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
himself where-ever he finds it and as impossible for him to love any Man without it so as to be pleased and delighted with the Object And accordingly the more or less this Image doth resemble him the greater or less are the Degrees and Measures of his Love The Reason therefore of this Love being drawn from that Godlike Frame and Disposition of Mind which is wrought in Men by the gracious Energy of Gods Spirit and their own kindly compliance with his Operations 't is a senceless thing to depend upon those effects of his Love which I have now mentioned Forgiveness of Sin and a Title to Everlasting Happiness unless we be in some measure Holy Just and Good as the ever-blessed God is these being Perfections which he loves because they are his own Hence it appears that though we go to the blessed Sacrament with Religious and Devout Minds yet if we go not on to answer the great End of Christianity the bare Reception of it can never be enough to answer our own expectations because it is a Relative Ordinance that looks forward upon a Christian Life for the leading whereof this Mystery lays all possible Obligations upon us and takes all possible Securities at our hands here at the Altar of God THIS being cleared give me leave now to recommend unto you these following Directions that you may not receive this Sacrament and the Grace of God in vain but may in one sense as the Founder of this Ordinance did in another see of the Travel of your Souls and be satisfied 1. HAVE a very great care that you relapse not into any known and wilful Sins of which 't is presum'd you have repented and especially beware of such as you have been most apt and inclined to commit People are subject to different Vices either by means of their different Constitutions or by means of their different Ages or by means of their different Opinions and sometimes too by means of their different Callings For tho' those Callings may be Innocent in themselves nay commendable in respect of their use for the publick Good yet by means of Mens own corrupt Dispositions they are accidentally apt to betray them to various sorts of Wickedness some to Luxury some to Wantonness some to Pride and most to Frauds and Injustice a bitter root of Covetousness spreading generally through all Secular Vocations though it always hurts the Soil and many times is the Bane of the Proprietor however it be thought a thrifty Vice Here then every one must carefully observe which are his own Iniquities the Sins that do so easily beset him and accordingly must stand upon the strictest Watch to guard himself from all dangers of relapsing especially from such dangers as he is most ready to fall into upon any occasion For as the Devil is always most busie about Men when they have been doing their Souls good to lay his old Snares in their way and if they fail to minister to them fresh and new Temptations so is their yielding to those Temptations of very mischievous and deadly consequence 1 IT is an Act of the highest Perfideousness to be false to those Sacred Obligations which we have now taken upon us after the most Solemn manner in the presence of God and his Holy Angels and over that broken Body of Christ which was given in Sacrifice as well to expiate as to destroy the works of the Devil Therefore saith the Preacher When thou vowest a Vow unto God defer not to pay it for he hath no pleasure in Fools pay that which thou hast vowed Better is it that thou shouldest not vow than that thou shouldest vow and not pay Eccles 5. 4 5. 2. IT is an Act of inexcusable Hardiness and Presumption to return to those Impieties which have already cost us so dear Who but a true Penitent can be sensible what the Terrours of God are when he awakens a sleepy Conscience What that Shame is which tinctures the Forehead at the secret remembrance of ones Guilt What those Dolours are which corrode the Heart like Vipers which gnaw the Womb that bears them What those throws and Agonies are which the Soul endures when it comes to be ruffled by the hand of God And how violent the Pangs and Convulsions of a new Birth are when so many inveterate Habits come to be torn up out of ones Breast by the Roots Repentance is a most painful thing if it be Genuine and Hearty when a poor Wretch is a recovering out of that miserable State wherein a long course and trade of Wickedness hath plunged him and I think 't is Oecumenius that hath somewhere observed that 't is no easie matter to fall back again into such a course of Life as hath once put one to so much expence of Shame Sorrow and Vexation The sense and experience of smart is naturally apt to make Men very fearful of being wounded any more So that when they relapse into a wicked State with so much Facility it is a certain Sign that either their smart was not pungent and acute enough or else that they are of very hardy and desperate Spirits that can break through all the Pricks and Twinges of Conscience to rush upon the Pikes again 3. IT is the ready way to lose all the Profit of Repentance though it were never so chargeable and costly Therefore is Apostacy compared to the most odious and filthy Spectacle to a Dog 's licking up his Vomit and to the wallowing again of a Sow in the mire 2 Pet. 2. 22. Nor can it be but such Creatures must needs appear abominable in the sight of God because his Love and Hatred still go along with the Reasons of them which are never grounded upon any partiality towards Mens Persons but upon a just view of their Qualifications and Tempers so that as these vary from better to worse and from Purity turn to Corruption so they become instead of Objects of Gods Love the Objects of his Hatred which always runs out in a direct course against all Impiety and still follows it at the heels and hence is the terrible Menace in the Prophet Ezekiel When the Righteous Man turneth away from his Righteousness and committeth Iniquity and doth according to all the Abominations that the Wicked Man doth shall he live All his Righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned in his Trespass that he hath Trespassed and in his Sin that he hath sinned in them shall he die Ezek. 18. 24. This is not only one of God's immutable Decrees but moreover the natural Result of Relapses from the common method and course of Things especially when a Man's Relapses are frequent habitual and lasting 4. FOR that which is further considerable is That the Recovery of such Men is very difficult and uncertain St. Peter speaking of some miserable Converts who though they had been cleansed from their Heathen Sins upon their Embracing of Christianity fell back again into that wretched State out
the Receiving of the Sacrament is so necessary that the neglect of it makes Men very guilty of Sin especially if that Neglect be customary and habitual as indeed it is in very many Professors of Christ's Religion THE Sinfulness and Danger of this Negligence is fairly proveable from the bare Analogy that is between this and those Sacrifical Banquets of old especially the Paschal Feast Such as might celebrate it and refus'd to do it were under God's Wrath and Curse so that if a Man was clean and not in a Journy and yet forbore to keep the Passover that Soul was to be cut off from his People Numb 9. 13. Now if the Sin was so great in that case where they saw nothing but a Figure and a Shadow it cannot but be far greater in this case where Men have the Body and Substance To be sure the Guilt cannot be less in an instance that is of a more Noble and Excellent Nature Nor can we suppose that when Christ instituted a better Ordinance he should abate of our Duty or that Mens despising of such an important fixt and permanent Solemnity is not Criminal when it was such a Sin to disregard a temporary and vanishing Rite which our Redeemer did put an end to But if this Argument be not enough the wickedness of Men in this case is further demonstrable from a threefold Consideration 1. It is a direct Act of Disobedience against Christ's plain and peremptory Command 2. It proceedeth mainly from an evil Conscience 3. It is a most injurious Sin against a Mans own Soul 1. IT is a direct Act of Disobedience against Christ's plain and peremptory Command Concerning the Institution of this Mystery these four things are very observable 1. That the Command about the Celebration of it is as strict and Imperial as any other Law whatsoever that is about things which are of a moral nature and of Eternal Obligation Take and Eat saith our Lord Matth. 