that in the old Law there was no attonement for sin without blood for in the blood lay the life the life of the sinner was to answer for his sin wherefore 't was not so much the flesh of the sacrifice which was partly burnt into ashes partly eaten by the Priest or congregation that appeas'd God's wrath as the blood which was sprinkled round the Altar Nor did the eating of the Passeover which was the type of this Supper secure the Israelites from the destroying Angel but the blood which was struck upon the lintell of the door Nor can the Papists plead the no necessity of administring the Cup because the children of Israel in the celebration of their Passeover and the Priests and people in their sacrifices onely eat of the flesh of the lamb or bullock and not drank the blood but either spilt it or sprinkled it up down For first we have here Christ's express command Drink ye all of it whereas they were bid to the contrary And then which is the main thing Christ's merit as was said before lay most in his blood so that to give our selves an interest in his sufferings we must partake of his blood as well as of his body But why is the Symbol of his precious Blood call'd a Cup whereas that by which his holy Body is represented is plainly termed Bread now bread and cup are not direct opposites nor answer one another but bread and wine This by the Papists own confession must be allowed to be a figure call'd Metonymie of the vessel containing for the liquor contained the Cup for the wine in the cup. Now therefore if the Cup be not really turn'd into the blood of Christ neither is the bread changed into flesh For just as it 's said of the bread This is my Body so he sayes of the Cup This is my Blood And if there be a figure in one place why not in both or can we suppose that our Saviour in a thing of so great concernment would not have spoke properly here too as he did before But the truth on 't is we should on all hands run our selves into a world of absurdities should we take words strictly as they sound and not allow them a fair meaning according to popular use and custom of speaking For by this means we should have cities with wals up to heaven Christ would be turn'd into one rock Peter into another Herod would be Metamorphosed into a fox and Ovid's fables would hardly seem more strange then Scripture But Rhetorick teacheth us the convenience and vulgar custom the necessity of using figures no question but our Saviour made use of the liberty in this sacred Institution Now the ground of this figure whereby the Cup is put for the wine whereas the other part of the Sacrament is properly express'd by the name of bread may be this because bread being of a solid substance is of it self easily laid hold on and taken up with the hands but wine is of a fluid liquid nature so that it cannot be meddled with to any use unless it be first put into some vessel as a cup c. Likewise also These two particles imply partly that Christ did as well appoint the use of wine as of bread to make this holy Supper an entire Sacrament in so much that if either should be taken away the mystery would be maimed and imperfect partly that he did in like manner and after the self same fashion consecrate the Symbol of his precious Blood as he did that of his holy Body using the same actions and almost words for as he took the bread and gave thanks and gave it to his Disciples bidding them eat and telling them that is was his Body which was broken for them and charging them to doe it in remembrance of him Iust so he took the Cup too and gave thanks and gave it amongst them and bid them drink and told them withal that it was his Blood which was shed for them and charged them to do it in remembrance of him Some little difference we may meet with both in the actions and in the words either by adding or leaving out First here is added a more special note of the time when the cup was appointed to wit after Supper which is but generally expressed in the other part to be the night in which he was betrayed And a more punctual command when he sayes Drink ye all of it contenting himself of the bread to have said onely Eat it with a particular declaration of the nature of this Sacrament where he tells them 't was the Blood of the New Testament which he sayes not of his Body and of the use and end for which it was appointed for the remission of sins i.e. for sealing that pardon which he purchased by his blood Besides a precept at least an advice of frequent receiving implyed in those words As oft as ye drink it Then here is left out the action of powring out of the wine which answers the breaking of bread for he broke the breaa but it is not said that he powred out the wine So that it may be supposed the cup was full of wine when he took it Yet the words of consecration doe make out this action also for as he said This is my Body which is broken for you so he saith This is my Blood which is shed for you And lastly he sayes of the bread Take eat but of the wine onely Drink which yet they could not do without taking it Now herein perhaps lay the difference that of the bread being broken into small pieces every one could at once take his part and all partake together at the same time but the cup being not capable of such a partition they handed it to one another the second staying till the first had drunk and so on to the last The Cup to wit being full of wine for so himself sayes afterward that he would drink no more of the fruit of the vine till he drank it new with them in the kingdom of his Father Now wine was the fittest to express the nature and use of the Blood of Christ it being the noblest liquour that which most refreshes the heart of man Give wine as the Proverb saith to the sad in heart that they may forget their misery Wine was used also in the curing of wounds as 't is said of the good Samaritan that taking the man â—hat had lighted amongst thieves into his care he powred wine and oyl into his wounds the wine to search and cleanse as well as the oyl to heal and skin them Christ's Blood hath the same virtue and efficacy to quench the spiritual thirst of a sinner who being scorch'd with his guilt longs for Christ's righteousness as the hart panteth after the water-brooks to cheer the spirits which lye drooping under the sense of sin to supply new strength to a Christian believer that he shall rejoyce
