require this of all of Us That those who Administer this Sacrament should Administer it as Christ did and those who Receive it should Receive it as the Disciples did of Him Q. Do you then make no Distinction between the Priests and the People in what concerns this Holy Sacrament A. As to the Manner of Receiving it none at all When those who are Priests Receive this Sacrament of another Priest it is as when they hear the Word Preach'd They do it not as Priests but as Christians And therefore at the Institution of this Sacrament our Saviour Christ alone acted as a Priest He resembled the Ministers of his Church the Disciples represented the Faithful who were afterwards to Receive the Sacrament from the Ministers of the Church after the very same manner that They Received it at Christ's Hands Q. But is not this Sacrament as Perfect in One Kind as in Both A. Can a Thing be perfect which wants one half of what is Required to make it Perfect Q. Yet it cannot be deny'd but that he who Receives the Body of Christ does therewith Receive the Blood too A. Though that be not the Question yet if not only may be but in this Case is absolutely deny'd by Us nor indeed can it without a manifest Absurdity be affirm'd It was the Design of our Saviour Christ in this Sacrament to Represent his Crucified Body his Body as it was Given for Vs. Now we know that when He suffer'd his Blood was shed and let out of his Body and that to Represent his Blood thus separated from his Body the Cup was consecrated apart by Him And how then can it be pretended that he who Communicates in Such a Body must partake of the Blood together with it But this is not our Business The Points which we insist upon are these First Whether Christ having confessedly instituted this Sacrament in both Kinds and commanded Us to Do likewise those do not evidently depart from his Institution who Give and Receive it only in One And if they do Then Secondly Whether They have any Reason to expect to be made Partakers of the Benefits of this Holy Communion who do not Receive it after such a Manner as Christ has commanded Us to do Q. Did the Apostles give the Cup to the Lay Communicants in their Churches A. Yes certainly or else St. Paul would never have argued with the Corinthians against Communicating with Idolaters as he does 1 Cor. x. 15 c. I speak as to Wise Men judge ye what I say The CVP of Blessing which we bless is it not the Communion of the Body of Christ Ye cannot drink the CVP of the LORD and the Cup of Devils Nor have spoken of this Sacrament as he does in the next Chapter Ver. 26 27 28 29. In every One of which He takes notice of their Drinking of the Sacramental CVP as well as of their Eating of the Sacramental Bread Q. What then do you think of Those of the Church of Rome who deny the Cup to the Laity A. As of a most presumptuous Sort of Men who Sacrilegiously deprive the People of what Christ has given them a Right to Q. Do you think this Change so considerable as to warrant you to break off Communion with that Church which has made it A. No one can with a good Conscience Receive this Holy Sacrament after any Other Manner than Christ has ordain'd it to be Received If therefore the Church of Rome shall obstinately Refuse to give it to the Lay Communicant in Both Kinds he is bound in Conscience not to Receive it of her Priests at all But to go to those who are ready to distribute it to them in the same Integrity in which it was first Instituted by our Blessed Lord. SECT XLVIII Q. WHat is the Inward Part or Thing Signified in this Holy Sacrament A. The Body and Blood of Christ which are verily and indeed taken and received by the Faithful in the Lord's Supper Q. Are the Body and Blood of Christ really distributed to every Communicant in this Sacrament A. No they are not for then every Communicant howsoever prepared or not for it would alike Receive Christ's Body and Blood as to its Substance there That which is given by the Priest to the Communicant is as to its Nature the same after Consecration that it was before viz. Bread and Wine Only alter'd as to its Vse and Signification Q. If the Body and Blood of Christ be not really given and distributed by the Priest how can they be verily and indeed Taken and Received by the Faithful Communicant A. That which is given by the Priest is as to its Substance Bread and Wine As to its Sacramental Nature and Signification it is the Figure or Representation of Christ's Body and Blood which was broken and shed for Us. The very Body and Blood of Christ as yet it is not But being with Faith and Piety Recieved by the Communicant it becomes to Him by the Blessing of God and the Grace of the Holy Spirit the very Body and Blood of Christ As to those who come Unworthily to it it is made Damnation that is it Renders them worthy of it and without Repentance will Certainly