yet there is not sufficient Evidence against such to bar them from the Lord's Table much less to exclude them after once they are Admitted to such a Priviledge A seemingly serious Profession if not contradicted by a contrary Profession of Words or Actions is the Evidence of Men's Interest in Church-Priviledges * See Mr. Baxter's third Disput Of Right to Sacraments 410. in Foro Ecclesiae Charity believeth all things and hopeth all things 2. You ought first in Charity to reprove the guilty Persons as you have opportunity and to acqâ—aint the Pastors of the Churches that they may deal faithfully with them in order to their Repentance and Several by such means may be brought to give you Satisfaction concerning their true Repentance and Amendment But there are many who are so far from this that on the contrary they solicit and tempt men to Sin if they know they come to the Lords Table that they may find occasion to reproach Reâ—igion and others applaud and consent with such as do this that they may shame Religion by the Irregularities and Excesses of some that profess it Such have a dreadful Account to give to God And so have they who come to the Lords Table and yet by their Drunkenness or Unfaithfulness their Worldlyness or Unrighteousness or any disorderly walking do give occasion to such an Objection and open the mouths of Enemies to reflect Dishonour and Reproach upon the Profession of Religion in General and upon that particular Church or Congregatiâ—n unto which they are joined Such have a double Guilt to answer for and woe be to them if they do not Repent Such as these we often warn not to come to the Lord's Table till they give some good Testimony of their Repentance and so far as they are known they ought to be refus'd 3. If you know of a purer Communion where there are none but Saints at least such as you are strongly confident to be so rather go and joyn with them and communicate there but do not live in the neglect and omission of this Duty For I am not pleading for any particular Church or Society of Christians but only speaking of the Duty in general of all sincere Christians to joyn somewhere for the Participation of this Ordinance If you are scrupulous as to the Company admitted in some Christian Assemblies and know of Others which you think are purer where you believe you can statedly communicate more to your Edification do it without Delay You are allowed by God and at present by the Laws of the Land too to chuse your own Pastor 4. However you ought to consider That it is impossible but some Hypocrites and false Professors will be Admitted to the Lord's Table Not only as Pride and Covetousness and Envy and some such Sins are hard to be defined so as to convince a particular Person that in a prevailing Degree he is guilty of these Not only as it is hard to determine what particular Acts now and then of grosser Sins are consistent with true Grace But because the Tares and Wheat are mixt together in the visible Church and All are not Israel that are of Israel If we will Communicate with none but Saints there is no Church on Earth we can joyn with without Fear and Doubting So that if the Errours and Faults of the Pastors or of the People with whom we joyn in the Worship of God do defile us and make us guilty or if our Communion with them upon that account be a Sin we should joyn no where at all 'T is true If the Doctrine Ordinances and Worship of any Church be so corrupted as that the Substance of the Worship is unlawful Separation is a Duty For when any Thing sinful is required of us as necessary to our Communion in such Cases Separation is a Christians Duty * See Mr. Vines On the Lord's Supper Chap. 20. But to keep from the Ordinance because some come unworthily to it hath no Order or Command of Christ to warrant it Though he had many Things against the Seven Asian Churches Rev. 2.3 yet he did not call them to separate but there are Promises to them if they keep themselves pure 5. If it be unavoidable to Communicate with some such as are not sincere Christians then to do so is not unlawful Every one is to Examine himself so says the Apostle to these Corinthians among whom there were so many unworthy Communicants and if they Eat and drink unworthily they did Eat and drink Judgment to Themselves Though the Apostle speaks of the Prophanation of that Ordinance by Some he does not bid Others Withdraw and Separate upon that Account Christ hath commanded thee to Examine thy self and so eat but it is not necessary thou shouldst Examine and know the fitness of all Others How would you know when to Communicate if we may not do it till Others be prepared as well as we Great Strictness and Severity should be used in Judging of our selves and our own Case but we must use Great charity and tenderness as to the case of Others and not conclude them Hypocrites when we cannot tell but they truly Repent But if they do not their