that good shepheard of souls that lay down my life for my sheep Thus broken and given thus delivered for you and to you I seal pardon of sins to your hearts I improve grace supply strength feed your souls to life everlasting Broken or Given as if it were all one for this heavenly Bread was given that it might be broken 't was broken that it might be given Christ could not have suffered for us had he not had a body given him for that purpose nor could that body have done us good or furnisht us with spiritual nourishment had it not bin broken Had not Christ dyed we could not be sure of living As it is with the bread it self which is the Symbol of his Body The corn must be first cut down and threshed and winnowed and grownd and sifted kneaded and baked with a hot oven before it can become bread THIS DOE YE These words either have reference to the actions of the Disciples who took the bread which Christ gave them and eat it and so they belong to all Christians in general to the whole company of believers according as the Church doth in more words deliver it Take and eat this in remembrance that Christ died for thee feed on him in thy heart with Faith and thanksgiving And so of the Cup afterward 't is said This doe ye as oft as ye drink it i.e. when ever ye drink it drink it in remembrance of me Or to Christ's own actions who broke it and gave it and thus they imply a special charge to the Officers of the Church the Ministers of the Gospel and Preachers of the Word such as also were these Disciples as if he should have said you are Apostles with whom I leave the care of planting Churches and preaching the Gospel whom I trust for the management of the affairs of my Kingdom and duly administring the Sacraments wherefore I charge and require of you that in celebrating this mystery you follow my example and doe no otherwise then you have seen me do before you that it may remain pure to all succeeding ages according to this first institution And hither St. Paul in this case makes his appeal where he discourses of the Holy Supper That which I received that deliver I unto you how the Lord Iesus c. This or Thus This which I have done or thus as I have done now in your company doe ye and all from hence forward that derive authority from you in your several assemblyes take bread and bless it and break it and give it about to those who rightly prepared come to the holy Table and use these words of consecration which I have done to you The Greek is make this hence it is an ordinary phrase amongst the Popish Priests when they perform Mass to say that they doe make the Body of the Lord thinking possibly that the Doctrine of Transsubstantiation is much advantaged by the word of making which in the Greek is indifferently applyed to all manner of actions and the other which signifies to do would have bin very improper and not fit to be us'd in this place THIS DOE YE The word will also in the Latine and Hebrew carry a sense of sacrificing and then 't would intimate that our Saviour's death was our peace-offering whereby God's wrath conceived against sin was atoned and his Iustice satisfied we being cleansed by the sprinkling of his Blood The Papists therefore call the Mass a Sacrifice without Blood and the holy Table strictly and properly without any Metaphor an Altar 'T is true we doe here represent and commemorate the death of Christ and when we come to partake of these Mysteries we may use the Psalmist's words What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits towards me I will take the Cup of Salvation and call upon the Name of the Lord I will Sacrifice unto thee the Sacrifice of thanksgiving and call upon the Name of the Lord I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all his people But he having offer'd once a perfect Sacrifice for the taking away of sin and cry'd upon the Cross It is finished and in that he dyed dyes no more 't were absurd to think there needed a repetition of that act which in it self was all-sufficient Christ's Blood being of an infinite value as it immediately follows in the same Psalm Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his Saints A word peculiar to Christ as in the fourth Psalm He hath set apart the holy one for himself and in the 16. Thou shalt not suffer thine holy one to see corruption meaning Christ. Besides to what purpose is it to ground an unreasonable doctrine upon the nicety of a word which in ordinary plain meaning signifies but this doe so hereafter as ye now doe or do ye in your companies what ye have seen me now do in mine IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME. For a memorial of me and a monument of my love who have not spar'd my life for your sakes and with a sense of gratitude to keep up the memory of my bitter death which I as your surety upon your account underwent and the benefit whereof you will receive by believing on me by eating my flesh and drinking my Blood and becoming one with me Or for my remembrance appointed by me to be one of my sacred ordinances to be kept up in the practise of the Church till my second coming in the clouds as ye will see me goe away Wherefore in the mean while to leave behind me a remembrance and to bear up your hearts in Faith that what I have suffered hath bin out of love to you and that those who in following ages shall not see me in the flesh yet may have some further assurance then my bare word I have provided this to be a standing ordinance in the Church whereby I may be remembred to the end of the world LIKEWISE ALSO HE TOOK THE CUP Now follows the other part of this Sacrament to wit the consecration of the Cup for it would not be a compleat meal were there not spiritual drink as well as meat the Blood of Christ being as necessary to quench the thirst as his flesh to satisfie the hunger of a believing soul that hungers and thirsts after righteousness But first the Bread and then the Cup. Why because there must be a body broken before there could be blood spilt First bread to strengthen and then wine to refresh the heart Again the Cup last as of great importance for the flesh could have profited nothing without the blood and God is said to have redeem'd his Church with his Blood nor does he onely redeem us with the shedding of his blood but wash us by the sprinkling of it upon our consciences from dead works and preserve his Church spotless till the great day Nay the author to the Hebrews observes
in his â—y supplyes their wants opens his hand and fils them with his goodness cherishes and maintains them And having built this goodly frame of heaven and earth doth with his everlasting armes what vain story sayes of Atlas support and uphold it or rather as his Vice-gerents are pictur'd with a Globe in one hand and a Scepter in the other grasps the whole world in his hand and dandles it in his lap as a tender hearted mother her playsom child Can he that implanted so tender an affection in all mothers dammes to their young ones himself be without large bowels of compassion full breasts of mercy and a tender bosom of love His goodness exceeds all comparison Though a mother should forget her child yet saith he I will not forget my people Providence is that great dug at which every creature hangs and draws its comfort by which all things are maintain'd whence are issued forth daily allowances and constant provisions dealt out For he commands blessing and deliverance Thou art my shepheard saith the Psalmist and I shall want nothing The Spirit of God saith the sacred Historian mov'd upon the face of the deep that Chaos and first matter out of which the several kinds of creatures were afterwards to be particularly produced A word proper to birds that sit upon their eggs brood them He flutter'd and sate upon it and kept it in a lively warmth and quicken'd that rude lump that he might out of that great confused ball wherein the seeds of things lay jumbled which therefore an ancient Philosopher call'd Natures Egg hatch a well order'd world And since God hath compar'd himself in one place to a broody eagle Christ in another himself to a hen the one teaching her young ones to fly and shift for themselves by carrying them on her back the other clucking her chickens