not tie themselves to that practise particularly that of Troas where the Communion was celebrated every Lords Day only as St. Luke informs us Act. 20. 7. And upon the first day of the week when the Disciples came together to break Bread Paul preach'd unto them and this custom the Apostles seem to have establish'd in most Churches because it was follow'd almost in all places not only while they lived but after they had left the world and continued for several Centuries till Zeal and Fervor in the House of God decayed and because none of the Ancients hath so fully described this custom as Justin Martyr who lived in the second Century or 150 years after Christ it will not be amiss to set down his words which are On the day called Sunday all who are either in the City or Country come together in one place and the comentaries or Writings either of the Apostles or Prophets as time will permit are read to the Congregation The Reader having done the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 President or the Chief Minister of the Church makes an Oration in which he instructs the hearers and exhorts them to a sincere imitation of the excellent things that have been delivered to them Upon this we all rise and apply our selves to Prayer This done Bread and Wine and Water are brought forth and the President as far as he is able offers to Almighty God Prayers and Praises at which the People joyfully say Amen Whereupon distribution is made of the consecrated things to all that are present If any be absent the Deacons carry them to their Houses Those who are of the richer sort contribute Alms every one according to his ability and what is thus gathered is deposited in the President 's hand and out of that he re lieves Orphans and Widows and such as by reason of sickness or some other distresses have need of it such also as are in bonds and poor Strangers that come to him in a word he is a Steward to all that are in want And on Sunday particularly we meet thus because it is the first day in which God out of darkness and matter which he had created before framed this visible World and Jesus Christ our Redeemer rose that day from the Dead for the day before Saturday he was Crucified and after that which is Sunday he appear'd to his Disciples and bid them do what we have here related To this purpose speaks Tertullian who lived about Fifty years after him and of this Lords Day it 's probable Pliny the Heathen Governor spoke when giving Trajan the Emperor an account of the life and manners of the Christians he tells them that they used to meet Stato die on a set day In a word for Believers to receive the Lord's Supper every Lord's Day was counted in those Ages as necessary as publick Prayer and hearing the Word of God explained In Epiphanius's time it was customary in some places to receive the Holy Communion thrice a week and they looked upon that practise as derived from an Apostolical Tradition viz. Wednesdays Fridays and Sundays In some Churches as Socrates informs us they had a Sacrament constantly on the Sabbath-day or Saturday but that was much disliked by the Churches of Rome and Alexandria St. Basil makes mention of a Custom in his time which was to Communicate four times a week Wednesdays Fridays Saturdays and Sundays Afterwards some received the Holy Communion once in three weeks At last as all things in progress of time deviate from the first Institution the Christians came to Receiving of it thrice in a year which they thought was the least a Man who profess'd himself a Christian could do which occasioned that Canon in the Council of Turin that a Lay-man who did not Communicate thrice a year should be Excommunicated or which is the same not be counted a Christian from which Historical reflections it 's evident that in the purer Ages of the Church frequent Communion was counted a very necessary Duty II. What was necessary then cannot must not be counted needless now and the reasons that enforce the necessity of it at this Day are these following 1. It must be granted that this frequent Communicating is a very great preservative against Sin The Heathens talk'd much of their Amulets and preservatives against the Arts of Sorcerers and Magicians but this without any Superstition may more truly be called a preservative against the Witchcraft of Sin and offending God Nothing is more rational for in this Sacrament the demerit of Sin is represented in very sad Characters In the Wounded and Mangled Body of our Great Master in the Anguish His Soul was in upon the account of our Sins we behold what odious and monstrous things they are how abominable to God's purer Eyes how contrary to His Holiness and what a separation they make betwixt the Creator and the Creature how they move Him to forsake us to withdraw His Gracious Presence from us What fears what tremblings what shame what ignominy what sorrow and what grief they cause All this certainly is to be seen in the floods of Misery which fell upon our Mediator who undertook our Cause bore our Sins upon the Cross and was made Sin for us put his Shoulder under our Griefs and carried our Sorrows was wounded for our Transgressions and bruised for our Iniquities And having taken that tremendous burden upon himself see how he was rejected despised forsaken trampled on what horror what fears what darkness fell upon Him which is an Item not only of what our Sins have deserved but of what we shall feel everlastingly if we embrace not this Mediator as our Sovereign Lord or are not resolved to tread in his steps for when he cry'd My God why hast thou forsaken me it was not for his own sake that he fell into this exclamation but for ours to shew that the Sinner who after this would not repent should be forsaken of God for ever And can I see in this great Example how God will deal with me if I neglect the calls of Grace and Mercy And can I be so brutish and hug those Sins which upon my account were so severely lashed in him that was my Surety who stept in and took the Blow that would have lighted upon me All the Goodness Holiness and Divinity that was in this Saviour of Mankind could not make the Sins he bore look lovely in the Eyes of God and though he was the Son of God yet our Sins being laid upon him as they were on the Sacrifice under the Law God's Justice and Purity would not dispense with looking upon them with a favourable Eye and though he was the dearly beloved of his Eternal Father yet God punished those Sins in him in a very terrible manner to let us know that if we accept not of the remedy Christ offers us do not make his Cross a motive to Conversion they shall be thus punished in our
