them though he knows that he Acts contrary to the Command of Christ either trying to satisfy himself with Atheistical hopes that there is no World but this or else with the hopes of an after Repentance which is the common snare of the Devil This Person can not be a Worthy Communicant for he is at enmity with God in his mind He is a Rebel against the Law of Christ which his intention to repent afterwards doth suppose He is one who cannot not think himself welcome to Christ because he will not suffer him to be his Lord to Rule over him There is Unworthyness likewise as to the manner of Receiving and that is when a man doth not Receive with Reverence as becomes him in that solemn Approach to God This was a great fault which the Corinthians were guilty of they came Unreverently and disorderly to the Sacrament from their love-Feasts forgetting that they were not in their own Houses but in Gods House and that they were not eating at their own Tables but at the Lords Table This is the proper meaning of the Apostles expression in the next words Not discerning the Lords Body an expression which I have heard some Papists make use of for their whimsey of Transubstantiation as if they Eat and Drank Unworthily who did not discern by Faith that it was the very Body of our Saviour but most certain it is that the Apostle had another meaning The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies both to discriminate and to sanctify and so the properest Account that can be given of it is that he who doth not Receive after a devout and religious manner is Unworthy I hope I have said enough to take off the unnecessary and causeless fears of those who are humble Christians that they will not any longer give the Enemy of their Salvation this advanvantage against them but that they will take right Measures and be so far from keeping from the Sacrament because they think themselves Unworthy that they will account it a good qualification for their Welcome at the Lords Table Let such persons look into the Holy Gospel and they will find that such persons as they are were not only accepted of Christ but highly commended by him and therefore are the most Welcome Guests at the Lords Table The next thing to be considered is what the Apostle means by eating and drinking Damnation which is the affrighting expression that makes thousands afraid to Receive the Sacrament The trembling sinner is affraid that this brings men into the condition of those who were guilty of the Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost that they have committed a sin which shall never be forgiven them That they having received Unworthily are irrecoverably Lost and Ruin'd That they have swallowed down Poison to their Souls and can never vomit it up again And if these be the interpretations that sinners make of those Expressions that it is very hard to say who is worthy to Receive and yet if a man be an Unworthy Receiver he is from thenceforth in a state of Damnation It is no wonder that there are so few Communicants That I may therefore rectify these mistakes I desire these things may be considered 1. It was not the design of the Apostle by this Expression to scare the wickedest men amongst Christians from the Sacrament but only that they might Repent and come to it He did not suppose that what he said he would make any afraid to perform their Duty in observing this Ordinance nor had it any such effect upon those to whom he wrote this Epistle He was a more faithful steward and Servant of Christ than to do any thing with design to discourage those from coming to his Masters Table who were invited to prepare to come to it If he had he had been as Unworthy a Minister as the worst sinner can be an Unworthy Communicant It is of great moment and may exceedingly tend to the satisfaction of the scrupulous when they read the Scriptures to consider well what the design of the Pen-man is for by this meanes they will prevent misapplications which are of very ill Consequence 2. The word which is translated Damnation is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which signifies Judgment and doth as well signifie any temporal evil which befalls men in this world as the punishment in the hellish State And so the meaning is this and no more He that Eateth and Drinketh Unworthily offends God and provokes the Judgment of God against himself 3. The case of the Corinthians is to be considered and that may tend exceedingly to the satisfaction of those that are thus affrighted 1. They had received Unworthily but yet the Apostle doth not tell them that they are Damned or that they are in a lost condition and must now perrish for ever but Admonishes them to be more careful for the time to come that they might come with better Preparation than they had before 2. In eating and drinking Unworthily they had eat and drank Damnation to themselves in the Apostles sense They had eat and drank Judgment as appears in the next Verse For this cause many are weak and sickly amongst you and many sleep From which it is concluded that God sent a Plague at Corinth for their Unworthy Receiving 3. It must be consider'd that the Apostle only blames the Corinthians for that Fault which they were then guilty of which was their Unworthy Receiving There were no Christians in those dayes that were Non-Communicants They