Christ Thirdly by a trope of the chiefe point of prayer which is thanksgiuing for the whole the Euangelist giueth to vnderstand that our Sauiour Christ sued to God his heauenly Father that his death in it selfe sufficient to saue might by the working of his holy spirit be effectuall to the elect And that those outward signes of Bread and Wine might through the operation of his holy spirit bee effectuall to the purposes they were ordained vnto How shall it be known that he gaue thanks and prayed for these things seeing there is no mention of these things in the Euangelists The very matter it selfe that is handled Mat. 14. 15. Iohn 6. doth guide vs to the knowledge of these things Secondly the like manner of speech in other places of Scripture where there being no mention what words he vsed yet must needs bee granted that he gaue thanks and praied proportionably to the prayer and thanks here vsed For taking the barlely loaues and fishes and giuing thanks what can be vnderstood but that he giuing thanks to God that had giuen those creatures for the bodily nourishment prayed that hee would blesse them and make them effectuall to that end And as it is not lawfull to eate and drinke the common meat and drink without such praier and thanksgiuing so is it not lawfull to communicate these Elements without thanksgiuing and prayer Hitherto of the thing wherein the minister is chiefe What doth he alone First hee taketh the bread and breaketh it likewise powreth out the wine and telleth what they represent What doth it signifie It setteth forth that Christ himselfe of his owne accord offered his body to be broken and blood to be shed and that as the bread nourisheth not if it remaine whole and vnbroken so there is no life for vs in Christ but in as much as he died Why doth hee call the cup the cup of the new Testament Because it is a seale of the promise of God touching our saluation in Christ which being in old time vnder the Law shadowed by the shedding of the blood of beasts is now after a new maner accomplished in the blood of Christ himselfe MAT. chap. 18. vers 15. to the 20. and 1 COR. 16.22 HHitherto wee haue heard of the person of Christ in it of his natures his Godhead and his manhood then of his offices priesthood and kingdome In his kingdome wee haue heard of the inward meanes as the spirit and amongst the outward meanes we haue heard of the word and Sacraments Now there commeth to speake of the militant Church VVhat is annexed to the militant Church Officers and Ministers whereby it hath beene and is taught and gouerned What is common to all these Officers That they bee lawfully called and that they execute faithfully euery one his office whereunto he is called How is the militant Church diuided Into the Church before the comming of Christ or after his comming What is the Church militant before the comming of Christ It is the militant Church which beleeued in Christ to come What is the militant Church after the comming of Christ It is the militant Church that beleeueth in Christ already come How is the militant Church after the comming of Christ diuided Into vniuersall or particular What is the vniuersall Church It is the societie of those that being scattered thorough all the corners of the world are by one faith in Christ conioyned to him What officers are annexed to this Church Officers that are extraordinarie and induring for a time What are the extraordinarie Officers Such as were first called and inabled of God for the conquest of the world to the Gospell and the obedience thereof and of whom there was no vse after the first building or planting of the Church no more then of the General of a field or of a Coronel when the conquest is made or of master builders after the platforme of a house is det downe How are these extraordinarie diuided They are either those that are called immediately of God as Apostles and Prophets or those that were called by meanes of men as Euangelists Who are Apostles Act. 1.21 Ioh. 15.27 Mat. 28.19 Act. 1.8 Act. 8.14 19.23 c. Act. 12. Such as were for the planting of the first Churches set apart immediately by Christ himselfe which hauing both seene and heard him had the charge of the whole world committed vnto them with power to distribute the graces of the spirit Haue the Apostles any successors To speake properly they had none to succeede them in the degree and dignitie of Apostleship and therefore when Iames was beheaded none was chosen into his place otherwise all Pastors and Ministers of the Gospell who are lawfully called to the dispensation of the Word Sacraments and Keyes are the true and vndoubted successors of the Apostles and haue the same commission in the ministration of the Gospell which they had though not in the same degree or dignitie VVhat is the property of the head To be highest and therfore there can be but one euen Christ VVhat is the office of the head To conueie the powers of it into all the members for as the