consign them over unto it Q. How does the Bread and Wine become to the faithful and worthy Communicant the very Body and Blood of Christ A. As it intitules him to a Part in the Sacrifice of his Death and to the Benefits thereby procured to all his faithful and obedient Servants Q. How does Every such Communicant Take and Receive the Body and Blood of Christ in this Sacrament A. By Faith And by means whereof he is as truly intituled to a part in Christ's Sacrifice by Receiving the Sacramental Bread and Wine which is there deliver'd to Him as any Man is intituled to an Estate by Receiving a Deed of Conveyance from One who has a Power to surrender it to his Use. Q. What are the Benefits whereof Those who thus Receive this Holy Sacrament are made Partakers thereby A. The strengthning and refreshing of their Souls by the Body and Blood of Christ as their Bodies are by the Bread and Wine Q. How does such a Receiving of this Holy Sacrament strengthen our Souls A. As it adds a New Confirmation to Us every time we Receive it of God's Mercy towards us through the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ and thereby Fortifies and Corroborates Us more and more both in the Discharge of our Duty and to a Resistance of all Such Temptations as may be likely to Draw Us away from it Q. Does it Strengthen Us in any Other Respect besides this A. Yes it does For being thus secured of a Right to Christ's Sacrifice for Us we are thereby fortified against all Doubts and Fears of our Salvation Are confirm'd against the Apprehension of any present Dangers or Sufferings which we shall Reckon not worthy to be compared with the Glory which shall be
not die nor their Fire be quenched but they shall dwell in Everlasting Burnings Mark ix 44 Isa. lxvi 24 That there shall be weeping and wailing and gnashing of Teeth Mat. viii 12 xiii 42 50. All which Phrases howsoever they be understood must denote Suffering as well as Punishment An Eternity of Pain not an Eternal State of Death and Insensibility Besides that Everlasting Death or Destruction would not otherwise be properly speaking an Everlasting Punishment For as soon as Men are thus Dead they cease to suffer and for that very Reason cease to be punish'd And one may as well say that a Malefactor who was Executed for his Crimes a Hundred Years ago still continues to be punish'd by the Magistrate as that after a Man should be once annihilated he should afterwards continue to be Punish'd for his Sins by God Almighty Q. Wherein do you suppose the Everlasting Happiness of the Righteous shall Consist A. As to the Particulars of it they are altogether Unknown to Us nor indeed are we able in our present Estate perfectly to comprehend the Greatness of them Thus much in General we are told that we shall be placed in a most Glorious and Perfect State free from all Sin and from all Misery Where we shall Enjoy all the Pleasure and Satisfaction that our Natures vastly enlarged shall be capable of We shall dwell in the Presence of God shall be continually entertain'd not only in the Contemplation but with the Fruition of all the Riches of his Goodness and Glory We shall be Companions with the Holy Angels and pass our time in the Greatest Love of God and of One Another that can be imagined We shall turn all our Service into Praise and Wonder shall have nothing left to wish or desire of him And we shall both Love and Serve and Praise him with such Rapture and Satisfaction with such Joy to our selves as well as such Fervour towards God as no Thoughts can Conceive nor is it possible for us by any Words to express the Greatness of it SECT XXI Q. WHat was the Third Thing which your Godfathers and Godmothers promised for you at your Baptism A. That I should Keep God's Holy Will and Commandments and Walk in the same All the Days of my Life Q. Do you account it to be Necessary for you herein also to fulfil what they Promised for you A. I do and that so Necessary that I cannot be Saved without it Q. Do you then expect to be Saved by Virtue of your Own Good Works A. God forbid On the contrary I am perswaded that when I shall have done All that I can I shall be but an Vnprofitable Servant Luk. xvii 10 But however I must sincerely Endeavour what in Me lies to keep God's Commandments and then I am assured that God will Reward Me not according to my Works but according to his Own Mercy and Promises to Us in Jesus Christ. Q. Are you able of your self by your Own Natural Strength to Keep God's Commandments A. No I am not For in Me that is to say in my Flesh dwelleth no Good Thing Rom. vii 18 It is the Grace of God which must work in me both to Will and to Do according to his Good Pleasure Phil. ii 13 Q. Being thus assisted by the Holy Spirit can you Perfectly keep God's Commandments A. No I cannot nor will it ever be possible for me in this Life