prayer then wee come and receiue and our receiuing is in faith the mother of humility which in her selfe acknowledgeth nothing but miserie and therfore renouncing her selfe fleeth to the store-house and fountaine of mercy that is in Christ Iesus there eateth and drinketh feedeth and resteth vpon the merit of his death and the eternall Testament confirmed thereby the sense whereof is more pleasant and sweete to the taste of the soule then the hony the hony-comb is to the taste of the mouth For was there euer any thing more pleasant then the meditation of the death of Christ to the penitent soule which being wearied before vnder the burthen of sinne and bruised vnder the weight of the wrath of God well knoweth and is perswaded that Christ hath borne our griefes and carried our sorrowes That hee was wounded for our transgressions that hee was bruised for our iniquities that the chastisement of our peace was vpon him that with his stripes we were healed Thus by the meditation of faith we eate we drinke and feed on Christ with pleasure and ioy that cannot be expressed And is it possible that this ioy pleasure and delectation that wee haue in tasting the sweetnesse and goodnesse that is in him can possesse the soule without thankefulnes that is without such estimation of him and such affection towards him as presently resolueth in most earnest wishes and desires that all the world might ioyne with vs in setting forth his prayses Now what are these wishes and desires issuing from the ardent affection of loue kindled by a liuely and feeling faith but a true inward rendring of thankes Nam gratiam qui habet refert for hee that hath a thankefull heart after this sort giues thanks to God indeed So Christ is spiritually receiued first when with our eyes and eares wee deuoute him as Tertullian saith that is when by these things that wee see and heare in the Sacrament wee call to remembrance the breaking of his Bodie and sheading of his Bloud Secondly when with a spirituall hunger and thirst after the righteousnesse that wee know to bein him we ruminate we chew and eate not with the mouth and the teeth but with the minde and the serious thoughts of a celestiall meditation his death and Passion vntill wee haue sucked and drawne out of it by diuine contemplation the full assurance of reconciliation with God and of saluation And finally digest him and his death not in our belly but in our brest that is in the depths of our hearts by trusting in the All-sufficient fulnesse of the grace and goodnesse yea of the God-head it selfe that is in him wherewith our soules being satiate as with the fatnesse and sweetnesse of Marrow are enlarged with ioyes and filled with the wishes and desires of his eternall praise and glory And therefore as we do testifie our spirituall receiuing of Christ in faith by the outward actions of taking eating and drinking So should we testifie the serious wishes and desires of the heart for our owne saluation and his glory with such an outward gesture and carriage of bodie as is most agreeable to such sacred affections and exercises of the soule in this action And what is more agreeable to the humility of faith wherein we receiue and the hearty prayer and thankesgiuing wherewith wee receiue then the lowly and deuout bowing of our Knees Then to conclude vpon these three considerations first of the giuer and maner of giuing next of the gift thirdly of the manner of receiuing I ground and build this Argument Whatsoeuer Gift our Sauiour deliuereth to all not coniunctly but seuerally to euery one of them by himselfe and that all not coniunctly but seuerally should receiue from his hand with Prayer and Thankesgiuing in presence of the Congregation of the Saints and in a solemne act of Diuine Worship A gift I say that is giuen and should bee taken after such a manner may bee very lawfully receiued by euery one reuerently sitting on his Knees But the Body and Bloud of Iesus Christ in the Sacrament is a gift that is giuen and should be taken after such a manner Therefore the Bodie and Bloud of Iesus Christ in the Sacrament may very lawfully be receiued by euery one reuerently sitting on his knees Thus I prooue the lawfulnesse of Kneeling the expediencie shall bee after cleered SECT 5. The Nature of the Sacrament NOW to come to the last thing which wee propounded to bee considered in this tryall of piety that is the nature of the Sacrament The nature of the Sacrament is to bee esteemed according to the chiefe end wherefore it was instituted and these bee two the one concerneth God and our Sauiour Christ the other the Church The end which concerneth the faithfull is their vnion with Christ and amongst themselues to saluation The end that concerneth God and our Sauiour is the prayse of his glorious grace In respect of the first end it is called The communion of the Bodie and Bloud of Christ the Table and the Supper of the Lord and in respect of the second it is the commemoration and predication of the death of Christ. The action in number is one whereby these ends are attained and produced but is diuersly to be considered according to the diuersitie of these ends In respect of the first it is a representation of the sacrifice of Christ and the application thereof to vs whereby our vnion with him and amongst our selues is performed and in this respect it hath two parts In the first the death of Christ the oblation and sacrificing of himselfe which really was onely done vpon the Crosse is mystically acted in the breaking of the bread and taking of the cup whereby the breaking of his Body and sheading of his Bloud is represented and therefore it may be and is rightly called a representatiue sacrifice The next part is the application of this sacrifice to the faithfull This part is acted first mystically by the command giuen in the name of Christ Take eate and by the obedience giuen by the people in taking and eating the externall elements like as vnder the Law first the oblation was made and then the people did eate of the sacrifices Next this application is acted really and spiritually by the Sacramentall word This is my Bodie which is broken for you This cup is the new Testament in my Bloud By this word accompanied with the power of the Spirit two things are done whereby the reall and spirituall application of the Propitiatorie Sacrifice is made first the mysterie that went before is opened vp and interpreted which represented the sacrificing of Christ and the application of his Sacrifice The sacrificing of Christ which was symbolically represented in taking and breaking of the bread is explaned by that parcell of the word This is my Bodie which is broken This is my Bloud which is shed The application of this Sacrifice to the faithfull which
Sacrament of the Supper as a gesture proper to Arrians Now as in Sitting though wee symbolize with the Arrians yet did wee neuer blessed be God symbolize with them in Arrianisme because we haue beleeued and professed that Iesus Christ is God ouer all blessed for euer This faith and profession hath exempted vs from symbolizing with them in Arrianisme howbeit that in times places gestures and orders we haue had a conformitie For it is impossible that in euery thing the true Church can bee disconforme to Heretikes who hold many Truthes with her and Ceremonies So do we not symbolize with Papists in Papistry Superstition and Idolatry when wee Kneele at the Sacrament For we beleeue and openly professe that the Bodie of Christ is in the heauen sitting at the right hand of the Father and that the Bread is onely the Sacrament of his Body and therefore that we neither esteeme nor adore it for God but that in the Sacrament we adore and worship our Sauiour the Lord Iesus who as hee did breake his Body and shed his Bloud on the Crosse for vs so doth hee deliuer them and apply them to our soules to feed nourish vs vnto life eternall In this Sacrament to Kneele with this profession doth vindicate the religious Ceremonie from all blot and shew of euill from Papistry and Idolatry as our profession of Christ to bee God did vindicate our Sitting from the staine and impiety of Arrianism Know we not that the Idolaters of the Gentiles did bow their knees to their Idols Iupiter Mars c And Christians in this Ceremonie did symbolize with them in bowing of their knees to God but the Profession made difference betwixt our Kneeling and theirs SECT 7. That Kneeling hath and may bee lawfully vsed in the Sacrament as it is and was in Prayer O But thou wilt say that Kneeling was euer vsed in prayer but was lately brought in vse at the Sacrament by Honorius to worship the bread I answered before that it was not ordained by Honorius to be vsed at the receiuing but at the eleuation and carrying of it from place to place For at the receiuing of it it had beene the custome before Honorius time to haue bowed as the decree in speciall commanded the Priest to teach the people to bow themselues reuerently Cum eleuatur salutaris Hostia cum eam defert Presbyter ad infirmum when the sauing Host is eleuate in the Masse and when it is carried to the sicke So doubtlesse the Priest had beene commanded to teach the people to bow themselues at the Receiuing for he who