naturall members take spirit and sense from the head so the church hath her spiritual life and feeling of Christ who is only able to quicken and giue life Whom by this title of the head of the Church Paul lifteth vp aboue all Angels Archangels principalities and powers And therefore if the Pope were the successor of Peter and Paul yet should he not be therefore the head of the Church which agreeth to no simple creature in heauen or vnder heauen But may not the pope be a ministeriall head It would make the Church a monster if it should haue moe heads at once then one or to bee at any time without a needfull head as it must needs be in the death of the pope Besides that when Christ is alwaies effectually present in his Church by his spirit what needs he to haue a vicar or deputie Joh. 14. What then shall we say to the words of Christ Thou art Peter and vpon this rock wil I build my Church whereby is inferred that Peter was ruler of the Apostles and consequently of the world and therefore the Popes as Peters successors should be rulers ouer all The rocke whereupon Christ will build his Church is not Peter but the effectuall and confessing faith of Peter as appeareth by the diuers words the Euangelist vseth from that whereby Peter is called And if it be vnderstood of Peter yet it must be esteemed Reuel 22. that to auoid confusion Peter gaue answere in the name of all vpon whom in respect of their ministerie the Church is as well builded as vpon Peter How may it be shewed that Peter answered for all Because all were asked otherwise our Sauiour Christ receiued no answere which to thinke is a charg of disobedience vpō the other Apostles vpon our
vnworthie receiuing cannot come vnto yet to fearefull plagues and iudgements in this world Whereby all not of age and sound iudgement are shut from this Sacrament which are not alwaies from the other of Baptisme How are we to behaue our selues in the action At the seeing of the bread and wine wee are to call to mind the body and blood of our Sauiour Christ at the bread broken before our eyes to represent his passion and sufferings and so in the wine being powred out to represent vnto vs his blood trickling and streaming downe from all parts of him to the ground What is further to be done in the action First in that the Minister giueth the bread wine to think that God giueth Christ and Christ himselfe to vs and as wee put our hand to take the bread and wine so by faith to applie Christ to our selues and by the eating and drinking of the bread and wine to remember our vniting to Christ and enioying of him Secondly according as it is commanded all must take the bread and wine into their hands contrary to the superstition of diuers which will either haue it thrust into their mouthes or else take it with their gloues as if the hand of a Christian which God hath both made and sanctified were not as fit as the skin of a beast which the Artificer hath tanned and sewed What further did they They ate and dranke the bread and wine not laying or hanging it vp or worshipping it as doe the Papists It seemeth they haue the words of Christ to lead them to the worship of them seeing he saith of the bread that it is his body and of the wine that it is his blood and there is nothing impossible vnto God The words of eating and drinking doe properly belong to the outward elements of bread and wine and by a borrowed speech do vnproperly belong to the body and blood of Christ considering that as the Sacrament of Baptisme doth seale vnto vs a spirituall regeneration so the Lords supper a spirituall feeding And euen as well the body and blood of Christ is in baptisme giuen vs for clothing as they are giuen in the Lords supper for nourishment And as for that which is alledged of the possibilitie of God to do all things we answer that the question is here not of the power but of the will of God what he will haue done Besides that God cannot do those things in doing whereof he should contradict himselfe 2. Tim. 2. Titus 2. And therefore the Scripture feareth not without dishonour to God to say that he cannot lie nor cannot denie himselfe What is noted by this borrowed speech The communion wee haue with our Sauiour Christ of whom we are as verily partakers by a liuely faith as of the bread and wine by eating and drinking them What reason was there to mooue our Sauiour Christ to vse this borrowed speech in this so great a mysterie Not onely the vse and custome of the old Testament before mentioned but for that the selfe same manner of speech is vsed in the new Testament of Baptisme called the new birth and washing of sins whereof it is onely a seale So that vnlesse the Lord would haue departed from that wisdome of the Spirit of God accustomablie receiued he must needs here also tread in the same steps of borrowed figuratiue speeches Howbeit it may seeme that to haue vsed a more proper speech would haue bin more meet for him being neere vnto his death and more conuenient