so eat and drink unworthily And indeed besides these Qualifications of a worthy Communicant there are others without which if we come to the Sacrament we eat and drink unworthily such as Faith and Thankfulness to our Saviour for the Pledges of his Love But these being Graces that are chiefly exercised at the Lords Supper I shall speak of them under the second way which I instanced whereby men receive the Sacrament of the Lords Supper unworthily viz. 2d Way When they behave themselves disorderly or unsuitably at it Now men may be said to behave themselves disorderly or unsuitably when they don't shew a due respect to what they are doing but either allow their Hearts to hanker as well as their thoughts to wander after the World or Sin or are prophane in their behaviour at it Nay I may safely say they don't deal with it very worthily that either look upon their Receiving it to be little more than a common or ordinary Eating or Drinking or else undervalue the Bread and Wine as but of little use and purpose It 's true the Bread and Wine are but Creatures as our Church terms them they are but Bread and Wine in their Nature but yet as they are instituted by Christ to be received in remembrance of hiâ— Death and Passion the taking of them according to Christ's Institution is a Symbol or Sacrament of our taking and eating the Body and Blood of Christ and therefore as they are appointed by Christ we are not to undervalue them by thinking we may as well receive Christ and the benefits of the New Covenant without them as with them when yet we have opportunity and invitations thereto which indeed to undervalue is not only to undervalue the Elements but the Wisdom and Authority of the Instituter 2. Those Men may be said to behave themselves disorderly and unsuitably at the Sacrament and so receive it unworthily that receive it without Faith This Sacrament being such an Ordinance that without Faith it cannot be received and therefore it is the Apostles Advice that we should draw nigh it with full assurance of Faith Heb. 10.22 for indeed Faith is not only the hand to lead us unto Christ Heb. 11.6 7. but of applying Christ unto us and making that which was done for many Mat. 26.28 to be effectually conveyed unto us for what doth it signifie for me to Commemorate the snfferings of a dying Saviour by receiving Bread and Wine according to Christ's Appointment If I have not Faith that the benefits thereof belong to me or cannot spiritually feed upon his Body and Blood by Faith it being by Faith that we feed upon him for as to the Corporeal eating of his Body and Blood it is such a thing that could the Papists quit their Avowance of and yet keep up the Authority and pretended Infallibility of their Church many Learned Men think they could easily part with their Opinion or Belief thereof However if it is the Doctrine of the Church of Rome it is not the Doctrine of Christ such being not only contrary to Sense and Reason but to Faith also for as to Faith we are told in Heb. 11. v. 1. it is the Evidence of things not seen Now if Christ be Corporeally present if the Bread that we eat be the very substantial Body of Christ it is then seen and so our Faith being an Evidence of what is seen it is not the true Faith in that it is contrary to the definition of it Nay further this Sacrament ceaseth to be a Sacrament which is to be an outward and a Visible Sign of some Inward and Spiritual thing if so be that after Consecration the Bread and Wine become the Body and Blood of Christ in a Corporeal sence there then remaining no outward Sign or Sacrament But however the Papists are so quick-sighted to see such a Corporeal Presence of our Saviour it is more than we can or more than I read that the Apostles saw in the Bread and Wine of which he speaks when he saith This is my Body this is my Blood when at the same time they saw his Body separate from the Bread he gave them and they plainly discerned that when the Cup of Wine was given them his Blood was not then shed It 's true That Faith sees that in the Sacrament which Reason doth not but yet tho' Reason submits to Faith yet Faith doth not put out our Senses from being Judges where they may as they may be in discerning what is Flesh and Blood and what is Bread and Wine But if any Man will say that our Senses are not to be used in Matters of Faith I think he speaks very rash when even Christ appeal'd to the Senses of his Apostles to confirm their Belief of what he said that he was the same Christ tho risen again that was Crucified Luk. 24.39 Since therefore the eating of Christ's Body and Blood tho real is Spiritual and Sacramental it remains that what we see and taste of him at the Sacrament is by Faith which Faith considers not so much how the Elements feed the Body as how the things represented sealed and apply'd in this Ordinance feed and nourish the Soul And indeed it is by this that we not only view him hanging upon the Cross and shedding his Blood but Feast our selves of him that we may dwell in him and he in us If therefore we come withour Faith we are unworthy of this Ordinance yea we Evacuate it as to our selves But then here let us not be mistaken in our Notion of Faith or think that a bare and true belief of Christ's Presence and Blessings in this Ordinance is the right Belief for it No but the Faith of a good Communicant is a Gospel