Presence cannot pollute me if I endeavour to discharge my Duty by personal private Reproof and then if that be unsuccessful with Others and afterwards by acquainting the Pastors of the Church c. If I have Right to come to the Lord's Table shall the coming of Another that has none bar my Right Shall I sin in keeping from the Ordinance because another sins in coming to it Or because the Church or the Pastor sins in not Excluâ—ing of him The power of the Keys is not in my hand I have no Authority to cast out such a Member And though that particular Pastor or Church should be faulty in not doing of it it is not yet a sufficient ground oâ— my Separation Rev. 2.14.15.20 It I have a Wedding Garment I will come to the Marriage Feast though there should be Others there that have none Should not I offer my Gift at the Altar because my Neighbour comes there with me who should first go and be reconciled to his brother I may relish and digest my Food though there is one who sits by me who hath a weak Stomach and a bad Digestion If I am duly prepared it will not hurt me that Another is not Whilst I partake not of other Mens Sins surely I may joyn with them in the Performance of necessary Duties I say not That the Wicked and the Vnregenerate ought to come you often hear me declare the contrary such are forbidden to come But if they will come under a false profession and shew of Religion after having been forewarned of their Danger and been faithfully told their Duty It is at their own Peril and they eat and drink Judgment to themselves and to no body else For neither a Minister of Christ nor a private Christian can deny
Sacramental Discourses ON SEVERAL TEXTS BEFORE and AFTER THE Lord's Supper By JOHN SHOWER LONDON Printed for Abr. Chandler Sam. Clements and Sam. Wade at the Chirurgeons-Arms in Aldersgate-Street the Swan in St. Pauls Church-yard and Bible under the Piaza of the Royal-Exchange in Cornhill MDCXCIII Mr John Shower THE PREFACE THERE are Three Things especially requisite unto a Worthy Communicant to believe and own the Truths which our B. Lord would preserve the Memory of by this Institution and to have a lively sense of the Comforts and Encouragements that may arise from thence and then to perform those Duties of Love and Gratitude and faithful Obedience which result from our Covenant Relation to him and the open Profession of it The Doctrines and the Encouragements and the Duties of Christianity are admirably connected and joyn'd together The Principal of all these we are called to consider in this Sacred Ordinance Which yet is shamefully neglected by many who would take it very ill not to be thought good Christians who live from year to year in the Omission of it who make no Conscience of Remembring the Death of Christ in this manner As if they had no Saviour who dyed for 'em or he had not Appointed this way of Remembring his dying Love Or as if the Command Do this in Remembrance of me because spoken to the Apostles did only concern them and the Ministers of the Christian Church Whereas tho' our Lord sate down with the Twelve the Command is given to them as Disciples and Representatives of all his Church rather than as Apostles Or if the latter He gave it to them to d spense it afterwards unto Others not excluding their own Communicating for they who deliver the Elements as Ministers do partake of 'em as Disciples and Christians and Brethren What I have received of the Lord that also I deliver unto you saith the Apostle and if Ministers are bound to Deliver it the People are bound to Receive If our Saviour's words Do this in Remembrance of me relate to Ministers as such it is a Command for them to Administer the Lord's Supper and the same Command must be supposed to bind the People to Receive it that doth oblige Ministers to Deliver it There be some who omit it from Superstitious unbecoming Fears and Scruples as if our Lord were more to be Honoured by our absenting from his Table than by frequenting of it Many on the other hand are guilty of Presumption and Rashness by careless unprepared Approaching to it Several Cases are here spoken to which relate to both sorts though many more should be added As to the manner of performing this Duty we cannot come too humbly in a sense of our Ignorance and Weakness and Sinfulness owning that we are nothing and have nothing and can do nothing without his Grace that may be pleasing to him and that we have done very much to dishonour and provoke him especially by our late Transgressions that we deserve to be cast out of his sight and denied the Priviledges of his House and Family never to taste of the Childrens Bread But having renewed our Repentance before we come we are called to express our Love Gratitude and Joy When we view a Dying Saviour a Crucified Jesus before our eyes lifted up upon the Cross drawing all Men to him bowing down his Head and stretching out his Arms to embrace us as