for their vnderstanding He did after his last Supper vse as figuratiue speeches as this in the 14. and 16. of Iohn and that without the danger of darkenes of speech there being oftentimes more light in a borrowed then in a proper speech And they must needs yeeld a trope when he saith that the cup is the new Testament It maketh further for the reall presence that our Sauiour Christ saith in his Supper that his body was then broken and not that it should bee broken after That is also vsuall to the Scripture for further certaintie to speake of things to come as of them that are present Seeing we are entred vpon this matter what reason can you gather from this institution to ouerthrow the carnall presence of Christ in the Sacrament If the bread were Christ c. then there should be two Christs one that giueth another that is giuen for our Sauiour Christ gaue the bread c. Againe if the bread bee the very body of Christ then there is no signe of the thing signified and therefore no Sacrament Where their miserable shift that the whitenesse is the seale and signe is not worthie the answer What is to be done after the action To bee comforted in heart in the fauour of God towards vs from whence we should be readie with a feeling ioy to sing a Psalme vnto the Lord and to feele a further deading of the old man and strength of the new man to walke more strongly and steadilie in the waies of God all the daies of our life For it is a Sacrament not of our in corporation as Baptisme but of our growth which albeit one cannot alwaies discerne immediately after the action yet betweene that and the next communion it may be easily espied in our seruice towards God and men Hitherto of the things that are generall Now let vs consider of those which the minister doth They are either things that he doth 1. With the Communicants but yet as chiefe in the action 2. Alone What doth the minister with the Communicants as chiefe in the action He doth consecrate the Bread and Wine Wherefore did the Lord make choice of those creatures Psalm 104. Because meaning to set foorth our spirituall nourishing by them they are of al the means of our nourishment the chiefest Why did hee not content himselfe with one of these onely Hee tooke both that hee might hereby shew how plentiful and assured redemption we haue in Christ whom these doe represent Wherefore it is no maruell although the Papists in the robberie of the cup doe answerably teach our saluation to bee neither wholly in Christ nor assuredly What bread vsed our Sauiour Christ Ordinarie bread such as was vsed at the common table at that time it was indeed vnleauened bread but it was so because no other was then lawfull What did they to blesse and consecrate them That alone which the Euangelist set downe What was that First hee declared the doctrine of the mystery of the Sacrament vnto his Apostles which receiued it by teaching the truth of that which these outward things did signifie Secondly he thanked his heauenly Father for that he had so loued the world that he gaue him which was his onely Sonne to die for it through the breaking of his most holy bodie and shedding his most precious blood Also he gaue him thanks for that he had ordained these outward Elements to seale our spirituall nourishment in
make cleane the body so doth the accomplishment of the law by Christ make vs righteous VVhat pledge is there in Baptisme of our sanctification Rom. 6. 〈◊〉 3. 1. Cor. 10. Matth. 3. Mark 1. The water lying vpon the childs head declareth that the old Adam in the baptized is buried with our Sauiour Christ and as it were drowned with the old Pharao and the Egyptians as the water after shed from the body the body appeareth white and clean so doe we appeare in newnesse of life from whence it is called a Sacrament of repentance VVhat learne you thereby That although sinne rise and rebell in vs yet if we bee the children of God it shall bee killed by the death of our Sauiour Christ and although wee bee sluggish to good things yet shall wee bee quickened by him So much of the sacrament of Baptisme What is the preparation to it The dueties of it arise according to the persons VVhat are they First the baptized secondly the companie present The baptized what are they Either the children of the faithfull or conuerted to the truth What belongeth to the children of the faithfull In the action nothing but sufferance after the action when they come to age they must know the benefits and fauour of God receiued in their baptisme VVhat are the conuerted to the truth to performe before the action Acts. ◠First to examine themselues whether they be in Christ and Christ in them VVhat in and after the action In the action to haue regard to the graces offered after it to comfort themselues daily in the grace that God hath offered them VVhat are the companie present The parent or the rest of the Church VVhat is the parent to performe First to consider that God hath not receiued him