this Representation of Christ's Death in the Sacrament has a respect to others to whom we are to declare it as well as it relates like the Commemoration before-mention'd to our selves and to God We do by this proclaim unto Men and Angels the manifold Wisdom and Goodness of God and the Kindness and Condescention of our ever blessed Redeemer and in a manner preach the Gospel to every Creature while we here represent so considerable a part of it as our Saviour's Death and own that we are not asham'd of his Cross but rather Glory in it § V. We represent it also to our selves that is we do by this sacred significant and lively Action fix it more deeply in our Affections and Memories The Bread represents our Saviour's Body who is the true Bread of Life that came down from Heaven The Wine his Blood The Breaking of the Bread the Torments he endur'd on the Cross and the Wounding of his sacred Body as the pouring out of the Wine is a most lively Figure of the shedding his most precious Blood But of this more hereafter § VI. But in the last place we also represent our Saviour's Death to God the Father in the Holy Communion This we do by those Actions which he himself has appointed as means of supplicating him and obtaining his Favour Beseeching our heavenly Father who of his tender Mercy did give his only Son Jesus Christ to suffer Death upon the Cross for our Redemption that we duly receiving the Holy Mysteries according to our Lord Jesus Christ's Holy Institution in remembrance of his Death and Passion may be Partakers of his most blessed Body and Blood The Priest neither makes nor offers the real natural Body of Christ in the Holy Communion but he makes his spiritual or sacramental Body and therein represents his natural Body as well as he also represents what he really suffer'd for us in the verity of that Body this he represents to God as well as to us and every devout Communicant should faithfully joyn in the Representation § VII The next thing observable in our Description of the Holy Communion is That 't was instituted by Christ in the room of the Iewish Passover This as it gives great Light into the Nature of it and the most weighty Controversies concerning it so the Matter of Fact it self is too evident to be doubted or denied and of too great moment to be lightly pass'd over As will appear if we consider the Time the Form the End of the Institution of this Sacrament compared with that of the Passover and the Expressions of Iohn the Baptist and the Apostles relating to the Communion it self or to our Saviour who ordained it The Time of its first Institution and Celebration was the Night of the Paschal Supper immediately after Supper We are told by * Buxtorf Synag cap. 13. p. 302. de Paschat celebrando Fagius in Exod. 12. learned Men that the old Iews had a very antient Tradition amongst them that the Messias should come to redeem them the very same Night in which God brought them out of Egypt the Night of the Passover whereon they also say that God vouchsafed to the old Patriarchs and holy Men most or all of those famous Blessings and Deliverances which we read of in the sacred Writings which is no obscure Indication that the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was to succeed the Paschal Supper § VIII The manner of their celebrating the Passover also proves the same For the Master of the House took Bread and brake it and gave it to those about him and said This is the Bread of affliction which our Fathers did eat in Egypt * Buxtorf ubi supra that is the Memorial of that Bread in the same Sense that our Saviour said This is my Body after he had taken Bread and blessed and brake it and gave to his Disciples as the Iews also call'd the Passover The Body of the Paschal Lamb. And in like manner the Cap. The Master of the Feast took it after Supper and when he had given Thanks gave it to the rest and said This is the Fruit of the Vine and the Blood of the Grape This was the third Cup which they drank at the Passover and call'd it The Cup of Blessing * Lightfoot Vol. II. p. 260. All the Company drank of it the sick as well as the healthy †Buxtorf p. 296. Thus our Savior after Supper took the Cup this third Cup and when he had given Thanks gave it to his Disciples and said Drink ye All of this for this is my Blood of the New Testament New Covenant or this Cup is the New Testament New Covenant in my Blood * St. Mat. 26. 28. St. Luk. 22. 20. As Moses said when he sprinkled all the People with Blood †Heb. 9. 20. Exod. 24. 8. This is the Blood of the Covenant which God made with you it was not only the Seal of the New Covenant but likewise the Sanction of it And 't is remarkable that our Saviour calls it the Fruit of the Vine as did the Master of the Feast at the Passover And so the Apostle calls the Sacramental Cup the Cup of Blessing § IX There 's yet another thing remarkable in the Passover which our Saviour retain'd in his Sacrament and that is the Hymn or great Hallel which the Iews always sung at this Festival and still continue to use it in that shadow of the Passover which they yet retain * Buxtorf ubi supr Patrick in 113 Psalm It consisted of six Psalms from the 113 to the 118. inclusively wherein were mentioned as their Rabbins teach 1. Their Deliverance from Egypt 2. The Division of the Red Sea 3. The Giving of the Law 4. The Resurrection from the Dead And 5. The Sorrows of the Messias †Lightfoot Vol. II. p. 354. 'T is expresly said that our Saviour and his Apostles sung a Hymn after they had eaten 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they all doubtless joyn'd in it as was the Custom of their Country-men which they could not have done had it not been a Form well known unto them And what more proper than those Psalms already mentioned which shows the Lawfulness of singing in the Christian Church and of the whole Congregations joyning in it some think Iudas not being here excepted ‖ Lightfoot and that in a set Form out of the Psalms of David which have made a great part of the Liturgy of the Church for near Three Thousand Years Nor was this Sacrament ever celebrated without singing by any regular Christians St. Chrysostom on Heb. 10. says of those of his Time That in the Sacrament they did offer Thanksgiving for their Salvation by devout Hymns and Prayers to God And before him Pliny's famous Letter mentions the Christians as jointly singing Hymns to Christ And Tertullian in his Apology has left it on Record that it was
