want or distress and a returning of praise for blessings receiv'd or deliverances obtein'd Or indeed more generally and suitably to the nature of this holy exercise abstracting it from our occasions 't is a Meditation upon God his essence and his Attributes his Word and his Works and an acknowledgement of his power and wisdome and goodness whereby he orders all things to his own glory and our good It is indeed the special act of God's worship for Adoration is nothing else but a praying to him whom we adore Whereupon the heathen well observ'd that 't was not he that graves the idol but he that prayes to it which consecrates the Deity This is sure that his Religion may well be question'd who useth not to pray though 't is true too that prayer may be abus'd to wrong ends even to devour widow's houses nay to eat up God's own House Now the grounds of Prayer are laid in the nature of God and the relation which he hath to us who as he is our Creator and preserver challenges this homage whence the Psalmist frequently invites all our fellow creatures to this duty brings us altogether into one quire to praise the Lord. And the very instinct of nature hath taught ravenous beasts not so much to prey as to pray the young Lions and the young Ravens in their hunger cry to him and he feeds them and fills every thing living with his blessing Nor doth our relation so much as our want make prayer necessary for we depend upon him both as to the life of nature and of grace nor are we able to subsist or act without his constant help Therefore that praecept is no more then nature dictates to us Pray without ceasing or continually that is In every time In every place In every business The main thing in Prayer being to lift up the soul to carry God in our thoughts and have our conversation in Heaven as the man after Gods own heart saith of himself I have set the Lord alwayes before me And in the presence of so glorious a Majesty there cannot chuse but be an humble reverent fervent chearfull frame of spirit a mind well tuned and the affections so order'd the thoughts so compos'd as if one were alwayes in an actual devotion Now God's Nature makes it as convenient for us to go to him in prayer as our Interest makes it necessary for as he was pleased to call Abraham that had frequent intercourses with him in this kind his friend He hath all the qualities which should be taken notice of in the choice of a friend He wants neither will nor skill to do us all imaginable good He hath kindness to intend us good wisdome to contrive it and power to accomplish it Nor are the other Attributes idle in our behalf For 't is his Mercy to promise us help and his Iustice to perform his promise and the like may be said of the rest Then what a priviledge is it that a poor creature dust and ashes may freely speak to his maker That we who dwell in houses of clay may keep up a commerce with heaven that sinfull creatures as we are have access to the throne of Grace with boldness and may challenge a hearing in God's Court of Chancery Shall not the Iudge of all the earth saith he do right And any sinner may sue for his pardon with the same plea. Shall not justice acquit me since mercy hath accepted my surety Is it not enough that my debt hath been once pay'd Christ hath dyed for my sins and my soul shall live Nay let our case be what it will God himself hath afforded us such Arguments as he will not stand out Shall he that hath given me a life deny me food shall he that hath given me a body deny me raiment He that hath given me his Son will not he much more give me all things else Thus Prayer is not only like Iacob's wrestling with God upon earth but his scaling ladder too to reach heaven whilst Prayers ascend to fetch down blessings and blessings descend to fetch up praises Lastly let 's but look to the advantages that come by praying and me thinks no body should be so ill natur'd to himself as to neglect it What is 't but ask and have and will any one be so lazy as to refuse the pains of asking He deserves not bread to put in his mouth that will not open a proud mouth to ask it We have Gods word for 't in several places that his kindness he rates so cheap that it shall be had for asking Ask and it shall be given you And our Saviour passeth his word that whatsoever we shall ask in his name he will do it Can any thing be purchas'd at a lower rate then asking This is the buying without mony and without price Doth a man want wisdome counsel help Doth a sinner want grace pardon strength Doth a Saint want light comfort rest Let him but come and ask he shall find God readier to give then himself was to ask who sometimes answers prayers before they are made and counts it one of his greatest titles that he is a hearer of Prayer But some ask and have not Because as the Apostle saith they ask amiss Wherefore he that would pray aright so that he may obtein must come prepared furnisht with those Graces which may make him accepted Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight We must not rush into so great a presence for the foolish shall not stand before thee but consider the Majesty of God and our own vileness being deeply affected with the sense of his goodness and mans misery and premeditate before hand what we have to say and how and indeed pray before we go to pray that God will prepare our hearts for prayer For so the Psalmist resolves the success of Prayer Thou shalt prepare or direct their heart and shalt cause thy ear to hear And though all the graces like a bed of spices are upon this occasion to breath forth their sweet odours yet some have a more particular imployment such as are Reverence in our high thoughts of God Humility in our low thoughts of our selves Trust to rely upon his goodness and Patience to wait his time Knowledge that we may understand in some measure the nature of God and Obedience that we may sincerely perform his will Zeal which may inflame and raise our affections towards him and Constancy which may keep us in a daily practice of this Deity And to those which call upon him so God will be near and will either do that which they ask or something which may be better for them Who comes irreverently puts an affront upon God which an earthly Prince would not brook He that is possess'd with an aw of greatness will take heed how he demeans himself before it Reverence then
Be it more or less whatever it is it comes from the hand of a Father and is better then a rebellious child deserves We must neither envy those that have more given them nor scorn those that have less since it pleased God so to make the distribution Let not thy eye be evill because thy master is good nor censure any one from his outward fortune We are all children of the same Father and if he gives one child better cloaths and better fare then another he sees very good reason to diversifie his dispensations and 't is reason enough to quiet our thoughts that he hath so order'd it But if our curiosity do tempt us to look out upon the condition of others about us let us make this use of it and compare our selves with those above us to learn humility that we should not be proud for God's giving us so much since he has given to some others more and with those of lower degree to practise thankfulness that we may not grumble at God's providence who hath done better by us then by many our betters Let the rich be humble because he hath nothing but what he hath receiv'd and let the poor be thankfull for the little which he hath receiv'd and God if he see it fit for him will give him more One particular duty at our meals we may pick out here that we presume not to feed upon those meats which God hath prepared for us for so the Psalmist acknowledges Thou hast prepar'd a table for me and made my cup to run over till we have craved a blessing for them nor rise up without a thanksgiving our Saviours constant practice 'T is observ'd of the swine that he wants those nerves that should draw his eyes upward so that when he feeds on the mast and the acorns he ne're looks up to the tree whence they fall He that feeds himself thus without fear or looking upward for a blessing sacriâ—ices to his belly and makes it his God and with him sure as the belly is for meats and meats for the belly so God shall destroy both it and them THIS DAY Day by day from one day to another without any carking thought for the future for sufficient for the day is the evill thereof And who that sayes this prayer knows but this day may be his last we should at least live so as if it were to be Besides it puts us in mind of a constant dependence upon God He that hath provided for me to day will not let me want to morrow we have been cast upon his care from our mother's womb and have liv'd ever since we came into the world at his charges He will not therefore cast us of now no nor forsake us in our old age when our strength fails us We have had so many tryalls of God's goodness towards us as we have liv'd dayes and hours we may well trust him then for the time to come 'T is true all futurity to us is uncertain 't is not so to him to morrow is all one with him as to day and this is certain that he will never want power or love to help us nor will he fail the expectation of those who put their trust in him who is the same yesterday to day and for ever Let us content our selves then with present enjoyments and not care for to morrow for the morrow will care for it self While we have a mouth to ask God will not want a hand to give And this word makes the prayer as dayly as the bread it asks Wherefore be sure be thy condition what it will if thou sayest this Prayer every day thy dayly allowance will find thee out and be where thou wilt it shall be sent thee some way or other as the Ravens were caterers for Elias Christ's miracles of the loaves his turning water into wine may assure us that be our provision never so scant or mean yet if his blessing be in them they will be sufficient for our support and comfort DAYLY That which thou hast apportioned for us that which God's providence has set out in the particular distributions to be our part and portion This Petition alludes to the Manna Angels food that fell every morning among the Tents of the Israelites in the wilderness whereof he that gather'd much had nothing over and he that took up little had no lack but every one enough for his eating 'T is so ordinarily and 't is little less then miracle how so many thousand families as are in a great city in a nation live by one another and how they are provided for according to their severall rates proportions Thus the Syriac renders it The Bread of our sufficience or of our proportion He then that takes more then belongs to him and exceeds his allowance must look that the overplus shall stink and breed worms The Greek word is indeed doubtfull and admits of a double interpretation First as 't is deriv'd from a word which signifies the day a coming to morrow's or the next day's bread and thus it signifies an honest care to be aforehand in the world and not as we say to live from hand to mouth And such a care does not argue distrust but on the contrary a man's improvidence may seem to call God's providence in question For so the Apostle pronounces of him that he 's worse then an infidel that does not provide for his family And so before we were obliged to trust in God because 't is to be given and yet take care of our selves and use the means because we must make it ours before he give it Secondly as 't is compounded of a word that signifies substance and a particle of various use on over to beside in c. 't is render'd super substantial bread added to our substance belonging to our substance by which we are maintain'd or kept alive or of an excellent substance And so some apply it to Christ who was that bread that came down from heaven of which the Mannâ— was a type Whose holy Body is in the Sacrament of the Supper represented by the symbol of Bread And what so fit to beg of our heavenly Father as this heavenly Bread by which our souls are fed to life everlasting our nature repair'd and perfectly restor'd our hearts strengthened our spirits quickened and our graces kept alive The meaning of this Petition is that God would feed us with food convenient for us that he would supply all our necessities and fill up all our wants That he would as a faithfull creatour preserve us in the land of the living and give us all things that he knows convenient for us in this our pilgrimage That his blessing may every day fall round about our dwelling like the morning dew and as the Manna lift amongst the tents of the Israelites That he would provide for us all accommodations suitable
Scripture The one was when he came in the flesh in the form of a servant to die for us that he might reign upon the tree as some readings have it in the Psalms The other will be when he shall come in the clouds with power and glory attended with Angels to judge the world at that great and dreadful day when the trumpet shall summon all to appear before the tribunal And when that 's done he shall deliver up the Kingdom to his Father and the time of this his coming and the end of the world he hath left here to be the subject of our prayers and not of our inquiries to exercise devotion not curiosity the uncertainty of the time being an argument to quicken our diligence in preparing for it that we may watch and pray he having told us afore-hand that he will steal upon us as a thief in the night But what need we trouble our selves about the age of the world when our own time is so uncertain that we cannot call the next hour our own and know not how soon the arrest of death may hurry us away to judgement He that dies now in the Lord rests from his labour his good works follow him and if we cannot properly say that the Kingdom of God is come to him we may safely say he is gone to it At the end of the world then is Christ's great coming and the general judgement but at every single death there is a particular doom past when the soul immediately after it's delivery out of the body is dispatched either into the regions of life or lodged in the chambers of death so that in this sense Christ may be said to come too And there is a gracious visit when he comes and knocks at the heart and calls to his beloved by his word When he comes into us to a feast and banquet of love furnished with the consolations of the spirit The sum of this request is that God would declare his power even to the heathen that know not his name and make discoveries of his Majesty by his outward administrations not leaving himself without witness but convince profane spirits that there is a God that rules in the world that he would manage the affairs of the world for his peoples good and for the advancement of the Kingdom of his Son that he would bless the civill societies of men that he would fill Soveraigns with wisdom to go in and out before the people and people with loyalty to their rulers and with love to one another That he would establish the state wherein we live in peace and order preserving us on one hand from the tyranny and oppression of superiours and on the other hand from rebellion and conspiracy of inferiors That he would save the King whom he hath set under himself our supream Head and Governor from all treasons and treacherous designs that he would subdue the people under him cloath his enemies with shame and upon himself let his crown flourish that he would give the King his judgements and make our Magistrates men of courage fearing God and hating covetousness That he would preserve us from all dreadfull calamities the plague pestilence and famine from wars fires inundations from murder and sudden death That he would take a special care of his Church and his chosen ones that he would send labourers into his vineyard that he would endue his Ministers with righteousness that he would illuminate all Bishops and Pastours with true knowledge and understanding of his word that both by their preaching and living they may set it forth and shew it accordingly That he would inlarge the tents of Japhet remember his ancient people the Iewes gather in the remnant of the gentiles send forth his Gospell into the dark corners of the earth and publish the glad tidings of salvation unto all mankind that he would fill up the number of his elect and hasten the glorious appearance of Christ That he would confound the devices of all that have evill will to Zion and turn the hearts of hereticks schismaticks and bloody tyrants That he would assist those that suffer for the testimony of a good conscience with strength from above and send them the comforter That he would destroy the man of sin with the breath of his mouth That he would garrison our hearts with his grace that he would teach us his laws that we may walk in his statutes and keep his commands That he would mortify the desires and lusts of the flesh subdue us to himself and make us a willing people in the day of his power That he would open our hearts for the receiving of his word and rule in them by his spirit That his Kingdom may first enter into us that we may enter into it Lastly that we may have our feet shod with the preparation of the Gospell live in a constant exspectation of our great change that when our Lord comes he may find us doing his will on earth as it is in Heaven And blessed is he whom his Lord when he comes shall find so doing THY WILL BE DONE The nature of God is not made up of a body and soul nor hath he bodily parts as eyes hands feet c. or faculties of mind as understanding memory affections and 't is no less improper to say of God that he knows or wills any thing as that he walks sees c. which are metaphorical expressions taken from men God being pleased in holy writ to condescend to our capacity and speak of himself after the manner of men God is all understanding all will nor is there any thing in God which is not infinite i.e. himself His will then is not a thing really distinct from his understanding or indeed from his essence neither is it a blind power as it is in us that needs the guidance of reason and the light of another faculty to be convey'd into it to represent the object and advise it to choose the good and eschew the evil but is of it self most free most wise most good It self is a law and rule to it self determins it self and is the measure and standard of all goodness righteousness and holiness The Lord is righteous in all his wayes and holy in all his works And his pracepts are more to be desired then gold yea then fine gold sweeter then hony the hony-comb Now there is a twofold will of God that of his decrees and that of his commands Nor do these two cross and oppose the one the other as if God decreed one thing should be and commanded the contrary but they keep a sweet harmony and mutuall correspondence God's word and his providence may seem sometimes to clash and justle one another yet they do keep the same road of righteousness nor does God ever contradict himself or speak one thing and mean another Let God be true and every man a lyar '