Faith such a Faith as receives Christ according to the Terms propos'd to us in the Gospel and the Sacrament also Now that which is so receives him not only as one shedding his Blood and giving his Body to save Men from the Guilt and Punishment of Sin but from Sin it self it is such as receives him as a King to rule us as well as pardon and save us yea it receives Christ's Body and Blood that our Bodies may be made clean and our Souls wash'd thereby yea in Christ Jesus the Faith that avails is a working Faith it works by Love Gal. 5.6 and it works by Thankfulness too And therefore in the third place 3. Those Men may be said to behave themselves disorderly and unsuitably at the Sacrament and so receive it unworthily that receive it without Thankfulness The very Business and Nature of it declares that it is a Thankful Memorial of the dying Love of Christ or a shewing forth of his Death 1 Cor. 11.26 So that by no means can they receive it worthily that do not receive it thankfully And how indeed can we but be thankful if we consider what we do and receive in this Ordinance we feast upon the Memorials of his laying down
to come to the Lord's Table in whom he perceiveth Malice or Hatred to reign untill he know them to be reconciled and that he is also to advertise That none presume to come to the Lord's Table that are open ill Livers whilst they are so Yet if after all either the Minister or the Church cannot for many Reasons keep up its Discipline or what is worse to be suppos'd do neglect it yet this is not a making Worthy Communicants to receive unworthily the Sacrament still is a means of Grace to the Worthy partaker so that as a famous Nonconformist declares That tho' Wicked and Prophane Persons pollute this Ordinance to themselves yet not to others but he that believeth eateth of the Bread of Life John 6.33 which shall be made good to the Believer tho' there were but one in the World See Hussey's Plea for Christian Magistracy p. 2. And this he tells us Beza himself is inforced to confess in his Tract against Erastus Bonis manere bona Sacramenta etiamsi qui mali ad eadem accedunt absit ut inficiemur The Sacraments remain effectual to the Good tho' Evil Men come to them far be it from us to deny it so that the Sacrament saith he remaineth holy to the Believers and they are pure notwithstanding the unpreparedness of the Wicked And if it be not in the Power of the Ministers of the Sacraments to hinder the good Effect of Christ's Ordinance or to diminish the Grace of God's Gifts from such as by Faith and rightly do receive them which are effectual because of Christ's Institution and Promise although they be ministred by evil Men as our Church declares in her 26th Article Much less is it in the Power of Fellow Communicants who are no more concern'd with our receiving it than as they joyn with us in the outward performance of a common Duty And that we may be the more satisfi'd in this thing let us but take the Instance of Judas and we shall find it very hard to conclude that the other eleven Apostles were unworthy Receivers or that Christ ought not to have eaten the Passeover with or given the Sacrament to them because Judas was with them For however some Persons would seem to deny it yet as it is plain that he was at the Passeover so at the receiving of the Lord's Supper which will appear so if we consider what the Evangelists say hereof Thus in the 22d Luke we shall find it not only declar'd that when the Passeover was ready and the hour for it was come he sat down and the twelve Apostles with him V. 14. but in the 19 20 21 Verses we are told That he took Bread and gave thanks and brake it amongst them and gave unto them saying This is my Body which is given for you Do this in remembrance of me And likewise also the Cup after Supper saying This Cup is the New Testament in my Blood which is shed for you And then follows But behold the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the Table Now if Judas was the Person that betray'd Christ which is not deny'd it follows that it was his hand that was with him on the Table and if so that then he was with Christ So likewise if we look into the 26th of St. Matthew's Gospel we find that when Even was come he sat down with the twelve And as they did eat he saith Verily one of you shall betray me v. 20 21. And when Judas ask'd whether it was he that should do so he not only gives a sign who it should be but answers Judas it was he Thou sayst it V. 23.25 and in the 26th Verse follows the Institution of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper And as they were eating Jesus took Bread c. and in the 27th Verse He took the Cup and gave thanks and gave it to them saying Drink ye all of it for this is my Blood c. V. 28th The like I might shew from the Account given thereof by St. Mark Ch. 14. from V. 17. to V. 25. That where Christ speaks of the Passeover or Lord's Supper to his Disciples it is not separately to the other eleven but to the twelve Thus we see that a Judas being amongst Communicants did not hinder Christ from instituting nor his Disciples from receiving the Lord's Supper much less make them unworthy Communicants And tho' some perhaps may here assert That Judas's Unworthiness was unknown and that the Disciples did not know that he was the Person that should betray Christ as appears by their