which he would have them examine themselves was about their Capacity of discerning the Lords Body in doing it For he tells them that if they did not discern the Lords Body in eating that Bread c. they would eat and drink unworthily and likewise Judgment to themselves For our better understanding the scope and meaning of St. Paul in this his Discourse touching unworthy Communicating at the Lords Table we will enquire alittle what he means by eating and drinking unworthily what by not discerning the Lords Body and what by being guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord. 1. The unworthy eating of that Bread and drinking that Cup of the Lord of which the Apostle speaks signifies the receiving those Sacred Symbols of Christs Body and Blood with a frame of Mind incongruous and unsuitable to the nature of that Feast and to a participation of it Or it is a receiving those Consecrated Elements with such an unsuitable Mind as makes Men uncapable of receiving that benefit which our Lord designed to be received by the use of that Ordinance 2. Not to discern the Lords Body in eating that Bread and drinking that Cup is not to understand the Nature of that Ordinance nor our Lords design in it nor to be sutably affected with the Spiritual Nature and meaning of it First it is not to understand the Nature and End of that Ordinance As when Men do not understand that the breaking the Lords Body upon the Cross and the shedding of his Blood as an Expiatory Sacrifice for the sin of the World is signified represented and commemorated by the breaking of Bread and pouring out of Wine in that Sacrament And when they do not understand or discern that this Ordinance was appointed by our Blessed Saviour for a perpetual Commemoration of his transcendent Love in dying for us Now if no more than this should be meant by not discerning the Lords Body Men of common Illumination in the things of the Gospel and by a common Faith concerning them may undoubtedly escape being guilty of this unworthiness in eating that Bread and drinking that Cup. For it will not be denyed but that many unregenerate Men may in this sense discern the Lords Body more clearly and more distinctly than many of the Regenerate themselves can And if Secondly by not discerning the Lords Body should be also meant as I suppose it is the unsutableness of Mens Affection to the Spiritual Nature of the things represented by eating that Bread and drinking that Cup yet Men by common Grace may in some measure discern the Lords Body by having some degree of Affection sutable to the Spiritual Nature and Design of that Ordinance In the sense now under consideration Men do not discern the Lords Body in receiving this Sacrament when they are no more Affected with Love and Gratitude to our Blessed Saviour for his great Love in dying for us than as if there had never been any such thing suffered by him and for such an end as the Redemption of the World But now Men who have but Initial Faith and common Grace may eat that Bread and drink that Cup of the Lord with a much more sutable frame of Mind and Affection than this comes to For they may at such a time and upon such an Occasion have some sense of Christs Love upon their Minds in dying for them and some hope of being saved by his Death and for that reason they may have some degree of Love and Affection to him stirring in them even such as may draw some grateful acknowledgment of his Love from them and some present purposes of Living more to him such as may cause them to sin less until that sense is worn off When our Saviour saith He that loveth Father or Mother more than me is not worthy of me Mat. 10.37 He supposeth some may Love him to a degree who yet love somewhat else more and thereby make themselves unworthy of the Salvation which is by him Now such a sense of Christs Love as this which Men but of common Grace may have at their coming to the Sacrament has a very fair tendency in it towards such a sense and such Love which is saving indeed and is in a very near Capacity of being so improved as to become such and doubtless is so in many a one For which cause such should be encouraged to frequent this Sacrament as often as they have Opportunity with the best Preparation they can make 3. To be guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord as all they are who eat that Bread and drink that Cup unworthily ver 27. can signifie no less and it may be no more than a being guilty of a Profaning of his Body and Blood by using and receiving the Sacred Symbols and Signs thereof with a frame of Mind altogether unsutable to what is signified and represented thereby And this Men are guilty of when they are no otherwise affected at the Commemoration of the Death of Christ in the Sacrament than as if his Death had been the Death but of a common Man nor are no more Affected with the things represented by that Sacrament in the eating that Bread and drinking that Cup than