so straitly commanded the people to Kneele at the onely sight of this Sacrament would much more haue commanded them to Kneele when they not onely did see but when they receiued it and ate it if it had not beene a receiued custome But put the case that Kneeling then did first beginne to bee vsed in the Sacrament yet might not the Church vpon the Reasons before expressed haue lawfully kneeled to God and our Sauiour the Lord Iesus at the receiuing Caluin in his 4. book of Instit. cap. 17. sect 37. affirmeth it in these words Christo inquiunt hanc venerationem deferimus primam si in coena hâ—c fieret dicerem adorationem cam demum esse legitimam quae non in signa residet sed ad Christum in caelo sedentem dirigitur In this place Caluin finding fault with the worship that was giuen to the Bread at the eleuation and at the pompous carrying of it thorow the streetes publike places saith that then the worship were lawfull if it were giuen to Christ in the action of the Supper did not rest in the signe but were directed to Christ sitting in heauen Peter Martyr a learned and diligent Diuine is of the same iudgement for so he writeth In Sacramento distinguimus symbola à rebus symbolis aliqueÌ„ honorem deferimus nimiruÌ„ vt tractentur decenter non abijciantur sunt enim sacrae res Deo semel deputatae quo vero adres significatas eas prompte alacriter adorandas concedimus inquit enim Augustinus hoc in loco Non peccatur adorando carnem Christi sed peccatur non adorando Class 4. locus X. Sect. 49. 50. Adoratio interna potest adhiberi sine periculo neque externa sua natura esset mala multi enim pij genua flectunt adorant In the Sacrament saith he we distinguish the symbols from the thing signified some honour we yeeld to the signes namely that they be decently handled and not slightly cast away for they are sacred things once dedicate to God but as for the thing signified these we grant shuld be readily chearefully adored for August saith in this place that it is no fault to adore Christs flesh but it is sin not to adore it And after a little Inward adoration may be vsed without perill neither is the outward adoration euill of it selfe for many bow their Knees adore religiously Caluin in the action of the Supper saith that it is lawfull to bow down and worship Christ sitting in heauen And Martyr saith That not only is it lawfully done but pie religiously Then I say Albeit it might be that in the action of the Supper men bowed not before the daies of Honorius yet certainely they might haue lawfully bowed for the reasons aboue named SECT 8. The obiection of the Brazen Serpent answered IF the Church might haue lawfully bowed at this Sacrament to God before Honorius time why may she not now bow as well as then Because say you that gesture in this action hath beene abused to Idolatry and therefore as Hezekias caused the brazen Serpent to be broken from the time the people beganne to adore it so should Kneeling be abolished in this action and not vsed because therein it hath beene abused to Idolatry That the answer to this may bee the more cleere two things would be considered the first is that when Hezekias destroyed the brazen Serpent it had no vse in Religion next that when the Brazen Serpent was destroyed hee discharged not that the worship should be giuen to God to whom it was due that before was abused and giuen to the Brazen Serpent as to bow their knees to lift vp their eyes and hands and to burne incense to God although before they had abused all these things giuen them to the Serpent So by this example we are taught to destroy the Idol but not to discharge the worship due to God that hath beene abused and giuen to the Idoll These things being considered let vs apply this example to the purpose The Bread was made the Idoll in the Sacrament and it was adored and vnto it the Knee was bowed which ought onely to haue beene bowed to God then the Bread should be abolished but that cannot bee neither will the example enforce that because it is not like the Brazen Serpent that had no vse in the
worship of God for it is an essentiall part of the Sacrament and therefore although it was adored for God yet is made an Idoll by Idolaters it is not to be abolished by vs but by the sound solid doctrine of the Word should be restored to the right vse estimation that wee should haue of it in the Sacrament So this example teacheth vs not to discharge the bowing of the Knee a gesture commanded by God to be vsed in his worship but whē we bow adore non in signo residere not to rest on the signe as Caluin saith but to lift vp our hearts to Christ that is in heauen to worship him his Body his Bloud whereof this Sacrament is a memorial an Image not made nor grauen by the hand of man but institute by Christ himselfe to represent his Passion and the application thereof to vs that therby we might be stirred vp to giue thankes both with externall internall deuotion which when we performe with bowing of the Knee at the receiuing of the Sacrament we adore not the Sacramēt but Christ that is signified and represented thereby SECT 0. The difference betwixt Kneeling at the Sacrament and before Images IF here it be replyed that all Idolaters doe likewise professe that they bow not the knee to the Image but to God whom the Image representeth and bringeth to their remembrance I answer that he is an euill grounded Christian who hath not learned to put difference betwixt the vse of an Image in diuine worship and the workes of God his Word and holy Sacraments Images are the doctrines of lies they represent nothing nor bring nothing to our mindes of God but lyes They teach vs that God hath eyes and seeth not eares heareth not feete walketh not and in them God is not worshipped but a conception and fantasie in stead of God bred and gendred in the mind by the Image where by the contrarie the least of Gods creatures doe demonstrate and shew so much of the diuinitie and power of God as may serue to ingender in our hearts a true conception of him and may furnish sufficient matter and cause wherfore to worship him How much more his Word and holy Sacraments where God and his goodnesse is so liuely expressed To bow downe then when wee haue seene the workes of God when wee haue heard the Word and when we receiue the Sacraments To adore him whom by his Workes the Word and Sacraments wee are taught to adore is neither to bow downe to an Idoll nor to worship God in an Idoll When the fire came downe from heauen and consumed Elias sacrifice the people that saw it fell on their faces and cryed The Lord is God The Lord is God In doing whereof they adored not the fire but the Lord whome the fire taught them to be God 1. Cor. 14. 24. If yee all prophecy saith Paul and an Infidell or Ideot come in he is conuinced by all hee is iudged by all and so the secrets of his heart are made manifest and so falling on his face he adores God c. In both these two examples the principall cause of the falling downe is God to whome they fell downe but the miraculous worke of the fire and the word of the Prophecy were the instrumentall causes whereby they were wakened and stirred vp Causae monitoriae excitantes Euen so when wee fall downe at the Sacrament the principall cause that moueth vs is God to whom we Kneele but the Sacrament is the instrument whereby wee are taught and admonished to fall downe at that time and in that place It being a memoriall of the death of Christ and the seale of the benefit of saluation that wee haue thereby And although wee carry a religious respect and reuerence to the Sacrament as a meane and creature consecrated to a most holy vse yet not of that religious respect and reuerence that we carry towards it we bow not downe our knees before it but out of the religious respect and reuerence that by it which wee are taught to giue to Christ we bow our knees before him to whome all knees should be bowed in that respect And therefore this assertion That hee who boweth at the receiuing of the Sacramentall Bread Wine boweth down in the Act of Diuine worship before a consecrated creature out of a religious respect and reuerence of it This assertion I say is a vaine Sophisticall cauillation for the reuerence and respect that we are taught by Gods Word to carry to the Sacrament is not the cause of our bowing downe when we receiue it So out of that respect we bow not downe as hath beene said but the reuerence and respect that wee are taught by the Sacrament to giue to Christ is the cause of our bowing downe the reuerence that is due to the Sacrament is not such as should moue vs to fall downe before it but the reuerence that is due to Christ whereof wee are admonished by the Sacrament wherin he is represented breaking his Body and sheading his Bloud vpon the Crosse for vs and with his owne hand applying it to nourish vs vnto eternall Life This reuerence I say is such and so great as no gesture nor position of body is able sufficiently to expresse Further it is heere to bee marked that hee who boweth at the receiuing of the Sacrament is not properly said to bow before the Sacrament for Coram 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which wee interpret before is only properly attributed to liuing things and not to things that want life such as the Sacramentall elements be so wee are properly said to bow before God or the congregation that is to God and in presence of the congregation but when wee speake of things that want life we say not before them or coram but versus è regione or ante oueragainst or towards them So Dauid saith I will bow towards the Temple of thy holinesse not before it It is properly said that Idolaters bow before the Sacramentall Bread for they esteeme it to bee GOD and bow themselues to worship it but as for those who worship the true God they bow themselues before God at the Sacrament that is when they receiue the Sacrament This is to bee marked that the simple bee not abused by the ambiguity of the word and made to thinke that it is one thing to bow at the receiuing of the Sacrament and to bow before the Sacrament to worship it as Papists doe which wee professe our selues to damne and detest So to conclude this point It is true that the Papists Kneele when they receiue the Sacrament and so doe not wee wee Kneele to Christ that sitteth in Heauen and so doe not they They giue to the Sacramentall Bread the worship that is due to Christ but wee giue that worship vnto Christ himselfe Therefore their Kneeling is prohibited in the second Commandement and ours is allowed for vnto mee saith