ridiculous Consequences That our Saviour did eat his own Body and gave it to his Disciples to eat making Christians the worst of Cannibals to eat their God a thousand times over * Eoquem tam amentem esse putas qui illud quo vescatur credat Deum esse Tully de natura Deorum implying penetration of dimensions contradicting the very Nature of a Body which cannot be in two places at the same time †Rubrick after Communion much less in Earth and Heaven contradicting our Saviour's own Words that we should not have him always ‖ St. Mat. 26. 11. that is his Body with us tho' in his Divinity his Spirit his Power his Graces he 's with the Church to the End of the World * St. Mat. 28. 20. contrary to the End of the Institution which was to be a Memorial of his Body broken and Blood shed for us contrary to the Words of the Apostle †1 Cor. 11. 26 27 28. who calls it Bread and Wine after Consecration thrice in one Chapter ‖ Vide supra For which Reasons and many others that might be alledged our Church declares in her Twenty Eighth Article of the Lord's Supper That Transubstantiation or the Change of the Substance of the Bread and Wine in the Supper of the Lord cannot be proved in Holy Writ but it is repugnant to the plain words of Scripture overthroweth the Nature of a Sacrament and hath given occasion to many Superstitions § XIV But how is it then called the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ and in what Sense is he present there and how are the faithful said therein to eat his Body and drink his Blood both by the antient Fathers and by our own Church and most other Protestants of all denominations * Lutherans Calvin Beza Assemb Catechism great and less Cranmer Ridley Communion Service English Tigur Liturg. c. That this is true in some Sense is evident from Holy Scripture it self as well as from the Consent of all Christian Churches Our Saviour said This is my Body and this is my Blood And the Apostle * 1 Cor. 10. 16. The Cup of Blessing is it not the Communion of the Blood of Christ the Bread of the Body of Christ And to the same purpose in the next Chapter Thus our fore-mentioned Article That the Bread which we break is a partaking of the Body of Christ and the Cup of Blessing a partaking of the Blood of Christ. And in the Catechism that the inward part or thing signified in the sacrament is The Body and Blood of Christ which are verily and indeed taken and received by the faithful in the Lord's Supper And the like in several places in the Communion-Office From all which it appears how little Reason our Adversaries have to brand us for Sacramentarians or such as deny the Body and Blood of Christ in a sound Sense to be received in the Lord's Supper § XV. But what Sense that is we come now to enquire First The Symbols the very Bread and Wine are in a figurative typical and sacramental Sense the Body and Blood of our Saviour They are more than a bare or ordinary Figure they do really and actually from their Institution represent and exhibit Christ's Death unto us as did the Paschal Lamb the delivery of the Iews out of Egypt This our Church affirms in her Homily of the Sacrament Part I. That we must be sure to hold that in the Supper of the Lord there is no vain Ceremony no untrue Figure of a thing absent but the Bread and Cup of the Lord the Memory of Christ the Annunciation of his Death c. § XVI But there 's yet more in it for 2. There is in the Blessed Sacrament a real spiritual presence of the Body and Blood of our Saviour to every faithful Receiver Christ as to his Divinity is every where and more effectually and graciously present to his own Institutions and will make his Promise good to be with his Church to the End of the World * St. Mat. 28. 20. and doubtless is so in this Sacrament as well as in the other of Baptism and herein he conveys all the real Benefits obtained by his Sufferings to every faithful Receiver His Natural Body is in Heaven where it will remain till he comes to Iudgment He is spiritually present in the Sacrament present by Faith to our Spirits The fore-mentioned Homily tells us that in the Supper of the Lord we are not only to hold that there is a Memory of Christ's Death but that there is likewise the Communion of his Body and Blood in a marvellous Incorporation wrought in the Souls of the faithful And again If God hath purified our hearts by Faith we do at this Table receive not only the outward Sacrament but the spiritual thing also not the Figure but the Truth not the Shadow only but the Body And to the same purpose our Learned Bishop Iewell That not the naked Figure and bare Sign and Token only but Christ's Body and Blood are verily and indeed given unto us in the Sacrament we verily eat it and drink it and live by it and thereby Christ dwells in us and we in him Yet he goes on ' We say not that the Substance of Bread and Wine is done away or that Christ's Body is fleshly present in the Sacrament but we lift up our hearts to Heaven there to feed on him Tho' by the way What need would there have been of the Sursum Corda or Invitation to the People in the Primitive Church to lift up their Hearts to Christ in Heaven if whole Christ God and Man were actually present upon the Altar § XVII But neither the Apostles nor the Primitive Church nor our Church of England ever held that the Sacrament was so much as in this latter Sense the Body and Blood of Christ to all that received but only to the faithful Receivers For those who received unworthily the Apostle tells us they were guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord therefore surely they did not properly communicate of his Body and Blood which he that does has eternal Life nay they did eat and drink their own Iudgment or Condemnation not discerning the Lords Body And to the same purpose is that famous saying of one of the Fathers That the Wicked do only press with their Teeth the Sacrament or outward Sign of the Lords Body but do not really communicate in it Neither did the Fathers ever think that we were to eat the Flesh of Christ in a gross carnal Capernaitical sense whatever high Expressions they may have sometime used concerning this Mystery wherein they may have been followed by devout modern Writers Hear one for all 'T is St. Augustine de Doctrinâ Christianâ Lib. 3. Cap. 16. where in his Rules for interpreting Scripture he instances in that Text which has been so much controverted of late years the 6th of
the Custom of Christians to close their Agapae or Love-Feasts with singing either some portion of Scripture or something of their own Composure * Tertull. Apol. cap. 39. p. 106. Edit Cantab. I 've insisted the longer on this Head because there are some Persons who I think very unreasonably not only neglect the Practice of this Angelical Duty themselves but even censure it as unlawful in others to whom we may answer We have such a laudable Custom and so have the Churches of God had in all Places and all Ages § X. Yet farther there is a remarkable Analogy or resemblance in the End of their Institution between the Passover and the Supper of the Lord God said concerning the Passover to the Children of Israel This day shall be to you for a Memorial †Exod. 12. 14. Ver. 27. and you shall keep it a Feast to the Lord throughout all your Generations ‖ Exod. 12. 3. Remember this day in which you came out of Egypt and thou shalt shew thy Son c. * Exod. 13. 8. Lxx. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And the Red Wine which they made use of therein was to signifie either the Blood of their Children shed by Pharoah or rather the Death of Pharoah's first-born as well as afterwards of himself and the rest of the Egyptians in just Vengeance for their Cruelty to the Israelites and of the Blood which was on their own Door-Posts whereby they were preserv'd from the Pestilence Thus in the Lord's Supper our Saviour commands his Followers to do this in Remembrance of him and thereby to shew forth his Death till he come as the Israelites were to keep the Passover for ever or throughout all their Generations Much the same word being here used by the Apostle to express our Celebration or Annuntiation of our Saviour's Death in the Sacrament that is used by the antient Greek Translators of the Bible to signifie that of the Passover enjoyn'd to the Iews †〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In which sacramental Feast we are to preserve the Memory of our Deliverance from the slavery of Sin much worse than that of Egypt § XI Lastly There are several Expressions in the New Testament which will not suffer us to doubt of the Analogy between them Thus the Baptist calls our Saviour The Lamb of God * St. Ioh. 1. 