every one into the Divine Image to make him Partaker of the Divine Nature and to render him according to the Capacities of Humane Nature Holy and Pure as God himself is and sorrow for what is past being the first Beginning of such a God-like Life That Repentance must needs be Trifling and Impertinent which doth not powerfully carry on those Divine Purposes and 't is as impossible for one that persists in an Evil State and Course to be a true Penitent at the same time as it is to make Hell and Heaven meet together in one Repentance is an High and Noble act of the Mind that doth not lye in Sobs and Groans nor meerly in the Anguish and Throws of a Spirit that is upon the Rack for notwithstanding all this Guilt and the Love of Sin may be at the bottom and inward torment may proceed purely from a present apprehension of vengeance which every Man would willingly avoid though he delights in that which brings it upon him No Repentance that is genuine works a total Change turns the Desires towards the Glory of God which is the True and Proper Object of the Mind and so by degrees improves and raiseth up the depraved Nature of Man to those perfections which are in God of whose Glory those Divine Graces which Religion proposeth to our practice are a Copy and Transcript INFINITELY distant from this is the Life of that Man who Loves to wallow in Vice Sensuality and Corruption People of this sort and Temper are so far from having a right to the Promises of Pardon and Peace which are tendred by the Evangelical Covenant and which are Sealed at the Holy Sacrament that the Scripture plainly threatens Indignation and Wrath Tribulation and Anguish to every Soul that worketh Evil after this manner to such as obey Vnrighteousness to such as are the Servants of Sin to such as let Sin reign in their Mortal Bodies to such as yield themselves up to Vnrighteousness to such as make Provision for the Flesh to such as obey it in the Lusts thereof to such as walk on in darkness and lye in wickedness and conform themselves to this world by all which Expressions and many more to the same purpose the Scripture meaneth such as continue and persist in an Ungodly course in a crooked way in a vicious Manner and Habit of Life For which Reason when Men intend to go to the Holy Communion where every one is sure to receive something either Mercy or Judgment to himself they should take themselves to a very strict account and impartially observe what that way is wherein they are used to go And if they find themselves so ill given as that they willingly follow their own hearts Lusts and resolve to do so still in spight of God's Word and the checks of their own Consciences they must not in any wise present themselves at the Lord's Table but utterly forbear 'till they have truly humbled themselves under such a sense of their impieties as worketh that Repentance which is the entrance upon a Life of Virtue and True Religion If there be not this Divine disposition of Soul in them they are no more fit to receive the Body of Christ than Judas that Betrayed him or Pilate that Condemned him or the Jews that Mock'd him or the Souldier that stuck a Spear into his Side And if he goes to the Holy Sacrament while he goes on still in his wickedness he doth but take a large step towards his own destruction Such a one despiseth the Sufferings of the Son of God tramples the Blood of the Covenant under his feet and accounteth it an Vnholy Thing as if it were a refreshment for a Beast and he is like one that brings a Swine into the Sanctuary to feed upon the Bread of Eternal Life Therefore before we Celebrate so Great a Mystery we are to enter into the strictest Engagements to bind our Souls with the most serious Vows and to set up very strong and powerful Resolutions of Amendment lest in making too great haste to so Divine and Solemn an Ordinance we make haste to Perish and to be Undone For nothing makes us capable without Repentance from dead Works as * Justin Mart. Apol. 2. Justin Martyr said The food at the Eucharist is not lawful to be received but by such as believe the Doctrines of Christianity to be true and have been wash'd in the Laver of Regeneration and lead their Lives according to Christ's Prescriptions * Habentem adhuc voluntatem peccandi gravari magis dico Eucharistiae perceptione quam purificari S. Aug. de Eccles Dogmat. c. 53. And he that approacheth to the Lords Table with a Design and Purpose to Sin on still instead of being refreshed and purified by receiving is the more heavily Laden and receives a Cup of Bitterness instead of a Salutary Cordial Here a Question may arise whether it be Lawful for one to Communicate upon serious Vows and Resolutions only That is before he has tryed the strength and efficacy of them For it is possible for a Man who has led a dissolute Life to be through the piercing Power of the Word of God struck so on a sudden into the Sense of his Guilt and Danger as to resolve and undertake presently to forsake his Impieties And perhaps too his outward circumstances may be such that if he misseth the opportunity he hath now before him he may be in a very great danger of not meeting with another In which particular case I know no Reason sufficient to debar him from the use of this Ordinance which effectually gives the Benefits of our Saviour's Passion to every true Penitent as our Saviour himself gave them to that Thief upon the Cross who was Converted in a moment Indeed where Men seem not to be straitned in their circumstances but have probably time before them to make some Experiment of their Resolutions it is very expedient for them to betake themselves to their Retirements to weep bitterly to observe what ground they are able to gain of their Habitual Vices what Victory they get over their own Hearts by suitable Acts of Mortification and Self-denyal which are necessary to be undertaken for the eradicating of inveterate Habits By these means they will afterwards come to the Blessed Sacrament with better advantage because with more Comfort with more Confidence and Peace of Mind than such as have not made any Tryal of the firmness and
