diffitemur quin ita nobis monstraturillic Christi immolatio ut crucis spectaculum pene ob oculos statuatur qualiter in oculis Galatorum Christum suisse crucisixum dicit Aposte dum illis propositacrucis predicatio suerat Calvin l. 4. Jnllit c. 18 § 11 For first The Ministers setting apart the Bread and Wine upon the Holy Table and Consecrating them represents God the Fathers unspeakeable Love to mankind in setting apart and sending his only begotten Son into the World to dye for us here 's the prime cause of his death Againe the breaking of the Bread that resembles the brusing of our Saviours body the Agonies of his soule for our iniquities and the powring forth of the Wine and the distribution of the Bread and Wine severally and apart doth most aptly resemble the shedding of his most precious bloud and the severing of it from his Body on the Crosse wherein consisted the very Passion And lastly the Effects and Operations of Bread and VVine upon the Bodies of men they doe most Lively resemble the Effects and Operations of the death of Christ upon the Soule To the sound and healthfull body Bread satisfies Hunger and strengthens life And Wine makes glad the heart of man saith the Psalmist * Psa 104.15 But on the contrary to a foule or feverish body wine is turned into poyfon and there is nothing surfets the body more suddenly nor more dangerously then bread according to the Aphorisme Hippo. Aphor. l. 7. Aphor. 62 Si quis febricitanti cibum dederit quem sano exhibet valenti Robur aegrotanti morbus fit In like manner the death of Christ applyed to the faithfull and devout soule satisfies his spirituall hunger strengthens the life of grace in him fills him with joy unspeakable and most glorious It is to him the savour of life unto life but to the unbeleever and impenitent that wilfully perishes It becomes the savour of death unto death * 2 Cor. 2.16 vid. S. Cypr de coena Domini §. 7. Let our soules goe along here and meditate of these and the like Analogies in the time of receaving Hoc age doe this And this is the first sence of shewing forth Christs death in the Sacrament In this Sacrament wee doe not onely make a bare shew of Christs death by way of representation and resemblance but we shew it forth also by way of evidence and confirmation For this Sacramentall Cup is the New Testament in Christs Bloud And all the promises in the Gospell which are the Legacies of the New Testament and Benefits of Christs death are in the right use of this Sacrament conveyed and assur'd to us In this Sacrament Christ sets his Scale to his Testament and delivers it particularly into every worthy Communicants hand and every such Communicant receaves it to his soules comfort from God as his deed and gift and hereof hee may assure himselfe as verily as hee receaves the outward Elements of Bread and VVine to his bodily nourishment And though a fraile and mortall man be the Minister and Jnstrument to convey this assurance to you yet what he doth herein he doth it in the Name of Christ by Commission from Christ and in Christ's stead So that it is Christ's Act and deed and the Assurance is Authentically and Originally from Him who is Jnvisibilis Sacerdos the Invisible High Priest John 4 v. ◠2 In the 4 of Saint Iohn wee read that Christ Baptized more then Iohn though Iesus himselfe Baptized not saith the Text but only His Disciples If therefore Baptisme be our Saviours Act In and by the Ministery of His Disciples which He never administred by Himselfe how much more is this Blessed Sacrament His Act and Deed by the hands of his Ministers which He Jnstituted Consecrated and Administred Himselfe in His own person And as much Comfort and Assurance may Yee reape from it now by the hands of Christs Ministers as if Ye should receive it from Christ's owne Blessed hands as the Disciples did Onely as yee desire to enjoy the Comfort of it be carefull to observe Theophylact's Counsell which he gives upon this very Ground in his Comment on my Text Eo affectu debetis esse imbuti Yee ought to be so well disposed when yee come to receive the Eucharist as yee your-selves thinke yee should and could have beene if with the Disciples yee had enjoy'd the happy presence of our Saviour at his last Supper and had taken this Blessed Sacrament at the first Institution of it from our Saviours owne hands Yee ought to aspire after it now that yee may bee affected with the same heavenly Devotion and humble Reverence with the same fervent Charity and hearty thankefulnes toward our blessed Saviour considering it is the same Holy Supper and no other and the very same Death which wee now shew forth and unto the worlds end as then at the first Institution and Ordination of it Thirdly and lastly we doe in this Sacrament shew forth Christs Death by way of Memoriall and Commemoration Do this in remembrance of Mee saith our Saviour * 22. S. Luk. 19. And for this end mainly was this Sacrament instituted by our blessed Saviour And from this main end of it this Sacrament is and