question to Christ Is it I Is it I Yet I Answer That supposing it was unknown to the Disciples till Christ told them yet they must allow that Christ knew very well before-hand who it was that was to betray him and that Judas was the Person and yet notwithstanding he was known to be so by Christ yet this did not hinder Christ from Instituting it nor did it hinder the other Apostles from being Worthy Communicants tho' it is very probable that before thev receiv'd the Sacrament they knew or were satisfied that Judas was the Person that was to betray Christ Mar. 26. v. 23. that sign which Christ gave them that he who dipt his hand with him in the Dish the same should betray him Now the dipping of the hand in the Dish was at the Eating of the Passeover which was celebrated before the Lord's Supper or the Institution of the Sacrament and therefore they might have avoided him thereat but we don't find that they had any such demurrs but they might as well receive it with Judas as Christ give it to him and yet be Worthy Communicants Nay let us come to the 11th Chapter of the first Epistle to the Corinthians wherein we have the account of the danger of unworthy Receiving and we shall not yet find that others unworthiness made the Good to become unworthy tho' some of them were so unworthy as to be drunk at the Receiving of the Lords Supper and so did eat and drink unworthily yet we don't read that St Paul declares that others that were not so as they were therefore unworthy but rather declares Let a Man examine himself and so let him â—at yea for the future they were not to separate upon past faults but to amend when they came together It s true indeed from St. Paul's words it is lawful to censure Offenders and separate them from our Communion till they reform 1 Cor. 5 ch from V. 7. to the end yea with a Brother that is a Fornicator or such like with such an one we are not to eat By which words as we are not to hold intimacy or Familiarity with scandalous Offenders further than is necessary and convenient we are â—ot to countenance them by our Friendship in their â—vil Ways so even the Church is to take Care to inhibit them a Spiritual Communion with us till they repent or make Declarations thereof and thereby
THE DANGER OF A Total and Wilful NEGLECT Equal to the DANGER of an UNWORTHY RECEIVING OF THE Lords Supper WHEREIN As is shewn the Nature and Danger of an Unworthy Receiving so the great Folly and Sin of Neglecting it From those Words of St. Paul 1 CORINTH XI xxix By C. P. A. M. LONDON Printed by J. A. for Tho. Parkhurst at the Bible and Three Crowns at the Lower End of Cheap-side near Mercer's Chappel and are to be sold by Obed. Smith Bookseller at Daventry in Northamptonshire 1693. TO THE READER HOwever unnecessary this Ensuing Discourse may seem to be in the Judgment of some by reason of those many excellent and full Discourses that have been already published concerning the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper and which almost render it impossible to publish any thing New upon this Subject Yet I am not without some hopes of its doing Good if not to those whose Circumstances will not permit them to buy and peruse the several Treatises that are now Extant concerning the Lords Supper yet to my own Parishioners for whose sake it is chiefly published and who indeed stand in need of Line upon Line to bring them to a Practical Apprebension of the Obligation that lyeth upon Christians to the Receiving of the Lords Supper as well as to the worthy Approach thereof And if in any Instance this Discourse may procure the End for which it was design'd and do good to them or any Persons else as I shall be thankful to God for it so shall I look upon it as no mean Reward whatever Censures it meets with from others THE DANGER OF A Total and Wilful NEGLECT Equal to the Danger of an UNWORTHY RECEIVING Of the Lord's Supper 1 COR. XI ch 29. v. For he that eateth and drinketh Unworthily eateth and drinketh Damnation to himself not discerning the Lord's Body AMongst other the Reasons that are urg'd for the Forbearance from the Sacrament of the Lords Supper the sense of the greatness of the Ordinance and the sad Sentence that is declar'd against Unworthy Receivers is urg'd as a great Barr by some Men thereto Too many indeed are the Excuses that Men make for their not Coming to this Heavenly Feast but that which is most prevalent with well meaning People is the Fears of their own Unfitness for it and the Doubts that they never shall be Worthy Now for the satisfaction of such Men it is that I have made Choice of the Words of St. Paul as the Subject of the following Discourse and from them shall Treat of the following things 1. What is here meant by Eating and Drinking Unworthily 2. Upon what Account and by what Ways Men receive the Sacrament of the Lords Supper Unworthily or are Unworthy Communicants and by what they are not 3. In what Sense the Receiving of it Unworthily is so dangerous as it is said to be in the Text. 4. That although it be very Dangerous to receive the Sacrament of the Lords Supper Unworthily yet the Total and Wilfull Neglect thereof is as dangerous and that the not partaking of other Ordinances Worthily makes Men liable to Damnation as well as the not partaking of the Sacrament Worthily 5. I shall Close all with an Exhortation 1. Of the First What