Instances and Occurrences Whatever Objections against our Religion are wont to be made by some who yet of all Mankind are most to be blamed for their Uncharitableness let us never give them occasion to lay this blame upon our Manners though it doth not so much as touch our Profession it self that a Spirit of Strife and Hatred is among us But when we are about to Celebrate the blessed Eucharist then especially we should consider the Angels Doxology and prepare our Minds so that we may use it with enlarged and devout Hearts Glory be to God on high on Earth Peace good will towards Men. Then all undue Heats that by any Emergency may have been raised should vanish away from us like Smoak then we should put on as the Elect of God Holy and Beloved Bowels of Mercy Kindness Humbleness of Mind Meekness Long-suffering forbearing one another and forgiving one another if any Man have a quarrel against any even as Christ forgave us so should we and above all things put on Charity which is the bond of Perfectness and let the Peace of God rule in our Hearts to the which also we are called in one Body as the Apostle himself speaks Col. 3. TO provoke you hereunto many arguments might be drawn not only from the sense of the best Heathens who held it unlawful to revenge Injury with Injury upon which Subject Maximus Tyrius spends a whole Discourse but from the Noble Examples of many of them also Aelian Var. Hist l. 12. c. 49. and particularly that of Phocion who after all the eminent Services for his Country-men the Athenians being at last condemned to be poisoned before the drank off the deadly Potion left this strict charge with his Son that he should never remember so as to be revenged for the Injustice and Ingratitude of the Athenians BUT because Christianity is a Religion of a most elevated Nature and that which speaks so plain and so loud as to this point and because that noble part of it this Christian Solemnity doth of it self Minister arguments enough to command our Obedience as to this particular I shall not go out of my way to pick up Observations that may be more curious than necessary but rather content my self with what hath been said already and so shut up this Subject with a few Considerations which immediately relate to our Christian Practice I told you before that all Acts of Revenge are quite contrary to the Laws of Christ's Religion meaning by Revenge all spiteful acts or purposes of hurting another for hurt-sake without consideration had of a good end whether of Charity or Justice and then I distingush pure Revenge from such acts as concern Discipline or Reparation which two last cases being so incident to human life and cases wherein the Consciences of Men ought to be well instructed and govern'd I shall now at the close of all speak something by way of direction as to these two cases and the rather because I have found by frequent experience that upon Injuries which too commonly happen between Man and Man divers have been hindred from the use of the blessed Sacrament for want as I am willing in Charity to suppose of due Information 1. FIRST then as to acts of Discipline It is not at all inconsistent with the great ends of this Sacred Ordinance nor with our Duty in order to it or at it to use honest means of reprehending or correcting an Offender provided those means be used after a discreet and friendly manner and for the Offender's good So the Magistrate may punish a disorderly Subject a Father his Child a Master his Servant in all necessary cases For this is not properly Revenge because the Methods though they may be somewhat strict are still for charitable ends viz. For the amendment and Reformation of the Offender which in such cases every Man should carry in his Eye for what St. Paul said of his own Authority in the Church is very applicable to all just Power whatsoever the Lord hath given it for Edification and not for Destruction 2 Cor. 10. 8. 2. AS to Cases which concern Reparation for Injuries they admit of great variety according to the variety of particular Circumstances but I think what is generally necessary to be known may be comprehended within these following Rules or reduced to them 1. WHERE an injury is Plain Evident and Palpable Men are to seek for redress first by fair and private applications This is not Revenge nor any breach of Duty because it is a Case of Justice purely and the method is Friendly and Charitable To this may be applied those words of our Saviour Matth. 18. If thy Brother Trespass against thee go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone but if he will not hear thee then take with thee one or two more c. And if any thing be needful to be added certainly a more prudential Course cannot be taken than what our Lord elsewhere prescribes Agree with thine Adversary quickly whilst thou art in the way with him Matth. 5. 25. Such Timely and Pacifick means of accommodation are apt to preserve Charity whereas other Methods that are rough may like a wound that festers make a deep impression upon the Sense and corrupt Friendship so as to turn it into Rage or a setled hatred 2. IF such Christian applications cannot obtain their End the Offender must be forborn provided the injury be not considerable in it self or in its Consequences although it be evident 'T is true a wrong being done he that did it becomes liable to Justice but it doth not follow that a Man may not forbear him in light and trivial matters for Charity and Peace sake we are to possess our Souls in Patience with an humble submission to the good Providence of God for reparation in his way And to this purpose is that Law of Christ Matth. 5. 39 40. Whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek turn to him the other also and if any Man will sue thee at the Law and take away thy Coat let him take thy Cloak also These are Proverbial Expressions which signifie light and inconsiderable Injuries and they are to be understood in a Comparative sense to this purpose that when wrongs are small and of no greater account than a little blow or an upper Garment amounts to rather than venture the breach of Peace or Charity we are to be content with the loss if Reparation cannot be obtained by soft and gentle Proceedings 3. WHERE the injury is heavy and grievous so that Reparation becomes necessary you are not to require it with your own hands or by private and personal violences but by the help of the Magistrate * Vid. Grot. de jure belli lib. 2. c. 20. Sect. 8. To this purpose is that other Law of Christianity Rom. 12. 9. Dearly Beloved avenge not your selves but rather give place unto wrath for it is written Vengeance is mine
will be the better able to exercise those Virtues which relate immediately to the ever-blessed God The Original whereof is Love according to that in Matth. 22. Love 37. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind Whereby are understood the Three Faculties of a Man's Spirit the Will the Affections and the Understanding And with these we are said to love God when they are vigorously employ'd about him when out of a deep sense of the Glory of his Nature and of his wonderful Goodness to his Creatures especially to Mankind we give up our selves entirely unto him obeying his Pleasure desiring and rejecting as he directs us still having him in our Thoughts and entertaining our Minds with ravishing Contemplations of his Divine Perfections And this is that which in the Scripture-Language we call The submitting unto God Jam. 4. 7. The yielding of our selves unto God Rom. 6. 13. Not the doing ones own Will but the Will of God Jo. 6. 38. The serving of him with Reverence and Godly fear Heb. 12. 28. Delighting our selves in the Lord Psal 37. 4. And in one general Expression our walking with God as it is said of Enoch Gen. 5. 22. UPON full Convictions of his Infinite Devotion Greatness and his All-sufficiency and Readiness to help us there ariseth another Virtue viz. Devotion That we offer up daily unto him the sacrifice of our lips and the more valuable Oblation of a broken spirit Psal 51. That we pray without ceasing 1 Thes 5. 17. That we offer up the Sacrifice of Praise to God continually that is that we pretermit no good Opportunities of making our Supplications and Addresses unto him CONSEQUENT hereunto is a Trust in him a Dependance upon him Resignation and an entire Resignation of our selves to his Care and Providence That we cast not our confidence away Heb. 10. 35. That we cast all our care on him who careth for us 1 Pet. 5. 7. That we commit the keeping of our Souls to him in well-doing 1 Pet. 4. 19. That we put our Trust in him as the holy Psalmist speaks over and over and that even against hope we believe in hope as it is said of Abraham the Father of the Faithful Rom. 4. 18. THE Contemplation of those amiable Imitation Perfections in God upon which these Virtues are grounded is naturally apt to produce in us a most earnest Desire to Resemble him as far as it is possible that we be Holy as he is Holy 1 Pet. 1. 15. That we be merciful as he is merciful Luc. 6. 36. And that we be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect Matth. 5. 48. AND because the Nature of God is Vniversal Obedience the measure and Rule of all Moral Perfection and the Laws he hath given to Mankind from the beginning are so many Revelations of himself therefore it is necessary for us Uniformly and Universally to observe those Laws whether we find them written in our Nature or in his Word And this is the utmost Perfection that a Man is capable of in this Life to shew our Love to him our Dependance upon him our profound Adoration and Imitation of him viz. Our keeping his Commandments Let us hear the Conclusion of the whole matter saith Solomon Fear God and keep his Commandments for this is the whole Duty of Man Eccles 12. 13. I HAVE now done with all that I thought needful for you to Understand concerning this Sacrament And whether it be the Necessity of Receiving it or the Necessity of due Preparation or the Quality of the Things preparatory to the Communion or the Tendency of the Ordinance it self or the Care to be taken after the Solemnity is over you see what they all drive at in the End viz. a Sober Righteous and Godly Life And though in enumerating the several Particulars thereof some Virtues may have escaped me yet there are none I think untouched but what are fairly reducible to some of those things which I have mentioned Things which you cannot but say are suitable to Humane Reason Things which are highly Perfective of Humane Nature Things which are Good Lovely and of Infinite Satisfaction to our Minds Things which are Easie too if we will but heartily Apply our Minds to the Practice of them and make Use of that Divine Assistance which God giveth unto all that need it I dare say if you do these things you shall never fall And the very God of Peace Sanctifie you wholly that your whole Spirit Soul and Body may be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ Amen FINIS BOOKS Printed for and Sold by W. 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the Receiving of the Sacrament is so necessary that the neglect of it makes Men very guilty of Sin especially if that Neglect be customary and habitual as indeed it is in very many Professors of Christ's Religion THE Sinfulness and Danger of this Negligence is fairly proveable from the bare Analogy that is between this and those Sacrifical Banquets of old especially the Paschal Feast Such as might celebrate it and refus'd to do it were under God's Wrath and Curse so that if a Man was clean and not in a Journy and yet forbore to keep the Passover that Soul was to be cut off from his People Numb 9. 13. Now if the Sin was so great in that case where they saw nothing but a Figure and a Shadow it cannot but be far greater in this case where Men have the Body and Substance To be sure the Guilt cannot be less in an instance that is of a more Noble and Excellent Nature Nor can we suppose that when Christ instituted a better Ordinance he should abate of our Duty or that Mens despising of such an important fixt and permanent Solemnity is not Criminal when it was such a Sin to disregard a temporary and vanishing Rite which our Redeemer did put an end to But if this Argument be not enough the wickedness of Men in this case is further demonstrable from a threefold Consideration 1. It is a direct Act of Disobedience against Christ's plain and peremptory Command 2. It proceedeth mainly from an evil Conscience 3. It is a most injurious Sin against a Mans own Soul 1. IT is a direct Act of Disobedience against Christ's plain and peremptory Command Concerning the Institution of this Mystery these four things are very observable 1. That the Command about the Celebration of it is as strict and Imperial as any other Law whatsoever that is about things which are of a moral nature and of Eternal Obligation Take and Eat saith our Lord Matth. 