of honour set him above Angels principalities and powers and hath committed to his trust the Government of the world FROM THENCE To wit out of Heaven whither he ascended and where he now is Christ God Man at the last day in the end of the world riding upon the clouds shall shew himself and HE SHALL COME Attended with innumerable Angels and Saints with the voice of a Trumpet in a glorious manner to the joy of his servants and the terrour of his enemies TO JUDGE For all mankind shall be gathered together from the four quarters of the earth and we must all appear before the Iudgment-seat of Christ to give an account of our works Then shall the books be open'd and every man's conscience shall witness against him and that which hath bin done in secret shall be made known and the thoughts of the heart shall be discovered Then righteous sentence shall proceed from the Iudges mouth according to the Law and the Gospell Then shall be put a difference betwixt the good and bad the righteous and the wicked when God shall reward his servants with a Crown of Glory and destroy his enemies with an everlasting destruction endless torments There is a twofold coming of Christ Christ came first to be judged the second time he will come to judge THE QUICK Those who shall then be found alive who shall be suddenly changed in the twinckling of an eye and without death shall pass from death to life AND THE DEAD For the dead shall rise again as many as from the beginning of the world throughout all ages have lived upon the face of the earth and though they have been mouldered into dust or torn by wild beasts or buried in the waves of the Sea yet they shall take up the very same bodies again to which the soul may again be united God's power bringing this about and his justice so requiring it that every man may in his body reap the fruit of those things which he hath done in the body I BELIEV With the same Faith by which I believ the Father and the Son I believ also in the third Person of the holy and blessed Trinity Being verily perswaded that he is true God and the power of the most High depending upon his assistance and finding by experience that whatsoever good I either doe or have comes all from him IN THE SPIRIT He is therefore called Ghost or Spirit because he partly proceeds from the Father and the Son by way of breathing partly because he breaths into us good thoughts and holy desires wherefore it is added HOLY Seeing that he is not only Holy in himself with such holiness as far exceeds all other blessed Spirits both Angels Saints but also makes us holy by an effectual working of grace in our hearts He it is that applyes the benefits of Christ's death unto us and makes us partakers of the salvation which he hath purchased for us by his blood The holy Prophets and Apostles were the penmen of the Holy Ghost who wrote as they were inspired by him He gathers the Church by the Preaching of the word having furnisht the Apostles with the gifts of tongues provided a ministry and other holy ordinances for the propagation of the Gospell filling up the number of the elect and bringing souls to life THE CHURCH The company of believers whom God hath ordained to life before the foundation of the world was laid whom he hath called out of a state of sin to the profession of Faith in Christ and a holy conversation whom he also doth rule by his Word and Spirit HOLY Gathered and guided by the Holy Ghost distinguished from the rest of the world by holy appointments adorning their profession with holy works CATHOLICK or Vniversal in respect of time place and persons being to last through all ages of the world spread abroad over all quarters of the earth consisting of men of all ranks and conditions God having shut the gate of his Kingdom to none but such as wilfully refuse to enter Now the Holy Ghost bestows upon the Church which he gathers by the word and sanctifies by grace these Blessings which follow THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS Whereby the Saints who are the faithfull ones the chosen and the children of light are united to Christ as their head and amongst themselves as members of the same body the Church drawing virtue life and efficacy from Christ and performing to one another all offices of Charity as being knit together with a spirit of love and bond of peace THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS Which the spirit on our unfeined repentance assures us of by applying the merit of Christ and sprinkling our consciences from dead works with his blood which he powred forth to be a price of souls neither doth he onely seal to our hearts a pardon of former offences shewing us the favour of God reconciled in his Son but doth withall give us power to resist sin for the time to come cleansing us from every defilement of the flesh and spirit subduing our lusts changing our wils and renewing our natures according to righteousness THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY For in the last day when Christ shall come to judgement the trump shall sound and the dead shall arise with the very same bodyes that they had before and every one shall receive according to his works For as much as the wicked shall be thrown into Hell there to be tormented with the Divel with the worm which never dyes and the fire which is never quenched But the good shall enter into LIFE EVERLASTING Where they shall rest from their labours and enjoy God for ever living in abundance of joys and pleasures which neither eye hath seen nor ear hath heard nor can the heart of man conceiv And all these things I believ not onely with an Historical Faith but appropriate unto my self being fully perswaded that God made me by his power preserves me by his goodness and provides for me both in soul and body by his infinite wisdome And that the Son of God whatsoever he hath done or suffered he performed and underwent for my sake that I through him might live And that the Spirit of God dwelleth in me working in me Faith Repentance that I am a true member of the Church that my sins are forgiven me that I shall rise again and see my Redeemer with these eyes who shall out of his free bounty reward me his unworthiest servant with the Glory which shall have no end FINIS THE EXPLANATION OF THE TEN COMMANDEMENTS The Ten Commandements Exodus xx GOD spake all these words saying I am the Lord thy God which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt out of the house of bondage I. Thou shalt have no other gods before me II. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above or that is in the earth
and affectionate care for one anothers good this society having been the blessed ordinance of Paradise being the most solemn engagement of friendship To conclude in whatsoever estate of life whether single or married let thy conversation be clean and free from all pollution both of body soul and spirit and be not fashion'd to the world but keep thy self unspotted from it To reflect upon our selves we must confess our selves very guilty of the breach of this Commandement who are so full of uncleanness who serve divers lusts and pleasures and are lovers of pleasure more then of God who make provision for the flesh study our ease and carnal content give our selves up wholly to the lust of the eyes to the lust of the flesh and the pride of life who pamper our bodies and starve our souls who drink wine to excess and sit at it till it inflame us who spend our time in chambering and wantonness in sports and playes with that constancy as if recreation were the duty of our life and we had nothing else to doe in this world but to take our pastime in it who follow wicked counsel and lewd practises boast of sins many times we do not commit who are immodest in our attire wanton in our carriage filthy in our discourse abominable loath-some in our actions without shame of sin or fear of judgement who wallow in all sensuality and study fleshly delights who take up affected garbs imitate every foolish fashion who think we can never serve our selves enough nor our God little enough who are not asham'd of the appearances of evil but account our shame our glory and think it our gallantry that we dare seem lewd who have forgot modesty and know not what Temperance means who take marriage for an opportunity of sinning with a greater safety and use it as a market rather then an institution of God's and besides those purposes for which it was appointed who would willingly have no other God but our belly no other religion then Epicurism no other business or study but our ease and pleasure so that we have too just an occasion to make use of the Churches words Lord have mercy upon us and incline our hearts to keep this Law The eighth Commandement The sixth and seaventh secure our persons This our goods and is the fence of propriety for estates are not to lye in common but are bounded with Laws that every one may know his own The seaventh forbids the community of wives This of other possessions And indeed the breach of this Command is the great disorder of society and the main drift of Laws is to secure estates to the owners and to judge of titles and to punish fraud and cousenage And the various condition of men as it serves to set forth the wisdom of God's Providence in contriving suitable accommodations to every family and person so it encourages industry seeing every one may by the labour of his hands provide for himself and exspect a success according to his diligence whereas were things put in an equality or laid up in one common stock the idle would live upon the labours of the painful and he that were strongest would invade other's right and make himself master of the greatest share Well then has this Commandement provided that men may not think to thrive by idleness or unjust means THOU SHALT NOT STEAL Thou shalt doe thy neighbour no wrong in his estate but in all worldly concernments observe such a rule of justice and equity in thy dealing that thou neither injure him nor thy self Thou shalt not directly nor indirectly play the thief by taking away that which belongs to another either privily and without his knowledge or openly and by force without his consent Thou shalt not goe shares with thieves not consent to them Thou shalt restore what thou find'st to the right owner nor conceal and keep it by thee Thou shalt not take bribes nor set justice to sale Thou shalt not inveagle persons nor steal goods Thou shalt be faithful in thy stewardship and just in all thy accounts Thou shalt perform thy trusts and be upright in thy place Thou shalt not meddle with any thing dedicated to my service and the use of the Church or think sacriledge an improvement of estate Thou shalt not remove the ancient bound and land mark nor encroach upon thy neighbour's possession Thou shalt not defraud the labourer of his hire nor detain his wages which he hath earned with his sweat Thou shalt be true and just in all thy dealings in buying and selling thou shalt consider and prize things according to their worth Thou shalt not cheat and over-reach in bargains by putting of false wares or using false weights and measures by raising prices and setting up monopolyes Thou shalt not borrow or take up upon trust without intention to pay Thou shalt not oppress the poor nor exact more of him then he 's well able to part with Thou shalt make punctual restitution of any thing receiv'd and be exact in the discharge of thy debts and in all engagements use conscience Thou shalt not purchase preferment in the Church nor buy or sell places of justice or publick trust which are to be rewards of merit not the acquists of money Thou shalt be grateful to thy benefactors acknowledge their courtesies and to thy ability make requital Thou shalt not study thy own gain alone but be helpful to thy poor neighbour and be mov'd with charity towards him lending and not hoping for any thing back forbearing him and sometimes forgiving if thy condition will permit and his require it Thou shalt not put thy money out to biting usury so as to oppress and disable the debtor Thou shalt honestly return any pledge or pawn which is put into thy hand Thou shalt doe good with thy estate and forget not to communicate and to distribute Thou shalt be merciful as I am merciful feeding the hungry cloathing the naked visiting the sick relieving the prisoner and shewing kindness to strangers Thou shalt be liberal free hearted open handed in thy alms-doings and upon occasions of pâ—blick necessity or design Thou shalt not be niggardly or sordid in thy way of life or hard-hearted or uncharitable nor yet unthrifty lavish so as to disable thy estate Thou shalt not trouble thy self with unquiet thoughts and carking cares for this life what thou shalt eat and wherewith all thou shalt be cloath'd Thou shalt not be covetous to gather wealth any how and deny thy self those enjoymeâ—ts which God hath allow'd thee Thou shalt know how to want and how to abound Thou shalt not murmur and repine at God's disposals but submit to his wisdom trust his providence and rest fully satisfied with thy present condition assuring thy self that a contended mind and an estate well got be it never so little is better then much riches Thou shalt not be too sparing nor too profuse but
outward actions resembling the inward virtue and efficacy of that thing of which it is a sign This sacred Rite is called the Holy Supper either by the way of Metaphor to denote the communion and fellowship which the Saints have with one another for which reason we also usually term it with the Apostle Paul the Communion The whole family meeting together at that time when all the business of the day is over to refresh themselves and take their repast Nor is it otherwise with the houshold of Faith who though imployed in several dwellings and dutyes of life yet as members of one and the same body whereof Christ is the Head are united to one another by the same spirit fed with the same spiritual food So that the Mystical body of the Church is made up of many Saints just as the bread it self of many corns and the wine of drops whence 't is frequently by the Greek Fathers called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i.e. the gathering together of the Saints whither as some Interpreters would have it that place hath allusion where the car case is that is the crucified Body of Christ thither shall the eagles the quick-sighted high-flown believers be gathered together Or out of a more particular respect to the Passeover into the place and stead whereof this Sacrament came as the other succeeded circumcision for the Iews were wont by God's appointment yearly to celebrate a Feast whereon at evening in each houshold they slew a Lamb dressed it and eat it together in remembrance of the deliverance from the Egyptian slavery and from the Angel who striking all the first born of Egypt pass'd over the houses of the Israelites who for that purpose had according to that command dash'd the Blood of the Lamb upon the lintel of the door Now Christ being the substance was to put an end to all ceremonies came to make one perfect sacrifice once for all who in that he dyed dyed but once being the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world and his death we are to remember in these pledges of his love whereby he hath delivered us from a spiritual slavery and wrought salvation for us And indeed in that very nick of time when our Saviour had finisht the Paschal Supper with his Disciples he appointed this as to abide for ever in the room of the other The Lord's Supper it is styled because appointed by the Lord Jesus and represents him to be fed on by Faith The words of the Scripture wherein the Institution is set down expresse both time when and manner how it was performed the manner again delilivers partly what he did partly what he said in consecrating the bread first and then the cup. The Institution of this Sacrament is described by the authour time and manner The Authour the Lord Iesus The Time the night wherein he was betrayed the Manner consists of two parts shewing partly what he did partly what he said and that severally of these two several signs by which he would represent his Body and Blood For this Holy Supper was to consist of spiritual meat and drink as men use both to eat and drink in their other ordinary meals The Bread is the sign of his Body the Cup of his Blood First as to the Bread what did he He took it he bless'd it he broke it he gave it What said he Take eat this is my Body Again for the Cup what did he he took it he bless'd it he gave it What said he Drink ye all of it for this is my Blood c. Now let us goe over each part again and explain it more fully THE LORD JESUS Who by the merit