Exaltation namely Resurrection Ascension and Glorification in Heaven ARTICLE V. The third day he rose again from the dead Tho' being a Christian I need no Proof of Christ's rising from the Dead yet to confirm my belief of so eminent an Article God has given me the Testimony of Angels of the Men that guarded the Sepulcher the many Apparitions of Christ after he was risen the Effusion of the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles the Miracles done by them in his Name So that I have just ground to believe and profess That the Body of Christ saw no Corruption as did the Bodies of the Patriarchs And because it was impossible he should be holden of the Power of Death I do believe that he did really rise again and that the very same Body and Soul of our Saviour which were separated by Death were by his own Divine Power reunited in his Resurrection And as to the time when he arose I have been taught and do believe That it was the Third day after his Death which hapned to be the First day of the Week Which Day we celebrate in memory of his Resurrection and which has immemorially been called The Lord's Day ARTICLE VI. He ascended into Heaven and sitteth c. I believe That Christ ascended by the same Power he rose And that this was no other Power than that of his own Divinity by which as an High-Priest of good things to come he once ascended visibly and locally into the Heaven of Heavens as the High-Priest once every Year entred into the Holy of Holies And the End of his Ascension was I believe to prepare a place for Believers and to receive them to it that where he is they might be also After Christ's Ascension into Heaven he took his Place at the Right-Hand of God Not that I think God who is a most absolute Spirit hath either Right or Left Hand but that this is spoken after the manner of Men who place those whom they will most honour upon their Right-hand And from Christ's being thus placed in Heaven I collect That he there took up his Abode in a State of Majesty and Power to shew that he was above all Creatures in Heaven and Earth and that he is exalted to be the King of Saints and Judge of Sinners the Prince of our Salvation and High-Priest of our Profession and that in him there was an Union of the Regal Power and Priestly Office when he sat down at the Right-hand of the Father Almighty So that by the former he is perfectly able to subdue all his Enemies and by the latter he doth ever intercede for and eternally save those that are his ARTICLE VII From thence he shall come to judge c. As I believe that Christ redeemed me by his death and passion and that by his Ascension he is become my Advocate and Intercessor with God so I believe that he shall come the second time from Heaven with great Glory to judge the World For besides the particular Judgment that passeth upon every Man immediately upon his Death when the departed Soul is set at God's Tribunal and examined of all its Thoughts Words and Actions I say besides this particular Judgment I believe their shall be a general Judgment when all shall be judged as well the Quick that shall be alive at that day as the Dead who shall then be raised up And that this last Judgment Christ himself as a Supream Judge shall pass the final Sentence and that the Saints as Assessors shall pass their Sentence of Approbation I believe too That I and all Men shall be judged of all things done in the Body whether Good or Evil And that upon the pronouncing of the Sentence the truly penitent shall pass to an Estate of Eternal Happiness and finally the Impenitent to an Estate of Eternal Misery ARTICLE VIII I believe in the Holy Ghost Having briefly declared what my Faith is in God the Father and God the Son I am next to declare what I believe concerning God the Holy Ghost And first I believe That without Faith in the Holy Ghost I cannot believe in God the Father nor in his Son as my Lord. For no Man can call God Father but by the Holy Ghost nor can any Man say that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost Whom I believe to be the Third Person in the Divine Being and therefore True God And that as he proceedeth from the Father and the Son which I believe he doth he is a Person distinct from both The Spirit in whom I believe is called Holy because in himself he is without all Pollution and sin and because he is the Author of all Holiness in me and all who truly believe in him So that all my Holiness is but a Ray or Effusion of the Holy Ghost which doth furnish my Heart with spiritual and saving Graces by the Work of Sanctification ARTICLE IX I believe the Holy Catholick Church the Communion of Saints After this plain Account given by me of the Articles which concern the Blessed Trinity I will now give the like Account of those that follow which respect such only as truly believe in and obey and Worship the Trinity in Unity and who are here called the Church Which I plainly take to signifie all those whom Christ hath called out of the World to be his peculiar People Over whom he hath a Sovereign Authority in regard of which they willingly and chearfully pay him Homage and obey his Law and Ordinances For by Church I have been taught to understand the Corporation and General Family of all true Believers which Family truly deserves to be called Holy in respect of its Head which is Christ who is Holy in himself and whose Holiness is imputed to all sincere Believers And who through the Grace given to them do labour study and endeavour to be Holy And the Church in this familiar acception I believe is Universal as well as Holy and that there are in all the Quarters of the World those who by Baptism are admitted into it and so made Members of Christ's Mystical Body who are guided by his Spirit nourished by the Word and Sacrament and who are obedient to the Rule and Government of the Bishops and Pastors lawfully called to their Offices And of this Society of Believers which constitute the Church some are in a state of War continually fighting against their own and Christ's Enemies but yet in daily expectation of Triumph and a Crown And these are called the Church Militant which is on Earth And some are in a state of Peace for having fought the good Fight of Faith and finished their Warfare they are entred into their Master's Joy And these make the Church Triumphant which is crowned in Heaven Now these I hold are not two divers Churches but the same Church under a different State and Condition For I believe the Church to be essentially but one And as Christ's Mystical Body the Church
