3.15.16 8. Presumption foolishly beleeving thâ—… they shall speed as well as the best thought they lacke preparation and sanctification yea and their wedding garment let such read and tremble Mat. 22.11,12,13 9. Want of true love which brancheth it selfe in two severall particulars 1. When men rashly suspect other mens intentions or actions without sufficient warrant This is described Esay 65.5 Stand by thy selfe come not neare unto me for I at holier then thou This is prohibited Mat. 7.1 Iudge not that ye be not judged Threatned v. 2. with damnation Luk. 3.37 Such rash judgers are hypocrites Mat. 7.5 2. Who will not forgive men their trespasses and so the Lord will not forgive their trespasses Mat. 6.15 These are implacable unmercifull Rom. 1.31 Such shall have judgement without mercy Iam. 2.13 10. Temporising receiving for fashions sake Such are hypocrites 2 Tim. 3.5 Those likewise who come to this Supper more for fear of the Magistrate then for fear of the Lord. This is hellish feare even the spirit of bondage Rom. 8.15 11. Inconsideration when receivers thoughts are estranged from the action and â—…re intent upon the world sin lust and such like Such cannot please God Rom. 8.8 12. Prophanenesse scorning the action in not beleeving Christs truth This is my body This is my bloud or scornfully refusing to receive though Christ commands To take eat drinke do this 13. Damnable injustice in adding altering or substracting any necessary thing of the institution All plagues are denounced against such Rev. 22.18 19. Whosoever is guilty of all or of any of these horrible sins are murderers of Christ Q. What is the ground or cause that makes unworthy receivers guilty of Christs body and bloud A. 1. They contemne Christs authority and are therefore accursed Esa 45.9 2. They despise Christ himselfe who gives himselfe freely and fully to all faithfull receivers 3. They despise his merits Heb. 9.14.15 4. They despise Christs three offices His Propheticall office Luk. 10.16 His Priestly office Heb. 10.28,29 And they despise his Kingly office for they will not have Christ to raigne over them Luk. 19 14.27 5. They despise Christs most meritorious worke of mans redemption Rom. 5.8,9,10,11 6. They contemne Christs love who loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blond Rev. 1.5 Heb. 10.28,29 7. And they despise the whole Covenant of Grace whereof this is a seale Rom. 4.11 Q. Many received who were ignorant of these things and yet they live and prosper How comes that A. The times of that ignorance God wincked at but now commands all men every where to repent Act. 17.30 Q. What learnest thou hence A. 1. To seek knock and aske without ceasing that I may be cloathed with Christ my wedding garment that I be not one who murders Christ 2. I must zealously and incessantly beg in the name and merits of Christ that the Lord will cleanse my soule and make it clean from all these and all other sins as is covenanted Ezek. 36.25 V. 28. But let a man examine himselfe and so let him eat of that bread and drinke of that cup. Q. What is here to be considered A. Here are the ordinary means to save us from being murderers of Christ And these are our examination of our selves Q. What must we doe in examining our selves aright A. 1. Right examination requireth that we cast totally out of our thoughts all other cares for true examination must take us wholly up We must as in prayer shut our doore Matth. 6.5 2. We must examine our selves in sixe things especially 1. Of our knowledge what we are to receive in this Supper 2. Of our desire of this Sacrament so knowne 3. Of our faith by which only we can obtaine our desire 4. Of our love toward God and our neighbour that we may be sure our faith is sound 5. Of our repentance which proveth out love to be pure 6. And of our observance past present and its purpose for the future which demonstrates our repentance to be perfect Quest 1. Q. What must I know is here to be received A. That as truly as I get bread and wine which are my bodies food So truly I get Christs body and bloud by faith which are my soules only food Joh. 6.47 compared with v. 55. Quest 2. Q. How shall I knew my desires to be reall A. Counts thou all things but dung in comparison of Christ Philip. 