of his Passion and at the price of his Blood purchased for us Salvation and for himself glory and a Name above every Name that he might become Head of the Church and to him might be given all power from the Father He alone has authority to appoint Sacraments and order the affairs of his Church by his word and spirit whereby he hath impowerd his Ministers to act in his Name to dispense his ordinances even to the end of the world IN THE NIGHT. For it was a Supper which he intended and 't was at supper or rather after supper when he had with his Disciples about him eaten the Passeover the type of himself who was the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world when he said at the Table One of you shall betray me and discovered his betrayer by giving him a sop which some think was no other then a piece of consecrated bread Nay the self-same night IN WHICH HE WAS BETRAID by Iudas with a kiss bringing a multitude along with him arm'd with swords and staves the rage of the rulers and the curses of the priests to lay wicked hands on him after he had sweat drops of blood in his agony and powred out his Soul in Prayer being sad even to death in a garden where he made the praeludium to his Passion BREAD by which the heart of man is strengthned which is therefore called the staff of life is made use of to represent the Body of Christ who was the bread which came down from Heaven by which souls are fed to life everlasting HE TOOK IT That he might by his example shew the Ministers of his word what they are to doe when they invite their people to the holy Table himself doth in a solemn manner begin the ceremonies taking the bread i.e. lifting it up and holding it in his hand which amongst the Iews was then the fashion observ'd by the master of the house AND GIVING THANKS We doe not read anywhere that Christ ever sate down to meat without Thanksgiving which especially before the Holy Supper is necessary it being for that reason call'd the Eucharist And surely the death of Christ which is here set forth was the greatest blessing that ever befell mankind Or Blessing it The meaning may be that by consecrating it he did set it aside from common use and praying for a special blessing upon it that it may become an effectual means of grace he stamp'd upon it a kind of reverence which was not due to it before HE BROKE IT Whence this mystery is also call'd the breaking of bread he divided it into several pieces that there might be the better distribution of it amongst the company at table AND GAVE IT i.e. reaching out his hand he set to every one his part and bestowed it amongst them TO THE DISCIPLES Who did then represent the whole Church of Christ and society of the faithful both men and women who should give up themselves to the discipline of Christ and take upon them the profession of the Gospel not so much as Iudas excepted though Christ well knew what was in his heart Wherefore by Christ's own example Ministers might learn that none should be excluded and kept from the table where Christ
himself entertained the Traitour the Thief and the Apostate Iudas All are invited to this heavenly banquet and if any one crowd in having not on his wedding garment he does it at his own peril 'T is the Apostle's rule in this case that a man examine himself and so come He that shall censure his brother as unworthy to share in this divine worship to be sure by his want of charity makes himself unfit to be there and uncapable of the blessing charity being as necessary a qualification as repentance and we are out of charity to suppose that any scandalous liver or notorious offender would venture upon these sacred mysteries without having repented him of his sins since he is told aforehand that by coming unworthily he will but eat and drink damnation to himself delivering himself into Satan's power filling up the measure of his sins and hastning his own destruction as it far'd with Iudas AND SAID Here follow the words of consecration for this too as wel as the common food is sanctified by the word and Prayer It was not enough to have broken and given it unless he had also said Take eat God is wont to instruct all our senses as he requires to have them all exercised in holy things The outward Sign is propos'd to the eye the Word to the ear so that what the eagle-sighted Evangelist saith of the Incarnation of Christ may have here a peculiar place That which we have seen That which we have heard and our hands have handled of the word of life declare we unto you and accordingly it follows TAKE Stretching out the hand of Faith lay hold on life embrace salvation offer'd Take for ye have it not by nature in your selves it is the gift of God through Christ who took upon him the Humane nature that he through it might convey to men the power virtue of the Divine nature He took that he might give we take to enjoy Take it not snatch it take it with reverence and such devotion of mind and body as becomes so great a mystery and this indeed has alwayes been the custom of the Church to use an humble posture upon this occasion and receive kneeling EAT Apply to your souls the benefit of my death feed upon me and be transformed into my likeness that ye may be united to me and I may live in you no otherwise then the meat which we dayly eat is turn'd into juice and blood and intimately adhering to us becomes part of us THIS IS MY BODY This i.e. this bread for though they disagree in gender yet who is so unskil'd in Grammar as not to know that the Relative this may agree either with the former Antecedent bread or with the later body or This mystery and Sacrament This action of my breaking and giving of your taking and eating IS MY BODY Is the representation of my death the assurance of salvation to those that believe as we commonly say of a writing in Law This is my estate i.e. this gives me a title to such a house and land and by a sure conveyance makes me right owner of it as if the house and fields and meadows were really included in the parchment Such a manner of speech is frequently us'd in Scripture as where 't is said the rock was Christ which to take properly and strictly as the words sound were absurd there being no more meant by it then this that the rock was the type and emblem of Christ. So here that the bread is Christ's Body is not to be understood in a gross sense as if that the substance of the bread were changed into the very flesh of Christ but that whosoever doth with faith receive these sacred Symbols doth truly and to all intents partake of the benefits which Christ hath purchas'd for us by his death and is closely united to Christ and grows in grace even as our bodily food being taken in does pass into our nature and give nourishment and increase to all the parts of our body WHICH IS BROKEN or Given The present Tense here is put for the future which shortly shall be broken for Christ was yet not crucified but spoke these words before his Passion Or the whole life of Christ having been nothing else but an enduring of hardship it may be understood not onely of the cross and the nails the scourges and the thorns wherewith his sacred Body was rent and torn but also of hunger and cold fasting and watching grief and pains which he underwent all along from the Cradle to the Cross or in a mystical and Sacramental sense which by this breaking giving of the bread is represented shown forth as broken and given for them For the very actions us'd by our Saviour at this Supper have a spiritual meaning and doe allude to some mystery He took bread and so he took to himself a body that he might become bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh and suffer in the flesh the punishment due to us as it is written Burnt offerings and sacrifices thou wouldst not but a body thou hast prepared for me He blessed it i.e. he set it aside from common use in like manner the mass of flesh and blood which he would put on he separated from the defilement of our nature that he might after an extraordinary manner be born of the Blessed Virgin without sin He broke it Iust so was that his body used cut and mangled with cruel whips bruised with blowes and buffets gash'd with a spear pricked with the thorns and bored with nails that we by his stripes might be healed He gave it hanging on the Cross with stretched armes bowed head he seem'd to invite all men to the well of salvation which was open'd in his side for the cleansing of iniquity and the quenching of spiritual thirst laying down his life like the good shepheard for the ransom of souls And his Father gave him so loving the world that he gave his only begotten Son to the death that whosoever believes in him might have everlasting life FOR YOU For your sake upon your account to your benefit for the appeasing God's wrath satisfying his Iustice and obtaining his mercy for the redemption of your souls the purchase of pardon and grace and the assurance of salvation that you by my death may live by my wounds you may be cured and by receiving me thus offered unto you may be received into favour Or in your stead Behold I suffer what you should have suffered I as your Mediator stand betwixt you and God betwixt your sins and his wrath and undergoe the penalty which was due to you my body is torn and mangled and my soul powred out to death not for any thing that I have done amiss for there hath bin no iniquity found in my hand nor guil in my mouth but I am that Lamb of God slain from the beginning of the world I am
to our condition and to that station of life whereunto his good providence hath design'd us That he would give us strength of body and vigour of mind perfect health and all natural and moral abilities that may fit us for the discharge of our duties and above all a contented spirit that we may eat our bread with chearfulness and be satisfied with his gracious disposals of us and any condition that he shall in his wisdom cast us into either riches or poverty That he would neither send us so much of the world 's good as to tempt us to wantonness and riot nor so little as to make us repine but assign us such a competent portion that we may find a comfortable subsistence and have where with to doe good to others That we may be enabled to provide things honest and fashionable before all men yet not make provision for the flesh to satisfy the lusts thereof That our food may be wholsome rather then delicious so that in the strength thereof we may do him service That our attire may be decent and comely to cover shame not to show pride and vanity that we may not turn his gifts into wantonness or â—mbezill his talents but imploy them to his glory and others good â— and make us friends of the unrighteous mammon That he would bless our labours and give success to our honest undertakings that we may eat the labour of our hands and it may be well with us That he would procure us faithfull friends diligent servants dutifull children fruitfull seasons and furnish us with all other perquisites that may make our condition comfortable That he would bless the nation with righteous government and honest magistrates indue the nobles with courage the commons with loyalty bless all orders and conditions of persons from the highest to the lowest from him that sitteth on the throne to him that is behind the mill enlarge all that are in distress send us plenty and peace in our dayes crown the year with his goodness and make all his steps toward us drop fatness that we may thankfully acknowledge his benefits and be charitably disposed to those that are in want that we may be tender-hearted compassionate not forget to communicate and distribute and show gratitude to all those whom he has made instruments of good to us who have obliged us by any kindness and pray for them that God would restore seaven-fold into their bosome That he would keep us in an humble constant dependance on him and provide honest courses for us that we may not eat the bread of idleness or tempt his providence with the use of unlawfull means That he would deliver us from dangers and distresses preserve us from rapine and spoil and keep us from distrusts and anxietyes about the things of this life but that we may seek first the Kingdom of God and the righteousness thereof assuring our selves that then all things else shall be added to us and whatsoever our share be of outward things take the Lord for our portion and our inheritance That he would to this end give us Christ the bread of life and with him all things and that he would with that bread which came down from heaven feed our souls to life everlasting strengthning our graces pardoning our sins and subduing our lusts AND FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES AS WE FORGIVE THEM THAT TRESPASS AGAINST US Pardon is as necessary for our spiritual life as bread for our natural For the soul that sins shall dy In many things we offend all even the righteous falls seven times a day For death came into the world by sin over all mankind but righteousness and life came by Iesus Christ And we have dayly need on 't too for we provoke God every day So then we are to hunger and thirst after the righteousness of Christ that our souls may live And as Christ's flesh is bread indeed so is his blood which he shed for the atonement of wrath and forgiveness of sins drink indeed the water out of that spiritual rock which is Christ. Oh that our souls might thirst for the living God as the wounded hart panteth after the water-brooks OUR TRESPASSES The other Evangelist useth another word debts which comes all to one both signifying sins by a translated sense borrowed from dealings amongst men betwixt creditor and debtor the person suffering the injury and the person doing it For a debtor or trespasser that is not solvent or hath not wherewith to make satisfaction agrees with his adversary puts it to reference comes to composition and by mediation of friends takes up the business that there may be no arrest or inditement or other procedeur in law against him as knowing that he should come by the worst be cast in his fuit and be sent to prison where he must ly by it till he have paid the uttermost farthing which being utterly unable to doe he must never hope to come out but rot in prison The same is the case betwixt God and us we are bound to him by our creation to an observance of his laws or to undergoe the penalty of the breach which is everlasting death But we are fallen short and are unable to discharge that debt nor are we able to answer him one word of a thousand so that there are due to us all the plagues written in his book We have gone astray and done abominably we have broken all his laws and commandments we have been rebellious children from our youth up and the imaginations of our hearts have been evill continually we have neglected our duty in every thing and have not harkned to him to obey his voice so that to us belongs shame and confusion of face for ever Now Christ became our surety took up the business undertook our reconciliation and hath answer'd the law satisfied justice discharg'd our debts cancell'd the obligation and nail'd the hand writing of the law unto his cross making a new covenant of life betwixt God and us upon Gospell-terms of grace and new obedience yet still we are wanting on our part and deal treacherously in our covenant trampling upon his blood and despising so great salvation Nay even the best of Saints have their dayly slips and failings Who is he that can justify himself and if any perfectist say he has no sin he deceives himself and the truth is not in him Our sins All Adam's off-spring the whole race of mankind is tainted Behold saith the holy Prophet a man after God's own heart I was brought forth in iniquity and in sin hath my mother conceiv'd me And the Apostle has concluded all under sin so that we are all guilty of original corruption whereby all the faculties of our soul and members of our body are over-spread as with a leprosie from the crown of the head to the sole of the foot beyond the cure of all humane arts and helps Philosophy education