ought to be able to recite the Words of the Creed to have a competent Knowledge of their meaning and of the influence each Article ought to have upon my Coversation I will therefore first rehearse the Words thereof and then give you such an Account of their Sense and Influence as I have been taught by you I Believe in God the Father Almighty Maker of Heaven and Earth And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost born of the Virgin Mary suffered under Pontius Pilate was crucified dead and buried He descended into Hell The third day he rose again from the dead He ascended into Heaven and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty From thence he shall come to judge both the quick and the dead I believe in the Holy Ghost the Holy Catholick Church the Communion of Saints the Forgiveness of Sins the Resurrection of the Body and the Life everlasting Amen Having thus rehearsed the worâ— of the Creed my next Task is â— give a short plain Declaration â— what I believe in every Article ARTICLE I. I believe in God the Father Aâ—mighty Maker of Heaven anâ— Earth In this Article I have beeâ— taught to believe that there is God and that he is an Eternaâ— Spirit whose Being is of himself and not from any other and thaâ— from him all things have their Being And I further believe Thaâ— this God is but One because he is the Infinite Independent and Omnipotent Cause which can be but One. I believe also That this God is the Eternal Father of Christ and that for his sake he is also my Heavenly Father and that being Almighty he can do for me whatsoever he will I likewise believe That in Six days this God created all things of Nothing by his Word for his Glory and that he still preserveth all things by the same Word of his Power ARTICLE II. And in Iesus Christ his only Son our Lord. In this Second Article of the Creed I have been taught to believe in Jesus Christ and that he is the only Son of God and of the same Divine Essence with him That he is called Jesus because he is the only Saviour of Mankind and that he is called Christ or Messiah which signifies Anointed because he was anointed to the Three Offices of a Prophet Priest and King which Three under the Law were in an especial manner Anointed And I believe That all these Three met in Christ and that as a Prophet he doth instruct his Church outwardly by his Word and inwardly by his Spirit And I believe That as a Priest he made satisfaction unto God for the Sins of Mankind when he once offered up himself upon the Cross and that by the Sacrifice of himself he reconciled God and Man And further I believe That as a Priest he continually makes Intercession for me and all true Christians at the right Hand of his Father in Heaven and doth bless me in turning me from my Iniquities In like manner I believe That Jesus was not only Christ that is Anointed to be a Prophet and a Priest in the sense now declared but that he was also Anointed to be a King And that as such he doth govern and preserve his Church he erects and sets up his Throne in the Hearts of Believers He gives them Grace to subdue every rebellious Lust and habit of Sin that it reign not in them He conquers Satan and restrains his Power He overcomes Death and having received all Authority in Heaven and Earth he rules over all Men and all Creatures and that of his Kingdom there shall be no end So that to him belongs absolute Dominion over all and Obedience is due to him from all ARTICLE III. Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost born of the Virgin Mary In this Article I profess to believe That when Christ was made of the Seed of David according to the Flesh he was made in all things like to my self excepting Sin For that could affect neither his Humane Soul nor Body because in both he was most Holy as being conceived only by the Operation of the Holy Ghost and born of a spotless Virgin For Christ that he might be our Kinsman and capable to redeem us by paying our Debts in the same Humane Nature in which they were contracted it was necessasary he should be the Seed of the Woman And that he might plainly appear to be that Seed of the Woman which was promised it was likewise necessary he should be born of a Virgin who was of the Lineage and House of David All which I believe from God's Word was accomplished in the Blessed Mother of Christ ARTICLE IV. Suffered under Pontius Pilate c. This is an Article that you have often told me I ought well to understand for it respects Christ's Death upon which the whole Hinge of my Salvation turns I find the History of it to be clearly and fully set forth by the Evangelists and as to the knowledge of it St. Paul valued it so highly that he desired to know nothing else but Jesus Christ crucified Now by my believing of the Crucifixion I confess that according to the Prophecies Christ suffered in his Humane Nature both in Soul and Body his Divine Nature being uncapable of suffering And that this hapned at the time when Pontius Pilate was the Roman