to be necessary which our Sauiour is mentioned expresly to haue done as to giue thankes and to blesse twice first the Bread and then the Cup much lesse shold we think Sitting to be necessarie wherof nothing is mentioned in the Institution and therefore cannot be necessary at all seeing all things necessarily belonging to the Sacrament are so fully contained in the doctrine of the Institution set downe by Paul and the Euangelists that it were great temerity to affirme any thing to bee lacking CHAP. II. That to Kneele at the Lords Table agreeth with Decencie SECT I. How the Table of the Lord is taken in Scripture THus far hath beene reasoned against the opinion of those who hold Sitting to be a necessarie Ceremonie Now let vs come to their opinion who esteeme it more proper for the Sacrament then Kneeling because it is an vsuall Table-gesture and because Kneeling being abused to Idolatry in this Sacrament ought in their iudgement vtterly to be abolished in that action Then to begin at the first and try what gesture is most proper for the Sacrament Doubtlesse if neither Lying nor Sitting nor Standing nor Kneeling be necessarie but all be indifferent that gesture is most proper which is most agreeable vnto the rule wherby things indifferent should be determined that is the rule of Pietie Charitie and Decencie And to enter this tryall vvith Decencie To sit at a common Table beeing in our times most vsuall must also be most decent for a common Table but that it is a gesture most decent to be vsed at the Lords Table cannot be well affirmed except we first consider what the Lords Table is whether it be the same or like or different from a common Table For vnderstanding this point the better wee would try how the Lords Table is taken in Scripture whether for the materiall whereon the elements are set and consecrate and where-at and where-from they are distributed and giuen For if thereby the materiall bee onely and chiefly vnderstood it may seeme that there is little or no difference betwixt it and a common Table and that the Gestures and Manners that are proper for the one may well agree and be vsed at the other In the 10. chap. and 1. Epist. of the Corinths vers 21. mention is made of the Lords Table in these words Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord and of deuils yee cannot bee partakers of the Table of the Lord and of the table of deuils As the Table of the Lord is taken in this place so shall we finde it vsed I hope in all other parts of Scripture But here neither by the Cup can be properly meant the materiall Cup nor by the Table the materiall Table because it is certaine that hee who is partaker of the table and cup of deuils may be partaker both of the materiall Cup of the Sacrament and sit at the materiall Table whereat it is giuen Yea moreouer may drinke the Sacrament of the bloud of Christ out of the one and eate the Sacrament of his Bodie at the other and yet the Apostle affirmeth that they cannot bee partakers of the Lords Table whereby it is euident that by the Table of the Lord another thing must bee meant then either the materiall Table or the symbolicall externall part of the Sacrament onely What is that The Bodie and Bloud of the Lord the Bread that came downe from heauen to giue life to the world which by a certaine colour of speech is called a Table So that speech set downe by Moses in the II. chapter of Numbers and the fourth verse Who shall giue vs flesh to eate is thus expressed in the 78. Psalm Can God prepare a Table in the Wildernesse Which words are presently interpreted ver 20. Can hee giue bread and prouide flesh for his people When our Sauiour promised to his Disciples that in his Kingdome they should eate and drinke at his Table neither did he meane by his Table any materiall Table or any naturall Food but that blessed eternall glorious life communicated with him by the Father which he would communicate with them in his Kingdome according to that which hee saith in Iohn chap. 6. vers 57. As the liuing Father hath sent mee and I liue by the Father so hee that eateth me shall liue by mee Then to bee short the Lords Table whereof we are partakers here and that whereof wee shall be partakers in heauen at the great Supper of the Lambe is the Lord Iesus himselfe his Bodie his Bloud his Righteousnesse his Life and the satiety of pleasures and ioyes that are in him for euermore This then being the Table of the Lord mentioned in the Scriptures whereof we come to be partakers at the Sacrament let vs see what manners and gestures are most decent to bee vsed thereat SECT 2. That Kneeling is Decent AS it is true that no place is more proper for a common supper then a faire Chamber or a Hall in a priuate house or Inne and no time fitter then the night season or at euen so there is no gesture more decent with vs then sitting at Table But if the day-light and the Lords Day a sacred place such as a Temple and a reuerend order such as to receiue before other meate be more decent for the Sacrament because it is not a common supper but the Lords Supper So a religious Gesture such as Kneeling should seeme more decent then a common Gesture such as Sitting because this is not a common Table but the Table of the Lord. SECT 3. An Obiection taken from the common Table-gesture answered IT may bee replyed that seeing there is a materiall Table whereon very bread and very wine are set and seeing we eate that bread and drinke that wine externally as wee doe other bread and other wine why should we not vse that same externall Gesture that wee vse at other common-Tables as most decent for the outward action I answere first there is a great difference betwixt eating and drinking and the Gesture and Sitting of body that men vse when they eate and drinke Eating and drinking are naturall actions in stead whereof no other action can bee vsed in receiuing meate and drinke but the gesture is Moral and voluntary and changeable according to the custome of Times Places and Persons and the nature of the action wherein it is vsed and therefore although wee eate and drinke externally at this Table as we doe at other tables because wee can eate and drinke no other way it will not follow that wee should vse no other gesture then that which we vse at other tables if the nature and qualitie of this Table require another Gesture then that which is common seeing the Gesture is voluntary and may and should be altered as the nature of the action requireth Next I answer that although the Bread and Wine bee materially the same with common bread and wine yet after the Consecration they are no more formally the