to do it I must serve God Sincerely with all my Heart I must serve him Zealously with all my Strength I must Go as far as I can and as the Measure of the Grace which he is pleased to allow me will enable me to do towards Perfection But to discharge a Perfect that is to say an Vnsinning Obedience to God's Commandements this neither I can nor did ever any One else but he who was God as well as Man do it For in many Things we Offend all And if we say that we have no Sin we deceive our selves and the Truth is not in Vs. Jam. 3.2 1 Jo. i. 8 Q. Will not this Undervalue the Grace of the Holy Spirit by which we are Sanctified A. Not at all Forasmuch as I ascribe to that the Glory of all the Good I do and take to my self the Shame of whatsoever is Evil or Defective in Me Q. What think you of Those of the Church of Rome who notwithstanding this talk of Works of Supererrogation and thereby pretend not only Perfectly to keep God's Commandments but to do even More than God Required them to have done A. I think that they neither understand Themselves nor their Duty It being certain that the Measure of our Duty is to Love the Lord our God with all our Heart and with all our Soul and with all our Strength Beyond which as it is not possible for any Man to Go so neither is there any that can justly say He has ever for any long time together absolutely come up to the utmost height of it Q. Seeing then our Obedience cannot be brought to Perfection in this Life what is that Obedience which God does Now Require of Us in Order to our Salvation A. It is the Obedience of an Honest Humble Sincere Heart Such as Leads us in the First Place to an Vniversal Obedience of All God's Commandments Secondly to a hearty Endeavour to come up to as perfect a Discharge of Our Duty according to the Measures of them as our present Condition will admit of And that Thirdly with Constancy and Perseverance unto our Lives End Mat. x 22. 1 Cor. i. 8 1 Pet. i. 13 Heb. x. 38 39. Rev. iiâ— 10. SECT XXII Q. HAS there been any such Summary Collection made of the main Branches of what we are to Do as we Had in the Creed of what we are to Believe A. There is such a Collection and that deliver'd by God himself in what we commonly call the Ten Commandments Q Do those Commandments which were Given by God to the Jews still continue in force and Oblige Us Christians A Yes they do Mat. v. 17 c. and that in Some measure more Strictly than they did Them The most part if not All of them having been either more fully Expounded or more perfectly Delivered to Us by Christ in the New Testament than they were first given by God to the Jews in the Old See Mat. v. vi.vii Chapters Q. Why do you call Them the Ten Commandments A. Not only because they have been usually divided into that Number but because they were Originally delivered so by God and are accordingly so called by Moses Exod. xxxiv 28 Deut iv 13 Q. What do these Commandments in General Refer to A. To the Two Great Branches of Our Duty Our Duty towards God and Our Duty towards Our Neighbour Q. What Authority Have you for this Division of these Commandments A. The Authority of our Blessed Saviour Mat. xxii 37 And indeed God Himself seems to
particularly annex'd to it Indeed if a true Penitent Receive Absolution from his Minister God Ratifies the Sentence and forgives the Sin But so God would have done had neither any Confession been made to or Absolution Received from Him And that the Sin is forgiven is Owing to the Mercy of God upon the Repentance of the Sinner and not to be ascribed to the Priest's Sentence In EXTREME VNCTION there is an Outward Sign but neither of Christ's nor his Apostles Institution They anointed Sick Persons for the Recovery of their Bodily Health and in certain Cases advised the Elders of the Church to be sent for to do likewise But as to any Spiritual Effects they neither used any such Sign themselves nor Recommended it to Others Nor is there any the least Ground on which to expect any such benefit from the Use of it MATRIMONY is a Holy State ordain'd by God and highly to be accounted of by All Men. But it neither confers any Grace where it is not nor Encreases it where it is And therefore is not to be look'd upon as a true and proper Sacrament ORDINATION is also a Divine Institution By the Administration of it Authority is Given to those Who partake of it to minister in Holy Things which otherwise it would not have been lawful for them to do We do not at all doubt but that the Grace of God accompanies this Ordinance and the Discharge of those Ministries which are perform'd in consequence of it But then this Grace is only the Blessing of God upon a particular Employ not such a Grace as is necessary to the making of a Sacrament And it is given to such Persons rather for the Benefit of Others than for the furtherance of their Own Salvation