Governour of Judaea who being addicted to Cruelty and sinful compliance condemned Christ to be crucified And as Moses lifted up the Serpent on the Pole in the Wilderness so was Christ lifted up on the Cross and by a painful ignominious and accursed Death did expiate my sin and redeemed me from all vain Conversation and from the Curse of the Law and gave me an Entrance into Heaven All which unspeakable Benefits are justly to be ascribed to the Blood of Christ because it was of infinite value as being the Blood of that Person who was God as well as Man And as I believe Christ voluntarily laid down his Life and that his Soul was really separated from his Body so I likewise believe that as a dead Man he was buried after the manner of the Jewish Nation namely that he was bound in Grave-clothes with Spices and laid the Grave with an heavy Stone rolled to the mouth of the Sepulcher All which were certain Tokens of his Death as being the usual known Rites of a Jewish Funeral I also believe That Christ being dead his Soul and Body remain'd in a separate condition under the Power of Death and that his Soul was reunited to the Body before it did putrifie in the Grave But as to the various Opinions about his Descent into Hell I think them either too high or too unprofitable for my research And as you have taught me so I believe that Christ's Birth Death and Burial or being under the Dominion of Death were the Three Degrees of his Humiliation answerable to which were the Three Degrees of his
has an Vnion with Him as being the Head of it so I believe there is a Common Vnion among the Members both those that are glorified in Heaven and those that in some degree are sanctified on Earth And this is called the Communion of Saints and is the first Priviledge of the Christian Church And by vertue of this all true Christians communicate in all Offices of Piety and Charity in doing good to one anothers Bodies and Souls And this they do upon the account that they have in common One God one Christ one Spirit one Lord one Faith one Baptism one Hope ARTICLE X. The Forgiveness of Sins As the Communion of Saints genuinely ariseth from the Nature of the Vniversal Church so Pardon of Sins follows from both For none shall have their Sins forgiven but those who live and die in the Communion of the Church For unless I abide in this Ark I shall certainly perish Now Sin as I have been instructed is of two sorts the one Original which is the sin of my Nature the other Actual which is the sin of my Conversation The former I brought with me into the World the latter I commit while I live therein And both these sorts of sin deserve Eternal Death and can only be pardon'd by the Merits of Christ For sin being a Transgression of the Law of God it can only be forgiven by him whose Law it transgresseth For Remission of sins is the second Priviledge of the Church which is preached to all in the Name of Christ and sealed in Baptism wherein I believe my Original Sin is presently pardon'd and that my Actual Sins committed after Baptism shall be pardon'd if I truly repent me of the same Now this my Belief of the Forgiveness of Sins supposes that I believe That God graciously and freely without any Desert on Man's part gave his Son to die for the World and That for the sake of his meritorious Death he remits the Fault absolves from the Guilt and acquits from Punishment all truly penitent and believing Sinners And I do further believe That he imputes to them the Obedience of his own Son and his Righteousness and by means thereof accounts them just in his sight I believe That all who are justified and thus acquitted have Holiness in some degree according to the Condition of this Life Which Holiness tho' it cannot altogether discharge them from sin yet it doth not suffer it to reign over them So that a justified Person is not under its Dominion nor yields himself a Vassal to it but resists its Commands and makes it die daily And for the greater security of the Forgiveness of sins God hath committed to his Ministers an indispensible Power and Charge to preach Faith and Repentance as the Condition of this Forgiveness He hath likewise appointed them to pray and intercede and also to baptize for the Forgiveness of sins and to administer the Lord's Supper in memory of that Blood which was shed for the Remission of Sins And indeed all that God hath left in the Hand and Power of his Ministers especially tends to make Men capable of receiving what they believe namely the Remission of sins ARTICLE XI The Resurrection of the Body It was the Hope of the Fathers under the Old Testament as well as it is of Christians under the New That there shall be a Resurrection both of the Just and Unjust And if it were otherwise Christians of all Men would be most miserable and all that I have learn'd and you have taught me concerning Christianity would be in vain But I firmly and truly believe That my Mortal Body shall be raised from the Corruption of the Grave by Vertue of the Resurrection of Christ And this my Belief is founded upon the Power and good Pleasure of God who both can and will raise from the dead the very same Body that died ARTICLE XII The Life everlasting The Enjoyment of Everlasting Life is the last Christian Privilege and that which crowns the rest And I have learned to understand by this Life the Enjoyment of all true Happiness in Soul and Body For I believe that the Faculties of the Souls of just Persons shall be perfectly enlightned and sanctified and that their Bodies shall live after the manner of Spirits and be exceedingly glorified And opposite to this Life everlasting I believe there is an everlasting Death which is the Portion of the Wicked And that as Life everlasting consists in the Fruition so I believe everlasting