thy beams As God has made the poor his receivers so he has appointed thy debtors and trespassers his assigns What they can't pay thee God strikes off of thy account what thou forgivest them is discharg'd out of God's bill against thee Thus our forgiveness like quit-rent or a legal cheat stands for a hundred times it's value and our enemies prove our greatest friends by injuring us to our happiness and turning our shame into the advantage of our glory by procuring us pardon of our sins whilest we forgive THEM THAT TRESPASS AGAINST US 'T is such an argument as the Centurion used and shews as much charity as his did faith Doe but speak the word sayes he and my servant shall be healed For I also am one in a petty authority and have souldiers under me and say to one Goe and he goes to another Come and he comes to a third Doe this and he doth it So we are taught to plead this request Forgive us our sins for we also forgive offences committed against us We have superiours that oppress us and we bear with patience equals that scorn us and we in honour prefer them inferiours that neglect us and we use them kindly we have hard masters severe teachers base friends abusive companions stubborn children spightfull neighbours unfaithfull servants and yet we return not evill for evill but give place to wrath and according to thy command overcome their evill with our good We bless those that curse us pray for those that wrongfully use us doe all the good we can to those who doe us all manner of ill and endeavour as much as in us lyes to keep peace with all men and readily forgive every one that doth us any unkindness and with our Saviour on the cross pray that our heavenly Father will forgive them too and with the first Christian Martyr that God will not lay what they doe to their charge And will not the Father of mercies do so by us and much more will not he forgive with whom there is forgiveness that he may be feared God would want worshippers no body would fear him were he a cruel God and delighted in the death of a sinner and would accept of no other sacrifice for sin but the soul that commits it He is mercifull and gracious long suffering full of loving kindness and plenteous in redemption as he has express'd himself in the vision of Moses That he may forgive us as we forgive others let us learn of him to forgive to be reviled and not revile again to love our enemies to pass by offences to wink at great faults not to be strict in observing what is done amiss For if God should doe so who would be able to stand for who knows how oft he offends to make a candid interpretation of other mens carriage and judge the best of their actions to put up wrongs at least to put them upon God's account as David said of Shimei God hath sent him to curse me this day and to look upon every enemy thou hast as God's scourge and 't will become a dutifull child to submit to his father's correction though administred by a servant's hand For he appoints the hand as well as the rod. God has severall wayes to chastise his children and punishes some with a malicious tongue to blister their good name to some a marriage bed proves their purgatory or an ill neighbour-hood To others men of violence come with a commission from heaven as God's Takers and seize on all the comforts of their lives and remember amongst all these injuries of men God doth no man wrong and he may take what course he please to reduce a rebell subject to his obedience And lastly how malitious so ever the intentions of men may be God means all this vexation for good and would not apply this strong Physic but that he finds it necessary for the health of thy soul. What little reason hast thou to be offended at any man whom God imployes in the drudgery of his chastisements How much reason hast thou to forgive and thank too any one that doth thee such kind injuries which reclaim thee from thy sins and put thee in a capacity of God's pardon And shall he that is at this pains about thee to fetch thee home to thy Father and bring thee to Heaven be thought to doe thee ill offices and not deserve a pardon for his courteous malice What good shrewd turns are these What friends more beneficial then such foes whose mistaken rage meaning to kill cures by breaking an Impostume of pride or lust whose cruelty while it would drive us from earth would but give us an earlier possession of heaven and banish us into bliss But may one say if this reasoning be good to what purpose are lawes whereby mens persons and properties are secured from wrong To what end courts of judicature where injur'd persons may have right done them Besides that war upon this account will be as unlawfull as murder and if men may not be allowed to preserve their rights by laws and where they are over-power'd to maintain them by arms in a short time they would have nothing to loose for one injury will invite another till they have eaten out their patient entertainer To this I answer 't is true the whole tenor of the Gospell is for self-denyall taking up the cross and bearing chearfully all that an injurious world can put upon us that the great character of a Christian is to be a sufferer and that the scope of this very petition is in short that we should deal with others as we will have God deal with us which is freely to forgive all trespasses that are committed against us without any exception for no other pardon can serve our turn from God's hand any one sin unpardon'd will damn us Yet God has for the preservation of the civil societies of men implanted principles of moral honesty in the minds of men and hath prescribed rules of equity in his word and hath set up his Vicegerents Kings and Magistrates under them to keep good order that no person of loose principles that has debauch'd his notions may disturb others to gratify his own lust but may be made give account to him that beareth not the sword in vain And one may in some cases nay must out of charity to the publick prosecute notorious offenders as traitors murtherers thieves c. least by a patient sufferance of their mischiefs we encourage them in their wickedness and become accessary to the guilt of any other villany they shall commit afterwards As for private wrongs as slanders c. ones own ease would be argument enough to put a supersedeas to Law with an ingenuous man who knows no ill by himself it being generally seen that he that 's over eager to prosecute a scandal justifies it To conclude there can be no offence so hainous no miscarriage so
have his Maker and his God turn Idolater he bids him that dwelleth on high fall down such a fall too as would be lower then the divel 's own fall for it must be below him it must be to him Fall down and worship me Oh impudent blasphemous absurdity what divel could put such thoughts into Satan's heart such words into 's mouth that God whom all the Gods worship should himself worship For he knew very well whom he had to doe with in this encounter that he was the Son of God having been often cast out by him confessing it here with an If. And whom what wouldst thou have him worship an image an idol stocks and stones why thou canst not perswade any men that have their reason about them to doe so What is 't some Saint or Angel Thou knowst his Angels have charge of him and are bid worship him what then speak Lucifer me Oh diabolical pride oh unsufferable rudeness which a poor creature can hardly have patience to hear that God at whose name the divels tremble should be tempted by the divel to worship that divel that tempts him Me thinks one cannot read this passage without a great horrour and an agony of fear that God should suffer his onely Son God equal to the Father to be tempted by the divel to the foulest of sins Idolatry to the worst of creatures the divel What care and vigilance ought we to have what fear and jealousy How should we watch and fast and prepare our selves for spiritual conflicts and beg strength from above that our hearts may be garrison'd and kept by grace And since Christ himself was thus brought into the clutches of Satan what great reason have we to pray that we may not be led into temptation Now there is a twofold temptation one for tryal whereby God doth keep the graces of his Saints in exercise so God searches the hearts and tryes the raines of the children of men as silver is tryed in a fornace Thus Abraham's faith Iob's patience c. were tryed nay sometimes God leav's his best servants to themselves and lets them catch falls to keep them humble and to let them know that their strength is from him God tempts for tryall the divel onely tempts for sin and sometimes too God imployes the divel in his tryals to heat the fornace which he does with an intention to destroy but God orders for experiment and probation Another is for hurt when we are tempted to sin to presumption or dispair Thus God tempts no man but judicially hardens impenitent sinners that harden themselv's in their evil way and gives them up to their lusts and into the power of the divel Thus we read he harden'd Pharaoh's heart put sometimes a lying spirit into the mouth of the Prophets let Satan tempt David to carnal confidence and the pride of numbring his people and our Saviour after the divel had filled Iudas heart bid him doe what he meant to doe quickly meaning that horrid treason of betraying his Master And of this kind of sinfull temptation is this especially to be understood though it mean also the other kind of tryals BUT DELIVER US FROM EVILL This infers the contrary that since we have so many to lead us into temptation God would rather lead us out and keep us from evil then lead us into it The opposition lyes in the words Lead us not but Deliver us i.e. bring us not into temptation but when we either of our selves fall into it or are by others led into it do thou bring us out and lead us forth rescue us out of the tempter's clutches and set us at liberty for so the word properly denotes deliverance out of an evil we are already in though the preposition will very well bear this sense that God would keep us totally from it as the Church teaches us to pray as well in time of health plenty as mortality and dearth from plague pestilence and famine good Lord deliver us We are kept from evil by preventing or restraining grace we are deliver'd out of it by assisting grace God keeps us from being tempted by the restraints of his grace and providence by alarming conscience by quenching lust by denying opportunities for sin by imploying a man and filling all his time with duty For 't is the idle soul that commonly proves the tempters prey Diligence in one's calling is a good preservative against vain thoughts and checks the approach of temptation shutting the doors windows by which it should enter God delivers us out of temptation by proportioning it to our strength so that we may not faint or grow evil under it which he doth either by lessening the burthen or strengthning the shoulders by supporting and bearing us up in conflict by making our faith victorious with heavenly supplyes of grace by the aid at the charge provision of his spirit and in fine by giving us a joyfull issue out of our temptations as he did with Ioseph by making his brethrens envy an occasion of his advancement with the Israelites by a wonderful delivery from a cruel bondage with Iob making his righteousness break forth as the Sun before his setting after those dismal storms and clouds which had darkned it Thus 't is Gods usual course to heighten the rewards of his tryed servants which have fought a good fight and layes up a crown of glory for them Indeed in every temptation the tempter comes by the worst and 't is to the divel 's disadvantage for if it take 't is true 't is his hellish delight to see souls perish yet however it increases his guilt as being accessary to anothers sin and consequently must needs increase his punishment improve his torments If it meet with repulse it cannot choose but be great torment to this spightful spirit to see that he has been instrumental in raising the happiness and furthering the salvation and heightning the gloryes of the Saints every baffled temptation is a step higher into glory and if I may say it we get up to heaven on Satan's back by trampling him under our feet A Saint goes triumphant with a train of conquer'd lusts and as Samson carried away the gates of Azza breaks the gates the powers of hell to force his passage None in so high a form of glory as those who have most scarrs to shew and who have the buckler of their faith batter'd and shatter'd with temptations We are to fight under Christ's banner and he will be most blessed who shall be found likest his master and have the marks of Christ's wounds imprinted not so much upon their body as the Legend has it of St. Francis I mean by outward sufferings as upon his soul by the violent assaults of temptation St. Paul indeed sayes of himself I wear the marks of our Lord Iesus in my body it may be that which in another place we render a thorn in the flesh
him without fear That he would overcome the world for us mortify the old man and trample Satan under our feet Finally that he would save us to the uttermost and compleatly in our whole man body soul and spirit from all and all manner of evil whither of this life or of that to come and would so contrive all events and lay the plot of his eternal purposes that all things may work together for our good and procure our everlasting welfare FOR THINE IS THE KINGDOM THE POWER AND THE GLORY FOR EVER AND EVER This is the Doxology which either comes in as a Confirmation to back the foregoing petitions or is added as a bare Confession it being usual that in sacred writings that particle for or because is not alwayes brought in as a causal or rational influence but is many times simply narrative In this later sense the several words may be taken to mean the same thing as in Daniel's prophecy and the Revelation many such synonyma's are heap'd together and in the Psalms several in several places used indifferently to shew that too much cannot be said or too many expressions made use of to set forth divine Majesty We end our Prayer then in an adoration of his exeellencyes and a deep acknowledgement of his greatness represented under a three-fold term Kingdom Power and Glory which are farther rais'd and lifted up beyond our conception by the infinity and eternity of them His Kingdom has neither beginning nor end of dayes his power admits no bounds knows no end and his glory as himself is and was and is to come And as the Church hath worded it which was but a pious descant upon this piece of the Lords Prayer Glory be to the Father to the Son and to the Holy Ghost As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be world without end Amen In the former sense 't is laid at the bottom of the Prayer as a ground foundation of it as if we were pleading to be heard Nor doe we in these our requests seek our selves or study and design our own emolument and advantage but our souls are touched with a love to thy name and we humbly desire thee to accept these petitions in order to thy own glory which will receive some advantage even then when the necessityes of us thy creatures are supplyed If thou be graciously pleas'd to hear us in these our desires Thy Kingdom will be advanc'd thy power made manifest and thy Glory promoted 'T is not for our selves we ask nor can we think our poor concernments an argument sufficient to ground a confidence on but for thy names sake Alas should we aim at Kingdom power or glory what poor short-arm'dâ— short-liv'd thing would it be bound up within the measure of a transitory life of a span length but thine lasts to ages of ages thy Kingdom has the same date as eternity never commenced never shall exspire thy power reaches from everlasting to everlasting and thy glory indures from generation to generation 'T is our earnest request that thou wouldst provide for the honour of thine own name that thou wouldst not be wanting to thy self in the vindication of these thy glorious attributes nor let them suffer by turning thy face away from our prayers And thus these three words may cast back a respect to the several petitions as has been before observ'd to those which concern God in this manner Thine is the Kingdom therefore let thy Kingdom come since it doth of due belong unto thee Again thine is the power therefore let thy will be done for whose will should carry but his whose will no one can resist And lastly which was propos'd first in the petitions that the Prayer might begin and end alike and God's glory might be the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of it Thine is the glory therefore hâ—llowed be thy name And in subordination to these we proceed to ask in our own behalf wherein yet those attributes seem to be no less concern'd with some such reflection as this Thine is the Kingdom wherefore give us bread it was a Pharaoh's care to provide bread for his subjects how much more will our King and our God supply all our wants and allow us necessaries Thine is the power therefore forgive us our sins for who has power to forgive sins but God Oh! that it would please thee to shew this thy power in pardoning our iniquities and not in avenging them and lastly again Thine is the glory wherefore lead us not into temptation whereby we may bring dishonour to thy name but deliver us from evil that we may glorify thee the author of all our good And all these requests to be granted not for the present only for a day or an age but this provision for his own glory and our wants to be for ever because his Kingdom and his power which are the store whence this provision is to be made and his glory which is to be provided for are for ever as also our wants need a continual supply Now these his attributes having been in ages past and being to last for all ages to come by former experience of those that have been before us and our own beget a confidence for the future that as our fathers trusted in him were not ashamed so succeeding generations shall find 't is not in vain to seek him and that he whose goodness is unexhausted will not be weary of doing good So that the eternity of Gods perfections ingages our posterity to hope in him and concludes this prayer fit to be used as long as the world indures This Doxologie or Conclusion of the prayer is set down only by St. Matthew St. Luke mentions it not and accordingly the Church in her offices leaves it out nor does this difference plead any thing against the formality of the prayer it self or the omission of this part prove that the whole may be omitted and laid aside For as 't has been said before Christ propos'd this Prayer upon two several occasions at two several times one was when he was preaching his Sermon on the mount before a great multitude of auâ—ditors wherein he delivers in a large discourse the sum of Christian institution and the dutyes of a holy life of which Prayer being none of the least himself propounds a pattern for imitation and use The other was more private in the company only of his disciples when after he had been at prayers by himself they desir'd him to teach them to pray as Iohn had done his disciples whereupon he gives them this form for their constant use at least upon solemn occasions when ye pray say c. Now this latter appointment of it leaving out the conclusion shews that it is not an essential part of the Prayer necessarily belonging to it but an addition that may be spared indifferent to be used or not wherefore whether
