of those that were concern'd therein A Fifth Reflection upon the Paschal Lamb is this that it was to be consider'd as a Publick Pledge and Token of the Covenant GOD had made with the People of Israel by preferring them before the Ismaelites and Edomites who were descended the former from Abraham and the latter from Isaac The Sign of Circumcision did sufficiently acquaint the Jews that by this distinguishing Character GOD had chosen them from among all other Nations of the Earth to accomplish in the midst of them the Promise He had made to Abraham namely that of his Seed the Messias was to be born in whom all Nations should be blessed But this sign of Circumcision being common to the Jews with the Ismaelites and Edomites the pretences of both these to the Priviledges of the Covenant which GOD had first made with Abraham and afterwards renew'd with Isaac was still kept up It was therefore requisite there should be a Religious Ceremony that might demonstrate that this Covenant was particularly confin'd within the Family of Jacob Which was done by the Paschal Lamb. For this represented to them that according to what was foretold Gen. 15. Affliction and that in this State they had receiv'd a particular Relief and Deliverance from GOD which forasmuch as it could not be said of the Ismaelites or Edomites did most strongly refute all their Pretensions to a Right in God's Covenant with Abraham This likewise most clearly set forth to them that God by virtue of his Covenant had out of his Mercy preserved them at a time when the Egyptians felt the Effects of his Curse and Vengeance and that accordingly He would not fail of fulfilling that Great Promise in order to the accomplishment of which He had so miraculously preserved Isaac and after him their Fathers also from the Sword of the Destroying Angel. LASTLY It is to be observed that as this Ceremony reminded them of GOD'S Love for their Nation of his Faithfulness in making good his Promises of the Expiation of their Iniquities and of his Covenant with them A Covenant by which He had engaged to be their God that is their Benefactor and Protector and one day to give them the Messias who was to be born of their Nation so it naturally led them also to look upon themselves as the People of GOD and to obey Him faithfully In a word to answer by a Holy Life and all the marks of true Gratitude the Honour GOD had conferr'd upon them by his making out of his meer Good Will a Covenant with them and calling them to so great Hopes as those were which He had set before them CHAP. IV. Of the Truths which the Holy Communion represents to us THESE are the Principal Truths great Comforts and just Obligations to serve GOD religiously which so manifestly were imply'd in the Celebration of the Paschal Lamb. But how much more important is the thing our Saviour has made to supply the place of it in his Institution of the Eucharist That which he exhibits to us in this Sacred Mystery whether with respect to the Truths Comforts or our Obligations to Piety it contains is infinitely more Sublime great and real To be assured of this we need only to resume and attentively consider the forementioned three Points I begin with the Truths the Eucharist represents to us THE first of these Truths respects the Purpose and Design of our Lord when He instituted the Sacrament of his Supper Certainly it was as all Christians agree to establish a publick Monument of his Death as being the greatest Event that could ever be commemorated First He brake the Bread and then to express what He meant by this breaking of the Bread He said that it was his Body broken i. e. torn by the cruelty of his Tormenters He presented afterwards the Cup to his Disciples and to unfold the Mystery thereof added that it was the New Testament in his Blood which had a natural reference to his Death This He explains more clearly in his command Do this in remembrance of me that is in commemoration of my Sufferings Which made St. Paul say As often as you shall Eat of this Bread and Drink of this Cup you shew or according to our way of speaking you must shew or declare the Lord's Death i. e. you are to call to mind and solemnly commemorate this wonderful effect of the Love of God. Indeed we see the Evangelists have so exactly described the Death of Christ with all the Circumstances thereof to us that we may aver they have as it were presented us with the very Picture and Lively Image of it So that had we been Eye-witnesses of the same our selves and in company with them upon Mount Calvary we should hardly have been so well acquainted therewith as now we are But besides this it was our Saviour's will that by a Religious Ceremony which should be solemnized to the World's End his Death might continually be placed before our Eyes And notwithstanding this ignomious Death was to prove a Stumbling-block to the Jews and at first be look'd upon as meer Foolishness by the Gentiles yet would He have the Remembrance thereof to