26. and Do this in remembrance of me So St. Luke delivers it Luk. 22. Now this runs in as commanding a Style as that Precept doth Matth. 4. Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt thou serve And as the other Precepts run Matth. 19. Thou shalt do no Murder Thou shalt not commit Adultery Thou shalt not Steal Thou shalt not bear false Witness Honour thy Father and Mother and Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thy self I do not here compare Thing with Thing a Ceremony with Morality but one Command with another And seeing all of them are equally as plain and peremptory on the one hand as they are on the other it necessarily followeth that though the nature of the thing it self doth not yet the Command doth bind us to Obedience in one point as well as in the rest the Divine Law being Authoritative and the Will of God being Obliging in smaller as well as in the more weighty matters 2. This Command touching our receiving the Blessed Sacrament is one of those new Laws which are strictly and properly called Christian Precepts Those Everlasting Duties of Godliness Righteousness and Sobriety tho' Christ did Adopt them and make them a part of his Law yet we cannot call them the peculiar Laws of Jesus Christ because they were enacted and written in Mens hearts from the Beginning and they are common to Christians and Jews and Heathens also But the Law touching this Sacrament is perfectly an Evangelical Command and the Observation thereof is a direct and immediate Profession of our Discipleship and of our Faith in him and Love to him who came to take away the Mosaical Rites whereby Jews were distinguished from other People and instituted this Solemnity as a foederal Rite of his own to be the outward Mark and Cognizance of a Christian 3. It is observable that Christ gave no plain and positive Command about this matter till his Last Supper and just before the time of his Departure to shew unto us as St. Austin hath somewhere noted that the Observation of this Solemnity ought to be had in very Venerable and Lasting Esteem Because nothing is more Natural to Men than to remember and value the Injunctions of a Dying Friend whose Last Commands are apt to leave a deep impression upon our Minds and a continual warmth upon our Affections Therefore though our Blessed Saviour intended all along to Institute this Ordinance yet he was pleased to post-pone the Institution of it and to reserve it until his Death to put his Church in mind of the vast Importance of this Mystery that she might set and Devote her self to the Religious Observation of That which she had Received at the Hands of her Dying Lord as the last Request and Pledge of his sincerest Love To which we may add in the 4th place That this Mystery beareth an immediate and near Relation to Christ himself because it is the great and standing Memorial of his Philanthropy This Character he himself hath set upon it that it is the Annunciation of the most Marvellous Love that he could shew unto the World This do in remembrance of me Lord were there not a thousand other Arguments of his Love to us from his Nativity to his Cross What were all his Sermons Miracles Sufferings but so many Declarations and Monuments of his Goodness to perpetuate the Memory thereof to all Ages And yet we see he appointed this Ordinance to be in remembrance of him Chiefly and Principally Here we do most Solemnly Commemorate the Incomparable Greatness of his Love we do Publickly own and Declare it we Proclaim and Publish it before God and Man So that now by all this put together the Necessity of Receiving this Sacrament doth plainly appear For to deny this Necessity is no other than tacitely to deny that we are to observe Christ's Laws to refuse Obedience is in effect to deny him to be our Lord it is to cast off our Livery and to renounce our Profession to despise this Memorial of his Philanthropy is to render our selves the most Insensate and Unthankful Wretches that are as willing to have the Memory of his Love Dye as the Jews were to have Him Expire upon the Cross I am sure in the Primitive and Purest times of Christianity Men accounted it a great Act of Religion and a main Expression of their Affections to the Holy Jesus to Celebrate this Mystery very often nay they looked upon this Solemnity as a necessary part of their constant Worship without which the rest of their Services were imperfect and lame Religion began to be Decrepit and Cold when the Custom of Receiving a few times in the year stole into the Church of Christ For not only in the Apostles time but for a long time after Christians were wont to Address themselves to the Lord's Table every Lord's day as evidently appears out of Justin Martyr St. Cyprian Jerome Austin and some more of the Ancients nay in the Synod at Antioch it was Decreed That
without these Means or because such great things are spoken of Faith and Repentance they must not let go Certainties and trust to Possibilities nor slight any Ordinance as if it were unnecessary upon a Presumption that God's Mercy and Power is All-sufficient No they must shew their Obedience and have recourse to those Means which God hath Appointed And this is one and a principal one viz. the Receiving of this Blessed Sacrament CHAP. II. Several Excuses Considered WHAT hath been thus delivered will I hope prevail with those who will be Wise for themselves who study to be blameless and harmless the Sons of God without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse Generation BUT it is a most difficult Matter to Perswade especially to Actions that are of a Divine and Spiritual Nature Though Interest be commonly the most powerful Rhetorick in the World and Mens greatest Interest is concern'd in this Case yet because they do not discern with their Eyes either the Advantages that are Received by a Worthy Vse or the Losses that are sustain'd by an unworthy Contempt of this Ordinance such is the Folly and Stupidity of many People that any pretence almost serveth as an Excuse and Plea sufficient as they think to keep them from the Lord's Table That Great Person Luke 14. that made a costly Supper and Invited many Guests received very rude Returns when they presently pretended one that he had bought a Farm another that he went to make Tryal of his Oxen a third that he had Married a Wife and therefore could not by any means come 'T is called a Parable but if you apply it to the Case in hand it is a plain History of the Improvidence and Unthankfulness of those who refuse to come to the Lord's Supper and would fain come off handsomely if they could with several Excuses that something or other doth still hinder them from closing with the Invitation Therefore my next Business must be to shew how incompetent and trifling Mens Excuses are and I must do this the rather because the shameful neglect which some are Guilty of is very Mischievous and Scandalous to others so that they both Judge themselves Unworthy of Eternal Life and as much as in them lyeth by their bad Example do help to draw many more into the same Condemnation and further the hurt of divers precious Souls for whom the Saviour of the whole World was content and desirous to Dye IN the Prosecution of this Matter there are several sorts of People I am to speak to 1. Such as Indulge themselves in a course of Life that is unbecoming and inconsistent with Christianity and therefore are very backward and unwilling to come to the Holy Communion 2. Such as live Honestly and Fairly before Men but yet are such Drudges to the World and so intent upon making Provision for their Families that their whole time is laid out upon Secular Affairs and they have none left them as they say for the business of Preparation and therefore pretend they have no Leisure to come 3. Such as are willing and perhaps desirous to Communicate and confess they have time enough to fit themselves by Prayer Fasting and Repentance but yet what out of a Sense of their manifold Failings and what out of an apprehension of the greatness of the Mystery and what out of a mistrust of themselves for the future conceive themselves to be Unworthy and Unfit and therefore are affraid to come 1. NOW as for those in the first place who make no Conscience of their ways but live without having a due regard to the Laws of Religion I must premise that though it be a wonder that any who have Learned Christ who have heard of his Sufferings of his Laws and of his Threats should presume in spight of all to live after this rate yet it is no wonder that they who do live so should be backward and unwilling to Receive this Sacrament It would be very dangerous for them indeed to receive it because S. Paul hath declared that he who eateth and drinketh Unworthily eateth and drinketh Judgment to himself and such Men as I now speak of are no more Worthy to eat and drink at the Lord's Table than Swine are fit to live of the Altar To such the Holy Sacrament is a dreadful thing indeed as long as they continue in an Evil Course They do in a manner drink down Death with the Wine and swallow the Bread and the Devil together Therefore as long as they are in Love with Sin and Obey it in the Lusts thereof and yield their Members as Instruments of Unrighteousness they must by all means forbear coming to this Ordinance BUT then they must observe that this forbearing or refraining upon the consideration of an Evil Conscience will be in no wise excusable in the Great and Terrible day of God and if any Man be so Vain and Foolish as to think so I would offer these following things to his most serious Consideration 1. That by parity of Reason he may neglect every other Divine Ordinance as well as this for there is none but what will rise up in Judgment against him unless he Repent and Answer the great Ends of its Institution Vnto the Wicked God saith why dost thou Preach my Law and takest my Covenant into thy mouth seeing thou hatest to be Reformed Ps 50. 16 17. In like manner why do such Men call upon God's Name or please themselves that they hear his word Nay why indeed do they profess themselves Christians as long as they hate to be Reformed For the Displeasure of God is provoked throughout and God is their Enemy and they are His as long as they thus continue in Sin For all that such Men do is Leavened with Hypocrisie and no Monster is so hateful to God and Man as an Hypocrite He that Prayeth with his Mouth and hath Villany in his Heart doth in a manner spit in God's Face He that Heareth the Divine Oracles with an Uncircumcised Ear doth but make a Mockery of Religion And he that owneth himself a Disciple of Christ and at the same time is a Son of Belial infinitely affronteth the Son of God by making him a Friend to Immorality and Wickedness 'T is an Honest and Upright Heart that rendreth all our Services acceptable and where that is wanting the Sinner may as well forbear every Exteriour Profession of Religion as go from the Sacrament there is the same Reason for both because he injureth himself and draweth a Curse and Judgment upon his Head in other Instances as well as by eating and drinking Unworthily 2. To refuse the Communion is so far from Extenuating that it aggravates the Crimes of an Evil Wretch because he thereby addeth one Sin to another and this is the plain Language of his Heart I have broken the rest of God's Commandments and therefore I will go on and break this too Now I would beseech such to consider whether