26. and Do this in remembrance of me So St. Luke delivers it Luk. 22. Now this runs in as commanding a Style as that Precept doth Matth. 4. Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve And as the other Precepts run Matth. 19. Thou shalt do no Murder Thou shalt not commit Adultery Thou shalt not Steal Thou shalt not bear false Witness Honour thy Father and Mother and Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thy self I do not here compare Thing with Thing a Ceremony with Morality but one Command with another And seeing all of them are equally as plain and peremptory on the one hand as they are on the other it necessarily followeth that though the nature of the thing it self doth not yet the Command doth bind us to Obedience in one point as well as in the rest the Divine Law being Authoritative and the Will of God being Obliging in smaller as well as in the more weighty matters 2. This Command touching our receiving the Blessed Sacrament is one of those new Laws which are strictly and properly called Christian Precepts Those Everlasting Duties of Godliness Righteousness and Sobriety tho' Christ did Adopt them and make them a part of his Law yet we cannot call them the peculiar Laws of Jesus Christ because they were enacted and written in Mens hearts from the Beginning and they are common to Christians and Jews and Heathens also But the Law touching this Sacrament is perfectly an Evangelical Command and the Observation thereof is a direct and immediate Profession of our Discipleship and of our Faith in him and Love to him who came to take away the Mosaical Rites whereby Jews were distinguished from other People and instituted this Solemnity as a foederal Rite of his own to be the outward Mark and Cognizance of a Christian 3. It is observable that Christ gave no plain and positive Command about this matter till his Last Supper and just before the time of his Departure to shew unto us as St. Austin hath somewhere noted that the Observation of this Solemnity ought to be had in very Venerable and Lasting Esteem Because nothing is more Natural to Men than to remember and value the Injunctions of a Dying Friend whose Last Commands are apt to leave a deep impression upon our Minds and a continual warmth upon our Affections Therefore though our Blessed Saviour intended all along to Institute this Ordinance yet he was pleased to post-pone the Institution of it and to reserve it until his Death to put his Church in mind of the vast Importance of this Mystery that she might set and Devote her self to the Religious Observation of That which she had Received at the Hands of her Dying Lord as the last Request and Pledge of his sincerest Love To which we may add in the 4th place That this Mystery beareth an immediate and near Relation to Christ himself because it is the great and standing Memorial of his Philanthropy This Character he himself hath set upon it that it is the Annunciation of the most Marvellous Love that he could shew unto the World This do in remembrance of me Lord were there not a thousand other Arguments of his Love to us from his Nativity to his Cross What were all his Sermons Miracles Sufferings but so many Declarations and Monuments of his Goodness to perpetuate the Memory thereof to all Ages And yet we see he appointed this Ordinance to be in remembrance of him Chiefly and Principally Here we do most Solemnly Commemorate the Incomparable Greatness of his Love we do Publickly own and Declare it we Proclaim and Publish it before God and Man So that now by all this put together the Necessity of Receiving this Sacrament doth plainly appear For to deny this Necessity is no other than tacitely to deny that we are to observe Christ's Laws to refuse Obedience is in effect to deny him to be our Lord it is to cast off our Livery and to renounce our Profession to despise this Memorial of his Philanthropy is to render our selves the most Insensate and Unthankful Wretches that are as willing to have the Memory of his Love Dye as the Jews were to have Him Expire upon the Cross I am sure in the Primitive and Purest times of Christianity Men accounted it a great Act of Religion and a main Expression of their Affections to the Holy Jesus to Celebrate this Mystery very often nay they looked upon this Solemnity as a necessary part of their constant Worship without which the rest of their Services were imperfect and lame Religion began to be Decrepit and Cold when the Custom of Receiving a few times in the year stole into the Church of Christ For not only in the Apostles time but for a long time after Christians were wont to Address themselves to the Lord's Table every Lord's day as evidently appears out of Justin Martyr St. Cyprian Jerome Austin and some more of the Ancients nay in the Synod at Antioch it was Decreed That
without these Means or because such great things are spoken of Faith and Repentance they must not let go Certainties and trust to Possibilities nor slight any Ordinance as if it were unnecessary upon a Presumption that God's Mercy and Power is All-sufficient No they must shew their Obedience and have recourse to those Means which God hath Appointed And this is one and a principal one viz. the Receiving of this Blessed Sacrament CHAP. II. Several Excuses Considered WHAT hath been thus delivered will I hope prevail with those who will be Wise for themselves who study to be blameless and harmless the Sons of God without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse Generation BUT it is a most difficult Matter to Perswade especially to Actions that are of a Divine and Spiritual Nature Though Interest be commonly the most powerful Rhetorick in the World and Mens greatest Interest is concern'd in this Case yet because they do not discern with their Eyes either the Advantages that are Received by a Worthy Vse or the Losses that are sustain'd by an unworthy Contempt of this Ordinance such is the Folly and Stupidity of many People that any pretence almost serveth as an Excuse and Plea sufficient as they think to keep them from the Lord's Table That Great Person Luke 14. that made a costly Supper and Invited many Guests received very rude Returns when they presently pretended one that he had bought a Farm another that he went to make Tryal of his Oxen a third that he had Married a Wife and therefore could not by any means come 'T is called a Parable but if you apply it to the Case in hand it is a plain History of the Improvidence and Unthankfulness of those who refuse to come to the Lord's Supper and would fain come off handsomely if they could with several Excuses that something or other doth still hinder them from closing with the Invitation Therefore my next Business must be to shew how incompetent and trifling Mens Excuses are and I must do this the rather because the shameful neglect which some are Guilty of is very Mischievous and Scandalous to others so that they both Judge themselves Unworthy of Eternal Life and as much as in them lyeth by their bad Example do help to draw many more into the same Condemnation and further the hurt of divers precious Souls for whom the Saviour of the whole World was content and desirous to Dye IN the Prosecution of this Matter there are several sorts of People I am to speak to 1. Such as Indulge themselves in a course of Life that is unbecoming and inconsistent with Christianity and therefore are very backward and unwilling to come to the Holy Communion 2. Such as live Honestly and Fairly before Men but yet are such Drudges to the World and so intent upon making Provision for their Families that their whole time is laid out upon Secular Affairs and they have none left them as they say for the business of Preparation and therefore pretend they have no Leisure to come 3. Such as are willing and perhaps desirous to Communicate and confess they have time enough to fit themselves by Prayer Fasting and Repentance but yet what out of a Sense of their manifold Failings and what out of an apprehension of the greatness of the Mystery and what