is so tender in this point Can. 28. and so far from giving encouragement unto such that instead of admitting she forbiddeth them and remitteth them home to their own Parish Churches and Ministers there to receive the Communion with the rest of their Neighbours In all these Cases you see our Church is very cautious and therefore no fear of such an universal and promiscuous admittance to God's Table as your Objection supposeth She is not so prodigally lavish as to cast her Pearl to Swine or give her Childrens Bread to Dogs But though these cases may limit yet do they not at all lessen our Duty Let our circumstances be what they will yet to Do this is still our Duty To continue therefore under these circumstances must needs be sin because it hindereth us from doing that which is our duty and to plead our excuse for Non-Communion upon that score is to add sin to sin and double that iniquity which was too great before What therefore is to be done in this case but as speedily as may be to put our selves out of these circumstances that we may the sooner set about the performance of our Duty Which whosoever refuseth or neglecteth to do he doth plainly declare that he hath a greater value for his own inordinate lusts and debaucht practices than for an holy Communion with God and Christ Parishioner I am mighty well pleased to understand That the Wisdom and Piety of our Mother the Church of England in taking so much care to guard the Table of the Lord and with so much caution to fence the Body and Blood of Christ against the bold approaches of ignorant prophane and wicked persons is far greater than I thought it had been or than many will yet believe it is But Sir I have something more still which if I did not fear I had too much tired you already I would gladly be satisfied in Pastor No more of these Apologies good Neighbour if your own leisure and patience will allow it mine will hold out And therefore now we are together and have so fit an opportunity for it speak your whole mind and speak it freely propound what ever scruples you have that I may apply my self to give you all the satisfaction I can Parishioner I humbly thank you Sir for the freedom you are pleased to give me which I shall willingly make use of The next thing I have to propound is a matter of great weight an Objection that hath and still doth very much startle me and I believe many others which if you can clear your so doing will very much smooth the way and encourage both me and them to communicate with you Obj. 3. St. Paul expresly saith He that eateth and drinketh unworthily eateth and drinketh damnation to himself not discerning the Lord's Body 1 Cor. 11.29 Now Sir I do not find my self worthy and I hope you would not have me to eat and drink my own Damnation Pastor This Scripture which you now cite hath been and still is made very much use of to deter and affright men from doing their duties from communicating with the Church and People of God in this holy Ordinance Some men who have usurped the Pulpit and invaded the Office of the Ministry in our late unhappy times have with so much zeal but little knowledge taken upon them to interpret the holy Scriptures that they have made them to speak other things than the holy spirit of God or his Amanuenses the Prophets and Apostles ever intended And I do not doubt but to make it plain to you that the Objection raised from this passage of St. Paul is founded in the misunderstandings of men and not in the Text it self or the true and genuine sense of the Apostle in this place In order whereunto I shall endeavour to lay before you the plain meaning of St. Paul in this Text and that by the resolution of these two Enquiries Qu. 1. What is here meant by eating and drinking unworthily Qu. 2. How and when men are said to eat and drink their own Damnation Qu. 1. What is here meant by eating and drinking unworthily Ans For Answer whereunto let me premise That the Worthiness here spoken of doth not consist in perfection or in an absolute and unsinning obedience to all the Laws of God. For if we were indeed thus perfect we should have no need or at least not so much need of this Sacrament Since the first Adam in the state of Innocency none save only the second Adam the Lord Christ Jesus could ever justly glory in being thus qualified Notwithstanding the vain pretensions of some Enthusiastical Catharists this certainly is a thing which is not attainable in this life For All have sinned saith St. Paul Rom. 3.23 cap. 5.12 There is none that doth good no not one saith holy David Ps 14.3 The just man falleth seven times saith the wise Solomon Prov. 24.16 And if any man say that he hath no sin he doth but deceive himself and the truth is not in him saith the Apostle John 1 Joh. 1.8 From all which Scriptures and many others which might be produced wherein the terms are so general that they cannot but include all and every individual it is plain and evident that perfection doth not belong to the present state of Mankind And if so then must we conclude that the great and wise God and the holy and blessed Jesus have instituted this Feast in vain and given out a command to no purpose A Table indeed may be spread and richly furnished but the rooms will be all empty for if none but those who are perfect be worthy there will none be found that are so This therefore cannot be the meaning of the Apostle in this place And as the worthiness here spoken of doth not consist in perfection i. e. in an intire and unsinning obedience to the whole Law of God So neither doth the unworthiness here mentioned consist in imperfection or sin It is not every failing not every weakness nor every sin that presently renders men unworthy to be Guests at God's Table For if so then all mankind would be excluded because all have sinned as appeareth from the Texts already quoted And consequently the Table of the Lord would be as empty and this great Feast as much want Guests upon this account as upon the other But this is so far from being the sense of the Apostle here that it is quite contrary to it For as Christ came into the World purposely to save Sinners so did he institute his holy Supper for the sake of those who were liable to sin and weak in the Faith that thereby they might be fortified against the one and strengthened in the other For any one to say then I am a Sinner and therefore Unworthy is a false consequence For it is not sin barely but an obstinate and impenitent continuance in sin that renders any one an unworthy Guest at God's Table as I shall show