Q. How many Parts are there in a Sacrament A. Two the Outward and Uisible Sign and the Inward and Spiritual Grace SECT XLIII Q. WHat is the First Sacrament of the New Testament A. It is Baptism Q. What is Baptism A. It is the Sacrament of our New and Spiritual Birth Jo. iii. 4 the Seal of our Adoption Rom. iv 11 and the Solemn Means of our Admission into the Communion of the Christian Church Acts ii 41 Col. ii 11 12. By the Outward Washing whereof our Inward Washing from our Sins by the Blood and Spirit of Christ is both clearly exhibited and certainly sealed to Us. Rom. iv 11 Acts ii 38.39 Heb ix 14 Tit. iii. 5 Q. How is Baptism perform'd A. By dipping in pouring on of or sprinkling with Water in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost Q. In which of these was this Sacrament administred at the Beginning A. To Aged and Healthful Persons in that Hot Country in which our Saviour lived it was for the most part administred by dipping or plunging the Person who was Baptized into the Water According to the common Ceremony among the Jews of Receiving Proselytes with the very same Ceremony and from which our Saviour seems to have taken Occasion to institute this Sacrament Q. Were any Baptized otherwise at the Beginning A. It cannot be doubted but that as All who Embraced the Gospel were Baptized so many of these could not be dipped in Water Such were very Old and Sick Persons and it may be All at the first when Three and Five Thousand at a time believed and were baptized very likely in a private House Acts ii 41 Acts iv 4 where it would have been very difficult to have had Water enough and endless to have dipped them all Q. What are the Necessary Parts of this Sacrament A. Water and the Word The One to Represent our Spiritual Washing and Cleansing by the Blood of Christ the Other to declare the Faith into which we are Baptized and by which we hope to be saved namely of God the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost Q. How came the Custom of Dipping to be so universally left off in the Church A. Chiefly upon the ground of Charity because when the Gospel became every where Received and the Persons to be Baptized were the Children of believing Parents many of which in these Cold Countries and for a Great Part of the Year could not be dipped in Water without the hazard of their Lives it was necessary either to Sprinkle them only with Water or not to Baptize them at all Q. What Ground had the Church to admit of Sprinkling as sufficient to answer the Design of this Sacrament A. The Example of the Purifications under the Law which were made as well by Sprinklings as Washings Heb. ix 13 19. The Application of this made by St. Paul to the Spiritual Cleansing of us from our Sins Heb. x. 22 24. And by St. Peter to the same Purpose 1 Pet. i. 2 The Analogy between the Sprinkling of the Water in Baptism and that Sprinkling of the Blood of Christ by which we are Cleansed from our Sins All these as they left a sufficient Latitude to the Church to administer this Sacrament in any of these Ways so the Law of Charity Required that the Church should make Choice of Sprinkling rather than of a total Immersion and we cannot doubt but that the God of Charity does approve of it Mat. ix 13 SECT XLIV YOU said that in Every Sacrament there were Two Parts an Outward and Visible Sign and an Inward and Spiritual Grace Tell me therefore Q. What is the Outward Uisible Sign or Form in Baptism A. Water wherein the Person is Baptized in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost Q. Is this Element so necessary a part of this Sacrament that the Church may in no Case depart from it A. It is of Divine Institution and was designed to denote our Spiritual Cleansing by Christ's Blood That as our Bodies are wash'd with and cleansed from their Pollutions by Water so are our Souls purified from Sin by the Blood of Christ And for both these Reasons it is a Necessary and Immutable Part of this Holy Sacrament Q. Is the Form of Baptism necessary to the Administration of this Sacrament A. It is Necessary nor can this Sacrament be duly administred by any Other Q. Was no Other Form ever used in the Apostle's Times A. It is indeed said of Some in those Times who had been Jewish Converts or had Received John's Baptism that they were Baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus But this does not hinder but that they may have been Baptized as no doubt they were in the Words appointed by Christ for that purpose All it implies is that they were Baptized into the Faith and Gospel of Christ as by comparing the Passages of Scripture together it will Evidently appear See Act. viii 16 x. 48 xix 5 Rom. vi 3 Gal. iii. 7 Q. Are then the Words appointed by Christ so necessary that to Use any Other will destroy the Efficacy of this Sacrament A. That I dot say For as