as if they were but at a common Meal They are thus guilty when they are stupid sottish and irreverent at that Action and void of an affecting sense of the wonderful Love of our Saviour in laying down his Life for us even then when they make use of that Ordinance which was purposely instituted to perpetuate and preserve a lively sense of it in Christians to the end of the World This Profaning the Body and Blood of the Lord thus is as we may easily perceive a sin of the same Nature with that of not discerning the Lords Body in eating that Bread and drinking that Cup and is resolved into it as all unworthy receiving that Sacrament is as it should seem by St. Paul's words when he assigns the not discerning the Lords Body as the reason why Men at any time eat that Bread and drink that Cup unworthily in the 29. ver But now Men by common Illumination and Faith are very capable of discerning a great difference between the Person and Death of Christ and the Reason and End of his Death and the Person and Death of other Men and between the reason of eating and drinking at the Lords Table and their eating and drinking at other Tables and of being otherwise Affected with these things than with common things Considering then that the unworthy eating of that Bread and drinking that Cup of which the Apostle speaks consists in such an unsutable frame of Mind in doing so as by reason of which Men do not discern the Lords Body but Profane it and the facred Signs and Symbols of it And considering likewise that the Apostle makes the danger of thus eating that Bread and drinking that Cup unworthily the reason of his Exhorting them to examine themselves before they
it for which cause they say we should not use it in receiving the Sacrament least we seem to sympolize with them therein In Answer to this several things are to be considered As 1. That tho' the Church of Rome doth strictly enjoyn kneeling at the Elevation of the Host yet in the Act of Receiving it is not required by any Cannon or Constitution of theirs Dr. John Burges of great Note in his time in his Treatise touching the Lawfulness of receiving the Sacrament kneeling or in his Defence of the three Innocent Ceremonies Chap. 21. pag. 67. and pag. 479. of his Rejoynder as he is recited for I have not his Book hath these words With us the Bishops or Ministers Communicate kneeling as well as the People But with the Papists the Pope when himself performeth the Office receiveth sitting as being a Type of Christ the Mass Priests receive standing by the Canon of the Mass For confirmation of all which he cites several Authors He denies not but that the People receive kneeling and says that the Priest did so too untill the Doctrine of Transubstantiation begot the Canon for his standing But he denies that kneeling in the very time of receiving was ever in the Church of Rome any Rite of or for Adoration of the Sacrament it self and says never any Pope enjon'd it nor is there any direction in the Mass for it The Reverend Dr. Stilliigfleet hath asserted much to the same effect in his Unreasonableness of Separation Pag. 15. 2. How or after what manner soever kneeling has been abused by the Papists to bad purposes yet the abuse of a thing otherwise lawful in it self does not make the Vse of it unlawful when separated from that abuse Kneeling is abused by the Papists in their Prayers to the Virgin Mary and other Saints but this does not make the Vse of kneeling unlawful in our Prayers to Almighty God 3. Our receiving the Sacrament kneeling in complyance with Publick Order and Authority can be no appearance or cause of Suspicion of Bread-Worship because the same Authority which requires our kneeling therein has declared in the Rubrick at the end of the Office of Communion That no Adoration is thereby intended or ought to de done to the Bread and Wine or to any Corporal Presence of Christs Natural Flesh and Blood but is intended and meant for a signification and grateful Acknowledgement of the benesits of Christ therein given By this we see all appearance and suspicion of requiring kneeling in order to any Bread-Worship is quite taken away 4. Standing is a Gesture of Adoration as well as kneeling Mark xi 25. and yet the Dissenters do not think it Vnlawful for that reason to receive the Sacrament standing And if its being a Gesture of Adoration be no just exception against the Vse of it in receiving the Sacrament then the Adoration supposed or implyed in the Gesture of kneeling can be no just exception against the Vse of that Gesture neither in the performance of the same Duty 5. Kneeling its being a Gesture of Adoration is so far from making the Vse of it unlawful in receiving the Sacrament as that it is the great reason why it is not unlawful but fit and convenient For no good Christian will deny but that it highly becomes us inwardly to Adore our Blessed Saviour in the Act of receiving the Bread and Wine for his wonderful love in