end◠of this action The action it selfe is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an action of praise in respect of Christ for whom it is done and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 an action of thankesgiuing in respect of these by whom it is done for as it is a memoriall of his praise so is it a testimonie of their thankefulnesse And what is a thankesgiuing but the remembrance and declaration of benefits receiued made and intended to the praise of the giuer whether it bee performed in word in deed or in both For thankesgiuing in word reade all the Psalmes and Orations in the Scripture conceiued for that effect and yee shall finde it so Psal. 135. 126. 1. Chron. 17. 29 10 c. The Passeouer and all the rest of the Feasts kept vnder the Law in remembrance of some great and extraordinarie benefits of God were Eucharisticall because they were obserued to the praise and honor of God not verbally but really Such amongst the Heathen were the Olympick Pythick and Isthmick games wherein the prayses and honour of their gods were remembred and celebrated not by Speeches and Orations but by the very Actions and Deedes of the Gamesters So Virgil hauing recorded the Pastimes and Games that Aeneas caused to bee acted to the prayse of his father Anchyses concludeth Hac celebrata tenus sancto certamina patri hitherto the pastimes were celebrated to the praise of his holy Father And heere it is to bee obserued that although in these superstitious solemnities no mention were made of their praises and honours for whom they were kept yet they are remembrances of their praise because they were instituted and ex professo professedy obserued for that purpose In the religious Festiuities some resemblance there was of the benefit that was remembred beside the profession of the end wherefore they were instituted and kept But amongst all the Celebrities and Solemnities that euer were obserued for the praise of God or man there was neuer any that had the end wherefore it was instituted set downe more cleerely to bee a memoriall of praise or an honourable remembrance then this Sacrament hath in these words Doe this for a remembrance of me and that had a more euident and plaine resemblance of the benefit that was to bee remembred with praise and thankesgiuing then this For what can more liuely expresse the praise of the glory of our Sauiours grace then that part of this action where hee is brought in breaking his owne Bodie and sheading his owne Bloud and offering himselfe in a sacrifice for the sinnes of the world And againe what can more euidently declare the faith and thankefulnesse of the people towards him then the other part of the same action where they are brought in feeding on the sacrifice of his Bodie and Bloud thereby testifying before the world that by him alone they doe acknowledge themselues to haue liberty and life that in him alone they repose and trust that hee alone is the meditation of their minds the desire of their soules the ioy and delectation of their hearts Caluin Instit. lib. 4. Cap. 18. Sect. 17. Huius generis sacrificio carere non potest coena Domini in qua dum mortem eius annunciamus gratiarum actionem referimus nihil aliud offerimus quam sacrificium laudis Aquinas Quotiescunque ederitis panem hunc c. Exponit verba Domini Hoc facite in meam commemorationem dicens mortem Domini annunciabitis represent ando scilicet eam per hoc Sacramentum Caluin saith that the Supper of the Lord cannot want in it an Eucharisticall Sacrifice because while wee declare the death of the Lord and giue thankes we doe nothing but offer vp a sacrifice of praise Aquinas affirmeth that wee declare and preach Christs death representing it by this Sacrament In diuers places of the Greek Liturgies this Sacrament is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the sacrifice of praise and not onely is the action it selfe and the celebration of this Sacrament called the Eucharist by the Ancients but the Symbols themselues the Bread and the Wine Origen contra Celsum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Bread which is called the Eucharist saith hee is a Symboll of our thankefulnesse to God and so is the whole action in deed because not onely in it are thankes giuen in word Sed gratiae aguntur vere re-ipsa but a solemne thankesgiuing is acted truly and in deed SECT 11. The conclusion of this point which concerneth the nature of this Sacrament HEreby it is manifest that as this action in respect of Christs part towards vs or the end that concerneth vs is a Mysticall representation and a reall application of the Propitiatorie sacrifice of Christ to vs So in respect of our part towards Christ againe and the end◠that concerneth him it is a spirituall and Eucharisticall Sacrifice done to his glorie Nay if we consider the action in regard of the one end or the other it is to bee performed of vs with such a religious and humble gesture as becommeth sinners to vse towards their Sauiour when they receiue from him the benefit of expiation of their sinnes and reconciliation with God Or when they offer back againe to him therefore the sacrifice of thankesgiuing both secretly in their inward affection and publikely in a most solemne action Now what gesture can better agree to sinners in receiuing their pardon and in giuing praise therefore to their Redeemer then the religious and humble gesture of Kneeling commanded by God himselfe to bee vsed in his worship practised by our Sauiour himselfe and by all the Saints both vnder the Law and the Gospell not onely when they did offer their supplications to God but when they ioyfully gaue thankes and praise Psal. 138. I will praise thee with my whole heart before the Gods I will sing praise vnto thee I will bowe my selfe Eshtachaue towards thy holy Temple and praise thy name for thy louing kindnesse Psal. 95. O come let vs sing vnto the Lord let vs make a ioyfull noyse to the Rocke of our saluation let vs come before his presence with thankesgiuing and make a ioyfull noyse to him with Psalmes c. ver 6. O come let vs humbly bowe our selues and fall downe and Kneele before the Lord our Maker Luk. 17. 16. When one of the ten Lepers perceiued that hee was healed hee returned with a loud voyce giuing glory to God and fell on his face at the feete of Iesus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 giuing thankes to him In the Apocalypse the 24. Elders when they giue praise and sing a new song to their Sauiour not onely fall they downe off the Thrones whereon he had placed them but they cast the Crownes off their heads the ensignes of the Kingdome that he had disposed to them thereby teaching how basely wee should esteeme of our selues and how highly wee should thinke of our Sauiour and with what gesture and carriage wee should expresse the same when
same that is they are to be esteemed no more for common food but for the mysticall symbolls of the Bodie and Bloud of the Lord. And as for the Table in matter and forme is like other tables but in vse differeth as farre as a spirituall Table from a carnall a celestiall from a terrestriall And who knoweth not that our manners and gestures must bee composed neither according to the matter nor forme of the Table but according to the vse wherefore it is appointed For what is the cause when men come to the table of Exchange for to receiue money that they vse other forme and gesture then at a table appointed for meate Is it because they differ in matter and shape No verily but because the vse is different Therefore at these wee vse such gestures and motions as is meete for receiuing of money at this such as are most commodious for easing of our bodies and receiuing of meat Euen so our gesture at this sacred Table whereon our spirituall food is set and presented is not to bee proportioned to the matter and forme of the Table which is common but to the vse wherefore it is appointed that is to the giuing and receiuing of the sacred Mysteries and the communion of the Bodie and Bloud of the Lord Iesus which thereby are offered and deliuered to all worthy receiuers To this diuine and holy vse as all our manners behauiour and carriage should bee framed so should the Gesture and position of our bodies bee Otherwise if any man thinke that wee should vse the same gesture manners at this Table that are decent to bee vsed at other Tables What is the cause that at this Table wee vse no speech nor conference one with another but in silence meditate with our selues Why sport we not nor are merry but carry a modest and graue countenance Why are our heads bare and not couered What is the cause that wee touch nothing presented on this Table before that it be offered vnto vs Take nothing before we be commanded Neither eate nor drink before we bee instructed what to eate and drinke and for what end Why are all our maners rites and gestures vsuall at other Tables so changed at this Why is this silence this grauity this meditation the reuerence of the bare-head this abstinence from touching from taking from eating from drinking before the offer the command word of instruction Why Because the vse of this Table being meerely Religious Spirituall and Diuine is so farre different from the vse of other Tables For heere besides the materiall Table that the eye of the bodie sees there is another spirituall Table that should be obiected to the minde and beside the externall elements and other celestiall and eternall food which thy heart should perceiue These are but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the symbolicall vestures wherein Christ is wrapped vp but that is Christ himselfe his Bodie and his Bloud therefore is it that we feare or should feare to touch the sacred things before our hand and our mouthes be sanctified by that diuine Precept Take eate and drinke yee all hereof and to receiue before our mindes and hearts bee prepared and sanctified with knowledge and faith by the Sacramentall word This is my Body that is broken for you This cup is the new Testament in my Bloud c. Doe this in remembrance of mee By the which word the vaile is remoued the Mysterie is opened vp the garments and symbolicall vestures are taken away Christ is made naked and is exposed as really to the eye of our minde and to faith the hand of our heart as the sacred symbols are to our externall senses The respect therefore that is due to him who is the spirituall Table and the bread of Life whom the hid man of the heart sees and perceiues there