love thee feel XI O Saviour Gentle as the Spirit that in the shape of a Dove lighted on thy Sacred Head Teach me that Meekness which look'd so amiable in thy Life Expel the evil Spirits of Wrath Anger and Pride and Envy out of my Soul Speak the word and these Winds and Waves will obey thee Let thy gentleness make me great When I shall have overcome my wrathful and proud Inclinations and O! let the Sacrament I am going to help me in the Conquest then shall I be great and glorious in thy sight XII Great Shepherd of my Soul whose Wounds are full of Sweetness full of Mercy full of Charity Let thy Wounds prove the most powerful Remedies to rid me of my Corruptions When any impure Thoughts rise in me let thinking of thy Wounds crush them when sluggishness in Religion assaults me let thy Wounds and the remembrance of them make me vigilant in thy service and when in the Holy Sacrament I think of thy Wounds let all my vain imaginations expire XIII Great Friend of my immortal Soul Such a friend is not to be found in all the World as thou hast been to me for thou hast laid down thy Life for me O let me make much of thy friendship and cherish it by being meek and humble and merciful and patient as thou wert that thou mayest be my Friend when I dye and after Death receive me to thy self O confirm and seal thy Friendship to my Soul in the Blessed Sacrament and let the same Spirit move in me which raised thee from the dead XIV O Thou who hast wash'd me from my Sins with thine own Blood chuse I beseech thee my Heart for thy Dwelling place adorn and replenish it with thy Gifts and Graces make me to loath all transitory things make me poor in Spirit cure in me the itch of Self-love throw down all pride and eagerness after the Riches of this World and make the Holy Sacrament I am going to a mean to adore thee in Spirit and in Truth and to persevere in Goodness to the end XV. Great Comforter of all weary and laden Souls Circumcise my Heart from all evil Thoughts and Words and Actions and Comunicate thy self unto me that I may never be separated from thee or ever be deprived of thy Comfort Draw my Soul after thee in the Holy Sacrament and let that Blessed Ordinance powerfully stir up my Heart to love thee XVI O Thou who art the door of thy Sheepfold By thee let me have access to thy Father's Love And as in the Holy Sacrament thou openest thy Bosom to me so let me run and seek shelter there Chain me to thy self by Bands of Love and let no Temptation defile me O keep me that I may never cowardly faint at any adversity XVII Thou who hast endured contradictions of Sinners against thy self Be thou ever in my mind and teach me to bear Calumnies and Reproaches with great tranquility of Mind Let me refer all difficulties to thee and with silence expect thy Grace and Comfort and let the Blessed Sacrament so influence my Soul that I may fear none but thee XVIII Great Captain of my Salvation I am going to learn to fight the good fight in the Blessed Sacrament of thy Love Let thy great example there encourage me to fight against all Ambition and Ostentation against Censoriousness and Uncharitableness against all Intemperance and Gluttony against all proud and covetous Thoughts against Guile and Hypocrisie against discontentedness and misitrinst of thy Providence Against such Enemies give me grace to fight over these let me triumph that having striven lawfully I may at last be admitted to the Glorious sight of thy Sweet Self and be charm'd with thy Love for ever CHAP. XXVII Of the proper Acts of Devotion when we come to the Holy Table The CONTENTS Private Acts of Devotion must be forborn while the Congregation joyns in common Addresses to Almighty God General Acts of Devotion relating to the wonderful Love of Christ and our Love to him Particular Acts of Devotion at the Consecration and Receiving of the holy Symbols I. THE following Acts are fittest to be used before the Prayers of the Church usual at the Communion do begin or before the Minister of the Ordinance comes to us with the sacred Symbols and while others are Communicating II. While the Minister of the Ordinance is engaged in the Prayers of the Church these Ejaculations must be forborn our Duty during the publick Devotions being to joyn with the Congregation in their common Addresses to God These Acts of Devotion are either General or Particular The General I call those which respect the Love of the Lord Jesus The Particular those which are to be exercised at the Consecration and Receiving of the Consecrated Bread and Wine General Acts of Devotion at the Lord's Table I. GReat Saviour of the World Thou art infinitely amiable worthy to be loved by all to whose Ears the joyful Message of thy Love doth come I rejoyce in the Knowledge of thy Love I count my self happy that I am born under the Shadow of thy Gospel in which thy wonderful Love to the Children of Men is manifested I desire no other Knowledge 'T is enough that I know thou hast loved me beyond Example I desire to count all things Dross and Dung for the Excellency of the Knowledge of Christ. II. O my Jesus I am not worthy to love thee Yet because thou biddest me love thee and hast told me that my Soul was created on purpose to love thee I chearfully resign my Love and Affection to thee I desire to love thee I wish for nothing more than that I may passionately love thee Whom have I in Heaven to love but thee And there is none on Earth that I desire to love more than thy self For thou art altogether lovely and thy Love surpasses all the Love of Friends and the dearest Relations I have III. O my blessed Redeemer I desire to love thee with all my Heart and with all my Strength Thou gavest me this Heart and this Strength And on whom can I bestow it better than on thee the Author of it Oh that all that is within me might be turned into Desires and Inclinations and Sighs and Languishings and Breathings after thee For I cannot express what thou hast done for me What thou hast done for me is beyond all the Kindness that the greatest Men ever did or can do for the meanest and poorest Creatures IV. Great Advocate of my Soul Thou seest my Desire to love thee Make it strong and powerful Take a Coal from the Altar and give it Fire that nothing may hinder the Flame from mounting up that nothing may weaken this Desire nothing may break it nothing may tire it nothing may mingle with it that is unclean or contrary to thy Love V. Great Object of my Desires Make me a Martyr of thy Love Make me willing even to die for love of thee Raise a