our Saviour's Body was on Earth Locally though a Medicinal Vertue went out of it so that they who did but touch the borders of his Garment were Healed of their Diseases yet it did not operate effectually without some previous Preparation of Faith In Matth. 15. 28. He told the Woman of Canaan that would not be put off before he had taken Compassion upon her Child O Woman great is thy Faith be it unto thee even as thou wilt And when the Woman with a Bloody Issue had but touched his Cloaths though she was afraid for her Presumption being at last discovered yet received she this Gracious Answer Daughter be of good Comfort thy Faith hath made thee whole Matth. 9. 22. On the contrary you shall find that the Incredulity of People did as it were bind up the Hands of his Omnipotence and shut up the Bowels of Compassion so that his Miracles were very few where their Faith was very rare A clear instance we have in Matth. 13. in his own Country at Nazareth he did not many Mighty Works because of their Vnbelief v. 58. some indeed he did for he Healed a few Sick Persons who had Faith to be Healed but St. Mark tells us that many mighty works he could not do there Marc. 6. 5. Now to bring down this Consideration to our present Business The Body of Christ doth still cast like Influences and Virtues from Heaven and his Spirit doth Dispense them at this Sacrament but he Dispenseth them according to his good Pleasure and he is not pleased to work Miracles on such as do not Believe but every one Receiveth it according as he is Prepared by Faith We see the Sun darteth his Beams into the bowels of the Earth insensibly and maketh every Plant to Bud and Germinate and Shoot forth but yet his Rays have no Power over Roots that are Dead and Rotten And yet there is a Natural and Irresistible power over things below whereas the Influences which flow down from the Man Christ Jesus do not act Physically and after an uncontroulable manner neither is there that intrinsick Power in the Sacrament or such Virtues of the Spirit going along with it as to work upon Hearts that are not opened to its Operations by a Lively Faith No the Sacrament is the outward and Ritual Means but Faith is the Moral and inward Instrument of bringing Christ to the Soul and every Man's Receipts are according as he Believes And therefore among other things which we are to search and enquire into we must be careful to look well into our Creed and in the first place Examine our selves whether we be indeed in the Faith as St. Paul speaks 2 Corinth 13. 1. Meaning that we must approve our Faith unto God and our Consciences and see that it be such as the Gospel requires and our Hearts must bear us Witness that we Believe as we should do before we presume to Eat of this Bread and to Drink of this Cup. 2. NOW because no Man is able to approve his Faith or to make any Judgment of it at all unless he doth first know what his Faith ought to be and how far it is required to extend therefore I shall proceed to the second thing I promised to shew viz. What it is that every Communicant is obliged to Believe that you may be satisfied in your Minds whether you are sufficiently Prepared for the Communion in this respect And this I shall do the rather because many have spoken very loosely and extravagantly upon this Theme as if none could be a Worthy Receiver except he be perswaded in his Mind that God Elected him to Salvation from all Eternity and except he be assured that all his Sins are certainly Pardoned and that he shall be Absolutely and Infallibly Saved in the day of the Lord. Which Conceits I am confident have served to deter thousands from this Admirable and Heavenly Ordinance who though they had never such good Meanings and honest Purposes and were as we may believe Sincere in their Hearts yet because they could not find themselves thus perswaded have refrained coming to the Lord's Table to the great disquiet and prejudice of their Souls Therefore to remove this rub out of the way be pleased to take notice that it is not absolutely necessary for a Man before he goes to the Sacrament to be confidently assured of his present Forgiveness or his Future Felicity We do not deny but all Men must be assured of the Truth of God's Promise in the general Nor do we deny but that every one is to believe in particular that he himself may be Pardoned and shall be Happy on Condition that he Sincerely and Honestly endeavours to observe the Precepts of the Christian Religion We do not deny neither but a strong assurance there may be in some Eminent Members of the Church especially when they come to Dye But that every one is bound before he doth Communicate to be Absolutely and Peremptorily assured of his Happiness is a very Extravagant and groundless Conceit And that for these two Reasons 1. BECAUSE the Scripture saith nothing of this or that Man 's particular Condition God hath not made any such Revelations in his Word and therefore we are not bound to be assured of the thing For the Word of God written is the Adequate Rule of our Faith So we rightly affirm against the Romanists with respect to their Traditions and so we are to affirm against all Enthusiasts too with reference to their Airy and Confident Opinions The Holy Scriptures are our Guide and what they do not say is not necessary for any of us to Believe Quod de Scripturis non habet autoritatem eadem facilitate contemnitur qua probatur as St. Jerom said meaning that whatsoever cannot be proved by the Authority of the Scriptures ought not to be Believed as a Necessary Article of Faith Now look into the Bible and see if you can find your Names written there or in the Book of Life if you can any where find it said that your Sins are Pardoned or if you can discover any Absolute Decree that you shall Infallibly be Saved 'T is true the Word of God gives us all many Excellent Promises many great and comfortable Hopes but still it speaks in General that they who Believe shall not Perish that they who Repent shall be Forgiven and that they who persevere in well-doing unto the end shall be Saved But it saith not in particular that I am such or that I shall fare so Onely indeed I may draw Particulars out of Generals by way of Argumentation and Rational Discourse and I may Judge of my self by measuring my self with the Rule and by comparing my Condition and State with the Gospel-terms and so I may have very comfortable and strong Hopes enough to quiet my Mind and Spirit that I am in a State of Grace and that God will shew Mercy unto me in that day but to go farther and to
kind and friendly Eye upon his Vices and cherisheth that Uncleanness in his Bosom which by the Laws of God he is bound to cast away For it is no easie matter for any to lead a Lewd Life without some trouble and unquietness of Mind and for a Man first to Sin and then Confess and then Sin again is nothing else but to drive a circular Trade of Hypocrisie for all this is very consistent with a Wicked Life Because after this rate there is no necessity of entire and universal Holiness without which St. Paul saith there is no seeing of God but People may give themselves up all their days to all manner of Wickedness and Villany and may think to be Saved nevertheless What a smooth and pleasant way would this be into the Kingdom of God were it but true How easily after this rate is the Sinner and the Saint reconciled But what a Scandal is it to Christianity and what a fatal prejudice is it to a good Life when Men are taught such an Artificial Method how to Save their Souls and their Sins too For who will undertake that troublesom and painful task of Mortifying his Lusts of parting with a right Eye of cutting off a right hand and of being Crucifyed to the World if he be perswaded that he cannot possibly miscarry as long as he hath at hand such a present and easie Remedy as this is Confess and be Absolved Be not therefore deceived in a case of such huge moment and weight True Repentance is not a thing of such quick and superficial dispatch it must reach to the very Heart and Marrow it must alter and transform the whole Man it must bring forth Fruits meet for Repentance it must express it self by an Universal Obedience to the Precepts of the Gospel it must have that good effect upon Mens Spirits as to make them follow whatsoever things are Just and Honest and Pure and Lovely and of good Report 2. THE Nature of Repentance being thus Explained I shall not need to spend much time upon the next point touching those Special Grounds and Reasons which render Repentance necessary before we go to the Communion For every Man's Conscience cannot but tell him that he ought to come to so Sacred a Mystery with clean Hands and a very pure Heart However that Discourses of this kind may not seem fantastical and groundless the Necessity of this thing will plainly appear from these following Considerations 1. From that Analogy which this Evangelical Christian Feast beareth unto those Antient Sacrifical Feasts of which I have formerly Discoursed at large At those Solemnities as Gyraldus observes even the Heathens thought it the most necessary part of their Religion to be free from an Evil Conscience In Sacrificiis rite celebrandis majorem nullam ceremoniam fuisse videmus quam nil sibi conscire bonos ac pios esse Gyrald Hist deor synt 17. They were wont at those times to Confess their Guilt to Profess Repentance for all their Faults and by their dejected Countenances and Id. ibid. modest Behaviour to express their great Sorrows for what was past They would wash their Bodies in Rivers and present themselves at the Altars of their Gods in pure and clean Apparel with washen Hands and naked Feet as significations of the Purity of their Minds and when the Solemnity began as the Priest asked with a loud voice 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 who is here So the People answered 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 many Men and Good esteeming Sanctity and Goodness to be absolutely necessary in such as were to Feast before their Deities Among the Jews it was customary to use several Ritual ways of Sanctification such as the cleansing of their Bodies and the scowring of their very Cloaths before they presented their Oblations unto God or durst to feed upon the remains of their Sacrifices They had divers washings and carnal Ordinances imposed upon them until the time of Reformation saith the Apostle Heb. 9. 10. One eminent instance we have 1 Sam. 16. there Samuel goes to Bethlehem to Sacrifice unto the Lord and to Feast with Jesse and his Sons upon part of the Oblations but before he would either slay the Heifer or sit down with them at Meat he commanded them to Sanctifie themselves according to the Custom v. 5. Now these legal Purifications were so many Notices and Indications of that inward and Spiritual Purity which is necessary in all who present themselves before the Lord and profess to be of his Houshold and Family For which Reason the Prophets who were Expositors of the Law called upon the People at every turn to mind that Sanctity of Heart and Spirit which was signified by these External Rites and without which all their Services were so many vain Oblations So God himself calls them Jer. 1. 12 13. When ye come to appear before me who hath required this at your hand to tread my Courts Bring no more vain Oblations that is Heartless Sacrifices such Sacrifices as were without the Heart not of the Beast but of the Man empty Services that were without a broken and contrite Spirit To this purpose 't is said Isa 66. 3. He that killeth an Ox is as he that Slew a Man he that Sacrificeth a Lamb as he that cutteth off a Dog's neck he that offereth an Oblation as he that offereth the Blood of Swine and the Reason follows because they have chosen their own ways and their Soul delighteth in their own Abominations 'T is Holiness that God requires rather than Sacrifice and so much was intimated to them when they were appointed to wash before they entred into the Sanctuary To which purpose saith the Psalmist Psal 26. 6. I will wash my hands in Innocence and so will I compass thine Altar Meaning that by cleansing the outward parts Men were taught to Cleanse and Sanctifie their Minds chiefly and that Innocence is mainly necessary in such as go about to meddle with Holy things And this is particularly observable from the Ordinance concerning the Passover which was a Type and Shadow of this Christian Ordinance Though every Jew that was rightly Qualified was bound under pain of Death to bring the Offering of the Lord in his appointed Season yet if he had any Legal Impurities upon him if he were a Leper or had a running Issue or had been Defiled by touching a Dead Carcass then he was severely bound to forbear the Passover for a time he was to defer it for the space of a Month because it was a general Rule the Soul that eateth the Flesh of the Sacrifice of Peace-Offerings having his Uncleannesses upon him even that Soul shall be cut off from his People Lev. 7. 20. Philo the Jew hath rightly observed that God Instructed Men by these Rites and Forms and outward Symbols how they ought to make their approaches unto his Altar either to Pray or to give thanks unto him that they should bring no latent Diseases no