beam and his holy feet closed together to the upright beam of the Cross exposed him naked to publick shame being hung betwixt two theevs in a place without the city at the Feast of Passeover and when he had given up the ghost with many pains and groans a souldier pierced his side with a launce that that saying might have place they shall look on him whom they have pierced DEAD By the separation of soul and body for his body remain'd upon the Cross and his soul return'd immediately to God as himself told the penitent theef This day shalt thou be with me in Paradise He was not born after an ordinary manner neither dyed he a common death for as much as beside the extream pain he suffered whilest he hung with the weight of his body upon the Cross and the great shame to which he lay open he lay under a curse the Law pronouncing him cursed that hangs upon the tree AND BURIED Taken down from the Cross embalm'd with spices wrapped up in fine linnen and laid in a tomb where none had lay'n before by the care and cost of Ioseph of Arimathea And the malice of his enemies persued him beyond death and attended him to his very grave who that he might not rise again as himself had promised rolled a great stone to the mouth of the tomb and clapping on their own seals set a guard to watch him HE DESCENDED INTO HELL That is he went down into the lower-most parts of the earth and for the space of three dayes remain'd in the grave amongst the dead Or as some expound it he suffered the pains of Hell and the wrath of God due to our sins and underwent the curse of the law and terrours of conscience to which we were lyable Others take the words as they sound of the place that he did coveigh himself into the regions of darkness and discovered to the divels and to the wicked spirits the glory of his presence and routing the powers of Hell leading captivity captive and trampling Satan that old serpent the enemy of mankind under his victorious feet according to the first Prophesie of Christ The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpents head And in this sense this article is the beginning of Christ's exaltation The other degrees are his Resurrection his Ascension his Sitting at the right hand of God the Father and his Coming to judgement THE THIRD DAY After that he had lain three dayes in the grave as Ionas who ws the type of the Son of Man continued three days in the whale's belly It being observ'd that on the fourth day the body begins to corrupt which was not to happen to Christ David thus speaking concerning him My flesh shall rest in hope because thou wilt not leave my soul in Hell neither wilt thou suffer thy holy one to see corruption Wherefore early in the morning on the third day which was for that reason appointed the Christian Sabbath HE ROSE AGAIN Partly raising himself by his own virtue and divine power as himself saith I lay down my life that I may take it up again I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it again Partly being raised by God the Father who when his Iustice was fully satisfied released Christ out of the prison of the grave and to that purpose sent his Angels to roll away the stone death having now no more dominion over him who having finisht the work of our redemption rose again for our justification FROM THE DEAD He return'd to life appeared to his Disciples and others several times shewed the wounds which he had received on the Cross and made Thomas who was hard of belief to feel his side that he might know it was a true body And having for fourty dayes together conversed upon earth and given orders to the Apostles how they should goe into all the world and preach the Gospell and plant churches promising them the assistance of the spirit he took his leave of them in this manner as followeth HE ASCENDED In the sight of his Apostles from the top of mount Olivet where he had bin formerly used to spend much of his time in holy retirements and spiritual exercises he lifted up himself from the ground and so mounting upward through the aire was received by a cloud and to the wonder of them all carried aloft out of sight two Angels telling them as they stood gazing that as they had seen him goe away so he should come again INTO HEAVEN The seat of the blessed where God sits on his Throne attended by millions of Angels far above the sphear of the stars the sky to wit the highest heaven For having dispatched the business for which he came down on earth he return'd to the Father by whom he had bin sent to intercede with him in our behalf and make out to us thence the benefit of all those things which he had done and suffer'd for us here And having conquer'd sin and death and broken the power of Hell what remains but that he should as in triumph ride upon the wings of the wind ascend to Heaven as the prize of his glorious conquest AND SITTETH To note that he hath fully accomplished the work of our Salvation he is said at last to sit down that he may as it were rest from his labours For the servant stands or goes whilest he is employ'd and sits not down till his work be done Now Christ put on the form of a servant and came as he saith of himself to wait not to be waited on That he sits also is a token of that authority which the Father hath given him having delivered unto him all power both in heaven and in earth and put all things under his feet So God sits in Heaven to order all things at his pleasure Again to sit sometimes signifies stay he sits there not to return before the end of the world Lastly by this word is expressed the blessed and glorious condition of the Saints in the life to come who shall sit down with Abraham Isaac and Iacob in the Kingdom of Heaven and therefore to shew the greatness of the dignitie to which Christ according to his humane nature is advanced is added At the right hand of God the Father Almighty The right hand usually expresseth strength and honour power and glory besides to give the right hand is a sign of fellowship and friendship wherefore God calls him the man my fellow Now to speak properly God hath no right hand or left nor any bodily parts but that he may apply himself to our capacities he doth use to speak of himself after the manner of men Becuse earthly Princes are wont to place those at their right hand whom they favour and would shew a particular honour as Solomon entertained his mother The meaning is that God hath raised him to the highest pitch
who sunk in the midst of the red Sea which divided it self to give thee passage dry-shod 'T was not thy own wit nor thy own strength that has brought about this great deliverance for thee but it must be confess'd even to the astonishment of the heathen roundabout that my wisdom contriv'd and my power hath effected it by the conduct of my faithful servant Moses who by my appointment by the guidance of my holy Angel has led thee OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT Where thou wast by the tyranny of Pharaoh his task-masters cruelly dealt with and slavishly imployed having neither freedom of body nor of soul deny'd all opportunityes of serving thy self or thy God captiv'd amongst Idolaters straightned in a land of straits in so much that thy number increasing they sought to destroy thee by cruel edicts hating thee out of Antipathy as a stranger and of another religion and out of fear because they saw thee grow numerous wherefore after so many years captivity in a strange and Heathen Land I have call'd thee forth to bring thee to a countrey of peace and plenty flowing with milk and hony and above all the Land of promise and which if you will be a holy people will deservedly be stiled the Holy Land OUT OF THE HOUSE OF BONDAGE Out of that prison from whence your sighs and groanes have oft pierc'd Heaven out of that Bridewell where you were kept to make brick and raise huge piles to be laâ—â—ing monuments of your misery and the tyrants lust without the allowance of any thing for your labour but blowes not so much as stubble affoorded yet your full tale of bricks required at your hands Consider now at distance what a sad life thou hast escaped the day spent in toils and the night in complaints the Nation kept under in poverty and disgrace and none to relieve thee so much as with their pitty but thy God who have brought thee aside into this solitude that I might make my self and my laws known to thee a favour which I have not shown to any nation besides that I may espouse thee unto my self and make thee a Kingdom of Priests and a holy people if thou wilt obey my Statutes hearken to my Law which I am now proclaiming in thy ears I am the Lord that have right to command and power to punish and therefore fear before me I am thy God who have enter'd into Covenant with thee and will reward those that keep Covenant wherefore I exspect thy love I have brought thee forth of Egypt from a sad bondage where thou wast oppress'd with slavery and want shall provide for thee Libertie and plenty and therefore I look for gratitude and let all three thy fear thy love and thy gratitude tye thee fast unto me the Lord and thy God and thy mighty deliverer and oblige thee to an attention and obedience to my Law Now although this historical passage concerning the delivery out of Egypt be peculiar to the children of Israel yet the obligation and the force of the argument will reach all people whatsoever and the Preface is by Analogie of as large and universal an extent as the Law it self For at Christ's death the vail of the Temple was rent in twain and the wall of separation which distinguished the Iews formerly the only people of God from the rest of the nations who had been till then heathen and as it were excommunicate out of the pale of the Church was broken down so that all the nations of the world are now engaged in Covenant with God and have undertaken and made a stipulation in Baptism to be his people and He to be their God And this History is turnâ—d into Allegory and denotes the salvation purchas'd by Christ who hath redeem'd us from a spiritual Egypt and the slavery of sin and hath led us forth out of the regions of darkness and the bondage of servile fears to the inheritance of light and the glorious priviledges of the Gospell Besides if we take the deliverance in a temporal sense who is there that when he recounts the several passages of his life will not acknowledge God's gracious dealings and his wonderful mercies in providing for him in his wants preserving him from imminent dangers and delivering him from his fears and the evil consequencies many times of his follies so that if he have any ingenuity upon so many instances of divine favour and particular kindness he must needs confess that God is the Lord his God These words may be look'd on also more particularly to relate to the first Commandement not only as an indication of him whom we are to own as our God but as a reason too why we should own him Nor will it so have the less influence upon the other Commandements since all religous duties depend upon the knowledge and fear of God and Atheism is that root of bitterness from whence all transgressions spring for The fool hath said in his heart There is no God and then it follows They have corrupted their way they have done abominably The first Commandement THOU SHALT HAVE NO OTHER GODS Thou shalt not follow the example of blind Pagans and entertain a multitude of gods nor pay that devotion to any of the creatures which is due to the creator alone nor set up in thy heart any thing in opposition to me or give thy self up to the obedience of any lust nor hearken to the suggestions of Satan nor be rul'd by the vanity of this wicked world nor turn Atheist and live without God in the world but shalt acknowledge me the only one God in three Persons and shalt learn to know me the Infinite Almighty Everlasting and Ever blessed God shalt fear before me and have thy thoughts taken up with the meditation of my Nature and my Will my Word and my Works and shalt admire me in my Attributes obey me in my Commands thou shalt set me alwayes before thee that thou mayst walk in my wayes thou shalt perform to me that Homage as is due by right of creation thou shalt observe my providences stand in aw of my Iudgements and have regard to my mercies nor shalt thou ascribe whatever befals thee to chance or fortune to thy own wit or strength but look on all events as the contrivances of my wisdom and the effects of my power Thou shalt bear a love to my name and take thy delight in my Law Thou shalt give up thy heart to me and serv me with truth in the inward parts Thy understanding shall be busily imployed in feeling after me and finding me out according as I have made manifestations of my self in my word and in my works and shall guide thee by the dictates of my holy Spirit Thy will shall be enclin'd to a perfect compliance with my will according to the rules of Holiness and Righteousness and thy affections shall be wholly carried out to me as
to their proper only object Thou shalt believe in me and put thy trust in me and love me and love those that doe love me and hate those that hate me and what I hate with a perfect hatred Sin thou shalt rejoyce in my favour and delight thy self in me nor shalt thou take any occasion of sadness but from my displeasure and let fall thy countenance when I hide mine thou shalt meekly submit to my disposals and burn with zeal for my glory thy soul shall cleave fast unto me and thou shalt serve me faithfully all the dayes of thy life Thou shalt behave thy self alwayes as in my presence and shalt have respect to me and be afraid of doing any thing that may offend me in the deepest retirements of thy most private thoughts for all things lye open and naked before me BEFORE ME. This is added to shew God's Omnipresence as a grievous aggravation of the sin that the setting up another God though never so secretly though never so much out of the sight of men will be a down right affront to the searcher of hearts to God who sees in secret and that he will not indure the competition of any rival for he alone is the God that made Heaven and Earth and whatsoever else fond superstition has found out for the object of worship is either the work of his hands or the work of mens hands This circumstance may justly affright us into a great circumspection and wariness for the ordering our thoughts and composing our desires of setling our spirits and governing the inward man since God's all piercing eye is upon us he understands even our thoughts afar of Some Interpreters render it Beside me And this though it be not so Emphatical as the other particle yet it more plainly infers the affirmative part of the precept i.e. Thou shalt have no other Gods but thou shalt have me for thy God The Hebrew affords a pretty note from the Syntax the Verb being of a different number from the Noun that Singular and this Plural as if it would be a solecism and irregular construction to own more Gods then one since there can be but one Infinite one first cause one supream and if we should fancie a Pluralitie of Gods in a coordination the one would bound and hinder and countermand the other and if we fancie them in a subordination 't is only the highest is God the rest are no Gods There are indeed as the Apostle sayes Gods many and Lords many i.e. such as are called Gods titular Gods yet we have but one God the Father of whom are all things and we in him and one Lord Iesus Christ through whom are all things and we through him for as he said immediately before We know that an Idoll is nothing in the world and that there is no God but one If now we would but search into our selves and make inquiry into our hearts how little I fear should we find of God there How full should we see our selves of superstition prophaneness Having plac'd worse things in God's stead then any of his own creatures which was the folly of Heathenism setting up self in the Throne serving divers lusts and pleasures preferring every vanity before him making our Belly our interest our sport our sin our God Setting not his fear before our eyes nor living at all to his glory and in short being by profession indeed Christians but in conversation Atheists who know that there is a God yet glorifie him not as God so that we may justly make use here of the Churches Prayer Lord have mercy upon us and incline our hearts to keep this Law The second Commandement The first prescribes the object of our worship and forbids a false God This regulates the manner and way of worship and prohibits a false service of the true God And herein the confidence of the Roman-Church is to be admir'd which to defend its Idolatry fears not to commit sacriledge and casheirs this Commandement from being one of the ten thinking they make good amends by as absurdly parting the Tenth as they have audaciously remov'd this And what they say for themselves that they doe not worship the Image it self but God at or by or through the Image and that the service is transient to the Idoll and terminated upon God is no more then an ingenuous Idolater of Heathen Rome would have said seeing no man of understanding could be so blockish as to pay the civility of his devotions to a log of wood or to an Artist's phantasm and caress a dead thing but they surely meant their Adoration to the Deity represented and understood by that gross resemblance Possibly the vulgar sort lookt no farther then the Idoll it self which may I suppose without breach of Charity be thought of a great part of the Laity amongst these Christian Idolaters whose Ignorance is the mother of their Devotion who if they knew God better according to the first Commandement would not worship Images contrary to the second This Commandement hath two parts an Explication and a Reason The explication first of the object what is meant by Idoll set down in two terms Graven Image or any likeness amplified by Induction or a particular enumeration of things in Heaven above in the earth beneath or in the water under the earth which are the three great parts of the Univers wherein all things are contained by this means leaving no evasion for Idolatry no thing no place unnam'd that might be abus'd to such a purpose Secondly of the Act what the making to ones self means and that in two terms too Bowing down to them or Adoration and worship or service For so the word in the original expresses it forbidding the Dulia the lower worship as well as the Latria the higher and voiding that idle distinction of two sorts of religious worship The Reason is fetch'd from the nature of God represented here by four attributes His power for he is a strong God so the Hebrew word El signifies and so the Septuagint render it His jealousie He is a jealous God His Iustice demonstrated in his vengeance upon sinners And his mercy that he deals kindly with the righteous where he aggravates the guilt of the one and heightens the respect of the other by the title he gives them Those he stiles his enemyes and haters i.e. those which transgress his Laws especially this These his friends and lovers to wit that keep his Commandements And he is just and merciful not only to them but to their posterity after them also yet with this difference that his vengeance stops at the third or fourth generation but his kindness propagates it self to thousands THOU SHALT NOT MAKE UNTO THEE This do's not then simply forbid making Images or pictures nor condemn the Art of the graving toole and the Pencil as if carving and painting were sinfull employments Statues and Pictures may be had for