really present makes all our deuotion and religious reuerence for this respect a choyce is made not of a common but of a sacred time place for this actiō for this respect we come fasting preferring our spirituall food to our naturall for this respect all our manner and carriage is holy and reuerend What then Shall wee esteeme Sitting a common Table-gesture and therefore dis-conforme to all the rest of our carriage that is sacred more decent for this heauenly Table then Kneeling a Religious gesture and therfore most conforme both to the nature of the Table and to all the rest of our Religious manner and behauiour that wee vse thereat SECT 4. An Obiection taken from Custome answered THIS I hope shall satisfie a modest spirit that searches for verity and striues not for the victory But if any list to be contentious and pleade from Custome that Kneeling cannot be decent because custome maketh Decencie and it is not the Custome to Kneele at a Table I grant it is not the custome at a common-Table because it is not commodious for commodity maketh Custome and Custome maketh Decencie in things of this kinde It is not commodious for it were wearisome and painefull to kneele so long time as an ordinary supper will last wherunto men come to refresh their bodies both with ease and meate But the time being short that is spent at the Sacrament and seeing men come thereto not to ease and feed their bodies but to worship God and to worke their owne saluation certainely to Kneele for such a space cannot bee painefull nor wearisome to those who are holy in Spirit and whole in body sickenesse and infirmitie makes exception and therefore although Kneeling is not nor hath not bin in custome at common Tables because it is incommodious and wearisome yet it hath beene in vse at the Lords Table farre longer then Sitting and is more vniuersally receiued in the reformed Churches For we must grant that before Sitting Kneeling hath beene vsed in the Christian Church neere foure hundred yeeres at least and therefore it may bee maintained with very good reason Certainely it may bee presumed that it hath beene in practice in all ages aboue euer vntill yee be able to designe some time when another gesture hath beene in vse The induction of foure hundred yeeres must either put you to an instance or silence SECT 5. An Answer to the instance of Honorius AND heere let me tell you that the instance of Honorius will not serue for Honorius did onely ordaine after the consecration at the eleuation of the Host so they call the Sacramentall Bread that the people should reuerently bow themselues that is Kneele as is manifest by the constant practice whereby obedience hath been giuen to this Canon This belongeth not to gesture vsed at the receiuing for in euery Masse at the eleuation the people kneeled and adored and this was done before that either the Priest himselfe or they receiued yea when after the people did not receiue at all but the Priest himselfe alone which was most frequent in these last times wherein the people receiued but
but is after knowne by fruition of the benefit And therefore then is to be acknowledged when it is seene and felt with Thanksgiuing either priuately or publikely as the qualitie of the benefit requireth So the Leper when he did finde and feele that hee was cured of his Leprosie returned and gaue thankes the operation and working of the cure hee could not perceiue till it was perfected It is one thing to receiue a benefit sent to vs by a Prince either by the hand of his seruant our equall or it may be by the hand of our owne seruant or inferiour and to receiue it from his owne hand deliuering it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in state and pompe openly in presence of his people As this deliuering and receiuing is not to bee compared with that no more is the gesture and reuerence whereby it should be expressed a word there may suffice to declare our thankefulnesse but here a word a bare head a beck are all scarce sufficient when we receiue the benefit of peace and prosperitie by the Kings good gouernment If in our hearts wee acknowledge that benefit and therefore in our prayers cōmend him to God and be ready to obey him our thankefulnes is sufficiently expressed So when God by his secret prouidence blesseth vs or by any of his creatures either our Superiours equals or inferiours doth vs good If in our Chamber secretly or in the Temple openly after the receiuing we declare our selues thankefull it is inough But when in the Sacrament God openly before his people professeth that he is a giuing and deliuering to vs the greatest benefit that can be giuen certainely not onely should there bee before and after the gifts receiued thankes giuen but in the very act of giuing and receiuing such reuerence vsed as may sufficiently declare and testifie how highly we esteeme of the greatnesse and goodnes of the Giuer and how vnworthy we thinke our selues to be of his inestimable beneficence what gesture is meetest to bee vsed according to Piety in such a case whether Sitting or Kneeling let them iudge that haue vnderstanding SECT 3. A consideration of the gift SEcondly if wee consider the gift it is not a bread that perisheth which is lesse worth then the life as our Sauiour saith but is the Bread of God that came down from heauen to giue life to the world a food more precious then all creatures and therefore such a food as wee are commanded in the very Sacrament to discerne from common naturall food and to eate that Bread and drinke the Cup of the Lord worthily except we would prooue guiltie of indignitie done to the Bodie and Bloud of the Lord Iesus In the which warning as faith and a religious disposition is required in the heart so an externall reuerence answerable thereto should be in the externall action for this the very word importeth Therefore hee that eateth this Bread and drinketh the Cup of the Lord vnworthily shall bee guiltie of the Bodie and Bloud of the Lord And after Hee that eateth and drinketh vnworthily eateth and drinketh iudgement to himselfe because hee hath not discerned the Lords Bodie This eating and drinking here must be the externall receiuing of the Sacrament for the spirituall and inward eating and drinking admitteth no vnworthinesse but is performed with such discretion as giues to Christ the reuerence that is due to him both in outward action and inward affection But the externall action of eating and drinking may be vnworthily performed if either it be done in hypocrisie or profanely I call that to eate and drink in hypocrisie when an hypocrite giueth all due and externall reuerence to the Sacrament but in the meane time hath neither faith nor the true and right estimation that he should haue of the spirituall benefit To eate profanely is both to eate without the outward and inward reuerence that is due to the Bodie and Bloud of our Sauiour for no man wants the outward reuerence but hee that hath not the inward They who thinke that the vnworthinesse onely consisteth in the want of faith and inward reuerence must thinke hypocrites onely to eate vnworthily yet it is certaine in this place that the Apostle findeth no fault with the hypocrisie or superstition of the Corinthians but with their profanenesse for comming drunken for eschewing the poore and despising the Church so this vnworthinesse was as well in their outward behauiour as in their inward disposition And so consequently the Apostle would haue vs to discerne the Lords Bodie not by our inward estimation onely but by our outward carriage and gesture that it may bee seene of all that in the Sacrament wee doe chiefly consider and respect not the outward and symbolicall elements but the thing signified the Bodie and Bloud of Christ and that according thereto we compose and frame our selues and our manners which if wee doe this question is at a point For what gesture I pray you can make a more euident difference betwixt Christs Bodie the Bread of Life and other common Bread by giuing thereto such reuerence as best beseemeth the dignitie and worthinesse thereof then the humble and religious gesture of Kneeling SECT 4. The manner of receiuing THirdly to come to the spirituall receiuing which we know consisteth in faith Hee that commeth to mee shall neuer hunger and he that beleeueth in me shall neuer thirst And in the same Chapter after Hee that beleeues in me hath life eternall and I shall raise him vp at the last day And Augustine saith Wherefore preparest thou thy teeth and thy belly Beleeue and thou hast eaten This faith is accompanied with two inseparable companions in this action Prayer and Thankes-giuing for first no man commeth-worthily to this Table but hee that commeth with a hunger and thirst after righteousnes and life in Christ whom hee commeth to receiue for vnto such onely as are thus disposed the inuitation and promise is made Esay 55. Ho euery one that thirsteth come yee to the waters Math. 5. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousnesse for they shall be filled Luk. 1. 53. Hee hath filled the hungry with good things and the rich he hath sent away emptie Psal. 22. 26. The poore shall eate and be satisfied And in the exhortation vsed by the Minister before the Sacrament these words wee haue in our booke The end of our comming hither is not to make protestation that we are vpright and iust in our liues but contrariwise wee come to seeke our life and perfection in Iesus Christ c. With this hunger and thirst and with this spirituall appetite we should come eate and drinke And what is this but the feruent prayer that the heart is offering to God while the hand is receiuing and the mouth is eating For the substance of prayer consisteth not in the voyces of the mouth but in the wishes of the heart to God whereof the voyces are but significant signes With