out of a mistrust of themselves for the future conceive themselves to be Unworthy and Unfit and therefore are affraid to come 1. NOW as for those in the first place who make no Conscience of their ways but live without having a due regard to the Laws of Religion I must premise that though it be a wonder that any who have Learned Christ who have heard of his Sufferings of his Laws and of his Threats should presume in spight of all to live after this rate yet it is no wonder that they who do live so should be backward and unwilling to Receive this Sacrament It would be very dangerous for them indeed to receive it because S. Paul hath declared that he who eateth and drinketh Unworthily eateth and drinketh Judgment to himself and such Men as I now speak of are no more Worthy to eat and drink at the Lord's Table than Swine are fit to live of the Altar To such the Holy Sacrament is a dreadful thing indeed as long as they continue in an Evil Course They do in a manner drink down Death with the Wine and swallow the Bread and the Devil together Therefore as long as they are in Love with Sin and Obey it in the Lusts thereof and yield their Members as Instruments of Unrighteousness they must by all means forbear coming to this Ordinance BUT then they must observe that this forbearing or refraining upon the consideration of an Evil Conscience will be in no wise excusable in the Great and Terrible day of God and if any Man be so Vain and Foolish as to think so I would offer these following things to his most serious Consideration 1. That by parity of Reason he may neglect every other Divine Ordinance as well as this for there is none but what will rise up in Judgment against him unless he Repent and Answer the great Ends of its Institution Vnto the Wicked God saith why dost thou Preach my Law and takest my Covenant into thy mouth seeing thou hatest to be Reformed Ps 50. 16 17. In like manner why do such Men call upon God's Name or please themselves that they hear his word Nay why indeed do they profess themselves Christians as long as they hate to be Reformed For the Displeasure of God is provoked throughout and God is their Enemy and they are His as long as they thus continue in Sin For all that such Men do is Leavened with Hypocrisie and no Monster is so hateful to God and Man as an Hypocrite He that Prayeth with his Mouth and hath Villany in his Heart doth in a manner spit in God's Face He that Heareth the Divine Oracles with an Uncircumcised Ear doth but make a Mockery of Religion And he that owneth himself a Disciple of Christ and at the same time is a Son of Belial infinitely affronteth the Son of God by making him a Friend to Immorality and Wickedness 'T is an Honest and Upright Heart that rendreth all our Services acceptable and where that is wanting the Sinner may as well forbear every Exteriour Profession of Religion as go from the Sacrament there is the same Reason for both because he injureth himself and draweth a Curse and Judgment upon his Head in other Instances as well as by eating and drinking Unworthily 2. To refuse the Communion is so far from Extenuating that it aggravates the Crimes of an Evil Wretch because he thereby addeth one Sin to another and this is the plain Language of his Heart I have broken the rest of God's Commandments and therefore I will go on and break this too Now I would beseech such to consider whether
and crevise in their Floors And whatsoever Leaven was found their Custom was to burn it using this Form of words Let all the Leaven and every Leavened thing that is with me Buxtorf Synag cap. 12. whether I have seen or not seen it whether I have carryed it forth or no be dissipated and destroyed and accounted as the dust of the Earth By which Solemn way of Imprecation the Jews did clear themselves of Guilt and protested their Innocence to the utmost of their Knowledge And when the Hour was come for the Eating of the Passover before they sat down the Feet of the Commmunicants were washed as at other Feasts only it is to be Noted that at this Banquet they washed twice to shew the Preeminence and great Dignity of this Religious Solemnity above the rest SEEING then this was the general Practice of the Jews and Gentiles both it abundantly argues it to have been the common Sense of all Mankind that great and strict Preparations were necessary before they durst present any Sacrifice unto God or Feast together upon any parts thereof And the Correspondence that is between this and other Ancient Sacrifical Banquets is enough to shew how Religious and strict the care of Christians ought to be in preparing and fitting themselves for so Solemn an Ordinance before they presume to address themselves to the Holy Table to Feast together upon a Sacrificed Saviour the Spotless Lamb of God which taketh away the Sins of the world For this is a Feast of the Highest and Noblest Nature that ever was We have an Altar whereof neither Heathen nor Jew hath any right to Eat And we have a Sacrifice to partake of which is infinitely better than thousand of Rams and ten thousands of Rivers of Oyl For here we feed on the Son of God himself Christ our Passover that was Sacrificed for us whose Flesh is Meat indeed and whose Blood is Drink indeed Here we enter into a close Alliance with the Holy One of Israel we are One with Christ by his Spiritual Body that is given us we Receive the Seals of our Adoption and are possest of a Title to the Kingdom of Heaven And this being the Highest Mystery of our Religion we must not dare to Celebrate it after a rude and rash manner but come unto it after great Preparations having first searched into our State and measured our selves by the line of the Gospel according to which we shall be Judged in the Great and Terrible day and so presenting our selves before the Holy Table with clean Hands and a Pure Heart and with Souls full of God and in Love with all manner of Piety and Goodness Those Ceremonial Rites which were made necessary Preparatives in order to a due Celebration of the Paschal Feast were of Mystical signification pointing out that inward and substantial Purity which is now required of those that enter into Covenant with God by taking the Pledges of his Covenant into their Mouths They must Circumcise their Hearts as the Jews did their Flesh They should Examine their Souls and Consciences as the Jews did their Chambers They should keep the Feast not with the Old Leaven neither with the Leaven of Malice and Wickedness but with the Vnleavened Bread of Sincerity and Truth They should purge and Sanctifie their Affections as Jews and Pagans were wont to wash their Hands and Feet and so compass the Altar of God having first cleansed their Bodies and Spirits in Innocence These are the Moral Duties which those Ritual Ordinances did signifie and which were the substance and inside of them And therefore perhaps it was that our Saviour delivered no particular Rules that we Read of about this matter because those Purifications which were every where in the world used in order to a right Participation of Sacrifical Feasts did plainly Indicate to all Christians what their Duty was and did speak enough to inform us all that we ought to be Religiously Qualified Prepared and Disposed before we approach unto his Table and thus much he seems to have intimated when he washed his Disciples feet with his own hands before he proceeded to the Institution of this Solemnity 2. NOW though this be sufficient to shew the Necessity of due Preparation in order to a Worthy Receiving of this Sacrament yet for further proof hereof we are in the next place to add these words of S. Paul 1 Cor. 11. 