Clemency that was possible for him to express and all this that he might leave us an Example that we should follow his steps saith the Apostle 1 Pet. 2. 21. Now when we see at this Memorial of that Great Sacrifice the Bread broken and the Wine poured out the one representing the bruising of his Flesh the other the pouring out of his Blood both shewing how he was smitten of God and afflicted when we see this and call to mind his Exemplary Patience and Charity throughout all his Sufferings what can we gather hence but these natural thoughts that we should be like-minded that Christ our Passover having been thus Sacrificed for us we should keep this Feast without the Old Leaven and without the Leaven of Malice and Wickedness that we should put on as the Elect of God Bowels of Mercy Kindness and Humbleness of Mind that all Bitterness and Wrath and Anger and Clamour and Evil Speaking should be put away from us with all Malice and that we should be kind one to another tender-hearted forgiving one another even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven us and as Christ for his Mercy sake forgave his very Murtherers 3. AT this Great Solemnity there is not only a Spiritual Union between Christ and all good Christians but a Representation also of that perfect Union which ought to be among Christians themselves That one Loaf that is made up of many Grains all moulded together into one Lump and that Cup that is made up of many drops all mixed together into one Mass shew that all who participate of these Symbols should be joyned together into one Society a Society animated with one and the same Spirit a Society knit together by the Band of one Discipline a Society of one Heart and of one Mind as well as of one Faith and Hope Many of the Ancients insist much upon this that the Holy Sacrament is a Figure both of that Natural Body of Christ which Suffered upon the Cross and moreover of that Mystical Body of Christ of which he was made the Head after his Resurrection And one Reason of that Unity which ought to be among the several Members of this Body is because they are all fed and nourisht at one Table and so St. Paul himself tells us that we being many are one Bread and one Body because we are all partakers of that one Bread or Loaf 1 Cor. 10. 17. This then is another peculiar Reason why we should appear at this Solemnity a New and unleavened lump with Minds purged from all ferment of Malice and Wickedness like Children of the same Father and of one Family round about his Table with Souls full of the most extensive and unfeigned Charity and with Spirits enflamed with the Love of God and with Love to all that belong to God the true Spiritual Incense which gives a sweet smelling Savour to all our Offerings at the Altar I beseech you Brethren saith St. Paul in the beginning of that Epistle wherein he taxed afterwards the disorders of the Corinthians at the holy Communion I beseech you Brethren by the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ that ye all speak the same thing and that there be no divisions among you but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same Mind and in the same-Judgment 1 Cor. 1. 10. 4. TO this Solemnity we come to receive the pledges of our reconciliation unto God the Ratification and Seal of our own Pardon and Forgiveness This saith our Saviour speaking of the Creature we are to drink of the Fruit of the Vine as 't is expresly called in the very next verse this is my Blood or the Communion of my Blood of the new Covenant which is shed for many for the remission of Sins Mat. 26. 28. But how can we expect to be pardoned our selves if we do not let all Hatreds and Animosities drop to the ground before we go unto the Altar If we do not freely heartily and sincerely pardon all others as we our selves would be pardoned If ye forgive Men their Trespasses your Heavenly Father will also forgive you But if ye forgive not Men their Trespasses neither will your Heavenly Father forgive your Trespasses saith our blessed Lord Mat. 6. 14 15. Whence it is clear that mutual Charity is one of those many conditions which are necessary to make us capable and receptive of God's Mercy As when Christ gave the Keys of his Kingdom to Peter he intended all the other Apostles should have an equal share of the Authority Petro soli claves dedit coeteris communicandas Optat and to this purpose he said afterwards to all the Apostles when he breathed on them Whose soever Sins ye remit they are remitted unto them and whose soever Sins ye retain they are retained Joh. 20. 