was symbolically represented in the giuing taking and eating of the elements is expounded in the other parcell Broken for you shed for the remission of the sinnes of many This explication and declaration of the Mysterie by the Word is a reall and spirituall application of the sacrifice of Christ and the benefit thereof to the minde and vnderstanding of the Receiuer to bee considered and pondered in the ballance of a wise and spirituall iudgement This is the first thing that is done by the word next by this word the last Will and Testament of Christ is declared wherein he maketh a reall donation and disposition of himselfe and of all his graces and gifts to the worthy receiuers The Bread which wee breake is it not saith the Apostle the communion of the Bodie of Christ And the Cup which we blesse is it not the communion of the Bloud of Christ How is this Bread and this Cup the communion of his Bodie and of his Bloud How But by the Sacramentall word wherein he declareth that the Bread and the Cup are the instruments of the communication and disposition of his Bodie and Bloud and the seales whereby he confirmeth the same This declaration conuaied with the inward grace and operation of the Spirit is a reall application of the sacrifice of Christ and the eternall Testament confirmed thereby to the heart and the will of the Receiuer that witl heart will and affection hee may trust and reioyce therein Thus thâ— application is acted really and spirâ—tually on the part of Christ and 〈◊〉 the part of the receiuer it is acted likewise when he considereth and pondereth in his mind as he should the death of Christ and the benefit thereof declared by the Word and next when he resteth and reposeth thereon with a full confidence of saluation according to the will of Christ declared and testified by the same VVord This is the spirituall application and reall receiuing of the Lord Iesus with all his benefites So many as receiued him saith Iohn he gaue them this prerogatiue that they should be called the sonnes of God But who are they that receiued him All those saith hee that beleeued in his Name Then to receiue him is to beleeue in his name In this beliefe and faith standeth our participation of the Lords Table and the eating and drinking at his Supper whereby we haue communion with him and amongst our selues And all this is effectuall by this Sacramental Word This is my Body this is my Bloud because both it is verbum expositiuum mysterii and Dispositiuum Testamenti the word that expoundeth the mysterie to the vnderstanding and is the dispositiue word of the Testament or the Word that declareth and testifieth the Legacie and Letter-will of Christ giuing and deliuering himselfe to the hand of our faith SECT 6. The difference betweene the Sacramentall Word and the Word preached AND heere by the way it shall not be vnprofitable to consider the difference betwixt this Sacramentall Word and the Word preached The Word preached is onely Promissorium and Conditionatum that is promissorie and conditionall because in it life eternall is promised vpon condition that wee repent and beleeue in Iesus Christ and it is true that by the Word preached wee are taught and perswaded to beleeue and to present our selues to the Sacraments Then the Sacramentall Word annexed to the Symbolicall Mysteries declareth that Iesus Christ hath made and by the present action of the Sacrament maketh an actuall and reall disposition and donation of the benefits promised in the Word preached because the condition therein required is performed in vs by the true perswasion and profession of faith So in the Word preached the promise is made vpon condition of faith But in the Sacramentall Word because the condition is presumed to bee fulfilled a simple donation and disposition is made of the things promised And herein consisteth the dignitie of the Sacraments First that they are onely ministred to the Beleeuers and the Beleeuers are onely admitted to them But the VVord is preached to all and all are admitted to the hearing thereof Secondly in the Word a promise is onely made of righteousnesse and life but in the Sacrament a reall donation and disposition is made of the things promised Thirdly in the Word the promise is onely made in generall but in the Sacraments the thing promised is applyed in particular Fourthly in the Word the promise is conditionall if wee beleeue and perseuer in faith but in the Sacraments the donation is simple because it presupposeth faith and perseuerance Fifthly in the Sacraments there is an externall solemne binding vp of a couenant betwixt God and the faithfull But by the Word preached and the hearing thereof the people are onely perswaded either to enter in this Couenant by beleeuing or continue therein if they beleeue alreadie It is true that by the power of the Word preached faith is wrought in the hearts of the hearers whereby they enter in a hid and secret Couenant with God and God with them They with God by beleeuing in him and hee with them by imputation of faith to them for righteousnesse This I call an hid and secret Couenant because it is onely knowne to God and to their owne hearts To God it is knowne for hee sees and searches the heart and the reines and knoweth them that trust in him To them it is knowne by the testimonie of the Spirit of God testifying with their spirit that they are receiued in his fauour and that their faith is imputed to them for righteousnesse for the Spirit of God testifies in the Word that the Beleeuers are iustified and our spirit and conscience testifieth that we beleeue and consequently that wee are iustified Moreouer the same beliefe and faith which our spirit testifieth to be in vs being the worke and effect of Gods Spirit in vs is a realt estimonie giuen by the Spirit of God of our Iustification The Spirit then of God both in generall in the Word and by his owne particular worke in vs testifieth that wee are receiued in Gods fauour and our spirit priuy to this Testimonie concurreth and testifieth with the Spirit of God So this Couenant is secret and hid because it is not knowne to men yet it hath three most famous and faithfull Witnesses God his Spirit and our conscience But to returne in binding vp of this secret Couenant neither is Gods part acted by preaching of the Word nor our part by hearing for by the Preaching he onely promises to receiue vs in grace if wee beleeue and to continue his fauour with vs if wee perseuer in faith and hearing on our part is not the condition that is craued and must bee performed of vs but faith which we must declare when we solemnely enter in Couenant with him not by a simple applying of our eare to heare but by an open and publicke testification both in word and work that wee haue heard and
beleeue The Couenant thus begunne in secret betwixt God and man is solemnized by the Sacraments in the which action man maketh a publike profession of his faith in God in comming to receiue and in receiuing the signe and badge of his Faith and Religion towards God and the Instrument and Seale of his iustification saluation from God and after this manner mans part is acted in the outward and solemne binding vp of the Couenant As on the other side God acteth his part by receiuing man in his fauour and grace admitting him to the communion of Saints in the Sacrament of Baptisme and by disponing and giuing to him the Bodie and the Bloud of his Son Iesus Christ and the new Testament confirmed thereby in the Sacrament of the Supper to assure him that his fauour and loue shall constantly remaine with him for euer SECT 7. That greater and more particular reuerence must be vsed in receiuing the Sacrament then in hearing the Word HEreby it is euident that although the preaching of the Word be a work of greater moment and charge oneris operae maioris and more excellent in regard of the gifts required in the Pastor and more necessarie to saluation then the administration of the Sacraments yet certaine it is that to be admitted and receiued to the Sacraments is a greater dignitie prerogatiue then to bee admitted to the hearing of the Word and to receiue the Sacraments then to heare the Word For in receiuing the Sacraments and in speciall this of the Bodie and Bloud of our Sauiour Christ draweth neerer to vs and communicateth himselfe with vs more particularly familiarly and entirely then in preaching of the Word which is common to all In the preaching of the Word God dealeth coniunctly generally and in common with all at once but in the Sacraments although the action bee publike and common to all the Receiuers yet therein