't is true in a temporal sense and observation will make it good that the wicked children of godly parents have some what extraordinary providence attend them in this world and 〈◊〉 much 〈…〉 for their fathers 〈…〉 God 〈…〉 tender of their concerns 〈…〉 for his and 〈…〉 promis'd that it shall be well with those that fear him and with their 〈◊〉 after them He owns them here as friends and will not forget them in their relations but will shew them all the kindness which the◠are capable of And thus the Israelites in their distresses thought it a great argument in their Prayers to plead with God not the merits but the memoryes of their fore-fathers Abraham 〈◊〉 and Iacob What better portion can a loving father provide for his children what greater legacy of love leave behind him then God's favour and 〈◊〉 est in divine mercy Who are those God here calls his Lovers his Friends those 〈◊〉 keep his commands that observe his precepts For indeed friendship consists in the union of minds and the compliance of wills And 't is the nature of love to seek by all means to please the party loved and not to cross his desires or give him any offence This is the true mark of our love to God if we are carefull to keep his commands to doe what he would have us doe And who would not love God that loves himself and seek his friendship who is so ready to engage his kindness to us and our heirs for ever and requite our love a thousand fold This reason as it contains a threat and a promise and is grounded upon the Iustice and mercy of God is common to all the Commandements but is peculiarly annex'd to this as that which God takes the greatest care of and is most jealous of the breach and it may justly occasion our wonder to consider that notwithstanding God's strictness in propounding the command and his severity upon the breaches yet his own people have been ever forward to run into Idolatry and to take example from those very nations whom they themselves for this very sin have by God's command rooted out of their land and country So that it should seem there was but too great reason why this reason should be set particularly to back this command The meaning of the precept is this Thou shalt not make use of any Image whether graven of whatsoever metall gold or silver or cut out of stone or carv'd in wood or fashion'd in wax or what other material soever or any picture drawn or pourtray'd in cloth paper c. or any likeness and resemblance of any creature in the whole world for a religious purpose in the way of worship upon any pretence Thou shalt not worship the work of mens hands or the work of their brains neither Image nor imagination none of my creatures much less any of thine own Thou shalt neither worship them nor me by them but shalt consult my word and fetch thence the rules and wayes of worship Thou shalt not be led by the example of Heathen-people whose ignorance of me may be some excuse to their Idolatry to follow their practises and turn my glory into the likeness of any corruptible thing The Sun and Moon and Stars above thee shall not dazzle thy mind by their lustre so as to forget me and pay that homage to those glorious lights which is due to me who live in unapproachable light The trees and springs bread and wine and other blessings of life shall not for their usefulness and for that helpful virtue which I their Creator have put into them win so much upon thy affections as to asscribe that honour to them which belongs to their Maker nor shall the wonders of the deep and the prodigious secrets which I have laid in the womb of the seas swallow up thy admiration so as to drown that respect which thou oughtst to have for me the sight of whatsoever excellency or convenience or dreadfulness in any of the creatures shall but serve to give thee an occasion of magnifying my glorious perfections and goodness and power not to fix thy devotion upon them for I commanded and they were made for my own glory and for thy use not for thy worship The Angels thou shalt respect as my messengers and receive my errands with reverence but shalt not by worshipping them make them my fellows The Saints who now rest from their labour and have left thee their examples of a holy life thou shalt remember with thanks and endeavour to imitate and thus make them the object not of my jealousy but of thy emulation The evill spirits shall not fright thee into religious observance being able to doe no more hurt then I let them Thou shalt not with base flattery Idolize the persons of men whether they be Good or Great but carry a respect subordinate to me In fine Thou shalt not set thy affections and respects upon any thing so as to make it an Image of jealousy Thou shalt not fall flat on thy face before any creature or its resemblance nor bow thy knee nor kiss thy hand nor make any other sign of adoration nor pray to them or before them or use any other gesture of worship however thou mayst pretend to direct thy intention nor shalt thou pay them any religious service or attendance by building groves temples and altars by making priests and appointing sacrifices or any other rites But thou shalt worship me the Lord thy God and me alone shalt thou serve in body as well as soul for I am the Creatour of both and though I am a spirit and am to be worshipped in spirit and in truth yet your bodyes also shall be temples of my holy spirit I will be sanctified in them in the use of such holy rites and Ceremonies as I have appointed shall hereafter appoint in my word and by my Church that all things in my service may be done decently in order Thou shalt therefore worship me according to my appointments come to my house in my fear behave thy self with care and reverence in the holy place whilst thou art in my presence in the performance of all religious acts and shalt bow down to me kneel before the Lord thy Maker Thou shalt not consult with witches or use other unlawful means nor shalt thou regard sorceries or any superstitious observances Lastly thou shalt give thy self up wholly both in body soul and spirit to my worship and shalt dedicate thy self so to my service that thy body also may become a Temple of the holy Ghost And all this thou must be the more carefull of that thou mayst not deprive me of that homage which I expect from thee and give away my glory to another when thou considerst my jealousy to observe such indignityes and my power to avenge them the severity of my Iustice in punishing Idolaters and their posterity after them and the multitude of my
people might fill their hands and become Priests to a Tyrant's interest when prosperous villany has been bless'd in the Name of the Lord and suffering Innocence has been impleaded as guilty when swearing is in so much credit is look'd on as the Character of Greatness and rash oaths have the reputation of Gallantry when we that have the Name of God call'd upon us live unworthy of that calling make his Name be evill spoken of O! let us pray as the Church has taught us Lord have mercy upon us and incline our hearts to keep this Law The fourth Commandement The third was the rule of our words the fourth of our works and that which is consequent to them rest That teaches us holy talk This instructs us in holy walking for so our Church-Catechism has resolv'd the sense of this Command to serve God faithfully all the dayes of our life so that 't is not the seaventh day onely but all seaven that we are to serve God in He that would serve God well on the Sabbath in a holy rest must first serve him in his week's labour and doing the work of the six dayes well The second and third concern the Manner of his worship This more especially the Time It hath also as the other two had two parts the Precept and the Reason of the precept The precept is attended with a large explication what is meant by Sabbath and what meant by Keeping it Holy First we may take notice of the extraordinary manner wherein it is deliver'd 't is usher'd in with a Memento Then what is to be remember'd the Sabbath and the Sanctification of it Then follows the explication What is the Sabbath by Opposition first to our dayes of work the other dayes of the week six dayes shalt thou labour and doe all thy work which indeed is precept too as well as concession no less a Command to oblige us to diligence in our calling then a Grant to give us leave to follow it And the injunction is twofold that we labour take pains in our imployment set our selves a work and that we finish and make an end of our business and doe all that we have to doe Then secondly by Position which punctually sets down the day But the seaventh day is the Sabbath What is it next to Sanctify the Sabbath or keep it holy To doe no work on that day nothing of our ordinary imployment wherein the strictness of the Command appears that all of the family as well as the Master all of the city as well as the Magistrate are concern'd being set down here by name Thou master and mistress or magistrate or whatever governour and thy natural dependencies thy son and thy daughter and thy acquired relations whether by Covenant or hire thy manâ—servant and thy maid servant or by purchase and possession thy cattle or by sojourning the stranger that is within thy gates The reason is taken from God's own example whereof we have first the Narration how he made all things in six dayes and rested the seaventh and then the Design of his so doing that he might appoint the Sabbath wherefore he blessed the Sabbath-day or as the Septuagint have it the seaventh day and hallowed it REMEMBER We are too apt all over to forget our duty wordlings especially in the pursuit of their earthly concernments would scarce make a stop at the Sabbath and therefore this Command summons them with a particular Alarum a word of much weight in the Hebrew Idiom where the Verb should be twice repeated Remember to remember i.e. be sure by all means to remember and denotes the former old custom of keeping the Sabbath even from the beginning of the world and therefore presents it here as an ancient institution to be remembred And it quickens our care not only for the observation of the day when it comes but for our preparation for it before it comes we must think of it all the week afore hand and provide for it that nothing may divert us from the celebration of it THE SABBATH-DAY A day of rest and leisure from the works of our ordinary calling that ceasing thus from our earthly affairs we may have opportunity to meditate on heavenly things and lift up our souls from the cares of this life to the contemplation of those joyes gloryes which those that serve God shall have in the world to come where there shall be an everlasting Sabbath TO KEEP IT HOLY To set it aside wholly for the service of God in publick by Prayer reading and hearing God's Word serving God in the solemn assembly in private by meditation and study of God's Book and other holy exercises We are to remember both the day and the keeping the day holy some are ready enough to remember the Sabbath as a time of leisure out of carnal indulgence but they are not so ready to remember the duty of the day to keep it holy and improve it for spiritual advantage SIX DAYES THOU SHALT LABOUR This as it declares the precept so it shews the equity of it if God allow us six we should not grudge him the seaventh Besides it has the force of a command and is deliver'd in the same manner as the other Commandements Thou shalt labour He that 's idle all the week has no right to the Sabbath-rest He that 's careless in doing his own work on the six dayes is unfit to be imployed in God's service on the seaventh The word many times hath a peculiar signification for the service of God and thus it will inferr that every day is a Christian's Sabbath and he is to be doing God's work even when he is doing his own AND SHALT DOE ALL THAT THOU HAST TO DOE Dispatch all thy business and leave nothing undone against the Sabbath that thou mayst be wholly vacant and have thy thoughts as well as thy body at rest and thy mind free from all distractions of worldly cares thou mayst have nothing else to think upon but the worship of God This calls upon us for diligence in our callings that we must not doe our work by halves but go thorough with it And it gives a Typical intimation too that we would in this week of our mortality set upon and accomplish the necessary work of Repentance Faith and Obedience that we may have all our accounts clear'd e're the eternal Sabbath come upon us when if we have left that work undone we shall have no time allow'd us to go on with it and bring it to an end BUT THE SEAVENTH DAY This is the Ceremonial part of the Command but that a seaventh should be kept is Moral For the Iews in memory of the Creation were to observe the seaventh Day which with us is Saturday as their Sabbath whereon God having made all things rested But Christians in memory of a greater work of Redemption led by Apostolical practise have constantly observ'd the first day of the week to wit
be warie of doing ought which may indirectly or by casualty either deprive him of it or imbitter it to him but shalt by thy mild behaviour and offices of friendship and kindness help to make his life pleasant and lasting And now when we do but think how peccant the Nation hath been in this Command how we have murthered one another for hire and improved the heats of a civil war with private animosityes with a blind zeal the rage of a mistaken conscience thinking we have done God good service by sacrificing one another How we have pretended publick justice to our ambitious designs and pull'd all down that stood in our way to greatness How we entitled our selves to Saint-ship by binding Kings in chains and their Nobles in fetters of iron and accounted it our duty to God to kill and murder our fellow subjects and imbrew our hands in the blood of our Soveraign How still we are given to quarrel and are loath to lay down the cudgels of contention but are ready to justifie a wicked Cause to new troubles and a second tryal of war and by our discontents tempt providence to remove our peace How zealous and industrious we show our selves in promoting faction and making partyes How we sharpen our tongues and our pens to shoot bitter words against one another How peevish and sullen how easily provok'd and how hardly reconcil'd how eager upon slight occasion to break peace and part with charity and about things indifferent how not indifferent we are have we not very great cause to pray as the Church teacheth us Lord have mercy upon us and incline our hearts to keep this Law The seaventh Commandement The sixth secures life This orders the preservation of chastity they both forbid any wicked attempt upon our neighbour's person That by curbing anger This by bridling lust That prohibits the killing This the defiling of our neighbour and indeed though Life be the first considerable yet Chastity is a greater care seeing that the abuse of the body by uncleanness draws along with it a greater danger to the injur'd person then murder as that which being commonly attended with consent makes the sufferer accessary and wrongs the soul no less then the body And possibly some such reason there might be for the transposing of these Commandements in some copyes and placing this of adultery and that of theft before murder the staining or impoverishing one being as bad as killing one out of the way and as good have no life at all as to live in disgrace or want THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTERY Thou shalt not through lust or intemperance or any wanton excess abuse thy own or thy neighbour's body or break the rules of chastity but shalt with great care keep a holy and a clean conversation and denying all ungodliness worldly lusts and unlawful pleasures preserve thy self pure from all filthy pollutions of the flesh Thou shalt be moderate in the use of all lawful pleasures and recreations and order them to serious ends to make thee more chearful in the service of me and the performance of the dutyes of life Thou shalt not greedily devour the creatures I provide for thy use and fill thy self with meats and drinks to indispose thee for prayer or business Thou shalt avoid surfeting and drunkenness and gluttony nor yet pinch thy self with unreasonable abstinence or sordid thrift but allow thy self honest and suitable refection and recreation Thou shalt not be too nice and dainty in the choice of food and other treatments of thy self but content thy self