23. So where pardon of Sin is promised to this or that Grace there all other Graces are taken in and supposed because there is required a Complication of all Virtues in order to perfect Remission Now of these Virtues mutual Charity or our forgiving each other is one Not that it procures our forgiveness by way of Merit take heed of that conceit so vain in it self so deadly in its consequences so reproachful to the free Grace of God and to the infinite Merits of our Redeemer but that this mutual Charity doth dispose qualifie and fit us for God's pardon Therefore 't is observable that when our Lord gave his Church a Form of Prayer of his own composing and in it taught us to pray Forgive us our Trespasses as we forgive them that Trespass against us As soon as ever he had ended that Prayer he presently singled out this part of it to speak to inculcating and reasoning upon this sole point of fraternal forgiveness as being a point of such great Moment and Weight that without the practice of it the rest of the Prayer would be to little or no purpose And to strengthen the necessity of this thing farther yet he spake of it again afterwards Matth. 18. where we find a Parable of a wicked Servant to whom his Lord forgave a Debt of ten thousand Talents but because upon his forgiveness he dealt unmercifully with his Fellow-Servant taking him by the Throat and casting him into Prison for an hundred Pence his Lord was very wroth with him saying O thou wicked Servant shouldest not thou have had Compassion on thy Fellow Servant even as I had pity upon thee And so he delivered him to the Tormenters till he should pay all that was due unto him The Application of all wich is very plain but very terrible so likewise shall my Heavenly Father do also unto you if ye from your Hearts forgive not every one his Brother their Trespasses Mat. 18. 35. 3. TO draw now to a Conclusion and to bring down this whole Matter closer yet to our Christian Practice Let Charity and perfect Love be at once both the Rule and the Tenor of our whole Life in all
Promises at his hands THIS is enough to shew what a becoming and suitable posture Kneeling is at this Great Solemnity and how Naturally it follows where People entertain right Notions of it and come unto it with humble Minds Nor can I sufficiently admire that of all the Usages in the Christian Church this so Significant so Decent a Ceremony should ever become a stumbling-block and matter of Dispute Certainly it must be an ill sign of very Lofty Imaginations when there is such stiffness in Mens Knees BUT it is high time for me to proceed CHAP. XII Of our Behaviour after Receiving WHEN we have thus devoutly employ'd this blessed hour we must not imagine that our great Business is at an end that we may now drop those Religious Considerations which hitherto took up our time and thoughts that we may now go home leaving our Vows and Resolutions behind us in the Church much less may we think our selves free to fall afresh upon our former course of Life I must tell you the greatest part of our business is yet before us and to stop and rest here in the performance of those things which have hitherto employ'd our minds is the ready way to unravel our whole work and to defeat the design of this Heavenly Ordinance For this Rite of Eating and Drinking at the Lord's Table though it be of admirable use yet it is not naturally and intrinsecally good as those Acts and Dispositions of the Mind are wherein the Substance and Excellence of Religion doth consist but it iâ— a Relative thing instituted by our Saviour as a Means to promote and carry on that Noble End for which the Grace of God hath appeared unto all Men that denying all Vngodliness and Worldly Lusts we should live Soberly Righteously and Godly in this present World Tit. 2. 12. Here indeed we lay the Foundation of a life of Virtue by devoting unto God the Powers and Faculties of our Souls and the Members of our Bodies but as the Ground-work is in order to a Superstructure so are our Actions now in order to the further edifying and perfecting of us that we may be built up more and more in our most Holy Faith and being sitly framed together and compacted may grow and rise up by degrees to an Holy Temple for the Lord to be an Habitation of God through the Spirit THIS you will easily perceive if you observe 1. The Nature of the Ordinance it self It is first a Representation of the very Death of Christ a Representation exhibited to our Sences by the breaking of the Bread and the effusion of the Wine And what doth this mean but to awaken our Fears by shewing us the Terror of the Lord who for the expiation of the World's Guilt spared not his own Son nor would be reconciled to the World at a lower rate than by delivering him up to Torments and Death for us all What doth it mean but to set our Zeal a work upon mortifying all our Lusts and Affections and upon perfecting Holiness in the fear of God because Christ gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all Iniquity and Purifie unto himself a peculiar People zealous of good works What doth it mean but to make us ever watchful and circumspect lest we tread under foot the Blood of the Son of God Because if we sin wilfully after we have received the Knowledge of the Truth there remaineth no more Sacrifice for Sin Heb. 10. 