generally Valued the Sacrament above their lives and an opportunity of receiving though it were Administred every day in the week above all the enjoyments of the World There was therefore no occasion for the Apostle to tell them the Danger of living in the neglect of the Sacrament If there had no Man in his Wits can imagine but that the Apostle would have threatned Damnation as well to Unworthy Neglecters as he did to Unworthy Receivers of the Blessed Sacrament 4. If this which the Apostle saith of Eating and Drinking Damnation be the cause of Mens being afraid to come to the Sacrament they may for the like reason be afraid to perform other Duties of Religion If any Impenitent Sinner Prayes to God without a resolution to avoid the same course of Life he cannot think but his Prayers will provoke God to punish him rather then obtain favour to him that he hath reason to expect that the Judgment of God both in reference to this Life and that which is to come should be the consequent of it he is one who confesseth his sin to God but doth not so much as intend to forsake it for the time to come And this must certainly be a great Provocation of the All-seeing God For a Man to pretend that he is sorry for what he hath done when he is not resolved to amend If an earthly King could know that the Malefactor who beggs his Life intended to do the same wickedness for which
he deserved to dye before he would be so far from granting his Petition that he would hasten his Execution The Almighty God the Great King of Heaven knows this to be the Sinners case that although he stands condemned for his evil deeds yet he beggs pardon onely as a thing in course without any resolution of amendment and can it be imagin'd that any thing less than Damnation should be the end of this Sinner There is one case in which the Sinner doth directly Pray Damnation to himself according to the Apostles Phrase and that is the case of the Malitious and Revengeful Sinner he Prayers to God to forgive him his trespresses as he forgives others That is not at all It is as if he should say Lord be thou revenged on me for I am resolved to be revenged on my Brother Besides there is no more cause of Terrour from this Expression of the Apostle by which Sinners are scared from the Sacrament than there is in that of Solomon by which wicked men may be afraid to Pray Prov. 15.8 The Sacrifice that is the Prayer of the Wicked is an Abomination unto the Lord. He that doth that which God loaths that which is an Abomination to him certainly can expect nothing but Damnation to be the end of it I would fain know of the Non-Communicant whether if the Apostles expression had been He that Eateth and Drinketh Vnworthily is an Abomination unto the Lord and Solomons expression had been The Prayer of the wicked bringeth Damnation to himself that he would have Received the Sacrament but never pray'd to God I may likewise instance in that great Duty of hearing Gods Word Certainly every man will grant that for a man to come to the House of God to hear what God requires of him without any intent to do it and accordingly comes from hearing Gods Commands with a resolution to break them can expect nothing less than Damnation to be the consequent of it And although this be the case of thousands of Sinners yet they are not afraid to hear Gods Word There is no more cause of Terrour from this expression of the Apostle to Unworthy Communicants than there is from many Expressions of our Saviour and his Apostles concerning Unworthy Hearers of Gods Word I may instance first in that of our Saviour Luk. 8.18 Take heed therefore how you hear whosoever hath to him shall be given and whosoever hath not from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have If our Saviour had onely given the Caution Take heed how you hear it might startle the unprofitable Hearer and give him just cause to expect Judgment if he were not careful But our Saviour adding For whosoever hath to him shall be given and from him that hath not from him shall be taken away even that which he seemeth to have is an expression which signifies the condition of a careless Hearer to be so forlorn that it may make every such sinner afraid to enter into Gods House The meaning of our Saviour by that proverbial saying is He that is an Obedient Hearer shall grow in Grace and Knowledge and be in the case of a Rich man who encreaseth his Riches to a great Estate but the careless Hearer who doth not give diligent Attention and who comes to hear without resolution to Practise is like a man of low Degree who by taking no care to improve his Stock loseth that little that he hath and comes to intolerable Beggary and Misery How dreadful is the Condition of that man who may be said to hear away all that is good Who the longer he Hears the less he Regards and the worse he is I might instance likewise in the comparison which our Saviour makes between a disobedient Hearer and the foolish man who built his House upon the Sand Mat. 7.26 of which he saith great was the fall of it We can not imagine the great fall of a Disobedient Hearer to be any thing less than a fall into Damnation and everlasting Misery And yet men are not therefore afraid to hear Gods Word who refuse to do it I may instance likewise in in the expressions of the Apostles St. James saith Chap. 1. v. 22. Be