onely but his child and therefore to reioyce in the loue and fauour of God and then to confirme himselfe that as God hath quickened him after his baptisme so will he his child Secondly to present the child Thirdly to giue or to take order for the giuing of some such godly name as may put the child in remembrance of some good duetie Fourthly after Baptism when the child is capable to catechise his child and to bring it vp in the feare and information of the Lord. What are the duties of the rest of the Church First to reioyce and to be glad at the increase of Gods Church Secondly to giue attendance to the doctrine and to pray that the child may bee quickened Thirdly when it commeth to age to do such duties as one member oweth to another So much for Baptisme What is the Lords Supper It is the second Sacrament of the Gospell wherby is sealed vnto vs our continuance with increase in the body of Christ which is his Church Are there diuers graces offered vnto vs in Baptisme and the Lords Supper No but the same graces to diuers ends in Baptisme to the inuesting and entring of vs into Christianitie in the Lords supper to the nourishing and continuing of vs in it And therefore as vnto the Sacrament of Baptisme so vnto this of the Lords Supper the Popish fained Sacrament of confirmation is notablie iniurious What things are to be considered in this Sacrament First the time and then the things that are to bee done The time of the administration of this Sacrament seemeth not to agree with that which hath beene generally taught of the Sacraments for this was by our Sauiour Christ not ministred on the Lords day and it was also ministred at night Although our Sauiour Christ did so yet hee did not bid vs so to doe but the Apostles example and religious practise herein is to be followed which did celebrate the supper of the Lord vpon the Lords day But yet it seemeth that both the example of Christ and of his Apostles doth tie vs to the time of the night Nothing lesse for our Sauiour did minister it after supper for that it was to come in liew and stead of the Passeouer and therefore was presently after the eating of it Secondly that it might goe immediately before his passion the better to shew whereunto it should haue relation Where also is another difference our Sauiour Christs supper representing his death which followed the supper and was to come our Sacrament representing the death of Christ already suffered and past What cause had the Apostles to minister it after supper which we haue not The Apostles did it in the night because it was not safe for the Church to meet in the day for feare of persecution wherefore herein the laudable custome of the Church of administring it in the morning when our wits and capacities are best is to bee followed In which respect also there is some difference betweene this Sacrament and the Sacrament of Baptisme which may without any inconuenience be administred in the after noone Is there nothing to bee learned in that our Sauiour Christ and his Apostles administred it after supper Yes verily for thereby wee learne that wee must not come for our bellies but haue our minds lifted vp from these earthly elements to our Sauiour Christ represented by them for men after supper set not bread and wine but banquetting dishes vpon the table What vse is there of this First to reproue such profane persons as come for a draught of wine alone Secondly those that rest onely on the outward elements So much of the time now to the things to be done in the Lords Supper and how shall wee consider them First what is generally to be done of all both Minister and Communicants Secondly what is to be done of the Minister What is generally to be done There must be a careful preparation before the action great heed in the action and a ioyful thankfull close and shutting vp of it In the two former whereof there is great difference betweene our Sauiour Christ and all other Ministers who hauing no battell of the spirit with the flesh in him but being alwaies prepared vnto euery good worke had no need of them the Ministers hauing as much neede as the people How are we to prepare our selues to this Sacrament We are before wee come vnto it to examine our wisedome and knowledge in this Sacrament whether wee can giue a reason of the representation of Christ in the bread and wine and bring the resemblance and difference of the proportion of the bread and wine with the body and blood of Christ and of the eating and drinking of the elements with the partaking of the spirituall things What further examination is to bee vsed before wee come All that come to this holy Sacrament must examine themselues of their faith and repentance for their particular sins to bewaile them and to iudge themselues for them lest in comming otherwise they procure the wrath of God against them and those that belong vnto them although not in condemnation in the world to come which the faithfull notwithstanding their