with great pains scraping up their subsistence cherishing them under her wings and with all her might protecting them from rapine We may from these similitudes learn what a dear love and careful fear God hath for all his least they come to hurt God then may very well be styled a Father in this sense too that he hath not only as a Father given being to all things but as a Father of a family provides for al about him furnishing them with convenient accommodations and seasonable supplyes Nor is this all yet but he orders all things disposes chance overrules events to his own ends doing whatsoever he pleaseth both in heaven and earth even as Fathers order the affairs of their family or as magistrates who are the Fathers of their country manage the civil state making lawes and putting them in execution rewarding the obedient punishing the disobedient Indeed all government is naturally bottom'd upon this relation and grounded in a paternal authority the Father at first exercising all power even to life and death over those of his own family nor is a city or common-wealth any other then a more numerous family subject to the same ruler and govern'd by the same laws God then it is that gives order for every thing by whom and when and how it should be done Not a sparrow fals to the ground without his leave The whole series of second causes is but that golden chain the Poets fancied whose uppermost link is fasten'd to Iove's chair He is the Lord of Hoasts such as are the stars in their courses thunder lightning hail snow rain wind and storm fulfilling his word nay frogs and lice when he hath service for them will muster into armies and the locusts gather themselves into bands He knows best what will make for our good and his own glory and by his wise contrivance carry's things in that nature that they shall all work together for those ends He is in the world as a King in his Kingdom Where his word is there is power and who shall say to him what dost thou Angels are his attendants and menials the other creatures his utensils But men though they are term'd vessels too in his great house yet they are priviledg'd with a nearer relation to him They are his children for he is our Father OUR This word denotes a propriety and closer interest seeing he is not our Father alone in that general sense in that he made us not we our selves as he is styled the Father of rain and the Father of lights nor for the greater likeness we have to him more then our fellow creatures which is common to us with the Angels who are therefore call'd the Sons of God But by redemption also having purchas'd us by the Blood of his Son and made us a peculiar people to himself and having begotten us anew by the word and spirit and adopted us by grace that we who are by nature children of wrath might be made the children of God and to which of the Angels ever said he thus my Son Oh! what a condescension of love that God should suffer himself to be styled our Father who have corruption for our mother that Christ should become our brother whose sisters are the worms For if we be sons then are we heirs and if heirs then coheirs with Christ Oh infinite love and kindness unspeakable how dearly obliging an expression that our Saviour who is the only Son of God begotten of his substance should not permit but command us to call God our Father too my Father and your Father sayes he Now as Father is a word of authority and signifies love and care bespeaking from us a reciprocal love a filial reverence and obedience so Our is a note of indearment which should teach us charity which indeed the whole prayer breaths in all the parts of it Give us Forgive us and Deliver us bringing in all mankind to partake the benefit of our prayers And seeing it hath pleased God to own us for children and Christ to make us partners of his relation to become brethren it would very ill beseem the best of saints or greatest of men to disdain any of their fellow-brethren he they never so miserable never so wicked Since were there not a community of the same nature the sense of humanity the tyes of reason and religion and the laws of nations to bring us to some kind of unity and mutual affection God's love to us is an invincible argument why we should love one another WHICH ART And there is none beside thee For whom have I in heaven but thee and there is none upon earth that I desire in comparison of thee Indeed the original doth not so express it making use of the article alone and leaving the verb to be understood which as 't is elliptical so 't is an emphatical kind of speaking He or The in Heaven which should note a superlative excellence above all others to whom the title of Father can belong the
of honour set him above Angels principalities and powers and hath committed to his trust the Government of the world FROM THENCE To wit out of Heaven whither he ascended and where he now is Christ God Man at the last day in the end of the world riding upon the clouds shall shew himself and HE SHALL COME Attended with innumerable Angels and Saints with the voice of a Trumpet in a glorious manner to the joy of his servants and the terrour of his enemies TO JUDGE For all mankind shall be gathered together from the four quarters of the earth and we must all appear before the Iudgment-seat of Christ to give an account of our works Then shall the books be open'd and every man's conscience shall witness against him and that which hath bin done in secret shall be made known and the thoughts of the heart shall be discovered Then righteous sentence shall proceed from the Iudges mouth according to the Law and the Gospell Then shall be put a difference betwixt the good and bad the righteous and the wicked when God shall reward his servants with a Crown of Glory and destroy his enemies with an everlasting destruction endless torments There is a twofold coming of Christ Christ came first to be judged the second time he will come to judge THE QUICK Those who shall then be found alive who shall be suddenly changed in the twinckling of an eye and without death shall pass from death to life AND THE DEAD For the dead shall rise again as many as from the beginning of the world throughout all ages have lived upon the face of the earth and though they have been mouldered into dust or torn by wild beasts or buried in the waves of the Sea yet they shall take up the very same bodies again to which the soul may again be united God's power bringing this about and his justice so requiring it that every man may in his body reap the fruit of those things which he hath done in the body I BELIEV With the same Faith by which I believ the Father and the Son I believ also in the third Person of the holy and blessed Trinity Being verily perswaded that he is true God and the power of the most High depending upon his assistance and finding by experience that whatsoever good I either doe or have comes all from him IN THE SPIRIT He is therefore called Ghost or Spirit because he partly proceeds from the Father and the Son by way of breathing partly because he breaths into us good thoughts and holy desires wherefore it is added HOLY Seeing that he is not only Holy in himself with such holiness as far exceeds all other blessed Spirits both Angels Saints but also makes us holy by an