be conveyed to us in this Ordinance without a due Contrition and Endeavours to tread in our Master's Steps we may easily infer that we were unworthy Receivers and that among other Causes of our Sickness this is one and the principal too even our unworthy and irreverent Feeding at the Lord's Table 2. Is any sick among you Let him send for the Elders of the Church saith St. James Chap. 5. Vers. 14. In the Primitive Church the sick Person especially he that was doubtful of his Spiritual Condition sent for Seven Ministers or Presbyters of the Church as so many Physicians to consult about the State of his Soul before whom he faithfully spread his Case giving them as candid an Account of himself as he could and so left it to them to judge and give Sentence in his Cause And this also is a very rational Way to come to a satisfactory Knowledge whether the present Sickness proceed from unworthy Communicating or not And therefore he that falls sick after he hath been at the Lord's Table let him send for a faithful Guide and Director and impartially signifie and reveal to him the Constitution of his Soul what it hath been and what it is and the Actions of his Life the manner of his Worship in publick and private and how and which way he used to address himself to God what his Thoughts and Preparations were when he used to go to the Table of the Lord what he felt after Receiving whether it left an Awe upon his Spirit a Fear desiring his own Soul what his Design was in Receiving and how far he closed with God And a pious judicious Divine may be very helpful to the sick Person to direct instruct and inform him whether the Sickness be an Effect of his unworthy Receiving or not And lest any should cavil here and object What matter is it whether a Man know the Occasion of his Sickness and what it was that brought it upon him I shall offer by way of Answer these few Particulars 1. If there were nothing but Curiosity in the Case something might be said for a Man's being so inquisitive In Natural Causes of Distempers Men think no Curiosity great enough and if either we our selves or Children or Relations fall sick common Curiosity tempts us to ask the Physician what he thinks the Cause of our Illness is nay if the Cause be unknown both to our selves and others we have very often the Curiosity to have the Body of a Friend or Child open'd to know the Cause And why People should not be as curious in Spiritual Things as they are in Natural I know no Reason The Providences of God and his Designs in the various Accidents that befall us certainly deserve our Curiosity and Inquisitiveness much more than things of an inferior Nature Nor is it impossible to find out the particular Cause why God sends such a Sickness upon certain Persons when himself hath declared in his Word in what Cases and upon what Provocations he will send it 2. If the Sickness be found to be a Consequence or Effect of unworthy Receiving this helps to strengthen our Faith in the Promises and Threatnings of God and finding that what the Apostle hath said so many Hundred Years agone comes to pass still this is a very strong Argument that he spake by the Spirit of God and a Motive to admire the Veracity of God and Encouragement to believe the other Promises and Threatnings of the Word of God Nothing is a greater Confirmation of Faith than Experience and he that hath seen the things the Scripture speaks very frequently accomplished hath enough to turn his Faith into a full Assurance 3. If the unworthy Receiver knows that it is his Sin committed in the holy Sacrament that hath brought the present Sickness upon him if after that he recovers and escapes it will be an Obligation upon him to come to it with greater Circumspection For he that hath suffered in the Flesh saith St. Peter hath ceased from Sin 1 Pet. 4. 1. And therefore having suffered for his unworthy Receiving that Suffering will make him weary of his Sin which he cannot be except he comes for the future and draws near with a pure Heart holding fast the Profession of the Faith without wavering as it is said Heb. 10. 22 23. But IV. While we are discoursing of this particular Judgment another Doubt arises viz. How Sickness of the Body and an untimely Death can be said to be inflicted for unworthy Receiving when we see even the most worthy Receivers sicken and grow weak and die young many times in the Prime and Flower of their Age And nothing is more vulgarly known than that Sickness and Death are nothiâ—g but the Product of Natural Causes I answer 1. Though even very excellent Christians who may be supposed to have been very penitent and worthy Receivers ever since they frequented the Ordinances of God with any Sense and Understanding though even such do sicken and many times die suddenly and in the midst of their Race yet that proceeds from other Causes And these Accidents are either Trials of their Faith and Patience or Preparatives for Heaven or Preservatives from Sin or Occasions to glorifie God or Opportunities to promote the Honour of Religion or Chastisements for some rash and imprudent Actions to prevent their being condemned with the World According to which Rule we are to judge of the untimely Death of that Prophet 1 Reg. 13. 24. who cried against the Altar of Bethel A good Man no doubt but being persuaded by the crafty old Prophet who pretended a Counter-Inspiration he went back and ate Bread in the place against which he was warned for which imprudent Act a Lion found him and slew him And such was the Death of Uzzah 2 Sam. 6. 7. who out of a good intent put forth his Hand to uphold the Ark that was in danger of falling the Oxen that drew the Cart shaking it For which God struck him dead upon the place And this was the Case of Josiah a Man noted for his singular Piety yet going up rashly against Pharaoh Necho was killed in Battel though according to the Course of Nature he might have lived many Years longer Thus God chastised the impremeditated Errours of his Servants in this Life that they might not fall a Prey to the greater Condemnation hereafter One and the same Effect may have very different Causes and the Reasons of Things that happen in the World are various The same thing may be a Mercy to one which is a Judgment to another as the Pillar of a Cloud Exod. 14. 19 20. was Darkness to the Egyptians and Light to the Israelites And the Meat sent to Elijah was a Character of God's Love whereas that sent to the Israelites upon their murmuring was a Fore-runner of his Wrath and Anger And this may be applied to Sickness and Untimely Death In the unworthy Receiver it is a Punishment in the Worthy a