with that which is wholsom and agreeable to thy condition Thou shalt make a sober and a temperate use of my gifts and allowances be watchful and jealous over thy self at food in company in thy delights and pastimes and at thy leisures that the tempter may not take advantage of thee Thou shalt be careful of thy habit and attire that it be decent and comely not garish and immodest that it be fitted for warmth to hide nakedness not to shew pride Thou shalt in thy gesture and behaviour compose thy self to a chearful modesty so as to shew civility and courtesie not to discover wantonness or invite lust Thou shalt shake of sloath and take heed of idleness as that which betrayes to such temptations and breeds nurses lust Thou shalt not too much indulge thy self to sleep but take a competent share which may be convenient for thy health and employment to repair nature not to besot her Thou shalt keep thy vessel in holiness and forbear all gross uncleanness Thou shalt not wrong thy neighbour's bed nor offer violence or enticement to any one Thou shalt not use nor allow the use of stews nor frequent places of ill fame Thou shalt not burn with unnatural lusts nor practise secret villany or give thy self up to dishonourable passions and beastly sensuality but learn from the examples of my vengeance to stand in aw of my judgements for whoremongers and adulterers God will judge and thou shalt be holy as I am holy and pure that thou mayst see God Thou shalt avoid filthy communication and foolish speech and idle jesting but have thy discourse season'd with salt of discretion that it may not corrupt good manners but tend to edification Thou shalt not look upon any one to lust nor reach out a desire in thy heart after the appearances of beauty Thou shalt not be wanton in thy apparel or demeanour but behave thy self with bashfulness and with modesty complying with civil fashionable customs Thou shalt be ware of meetings shows playes sonnets dances and all other occasions which may prove invitements to ill for fear thou fall into the snare of the Divel Thou shalt in private have awful thoughts of my presence and when necessity or chance or duty brings thee forth into the publick and the sight of men so behave thy self with that circumspection that thou mayst not get any soil from converse nor disimprove thy self but better thy company obliging them with all civil respect and yet with the gravity of thy carriage checking vain thoughts and hindring the first opportunityes of ill it being easier to master lust in its beginning then to prevent it's growth Yet if thou canst not contain thy self in the limits of a single life thou shalt in my fear make use of that remedy which I have appointed and shalt pray to me to direct thee in thy choice that thou mayst have a woman of understanding Thou shalt not rashly or for carnal satisfaction enter into the holy state of matrimony but for my glory and mutual comfort shalt look upon marriage as an honourable institution Thou shalt not place thy affections where my law rules of honesty forbid it and shalt have a reverence for thy neer alliances and take heed of yoaking thy self unequally Thou shalt faithfully perform the marriage-covenant and have a loving and sweet respect to one anothers persons a quiet
but to be the stay of the family In Deuteronomie the wife is mention'd first and so by the Septuagint here as the Mistress of the House one that is not to be reckon'd as a part of possession but as the man's partner in all his fortune governesse of his affairs The wife then is not to be desired for her beauty for her portion for her discretion c. The House and Wife are a mans particular choice the House his castle and the Wife of his bosom the delight of his eyes and the joy of his heart 'T is most injurious therefore to covet these The Samaritan here and the Greek make mention of his field and the Syrick of his vineyard too the one for bread and herbage the other for drink i.e. Thou shalt not covet any part of his revenue Mens estates lying generally in houses and lands and in former times in cattle too servants wherefore they are also expressed by name NOR HIS MAN-SERVANT that tills his ground that looks to his cattle that waits upon his person and manages his affairs in whatsoever condition he serve him Thou shalt not desire him for his fidelity for his strength or for his wit or any other good quality thou hearest of him for this would be to disable thy neighbour and take his right hand from him NOR HIS MAID-SERVANT that looks to the house that makes provision that gives her attendance within doors and minds the business of the family under her Mistresses government and direction Thou shalt not cover her for her care or her diligence or her prudence or any other good quality for this would take away his wives right hand and make her cares toilsome much less shalt thou desire her out of lust for this would bring an infamy and reproach upon thy Neighbours house NOR HIS OX which helps him in the tillage of his ground NOR HIS ASS which helps him in carriage of burdens for this would be to lay a load of drudgery upon the servants and disappoint the culture of his field and vineyard The Greek adds nor any of his cattle for they are to maintain his house NOR ANY THING THAT IS THY NEIGHBOUR'S This includes every thing else Moneys Iewels Rayment c. Whatsoever he has be it of great or small concernment whether it be for his profit or his delight Thou shalt not meddle with it in thy thoughts nor hanker after it in thy desires The Summ of all may be this Thou shalt not think it enough to doe thy neighbour no wrong in word or deed but thou shalt love him wish him well in thy heart Thou shalt not covet any thing that is his but shalt regulate thy affections and set bounds to thy thoughts and desires Thou shalt subdue all carnal lusts and evil concupiscences that thou mayst be sanctified throughout both in body soul and spirit and mayst be led by no unruly passions Thou shalt refrain thy appetite and keep it within the rules of right reason the necessityes of nature and the appointments of God's Law so as to be moderate in thy desires and enjoyments of meat and drink of ease and sleep and all lawful pleasures Thou shalt gather in thy affections and bind them up with my fear Thou shalt not hate thy brother nor yet love him with that sondness as to honour him above me Thou shalt not love the world nor the things of the world nor ingross all thy love to thy self Thou shalt take heed of all unchast love and wanton dalliance but thou shalt love thy neighbour with unfaigned Charity and make after whatsoever things are good and of good report Thou shalt not give thy self to immoderate joy or to over much melancholly Thou shalt not rejoyce at any ones misfortunes nor be griev'd at his well-doing or look upon him with an evil eye But thou shalt keep an even and composed spirit equally temper'd to joy and sadness that thou mayst rejoyce with them that rejoyce and weep with them that weep that thou mayst in thy grievances pray and in thy mirth sing Psalms Thou shalt not be too confident nor yet too distrustfull of thy self neither shalt thou place thy trust in man nor too much stand in fear of him seeing his breath is in his nostrils But thou shalt hold so even a balance betwixt thy hopes and fears that thou mayst in Charity endure all things and hope all things and that thou mayst walk with care and circumspection and set thy heart upon thy way Thou shalt not break out into passions upon slight occasion or study revenge but shalt keep in thy anger and when my glory calls for 't imploy it in zeal and sin not Thou shalt cleanse thy heart the fountain of actions denying all ungodly lusts mortifying the desires of the flesh wrestling with temptations and fighting the good fight against thy three grand enemyes the world the flesh and the Divel Thou shalt not nuzzle thy self in carnal security and give thy self to idleness neglecting thy prayers and thy dutyes and opening the door to temptation and fatning thy heart for destruction Thou shalt strive against the first suggestions of thy lust and shalt crush the cokatrice in the egg before vanity have got the dominion over thee Thou shalt withstand the evil one that he may fly from thee that having done all thou mayst stand Thou shalt not entertain ill thoughts with delight nor roll the sweet morsel under thy tongue Thou shalt not give consent to the wicked enticements of thy own flesh but arm thy self with holy resolutions Thou shalt do thy utmost endeavour to root out all evil concupiscence to keep that noisom puddle of original corruption that body of death which thou carryest about with thee from streaming breaking forth into inordinate desires irregular words or actions whereby God is offended or thy neighbour injur'd and lastly thou shalt so bound thy appetite keep it within the limits of that condition wherein providence hath placed thee that thou mayst without envying thy neighbour or desiring any thing that is his quietly rest satisfied with thy own estate and carefully mind the dutyes of thy calling knowing that contentedness with what a man hath is both the great duty of Christian Religion and the greatest felicity of this life That we may inquire into our selves it hath been plain by our actions how full of concupiscence our hearts have been when the Lusts of this Age have been as wild and the practises as loose as the Opinions mens minds have been as free to covet as they have been to think when appetite has been boundless and being goaded by ambition has rambled over all Sacred Civil Rights left nothing untouch'd that belong'd to God or man which the covetousness of wicked hearts could reach at when we have coveted God's House as well as our neighbour's made conscience of nothing that might improve our estates when instead of
Self-denyal which is the principle of Christianity Self-preservation has been set up and Interest made our Idol when we have been so far discontented at our present condition that we have over-run all orders to mend our private fortunes have ruin'd the publick when we walk disorderly and are immoderate in the use of our pleasures and are taken up with the love of the world and impure affections and cannot rellish the things of God when we cannot indure one another and require that of others we would not allow them and set our selves at irreconcileable distances when we indulge our selves in carnal joyes and have no compassion for our suffering Brethren when our hopes depended on an arm of flesh and the fear of man deterred us from our duty so that we would not trust God for our delivery in the performance of our duty when every small thing puts us into passion and in our zeal we design a revenge on the person more then a reformation of his vice when we follow the guidance of a deluded conscience and mistake both covetousness and ambition for zeal when we prefer publick mischief before our own disappointments and had rather Church State should be indanger'd then our design should miscarry when we hug temptations and make much of our lusts and lull them on the pillows of ease and security when we wish for things unlawful and take unlawful courses to get them when all our desires are let out for carnal satisfactions and we make it the great business of our lives to provide for our content and yet can never be contented When by our covetousness and evil concupiscences we have thus broken not only this but all Gods Laws and Commandements we may very well desire God's pardon for what is past and his assistance for the time to come in the Churches form Lord have mercy upon us and write all these thy Laws in our hearts we beseech thee FINIS AN EXPLANATION Of the SACRAMENTS The II. SACRAMENTS Baptism GOe ye and teach all Nations baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy Ghost Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every ereature He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved but he that believeth not shall be damned The Lords SUPPER THe Lord Iesus the same night in which he was betraid took bread And when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to his disciples and said Take eat this is my body which is broken given for you this do in remembrance of me Likewise also he took the cup after supper and when he had given thanks he gave it to them saying Drink ye all of it For this is my bloud of the New Testament which is shed for you for many for the remission of sinnes This doe ye as â—ft as ye drink it in remembrance of me Of the SACRAMENTS THe Sacraments That is to say Holy Rites or Ceremonies or mysteries used in the Church appointed by Christ himself Now Sacrament is a military term and signifyes that oath whereby souldiers were wont to engage to be true and faithfull to their General in the War against the enemyes of their countrey And thus it is with us Christians who have vow'd obedience to Christ the Captain of our Salvation and sworn to fight under his Banner that we may by his strength overcome the world the flesh and the Divel The Sacraments are but two Holy Baptisme and the Holy Supper which come in the place of Circumcision and the Iewish Passeover By Baptism we are admitted into the bosom of the Church and as it were entred into God's family being by nature aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel and of the children of wrath become heirs of the promise The Supper affords us a spiritual repast and by it we grow up and are intimately united to Christ and are preserved and fed to life everlasting There are two things to be considered in a Sacrament an outward Sign and an inward Grace signified Sign in Baptisme is Water which washeth the filth of our body the Thing signified is the Blood of Christ whereby our souls are cleansed from the filth of sin The outward Elements in the Supper are Bread and Wine by which the strength of nature is repair'd and maintain'd The Things signified are the Body of Iesus crucified and his Blood shed which being partaken by Faith doe heighten our graces and nourish the souls of believers Baptisme then is the laver of regeneration and the Supper is the Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ. In a word the Sacraments are annexed to the Word of God as the seals of the promise conveyances of grace and evidences of the Spirit by which he doth effectually apply to believers the love of the Father and the merits of the Son assuring their hearts confirming their Faith fastning their Hope and enlarging their Charity Of BAPTISM THe Institution of Baptisme was after this manner When Christ had with his Blood sealed the truth of his Doctrine and purchased to himself a Church i.e. a peculiar people the chosen ones of God whom he fore knew from all eternitie for he was the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world was laid and had made good this his purchase by his resurrection in that the bands of death sell off and he was released out of the prison of the grave having paid the debt for which he as our surety suffered it was then convenient that this Church thus purchased should be gathered and the chosen ones be called and converted to the saith by the preaching of the Word and distinguished from the rest of the world by a profession of the Gospel and the use of holy ordinances Wherefore being himself to depart hence to ascend to Heaven he leaves his Disciples with instructions how to propagate the faith and to order the affairs of his spiritual Kingdom to the end of the world and to proclaim throughout all quarters of the world the good tidings of peace and pardon to all such as should by faith and repentance come in and give up their names to Christ It being God's will that all should be say'd and come to the knowledge of the truth Whereupon he sends the Apostles to preach and by Baptisme i.e. by a solemn rite of washing with water receive into the bosom of the Church as many as should profess faith in him giving them this commission before his departue as it is set down by the Evangelist Goe ye and teach all Nations baptizing them c. Baptism having bin formerly us'd by Iohn the forerunner of our Saviour and honour'd by the example of our Saviour himself who at his Baptism was signally own'd from Heaven for the Son of God the Spirit also in the shape of a Dove lighting upon him Our Saviour in these words wherein he appoints the form and use of Baptism partly