then suppose ye shall he be worthy who treadeth under foot the son of God and counteth the blood of the Covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing and doth despite to the spirit of grace Hebr. 10. v. 28 29. These are all comprised under that one general expression He that believeth not and of such an one our Saviour saith He shall be damned 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mark 16.16 Those therefore who being thus unworthy do presume to come to the Lord's Table they prophane this holy Feast they trample under foot the blood of the Covenant they are guilty of the Body and Blood of Christ and may in the strictest sence be said to eat and drink their own damnation But I do not take this to be the meaning of the Apostle in this place 2. Some come to the Lord's Supper who though they have some small glimmerings some little knowledge yet do they not so well discern the Lord's Body as they ought who though they have Faith yet is their Faith so weak and languid so low and faint that it doth not so powerfully work by love and repentance as it ought who do not so well discern the mystical Bread in this Sacrament from common food and therefore with too much rudeness and too little reverence approach thereunto Now such is the goodness and mercy of God that he is always willing to pity the weaknesses and infirmities of his people If there be but some beginnings of grace some weak efforts and faint desires to do their duties he is so far from discouraging that he is willing rather to encourage them therein that in time they may do better He will not break the bruised reed nor quench the smoaking flax Matth. 12.20 If there be but a willing mind it will be accepted according to that a man hath and not according to that he hath not 2 Cor. 8.12 But if men be not so careful as they ought to rectify their mistakes in time and amend their doings then God is pleased sometimes by Discipline and correction to inform them better to show them the folly of their doings and reduce them into the right way And this I conceive to be all that is imported in that Word which our Translators have rendered Damnation in this place To make this good I shall consider both the signification of the word here used and the design of the Apostle in using of it There are two words made use of by St. Paul in this Chapter The former of which 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is properly rendred Judgment and the latter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Damnation or Condemnation Now it is the former of these words that is used in this Text which is not so well rendered as it might have been For it doth not import the Judgment of Eternal Damnation as some would understand it but only a Temporal punishment which God is pleased sometimes to inflict upon Believers to correct what is amiss in them and stir them up the better to prepare themselves for the performance of their duties That such kind of punishments were more frequent in the primitive times of Christianity is sufficiently evident from the Writers of those times And that this is St. Pauls sense here is plain from the following words For this cause many are weak and sick among you and many sleep v. 30. But more plainly from the 32 Verse where St. Paul himself distinguisheth the two sorts of Judgments saying When we are judged 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 we are chastened of the Lord because we should not be condemned 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with the World. Whence it is very plain and evident that the word which is here rendered Damnation imports no more but a judgment of Correction or Discipline for our good And even that also may be prevented if we will take the right course In order whereunto St. Paul prescribeth us a most excellent rule For saith he If we would judge our selves we should not be judged v. 31. Now what he meaneth by judging our selves is plain from the 28 Verse where he saith Let a man examine himself and so let him eat of this bread and drink of this Cup. I have now considered and explained this Text of Scripture which I fear hath heretofore been made use of by some to very ill purposes and set up as a Mormo to affright many well-meaning people from their duties By vertue of this Text ill understood and worse applyed the Peace of the Church hath been disturbed the Bond of Union broken and those who should have lived together in love and amity like Fellow Citizens and Members of the same Family have been crumbled into Parties and Factions Christians have hereby been divided not only in their judgments but affections small differences at first have been improved into Schisms and Separations and those have produced such heats and animosities that the unity of the Spirit which should have been kept in the Bond of Peace hath thereby been dissolved and the Seamless-Coat of Christ Jesus