his when he became Incarnate so his Nature is United to Ours when we eat his Flesh and drink his Bloud And this we infallibly do when we worthily celebrate this Holy Mystery Though in some cases men may eat his Flesh and drink his Bloud Spiritually and by faith alone without the Sacrament yet we do it much more and more effectually by the Sacrament and consequently we must be supposed to be more nearly United to him by means of this Ordinance then by any other means whatsoever Hence it was as some of the Ancients tell us that Christ appointed the use of such Creatures as are of a Nourishing faculty for so Bread and Sicut cibus materialis forinsecus nutrit corpus vegetat ita etiam verbum Dei intus animam nutrit roborat c. Raban de Serm. proprietate lib. 5. cap. 11. Wine are to shew that as there is a Natural Incorporation of our nourishment into our Flesh so there is a Spiritual Incorporation if I may so speak of Christ into our souls And hence it is that others of them compare the Spirit of Christ which is received by the Sacrament to Leaven representing to us by that Similitude that there is such a Diffusion Cyril Alex. in Joan. l. 4. cap. 17. of Spiritual Virtue throughout the soul as there is of ferment that leaveneth the whole Lump into which it is cast And Id. lib. 10. c. 13. hence it is that S. Cyril also compares the Mixture of Christ's Nature with Ours to the Mixture of wax with wax when several pieces of wax are melted and incorporated together All these Notions and Similitudes and divers more such which we meet with in the writings of the Ancients do shew that by eating Christs Flesh and drinking his Bloud especially at and by the Sacrament we do so participate of his Spirit of his Virtues Influences and Divine Nature as that Christ and we do become One * Quemadmodum intelligit Cyrillus Glaphyr in Genes lib. 7. Christum se in animas immittere per Gratiam virtutem Spiritus sic etiam sensus ipsius est eum corpora ingredi per virtutem corporis sui Eucharistiae communicatam nec ulterius urgendae sunt comparationes quas affert mixtionis scentillae ignis caerae fermenti Albertinus ubi supr pag. 761. And thence followeth the last inestimable blessing that I shall mention a Blessing that we carry with us to the very Grave viz. an Assurance and Pledge of a Glorious Resurrection It is appointed unto man once to dye Heb. 9. 27. This Sentence having past upon our Parents in Paradise Nature it self doth now Execute it upon their Posterity For as none can bring a clean thing out of an Unclean so none can bring an Incorruptible thing out of a Mortal We dye of course Christ that took on him the burden of our sins did not take off this weight from us though he delivered us from all Necessity of tumbling into Hell yet there are wise and great Reasons for which he did not think it fit for him to keep us from falling into the Grave But yet that we may dye in Hope in hope of a joyfull Resurrection as corn is committed to the earth in hope of a good Harvest Christ doth by this Sacrament take Seisure of our Bodies by communicating to us his Own and so uniting us to himself that he may change our vile Body and make it like unto his own Glorious Body according to the mighty Energy whereby he is able to subdue all things to himself Phil. 3. 13. Hence it is that the Church in her wisdome hath thought it convenient that men should often receive this Sacrament especially in times of danger distress and Sickness to the end that they may make their peace with God and with their own Consciences and may go out of this world with firm and well grounded hopes both of a plenary Absolution and of an Happy Resurrection For this Sacrament is an Earnest to assure all worthy Communicants that these very Bodies of theirs in which Infirmities and death do now Lodge shall be raised again out of the dust being nourisht as it were out of the veins of our Redeemer These Elements are the Symbols of our Resurrection the Medicine of Immortality the Antitode that keeps us from Final Corruption the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Ignat. Ep ad Ephes 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Athanal Conservatory for a Resurrection to Eternal Life That which hath been spoken already doth make this evident sufficiently 1. For first it is sure that by the Sacrament we receive the Spirit of Christ and since the same Spirit is communicated to Us that dwelleth in Him it must necessarily follow that it shall have the same power over our Flesh which it had over His to raise it up again at the day appointed Thus S. Paul himself argueth Rom. 8. 11. If the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwelleth in you he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you 2. Secondly seeing the Holy Communion is an instrument of Uniting even our Bodies unto him who is the Head over all so that the members of our Bodies are the very members of Christ and we become as it were bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh less cannot follow then that our Bodies shall be made Immortal as His is it being impossible that any thing which is His should perish everlastingly To effect such an Union as is between Christ and his Church it is not necessary nor possible that there should be a confusion or conjunction of bodily Substances It sufficeth that there is a Contact of Spiritual Vertue from the Flesh of Christ Now this Vertue goes along with the Sacrament and is received by every faithful Communicant so that it doth affect even his Body Sanctifying and Appropriating it to the Saviour of our Souls and Bodies both and making our whole man His. And this Union cannot in any wise be dissolved by Death because Death is onely a Separation of the Soul from the Body so that for that time the one loseth all vital activity from the other but neither of them doth or can lose its Title to Christs Protection the Body continueth still related unto its Head as in time of its Life and the Union between Christ and it remaineth entire and so its Right to a glorious Resurrection through Christ is indefeisable In this respect our Condition is very like to the Condition of the Son of God when he himself was in a state of Death He dyed as we do though to purposes infinitely Great and with torments unspeakably Excessive his Spirit was actually sever'd from his Flesh when he gave up the Ghost Nevertheless though his Flesh had no manner of vitality from his Humane Soul being really Separated from it yet it was not separated from the Deity
Kindness and gratious Intentions towards them for this is matter of Faith and Hope which are the things we must necessarily go upon in all our addresses unto the Father of mercies but yet the fruit of eating and drinking here is Joy and Peace to every honest hearted Communicant because his Faith and Hope is hereby much the stronger and built upon more sure and certain grounds 'T is true also that a mans pardon is begun before he doth make his appraoches that is if he makes his approaches regularly and like a good Christian for he must repent first of all his transgressions and that doth dispose him for Gods mercy and makes him meet to be a Partaker of it We must not presume to go to the Lords Table with guilt about us or while we are Reeking in our Sins but Repentance must wipe our defilements off because Christs Body and Bloud is not food for Swine As the Paschal Lamb was not to be eaten but by persons that were pure and clean according to the Sanctifications of the Law so this Christian Passeover Feast is not to be celebrated but by such persons as are purged by Repenance which is the Sanctification of the Gospel Yet all this not withstanding the Blessed Sacrament is an Ordinance of very great concernment and comfort to the cleanest Communicant for though he hath Repented long ago and though upon his having done so he hath great Reason to Hope that he is Reconciled unto God yet this Reconciliation is as yet but imperfect in comparison A man is not fully perfectly and finally pardoned till he hath Ended his Life well While we Live we are still Transacting our business with Heaven but do not finish our work till we dye My Pardon is Inchoa ted upon my Repentance 't is compleatd and irrevocable upon my Perseverance unto the End but t is Confirm'd to me upon my due Eating and Drinking at this Solemnity Hereby all former Grants are Ratified and Sealed anew so that now we have a fair Evidence to shew for our discharge and such an Evidence as will be valid and hold in the day of Judgement if we be not so Foolish as to Cancel the Deed our selves and render our Title to a blessed Eternity Null and void by returning again with the dog to his vomit A Release you know may pass between Parties onely by the Consent and Promise of the Injured Person but when once it is committed to Deed the act is then Confirmed and the Seal which is affixt to the Deed makes that Sure in Law with before was onely Parol or by Promise In like manner though our forgiveness be Inchoated and Begun upon our Repentance yet it is Continued Ratified and Ascertain'd unto us upon our Participation so that he who was justified is justified still and his Justification is more certain certitudine Subjecti than it was before that is a Sincere Commu nicant hath better Hopes to comfort himsurer grounds to go upon more to shew and say for himself more to plead against the clamours of his Conscience more and better Reasons to be Quiet in his mind than when he was barely a Penitent To say the Truth if he doth not Backslide and Revolt he hath a certain Title to the Kingdom of Heaven Upon this account 't is every mans Interest to Communicate often The longer he lives the Older he grows the more he draws towards his grave still he should be the more intent upon this Duty that his Peace and Comfort may still receive the more Additions and that his Assurances may be the more and more strong so that by the blessing of God he may at last use such expressions as S. Paul did which I am sure no Non-Communicant in the world can with such Reason use I have fought a good fight I have finished my course I have kept the faith hence forth there is laid up for me a Crown of Righteousness 2. Tim. 4. 7. 8. CHAP. VII Thirdly We really communicate of Christ Glorified The Doctrine of Transubstantiation condemned as utterly contrary to sence Reason and the Holy Scriptures BEsides that participation of Christ Crucified which is Mystical by Interpretation and Construction as I have shew'd already there is also at this Ordinance a participation of Christ Glorified So 't is Exprest in the Prayer of Consecration which is Real by our being actually made partakers of his most Blessed Body and Bloud This is manifestely the Doctrine of our Church that the Body and Bloud of Christ are verily and indeed taken and received by the Faithful in the Lords Supper and that our Souls are strengthened and Refreshed by the Body and Bloud of Christ as our Bodies are by the Bread and Wine Now our Bodies receive nourishment by our actual receiving the very Substances of Bread and Wine and so according to the Comparison our Souls also do receive strengh and Comfort by actually receiving and participating of the very Nature of Christ After the same manner was the Faith of the Church of England delivered in the beginning of the Reformation by that truly Learned and Great man Arch-Bishop Cranmer in that Admirable Book of his called a Defence of the true and Catholick Doctrine of the Sacrament wherein he doth often use Fol. 32 33 73 100. Et alibi fol. 42 76 84. that Similitude That as the Bread and Wine Corporally comfort and feed our Bodies so doth Christ with his Flesh and Bloud spiritually comfort and feed our Souls and he positively affirms that by the Communion we receive spiritual food and supernatural nourishment from Heaven of the very true Body and Bloud of our Saviour Christ that our Souls by faith do eat his very body and drink his Bloud though spiritually Sucking out of the same everlasting Life and that the Hearts of them that receive the Sacraments are secretly inwardly and Spiritually Transformed renew'd fed comforted and nourisht with Christs Flesh and Bloud through his most holy Spirit the same Flesh and Bloud still remaining in Heaven So that according to the sense of the Church of England not onely the Sacrifice of Christs Death is in the account of God Sacramently Imputed unto us for the Pardon of sin but moreover the very Glorified Jesus now Living and sitting in Heaven is in the Reality of the thing Actually Communicated unto us from above and verily received by us in the Sacrament And the outward Elements of Bread and Wine are not onely Signes and Tokens much less Empty Tokens and Bare Signs of Christs Body and Bloud but are also the Means and Instruments of bringing the whole Christ to us so that his Flesh and Bloud do Really but after a Spiritual and wonderfull manner go along with the Bread and Wine to Sustain and Refresh the Soul as They do the Body I know very well that I am now entring upon the Tenderest point concerning this Sacrament perhaps upon the Nicest speculation in the whole Body of Divinity