3.8 Try if desire which is thy soules appetite doth hunger for Christ Mat. 5.6 Quest 3. Q. What shall I examine my selfe concerning my faith A. 1. That thy faith be not an historicall temporary or a faith of miracles None of those alone no nor altogether can apprehend Christ truly Jam. 2.19 2. That it be a justifying faith which though it be but one simple grace yet it is of a two fold consideration first as it is our spirituall life by which Christ lives in us and we in him Eph. 3.17 Gal. 2.20 2. As faith is a vertue and our duty towards God and so faith is an act flowing from that our spirituall life by which I beleeve all whatsoever the Lord hath propounded in his S. Scripture Act. 24.14 Q. What is faith as it is our spirituall life A. A resting of our hearts on God as on the only author of our life and salvation that is that in God we are freed from all evill and are assured of all that is good Esa 10.20 Ps 37.5 Act. 4.12 Ps 84.11 Thirdly try thy faith in six things 1. In its author who works it 2. In the means by which it is wrought ordinarily 3. Concerning its object 4. In its effects 5. In its ground 6. And concerning its end Q. Must I necessarily know all these A. 1. Yes verily for whatsoever is not of faith is sin Rom. 14. ult 2. Without faith it is impossible to please God Heb. 11.6 3. Gods best ordinances availe not to us unlesse we receive them by faith Heb. 4.2 Q. Who works faith in us A. Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith Heb. 12.2 And the Holy Ghost worketh faith in us 1 Cor. 12.9 for the Father through the Son by the Holy Ghost worketh all works which are wrought on the creature Q. By what means is faith wrought in us A. 1. By hearing of Gods word which is a religious receiving of Gods revealed will by whatsoever way we can know it 2. Most ordinarily by hearing the word preached Rom. 10.14.17 Q. Who is the adequate object of our faith A. Christ as he is our redeemer is the immediate object of our faith And God as by his grace we live well 1 Tim. 4.10 is its ultimate object for we live to God through Christ Rom. 6.11 We have hope through Christ to Godward 2 Cor. 3.4 And we beleeve in God through Christ 1 Pet. 1.21 Q. Which are those effects of faith by which I must examine my selfe A. The first act of faith is to beleeve dost thou
or think that I can get Christ A. Christ resolveth thee Mark 9.23 If thou canst beleeve all things are possible to him that beleeveth Q. What doth that teach thee A. Three things 1. I must have saving faith that I may get Christ seeing He is freely offered 2. I must take that bread and that wine otherwise I both refuse the means by which Christ is truly given in this Sacrament unto the faithfull and also I refuse Christ who now offereth Himselfe unto me 3. And if I now take not Christ He will take vengeance of me in flaming fire for not observing this part of the Gospell yea which is its greatest part of it 2 Thes 1.7.8 Eate Q. What doth this import A. 1. By faithfull receiving of that bread I get the true life giving bread Christ Joh. 6.47 compared with v. 50. 2. That Christs flesh is meat indeed to all faithfull hungring souls Ioh. 6.55 And whosoever eateth of it shall live for ever v. 58. 3. As with my bodily mouth I must cat that bread which is the signe that my body may live so with my soules mouth faith I must eat the thing signified which is Christ that my soule may live for ever Ioh. 6.51 4. As my body cannot live ordinarily wanting bread which strengthneth our heart Ps 104.15 So nor my soule wanting Christ who is the true bread that came downe from heaven and giveth life unto the world Ioh. 6.33 5. As bread is not food to my body unlesse I cat it So nor Christ is food to my soul unlesse I eat him by faith for no promise profiteth unlesse it be received by faith Heb. 4.2 6. The fearfull condition of such who refuse it Prov. 1.24 c. much more who despise it Heb. 10.28.29 7. The godlessenesse of Papists and Lutherans who eat not their thin wafer but keep it whole in their mouth Q. Did Judas eat that sacrament all bread A. Weigh well Luk. 22.19 ad 24. and its probable that he did eat it Q. Did not our Saviour call Judas a Divell Joh. 6.70 A. Yes yet he ate only the bread of the Lord but not the bread the Lord. Q. What learnest thou hence A. I may not abstaine from this S. Supper though all communicants be not alike holy for their unholinesse can not hurt me if I be not accessary unto it Deut. 