hath been rent asunder I cannot believe that Zeal and Ignorance had the only hand in this business but that there must be a great deal of malice joined with them Those who pretended to be your Guides could not but know better and therefore must on set purpose impose upon themselves and you that underhand they might the better carry on their designs upon Religion and the Church of God In which they have been but too prosperous Instead of the substance the shadow of Religion was only left us instead of Order and Discipline nothing but disorder and confusion was to be seen among us Every one setting up for himself and drawing Parties and Factions after him And from whence came all this but from our breach of Union and Communion with that Church of which God had made us Members But when you have seriously considered what I have now said I hope you will find the Masque taken off and that this Text hath no such frightful visage as some have put upon it and in which they have formerly represented it to you that it is so far from discouraging any in their communicating with the Church in this holy Ordinance that it is rather a great enforcement of their Duty And now having thus cleared the way by explaining this Text of Scripture to you for the more easy removal or prevention of that Objection which is usually raised therefrom let me ask you or rather let me desire you to ask your self a few Questions 1. When God calls Whether it be fit for you or me or any of us to say we are not ready When he commandeth to Do this whether it will suffice us to say We cannot do it as we ought and therefore we will not do it at all Let me put you a plain Case and pray consider of it You are the Master of a Family and you command one of your Servants to do this he Answereth he
of the Vine until that day when I shall drink it new with you in my Father's Kingdom In which words the Holy Jesus seemeth to intimate two things to his Disciples 1. That this was the last time that he should ever celebrate this Feast with them in this World. 2. That though they were not to expect his Company his Bodily presence yet they and the whole Church represented by them should keep up the observation of this Feast till they met again to celebrate an Eternal Feast in his Father's Kingdom And that this latter was designed by him is evident from those words of St. Paul 1 Cor. 11.26 As often as ye do eat this Bread and drink this Cup ye do shew or shew ye forth the Lord's Death till he come Thus have I shown you that those four Conditions which are thought necessary to the constitution of a Sacrament properly so called are all to be found in this and therefore this may deservedly be reckoned as one of that number But to make the notion of this Sacrament yet more plain to you let us consider by what names it is usually known in holy Scripture It is called a Supper and the Lord's Supper 1 Cor. 11.20 It is also called a Feast and a Feast upon a Sacrifice 1 Cor. 5.7 8. Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us Therefore let us keep the Feast saith St. Paul. When therefore you fix your thoughts upon this holy Sacrament with a design to celebrate the same let me desire you to look upon it 1. As a Feast 2. As a Feast upon a Sacrifice 3. As a Feast upon a Sacrifice for sin 1. Consider it as a divine Feast which our Lord hath appointed to be kept in Commemoration of himself The cheer provided viz. Bread and Wine and the Body and blood of Christ The actions about it viz. Receiving Eating and Drinking The names given to it viz. Breaking of Bread and the Lord's Supper The design thereof which is to nourish up the members of Christ's Church unto Eternal Life do all of them sufficiently speak this notion of it And that it was ordained to be a Commemoration-Feast the very words of Institution tell us which say This do in remembrance of me Luke 22. v. 19. Nor were these kind of Feasts unusual in the World both before and at that time For as the Hebrews had their Feasts which were commonly signified by setting on Bread or Eating Bread. So the Greeks also had their sober Compotations 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 At which Feasts they did usually commemorate the worthy actions and glorious Examples of some memorable persons And this no doubt was the design of this most holy Feast wherein Christians have the honour not only to feast with but upon God the holy Jesus being both the Master of it and the cheer provided in it Wherein we have an opportunity of feasting with one another thereby the better to promote and preserve amity love and charity among our selves to keep up a lasting remembrance of our glorious Redeemer and to fix more deeply in our minds all that he hath done and suffered for us Hereby shall we be the better disposed with all thankfulness and humility to embrace such opportunities when offered with greater joy and alacrity to address our selves thereunto and made the more careful that in a becoming manner we appear before our Lord and Master therein In a word by this Commemoration-Feast we shall be the better disposed and hold our selves the more obliged to a cheerful observance of our Redeemer's Will and to pay a sincere and entire obedience to all his Laws 2. Consider it not only as a Feast but as a Feast upon a Sacrifice wherein we are more particularly to commemorate the sufferings and death of our blessed Saviour St. Paul doth very well explain those words of Christ Do this in remembrance of me Luke 22.19 when he saith As often as ye eat this Bread and drink this Cup of the Lord ye shew forth the Lord's Death till he come 1 Cor. 11.26 thereby teaching us that we ought herein to commemorate the dying love of the holy Jesus with such