dying for us and for giving his Flesh for the Life of the world and if so then it cannot be incongruous or unfit to express and signifie this internal Act of Adoration by another that is external for we are to Worship and Glorifie him both in our Bodies and our Spirits And now me thinks no man atho understands and considers these things should be able to think it Vnlawful to kneel in receiving the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of our Blessed Saviour THE CONTENTS OR THE Heads of Enquiry Query I. WHat is the true Notion of the Vniversal Church as visible Pag. 3 Query II. What is it which prepares or qualifies persons for that relation to God in Christ which makes them visible members of his Church 6. Query III. What may that be by which People are made visible Church-members 9 Query IV. How and when is the Covenant between God and men entred into by which people are externally united to Christ and visibly made members of his Church 13 Query V. How can Infants become visible Church-members by Covenanting with God since they seem naturally uncapable of doing such a thing 19 Query VI. Whether in the baptising of Children that method of proceeding be not most proper by which the Children are most directly made to enter into Covenant with God by their Parents 38 Query VII For what reason is Church-membership said to be invisible as well as visible in some and yet but only as visible in others and from whence doth this difference arise 41 Query VIII Whether men are no otherwise members of the Church as visible then as they are reputed members of the Church as invisible 53 Query IX Whether God hath granted any right to Church-priviledges to those who are only of the Church as visible but not as invisible 123 Query X. Why and for what reason may it be conceived does Almighty God own and and allow others to be of the Church as visible than only such as are of the Church as invisible 173 Query XI What is it that makes the difference between the Vniversal Church as visible and particular Churches And what makes the difference between one particular Church and another 207 Query XII Whether from the reason of the Extent and Latitude of visible Church-membership and Communion which has been discoursed of the great usefulness of a National Settlement or Constitution for the publick Emercise of the Worship of God in all parts of a Nation professing Christianity may not fairly be infer'd and concluded 225 Query XIII Wherein may Catholick-Church Communion consist And how and by what means is it best preserv'd 265 Query XIV What is the nature of Schism 300 Query XV. Supposing things touching visible Church-membership and Communion to be as they have been represented in our former Enquiries Yet how do they tend to lessen our Church-divisions 349 ERRATA THe Running Titles of the Book mistaken Pag. 22. l. 23. dele since p. 31. l. 1. after all add these p. 39. l. 27. for properly r. property p. 48. l. 5. f. whom r. when l. 25. dele also p. 54. l. 15. f. mans r. mens p. 57. l. 16. f. man r. men p. 61. l. 12. f. taken r. broken p. 62. l. 2. f. in r. on p. 118. l. 8. f. qualifies r. qaalified p. 195. l. 2. f. bein r. being p. 335. l. 19. f. Rule r. Cure CATHOLICISM OR Several Enquiries touching the Nature and Extent of Visible Church-Membership and Communion c. NOTIONS narrower than those which will hold Scripture-measure concerning the Church and what it
Pray while unregenerate as not come to the Sacrament while they are so For they are required to do both the one and the other in a right manner as well as to do them at all But yet no judicious Man will say that all unregenerate Men ought to restrain Prayer before God or to be restrained from it For it is possible and to be hoped that their Praying may have that good effect upon them as to make them better And the same may be said of such mens coming to the Sacrament 3. Though the Scripture directs that by Church-Censure Men should be debarr'd from the Sacrament for open Acts of Scandal yet I know not where it directs to keep them from it for want of saving Grace so long as not guilty of such Scandal 2. Obj. It is again Objected that this Ordinance is appointed for the Confirmation of the Converted but not for the Conversion of the unconverted Answer I grant indeed that this Sacrament is not appointed for mens first Conversion to Christianity or for unbaptized Persons But yet it may be very useful together with other means to carry on the work of Conversion from common Grace to special And yet such is the Conversion generally which is wrought in such as are Educated in the Christian Religion The use of this Sacrament in conjunction with Christian Doctrine may very well contribute its share in carrying on this progressive change in Men by improving common Grace into special The Preaching of the Cross is to us who are saved the Power of God to Salvation saith St. Paul 1 Cor. 1.18 And Christ as Crucified is by