hath been in all Ages of the Church called by the name of the Eucharist as being a sacrifice of Praise and Thanksgiving to God in Remembrance of our Saviours Death and Passion And accordingly our Church exhorts and practices in the service of the Communion * The last Exhortation before the Communion and the first Prayer after the Communion Above all things we must here give humble and heartie Thanks to God the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost for the Redemption of the World by the Death and Passion of our Saviour Christ both God and Man who did humble himselfe to the Death upon the Crosse for us miserable sinners And to the end wee should always remember the exceeding great Love of our Master and only Saviour thus dying for us he hath instituted and ordain'd these holy Mysteries To Him therefore with the Father and the Holy Ghost Let us give as we are most bounden continuall Thanks And that this our Thansgiving may be acceptable to God let us first conform ourselves to our blessed Saviour in his Death and Passions let us die to sin and live to Christ Consider we therefore the worke we have in hand and the end of our comming as often as wee come to Celebrate the Holy Eucharist We come here to Commemorate the Death and Passion of our Saviour for our sins and it would ill beseem us then to solemnize the Funerals of our Lord and Master not having on our mourning Garments without suitable sorrow and suffering in our owne souls Should we suffer sin to live in us which cost our Saviour his Life and make that our Delight which caused his Death and that at the very time when wee
A SERMON OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT OF THE LORDS SUPPER Proving that there is therein no proper sacrifice now offered Together with the disapproving of sundry passages in 2. Bookes set forth by Dr. Pocklington the one called Altare Christianum the other Sunday no Sabbath Formerly printed with Licence BY WILLIAM BRAY Dr. of Divinity Now published by Command LONDON Printed by T. and R. C. for Henry Seile and are to be sold at his shop in Fleetstreete over against St. Dunstans-Church 1641. A SERMON OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT OF THE LORDS SVPPER 1 COR. 11.26 For as oft as ye cate this Bread and drinke this Cup yee doe shew the Lords Death till hee come THe Prophets are Comments upon the Law in the Old Testament and the Epistles upon the Gospels in the New My Text is part of the Epistles and it Comments upon that command of our Saviour to his Disciples Doe this in Remembrance of me Which is a part of the Gospell of the Institution of the Holy Communion For that command is repeated in the 25. Verse of this Chapter and then followes my Text immediately as a Comment upon that Command a Glosse upon that Evangelicall Law For as oft as ye eate this Bread and drinke this Cup ye doe shew the Lords Death till he come And if you observe it well my Text as a cleere and full Comment explaines all the doubts and difficulties of that Text in the Gospell Doe this in remembrance of me For first there 's no time exprest when this is to be done or celebrated so the doubt is First concerning the frequency of Celebrating whether once or more then once This doubt the Comment cleeres in the first words of my Text As oft so it is to be done againe and againe and that often A second doubt is concerning the duration of this blessed Sacrament How long whether temporary or perpetuall this the Comment likewise cleeres in the last words of my Text Till he come so it is to continue in the Church till our Saviours second comming Againe it is not cleere in the Gospell whither these words are to be referr'd Do this for they are mentioned onely in Saint Luke * 22 S. Luke 19. and they are mentioned after the Institution and Consecration of the Bread onely and not of the Cup so the doubt here is Whether they referre to the Bread alone or to both Bread and Cup but the Comment here directs you to referre them to both For as oft as ye eate this Bread and drinke this Cup too saith the Text ye doe indicatively or doe ye imperatively that is doe both and doe this in both Besides we doe not understand out of the Gospel the latitude of this Command Doe this what it comprehends within it whether the action of the Receiver onely or of the Minister onely or both that is Totam Sacramentalem actionem the whole Sacramentall action here 's another doubt And here againe we must have recourse to the Comment in my Text for direction and that expounds it of both First Doe this that is eate this Bread and drinke this Cup here 's the action of the receiver in expresse termes But that 's not all for what our blessed Saviour did by way of Preparation before his Disciples Communicated I meane not for all Circumstances but for Essentials as taking and blessing the Bread and the Cup and the like that must the Ministers of Christ in all ages also doe by vertue of this Command Doe this And this is cleere also in the Comment