suitable praises and thanksgivings as may be agreeable to that great goodness which he expressed by dying for us As in all Feasts of this kind both among the Jews and Gentiles God had his Portion and the people had their portion wherewith to entertain themselves and their Friends so in this Christian Feast we also are made partakers of the Sacrifice in that by these representations of the Body and Blood of Christ Jesus we are admitted to feast upon it And as by eating of the Sacrifices offered at the Altar both Jews and Gentiles professed themselves to be the Worshippers and Servants of that God to whom the oblation was offered so we by partaking of this holy Feast do make a solemn profession of the Christian Religion of our Faith in Jesus and obedience to him We declare our selves to be the Disciples and Followers of him to whom we join our selves in Communion Eating and Drinking together was always esteemed a sign of Friendship and good understanding between the parties so doing But when a Feast was made on purpose to express their Friendship then was it the more notorious But when the Feast was upon a Sacrifice then the obligation between them was held the more sacred and inviolable We therefore by being partakers of this holy Feast do thereby engage our selves in a mutual Covenant with the blessed Jesus and by often doing this we make repeated protestations of our fidelity and renew our Baptismal Vow and Covenant taking as we usually say the Sacrament upon it that in all things we will be faithful and obedient to him 3. Let us consider this holy Action not only as a Feast nor only as a Feast upon a Sacrifice but as a Feast upon a Sacrifice for sin That Jesus Christ did offer up himself as a Sacrifice for sin is so plain and evident through the whole History of the New Testament that to produce instances to attest it would look like an uncharitable censure of others as if they had neglected to peruse those sacred Records which contain the Charter for their Inheritance in Heaven Now in the time of the Law when any Beast was slain and offered in Sacrifice for sin it was not permitted in that case nor indeed in any other neither to the People nor Priests themselves to eat of the blood Nor had they any portion of the flesh for that was wholly burn'd To partake of the sin-offering therefore was a priviledge reserved for Christians who at this holy Feast are allowed both to eat the Bread which represents the Body or flesh of Christ and drink the Cup which represents his blood And in this case that of the Apostle is fully verified We have an Altar i. e. a Sacrifice whereof they had no right to eat who served the Tabernacle Hebr. 13. v. 10. By vertue
you hereafter From this account of this Text you see plain that there are some who have no pretence to perfection in this life and yet in God's account are esteemed worthy Communicants And of such an one I shall give you this short Character which may serve as a Test to try your own worthyness by To be a worthy Guest at God's Table is not to be without sin but to be sensible of sin and sorrowful for it one who doth hunger and thirst after righteousness one who doth earnestly desire Union and Communion with Christ especially in this holy Feast One who is truly sensible of and as truly thankful for what the blessed Jesus hath done and suffered for him One who upon that consideration doth resolve with himself that as much as in him lieth he will for the future lead a new life and live in all godly love and charity with all men This though short I take to be a full Character of a worthy Guest at God's Table Which worthy disposition may very well consist with many and great weaknesses and imperfections This thus premised may enable us to give a more direct answer to our first enquiry and help us to discover What it is to eat and drink unworthily To eat and drink unworthily in the Apostle's sense doth therefore imply these things 1. To come to the Lord's Supper with low and mean thoughts of it being either ignorant what it is or if in some measure knowing yet are they willing to put a slight and contempt upon it The former of these are indeed the more pityable but neither the one nor the other are excusable both of them in St. Pauls sense may be truly said to eat and drink unworthily The one contentedly sitteth down under such circumstances that he cannot and the other if he can will not make any difference between the Table of the Lord and their own between this great and holy Feast and a common and ordinary meal and repast This is that for which St. Paul reproveth the Church of Corinth 1 Cor. 11. v. 20 21 22. saying When ye come together into one place this is not to eat the Lord's Supper For in eating every one taketh before other his own Supper and one his hungry and another is drunken What have ye not Houses to eat and drink in Or despise ye the Church of God and shame them that have not What shall I say to you Shall I praise you in this I praise you not This is to come to the Lord's Table without Faith or Fear neither believing nor remembring what the blessed Jesus hath done and suffered for them of which at this Feast they ought to make a grateful and solemn Commemoration 1 Cor. 11.24 This is to approach thereunto without that due regard and reverence that becometh them and befitteth the action they are about not once considering with whom or upon what they are to feast And this is part if not all that St. Paul designeth in those words which he addeth in the close of this Text not discerning the Lord's Body 2. To eat and drink unworthily is to come to the Lord's Supper without a due sense of sin without a just remorse a godly sorrow and an unfeigned repentance for it For as I before hinted