24.16 Ier. 31.30 Ezek. 18.20 Gal. 6.5 This is my body Q. Doe not those words prove clearly either transubstantiation as Papists affirme that is that that bread is changed into the body of Christ or consubstantiation that Christs body is in with under that bread as Lutherans say A. There is no necessity that Christ should be bodily present in this Sacrament neither in respect of this Sacrament it selfe nor yet of these words of Christ This is my body which is thus proved 1. Christs bodily presence is not necessary in respect of this Sacrament it selfe for if we be truly faithfull we may and doe attaine unto this Sacraments foure ends although Christs humane body be in heaven 2. This Sacraments first end is to remember Christ as his owne words doe witnesse Doe this in remembrance of me now this Sacrament it selfe puts all faithfull receivers in remembrance of Christ and His very words Do this in remembrance of me doe evidently shew Christs bodily absence for we remember absent not present friends 3. Its second end is to shew Christs death till He come This we can do though His body be absent And Till He come demonstrates His bodily absence 4. Its third end is to unite us unto Christ This union is partly reall and partly relative our reall union with Christ is by faith for Christ dwelleth in our hearts by faith Ephes 3.17 And Christ lives in us and we live in Him by faith Gal. 2.20 And this is called our putting on the Lord Iesus Christ Rom. 13. ult to be our wedding garment Mat. 22.11 Our relative union with Christ is like that union between a man and his wife for we are espoused to Christ 2 Cor. 11.2 and married to Him Ier. 3.14 Hos 2.19.20 A wife is flesh of her husbands flesh and bone of his bone Gen. 2.23 although they were ten thousand miles asunder 5. This Sacraments most principall end is to seal the Covenant of Grace for encrease of and strengthning our faith Rom. 4.11 But by Papists Transubstantiation and Lutherans Consubstantiation our faith would be much weakned for which of these two are easiest to be beleeved that we get Christ by faith which all S. Scriptures affirme Ioh. 1 12. 3.16.18 6.29.40.47 11.25.26 Or that a bit of bread and a cup of wine are transubstantiated into the body and bloud of Christ or consubstantiated with His body and bloud which both want all warrant in S. Scripture yea which flatly contradicteth S. Scripture Act. 3.21 Heb. 8.4 In respect then of this Sacrament Christs bodily presence is not necessary Neither is Christs bodily presence necessary in this Sacrament in respect of Christs words This is my body 1. Because it is frequent in al Sacraments both of the Old and New Testament to call the signe by the name of the thing signified As Circumcision is called Gods Covenant Gen. 17.10 yet v. 11. it is but the signe of the Covenant The Lamb is called the Lords Passeover Ex. 12.11 yet it was only the sacrifice of the Lords Passeover v. 27. and a signe Ex. 13.9 Baptisme is called the washing of regeration Tit. 3.5 Yet it is but the signe of it for Christs bloud only can wash us from our sins 1 Ioh. 1.7 Baptisme is also said to save us 1 Pet. 3.21 Yet it is but a signe of Christs bloud which saveth us Act. 4.12 So in this Sacrament our Lord calleth that bread His body and that cup His bloud Yet they are but the signes of His body and bloud There is then no necessity of Christs bodily presence in this Sacrament in respect of Christs words This is my body 2. A second reason against Transubstantiation Consubstantiation is this This change is impossible for it is against Christs glory for he never appeared on earth but in glory Exod. 19.16.18 1 King 19.11.12 Mat. 17.2 Object Christ came in the forme of a servant Philip. 2.17 A. It is true yet the Apostles behold His glory the glory as of the only begotten of the Father full of grace truth Joh. 1.14 3. This change would derogate from Gods honour for although Christs power can make such a change yet Christ did never shew his power but for advancing of Gods glory and honour what honour can it bring unto the Lord to change a bit of bread into Christs body Christ can doe all things but these which dishonour God Christ cannot lie Tit. 1.2 nor deny himselfe 2 Tim. 2.13 4. This change were against Gods wisdome for the Lord neither did nor doth any thing but for some good end but in this change there can