1 Cor. xi. 28.

or unworthily before God, that may bereave us of the excellent fruits from fo bleffed an entertainment.

To these purposes we fhould, according to St. Paul's advice, Soxμálav éauroùs, examine and approve ourselves; confidering our past actions and our present inclinations; and accordingly, by ferious meditation, and fervent prayer to God for his gracious affiftance therein, working our fouls into a hearty remorfe for our past miscarriages, and a fincere refolution to amend for the future; forfaking all fin, endeavouring in all our actions to ferve and please 1 Cor. v. 7. God; purging out, as St. Paul again enjoineth us, the old leaven of vice and wickedness; fo that we may feaft, and celebrate this paffover, in which Chrift is mystically sacrificed for us, in the unleavened difpofitions of fincerity and truth. Such are the duties previous to our partaking this facrament.

29.

2. Thofe duties which accompany it are, a reverent and devout affection of heart, with a fuitable behaviour therein; an awful fenfe of mind, befitting the majesty of that presence wherein we do appear, anfwerable to the greatness, and goodness, and holinefs of him with whom we converse, becoming the facrednefs of thofe mysteries which are exhibited to us, (that which St. Paul feemeth 1 Cor. xi. to call διακρίνειν τὸ σῶμα Κυρίου, to difcern or diftinguifh our Lord's body; that is, yielding a peculiar reverence of mind and behaviour in regard thereto;) a devotion of heart, confifting in hearty contrition for our fins, which did expose our Saviour to the enduring fuch pains, then remembered; in firm refolution to forfake the like thereafter, as injurious, dishonourable, and displeafing to him; in fervent love of him, as full of fo wonderful goodness and charity toward us; in moft hearty thankfulness for those unconceivably great expreffions of kindness toward us; in deepest humility, upon fenfe of our unworthiness to receive fuch teftimonies of grace and favour from him, (our unworthinefs to eat the crumbs that fall from his table; how much more to be admitted into fuch degrees of honourable communion and familiarity, of clofe conjunction and union with him!) of pious joy in confideration of the excellent privileges herein imparted, and of

the bleffed fruits accruing to us from his gracious performances; in a comfortable hope of obtaining and enjoying the benefits of his obedience and paffion, by the affistance of his grace; in steady faith and full perfuafion of mind, that he is (fuppofing our dutiful compliance) ready to bestow upon us all the bleffings then exhibited; in attentively fixing the eyes of our mind, and all the powers of our foul (our understanding, will, memory, fancy, affection) upon him, as willingly pouring forth his life for our falvation; lastly, in motions of enlarged goodwill and charity toward all our brethren for his fake, in obedience to his will, and in imitation of him: fuch like duties fhould attend our participation of this holy facra

ment.

3. The effects of having duly performed which, should appear in the practice of thofe duties which are confequent thereon; being fuch as thefe: an increase of all pious inclinations and affections, expreffing themselves in a real amendment of our lives, and producing more goodly fruits of obedience; the thorough digestion of that spiritual nourishment, by our becoming more fastly knit to our Saviour by higher degrees of faith and love; the maintaining a more lively sense of his superabundant goodness; the cherishing those influences of grace which defcend upon our hearts in this communion, and improving them to nearer degrees of perfection in all piety and virtue; a watchful care and endeavour in our lives to approve ourselves in fome measure worthy of that great honour and favour which God hath vouchfafed us in admitting us to fo near approaches to himself; an earnest pursuance of the refolutions, performance of the vows, making good the engagements, which in fo folemn a manner, upon fo great an occafion, we made, and offered up unto our God and Saviour; finally, the confidering that by the breach of such refolutions, by the violation of fuch engagements, our fins receiving fo mighty aggravation of vain inconftancy and wicked perfidiousness, our guilt will hugely be increased; our fouls relapfing into fo grievous diftemper, our spiritual ftrength will be exceed

ingly impaired; confequently hence our true comforts will be abated, our best hopes will be fhaken, our eternal state will be desperately endangered.

There is one duty which I fhould not forbear to touch concerning this facrament; that is, our gladly embracing any opportunity prefented of communicating therein; the doing fo being not only our duty, but a great aid and inftrument of piety; the neglecting it a grievous fin, and productive of great mischiefs to us.

The primitive Chriftians did very frequently ufe it, partaking therein, as it seems, at every time of their meeting A&ts ii. 42. for God's fervice; it is faid of them by St. Luke, that they continued fledfastly in the Apoftles' doctrine and commu1 Cor. x. 20. nion, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers; and, when

you meet together, it is not (as according to the intent and duty of meeting it should be) to eat the Lord's Supper, faith St. Paul and Juftin Martyr in his fecond Apology, defcribing the religious fervice of God in their affemblies, mentioneth it as a conftant part thereof; and Epiphanius reporteth it a custom in the Church, derived from apoftolical institution, to celebrate the Eucharift thrice every week, that is, fo often as they did meet to pray and praise God; which practice may well be conceived a great means of kindling and preferving in them that holy fervour of piety, which they fo illuftriously expreffed in their converfation, and in their gladsome fuffering for Chrift's fake and the remitting of that frequency, as it is certainly a fign and an effect, fo in part it may poffibly be reckoned a cause, of the degeneracy of Chriftian practice, into that great coldness and flackness which afterward did seize upon it, and now doth apparently keep it in a languishing and half-dying state.