promote and encourage the good he reaps from exacter Compositions I have in the following Discourse endeavour'd at once to inform the Readers Judgment to direct his Practice and to satisfy his Curiosity the first by giving a rational account of the Nature of the Eucharist the second by taking notice of the particular Duties requisite in Communicants and the third by adding some Historical passages about the rise and progress of some Rites and Opinions relating to this Sacrament I had Thoughts toward the latter end to have added a Chapter about Confessing of Sin to a Faithful Minister of God's Word before Men receive the Communion but fearing the Book would swell to an unconscionable bulk I was forc'd to stop where I did That which made me desirous to have said something of that Subject was because I find by converse that some Romish Priests have of late been very busie with several Members of our Church and made a mighty stir about this Sacramental Confession as if our Church were defective in a Fundamental Point because we press no such thing upon our Communicants But not to mention that Mountebanks do what they can to discourage Men from consulting with discreet and rational Physicians we do not indeed make this Confession of sins to a Minister absolutely necessary to Salvation nor do we enjoyn it upon pain of Damnation because we have no warrant for it in Scripture which our Church makes the only Rule of her Faith but that we do not encourage this Confession as a thing very convenient nay in some cases necessary especially where the Sinners Conscience is burden'd and oppress'd and labours under doubts is a malicious Slander and Calumny We find nothing in the Apostles Rubrick for Celebrating the Holy Communion concerning this Confession But all that he saith is this Let a Man examine himself and so let him eat of that Bread and drink of that Cup which Christians may certainly do without Confessing their Sins to a Minister Yet where they are gravel'd in this Examination or find themselves in perplexity about their Spiritual concerns Reason requires that they should come to the Priest who is appointed by God as Director of their Consciences and where we find that their Souls are touch'd with remorse and their resolution is great and magnanimous to shake off the burthen of their Pollutions and to give themselves up to the conduct of a better Master there we are ready to impart to them that Absolution which God hath bid us pronounce in his Name to their Comfort and whereof there is as full and satisfactory a Form in our Liturgy as any Christian can desire It 's granted we do not as in the Roman Church join the Merits of the Virgin Mary and of the Saints to those of Christ in our Absolution because we dare not for fear of committing a hainous Sin but we Absolve as far as we are impowred by the Word of God and he that leaves this Fountain and hews out to himself Cisterns which can hold no Water is in danger of being forsaken by God and left to his own Delusions and vain Imaginations THE Crucified Jesus CHAP. I. Of the Name of this Ordinance and why Distribution and Participation of Bread and Wine usual in Christian Assemblies is called The Lords Supper The CONTENTS All Societies of Men have certain Badges whereby they are united among themselves and distinguished from others The Sacraments of the Christian Church are such Badges This particularly where Bread and Wine is Administred call'd The Lords Supper for four Reasons Though Celebrated in the Morning yet may still be call'd the Lords Supper Some Remarks upon its Institution at Night Divers Names given to this Sacrament by the Ancients An Account how this Supper differs from Common Suppers The Necessity of our giving attendance at this Ordinance The proper dress of the Soul which renders it a welcome Guest at this Sacrament The Prayer I. IT is St. Austin's observation that Men can never unite in the Bond of Religion whether true of false except they agree in some outward Sign or Badge as a Character of their Concord and Combination To this purpose it was that even the Divides of old as Caesar tells us having made their Sacrifices the Testimony of their Union whenever any of their People did obstinately disobey their orders the Punishment they inflicted on them was to interdict them the Use and Participation of their Sacrifices and whoever fell under this Censure was counted Criminal and impious his Company Discourse and Conversation shunn'd as the Plague and he depriv'd of the Benefit of the Law and look'd upon as infamous and scandalous Such visible Badges the Son of God when he left the Earth thought 〈◊〉 to give to the Christian World to be Witness of their Union and Communion viz. Baptism and the Supper of the Lord the former as a Mark of their being admitted into his Church the other to advance and increase that Spiritual Life of which the former may be supposed to have sown the Seed and laid the happy Foundation and and though all that come and apply themselves to the use of these Ordinances are not therefore true Members of his Church or lively Stones in that Spiritual Building yet as these Mysteries and frequenting of them are standing Witnesses of their having addicted themselves and vow'd obedience to Christ's Religion so they are means whereby they may not only arrive to a lively sense of their Duty but whereby their Union and Communion may be promoted and proclaimed to all that are without the Pale of Christian Congregations And were the ancient Discipline of the Church revived and reduced to its former lustre and glory we may rationally conclude that to be deprived of the use of these two especially of the latter would be more infamous and grievous than it was among the Heathen to be excluded from the participation of their Sacrifices as the Benefits of which people are deprived thereby are of greater consequence and concernment than those which the Pagans expected from their unreasonable Service II. As to the Sacred Rite of Distributing and Participating of Bread and Wine universally practised in the Christian Church and which is the proper subject of the ensuing Discourse the reason why it is called the Lords Supper is 1. Because the Lord of Lords and King of Kings he whose Name is Wonderful The Lord Jesus Christ hath solemnly instituted vnd ordained it It was the fatal night when the Jews prompted by the Prince of Darkness and blind with rage and envy were come out against him as against a Thief with Staves and Spears to hurry him to Death and to the Cross just before this amazing Tragedy began having eaten the Passover with his Disciples and by so doing put an end to the Types and Shadows of the Ceremonial Law he took Bread and Wine and gave it to all the Church then present and bid them eat and drink