be dearly preserv'd in his Church by his instituting of the Eucharist much after the same manner as God the Father had instituted the Ceremony of the Paschal Lamb which did yearly refresh the Memory of the Jews about their Deliverance out of Egypt as the most remarkable Event that had ever happened to their Nation THE second Truth which the Eucharist offers to us is That JESVS CHRIST is the true MESSIAS promised by God and that we have in Him the Accomplishment of the ancient Prophecies which among the diverse Characters that the MESSIAS was to be known by and are exactly found in Our Lord expresly foretold that He was to suffer Death Psal 22. Is 53. Dan. 9.26 And here it is well worth our while to consider First That GOD had stampt the mark of his Curse upon the Punishment of the Cross Cursed is every one that hangs on a Tree Deut. 21.23 Gal. 3.13 Secondly That though GOD had described the MESSIAS as One who was to be the Fountain of Blessings to all Nations Tribes and Families of the Earth yet at the same time He had given forth many Oracles concerning his Death upon the Cross and the several Circumstances of it Thirdly That GOD was pleased to dictate a greater Number of Oracles relating to this matter than to any other of those Glorious and wonderful Events whereby the MESSIAS was to be distinguish'd during his Life here The Prophecies mentioning his Birth and the place of his Nativity are but few whereas GOD presignifi'd by the Prophets and represented by manifold Lively Types and Figures 1. That both Jews and Gentiles were to joyn together in the Destroying of the MESSIAS Psal 2.1 2. That his own Disciple and one that ate Bread with him should betray him Psal 41.9 3. That He should
shedding Tears of a true Repentance And what may then be expected from a Sinner who in the Sacrament of the Eucharist has all the Ideas of his Agony Sufferings and Death most lively delineated to Him What an irreconcilable Aversion ought not he to conceive for his Sins What Resolutions ought not he to take of leaving and forsaking them for ever AND to this we find our selves still more indispensably oblig'd by the Nature of this Sacrament For in the fifth Place it is as I have said before the Memorial of CHRIST'S Blood by virtue whereof GOD has made a New Covenant with Sinners In which He has assured us that He will forgive us our Sins and bestow the Glory of his Kingdom upon us But the Condition without which we cannot be made Partakers either of the Remission of Sins or of the Glory of Heaven is the Repenting of our Iniquities and applying our selves to the Study of Sanctification to our Life's End. The Benesit of this New Covenant is That God remembers our Transgressions no more but the Condition He requires of us is That whereas the Jews laid up his Laws in the Ark without having them in their Hearts we must always have them written in ours in order to a continual Religious Observance of them Now as it is his Will that we should daily beg of Him the Pardon of Our Sins which plainly shews He is ready to grant it us so the Only Command He lays upon us is That for the time to come we sin no more lest a worse thing befall us And indeed is it not exceedingly unaccountable that Men who would pass for Children of GOD should live the life of Devils That they who look upon themselves as Confederates with CHRIST should continually violate the Conditions of this Covenant GOD reminded the Jews of their Obligation to Holiness upon the account of his being their GOD. Moses implies thus much in the 24. Chap. of Exodus where the People having accepted of the Laws which he had propounded to them from GOD after he had wrote them in a Book and read the same in the Audience of the Congregation they answer'd All that the Lord has said will we do and be obedient Whereupon Moses sprinkled the Blood on the People and said Behold the Blood of the Covenant which the Lord has made with you concerning all these Words And shall Christians believe that GOD will own them for his People while they remain in their Bondage to Sin The Meaning of the Covenant we have made with GOD has been clearly expressed by a Pagan viz. Pliny who in his Epistle to the Emperour Trajan Lib. 10. Ep. 97. thus explains the Notion Christians had of this Glorious Covenant they were enter'd into with GOD They bind themselves says he by a Sacrament or Oath not to commit any such Crimes as are falsly reported of them but to abstain from Robbery Theft and Adultery to be as good as their Word and Faithful to their Trust c. He plainly shews that Believers looking upon themselves as Confederates and Parties in the same Covenant with GOD banished all manner of Divisions from the midst of them And further intimates that as they did all eat of the same Bread so they were of one Heart and Mind and united to GOD by their resemblance of Him and imitation of his Holiness Now since that time the Gospel is not alter'd for its Maxims are unchangable Neither is it only