so much of Tradition They that had the management of the Belgick Index were somewhat more modest for they profest they would use all arts to Extenuate and excuse Bertrams errors and to put some convenient sense to them or by some device or other tell a lye for him and they were content that his Book should be mutilated and some things purged and taken away from it this I say was more modest usage then what poor Beriram received at the hands of the Other Censors and yet this was very dishonest too and a plain Sign of a very weak cause that needed such disingenuous Artifices So they might have dealt with Amalarius too the Archbishop of Triers in the same age who trod in the steps of S. Austin affirming Amalar. de Ecclesii Offic. l. 3. c. 25. the Elements to represent Christs Body and Bloud as Signes of things and that the Priest offereth up Bread and Wine instead of Christ and that the Bread and Wine in the Sacrament are in the Place and Room of Christ Body and Bloud T is true Paschasius Rabertus who lived at the same time differed much in his opinion from these great men though it be hard to tell what his opinion was so very Inconsistent was the man with himself as it usually happens to Heady Opiniators especially when they are on the wrong side and will be venturing upon new discoveries This is allowed that Paschasius had a Notion by himself but I think if it be searcht well into it will be found to come nearer to the Lutheran Doctrine of Consubstantiation Paschas de Euchar. c. 41. 13. then to the Romish Conceit For since he affirm'd as Rabanus did that Christ is not to be torn with mens teeth that because it was necessary for Christ to be in heaven he lest us this Sacrament to be the visible Figure and Character of his Flesh and Bloud that we drink of Christ Spiritually and that we eat his Spiritual Flesh and the like whether do these Expression and Notions tend but to destroy the fancy of eating Christs Natural Body after a gross manner as the Doctrine of Transubstantiation doth import In the 10th Century we meet with Theo-phylact who spake of the Sacrament in a Lofty strain as many others before him did and used the Word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to express the Mutation of the Elements Which Expression the Romanists greedily catcht hold of as if he intended the changing of things out of one Substance into another But this is very wide of Theophylacts meaning who plainly intended not a Real Essential change of the Substance and Nature of the Bread and Wine but a Mystical and Sacramental change of their Quality and Condition so that upon 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Justin Martyr Apolog. 2 -Qui est e terrâ Panis percipiens invocationem Dei jam non communis panis est sed Eucharistie ex duabus rebus constans c. Iren. adv Har. l. 4. c. 34. Consecration they are no longer Common things as Justin Martyr and Ireneus said of old but the Elements of Divine things unto us so that thereby the Divine body of Christ is communicated to every Holy Soul The learned Cranmer explains him rightly that as hot and burning Iron is Iron still so Defenc. lib. 3. the Sacramental bread and Wine remain bread and Wine still tho to every worthy Communicant they be turned into the Virtue of Christs flesh and blood And that this was the sense of Theophylact is clear from his own words that the kind or substance of Bread remaining and continuing a Transelementation is made in Theophylact in Marc. 14. to the Virtue of Christs Flesh which notion I shall explain hereaster In the mean time I desire the Reader to note once for all that the Romanists to support their new Doctrine of Transubstantiation have grosly abused the ancient Writers of the Church by rendring the words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and Species as if they signified no more then shew and appearance And this they call the accidents of the Bread and Wine which they grant to remain but without the Natural substance or essence of them so that mens senses are cousened as to the things which they see Whereas the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 among the Greeks signifieth not the appearance or shew but the sort and kind of a thing and when it relates to things of matter as Bread and Wine it signifies the Essence or substance of those things And thus the words form likeness and fashion are used by St. Paul himself in the second of Philippians at the seventh Verse where speaking of our Saviour he saith that he took upon him the form of a Servant 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Phil 2. 7. and was made in the likeness of Men being found in fashion as a Man Meaning that he was really in a servile Condition and a Man in substance essence and Nature In like manner the word species among the Latines signifies the sort the kind the substance of the thing and being spoken of the Bread and Wine in the Sacrament it signifies the very natural Essence or matter not barely the appearance of the Elements And this is the true meaning of Theophylact in this place where he saith that God 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doth preserve the kind the Essence the substance of the Bread and Wine but doth Transelementate or change them into the Virtue of Flesh and Blood However we grant that this expression of Theophylacts gave occasion though wrongfully to the School men in after Ages to lose their time in enquiring after the manner of that change which is consest to be in the Elements But even they were divided in their opinions so that the poin was not agreed upon for some time after Theophylact. For until the controversie arose about Berengarius which was towards the end of the eleventh Century it was matter of Dispute some being of one opinion and some of another They were only agreed in this that Christ is really present in the Sacrament but they could not tell how But Berengarius raised a dust which blinded other mens eyes and his own too His true Crime seems to me to have been this not that he erroneously disputed about the manner of Christs presence but that he denied him to So his Schooll-fellow Adelmannus chargeth him in an Epistle to him which Is yet extant in the Bibliotheca Patrum wherein speaking of the Novel Doctrine which was reported to have been spread abroad by him he saith hoc est ut illorum dictis utar non esse verum corpùs Christi neque verum sanguinem sed figuram quandam similitudinem be present at all in the Sacrament affirming not only that the Elements were Bread and Wine but that they were bare bread and Wine and nothing else which was the opinion of those who in the beginning of the reformation
Communicants do indeed receive Christs very Body and Bloud by receiving the Elements and that Christs Body and Bloud are verily tendred and offer'd even to the unworthy though they receive them not For were it not thus I would gladly understand how it cometh to pass that unworthy receiving brings upon a mans Soul some peculiar and extraordinary Guilt If it be a special sin as S. Pauls words argues it to be against the Body and Bloud of our Lord it must follow that the Body and Bloud of our Lord are there For a sin is of a peculiar nature and consideration when it is acted against an Object that is more peculiarly Interested and Concern'd so the sin against the Holy Ghost seems strictly and and properly to be a malicious resisting and reproaching of the Truth in spight of those Miracles which are wrought by the Holy Ghost for the Confirmation of the Truth A man is then said to be peculiarly guilty of the sin against the Holy Ghost because in the working of Miracles the Holy Ghost is concern'd and interested after a peculiar manner To this purpose it is observable that when our Saviour spoke of this sin it was after some Miracle that he had done and by occasion of the Jews reproaching it as if it had been done not by the Power and Spirit of God but by Beelzebub It was especially a sin against the Holy Ghost because in the Miracle the Holy Ghost was specially concern'd Even so here unworthy receiving makes a man guilty of a sin against our Lords Body and Bloud because his Body and Bloud are peculiarly Interested in the Sacrament Evil men strike at Christ then after a most sinful sort because his Body and Bloud are present there after a singular manner and therefore doth the sin bring an extraordinary guilt because it is the doing despight to the very Body and Bloud of Him who made himself an offering for us For these and the like reasons the Catholik Church of Christ hath in all ages believed a real presence of his Body and Bloud in the Sacrament nor do I know any one Doctrine of Christianity which hath come unto us with less Contradiction then this came down from the very days of the Apostles even to the times of Berengarius And so true is this that the Learned know well that the Ancients grounded their Faith of our real Union with Christ upon this Principle because his very Body and Bloud are really communicated to us by our receiving the Eucharist As they believed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 S. Chrys in 1 Cor. 10. 16. vide Iren. multos alios a Supernatural Union between the Natures in Christ so they believed a Mystical Union between all the Faithful and Christ and this they concluded because they believed a Sacramental Union between Christ and those Creatures of Bread and Wine whereby we receive Christ S. Hilary calls our Conjunction Hilar. de Trinit lib. 8. with Christ a Natural conjunction because as Our Nature was before united to his by his Incarnation so now his Nature is United to Ours by the Communion Our Church calls it the Communion of the Body and Bloud of the Lord in a marvellous Incorporation and S. Austin himself Homily of the Sacram 1. Part. used the same Expression and all the Ancients acknowledged this real Union to be wrought by means of that Real S. August Ep. ad Iren. Communion of our Saviours very Body and Bloud at and by the Holy Sacrament For the Opening now of this great Mystery I shall shew these Five things 1. That we are to distinguish between Christs Natural and his Spiritual Body 2. What is meant by his Spiritual Body 3. Why it is so called 4. That Christ hath a Spiritual Body indeed 5. That this Spiritual Body is received by us in the Sacrament 1. We are to distinguish Christs Spiritual from his Natural Body not as if he had two different Bodies but because that One and the same Body of his is to be considered after a different manner Now this is S. Pauls own distinction 1 Cor. 15. 