with all manner of Felicities But seeing that even this would not prevail there is but one thing more said he that can be tryed And seeing there is in Man not only a Fear and Desire but a Principle of Love too than which nothing is stronger to draw and incline his Will to Action Accordingly he came himself and appeared in Flesh and carried himself so lovingly toward the Sinner and proceeded to so great an excess of Charity as to lay down his Life to save him And therefore he that after this continues hard and impenitent saith the Father will not turn to him nor offer his Heart and Love to him deserves most justly to hear this unwelcome voice O man what could I have done more for thee to gain thy Love and affection than I have done Indeed what can we desire he should do more for us What can we desire more after his spilling his Blood and enduring for us more than any Man ever did There is no greater Testimony of Love If he had had a better thing than his Blood he would have bestowed it upon us But Love cannot go beyond this and therefore when Christ just at the moment of his Death cry'd It is finished We are not only to understand by that saying That the Shadows of the Old Testament the Desires of the Patriarchs the Figures and Prophecies which went before of him were at an end and accomplish'd or that the malice of the Jews the sury of the Devil the captivity of Sin and the reconciliation of the World were finish'd and consummate but the meaning withal is that all the Arts and Methods and Stratagems of Love had now received their accomplishment and that beyond this there was nothing could be supposed capable to allure or entice Men to express their Love and Affection to their God and that beyond this he knew of nothing else that could draw or gain their Affection than to be made Man and to die for them And if God be come to the utmost bounds of condescension in this attempt and prevails not judge O Sinner judge whether thou art not most deservedly cast into Eternal Darkness II. There is a great difference betwixt bare reading of Christ's Passion and meditating of it The former makes little or no impression the later touches and affects The former is no more than looking on the Wine but the other is drinking of it He that reads may have his Thoughts all that while in the Indies upon his Business or the affairs of his Calling and when he comes from reading may be able to give but a very small account of his pains except it be some general Notions and an imperfect draught and that 's no better than taking up water in a Sieve which runs out as fast as it is put in But Meditation fixes the Thoughts and takes notice of the weight and importance of the History This examines the end and designs of the various passages This takes a view of every circumstance and finds there are greater Mysteries in the particulars than at first sight appear'd This finds out new Mines and makes that shining Gold which was but Oar before I have heard of some ill Men that have been able to rehearse the whole New Testament word for word but he that meditates but upon one Verse of the Book shall receive greater advantages by it than the other by repetition of the whole Bible But all Persons have not Heads and Understandings fitted for Meditation and therefore those that have not must either make some short Remarks or Reflections upon what they read according to the Directions and Method before laid down or make use of the Conceptions and Meditations of other Men which may possibly affect them as much as Thoughts of their own However by applying the Meditations they read and reading them attentively they make them their own and though they sharpen their Shears and Coulters at other Men's Shops yet that 's no hindrance to their Spiritual profit and Edification nay some are of that temper that they like other Mens contemplations better than their own partly out of a natural mistrust of their own Abilities partly out of respect to the Names and Persons of Learned and pious Men. But what-ever Meditations are made use of in this Case seriousness must give them Life and an intent to quicken our Souls and inward Man must be the impulsive Cause and from hence the Thoughtful Christian may expect very Blessed Effects and Consequences Yet III. When I urge this Meditating on Christ's Death and Passion by way of Preparation and draw out this Meditation to so great prolixity for fear of being misunderstood I must add these following Rules and Cautions 1. It is chiefly intended for such as have time and leisure from whom God justly expects more than of those who are forced to employ their time early and late in hard labour for a livelyhood not but that the way to Bliss is one and both Rich and Poor must observe the same substantial Duties upon which the future Reward is promised and both are obliged to be Just and Sober and Temperate and Meek and Humble and Kind and Tender-hearted and lovers of God and devout but as the Rich have more time and leisure so God expects they should exceed the other in Goodness and employ that time which the other are forced to bestow in the sweat of their Face upon Contemplations of Nobler Objects whereby they may become shining and burning Lights and by their Example supply the use of Books to the poorer sort who in their Actions may compendiously view their own Duty and be incouraged to follow their good example with Humility and Godly Fear 2. This prolix Meditation may lawfully be forborn upon urgent occasions when a person either is to receive the Holy Communion on his sick Bed or is on a suddain call'd out to communicate with a Person who is sick In these Cases shorter Reflections and Ejaculations coming from an Heart set and fix'd upon the Love and Will of God are acceptable because upon such occasions Christ's Rule holds I will have Mercy more than Sacrifice 3. Nor is it necessary to tye our selves to the length of it As to this we may use Liberty and Discretion must guide every Christian who know best what he is able to bear and what not Sometimes only a few Verses of the afore mentioned Chapters may be pitch'd upon for our Minds to expatiate upon sometimes a greater and larger Field may be set before us and whereas from the variety of managing our Directions being sometimes short sometimes prolix this scruple is apt to arise that this is a sign of weariness and inconstancy and unsteddiness in God's Service that scruple must be removed by consideration of Christ's and the Apostles example the former praying sometime all night and sometime using only some few Ejaculations to his Heavenly Father the other sometimes exercising themselves in Devotion till