faith applyes that purchase So then we are sav'd by the mercy of the Father by the merit of the Son and by the efficacy of the Spirit This form of Baptism is one of the clearest proofs of Trinity in all Scripture and indeed when our Saviour was Baptiz'd of Iohn all Three did shew themselves present Christ himself whom Iohn did Baptize was the second Person the Spirit descended upon him in the shape of a Dove and the Father spoke out of the Cloud saying This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased In the Command is set down the rite or outward action i.e. the washing with water The Promise delivers the grace signified and conveyed by the action to wit remission of sins The analogie betwixt the outward sign and the inward grace lyes in this that as Water being powred or sprinkled on the body washes off the filth so the Blood of Christ which was the Fountain open'd for the cleansing of iniquity doth purge the conscience and doe away sin whether original or actual and present us clean without spot in the sight of the Father by the virtue of the Spirit HE THAT BELIEVES AND IS BAPTIZED SHALL BE SAVED Faith is the soul's hand by which a man receives and applyes to himself the benefits purchased by Christ. By Faith we are justified Baptism is the laver of regeneration the seal of the Covenant the conveyance of Grace They are both necessary neither can either of them serve turn by it self There must be an Ordinance to ground Faith upon and there must be a Faith to make the Ordinance effectual For every appointment as the just man doth lives by Faith Faith without Baptism were a bucket without water and Baptism void of Faith were but a well without a bucket to draw up the waters of life He that believes by confessing his sins and professing Faith resolves upon amendment of life and gives himself up to Christ's discipline and then is baptiz'd obliges himself by vow enters into Covenant of strict walking with God He shall be sav'd from his sins the punishments due to them being free as well from the power as from the guilt His nature shall be renewed and by the continual supplyes of grace if he make good use of it he shall be enabled more and more to withstand temptations get ground of his lusts he shall be put into a state of salvation and every day set forward on his way to bliss through the paths of holiness till with Christ at last he arrive at perfection have his grace changed into glory HE THAT BELIEVETH NOT SHALL BE DAMNED This is a threat annexed to the promise which holds good by the law of contraries for if those that believe shall be saved then those that believe not must expect nothing but damnation We must observe that there is not added here any mention of Baptism because unbelief it self is enough to shut the gates of Heaven against any one and send him to Hell wherefore it is not said he that believes not and is not Baptiz'd for the unbeliever whether he be baptiz'd or no is lyable to this sentence If he hath been baptiz'd it will be look'd upon as a formal cheat a cloak to disguise his hypocrisy And if he hath not the very neglect of Baptism serves for an open discovery of his unbelief so that either way he aggravates his sin by being on one side hypocrite on the other profane The meaning of these words then is this But on the contrary whosoever doth not with true Faith entertain my Doctrine and with sure purpose of mind resolve on the keeping my Commands but doth either so far disbelieve Christian Truth that he will not so much as take upon him the outward profession of it or having been baptiz'd is of loose opinions and practises and disparages his profession with foul errors or wicked manners such an one will have no benefit by Christ no share in the salvation wrought by him but brings upon himself the guilt of his own sins and continues still in a state of wrath and perishing in his unbelief will assuredly be cast into everlasting torments If the One Sacrament may be termed the Bosom of the Church by which we are entred and have admittance into the fellowship of the Saints The Other may not without reason be call'd the Churches Breast by which we are nourished to a spiritual growth and are refreshed and fed to life everlasting Of the Lord's SUPPER AFter that our Saviour had sufficiently made known by his Doctrine the will of God concerning man's salvation and proved by many miracles that he was the Son of God that came down from Heaven to the end that having put on our nature he might in our stead satisfy the Law and undergoe the punishments due to us for our sins that we through Faith in him might live It pleased him that he might leave with us the Symbols of his presence for ever and preserve the memory of his sufferings afresh in the mind of the faithful to prefigure his Death by a Sacrament appointing Bread Wine the usual supplyes of life for the representing of his sacred Body which was broken on the Cross and torn with the nails and the spear and his Blood which trickled from his sacred Head by the pricking of the thorns gush'd out of his hands feet when he was nail'd to the tree and brake forth of his side when he was wounded with the launce and plentifully stream'd forth out of every vein of his sacred Body when he was cruelly scourged with whips Now his Body thus broken and his Blood thus shed doe no less feed a believers soul and improve the force of grace then the body is nourished and natures strength repaired by Bread and Wine But this hath a spiritual meaning not that any one doth eat the very flesh of Christ and drink his very blood in a gross manner for that will be as absured to think as 't is savage to doe or that Christ can be receiv'd any other way then by Faith for 't is a point of Faith that the Body of Christ did goe up to Heaven and there is to remain till the last day and 't is contrary to very reason to say that the same Body can at the same time be in several places and to bring to pass contradictions is a thing out of the power of omnipotence it self not to say that it is plain even to our outward senses that the elements of bread and wine doe still remain after consecration the same in substance as well as in colour and accidents as they were before In fine it would indeed be no Sacrament if the signs should change their nature and the thing signified be it self really there for a Sacrament is nothing else but a figure and representation of some thing that is absent exhibiting to the understanding that which cannot be seen with the eye and by
that good shepheard of souls that lay down my life for my sheep Thus broken and given thus delivered for you and to you I seal pardon of sins to your hearts I improve grace supply strength feed your souls to life everlasting Broken or Given as if it were all one for this heavenly Bread was given that it might be broken 't was broken that it might be given Christ could not have suffered for us had he not had a body given him for that purpose nor could that body have done us good or furnisht us with spiritual nourishment had it not bin broken Had not Christ dyed we could not be sure of living As it is with the bread it self which is the Symbol of his Body The corn must be first cut down and threshed and winnowed and grownd and sifted kneaded and baked with a hot oven before it can become bread THIS DOE YE These words either have reference to the actions of the Disciples who took the bread which Christ gave them and eat it and so they belong to all Christians in general to the whole company of believers according as the Church doth in more words deliver it Take and eat this in remembrance that Christ died for thee feed on him in thy heart with Faith and thanksgiving And so of the Cup afterward 't is said This doe ye as oft as ye drink it i.e. when ever ye drink it drink it in remembrance of me Or to Christ's own actions who broke it and gave it and thus they imply a special charge to the Officers of the Church the Ministers of the Gospel and Preachers of the Word such as also were these Disciples as if he should have said you are Apostles with whom I leave the care of planting Churches and preaching the Gospel whom I trust for the management of the affairs of my Kingdom and duly administring the Sacraments wherefore I charge and require of you that in celebrating this mystery you follow my example and doe no otherwise then you have seen me do before you that it may remain pure to all succeeding ages according to this first institution And hither St. Paul in this case makes his appeal where he discourses of the Holy Supper That which I received that deliver I unto you how the Lord Iesus c. This or Thus This which I have done or thus as I have done now in your company doe ye and all from hence forward that derive authority from you in your several assemblyes take bread and bless it and break it and give it about to those who rightly prepared come to the holy Table and use these words of consecration which I have done to you The Greek is make this hence it is an ordinary phrase amongst the Popish Priests when they perform Mass to say that they doe make the Body of the Lord thinking possibly that the Doctrine of Transsubstantiation is much advantaged by the word of making which in the Greek is indifferently applyed to all manner of actions and the other which signifies to do would have bin very improper and not fit to be us'd in this place THIS DOE YE The word will also in the Latine and Hebrew carry a sense of sacrificing and then 't would intimate that our Saviour's death was our peace-offering whereby God's wrath conceived against sin was atoned and his Iustice satisfied we being cleansed by the sprinkling of his Blood The Papists therefore call the Mass a Sacrifice without Blood and the holy Table strictly and properly without any Metaphor an Altar 'T is true we doe here represent and commemorate the death of Christ and when we come to partake of these Mysteries we may use the Psalmist's words What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits towards me I will take the Cup of Salvation and call upon the Name of the Lord I will Sacrifice unto thee the Sacrifice of thanksgiving and call upon the Name of the Lord I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all his people But he having offer'd once a perfect Sacrifice for the taking away of sin and cry'd upon the Cross It is finished and in that he dyed dyes no more 't were absurd to think there needed a repetition of that act which in it self was all-sufficient Christ's Blood being of an infinite value as it immediately follows in the same Psalm Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his Saints A word peculiar to Christ as in the fourth Psalm He hath set apart the holy one for himself and in the 16. Thou shalt not suffer thine holy one to see corruption meaning Christ. Besides to what purpose is it to ground an unreasonable doctrine upon the nicety of a word which in ordinary plain meaning signifies but this doe so hereafter as ye now doe or do ye in your companies what ye have seen me now do in mine IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME. For a memorial of me and a monument of my love who have not spar'd my life for your sakes and with a sense of gratitude to keep up the memory of my bitter death which I as your surety upon your account underwent and the benefit whereof you will receive by believing on me by eating my flesh and drinking my Blood and becoming one with me Or for my remembrance appointed by me to be one of my sacred ordinances to be kept up in the practise of the Church till my second coming in the clouds as ye will see me goe away Wherefore in the mean while to leave behind me a remembrance and to bear up your hearts in Faith that what I have suffered hath bin out of love to you and that those who in following ages shall not see me in the flesh yet may have some further assurance then my bare word I have provided this to be a standing ordinance in the Church whereby I may be remembred to the end of the world LIKEWISE ALSO HE TOOK THE CUP Now follows the other part of this Sacrament to wit the consecration of the Cup for it would not be a compleat meal were there not spiritual drink as well as meat the Blood of Christ being as necessary to quench the thirst as his flesh to satisfie the hunger of a believing soul that hungers and thirsts after righteousness But first the Bread and then the Cup. Why because there must be a body broken before there could be blood spilt First bread to strengthen and then wine to refresh the heart Again the Cup last as of great importance for the flesh could have profited nothing without the blood and God is said to have redeem'd his Church with his Blood nor does he onely redeem us with the shedding of his blood but wash us by the sprinkling of it upon our consciences from dead works and preserve his Church spotless till the great day Nay the author to the Hebrews observes
to run his course as a Giant refresh'd with wine and lastly to wash the defiled conscience and cleans the foul running sores of the soul that it may be fitted for the oyl of the spirit the comforter Besides Christ himself is often compared to a Vine whereof all the faithfull are branches I am the Vine sayes he i and my Father the Husbandman and he is said to have trod the winepress of God's wrath alone for us Yet in case of necessity where wine cannot be had other drinks either natural or made according to the custom of the country may be us'd as water beer c. Now as that bread which came down from heaven was the type of his body so was the water which came out of the rock and follow'd the Israelites through the wilderness an emblem of his Blood for that rock was Christ. He took it He lifted it from the table and held it in his hand either having first powred wine into it out of some bigger vessell or flagon or else with an intent to power wine into it as the word shed forth or powred out doth intimate for the sign was to represent the thing signified AFTER SUPPER At the end of Supper when they had done eating whereas the other part of this Sacrament was appointed in Supper time as they were eating Or else 't is not unlikely that this particle of time may belong as well to the bread as to the cup that the celebration of the whole mystery was not performed till they had made an end of the Paschal Supper into the room and place whereof this was from thence forward to succeed and be of perpetual use in the Church AND WHEN HE HAD GIVEN THANKS or blessed it For the Apostle calls it The Cup of blessing which we bless i.e. before he appointed it to be a sign of his Blood he sanctified it by the word and prayer and begging a blessing upon it separated it from common use using perhaps the ordinary grace which amongst the Iews the Master of the house did at meals make use of for no question but our Saviour here alludes to their custom who at the end of dinner or supper after thanks was given drank round the whole company that was at table of the grace-cup the Master of the house beginning to the rest HE GAVE IT He set it down amongst them that they might one after another take the cup and drink or perhaps put it into the hand of some one that he might give it about to his fellows TO THEM The Apostles to wit or disciples who at that time stood for the whole Church and consequently to all believers whomsoever that make profession of the Christian Faith SAYING Speaking almost the same words as he used before concerning the bread that he might declare his own purpose in the institution of this mystery and their benefit who should partake of it DRINK YE With Faith receive this Sacrament of my Blood that like your natural drink it being taken into your souls may refresh your souls quicken your graces and keep you to life everlasting ALL OF IT Every one some for the bread was indeed broken into severall portions but the cup could not be so divided wherefore they were to part it among them every one drinking so that there might be left for the rest of the company FOR. That which before was delivered in a declarative way as a bare narration eat this is my Body is here brought in as a reason Drink for this is my Blood Which shews to what end and purpose the cup was appointed and how much it concerns believers to drink of it since by it is conveyed the forgiveness of sins the main virtue and effect of Christ's Blood being spilt THIS To wit this cup which I doe now deliver to you this wine which you are now about to drink or this action of my giving and your drinking the holy Cup. IS MY BLOOD That is doth signifie and represent my Blood and not only so but gives out also and conveyes my Blood and the benefits thereof so that it being receiv'd with Faith shall prove as much to your advantage and doe your souls as much good as if you did really drink my very Blood even as one finds himself refresh'd with wine which he drinks OF THE NEW TESTAMENT Upon Gospel terms and the account of grace whereas formerly in the time of the Old Testament under the Law they were us'd to make atonement for their sins with the blood of bulls and goats now Christ the Son of God was come in the flesh who was the substance that all those shadows belonged to and the truth prefigur'd by those Levitical types all those rites of sacrificing were to have an end when once he had offer'd up a perfect sacrifice blotting out the hand-writing of the Law and sealing a New Covenant of grace in his Blood for the word will bear that sense too and we know 't was the usual custom of making and ratifying Covenants by sacrifice as betwixt God and Abraham Abraham and the King of the Philistins when they strook a league of friendship and possibly that heap of stones which was raised by Iacob and his Father in law Laban and was afterward called Gilead might serve also for that purpose Nay Homer takes notice of it as practis'd amongst the Heathen But the Greek does more properly denote the Testament or last will by which a man doth before his death dispose of his estate bequeath legacies which being ambulatory and uncertain as long as one lives is never valid or of force till the Testator be dead nor could we have bin the better for Christ or have had an effectual enjoyment of his benefits had he not dyed and by his death sealed as well as made the purchase By the New Testament here then is meant the will of God the Father concerning the Salvation of mankind which in former time he had made his people acquainted with by visions and Prophesies and other dark representations but in the fulness of time by sending his own Son made man after our own likeness when the wisdome of the Father dwelt amongst the children of men and the word became flesh gave out a full discovery thereof in the light of the Gospel and the clear manifestations of his grace And that Covenant of grace which by the death of his Son our Mediator who reconcil'd us with the Father he entred into with men being made upon other terms then the Law required which sayes Doe this and live and calls for an exact obedience which therefore it was impossible for men to keep whereas the conditions we are tyed to under the Covenant of grace are repentance only and Faith by which denying our own righteousness we depend upon the merits of a crucified Saviour according as they are propos'd both in the Old Testament the Iust shall live by Faith And