to you it is not sin barely but an obstinate and impenitent continuance in sin that maketh men unwelcome guests at God's Table If the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed and keep all my statutes and do that which is lawful and right he shall surely live he shall not die All his transgressions that he hath committed they shall not be mentioned unto him in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live saith the Lord Ezek. 18. v. 21 22. A broken and contrite heart God will never despise Ps 51.17 I might if it were needful produce many other Texts to this purpose for the holy Scripture is full of such passages as speak the goodness and mercy of God to repenting and returning Sinners how ready he is to receive them how he openeth his arms to embrace them and how kindly he bids them wellcome If the Prodigal can but think of returning to his Father his Father will prevent him and run to meet him Luk. 15.18 19 20. Turn unto me and I will turn unto you saith the Lord of Hosts Zech. 1.3 But though God be thus kind and gracious to the Penitent yet will he be severe and inexorable to the obstinate and impenitent If men will sin with an high hand and go on therein without once reflecting upon what they do or have done If they will still persevere in wickedness against all the admonitions of God and checks of their own Consciences If they be resolved to indulge their lustful appetites and inordinate affections and not to be reclaimed therefrom If against the judgment of the Church and the plain evidence of Scripture and reason they will reject the Truth and espouse and defend Errours and Heresies If they give themselves over to strife and contention to promote malice and hatred to disturb their own and the peace of that Church and state in which they live What can such men expect but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation to devour them Hebr. 10. v. 26 27. There is nothing doth more surely forfeit the kindness and mercy of God nor any thing that doth more certainly treasure up to it self wrath against the day of wrath than an hard and impenitent heart Rom. 2.5 As impenitency is a certain bar to Man's Salvation so is it to his participation of this holy Feast For to come to the Lord's Supper without a due sense of sin and sorrow for it is to go about to join righteousness with unrighteousness to mix light with darkness and to lodge Christ with Belial 2 Cor. 6. v. 14 15. 3. To eat and drink unworthily is to come to the Lord's Supper without Charity If thou bring thy gift to the Altar and there remembrest that thy brother hath ought against thee leave there thine offering before the Altar and go thy way first be reconciled to thy brother and then come and offer thy gift Matth. 5. v. 23 24. This counsel proceedeth from the unerring wisdom of the blessed Jesus wherein he doth plainly intimate how vain it is to expect that God will accept an offering at our hands whilst our hearts are filled with malice and hatred to our Brethren Love to God and love to the Brethren are qualifications indispensibly necessary in every one who will be a worthy Guest at God's Table and neither of these can well consist without the other If a man say I love God and hateth his brother he is a liar for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen how can he love God whom he hath not seen And this Commandment have we from him that he who loveth God love his brother also 1 John 4.
v. 20 21. Now who they are that come without Charity will best appear if we consider that noble Character which St. Paul giveth of it and compare their manner of address therewith Are men impatient under sufferings Are they apt to murmur and repine at the dispensations of Divine Providence touching the ordering and governance of persons and things in this World Are they morose and unsociable Are they over-tenacious unfriendly and unliberal This betrayeth their want of Charity For Charity suffereth long and is kind Are men apt to be envious at the happy estate of their Brethren Do they look with an evil Eye upon the prosperity of others Do they macerate and wast themselves with vexing at the wellfare of other men This speaketh them strangers to this excellent grace for Charity envyeth not 1 Cor. 13.4 Are men proud and haughty Do they love to be the Trumpeters of their own praise and the proclaimers of their own worth Are they apt to swell and be puffed up with the conceit of their own excellency Do they entertain so high an opinion of themselves and their own virtue and goodness that they look with scorn and contempt upon all others Are they unwilling to be indebted even to God himself or to his mercy and blessing or to any thing else but only themselves for their success in all things This bewrayeth their want of love and Charity For Charity vaunteth not it self is not puffed up Are men censorious and contumelious Are they Railers Revilers Detracters and Backbiters of others Do they love to betray the secrets disclose the faults and expose the persons of others to contempt and scorn Can they please themselves with being unhandsome rude and unmannerly This showeth how empty they are of Love and Charity For Charity doth not behave it self unseemly v. 5. Are men wholly devoted to themselves Are they altogether led and acted by the dictates of their own interest Can they lay aside all care and concern for the good of that Community in which they live Can they be content that all publick good should truckle and give place to their private profit and advantage Are they so much in love with themselves that they love nothing besides or in comparison with themselves This plainly shows that they have no true Love and Charity in them For Charity