29. and St. Peter says That we were not redeemed with corruptible things but with the precious Blood of Christ as of a Lamb without Blemish †1 St. Pet. 1. 18 19. And St. Paul alludes most manifestly unto it Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us therefore let us keep the Feast not with the old Leaven c. ‖ 1 Cor. 5. 7. From all which it appears that the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was instituted in the room of the Passover and that our Saviour retained many of the Ceremonies therein as well such as God himself had immediately Vid. Cudworth and Discourse of the Holy Eucharist p. 6. appointed as such as the Jewish Church had added either for the more lively Representation of the thing or else for decency and order and from what has been said we may have great Light into the Nature of the Holy Communion especially as to the last Head insisted on that 't is a Memorial and Representation of our Saviour's Death of his Body which was broken and his Blood which was shed for us § XII I proceed to the Matter of this Sacrament the exterior Matter or outward Elements the visible and sensible Signs namely Bread and Wine which the Lord has commanded to be taken and received 'T was from the Fruits of the Ground that the first Offerings were made to the Lord Some have been of Opinion that Noah was the first that offer'd Bread in Sacrifice and that thence he received a Name among the Antients * Dickenson in Delphi Phoeniciss p. 169. And Dr. Spencer de Sacrificiis thinks that Noah was called Ogyges from Ogh which signifies Panis subcineritius Bread baked under the Embers and offered in Sacrifice p. 659. Melchisedeck's bringing forth Bread and Wine has also been thought an Act of his sacerdotal Office and not an Instance of Hospitality only We are sure that the Mincha Meat-offering or Bread-offering so often mention'd by Moses which was to be offer'd every Morning and Evening and is call'd the Most Holy of all the Offerings of the Lord was composed of Fine-Flower with a proportion of Wine added unto it †Exod. 29. 40. Levit. 2. 3. Bread is the most simple and common Food the most easie to be obtained and yet the most necessary the Staff of Life Wine was also as common in those Countries as it is useful and refreshing making glad the Heart of Man Psal. 104. 15. Nay cheering God and Man Iudg. 9. 13. That is Wine was acceptable to God in Sacrifices For some or all of which Reasons was our Saviour pleased to make Choice of Bread and Wine in the Celebration of these Mysteries as well as because they were used by the Iewish Church in the Passover And these are in the Sacrament solemnly offered to God as an acknowledgment of his being the Creator of all things and Sovereign Lord of the World according to the antient Doxology * Vid. Mede of Christian Sacrifice p. 359. at the presenting of them on the Lord's Table which was much the same with that in the Revelations Thou art worthy O Lord to receive Glory and Honour and Power for thou hast created all things and for thy pleasure they are and were created § XIII And Bread and Wine they are still after the Consecration not common but Sacred and Sacramental They are changed in their Use but not in their Substance They are not changed into the Substance of the Natural Body of Christ which hung upon the Cross and his Blood which was there shed for us a monstrous and novel Opinion first established by the Concil of Lateran above twelve hundred Years after Christ and then by that of Trent among other Articles of their New Creed no where to be found in Scripture as some of the most Learned Romanists have confessed but directly contrary to it as 't is to the Writings of the Fathers not believed at present by many Learned Men in the Church of Rome * Vid. Preface to Discourse of the Eucharist overthrowing the very Nature of a Sacrament and leaving nothing for an outward Sign destroying the Foundation of our Faith which is grounded on Miracles which imply the certainty of the Judgment of our Senses on their proper Objects introducing the most monstrous absurdities which if granted would render the Christian Religion which is the only reasonable Religion in the World the most absurd and most unreasonable supposing actual length without any thing long and the same of whiteness redness solidity moisture breadth and thickness involving the most horrid as well as most
and Blood and thereby assures us of his Favour and Goodness to us and renews his Covenant with us and gives us leave to do the same with him § XXII But we confirm this Covenant by a most solemn Oath as well as a Feast in this Holy Communion for it partakes of both The very Word Sacrament originally signified that Military Oath which Soldiers took to their General to bear Faith and true Allegiance to him to obey his Commands In the Lords Supper we swear Fealty and Homage to the great King of Earth and Heaven and as well as in Baptism engage to be his faithful Servants and Soldiers to our Lives end Which Oath as all others does imply an Imprecation as did the ancient Sacrifices used at the Ratification of Leagues wherein the Beast being cut in pieces the Parties agreeing went between them wishing that their Blood might be so poured out and they themselves cut in pieces if they ever brake their Vow and Covenant To which the breaking of the Bread and pouring out of the Wine does answer in the Communion as it may farther signifie that we resolve to be faithful even to the Death to our great Lord and Master and if there be occasion are ready to shed our Blood for him as he did for us The Commemoration whereof is indeed the main End of the Sacrament and the principal Notion wherein we are to represent it to our Minds but there are subordinate Ends and other useful Notions under which we may consider it in order to profit by it Among which is § XXIII The next thing in our Description of this Sacrament That we therein praise God for all his Goodness As much as this is included in that very ancient name of it the Eucharist which is used in the Scripture for giving of Thanks in general ‖ Eph. 5. 4. but applied to this most solemn Act of Thanksgiving in the blessed Sacrament not only by the earliest Ecclesiastical Writers but even by an ancient Version of the New Testament For the Syriac retains the Word Eucharist both in the 2d of the Acts 42. and in the 20th v. 7. In both of which places what we render breaking of Bread is with them * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 breaking the Eucharist And a Word of the same Original is used both by the Apostle and the Evangelists in the Description of its Institution †1 Cor. 11. 24. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so St. Luke 22. 19. and where our Saviour is said to give thanks over the Bread by St. Luke and St. Paul and to bless it by St. Matthew ‖ St. Mat. 26. 