Page images
PDF
EPUB

at God's hand for otherwise the receiving of the holy Com munion doth nothing elfe but increase your damnation. Therefore if any of you be a blafphemer of God, an hinderer or flanderer of his Word, an adulterer, or be in ma Ice or envy, or in any other grievous erime; Repent you of your fins, or elfe come not to that holy Table, left after the taking of that holy Sacrament, the devil enter into you, as be entered into Judas, and fill you full of all iniquities, and bring you to deftruction both of body and foul.

And because it is requifite, that no man fhould come to the holy Communion, but with a full truft in God's mercy, and with a quiet confcience; therefore if there be any of you, who by this means cannot quiet his own confcience herein, but requireth further comfort or counfel; let him come to me, or to fome other difcreet and learned Minifter of God's Word, and open his grief, that by the miniftry of God's holy Word he may receive the benefit of abfolution, together with ghoftly counsel and advice, to the quieting of his confcience, and avoiding of all fcruple and doubtfulness.

Or in cafe he shall fee the People negligent to come to the boly Communion, in ftead of the former, he shall use this Exhortation,

Early beloved brethren, on- -I intend, by God's grace, to celebrate the Lord's Supper: unto which, in God's behalf, I bid you all that are here prefent; and beseech you for the Lord Jefus Chrift's fake, that ye will not refule to come thereto, being fo lovingly called and bidden by God himself. Ye know how grievous and unkind a thing it is, when a man hath prepared a rich feast, decked his table with all kind of provifion, fo that there lacketh nothing but the guests to fit down, and yet they who are cal led (without any caufe) moft unthankfully refufe to come, Which of you in fuch a cafe would not be moved? Who would not think a great injury and wrong done unto him? Wherefore, moft dearly beloved in Chrift, take ye good heed, left ye withdrawing yourfelves from this holy Supper, provoke God's indignation against you. It is an ealy matter for a man to fay, I will not communicate, because I am otherwife hindered with worldly bufinefs. But fuch excufes

arc

1

are not fo eafily accepted and allowed before God. If any man fay, I am a grievous finner, and therefore am afraid to come: Wherefore then do ye not repent and amend? When God calleth you, are ye not afhamed to fay you will not come? When ye fhould return to God, will ye excufe yourselves, and fay ye are not ready? Confider earnestly with yourselves, how little fuch feigned excufes will avail before God. They that refused the feaft in the Gospel, becaufe they had bought a farm, or would try their yokes of oxen, or because they were married, were not fo excused, but counted unworthy of the heavenly feaft. I for my part fhall be ready, and according to mine Office, I bid you in. the Name of God, I call you in Chrift's behalf, I exhort you, as you love your own falvation, that ye will be partakers of this holy Communion. And as the Son of God did vouchfafe to yield up his foul by death upon the Cross for your falvation fo it is your duty to receive the Communion in remembrance of the facrifice of his death, as he himself hath commanded: Which if ye fhall neglect to do, confider with yourselves how great injury ye do unto God, and how fore punishment hangeth over your heads for the fame; when ye wilfully abftain from the Lord's Table, and feparate from your brethren, who come to feed on the banquet of that moft heavenly food. These things if ye earneftly confider, ye will by God's grace return to a better mind for the obtaining whereof we shall not ceafe to make our humble petitions unto Almighty God our heavenly Father,

At the time of the celebration of the Communion, the Communicants being conveniently placed for the receiving of the holy Sacrament, the Prieft fall fay this Exhortation:

DE

1. Early beloved in the Lord, ye that mind to come to the holy Communion of the Body and Blood of our Saviour Chrift, must confider how Saint Paul exhorteth all perfons diligently to try and examine themselves, before they

PARAPHRASE.

1. So many of you, my dearly beloved fellow-chriftians who defign at this time to partake of the facrament of the Lord's fupper, ought to have

pro

prefume to eat of that Bread, and drink of that Cup. 2. For as the benefit is great, if with a true penitent heart and lively faith we receive that holy Sacrament (for then we fpiritually eat the flesh of Chrift, and drink his blood; then we dwell in Chrift, and Chrift in us; we are one with Chrift, and Chrift with us :) 3. So is the danger great, if we receive the fame unworthily: For then we are guilty of the Body and Blood of Chrift our Saviour; we eat and drink our own damnation, not confidering the Lord's Body; we kindle God's wrath against us; we provoke him to plague us with divers diseases, and fundry kinds of death. 4. Judge therefore yourselves, brethren, that ye be not judged of the Lord repent you truly for your fins paft; have a lively and stedfaft faith in Chrift our Saviour; amend your lives, and be

PARAPHRASE.

properly prepared yourselves (as I hope and believe you have done) by a careful examination of the ftate of your fouls, taking the advice of the apostle Paul, who fays, Let a man examine himself, and fo let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup, 1 Cor. ii. 28.

2. For if we come well prepared to the table of the Lord, we reap great benefit by receiving the holy facrament; fince, as Chrift himfelf tells, (in a fpiritual fenfe) we eat his fieh, and drink his blood, John ví. 36. then indeed we dwell in Chrift, and Chrift in us..