ye doers of the Word and not hearers only deceiving your own selves How do men deceive themselves but by expecting Salvation from Hearing and Damnation must be their Portion for not doing And yet the sinner doth not say I shall but deceive my self and therefore 't is in vain for me to go to Gods House to Hear his Word There is another expression of the Apostle 2 Cor. 2.16 To the one we are a savour of death unto death The Apostle is speaking concerning the Ministry of the Gospel and the different Effectswhich it hath upon men in reference to another world It is the savour of death unto death an expression alluding to strong perfumes which are pleasant to some but are like poison suddainly destructive to others It is as if the Apostle should have said Though to some our Preaching the Gospel is exceedingly beneficial yet to others who regard it not it is most certainly destructive for it brings eternal Death There is more terrour in this Expression than there is in that of the Apostles eating and drinking Damnation for that as I have shewed signifies any temporal evil as well as the Punishment of another state But this of the Apostle signifies only the Death of the soul in another world And yet for all this men are not afraid to hear the Gospel Preached to them By this I hope it hath appeared that there is no more reason why Christians should be afraid to Receive the Sacrament from that Expression of the Apostle than they should be to perform other Duties of Religion considering what the Scripture saith concerning those that are Unworthy Performers of them 5. I may add in the last place That this Expression of the Apostle how severe soever it may seem to be is no part of revealed Religion properly so called Revealed Religion is that of God which we could not know if it were not told us But this of Unworthy Communicant eating and drinking judgment to themselves is that which the Corinthian and all Christans might know though the Apostle had never said it Every man by the light of natural Reason knows that he who doth not live in obedience to the Laws of his God or comes Unreverently before him is not accepted of him but on the contrary doth provoke him to anger and consequently to punish that offender who doth thus disobey and contemn him If Heathens had been negligent or unreverent in their Sacrifices and a plague had hapned amongst them as it was supposed to be the case of the Corinthians they would doubtless have concluded that the Plague came because of their Neglect of their Duty And therefore it is a hard case that men should be so much afraid of the Sacrament because they are told
Heaven for Pardon and make haste to Rebel again They can hear what the great God commands and what he promises and what he threatens but it all signifies nothing to them Pharaoh and Ahab regarded more what Ministers said than the do 'T is only the Sacrament that they are afraid of because they have some Guilt and Fear which will not suffer them to make that approach to God which they think is nearer and more Solemn This shews the Case of the sinner to be very desperate It appears plainly that he is resolved to live a sinful Life and that he will not have to do with Religion any farther than it shall leave him Irreligious Praying and Hearing are weak things which his Sin keeps under and doth not suffer them to prevail to the subduing of it and because he looks upon the Sacrament to be of greater force therefore he will not come at it 5. If this be the Case of the sinner 't is never like to be otherwise This man doth not intend to leave his Trade and therefore he intends not to Communicate 6. Let all Persons consider that the more worldly Business any one hath the more necessary it is that he should be a frequent Communicant I mention this because many think that they who have most Leisure from worldly business ought to be most frequent Communicants and that it cannot be expected from those that have many or great Concerns This supposeth that the Sacrament is only an Ordinance which was appointed that Christians should pay their respects and acknowledgments to Christ by it and not that it is appointed also for the good of mens Souls and to keep up in them a quick Sense of the Love of Christ to them and to preserve them from the Power of Temptations which hinders the growth of Grace and Piety The Rich man or the man that hath many Worldly Concerns should say I have more need to frequent the Sacrament than others I am in great danger of loving the World more than Christ and he hath declared that he will not account such to be Worthy of him I am in more Danger than others of my heart being stolen away from God and therefore I will frequent that Ordinance that my Riches or the Desire of them may not ruine me He that pleads Business and neglects the Sacrament doth plainly declare that the World is uppermost in his esteem and that the Sacrament must not be regarded but when the World will give way to it To Conclude this Let me tell every such Pretender that he casts a most manifest slight and Contempt upon the Sacrament If the King should send for him and he were afraid of his displeasure neither Business nor Company must hinder but that Christ commands his attendance is a little thing to him If any news were brought to him of an Estate or Legacy or any great