44. There is a Natural or Animal Body and there is a Spiritual Body The Apostle there treats of that Exalted state our bodies shall be in after the Resurrection how they shall be delivered from all Mortality and Corruption and shall be the everlasting Temples of the Divine Spirit and shall shine with light like the Stars and shall be like Angelical Substances and Spirits in Comparison and all this because our Saviour is risen and gone before us into heaven and there remaines in a Glorious Body as 't is called Philip. 3. 21. Now this Body of Christ may be considered either in respect of its own Natural Substance as it consisteth of Flesh Bones and Bloud and other Constituent and Perfective parts of humane nature and in this sense no man can partake of the Lords Body Or else it may be considered with respect to his Divinity as that is united to it as it is clothed with infinite Majestie as it is replenisht with the Presence and energy of the God-head as it casteth live Influences upon his Church by virtue of the God-head dwelling in it and filleth all things with Spiritual rayes and emanations of his Grace In this respect our Lord is called a Quickning Spirit 1 Cor. 15. 45. the first man Adam was made a living soul the last Adam was made a Quickning Spirit because he giveth life to every Humble and Obedient heart here below and through his Humane Nature dispenseth to every one the Vertues of his Passion and in this respect every good Christian participates of Christs Body that is of the Spiritualities of his glorious Body The Ancient Christians acknowledged and insisted much upon this distinction between the Natural and the Spiritual body of Christ confessing the one to be in the Sacrament but not the other There is Saith Clemens Alexandrinus a Twofold 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Clem. Alex. Paedag. l. 2. in mitio Blond of our Lord there is his Fleshly Bloud whereby we were redeemed from destruction and there is his Spiritual Bloud whereby we are now Anointed and this is to drink the Bloud of Jesus to be made partakers of our Lords Incorruption In like manner Origen Shewing that even in the New Testament there is a letter which killeth if men do not understand that which is said after a Spiritual Si enim secundum liberam sequaris hoc ipsum quod dictum est nisi manducaveretis carnem mean biberitis Sanguinem meum occider haec litera Orig. in Lev. 10. Homilt manner instanceth in that Phrase of eating Christs Flesh and drinking his Bloud for saith he if you understand this according to the sound and clink of the Expression it is a killing letter S. Jerome also tells us that the Bloud and Flesh of Christ is to be Duplicitur verè sanguis Christi caro intelligitur
vel Spiritualis illa atque Divina de qua ipse dixit caro mea vere est cibus sanguis meus verè est potus vel caro sanguis quae Crucifixa est qui militis effusus est lancea S. Hierom. Comment in Ep. ad Ephes cap 1. understood in a twofold sense either for the Spiritual and Divine Flesh and Bloud of which our Lord said my Flesh is meat indeed and my Bloud is drink indeed or for that Flesh and Bloud which was Crucified and which was poured out by the Souldiers Spear So doth S. Austin distinguish the Invisible the Intelligible the Spiritual Gratian. de Consecr dist 2. cap. 148. Flesh and Bloud of Christ from that Visible that Palpable Body of his which is full of Grace and of the Divine Majestie This he calls strictly and properly the Body of Christ Donec seculum finiatur sursum est Dominus sed tamen hic etiam nobiscum est veritas Domini Corpus enim Domini in quo resurrexit unto loco esse oportet Veritas autem ejus ubique diffusa est Id. cap. 144. Quaere whether it should not be read Virtus instead of veritas Whereas in some Ancient Authors and specially in S. Austin there is mention made of Veritas Domini and Veritas corporis Dominici c. I mistrust that those Expressions are corrupt and that we should read Virtus Domini and Virtus corporis c. Albertinus observed a corruption in a passage of S. Cyril Translated out of Greek into Latin by Thomas Aquinas in the Catena There 't is thus Influit Deus oblatis vim vitae convertens ea in veritatem propriae carnis whereas it should have been rendred in virtutem propriae carnis for 't is in the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 at Albertinus shews out of Victor Antiochenus his Comment upon S. Mark preserved in the Kings Library at Paris Albertin de Sacr. Euchar. lib. 2. pag. 752. Here was a Palpable Trick so there might be in other such instances for ought we know the other he calls the truth of his Body meaning the Virtue of it and saith positively that till the end of the world the Lord is in heaven above nevertheless that the truth of the Lord is with us here below For that Body of Christ wherein he arose is necessarily to be in one place but the truth or Virtue thereof is diffused every where St. Ambrose speaking of that Body which is received in the Eucharist calls it the Spiritual S. Ambros de Mister c. 9. Body of Christ the Body of a Divine Spirit and this I confidently affirm of all the Ancients who have either purposely interpreted or occasionally quoted those words of Christ in the sixth of S. John that they all understand him to speak of our feeding upon him after a Spiritual manner and of Spiritual food of Spiritual Flesh of Spiritual Bloud which he doth give us from Heaven to eat and drink of Secretly and Undiscernably always distinguishing this Spritual Body not onely from the Substance of the Holy Elements but also from that Natural Body of Christ which he took of the Substance of the Holy Virgin 2. This then being manifest that our Saviour hath a Spiritual body of which and of which alone we do participate I am now in the next place to shew what that spiritual Body is Now by his spiritual body we mean the spiritual virtues of his glorified Body those Heavenly streams of Grace which flow from him those vital Powers which we receive into our Bosoms through him those Divine operations which our poor Souls depend upon him for those Coelestial and admirable influences which are derived to his whole Church from his Throne of Glory For the right understanding of this matter we must consider 1. That the Body of Christ is filled not only with the habitual Graces of the Holy Spirit where with he was anointed above his Brethren but filled too even with the Majesty of the God head so that in him all the fullness of the God-head dwelleth bodily that is really substantially and fully Col. 2. 9. 2. We must consider that of his fullness all we do now receive plentifully and Grace upon Grace as St. John tells us Jo. 1. 16. So that tho Christ be in Heaven above all Principalities and Powers and there is to remain until the restitution of all things yet is he unto every one of us the Source and principle of Life Virtue goeth out of him even now still he imparteth himself to us after an ineffable but effectual manner and the meanest Soul in his Church is no more hid from the Emanations of his Grace than the least Plant in a Garden is hid from the influence of the Sun Hence it is that we are said to be made partakers of the Divine Nature 2 Pet. 1. 4. Because we do partake of those Divine Graces and Influences which flowing from Him do transform and shapen Us into his own likeness And this is that anointing which St. John speaks of 1. Jo. 2. 20. Ye have an unction from the Holy one meaning that plentiful effusion of the Holy Spirit through the Man Christ Jesus whereby the Love of God is shed abroad in our Hearts For Christ himself hath received the Spirit without measure and is anointed with the Oyl of gladness above his Brethren but this is like the Oyntment which was upon Aaron it was poured out upon his Head but it ran down even to the skirts of his cloathing and perfumed his whole Body So doth the Spirit of Christ descend from Him upon Us in streams of bliss and joy and every drop of comfort which falleth upon our hearts is a distillation from him whom God hath made the head of his Church At present I do only suppose what shall be shew'd by and by that every faithful Christian doth derive Virtues from the Blessed Jesus which do relieve and operate upon our Souls as those Virtues did upon the Bodies of such as were healed and relieved by him in the days of his Flesh For St. Luke tells us Luk. 6. 19. that there went Virtue out of him so that he healed them all And when that poor Woman had been healed of her bloody issue only by touching our Saviours Cloathes he himself said that virtue had gone out of him Mark 5. 30. which Story is related by St. Luke too who adds also that Jesus perceived that Virtue was gone out of him Luc. 8. 46. And if such wonders were wrought by the Virtues of his body in his state of Servitude and Humiliation we may well believe that he now casteth upon every member of his Church more Abundant Virtues and influences since his body now is infinitely Glorious and Vivifick by reason that the Divinity which was hid in him before abideth in it in its greatest plenitude 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 S. Ignat. Ep. ad Ephes 3. Now these spiritual Virtues we
receive from Christ are called his Body his flesh and Blood upon these three accounts 1. First because they have the like Natural Properties which Flesh and blood hath and tend to the like Ends and Purposes to which flesh and blood serveth For as this helpeth to corroborate and animate our Bodies so do these Divine Virtues help to strengthen and enliven our Souls In which respect Christ Panis est esca sanguis vita caro substantia panis propter nutrimenti congruentiam sanguis propter vivificationis efficientiam caro propter assumptae humanitatis proprietatem Panis iste communis in carnem sanguinem mutatus procurat vitam incrementum corporibus ideoque ex consueto rerum effectu fidei nostrae adjuta infirmitas sensibili argumento edocta est visibilibus Sacramentis in esse vitae eterne effectum c. Author de Can. Domini Cyprian is to us meat indeed and drink indeed for these Spiritual Influences which spring from him are as Flesh to feed and as Bloud to preserve our Spirits to Life everlasting 2. These Spiritual Virtues do issue immediately from Christs Humane Nature and therefore when we receive them we are truly said to participate of Christs Body For the Body of Christ by being united to the Deity is become a Quickning Body This S. Cyril 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 S. Cyril Alex. in Joan. l. 4. of Alexandria teacheth us that the Son of God is by Nature Life as being begotten of the Living Father yet nevertheless that his Holy Body is Vivifick too as being joyned and United after an ineffable manner to the Word which Quickneth all things This S. Cyril of all the Ancient Doctors I know of hath given the Fullest the Clearest the most Substantial account of this matter though what he says is very agreeable to the