28. Let a Man Examine himself and so let him eat of that Bread and drink of that Cup. There is not a Text in all the Scriptures but this only which gives us a Command and Direction concerning this thing But this is full and comprehensive if we understand it in its just Latitude 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is the word in the Original Greek and it signifies two things 1. First it imports searching and trying every one should look into his Breast and see how his Heart stands affected and disposed before he goes to the Holy Communion Seldom is a Man so well acquainted with himself but that he hath often Reason especially before he draws near to God to Contract for an Eternity to ask his Conscience seriously Is there not any Wickedness in me The great Sages of Old thought it one of the most difficult matters for a Man to know himself throughly For such is the Pravity of our Nature that we are commonly very loath to search into our Bosoms for fear we should discover some ugly Monster there like ill Husbands that are afraid to look over the Account of their Debts lest their minds should be disquieted at the sight of them And when we do take our selves to task such is our Partiality that for the most part we pass too favourable Judgment in our own Case and are apt to think our selves Clean though our Defilements are more than the spots of the Sun Considering therefore that at this Sacrament we present our selves before that Great God who is the searcher of the Reins and the Rewarder of all Evil we are very highly concern'd to rip open our Hearts before hand and to Examine every Angle of our Souls lest we receive the same Answer which that rude Guest received who came Unprepared to the Wedding Feast Friend how camest thou hither Matth. 22. Indeed it would be needful for us were we not Christians but Men only to cast our Eyes back upon our ways every Night and see how we have pass'd over the Hours of the day before we climb up into our Beds For this was the grave Advice even of a Pagan Philosopher That e're we suffer our Eyes to Sleep we should thrice run over the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Pythag. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 works of the day past and ask our selves Where we have been What we have done What necessary thing we have omitted So reckoning up the several passages of our Life from the first dawning of the Light as
not now in a due manner Nay 2dly such Bold and Presumptuous Persons do draw a Curse down upon their Heads even in this World For this Cause saith St. Paul many are weak and sickly among you and many sleep Whence come many lingring Diseases many sudden Deaths Why it is very probable that many of them are owing to the Irreverent use of this Bleâ—â—ed Sacrament Certain it is that as God threatned under the Law Exod. 12. 15. to cut off those Souls that should eat Leavened Bread at the Passover so in the Primitive times of Christianity many were remarkably visited with Plagues and sundry kinds of Death and some People were possest with the Devil too by Reason that they came not to this Mystery well Prepared and Qualified for it as they ought to have been I shall say no more upon this Theme supposing that what hath been delivered now is sufficient to Convince Men of the Necessity of due Preparation And I had scarcely said so much but that it is a thing which lyeth before us in our way and I could not leap over it with an Honest Conscience In many other Cases Men need a Bridle rather than a Spur but in this Case a Spur seems to be more necessary than a Bridle because such is the shameful neglect of this Ordinance which many are Guilty of that we should rather use Protrepticks to provoke Men unto their Duty than Threats and Menaces to deter them from Receiving However that they may not make more haste than good speed it behoved me to shew what Cautions they are to take along with them lest they take a step towards their Perdition Keep thy foot when thou goest to the House of God and be more ready to hear than to give the Sacrifice of Fools as the Royal Preacher said Eccles 4. 1. Thus having made it appear that we are strictly bound to Communicate and to Prepare our selves rightly and duely in order to a Profitable Communion which was the first thing I was to discourse of upon this point I shall now go on according to this plain Method and Treat in the next place of the Nature and Quality of this Preparation and shew you wherein that doth consist CHAP. IV. Of the Nature of Preparation in general and in particular THIS is a Matter of great weight and Consideration though a very slight account is made of it by those whose great care and solicitude seems to be to whisper their Crimes to the Ear of a Confessor and to undergo or Promise some trifling Pennance and if after these little Practices they have the Absolution of a Priest who yet perhaps is equally involved in the Communion of Guilt with his Penitents they think themselves sufficiently purged from the Conscience of Sin and to be perfectly Innocent And this naturally followeth from the Principles of those Doctors who Teach that Confession and Penance are the necessary Preparatives before the Sacrament without making any the least mention of a Lively Faith in Christ And although they speak of the Necessity of Contrition or Attrition at least yet by those words they understand no more but a little grief for Sin with some few purposes at present to amend hereafter which they think to be sufficient because according to their Fancy the work of the Priest supplies and makes amends for the want of a true and Manly Repentance of the Heart Now this is so far from being a due Preparation for the Sacrament that 't is a Ridiculous and trifling Method made up of lucrative Arts and absurd Performances and serveth to Corrupt and Debauch Christianity and to encourage People in a Wicked and Irreligious course of Life as any Man may discern that will but observe the Natural Consequences thereof 1. THEREFORE for the Resolution of this point and for the Satisfaction of Mens Consciences in this particular we are first to Note in the general that Universal Sanctity and Purity of Mind is required of us in order to a Profitable and Comfortable Communion It was the Opinion even of a Pagan that such as meddle with things Sacred ought to be Chaste and Holy not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Demoth Cont. Timocrat for a certain number of days only but throughout their whole Life And certainly a constant course of Holiness is the best Prepaparative for a due Celebration of this Mystery because nothing can be presumed to be so acceptable unto God as a Life of Innocence Yet if a Man hath lost his Innocence either through the Practice of Habitual Sin or through the Commission of some Unlawful Acts his Repentance nevertheless is for Christ's sake accepted of in lieu of it if that Repentance be Hearty and Sincere NOW Repentance cannot be right unless the Heart be entirely good so as to be out of Love with every thing that is base and inconsistent with the Laws of Christ's Religion And therefore a Communicant's mind and purpose must be resolutely fixt upon the Practice of Vniversal Christian Piety Though some particular Virtues are here more especially to be Exercised because there are at this time particular Reasons and special Objects to Exercise his Faith Charity and the like yet there ought to be an Habitual Presence of other Virtues too the frame and disposition of our Spirits must be such as is Answerable to the whole Tenor of the Gospel Bonum ex integris malum ex quolibet defectu He cannot be said to be an entire Good Man nor a right Good Communicant that has not an entire and Universal Love of Religion in such a measure as by the Mercies of the New Covenant is now accepted of Each Divine Grace must contribute something to make up our Wedding Apparel the covering of Charity the Ornaments of a meek and gentle Spirit the clothing of Humility the sackcloth of Repentance and self-denyal the long Robe of Patience and Constancy the New Apparel of Mercy and Forgiveness In a word we ought to be so Perfect as to be Sincere and to be ready unto every good work according to the best of our Knowledge and to the uttermost of our Power All Affection and Love to Sin must be cast off and Mens Hearts must be Devoted to the observation of all the Laws of our Redeemer as his Spirit shall enable us by working in us and with us and by helping our Infirmities He that is not thus disposed cannot Communicate Worthily and so as to obtain a Blessing And the Reason is clear because as I have shewed at large this is a Covenant Feast under the Gospel as the Paschal Supper and other Sacrifical Banquets were under the Law By tasting of this Bread and Wine we enter into Solemn Engagements unto God as the Jews did by Eating of the Lamb. As they did by that Holy Rite addict themselves to the Worship of God and engage their Obedience to him conformable to those Laws and Ordinances which were Enacted then even so do we Christians
