enough because we cannot suppose whatever St. Austin did imagine that when Christ spake those words he intended that even those should Communicate who were not capable of Preparation and consequently could not eat his Flesh nor drink his Blood after a due manner However it seems most manifest that the words do refer to this Sacrament in a secondary sense and construction Primarily they mean the eating of Christ's Spiritual Flesh and the drinking of his Spiritual Blood and that after a Spiritual manner and this a man may do though he cannot come to the Sacrament All Divines do affirm that Christ may be received Spiritually when he is not received Sacramentally meaning that we may receive vital influences from him which are his Spiritual Body though we do not communicate of the Sacred Elements and I doubt not but that Children and young Members of the Church do so But this is no Encouragement for any Adult Persons who are not under any Incapacity this is no encouragement to such to despise or neglect this Ordinance for to such as these the Receiving of the Sacramental Bread and Wine is the ordinary Means of Receiving Christ without using these Means they cannot have any Reasonable Assurance of so great a Blessing nor such solid grounds as others have for their Hopes of Salvation PEOPLE may build their Hopes of Salvation upon Faith and Repentance and the like and the truth is these are the Conditions of our Everlasting Peace But yet there are several things which well deserve to be considered 1. That the Promise of Salvation upon Faith and Repentance doth suppose that Men are in the Communion of the Church and that they express and shew that Communion by a Regular Use of this and all other Religious Ordinances for every one is obliged to do This as well as to Believe and Reform his life 2. That Man's Faith and Repentance is very much to be suspected who Refuseth to eat of this Bread and to drink of this Cup. For how can the Truth of his Faith appear to himself that doth not own and confess Christ's Authority over him by his Subjection to it in this particular Or if he believeth this Ordinance to be Necessary and himself to be obliged to the Observance of it then how can the sincerity of his Repentance appear when he continues in That which he must acknowledge to be a sin Obedience to the Evangelical Commands is the only thing that Tryes a man and shews him to be what he really is and he hardly deserves the Name of a Christian that declines a Duty which is so easie so comfortable so advantageous to every one that is a Penitent indeed Suppose such a man lay upon his sick Bed with a troubled Conscience and the terrours of Death about him I would fain know how he could satisfie himself that he is a Convert in Truth and Reality seeing he hath lived in a continual Breach and Defiance of Christ's Law 3. But suppose his Faith and Repentance be such as is required yet still 't is Necessary for him to Receive the Holy Communion because 't is needful for him to have the Seal of that Righteousness which he hath by Faith We know that Abraham Believed and found favour with God before he was Circumcised and yet by Circumcision he was Assured of God's favour In like manner suppose a Believer to be forgiven before he comes to the Lord's Table yet he is Assured of his forgiveness by coming to it and 't is necessary for People ever to take that course which is most for their Safety and Satisfaction Every man is apt to think so in Civil Contracts so that though a Deed be drawn and agreed to yet they think themselves not sure enough 'till the Wax and the Seal be added And truly if the Children of Light were as wise in their Generation as the Children of this World are in their kind of Wisdom they would think every thing Necessary that helpeth to give them the more and more Assurance Now this blessed Ordinance hath such an Effect and Tendency so that let a Penitent's condition be never so good an honest-hearted Communicant's is much better his Confidence is better grounded his Hopes are built upon a surer basis and the Comforts of his heart must be stronger and the Peace of his Conscience must be greater and his Condition must needs be every way much safer than His can be who from time to time Neglecteth so great Salvation For in the Fourth place It is upon the due Use of God's Ordinances that he entitleth us to Eternal Life Though he be loving unto every man and is ready to pardon every true Penitent yet hath he set us our way to obtain our pardon he hath directed a method and course in order to our Salvation and men must observe that method and take that course if they will be happy 'T is not Peoples Fancies that can save them nor must they think to Capitulate with Almighty God or to prescribe Him Conditions but with all heartiness and readiness observe those Conditions which he hath prescribed Vs Now this is God's Method to bring men