sense of the Rest who by Christs Real Presence in the Sacrament understood nothing else but the Presence of those Heavenly Virtues and Influences which are called his Body because they are the Distillations and Effects of his Glorified Humane Nature For as a Learned Doctor of our own Church hath confidently affirmed though the Divine Nature be the Prime Fountain of life to Dr. Jaekt son vol. 3. l. 2. c. 3. all and an inexhaustible Fountain in it self yet a Fountain it is whereof we cannot drink save as it is derived to us through the Humane Nature of Christ And though God the Father doth convey unto us many inestimable blessings yet he conveys them only through his Son and not only through him as our Advocate or Intercessor but through him as our Mediator that is through his Humanity as the Organ or Conduit So that we are as truly said to partake of Christs Body when we partake of these Blessings as we can be said to partake of a Spring when we drink of the Waters which stream and flow from it 3. Besides nothing is more usual among Mankind than to give the Denomination of things to the Virtue and efficacy of those things So we are said to be warmed with the Fire when we onely feel its Heat and to have the benefit of the Sun when we are comforted onely with its Rayes Which Two Similitudes I make use of the rather not onely because they serve to illustrate the matter in hand but also because S. Chrysostome calls that Heavenly thing we receive at Sacrament Spiritual Fire and because the Holy Scripture it self calls our Ad Pop. Antioch Hom. 60. Saviour the Sun of Righteousness And as it is not Improper to say that the Sun though it be at a vaste distance from us reacheth every corner of the Earth so that in the Fields in our Houses in our Closest Retirements we feel it and nothing is hid from it from the moss upon the wall to the Vegetables that are wrapped up in the bosome of the earth when yet all these are cherisht not by the Sun it self but by its Beans onely so it is not a Paradox to believe that the Sun of Righteousness casteth his Influences from above and quickens his Church and every part thereof so that every heart that is not quite Dead in Trespasses and Sins Ecclesia corpus Christi effecta obsequitur capiti suo superius lumen in inferior a diffusum claritatis suae plenitudinae a fine usque ad finem attingens totum apud se manens totum se omnibus commodat caloris illius identitas it a corpori assidet uta capite non recedat Panis itaque hic azymus cibus verus sincerus per speciem Sacramentum nos tactu Sanctificat c. De Caena Dom. opusc S. Cypriano ascript like a Rotten Root Receives the benefit of his Operations neither is it any Impropriety of speech to say that our hearts are wrought upon by the Body of Christ that we are Partakers of his Body that we are enlivened and comforted by his very Body when we receive those Spiritual Virtues which are darted from that Glorified Body of his which is in Heaven 4. By this time I hope it doth appear how necessary the distinction is between Christs Natural and Spiritual Body and what is meant by that Spiritual Body and why it is so called I proceed next to shew that He hath indeed such a Spiritual Body wherewith he really quickneth and strengthneth every faithful Christian For the clearing hereof we must observe our Saviours discourse which the Jews in the sixth chapter of S Johns Gospel by occasion of their speaking of the Miracle of the Manna he told them that he would give his followers the true Bread from Heaven that his Flesh which he would give for the life of the World should be that Heavenly Bread that his Flesh should be meat indeed and his Bloud drink indeed and that it was necessary for every one who hoped for life to eat that Flesh and to drink that Bloud of his To conceive as the Socinians and some other modern Writers do that by his Flesh is meant his Doctrine only and that by eating his Flesh and drinking his Bloud is meant the Believing of his Doctrine and no more to me seems a forced a foreign and very weak Notion and an inexcusable act of Singularity For all the Fathers of the Greek and Latin Churches do with one mouth interpret our Saviours discourse of that Spiritual Communication of his Flesh and Bloud wherewith every good Christian is blest Now that our Saviour might make this credible and easie to his Auditors that his Flesh and Bloud should be meat and drink to the Souls of his Disciples he opens the matter to them these two ways 1. By intimating to them that he was to Ascend up in his Body into Heaven vers 62. what if ye shall see the Son of Man ascend up where he was before For this reason saith Athanasius he put them in mind of his Ascension 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Athanas in illud si
quis dixerit verbum contra filium c. Tom. 1. P. 979. Edit Par. into Heaven that he might draw off their minds from Gross and Carnal Apprehensions and that they might thenceforth know that the Flesh he speak of was to be Food from above Heavenly and Spiritual nourishment that he S. Cyril Alex. in Joan. lib. 4. c. 22. was to give them And this was no more impossible for him to do than it was impossible for him to fly through the air he could as easily make his Body Spiritual and vital as he could make an Heavenly of an Earthly Substance especially since he was God which he put them in mind of by telling them that he was in Heaven before 2. But to clear the matter fully he Id. 16. c. 23. Interpreted himself to them vers 63. It is the Spirit that Quickneth the Flesh profiteth nothing meaning as S. Cyril excellently understands it that though his Flesh considered in it self could not quicken any thing as standing in need it self of a quickning principle yet considering the Mystery of the Incarnation and how the Word dwelleth in the Flesh we are to conclude that even the Body of Christ hath a quickning Faculty being united to that Word which giveth life to all For the corruptible Nature of Man did not degrade the Word by being joyned unto it but became it self exalted into a far better condition so that though it Quickneth not of it self yet it doth by the Energy and Operation of the Word the Spirit or Deity of Christ the plenitude whereof dwelleth in our Saviours Flesh bodily and so maketh it Vivisick This truth being laid down that our Lords Body is full of Vital virtue by being united to the Godhead it followeth very plainly that we must not think of eating the Natural and Heavenly Substance of our Lords Body after a Bodily manner with our mouths But of receiving into our Hearts and Souls the Spiritual Virtues of his glorified Flesh with a lively Faith the words that I speak Ubi supra unto you they are Spirit and they are Life saith Christ meaning thus much according to Athanasius that my Body which is given for the World shall be given for food to be ministred to every one after a Spiritual manner his words are Spiritual and to be spiritually understood as S. Cyril S. Chrysostom and the rest all say that is to be interpreted of that Spirit which is Life and which giveth life and of those Spiritual Influences which come from Christs Heavenly Body by the virtue energy and operation of that Eternal vivifick Word which abideth in it From this whole discourse of our Saviour especially as it is explained by those two great Luminaries of the Church S. Cyril and Athanasius we are to conceive that the Humane Nature of Christ being taken 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 S. Cyril in Joan. lib. 4. c. 24. into God at his Incarnation and being vested with the Glories of Heaven upon his Ascension is so full of the Energy of the Divine Spirit that it is become a Spiritual Body Not that it hath lost the Nature of Flesh but because it is Hypostatically united to the Godhead by reason of which Union it is endued with an enlivening Quid est eundem nisi quia eum quem etiam nos S. Aug. Tom. 10. Hom. 27. Power and the Man Christ Jesus that Quickning Spirit doth through his Glorified Humanity dispense those Spiritual Virtues which are the proper Food and Nutriment of the Soul and are fitly called Christs Spiritual Body Christs Spiritual Flesh and Bloud This may be further illustrated yet by considering what S. Paul saith 1 Cor. 10. 3 4. how that our Fathers in the wilderness did all eat the same spiritual meat and did all drink the same Spiritual drink meaning that they had the same Spiritual meat and drink with us For they drank of that Spiritual Rock that went with them and that Rock was Christ And how did they eat and drink of Christ but by receiving from him those Graces and Vertues which have all along been the Portion and Sustenance of the Faithful For Christ was with all Believers under the Law before his manifestation in the Flesh they were continually under his care and Providence their Souls lived by his Divine Influence as their Bodies were supported with Manna and were refresht by waters out of the Rock Now these were Figures of good things to come that when Christ the true Manna should descend from Heaven and should be smitten upon the Cross as the Rock which prefigur'd him was smitten with Moses Rod he would ever be life and aliment to those that should believe on his Name and that that Body of his which was to be smitten as the Rock was should send forth such abundant salutary streams of Living waters as would Quench the thirst of every true Israelite to all Eternity And this real but Ineffable presence of Christs Grace and Virtues is that which the Doctors of the Christian Church meant when they speak with such ravishment of the Presence of the Holy Jesus with us poor mortals in this vale of misery They entertain'd not any mean and nauseous conceits of the presence of Christs Natural Body whether in or out of the Sacrament but they were taken up with Noble and Lofty speculations and they fixt their minds upon the Divine and Mysterious consideration of those Beatifying streams of Grace which spring from Christ the Fountain of everlasting life and are conveyed unto his Church through his Humanity by the efficacious operation of his Divine Spirit The Anciens considered that the eating of Christ Natural Flesh and the drinking of his Natural Bloud were the thing possible and consistent with Humanity could not be profitable could not be to any purpose in comparison of those vital and operative Virtues which flow from Christ and Quicken all that are capable and apt to be quickned and therefore their meditations soared high they listed up their own minds to Heaven instead of bringing down Christ upon the Earth they minded and spake of the real presence of his Spiritual Body only And when we find some of them to speak as if the Nature and Substance of Christ were exhibited to us we should consider what they themselves meant by those and the like expressions For they spake like Divines that were full of Lofty and Seraphick notions and were forced to speak of Mysteries in a high strain giving the Elements in the Sacrament becoming and honourable 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 S. Cyril ubi Supr Names but intending by the Flesh and Bloud of Christ the Virtue the Grace the Spirituallities and Efficacy of his Humane Nature as it is Quickned and made quickning to us by the Power of the Eternal Word in conjunction with it As S. Austin says Secundam Majestatem suam secundum providentiam secundum Ineffabilem Invisibilem Gratiam impletur quod ab