Consecrate our selves by this Evangelical Solemnity to the Service of God and vow Obedience to him answerable to that way and platform which he hath laid before us now This is the meaning of this Mystery and therefore 't is called a Sacrament because 't is like the old Military Oath binding all of us to be Faithful and True to the Captain of our Salvation Now this is that which he hath commanded us by the Mouth of his Apostle that as he who hath called us is Holy so we also should be Holy in all manner of Conversation 1 Pet. 1. 15. And this we undertake to do when we Eat and Drink here before the Lord if we rightly understand what we do We stipulate and vow to Obey the Will of God in all things and promise Solemnly to deny all ungodliness and worldly Lusts and in express terms do offer and present unto God our selves our Souls and Bodies to be a holy reasonable and lively Sacrifice unto him Now unless we really intend what we do Profess and do stedfastly purpose and diligently endeavour to make all our Promises good what else can we be supposed to do but to set forth our own shameful Hypocrisie instead of shewing forth the Lord's Death Therefore if we intend to Receive this Sacrament with Profit and to our Eternal Salvation we must resolve with our selves to be upright and sincere in Heart to lay aside all filthiness of Flesh and Spirit perfecting Holiness in the fear of God to take to our selves the whole Armour of God and to quit and behave our selves like Men. We must resolve to serve God all our days with Reverence and Fear and to make him the Object of our Desires and the Portion of our Souls to be Holy in our Affections to be Humble in Soul to be Meek and Peaceable in Spirit to be Sober and Temperate in our Delights to be Contented in all Conditions and to be Patient under our Crosses as the Prince of Peace was under his To be Thankful for our Afflictions to be constant and firm in our Tryals and to be Charitable in all our Prayers as he himself was who Prayed unto his Father at the very last gasp for the Forgiveness of his Enemies Men must not be so vain as to imagine that they are sufficiently Prepared if they do but find within themselves some present Raptures and Liquorish apprehensions of the Love of God if they can but breath out some Groans or dissolve themselves into a shower of Water No the right Preparation of the Heart consisteth in the entire Love of Virtue of whatsoever things are True and Honest and Just and Pure and Lovely and of Good Report as the Apostle speaks Phil. 4. 8. AND thus much may suffice to be spoken briefly of the Quality and Nature of due Preparation in general It must be an Vniversal Rectitude and Holiness of Heart an entire Goodness of Disposition a sincere Love of that Religion which is Pure and Vndefiled and such a Divine frame and bent of Soul as utterly Abhorreth all that is Evil and Destructive of that Obedience which is due both to the first and second Table of the Decalogue 2. BUT then we must Note in the next place that as there ought to be this general and habitual Preparation so there are some Particular and Special Duties which are now to be performed because as I said here are special Objects and Reasons to stir us up to the performance of them Here the Passion of Christ is represented the Pardon of our Sins is tendered and the infinite Love of God is Exhibited to us And accordingly we are to lay hold on Christ's Merits with all our Souls because his Merits are available to such only as do Believe We are truly and earnestly to Repent of our Sins because Sin was that which Christ Dyed for and 't is upon our Repentance that our Pardon is Sealed and moreover we are to express our entire Love to our Brethren in all its Acts and Offices because if God so Loved us we ought also to Love one another 1 Joh. 4. 11. Hence it is that Divines commonly Prescribe Faith and Repentance and Charity as most necessary Preparatives in order to a worthy Receiving not as if other Virtues were to be excluded but because these are specially to be Exercised forasmuch as this great Solemnity doth afford us Special and Eminent Objects for the Exercising of them I shall therefore observe the usual Method being now to shew how Prepared you ought to be and what Preparations are sufficient and for your more Profitable Instruction I shall Discourse particularly of those three Qualifications in their due order 1. AND first of Faith which is the Mother and Nurse of all True Religion By Faith I mean here in the strict Notion of it an Act of the Vnderstanding whereby a Man is convinced and satisfied of the Truth of those things which are propounded to our Belief by Divine Revelation distinguishing Faith from Hope and Obedience and other Acts of the Will which are included in the Notion of Faith when 't is taken in a larger and more comprehensive Sense Now in the pursuit of this Subject I shall do these two things 1. First shew why Faith is required in a Communicant that we may understand the Necessity of this part of our Duty 2. What Faith is required or what we are bound to Believe that we may see the Extent of it And when this is done I know not what more will be needful to be spoken touching this matter 1. WHY Faith is required in a Communicant And the Reason of it is obvious because it is the Principle that doth influence move and govern our Actions it being unconceivable how a Man should be wrought upon either to put his Trust in God or to forsake his Impieties or to do any other Act of Religion unless he be first perswaded in his Mind that the Author of our Religion had Authority from God to exact these things at our Hands and that there is Mercy with God if we be careful to do our Duty and that nothing but Punishment is to be expected if we neglect and despise so great Salvation So that without Faith as it is impossible to please God so it is impossible to answer the ends and purposes of this Ordinance and consequently the Elements that are taken by an Unbeliever can do him no more good than a Morsel put into a Dead Man's Mouth Even the Word that is Preached doth not profit at all if it be not mixed with Faith in them that hear it Heb. 4. 2. A thousand Homilies of Righteousness are no more to such than Metaphysical Discourses to a Brute In like manner the Administration of this Sacrament though to well-prepared Souls it be the Communication of Christ's Body and Blood yet it availeth not except there be a Disposition and Principle of Faith in them that Receive it It is observable that while
Faith is as unalterable as the Author of it who is the same yesterday and to day and for ever And if in that plain and easie Belief the Church went to Heaven of Old why may we not do so still And why may we not go to the Sacrament as to Heaven-gate by that Faith whereby so many Thousands have all along entered into Paradise 3. ESPECIALLY if we Consider in the 3 d place the Nature and Reason of this present Solemnity It is the Evangelical Feast by partaking whereof we do Renew our Covenant with God as the Jews did by Eating of the Passover And hence we may conclude that which Capacitates a Man to enter into Covenant with God first of all is sufficient to Qualifie and Fit him for the Renewing of that Covenant now because the Terms of the Covenant are all along the same and what we did at our Baptism and do now again is but the same thing acted over and over Now it is evident from the Holy Scriptures that the cordial belief of the Authority and Merits of Christ was accounted enough in the Apostles days for the admission of People unto Baptism which is the Initiating Mystery at which God and Men do interchangeably Seal Indentures first of all In Act. 8. we find Philip Preaching to the Ethiopian Eunuch and requiring a Confession of his Creed that he might be Baptized and when the Eunuch made this short Confession I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God it was thought enough to give him a right to the Seal of the Covenant and so straightway Philip went down into the Water and Baptized him v. 38. The like we Read of Paul and Silas how they directed the frighted Jayler to believe on the Lord Jesus Act. 16. 