to Happiness upon a due Use of Sacraments as well as by other Performances and we must conclude that he who requireth those Duties we owe our Selves and our Neighbours will also and much rather exact that Duty we owe his Son In short men must go in God's Way and follow God's Directions and then depend upon his Goodness and Mercy in so doing If the Jews in the Wilderness intend to be healed of their Wounds they must look upon the Brasen Serpent Indeed God might have made them whole and sound only by a word from his Mouth but this was not his way and therefore there was a necessity for them to make use of the other way that he had ordered them Numb 21. And so if Naaman will be healed of his Leprosie he must go down into Jordan and wash seven times Indeed he muttered at the Prophet because he did not strike his hand over the place as he might have done and he bragged of Abana and Pharphar that they were as good Waters as any Rivers in Judea as perhaps they were and yet for all this the Prophet's hand must not heal him nor will all the Rivers of Damascus do him good but to Jordan he must go or else return a Leper as he went 2 Kings 5. Why thus it is in the present case God hath promised to pardon all penitent people and to heal them of their Wounds and Leprosies but withall he hath shew'd them whither they must go and what Means they must make use of he hath ordered us to Do This to Eat of this Bread and to Drink of this Cup for the remission of sins and we are not to begrudge our Duty but to follow God's Method and Command and so to expect his Blessing Men must not hold off and forbear because God can pardon them
Consecrate our selves by this Evangelical Solemnity to the Service of God and vow Obedience to him answerable to that way and platform which he hath laid before us now This is the meaning of this Mystery and therefore 't is called a Sacrament because 't is like the old Military Oath binding all of us to be Faithful and True to the Captain of our Salvation Now this is that which he hath commanded us by the Mouth of his Apostle that as he who hath called us is Holy so we also should be Holy in all manner of Conversation 1 Pet. 1. 15. And this we undertake to do when we Eat and Drink here before the Lord if we rightly understand what we do We stipulate and vow to Obey the Will of God in all things and promise Solemnly to deny all ungodliness and worldly Lusts and in express terms do offer and present unto God our selves our Souls and Bodies to be a holy reasonable and lively Sacrifice unto him Now unless we really intend what we do Profess and do stedfastly purpose and diligently endeavour to make all our Promises good what else can we be supposed to do but to set forth our own shameful Hypocrisie instead of shewing forth the Lord's Death Therefore if we intend to Receive this Sacrament with Profit and to our Eternal Salvation we must resolve with our selves to be upright and sincere in Heart to lay aside all filthiness of Flesh and Spirit perfecting Holiness in the fear of God to take to our selves the whole Armour of God and to quit and behave our selves like Men. We must resolve to serve God all our days with Reverence and Fear and to make him the Object of our Desires and the Portion of our Souls to be Holy in our Affections to be Humble in Soul to be Meek and Peaceable in Spirit to be Sober and Temperate in our Delights to be Contented in all Conditions and to be Patient under our Crosses as the Prince of Peace was under his To be Thankful for our Afflictions to be constant and firm in our Tryals and to be Charitable in all our Prayers as he himself was who Prayed unto his Father at the very last gasp for the Forgiveness of his Enemies Men must not be so vain as to imagine that they are sufficiently Prepared if they do but find within themselves some present Raptures and Liquorish apprehensions of the Love of God if they can but breath out some Groans or dissolve themselves into a shower of Water No the right Preparation of the Heart consisteth in the entire Love of Virtue of whatsoever things are True and Honest and Just and Pure and Lovely and of Good Report as the Apostle speaks Phil. 4. 8. AND thus much may suffice to be spoken briefly of the Quality and Nature of due Preparation in general It must be an Vniversal Rectitude and Holiness of Heart an entire Goodness of Disposition a sincere Love of that Religion which is Pure and Vndefiled and such a Divine frame and bent of Soul as utterly Abhorreth all that is Evil and Destructive of that Obedience which is due both to the first and second Table of the Decalogue 2. BUT then we must Note in the next place that as there ought to be this general and habitual Preparation so there are some Particular and Special Duties which are now to be performed because as I said here are special Objects and Reasons to stir us up to the performance of them Here the Passion of Christ is represented the Pardon of our Sins is tendered and the infinite Love of God is Exhibited to us And accordingly we are to lay hold on Christ's Merits with all our Souls because his Merits are available to such only as do Believe We are truly and earnestly to Repent of our Sins because Sin was that which Christ Dyed for and 't is upon our Repentance that our Pardon is Sealed and moreover we are to express our entire Love to our Brethren in all its Acts and Offices because if God so Loved us we ought also to Love one another 1 Joh. 4. 