The rarer occafions therefore we now have of performing this duty, (the which indeed was always esteemed the principal office of God's fervice,) of enjoying this benefit, (the being deprived whereof was alfo deemed the greatest punishment and infelicity that could arrive to a Chriftian,) the more ready we should be to embrace them. If we dread God's displeasure, if we value our Lord and his

benefits, if we tender the life, health, and welfare of our fouls, we shall not neglect it; for how can we but extremely offend God by fo extreme rudenefs, that when he kindly invites us to his table, we are averse from coming thither, or utterly refuse it? that when he calleth us into his prefence, we run from him? that when he, with his own hand, offereth us ineftimable mercies and bleffings, we reject them? It is not only the breach of God's command, who enjoined us to do this, but a direct contempt of his favour and goodness, most clearly and largely exhibited in this office. And how can we bear any regard to our Lord, or be anywife fenfible of his gracious performances in our behalf, if we are unwilling to join in thankful and joyful commemoration of them? How little do we love our own fouls, if we fuffer them to pine and starve for want of that food which God here difpenfeth for their fuftenance and comfort? if we bereave them of enjoying fo high a privilege, fo inestimable a benefit, fo incomparable pleasures as are to be found and felt in this fervice, or do fpring and flow from it? what reasonable excufe can we frame for fuch neglect? Are we otherwise employed? what bufiness can there be more important, than ferving God, and faving our own fouls? is it wisdom, in pursuance of any the greatest affair here, to difregard the principal concern of our fouls? Do we think ourselves unfit and unworthy to appear in God's prefence? But is any inan unworthy to obey God's commands? Is any man unfit to implore and partake of God's mercy, if he be not unwilling to do it? What unworthinefs fhould hinder us from re membering our Lord's exceffive charity towards us, and thanking him for it? from praying for his grace; from refolving to amend our lives? Must we, because we are unworthy, continue so still, by fhunning the means of correcting and curing us? Muft we increase our unworthiness, by tranfgreffing our duty? If we esteem things well, the confcience of our finfulness fhould rather drive us to it, as to our medicine, than detain us from it. There is no man- indeed who must not conceive and con

Mens defi

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fefs himself unworthy; therefore muft no man come thither at God's call? If we have a fenfe of our fins, and a mind to leave them; if we have a fenfe of God's goodnefs, and a heart to thank him for it; we are fo worthy, that we shall be kindly received there, and graciously rewarded. If we will not take a little care to work these difpofitions in us, we are indeed unworthy; but the being fo, from our own perverfe negligence, is a bad excufe for the neglect of our duty. In fine, I dare fay, that he who, with an honest meaning, (although with an imperfect devotion,) doth address himself to the performance of this duty, is far more excufable than he that upon whatever score declineth it; no fcrupulous fhynefs can ward us from blame; what then fhall we fay, if fupine floth, or profane contempt, are the causes of fuch neglect?

Ὥσπερ γὰρ τὸ ὡς ἔτυχε προσιέναι κίνδυνος, οὕτω τὸ μὴ κοινωνεῖν cit, quam τῶν μυστικῶν δείπνων ἐκείνων, λιμὸς καὶ θάνατος. Αὕτη γὰρ ἡ Eucharinia τράπεζα τῆς ψυχῆς ἡμῶν τὰ νεύρα, τῆς διανοίας ὁ σύνδεσμος, τῆς erigit et accendit. παῤῥησίας ἡ ὑπόθεσις, ἡ ἐλπὶς, ἡ σωτηρία, τὸ φῶς, ἡ ζωή. Chryf. Cvp. Ep.54. in 1 Cor. Or. 24.

Thus having briefly dispatched the confiderations that offered themselves upon thefe fubjects, I fhall conclude all with prayer to Almighty God, that we, by his grace and help, believing rightly, ftrongly, constantly, and finally; being frequent and fervent in prayer, and all pious devotion; fincerely obeying all God's commandments; continuing orderly, dutiful, and worthy members of Chrift's Church, growing continually in grace, by the worthy participation of the holy facraments, may obtain the end of our faith, the fuccefs of our prayers, the reward of our obedience, the continuance in that holy fociety, the perfect confummation of grace in the poffeffion of eternal joy, glory, and bliss; which God in his infinite mercy grant to us, for our bleffed Saviour's fake; to whom be all glory and praise for ever and ever. Amen.

END OF THE FIFTH VOLUME.