26. the same thing is intended for he blest and praised God for his Gifts and by that Thanksgiving did sanctifie the Bread both derive God's Blessing upon it and set it apart to a sacred use to be the thankful Memory of his own Death till he come to Judgment And accordingly in this Sacrament the Church does render most solemn Thanks and Praise to God the Father for his inestimable Love in the Redemption of the World by the Death and Passion of his dear Son and to Christ himself who gave his Body to be broken and his precious Blood to be shed for us as well as for all the Benefits of his Passion especially the Pardon of our Sins and Eternal Life § XXIV The next thing to be taken notice of in this Sacrament is That we do therein testifie and express our unfeigned Union with all our Christian Brethren with all those that bear the Image of the Heavenly This was doubtless one great end of its Institution that thereby all the followers of our Saviour might be united together in the most sacred and indissoluble Bands and that all men might know them for his true Disciples by their Loving one another * St. Iohn 13. 35. and thus the Apostle argues The Cup of Blessing which we bless is it not the Communion of the Blood of Christ the Bread which we break is it not the Communion of the Body of Christ For we being many are one Body for we are all Partakers of that one Bread where he hints at the Mystical Union between Christ and his Church and of all the Members thereof one with another ‖ 1 Cor. 10. 16 17. Feasting in common has been always esteemed both a Token of Amity and Friendship and the way to increase and preserve it In the Holy Communion we may be said to renew our Covenant with one another †Pliny ad confaederandam disciplinam coetus Chrianorum as well as with God and seem yet further even to imprecate his Wrath upon our selves if we break that sacred Band. And to the same purpose were the Agapae or Love-Feasts among the Christians both in the Apostles times and a Century or two after * Vid. Tertul. Apol c. 39. p. 105. And the frequent reception of the Communion must needs render Christians more charitable and increase a holy Love among them because without this Charity they know they ought not to communicate as the too general neglect of this Sacrament may well be reckoned one great cause of the great decay of that Grace amongst us For the partaking of this Divine Feast and the consideration of Christs wonderful Love to us in laying down his Life for us even when we were Enemies must needs constrain us to forgive all those that trespass against us and with a pure heart servently to love one another § XXV Hitherto we have for the most part discoursed of what we our selves are to do in the Reception of the Holy Sacrament To commemorate and represent the Sacrifice of our Saviours Death according to his Institution by eating of Bread and drinking of Wine therein renewing our Covenant with God praising him for his Goodness and testifying and exercising our Unity and Charity towards all our Christian Brethren § XXVI I proceed in the last place to that which we are to receive from God in the conscientious discharge of our Duty and devout Reception of this Holy Communion Which is contained in the last part of our Description That thereby all the Benefits of our Saviour's Death are sealed and applyed to every faithful Receiver § XXVII The Sacraments are Seals of God's Covenant with us The Apostle expresly affirms it of Circumcision * Rom. 4. 11. Galat. 3. 14. as it was a Sign of the Evangelical Covenant made with Abraham and all his faithful Children that is all that should believe in God as he did In the room whereof Baptism was introduced by our Saviour as another Seal of the same Covenant and means our Initiation into it And one Sacrament being a Seal it follows by parity of Reason that the other must be so also The Holy Symbols when duly received do exhibit and convey unto us divine Virtue and assistance and all the inestimable Benefits which were purchas'd for us and reached out unto us
VI. But our Obligation to receive will appear yet stronger if we consider the great Sin we are guilty of in neglecting it and the heavy punishment we may expect for the same Whatever our pretences are for it we do hereby in effect slight the Inviter and Invitation as well as that divine Feast that Heavenly Food which he has provided saying in our Hearts and by our Actions as Israel of the Manna Our Soul loaths this light Bread We separate from our Brethren and are guilty of a partial Schism We are disobedient to the just Laws of our Country both Civil and Ecclesiastical We discourage our Pastors by the thinness of the Appearance on these occasions We neglect the means which God has appointed to strengthen us in Virtue We are unthankful as well as disobedient and too like those in the Gospel who slighted the repeated Invitations of the King who sent out his Messengers to call 'em to the Marriage but they would not come St. Matt. 22. 2 3 c. for which he justly declared that those who were bidden were not worthy v. 8 there are unworthy Non-Communicants as well as unworthy Communicants and that none of them should taste of his Feast nor was this all for he sent forth his Armies and destroyed those Murderers and burnt up their City v. 7. Which Parable tho' it seems to relate more immediately to the Iews whose City and Nation were destroyed for rejecting the Gospel yet those must likewise be included in it by parity of Reason who refuse to obey that Gospel which they pretend to receive and will not come to this Marriage-Supper of the Lamb tho' so often and so kindly invited but neglect it either for the most part or even for all their Lives upon how frivolous Pretences we shall see hereafter and it is accordingly applied to such by our Church in the Exhortation which is appointed to be read when the Minister perceives the People backward to come to the Communion § VII Next as to the Extent of this Obligation It reaches all adult Persons who have been baptised This was carried so high by the antient Church that they thought the Communion was absolutely necessary to Salvation and therefore gave it to Infants as soon as baptised as do the Greeks to this day wherein tho' I think 'em mistaken it shews their Opinion of the universality of its Obligation and the necessity of receiving it The Apostle says of the Iews in the Wilderness 1 Cor. 10. 3 4. That they did all eat of the same spiritual Meat and did all drink of the same spiritual Drink and much more ought all Christians to do so who have a much more spiritual Religion The Passover was enjoyn'd to all the Congregation and even to every Man's Servant that was circumcised with this severe Sanction that the Man who neglected it without a lawful Excuse That Soul should be cut off from among his People * Numb 9. 14. Our Lord said to all his Disciples Take eat and particularly of the Cup Drink ye all of this his infallible Spirit foreseeing that some would deny it to the Laity in after-Ages and it 's said in St. Mark they all drank of it St. Paul stiles it the Communion because all Christians did partake of it as appears from that Expression * 1 Cor. 10. 17. we are all partakers of that one Bread and in the next Chapter he fairly implys that the main End of all regular Christians meeting together in publick was to eat the Lord's Body And all that believed at the first planting of the Gospel Chap. 11. v. 20. continued stedfastly in the Apostle's Doctrine and in the Communion * Acts 2. 