11. Hence it is that Divines commonly Prescribe Faith and Repentance and Charity as most necessary Preparatives in order to a worthy Receiving not as if other Virtues were to be excluded but because these are specially to be Exercised forasmuch as this great Solemnity doth afford us Special and Eminent Objects for the Exercising of them I shall therefore observe the usual Method being now to shew how Prepared you ought to be and what Preparations are sufficient and for your more Profitable Instruction I shall Discourse particularly of those three Qualifications in their due order 1. AND first of Faith which is the Mother and Nurse of all True Religion By Faith I mean here in the strict Notion of it an Act of the Vnderstanding whereby a Man is convinced and satisfied of the Truth of those things which are propounded to our Belief by Divine Revelation distinguishing Faith from Hope and Obedience and other Acts of the Will which are included in the Notion of Faith when 't is taken in a larger and more comprehensive Sense Now in the pursuit of this Subject I shall do these two things 1. First shew why Faith is required in a Communicant that we may understand the Necessity of this part of our Duty 2. What Faith is required or what we are bound to Believe that we may see the Extent of it And when this is done I know not what more will be needful to be spoken touching this matter 1. WHY Faith is required in a Communicant And the Reason of it is obvious because it is the Principle that doth influence move and govern our Actions it being unconceivable how a Man should be wrought upon either to put his Trust in God or to forsake his Impieties or to do any other Act of Religion unless he be first perswaded in his Mind that the Author of our Religion had Authority from God to exact these things at our Hands and that there is Mercy with God if we be careful to do our Duty and that nothing but Punishment is to be expected if we neglect and despise so great Salvation So that without Faith as it is impossible to please God so it is impossible to answer the ends and purposes of this Ordinance and consequently the Elements that are taken by an Unbeliever can do him no more good than a Morsel put into a Dead Man's Mouth Even the Word that is Preached doth not profit at all if it be not mixed with Faith in them that hear it Heb. 4. 2. A thousand Homilies of Righteousness are no more to such than Metaphysical Discourses to a Brute In like manner the Administration of this Sacrament though to well-prepared Souls it be the Communication of Christ's Body and Blood yet it availeth not except there be a Disposition and Principle of Faith in them that Receive it It is observable that while
be Absolutely Assured of all this is not necessary because we have no plain Revelation to ground that assurance upon 2. Because such an assurance were I possest of it could not be a Divine but an Humane Faith and consequently it would be Fallible and very uncertain For it must be grounded meerly on my reflecting upon my self and upon my comparing my Condition with the Word of God So that my Judgment touching mine own State is still but an Humane Act arising from those Observations which I my self make and I cannot as firmly and reasonably believe that I am a Penitent as I do believe that God will Pardon Penitents because I have His word for the latter and only my own word for the former And we know that every Man is ready to be Partial to himself and Naturally apt to think better things of himself than he ought to think and to take every Mole in his Face for a Beauty-spot Therefore since a Man cannot have any assurance of his State but by private Reflections upon himself seeing such a reflection is an Humane Act and since every work of Man is deceitful it plainly follows that such an assurance is not necessary I wish therefore that Men would be Modest in these and the like Cases and not impose such burdens upon their own and other Mens Consciences as may serve to rack and disquiet their Minds but cannot settle them upon a firm bottom The Faith of Christ is of an obvious Nature and since the way to Heaven is strait already Men should be very careful that they do not add to the difficulties by inventions of their own Brains and render that entrance impossible which already is so narrow that few there be that