he appears all bloody to fright us from our sins so he opens his side that we may see his Heart flaming with Love He calls us to behold his wounded body with Hearts wounded with a Penitent Sense of Sin and a growing Love to the Redeemer He calls us to seal a Covenant of Fidelity to him and to accept the Purchased Benefits of a Gracious Covenant sealed back from him to us Here we behold the Lamb of God a Sacrifice for those sins we have so lately Repented of removing that Wrath which we so lately trembled at as having justly deserved and therefore we should Approach this Table with Gladness and Rejoycing Here we are called to give publick Expressions of the Love and Honour we bear to the Remembrance of Christ We do it in Thankfulness to him for all he hath done and suffered for us Here we profess our Faith and Hope and Trust in a Crucified Saviour We own him for our Lord and our Jesus we declare we are not ashamed of his Cross or of any Difficulties Trials or Sufferings we may be exposed to for his sake He needed not have cared whether we were Saved or no And yet how low hath he condescended to purchase our Happiness and Salvation and to Assure us of it What manner of love is this that the Eternal Son of God Incarnate should endure a Painful Ignominious cursed Death for us that we might not dye Eternally How wonderful and incomprehensible is this love How pleasant should be the contemplation of it Here is an Abyss of Love of Adorable Allmighty Love on this side Heaven but leading to it which we cannot fathom but are called to admire A Crucified Jesus represented and commemorated as a Sacrifice for us What more Glorious Sight can we desire to see How should this awaken all our Affections and in some respect puzzle not only our Passions but our Faith too As an Object too large for our narrow Thoughts too high for our Finite Minds too Great for our Wonder and for our little Love and Joy How delightful is it to be thus even lost in the consideration of this matchless condescension and Grace of our Redeemer When the Object is too big for our highest Raptures and Transports and we are swallowed up in silence and astonishment How should this Love constrain and draw forth ours When we consider for what vile and sinful creatures the Son of God gave his life and made his Soul an Offering How his Love to us Enemies and Rebels was stronger than fear or shame or death without bounds and without example When we Feast on this Sacrifice what can we do less in requital for this Infinite love than devote our selves Souls and Bodies to him as the Purchase of his Death And lay all our Affairs and dearest concernments at his Feet to be disposed of as he pleaseth How can it be but our love to him must be kindled maintained and encreased by such an Institution Remembring and considering his love to us till we are brought practically to conclude and determine that our love to him is too little if we love any thing besides him except it be by his order for his sake and to his Glory except it be according to the prescribed Rules and limits he hath set us And how proper is it here to Renew our Baptismal Covenant faithfully to promise to be entirely the Lord's to be obedient and resigned to him to be Treacherous to him no more but stedfast and resolved in his Service taking his Law as our Rule his will to be
are so only by Baptism and a visible profession others by a living union Such a difference our Saviour makes John 15. v. 6. where he tells us there are some Branches of a Tree that have only Influence enough to bring forth Leaves and no Fruit and are cast off as Branches 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 They seemed to be Branches in Christ they appeared as Branches they profest union to him but were not what they seemed to be In this sense I understand the being in Christ spoken of Gal. 1.22 I was known by face to the Churches that are in Judea that are in Christ Jesus That is to the Body of professing Christians there as distinguished from the Jews though there were many rotten Members amongst them that were not in Christ by a lively Faith Therefore 3. The great Bonds of Vnion between Christ and real Christians or true Believers are the Spirit on his part and Faith and Love on ours On which account Christ is said to dwell in us by his Spirit and we are said to dwell in him by Faith By the Spirit he comes down to us by Faith we ascend up to him It is by Faith we are joyned to Christ as our Foundation 1 Pet. 2.6 And by the Spirit we are built together for an habitation of God Ephes 2 v. 22. And he that is joyned to the Lord is one Spirit with him 1 Cor. 6.17 Our Union unto Christ immediately ariseth from the Communication of his Spirit to us and our Participation of the same Spirit with him by which Spirit the Divine Nature as the Image of Christ is formed in us 2 Pet. 1.4 Gal. 4.19 And the Introduction this new spiritual form