42. as it ought to be translated †Vid. Mede of the Christian Sacrifice whose outward part consisted in the breaking of Bread and drinking of Wine as the inward in Prayer and Thanksgiving To this agrees Antiquity For the Primitive Christians allowed no such thing as coming to the publick Assemblies and going away without receiving which none did unless the Catechumens and Excommunicate there being a very antient Canon ‖ Can. IX among those which are called the Apostles that forbids any such disorderly practice on pain of Excommunication Our own Church reckons all Persons who are of years of Discretion as Communicants which has been also the Opinion of the wisest and most learned among our dissenting Brethren The Covenant we all enter'd into at Baptism must be renewed by us in the Lord's Supper unless there be any such as do repent the making it or as have never broke it And the same might be made appear from the Nature of the Sacrament insisted on at large in the first Chapter § VIII And its Duration is as perpetual as its Obligation is universal The Passover was to be kept by the Iews for a Memorial for ever Exod. 12. 14. throughout all their Generations This for ever lasted till the end of the Jewish Age or World and the Passover is to be observed till the end of the visible World the Consummation of all things The Institution it self being without any Term and Christ having commanded his Followers to do this in Remembrance of him they must still continue doing it unless he fixes a Term or gives them a dispensation for the doing it But the Nature of it proves that it still remains for a Remembrance implys absence and the Reason of the Remembrance lasts as long as the absence continues and since Christ will not be with us as to his corporeal presence till the Time of the Restitution of all things or the end of the World we must till then remember him in this Holy Sacrament § IX Which is as evident from Scripture as 't is from Reason As oft as ye eat of this Bread shew ye forth the Lord's Death till he come 1 Cor. 11. 26. namely till his second coming to judge the World in which sense that Expression is generally used in Scripture especially by this Apostle Thus he tells us That at the last day those which are alive and remain till the coming of the Lord shall not prevent those which are asleep * 1 Thess. 4. 15. which whole Description evidently relates to the last Iudgment And our Saviour uses that Expression in the same Sense in relation to St. Iohn who himself interprets that Phrase if I will that he carry till I come by that other that that Disciple should not die Now it 's evident that what St. Paul here declared was by express Command and Revelation and that he committed no more to Writing than he had before in the Name of Christ delivered to the Churches For thus he himself assures them I received of the Lord that which I also delivered unto you c. †1 Cor. 11. 23. whence he goes on to give an exact Account of the Institution of this Sacrament § X. But further None will deny that we must
to relate to the Holy Sacrament And it has been well observed that the Word which we translate continuing stedfastly does relate to the frequency of their Receiving as well as to their Constancy in it or not being tired with it And it appears from the History of these Corinthians that they did not use to come together into one place or meet in publick Worship without eating the Lord's Supper § XVII And the Practice of the Primitive Christians is a good Proof of the Practice of the Apostles since doubtless they derived it from them There are learned Men who are of Opinion that some of the Primitive Christians received twice a day †Patrick which he gathers from Tertull. in his Coron Milit. cap. 3. as the Mincha or Bread-offering in the old Law was offered Morning and Evening And if they met publickly twice a day there 's no doubt but they received as often because they had no religious Assemblies without the Communion They thought the whole sacred Action imperfect without it and this was so well known among them that the word Synaxis which properly signifies no more than a Convention or Congregation was yet generally appropriated to the Holy Communion because as is said they knew no such thing as one without the other For they thought the Sacrament was appointed by Christ as a means of supplicating and obtaining God's Favour nay as the only means to do it in publick Assemblies * Mede of the Christian Sacrifice And therefore do unanimously apply that Prophecy in Malachi †Malac. 1. 11. In every place Incense shall be offered unto me and a pure offering to this Christian Sacrifice And the Apostolical Canon before-mentioned does expresly excommunicate those as disorderly Livers who were present at Prayers and went away without the Communion which the Antients call Iuge Sacrificium the continual or daily Sacrifice And the Penitents among them who were excluded from it did prostrate themselves on the Earth at the Gates of the Church and earnestly entreat with Tears and sad Lamentations all that went in to pray for them that they might be again reconciled and admitted to the Lord's Table And 't was to this their frequent Communions that we may in great measure attribute their exemplary Piety and fervent Charity and stedfastness in the Faith and ardor and zeal for Martyrdem And for this last Reason in order to arm them against that fiery Tryal St. Cyprian says they communicated every day in the African Churches and they did the same in St. Ierom's time in those of Spain and Rome and the same seems to have been the practice at Milan when St. Ambrose was Bishop there for he says That this Sacramental Food was daily received for a Remedy against daily Infirmities adding that there 's no Remedy more effectual for refreshing and comforting the Soul and restoring it to that Grace from whence it had faln than the frequent partaking of this Sacrament with purity and humility The Ethiopian Church does to this day celebrate the Communion every Sunday and that with the addition of those antient Feasts of Charity * Ludolphus his Hist. of Ethiop lib. 3 p. 298 299. which are now disus'd in other Churches which shews that the Gospel was planted amongst them very early and before those Feasts were abrogated § XVIII And indeed one would wonder how this Sacrament came to be so rarely received and what should be the Original of that inexcusable Neglect which we find at present in the Western Churches and particularly amongst our own People in relation to that Holy Ordinance Now upon an impartial Enquiry it will appear that this is chiefly owing to two Causes First the great decay of Piety and degeneracy of Christianity when the Love of many waxed cold and the great Apostacy broke in upon the Western Patriarchate But there seems to be a second Cause of it namely the monstrous Doctrine of Transubstantiation already mentioned and confuted which when the Romanists had once stumbled upon it seems they dared not trust the Laity with frequent Communions lest if they often saw the Bread and touched and tasted it they should be tempted as many of their Priests now are from the same Reason at last to believe their Senses and to think it really Bread and not that natural Flesh and Body of Christ which hung upon the Cross. To prevent which they took care to let the Laity receive but very rarely tho' the Priest himself does it every day at least if the Mass be the Communion tho' how he can communicate