is here Meant by Eating and Drinking Unworthily Now by Eating and Drinking Unworthily not only the Words foregoing limit the Application of them to the Receiving of the Lord's Supper Unworthily but the general Apprehension of Christians that they are to be so taken do declare the same It 's true indeed that the Words are 〈◊〉 of our common Eating and Drinking that 〈◊〉 soever Eateth or Drinketh Unworthily that 〈◊〉 ther abuseth God's good Creatures or himself 〈◊〉 an Unworthy or Intemperate Use of them Eâ—â—â—â—eth and Drinketh Damnation to himself without Repentance his Gluttony and Excess as uâ—â— thankfulness for God's good Creatures being Sinsâ— that make him lyable to the Wrath of God But yet as all eating and drinking is not a receiving of a Sacrament so not of that which is a Commemorative Ordinance of Christ's Body and Blood being given and shed for us for else we might say that Heathens or Infidels receive the Sacrament when they eat and drink But as this is inconsistent with the Notions that men have of the Sacrament so particularly with the scope of the Apostles words which is concerning eating and drinking according to the Institution of our Saviour in remembrance of his Death and Passion and agreeably hereto he tells 1 Cor. 11. ch v. 26. That as oft as ye eat this Bread and drink this Cup ye do shew the Lords Death till he comes and in my Text He that eateth and drinketh unworthily eateth and drinketh damnation But why it follows because he discerns not the Lords Body of which he then Sacramentally partakes as to the outward Symbols or Elements thereof But why do I stand to shew that by eating and drinking here is meant the receiving of the Lord's Supper and not common Eating at our ordinary Meals Since tho' some prophane Persons to excuse themselves in their absence from this Ordinance pretend that they can receive the Sacrament as oft as they eat and drink yet all sober Christians do apply the words of the Apostle to the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper and their Doubts are not so much what is here meant by eating and drinking as what the doing it so unworthily signifies which is the next thing to be spoke to NOW by Eating and Drinking unworthily is not meant a not deserving or not being worthy to eat and drink what we do at the Lord's Supper as Deserving or being Worthy signifies our desert or merit to partake of what we there partake for in this sense all are unworthy yea even the Apostles were so yea in that we come to this Ordinance to commemorate the Sufferings of Christ as having laid down his Life for our Sins we do hereby shew That we of our selves are not worthy to receive so great a Favour as the pardon of our Sins and other benefits of his Sufferings but only by his Merits But tho we are not worthy in this sense so as to deserve a partaking of what we there partake yet such is the Goodness of God that if we are but sincere in our preparations in our Repentance Thankfulness and the like as also in our Resolutions and Actions of Faith Love and Obedience God will accept of us as worthy in a Gospel sense and bless his Ordinance unto us Such an Unworthiness then as the not deserving the Favours we then receive is not the unworthiness spoken of in the Text since there are none that are so worthy in themselves no not even St. Paul and therefore I proceed to shew what is the unworthiness spoken of in this place Now by Eating and Drinking unworthily I presume is meant a performing the Duty of receiving the Lords Supper in ways unbecoming unsuitable or unfit to the Nature and Design
of the Sacrament but also of that which is a publick Memorial of Christ's Love to Sinners and is the Communion of the very Body and Blood of Christ 1 Cor. 10.16 as also a Means of encreasing our Union and sweet Intercourses with Christ And thus have I done with the several things that I propos'd to be treated of from the words of the Text and in the close thereof shewn that the saying we are unworthy of the Sacrament doth not make us unworthy nor are we to stay away as unworthy because we do not arrive to those Transports or Extraordinary Acts of Joy and Complacency both at and after the Sacrament which we discern or believe to be be in others if so be we are sincere and conscientiously endeavour to do what is requir'd of us Yea of the whole Discourse this is the summ That tho' it be very dangerous to receive the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper unworthily upon those Accounts or by those Ways that Men may be said to receive it unworthily in that so to do makes us lyable to Damnation both Temporal and Eternal without Repentance yet a total and wilful Neglect thereof is a dealing with it as unworthily which Christians should fear so to Neglect as well as to receive unworthily And now what remains but that I conclude with a word or two to my Parishioners for whose sake chiefly I have publish'd this Discourse You have heard of the benefits of the Ordinance of the Lord's Supper by my Mouth and have been told thereof in God's Word and therefore cannot say it is in vain to come to it You have heard that Christ commands the receiving of it as a Duty and therefore can't say it is unnecessary You have heard what are the Qualifications even no other but what are necessary to make your Prayers accepted and prove your selves to be good