eo dictum est Ecce ego vobiscum sum usque ad consummationem seculi Secundum carnem vero quod verbum assumpsit secundum id quod de Virgine natus est secundum id quod a Hudaeis prebensus est quod ligno confixus quod de cruce depositus quod linteis involutus quod in sepulchro conditus quod in resurrectione manifestatus non semper habebitis vobiscum S. Aug. Tractat. 50. in John plainly in respect of that Body which was assumed by the Word which was born of the Virgin which was apprehended by the Jews which was nailed to the Tree which was taken down from the Cross and was wrapped up and laid in the Sepulchre in respect of that Body we have him not with us but in respect of his Majesty in respect of his Providence in respect of his Ineffable and invincible Grace that promise of his is fulfilled lo I am with you alwayes even unto the end of the world And speaking of the Eucharist he doth distinguish between Nam nos bodie accipimus visibilem cibum used aliud est Sacramentum aliud virtus Sacramenti S. Aug. Tractat. 26. in John Usque ad Spiritûs participationem manducemus bibamus Id Tract 27. the Sacrament it self and the virtue of the Sacrament calling that the Grace of Christ which is not consumed with our Teeth and the participation of the Spirit This is that which S. Austin elsewhere calls the Intelligible the Invisible the Spiritual Body of Christ that which Ireneus calls the Heavenly thing that which Clement and Jerome call the spiritual Flesh and Bloud of the Lord That which Pseudo-Cyprian calls the Divine Virtue the Divine Essence the Divine Majesty the participation of the Spirit the drink which flowes and streams from that Spiritual Rock Christ Jesus That which S. Ambrose calls the spiritual Aliment and the Body of a Divine Spirit that which others call the Lords Immortality his Divine Body the Truth of his Body the Nutriment of the Inward Man the vital Pulment of the Incarnate Deity and divers other expressions we meet with in old Authors signifying the wonderful vertues of Christs Glorified Humanity whereof every Faithful Soul is made Partaker S. Ifidore Pelusiot conceived that the roasting 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Isidor Pelus Ep. 219. l. 1. of the Paschal Lamb with Fire did Typically fignifie that Christ the true Pasleover was to unite the Fire of the Divine Essence to his Flesh to be eaten of us That 's his Experssion and it shews his opinion that we receive the virtue of his Divine through his Humane Nature Among modern Foreign Writers none seems to me to have explained this thing better than the moderate and Judicious Author of the Diallacticon Eucharistiae a Book written about 130. years ago to compose all controversies Hoc corpus hunc sanguinem carnem hanc substantiam corporis non communi more nec ut humana ratio dictat accipi oportet sed it a nominari existimari credi propter eximios quosdam effectus virtutes proprietates conjunctas quae corpori sanguini Christi natura in sunt nempe quod Pascat animas nostras vivificet simul corpora ad resurrectionem immortalitatem praeparet Dialact pag. 33. 34. Non hic cogitandûm est nos crudas bominis carnes comedere vel sanguinem bibere Sed verba spiritalia esse spiritualiter intelligenda carnem quidem sanguinem nominari sed de Spiritu Vita idest vivifica dominicae carnis virtute debere intellagi c. Ibid. pag. 25. Quia figur a veri corporis panis est jure Corpus appellatur quia virtutem ejusdem vitalem conjunctam habet multo magis tum vero maxime quod utrumque complectitur Ibid. pag 54. Panis Domini Corpus Christi est quia gratiam virtutem ejus vitalem conjunctam habet Quod outem haec non commentitia aut nuper nata sententia est sed ab antiquis recepta approbata Scriptoribus claris ipsorum testimoniis confirmabimus Ibid. pag. 57. about the Sacrament and he too goes altogether this way shewing that that Body of Christ which is present with us is his spiritual Body and that we communicate thereof by deriving Efficacy Power and Vital Virtue from the Body of the Lord. And this account I am the better pleased and satisfied with because it was a Notion that was en tertained and really asserted by a very Learned Doctor of our own Church with Dr. Jack vol. 3. p. 325. Seq whose words I shall conclude this consideration we must not collect saith he that Christs Body because comprehended within the Heavens can exercise no real operation upon our Bodies or Souls here on Earth or that the live Influence of his Glorified Humane Nature may not be diffused through the World as he shall be pleased to dispense it no we must not take upon us to limit or bound the Efficacy of Christs Body upon the Bodies or Souls which he hath taken into his Protection there are Influences of Life which his Humane Nature doth distill from his Heavenly Throne And the Sacramental Bread is called his Body and the Sacramental Wine his Bloud as for other reasons so especially for this because the Virtue and Influence of his most Bloudy Sacrifice is most plentifully and most effectually distilled from Heaven unto the worthy Receivers and many more things he saith to the same effect By this account we may easily undergand the meaning of the sixth chapter of S. John which hath so puzled many Learned Interpreters and we may fairly give the reason of the Sentence of our Lords Except ye eat the Flesh of the Son of man and drink his Bloud ye have no life in you For the Principle of life comes from our Lords Glorified Humanity and unless we receive into our Souls the vital Virtue which distilleth from it we can be in no other than a dead Condition I do not mean that 't is impossible to have life without receiving the Sacrament no there is that which Divines call a Sacramental and Spiritual receiving of Christ and a Spiritual receiving only when men eat and drink after a right manner they receive both the Sacrament and also the thing or virtue of the Sacrament but yet men may derive and by Faith do derive virtue from Christ without the Sacrament if they do not abstain through negligence or the love of sin and the like The Grace of God is not tyed to Sacraments so but that God may dispense it as he pleaseth nor are we to conceive that the Blessed Body of Christ doth quicken none but at the Communion CHAP. X. That Christs Spiritual Body is actually verily and really taken and received by the Faithful in the Lords Supper Proved from the Analogy thereof to other Sacrifical Feasts among Jews and Heathens From S. Pauls Viscourse 1 Cor. 10. and from the sense of
Body of Christ that is doth it not work this in Us that our bodies participate of the Immortality and glory of our Head This is the meaning saith he that the participation of the Bread and Cup of the Lord hath this effect that our souls and Bodies are thereby made conformable and Like to the soul and Body of our Redeemer We eat Id. in 1. ad Cor. cap. 11. and drink even to the participation of Christs Spirit so that we are the members of his Body and are enlivened by his Spirit Indeed Anselm was but a late Writer in comparison for he lived in the 11th Century But in this he spake the sense of the Ancient Doctors of the Catholick Church whose faith it was that Christs Humane nature by being united to the Deity hath a Quickning faculty so that all true believers do receive Quickning Virtues from him specially by a due use of the blessed Eucharist That this was the Catholick faith appears by one pregnant instance which hath not been taken notice of by many Writers upon this Subject A little above 400 years after our Saviour Nestorius the Heretick taught that the Divinity and Humanity of our Lord was not united in one person Upon this a General Council met at Ephesus and unanimously condemned this Heresie S. Cyril of Alexandria was a great man at the Council and had a great hand in the condemnation of Nestorius and one Reason he gave to justifie their proceedings was this because Nestorius by that his Doctrine made void the Virtue 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Concil Ephes of the Sacrament And how did they conclude so why this was the principle of S. Cyril and the rest of them that the Body of Christ is Vivifick and that the Souls of Communicants live by receiving Vital Virtue from it Now if as Nestorius said the Divinity and Humanity of Christ be not United it is impossible for his Flesh to yield any Life because no flesh quickneth of it self neither can Christs flesh Quicken but by the power of the Word Seeing therefore that Heretick denyed the Union between the Word and the Flesh of Christ it would follow of necessity that the Body of Christ is not vivifick and consequently that we receive no vital virtue from it at the Sacrament which Doctrine being contrary to the Common Faith the Author of it Nestorius and his followers were very justly Anathematiz'd Whosoever reads the History of that Council with indifferency of judgement may easily perceive that the sence of the Church at that time was that at the Holy Communion men receive Divine and heavenly Virtues from our Saviours glorified Humanity so that we live by Him through the Communication of his Virtues as he himself lived by the Father through the Communication of his Nature And I am sufficiently satisfied that this was the faith of the Catholick Church both before that Councel and also for many ages after it Thus when St. Ignatius intimates that the Eucharist is the Flesh of Christ 't is clear to me that he meant Christs spiritual Flesh as Clemens Alexandrinus and St. Jerome expresly called it meaning the Spiritual Virtue of his flesh by reason of its Hypostatical Union with the Deity When Ireneus said that the Eucharist consisteth of two things the Earthly and the Heavenly thing 't is plain that by the Heavenly thing he meant not Christs solid Natural Body but that Heavenly Grace and Virtue which goeth along with the Sacrament When Justin Martyr compared the Mystery of the Eucharist with the Mystery of the Incarnation I cannot doubt but he meant that as in the one there was a Personal union between Humanity and Divinity so in the other there is a Sacramental Union between Bread and Spirit when the Pseudo Dionysius affirms De Eccl. Hier. c. 3. that by the Sacrament we Communicate of the Divine things of Christ 't is but fair to understand him to speak of those Divine Virtues and influences wherewith the Holy Jesus doth bless every humble and devout heart When Clemens Alexandrinus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Clem. Alex. Paedag. lib. 2. c. 2. distinguisheth the spiritual Blood of Christ from that which is fleshly and moreover saith that by drinking the bloud of Jesus is meant the being made partaker of the Lords Incorruption any man may see that he spake of the Spiritual Virtues of Christs Blood whereby we are purified sanctified and fitted for a blessed Immortality When Theodotus affirmed that by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 leg 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Theodot in fine oper Clem. Alex. pag. 800. the power of the Spirit the Bread is changed into a spiritual virtue his plain meaning was that there is a change not of the substance but of the quality of the Bread so that by the manducation thereof spiritual Virtue is given to the worthy Receiver When Origen speaking of the Bread calls it the Typycal and Symbolical Body of Christ or the figure and Type In Matth. 15. of it and then presently mentions by way of distinction the Word it self which was made flesh and is the true food which whosoever eateth shall live for ever it is most reasonable to understand him to speak of that vital and Divine virtue 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cyril Catech. m yst-8 which goes along with the symbol and is derived from the Word which is the suitable food of the Soul as bread is of the Body When Athanasius understands by the flesh of Athanas in illud quicunque dixerit verbum c. Christ that Heavenly food from above that spiritual Alimony which Christ gives us from Heaven what else could he mean but those Divine and Caelestial Virtues whereby he strengthneth and refresheth every craving Soul tho in the substance of his Natural body he be absent from us When according to Julius Fermicus Ipse ut Majestatis suae substantiam credentibus tradens ait nisi edevitis carnem filiis hominis c. Jul. Firmic de Errore Profan Gent. in Bibliotheca Patrum the receiving the substance of Christs Majesty is the very same thing with the eating of his flesh and the drinking of his Blood what can he mean by the substance of Christs Majesty but those substantial and Divine influences which come from his Throne of Glory whereby we are made partakers of the Divine Nature as St. Peter Si ergo nos naturaliter secundum carnem per eum vivimus id est Naturam carnis suae adepti c. Hilar. de Trin. lib. 8. speaks or as St. Hilary expresseth it whereby we are made partakers of the Nature of his Flesh glorified when St. Cyril of Jerusalem saith of the Bread as he did of the Oyntment which was used in those days that after St. Cyril Cateeh 3. Invocation it is not any common or inconsiderable thing but the gift of Christ and of the Holy Spirit made efficacious by the presence of his God-head how