than by thy Will and Precepts Give me understanding that I may do that which is most agreeable to thy holy Nature and the interest of my immortal Soul O let thy Grace awaken my Reason that I may exercise my self for the future more in things Spirtual and invisible Thy Gospel is so true The Miracles recorded there so convincing the Doctrine so weighty the beauty of Holiness so charming thy promises so gracious thy threatnings so terrible thy Laws so equitable that I wonder at my backwardness to offer unto thee my reasonable service Thou art my Father how reasonable is it that I should love thee Tâ—ou art my Master how reasonable is it that I should obey thee Thy Rewards are infinite how reasonable is it that I should contend earnestly to get them Lord thou knowest my weakness and the stubbornness of my Heart O adjure me by the mercies of God to present unto thee my Soul and Body as a living Sacrifice that whether I live or die I may live and die in the Lord Jesus Amen CHAP. XXX Of the Ceremony or Posture of Kneeling at the Holy Sacrament The CONTENTS Want of Charity the great Cause of Men's separating from a Church sound in her Doctrines and Morals in point of Ceremonies Essential Things in the first Institution of this Sacrament must be separated from Circumstantial The Posture Christ used was not Sitting but Leaning or Lying on one Side No Churches ever used that Posture Several Reasons why Kneeling is the most proper Posture in Receiving The Prayer I. IT is observed by Eusebius that when Polycarp the famous Bishop of Smyrna came to Rome though he differed from Anicetus the Bishop of that See in Points of Ceremony and Customs he had received from St. John yet they communicated together and did not think it Christian-like to break Communion for any Difference in Things of that Nature An excellent Temper and which I could wish had been observed by our Dissenting Brethren who have been over-scrupulous about the Posture of Kneeling at the Holy Sacrament 'T is a lamentable thing to see how Men divide and separate one from another in Religion upon the Account of little External Formalities and neglect the Substance for a Circumstance and the great Duty of Charity because the Ornaments and Decencies of a Church are not modell'd according to their Humour What Account can such Men give of themselves to God who leave a Church by their own Confession sound in Doctrines and Morals for a few External Things which are not agreeable to their Fancy Is this a Cause worth suffering for And can they imagine that God will reward them for neglecting a greater Duty for a less Into what Passion and Bitterness have some been transported that they have even ventured to call this Kneeling at the Communion Idolatry and Superstition When the Children of Reuben Josh. 22. 27. protested that the Altar they had erected was not for Sacrifice or Burnt-Offering but only as a Witness that they were part of the Tribes of Israel the whole Congregation of the Children of Israel acquiesced and were satisfied Our Church protests publickly against any Intent of Paying Adoration by this Ceremony to the Consecrated Elements which would make it Idolatry and yet so dis-ingenuous are some that notwithstanding this Protestation they fill both their own and other People's Heads with Fears that Popery and Idolatry may be hid under that fair Outside In which Proceedings there is so little Charity and Ingenuity that it is a Shame Men should pretend to Conscience and shew so little of it in their Censures II. That which hath betrayed too many into these uncharitable Verdicts hath been their not distinguishing betwixt the Essentials and Circumstantials of this Sacrament betwixt things barely related and commanded And while they have thought themselves obliged to keep exactly to every occasional Action or Gesture used by Christ but not commanded in this Sacrament they have led themselves and others into very palpable Mistakes and Delusions And yet when all is done even these Persons that plead against Kneeling at this Sacrament under a Pretence of keeping close to the Letter of Christ's Actions do at the same time neglect several Circumstances observed in the first Institution for it was celebrated in an Upper Room administred only to Twelve to Men and not to Women and at Night c. None of which Circumstances are observed by these Men. And if one Circumstance may be neglected why may not another such as Sitting be forborn That Christ and his Disciples sate at this Sacrament is the common Allegation and we render the Greek Words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by He sate down And the Reason why we render it so is because Sitting comes nearer to the Posture Christ used than Standing or Kneeling But any Man that is no Stranger either to Greek or to the Custom of the Jews must needs know that these Words do properly import Leaning or Inclining or Lying on one Side And this the Jews express by their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as Sitting by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 making a great Difference betwixt these two This Leaning or Lying the Jews used at their Passover Whether they borrowed this Rite or Posture from the Grecians Romans and Persians who used to Sup in that Posture I will not determine But the manner was this they lean'd or lay on their Left Side upon little Beds made for that purpose called in their Language 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mittoth by the Greeks 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and each Bed held three Persons The Law had commanded Standing at the Eating of the Passover but the Church looked upon that Posture as Servile accommodated only to those Times when they were in Egypt and therefore changed it into the Posture of Leaning which they thought was a Badge of Liberty Nor doth Christ find fault with their Church for making this Alteration in a commanded Posture for himself practised it knowing that Circumstantial Things are left to the Discretion of the Governors of Churches to keep or abolish them as they shall see convenient And this was so universally believed by all Churches of the Christian World that none I could ever hear or read of hath kept to the posture of Leaning or Lying on one Side in the Use of this Holy Sacrament which they would not have presumed to do if this Posture had been Essential to the Receiving of the Sacrament And whereas it is commonly said that this was a Table-posture to which Sitting succeeded still this shews that Men have varied from the Posture Christ used And since he hath commanded no Posture all Churches are at their liberty to order what Posture they think fit and he is a contentious Man that opposes it What Posture the Primitive Church used at the Receiving of the Sacrament Antiquity hath not left upon Record That they stood at their Publick Prayers on Sundays and on other