Death consists in the Loss of God's Presence and all other Comforts and is the enduring of the sting of Conscience and Torments of Hell for ever But as my believing all the Articles of the Christian Faith as they are summ'd up in that which is called the Apostles Creed supposes that I am to learn not only the Words but likewise the Sense of the Creed so it also implies that I should live like them that do believe for otherwise my consenting to the Truth of the Articles will stand me in no stead And therefore not medling with remote and learned Inferences I will draw such from each Article as are near and familiar short and edifying As for Example From my believing that God created me I infer I am bound to be obedient and subject to him By my believing that Christ redeemed me I think it my Duty to yield up my self to him as his Purchase and to be wholly disposed by him and employed only in his Service My believing Christ's Conception by the Holy Ghost and his Birth of the Virgin should make me diligent to fit my Heart for the Holy Ghost to overshadow and for Christ to be born in it My belief of Christ's Crucifixion should teach me to crucifie the Flesh with the Affections and Lusts and to destroy the Body of sin My belief of his Death and Burial should make me content to die for the sake of Truth being assured that if I suffer for Christ I shall also reign with him It should also keep me from being disheartned by Death seeing that Christ by dying hath taken away the Stinâ— of Death which is Sin and maâ— it an Entrance into Life My bâ—lieving the Resurrection of Chrisâ— should make me actually rise froâ— Sin to a New Life and utterlâ— to forsake my Sins as Christ diâ— the Grave to which after â— was once risen from it he returned no more My believinâ— Christ's Ascension and sitting â— the Right-hand of God shoulâ— teach me to set my Affections oâ— things above and not on thing on the Earth The believing Judgment to come should makâ— me careful so to walk as that may not be condemned in iâ— My believing the Holy Catholick Church and Communion oâ— Saints should render me mightâ— circumspect to preserve Charity which is the Bond of Peace and to avoid all things destructive oâ— Catholick Unity The Remission of sins which I believe should make me highly to esteem all those Ways and Means which
your behalf to enquire into the Duties you are to discharge when you come to the Holy Sacrament before I deâ—cend to a distinct handling â—hereof give me leave first to â—ind you of the end of your â—oming thither which I take 〈◊〉 be none other than chiefly to renew the Covenant yoâ— made with God in Baptism who is pleased in great mercy to admit you to the Lords Table in order to repair youâ— Vow of Baptism after that by numerous ways you have broken it And when it shall bâ— your care worthily to Commâ—nicate God will vouchsafe graciously to accept you and iâ— the Lords Supper to restore yoâ— to all the forfeited benefits oâ— your Baptism II. Seeing then that the renewing of your Covenant is the greaâ— business of your coming to thâ— Blessed Communion it is highly reasonable that you have a fuâ—â— and clear understanding of thâ— nature of that Covenant whicâ— you are to renew And in oâ—der hereunto you are to knoâ— iâ— general that the Covenant to â—e renewed by you is that into â—hich you enter'd at Baptism â—here the Covenant God at first â—ade with Mankind which is â—e foundation of all Christiaâ—â—ty is applied to every parâ—â—cular person who at Baptism â—â—lemnly give up their Names â—â—to Christ and enter upon â—â—e profession of his most Holy â—eligion And to the end you â—ay more clearly comprehend â—is important Truth it is conâ—enient that you a little reflect â—pon that double Covenant God â—ade with Adam as he was â—ot only the Patriarch but â—â—presentative of all Mankind III. Where you may find that the â—â—â—st Covenant was made with â—dam immediately upon his â—eation when he was in his flourishing Integrity and indue not barely with a perfect knoâ—ledge of his Duty but with sufficient power of performinâ— it When Adam I say was in most excellent State and Câ—â—dition God made an Agreemeâ—â— with him to this purpose vâ— That if he took care to conâ—â—nue in Obedience to his Makâ— then his Knowledge and Strengâ— should remain and after a loâ—â— and pleasant life upon Earth last he should either put off Body or have it together wâ— his Soul taken up into Heaveâ— and therein both be happy aâ— glorious to all Eternity â— if he disobeyed and so brâ— this Covenant he was to the perfect knowledge of Duty and his strength of â—â—fectly discharging it and â— also to be subject to tempâ— death which is a separatioâ— the Soul from the Body â— time and to death eternal which is a banishment from God's gracious presence for eâ—er And as upon his breach â—f Covenant Adam was liable 〈◊〉 the first sort of Death and 〈◊〉 the appointed time suffer'd 〈◊〉 so had he likewise underâ—one the second kind of Death God in his unspeakable merâ—â— had not come to new Agreeâ—ent with him Now all that â—u need to know concerning â—e first Covenant is 1. That â—e Condition thereof was wonâ—â—rful easie for Adam to have served seeing no more was â—â—uired of him than an abstiâ—â—â—ce from one Tree only in 〈◊〉 Garden where God had â—ced him which Restraint â—ld not be grievous seeing was allowed a freedom of the rest 2. That Aâ— at his Wife's instigation of the forbidden Tree and by eating thereof broke 〈◊〉 first Covenant the effeâ—â— whereof were no milder thâ— the loss both of the Knowledâ— and Ability of doing what Gâ—â— required of him For immeâ—ately upon his transgressâ— God's Commandment the liâ—â— that was in Adam became dâ— and his Strength like Saâ—sons upon the cutting off of Locks was