unwilful acts that proceed from an invincible debility of Nature nay many times from some inveterate Distemper in ones Body which as naturally casteth up ugly Idea's into the Brain and Fancy as over moist Soyls cast up Vapours and Fogs into the Air and though for a while they bring a Cloud over ones Spirit yet common Experience shews that the day breaks up again and therefore he that is disturbed with things of no greater moment than these ought no more to be frighted from the Holy Communion or dejected in his mind than if he were sick of the Spleen there being such a vast difference between Matters of this nature and an Evil Conscience 3. THE other Particulars I shall bring under one common Consideration because the same things in a manner are to be said of them all As for those involuntary Omissions which the best Men cannot but be sensible of and those mixtures of Imperfection which they find in their Noblest Actions and those irregularities to which the common frame and condition of Humanity makes us all subject every Man ought as to be humbled for them by a general Repentance so to beg pardon for them in David's Style O cleanse thou me from my secret faults Psal 19. 12. So also to guard himself from them with that care and vigilance which becomes a Man of an honest and sincere heart This is certain that if we do but secure our hearts unto God he will secure all his mercies to us It is not absolute and spotless perfection he expects from us but sincerity which is Evangelical Perfection As long as we are Men we shall be feeble and as long as we are feeble it cannot be but we must trip sometimes or tread a little awry especially where our way is long and the ground slippery But if we do not wilfully turn aside out of the right Path nor fall so as to Apostatise from the Truth or cast away our Righteousness such is the Divine Goodness and Mercy that we shall not fall into Perdition There is not a Righteous Man on the Earth that Sinneth not Eccles 7. 10. Bring in all the whole Army of Noble Saints and Martyrs and you shall hear them complain of their Infirmities God gives us Grace sufficient to enable us to maintain a Combate with the World the Devil and our own Lusts but not so much as will gain us a perfect and entire Victory so as to free us from all further Allarms and Onsets And indeed there is good Reason why we should not be unexercised by Temptations that we may not be Proud As God left the Canaanites among the Jews to humble and to try them so doth he leave our Infirmities in us even when he gives us the Spirit of Promise that he may make us sensible of our failings and lay us in the dust under the sense of them so that the setting of a Crown upon our heads may be acknowledg'd to be an act of his free Grace and that we may Triumph in the Name of God alone who hath concluded all under Sin that he may have Mercy on all By reason of these Infirmities we are commanded to Watch which is a plain argument that we are still in danger of being assaulted and our most treacherous Enemies may be those of our own Houshold Now what we cannot avoid by the Mercies of God we shall not be accountable for But our Frailties and Infirmities if they be acknowledg'd and bewail'd and prayed against and strugled with are Pardoned of course and every Man is accepted according to that which he hath and not according to that he hath not 2 Cor. 8. 12. Christianity is neither a soft Pillow for Wicked Men to sleep on nor yet a weary yoak for Good Men to sink under there being in the Gospel such an admirable mixture of the Promises with the Threats that as a vicious Wretch has no reason to presume so a Sincere and Humble hearted Man hath no reason to Despair Thou Lord art Merciful faith the Psalmist for thou rewardest every Man according to his Works And it is the usual Course and Tenour of a Man's Life that God doth judge of him by making a great abatement for his Humane Infirmities and were it not thus no Flesh living could be Saved because our present state of imperfection will not suffer us to be without all manner of blemish and he that boasteth of absolute Perfection is not more a Pharisee than a Fool because in many things we are apt to offend all But every Sin grieveth not the good Spirit of God nor is every Offence inconsistent with a State of Regeneration nor doth every little transgression dis-entitle us to the Divine Favour The daily Sacrifice of the Heart in Prayer and the constant striving with our manifold Infirmities do so effectually Operate through the Merits of Christ who died even for weak ones that an Act of Frailty is not a Sin armed with a Damning Power Though there be something of the Viper in us yet as long as we do not Cherish or Indulge or keep it warm in our bosom it cannot Hurt however it may fright us and create in us some trouble and horrour And so much be spoken of Sins of Infirmities and of those degrees of Repentance which are necessary for them CHAP. VII Of Wilful Sins I PROCEED next to Discourse of Sins of Wilfulness that nothing may escape us which is necessary to be known in order to a full understanding of that Repentance which is to be preparatory to the Holy Communion Now Wilful Sins are such as are Advisedly and of set purpose committed when a Man considerately doth this or that Evil action either for his pleasure or for his profit sake or upon any other such unreasonable inducements And these Sins are of two sorts Habitual or Occasional Habitual Sins are such as are the general Tenor and Course of ones Life which he allows himself in and gives himself up to and usually follows as his common Trade and Way As when ill Men accustom themselves to Prophane the Holy Name of God or addict themselves to Drunkenness or follow a Lascivious and lustful kind of Life or make Fraud and Cheating a great part of their Trades or live in Malice and Uncharitableness or whatever other sorts of Wickedness they suffer themselves to Continue in These must needs be Wilful Habits because it is impossible to conceive how any Man can persist in such Courses having so much Time and Leisure to consider of them and not give his full consent to such Impieties For if it be said though 't is strange it should that the Man may believe these things to be Lawful and so Labour under an Erroneous Judgment which allows him in such actions yet it cannot be any thing but his own Obstinacy that misleads his Conscience into such an Errour the Crime being so apparent to common Reason Or if he acts contrary to his judgment which is most
likely it is a Sin against Conscience which is the Highest aggravation any action is capable of So that let him palliate it as he can it is undoubtedly a Wilful Habit. And because it is so such a Repentance is necessary as changeth the whole frame of his Heart and Life such a Repentance as makes a Man lay aside utterly every vicious Custom such a Repentance as effectually bends his Mind to an entire Practice of Virtue and Religion For the great business of Religion being to transform every one into the Divine Image to make him Partaker of the Divine Nature and to render him according to the Capacities of Humane Nature Holy and Pure as God himself is and sorrow for what is past being the first Beginning of such a God-like Life That Repentance must needs be Trifling and Impertinent which doth not powerfully carry on those Divine Purposes and 't is as impossible for one that persists in an Evil State and Course to be a true Penitent at the same time as it is to make Hell and Heaven meet together in one Repentance is an High and Noble act of the Mind that doth not lye in Sobs and Groans nor meerly in the Anguish and Throws of a Spirit that is upon the Rack for notwithstanding all this Guilt and the Love of Sin may be at the bottom and inward torment may proceed purely from a present apprehension of vengeance which every Man would willingly avoid though he delights in that which brings it upon him No Repentance that is genuine works a total Change turns the Desires towards the Glory of God which is the True and Proper Object of the Mind and so by degrees improves and raiseth up the depraved Nature of Man to those perfections which are in God of whose Glory those Divine Graces which Religion proposeth to our practice are a Copy and Transcript INFINITELY distant from this is the Life of that Man who Loves to wallow in Vice Sensuality and Corruption People of this sort and Temper are so far from having a right to the Promises of Pardon and Peace which are tendred by the Evangelical Covenant and which are Sealed at the Holy Sacrament that the Scripture plainly threatens Indignation and Wrath Tribulation and Anguish to every Soul that worketh Evil after this manner to such as obey Vnrighteousness to such as are the Servants of Sin to such as let Sin reign in their Mortal Bodies to such as yield themselves up to Vnrighteousness to such as make Provision for the Flesh to such as obey it in the Lusts thereof to such as walk on in darkness and lye in wickedness and conform themselves to this world by all which Expressions and many more to the same purpose the Scripture meaneth such as continue and persist in an Ungodly course in a crooked way in a vicious Manner and Habit of Life For which Reason when Men intend to go to the Holy Communion where every one is sure to receive something either Mercy or Judgment to himself they should take themselves to a very strict account and impartially observe what that way is wherein they are used to go And if they find themselves so ill given as that they willingly follow their own hearts Lusts and resolve to do so still in spight of God's Word and the checks of their own Consciences they must not in any wise present themselves at the Lord's Table but utterly forbear 'till they have truly humbled themselves under such a sense of their impieties as worketh that Repentance which is the entrance upon a Life of Virtue and True Religion If there be not this Divine disposition of Soul in them they are no more fit to receive the Body of Christ than Judas that Betrayed him or Pilate that Condemned him or the Jews that Mock'd him or the Souldier that stuck a Spear into his Side And if he goes to the Holy Sacrament while he goes on still in his wickedness he doth but take a large step towards his own destruction Such a one despiseth the Sufferings of the Son of God tramples the Blood of the Covenant under his feet and accounteth it an Vnholy Thing as if it were a refreshment for a Beast and he is like one that brings a Swine into the Sanctuary to feed upon the Bread of Eternal Life Therefore before we Celebrate so Great a Mystery we are to enter into the strictest Engagements to bind our Souls with the most serious Vows and to set up very strong and powerful Resolutions of Amendment lest in making too great haste to so Divine and Solemn an Ordinance we make haste to Perish and to be Undone For nothing makes us capable without Repentance from dead Works as * Justin Mart. Apol. 2. Justin Martyr said The food at the Eucharist is not lawful to be received but by such as believe the Doctrines of Christianity to be true and have been wash'd in the Laver of Regeneration and lead their Lives according to Christ's Prescriptions * Habentem adhuc voluntatem peccandi gravari magis dico Eucharistiae perceptione quam purificari S. Aug. de Eccles Dogmat. c. 53. And he that approacheth to the Lords Table with a Design and Purpose to Sin on still instead of being refreshed and purified by receiving is the more heavily Laden and receives a Cup of Bitterness instead of a Salutary Cordial Here a Question may arise whether it be Lawful for one to Communicate upon serious Vows and Resolutions only That is before he has tryed the strength and efficacy of them For it is possible for a Man who has led a dissolute Life to be through the piercing Power of the Word of God struck so on a sudden into the Sense of his Guilt and Danger as to resolve and undertake presently to forsake his Impieties And perhaps too his outward circumstances may be such that if he misseth the opportunity he hath now before him he may be in a very great danger of not meeting with another In which particular case I know no Reason sufficient to debar him from the use of this Ordinance which effectually gives the Benefits of our Saviour's Passion to every true Penitent as our Saviour himself gave them to that Thief upon the Cross who was Converted in a moment Indeed where Men seem not to be straitned in their circumstances but have probably time before them to make some Experiment of their Resolutions it is very expedient for them to betake themselves to their Retirements to weep bitterly to observe what ground they are able to gain of their Habitual Vices what Victory they get over their own Hearts by suitable Acts of Mortification and Self-denyal which are necessary to be undertaken for the eradicating of inveterate Habits By these means they will afterwards come to the Blessed Sacrament with better advantage because with more Comfort with more Confidence and Peace of Mind than such as have not made any Tryal of the firmness and