seeketh not her own Are men passionate and suspicious Are their passions quickly raised but when up so ungovernable that they are not easily laid again Are they apt to take fire at every spark and be offended even with innocence it self if it happen to run counter to their humours and inclinations Are they so jealous and suspicious that every bush is taken for a Bugbear that nothing though never so good can occur in which they do not suspect some hidden evil or secret mischief design'd against them This is directly contrary to the rules of true Charity For Charity is not easily provoked thinketh no evil Are men carnal sold under sin Rom. 7.14 Do they love to walk in the vanity of their minds Are their understandings so darkened that they are become Aliens from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them Are they past feeling and have given themselves over unto lasciviousness to work all uncleanness with greediness Eph. 4. v. 17 18 19. Do they love to speak lies through hypocrisie having their Consciences seared with an hot iron 1 Tim. 4.2 Do they rejoice to do evil and delight in the frowardness of the wicked Prov. 2.14 Are they so bent upon wickedness that they cannot sleep except they have done evil and their sleep departeth from them unless they have caused some to fall Prov. 4.16 This is a temper far different from that of true Charity For Charity rejoyceth not in iniquity but rejoyceth in the truth v. 6. Are men impatient of injuries and cannot bear the least affront Are they diffident and distrustful of all things propounded to them either by God or Man Have they no prospect of a future state nor can hope for any thing but what is before their Eyes and within the reach of their senses in this life This plainly demonstrateth that they are strangers to this excellent grace of Charity For Charity beareth all things believeth all things hopeth all things endureth all things v. 7. Thus have I shown you who they are that come to the Lord's Supper without Charity and by this and the two preceding rules you may plainly perceive what St. Paul meaneth when he speaks of eating and drinking unworthily Now if either you or any other be really thus unworthy it will nearly concern both you and them to consider what you do It will not be safe for you to approach this holy Table with such unworthiness about you But I hope better things of you and that upon this account you will have no just cause to absent your self from this holy Feast Parishioner I heartily thank you Sir for the pains you have taken to rectify my misunderstanding and inform me better I bless God I have no such low and mean thoughts of this Heavenly Banquet and though I confess I am a Sinner yet am I heartily sorry for my sins though I am not so charitable as I ought yet am I not such a stranger to it as you have now described And therefore if other obstacles be removed I do believe I shall not hereafter absent my self upon this account I am sorry that I have interrupted you but I could not forbear to testify my satisfaction in what you have said And now Sir I beseech you proceed to explain the other part of this Text by resolving that other enquiry viz. Qu. 2. How and when men are said to eat and drink their own Damnation Pastor I shall endeavour with all readiness and as much plainness to make good my promise and gratify your desire in the resolution of this enquiry also And in order thereunto let me premise this in the general viz. That the punishment of unworthy Communicants differeth according to the different degrees of their unworthiness 1. Some there are who come to these holy mysteries without any Faith or any repentance or any Charity at all So Infidels or Unbelievers Reprobates Hypocrites and inveterate Sinners come Now those who thus presume to approach this holy table they in the strictest sense may be truly said to be guilty of the body and blood of Christ 1 Cor. 11.27 i. e. They are as much guilty of his Death as those who Crucified him in the flesh These have no more value for the blood of Christ than those had and therefore may expect to be as severely punished as they were or shall be The Death of Christ will be unto them a savour of Death unto Death not of Life unto Life The Apostle's Argument is of great weight in this case He that despised Moses his law died without mercy under two or three witnesses Of how much sorer punishment
the way You have furnished me with a better notion of Sacraments than I had before and thereby given me so great satisfaction that you shall not need to bespeak my attention hereafter I beseech you therefore since you have well dispatched the notion of Sacraments in general that you would now proceed to that of the Lord's Supper in particular Pastor I shall very willingly comply with your desire and in so doing I shall endeavour to do these two things I. To show you plainly what notion you ought to have of the Lord's Supper II. That the Celebration thereof is a duty incumbent upon us by vertue of a divine Command I. We must look upon this Supper as a Sacrament properly so called I have already shown you what conditions are requisite to constitute such a Sacrament and if I make it appear that all those conditions are to be found in this then may it be justly reckoned as one of that number The Conditions I told you were these four 1. A Divine Institution Now that this holy Supper was instituted and ordained by Christ that it owes its Original to none other but only the Son of God and our Saviour will plainly appear from the concurrent testimonies of St. Matthew St. Mark and St. Luke St. Matthew gives us this account of it As they were eating Jesus took Bread Matth. 