by himself is something difficult to a Protestant understanding but since 't is a flat Contradiction in Terms we must acknowledge 't is the more like Transubstantiation § XIX And for our own Nation 't is well if the same Enemy which has sown so many other Tares among us has not had a Hand in these also for it had been impossible to have form'd any Schism amongst us had we still practised frequent Communion However thus much we are sure of that the unwary Expressions of some who had the Guidance of Consciences in the last Age and their insisting only on the terrible danger of unworthy Receiving but seldom or never on that of resusing to receive at all or neglecting an Opportunity when offer'd was a great occasion of this Inconvenience which as it went so high in those days that in some places they had never received the Communion in five six or seven nay not in fourteen Years * Mr. Jeans and Dr. Casaubon in the Bp. of Derry's Admonit Lightfoot Vol. 2. p. 1127. so we are assured by Authors of good Credit that the use of the Sacraments was in divers Parishes at length hardly known or named And tho' this very ill Custom has been since amended by those who began it at least here in England yet the Leven of it remains so diffus'd thro' a great part of the Nation that it will not be easie to bring them to a better mind § XX. However we have both the Command and the Practice of the Church of England to engage us to frequent Communion Three times a year at the least it was brought to at the Reformation His present Majesty's Injunctions require the Clergy to administer the Holy Sacrament frequently and most of the Episcopal Charges and Articles do the same And the Rubrick that in Cathedral and Collegiate-Churches they shall ALL receive at least every Sunday And the Communion Service is still continued on Sundays and Holidays in all our Churches to put Persons in mind of their Duty and there 's no doubt but the Church would have the Communion actually celebrated where-ever there is a sufficient Number to receive * Vid. Rubrick after Communion Parag. 1 2 3 4. and there are now monthly Communions in many and 't is to be hoped most of the considerable Towns in England and in London in several Churches every Lord's Day And even
them all before God at his Holy Altar even after I have either frequently slighted the like Invitations or been present at thy Holy Table without due Preparation and Devotion or have soon forgotten those Promises which I there made and those Vows of God which have been upon me But O Lord as my utter unworthiness does more magnifie thy infinite Goodness so let the Sense of the one produce in my Mind more lively and lasting acknowledgements of the other For which help me to magnifie thee O God my King and to praise thy Name for ever and ever and grant that I may now approach thy Table with such devout Praises such true Gratitude such humble Love as may there be accepted of thee and being increased and confirmed by the renewed Pledges of thy Favours I may continue to shew forth thy Praise in the steddy Course of a fruitful thankful and obedient Life thro' Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen! A Collect for Charity O LORD who hast told us that all our doings without Charity are nothing worth pour into my Heart I beseech thee the most excellent Gift of Charity that I may love thee above all things and love my Neighbour as my self I am now approaching once more to that Feast of Love which my Saviour has provided for me O that my Heart may be entirely penetrated with his Love and that the endearing Thoughts of what he has done and suffered for me even while I was an Enemy may wholly subdue in me all Hatred and Wrath and Malice and Revenge and criminal Self-love and Peevishness and immoderate Anger and may render it as delightful to me as 't is necessary to forgive all that have offended me as I expect that God for Christ's sake should forgive me Give me a constant Disposition to love my Enemies to bless them that curse me do good to them that hate me and pray for them that despightfully use me and persecute me Here if you have any Enemies 't would be well in particular to name them and ask Pardon for them and then add Forgive O Lord my Trespasses as I desire from the bottom of my Heart to forgive all those that trespass against me and help me by a wise a gentle and a peaceable behaviour and by all good Offices towards them to heap Coals of Fire upon their Heads and melt them down into a better Temper Grant that I may more and more covet that best Gift of Charity and may feel it daily encrease in my Heart towards all my Christian Brethren Let my Love unto them be advanced in proportion to their Excellency in Piety and nearer Resemblance to God Especially unite me in the most fervent and tender Affection to all those with whom by thy Grace I shall partake of the Bread of Life at the approaching Communion Let us be all one Body and one Bread and grant that I may heartily seek the Welfare both of their Souls and Bodies Bless thy Holy Catholick Church especially that part of it planted in these Kingdoms Reform her Professors heal her Breaches disappoint and convert her Enemies Pity all that suffer for Righteousness sake Here add any particular Church that is persecuted as suppose in France Scotland c. Comfort the afflicted support the miserable help those that have no helper and in thy due time deliver thine Israel out of all their Trouble for Christ his sake Amen! § XVIII Having thus finished the Directions concerning such a stated Examination and Preparation as is necessary or highly convenient to those who have Opportunities for it in the Week before the Communion I should here add a Summary of them for the use of such as have not Time or Convenience for such a larger Preparation But think it more proper to remit that to the End of this Tract and shall add a word or two in the Conclusion of this Chapter concerning our Behaviour betwixt this forementioned Preparation and our actual approach to the Sacrament especially in the Morning of the Communion § XIX For the former as for the Time that passes between our Preparation and Reception he who desires to be a Worthy Communicant can hardly be too careful or too much upon his Guard lest he should build again the things he had destroyed and fall from his stedfastness He cannot therefore do better than to repeat his Examen not only every Evening which has been the Custom even of Heathens and every Evening and Morning as many serious Christians but even oftner in the day if there be Opportunity according to the practice of devout Persons of other Communions * Marquis de Renti Father Paul the Venetian c. for why should we not follow a good Example whoever it be that gives it And hereby we shall preserve that good Frame which 't is to be hoped we have already acquired by our solemn Preparation and if any criminal Thought Word or Action should escape us may immediately wash it off again by a speedy recollection and Repentance that our Wedding Garment may be clean and unspotted when we enter into the Marriage In order whereunto 't would be advisable to avoid mingling with worldly Business as much as possible however to shun such Conversation and Diversion as would be apt to efface or lessen those good Impressions which with so much Pains may have lately been fixed on our Minds § XIX In the Morning which immediately precedes the Communion shake off Sloth betimes remember who 't is that calls rise early to meet your Redeemer And with the Royal Psalmist Psal. 5. 