find it IN Answer then to this Enquiry What it is that every Communicant is bound to Believe I shall lay down this as a fair and satisfactory Truth that the Faith required is a Cordial and Comfortable Perswasion of the verity of the common Principles of Christianity comprised in the Creed and particularly that Christ is so the Saviour of the World that he is able to save all to the uttermost that come unto God by him which is the Sense of that Article touching the Remission of Sins These are plain Assertions for which we have the Authority of the Scriptures and when I call this a cordial and comfortable Perswasion I mean such a stedfast Belief in Christ as serves to apply Christ's Merits to a Man 's own self which Divines call a Particular Faith To believe in Christ Comfortably is not only to Assent to the Truth of the Gospel at Large and in a General Proposition but moreover to believe for ones self to be throughly satisfied that Christ was the True Messiah that came to seek and to Save that which was lost and to Save even Me among others That he Tasted Death for every Man and in particular for Me that his Blood is the Propitiation for the Sins of the whole World and even for Mine that he is an Advocate with the Father for my Brethren and for Me also that he hath Promised Eternal Life to all that do Obey him and that even I shall have benefit by his Promise if I make good the Condition In a word that He is the Redeemer of all Mankind and that with him there is Plenteous Redemption for Me and for Thee and for us All if we be not wanting to our selves To be thus perswaded is enough for any Communicant in genere fidei and as to Matters of Faith Indeed in genere morum as to Matter of Practice Repentance and Universal Obedience is necessary too But now we are considering not how much it is necessary for a Communicant to Practice but how much is needful for him to Believe and such a Faith as I have now described is sufficient if Men do but add to this Faith Virtue 1. THAT this is so will easily appear if we impartially consider first that this is the Faith which is necessarily required of all Christians and is sufficient for all This is Eternal Life that they know Thee the only True God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent saith our Blessed Saviour himself Joh. 17. 3. The Sense of which place is that the sincere and hearty acknowledgment of the True God and of his Holy Child Jesus is the Infallible way to Everlasting Happiness There are many Truths wrapped and folded up in the Bosome of that Text which the Compilers of the Apostolical Creed have drawn out into several Articles To know Jesus or to Confess him to be the Christ signifies in the Dialect of the Holy Ghost to own him to have been sent by God's Commission that he came to Redeem us and to Bless us and to Dye for us To have a deep Sense of the All-sufficiency of his Merits to believe that all Power both to Save and to Destroy is put into his hands and to be firmly perswaded that in and through him Forgiveness of Sins and a Glorious Immortality may be obtained by all that will lay hold on him and Love him in Sincerity Now if this Faith be sufficient as touching Matter of Faith to Entitle a Man to Eternal Life as our Saviour saith it is then it is enough also to give a Man the Liberty of Communicating because more cannot be required to admit us to the Lord's Table than is necessary for our admission into Heaven Certainly that Faith which sufficeth to bring us hereafter into the Presence of the Lamb must be sufficient to bring us to the Supper of the Lamb and that is not a confident Presumption of a Man's absolute Pardon and Election unto Happiness but a firm and comfortable Perswasion that Jesus Christ came into the World to Save Sinners which is a most faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation saith St. Paul 1 Tim. 1. 15. 2. THAT this Faith is enough for a Communicant will appear Secondly from its Anaglogy and Proportion to the Faith of the First Disciples It was St. Peter's Confession for which he was called Blessed Thou art Christ the Son of the Living God Matth. 16. 16. It was Martha's Confession Lord I believe that thou art Christ the Son of God that should come into the world Joh. 11. 27. It was the Eunuch's Confession I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God Act. 8. 37. Nay indeed it was the Confession of all the Apostles before every particular was extracted which lay hid and folded up in it We believe and are sure that thou art that Christ the Son of the Living God Joh. 6. 69. Now do but consider and judge in your selves Is it possible for any Ratianal Man to believe that the Faith which served for the Salvation of those will not be enough to Dispose and Fit Vs for the Sacrament Certainly by the same Faith whereby the Disciples of Old felt and handled the Word of Life we may also Feed on him For this