I might be advanc'd to bliss I see what a costly thing my Salvation is since to purchase it the Son of God did die Yet how light do I make of Heaven O God what moved thee to love me thus And shall I think any thing to dear to part with for thy sake Into what Labyrinths do I run my self while I am mine own Keeper Thou hast paid dear for thy right to rule and govern me and shall I after all be loath to be govern'd by so Gracious a Master Here I make an offering of my Heart if thou wilt but vouchsafe to accept of it it is a Present unworthy of thy Greatness and Majesty yet thou art pleased to require no other sacrifice Hence forward speak Lord and thy Servant will hear and when the Characters of thy Mercy wear out or decay in my unconstant Soul Lord write them there afresh write them with the Blood of Christ that they may be everlasting and may be an Eternal fence to me against the suggestions and persuasions of thine Enemies 3. Conversing with the Holy Angels after we have eaten requires imitation of them in their Praises and Obedience Bless the Lord ye his Angels that excel in strength that do his commandments hearken to the voice of his word saith the Psalmist Psal. 103. 20. Praise and Obedience are inseparable Virtues the one without the other makes dull Musick in the Ears of God Let no Man think that because Angels are invisible Spirits and afar off there is no conversing with them He that doth their work is their Companion their Brother and their Familiar with such they love to be such persons they love to visit and he that doth so may be as confident they are on his right hand as if he saw them for God hath said so Psal. 34. 7. and therefore it must be true whether our carnal eyes behold them or no. Praising is not only to offer up a Psalm or Hymn after we have eaten but living in a sense of the love of God and he that doth so cannot but be obedient and faithful to him that hath so signally manifested his mercy in his Misery The PRAYER O Thon who art the Bread of Life who canst feed Souls and nourish Spirits into Immortal Life who hast food the World knows not of and by secret influences canst enrich and enlighten those that wait at the Pool for the stirring of the Waters O bring my mind in frame O teach me to eat in this Sacrament of thy Love to the satisfying my Soul Make the food of sin odious and bitter to me I have fed too long on that stolen Bread Open mine Eyes that I may see how miserable I am if I do not relish what thou hast set before me Thou hast given me a Soul and thou would'st have it thrive In this Sacrament is that which shall strengthen my Heart I want only a mighty hunger and thirst O thou who hast given me an Appetite after the meat which perishes give me a Holy greediness after that which endures to everlasting life O let the Benefits of thy death prove life to my Spirit Raise it above this dull and Corruptible Flesh that it may triumph over its base desires Bring thou back my Captivity and let my Chains fall off Let the Liberty of thy Children which consists in a chearful going on from virtue to virtue be my delight and ornament so shall the King take pleasure in my Beauty and my Soul shall rejoyce in Thee for ever Amen CHAP V. Of the various abuses of this Holy Sacrament The CONTENTS The most Sacred things in all ages have been abused Instances drawn from the brazen Serpent Gideon's Ephod and the Love-Feasts of the Primitive Christians Abuses of Holy things rise from several causes The Lords Supper hath undergone the same fate The Holier any thing is that is abused the greater is the Crime A great abuse of this Holy Sacrament is to fancy that like a spell it will Charm sin out of our Souls without strong endeavours The abuses committed in this Sacrament no just Temptation to neglect the use of it The Prayer I. THere is nothing so sacred or holy but hath been and may still be abused by sensual Men. Moses Numb 21. 8. by God's special Appointment erects a fiery Serpent or a Serpent of Polished Brass shining bright as Fire a symbol of God's Presence and Power to heal the tormented Israelites who had been stung by fiery Serpents insomuch that if any of the persons thus stung look'd upon the Figure he actually recovered So remarkable a History depending upon this brazen Serpent it was laid up for a Monument yet in process of time this became an object of Idolatry which moved Hezekiah to break it in pieces and call it Nehushtan 2 Kings 18. 4. The very same happen'd to Gideon's Ephod Judg. 8. 27. a thing innocently enough contrived and in all probability piously intended as a standing testimony to future Ages what a signal Victory God had given his People over the barbarous Midianites yet after his Death when with his Life his Power and Authority over the bruitish People were gone they went a whoring after it i. e. fell to worship it an accident which proved the ruine of Gideon's Family and of thousands besides in Israel What could be more innocent than the Love-Feasts in the Primitive Church Mention is made of them Jud. vers 12. They were Feasts made in the Oratories or places where the Primitive Christians used to assemble for the Celebration of Divine Worship and at the charge of such as were well to pass or richer than the rest to these the poorer sort were invited and sat down at the Table with the rich ate with them and carried the Leavings or Fragments home and this being done with great expressions of Love and managed with singular Meekness Charity and Humility with brotherly Familiarity and with holy Discourses without Excess or Intemperance and all sanctified by Prayers and Psalms and reading the Holy Scriptures the Apostles both permitted and encouraged these pious Collations and after them their Hearts being thus impregnated with Charity they applied themselves to the Use and Celebration of the Eucharist That which gave occasion to these Love-Feasts was either Christ's eating the Passover with his Disciples immediately before the Communion or the custom of the Jews who used to eat and drink together in some Chamber or Building adjoyning to the Temple when they offered their Sacrifices or which is more probable from the antient custom of the Grecians who having brought rich Guifts they intended for their Gods to the Temple converted them into Feasts of Charity to which the Poor as well as the Rich sat down and all ate together no respect of Persons being observed at that time which Practice not a few Christians being lately crept out of the darkness of Heathenism it 's like retained changing only the Object of their Worship and doing that to
and Devils Nor need we wonder why God suffers these abuses for the permits them as he doth other sins to let Men see at last that their Condemnation is just Besides this makes those who use this Ordinance in pursuance of the right end of its Institution more glorious in God's Eyes for this hath still been the Privilege of the true Church of God to flourish like a Lilly among Thorns and what the Apostle saith of Heresie in general is most true of these Abuses There must be such things in the World that those which are approved may be made manifest 1 Cor. 11. 19. The Preceding Considerations reduced to Practice I. THE holier any thing is that is abused the greater is the Crime When Belshazar Dan. 5. 1. was resolved to be drunk had he made himself a Beast by drinking out of common Cups though the sin had been great and against Nature yet it might have passed unpunished here as other Villanies are but when nothing would serve his turn but to drink his Reason and his Wits away out of the Bowls of the Sanctuary and to add Profanation of the Vessels of the Lord's House to all his Crimes this allarmed the Divine Vengeance immediately and rather than not shew his Displeasure God thought himself obliged to be at the Charge of a Miracle which caused the fatal Hand upon the Wall and the King's Overthrow followed within a few hours after And if the Abuse of consecrated Vessels raised so great a Storm what must the abuse of consecrated Reason and Duties and Mercies do Sirs your Reason is a consecrated thing God hath set it apart for his use that you should consider and contrive how to get a share among the Blessed hereafter if you abuse it and will let it serve you for no other end but to teach you how you may grow rich and great and fill your Bellies with hid Treasures will not God visit for these things and will not his Soul be avenged on such Persons Your signal Mercies and Deliverances are consecrated things God hath set them apart to put you in mind of your Gratitude to teach you Submission to his Will and to walk humbly with your God if after these you are careless and live as regardless of your Duty as you did before will not God reckon with you one day for such abuses Should a poor Man take the Cordial you send him and fling it upon a Dunghil how would you resent it and can God like it do you think to see how like Mad-men you tear off the Cloaths he gives you to cover your Nakedness to see you live the reverse of his Designs to see you fight against him with his Mercies and as it was in the Case of the Daughter Jerusalem Ezech. 