Christians And now since you hope you are Christians and hope for Pardon and Salvation by Christ why should you be afraid of a Christian Duty Or to partake of that which is the means or Seal of Pardon Nay why should ye be unwilling as I fear too many amongst you are not so much because ye may not receive but because ye will not prepare your selves for it And now if after all the frequent Exhortations to prepare your selves and to come to this Ordinance you yet live in a total and wilful Neglect of so Sacred and so useful an Ordinance you can't say if evil befalls you for this Neglect that your persisting therein hath been occasion'd by my Negligence in warning you For as I call Heaven and Earth to witness so I appeal to your selves whether I have not admonish'd you of the illness and danger of a total and wilful Neglect as well as of an unworthy Receiving of the Lord's Supper But Oh Blessed Jesus thou that givest us such Spiritual Food give us at length right Appetites to it Thou that hast Instituted this Ordinance fit us also for it Create in our Hearts such Holy Desires to thee that we may be glad of such opportunities of Union and Communion with thee till from enjoying thee in thy Ordinances we are made Eternally worthy by thee to enjoy thy presence and the Blessings thereof in Heaven which that we may all be God of his Infinite Mercy grant to us all through the Merits of Christ Jesus To whom c. FINIS Books lately Printed for and Sold by Thomas Parkhurst at the Bible and Three Crowns at the lower end of Cheapside near Mercers Chappel SYnodicon in Gallia Reformata Or the Acts Decisions Decrees and Canons of those Famous National Councils of the Reformed Churches in France being a most Faithful and Impartial History of the Rise Growth Perfection Decay of the Reformation in that Kingdom with its fatal Catastrophe upon the Revocation of the Edict at Nants in the Year 1685. also the Confession of Faith and Discipline of those Churches their Speeches Sacred Politicks Cases of Conscience and Controversies in Divinity c. their Government Laws c. Collected out of the Original Manuscript-Acts of those Renowned Synods In two Vol. Fol. By John Quick A Body of Practical Divinity consisting of above 176 Sermons on the lesser Catechism Composed by the Reverend Assembly of Divines at Westminster with a Supplement of some Sermons on several Texts of Scripture By Thomas Watson formerly Minister of St. Stephen's Walbrook London Recommended by several Ministers to Masters of Families and others In Folio Theological Discourses and Sermons on several Occasions In two Parts By John Wallis D. D. Professor of Geometry in Oxford Quarto A Brief Tract on the Fourth Commandment wherein is shown the Cause of all our Controversies about the Sabbath-day and the means of reconciling them Recommended by the Reverend Dr. Bates and Mr. John Howe A Sermon Preached before the King and Queen at Whitehall Nov. 5. 1692. By Richard Lord Bishop of Bath and Wells Death Improved and Immoderate Sorrow for Deceased Friends and Relations Reproved By Edward Bury formerly Minister of Great Bolas in Shropshire Octavo A Paraphrase on the Psalms of David in Metre By the the late Reverend Mr. Richard Baxter A Discourse of Earthquakes as they are Supernatural and premonitory signs to a Nation with a respect to what hath Occurred in this Year 1692. and some special Reflections thereupon As also on that Security and Assurance of Mind which is attainable in the light and Power of Religion under the greatest surprizals and terrors of sense with some Enquiry upon the gaounds both of our Fears and Hopes as to the Publick State of the Church of Christ in this Day The Confirming Work of Religion or its great things made plain by their primary Evidences and Demonstrations whereby the meanest in the Church may soon be made able to render a solid and rational Account of the Faith These two last by Rob. Fleming Author of The Fulfilling of the Scriptures and Minister in Rotterdam Advice to an Only Child or Excellent Counsel to all Young Persons Containing the summ and substance of Experimental and Practical Divinity Written by an Eminent and Judicious Divine for the Private Use of an Only Child now made Publick for the benefit of all The Carnality of Religious Conrention in two Sermons Preached at the Merchants Lecture in Broadstreet by the Reverend Mr. John Howe A Short Story of the Rise Reign and Ruinâ— of the Antinomians Familists and Libertines that infected the Churches in New-England The Scotch Psalms in Metre recommended by 26 famous Divines lately Rprinted in 12o. Books Printed for Obed. Smith Bookseller iâ— Daventry in Northamptonshire WOrds to give to the Young Man Knowledge and Discretion or the Law of Kindness in the Tongue of a Father to his Son A Treatise of Faith and Repentance with a Discourse of Self-denyal A Treatise of Grace and Duty Some Rules to use the World so as not to abuse either it or our selves All by Francis Fuller M. A. Holy Breathings under the sense of Sin together with a Soveraign Preparative towards a blessed Eternity By Tho. Price The 2d Edit The Life and Death of James Arminius and Simon Episcopius Professors of Divinity in the University of Leyden in Holland both of them famous Defenders of the Doctrine of Gods Universal Grace and Sufferers for it now published in the English Tongue