33. and instantly upon that Confession Baptized him Now we do not any where read or find any Reason to conjecture that the Apostles demanded any other Faith of their Converts before the Communion than what they had delivered unto them to prepare them for Baptism The same Belief which qualified them for that did also Qualifie them for this other Sacrament for in Act. 2. where we meet with the first Converts and a great number of them even three Thousand Souls St. Luke relates that they were Baptized and continued stedfast in the Apostles Doctrine and in breaking of Bread v. 42. And by the Story it seems to be intimated that in a very short time after they were Baptized they were all admitted to the Lord's Table I add to this in the last place that the Primitive Church of Christ required this of Communicants that they should believe those things to be True which were taught them by their Pastours for so Justin Martyr expresly tells us and those things were no other than the common Faith of all true Christians in all Ages and which in the Athanasian Creed is called the Catholick Faith consisting of the Fundamental Articles of our Religion which were antiently drawn up into short Summaries And by a passage in St. Ambrose it doth appear that Baptised Persons were not prohibited from coming to the Communion but for the space of a few days after their Baptism And this Prohibition was intended not that they might in that time learn a New Creed but only gain some further Knowledge touching the Nature and Ends of this Religious Mystery still the Faith was one and the same even a comfortable belief in Jesus Christ and him Crucified TO all which I shall only add the Judgment of the Church as to the Nature of that Faith which is necessary for Baptism c. as it appears in the Office of Publick and Private Baptism in the Visitation of the Sick in the Exposition of the Creed in the Catechism as also in that old useful Book called the Institution of a Christian Man In all which no more is lookt upon as necessary but an hearty assent to the Truth of those common Doctrines of Christianity contained in the Apostolical Symbol BY what then hath been thus particularly shew'd any ordinary Communicant may easily discern whether his Faith be genuine and right and approved and such as the Gospel doth require In short do you believe that the Holy Jesus was the Son of God That he came into the World by the Appointment of his Father That his great Errand was to Redeem an undone and without him a lost World That he Dyed upon the Cross for this purpose That his Blood was shed as a Ransom for all That he paid a Price even for thy poor Soul And that for his sake thou may'st find Mercy at the hands of God If this be thy Faith thou may'st be assured that thy Faith is as right and true as ever was the Faith of an Apostle tho' thou canst not Remove Mountains nor Heal the Sick with thy shadow And therefore thou art thus far well Prepared to be a Receiver because this is the proper Object of every Christian's Faith That Jesus Christ is the Saviour of the World and to believe thus much with a particular application of Christ's Merits to thine own Soul so that thou canst believe it with Joy and cast thy self on him with an Humble Confidence and trust to him for thy present Pardon and future Felicity this is the proper Act of a Worthy Communicant CHAP. V. Of Repentance THERE is another Special Act of Religion which not only every Communicant but indeed every Christian ought to employ the utmost of his Care about and that is Repentance from dead works the Natural Fruit of Faith towards God In discoursing of this 't is requisite for me to shew 1. First the true Nature of Repentance wherein it doth consist 2dly Upon what Special Grounds and Reasons it is necessary before we go to the Communion And 3dly how far and in what Degree it is necessary 1. FOR the right understanding of the Nature of Repentance we must not rely upon the groundless nay Superstitious Conceits of the School-men who place the whole Work of Repentance in Contrition Confession and Satisfaction meaning that though a Man be never so broken in Heart yet he is not a right Penitent nor fit for the Communion till he hath privately made an enumeration of his Sins to a Priest and doth undergo at least doth Vow and Promise to undergo some Ritual Penance to Expiate his Offences At the bottom of this Doctrine there is a great deal of Trick and Artifice which is quite Foreign to the design and business of Christianity For Christ's Religion is a plain and admirable Method to make Men universally Good and to bring us to the Love of solid and substantial Vertue that we may Live the Life of Angels Pure and Holy as far as it is consistent with the Nature and Condition of Mortal Men. Accordingly Repentance means a Zealous and Passionate Abhorrence of every thing that is Evil in the Eye of God The common Notion of Repentance implyeth thus much that
what a Man hath done he wisheth were undone and resolves to do so no more And this is the Notion which the Christian Doctors of Old entertained of this matter as * Lombard lib. 4. dist 14. Est autem poenitentia ut dit Ambrosius mala praeterita plangere plangenda iterum non committere Haec vera est poenitentia cessare a peccato Id. Item Gregorius poenitere est anteacta peccata deflere slend◠non committere Ita Isidorus Irrisor est non poenitens qui adhuc agit quod poenitet Item Augustinus Inanis est poenitentia quam sequens culpa coinquinat Quibus addendum illud Tertulliani ubi emendatio nulla poenitentia vana Peter Lombard himself doth very plainly acknowledge that true Repentance lyeth in a sincere Sorrow for all past Miscarriages and in a resolution never to return again with the Dog to his Vomit or with the Sow that is washed to her wallowing in the mire THE Holy Scripture which in this and all other necessary Speculations is our only sure and infallible Guide gives us this short account of the Nature of Repentance that it is the eschewing of Evil and the doing of Good So that it is a perfect change of a Man's purposes and courses the forsaking of all Iniquity a New State a Life of Sanctity and Goodness And they that place it in a little sorrow of the Mind joyned with Auricular Confession and the outward Austerities and Chastisements of the Body shew more their Love of Childishness and a regard for their own Interest and Authority over Poor People than their Skill in sound Divinity To Repent signifies in the Sacred Dialect to become a New Man to have an Heart Renewed and Transform'd and to follow a New that is a Religious course of Life The Scripture indeed hath several Expressions that signifie this change 'T is called a New Creature the Renovation of the Mind and Spirit the putting on of the New Man the purging of the Heart from an Evil Conscience the abhorring of Evil and cleaving to that which is Good the turning to God the Dying to Sin the Mortifying of our Lusts and Affections Repentance from dead Works and many more the like Expressions there are but these are only various delineations of the same thing several Words and Phrases proper to Divinity whereby is meant the total rectifying of a Man's Temper and Life or as even an Heathen Hierocles * Hieroc in Pythag. p. 166. describes it the recovering of that clean Life which by a mixture of Passions was Defiled the correcting of all inconsiderate courses the shunning of all Foolish Actions and Words and the Institution of such a Life as is not to be Repented of For our Nature being vitiated and depraved the Business of Religion is to new-mould our Tempers to take away every thing that sowers Humanity and unbecometh Creatures that ought to be governed by right Reason and so by degrees to bring us as near as 't is possible to the Temper of Christ and to the Nature of God himself The Reason of it is because the ultimate end of Christ's Religion is to make us perfectly Happy in another World in order whereunto 't is absolutely necessary for us to partake of the Divine Nature in this Life and to be made like unto God in Goodness and Purity For all Happiness doth consist in the Enjoyment of that which Answers ones Desires which agrees with his Mind which is suitable to his Faculties which gives him all manner of Satisfaction So that in the Nature of the thing it is impossible for a Man to be fit for the Enjoyment of Heaven that is not of an Heavenly Mind and Temper The Condition of that place is not suitable to the frame and disposition of any filthy Heart And therefore every Evil Man that Dies before his Heart is changed must be Miserable of course for he carries a Hell along with him he goes out of the World with such a Temper as makes him fit only for the Society and Conversation of Wicked Spirits Men that are Fierce Haughty and Froward Men that are full of Malice and bitterness Men that hate every thing that is good Men that delight in Cruelties and Bloodshed Men that are Contentious Vexatious and Troublesome Men that are in Love with Mischief that Live without God that mind only Earthly and Wicked things and that wallow in Sensualities and Uncleanness whither can we suppose such Devilish Tempers fit to go but to the Company of Devils and Spirits like unto themselves It requires a great deal of care and pains to mend a Man's Nature to rectifie and regulate his Temper so as to dispose him for the Enjoyment of God and to make him receptive and capable of the Felicities of Heaven It is an exellent Expression that of St. Paul's Col. 1. 