3. in the morning direct your Prayer unto him and look up for his Grace and Assistance contrary to the very ill Custom of too many who make the Lord's Day as short as they can and indulge their Sloth and Idleness on the Day more than on any other But so will not the pious Christian especially when he designs and desires to be a Worthy Communicant but considers the great Advantages of being early at his Devotions before his Mind be filled or diverted by any other Object and that wonderful Spirit and Life which it adds to his Meditations and Prayers when his Mind is thus fresh and vigorous his Body refresht by rest and sleep and his Spirits recreated and révived when he sees and hears all the Creation round him praising God with whom he may joyn and make it his first happy Employment to sing his Praises either in the Lxiii Psalm O God my gracious God c. the five first Verses Or if he pleases in the Sacramental morning Hymn Awake my heart c. annexed among others to this Treatise Then after his Examen he may repeat the Devotions used at the Preparation or any other from the Whole Duty of Man or other pious Books or of his own Composing As for eating or not eating any thing the Morning before we receive 't is a thing in it self indifferent and therefore must be determined according to the
Church accordingly tells us That to the End we should always remember the exceeding great Love of our Master and only Saviour Jesus Christ in dying for us he has instituted and ordained Holy Mysteries as Pledges of it And the actual and lively Consideration hereof of Christ's wonderful Love towards us miserable Sinners so ungrateful so unworthy so often guilty of broken Faith and broken Vows who have loved the World and our own Lusts more than him who have grieved him who have wounded him who have crucified him by our Sins and who continue to do so for there is no Man that lives and sins not and all this to him who still loves us and still offers us Peace and Pardon and Grace and Heaven and even his own blessed Body and Blood in this heavenly Feast Shall not all this prevail with us to give him our worthless Love again for the rest of our Lives To give it him without exception and without reserve It must it will it cannot fail of having this happy effect if we carefully regard every part of this sacred Action and intently consider our Saviour's Death as represented therein especially while the Minister is consecrating the Elements the whole Prayer of Consecration being made up of a lively and thankful Recognition of our Saviour's sufferings and of his instituting the Sacrament in memory of them We are therefore in order to the exercising and encreasing of our Love to Christ diligently at that time to regard the Minister with our Eye and Christ with our Hearts When we see the Bread broken and the Wine poured out then to consider with all the Agonies of our Souls and with Hearts pierced and melted with the Love of Jesus what Agonies he himself endured for us both in his Body and Mind Then to look on him whom we have pierced and mourn for him and delight in him and hate those Sins which were the cause of this and which can only divide us from his Love and especially when we actually receive Then are our Souls to be intimately united to his Divine Person Then are we to embrace him as the chiefest of Ten Thousands and fairer than all the Children of Men to adore his infinite Perfections to be lost in the contemplation and admiration of them and to be wholly ravished with his Love § XIII Which will mightily assist us in the exercise of the other branch of Charity Love to our Neighbour for this cannot but be easie to us when our Minds are raised to this happy Temper The Love of Christ will subdue the Enmity of our Natures towards each other that Pride which is the cause of almost all Quarrels that bitterness of Spirit and Rancor and Malice and Revenge and Anger Those obscene Birds will all fly away before the Beams of the blessed Sun of Righteousness as did the Devils of old from their Oracles All our Hatred will be against our Sins all our Indignation our Resentments our Revenge for neither were those in vain implanted in our Minds will be turned quite another way O how happy would the World be did but the Body of Christians frequently and worthily receive the Communion I am confident nothing could sooner heal the wide Wounds of Christendom as I believe the neglect of it has been the great Original of them as well as of all our own Factions and Divisions All good Men must love one another if they often met at this Holy Table They could not they dared not there retain or nourish any pique against each other They would Love much both Christ and his Members because they so often considered that much was forgiven them And tho' this may seem a Digression yet the Truth and Consequences thereof appear so plain and so considerable that I knew not how to omit it But to return Charity is here to be actually exercised towards all Christ's Members especially towards those with whom we communicate We are to knit our Hearts most closely and intimately to them with the Bands of Holy Love Poor and Rich without exception only loving those most that love God most We are to pray for them all and not only in the Offertory but on other occasions to do them all the Good we can by faithful Counsel by tender and prudent Reproof and by all lawful and possible means promoting the welfare of their Souls and Bodies And lastly by devout Prayer to God for them as we are directed That all who are partakers of this Holy Communion may be filled with his Grace and heavenly Benediction But tho' our Charity is to begin there we are not to confine the Exercise thereof to those only who then actually communicate with us for we are also directed by the excellent Spirit of our Church shewing it self in those Holy Confessors and Martyrs who composed her Liturgy humbly to beseech God to grant by the Merits and Death of his Son Jesus Christ and thro' Faith in his Blood that not only we but also his whole Church may obtain Remission of our Sins and all other Benefits of his Passion Which may he grant who has so dearly purchased it for us to whom with the Father and Holy Ghost be all Glory Honour and Dominion now and to Eternal Ages Amen! If there be any time between the Consecration and actual Receiving the Communicant may make use of these following Devotions An Act of Penitence O Infinite offended Goodness who art a consuming Fire to the obstinate Sinner but infinite to pardon those who confess and forsake their Sins I desire earnestly to repent of all my Misdeeds I will acknowledge my Transgressions before thee and mine Iniquities will I not hide I have sinned I have sinned O Father against Heaven and before thee Against thy Mercies and thy Judgments the Thunder of thy Law and the still small Voice of thy Gospel Against the clearest Manifestations of thy wonderful Love in sending thy Son to shed his Blood as an attonement for the Sins of the whole World which precious Blood of his I have too often trampled under Foot and crucified the Son of God afresh by my repeated Iniquities Not all his bitter Agonies have been so far able to pierce my hard Heart as to make me entirely forsake my Sins which were the Cause of them Tho' he sweat Drops of Blood in the Garden tho' his Soul was exceedingly sorrowful even unto Death tho' he endured the Contradiction of Sinners tho' he was mocked and buffeted and spit on and crowned with Thorns and scourged and fainted under his Cross and was nailed unto it and raised in the Air a spectacle to Men and Angels tho' he there groaned under the weight of our Guilt and of our Sins imputed unto him tho' he thirsted tho' he fainted tho' he cried out as if thou thy self couldst have forsaken him tho' he bowed his Head and gave up the Ghost O! shall all this nothing move me shall my Heart be as hard as the nether Milstone