16-17 to see you take the fair Jewels of Gold and of Silver he hath given you and make to your selves Images of Men and commit fornication with them II. One great abuse of this Holy Sacrament is to fancy that like a spell it will charm sin out of your mortal Bodies so that you need be at no trouble to mortifie it The Sacrament indeed confers Grace but it is objectively as it contains very great Motives to a lively Faith and Hope and Charity and it confers Grace too as a cause without which Grace would not be convey'd because God hath promised in this Ordinance to be present and as the Dew of Hermon or as the Dew descends on the Mountains of Sion so here the Lord commands his Blessing even life for evermore But still it doth not confer Grace Physically as if the mere use of it would make you Favourites of Heaven and Children of his Love It 's Physick indeed which will work a Cure but then the Person that makes use of it must be qualified for it must be sensible that he is sick and willing to be cured of his Spiritual Diseases and then God will look upon him as a Father and manifest himself to him look upon him as a kind Physitian and make the Medicine effectual to him look upon him as a Friend and take him into his bosom and say to him as it is Es. 49. 8. In an acceptable time have I heard thee and in a day of Salvation have I helped thee and I will preserve thee and cause thee to inherit the desolate Heritages III. The abuses committed by some in this Sacrament must not tempt us to neglect the use of it If the abuse that others have been guilty of were a sufficient excuse to stay away we might as well argue that Meat and Drink and Cloaths and Books and Learning may not be used because ill Men have perverted the harmless design of them We should count that Man a fool that should resolve because a Man of such a Profession hath cheated him therefore he will never deal with a Man of that Profession again or because such a Person who pretended to strictness of Religion hath plaid the knave with him therefore he will never trust a Religious Man again The same absurdity would he commit that from the abuse that others have run into in the Holy Communion should resolve to abstain from it for this would be as much as to resolve to be mad because others are and have been so God hath furnish'd us with Faculties and Powers to discern the Dross from the Silver and the Tin from the purer Mettal and we have his Word to guide us in distinguishing the use from the abuse and as the temperate Man still drinks Wine though thousands in the World still pervert the use of that Creature so a good Christian can see no rational discouragement from coming to this Table though some have made it their bane and turned it into their own destruction The PRAYER O Most Gracious God who hast given us thine Ordinances for our Comfort and Edification and directed us how to use them to thy Glory Give me an Understanding Heart and a pure Mind that they may be a savour of Life unto Life to me Let me not touch these Holy things with unclean Hands but purifie my Soul and cleanse it from that filthiness which doth so easily beset it that I may be fit for thy Divine and Glorious Influences Lord without thee I can do nothing thou art the Vine and I the Branch convey thy Celestial Juice into this withered Branch that I may revive and bring forth much fruit and have my Fruit unto Holiness and the end everlasting Life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen CHAP. VI. Of Receiving the Lord's Supper Fasting and how far it is Necessary The CONTENTS It is a thing not absolutely necessary to receive the Lord's Supper fasting Several Reasons to prove the Assertion Yet to receive it Fasting is a thing very conventent because it quickens Devotion and is an Act agreeable to the mortifying Prospect of Christ's Death and warranted by the Practice of the Universal Church Total Abstinence from Food that Morning
and Feet and Gestures and Behaviour thy Reason Memory and Passion should all be at his beck move by his prescription act according to his appointment be seasoned with his Grace and conducted by his Wisdom If thou art content that all shall go rather than his Favour if his Love or a share in it be dearer to thee than the dearest of all outward enjoyments be of good cheer it 's a good sign and thou mayst rationally infer that thou art in Covenant with thy Lord and hast a right to all the priviledges that are annex'd to it for thy encouragement V. And here we may justly reflect what a mercy it is to be in Covenant with God a mercy indeed which no Tongue can express nay no Apollos neither as eloquent as he was can describe no Tertullus no Cicero no Demosthenes represent according to its worth a mercy which no Man knows save he who receives it a mercy weich fills the Tongues of departed Saints with praises a mercy which unhappy Souls that groan among Devils would give Millions for if they had them a mercy which sweetens all Conditions makes Sickness easie and Iron Chains sit soft mitigates pain and tempers grief and anguish A mercy which made the penitent Publican stand confounded amaz'd the humble Magdalen caused St. Paul to go chearfully through Stripes and Imprisonment and encouraged the Believers of old to defie death and torments He that is in Covenant with God enjoys all that Son of God enjoys though not as yet in fruition and possession yet in title and reversion God the Father carries him on his Wings as the Eagle doth her young the Eternal Son of God is his faithful Friend The Holy Spirit of God speaks to him in the still voice of peace and comfort He that is in this Covenant is safe in the midst of Spears and Arrows safe when he goes through the Water safe when he passes through the Fire safe when the Waves do roar safe when Hell gapes upon him safe in a Storm safe at Sea safe on the Shore safe in his Life safe in his Death God is concern'd for him in all his afflictions He is afflicted The Lord Jesus is touch'd with his infirmities and the Spirit of God makes intercessions for him with groans that cannot be utter'd In a word there is no Condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus to them that walk not after the Flesh but after the Spirit Rom. 8. 