his Heart for if that be as it should be it is indifferent what Matter the Cup is made of in the Administration of this Ordinance As to the Figure Form or Shape of the Cup Christ made use of Tradition saith It was a Cup with two Handles holding a Quart of Wine 'T is true the Jews in their Passover made use of such a Measure which was therefore called Robiit or a Fourth Part and Christ might possibly accommodate himself to that Custom the rather because it was a Cup that all the Disciples drank of according to Christ's Order Drink ye all of it yet this is still conjectural only and therefore the Christian Churches are in this Case left to their Prudence and Discretion Tertullian tells us and he lived about the Beginning of the Third Century that in his Days there was engraven on the sacred Chalice the Figure of a Shepherd carrying a Lamb upon his Shoulders an Emblem either of the Parable Luk. 15. 4 5. or of the Son of God who walked through the Wilderness of this World to seek those which were lost and having found them brought them back to the Fold again and to his Father's House But see how soon an innocent Custom draws on more dangerous Practices In process of time the holy Cup in the Sacrament began to be adorned with various Images and Inscriptions Such was the Cup which Remigius Archbishop of Rhemes who died in the Year 535. bequeathed to his Church with this Inscription Out of this Cup the People drink Life and Happiness through the Blood of Christ Jesus As Superstition afterward increased instead of Silver Cups the People made use of the Monks invented little Silver Pipes through which the People were to suck the holy Wine out of the Cup the Priest made use of which is the Reason why in the Rules of the Carthusian Monks this among the rest was one That they shall have nothing of Silver in their Colleges save only a Silver Chalice and Silver Pipes through which the Lay-men are to suck the Blood of Christ. These Things are hinted here to shew how necessary it is to keep up to the Primitive Institution of this Sacrament for if once Men presume to deviate from that Simplicity they know not where to stop and they will be tempted to hancker after new Devices and Inventions every Day III. That Christ gave the Cup to his Disciples as well as the Bread is evident from the Institution And the Reasons were these 1. To shew that this part of the Sacrament is of the same worth and value with the other and that we are to esteem the sacred Cup as highly as we do the Bread for as the former represented his broken Body so this his spilt and flowing Blood Nay if there be any Preeminence in the one above the other it must be ascribed to the Cup or the Blood of Christ represented by the Wine in the Cup for upon the Blood of the Son of God the weight of Redemption lies according to what the Apostle tells us Heb. 9. 11 12. But Christ being become an High-Priest of good Things to come by a greater and more perfect Tabernacle not made with Hands that is not of this Building neither by the Blood of Goats and Calves but by his own Blood he enter'd in once into the Holy Place having obtained Eternal Redemption for us And Without shedding of Blood there is no Remission as it is Vers. 22. And this shews how miserably the poor People are deluded in the Modern Church of Rome in that they are denied the Cup in this Ordinance for hereby they are deprived of that which should afford them the greatest Comfort and assure them of the Remission of their Sins For if the great Stress of Redemption must be laid on the Blood of Christ and they are deprived of that part of the Sacrament which properly and immediately represents his Blood which was shed for the Remission of their Sins it must necessarily follow that they are intolerably cheated And what Assurance can they have from this Sacrament that their Sins are or will be pardoned when they receive not that which must assure them of it So that the Laity in that Church are left in a most uncomfortable Condition Nor will it avail much to say that the People believe that they receive the Blood in the Bread for it is not Fancy or Imagination that will do any good here Christ certainly did not think so which made him appoint a distinct Symbol for his Blood and but that they are not to believe their own Senses in that Church their Eyes and Tongues might convince them that they do not remember the shedding of Christ's Blood for the Remission of their Sins by drinking of the Wine designed for that purpose For 2. Christ in giving the Cup to his Disciples as well as the Bread intimated thereby that those who received the one should receive the other also This hath been the Sense of the Christian Church for many Hundred Years after Christ The Greek from the Apostles Days to this Hour hath inferred and doth infer so much and even the Latin Church for above a Thousand Years was of the same Opinion 'T is true in the Church of Rome the Priest drinks of the consecrated Cup as well as eats the consecrated Wafer But what have the poor Sheep the Lay-men done that they must be excluded from the Cup The Apostles 't is granted were Priests but they received not the holy Sacrament as Priests but as Believers Christ at that time was the Priest that administred the holy Symbols to them and Children can tell that according to this way of arguing the People ought not to receive the holy Bread because the Apostles were Priests when they received it However to do even an Enemy right the Church of Rome is ingenuous enough in their maintaining of this Sacrilege for the Council of Constance expresly tells us That though Christ gave the Sacrament to his Disciples in both kinds and though in the Primitive Church this Sacrament was received by the Faithful in both Kinds yet notwithstanding all this the Fathers of that Council think it fit to abrogate that Custom and threaten the Priest with Excommunication that shall offer to give the consecrated Wine or Cup to the Common People And I confess this is plain Dealing but in the worst Sense as Men do justifie their Sins and boast of their Iniquities And with what Conscience any Person can be of that Church that doth assert and defend and obliges her Members to comply with such manifest contrariety to the Doctrine of Christ I know not This I know that Obedience to the Precepts of the Gospel is a commanded Duty and they are excluded from Christ's Favour and Friendship that will not keep his Words and all pretences of Love are rejected as Pageantry where obedience to his Commands is not the product of that Love and consequently