continue who are not constant Communicants Many of these indeed are likewise engaged in the Business of the Reformation and so on the other side but this is only accidental and these two are distinct Bodies of Men one from the other I cannot tell whether I can give you a better Character of those Persons who compose these Religious Societies and their Design and Employment in them than what Tertullian and other antient Writers have left us of the first Christians in the best and purest Ages of the Church I am sure I cannot speak more Truth of them in fewer words They often meet together say the Antients of those first Christians ad confoederandam Disciplinam and to pray and sing Hymns to Christ as God We assemble our selves says Tertullian to the Repetition of the Holy Scriptures we support our Faith by Religious Discourse we excite our Hope we fix our Confidence we encrease our Knowledge by the Exhortations of our Teachers we gather a Stock for the Poor according to every Man's ability which we expend not in riotous Feasting but in helping the Indigent and Orphans and the Aged and those who are persecuted for the Cause of God This is their Design and Employment in their Meetings and for the Methods whereby they regulate them they appear to be chosen with all Christian Prudence but they are too large to be here inserted and therefore I must again refer you to Mr. Woodward's Book for a full Account of them The main thing for which I am concerned is to give you my Reasons why I believe such Societies as these if further propagated would be so far from being any Injury to the Church as may be the Opinion of some Persons who either may not fully understand them or are prejudiced against them that I think I can make it appear they would be of great Advantage to it I know few good Men but lament that after the Destruction of Monasteries there were not some Societies founded in their stead but reformed from their Errors and reduced to the Primitive Standard None who has but lookt into our own Church History can be ignorant how highly instrumental such Bodies of Men as these were to the first planting and propagating Christianity amongst our Forefathers 'T is notorious that the first Monks wrought honestly for their Livings and only met together at the Hours of Prayer and necessary Refection as do most of those in the Eastern Countries to this day And those who read the Exemplary Piety of the old British Monks and what indefatigable Pains they took and what Hazards they ran in the Conversion of our Heathen Ancestors as well as how stoutly they withstood the early Encroachments of Rome cannot but entertain an extraordinary Opinion of them and will be apt to judge charitably of their great Austerities and Ascetic way of Living tho' perhaps we may be in the right when we think they were in some things mistaken However this is certain that a great part of the good Effects of that way of Life may be attained without many of the Inconveniencies of it by such Societies as we are now discoursing of which may be erected in the most populous Towns and Cities without depriving the Commonwealth of the Service and Support of so many useful Members It will be owned a desirable thing that we had among us some places wherein those who are religiously disposed might have the Liberty for a Time of a voluntary retirement that they might escape the World vacare Deo sibimet ipsis This was once practised with great Applause of all good Men by Mr. Farrar of which we have an account in Mr. Herbert's Life and a larger as I have heard in Bishop Hacket's Life of Bishop Williams and the same has been lately attempted by Mr. St But if this should not be practicable at least generally by Men of Trade and Business tho' of never so devout Inclinations I see nothing that could come nearer it than these Religious Societies The Design of that excellent Person Archbishop Cranmer to have founded so many Collegiate Churches out of the broken Monasteâ—ies to consist of some Laity as well as Clergy seems to have had something in it of the same Nature tho' in a higher degree with that of these Christian Societies now erected namely to make a stand for Religion and Virtue so many Redoubts against an encroaching World where any might receive Counsel and Advice who addressed themselves unto them but since we were not so happy to have this accomplished Why may not these Societies in some measure supply the want of them For if they were once erected in the most considerable Towns and populous Villages or where one was not large enough out of more neighbouring Villages united they might be able notably to assist the Rural Deans where there are any and in some measure supply their Want where there are none and would not this disarm that Objection against Diocesan Episcopaey which is brought from the extent of its Iurisdiction However if this be ultra crepidam it 's certain that this would hold of Parish Priests and they would as some have already done soon find extraordinary Advantages by it There are a great many Parishes in this Kingdom which consist of several Thousands some of some Myriads of Souls Now what one Man or two or three is sufficient for such a multitude What Strength to visit them What Memory unless very extraordinary to retain but their Names Those who have but one or two thousand will find their Cares heavy enough especially now they have neither the Catechists of the Antients to assist them nor those Clerks which are mentioned in the Rubrick and seem to have been designed for that End at the Reformation And may not we say of these great Numbers as the Disciples did to our Saviour when they saw the multitudes from whence shall we buy Bread that these may eat But would not these things be rendred much more easie to the careful Pastor when such considerable Bodies should act in Subordination to him and with Direction from him to promote those great Ends for which he has so solemnly dedicated himself to God They would be as so many Church-Wardens or Overseers or almost Deacons under him caring for the Sick and Poor giving him an account of the Spiritual Estate of themselves and others persuading Parents and Sureties to Catechise their Children and fitting them for Confirmation discoursing with those who have already left the Church to bring them back to it or who are tempted to leave it in order to preserve them in it the effect whereof we may guess by the contrary there being it 's likely Ten who are persuaded to leave the Church by their Neighbours to one who is immediately wrought upon by the Dissenting Teachers This assistance would in all probability conduce as much to the Health of the Minister's Body by easing him of many a weary step and fruitless