gives denomination to the Person Christ enters into us by Faith and inhabits in us by his holy Spirit And of these two Bonds the Spirit is the primary one as being the Author of the other And therefore Believers are said to live in the Spirit of Christ and to walk in the Spirit and after the Spirit and to be led by the Spirit Hereby says the Apostle We know that we dwel in him and he in us because he has give us of his Spirit 1 John 4.13 2 Corinth 13 14. I confess it is hard to conceive any Vnion nearer than that between God and every creature For God as Creator is as near to every Creature as that Creature is to it self and yet distinct from that Creature for that Creature is not God But the different sort of Vnion must be distinguished by different Operations God is nearer to Creatures in their Natural State worketh on them as the God of Nature Christ is nearer to the Souls of Believers by his Spirit worketh on them as an Head of holy gracious Influences The different Operations make the great difference Though we shall not fully understand this till we come to that Place and State where that which is imperfect shall be done away However we are said to be built on him as on a Foundation to be inserted into him as Branches into a Vine to be incorporated with him as an Head and what words can be used more significant of an Intimate Vnion Therefore 4. We may add That it is more than a Relative and Political Vnion such as is between King and Subjects It exceeds it in the Intimacy of the Union as well as the Benefits of it The Similitude between Head and Members making one Natural Body amounts to more Besides his Kingdom is not of the same sort and he rules his Subjects after another manner And the Mystery of the Trinity in Vnity to which it hath some Resemblance carries it yet higher and further It is therefore a most near and immediate Spiritual Vnion whereby every particular Believer is joyned to the Lord. This is a Great Mystery Ephes 5.32 Oh how †Mr. How 's Funeral Sermon of Mrs. Baxter p. 10. mysterious and ineffable is this Vnion of the Lord and the Soul Who would not admire at their proud disdainful Folly that while they cannot explain the Union between Soul and Body are ready to jeer at their just humble and modest Ignorance who call this other a Mystical Vnion Or because they know not what to make of it would make nothing and will not allow there should be any such Thing at all or would have it to be next to nothing But have those words no sense belonging to them or not a Great Sense 1 Cor. 6.17 He that is joyned to the Lord is one Spirit This is a Mystery saith the Apostle that hath Riches of Glory in it 1 Col. 27. And that Vnion is the Foundation of Fellowship and Communion with him as the Apostle speaks 1 John 1.3 That he may have Fellowship with us and truly our Fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ That is That you may have like Fellowship with God and Christ as we have Not that our Union and Communion is first with the Church and then with Christ as some of late have Argued though therein they contradict a Learned Man whose Opinions in other Instances they are very fond of I mean Episcopius For upon that place he says That this sense is carefully to be avoided That we are first united to the Apostles and then to God and Christ It is both absurd in it self and of very ill consequence It is in it self absurd because we and the Apostles themselves are but Brethren in respect of Union unto Christ They are united to him in the same manner with us And there are very ill consequences would follow from that Opinion For then there must be Union and Communion with some Men and Company of Men before we can have Union and Communion with Christ which Error by degrees was serviceable to introduce the Papacy Let me add 5. This Union is not to be supposed without Regeneration without the Renovation of our corrupt Nature by the Spirit of Christ in order to Communion with him The Union otherwise between Christ and us would be like Nebuchadnezzar's Image the Head of gold and the Arms of silver and the Feet of clay If there be not Spiritual Life from Christ by the quickening Spirit the Body of Christ would be partly dead And who would ever indure a dead Body to be joined to him though it were the Carkase of one he never so dearly loved 6. This must also be remembred That this Union between Christ and us is to be brought about by mutual consent and therefore often set forth by the Conjugal Union to which Consent is necessary Our Lord has laid the Foundation and declared his readiness to receive us into Union with him by the publication of his Gospel And it is the work of his Spirit to make us willing to yield our selves to the Lord that we may enter into Union with him and be brought under the Bond of the Covenant We must know him chuse him and accept him for our Teacher Saviour