26. v. 26 27 28 29 30. and blessed it and brake it and gave it to the Disciples and said Take Eat This is my Body And he took the Cup and when he had given thanks he gave it to them saying Drink ye all of it For this is my blood of the New Testament which is shed for many for the remission of sins But I say unto you I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the Vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's Kingdom And when they had sung an Hymn they went out into the Mount of Olives Much to the same purpose is that account which St. Mark gives of it And as they did eat Jesus took bread Mark 14. v. 22 23 24 25 26. and when he had given thanks he brake it and gave it to them and said Take Eat this is my Body Also he took the Cup and when he had given thanks he gave it to them and they all drank of it And he said unto them This is my blood of the New Testament which is shed for many Verily I say unto you I will drink no more of the fruit of the Vine until that day that I drink it new in the Kingdom of God. And when they had sung an Hymn they went out into the Mount of Olives St. Luke also with little variation gives the same account And he took bread Luke 22. v. 19 20. and when he had given thanks he brake it and gave it to them saying This is my body which is given for you this do in remembrance of me Likewise also after Supper he took the Cup saying This Cup is the New Testament in my blood which is shed for you And if we call in St. Paul to give his suffrage with these three Evangelists we shall find him according with them all in the History of the Sacrament and the Institution of it but most expresly with St. Luke 1 Cor. 11.23 24 25 26. I have received of the Lord that which I also have delivered unto you That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread and when he had given thanks he brake it and said Take Eat This is my body which is broken for you this do ye in remembrance of me After the same manner he took the Cup when he had supped saying This Cup is the new Testament in my blood this do as oft as you drink it in remembrance of me For as often as you eat this Bread and drink this Cup ye do shew or shew ye forth the Lord's Death till he come Thus have I shown you all those Scriptures which give any account of the History of this Sacrament and the institution of it and you see plainly they do all agree that it was ordained and instituted by Christ that it owes its Original to none other but only the Son of God the Lord 's Christ and our Jesus and if so then the first thing requisite for the constitution of a Sacrament properly so called viz. A Divine Institution doth evidently appear in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper 2. The second thing requisite for the constitution of a Sacrament properly so called is a visible sign And that there are such things in the Lord's Supper is visible and apparent for by the words of Institution Bread and Wine which are substantial and visible things are appointed to be the Elements thereof And though these in their own essence and nature do nothing differ from common Bread and Wine yet in regard of their designation and use they do very much differ therefrom For in this holy Supper they are designed for and used as outward and visible signs of inward and spiritual grace and in respect of that secret thing which is hidden under them and represented by them they become Sacramental 3. The third thing requisite for the constitution of a Sacrament properly so called is a divine promise added to the sign which importing spiritual grace here and eternal life hereafter may firmly unite the sign and thing signified and that this is to be found in the Lord's Supper is plain from the words of institution where the Bread blessed and broken is called the Body of Christ and the Cup the New Testament in his blood which is shed for many for the remission of sins And our Saviour expresly saith John 6.35 I am the bread of life he that cometh unto me shall not hunger and he that believeth on me shall never thirst And again v. 54 55 56. Whosoever eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day For my flesh is meat indeed and my blood is drink indeed He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood dwelleth in me and I in him Which plainly declareth an Union of the sign and thing signified by vertue of a divine word and promise in which Union consists the nature of a Sacrament properly so called 4. The fourth thing requisite for the constitution of a Sacrament properly so called is That it be given to the whole Church as a perpetual sign to continue so long as the external form of divine Worship instituted by God doth remain in that Church Now that this was given to the whole Church appears plainly from the institution of it for the Disciples to whom it was first given were the Representatives of the whole Church And that it was given for perpetuity seemeth plain from those words of our blessed Saviour Matth. 26.29 I say unto you that I will not drink henceforth of this fruit