Worldly advantage business and company must give way but the Sacrament is only the concern of his Soul and therefore it may be let alone 3. There is another general Pretence and that is the danger of Relapsing There are many who would receive the Sacrament but they are afraid they should fall into sin again Let such Persons consider 1. Their Case is very dangerous whilst they neglect it It is the Spiritual Food of the Soul Men do not forbear their nourishment for fear it should breed diseases It is the Souls Physick to purge away sin Men do not refuse a Remedy for fear of a Relapse He that pleads this doth not consider the Necessity of Communicating but only the Danger which may be to him that Receives 2. It is not expected that any can wholly avoid Temptations to sin after they have receiv'd but that they should be the more careful to avoid them And that they should not allow themselves in them but repent and amend If men could be so holy as this Pretence supposeth no man should need to receive above once But the Sacrament is appointed to be a continued Means by which men are more and more enabled against their Corruptions which supposeth a continued Contest but not an absolute Victory Every man may resolve that he will for the time to come strive against his sin and whensoever his Conscience accuseth him of sinful Compliances that he will repent and begg Gods Pardon and Gods Grace to withstand it for the time to come and this every man must do that expects Salvation tho he were not required to receive the Sacrament and if he do so he is a Worthy Communicant 3. Those that enter upon a Religious Life and resolve to come to the Sacrament upon serious debates have no cause to be Discouraged by the fear of Relapses If indeed a man comes to the Sacrament upon a sudden Fit in hope that it will remove some particular Trouble from him and so make it an Experiment only and sin after he hath Received this is no Relapse into Sin for he never came off from it But those who from a serious consideration of their Duty and of their danger whilst they Neglect their Duty for the sake of their Sin do resolve to enter into a new course of Life and with serious Resolutions and hearty Prayers for Gods Grace and Blessing come to the Sacrament they need not fear but they shall persevere in the wayes of Religion For 1. The Grace of God will not be wanting to them 2. Those Arguments which induced them to be Religious will continue be of no less force for their Perseverance in the Practice of Religion Such a man cannot say that when he began to be Religious he did not well consider to what end he should be so and therefore upon second thoughts he finds it best to go back again 3. The Pleasure of Religion will continue and encrease No man hath cause to say 't is such an uncouth and unpleasant thing to be Religious that I had better leave it off He cannot say the Non-Communicant who slights Religion and avoids the thoughts of his own condition hath more pleasure in his mind than he that Examines himself so eats of that Bread and Drinks of that Cup. These things considered there is no such danger of Relapsing as the Non-Communicant is afraid of 4. The good Success of Communicating shews that there is no such great danger It may be said indeed that there are some who are Communicants who live sinful Lives but this is no reason why any should keep from the Sacrament for fear of relapsing into such practices Because 't is too probable that such Persons receive the Sacrament chiefly from their regard to the Profession of Christianity and because it is the Duty of every Christian and not that they may be the more Holy and Religious This is a great Reason why you should Communicate from Principles of true Piety but no reason why you should fear relapsing because they never relapsed but are the same that ever they were He that suggests this to keep men from the Sacrament knowes the contrary If there were such a Probability of revolting from God he would not be so busie to keep men from engaging themselves to him Where there is one sinner that perisheth by returning to sin there are thousands that perish because they never began to be Religious These are the Pretences by which men turn their backs upon their Saviour By these do men gratify the great Enemy of their Salvation These are his Devices by which he gets Advantage against men By these he cheats men of the greatest Pleasures in this Life and of Pleasures for ever more in the Life to come God of his Infinite Mercy grant that Non-Communicants may consider of it how much they have Neglected their Duty and their Benefit What Dishonour they have occasioned to the Christian Religion and What Destruction they are bringing to themselves whilest they foolishly think they are avoiding it There never was a Pretence nor ever shall he that will serve a mans turn for the Neglect of his duty God hath made the way plain before every man and if he turns out of it 't is because he is resolved he will not walk in it The Sacrament is a very cheap and not a costly Sacrifice No man is the Poorer but every man may be the Richer for it God requires nothing of any man in order to his Observance of it but what he may do and if he neglects to do this in Remembrance of his Saviour he cannot expect to be remembred by him in his Heavenly Kingdom FINIS