the Lords Supper Preached to the seeing of the Eye as well as by Word and Doctrine he is Preached to the hearing of the Ear And the Eye affecteth the Heart as the Prophet speaks as well as the Ear And therefore the one may help on the work of Conversion from common Grace to special as well as the other And in all likelyhood it often does so as we have reason to think when we see Men who as may be seared have no more than common Grace upon occasion of their going to the Sacrament to become more serious both before and after than usually they are at other times And if such would but frequent it often it might well be hoped that it would work a great alteration in them by making them often more serious and considerate about the things of their Souls And indeed what is more likely to beget a love to our Blessed Saviour than such a lively representation of his wonderful love in dying for us as is made in the Celebration of that Sacrament 3. Obj. The giving this Sacrament to such as by a saving Faith are not in Covenant with God is but like setting a Seal unto a blank To which it is answered First That this Sacrament is not a Seal of Mans Faith but of Gods Covenant and the Seal that is set to that is not set to a Blank The Lords Supper is not a Seal to assure such as receive it that they have Faith but to assure them of Gods Faithfulness in his Covenant and to work in them a confidence in that Circumcision which was a Seal of the Covenant was not set to a blank when applyed to Children before they had Faith Secondly though this Sacrament be indeed a Seal of Gods Covenant directly yet it must be acknowledged that the end and design of its being so is to help Mens Faith in Gods Faithfulness and Goodness in reference to what he has promised in his Covenant But then though this be so yet the giving this Sacrament to such who have but common Faith cannot be said to be like setting a Seal to a blank because a common Faith such as unregenerate Men may have is more than no Faith at all and yet it is the having no Faith at all which can only answer to the setting a Seal to a blank in this case For a common Faith may be improved until it become special as I have shewed and upon that account this Sacrament being a Sacrament for Mens improvement in Faith and Love may as well belong to them who have but common Faith as to those whose Faith is special and saving And indeed what is more likely to make a Faith which is but dull and unactive as a common Faith is to become lively and vigorous than that which with great Advantage is to this end represented to the Mind in this Sacrament as I said before Thirdly I might add that the Covenant made in Baptism is Recognized and renewed in the use of the Lords Supper and this doubtless may be done by such as have but common Faith as well as by those who have that which is special and saving 4. Obj. The saying of St. Paul in 1 Cor. 11.28 Let a man examine himself and so let him eat of that Bread and drink of that Cup is alledged against mens being admitted or presuming to come to the Lords Supper who have not saving Grace though otherwise free from Scandalous Offences They suppose Saving Grace Repentance Faith and Love to be the Matter about which the Apostle would have Men to examine themselves as necessary to qualifie them for Lawful Communion in that Sacrament Now that for Men to examine themselves whether they have saving Grace or no is very necessary for their Preparation for coming to the Sacrament is granted because thereby they will the better come to know the state of their own Souls and what it is that hinders their assurance of having such Grace and the necessity of removing it and their need of such a Saviour as he is whose Love they are to commemorate in that Sacrament And God forbid that I should in the least encourage any to neglect the best Preparation they can make for so concerning a business as the approaching to the Table of the Lord is And except by examination they can find in themselves some knowledge and belief that Christ Jesus is the Saviour of Sinners by dying for them and of the Nature and End of this Sacrament in general I do not understand how they should receive any benefit by coming to it But to conclude from this saying of the Apostle that Men are to forbear coming to the Table of the Lord until by self-examination they can satisfie themselves that they have saving Grace I think to be more than ever the Apostle intended in those words For such satisfaction and assurance is hardly attainable while Christians are but weak and unexperienced though known to God to be sincere And for this cause it seems to be more than is fit to be imposed upon Men as a condition of their coming to the Lords Supper But by the reason which St. Paul gives in verse 29. why he would have Men to examine themselves before they eat of that Bread and drink of that Cup it appears that the thing in special and in particular concerning