1. The PRAYER O God! whose pity is infinite whose compassion knows no bounds How shall I extol thy Humiliation How shall I admire thy condescension to this poor Worm Will God the Great the omnipotent God look upon such an one as I Wilt thou enter into a Covenant with this lump of Clay wilt thou tye and oblige thy self to do me good The Favour is wonderful I could not have thought it possible but that thou hast most graciously revealed it to me I believe Lord help my unbelief Behold I am Servant the Son the Daughter of thine Handmaid Be it unto me according unto thy Word I accept of thy offer I count my self happy that I may be admitted into Covenant with thee I renounce the Devil and all his Works Thou shalt be my Master my Father my Guide my Director my King and my God my Master to command me my Father to counsel me my Guide to lead me my Director to conduct me my King to rule me my God to dispose of me as thou pleasest I will know no Will but thy Will By the Blood of the Covenant unite my Will to thy Will Grant me to desire what thou delightest in desiring to search after it searching to know it and knowing it to fulfil it Make me O Lord for thou alone canst do it make me Obedient without contradiction Holy without defection Chast without corruption Patient without murmuring Humble without dissimulation Chearful without licentiousness Sorrowful without dejection Grave without affectation nimble in Religion without lightness Fearful without despair Upright without Hypocrisie and fruitful in good Works without presumption Give me a watchful Heart a Heart not easily drawn away by vain imaginations a Heart unbroken by afflictions unaffected with the vanities of the World that may not swell with prosperity nor sink in adversity Grant me understanding to know thee diligence to seek thee wisdom to find thee a readiness to please thee perseverance to wait for thee and confidence at last to embrace thee O Holy and Eternal Spirit I depend upon thy assistance Make me faithful to my God faithful to my Neighbour faithful to mine own Soul faithful in my Calling faithful in the discharge of my Duty faithful in my Promises faithful in my Conversation faithful in my Love faithful in my Obedience faithful in thy House faithful in mine own faithful unto Death that I may obtain a Crown of Life through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen CHAP. XV. Of frequent receiving the Holy Communion and the necessity of it The ONTENTS Frequent coming to the Lord's Table the Practise of the Primitive Christians Receiving every Lord's Day an universal observance Different Customs in different Churches Decay of a good life the cause of Communicating seldom The necessity of frequent Communicating shewn in four particulars as the Eucharist is a great preservative against Sin an engagement to emulate Christ's Virtues a Motive to Charity and the frequent coming a thing very pleasing to God Inquiry made how often a conscientious Christian is bound to Communicate The measures of that Obligation to be taken partly from the Orders of the Church we live in and partly from the fervency of our love to Christ. An Objection drawn from the danger of contempt and disesteem of the Ordinance if we come often answered Arguments to prove that lawful business in the World is no just impediment of Communicating frequently An Expostulation pressing frequent Receiving The frequent Communicant an Object of Divine Mercy The Prayer I. THough the Example of the Primitive Believers is not properly a Law yet we may have leave to infer so much from it that being well acquainted with the Will of Christ and his Apostles in those Practises especially which were universal we ought not without very urgent reasons to depart from that Pattern and if this Rule hold frequent communicating at the Lords Table will become if not absolutely necessary yet highly useful and expedient since it was the practise of the best of Men in the best of Ages and of this the Acts of the Holy Apostles give us a very large account particularly Ch. 2. 42. 46. which place being generally understood of the Eucharist it must follow that the Believers did daily participate of it But this seems to have been a custom peculiar to the Church of Jerusalem for though St. â—yprian St. Chrysostom and St. Austin speak of some places in their time where the daily Sacrifice was celebrated yet even in the Apostles days we find other Churches did
Ordinance in thy Church and ordained it as a means whereby thy loving Members may come in the unity of the Faith unto a perfect Man It shall be established for ever as the Moon and as a faithful witness in Heaven Give me O give me perseverance in the use of it O Jesu Thou art the promised Seed the promised Messiah the promised desire of all Nations Thou art the fruitful Vine and by the precious Liquor that drops from thee innumerable Souls are cherished and refreshed Thy Sacred Name is as Ointment poured out I smell the rich composition My Soul doth gather strength and life from that perfume I am the wounded Man that 's fallen among Thieves O let thy Blood heal me of my Plagues Thou hast been lifted up to the Cross that the Enemy of Mankind might be troden down O let me participate of the Virtue of that exaltation that I may trample upon his Temptations Thou hast been lifted up to draw me after Thee and to withdraw my Heart from worldly Desires and Affections O lift me up from the Earth that I may relish the comfort of thy Exaltation Thou wast lifted up that thou mightest be beheld by all O let me look upon Thee whom I have pierced by my Sins that I may mourn for them bitterly Thy Holy Arms were stretched out that thou mightest embrace all that come unto Thee I come Lord Take me into thy Arms and love me O let thy Cross be my security against all my Enemies Let thy Wounds be my refuge in the hour of Temptation Let that innocent Blood that dropt from thy Hands and Feet and Side wash away the spots and stains of my abominable Actions Henceforward my Hands and my Heart shall be lifted up in Prayer and Praise and Love and Devotion O direct me and give me grace to obey thy Directions and leave me not till I am past all danger O see me safe through the wilderness of this World that I may for ever Admire and Adore Thee in thy Everlasting Kingdom Amen CHAP. XVII Of Eating and Drinking unworthyly in this Ordinance and the Guilt the unworthy Receiver incurs thereby The CONTENTS Both good and bad Men frighted witb the thoughts of Eating and Drinking unworthily but the good without just cause Wherein unworthy Eating and Drinking doth not consist shewn in Thirteen particulars with the reasons of the assertion and wherein it doth consist The danger of unworthy Eating and Drinking proved to lie in making our selves guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord. How Men involve themselves in that guilt discovered A great difference betwixt Receiving unworthily and being not worthy to Receive The great imprudence and Weakness of those that are loath to depart with their Sins and therefore are unwilling to come for fear they should make themselves guilty of the Death of Christ and of Damnation The impudence and boldness of others who come to this Sacrament receive unworthily and are not concerned at their danger The Joys and Comforts which arise from Receiving worthyly The Prayer I. THough from the Premises the Reader may easily guess what is it to Eat and Drink unworthyly and though in Ch. 4. some general notions concerning it have been laid down yet since it is a point which frights not only bad Men but even some of those who are otherwise piously inclin'd from coming to the Lord's Table it will be necessary to give a distinct explication it that neither the bad may think they gain any thing by abstaining nor the good be discouraged from coming As bad Men have no sense of Spiritual