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A10652 Meditations on the holy sacrament of the Lords last Supper Written many yeares since by Edvvard Reynolds then fellow of Merton College in Oxford. Reynolds, Edward, 1599-1676. 1638 (1638) STC 20929A; ESTC S112262 142,663 279

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supererogation as I conceive and over performance of such duties as are not so visibly repugnant to my personall corruptions Doe the beames of the Sunne of righteousnesse shining on my soule illighten me with his truth and with his power sway me unto all good Am I heartily affected with all the conditions of Gods Church to mourne or to rejoyce with it even at such times when mine owne particular estate would frame me unto affections of a contrary temper Have I free use of all my spirituall senses to see the light of God to heare his Word to taste his mercies to feele with much tendernes all the wounds and pressures of sinne Doe I love all divine truth not so much because proportionable unto my desires but because conformable unto God Am I resolv'd in all estates to relie on Gods mercy and providence though He should kill me to trust in him Doe I wholy renounce all trust in mine owne worthines or in any concurrences of mine owne naturally towards God Doe I not build eyther my hopes or feares upon the faces of men nor make eyther them or my selfe the rule or end of my desires finally doe I endeavour a universall obedience unto Gods Law in all the whole latitude and extent of it not indulging to my selfe liberty in any knowne sinne Is not my obedience mercenary and hypocriticall but spirituall and sincere Do I not swallow gnats nor stumble at straws not dispense with my selfe for the least of sinns for irregular thoughts for occasions of offence for appearances of evill for the motions of concupiscence for idle words and vaine conversation and whatsover is in the lowest degree forbidden And though in any or all these I may be sometimes overtaken as who is it that can say I have washed my hands in innocency I am cleane from my sinnes Doe I yet relent for it strive and resolue against it in a word doth not mine owne heart condemne me of selfe-deceite of hypocrisie of halting and dissembling in Gods service Then may I safely conclude that I have partaked of the saving efficacy of Faith and am fitly qualified to partake of these holy mysteries whereby this good worke of Faith begun in me may bee strengthned and more perfected against the day of the Lord Jesus In the receiving of which we must use all both inward and outward reverence secret elevations of spirit and comfortable thoughts touching the mercies of God in Christ touching the qualities and benefits of his passion and of our sinnes that caused it and Lastly for the course of our life after wee must pitch upon a constant resolution to abandon all sinne and to keepe a strict hand over all our wayes least turning againe with the Swine to the mire that which should bee the badge of our honor prove the Character of our shame The Persians had a festivall time one day in the yeere which they cald Vitiorum interitum wherein they slew all Serpents and venemous creatures and after that till the revolution of that same day suffred them to swarme againe as fast as ever If we thinke in that manner to destroy our sins and onely one day in the yeere when we celebrate this holy Festivall the evill spirit may hapily depart for a day in policie but surely he will turne againe with seven other spirits make the end of that man worse then his beginning But that ground which drinketh in the raine which commeth of upon it and what raine comparable to a showre of Christs bloud in the Sacrament and bringeth forth herbs meete for the use of him that dressed it receiveth blessings from God A Cup of Blessing heere but Rivers of Blessednesse hereafter in that Paradise which is above where Hee who is in this life the Obiect of our Faith and Hope shall bee the End and Reward of them both for ever FINIS A Summary of the severall Chapters contained in this Booke Chap. 1. MAns Being to be imployed in working that working is directed unto some good which is God that good a free and voluntary reward which we here enjoy onely in the right of a promise the scale of which promise is a Sacrament pag. 1. Chap. 2. Sacraments are earnests and shadowes of our expected glory made unto the senses p. 6. Chap. 3. Inferences of practise from the former observations p. 10. Chap. 4. Whence Sacraments derive their valew and being namely from the Author that instituted them p. 15. Chap. 5. Inferences of practise from the Authour of this Sacrament p. 19. Chap. 6. Of the Circumstances of the institution namely the time and place p. 24. Chap. 7. Of the matter of the Lords Supper Bread and Wine with their Analogy unto Christ. pag. 32. Chap. 8. Practicall inferences from the materialls of the Lords Supper p. 40. Ch. 9. Of the Analogy and proportion betweene the holy actions used by Christ in this Sacrament and Christ himselfe who is the substance of it p. 45. Ch. 10. Of the fourth action with the reasons why the Sacrament is to be eaten and drunken p. 53. Chap. 11. Of other reasons why the Sacrament is eaten and drunken and of the manner of our union and incorporation into Christ. p. 60. Chap. 12. Inferences of Practise from the consideration of the former actions p. 72 Chap. 13. Of the two first ends or effects of the Sacrament namely the exhibition of Christ to the Church and the union of the Church to Christ. Of the reall Presence p. 81. Chap. 14. Of three other ends of this holy Sacrament the fellowship or union of the faithfull the obsignation of the Covenant of Grace and the abrogation of the Passeover p. 102. Chap. 15. The last end of this holy Sacrament namely the Celebration and memory of Christs death A briefe collection of all the ben●fits which are by his death conveyed on the Church The question touching the quallity of temporall punishments stated p. 116. Chap. 16. Of the manner after which wee are to celebrate the memory of Christs passion p. 137. Chap. 17. Inferences of practise from the severall ends of this holy Sacrament p. 148 Chap. 18. Of the subject who may with best benefit receive the holy Sacrament with the necessary qualification thereunto of the necessity of due preparation p. 170. Chap. 19. Of the forme or manner of examination required which is touching the maine qualification of a worthy receiver faith The demonstration whereof is made first from the causes secondly from the nature of it p. 185. Chap. 20. Of the third and last meanes for the triall and demonstration of Faith namely from effects or properties thereof p. 224. FINIS Perlegi eruditum hunc de S. Eucharistiâ Tractatum dignumquè judico qui typis mandetur R. P. Epis● Lond. Capell domest April 7. 1638. Tho. Wykes Errata PAg 3. Lin. 18. for naucals r. naturalls p. 21. l. 9. for confounders r. cofounders p. 55. l. 18. for concerne r. preserve p. 82. for poted r.