God dealeth not coniunctly with all at once but seuerally and particularly with euery one alone and by himselfe And therefore in this action the common and generall reuerence and worship done to GOD in the publike prayer and thankesgiuing for the common benefit to bee receiued wherewith the action beginneth and for the common benefit that wee haue receiued when the action is ended this common and publike worship I say wherewith the action beginneth and endeth is not sufficient But as the common benefit is seuerally and particularly giuen to euery one so should euery one at the receiuing thereof doe reuerence and worship in particular for himselfe to God and his Sauiour from whose hand immediately hee receiueth the benefit For as the Sacramentall Word This is my Bodie this is my Bloud is generally and in common pronounced at the Consecration in the audience of all that are to receiue And yet at the receiuing euery one must esteeme that as the Bread and the Cup is in particular deliuered to him and receiued by him so the Word to bee spoken particularly to him This is my Bodie which is broken for thee this Cup is the new Testament in my Bloud that is shed for the remission of thy sinnes Euen so should euery one apply and tender vnto Iesus Christ in particular for himselfe the substance of the generall prayer and thankesgiuing that went before that is hee should when hee receiueth wish that by the death of his Sauiour whereof hee is made partaker himselfe may bee saued and that in his saluation his Sauiour may bee glorified These should be and are the thoughts and exercises of the minde of euery one that receiueth worthily for the thoughts of the worthy Receiuers should be and are such as the Sacramentall Word and Precept requireth The Sacramentall Word This is my Body that is broken for you this Cup is the new Testament in my Bloud that is shed for the remission of the sinnes of many requireth that euery receiuer at the instant when hee receiueth do actually beleeue that vnto him in particular Christ offereth himselfe and the new Testament confirmed by his Bloud containing the right of eternal saluation and that with his whole heart hee embrace him and rest on him hoping for that saluation and earnestly desiring to haue the full fruition and possession thereof Now this desire proceeding from this faith and hope is in effect a particular application to our selues of the generall prayer which went before wherein all desired to bee partakers of Christ himselfe and by him of life eternall Next the Precept Doe this in remembrance of mee requireth a present actuall remembrance of the death of Christ which remembrance at that time must either bee actually thankefull for the benefit which hee hath receiued in Christ or it is actually profane and diabolicall And this thankefull remembrance or this remembrance actually thankeful is a particular application of that generall Thankesgiuing that went before to God for our own Redemption Now to draw all the thoughts and exercises of the minde together that are required by the Sacramentall Word and Precept to bee in the Receiuer at the instant of receiuing are briefly and in substance these I call to minde with thankefulnesse O Lord thy Bodie that was broken and thy Bloud that was shed here represented and applyed to me and therein my soule trusteth and waiteth for thy saluation wherewith possesse mee I beseech thee Amen No tongue can vtter so briefly as these thoughts goe swiftly thorow the minde of the worthy Receiuer Eusebius in the sixt booke of the Ecclesiasticall Storie recordeth that Nouatus when he deliuered the Sacrament to his people did apprehend their hands compelled them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in stead of blessing to sweare by that which was in their hands 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and to say in stead of Amen Wee shall not returne to Cornelius againe By the which words it is euident that they did not onely 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 pray and giue thankes before and after the receiuing but in the very Act it selfe while the bread was in their hands they blessed it and said Amen Now with what gesture and reuerence I pray you should these thoughts and meditations of our heart be accompanied at the instant when Christ is professedly giuing and wee receiuing from his hand Thinke yee that sufficient which is vsed when men attend to heare his Will declared in his Word If a King should generally declare to a multitude what benefit hee were to bestow vpon them and thereafter should call them man by man and with his hand deliuer it should the carriage of euery man comming seuerally to receiue bee no other then that which was vsed of all when they harkened to his speech SECT 8. That the name of a Supper giuen to this Sacrament doth not diminish the reuerence that is due thereto ANd here let it bee considered whether this should exempt vs from bowing the Knee because this gift is called a Supper which should not bee receiued with Kneeling
A Supper it is called I grant But I demand Is it so called in respect of the nature of the action simply considered in it selfe and properly Chrysostome saith that Paul in 1. Cor. 11. calleth that a Supper which should rather haue beene called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Dinner or a breake-fast if hee had respected the time but hee calleth it so Vt remitteret illos iam inde ad illam vesperam qua Dominus tremenda mysteria tradidit That hee might send them back to that euening wherein our Lord deliuered these fearefull mysteries The meaning is that hee might call them to remembrance of the first institution In respect whereof it is called a Supper So likewise it is called a Supper because in some thing it resembleth a Supper For it is not a priuate meale but like to a publike banquet wherevnto all the faithful are inuited Now we finde that in these dayes men vsed to dine priuately and their feasts whereunto they inuited their friends were commonly suppers made at night Vnto this agreeth well that which Plutarch writeth The Supper saith hee was called by the Romans Coena ob 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 because it was common for the old Romanes vsed to dine sparingly but to sup with their friends And finally it is called a Supper because it is the Antitype of the Paschall Supper as Baptisme is of Circumcision in respect whereof the spirituall part of Baptisme is called by the Apostle Coloss. 2. 11 12. The Circumcision of Christ as this Sacrament is called the Supper of the Lord. That properly it is not nor cannot be called a Supper whether wee consider the symbolicall or the spirituall part thereof is manifest by these Reasons First euery Repast that is properly called a Supper is at least sufficient to content Nature Amongst the Ancients although their Dinners and Breake fasts were sparing and therefore the Custome was not either to sit or lie at them yet their Suppers were large and a long time spent at them which made them to Lie or Sit for ease of their bodies Of this sort was the Paschall Supper and all the Feasts wherein the Legall Sacrifices were eaten Here all the meate is a little morsell of bread no greater then an Oliue and all the drinke a little quantitie rather tasted then drunken Such a shew of Repast as this can neither properly bee called a Breake-fast a Dinner nor a Supper and the time spent in taking heereof so short that easily it may bee past with any position of bodie as was said before Secondly the Feasters here take not nor eate not as at an ordinarie supper all that they eate or drinke they receiue at the hand of the Pastor all their meate at once and together This kinde of intertainement is not proper to a supper Thirdly at the deliuery and receiuing of this food a word is pronounced whereby wee are taught that this food is not giuen nor should bee receiued to nourish the body but onely to signifie and represent the Passion of Christ and the application thereof to the Beleeuers for their comfort A food giuen and receiued for such an vse as this onely cannot properly bee a Supper for no Repast properly is a supper but that which is appointed to nourish the bodie whatsoeuer vse it hath beside So if either wee consider the quantitie of the Repast the time that is spent in the receiuing thereof the forme of giuing and receiuing or the end wherefore it is giuen wee shall finde that properly neither is it nor can it bee called a Supper As for the spirituall and internall part of the action whereby the minde is informed and faith confirmed it may be called a Supper not properly but in the sense that Salomon calleth a good conscience a perpetuall Feast because by the meditation of the death of Christ and the benefit that we haue thereby the soule is fed and nourished with spirituall and heauenly knowledge strengthened with confidence and hope and satiate with ioyes and pleasures that cannot bee expressed Whereby it is euident that neither in respect of the externall and materiall part nor in respect of the inward and spirituall part is this Sacrament properly called a Supper Therefore the appellation should not alter the worship and