Selected quad for the lemma: blood_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
blood_n	body_n	life_n	soul_n	12,666	5	5.4572	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A40709	The general assembly, or, The necessity of receiving the communion in our publick congregations evinced from the nature of the church, the Word of God, and presbyterian principles, in a sermon / lately preached in the Cathedral Church of Exeter by Francis Fullwood.	Fullwood, Francis, d. 1693.	1667 (1667)	Wing F2504; ESTC R35476	18,644	34

part you make them up only you fail to compleat all by receiving the Sacrament of the Lords Supper But do you abstain from this lest you should joyn with a wicked people how thin a cheat would you put upon your selves for Gods sake the Churches sake yea for your own Credit and Reputation beguile not your selves into so many mischiefs upon so weak a shift upon no ground at all ye have done well in all the rest and you have the same re●son to receive the Sacrament Proceed proceed like wise men to perfect what you have so well begun so far ingaged in Go on and prosper For 2. There is no other way for you God himself hath hedged up your way he commands you to do this also he threatens if you turn aside or draw back you have the encouragement of his many promises to 2 Cor. 7. 1. p●rfect holin●ss through the fear of God and the Saints in all ages that have gone to heaven the same way as a cloud of witnesses as in the Grecian Games are round about you and leave no other way open to you but the race that is set before you Heb. 12. 1. The law of man also obligeth and tyes you hard to this duty it hath made special provision in this case it severely threatens your neglect and disobedience in this kinde If you have not felt the force of this Law do not think the Law is weak and feeble do not mis-interpret the favour and patience or long-suffering of your Rulers to turn their grace into wantonn●ss both the Canon Law and the Statute Law the Laws of the Church and of the Land directly require you to receive this Sacrament at least three times a year and the penalty of them if you do not and cannot give good reason for such omission I need not tell you is very s●vere in this as in some other special cases Perhaps you hoped that these Laws would have been repealed or have had their force abated but in vain if you are wise and prudent you now know 't is in vain to hope it Perhaps the fear of the Laws you best know your own hearts hath been so far sanctified to you as to work you to comply so far as you do but you must know I speak to wise men that unless you take one step farther and receive the Sacrament your labour and design is so far lost you are still in the same danger and the severity of the Law is still against you and without this one thing more which is therefore your safety as well as your duty no other w●y can possibly be found by the wit of man as things now are to escape it Yea Indeed you have left no other way for your selves ye are Come to the General Assembly ye are got many stages beyond others these ye have left behind you these ye have lost Now if you proceed not and receive the Sacrament with us you are short of us and the Law ye loose your labour and your selves What then remains but that you hasten onward to us that are before you who have both our Arms ready to receive and imbrace you to Jesus Christ in this blessed Ordinance who invites and prepares and expects you and the blood of sprinkling which speaks better things 3. IS not the matter to which I perswade you Regular also to your own principles and the Doctrine you have received or is there indeed any Solid reason either from without or from within you why you should not Communicate with us your selves being Jdges all that can be pretended against it is either the Corruption of the Worship or the Worshippers let me beseech you to weigh them both in their whole strength with your own reason look upon them in your own light and I doubt not to pronounce you will be ashamed of them both 1. All that is excepted against in the Worship or Administration as a Bar to your receiving is that kneeling is required but for such a shadow what wiseman would loose the Substance you know that the gesture in it self is lawful and reverent and what reason can be given why we should not obey Authority by worshipping God after a lawful and reverent manner Yea consider have you not learned that the Second Commandment requires an observance of all the moral and positive worship of God and doth as well require that we should bow down and worship the true God in his own ordinances as forbid the worshipping and bowing down to Idols Certainly here is warrant to bow down to God when we worship him and if kneeling be bowing down and this Sacrament be a part of worship we have plain warrant to Kneel at the Sacrament Will you say that kneeling is a fit posture only when we pray this may well be question'd yet let it be heeded there is prayer used when you receive the Sacrament the Minister prays openly that the body and blood of Christ may preserve thy body and soul to everlasting life while he gives it and certainly every worthy receiver prays for the grace while he receives the signs However what reason can spite it self offer why we may not lawfully and laudably receive kneeling the same grace we ask kneeling and * This Sacrament is the Eucharist give thanks as well as beg upon our knees they both being parts of that one ordinance viz. Prayer where in all acknowledge it is fittest if we may with conveniency kneel But why do I create scruples the only one of the old puritans and Prebyterians in this point was least they should or at least should seem to worship the Host You know this was the strength of the Objection but is not this totally and perfectly removed now Can you imagine that any o●e of the old Puritans would now refuse to receive kneeling read their books and Judge Righteously Indeed there was complaint that the Declaration of the reason why kneeling is required in the Sacrament was left out of the former L●turgies but it is now inserted and that complaint is answered We are assured by the Churches publick act which is also taken into the body of our Law and joyned to this very office of the Sacrament that such Idolatry as kneeling to the elements is not in the least intended but abominated and abhorr'd and that in so plain and direct terms as have left no place for Scruple or Cavil Now ask your selves is not kneeling a very humble and fit gesture for us in Gods presence especially when we pray to him do not we pray even while we receive the Sacrament do not we exspect to receive a blessing from that Majesty to whom we pray kneeling is not the Eucharist a Thanksgiving and that a part of Prayer which is fitly performed Kneel●ng however is it not a lawful gesture and required of us by lawful authority and have not those very Powers that require kneeling taken away all fear of Idolatry and Bread