and Feet and Gestures and Behaviour thy Reason Memory and Passion should all be at his beck move by his prescription act according to his appointment be seasoned with his Grace and conducted by his Wisdom If thou art content that all shall go rather than his Favour if his Love or a share in it be dearer to thee than the dearest of all outward enjoyments be of good cheer it 's a good sign and thou mayst rationally infer that thou art in Covenant with thy Lord and hast a right to all the priviledges that are annex'd to it for thy encouragement V. And here we may justly reflect what a mercy it is to be in Covenant with God a mercy indeed which no Tongue can express nay no Apollos neither as eloquent as he was can describe no Tertullus no Cicero no Demosthenes represent according to its worth a mercy which no Man knows save he who receives it a mercy weich fills the Tongues of departed Saints with praises a mercy which unhappy Souls that groan among Devils would give Millions for if they had them a mercy which sweetens all Conditions makes Sickness easie and Iron Chains sit soft mitigates pain and tempers grief and anguish A mercy which made the penitent Publican stand confounded amaz'd the humble Magdalen caused St. Paul to go chearfully through Stripes and Imprisonment and encouraged the Believers of old to defie death and torments He that is in Covenant with God enjoys all that Son of God enjoys though not as yet in fruition and possession yet in title and reversion God the Father carries him on his Wings as the Eagle doth her young the Eternal Son of God is his faithful Friend The Holy Spirit of God speaks to him in the still voice of peace and comfort He that is in this Covenant is safe in the midst of Spears and Arrows safe when he goes through the Water safe when he passes through the Fire safe when the Waves do roar safe when Hell gapes upon him safe in a Storm safe at Sea safe on the Shore safe in his Life safe in his Death God is concern'd for him in all his afflictions He is afflicted The Lord Jesus is touch'd with his infirmities and the Spirit of God makes intercessions for him with groans that cannot be utter'd In a word there is no Condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus to them that walk not after the Flesh but after the Spirit Rom. 8. 1. The PRAYER O God! whose pity is infinite whose compassion knows no bounds How shall I extol thy Humiliation How shall I admire thy condescension to this poor Worm Will God the Great the omnipotent God look upon such an one as I Wilt thou enter into a Covenant with this lump of Clay wilt thou tye and oblige thy self to do me good The Favour is wonderful I could not have thought it possible but that thou hast most graciously revealed it to me I believe Lord help my unbelief Behold I am Servant the Son the Daughter of thine Handmaid Be it unto me according unto thy Word I accept of thy offer I count my self happy that I may be admitted into Covenant with thee I renounce the Devil and all his Works Thou shalt be my Master my Father my Guide my Director my King and my God my Master to command me my Father to counsel me my Guide to lead me my Director to conduct me my King to rule me my God to dispose of me as thou pleasest I will know no Will but thy Will By the Blood of the Covenant unite my Will to thy Will Grant me to desire what thou delightest in desiring to search after it searching to know it and knowing it to fulfil it Make me O Lord for thou alone canst do it make me Obedient without contradiction Holy without defection Chast without corruption Patient without murmuring Humble without dissimulation Chearful without licentiousness Sorrowful without dejection Grave without affectation nimble in Religion without lightness Fearful without despair Upright without Hypocrisie and fruitful in good Works without presumption Give me a watchful Heart a Heart not easily drawn away by vain imaginations a Heart unbroken by afflictions unaffected with the vanities of the World that may not swell with prosperity nor sink in adversity Grant me understanding to know thee diligence to seek thee wisdom to find thee a readiness to please thee perseverance to wait for thee and confidence at last to embrace thee O Holy and Eternal Spirit I depend upon thy assistance Make me faithful to my God faithful to my Neighbour faithful to mine own Soul faithful in my Calling faithful in the discharge of my Duty faithful in my Promises faithful in my Conversation faithful in my Love faithful in my Obedience faithful in thy House faithful in mine own faithful unto Death that I may obtain a Crown of Life through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen CHAP. XV. Of frequent receiving the Holy Communion and the necessity of it The ONTENTS Frequent coming to the Lord's Table the Practise of the Primitive Christians Receiving every Lord's Day an universal observance Different Customs in different Churches Decay of a good life the cause of Communicating seldom The necessity of frequent Communicating shewn in four particulars as the Eucharist is a great preservative against Sin an engagement to emulate Christ's Virtues a Motive to Charity and the frequent coming a thing very pleasing to God Inquiry made how often a conscientious Christian is bound to Communicate The measures of that Obligation to be taken partly from the Orders of the Church we live in and partly from the fervency of our love to Christ. An Objection drawn from the danger of contempt and disesteem of the Ordinance if we come often answered Arguments to prove that lawful business in the World is no just impediment of Communicating frequently An Expostulation pressing frequent Receiving The frequent Communicant an Object of Divine Mercy The Prayer I. THough the Example of the Primitive Believers is not properly a Law yet we may have leave to infer so much from it that being well acquainted with the Will of Christ and his Apostles in those Practises especially which were universal we ought not without very urgent reasons to depart from that Pattern and if this Rule hold frequent communicating at the Lords Table will become if not absolutely necessary yet highly useful and expedient since it was the practise of the best of Men in the best of Ages and of this the Acts of the Holy Apostles give us a very large account particularly Ch. 2. 42. 46. which place being generally understood of the Eucharist it must follow that the Believers did daily participate of it But this seems to have been a custom peculiar to the Church of Jerusalem for though St. â—yprian St. Chrysostom and St. Austin speak of some places in their time where the daily Sacrifice was celebrated yet even in the Apostles days we find other Churches did