at those who are pleased to talk as if the Fathers believed Transubstantiation Yet nevertheless they all with one mouth confessed the Body of Christ to be in the Sacrament and so do we now but in that sense which the Ancient Church meant they believed the presence of Christ spiritual Body and after a spiritual manner and that is our Faith also and we cannot be condemned for Hereticks but the old Catholick Church must lye under the Anathema too 3. This account serves for ever to break the neck of their pretences who to defend their new Doctrine of Transubstantiation and other pestilent Errors which are built upon it do stifly urge the literal and strict construction of those words this is my Body and this is my Bloud supposing that it passeth the skill of the Protestants to give a better Interpretation whereas this account gives such a fair such an Intelligible such a Rational such a Catholick explication of the thing that the Romanists themselves if they would consider it well may look upon their Construction not only a very absurd but as a very needless one too 4. This account may serve to reconcile and make up those differences which are between some Reformed Churches about this matter For whereas 't is granted by us on all hands that the Elements retain still their own Nature and Substance even after Consecration and yet the Lutheran Churches hold that Christs Real and Substantial Body is delivered together a long with the Elements methinks this should not be enough to maintain a breach if men were considerate and candid and would not insist too much upon Phrases For if by Christ real and substantial Body be meant as I believe the old Lutherans did mean the real and as they may be called in some * For the Ancients themselves used the words Nature Substance c. to this sense as is well observed by the Judicious Author of the Diallacticon commended by Lavater in his Historia Sacrament Cum agitur de Sacramentis mentionem faciunt Patres Naturae Substantiae non 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hoc est non ut Philosophi naturales loquuntur sed ut homines de Divinis rebus disserentes Gratiae Virtuti Efficacitati Naturae Substantiaeque nomen impertientes nimirum Sacramenti natura id postulante Diallact .. pag. 63. Edit Anno 1557. Est autem virtus corporis Christi efficax vivifica quae per gratiam Mysticam benedictionem cum pane vino conjungitur vino conjungitur variis nominibus appeilatur quum res eadem sit Ab Augustino Corpus intelligibile invisible spirituale Ab Hieronimo Caro Divina Spiritualis Ab Irenaeo Res Caelestis Ab Ambrosio Esca Spiritualis Corpus Divini Spiritus Ab aliis aliud simile quippiam Et hoc multo etiam magis efficit ut hoc Sacramentum dignissimum sit veri Corporis Sanguinis nomenclaturâ quum non solum extrinsecus figuram imaginem ejus prae se ferat verùm etiam intus abditam lâ—â—entem naturalem ejusdem corporis proprietatem hoe est vivificam virtutem secum trahat ut ham non inanis figura aut absentis omnino rei signum existimari posset sed ipsum Corpus Domini Divinum quidem Spirituale sed presens gratia plenum virtute potens efficacitate Ibid. pag. 56. 57. sense the Substantial Virtues and Influences of Christs Body I do not see but all Reformed Churches in the World mightshake hands and be Friends as to this matter 5. This account serves to the clear meaning of several Doctors of our own who are wont to say that Christ is present in the Sacrament and received in and by the Sacrament and that really but yet Spiritually Mystically Sacramentally Effectually Virtually and the like all which expressions otherwise hard to be understood are very Intelligible if we do but take this notion along with us that the Virtues and Influences which flow from Christ are by the due use of this Sacrament actually really and effectually dispensed CHAP. XI Other Blessings which we receive by the Sacrament As the Assistance of the Holy Spirit Proved from the Words of Christ and S. Paul The Confirmation of our Faith An intimate Union with Christ What that Union is explained and Proved Lastly a Pledge of an Happy Resurrection THis then being a Fixt principle that by means of the Holy Bread and Wine we do really participate of Christs Body and Bloud divers other Blessings do necessarily follow which depend upon this as upon the Prime and Fundamental Blessing And as I have shewed already that pardon of Sin is the effect of our feeding upon Christ in a Mystical sence so I am to shew you next that there are more Blessings which accrue to us by our Communicating of Christ after that real and spiritual manner which has been explained now And the next is this that hereby we receive such large supplies and measures of Christs Spirit as are suitable to our necessities Our condition by nature is so miserable that we are not sufficient of our selves no not to think any thing that is good as of our selves therefore unless we receive supernatural aids and assistances from Heaven it is impossible for us to make our selves meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in light Without me ye can do nothing as our Saviour told his Disciples Joh. 15. 5. without the communications of his Holy Spirit 't is in vain to conceive that either we can have our fruit unto Holiness or reap in the end everlasting life For this reason he there compares himself unto a vine and us unto the branches because as the branches cannot bear fruit of themselves except they abide in the Vine so neither can we except we abide in Christ That spiritual assistance which is derived from Christ unto every particular Christian is like that vital Sap which is conveyed from the Root unto every particular Twig And by means of his vital Spirit it is that we thrive and grow and bring forth fruit unto perfection Hence Christ is called our Life because he is the Authour of that quickning Principle whereby we live unto righteousness and from Him it is that the whole Body of the Church by joynts and bands having nourishment ministred and being knit together increaseth with the increase of God Col. 2. 19. Now this Heavenly assistance this quickning Principle this Divine Nutriment is given to every Soul by the Mysterious and Gracious Energy of the Spirit and by the due celebration of the Eucharist the assistances of the Spirit are the more plentiful and his Irrigations are the more abundant a dew is then increased into a showre and every thirsty Communicant is largely refresht with distillations from above as the parched ground in Summer is refresht with Rain This appears two ways first because as hath been proved by this Blessed Mystery we are
World now by eating of bitter Herbs only certified and convinced and confirm'd in their Faith touching the truth of that deliverance It cannot be denied but that story was made undoubtedly credible by that Mystery because that Mystery was instituted and appointed by God himself upon that occasion so that from that rite any man might conclude that the matter of Fact to which it did relate was beyond all controversie true Why this Christian Rite is of the like signification and use to us as the Paschal Solemnity was to them Though to unbelievers and Hereticks it may seem a thing of a very mean Nature yet considering the reason of its institution and designation it serveth very much to comfort the Hearts and to strengthen the Faith of such as look into it well For it is the memorial of our spiritual deliverance by that Holy Lamb of God which took away the Sins of the World and because we are commanded by him who is the way the truth and the Life to Celebrate this memorial to that End and under that Notion we may be assured that the thing whereof it is a memorial was most certainly True we are hereby certified that Christ our Passeover was Sacrificed for our sins indeed and so our Faith is Confirmed by this Mystery that with Christ there is Plenteous Redemption for us all if we will but quit our bondage and accept of that deliverance which he hath purchased for us by the effusion of his most sacred blood Our Souls being thus establisht by a well grounded Faith another invaluable blessing accrues unto us still For hereby we are closely and if we our selves do not dissolve the band inseparably United to the Lover and Redeemer of our Souls the same Holy Spirit which strengthens our Faith making us also partakers of Christs Nature so that we dwell in him and he in us we are one with him and he with us Exhortat before the Communion as our Church teacheth I confess this is an abstruce speculation and that which many Divines have laboured hard to open to our understanding though all of them have not laboured with equal success Some call it a personal and Mystical Union that is between Christ and every true Believer and in some sense they call it rightly so for this personal Union as some fanciful Men talk of it is such a Mystical business indeed that it is an unaccountable and unintelligible Notion Others calls it and with more Reason and clearness a Moral and political Union and I wish that some in this Age were not so peevish as to be angry at every word that comes not out of their own Mint nor clinks according to their own fancy but would be so charitable and Candid as to give one another grains of allowance considering the unavoidable weaknesses of our Nature for many times 't is hard for us to Conceive of things rightly and sometimes 't is much harder for us to express and utter our Conceptions Now for the due understanding of this matter I conceive that there is a four-fold Union which relateth most to our present business 1. Such an Union as is between the Foundation of a Fabrick and the superstructure which are made one House by being fastned together with the same pins and Cement 2. Such as is between Husband and Wife who become one Flesh by being knit together by the same consent and Love 3. Such as is between a King and his Subjects who become one Society by being linked together by the same Laws 4. Such as is between a root and the boughs which become one Tree by being nourisht with the same moisture and between the head and the Members which are made one Body by being animated with the same Soul Now our Union unto Christ beareth a Resemblance and similitude with all these though it be above them all and it increaseth in degrees according as we grow more and more perfect Then are we one with Christ when we heartily believe his Doctrines when we love him and set our affections upon him when we submit to his Government and obey his Laws when we put our selves out of our own power and resign up our selves to his command and when our own wills are entirely Subject and Conformable to his This is that Moral Union whereby we are fastned to him as to the Foundation and corner Stone of his Church whereby we are Joyned to him as to the Foundation and corner Stone of his Church whereby we are Joyned to him as to the Bridegroom of our souls and whereby we are Related to him as to our Sovereign Head and Lord. Upon no other Terms but these will he own us to be his and when men talk after that wilde and Iewd rate as if Christ were all theirs though they be of an Unchristian Temper and live in open Disobedience to the Laws of Christianity 't is the same thing as if they should say that such may be the Sons of God as are not led by the Spirit of God which is contrary to what S. Paul teacheth us Rom. 8. 