3. So if we come to the table of the Lord in an unprepared manner, we eat and drink unworthily, and (as the Apoftie fays) are guilty of the body and blood of the Lord, 1 Cor. xi. 27. and in fome measure we partake of the fin of the Jews, who crucified the Lord of life, when without previous preparation we approach thefe holy myfteries which reprefent his death and paffion. The Apoftle fays, that, aue thereby eat and drink damnation to ourselves, not difcerning the Lord's body. By fuch a practice as this, we kindle the wrath of Almighty God against us, and if we die in the wilful commiffion of this fan, we muft expect eternal condemnation. 4. Therefore my dear chriftian brethren, fuffer me to admonish you in the words of the Apoftle, If we would judge ourselves, we fould not be judged, 1 Cor. ii. 31. that is, if we would diligently fearch and examine ourfelves before we approach the Lord's table, we should efcape the threatened condemnation. Repent fincerely of all your former fins and tranfgreffions; be uniform, fted faft, and lively in your faith in the Lord Jefus Christ. Amend your lives, in whatever inftance you have done amifs, do so no more, and continue in perfect love and charity with all your fellow creatures, fince our Saviour himfelf informs us, that when we bring our gift to the altar, we must first be reconciled to our brother, and then come and offer our gift, Matt. v. 23, 24.

in perfect charity with all men, fo fhall ye be meet partakers of thofe holy mysteries. 5. And above all things ye must give most humble and hearty thanks to God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghoft, for the redemption of the world by the death and paffion of our Saviour Chrift, both God and man, who did humble hinfelf even to the death upon the Crofs, for us miferable finners, who lay in darkriefs, and the fhadow of death, that he might make us the children of God, and exalt us to everlafting life. 6. And to the end that we should alway remember the exceeding great love of our Master, and only Saviour Jefus Chrift, thus dying for us, and the innumerable benefits which by his precious blood-fhedding he hath obtained to us; he hath instituted and ordained holy myfteries, as pledges of his love, and for a continual remembrance of his death, to our great and endless comfort. 7. To him therefore, with the Father, and the Holy Ghoft, let us give (as we are most bounden) continual thanks, fubmitting ourfelves wholly to his holy will and pleafure, and ftudying to ferve him in true holiness and righteoufnefs all the days of our life. Amen.

PARAPHRASE.

5. All thefe qualifications we ought to have before we approach the facramental table. But, as at all times in general, fo upon this occafion in particular, we muft entertain fentiments of the fincereft gratitude for our redemption by the death and fufferings of our Lord and Saviour, who for our fakes bumbled himself and became obedient unto death; even the death of the cross, Phil. ii. 8. in order that we might be partakers of life everlafting.

6. And indeed one principal reafon of the inftitution of the Lord's fupper, is to give us frequent opportunities of exercising our gratitude; for thefe holy myfteries are to be confidered as a pledge or token, to put us in mind of the great advantages derived to us from his fuffetings and death.

7. Let us therefore be conftant, fincere and uniform, in our grateful acknowledgements to our bleffed Lord and Saviour, who with the Father and the Holy Ghost, is one God. And let our gratitude be teftified by conforming our lives in all refpects to his holy will, revealed to us in his written word, always endeavouring to ferve him in true holiness and righ teoufnefs to the end of our lives.

So

YE

Then ball the Priest say to them that come to receive the holy Communion. E that do truly and earnestly repent you of your fins, and are in love and charity with your neighbours, and intend to lead a new life, following the commandments of God, and walking from henceforth in his holy ways; Draw fear with faith, and take this holy Sacrament to your comfort; and make your humble confeffion to Almighty God, meekly kneeling upon your knees.

Then fall this general Confeffion be made in the name of all those that are minded to receive the boly Communion, by one of the Minifters, both he and all the People kneeling bumbly upon their knees, and Jaying,

Lmighty God, Father of our Lord Jefus Chrift,

Maker of all things, Judge of all men; We acknowledge and bewail our manifold fins and wickedness, Which we from time to time moft grievously have committed, By thought, word, and deed, against thy Divine Majefty, Provoking moit justly thy wrath and indignation against us. We do earnestly repent, And are heartily forry for thefe cur mifdoings; The remembrance of them is grievous unto us, The burden of them is intolerable. Have mercy upon us,

PARAPHRASE.

So many of you as do truly and fincerely, through a deep fenfe of the wrath of Almighty God, and the deplorablenefs of your condition, repent of your manifold fins and tranfgreffions, who are in love and charity with your neighbours, and fincerely from your heart forgive every one who have any way offended you, and who determine for the future to lead a better life than you have hitherto done, approach the facred table of the Lord with faith, in the merit of his facrifice, and partake of this holy facrament, which will be productive of the greatest comfort to you, by fealing the pardon of your fins, and beltowing upon you the gifts and graces of God's holy fpirit. Come then, and the better to qualify yourfelves to partake of thefe great benefits, and to teftify the fincerity of your repentance, kneel before the Lord, and make a public confeilion of your fins in that most humble poiture.

Paraphraft on the Confeffion.

O Almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jefus Christ, (Rom. xv. 6.) who madelt the world and all things therein, (Alts xvii. 24.) thou Lord, art the judge of all men; before thy throne, we moft humbly acknowledge and lament the many and great tranfgreffions, which we have been committing in thought, word and deed, again thy divine

M m

Majefty,

« PreviousContinue »