26. It is secondly a Memorial of Christ's Love Love stronger than Death that made him give his life a ransom for the ungodly And what doth this mean but to kindle in our Hearts the most ardent Affections to Him again who so loved us as to die for us The greatest Affection this that 't is possible for any Mortal Man to express to lay down his Life for the Brethren But yet infinitely short of that which the Son of God expressed upon the Cross for his Enemies In this he commended his Love towards us above all proportion and comparison in that while we were yet Sinners Christ died for us the Just for the Vnjust It is thirdly a foederal Solemnity whereby we renew the Covenant we entred into at our Baptism Vowing Promising and Engaging over the Symbols of Christ's Body and Blood and Swearing as it were with our Hands laid upon the Redeemer of our Souls that we will henceforth walk in Newness of Life And what doth this mean but to bind us with the most Solemn Securities and under the most dreadful Penalties to renounce the Devil and all his Works to deny all the Lusts of the Flesh so as not to follow or be led by them and not only to offer up our Hearts and Spirits unto the God of Purity but to present even our Bodies a living Sacrifice Holy and Acceptable to him And for the farthering of all these Noble Ends this Mystery is in the Fourth place the very Means of Grace and Salvation an Instrument that conveys to us the present Possession of all necessary and suitable Assistances and a Title under Seal to all the Evangelical Promises and particularly to this that he that persevereth unto the end the same shall be saved and that to them who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for Glory and Honour and Immortality God will render Eternal Life Rom. 2. 7. And what doth this mean too but that we should grow in Grace that we must not grieve the good Spirit of God whereby we are Sealed to the day of Redemption but that we should be strong in the Lord and in the power of his Might and give all manner of diligence to make our Calling and Election unto Grace sure and effectual by adding to our Faith Virtue or Courage and to Virtue Knowledge and to Knowledge Temperance and to Temperance Patience and to Patience Godliness and to Godliness Brotherly Kindness and to Brotherly Kindness Charity Charity in the highest degree to all Mankind and even to our Enemies Thus you see the nature of the Ordinance it self is such that it is not only highly useful for the present but of mighty Importance for the future it hath a tendency forward and it drives at mighty Ends which our endeavours are to be employ'd about after the Celebration of it is over that we may be more and more Partakers of the Divine Nature and come every day nearer and nearer to the Life of God TO confirm this still we may observe Secondly That those very Preparations which are required in order to our worthy Communicating do all look the same way and have a direct tendency to the same purpose Thus Faith or the hearty belief of the truth of our Religion upon those Evidences and Motives it carries with it is naturally productive of constant Obedience to the Precepts of it throughout the whole course of our lives For as it discovers to us the Folly the Shamefulness and the bitter Fruits of Sin so it shews
us on the other hand the excellence of Virtue and the beauty of Holiness It proposes Christ's Yoke as an easie thing especially to such as make a due use of the Spirits Assistance and accustom themselves to the familiar practice of Religion And though at the first entrance upon a Life of Holiness there may be many difficulties for us to grapple with Affections to be regulated evil Habits to be eradicated Pleasures and secular Advantages to be denied when they stand in competition with our Duty and though in the progress of our life many temptations from within and without us are to be resisted many hardships and tryals to be expected and abundance of discouragements of several kinds to be met with before we die yet we learn from our Religion that the present satisfactions which attend a course of Virtue are so great and the future Rewards which are to crown it are so endless and unspeakable that upon weighing the one against the other we cannot but conclude that neither the Pleasures nor the Sufferings of this life are worthy in the least measure to be compared with the Glory which shall be revealed Now if we bring such a Faith as this with us to the Sacrament if we be strong and stablish'd in it this alone will naturally serve to defend us as with a Shield from all Fiery Darts of the Devil and to render us puissant enough to overcome the World 1 Joh. 5. But to prepare us the better still for an uninterrupted course of Virtue we are moreover to repent us throughly for all our past Sins and to present our selves before God with new Hearts and new Spirits which is not required as a Temporary Disposition to be brought only at this time before the Altar there to languish and die with Vows that are Abortive and that yield either no Fruits at all or at least no perfect Fruits of Repentance No this is to be the beginning of a new life the first rise and starting towards the Race that is set before us and as we run it our Repentance must improve and grow from Shame and Sorrow for Sin to an Hatred of it from this Hatred of it to strong Resolutions against it and from those Resolutions against it to an utter abandoning and forsaking of it abstaining not only from all sorts but as far as 't is possible from all appearance of evil 1 Thes 5. 