14. But yet there seems to be besides this Moral Union a Closer Band between Christ and his Church and that which is the efficient Cause of our abundant Love and Obedience to him and this I call as some of the Ancients did an Union of Nature For as our Humane Nature dwelleth in Christ by means of that Hypostatical Union of our Flesh in his Person so doth Christs Divine Nature dwell in Us by means of a Mystical Union of his Spirit with our Souls The same Spirit which is in him is Communicated to Us also and by Virtue of that Communication we are transformed into his Image his Nature is Graffed in Ours so that we are of a New Constitution and mould and every Lively Member of his Church by Participating of his Spirit is of the same mind with him of the same Temper frame and Disposition that is Holy Humble Heavenly-minded Just Pure Good Charitable Compassionate Kinde and Obedient as he himself was To do men of Learning right they who dispute about Christs being a Political Head do not at all Deny but plainly Own his being an Influential Head too Nor can any thing be more clear then that we derive Influences from him as every member Dr. Sherlocks defence of his Book against Owen pag. 505. in ones Body deriveth Influences from the Head so that we are animated with the Life of Christ there is as it were one and the same Soul in Him and in his Church for he that is joyned unto the Lord is One Spirit 1. Cor. 6. 17. I am the S. Aug. in loc Vine thy are the Branches saith our Saviour Jo. 15. 5. The Vine and the Branches are of One and the same Nature the same Vital Humour which is in the Root is Transmited and Communicated to every living Twig and for that reason did our Saviour use that Similitude to shew that as
but remained perfectly United to it by a Substantial Conjunction and by reason of that Conjunction it was restored to life after so many hours In like manner when we give up the Ghost the Body parteth with the Soul and during this state hath no manner of sensation or Motion having lost the Natural Principle of Both but yet it is not separated from Christ though it Corrupteth in the Grave while its Mate is in the enjoyment of Bliss yet it is still United to its Lord by a Mystical Conjunction and by reason of that Union it shall be reunited to the soul in Gods good time that Both may have their Partnership in the fruition of an endless Life 3. This consideration were it duely weighed would be of very great Use and Comfort to good men when they are going out of this world But there is besides a third thing to be considered viz. that as we are united to Christ so Christs Nature is also communicated to Us by means of this Sacrament which doth further conclude an Assurance of an Happy Resurrection This Nature thus communicated is as it were a Spark of the Divine Nature which gives the Body a Disposition and Aptitude to Rise again like that Vital Principle in wheat that makes it Apt to spring out of the earth again when 't is committed to the ground though it hath been laid up a long time in the Granary S. Cyril calls Christs 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Cyril where 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is a living Body and so corpus vitae in some of the Latines as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is a Glorious Body Phil. 3. 21. Living Body meaning the Virtue of it or his Spiritual Body the Quickning Seed that is in us For Christ by Divine Influences from his body giveth vitality to our mortal Bodies by that vivifick Virtue which is communicated by the Bread it entreth into the bodies of the Faithful though it be Substantially absent And hence he argues that if the dead in our Saviours time were raised to Life onely by being touched with his Holy Body out of which there went Virtue certainly the vital 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Cyril in Joan. lib. 4. cap. 14. Blessing must be much more abundant which we receive who even Taste and Communicate of it because it transforms Communicants into its own Blessed Condition that is into Immortality In like manner Ireneus proved the Certainty of a Resurrection from the Virtue and efficacy of this Sacrament supposing it a thing very Unreasonable to deny that Flesh to be capable of Incorruption which is nourished with This is plainly the meaning and force of those words of Irenaeus Quomodo dicunt Haeretici carnem in corruptionem scilicet finalem devenire non percipere vitam quae a corpore Domini sanguine alitur Quemadmodum qui est e terra panis percipiens invocationem Dei jam non communis panis est sed Eucharistia ex duabus rebas constans terrena caelisti sic corpora nostra percipientia Eucharistiam jam non sunt corruptibilia spem Resurrectionis habentia Adv. Haeres lib. 4. cap. 34. Quando mixtus calix fractus panis percipit verbum Dei fit Eucharistia sanguinis corporis Christi ex quibus augetur consistit carnis nostrae substantia quomodo negant carnem capacem esse donationis Dei quae est vita aeterna quae sanguine corpore Christi nutritur membrum ejus est Id. lib. 5. cap. 2. that Bread which carrieth with it the vital Virtues of the Flesh of our Lord because those Virtues turn to the advantage of that Body as well as of the soul by reason that our Flesh being United to the Flesh of Christ by the Spirit is by the Eucharist Prepared and Disposed for and made capable of the gift of God which is eternal Life But to conclude this point besides these arguments drawn from the Reason of the thing it self and from the sense and suffrage of Antiquity our Saviours own words are abundantly demonstrative of this matter in S. Jo. 6. The bread of God is be with cometh down from heaven and giveth Life unto the world I am that bread of Life Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness and are dead this is the bread which cometh down from Heaven that a man may eat thereof and not dye for ever I am the Living bread which came down from heaven if any man eat of this bread he shall Live for ever and the bread that I will give is my Flesh which I will give for the Life of the world Who so eateth my Flesh and drinketh my bloud hath eternal Life and I will raise him up at the last day for my Flesh is meat indeed and my bloud is drink indeed As the living Father hath sent me and I live by the Father so he that eateth me even he shall live by me These words are so plain that they need no Explication if by eating the Bread the Meat the Flesh here spoken of we understand not of Believing the Doctrines of Christianity as some most Absurdly imagine nor of eating the very Substance of Christs Body as others most Ridiculously conceive but our partaking and communicating of the Virtues of his Flesh and Bloud which is the genuine and Catholick construction Now by a right use of this Holy Sacrament we do this effectually and consequently may be assured that as we are blest with the Spirit and Life and Communion of Christ in this world by so doing so we have an undoubted Title to a Life of Glory and Immortality in the next CHAP. XII Two Practical Conclusions from the Whole Discourse I Have now done with the Speculative or Doctrinal part of this Subject having after a plain Didactical manner delivered and asserted the true Catholick Faith concerning this Sacrament and from the consideration of those blessings which it brings with it I shall briefly draw these following Inferences and so conclude the whole matter 1. That we are not to rate this Mystery according to its Face and Outward Appearance nor judge of its efficacy and Dignity by the Elements For though our Senses do infallibly assure us that it is Bread and Wine yet our Faith ought to assure us too that it is not Common bread or Bare Wine but something more By the word and Prayer and by the Secret but effectual operation of the Holy Ghost there is besides the Natural and true Substance of the materials an Addition of Grace which is chrefly und principally to be considered by us And this is that Change of the Elements which the Catholick Church ever did believe meaning not a change of their Nature but of their Use of their Quality of their Condition As when we say such a man is turned a Christian or such a Christian is turned a Minister or such a Fabrick is turned into a Church our meaning is not that
not Mat. 6. unto you saith he treasure upon Earth willing us thereby rather to set our minds upon Heavenly treasure which ever endureth than upon Earthly treasure which by many sundry occasions perisheth and is taken away from us And yet worldly treasure must needs be had and possessed of some men as the person time and occasion doth serve Likewise Mat. 10. he said When you be brought before Kings and Princes think not what and how you shall answer Not willing us by this Negative that we should negligently and unadvisedly answer we care not what but that we should depend of our Heavenly Father trusting that by his Holy Spirit he will sufficiently instruct us of answer rather than to trust of any answer to be devised by our Wit and study And in the same manner he spake when he said It is not you that speak but it is the Spirit Mat. 10. of God that speaketh within you For the Spirit of God is he that principally putteth godly words into our mouths and yet nevertheless we do speak according to his moving And to be short in all these sentences following that is to say Call no Man your Father upon Earth Let Mat. 23. no Man call you Lord or Master Fear not Mat. 23. them that kill the Body I came not to send Mat. 10. peace upon Earth It is not in me to set Mat. 10. you at my right hand or left hand You shall Mat. 20. not worship the Father neither in this Mount Joh. 4. nor in Jerusalem I take no witness at no Joan. 5. Man My Doctrine is not mine I seek John 7. not mine I seek not my glory In all John 8. these Negatives our Saviour Christ spake not precisely and utterly to deny all the foresaid things but in comparison of them to prefer other things as to prefer our Father and Lord in Heaven above any worldly Father Lord or Master in Earth and his fear above the fear of any Creature and his word and Gospel above all worldly peace Also to prefer spiritual and inward honouring of God