12. Giving thanks unto the Father who hath made us meet to be partakers of the Inheritance of the Saints in light 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that hath made us fit for a Portion of that Inheritance that hath so wrought upon our Hearts that we are Prepared and Qualified rightly Fitted and Condition'd for the Enjoyment of Heaven NOW all this is done by a sincere and hearty Repentance when a Man reflecting upon the Love of God and upon the Folly Turpitude and Heinousness of his own Sins is broken in Heart through a deep Sense of them and from that hour vows and resolves upon entire Obedience to the Divine Will Accordingly he enters presently upon a New State of Life governing his Desires with a strong hand checking his former Inclinations keeping his Lusts and Affections under command and stedfastly resisting those Temptations which Betray'd him before into the hands of the Destroyer By this means he extirpates by degrees those vitious habits which once were not only his Life but his Plague too and by using himself to a course of Virtue and Religion which he finds to be infinitely more easie and delightful as well as safe he soon comes to be out of Love with Sin and is so renewed in the Spirit of his Mind that the great care and employment of his Life is to Reform himself Universally and to yield up his Members as the Servants and Instruments of Righteousness THIS is briefly the Nature of Repentance a perfect and total change and they are very dangerously mistaken who are taught to believe that if they find in themselves some Remorse of Conscience some trouble of Mind together with general and imperfect purposes of amendment their Penitence is sufficient as long as they have the Priest's Absolution Alas all this comes vastly short of Reformation without which all the rest are Vnprofitable For all the Absolutions in the World will do no good without an utter detestation and forsaking of Sin in the Penitent nor will all his Fears all his Remorse all his Confessions avail him if when he goes for Absolution he looks with a
Corruptions of Soul along with them And never is it more necessary for Men to lay their Impurities aside than when they come to this Christian Sacrifice The Body of the Lamb was a Type and Figure of the Flesh of Christ and as we cannot refuse Eating without being Guilty as well as Foolish and Improvident so neither can we be Innocent if we Eat with our Uncleannesses about us this is no other than to Eat and Drink Judgment to our selves 1 Cor. 11. 2. BESIDES 2dly the Nature of this Great Mystery is well to be considered for as I have shew'd it is the Covenant Feast under the Gospel even as the Paschal Supper and other Sacrifical Banquets were under the Law And Repentance is indispensably required of all that come to Contract with God There is a remarkable place in Psal 10. 16 17. Vnto the Wicked God saith why dost thou Preach my Laws and takest my Covenant into thy Mouth whereas thou hatest to be Reformed The Psalmist doth manifestly allude to an Ancient Custom of making Covenants with God by Sacrifice as it is v. 5. For the Offering being made upon the Altar and part of it being burnt as God's Portion the remainder was taken away by the Covenanting Parties as their share and their manner was to Eat it together before the Lord thereby testifying that they were now in Communion and Fellowship with him And this the Psalmist calls the taking of God's Covenant in their mouths for it was the Eating of his Sacrifice which was a Sign and Token of the Covenant Now what they did of Old when they did Communicate of the Flesh of Beasts That the very same thing we Christians do now when we partake of Bread and Wine we do Solemnly Profess that we are in Covenant with God and Solemnly Confirm this Covenant at his Table Now the Terms of the Covenant under the Gospel are these on our part that we will serve God in Holiness and Righteousness all the days of our Life and if our inward intentions be not according to our outward Profession but we hate to be Reformed what horrible Presumption is it to take the Symbol and Seal of God's Covenant into our Mouths All this is Mockage and Hypocrisie a Solemn and Theatrical kind of jeer if Men do not stedfaly resolve and purpose in their Hearts to become New Men and for ever to please God in Newness of Life 3. ADD to this in the third place that the Blessings tendred us at this Sacrament are such as do require a Sincere Repentance from dead Works as a Qualification and Disposition to make us meet to be Partakers of them For here Christ is tendred with all the Fruits and Benefits of that Sacrifice which he once for all offered up to his Father upon the Cross And of these Forgiveness of Sin is one great Blessing But there is no Pardon to the Wicked to such as are still in Love with their Abominations and intend to persist and go on in their Wickedness In order therefore to a due Celebration of this Mystery as every Knee should bow so every Heart must be broken and every filthy Lust Mortified For Conversion goeth before Forgiveness as the Condition that Capacitates the Receiver and the Dominion of Sin must be Conquered before the Guilt of it can be removed it being impossible for Vice and Grace to Reign together or that God and Belial should sit together in the same Throne 'T is Repentance that Prepares the way for Mercy and makes room for that Pardon which we beg for at the Altar and that we may be sure of Forgiveness we must so Condemn all our Impieties as to forsake them and so to grieve for them as to detest and abhor them For Christ is not an Absolute but a Conditional Saviour Nor doth he Ransom any by his Blood from Eternal Death but whom he Redeems first by the assistance of his Grace from those Iniquities whereof Death is the Wages All that Bliss and Happiness which is reserved for us in Heaven and whereof we have a foretast and earnest at this Sacrament is the Portion of Holy Souls only that Love the Lord Jesus in Sincerity and resolve to Obey him CHAP. VI. Of the Degrees and Measures of Repentance According as Mens Sins are Of Unwilful Sins THIS being enough to shew the Necessity of Repentance in order to a due Communion I proceed in the next place to shew what Measures and Degrees of Repentance are necessary For the clearing of this too we must of necessity consider the different Degrees and Measures of Sin because Repentance must bear some Proportion to the Offence and as a Man's Sins are of a greater or a lesser Nature so must his Repentance be also NOW considering that the Act and Consent of a Man's Will is that which renders an Action formally Sinful and the more wilful any Sin is the more it riseth and swelleth in greatness we must first distinguish between Wilful and Vnwilful Sins for so it will the more fully and evidently appear what degree that Repentance must be of which is to be proportionable and suitable to both WILFVL Sins then are such as are committed with a Man's full Approbation and Choice when he deliberates upon it or at least hath means and time to