22. In like manner those Bowels of Mercy and Kindness which we put on at this time are to entender our Nature for ever and to produce in us such large and generous Affections as may extend not only to our Brethren and Friends and to the Family of Christ but to the whole Offspring of Adam to whom we are so to open our Compassions that such as are within our reach may participate those of our Bread those of our Instructions all of our good Wishes and Prayers in imitation of that most blessed Pattern and Idea of Charity who went about doing Good Heb. 10. 38. Briefly all other Spiritual Graces as Humility Meekness Patience Self-denial Heavenly-mindedness and the like wherewith our Souls are to be arrayed and adorned at this Solemnity if we consider the tendency of them they are so many initial Virtues to be improved and heightned still by the continual practice of them so that from Acts they may turn into Dispositions and from Dispositions may grow into Habits which will quite change purifie and raise our Nature till we all come in the Vnity of the Faith and of the Knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect Man unto the measure of the Stature of the fulness of Christ Ephes 4. 13. I have the more particularly insisted upon this to shew you the necessity of your Watchfulness and Industry after this blessed Solemnity is over You must not by any means sit down presently as if the work of the Day and the business of your Souls were quite done You must ever bear it in your minds that Christianity requires a life of Virtue You must carry a steddy Eye upon the Scope and Design of our Holy Religion and employ all your utmost endeavours in the vigorous pursuit of its noble End Brethren saith the Apostle I count not my self to have apprehended but this one thing I do forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things wich are before I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus Phil. 3. 13 14. And as it follows there Let us as many as be perfect be thus minded still running and stretching as hard as we can towards the end of our Faith and Hope by an earnest pursuit of whatsoever things are true whatsoever things are honest whatsoever things are just whatsoever things are pure whatsoever things are lovely and whatsoever things are of good Report Phil. 4. 8. Remember I beseech you that this and other instituted Ordinances though they bring great Peace and Comfort to pious Souls by the present Administration of them they are still instrumental Helps to carry on the main Purpose and Will of God even our Sanctification So that if we do not use this Ordinance as an Instrument of improving and perfecting Holiness and as a Means pursuant thereunto whatever Relish and Pleasure it carries with it for the present it will not avail us as to the main FOR the benefits which are conveyed to all well-disposed Hearts by this Sacrament are not only the enlivening Influences of Christ's Spirit called Christ's Spiritual Body and Blood because they flow and are derived from him as he is the Head of his Church and the Disposer of all those Blessings which are the Fruits of his Intercession but moreover the Pardon of Sin past and a Title to an happy Resurrection and Eternal life to come Now as the First of these the Influences of Christ's Spirit are intended to transform us into the Image of God and to con-naturalize our Spirits to the Nature of God so are the latter the Effects of his pure Love and Goodness whereby he rewards those that resemble him by a similitude of Nature I speak now not of God's general love of Benevolence which moves him to do good to us as we are meerly his Creatures without any regard had to our probity or improbity in which sence he is said to have loved the World Joh. 3. 16. But of that particular Love which Divines call Love of Friendship and Complacency the formal Object whereof is Righteousness or a Rectitude of Nature conformable in a great measure to his own as the Psalmist tells us Ps 11. 7. The Righteous Lord loveth Righteousness his Countenance doth behold the upright This is a ray of his own Glory and the Correspondence thereof to his own Divine Perfections is the true Ground and Reason of that especial Love he bears to some more than he bears to others because it is impossible but he must love the Image of
of which they had been delivered saith That since after they had escaped the Pollutions of the World through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ they were again intangled therein and overcome the latter end is worse with them than the beginning and that it had been better for them not to have known the way of Righteousness than after they had known it to have turned aside from the holy Commandment delivered unto them 2 Pet. 2. 20 21. I confess he speaks there of their Apostacy from Christ's Religion to those abominable Impurities which they had customarily practis'd while they were yet Pagans which was Wickedness in the highest degree far beyond any Vice I hope that hath been acted by any who have been at the Lord's Table But yet the thing is in a very great measure applicable to those who having devoted themselves to God by this Federal Mystery take the confidence afterwards to let themselves loose again to their Enormities wherewith they had polluted their Souls and Consciences before The last State of those Men must needs be worse than the first and that according to the Nature of the thing it self For hereby Vice becomes familiar with them It loseth that ugly and ghastly Aspect which at first makes it appear very shameful and frightful their