of this priviledge we are made partakers of the Body and Blood of Christ and all the benefits thereof We are strengthned and refreshed in all grace and goodness and the remission of sins is not only offered but conveyed to every worthy Communicant The consideration whereof as it ought to beget in us a grateful sense of all God's favours and of this in particular so ought it to be an Obligation or Bond of Union between all Christian People For If God so loved us we ought also to love one another 1 John 4. v. 11. Thus have I performed the former part of my promise by shewing you what notion you ought to have of the Lord's Supper That it is a Sacrament properly so called having all the conditions that are or can be thought necessary to constitute such a thing That it is not only a Feast but a Feast upon a Sacrifice and which is more a Feast upon a Sacrifice for Sin. And under such a character as this I hope it will not appear to you with such a frightful visage as you tell me it hath been represented to you heretofore Parishioner No indeed Sir Instead of a dangerous and dreadful Precipice I have a plain path now before me instead of terrible and frightful objects I have a pleasant and delightful prospect instead of affrighting it doth now allure and invite me to it it seemeth to offer me such advantages as I once thought I could never reasonably hope for from it I confess Sir You have mightily relieved my mind by removing that pressure which prejudice and prepossession had put upon it I heartily thank you for the pains you have taken in it and am so well pleased and satisfied therewith that if it be not too great a trouble to you I would humbly beg the performance of the other part of your promise also Pastor No Neighbour Parishioner it will be no trouble to me I am better pleased with doing my duty than to think it so and therefore if you can but be contented to continue your Patience I shall not I hope grow weary of so good a work II. The other part of my promise was To make it evident to you That the Celebration of this holy Feast is a duty incumbent upon all Christians by vertue of a Divine Command And to do this I shall need only to have recourse to the words of institution as they stand recorded by St. Luke and repeated by St. Paul. In the Evangelist the words run thus He took Bread and when he had given thanks he brake it and gave to them saying This is my Body which is given for you This do in remembrance of me Likewise also after Supper he took the Cup saying This Cup is the New Testament in my blood which is shed for you Luk. 22.19 20. The Apostle is somewhat more large taking in the account which the other Evangelists also give of it for he tells the Church of Corinth 1 Cor. 11.23 24 25 26. That he had received from the Lord that which he delivered unto them viz. That the Lord Jesus in the same night in which he was betrayed took Bread and when he had given thanks he brake it and said Take Eat This is my Body which is broken for you This do ye in remembrance of me After the same manner also he took the Cup when he had supped saying This Cup is the New Testament in my blood This do as oft as ye drink it in remembrance of me For as often as ye eat this Bread and drink this Cup ye shew or shew ye forth the Lord's Death until he come These words as they are recorded by St. Luke are indeed directed to the twelve Apostles but then we are to consider that the Apostles in that holy action were the Representatives of the whole Church and therefore to be considered under a double capacity viz. either as Governours and Ministers intrusted by Christ with the power of dispensing and administring the Sacrament or as ordinary and Lay Communicants If we look upon them in the former capacity as Governours of the Church and Stewards of the sacred mysteries then the duty to which they are obliged by the express command of Christ is to take the Bread into their hands to bless and consecrate it to that mysterious and divine use to which he designed it to break it to give it to the Communicants as he gave it to them And so in like manner to take the Cup to bless it and give it to the people Whence it is plain That there is an unavoidable necessity upon them and their Successors to administer this holy Sacrament And if they stand obliged to give it then certainly there must be some who are obliged to receive it And if we look upon them in the other capacity as private men and Lay Communicants we have a plain evidence hereof For it is evident that in that capacity their duty in obedience to the Command of Christ was to take and receive the consecrated Elements of Bread and Wine to Eat and Drink and to do all this in commemoration of his wonderful love in giving his Body to be broken and his Blood to be shed for the sins of the World. But if we will suffer St. Paul who well knew it to explain the mind of his Master the matter will be yet more plain and evident For though he give the same account of the History of the Sacrament and the institution of it as the Evangelists do yet doth he not therein address himself to his Fellow-Apostles or their Successors but to the people of the Church of Corinth thereby plainly showing that the Command of our Blessed Saviour This do doth equally oblige both the one and the other That as the Priest is bound to prepare and give it so the people are bound to prepare and receive it and both by vertue of a divine Command For that these words Do ye this were not spoken by way of Counsel but Command will plainly appear if we consider that whatsoever may be thought requisite to render any expression preceptive and obligatory are to be found in this For 1. There was sufficient power and authority in the person commanding viz. Jesus Christ the Eternal Son of God and our Saviour 2. The Terms in which he is pleased to signify his divine will and pleasure are imperative Do this 3. The obedience which he expects thereunto is to be perpetual till his coming again 1 Cor. 11.26 4. St. Pauls interpretation and application of this command to the Lay Communicants in the Church of Corinth doth plainly speak the design of our blessed Saviour which was to oblige them and all Christians to do this in remembrance of him i. e. to express their thankful acknowledgments of what he did and suffered for them by their dutiful obedience to this Command Thus have I performed the other part of my promise to you and I hope made it sufficiently