our Vices and Lusts but must be rather Encouragements to all manner of Sin and Wickedness it being such a strong Temptation to Men to run presently upon a new Score after the Sacrament is over when they believe that all their accounts may be wiped out by those mean and easie methods which reach not the Heart nor meddle with Lusts but let all manner of inward impurities alone though those be the great things which God is angry at EXTERNAL Penance is one thing but the Repentance of the Heart and the Mortification of the Spirit is another and a far different Matter and that which infinitely more deserves our strictest regard for it is the Original of a Divine Temper and of a Life that is truly Christian And I have been the more Copious in Discoursing upon it not only because it is a necessary Preparative to this Heavenly Mystery but also because it is the great business of our whole Life 't is the root of all Religion out of which spring all those particular and various branches of Godliness Righteousness and Sobriety which together make up the whole Duty of Man and are the Genuine and Salutary Fruits of Repentance CHAP. VIII Of Charity I PROCEED next to the Subject of Charity for that is another necessary Preparative it being impossible for Men rightly to Celebrate the memoria◠of Gods infinite Love to Them or to answer the Love of God in any due measure unless their own Souls be inflamed with an Unfeigned and Universal Love to those for whom Christ dyed It is the Apostles own inference 1 Joh. 4. 11. Beloved if God so Loved us we ought also to Love one another In Discoursing upon this Point I am to speak 1. Of the Nature 2. Of the Exercise of Charity 1. AS to its Nature Charity is a Virtue of vast Extent and Latitude so that St. Paul calls it the fulfilling of the Law Rom. 13. Tho' the vulgar sort are apt to restrain it to Alms-deeds yet that is but one Branch of Charity nay when 't is done out of Ostentation and for Popular applause it loseth the Reward and deserves not the very Name of Charity as we find by the Apostle where he tells us that though I bestow all my goods to feed the Poor yet if I have not Charity it profiteth me nothing 1 Cor. 13. In which Chapter we have a large description of Charity that it suffereth long and is kind that it Enviet not that it vaunteth not it self that it is not puffed up that it behaveth not it self unseemly that it seeketh not her own that it is not easily provoked that it thinketh no evil that it rejoyceth not in iniquity but rejoyceth in the Truth that it beareth all Things believeth all Things hopeth all Things endureth all Things By which several Expressions is meant that true Charity hath such an Universal influence upon a Man's Mind that it creates in him an entire Goodness and Loveliness of Nature and restrains him from every thing that is either inhumane or injurious or unbecoming the temper of one that professeth himself a Disciple of the Meek Humble and Beneficent Jesus Therefore before you go to the Lord's Table you should examine and look into your Temper and endeavour to rectifie it wherever any crookedness appears wherever it crosseth the Christian Law wherever it swerves from that Divine Nature and Spirit which was in the great Exemplar of Charity People that are impatient of every little provocation that are rough uncompassionate insensible of other Men's Miseries that begrudge any good which the providence of God casteth into their Neighbour's bosome that out of a Towring and Lofty Conceit of their own Merits look contemptuously and spightfully down upon their Brethren that are intractable disorderly and pursue only their own private satisfaction that are full of rancour and malice that employ their minds upon wicked and mischievous Contrivances that take pleasure in the Sins or Frailties of others that instead of covering and concealing them spread the infamy of them abroad and proclaim them as it were from the House top that are prone to believe any thing that is Evil of those they have no kindness for to judge the worst of them to turn every thing they do to a hard Construction and to treat them so as if they were no other than Reprobates and Cast-aways People I say of this harsh and sower disposition should new-mould their Tempers before they come to the Supper of the Lamb which was Meek Innocent and Spotless and which readily offer'd up himself a Sacrifice and Atonement for the Crimes of the whole World Purge out therefore the old Leaven saith the Apostle that ye may be a new Lump for even Christ our Passeover is Sacrificed for us therefore let us keep the Feast not with old leaven neither with the leaven of Malice and Wickedness but with the unleavened Bread of Purity and Truth 1 Cor. 5. 7 8. But there are two special acts of Charity which I am more particularly to speak of because there are at this Solemnity some Special Reasons for them some special Considerations to stir us up to the exercise of them and to single them out particularly from the rest and they are 1. Liberality to the Poor 2. Fraternal Forgiveness 1. FOR Liberality to the Poor * Gyrald Syndagm c. 17. Alex. ab Alex. lib. 4. c. 17. multi alii The Old Heathens themselves especially the Greeks were wont at their Sacrifical Banquets to remember their absent Friends and to send them portions of the Sacrifices †Justin Martyr Apol. 2. The like Custom was in the Christian Churches as Justin Martyr tells us in the very next Age to the Apostles of sending some of the Consecrated Bread and Wine to such Christians as were absent which makes me still believe that the Primitive Christians look'd upon this Sacred Solemnity as Analagous to those Sacrifical Feasts which had been used all the World over In this there seems to be a great difference that among the Pagans distribution was made to their Friends and Relations only whereas the Charity of Christ's Disciples was not limited but extended unto all that were necessitous though they were more especially regarded who were of the Houshold of Faith THIS kind of Charity to our Fellow-Creatures God who extendeth his Mercies to all his works hath still required of Mankind and more abundantly since he hath sent his Son to us which was the most Eminent instance of his own sincere Love and Goodness to the whole World How many Commands do we find in the New Testament to be Merciful as our Heavenly Father is Merciful to lay up our Treasures in Heaven to do Good to be ready to give to be glad to distribute to be Rich in good works and the like But at the Blessed Eucharist we are more especially concern'd to be mindful of this matter because there are more especial Considerations to excite us to it
And though contentions about words are trifles yet to speak freely I see no just exception against the use of this word as long as we use it in the genuine sense of the Antient Christians For they called it an Altar not upon this supposition as if the true Natural Body of Christ were really offer'd upon it and that too as a propitiation for the Sins of the Living and the Dead no neither was any such Corporal Presence or any such Oblation either believed or so much as dreamt of by the Church for several hundred years after the beginning of Christianity But so they stiled it perhaps because the Death of Christ is Commemorated and Annunciated Solemnly at the Table but most plainly because the Congregation of Communicants did gather themselves to it to call upon God and to present their Alms to be laid upon the Table and this not only for the more easie Celebration of the Eucharist but as a decent signification too that whether they prayed whether they gave Thanks or whether they offered Alms they did all to the Glory of Christ and in the name of Christ the Memorial of whose Death was celebrated there and because these Prayers these Praises these Alms were called Sacrifices and Oblations therefore was the Table it self at which they were offered called an Altar TO conclude this point now I think enough hath been said concerning this Branch of Charity at the Holy Communion which consisteth in shewing Mercy and Liberality to the Indigent especially to those who have the same Faith and the same Hope with us You see what special Reasons there are to excite you to it at this great Solemnity and how Ancient Constant and Uniform the practice of all Christians hath still been as to this particular which I was the more willing to shew because Examples commonly are very operative and I am sure Ancienter Nobler Better grounded Examples we cannot have of any Christian Office that is required at our hands CHAP. IX Of Brotherly Forgiveness 2. I Proceed now to the consideration of the other Branch of Christian Charity which consisteth in Fraternal Forgiveness In discoursing upon this I am to shew 1. What is meant by Fraternal Forgiveness 2. How necessary it is when we come to the Lord's Table 3. How this matter is to be made practical 1. First then Fraternal Forgiveness as it is required and stated by the great Law of Christ consisteth in two things 1. In laying aside all Desires and Intentions of pure Revenge This the Scripture calls rendring of Evil for Evil when an injur'd Person punisheth the Offenders not for any ends of Charity or Justice but meerly for Punishment sake because he delights in his Sufferings and seeks only to satisfie a provoked and distemper'd Passion For the clearing up of this because it is a very material point we must note that when an Injury is committed either against ones Person or Interest or good Name one or other of these three things is apt to follow between which we must carefully distinguish either Discipline or Reparation or Revenge Discipline is when the Offender is made to undergo Rebuke or Shame or Smart and this for his own Correction and future Amendment Now the end of this being nothing but Charity or the doing of an Offender Good it is not only very consistent with but very agreeable unto the Law of Christ And so you Read it St. Matth. 18. 15 16 17. If thy Brother shall Trespass against thee go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone if he shall hear thee thou hast gained thy Brother But if he will not hear thee then take with thee one or two more that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established And if he shall neglect to hear them tell it unto the Church But if he neglect to hear the Church let him be unto thee as an Heathen Man and a Publican Reparation is when an Offender is punisht in his Fortunes for the making up of that loss or dammage which by the Injury his Brother sustains Now the end of this being nothing but Justice it is very consistent also with the standing Laws of Christianity that every Man must provide for his own that we must live Righteously in this World and that he that doth wrong shall receive for the wrong that he hath done Col. 3. 25. But pure Revenge is when a Man is punisht not out of any good intentions to himself nor out of hopes of Repairing the injur'd Man's Losses but only to retaliate one Act of Hostility with another thereby to satisfie his Hatred and Anger As for instance a Man wilfully strikes out thine Eye and to recompence the blow thou strikest out his too this is properly Revenge here his Eye doth not make Amends or Reparation for the loss of thine Therefore the end of this being nothing but to hurt another and to satiate a Brutish Appetite by inflicting Punishments that are both Uncharitable and Impertinent and that have nothing to be pretended for them but an inhumane Pleasure in doing Mischief it is utterly repugnant to his Religion whose business in the World was to go about doing good and to teach all his Followers to do the same Ye have heard saith our Saviour that it hath been said an Eye for an Eye and a Tooth for a Tooth but I say unto you that ye resist not evil but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right Cheek turn to him the other also Mat. 5. 38 39. That is rather than return Injury for Injury be contented to receive another Though God by his right of absolute Soveraignty over all may punish obdurate Wretches to shew his wrath and power especially when there are no hopes of amendment yet we poor Creatures who stand upon the same level and are all of us a-kin on Adam's side ought ever to propose to our selves some Charitable ends in our proceeding with one another not recompensing any Man Evil for Evil not avenging our selves but rather giving place unto wrath because it is written vengeance is mine I will repay saith the Lord Rom. 12. 17 19. This is one part of Fraternal Forgiveness to slight all that is past without strict Retaliation to void our minds of all malicious intentions and not to think of any Punishments which are not required by the Rules of Charity or common Justice of which Cases I shall speak by and by 2. FRATERNAL Forgiveness must rise higher yet and that it may fully answer its measures in the Gospel it must consist in doing an Enemy Good too This is the perfection and the most perfect expression of it instead of Hurting after a revengeful manner to Help to Succour and to Intreat kindly every one whoever he be that hath offended us And this is that new sort of Patience which Christ hath taught his Disciples saith * Novam planâ— patientiam docet Christus c. Tertul. adv Marcion l. 4.