need of us in feare of our boldnesse lest we abuse them not in need of our judgements to polish or alter them The conquest of an enemy against the perscript of his Generall cost a Roman Gentleman his life though his own father were the judge The killing of a Lion contrary to the establish'd Laws of the Kings hunting though it were only to rescue the King himself whose life was set upon lost a poor Persian the losse of his head The over-wise industry of the Architect in bringing not the same but a fitter peece of timber than he was commanded to the Romish Consul was rewarded with nothing but the bundle of rods So jealous and displeased are even men themselves to have their own Laws undervalued by the private judgements of those who rather interpret than obey them And therefore even those men who erected the fabricks of superstition and wil-worship have yet ever endeavoured to derive the originall of them on some divine revelations And that great Roman Captain Scipio ever before the undertaking of any businesse was wont first to enter the Capitol and pretend a consultation with the Gods touching their allowance of his intended designes grounding all his attempts and governing all his actions by the unerring judgement of their Deities And generally in all the Roman sacrifices the minister or servant was to attend a command before hee was to strike the beast that was offered Horrible then and more than heathenish is the impiety of those who mixing humane inventions and ceremonies of their owne unto the substance of these sacred mysteries and imposing them as divine duties with a necessitie of absolute obedience do by that meanes wrench Christs owne divine prerogative out of his owne hands and make themselves shall I say confounders and joynt authors of his Sacraments nay rather indeed the destroyers of them since as he that receives otherwise than Christ requires receives not Christ but rather damnation so he that gives otherwayes than Christ instituted doth not indeed give Christ but an Idoll of his own making Secondly we see here with how great reverence we ought to approach Gods Temple to receive these deep mysteries of Salvation which it pleas'd Christ in his owne person to institute and with his owne presence to exhibit unto the Church was a beast slaine for touching the Mount and shall not a man of beastly and vile affections bee punished for touching that table where the Lord is present was Moses to put off his shooes at that bush which represented Gods power and must not we shake off our earthly and corrupt desires at those mysteries which represent his mercy were Nadab and Abihu destroyd before the Lord for offring strange fire at his Altar and shall we plead immunity if we present strange soules and a false faith at his Table was Adam thrust out of Paradise for his sinne in eating of the tree of knowledge and shall we escape if we sinne in eating of the bread of life even unto the institutions of mortall men though often in their substance needlesse in their observance difficult and in their end not much beneficiall so long as they keep within the compasse of indifferent things there is requir'd not only our obedience but our reverence The word of God though delivered unto us in earthen vessells by men of like weak and fraile affections with our selves yet because of that native pretiousnesse which resides in it and of that derived glory which it brings from the spirit that reveald it is so farre to be honor'd as that the vessells that bring it are to be had in high estimation even for their works sake But the Sacraments are not either of humane authority as are positive lawes nor of divine inspiration unto holy men as were the Scriptures but they are by so much the more the immediate effects of divine power by how much they are instituted without the least concurrence of any other instrument being reach'd out first unto the Church of God by that immaculate and pretious hand which was it selfe presently stretcht forth on the Crosse to embrace the weary and heavy laden Let us not then venture to receive so sacred things with unwashen hands as matters of meere custome fashion or formality But let us look unto that high authority that ordayn'd them on that holy mouth that blessed them on that arme of mercy that exhibits them being ever assur'd that as Christ hath one hand of bounty and redemption which reacheth forth life to the worthie receiver so hath he another of justice and power ready to avenge the injuries and contempt that shall be done to his owne holy institution Thirdly we see here the honourable condition of the faithfull in that they not only receive Christ and all the benefits of his merits and actions but all this they receive from his owne hands For we may not think that the actions of Christ in looking up and blessing and breaking and giving were meerly temporary locall or confined actions terminated only to the present company that were then with him Certainly as the Apostles were then the representative Church so was that a representative action the vertue and effect whereof descends and passeth through all successions of the Church The arme of the Lord is not shortned or any way shrunk that it cannot still exhibit what then it did If he can so lengthen the arme of faith in us as to reach as farre as heaven to embrace him he can as well stretch out his owne arme of mercy from heaven to present that unto us which he did unto his disciples It was an admirable and unexpected honour that was shewd to Mordecay when the royall Crowne and the Kings owne apparell was put upon him though by the service of wicked Haman But Christ doth not only bestow on us his Kingdom in the Sacrament which seales unto us our inheritance with him nor doth only invest us with his own meritorious purple roabs his red garments from Bozrha the garments of innocency and of unity but doth all this with his owne immediate hand so that our honour must needs be so much greater than was Mordecay's by how much the roabs of Christ are more royall than the Persian Kings and his person more sacred than was wicked Hamans CHAP. VI. Of the Circumstances of the Institution namely the Time and Place AND as the Author so the Circumstances of the Institution do not a little adde unto the excellency of this Sacrament first for the circumstance of Time It was the same night wherein he was betrayed in the evening and after Supper In the evening or night a time fit to prefigure a passion and eclipse his especially who was the Sunne of righteousnesse and the light of the world a passion that brought darknesse on the very fountaine of light the Sunne even in the midday In the evening to note that now