on in the Imagination of their Hearts but Sinners who are ambitious of a clean Heart and of a new Spirit not Sinners that will keep their Sins but Sinners that are weary of them not Sinners who still find Sweetness in their Sins but Sinners who are sensible of the Bitterness of them not Sinners who make a Mock of Sin but Sinners to whom Sin is a Grief and Burthen not Sinners that make a Covenant with Hell but Sinners that break that Covenant to be the Lord's Free-men So that not to be free from Sin is not to eat and drink unworthily Nor 3. Doth all Dulness in holy Duties make a Man an unworthy Receiver There is a Dulness indeed which proceeds from an Aversion to the holy Commands of the Gospel from a voluntary Stupidity of Mind and want of Relish of Spiritual Things and this without all peradventure is very prejudicial to the Soul and a bad Preparative for the Communion and no small Impediment to the Grace of God But there is a Dulness which is the Result of Faintness when the Spirits are spent and the first Intenseness of the Mind is worn out In such Cases a Dulness and Deadness may easily rise but much against our Wills and to be sure without our Approbation Nor is this Dulness to be seen only in Temporal Concerns but even in Spiritual Duties and Devotions When the first Heat of Devotion in the Morning is over and the Spirits of the Blood which were the Porters that serv'd to carry up our Prayers on high are in some measure tired the Soul that after this applies her self to the holy Communion in the publick Congregation may want that Liveliness and Briskness of Thought Desire and Affection because the first Flames which were strongest in the Morning when we rose are spent Now This Dulness doth not make a Person an unworthy Receiver And the same Judgment we are to make of that Dulness which rises from natural Imperfections and Sicknesses incident to good Men as well as bad such as Lethargies Dropsies Scurvy Consumption and other Distempers which are either beginning or are come to a considerable Strength Neither the one nor the other if they seize us at the Communion do make us unworthy Receivers 1. Because God doth not judge of us so much by the present Liveliness and Activity of our Spirits as by the Sincerity of our Souls Where the Soul is bent to please God doth not regard Iniquity in her Heart and preserves so much of Fear upon her Mind as makes her that she would not offend God wilfully though it were to gain the Kingdoms of the World is willing to be better inform'd to have her Errours discovered to her is desirous to be strengthen'd in the Inward Man is still ready to embrace any Good suggested to her from the Word of God or the Ministers of his Ordinances there the Soul hath reason to bless God for the Sincerity that is in her and to believe that notwithstanding her present accidental or involuntary Dulness he will meet her in this Sacrament with a favourable Aspect bid her welcome and give her the glorious Blessings she expects in the Holy Communion For if there be first a willing Mind it is accepted according to what a Man hath and not according to what he hath not saith the Apostle 2 Cor. 8. 12. If that Soul finds a present Dulness is willing to be rid of it is so far from being pleased with it that it is her Burthen would be more lively in her Desires if she could there God will certainly spread open his Arms to her and receive her 2. Because God rejects no Person for what he cannot help I know this is the common Plea of all unconverted Sinners When they are exhorted to close with God and to cashier their known Sins or are reproved for continuing in them the String they harp upon is this That they cannot help it But not to mention that by thinking or saying so they make God a Lyar who saith they can help it if they will use the Means the Holy Ghost prescribes 't is evident to all wise and considerate Men that this pretence of Impossibility is nothing but Resolution and Obstinacy to continue in the State they are in And therefore when I say that God rejects none for what they cannot help the meaning is for what he sees and knows they cannot help As a Christian who upon the account of his Conscientiousness is cast into a Prison or Dungeon God will not reject him for not frequenting the publick Ordinances so here for the Dulness that seizes upon pious Christians in their holy Performances God will not withdraw his Kindness especially where he sees that either the faintness of their Spirits or the prevailing Distempers in their Bodies baffle all their repeated and reiterated strivings to be lively and affectionate in their Addresses to God and particularly in the holy Communion In this case God regards rather the brave Intention of the honest Believer and his swimming against the Stream than the Want of what he desires Nor will he condemn him for not doing that which he would do and cannot And the same is to be said of those blasphemous Suggestions I mention'd and gave an Account of Chap. 14. Sect. 7. ¶ 4. They being things which no Man can help for Who can hinder the Devil from tempting him if detested they cannot make the Person that resists and abhors them an unworthy Receiver though they should fly or dart into his Mind in the Act of Receiving All that can be done to them is to abominate them when they come in and though they may be the Devil's Sin who frames these fiery Darts and shapes them on his Anvil yet they are not Sin to the assaulted Person who saith I renounce the Devil and all his Works There is no fighting of them with Swords and Spears they are not to be cut in pieces with Knives or Axes are not to be expelled by Forks and Weapons Resistance and Detestation and Prayer and Declarations of our contrary Belief is all the Force that can be used and while this is done the Soul is safe under all those Skirmishes of the Enemy Nay Who can promise themselves a greater Welcome to this Table than those that resist Temptation Resistance is a Vertue and a Sign the Soul is touched with a Sense of God 'T is a Character of Grace and Abhorrency of Evil a Fruit of the Spirit and those that are led by the Spirit cannot but be worthy Communicants Whatever Temptation we meet withal while we consent not we preserve the Safety of our Souls And though it is true that these blasphemous Suggestions come in sometimes so thick and so fast and make those strange Impressions on the Mind that the Patient cannot well tell whether he consents to them or not yet it being in a manner impossible we should consent to things our very Nature abhors and which we