things which makes them live merrily in neglect of commanded Duties so not a few of those whose hearts are tender are apt to discompose their minds with needless scruples whereby they too often deprive themselves of the comforts they might reap from God's Ordinances and besides expose themselves to strong Temptations of the Devil who takes pleasure to see good Men in confusion hoping that one time or other they may fall into his net and when they know not how to extricate themselves out of their Labyrinths will shake of the Yoak of all Religion and become his Votaries run into the the other extream and turn either careless or Prophane To prevent these and other dangers it will be convenient to discourse of this Eating and Drinking unworthily first Negatively what it is not and secondly what it is and wherein the sin consists And therefore II. To Eat and Drink unworthily is not 1. To Eat and Drink at this Table with a weak Faith By a weak Faith I mean such a belief of the truth and necessity of the things commanded in the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ as makes the Soul ready and willing to do the things required of her but is attended with great fears and doubts with wavering and inconstancy and this weakness proceeds not so much from want of will to submit to Christ as from want of understanding either the extent of the Grace of God or the nature of the Gospel of peace or the design of God in his Providences or the Latitude of true Christian Liberty which defect must needs cause great mistrusts of our safety danger of being scandaliz'd with little things and unsteddiness in Holy Duties as we see Rom. 14. 1 2. c. yet this weakness of Faith doth not make a Man an unworthy receiver 1. Because Christ is willing to receive such into favour and he express'd this willingness in his kind behaviour to the Man we read of Mark 9. 22. Who believed indeed but waveringly and soon after cryed out and said with Tears in his Eyes Lord I believe help thou my unbelief The Disciples of our Lord upon their first adhering to him were at the best but weak in Faith and therefore Christ calls to them so often O ye of little Faith yet he doth not therefore reject them He cherishes the very Seeds of Faith and when it is no bigger than a grain of Muster-Seed he makes much of it Though the Branches of it be but tender yet he doth not Root up the Tree or Command the Husbandman to cut it down lest it should cumber the Ground or throw it into the Fire To which purpose there is an Excellent Character given of him Esa. 40. 11. He shall feed his Flock like a Shepherd and gather the Lambs with his Arms and carry them in his Bosom and shall gently lead those that are with young There are Lambs in his Flock as well as Sheep and as these two require various management so both may be confident of his tenderness All Stars do not shine alike yet even those that give not so great a brightness shall be preserved as well as the greater Luminaries Love is an acceptable present to him and though in some like fire under green Wood it burns but dimly yet he 'll quench it no more than he will the more blazing Flames But then when I say he will
them is partly because they quarrell'd about smaller Matters partly because in their Law-Suits they forgot the Law of Charity and partly because they did all this before Infidels and Idolaters and would not refer their Disputes to indifferent Men that were Christians but impleaded one another before Judges that were Pagans whereby the Gospel was reproach'd Religion blasphem'd and Christianity traduc'd and strangers were induced to believe that the Gospel gave Men no better Principles than either Indaism or Heathenism nor rais'd them to higher Virtues than what Nature and Custom had taught others that were not of that Religion Nay it 's evident from the whole Discourse that he allows their going to Law before the Saints as it is said v. 1. i. e. before Christians only that was too mild a course they thought that was not the way to triumph over the Adversary or to have him punish'd and be made a publick Example and this ill Nature St. Paul reproves and justly forbids and commands them rather than do so to suffer them selves to be defrauded and to take wrong v. 7. Christ indeed Matth. 5. 40. in that saying If any Man will sue thee at the Law and take away thy Coat let him have thy Cloak also seems to condemn all going to Law but the very expression he uses shews that he restrains the unlawfulness of it to certain cases i. e. if the matter be small inconsiderable and of no great moment such as a Coat or a Cloak and other things of the same nature and indeed it is a very lamentable case to see how many of our People sue their Neighbors for pitiful Debts and cast them into Prison for proof of which a Man need go no farther than the Marshalsea a thing not to be thought of without horror Besides Christ in the foregoing Verses of that Chapter enters into a discourse against recompensing Evil for Evil and to extirpate that devilish temper of Revenge would have us deny our selves to a very high degree rather than think of rewarding Evil with Evil and to this purpose instances in another Man 's going to Law with us out of Spleen and Malice in which he would not have his Disciples follow or imitate such Men but rather than return the like injury suffer and bear with their unjust Acts leaving Vengeance to him who hath said I will repay so that Christ doth not absolutely condemn going to Law but only in these two eases 1. If the Concern be small and of no great moment or consequence And 2. If we cannot go to Law without Animosities Grudges and revengeful Thoughts and Desires against our Neighbours And hence it was as a Learned Man of our Church observes upon James 2. 2. That the Christians even under the Heathen Emperors very early erected Courts of Judicature among themselves in which Causes were decided and Differences about Meum and Tuum determined And though the Assemblies spoken of in St. James are usually interpreted of Religious Assemblies yet he very judiciously shews that it is more probable that they were Assemblies upon the Account of hearing and deciding Causes betwixt Man and Man because Judges are expresly mention'd Vers. 4. And these Judges had Seats or Benches elevated and higher than the Pavement on which they sat and had their Foot-stools also under which the Poor were ordered to sit Vers. 3. From whence we may guess what kind of Partiality they used the Poor Plaintiffs or Defendants were order'd to sit in the lowest Seats the Richer were permitted to sit with the Judges or the more honourable Men which argued too great a Respect of Persons and was contrary to the Jewish Rule and indeed against the Law of Nations which condemned all Partiality in Judgment and gave the Poor as free Admittance to the Bar as the Rich and required equal Consideration of both States and Conditions All which not being easily applicable to Assemblies where the Word was preached and the Sacraments administred 't is in a manner necessary that we apply it to Courts of Justice where Civil Affairs and Matters were debated And if so going to Law could not be absolutely unlawful and consequently the Rules and Conditions above-mention'd being observed coming to this Table during the Contest and while the Law-Suit is depending cannot make a Man an unworthy Receiver 9. Knowing that other Men are not in Charity with him doth not make a Person an unworthy Receiver This I have known to be the fear of otherwise well-minded Christians while their Relations Friends and Acquaintance have been angry with them and averse from being reconciled to them they have forborn to receive for fear they should eat and drink unworthily But 1. If it be indeed through our own fault that others will not be friends with us if we have given the Offence and will not humble our selves to the offended Party nor acknowledge our Faults nor make them Restitution or Satisfaction or Reparation for the Injury and if thereupon he that is offended will entertain no charitable Thoughts of us there the Case is plain that if we come to eat and drink at this holy Table we come with unrepented Sins upon our Backs because we receive living in the Omission of a known Duty He that might quench a dangerous Fire and will not is guilty of all the Mischief that ensues upon it And he that can shut the Sluce thereby to prevent the Inundation of his Neighbour's Garden and wilfully forbears to do it hath an Hand in all the Hurt and Damage that his Neighbour's Ground receives As in the Law Exod. 21. 