How is Christ's Body and Blood present in this Ordinance Our Lord is Ascended into Heaven with his Human Body and the Heavens are to contain him till the Restitution of all things And therefore as the Bread and Wine are not annihilated or not destroyed nor changed into the Flesh and Blood of Christ according to the Romanists So nor present with in and under the Bread and Wine according to the Lutherans So that we need not say that the Body and Blood of Christ are at all present there for they are in Heaven But the Bread and Wine are the Signs and Memorials of the Sacrifice and Sufferings of Christ The Death of Christ and his Sacrifice upon the Cross with the Fruits and Effects thereof unto us are especially to be understood by his Body and Blood And it is in these that we have Communion in the Ordinance of the Supper The Expressions therefore which some Protestant Writers have used about the Real Presence of Christ's Body and Blood in this Sacrament are very * See a Tract on the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper by Mr. John Hales of Eaton Colledge in Oct. unwary For thereby they seem to make Mysteries where there is no need at all of any It is true in the next Chapter it is said of the Bread This is my Body that is the Sign and the Memorial of it Yet here the Bread broken is said to be the Communion or the Communication of his Body that is A Solemn Rite instituted by God to communicate to us the Fruits and Benefits of Christ's broken Body or of his Sacrifice and Sufferings Represented by it That as verily as we are Treated at the Table with Bread and Wine so the worthy Receiver shall share in the Benefits of Christ's Death This is Intelligible and Plain 3. This will help us to understand what is meant by the Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ By this 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Communication as it may as well be rendred that we have in the Body and Blood of Christ in the Ordinance of the Supper Two Things may this Import 1. Our Participation of the Fruits of Christ's Death and Sacrifice That we share in the Priviledges of Reconciliation to God Forgiveness of Sin Peace of Conscience and the Promise of Eternal Life by Vertue of Christ's Death 2. That Others share with us therein or that we Partake of these Benefits with others For so it follows in the next Verse That though many Members we are all one Body and one Bread for we are all Partakers of that one Bread That is We are all one Church and one Body of Christ by Covenant Union unto him And of him we do all Sacramentally and Spiritually partake in this Ordinance As many Grains of Corn make one Loaf and many Members one Body We being many are one Bread and one Body The Church of Rome from that Expression might have as well argue That all Christians are substantially changed first into the Bread and then into the natural Body of Christ by partaking of this Sacrament As well as that the Bread is changed into the Body of Christ for all Christians are said to be but one Bread and one Body by vertue of their Communion in this Ordinance 4. Hereby also we understand how we have Communion in the Body and Blood of Christ by the Lord's Supper How we and others partake in the Benefits of his Death and Passion And that two ways As this Sacrament is a Sign and a Symbol of it and as it is a Means 1. It is a Sign of it All that eat of this Bread and drink of this Cup do thereby Commemorate the Death and Passion of Jesus Christ and profess to own that the Body and Blood of Christ offered upon the Cross is the Food and Nourishment of their Souls to Eternal Life That Christ is their Saviour and Redeemer That they hope for all their Acceptance with God in both Worlds only upon the account of the Sacrifice of Christ They professedly declare that living and dying they are and will be his They hope for Victory over Death and the Devil by the Cross of Christ and for a Glorious Resurrection from Death as the Fruit of his Death and Resurrection 2. These Words do import further That the eating of this Bread and drinking of this Cup are the Means appointed by Christ for our Communion in his Body and Blood We share in the Benefits of his Death and Sacrifice and by due Attendance upon this Ordinance the precious Fruits of his Death and the Gifts and Graces of his Spirit are augmented and encreased in us in order to our full and final Blessednes in the other World which this is preparatory to and fits us for As the partaking of things sacrificed to Idols was a Fellowship with Devilss 1 Cor. 10.20 So the partaking of that which was sacrific'd to God is a Fellowship with him * See Mr. Charnock 's 2d Vol. p. 759. And of the Divine Attributes p. 638. Prayer is an Act of Homage and Praise of Gratitude but we have not so near a Communion with a Person either by Petitioning for somewhat we want or by returning him Thanks for a Favour received as we have by sitting with him at his