Acquaintance with it makes it the more friendly and free like ones conversing with the Devil that by degrees wears off that Horror which is ready to strike another through at the very Thoughts of his Appearing There is naturally such Turpitude in Wickedness and so contrary it is to our Reason and true Interest that an innocent Person when solicited to it is apt to be startled at the first Motion and if he be perswaded to act it he cannot but feel great Remorse and Anguish in his Mind after the Commission But Custom and Familiarity directly tends not only to remove that Fear and Shame which was once such Guards to the Mind but moreover to make the Conscience hard and crusty like Flesh seared with an hot Iron so that it loseth the faculty of Sensation And when a Man is come to such a wretched pass it is as impossible for him to Repent and come to himself again without the mighty Assistance of God's Spirit as it is to live and move and breathe in a Grave And what Reason and Grounds are there to expect that extraordinary Assistance after such monstrous Provocations given notwithstanding the strictest Ties and Engagements to the contrary We read in Scripture of Resisting of Grieving and of Quenching the Spirit Nor is it possible for those who were once enlightned at the other Sacrament and afterwards at this have tasted of the heavenly Gift and been made partakers of the Holy Ghost and have tasted the good Word of God and the Powers of the World to come 'T is not possible I say for such to fall of to a vitious Course of Life but by contumeliously intreating the Spirit of Grace by offering great Violence against his strivings by spoiling his holy Workmanship and by bringing to nought those Virtues and Perfections of Nature which were the Results and Effects of his Divine Operation And what is all this but the next way to stifle and put an end to all his Motions and to force him utterly to depart Because these Hostilities thus acted against the clear Light of Reason and the loud Clamours of Conscience cannot proceed from any other cause but from Wills that are obstinately set upon Evil and from Affections that are desperately in love with that which necessarily leadeth to Destruction For it is to be supposed that whoever comes to this tremendous Mystery must if he comes with sincerity of Heart carry with him these Convictions That the Religion he professeth is of God That Christ sealed it upon the Cross with that Blood whereof there is a Representation in this Mystery That the Covenant between God and Mankind is immutable That eternal Life therein promised is to be chosen before the whole World That a Life of Sanctity is the certain way to it That Virtue is Eligible of it self and for the Peace and Satisfaction it rewards them with in this Life beyond the gross and transient Pleasures of the Flesh and that it is the extreamest Folly for a Man to chuse those Courses which bring a kind of Hell to him before he arrives at that which burns with Fire and Brimestone There is no understanding and serious Person but must grant all this and more And therefore to Relapse into a State of Wickedness after so many Vows after so many Convictions and consequently after so many Reluctancies and Struglings of Conscience can proceed from no other Cause but the strong Malignity of a carnal Mind which is perfect enmity against God utterly inconsistent with the things of the Spirit Rom. 8. THESE are the Reproaches and Dangers of Relapsing into a wicked State of Life after the reception of this Sacrament and should a Man die in such a wretched Condition I tremble to consider what an endless State of Misery he must drop into next because as I have already shew'd nothing but entire Probity of Mind and a vertuous Temper can capacitate or dispose us for the Inheritance of the Saints in Light I do not now speak of Sins of Ignorance of Inadvertency of Infirmity and humane Weakness For as there is no possible sufficient Fence against them so there is no strict Obligations upon us to keep our selves free entirely from them nor are these the Sins which the Word of God cries out upon so as to threaten them with eternal Death or with the Derelictions of Christ's Spirit No it is sinning with an high hand and against an Honest Conscience and against Stipulations and Promises which were in our Power to perform this is that presumptuous acting which lays Men naked and destitute of the Grace of God in this Life and leaves them exposed to God's everlasting Displeasure in the next YOU have therefore great need as soon as this Solemnity is over as to bow your Knees to the Father of Lights from whom every good and perfect Gift cometh that he would now hold up your goings in his Paths that your Footsteps may not slide so to be very circumspect and diligent your selves to make streight Paths for your feet as the Author to the Hebrews speaks lest any Man should fail of the Grace of God lest any Man should turn Fornicator or Prophane Person as Esau Who for one morsel of bread sold his birthright For ye know how that afterward when he would have inherited the Blessing he was rejected for he found no place of Repentance no way of changing his Father's mind though he sought it earnestly with tears Heb. 12. CHAP. XIII Of Perseverance I HAVE discoursed against Relapsing into a sinful course not as if it were sufficient for us to forbear going backward or to stand at a stay but because in order