Tertullian to do good unto all Men without distinction or limitation Even the Old Law required the Jews not to hate their Brethren in their hearts Levit. 19. 17. Nay it required them to do friendly Offices to one another although there were enmity between them as we find Exod. 22. 4 5. If thou meet thine Enemies Ox or his Ass going astray thou shalt surely bring it back to him again c. But all this was meant with peculiar respect to their own Tribes and Countreymen for other Nations they were permitted to hate and in many Cases were bound to treat them after an hostile manner But Christ's Religion carries a far different Spirit with it A Christian is bound to look upon every Child of Adam as his Neighbour though an Enemy even to the Faith though without Christ though an alien from the Commonwealth of Israel and consequently he is obliged not only to abhor all malicious Designs against him but moreover to extend the utmost of his Charity unto him like the common Maker and Father of us all whose mercy is over all his Works Ye have heard saith Christ Mat. 5. That it hath been said thou shalt love thy Neighbour and hate thine Enemy But I say unto you love your Enemies bless them that curse you do good to them that hate you and pray for them that despightfully use you and persecute you that you may be the Children of your Father which is in Heaven for he maketh his Sun to rise on the Evil and on the Good and sendeth rain on the Just and Vnjust For if ye love them only which love you what reward have ye Do not even the Publicans the same And if ye Salute your Brethren only what do you more than others Do not even the Publicans so Alas this comes infinitely short of the boundless and most generous Spirit of Christianity which teacheth us not to be overcome by Evil but to overcome Evil with Good if an Enemy hunger to feed him if he thirst to give him drink and by so doing to heap coals of fire upon his head to melt and intender his Spirit instead of calling for fire from Heaven to consume him as those Disciples would have done upon the heads of the Samaritans who knew not what Sweetness and Charity the Christians Spirit is of 2. THUS you see the nature of that Charity which consisteth in Fraternal Forgiveness in its full Latitude and Extent To come closer to our purpose yet let us now in the next place consider the particular necessity of this thing when we Celebrate this Divine Mystery Forgive us our Trespasses as we forgive them that Trespass against us is a Prayer we use daily by our Lord 's own directions and thereby we are taught that Charity is always to be mixt with our Devotion and that we should pity the necessity of others Souls as often as we call for mercy upon our own But as I have already shewn you there are at this great Solemnity Special and Peculiar Reasons to to actuate not only our Faith and Repentance but our Charity too in its several Parts and Properties and therefore laying aside at present the Consideration of those General Obligations which are derived from the Commands of Christ that were given on other Occasions I shall take notice only of those special Reasons which have a more peculiar influence upon our minds from the Consideration of this Mystery IF thou bring thy Gift to the Altar and there remembrest that thy Brother hath ought against thee leave there thy Gift before the Altar and go thy way first be reconciled to thy Brother and then come and offer thy Gift Matth. 5. 23 24. It was this place of Scripture which gave occasion to the Primitive Christians to call the Lord's Table an Altar and just as they went about to offer up their Sacrifices of Prayer Praises and Alms-deeds to express their Reconciliation and perfect Love by Saluting each other with an Holy Kiss the Deacon having called out unto them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 let none have ought against another The peculiar Reasons of this Charity may be drawn from these 4 Considerations 1. FROM the Consideration of that Analogy which this Christian Feast bears to the Sacrifical Banquets of old to which this Banquet doth in some measure correspond * Illud autem observatum ab antiquis videmus ut quoties Supplicationes aut lectisternia indicerentur a jurgiis litibus abstinerent vinctis vincula demerent Gyrald Syntag. 17. page 482. The Heathens themselves were wont at those Solemnities to give over all Strifes and Controversies and to release such miserable Creatures as were in Prisons and Bonds By the common light of Nature they found it necessary for them all to appear before God with Calm and Unpassionate Minds to testifie their freedom from sowerness and rancour by expressions of Humanity and Forgiveness so that their Religious Feasts seem'd to resemble that Charistia which Valerius Maximus speaks of a Feast of Love and entire Friendship I do not speak this to lessen the Dignity of this Christian Eucharist but to shew that if they made it a great part of their Religion to be thus dispos'd who wanted the assistance of Divine Revelation and fed only upon Ritual and mean Entertainments which the Custom of Nations had made every where common certainly the Noblest acts of Charity must be required of us who have been so often told of the infinite Love of God to us and have the singular Honour and Happiness to feed together upon that Lamb of God which was Sacrificed for the forgiveness of the whole World 2. HERE we Celebrate the Memorial of our Saviour's Sufferings who refused not to be kist by the impurest lips in the World even when he knew that Judas his own Disciple his Almoner came to betray him who called him by no harder Name than Friend who healed the Officers Ear which had been cut off by the rash zeal of another Disciple who held his peace though oppress'd at his Tryal with false accusations who took no notice of the rudeness of their malice when his implacable Enemies spit upon him buffeted him smote him on the face with their hands that wanted nothing but to be embrewed in his Blood who forgave Peter though he had Apostatiz'd and flatly denyed him with Oaths and Imprecations who pityed not himself but those poor People that followed him with tears to his Crucifixion and used that soft expression to them Daughters of Jerusalem weep not for me but weep for your selves and for your Children who was led as a Lamb to the Slaughter and as a Sheep that before his Shearers is dumb who when he was reviled reviled not again and when he suffered threatned not but closed up his Life with a most Charitable Prayer for his Enemies forgiveness in a word who throughout this whole affair behaved himself with the most eminent Candour Meekness Goodness and
manner in that Country fall down before his Feet so that St. Peter himself did it upon the miraculous Draught of Fish Luke 5. And why might not all the Disciples do this at his institution of the Blessed Sacrament which he told them was the representation of his own Flesh and Blood especially after he himself had Preached unto them a Lecture of Humility when he had washed their Feet Indeed the Sacred Story gives us no Authority to affirm this positively and dogmatically but yet there are probable Arguments for Mens Conjecture this way And as far as I can see all other Opinions are but Conjectures and I hope we may have leave to opine as well as other Men. BUT we cannot be so confident as to determine this matter in regard that we want the Testimony of Scripture though Reason may be on our side And herein we would give a Pattern to our Dissenting Brethren to be modest in Opinions for which they have no solid Foundation where I pray is the ground they go upon touching the unlawfulness of Kneeling as a thing repugnant to the Example of the Apostles since it cannot be proved what that Example was It might be a posture of Kneeling and Adoration for ought they know Sitting it was not I dare confidently affirm In all probability 't was not a standing posture neither perhaps it was the posture which we customarily use if not it was a leaning posture upon Pallets And no body now insisteth upon that for an Example to us 3. AND yet Thirdly were the Examples both of Christ's Disciples and of Christ himself apparently such as some Men conjecture they would not yet be leading and Authoritative Precedents to us in this point For 't is generally agreed by all Christian Divines that the Example of Christ is not universally to be followed much less the Example of his Disciples In some things 't is not possible in other things 't is not proper in many things 't is not necessary for us to follow that Copy Where we have the Example and the Precept too there indeed we are bound and I wish Men would consider of those weighty things rather than of Matters of slender importance But where we have no Command there to take an Example for our Rule is to make our selves guilty in some instances of Folly and in some of Superstition and Presumption The Practice of our Lord and his Disciples is no Rule for us in Circumstantials and Rites unless they are made necessarily Practical by some Positive Direction and Command Now we have no Command in this Case the one way or the other no not evident Example to direct us and therefore they talk vainly and impertinently who Condemn Kneeling at the Sacrament as an unlawful Posture since no Law can be derived either from Christ's Precept or from His or his Disciples Practice that doth evidently rise up in Judgment against it THE Church then being left to her Liberty what posture to use thought fit to chuse that of Kneeling for these three Reasons chiefly 1. TO testifie our belief of our Saviour's Godhead Had he been a meer Creature as all other Men are we might have had some encouragement to present our selves at his Table as his Fellows and in a common Table-Gesture as those are wont to do who deny the Doctrine of his Divinity But being the Eternal Son of God and equal to the Father he hath a Right and Claim to the humblest Services we can think of to express in some measure the sense we should have of his Infinite Greatness and Majesty especially at an Ordinance which was instituted in Honour to him 2. AS a Posture that is most suitable to the Nature of the Mystery it self Here we Commemorate the Lord's Infinite Goodness and Love his unexpressible Sufferings for us and his humbling of himself to Death even the Death of the Cross Here we feed upon the Symbols of his Body and Blood for the Pardon of all our Sins Here we Seal anew unto God our Covenant of Faith Mortification and Obedience and God reneweth unto us his Covenant of Grace and Morcy Here all that we do is Divine Worship the Mystery is a most Solemn Encharist or Thanksgiving a real and lively Form of praising God as Psalms and Hymns are at other times And all this is attended with devout Prayer from the beginning to the end the whole Congregation praying for all Estates and Conditions of Men the Minister praying for every particular Communicant and each particular Communicant consenting to