Table partaking of the same Bread and the same Cup. In all Nations the nearest Fellowship consists in things of this nature Take Eat manifests a Communion It would be an empty Mystery and unworthy of an Institution by Divine Goodness if there were not some Communion with God and Christ in it There would be some kind of Deceit in the Precept Take Eat and Drink this is my Body and Blood If there were not a Conveyance of Spiritual Vital Influences to our Souls For the narural end of Eating and Drinking is the Nourishment and encrease of the Body and Preservation of Life by that which we Ea and Drink I might consider this Ordinance as a Sign and Means of our Communion in the Body and Blood of Christ or of our sharing in the Fruits of his Death And amplifie it several ways 1. By considering on what Accounts this is a likely Means of such a Communion And 2. How Faith must be acted that it may be so as to us As to the former 1. As this Ordinance is Commemorative of the Sacrifice of Christ and being to be observed in Remembrance of him 2. As it is an open Profession of the Cross of Christ that we glory in it and therefore shew forth the Lord's Death that way professing our selves not to be ashamed of our Character as the Followers of a crucified Jesus 3. As it is a Renewal and Confirmation of the Covenant between God and Us through Jesus Christ Renewing our Engagements and Obligations to be the Lord 's for ever In the Celebration of this Ordinance we have a Special Opportunity for this it is a principal part of our Work at this Table 4. As it
is a fit Season for extraordinary Thanksgiving and Praise blessing God for Jesus Christ Which Thankfulness for Christ disposes and fits us for the Reception of further Grace as the Fruit and Purchase of his Death and so is the Means of our Communion in his Body and Blood Thus it is the Cup of Blessing and of Thanksgiving that we there Receive which Cup of Blessing upon such Accounts as these is our Communion in the Blood of Christ. 2. You will hereby the better perceive what is to be done on our part in order to this Communion 1. Our Faith must Eye the Authority of Christ enacting it We must act in Obedience to an Institution and Appointment of Christ It was a Remarkable Instance and Act of his Kingly Office to enjoyn this Memorial of his dying Love And the Season of its Institution is the more observable viz. In the close of his Publick Ministery of his Prophetical Office upon Earth and in his Entrance upon the Execution of the Principal part of his Priestly Office by being made a Sacrifice between both of these And to render both Effectual our Lord interposed an Act of his Kingly Office in the Institution of this Ordinance Accordingly it should be eyed and owned by us in order to our Communion with him therein 2. The Love of Christ must especially be Eyed and Attended to in this Supper as Exprest by his Death and Sufferings Of this we have here the most lively Representation with the Glorious Effects of that Love which are not Represented with such a Beauty and Lustre by any other Ordinance as by this The constraining Love of Christ in his whole undertaking is better discerned and tasted in this Ordinance than as it is proposed 〈◊〉 several parts in the Holy Scripture Here we are called to the particular Application of it He loved me and gave himself for me Gal. 2.20 Rev. 1.5 3. The Soveraignty and the Wisdom of God in Instituting these External Signs and Elements of Bread and Wine must also be Eyed and Attended to They most fitly Signifie and Represent the great Things they are designed for and yet without a Divine Institution could have no Relation to the Thing signified How suitable is the plain matter of this Sacrament unto the holy Author of it We remember in this Supper his Body hanging on the Cross and therefore it was not fit the Sacrament of his Body should be sumptuous and rich upon the Table Nevertheless by Bread to strengthen and Wine to comfort all the Benefits of a crucified Saviour are fitly Represented and much better than they could have been by the choicest Delicates In order to this Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ we must take heed to our selves not to rest in the External Signs but to discern the Lord's Body to apprehend the Spiritual Import and End of this Divine Institution That by Faith we may Receive Christ and feed upon him so as to Experience the Communications of his Grace and Receive fresh Influences of his Spirit That we may Accept all the Benefits of the New Covenant which are here Offered and Sealed to us and that we may Devote Resign and Dedicate our selves afresh to be the Lord's to Obey him and serve the Purposes of his Glory while we live in hope of the blessed Recompence which he has Purchased and promised and is gone to prepare and which he will not fail to come again and bestow Until which time this Ordinance is to continue in the