29. if the Owner of the Beast knew that his Ox did use to push with his Horns and did not keep him in he was charged with the Man's Death that followed upon it so he that hath given just Occasion to others to be displeased with him and will apply no Remedy to heal the Breach doth not only sin but makes himself accessary to the Uncharitableness of his Neighbour and becomes Partner with him in his Sin And such a Person is a very unfit Guest at his Master's Table But 2. If other Men hate us without a just Cause and we have given them no Occasion of Ill-Will or Displeasure against us or having offended them by Words or Actions if we have tried all rational and prudential Means to re-gain their Friendship and to recover their Charity and after all this they will not be reconciled there their Sin and Obstinacy must not cannot hinder us from our Duty Indeed if they that are so stiff and will hearken to no Terms of Peace come to this Table they sin with a witness but their causless Hatred cannot have the same Effect in us it being not with their Sins as it is with a sort of fore Eyes whose poysonous Steams will infect those that look upon them but the Arrows they shoot light upon their own Heads If it were not so all the Apostles must have been unworthy Receivers
the other had a wicked Priest to put Poyson in their Cup but the unworthy Receiver puts the Poyson in himself and what was said of the other may very truly be applied to him Calix vitae Calix mortis The Cup of Life becomes a Cup of Death and Misery to him Thou hast made us saith the Psalmist drink the Wine of Astonishment Psal. 60. 3. This he spoke of the afflicted and persecuted Believers of his Age but it may be applied to the unworthy Receiver too He drinks the holy Wine 't is true but it will prove Wine of Astonishment to him when the Judgment of God lights upon his Head it will astonish and terrifie him And what is said Psal. 69. 22. is true of him His Table becomes a Snare to him The Table of the Lord he frequents he turns into a Snare to his own Soul while he involves his better part in the Guilt and Demerit of signal exemplary Judgments IV. But all this seems to be a groundless Supposition for there is no doubt but there are unworthy Receivers at this Day as well as formerly yet we see no such signal Judgments executed upon any of them And therefore what St. Paul saith must be either confined to the Times he lived in or if it extends to our Age it doth not look like Truth 1. God sends Judgments upon Men many times and for their unworthy Receiving the holy Sacrament too and they take no notice of it When God sends Judgments because he doth not at the same time signifie the Crimes laid against Men or doth not set a Mark upon them to give notice for what Sin the Judgment comes neither the Sufferer nor the Standers by especially the more careless sort take any Cognisance of his Anger And the Reason why God doth not at the same time that he sends the Judgment send a Messenger to tell the Sinner what the Judgment is for is because he hath given him Reason and Power to enquire and search into his Heart and Ways upon which Search he may satisfie himself and come to the Knowledge of himself It hath been a very old Custom for Men not to take notice of God's Judgments but to ascribe them to Second Causes to Fate or Chance whereby God's Design in them hath been lost and his Displeasure signified in the Punishment dis-regarded God complains of it Isa. 42. 25. Therefore hath he poured upon him the Fury of his Anger and the Strength of the Battel and it hath set him on fire round about yet he knew it not and it burnt him and he laid it not to heart And so we read Hos. 7. 9. Strangers have devoured his Strength and he knows it not yea gray Hairs are here and there upon him yet he knows it not Where Men are inconsiderate and observe not the Providences of God and the Operations of his Hand they may easily fall into a Conceit that he sends no signal Judgment upon an unworthy Receiver when he doth But let a Man enquire seriously into the Cause of his present Misfortunes and into the Reasons of the Misery or Affliction he lies under or if he will lay himself open to a faithful and conscientious Minister of the Gospel he may without any great difficulty find especially if he hath formerly been at the Table of the Lord without considering what he did that God's Judgment upon the Account of his eating and drinking unworthily slumbers not God speaks once yea twice yet Man perceives it not said Elihu one of the Eastern Princes and Jâ—b's Friends Job 33. 14. It must needs be so where Men's Reason lies dormant and is not active But an intelligent Observer will see that these threatned Judgments are not so confined to the Corinthians but that they reach a great way farther even to Men we converse with and that these Judgments are more frequent than the generality of unbelieving People think they are 2. If God doth not send always exemplary Judgments upon unworthy Receivers it is an Argument indeed of his Patience but the Sinner is not thereby secured from the Stroak for that which doth not come to day may come to â—orrow and besides having deserv'd the Blow by his unworthy Approaches to the Table of the Lord the Sword hangs over him by a very slender Thread and waits only for God's Summons to fall on the Offender's Head And what if God exercises Patience for the present Who knows how soon that Patience will be tired and turn into a tempestuous Indignation The Sinner hath still reason to fear it and that which seems to be far off this Week may the next be upon his Back and consume both Root and Branch This is certain ' T is a fearful thing to fall into the Hands of the living God Heb. 10. 31. And if the Sinner be once fallen into the Hands of an angry God though he may spare him for a while as he did the stubborn Pharaoh who had long before deserv'd to be destroyed only God by his Providence held him up that he might shew his Power in him yet when-ever the Judgment comes the Dealy will but aggravate the Doom and change the intended Rods into deadly Scorpions Had it been executed presently upon unworthy Receiving it would have been gentle and easier to be born but the Delay gives it Strength and makes it sorer and when-ever it comes it comes with greater Weight and Fury V. 