the Prayer joyning his own suffrage and praying in his own person for the preservation of his Soul and Body So that Adoration and Worship being our whole work at this time it ought to be performed in an adoring posture not only with Eyes and Hands lifted up but with bended Knees too which all Nations have ever thought the most solemn and suitable posture of Adoration 3. THE Church hath chosen it as a Posture that is most expressive of our Gratitude to God for the astonishing Mercies which all Worthy Communicants receive at this Great Solemnity Forgiveness of Sin Peace with God the Increase of the Holy Spirit Divine Influences from above from the Man Christ Jesus with an Earnest and Pledge of a Happy Resurrection and a Glorious Immortality FROM all which Considerations every Pious and Humble Soul may argue after this manner Since this is the Symbol of the blood of God which was shed for me and for many for the Remission of all our Sins shall I not receive it upon my Knees Since Heaven is his Throne and the Earth his Footstool what place can be too vile or what gesture too lowly for Sinful dust and ashes Since we are now admitted to the presence of the Lamb and to the Gate of Heaven O come let us Worship and fall down and kneel before the Lord our Maker and Redeemer If the Blessed Jesus in his Agony fell down with his Knees placed on the bare ground how can I now begrudge the bowing of mine Since the Praises of God are now to be in my mouth what better Example can I follow than those Elders in Heaven who fell down before Him that sat on the Throne and Worshipt Him that liveth for ever and ever saying Holy Holy Holy Lord God Almighty which was and is and is to come Since my Blessed Redeemer was pleased to humble himself even to the Death of the Cross what humility can be great enough for Me who am now to gather up my Life and Happiness at his feet Since I am now to beg for a Blessed Eternity and to offer up my whole self a Reasonable Holy and Living Sacrifice what more reasonable for me than to beg God's acceptance of my Prayers and Oblation upon my bended Knees And since my Eating and Drinking at the Lord's Table is a Pledge of so many stupendious Mercies to come how can I chuse but kneel when I take the Seals of his
of which they had been delivered saith That since after they had escaped the Pollutions of the World through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ they were again intangled therein and overcome the latter end is worse with them than the beginning and that it had been better for them not to have known the way of Righteousness than after they had known it to have turned aside from the holy Commandment delivered unto them 2 Pet. 2. 20 21. I confess he speaks there of their Apostacy from Christ's Religion to those abominable Impurities which they had customarily practis'd while they were yet Pagans which was Wickedness in the highest degree far beyond any Vice I hope that hath been acted by any who have been at the Lord's Table But yet the thing is in a very great measure applicable to those who having devoted themselves to God by this Federal Mystery take the confidence afterwards to let themselves loose again to their Enormities wherewith they had polluted their Souls and Consciences before The last State of those Men must needs be worse than the first and that according to the Nature of the thing it self For hereby Vice becomes familiar with them It loseth that ugly and ghastly Aspect which at first makes it appear very shameful and frightful their Acquaintance with it makes it the more friendly and free like ones conversing with the Devil that by degrees wears off that Horror which is ready to strike another through at the very Thoughts of his Appearing There is naturally such Turpitude in Wickedness and so contrary it is to our Reason and true Interest that an innocent Person when solicited to it is apt to be startled at the first Motion and if he be perswaded to act it he cannot but feel great Remorse and Anguish in his Mind after the Commission But Custom and Familiarity directly tends not only to remove that Fear and Shame which was once such Guards to the Mind but moreover to make the Conscience hard and crusty like Flesh seared with an hot Iron so that it loseth the faculty of Sensation And when a Man is come to such a wretched pass it is as impossible for him to Repent and come to himself again without the mighty Assistance of God's Spirit as it is to live and move and breathe in a Grave And what Reason and Grounds are there to expect that extraordinary Assistance after such monstrous Provocations given notwithstanding the strictest Ties and Engagements to the contrary We read in Scripture of Resisting of Grieving and of Quenching the Spirit Nor is it possible for those who were once enlightned at the other Sacrament and afterwards at this have tasted of the heavenly Gift and been made partakers of the Holy Ghost and have tasted the good Word of God and the Powers of the World to come 'T is not possible I say for such to fall of to a vitious Course of Life but by contumeliously intreating the Spirit of Grace by offering great Violence against his strivings by spoiling his holy Workmanship and by bringing to nought those Virtues and Perfections of Nature which were the Results and Effects of his Divine Operation And what is all this but the next way to stifle and put an end to all his Motions and to force him utterly to depart Because these Hostilities thus acted against the clear Light of Reason and the loud Clamours of Conscience cannot proceed from any other cause but from Wills that are obstinately set upon Evil and from Affections that are desperately in love with that which necessarily leadeth to Destruction For it is to be supposed that whoever comes to this tremendous Mystery must if he comes with sincerity of Heart carry with him these Convictions That the Religion he professeth is of God That Christ sealed it upon the Cross with that Blood whereof there is a Representation in this Mystery That the Covenant between God and Mankind is immutable That eternal Life therein promised is to be chosen before the whole World That a Life of Sanctity is the certain way to it That Virtue is Eligible of it self and for the Peace and Satisfaction it rewards them with in this Life beyond the gross and transient Pleasures of the Flesh and that it is the extreamest Folly for a Man to chuse those Courses which bring a kind of Hell to him before he arrives at that which burns with Fire and Brimestone There is no understanding and serious Person but must grant all this and more And therefore to Relapse into a State of Wickedness after so many Vows after so many Convictions and consequently after so many Reluctancies and Struglings of Conscience can proceed from no other Cause but the strong Malignity of a carnal Mind which is perfect enmity against God utterly inconsistent with the things of the Spirit Rom. 8. THESE are the Reproaches and Dangers of Relapsing into a wicked State of Life after the reception of this Sacrament and should a Man die in such a wretched Condition I tremble to consider what an endless State of Misery he must drop into next because as I have already shew'd nothing but entire Probity of Mind and a vertuous Temper can capacitate or dispose us for the Inheritance of the Saints in Light I do not now speak of Sins of Ignorance of Inadvertency of Infirmity and humane Weakness For as there is no possible sufficient Fence against them so there is no strict Obligations upon us to keep our selves free entirely from them nor are these the Sins which the Word of God cries out upon so as to threaten them with eternal Death or with the Derelictions of Christ's Spirit No it is sinning with an high hand and against an Honest Conscience and against Stipulations and Promises which were in our Power to perform this is that presumptuous acting which lays Men naked and destitute of the Grace of God in this Life and leaves them exposed to God's everlasting Displeasure in the next YOU have therefore great need as soon as this Solemnity is over as to bow your Knees to the Father of Lights from whom every good and perfect Gift cometh that he would now hold up your goings in his Paths that your Footsteps may not slide so to be very circumspect and diligent your selves to make streight Paths for your feet as the Author to the Hebrews speaks lest any Man should fail of the Grace of God lest any Man should turn Fornicator or Prophane Person as Esau Who for one morsel of bread sold his birthright For ye know how that afterward when he would have inherited the Blessing he was rejected for he found no place of Repentance no way of changing his Father's mind though he sought it earnestly with tears Heb. 12. CHAP. XIII Of Perseverance I HAVE discoursed against Relapsing into a sinful course not as if it were sufficient for us to forbear going backward or to stand at a stay but because in order
any anxious thought for your life what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink nor yet for your body what ye shall put on Matth. 6. 25. But use this World as those that use it not for the Fashion of this World passeth away Heb. 7. 31. INSTEAD of this set your Affection Heavenly-Mindedness on things above Col. 3. 2. Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his Righteousness Matth. 6. 33. Let your Conversation be in Heaven Phil. 3. 20. Walk worthy of the Vocation wherewith ye are called and put off concerning the former Conversation the old Man which is corrupt according to the deceitful Lusts and be renewed in the Spirit of your mind Ephes 4. 22 23. For to be carnally minded is Death but to be Spiritually minded is Life and Peace Rom. 8. 6. FROM this Heavenly-mindedness naturally Contentment springs another great Duty viz. to be satisfied with such a share and Portion of this World as it shall please God to dispense to us to be pleased with such things as we have Heb. 13. 5. And with that Food which God shall judge convenient for us Prov. 3. 8. And having Food and Raiment therewith to be content 1 Tim. 6. 8. WHOSOEVER will come after me Self-denial let him deny himself saith our Saviour Mark 8. 34. And these are necessary Acts of Self-denial to cast down Imaginations and every thing that exalteth it self against the Knowledge of God and to bring into Captivity every thought to the Obedience of Christ 2 Cor. 10. 5. To count all things but loss for the Excellency of the Knowledge of Christ Jesus Phil. 3. 8. Not to trust in your selves that ye are Righteous Luke 18. 9. But to renounce your own Righteousness Phil. 3. 9. To deny all Ungodliness and Worldly Lusts Tit. 2. 12. To part with a right Hand and right Eye Matth. 5. 29 30. that is with every the dearest and most useful thing when it is an occasion of Sin or an hindrance to Virtue and to forsake Houses Lands Father Mother and all that a Man hath for the sake of Christ Luke 14. 