Church To shew forth the Lord's Death till he come Vse 1. The first Reflection I would make on this is upon the Sacrilegious Confidence of those Men who deny Christians the Means of their Communion in the Blood of Christ who rob them of one half of this Sacrament by denying the Cup of Blessing to the Laity The Cup is the Communion of the blood of Christ says the Apostle Drink ye all of it says our Lord. And yet the Church of Rome will not suffer the People to taste it But as one Errour makes way for another they pretend that by the New Doctrine of Concomitancy the Bread or the little Wafer which is not broken neither according to the order of Christ but put whole into the Peoples Mouths by the hands of the Priest This Wafer shall be enough for the People and by the help of a strong Imagination of the Authority of their Church the very Body Blood and Bones of Christ shall be contained under the Form and Appearance of Bread One would wonder how any Thing can be plainer both in this and the next Chapter and in the Institution it self as Recorded by the Evangelists than the Universal Obligation upon Christians to partake of the Cup as well as the Bread And what Authority can any Man or Number of Men have to alter such a Constitution May they not as well take away the Bread from the People as the Cup They will grant that for a Thousand Years after Christ it was the Sense and Practice of the Christian Church that the People should partake of the Cup too And for Fourteen hundred Years it can be proved that they did even from the Apostle's Time down to that of Thomas Aquinas in the latter end of the Thirteenth Century Justin Martyr Cyprian Nazianzen Chrysostom and all the most considerable Writers of the Ancient Church are express in their Testimony for it But what need we concern our selves about the Judgment of Antiquity When there is a Positive Institution of Christ and in a large Account thereof by the Apostle Paul in the Eleventh Chapter he speaks but one word of the Consecration of the Bread but uses divers Expressions to signifie the Excellency of the Cup. This is my Blood says Chrâ—st The Blood of the New Testament shed for the Remission of Sins of many His sufferings and the reality of his Death are in a most lively manner set forth by the shedding of his Blood Not to insist upon his bloody sweat in the Garden You know when he was whipt and scourged and crowned with Thornes he then shed Blood Blood issued from his hands and Feet when he was nailed to the Cross and from his side when he was pierced by the Roman Soldiers By the shedding of his Blood he lost his Life and without shedding of Blood there could be no Remission So that to deprive the People of the Cup is to take away the most lively and the most essential Representation of the Sufferings and Death of Christ The Doctrine of Concomitancy will not availe in this Case The partaking of the Bread only is not sufficient whereby to remember his Death For the Separation of his Blood from his Body was the means of his Dying This destroys the Distinction between the two Symbols which yet are very different in their Names in their Properties in their Vse and in the Time of receiving them Besides it is contrary to all the Rules of Language
Acts of Faith Apply this Blood for our Encouragement and Consolation as the Purchase of our Peace with God and as that whereby we have Peace with Conscience All the Blessings we receive are owing to this Blood All the Services we perform must be Accepted through the sprinkling of this Blood and our Faith in it Let us therefore continually apply and plead it The Vertue of it is still the same as when it was at first shed We need not doubt but it is as Acceptable to God now and of as sweet smelling a Savour to him as ever Therefore the Life that we live in the Flesh should be by the Faith of the Son of God having daily Recourse unto his Blood for Pardon and cleansing and strengthning Vertue The Lord teach us this Great Mystery of Godliness THE END The Seventh Discourse BEFORE THE Lord's Supper From CANT II.iv. He brought me into the Banquetting-house and his Banner over me was Love I Shall not need to spend Time to prove this Book to be Canonical and of Divine Auuthority It was never questioned to belong to the Jewish Canon though some other of the Writings of Solomon have been doubted of The whole is an Allegorical Description of the mysterious Vnion between Christ and his Church as Represented under the Persons of a Bridegroom and Bride Which Metaphor is pursued in several other Places of Scripture and alluded to by Christ and his Apostles in the New Testament The 45th Psalm is in some sort an Epitome and Abridgment of this Song of Solomon And that by all Interpreters even the Jews themselves is acknowledged to speak of the Messiah In this Chapter Christ and the Church seem to strive who shall outvie each other in their Encomiums and