'T is very probable that some will be so curious as to desire to know whether in case any Temporal Judgments do fall upon an unworthy Receiver they expiate the Communicant's Crime or whether they may be called Satisfactions which God accepts of for the Offence committed against his Majesty To this the Answer is as follows 1. That the Punishment inflicted by a Civil Magistrate atones for the Offence committed against the Law and that the Offence is ipso facto forgiven when the Offender suffers the Penalty we cannot deny And to a Man that superficially reads the Old Testament even the Saints of those Ages will seem to have been of Opinion that with the removing of the Temporal Judgment the Sin for which it was inflicted by God was at the same time removed too As Psal. 85 1 2. Lord thou hast been favourable unto thy Land thou hast brought back the Captivity of Jacob thou hast forgiven the Iniquity of the People thou hast covered all their Sin And Psal. 103. 3. Who forgiveth all thine Iniquities who healeth all thy Diseases Which Places seem to import that David believed that the removing of the Judgment did at the same time remove the Sin and the Guilt of it But still we must suppose that though Repentance is not mention'd yet it is included and that they did not lay the Stress of Pardon upon the Removal of the Judgment so much as upon the Repentance which was occasion'd by the Judgment And therefore whatever those Places may seem to import considering that the Fathers
Repentance What Danger in doing the Will of God What Danger in performing our Duty What Danger in serious Endeavours to cleanse our selves that we may be pure even as God is pure What Danger in eating and drinking with a Lively Faith in the Promises of the Gospel What Danger in making the Love of God and the serious Contemplation of it a Motive and Occasion to grow in Grace If there be any Danger it is in the Unworthy Eating and Drinking at this holy Table and in that indeed there is as much Danger as there is in cutting our selves with Knives and Lances or in running a Sword into our Bowels And who but a Mad-man will do so There is nothing so good nothing so safe nothing so sound nothing so innocent but Men may corrupt it by their evil Inclinations So they may abuse God's Name and Day and Word and Ordinances and the Duty of Prayer and the Ministry and what not Unworthy Eating and Drinking is a sinful Eating and Drinking Let Men separate the Sinfulness from the Duty let them pare away that poysonous Rind and there is no Danger and you may eat and drink at this Table with as little Danger as you eat and drink at home there is no Danger here but what you make your selves The Danger rises not from the Eucharist but from your Hearts That which makes it dangerous is your Love to Forbidden Fruit while you eat and drink here This you harbour this you cherish and that makes your feeding dangerous But cast out that old Leaven and you may feed as peaceably as contentedly as securely as Children under their Father's Wings as People that sit under their own Vine and under their own Fig-tree The PRAYER O Jesu whom I see coming toward me in this Sacrament not with Balm and Myrrhe and Spices hut with that which is infinitely better even with the Balsom of thy Blood to anoint me to wash me and to make me whole to make this blind Creature see and this lame Man to walk this Dumb to speak this Deaf to hear and to dignifie this Beggar even me the weakest in thy Flock the poorest in thy House the meanest person in thy Spiritual Kingdom What shall I say of this Mercy What can I think of it Thou art both the Giver and the Gift the Feeder and the Food the Guest and the Feast the Offerer and the Oblation O deal with me after thine infinite Goodness I have deserved to be left to be forsaken to be rejected to be cast away from thy Presence But O! let not this miserable Beggar go away from thy Door without an Alms scatter thy Bounty and let me gather it The poorer I am the greater Object I am of thy Pity I bring my Heart to thee to reform it I come to offer my Soul to thee be thou intreated to renew it by thy Holy Spirit Bring me to a more lively and nearer conjunction with thy self that I may become a living Member incorporated into thy Mystical Body and may live not longer by mine own Spirit but by Thine which is the Spirit of my Spirit the Soul of my Soul and the very Life of my Life Thou art my Sun from whose Beams I must receive the Light of Grace Thou art my Fountain from which I must draw Living Water Thou art the Root from which I must receive Sap of increase Thou art my Head from which I must receive Life and Being O! let me feel the force of this Sacrament in my Soul Power against Sin and Satan and ability to serve thee Corroborate my Spirit that I may obtain Victory put off the anxious Cares of the World and put on Joy flowing from Remission and pardon of my Sins I am sensible that Thy Table is the strength of my Soul the Sinews of my Mind the Band of my Confidence my Health my Light and my Recovery Being sprinkled with thy Blood I shall be able to turn to fight the Armies of Aliens the Armies of my Spiritual Enemies and prevail against them and go on from Virtue to Virtue till I shall Hunger and Thirst no more in thy Everlasting Kingdom Amen Amen CHAP. XIX Of Bodily Sickness Weakness and untimely Death which is sometimes by way of Judgment inflicted on Unworthy Receivers of this Blessed Sacrament The CONTENTS Sickness and Weakness and Death are either Corporal or Spiritual Some Reasons laid down why God makes use of Sickness and Weakness of Body to Chastize the Unworthy Receiver How a Person may know whether the Sickness and Weakness of Body that is upon him comes upon him for his Unworthy Receiving How Sickness and Weakness of Body and an untimely Death can be said to be inflicted for Unworthy Receiving when we see that even the most worthy Receivers sicken and dye and sometimes suddenly and before their time and when it is evident that these are effects of Natural Causes The time of Adversity a time of serious Consideration The Soul that loves the Lord Jesus in sincerity hath no reason to be troubled when Sickness or Affliction comes as if it came for Unworthy Receiving Worthy Receiving the best Preparative for Death Those that neglect coming have reason to fear that all the Miseries which befal them come upon them for their neglect The Prayer I. HAving told you in the foregoing Chapter that the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Judgment doth import both Temporal Judgment and Damnation and shewn how the unworthy Receiver makes himself liable to exemplary Temporal Judgments in general it 's fit I should in the next place in imitation of St. Paul speak of the particular Temporal Judgments the unworthy Communicant pulls upon himself whereof one is Bodily Sicckness Weakness and untimely Death for thus we read 1 Cor. 11. 30. For this cause i.e. upon the account of this unworthy Eating and Drinking many are weak and sickly among you and many sleep as if he had said This your unworthy Receiving brings Sickness Weakness and a preternatural and unusual Sleep upon you This must needs be meant here for ordinary Sleep or the usual Rest of the Body can be no punishment and to tell you that by Sleep in Scripture is frequently understood Death or separation of the Soul from the Body or dissolution of this natural Life were to tell you what all Men know that have but look'd into the Bible nor can any be ignorant that these Phrases are often used in a Spiritual Sense for Spiritual Weakness and Sickness and Death which will oblige me to take both significations into consideration And that God did in the Primitive Ages of Christianity inflict and visit unworthy Communicants with weakness and sickness of Body and with an untimely Death sometimes especially if they continued impenitent thereby to put them in mind of their Offences and to exhort them to amendment of Life all Interpreters agree and the same Temporal Judgments an unworthy Receiver hath reason to fear and look for at this