religious reuerence that the nature of the action simply considered in it selfe requireth But put the case that it were properly a Supper yet wee must grant that the Master of the Feast is our Lord and King out of whose hand if wee receiue the Cup or some daintie morsell should wee vse no more reuerence then when we carue to our selues or receiue from the hand of a seruant or from our companions Consider then with your selues how this whole Supper to wit the Bodie and the Bloud of Christ is giuen by Christ himselfe at once to vs his Bloud in one Cup and his Bodie in one Morsell So that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Lords Supper is a Gift or a Iewell giuen out of his owne hand as a pledge of his loue and therefore is sometimes called by the Fathers 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Basilius writeth in his Homily of Charitie that Christ left to his Disciples when he was to fulfill his Ministerie in the flesh 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Donum perfectitium a gift giuen at his departure in pledge of his loue Then to conclude this Supper being a Gift giuen in pledge of his loue to vs by him who not onely is our Lord and King but the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords Whether should we draw neere and receiue in respect of the testification of his loue towards vs with greater confidence Or in consideration of his glorious Person and Maiestie with greater feare and reuerence Doubtlesse both should be so great as great may bee How great then must the Religion and Deuotion bee that is composed of these two the greatest confidence and the greatest reuerence SECT 9. What manner of person should wee esteeme our Sautour and our selues to carry at the Sacrament LO but Christ inuiteth vs as coheires to this Banquet whom hee will honour as his owne Peeres and Equals and will not haue vs to demeane our selues as Inferiours and Subiects Whence learne wee this Christ Sate or Lay at the Table with his Disciples when hee deliuered his Bodie and Bloud to them and therefore now why should wee not sit at Table with him and receiue from his hand I answer Christ Sate or Lay with his Disciples when he did institute this Sacrament so did hee at the same time wash their feete Two Reasons hereof are giuen by himselfe Hee came not to bee serued but to serue and therefore during the dayes of his flesh as hee did carrie the forme of a seruant so hee saith that hee was as a seruant in the midst of them Next hee did giue to them an example of humilitie that they should neither rule imperiously one ouer another nor ouer the
next amongst our selues by the participation of that one and selfe-same Bread which first sheweth the vnion betwixt Christ vs to be such as is betwixt the body and the food whereby it is nourished and next the vnion amongst our selues to bee such as is amongst the members of the same body SECT 5. That Sitting cannot bee a necessarie Sacramentall Ceremonie nor a proper Table-gesture NOW to conclude this point as I said before that all the Ceremonies and Actions that either appertaine to the Essence or Integrity of the Sacrament are fully set downe in the words of the Institution So here I affirme that all the significant Ceremonies and Actions that belong to the nature of the Sacraments are employed about the Elements or belong to the vse of them onely As in Baptisme the washing dipping and rising vp are Actions and Ceremonies that belong to the vse of the water In the Supper the taking blessing and breaking giuing receiuing eating and drinking are Ceremonies and Actions vsed about the Bread and the Wine And the reason is manifest because by the Elements onely our Sauiour Christ and his benefits are signified and by the Ceremonies and Actions the application of him to vs and our faith in him as by the Water his Spirit his Bloud his Death by the washing dipping and rising vp out of the water the cleansing of vs from the guilt and vitiositie of sinne by his bloud and Spirit the participation of his death and buriall whereby wee die to sin and of his resurrection whereby we rise to newnesse of life So likewise in the Supper the bread and the cup signifie his Bodie and Bloud the Ceremoniall Actions represent his Passion and the application thereof to vs and in both our obedience testifieth our faith Whereby it is manifest that if wee count the Table-gesture a Sacramentall Ceremonie the Table whereunto the vse of the gesture belongeth must also be some third symboll or signe representing Christ and consequently as necessarie and essentiall to the action as the elements of bread and wine and the gesture that is proper thereto if any be as necessary to bee obserued as the Ceremoniall Actions of eating and drinking are necessarie to be vsed in receiuing the Elements But this I am perswaded no man will affirme neither will any man thinke that a materiall Table is so necessarie that without it the Sacrament could not be ministred at least in places where it might not be had as in the Wildernesse in Dennes and Caues of the earth and such like places whereunto the Saints were forced to flye in the dayes of persecution And what shall we say of those who receiue the Sacrament lying sick on their beds Of him who in prison and fetters made his brest the boord If by the mercie of God the Turkes were conuerted to the Christian faith might they not receiue the Sacrament without any such Table as they do their common food sitting on the ground The thing that apparantly fostereth this conceit of Table-gesture is this Where mention is made of receiuing meate there commonly mention is made of a Table and that we conceit to be a materiall one such as in vse with vs but mensa albeit most frequently it be so taken yet it is also vsed for that whatsoeuer it be whereon meate is set whether it be a boord or the bare earth or the grasse or a cake of bread laid on the ground vnder the meat which some for hunger hauing eaten said merrily they had deuoured the Table Heus etiam mensas consumimus inquit Iulus And the meate it selfe is often called a Table as in the Psal. 78. Can God prepare a Table for vs in the Wildernesse When the Troians lay on the grasse fusique per herbam and were satiate it is said that the boords were remoued mensaeque remotae that is the rest of the meate was taken away And children know that the second seruice is called Mensae secundae Nec adhuc mensa secunda venit Here with one stroke it were possible if it might stand with the fauour of good brethren to cut this Gordian knot of Table-gesture if wee should onely deny that any Table is absolutely necessarie to bee vsed in the Sacrament but that which the Apostle calleth the Table of the Lord that is the Body of our Sauiour represented and offered in the visible elements or any Table-gesture necessary but that which hee calleth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to participate of that Table by eating and drinking which gesture is prescribed in the Institution and must be vsed and is not onely proper to the Lords Table but to all Tables of Repast as for sitting lying and standing there be none of these proper for neither hath any of them been or shall be euer in vse amongst all people or only in vse at a Table of Repast for men sit often else-where not at such a Table lie to sleep and stand at other businesse Nay none of these gestures are proper necessary but as for taking eating and drinking not onely are they necessary and proper to all Tables of Repast but are more significant and do farre better expresse both our fellowship and vnion with our Sauiour and amongst our selues then the gesture of Sitting or any other position of body whatsoeuer SECT 6. That by Kneeling wee symbolize not with the Papists in Idolatry NOW to proceed and come to the Scandall and Offence that may be giuen to our Church by Kneeling at the Sacrament as is alledged The greatest that I heare of is this that in Kneeling we symbolize with the Papists So doe wee in the place they receiue in a Temple so doe wee In the time they receiue on the Sabbath and so do we In the order they receiue before meate and so do we In habite for they receiue with their heads vncouered and so doe we And heere wee remember not that wee symbolize with the late Arrians in Sitting who to testifie that they beleeue not our Sauiour to be God but a meere Man will not receiue Kneeling but Sitting lest that they should seeme to adore him as God Against them therefore this conclusion is set down Petro Couiensi Synodo generali which is in number the fourth De ceremoniis Coenae Dominicae the tenor whereof is this Proinde ceremonias libertati Christianae donamus permittimus vt stantes vel genua flectentes pij Sacramentum corporis sanguinis Christi sumant Sessionis vero ad mensam Domini quia praeter ritus in omnibus per Europam Ecclesijs vulgo consuetas illi inter nos primi authores extiterunt qui omnia in Ecclesijs temere immutantes à nobis ad Arrianismum transfugae facti sunt c. Quare hanc propriam ipsis vt Christum ita sacra eius irreuerenter tractantibus tanquam minus honestam religiosam simplicioribusque admodum scandolosam ceremoniam reijcimus Here Sitting is discharged at the