effectual working of grace in our hearts He it is that applyes the benefits of Christ's death unto us and makes us partakers of the salvation which he hath purchased for us by his blood The holy Prophets and Apostles were the penmen of the Holy Ghost who wrote as they were inspired by him He gathers the Church by the Preaching of the word having furnisht the Apostles with the gifts of tongues provided a ministry and other holy ordinances for the propagation of the Gospell filling up the number of the elect and bringing souls to life THE CHURCH The company of believers whom God hath ordained to life before the foundation of the world was laid whom he hath called out of a state of sin to the profession of Faith in Christ and a holy conversation whom he also doth rule by his Word and Spirit HOLY Gathered and guided by the Holy Ghost distinguished from the rest of the world by holy appointments adorning their profession with holy works CATHOLICK or Vniversal in respect of time place and persons being to last through all ages of the world spread abroad over all quarters of the earth consisting of men of all ranks and conditions God having shut the gate of his Kingdom to none but such as wilfully refuse to enter Now the Holy Ghost bestows upon the Church which he gathers by the word and sanctifies by grace these Blessings which follow THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS Whereby the Saints who are the faithfull ones the chosen and the children of light are united to Christ as their head and amongst themselves as members of the same body the Church drawing virtue life and efficacy from Christ and performing to one another all offices of Charity as being knit together with a spirit of love and bond of peace THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS Which the spirit on our unfeined repentance assures us of by applying the merit of Christ and sprinkling our consciences from dead works with his blood which he powred forth to be a price of souls neither doth he onely seal to our hearts a pardon of former offences shewing us the favour of God reconciled in his Son but doth withall give us power to resist sin for the time to come cleansing us from every defilement of the flesh and spirit subduing our lusts changing our wils and renewing our natures according to righteousness THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY For in the last day when Christ shall come to judgement the trump shall sound and the dead shall arise with the very same bodyes that they had before and every one shall receive according to his works For as much as the wicked shall be thrown into Hell there to be tormented with the Divel with the worm which never dyes and the fire which is never quenched But the good shall enter into LIFE EVERLASTING Where they shall rest from their labours and enjoy God for ever living in abundance of joys and pleasures which neither eye hath seen nor ear hath heard nor can the heart of man conceiv And all these things I believ not onely with an Historical Faith but appropriate unto my self being fully perswaded that God made me by his power preserves me by his goodness and provides for me both in soul and body by his infinite wisdome And that the Son of God whatsoever he hath done or suffered he performed and underwent for my sake that I through him might live And that the Spirit of God dwelleth in me working in me Faith Repentance that I am a true member of the Church that my sins are forgiven me that I shall rise again and see my Redeemer with these eyes who shall out of his free bounty reward me his unworthiest servant with the Glory which shall have no end FINIS THE EXPLANATION OF THE TEN COMMANDEMENTS The Ten Commandements Exodus xx GOD spake all these words saying I am the Lord thy God which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt out of the house of bondage I. Thou shalt have no other gods before me II. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above or that is in the earth
Self-denyal which is the principle of Christianity Self-preservation has been set up and Interest made our Idol when we have been so far discontented at our present condition that we have over-run all orders to mend our private fortunes have ruin'd the publick when we walk disorderly and are immoderate in the use of our pleasures and are taken up with the love of the world and impure affections and cannot rellish the things of God when we cannot indure one another and require that of others we would not allow them and set our selves at irreconcileable distances when we indulge our selves in carnal joyes and have no compassion for our suffering Brethren when our hopes depended on an arm of flesh and the fear of man deterred us from our duty so that we would not trust God for our delivery in the performance of our duty when every small thing puts us into passion and in our zeal we design a revenge on the person more then a reformation of his vice when we follow the guidance of a deluded conscience and mistake both covetousness and ambition for zeal when we prefer publick mischief before our own disappointments and had rather Church State should be indanger'd then our design should miscarry when we hug temptations and make much of our lusts and lull them on the pillows of ease and security when we wish for things unlawful and take unlawful courses to get them when all our desires are let out for carnal satisfactions and we make it the great business of our lives to provide for our content and yet can never be contented When by our covetousness and evil concupiscences we have thus broken not only this but all Gods Laws and Commandements we may very well desire God's pardon for what is past and his assistance for the time to come in the Churches form Lord have mercy upon us and write all these thy Laws in our hearts we beseech thee FINIS AN EXPLANATION Of the SACRAMENTS The II. SACRAMENTS Baptism GOe ye and teach all Nations baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy Ghost Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every ereature He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved but he that believeth not shall be damned The Lords SUPPER THe Lord Iesus the same night in which he was betraid took bread And when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to his disciples and said Take eat this is my body which is broken given for you this do in remembrance of me Likewise also he took the cup after supper and when he had given thanks he gave it to them saying Drink ye all of it For this is my bloud of the New Testament which is shed for you for many for the remission of sinnes This doe ye as â—ft as ye drink it in remembrance of me Of the SACRAMENTS THe Sacraments That is to say Holy Rites or Ceremonies or mysteries used in the Church appointed by Christ himself Now Sacrament is a military term and signifyes that oath whereby souldiers were wont to engage to be true and faithfull to their General in the War against the enemyes of their countrey And thus it is with us Christians who have vow'd obedience to Christ the Captain of our Salvation and sworn to fight under his Banner that we may by his strength overcome the world the flesh and the Divel The Sacraments are but two Holy Baptisme and the