than by thy Will and Precepts Give me understanding that I may do that which is most agreeable to thy holy Nature and the interest of my immortal Soul O let thy Grace awaken my Reason that I may exercise my self for the future more in things Spirtual and invisible Thy Gospel is so true The Miracles recorded there so convincing the Doctrine so weighty the beauty of Holiness so charming thy promises so gracious thy threatnings so terrible thy Laws so equitable that I wonder at my backwardness to offer unto thee my reasonable service Thou art my Father how reasonable is it that I should love thee Tâ—ou art my Master how reasonable is it that I should obey thee Thy Rewards are infinite how reasonable is it that I should contend earnestly to get them Lord thou knowest my weakness and the stubbornness of my Heart O adjure me by the mercies of God to present unto thee my Soul and Body as a living Sacrifice that whether I live or die I may live and die in the Lord Jesus Amen CHAP. XXX Of the Ceremony or Posture of Kneeling at the Holy Sacrament The CONTENTS Want of Charity the great Cause of Men's separating from a Church sound in her Doctrines and Morals in point of Ceremonies Essential Things in the first Institution of this Sacrament must be separated from Circumstantial The Posture Christ used was not Sitting but Leaning or Lying on one Side No Churches ever used that Posture Several Reasons why Kneeling is the most proper Posture in Receiving The Prayer I. IT is observed by Eusebius that when Polycarp the famous Bishop of Smyrna came to Rome though he differed from Anicetus the Bishop of that See in Points of Ceremony and Customs he had received from St. John yet they communicated together and did not think it Christian-like to break Communion for any Difference in Things of that Nature An excellent Temper and which I could wish had been observed by our Dissenting Brethren who have been over-scrupulous about the Posture of Kneeling at the Holy Sacrament 'T is a lamentable thing to see how Men divide and separate one from another in Religion upon the Account of little External Formalities and neglect the Substance for a Circumstance and the great Duty of Charity because the Ornaments and Decencies of a Church are not modell'd according to their Humour What Account can such Men give of themselves to God who leave a Church by their own Confession sound in Doctrines and Morals for a few External Things which are not agreeable to their Fancy Is this a Cause worth suffering for And can they imagine that God will reward them for neglecting a greater Duty for a less Into what Passion and Bitterness have some been transported that they have even ventured to call this Kneeling at the Communion Idolatry and Superstition When the Children of Reuben Josh. 22. 27. protested that the Altar they had erected was not for Sacrifice or Burnt-Offering but only as a Witness that they were part of the Tribes of Israel the whole Congregation of the Children of Israel acquiesced and were satisfied Our Church protests publickly against any Intent of Paying Adoration by this Ceremony to the Consecrated Elements which would make it Idolatry and yet so dis-ingenuous are some that notwithstanding this Protestation they fill both their own and other People's Heads with Fears that Popery and Idolatry may be hid under that fair Outside In which Proceedings there is so little Charity and Ingenuity that it is a Shame Men should pretend to Conscience and shew so little of it in their Censures II. That which hath betrayed too many into these uncharitable Verdicts hath been their not distinguishing betwixt the Essentials and Circumstantials of this Sacrament betwixt things barely related and commanded And while they have thought themselves obliged to keep exactly to every occasional Action or Gesture used by Christ but not commanded in this Sacrament they have led themselves and others into very palpable Mistakes and Delusions And yet when all is done even these Persons that plead against Kneeling at this Sacrament under a Pretence of keeping close to the Letter of Christ's Actions do at the same time neglect several Circumstances observed in the first Institution for it was celebrated in an Upper Room administred only to Twelve to Men and not to Women and at Night c. None of which Circumstances are observed by these Men. And if one Circumstance may be neglected why may not another such as Sitting be forborn That Christ and his Disciples sate at this Sacrament is the common Allegation and we render the Greek Words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by He sate down And the Reason why we render it so is because Sitting comes nearer to the Posture Christ used than Standing or Kneeling But any Man that is no Stranger either to Greek or to the Custom of the Jews must needs know that these Words do properly import Leaning or Inclining or Lying on one Side And this the Jews express by their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Sitting by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 making a great Difference betwixt these two This Leaning or Lying the Jews used at their Passover Whether they borrowed this Rite or Posture from the Grecians Romans and Persians who used to Sup in that Posture I will not determine But the manner was this they lean'd or lay on their Left Side upon little Beds made for that purpose called in their Language 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mittoth by the Greeks 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and each Bed held three Persons The Law had commanded Standing at the Eating of the Passover but the Church looked upon that Posture as Servile accommodated only to those Times when they were in Egypt and therefore changed it into the Posture of Leaning which they thought was a Badge of Liberty Nor doth Christ find fault with their Church for making this Alteration in a commanded Posture for himself practised it knowing that Circumstantial Things are left to the Discretion of the Governors of Churches to keep or abolish them as they shall see convenient And this was so universally believed by all Churches of the Christian World that none I could ever hear or read of hath kept to the posture of Leaning or Lying on one Side in the Use of this Holy Sacrament which they would not have presumed to do if this Posture had been Essential to the Receiving of the Sacrament And whereas it is commonly said that this was a Table-posture to which Sitting succeeded still this shews that Men have varied from the Posture Christ used And since he hath commanded no Posture all Churches are at their liberty to order what Posture they think fit and he is a contentious Man that opposes it What Posture the Primitive Church used at the Receiving of the Sacrament Antiquity hath not left upon Record That they stood at their Publick Prayers on Sundays and on other