extreamly weâ—ned so that he became feeble and defective and â—â—serably crippled both in his â—â—derstanding and Will that could neither clearly disceâ— nor exactly execute his Dâ—â— 3. You are to know tâ—â— all men being in the loins Adam were infected with sin and like him became â—â—â—stitute of a right understaâ—â—ing of their Duty and Abiâ— to discharge it backward Good and prone to Evil â—â—mane Nature upon Adam 's Fall becoming like a sick Stomach which doth not only loath what is wholsome but lust after that which â—s quite otherwise IV. But when Adam by Disobediâ—nce had forfeited the benefits â—f the first God was pleased to make with him a second Coveâ—ant and therein to accept of â—nother to pay the Debts and â—erform the Duties in his stead â—or which he had made himself â—together unable and insolvent â—nd this is that Covenant â—hich only now concerns you â—nd which at the Communion â—ou are to renew and whereof â—ou ought to have a full and â—ear understanding for it â—ould sound very oddly for a â—an to pretend a most solemn â—newing of he knows not what V. Now in tracing out the â—â—ture of this Covenant you wâ— find it was made with all Maâ—kind in Adam immediately 〈◊〉 on his Fall I say immediatâ—â— upon his Fall for considerâ— the great love God ever bâ— Man you may imagine 〈◊〉 would not suffer our Great â— rent to lie long under the â—â—â—turing reflections and hellish paâ—â— with which his Conscienceâ— loaden by the consideration his sin and which have eâ— been found to be the most â—â—tural effects of doing vitiousâ— but that he presently relieâ— his afflicted mind by entrâ— into a gracious Compact wâ— him and shewing him how and his Off-spring were to saved from that destruction had brought upon both â— the first revelation of this Covenant is met with in Gen. 3.15 which with greater plainness is repeated Gen. 22.17 18. compared with Gen. 12.3 and Gen. 18.18 The contents of which Texts the Son of Sirach calls the Blessing of all Men and the Covenant Ecclesiasticus 44.22 VI. And seeing as has been said that the great business of your coming to the Lords Table is to renew the Covenant of your Baptism which you have broken which Covenant of Baptism is no other than the second Covenant made with Mankind in general applied to you in particular you are to understand that a Covenant as we now consider it is a mutual Agreement betwixt God and Man consisting of Mercies â— God 's part made over to Maâ— and of Duties or Conditions on Man's part required by Goâ— So that it is necessary for yoâ— to know 1. What the Mercies are which on God's part are madâ— over to Man 2. What the Conditions are which on Man's part are required by God VII And first as to the Mercies which on God's part are made over to Man in the second Covenant the sum thereof is the Seed of the Woman or the sending Christ to take upon him the nature of Man and to be as a second Adam to supply what was wanting in the first and to perform that sinless Obedience which was the Condition of the first Covenant he being both in Birth and Conversation absolutely innocent And though the thus sending of Christ the second Person of the ineffable Trinity be the abridgement of all the Mercies of the second Covenant yet under this Title many Benefits are contain'd For you
you may here do wisely to call to mind by what occasions and with what baits you have been â—nd still are apt to be drawn away and enticed to the end you may with greater vigilance and courage avoid and resist them For common Prudence will teach you to strengthen the Fence where the Beast useth to break in and to re-inforce that Avenue where the Enemy is wont to make and prevail in his Attack XLVIII The last thing I shall mention concerning your Religious Resolutions is their speedy execution for delay therein has ever been thought dangerous aâ— having a throat wide enough tâ— swallow the biggest opportunâ—ty And you cannot be suâ—â— till you practise what you puâ—pose for seeing your life coâ—tinually walks to and fro â— a breath and that you have 〈◊〉 warrant of being able to do thâ— the next hour which this yoâ— neglect and put off this througâ—ly concludes for the present dâ—ing of what you purpose Anâ— if holy Resolutions might safeâ—â— be delay'd yet they can be delay'd no longer than your comâ—ing to the Scarament becauâ— you cannot safely approach thâ— Ordinance without stedfastâ— purposing to lead a new lifâ— for till you are a new Creaturâ— or begin to lead a new life yoâ— are in sense of Scripture deaâ— And how absurd a thing is it 〈◊〉 put Bread and Wine into a deaâ— mans mouth none so stupid aâ— not to imagine You may indeed naturally eat and drink the Bread and Wine receive into your stomach the elements of the Sacrament but if you live in the liking much more in the commission of any thing you know to be sin you can receive no more spiritual nourishment in the Sacrament than a dead Carcass at the best Entertainment XLIX And this is another consideration that lays upon you a necessity presently to renounce your sins to give them a Bill of Divorce and to withdraw from them all degrees of kindness and respect For without this you can be in no fit disposition to be married to Christ and to embrace all the Graces flowing from him In short that Resolution which I call a branch of Repentance and which is indispensible required of you when you come to the Lords Table is made up of these two things First Renouncing of all sin Secondly Embracing of all Christian Vertues The first without the second is but sweeping the house without furnishing it And therefore when you have cleansed your Soul of the nastiness and dirt of sin you are not to let it lye empty but to furnish it with all those Graces commanded you in the Gospel such