deliberate and resolves with himself to do the thing either for the gratifying of some Lust or for the procuring of some worldly end though he knows the Action to be contrary to God's Law and might refrain from it if he would make a due use of that strength which God hath either fixed in his Nature or added by his Grace Such an Action is rightly said to be wilful because a Man's Will hath the greatest hand and stroak in it For we suppose in this case that the Understanding is or may be sufficiently informed and that the Inclinations are not so strong nor the Temptations so great but that they might be Victoriously Resisted if the Party would but give his mind to it and set his Heart to employ his Power and Abilities And therefore the Sin is called Wilful because though some little fault may perchance lye both in his Understanding and Affections too yet the main blame lyes upon the Will for carrying the Action on with Resolution and Obstinacy because he is set upon frowardness VNWILFVL Sins are such as have not the Consent or not the full Consent of the Will but proceed rather from some Natural and Hereditary Imperfection either from a defect of Knowledge by means whereof a Man either wants light in his Understanding or looks upon things in a wrong light and then 't is a Sin of Ignorance or else it proceeds from a defect of Strength from some Inability and Lameness of Humane Nature by means whereof his own corrupt Inclinations within are too quick for him or some Temptations from without are so sudden so thick so violent against him that he cannot hold out against himself as
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
manner in that Country fall down before his Feet so that St. Peter himself did it upon the miraculous Draught of Fish Luke 5. And why might not all the Disciples do this at his institution of the Blessed Sacrament which he told them was the representation of his own Flesh and Blood especially after he himself had Preached unto them a Lecture of Humility when he had washed their Feet Indeed the Sacred Story gives us no Authority to affirm this positively and dogmatically but yet there are probable Arguments for Mens Conjecture this way And as far as I can see all other Opinions are but Conjectures and I hope we may have leave to opine as well as other Men. BUT we cannot be so confident as to determine this matter in regard that we want the Testimony of Scripture though Reason may be on our side And herein we would give a Pattern to our Dissenting Brethren to be modest in Opinions for which they have no solid Foundation where I pray is the ground they go upon touching the unlawfulness of Kneeling as a thing repugnant to the Example of the Apostles since it cannot be proved what that Example was It might be a posture of Kneeling and Adoration for ought they know Sitting it was not I dare confidently affirm In all probability 't was not a standing posture neither perhaps it was the posture which we customarily use if not it was a leaning posture upon Pallets And no body now insisteth upon that for an Example to us 3. AND yet Thirdly were the Examples both of Christ's Disciples and of Christ himself apparently such as some Men conjecture they would not yet be leading and Authoritative Precedents to us in this point For 't is generally agreed by all Christian Divines that the Example of Christ is not universally to be followed much less the Example of his Disciples In some things 't is not possible in other things 't is not proper in many things 't is not necessary for us to follow that Copy Where we have the Example and the Precept too there indeed we are bound and I wish Men would consider of those weighty things rather than of Matters of slender importance But where we have no Command there to take an Example for our Rule is to make our selves guilty in some instances of Folly and in some of Superstition and Presumption The Practice of our Lord and his Disciples is no Rule for us in Circumstantials and Rites unless they are made necessarily Practical by some Positive Direction and Command Now we have no Command in this Case the one way or the other no not evident Example to direct us and therefore they talk vainly and impertinently who Condemn Kneeling at the Sacrament as an unlawful Posture since no Law can be derived either from Christ's Precept or from His or his Disciples Practice that doth evidently rise up in Judgment against it THE Church then being left to her Liberty what posture to use thought fit to chuse that of Kneeling for these three Reasons chiefly 1. TO testifie our belief of our Saviour's Godhead Had he been a meer Creature as all other Men are we might have had some encouragement to present our selves at his Table as his Fellows and in a common Table-Gesture as those are wont to do who deny the Doctrine of his Divinity But being the Eternal Son of God and equal to the Father he hath a Right and Claim to the humblest Services we can think of to express in some measure the sense we should have of his Infinite Greatness and Majesty especially at an Ordinance which was instituted in Honour to him 2. AS a Posture that is most suitable to the Nature of the Mystery it self Here we Commemorate the Lord's Infinite Goodness and Love his unexpressible Sufferings for us and his humbling of himself to Death even the Death of the Cross Here we feed upon the Symbols of his Body and Blood for the Pardon of all our Sins Here we Seal anew unto God our Covenant of Faith Mortification and Obedience and God reneweth unto us his Covenant of Grace and Morcy Here all that we do is Divine Worship the Mystery is a most Solemn Encharist or Thanksgiving a real and lively Form of praising God as Psalms and Hymns are at other times And all this is attended with devout Prayer from the beginning to the end the whole Congregation praying for all Estates and Conditions of Men the Minister praying for every particular Communicant and each particular Communicant consenting to the Prayer joyning his own suffrage and praying in his own person for the preservation of his Soul and Body So that Adoration and Worship being our whole work at this time it ought to be performed in an adoring posture not only with Eyes and Hands lifted up but with bended Knees too which all Nations have ever thought the most solemn and suitable posture of Adoration 3. THE Church hath chosen it as a Posture that is most expressive of our Gratitude to God for the astonishing Mercies which all Worthy Communicants receive at this Great Solemnity Forgiveness of Sin Peace with God the Increase of the Holy Spirit Divine Influences from above from the Man Christ Jesus with an Earnest and Pledge of a Happy Resurrection and a Glorious Immortality FROM all which Considerations every Pious and Humble Soul may argue after this manner Since this is the Symbol of the blood of God which was shed for me and for many for the Remission of all our Sins shall I not receive it upon my Knees Since Heaven is his Throne and the Earth his Footstool what place can be too vile or what gesture too lowly for Sinful dust and ashes Since we are now admitted to the presence of the Lamb and to the Gate of Heaven O come let us Worship and fall down and kneel before the Lord our Maker and Redeemer If the Blessed Jesus in his Agony fell down with his Knees placed on the bare ground how can I now begrudge the bowing of mine Since the Praises of God are now to be in my mouth what better Example can I follow than those Elders in Heaven who fell down before Him that sat on the Throne and Worshipt Him that liveth for ever and ever saying Holy Holy Holy Lord God Almighty which was and is and is to come Since my Blessed Redeemer was pleased to humble himself even to the Death of the Cross what humility can be great enough for Me who am now to gather up my Life and Happiness at his feet Since I am now to beg for a Blessed Eternity and to offer up my whole self a Reasonable Holy and Living Sacrifice what more reasonable for me than to beg God's acceptance of my Prayers and Oblation upon my bended Knees And since my Eating and Drinking at the Lord's Table is a Pledge of so many stupendious Mercies to come how can I chuse but kneel when I take the Seals of his
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