with respect to the Prophecies or Promises therein contained that it abides to Eternity without any possibility that so much as one tittle of it should ever fall to the Ground but the same must be understood of it as it is the Rule of our Life and Manners prescribed to us by our Lord and Master LAST of all Since JESUS CHRIST has in this Sacrament united the Memorial of his Coming in Glory to the Remembrance of his Humiliation even unto Death will not this Consideration most naturally inspire us with powerful Encouragements to Piety and an indefatigable Perseverance in that Fidelity we owe to Him In commemorating our Saviour's Passion we are oblig'd to deny our selves and to be ready to lay down our Lives whensoever it shall please God to require it in order to the advancement of his Glory JESUS CHRIST tells us that he is unworthy of Him who is not willing to leave all to follow Him. He has given his own Life for us and calls us to a like Abnegation of our selves They who seek their own Pleasures desire to be Rich But CHRIST chose a Voluntary Poverty They are Ambitious of Honours whereas He refused to be made a King. They fear Death but He freely submitted Himself to it They abhor the Cross that ignominious and painful way of Dying whereas He declined not to be Crucified We can commit no Sin but so far as we desire the things which He despised or endeavour to avoid those He so willingly underwent Certainly the sight of this Example ought powerfully to oblige us to an imitation of it It was a Saying of St. Cyprian's Epist 30. That Men are not fitted for Martyrdom when they are not furnished for the Fight out of the Church's Magazine and that the Soul is apt to faint when it is not strength'ned by a frequent Communion This Father was in the right and his Reason for it is the more Solid because the Eucharist immediately after it has exhibited to us the Representation of our Lord's Death which arms us with constancy shews us the Reward of Believers by setting before our Eyes his Coming again from Heaven to glorify them 'T is this Return of our Lord that will prove the great Comfort of the Righteous and at the same time a dread and trouble to the Wicked JESUS CHRIST by thus reminding us of his Glory while we are meditating upon his Sufferings does much the same thing He did upon the Cross where he accepted of the Repentance of the Converted Thief approved of the Acts of his Faith the Marks of his Love and Tokens of his Zeal for the Innocence and Glory of this JESUS whom he now look'd upon as his Saviour CHRIST kindly received and rewarded the evident Expressions of his Hopes But on the other hand punished the Unbelief and Impenitence of his Companion He assured the former that he would admit Him into his Kingdom because He saw in his Heart the Character of a sincere Believer and all the generous Inclinations of a Martyr but left the latter to the just deserts of his Iniquities A true Penitent meets with the greatest Comforts imaginable in the Eucharist where the Impenitent who treads under foot the Blood of the Covenant and discerns not the Lord's Body receives his own Damnation 'T is absolutely impossible this Sacrament should not have such different Effects upon these two sorts of Communicants For from it proceeds a Voice that proclaims Pardon to penitent Sinners and in it we plainly see the Solid
Deliverance of that People Secondly Because this Ceremony was to be the Sacrament of a New Covenant that should not be abrogated by any other whatsoever Thirdly and Lastly Forasmuch as the Apostle St. Paul who had been rapt up into the Third Heaven there to be further acquainted with the great Mystery of Faith informs the Believers that they ought to declare that is according to the Jewish way of speaking to celebrate the Memory of CHRIST's Death untill his Coming again that is to the End of the World when he shall return from Heaven to judge both the Quick and the Dead in order to the Completion of his Promises and our Hopes CHAP. II. That JESVS CHRIST borrow'd the Actions and Expressions HE made use of in the Institution of the Eucharist from the Jews THERE are two sorts of Reflections may be made upon the Institution of the Lord's Supper Some do serve to explain the Letter and out-side of this Sacrament and others again inform us of the great Aim and Design of it I begin with the First AS it is well known that in the Institution of Baptism CHRIST borrowed the Rite of Washing practised by the Jews on those Gentiles they admitted to the Publick Profession of Judaism so it is as plain that our Saviour in the Institution of his Holy Supper did so far comply with the Jewish Customs after the Celebration of their Passover yet raising some of them to a much more excellent Sense than they had before that He follow'd closely the Notions and Expressions of the Jews TO clear this we must know that the Evening of the Passover the Master of the House began this Solemnity with Praises to God holding in his