Holy Supper which come in the place of Circumcision and the Iewish Passeover By Baptism we are admitted into the bosom of the Church and as it were entred into God's family being by nature aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel and of the children of wrath become heirs of the promise The Supper affords us a spiritual repast and by it we grow up and are intimately united to Christ and are preserved and fed to life everlasting There are two things to be considered in a Sacrament an outward Sign and an inward Grace signified Sign in Baptisme is Water which washeth the filth of our body the Thing signified is the Blood of Christ whereby our souls are cleansed from the filth of sin The outward Elements in the Supper are Bread and Wine by which the strength of nature is repair'd and maintain'd The Things signified are the Body of Iesus crucified and his Blood shed which being partaken by Faith doe heighten our graces and nourish the souls of believers Baptisme then is the laver of regeneration and the Supper is the Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ. In a word the Sacraments are annexed to the Word of God as the seals of the promise conveyances of grace and evidences of the Spirit by which he doth effectually apply to believers the love of the Father and the merits of the Son assuring their hearts confirming their Faith fastning their Hope and enlarging their Charity Of BAPTISM THe Institution of Baptisme was after this manner When Christ had with his Blood sealed the truth of his Doctrine and purchased to himself a Church i.e. a peculiar people the chosen ones of God whom he fore knew from all eternitie for he was the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world was laid and had made good this his purchase by his resurrection in that the bands of death sell off and he was released out of the prison of the grave having paid the debt for which he as our surety suffered it was then convenient that this Church thus purchased should be gathered and the chosen ones be called and converted to the saith by the preaching of the Word and distinguished from the rest of the world by a profession of the Gospel and the use of holy ordinances Wherefore being himself to depart hence to ascend to Heaven he leaves his Disciples with instructions how to propagate the faith and to order the affairs of his spiritual Kingdom to the end of the world and to proclaim throughout all quarters of the world the good tidings of peace and pardon to all such as should by faith and repentance come in and give up their names to Christ It being God's will that all should be say'd and come to the knowledge of the truth Whereupon he sends the Apostles to preach and by Baptisme i.e. by a solemn rite of washing with water receive into the bosom of the Church as many as should profess faith in him giving them this commission before his departue as it is set down by the Evangelist Goe ye and teach all Nations baptizing them c. Baptism having bin formerly us'd by Iohn the forerunner of our Saviour and honour'd by the example of our Saviour himself who at his Baptism was signally own'd from Heaven for the Son of God the Spirit also in the shape of a Dove lighting upon him Our Saviour in these words wherein he appoints the form and use of Baptism partly
outward actions resembling the inward virtue and efficacy of that thing of which it is a sign This sacred Rite is called the Holy Supper either by the way of Metaphor to denote the communion and fellowship which the Saints have with one another for which reason we also usually term it with the Apostle Paul the Communion The whole family meeting together at that time when all the business of the day is over to refresh themselves and take their repast Nor is it otherwise with the houshold of Faith who though imployed in several dwellings and dutyes of life yet as members of one and the same body whereof Christ is the Head are united to one another by the same spirit fed with the same spiritual food So that the Mystical body of the Church is made up of many Saints just as the bread it self of many corns and the wine of drops whence 't is frequently by the Greek Fathers called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i.e. the gathering together of the Saints whither as some Interpreters would have it that place hath allusion where the car case is that is the crucified Body of Christ thither shall the eagles the quick-sighted high-flown believers be gathered together Or out of a more particular respect to the Passeover into the place and stead whereof this Sacrament came as the other succeeded circumcision for the Iews were wont by God's appointment yearly to celebrate a Feast whereon at evening in each houshold they slew a Lamb dressed it and eat it together in remembrance of the deliverance from the Egyptian slavery and from the Angel who striking all the first born of Egypt pass'd over the houses of the Israelites who for that purpose had according to that command dash'd the Blood of the Lamb upon the lintel of the door Now Christ being the substance was to put an end to all ceremonies came to make one perfect sacrifice once for all who in that he dyed dyed but once being the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world and his death we are to remember in these pledges of his love whereby he hath delivered us from a spiritual slavery and wrought salvation for us And indeed in that very nick of time when our Saviour had finisht the Paschal Supper with his Disciples he appointed this as to abide for ever in the room of the other The Lord's Supper it is styled because appointed by the Lord Jesus and represents him to be fed on by Faith The words of the Scripture wherein the Institution is set down expresse both time when and manner how it was performed the manner again delilivers partly what he did partly what he said in consecrating the bread first and then the cup. The Institution of this Sacrament is described by the authour time and manner The Authour the Lord Iesus The Time the night wherein he was betrayed the Manner consists of two parts shewing partly what he did partly what he said and that severally of these two several signs by which he would represent his Body and Blood For this Holy Supper was to consist of spiritual meat and drink as men use both to eat and drink in their other ordinary meals The Bread is the sign of his Body the Cup of his Blood First as to the Bread what did he He took it he bless'd it he broke it he gave it What said he Take eat this is my Body Again for the Cup what did he he took it he bless'd it he gave it What said he Drink ye all of it for this is my Blood c. Now let us goe over each part again and explain it more fully THE LORD JESUS Who by the merit of his Passion and at the price of his Blood purchased for us Salvation and for himself glory and a Name above every Name that he might become Head of the Church and to him might be given all power from the Father He alone has authority to appoint Sacraments and order the affairs of his Church by his word and spirit whereby he hath impowerd his Ministers to act in his Name to dispense his ordinances even to the end of the world IN THE NIGHT. For it was a Supper which he intended and 't was at supper or rather