especially as are required in every one coming to the Supper of the Lord. And those are chiefly three namely Faith Charity and Devotion L. The necessity of Faith is expresly taught you by your first Catechism where it saith That a lively Faith in Gods Mercies through Christ is required of every Communicant and that the Body and Blood of Christ are verily and indeed taken and received by the faithful in the Lords Supper For it is by Faith that you there look upon him whom God hath set forth to be the Propitiation for your Sins even Jesus Christ the Lamb of God that taketh away the Sins of the World Rom. 3.25 John 1.29 You easily perceive the necessity of Faith when you mind that in receiving the Holy Sacrament you are to believe that Jesus is the true Seed of the Woman which was promised in the beginning and was sent in the fulness of time that in hiâ— all the Nations of the Earth iâ— they will may be blessed he being the Universal and Mighty Saviour who both will and can save all that come unto him there being no other in whom Salvation is to be expected Yoâ— are likewise to believe that he was crucified or died an ignominious or cursed death and that the Merits of his death are sufficient to save all Sinners and that all those Merits are convey'd to you in the Sacrament when it is worthily received LI. But as to the clear Nature oâ— that Faith now required of you the Church fairly intimates whaâ— it is when she calls it a lively Faith in Gods Mercy through Christ LII And Faith is said to be lively when it works through Love shewing it self in well doing for where Life is there will be Action And the Life of Faith like that of Nature will shew it self in the Heart Tongue and Hands In the first by sincereness of Devotion and holy Thoughts in the second by wholsome and gracious Communication And in the last by works of Justice and Charity LIII The Object of this lively Faith is God's Mercy upon which it reflects as the Fountain whence the Scriptures have proceeded in which Gods Covenant for Mans Redemption is established and his Promises to believing penitent Sinners are contained And if you shall inquire into the reason of all this you will find that nothing but his meer Mercy moved God to make known his Will and in the Holy Scriptures to reveal the Means of Salvation and make the way to Heaven plain and easie It was onely to shew the great love wherewith he loved you and the exceeding Riches of his Grace that prevailed with God to be thus kind unto you LIV. But all this is through Christ he is the Conduit of all these Blessings being of God made unto all Believers Wisdom Righteousness Sanctification Redemption He is the Author oâ— all true Knowledge the cause oâ— your Justification your Sanctification and will be also of your Deliverance and rescue from all Calamities that you are subject to in this Life and at last from Death it self by raising you again 1 Cor. 1.30 And as by a voice from Heaven God declaed with Solemnity that he was well pleased with Christ so he hath likewise declared that he is well pleased with Believers only for his sake By Christ you are predestinated adopted accepted and pardon'd and shall be glorified So that in your own Person you may speak as the Apostle did in the Name of all Christians Ephes 1.3 4 5 c. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed me with all spiritual Blessings in heavenly things in Christ according as he hath chosen me in him that I should be holy and without blame before him in Love LV. In whom I have Redemption through his Blood the forgiveness of Sins according to the riches of his Grace c. It is impossible in any Duty without Faith to please God or to be accepted of him because whatsoever is not of Faith is Sin But in the matter of the Holy Sacrament Faith hath a more appropriate Office for by it as by a Hand Mouth and Stomach you receive eat and digest the spiritual Food and heavenly Sustenance by which your Soul is nourished to eternal Life And in the sense of the Spirit to eat and drink the Body and Blood of Christ is properly to believe on him
others and beget a discountenance in your self But there will be no ground left for this surmise when it is duely consider'd that the Person to whom you are thus to reveal your self is a pious and discreet Minister of Gods Word one who will be as faithful to conceal as you are to discover your infirmities and as ready to heal your sores as you are to rip them up one too who will be so far from insulting over your Weaknesses or thinking ill of you for discovering them that he will love and encourage your ingenuous and Christian dealing and restore you in the Spirit of meekness and help to set things at rights between God and your Soul But suppose the discovery of your Scruples should indeed turn to your shame which is the worst you can fear yet to abstain from doing it upon this account is to betray in you a less care of your Soul than of your Body For the foulest and most shameful Diseases of the Body you can without blushing lay open to your Physician and will you then be coy and squeamish to confess the sickness of your Soul of which your care ought to be infinitely greater than of your Body as no less excelling it than the heavenly Manna did the Earthen Pot that contained it So that neither fear of shame nor any thing else ought to keep you from using such means as any way tend to its Salvation LXXV And thus having with what brevity and plainness I was able run through the several Duties to be perform'd at your coming to the Communion and brought you as it were to the Rails of the Holy Table before I leave you I will take the freedom to mind you how you are there to carry your self Where two things are now required of you namely a Devout frame of Mind and a decent