Commendations In the Two first Verses Christ speaks In the following you have the Voice of the Church or the Language of sincere Christians They Praise and Magnifie and Extol the Lord Christ in the Fourth Verse for his Bounty and Magnificence in making such Rich Provisions to Feast and Entertain them She had said before in the Third Verse That She sate under his Shadow with great Delight and his Fruit was sweet unto her Taste And thereupon adds this Commendation of his Rich Provisions He brought me into the Banquetting-house c. Where 1. She describes the Place or the Means of such a Spiritual Feast The Banquetting-house 2. The Welcom she met with there His Banner over me was Love Under the first Expression is Represented the Excellent Provision which our Lord makes to Entertain the Souls of Believers He led me to the House of Wine the Place where the Master of the House was wont to entertain his Friends Where the Wine is drank or the Entertainment made for so the Word signifies Some understand it of the Places where Christians Assemble and meet together to Worship Christ and Receive the Communication of his Grace the Places where the Ordinances of the Gospel are Dispensed But there is more than the Places of such Communication here meant viz. All the special Means and Instruments of Blessing unto the Souls of Believers It may comprehend the Holy Scriptures the Ministers of the Word the Sacraments the publick Assemblies for Worship and all the Institutions of Christ But amongst them all none more fitly or exactly answering to the Allegory than the holy Supper of the World the great Feast on the Sacrifice of Christ where we hope to be Entertained to Morrow 2. The Welcom she met with His Banner over me was Love His Standard towards me by the lifting up whereof I was invited and drawn to come over to his side to yield to him to give up my self to him The Love of a Crucified Saviour is displayed like a Banner to invite and draw Souls to Christ Therefore it is promised Isa 49.22 I will lift up my Hand to the Gentiles and set up my Standard to the people Christ the Captain of our Salvation lifted up upon a Cross Displays a Banner of Love to all the World to invite them to come to him And the Motto of his Banner is nothing but this Dying Love Victorious Or The Crucified Jesus Loving us to the Death And by his Love conquering our Hearts and constraining us to be his to love him and live to him and even dye for him 1. We may observe That our Lord has his Banquet and Feast whereunto he leads and where he Entertains the Souls of his Followers 2. That the Display of Christ's free and glorious Love is of all things the most proper to Invite and Attract the Souls of Men. 1. That Christ hath his Banquet and Feast unto which he leads and where he entertains the Souls of his Followers Under this Metaphor of a Feast or Banquet all the Spiritual Blessings of the Gospel-State are often Represented Thus when we Read of the Invitation to come to the Marriage Feast of the Kings Son Mat. 22. All the Graces and Comforts of the Spirit are meant forgiveness of Sin the Promise the hope of Eternal Life These are the Provisions of this Feast which in the Word and Sacraments we partake of In this Mountain shall the Lord of Hosts make unto all people a Feast of fat things of Wine on the Lees well refined Isa 25.6 It is a Promise concerning the Days of the Gospel In this Mountain In Mount Sion In the Church God will make a Feast for all people for the Gentiles as well as the Jews 1. It 's Literally true of Mount Sion at Jerusalem in which sense it must be understood in the next Verse This was the first Place this Mount Sion whence the Christian Law was to be given out and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem There the Holy Spirit fell upon the Apostles at Pentecost And there the Apostles began their Preaching after the Descent of the Holy Ghost with Wonderful Success So Psalm 36.8 They shall be abundantly satisfied with the Fatness of thy House Thou shalt make them drink of the Rivers of thy Pleasures The like in Prov. 9.2 Where Wisdom is said to have killed her Beasts and mingled her Wine and furnished her Table The Revelation of the Gospel c. All kind of Gifts and Graces and Comforts distributed by the Ordinances of the Gospel are to be understood Especially that part of our Spiritual Provision which is said to be Meat indeed and Drink indeed I mean the Crucified Body of our Lord Jesus Christ and his Blood shed for the Remission of Sins That Institution therefore hath the very Name of the Table of the Lord 1 Cor. 10.21 We cannot be Partakers of the Lord's Table and the Table of Devils It is called a Feast on the Sacrifice of Christ 1 Cor. 5.7 8. Of which I shall have occaison to speak afterward There being all Things there that are necessary to a Feast And a Feast for all People for the Gentiles whom the Jews despi sed and counted as Doggs and