after supper when he had with his Disciples about him eaten the Passeover the type of himself who was the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world when he said at the Table One of you shall betray me and discovered his betrayer by giving him a sop which some think was no other then a piece of consecrated bread Nay the self-same night IN WHICH HE WAS BETRAID by Iudas with a kiss bringing a multitude along with him arm'd with swords and staves the rage of the rulers and the curses of the priests to lay wicked hands on him after he had sweat drops of blood in his agony and powred out his Soul in Prayer being sad even to death in a garden where he made the praeludium to his Passion BREAD by which the heart of man is strengthned which is therefore called the staff of life is made use of to represent the Body of Christ who was the bread which came down from Heaven by which souls are fed to life everlasting HE TOOK IT That he might by his example shew the Ministers of his word what they are to doe when they invite their people to the holy Table himself doth in a solemn manner begin the ceremonies taking the bread i.e. lifting it up and holding it in his hand which amongst the Iews was then the fashion observ'd by the master of the house AND GIVING THANKS We doe not read anywhere that Christ ever sate down to meat without Thanksgiving which especially before the Holy Supper is necessary it being for that reason call'd the Eucharist And surely the death of Christ which is here set forth was the greatest blessing that ever befell mankind Or Blessing it The meaning may be that by consecrating it he did set it aside from common use and praying for a special blessing upon it that it may become an effectual means of grace he stamp'd upon it a kind of reverence which was not due to it before HE BROKE IT Whence this mystery is also call'd the breaking of bread he divided it into several pieces that there might be the better distribution of it amongst the company at table AND GAVE IT i.e. reaching out his hand he set to every one his part and bestowed it amongst them TO THE DISCIPLES Who did then represent the whole Church of Christ and society of the faithful both men and women who should give up themselves to the discipline of Christ and take upon them the profession of the Gospel not so much as Iudas excepted though Christ well knew what was in his heart Wherefore by Christ's own example Ministers might learn that none should be excluded and kept from the table where Christ
himself entertained the Traitour the Thief and the Apostate Iudas All are invited to this heavenly banquet and if any one crowd in having not on his wedding garment he does it at his own peril 'T is the Apostle's rule in this case that a man examine himself and so come He that shall censure his brother as unworthy to share in this divine worship to be sure by his want of charity makes himself unfit to be there and uncapable of the blessing charity being as necessary a qualification as repentance and we are out of charity to suppose that any scandalous liver or notorious offender would venture upon these sacred mysteries without having repented him of his sins since he is told aforehand that by coming unworthily he will but eat and drink damnation to himself delivering himself into Satan's power filling up the measure of his sins and hastning his own destruction as it far'd with Iudas AND SAID Here follow the words of consecration for this too as wel as the common food is sanctified by the word and Prayer It was not enough to have broken and given it unless he had also said Take eat God is wont to instruct all our senses as he requires to have them all exercised in holy things The outward Sign is propos'd to the eye the Word to the ear so that what the eagle-sighted Evangelist saith of the Incarnation of Christ may have here a peculiar place That which we have seen That which we have heard and our hands have handled of the word of life declare we unto you and accordingly it follows TAKE Stretching out the hand of Faith lay hold on life embrace salvation offer'd Take for ye have it not by nature in your selves it is the gift of God through Christ who took upon him the Humane nature that he through it might convey to men the power virtue of the Divine nature He took that he might give we take to enjoy Take it not snatch it take it with reverence and such devotion of mind and body as becomes so great a mystery and this indeed has alwayes been the custom of the Church to use an humble posture upon this occasion and receive kneeling EAT Apply to your souls the benefit of my death feed upon me and be transformed into my likeness that ye may be united to me and I may live in you no otherwise then the meat which we dayly eat is turn'd into juice and blood and intimately adhering to us becomes part of us THIS IS MY BODY This i.e. this bread for though they disagree in gender yet who is so unskil'd in Grammar as not to know that the Relative this may agree either with the former Antecedent bread or with the later body or This mystery and Sacrament This action of my breaking and giving of your taking and eating IS MY BODY Is the representation of my death the assurance of salvation to those that believe as we commonly say of a writing in Law This is my estate i.e. this gives me a title to such a house and land and by a sure conveyance makes me right owner of it as if the house and fields and meadows were really included in the parchment Such a manner of speech is frequently us'd in Scripture as where 't is said the rock was Christ which to take properly and strictly as the words sound were absurd there being no more meant by it then this that the rock was the type and emblem of Christ. So here that the bread is Christ's Body is not to be understood in a gross sense as if that the substance of the bread were changed into the very flesh of Christ but that whosoever doth with faith receive these sacred Symbols doth truly and to all intents partake of the benefits which Christ hath purchas'd for us by his death and is closely united to Christ and grows in grace even as our bodily food being taken in does pass into our nature and give nourishment and increase to all the parts of our body WHICH IS BROKEN or Given The present Tense here is put for the future which shortly shall be broken for Christ was yet not crucified but spoke these words before his Passion Or the whole life of Christ having been nothing else but an enduring of hardship it may be understood not onely of the cross and the nails the scourges and the thorns wherewith his sacred Body was rent and torn but also of hunger and cold fasting and watching grief and pains which he underwent all along from the Cradle to the Cross or in a mystical and Sacramental sense which by this breaking giving of the bread is represented shown forth as broken and given for them For the very actions us'd by our Saviour at this Supper have a spiritual meaning and doe allude to some mystery He took bread and so he took to himself a body that he might become bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh and suffer in the flesh the punishment due to us as it is written Burnt offerings and sacrifices thou wouldst not but a body thou hast prepared for me