gesture of Body LXXVI As to that Devout frame of Mind required of you at the time of receiving it chiefly consists in thoughts of your own unworthiness of being a Guest at so Divine a Banquet And in order to raise in and to humble you under a due sense of this Unworthiness call to mind the sins you have committed since you were last at the Sacrament because you are now come again to repeat and renew that Covenant which thereby you have broken LXXVII Be attentive to the actions of the Minister and when you see him breaking the Bread and pouring out the Wine meditate How Christs Body was broken and his Blood shed upon the Cross And above all think with your self that it was your Sins that drove the Nails into his Hands and Feet and pierced his blessed Side with the Spear That it was your sins with the sins of others occasioned all his Sufferings the pains of his Body and Soul and that if he had not suffered once upon the Cross you had been tormented to everlasting Ages And upon these sober Thoughts you will even abhor your self and with indignation behold your cruel dealing with your Gracious Lord. Consider too how nothing but the Blood of Christ can cleanse your sins and that it doth not like Abel's speak for Vengeance but loudly calls for Mercy upon them who spilt it if they repent and reform and still draws down Blessing upon all who worthily receive it in the Sacrament Consider too how Christ by those Sufferings which are represented and commemorated in the Sacrament has made an Atonement for your sins appeased the Wrath and satisfi'd the Justice of God which you have provoked and incensed against your Soul And this will raise up your hopes and make you come with an humble and religious boldness to the Communion being assured God will not onely there seal unto you but put you in possession of the benefits of Christs Sufferings namely Reconciliation with God and Pardon of your Sins LXXVIII Let your Tongue and Heart joyn with the Minister in that excellent Prayer wherewith he delivers the Bread and Wine The Body of our Lord Jesus Christ which was given c. The Bloud of our Lord Jesus Christ which was shed c. Lift up your Heart unto the Lord. Let your Thoughts be wholly set upon Christs death and its benefits for the remembrance of Christs death as it was one main end of the Institution so is it of your receiving of the Sacrament And look not upon the Bread and Wine being consecrate and blessed as ordinary things but as they are after a spiritual manner the Body and Bloud of Christ LXXIX And as these and the like considerations may serve to render your Soul devout so will they also make your Body humble For though Humility properly belongs to the Heart yet it cannot be outwardly expressed but by gestures of the Body And you are to manifest your Reverence at the Lords Supper by using such gestures as the custom of the place where you receive it account most decent humble and reverend Kneeling is the posture appointed by our National Church as fittest to signifie your humble and grateful acknowledgment of the benefits of Christ therein sealed to every worthy Receiver and for the avoiding of such profanation and disorder in the Holy Communion as might otherwise ensue LXXX If you look to the first Institution of the Sacrament you will find Christ employing therein such a singular care that nothing low or mean appears about it And in all times where Schism and Faction were excluded nothing but solemnity and expressions of greatest reverence appear'd at the receiving it But to proceed LXXXI Besides Humility and Reverence there is required of them who come to the Lords Supper a thankful remembrance of Christs death And this you cannot want when you reflect upon what he suffer'd for you both in credit and Body when he underwent the most painful and ignominious sort of dying and in those sharp and fearful Agonies of his Soul which forced him to cry out His God had forsaken him And seeing all this was to save you from perishing this must needs awaken you to an holy ambition of making your Thankfulness if possible as unspeakable as his Sufferings And how can you but praise and magnifie his Goodness who hath redeem'd you at so dear a rate especially when you come to the Sacrament to make solemn Commemoration of Gods mercies in sending his Son to die for you and appointing the Sacrament to be a continual Pledge of your Thankfulness for the same With Angels therefore and Arch-angels and all the Company of Heaven laud and magnifie his glorious Name praising him and saying Holy holy holy Lord God of Hosts Heaven and Earth are full of thy Glory Glory be to thee O Lord most high Thanksgiving or praising of God was the devout practice of the first Christians at the receiving of the Lords Supper Acts 2.46 47. And in after-Ages Thanksgiving was thought so necessary at its celebration that the Sacrament it self thence got the name of Eucharist A word though it be not found