33. TO this add that other Evangelical Grace of Purity of Heart which is Purity of Heart when you mortifie your Members which are upon the Earth Fornication Uncleanness inordinate Affection and evil Concupiscence and when laying aside all Naughtiness and all Guile and all Hypocrisie as new born Babes you desire the sincere Milk of the Word that you may grow thereby 1 Pet. 2. 1 2. IN order to this Temperance is a very Temperance necessary Virtue Every Man that striveth for the Mastery is Temperate in all things 1 Cor. 9. 25. And to this purpose are those Directions that we should cast off the works of Darkness that we should walk honestly as in the Day not in Rioting and Drunkenness not in Chambering and Wantonness Rom. 13. 12 13. Not in Excess of Wine Revellings and Banquetings 1 Pet. 4. 3. Not to suffer our Hearts to be overcharged with Surfeiting Luke 21. 34. But to abstain from such Fleshly Lusts as War against the Soul 1 Pet. 2. 11. To add to our Knowledge Temperance 2 Pet. 1. 6. To keep under the Body and bring it into Subjection 1 Cor. 9. 27. AND for the Improving and perfecting Fortitude of all these Virtues we are to arm our selves with Resolution and Courage to watch to stand fast in the Faith to quit our selves like Men to be strong 1 Cor. 16. 13. To resist the Devil Jam. 4. 7. To endure Temptation Jam. 1. 12. Not to fear them which kill the Body but are not able to kill the Soul but rather to fear him which is able to destroy both Soul and Body in Hell Mat. 10. 28. Finally to be strong in the Lord and in the Power of his Might and to put on the whole Armour of God that we may be able to stand against the wiles of the Devil and having done all to stand Ephes 6. 10 11 13. AS for those Christian Virtues which have reference to others they are of great Variety according as we stand related differently unto them SOME more immediately concern our Virtues concerning private Families respective Families So Husbands are to love their Wives even as Christ loved the Church Ephes 5. 25. Not to be bitter against them Col. 3. 19. But to dwell with them according to Knowledge giving Honour to the Wife as to the weaker Vessel and as being Heirs together of the Grace of God that their Prayers be not hindred 1 Pet. 3. 7. Wives are to submit themselves to their own Husbands as unto the Lord Ephes 5. 22. Not learning to be Idle or to wander about from House to House neither to be Tatlers or Busie-bodies speaking things which they ought not 1 Tim. 5. 13. But to be in Behaviour as becometh Holiness to be Discreet Chaste Keepers at home Good Obedient to their own Husbands that the Word of God be not Blasphemed Tit. 2. 3. 5. Parents must not provoke their Children to Wrath but to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord Ephes 6 4. And to lay up for them 2 Cor. 12. 14. Children on the other hand to obey their Parents in the Lord for this is right Honour thy Father and Mother which is the first Commandment with Promise that it may be well with thee and thou may'st live long on the Earth Ephes 6. 1 2 3. Servants to be subject to their Masters with all fear not only to the good and gentle but also to the froward 1 Pet. 2. 18. Not answering again not purloining but shewing all good Fidelity Tit. 2. 9. 10. Being Obedient with Fear and Trembling in singleness of Heart as unto Christ not with Eye-service as Men-pleasers but as the Servants of Christ doing the Will of God from the Heart With good will doing service as unto the Lord and not to men And ye Masters do the same things unto them forbearing threatning knowing that your Master also is in Heaven neither is there respect of Persons with him Ephes 6. 5 6 7 9. SOME Virtues relate to larger Societies Larger Societies Justice as Righteousness and Equity in your Dealings He hath shewed thee O man what is good and what doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly Mich. 6. 8. Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you do ye even the same to them Matth. 7. 12. To do violence to no man Luc. 3. 14. Not to make haste to be rich Prov. 28. 20. By divers Weights and Measures both which are alike abomination to the Lord Prov. 20. 10. Not to go beyond or desraud our Brother in any matter 1 Thes 4. 6. Not to do wrong but rather to take it 1 Cor. 6. 7. But to have an honest conversation 1 Pet. 2. 12. In sâ—mplicity and godly sincerity 2 Cor. 1. 12. Because he that doth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done and
Promises at his hands THIS is enough to shew what a becoming and suitable posture Kneeling is at this Great Solemnity and how Naturally it follows where People entertain right Notions of it and come unto it with humble Minds Nor can I sufficiently admire that of all the Usages in the Christian Church this so Significant so Decent a Ceremony should ever become a stumbling-block and matter of Dispute Certainly it must be an ill sign of very Lofty Imaginations when there is such stiffness in Mens Knees BUT it is high time for me to proceed CHAP. XII Of our Behaviour after Receiving WHEN we have thus devoutly employ'd this blessed hour we must not imagine that our great Business is at an end that we may now drop those Religious Considerations which hitherto took up our time and thoughts that we may now go home leaving our Vows and Resolutions behind us in the Church much less may we think our selves free to fall afresh upon our former course of Life I must tell you the greatest part of our business is yet before us and to stop and rest here in the performance of those things which have hitherto employ'd our minds is the ready way to unravel our whole work and to defeat the design of this Heavenly Ordinance For this Rite of Eating and Drinking at the Lord's Table though it be of admirable use yet it is not naturally and intrinsecally good as those Acts and Dispositions of the Mind are wherein the Substance and Excellence of Religion doth consist but it iâ— a Relative thing instituted by our Saviour as a Means to promote and carry on that Noble End for which the Grace of God hath appeared unto all Men that denying all Vngodliness and Worldly Lusts we should live Soberly Righteously and Godly in this present World Tit. 2. 12. Here indeed we lay the Foundation of a life of Virtue by devoting unto God the Powers and Faculties of our Souls and the Members of our Bodies but as the Ground-work is in order to a Superstructure so are our Actions now in order to the further edifying and perfecting of us that we may be built up more and more in our most Holy Faith and being sitly framed together and compacted may grow and rise up by degrees to an Holy Temple for the Lord to be an Habitation of God through the Spirit THIS you will easily perceive if you observe 1. The Nature of the Ordinance it self It is first a Representation of the very Death of Christ a Representation exhibited to our Sences by the breaking of the Bread and the effusion of the Wine And what doth this mean but to awaken our Fears by shewing us the Terror of the Lord who for the expiation of the World's Guilt spared not his own Son nor would be reconciled to the World at a lower rate than by delivering him up to Torments and Death for us all What doth it mean but to set our Zeal a work upon mortifying all our Lusts and Affections and upon perfecting Holiness in the fear of God because Christ gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all Iniquity and Purifie unto himself a peculiar People zealous of good works What doth it mean but to make us ever watchful and circumspect lest we tread under foot the Blood of the Son of God Because if we sin wilfully after we have received the Knowledge of the Truth there remaineth no more Sacrifice for Sin Heb. 10. 26. It is secondly a Memorial of Christ's Love Love stronger than Death that made him give his life a ransom for the ungodly And what doth this mean but to kindle in our Hearts the most ardent Affections to Him again who so loved us as to die for us The greatest Affection this that 't is possible for any Mortal Man to express to lay down his Life for the Brethren But yet infinitely short of that which the Son of God expressed upon the Cross for his Enemies In this he commended his Love towards us above all proportion and comparison in that while we were yet Sinners Christ died for us the Just for the Vnjust It is thirdly a foederal Solemnity whereby we renew the Covenant we entred into at our Baptism Vowing Promising and Engaging over the Symbols of Christ's Body and Blood and Swearing as it were with our Hands laid upon the Redeemer of our Souls that we will henceforth walk in Newness of Life And what doth this mean but to bind us with the most Solemn Securities and under the most dreadful Penalties to renounce the Devil and all his Works to deny all the Lusts of the Flesh so as not to follow or be led by them and not only to offer up our Hearts and Spirits unto the God of Purity but to present even our Bodies a living Sacrifice Holy and Acceptable to him And for the farthering of all these Noble Ends this Mystery is in the Fourth place the very Means of Grace and Salvation an Instrument that conveys to us the present Possession of all necessary and suitable Assistances and a Title under Seal to all the Evangelical Promises and particularly to this that he that persevereth unto the end the same shall be saved and that to them who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for Glory and Honour and Immortality God will render Eternal Life Rom. 2. 7. And what doth this mean too but that we should grow in Grace that we must not grieve the good Spirit of God whereby we are Sealed to the day of Redemption but that we should be strong in the Lord and in the power of his Might and give all manner of diligence to make our Calling and Election unto Grace sure and effectual by adding to our Faith Virtue or Courage and to Virtue Knowledge and to Knowledge Temperance and to Temperance Patience and to Patience Godliness and to Godliness Brotherly Kindness and to Brotherly Kindness Charity Charity in the highest degree to all Mankind and even to our Enemies Thus you see the nature of the Ordinance it self is such that it is not only highly useful for the present but of mighty Importance for the future it hath a tendency forward and it drives at mighty Ends which our endeavours are to be employ'd about after the Celebration of it is over that we may be more and more Partakers of the Divine Nature and come every day nearer and nearer to the Life of God TO confirm this still we may observe Secondly That those very Preparations which are required in order to our worthy Communicating do all look the same way and have a direct tendency to the same purpose Thus Faith or the hearty belief of the truth of our Religion upon those Evidences and Motives it carries with it is naturally productive of constant Obedience to the Precepts of it throughout the whole course of our lives For as it discovers to us the Folly the Shamefulness and the bitter Fruits of Sin so it shews