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A53963
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A practical discourse upon the Blessed Sacrament shewing the duties of the communicant before, at, and after the Eucharist / by Edward Pelling ...
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Pelling, Edward, d. 1718.
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1692
(1692)
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Wing P1089; ESTC R20512
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120,778
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284
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Promises at his hands THIS is enough to shew what a becoming and suitable posture Kneeling is at this Great Solemnity and how Naturally it follows where People entertain right Notions of it and come unto it with humble Minds Nor can I sufficiently admire that of all the Usages in the Christian Church this so Significant so Decent a Ceremony should ever become a stumbling-block and matter of Dispute Certainly it must be an ill sign of very Lofty Imaginations when there is such stiffness in Mens Knees BUT it is high time for me to proceed CHAP. XII Of our Behaviour after Receiving WHEN we have thus devoutly employ'd this blessed hour we must not imagine that our great Business is at an end that we may now drop those Religious Considerations which hitherto took up our time and thoughts that we may now go home leaving our Vows and Resolutions behind us in the Church much less may we think our selves free to fall afresh upon our former course of Life I must tell you the greatest part of our business is yet before us and to stop and rest here in the performance of those things which have hitherto employ'd our minds is the ready way to unravel our whole work and to defeat the design of this Heavenly Ordinance For this Rite of Eating and Drinking at the Lord's Table though it be of admirable use yet it is not naturally and intrinsecally good as those Acts and Dispositions of the Mind are wherein the Substance and Excellence of Religion doth consist but it iâ— a Relative thing instituted by our Saviour as a Means to promote and carry on that Noble End for which the Grace of God hath appeared unto all Men that denying all Vngodliness and Worldly Lusts we should live Soberly Righteously and Godly in this present World Tit. 2. 12. Here indeed we lay the Foundation of a life of Virtue by devoting unto God the Powers and Faculties of our Souls and the Members of our Bodies but as the Ground-work is in order to a Superstructure so are our Actions now in order to the further edifying and perfecting of us that we may be built up more and more in our most Holy Faith and being sitly framed together and compacted may grow and rise up by degrees to an Holy Temple for the Lord to be an Habitation of God through the Spirit THIS you will easily perceive if you observe 1. The Nature of the Ordinance it self It is first a Representation of the very Death of Christ a Representation exhibited to our Sences by the breaking of the Bread and the effusion of the Wine And what doth this mean but to awaken our Fears by shewing us the Terror of the Lord who for the expiation of the World's Guilt spared not his own Son nor would be reconciled to the World at a lower rate than by delivering him up to Torments and Death for us all What doth it mean but to set our Zeal a work upon mortifying all our Lusts and Affections and upon perfecting Holiness in the fear of God because Christ gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all Iniquity and Purifie unto himself a peculiar People zealous of good works What doth it mean but to make us ever watchful and circumspect lest we tread under foot the Blood of the Son of God Because if we sin wilfully after we have received the Knowledge of the Truth there remaineth no more Sacrifice for Sin Heb. 10. 26. It is secondly a Memorial of Christ's Love Love stronger than Death that made him give his life a ransom for the ungodly And what doth this mean but to kindle in our Hearts the most ardent Affections to Him again who so loved us as to die for us The greatest Affection this that 't is possible for any Mortal Man to express to lay down his Life for the Brethren But yet infinitely short of that which the Son of God expressed upon the Cross for his Enemies In this he commended his Love towards us above all proportion and comparison in that while we were yet Sinners Christ died for us the Just for the Vnjust It is thirdly a foederal Solemnity whereby we renew the Covenant we entred into at our Baptism Vowing Promising and Engaging over the Symbols of Christ's Body and Blood and Swearing as it were with our Hands laid upon the Redeemer of our Souls that we will henceforth walk in Newness of Life And what doth this mean but to bind us with the most Solemn Securities and under the most dreadful Penalties to renounce the Devil and all his Works to deny all the Lusts of the Flesh so as not to follow or be led by them and not only to offer up our Hearts and Spirits unto the God of Purity but to present even our Bodies a living Sacrifice Holy and Acceptable to him And for the farthering of all these Noble Ends this Mystery is in the Fourth place the very Means of Grace and Salvation an Instrument that conveys to us the present Possession of all necessary and suitable Assistances and a Title under Seal to all the Evangelical Promises and particularly to this that he that persevereth unto the end the same shall be saved and that to them who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for Glory and Honour and Immortality God will render Eternal Life Rom. 2. 7. And what doth this mean too but that we should grow in Grace that we must not grieve the good Spirit of God whereby we are Sealed to the day of Redemption but that we should be strong in the Lord and in the power of his Might and give all manner of diligence to make our Calling and Election unto Grace sure and effectual by adding to our Faith Virtue or Courage and to Virtue Knowledge and to Knowledge Temperance and to Temperance Patience and to Patience Godliness and to Godliness Brotherly Kindness and to Brotherly Kindness Charity Charity in the highest degree to all Mankind and even to our Enemies Thus you see the nature of the Ordinance it self is such that it is not only highly useful for the present but of mighty Importance for the future it hath a tendency forward and it drives at mighty Ends which our endeavours are to be employ'd about after the Celebration of it is over that we may be more and more Partakers of the Divine Nature and come every day nearer and nearer to the Life of God TO confirm this still we may observe Secondly That those very Preparations which are required in order to our worthy Communicating do all look the same way and have a direct tendency to the same purpose Thus Faith or the hearty belief of the truth of our Religion upon those Evidences and Motives it carries with it is naturally productive of constant Obedience to the Precepts of it throughout the whole course of our lives For as it discovers to us the Folly the Shamefulness and the bitter Fruits of Sin so it shews