He blessed it i.e. he set it aside from common use in like manner the mass of flesh and blood which he would put on he separated from the defilement of our nature that he might after an extraordinary manner be born of the Blessed Virgin without sin He broke it Iust so was that his body used cut and mangled with cruel whips bruised with blowes and buffets gash'd with a spear pricked with the thorns and bored with nails that we by his stripes might be healed He gave it hanging on the Cross with stretched armes bowed head he seem'd to invite all men to the well of salvation which was open'd in his side for the cleansing of iniquity and the quenching of spiritual thirst laying down his life like the good shepheard for the ransom of souls And his Father gave him so loving the world that he gave his only begotten Son to the death that whosoever believes in him might have everlasting life FOR YOU For your sake upon your account to your benefit for the appeasing God's wrath satisfying his Iustice and obtaining his mercy for the redemption of your souls the purchase of pardon and grace and the assurance of salvation that you by my death may live by my wounds you may be cured and by receiving me thus offered unto you may be received into favour Or in your stead Behold I suffer what you should have suffered I as your Mediator stand betwixt you and God betwixt your sins and his wrath and undergoe the penalty which was due to you my body is torn and mangled and my soul powred out to death not for any thing that I have done amiss for there hath bin no iniquity found in my hand nor guil in my mouth but I am that Lamb of God slain from the beginning of the world I am
to run his course as a Giant refresh'd with wine and lastly to wash the defiled conscience and cleans the foul running sores of the soul that it may be fitted for the oyl of the spirit the comforter Besides Christ himself is often compared to a Vine whereof all the faithfull are branches I am the Vine sayes he i and my Father the Husbandman and he is said to have trod the winepress of God's wrath alone for us Yet in case of necessity where wine cannot be had other drinks either natural or made according to the custom of the country may be us'd as water beer c. Now as that bread which came down from heaven was the type of his body so was the water which came out of the rock and follow'd the Israelites through the wilderness an emblem of his Blood for that rock was Christ. He took it He lifted it from the table and held it in his hand either having first powred wine into it out of some bigger vessell or flagon or else with an intent to power wine into it as the word shed forth or powred out doth intimate for the sign was to represent the thing signified AFTER SUPPER At the end of Supper when they had done eating whereas the other part of this Sacrament was appointed in Supper time as they were eating Or else 't is not unlikely that this particle of time may belong as well to the bread as to the cup that the celebration of the whole mystery was not performed till they had made an end of the Paschal Supper into the room and place whereof this was from thence forward to succeed and be of perpetual use in the Church AND WHEN HE HAD GIVEN THANKS or blessed it For the Apostle calls it The Cup of blessing which we bless i.e. before he appointed it to be a sign of his Blood he sanctified it by the word and prayer and begging a blessing upon it separated it from common use using perhaps the ordinary grace which amongst the Iews the Master of the house did at meals make use of for no question but our Saviour here alludes to their custom who at the end of dinner or supper after thanks was given drank round the whole company that was at table of the grace-cup the Master of the house beginning to the rest HE GAVE IT He set it down amongst them that they might one after another take the cup and drink or perhaps put it into the hand of some one that he might give it about to his fellows TO THEM The Apostles to wit or disciples who at that time stood for the whole Church and consequently to all believers whomsoever that make profession of the Christian Faith SAYING Speaking almost the same words as he used before concerning the bread that he might declare his own purpose in the institution of this mystery and their benefit who should partake of it DRINK YE With Faith receive this Sacrament of my Blood that like your natural drink it being taken into your souls may refresh your souls quicken your graces and keep you to life everlasting ALL OF IT Every one some for the bread was indeed broken into severall portions but the cup could not be so divided wherefore they were to part it among them every one drinking so that there might be left for the rest of the company FOR. That which before was delivered in a declarative way as a bare narration eat this is my Body is here brought in as a reason Drink for this is my Blood Which shews to what end and purpose the cup was appointed and how much it concerns believers to drink of it since by it is conveyed the forgiveness of sins the main virtue and effect of Christ's Blood being spilt THIS To wit this cup which I doe now deliver to you this wine which you are now about to drink or this action of my giving and your drinking the holy Cup. IS MY BLOOD That is doth signifie and represent my Blood and not only so but gives out also and conveyes my Blood and the benefits thereof so that it being receiv'd with Faith shall prove as much to your advantage and doe your souls as much good as if you did really drink my very Blood even as one finds himself refresh'd with wine which he drinks OF THE NEW TESTAMENT Upon Gospel terms and the account of grace whereas formerly in the time of the Old Testament under the Law they were us'd to make atonement for their sins with the blood of bulls and goats now Christ the Son of God was come in the flesh who was the substance that all those shadows belonged to and the truth prefigur'd by those Levitical types all those rites of sacrificing were to have an end when once he had offer'd up a perfect sacrifice blotting out the hand-writing of the Law and sealing a New Covenant of grace in his Blood for the word will bear that sense too and we know 't was the usual custom of making and ratifying Covenants by sacrifice as betwixt God and Abraham Abraham and the King of the Philistins when they strook a league of friendship and possibly that heap of stones which was raised by Iacob and his Father in law Laban and was afterward called Gilead might serve also for that purpose Nay Homer takes notice of it as practis'd amongst the Heathen But the Greek does more properly denote the Testament or last will by which a man doth before his death dispose of his estate bequeath legacies which being ambulatory and uncertain as long as one lives is never valid or of force till the Testator be dead nor could we have bin the better for Christ or have had an effectual enjoyment of his benefits had he not dyed and by his death sealed as well as made the purchase By the New Testament here then is meant the will of God the Father concerning the Salvation of mankind which in former time he had made his people acquainted with by visions and Prophesies and other dark representations but in the fulness of time by sending his own Son made man after our own likeness when the wisdome of the Father dwelt amongst the children of men and the word became flesh gave out a full discovery thereof in the light of the Gospel and the clear manifestations of his grace And that Covenant of grace which by the death of his Son our Mediator who reconcil'd us with the Father he entred into with men being made upon other terms then the Law required which sayes Doe this and live and calls for an exact obedience which therefore it was impossible for men to keep whereas the conditions we are tyed to under the Covenant of grace are repentance only and Faith by which denying our own righteousness we depend upon the merits of a crucified Saviour according as they are propos'd both in the Old Testament the Iust shall live by Faith And