in pure heart and mind above local corporal and outward honour and that Christ preferred his Fathers glory above his own Now forasmuch as I have declared at length the Nature and kind of these Negative speeches which be no pure Negatives but by comparison it is easie hereby to make answer to St. John Chrysostome who used this phrase of speech most of any Author For his meaning in his foresaid homily was not that in the Celebration of the Lords Supper is neither Bread nor Wine neither Priest nor the Body of Chist which the Papists themselves must needs confess but his intent was to draw our minds upwards to Heaven that we should not consider so much the Bread Wine Priest and Body of Christ as we should consider his Divinity and Holy Spirit given unto us to our eternal Salvation And therefore in the same place he useth so many times these words think and think not Willing us by those words that we should not fix our thoughts and minds up the bread Wine Priest nor Christs body But to lift up our hearts higher unto his Spirit and Divinity without the which his Body availeth nothing as he said himself It is the spirit that giveth life the Flesh availeth Joan. 6. nothing Thus far he Therefore when you address your selves to the Table of the great God you should be full of lofty and Divine apprehensions of that hidden Treasure of Celestial Grace and Virtue which is then to be tendred unto you how mean soever the Instruments of that Grace are in their own Nature And accordingly you should go with those Holy dispositions and affections with that Reverence dread and awe of God but withal with that forwardness and swiftness of Devotion and with those transports of pleasure and joy as if you were now going to the very gate of Heaven Men should be afraid to use this important and venerable Ordinance with respect to secular and base ends only to satisfie the Laws of the Realm to save their Places their Reputation their mammon It is a most fearful act of presumption a deadly and horrid prophanation an argument of Atheistical or debaucht minds when men dare prostitute a thing of such a sacred Nature to their carnal Lusts and take the Viands of Eternity into their hands and mouths even when the Devil is in their hearts When you prepare for this solemn occasion be in good earnest with God and with your own Souls be as considerate and serious as if you were going to die be as upright in heart as if you were to take the next step to judgment When you see the Holy Table spread call home your thoughts let your minds be as composed and your Meditations be as full of Reverence as if you saw a vision and beheld the food of Angels let down from Heaven in a Sheet when the happy hour is now come that God waits to bless you with the greatest Treasure of his love begrudge not the going to his Table for it but bless God that you may have it for fetching and when you go be as pure in heart as if your lips were touched with a live Coal from off the Altar prostrate your bodies and cast your Souls down to the lowest step of humility and adore the Almighty like those Seraphims in Isaiahs Vision who covered their feet and their Faces with their wings as they cried one unto another Holy Holy Holy is the Lord of Hosts the whole Earth is full of his Glory Isa 6. 2 3. When the Bread and Wine are made Sacraments and those blessed Symbols of Grace are reached out unto you think and know that the Lord of Life and Glory is now coming under your roof and great is the Peace of such as receive him with the passionate desires of affectionate Penitents that bathe his feet with their Tears and lodge him in the retirements of a clean innocent and Virgin heart And when you depart let it be with Thanksgivings and Hallelujahs and with all the expressions of grateful Souls enflamed with the Love of Jesus and with a deep sense of your Honour and Felicity that God hath vouchsafed thus to visit you with his goodness that he hath taken you into his Arms that he hath covered your offences that he hath fed you with the true Bread of Life from Heaven that he hath shed his love abroad in your hearts by the Holy Ghost which is now given unto you that he hath united you to himself by the Communication of the Divine Nature that he hath cast into you the seed of immortality and given you an earnest of a blessed Resurrection and an antepast of Heaven for all these blessings you receive at the hand of God as oft as ye eat this Bread and drink this Cup of the Lord after a worthy manner and as it becometh Saints
2. Whence I proceed to the Second Conclusion that if no special Law had been given us for the celebration of this Mystery if no Positive Command had been annexed to its Institutions were we so wholly left to our own Liberty whether we would Receive the Communion or no that we should not sin against God by not receiving we should nevertheless be very much wanting to our selves and sin against our own souls should we Turn our backs upon this great Ordinance as to their shame many Ill men do some that never yet Communicated in all their Life some that Despise it and Hate to do it some that pretend they are Afraid to do it though it be not the Ordinance but their own Wickedness that scares them some that strive against their own Convictions for the sake of this world some that are so supine and Listless that they care not to set about it and some that do it so seldome that they seem Indifferent whether they do it at all or no. To bring all these wretches to a due Sense and Practice of their Duty I would beseech them to Consult their own Best thoughts if they be ever Thoughtful and Seriously to consider what mercies they wilfully Forsake Is it a slight thing is it Nothing to be made a Partaker of that Great Sacrifice for sin which was offered upon the Cross when we daily lye at Gods mercy and stand in need of his Pardon and are utterly Undone if we have it not when we feel in our own Breasts the miserable Effects of our Follies those Twinges and Sores in our Consciences those wounds and gashes in the Spirit which are so full of intolerable Anguish that some have hurryed themselves out of the world on purpose to be rid as they thought of the sense of their Torments when we are sensible how the Judgements of God go abroad in the Earth to Punish men for their Impieties when we have seen so many sad Examples of men who have roared and sometimes Despaired upon their death-beds under the burden of their guilt and when none can tell but that he may be tortured punisht and visited after the same manner these things and the like being considered well what can any man desire so much as to have his iniquities forgiven and then what Fools are they that neglect to receive the Holy Sacrament which is the Seal of our Pardon Is it a mean thing not worth our craving or longing for to be nourisht with the most Blessed Body and Bloud of our Redeemer to receive Vitality and Influences of Grace from him to be Refresht and strengthned with that Divine aliment which hath been the Support of Apostles Prophets and Martyrs and without which our Souls can no more live a Life Spiritual and Divine than our Bodies can continue in plight and strength without Sustenance Is it not a mercy invaluable to have the Guidance Aids and Comforts of Christs Spirit when our Natural Corruptions are so strong when the Enemy of our Souls is so malicious and Buisie when the Temptations we meet with are so Thick and ensnaring when the Common course of Humane Life is such that we walk continually among Dangers and Deaths Lord what a Miserable Creature would man be without the care Assistance and Succours of the Spirit In times of Errors and Delusion to be assisted and kept stedfast by the Spirit of Truth in times of Tryal to be led by that Spirit of Power which helpeth our infirmities in times of Impiety to be guided and governed by the Spirit of Grace and Holiness in times of Affliction and Distress whether they be Publick or Private calamities we groan under then to have the Spirit of Comfort to speak peace to our Consciences to take away the Bitterness of our pottage to sweeten and lighten our Griefs with salutary Breathings from above to Support us in all our sufferings to carry us safe through all Difficulties and at last to lead us into a Serene and Calm world Oh! what an Happiness is this and what Improvident people are thy who neglect an Ordinance that is Productive of this Happiness that is so Beneficial and Useful to all these purposes Again to have such a lively Faith as will not fail us however we may be winnowed sifted and tost to have a vigorous Hope that will keep our Heads up when storm and tempest beat down thousands to be full of those Graces which are sweeter then Nard under our nostrils to be United to him who Loved us and gave himself for us and to have this Testimony within us that we are the very Members of Christ and in the end to Dye with Satisfaction and with a strong Confidence that one day we shall rise again and see the Salvation of God in the Land of the Living these are Felicities than which the Nature of man is not capable of Greater in this Life and I have shew'd you particularly one by one that these are the Blessings wherewith God crowneth every Constant and Devout Communicant Briefly there is no Ordinance of God but what doth carry its Advantages with it where men use it after a Regular and Due manner But all other Ordinances seem to center and meet in this so that it is a certain Instrument of an Holy Life and of that which will be Dear and Valuable to us when all the Gayeties of Life are over I mean a Comfortable Death And so I leave it to the thoughts of every Understanding and Thinking Christian to consider what Unwise as well as Unthankfull men they are who are so willing to go from an Ordinance at which others gather up Life and Immortallity It is no wonder that the world groweth so vain and wicked and that the Souls of men are so Improsperous One great reason is because they have Itching ears but Insensate Hearts that neither Crave for the Influences of Heaven nor care to Receive them though they come down in streams God be merciful unto them but they will one day find what a crime and Folly they are guilty of in forsaking thus the mercies of the Cross and in trampling under their feet the Bloud of the Son of God after this manner Not that their imprudence or unthankfulness is their only sin No there is an addition of impiety too which helps to aggravate it For in this case we are not in our own hands neither are we left to our own liberty and Pleasure The Command of Christ whereby we are obliged to solemnize this Mystery is as plain and as peremptory a command as any other in the whole Bible and if a law from Heaven can make any thing necessary then is this so But I will not now meddle with that consideration There being that and many more which relate more immediately to our practice that I see will cost another just Discourse as of the necessity that is incumbent upon us and of the necessity of preparation also together with the Nature and Extent of that preparation which is requisite and divers other the like matters which deserve to be well considered and to be treated of by themselves in their due order and by degrees Here we will end this Discourse beseeching God to help us to a right understanding and to enable us to keep a good Conscience in all things for Christ Jesus his sake to whom with the Father and the Holy Ghost three Persons in the Unity of the God-head be all Glory and Honour and Praise for evermore Amen FINIS