Hand a Cup of Wine whereof himself having first drunk he gave it to all the Company AFTER this instead of the usual Blessing of the Bread he was wont to take an unleavened Cake in his Hand saying This is the Bread of Affliction which our Fathers did Eat in Egypt Words that had a Natural Relation to the History of their Bondage and Deliverance of old I omit the whole Ceremony of the Paschal Lamb which is described in the 12th Chapter of Exodus and shall only remark that after this Feast the Master of the House was us'd to take the Cup again which at first he had consecrated and having given thanks to present it to the Participants saying to them that That was the Fruit of the Vine and the Bloud of Grapes An Expression borrow'd from Genesis Chap. 49.11 and Deut. Ch. 32.14 FINALLY after this Ceremony their Custom was to Sing the 113th 114th Psalms as an Hymn that concluded the Devotion of this Solemnity Which Song of Praise they still at this day call the Hallel 'T IS evident our Lord did imitate this Usage which is still observ'd by the Jews save only that they don't eat a Lamb. When therefore He had eaten the Paschal Lamb He took the Bread which was designed to commemorate the Misery the Children of Israel underwent in Egypt and made use of the same Blessing and Giving of Thanks which was received among the Jews Brake the Bread He had taken and intending this Ceremony should preserve the Remembrance of his Death He still prosecuted the same Notions and Expressions of the Jews saying that it was his Body which was now to be broken for the Remission of the Sins of Mankind AFTER this He according to the Practice of the Jews took the Cup gave thanks a second time and having ended his Blessing or Prayer for these signifie the same thing among the Jews He declared that this Cup was the New Testament in his Bloud or the Bloud of the New Testament by which God granted penitent Sinners the Pardon of their Sins WHICH Expressions clearly shew that He would have this Cup to be consider'd as a Memorial of the New Testament of which he was the Mediator IN short is it not manifest that He together with his Disciples sang the same Hymns which were solemn and customary with the Jews on this occasion THERE is no man who does not easily perceive that JESUS CHRIST found in this constant Custom of the Jews a just ground for expressing himself as He did when he design'd to institute and perpetuate in his Church a Publick Memorial of his Death and Sufferings THE Jews themselves the Mortal Enemies of our Religion do agree with this They highly maintain that according to CHRIST's Sense these Words This is my Body c. which He pronounced in shewing the Bread cannot import the notion of Reality but only of Signification that his Meaning was very apparent both because He said in the 6th of St. John concerning the Eating here mentioned The Words that I speak to you are Spirit and Life that is they are to be understood in a Spiritual Sense and because it was an usual Expression with them to say This is the Bread which our Fathers did Eat though indeed it was but the Memorial of it Fortalit Fid. L. 3. § 11. p. 172. Thus the Expressions of our Lord being as appears made up of those common Idea's so current among the Jews it is evident that his Design in instituting of the Eucharist was to represent his Death to us as a thing which for time to come was to be commemorated by the Church He substituting it in the room of the Memorial of the Deliverance out of Egypt and the ancient Covenant God had made with the Jews after his having set them at Liberty from their hard Bondage BUT these Remarks which only respect the out-side of the Eucharist are of much less importance than those of the Second Order which refer to our Lord's Design in his Institution of this Holy Sacrament CHAP. III. That JESVS CHRIST in his Institution of the Eucharist has followed Idea's or Notions quite opposite to those of the Paschal Lamb And what those Idea's of the Paschal Lamb are OUR Saviour's Words are not to be compar'd only with those the Jews made use of at the Eating of their Unleavened Bread which they call'd the Bread of Affliction because it was a Representative of it but that they may be throughly illustrated they are to be considered with opposition to the Idea's of the Paschal Lamb to which our Lord was willing to make the Celebration of this Sacrament to succed And indeed not only St. Paul leads us naturally to look upon the Sacrifice of the Passover as a he says 1 Cor. 5.7 that CHRIST our Passover is Sacrificed for us nor only did JESUS CHRIST for this choose the time of the Passover to ordain the Memorial of his Death but the Jews themselves seem fully to agree with it when they propound this as one of their most ancient Traditions That the Messias is to procure their Salvation the self same Day in which they were deliver'd from their Egyptian Bondage Fagius ad Exod. 12.13 First then I say that it is evident our Lord's Design was