of my Text though not expressely as the action of the Receiver yet by evident consequence and that from the Emphasis of the Greeke Articles before the Bread and Cup 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This Bread and this Cup for without the action of the Minister in taking and blessing the elements the Receivers may indeed eate and drinke common bread and wine but they cannot bee so well assured that they eate and drinke this Sacramentall Bread and Wine so call'd here by way of Eminence and speciall reference Yet farther my Text doth cleerely expound the end of that command of our Saviour Doe this in remembrance of me First in remembrance that is nor a bare and naked remembrance lockt up onely within the closet of our owne memories but such a remembrance as is withall a Remembrancer of it to and with others a Commemoration whereby in a joynt Communion together wee proclaime and shew forth our Saviours Love As oft as ye eate this Bread and drinke this Cup ye doe or shall shew forth saith my Text. Lastly in remembrance of me saith the Command in the Gospell of me that is not so much of my Incarnation life miracles doctrine resurrection ascension as especially and expressely of my death and Passion ye doe shew the Lords Death saith the Comment in my Text. I have done with the For in the beginning of my Text which connects it with the verse precedent whereof it is a comment and a confirmation as you see To draw neerer to the Text it selfe wherein you may observe these two generall parts Our service to God in the use of this blessed Sacrament in the former part As oft as yee eate this Bread and drinke this Cup And the meaning of this service or the Res Sacramenti the thing signifyed by it in the latter part Ye doe shew the Lords Death till he come 12. Exod 26.27 In the 12. of Exodus God enjoynes the people of Israel that when their children should aske them concerning the Passeover What meane you by this Service that they should say It is the Sacrifice of the Lords Passeover who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when he smote the Egyptians and delivered our houses In the like manner Saint Paul having receiv'd it of the Lord delivers unto us the meaning of this Service of the Evangelicall Passeover It is the Memoriall of our Saviours Sacrifice offered upon the Crosse once for all which we celebrate in remembrance of him to shew forth his bitter death and Passion But to proceed in the first generall part which is the Service we are to performe to God in the use of this blessed Sacrament you have these three particulars contained 1. The parts of this Sacrament 2. The Sacramentall actions 3. The circumstances of those actions 1. The parts of this Sacrament and they are two Res terrena et Res Coelestis as * Iren. lib. 4. aduersus haeres cap. 34. Irenaeus cals them the Earthy and the Heavenly part The earthy part is here exprest bread and wine the heavenly part is the body and blood of Christ here imported in the Articles 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This Bread and This Cup which hath an Emphaticall reference to the verses immediately precedent where it is said of the bread and cup after our Saviours blessing them that This is my Body which is broken for you and this Cup is
and Drinking of this Cup. First we must Eate this Bread There is a fourefold benefit which wee receive by our bodily Eating Nourishment Society Delight and Physicke You know there is a Meale for Nourishment a Feast for Society a Banquet for Delight and a Medicine for Physicke This fourefold benefit wee receive to our soules in a farre more eminent manner by this Sacramentall Eating and for this fourefold benefits sake we must taste and eate this Sacrament and we shall find it if we prepare our selves aright before we eate it to be through the Grace of Christ First Coelestis Refectio an Heavenly Repast to nourish us up to eternall Life Secondly Sacrum Convivium a holy Feast to mainetaine the mysticall society betwixt Christ and his members and to be a bond of Love and Vnity amongst Christians Thirdly Spirituale Epulum * Cal. lib. 4. Instit c. 17. sect 1. a spirituall Banquet for inward and unspeakeable Delight Fourthly and lastly to be Medicina animae as * Medicina enim spiritualis est quae cum reverentia degustata purificat sibi devotum Ambr. tom 5. Oper. in Epist ad Cor. cap. 11. Saint Ambrose calls it i. e. to them that are rightly prepared and through the grace of Christ Soveraigne Physicke for the Soule Secondly wee must Drinke the Sacramentall Cup as well as Eate the Bread For as oft as ye eate this Bread and drinke this Cup too saith the Text. They are joyned together in the Text and they may not be severed in our Practice And that for these three reasons First propter Perfectionem Repraesentationis that in this Sacrament there may be a perfect resemblance and representation of Christs Passion on the Crosse for there the Blood was severed from the Body and therefore here to keepe the