in the New He that believes shall be saved That Covenant of Grace I say is not without good reason styl'd the New Covenant according as God himself promis'd by the Prophet even in the time of the Law that he would make a new Covenant I will be their God sayes he and they shall be my people And seeing that Christ's death hath put an end to the sacrifices formerly us'd for the ratifying of that Covenant though in substance God's Covenant both with the Iews and with the Christians be all one yet in respect of a different administration and a new and clearer dispensation This may well be call'd the New Testament That the Old WHICH IS SHED Truly yet mystically and spiritually in this Sacrament as sure as the wine by which it is represented is now powred out into the cup for your use For it cannot be conceived that when he spake these words he did really bleed it being before his Passion but he having taken our flesh and our blood on no other purpose then to break the one and shed the other for us he speaks of that as already done which was in God's everlasting counsel decreed to be done in which sense he is call'd the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world Which is shed then is no more then which is to be shed which shortly will be shed and which partly had already bin shed for Christ spilt not all his Blood at once but at several times as at his Circumcision when he paid the first fruits of it to the Lord in his agony when he swet clots of blood at his scourging when he was cut with whips at his crowning when the thorns pierc'd his sacred head and the scoffs more his heart and lastly at his Passion when the nails fastned his hands and feet to the Cross the launce gored his blessed side so that there gushed out water and blood in such streams that his most holy Soul together with his Blood left him FOR YOU In your stead and to your benefit For I having taken upon me the office of a Mediator betwixt God and men am to undergoe that punishment which was due to to man for sin wherefore because by the decree and Law of God there is no atonement without shedding of blood I also am ready to powr forth mine that you being sprinkled with it may be acquitted from the sentence of the Law and justified in the sight of God Seeing that it will be but just that what I your surety have done and suffer'd in your behalf should satisfie the Iustice of God and discharge you from guilt and the penalty of the Law all one as if you your selves had done and suffer'd it One Evangelist hath it For many or rather Concerning many and then it may be understood of things to wit Sins which Christ's Blood did atone Wrath which it appeased the Law which it satisfied Guilt which it frees from Filth which it washes off and the Ceremonies which it put an end to And to all these purposes was Christ's Blood shed But if it be taken for persons it may have the same meaning as that For you The Greek word frequently importing the whole multitude so the Apostle to the Romans layes the comparison betwixt the old Adam the new that as by one man's disobedience all men became sinners so much more by Christ's obedience should many be made righteous Now the advantage of this comparision would come to nothing were not Christ's death of as universal influence for the justification of mankind as Adam's sin was for the condemnation though indeed the benefit thereof doe redound to none but those who doe with true Faith lay hold upon it i.e. to the elect alone and true believers who yet in respect of the rest that perish in their sins through unbelief cannot be call'd the many For many are call'd but few are chosen And no question but it was Christ's intent to tast death as 't is said for every man none excepted but who would wilfully run into damnation by despising so great salvation And that the many may thus mean the All is clear by other places where a word of the largest extent is us'd to wit the world which cannot in propriety of speech be applyed to signify the Church onely God so loved the world that he gave his Son and Christ is the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world and is a propitiation not for our sins alone viz. that are believers but for the sins of the whole world also FOR THE REMISSION OF SINS Whereas the Law doth pronounce sentence of death upon those that transgress it for the soul that sinneth shall dye And all men are concluded under sin for there is none righteous no not one and in thy sight shall no flesh be justified It was impossible for one that was meer man either to perform the Law or avoid the punishment had not Christ who was God as well as Man interposed For no man was ever either by gifts of nature or by the supplyes of grace advanc'd to that pitch of perfection that he could perform an exact obedience to all God's commands We have sinned all saith the Apostle and if we say that we have no sin we deceive our selves and there is no truth in us Nay supposing one's life never so spotless yet cannot we make amends for that natural uncleanness of original sin which we are born with and which as soon as we live forfeits us to death according to the threatning In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt dye the death Wherefore what was wanting in us Christ made up with the merits of his obedience who having fulfill'd the Law and being in himself altogether free from guilt became sin for us and was reckon'd amongst transgressours that we might be justified by his blood and sanctified by his spirit Our sins then are by his death done away so that if we lay hold on him by Faith that we may receive the benefit of his death we that are guilty must be acquitted because our surety that was guiltless was condemned we shall live because he dyed we shall escape the wrath which he underwent and our sins must be forforgiven because his innocency was censur'd so that now God stands oblig'd by his faithfulness and justice too to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all iniquity He is but faithful when he keeps his word and performs his part of that Covenant which he made with us in his Son and he is but just when our surety has paid the debt to discharge us Now this Sacrament being a seal of the Covenant doth assure us of that forgiveness and seals to our heart by the sprinkling of blood and the operation of the spirit a pardon of our sins and does withall oblige us to Faith and repentance which are the conditions without