in the Sacrament which doth not only represent unto you the manner of Christs Death and in visible Actions set before you what he suffered on the Cross Nor doth the Sacrament only convey unto you that Grace which flows from Christs Death but it doth seal and confirm unto every worthy Communicant all the Benefits of Christs Passion For God to magnifie his Mercy and Goodness towards Believers was not content to give them only a general offer of his Promises in Christ but thought sit to seal them to every particular penitent Christian and in the Sacrament actually to deliver him them Faith apprehending and applying the benefits of Christ which are all comprized in the Forgiveness of Sins and Salvation the sum of all the Happiness of this World and of that which is to come LVI And having tried and found your Faith toward God to be such as he has promised not to be displeased with your next business is to examine your Charity toward your Neighbour for it is required of them who come to the Lords Supper to be in Charity with all Men. If thou bringest thy Gift to the Altar and there rememberest that thy Brother hath ought against thee leave there thy Gift before the Altar and go thy way first be reconciled to thy Brother and then come and offer thy Gift This was our Saviour's advice to the Jews and may thus be translated to your self and every Christian If at any time you are coming to the Lords Table and there call to mind that you have done any man any Injury do you repair first to that Person whom you have injured use means to reconcile him to you repair the wrong and if you cannot let him know your willingness and request his Pardon and having done thus return to compleat your intention and receive the Sacrament in testimony of your Peace with God and your Neighbour This reconcilement with your Brethren is absolutely necessary not only to make your participation of the Sacrament but all other performances acceptable to God And you see it consists in a confession of your wrong and repairing it it being reasonable that in order to obtain his pardon whom you have injured you acknowledge your fault to him and to the utmost of your Ability make him amends LVII And as to this Charity here spoken of the very Elements of the Lords Supper figure and enforce it for the many grains made up into one Loaf and the many Grapes pressed into one Cup signifie how we being many are made one Bread and one Body And nothing can make all Christians to be affectionately one but Charity or mystically and spiritually one except Charity the Bond of Peace and Union And this is that heavenly temper of Mind to which Christians are obliged upon the account of the nearness of that relation which is amongst them for they have all but one Father one Saviour one Sanctifier they all profess one Faith have all received one and the same Baptism and all expect one and the same Inheritance But if in spight of all this you trample Charity under Feet and instead of being reconciled to your Neighbour you malice and hate him you are no more fit for the Sacrament than a Murderer for such are all those who hate their fellow Christians according to St. John in the third and fourth Chapters of his first Epistle LVIII And as Charity binds you to seek to be reconciled to those whom you have injured and to obtain their Pardon so it likewise engageth you to forgive those by whom you have been wrong'd And indeed the forgiving others their Trespasses is the condition of obtaining the forgiveness of your own for if you forgive Men their Trespasses your heavenly Father will forgive you but if you forgive not men their Trespasses neither will your Father forgive your Trespasses This was our Saviours own Doctrine Mat. 18. from verse 23. to the end and also his Practice when he pray'd for the forgiveness of his Crucifiers and that at a time too when his own most grievous Agonies and Pains might justly have diverted all respect to others especially to those who were then actually putting him to death How dismal then is your Condition if instead of having your Heart replenished with Charity it be full of Malice if instead of obeying the Doctrine and following the Example of Christ you act quite contrary If you find your brest barren of this kindness to your fellow-Christians pretend not to any real respect to the blessed Author of that Name 1 John 4.20 For if a man say I love God and hateth his Brother he is a Lyar for he that loveth not his Brother whom he hath seen how can he love God whom he never saw You never beheld God with any Eye but that of Faith and therefore could never have Opportunity if he needed it to shew any kindness to his Person So that all you can do to testifie you love him is your Obedience to his Commands whereof this is the sum That he who loveth God loves his Brother also 1 John 4.21 LIX And if this love be without dissimulation such as Scripture and common Equity requires at your hands it will not only appear in a merciful forgiveness of Offenders but also in a liberal relief of the needy And I mention this latter Act of Charity because I find that something was ever given to the Corban of the Poor by those who came to the Sacrament If you consult the practice of the Primitive the best Guide for the present Church you will hardly find that the Lords Supper was ever administred without an Offertory In Acts 2.45 46. you have mention made of selling Possessions and Goods and parting them to all as every man had need And that this was done at the solemn times of publick Prayers and receiving of the Sacrament there is light enough in the Text to clear it You read likewise of a Command That upon the first day of the Week every man should lay by him in store as God hath prospered him The first day of the Week was that we now call Sunday and the Lords day whereon the Lords Supper was constantly received 1. Cor. 16.2 unto which they never came emptie but according as God had increased their Goods the Communicants gave to the relief of the Poor And if you look into the ancient Liturgies you will find them generally taking notice of this Religious Custom And that this was intended by our own Church is concludible from her placing Texts to persuade to this sort of Charity and desiring God to accept our Alms and Oblations in the Communion-office Apol. 2. In Justin Martyr a Father of the second Age we read how the Christians brought forth some of the good Fruits of the Earth and offer'd them at Gods Table and the Bishop or in his absence the Presbyter received them as an Abel's Offering and blessed God for the Fruits of the Season