resemblance perfect the Wine which resembles the Blood must bee taken severally from the Bread which resembles the Body Secondly propter Perfectionem Refectionis That the Lords Supper may bee perfect Nourishment to us For as in bodily sustenance Meate doth not nourish well without Drinke a Meale cannot be perfect without Meate and Drinke So is it likewise in this spirituall Refection wee must Eate and Drinke too else no perfect nourishment to the Soule Vtrumque enim est de perfectione hujus Sacramenti For both Eating and Drinking too are required to the perfection of this Sacrament So much Aquinas * Aquin. Com. in 1 Cor. 11.26 himselfe a prime Schooleman amongst the Papists acknowledges in his Comment on my Text and hee gives these two forenamed reasons for his acknowledgement So that by his owne confession the Church of Rome however she may be more indulgent to her Clergy yet shee is very scanty to the People and halfes out to them but an imperfect Sacrament Thirdly I will adde a third and maine reason for this Sacramentall Action and that is propter perfectionem Obedientiae that our Obedience may be perfect for you see we have Christs Command for both drinking the Cup as well as eating the Bread not onely his Practice as in administring it after Supper but we have his practice and command too for sub utraque specie for the Communion in both Kindes which makes this obligatory to us though not the other according to that excellent rule of Saint Cyprian * S. Cypr. lib. 2 ep 3. quae Christus fecit docuit sunt perpetuae observationis what Christ both did and also taught or commanded must be perpetually observed in the Church The boldnesse therefore of the Councell of Constance was very great in declaring the administring of the Communion in both Kindes to the People to be no more obligatory to us then the administring of it after Supper but their presumption is much more intolerable in establishing the Romish halfe communion with a non obstante in terminis to the Institution of Christ as you may read in the 13. Session of that Councell * Tom. 7. concil edit per Bin. I have done with the Sacramentall actions The third and last particular in the first generall concernes the circumstances of these actions And the first circumstance is of Time As oft Semel nascimur saepius vero alimur we are borne but once into the world and so we receive Baptisme but once which is the Sacrament of our New-birth But we stand in need of often Nourishment and therefore wee are often to receive the Lords Supper which is the Sacrament of our spirituall Nourishment and growth in Christ Accordingly if wee looke into Church story wee shall finde that the first and best ages of the Church and as many of the after ages as desired to conforme to those first and best were all of them for frequent Communions In the times of the Apostles * Acts 20.7 we read of a Communion once every weeke upon the first Day of the weeke which is the Lords Day In the times next to the Apostles Saint Cyprian * Eucheristiam quotidie ad cibumsalutis accipimuâ— S. Cyp. de Orat. Dominica tells us of an every-dayes Communion Every day the Christians lookt for Death in those times of violent persecution and therfore every day they would be provided of this Viaticum In Saint Augustines time which was 400 yeares after Christ some Churches communicated every day some onely upon the Saturday and the Lords day others onely upon the Lords day as we read in his 118. Epistle After that Devotion decaying the Communion was administred generally onely thrice in the yeare at the three great Feasts of Easter Whitsontide and Christ mas and of later yeares under Pope Innocent the Third in the Lateran Councell propter iniquitatis abundantiam refrigescente charitate multorum so * Aquin. Sum. par 3. q. 80. Art 10. ad quintum Aquinas himselfe renders the reason of it By reason of the abounding of Iniquity the Charity and Devotion of many waxing cold in the Roman Church the people were upon this bound onely to receive once in the yeare to wit at Easter But the Liturgy of the Church of England to reforme us neerer to the Piety of the Ancient Church of Christ though it sets not downe a generall Rule to bind every particular Person to Communicate more then Thrice in the yeare which was done no doubt upon most prudent Considerations Because the variety of Cases in regard of the different understandings and imployments of particular persons in regard of the different Capaciousnesse and Receipt of Places and Parishes and divers other Circumstances considerable make the prescribing of a certaine Rule for Particulars in this kinde fittest for private advice and resolution upon due preparation of every Communicant Yet in the Rubricke after the Communion a Communion is enjoyned every Sunday at the least in Cathedrall and Collegiate Churches except they have a reasonable cause to the contrary And in the first Exhortation before the Communion all the People are most pathetically moved and exhorted