is addressed and do not all these conspire to quicken a most earnest application to you in this point of the Sacrament 1. For the Season such a discourse is never mis timed where the Communion is so frequently administred besides its monthly course is now at hand but alas expecting a slender appearance with sadness enough unbecoming such a feast as it is wont to do 2. Therefore the necessity of such an Argument is too too evident yet it is not without its advantage for herein I need not shoot at Rovers as in other matters I have the Mark before me and I am sure to hit it I am to reason with persons and to endeavour to perswade those very persons to practise a duty of great moment who have sadly and long neglected the same duty I wish there be not hundreds of such in my eye 3. Yet of your capacity and well disposedness to receive satisfaction I cannot doubt I know you are not of the fierce and giddy but you are of the moderate part of the City in whom there is but little or nothing wanting to make you intire and la●king nothing in the fellowship of the Church excepting only this one thing necessary the receiving the Lords Supper You are willing already and I trust that with a little perswasion and meditation and Gods blessing upon them you will be obedient in all things Th●s I have much encouragement to proceed but alas wherewithal shall I perswade 1. ARE YOU NOT CHRISTIANS are you not bound by the sacred Vow of your Infancy that Bo●d of God upon your So●l are you not bound to obey your Lord and to renounce all carnal and spiritual temptations to the contrary or is not the command of our Lord again and again Do this do this in remembrance of me hath he spoken any thing more plainly or commanded any thing so expresly shew it if you can I mean touching his outward worship What is the matter then is there no fear of his command who saith Do this no lov● to his Person who saith do it in remembrance of me is there no faith left in his Promises and Presence annex'd to his Worship and Ordinance is there no more conscience of duty no more comfort in performing it or danger in neglecting it Consider I beseech you that the Lord of the Feast was as truly provoked as appears in the story by the omission and the slight excuses of those that were invited to his Supper as by the unpreparedness of him that came without a Wedding Garment and a whole City for contriving to depise the gracious invitation and Feast of the Gospel was made as Sodom and like unto Matth. 22. 7. Gomorrah Certainly the Body and Blood of Christ is the provision of the Gospel Feast and this is especially s●rved up in that Ordinance which is called the Communion of his Body and Blood and the Lords Supper 2. ARE YOU NOT MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH of Christ wherein you constantly hear his word and commands yea do you not by your daily profession do you not say you will obey him you know the Law as you are Chr●stians you acknowledge your Allegiance and promise obedience by the prof●ssion of the Church of which you are members you know your Masters will and say you will do it but is it done you say Lord Lord but despise his Communion you cry the Temple of the Lord the Temple of the Lord but refuse Fellowship with its Assemblys Indeed it is not plain Rebellion but here is Disobedience with the witness and the horrid aggravation of Hypocrisie Besides the very nature of the Church of which you are members is as you have heard an Assembly and a Society Now the direct and immediate expression of a Society is communion and fellowship and you know that Communion in this ordinance is most signally and expresly the Communion of the Chu●ch neither lastly can it be denied that by Communion with the Church especially in this ordinance we have communion also with Christ himself in all the ben●fits of his Body and Blood Consequently by not communicationg with the Church in this or●inance we do so far w●nt commun●on with Christ we do so far divide from the Church of Christ and blot out the Mark I mean the most v●●lent character of our own Church Member ship allowing our selves too in that very sin we so much pretend to abhor I must be plain and speak out the sin of Schism For what is Sch●sm● but a b●eak●ng the fellowsh●p of the Church without just Cause 't is total when men renounce it wholly but doubtless 't is so in a very great part when we deny to communicate with it in that most signal mean of communion with it the Lords Su●per Yea let it be seriously and sadly considered if you as I fear too many do I say if you refuse our Communion because you would not joyn with the Church whatever otherwaies you do actually joyn with us yet in your own Intention you are not only guilty of a Schisme with respect to that particular Congre●ation to which you belong but our fellowship with a particular Church being the mean and Bond by which we have Communion with the Church Univers●l you thus also separate from the Catholick Church and General Assembly LAstly Let me speak unto you as unto wise men and Judge ye what I say and what is that which may perswade a PRUDENT man to go ON but that he hath BEGUN well and that there is no OTHER WAY for him that what is behinde is regular to his OWN PRINCIPLES of Right and Justice and that his proceeding may greatly advantage both himself and his generation If all these fail I know not with what Arguments I should deal with you but I cannot but hope better things would you wisely consider that it is your own Case that is strengthned with all the particulars mentioned 1. You have begun well neither can it harbour in a sober thought that you are not already embodied with us or no Members of the Church of England 't is acknowledged but now that your own intentions to separate from us do make you guilty of separation in your own minde and intention but you may be guilty of that sin both in intention and affection that you never yet actually committed a Mistake in your selves cannot make that not to be which really is neither doth your abstaining from this one Ordinance n●llifie your Communion with us in the rest or your visible Church-Membership with us Thoughts cannot void the natural effect of Actions You were at first Baptized into one Body with us 1 Cor. 12. 13 and 't is far from you to renounce that Baptism by your means your children also are still presented to God and our Church in the same Ordinance and are Baptized as you were You joyn with our Prayers and constantly hear our Sermons and attend upon our Publick Assemblies and indeed in a great