together in Competition Men were better do as Crates the Theban did part with all their Gold than be void of that which is true Wisdom And it is infinitely more desirable for them to be rid of those Riches which are a clog unto them and hinder them from going to Heaven than upon their Death-Beds to be troubled with a sad remembrance that they have been more faithful Drudges to their Familes than Friends and Servants to God 3. But I hope there are many good People who use the World yet neither Abuse the World nor themselves for the World's sake I am sure 't is possible to have our Conversation in Heaven even while we live upon the Earth and 't is no difficult Matter for a Wise Man to serve God and himself too Let him follow his Vocation diligently let him deal Justly and shew Mercy and walk Humbly and Pray Daily and with a good Conscience and then in doing the works of his Calling he doth in some measure work out his Salvation too For he Obeyeth God in labouring with his hands and in working that which is good and so throughout the week he doth in some sort and degree fit and prepare himself against the Sacrament on the Lord's day I deny not but Men should pare off some portion of the six days and Consecrate it to a more solemn and strict Preparation Yet this I say that the following of our Secular Business with Sobriety and Honesty is far from being a just hinderance to keep him from attending on this Ordinance For let a Man but lead an Holy Life and that he may do in any Calling that is but lawful and the less time will be required for self Examination Let him but carry always the true Fear of God in his Heart and the less fearful will he be of drawing near unto God in the Church because he never departeth from him though he be at home An upright Conversation is a continual Prayer and a constant kind of Preparation and so Men may in some measure fit themselves to be Communicants even in their Shops and Ware-houses And yet certainly the Business of the day is not so great nor urgent but that any the most painful Tradesman may find some convenient time to offer up to God the Morning and Evening Sacrifice both of Praise for the Enjoyment of his Mercies and of Prayer for the Pardon of his own Sins Now let him but enter upon his Affairs with Devotion and mannage them with Integrity and end them and the day with Piety and Repentance for his Failings and he may be fit to Communicate weekly if he will And if any Man be such an Enemy to himself as that he is careless in observing this Method let him lay the blame not upon the Urgency of his Business or want of time but where it should be laid upon his want of true Zeal and a right Christian Spirit Yet it is not to be denied but Men may have some more extraordinary Troubles come in upon them at some times than at others Such is the course of this world that there are floods as well as ebbings of Business in every Employment However 4thly This is to be Considered that the most important Matters are rarely so instant and pressing but Men can pick out some lucid intervals and steal away from their Cares either to some by-Concernments that are not so cumbersome or to Recreations that are for their Refreshment And how can Men pretend that they have not time to fit themselves for the Sacrament when they may dispatch the work in a less space than that amounts to which many times is vainly and sometimes sinfully employed If such Men were sure to purchase an Estate by the Prayers and Penances of a week I am apt to think none of them would pretend that they wanted time Or if an Office or Place were in danger to be lost or a considerable summ of Mony like to be forfeited unless the Sacrament be Receiv'd by such a day 't is likely that whatever Mens Business or Concerments are they would be sure to keep their sides free from the lash of the Law And what 's the Reason that Penal Statutes are so carefully observed while at other times the Commands of Christ are so easily past over but that Men generally have not that tender regard of their Souls as they have of their Purses and of their Secular Interest 3. BUT besides these there is a third sort of Persons whose Excuses are a little to be Considered too many Serious Religious and Devout Christians I doubt not who have both Hearts to come to the Communion and time enough for Preparation but yet are troubled with Scruples and Fears lest they should not come prepared sufficiently notwithstanding their Pious Endeavours and so rather chuse to refrain though it be with much reluctancy and regret These Fears and Scruples I now speak of do mostly if not altogether proceed from wrong Notions and Apprehensions concerning this Mystery Because they are told that before they Receive they must Examine themselves whether they be in a State of Grace and that after they have Received they must be careful continually to persevere in that State hence it cometh to pass that they are very mistrustful of themselves and very fearful of the worst Perhaps the remembrance of some Sin that is past doth yet run in their minds though they be truly Penitent for it and withal the Sense of their Natural Weakness makes them doubtful for the future lest they should Transgress again notwithstanding their watchfulness and the apprehensions of what is past and of what may follow disquiets their Consciences and thinking to Err on the Right Hand they resolve to keep their feet from the Table of the Lord lest they should take a step towards the brink of Destruction NOW to rectifie the mistakes of these it is to be observed That no more is required of any in point of Practice for the due Receiving of this Sacrament than what is required of us all by the Tenor of the New Covenant for here we do renew our Covenant with God and engage our selves afresh but upon the former Terms that were undertaken at our Baptism So that what that Covenant doth contain that we are bound now to make good Now the Conditions of the New Covenant are these in short viz. Faith in Christ accompanied with Repentance from all dead Works And if Men bewail their Sins heartily and resolve to be circumspect for the time to come not allowing themselves in any thing that is Evil but forsaking all sinful Habits and watching against all sinful Acts and if they persevere in this course studying to serve God according to the best of their Power and Knowledge there is no doubt but they shall find acceptance with God And these are the things which we profess at the Sacrament that we do and will do 1. We profess our selves Penitents for all that is past