AMongst all those Blessings in which Mankind seems to take satisfa­ction, there is none with which we are more deeply affected, than Deli­verance from Calamities: For as the Passions of Fear and Grief are (according to [...]. Alcin. de Doctr. Plat. p. 72. Phi­losophers) more impressive upon our Senses than those of Hope and Love; so it must needs fall out, that the release from the former will be more satisfacto­ry than the completion of the latter.

For let our Hopes be buoyed up with the rapid Torrent of an expected Felicity, and let our Love swim in the full Stream of our De­sires effected, the first is but the glimmering of Satisfaction, and the latter quickly dies or grows languid by fruition. But on the other hand, let our Thoughts be benighted with the sad Apprehensions but of an imminent Danger, with [Page 2]what a busie activeness do we bestir our selves to the evading of it? And if by chance we lie un­der the heavy Pressures of a present Grievance, with what regret do we shrink under our Bur­then, Curse our ill Faté, and repine and murmur at the Author and Instruments of it?

All which being so, What [...]. Phot. Epist. 46. Transports of Pas­sion must we needs be in, when we compare our past with our present state? Impendent Dan­ger on one hand, exquisite without a parallel, inexpressible Deliverance on the other, effected without our assistance: Faln Man grovelling in Sin, and hastning to eternal Ruine; a gracious God speeding our Rescue by his own Misery. Here's in one Scale Mankind distracted through Fears, and rack'd with the sad Thoughts of a future state: Here's in the other, an innocent Redeemer, no less so through the sense of our Sins and Transgressions: Here's the Raptures of Joy succeeding the Pangs of Despair, and Mercy seated where Judgment ought to have taken place. Here's Sin in one expiated by the innocent Death of another; and here's a kindness freely dispens'd, which Men and Angels could not otherwise have purchas'd: Here's our Holy Jesus giving his Body for the Redemption of our Souls, [Page 3]and requires nothing for the kindness, but that we will not forget it. This is my Body which is given for you; This do [...], for my Commemora­tion. in remembrance of me.

Which words import as much as though our Saviour had said thus:

My beloved Friends and Followers, that you were brought into a low miserable Condition by the Sin of your first Parents, you cannot but be sensible; and that you were out of a capa­city of freeing your selves from those Chains of Darkness, your are no less sensible; which dread­ful Condition of yours, I your Saviour being touch'd withal, was highly concern'd which way to snatch you out of this Fire of Affliction; and seeing that nothing less than mine own Blood could effect it, and that too by being shed up­on an accursed and disgraceful Tree, I resolv'd to go through that direful Scene, and to offer up my Body as a Sacrifice for you, of which this Bread which I now break, is a Sign or Emblem. Now I see you pretend (as indeed you ought) to have a great Value and Esteem for me your dying Saviour, you seem very sonsible of my being cloath'd with Misery, and wrinkled with sable Cares for your sakes: And withal, you seem to be desirous of some opportunity where­by [Page 4]by you may attest your Gratitude and thank­sulness to me for those galling Calamities which I have suffered for your Redemption: This you seem mighty zealous in, and very desirous of: for my part, it is not any pleasure to me, nor is it my desire to lay any severe [...]. Plat. Dialog. de reb. divin. p. 255. Task, or heavy Impositions upon you; but yet I am now about to leave the World, and to die a bitter, an accursed, and shameful Death for the compleating your Salvation, and I am unwilling, I must confess, that you should lock such signal Favours as these out of your remembrance, and therefore I resolve to try whether these your great Pretences have any thing in them besides Ceremony and Complement.

I will lay one easie Injunction upon you, which is this: You see that I am now quitting this earthly Station, and ascending to Heaven from whence I came, so that I cannot afford you my bodily presence any longer; however, when I have left this World, all ye that have any hearty respect for me, be so kind as to meet lovingly together at my House, and eat and drink this representative of my Body and Blood [Page 5]in my Name at my Table, [...]. Const. Clem. l. 8. c. 12. still remembring, discoursing of, and laying before you the Ago­ny and bloody Sweat, the bitter death, Cross, and Passion, and all the meritorious Sufferings of me your Master and Redeemer. And now certainly you must needs acknowledge that this is no very severe Penance which I enjoyn you; and therefore if (after all your specious Pretences) any of you should either wilfully or carelessly neglect this small piece of Service, which I so earnestly enjoyn you, I shall then really believe that all your Protestations are no­thing but Noise and Shuffling. If you have any Value therefore for this Body of mine, which is given for you, This do in remembrance of me.

This is the substance of our Saviour's words in my Text, from which (thus briefly explain'd) I shall endeavour to shew you the great rea­sonableness of a frequent Communion, and the mon­strous Indiscretion, as well as Disobedience, if we refuse to perform this Injunction of our Holy Jesus, denying or neglecting to do this in remembrance of him. And this I shall do, first, from the easiness of the Service, and the slender returns which Christ requires of us for those great Favours he has conferr'd upon us.

[Page 6] 2ly. From the vast Advantages which will accrew from a frequent reception, in order to the encreasing those Graces which are absolutely necessary to Salvation.

The first shews us our Duty, the second, the great Benefit of receiving the Holy Sacrament. The latter of which being a Topick not fre­quently inculcated, may perhaps be the more grateful to you for its Novelty.

I begin with the first, viz. to endeavour to shew you the great reasonableness of a frequent Communion from the easiness of the Service, and the slender returns which Christ requires of us for so great Favours bestowed upon us.

Had our God, like those of the Hea­thens, requir'd us to Porphyr. de absti­nentia ab esu animal. Plutarch. Pausanius. eat our own Chil­dren in Sacrifice, or by way of Atonement to Clem. Protrepti. Dionysius Halicarn. lib. 1. offer up our dearest Friends, or the [...]. Justin. Mart. Apol. 1. noblest of our Relations; had he bid us cut and slash our beloved Flesh, and bathe our selves in our own Blood; had he bid us lay down our life for him, and com­memorate his Death by rushing our selves into our own: Nay, had he requir'd but the first Fruit of our Flocks, and of our Herds, of our Oil, and of our Meal; these [Page 7]perhaps to some would have seem'd hard Sayings, and grievous Commandments; and the kindness of our Redeemer, tho' inexpressibly great, would have seem'd to have been purchas'd by us at too dear a rate.

Nay, if we reflect upon the state of our Forefathers, and therein view those almost [...]. Vid. Justin. Mart. in Apol. 2. Euseb. Dem. Evang. l. 1. c. 10. & lib. 5. c. 23. & vid. Weems Ex­ercitat. vol. 2. p. 55. in­numerable Sacrifices and Offerings which were en­joyn'd them under the Oeconomy of the Law, the lazy humor of our days would repute that too severe a Task for us now, altho' our Re­ward do vastly transcend theirs.

But that the Mercy of God may surmount not only our Merits, but our Expectation too, we have a Saviour who hath delivered us not only from the Curse, but from the Burthen of the Law likewise. He hath fully absov'd us from one, and hath laid no Injunction upon us in the room of the other. He only tells us, that he thinks that we have some reason to remember this kindness, and not to bury his Favours in obli­vion; and therefore in order thereunto, he in­vites us to come now and then to take a small Repast with him, as a Memorandum that he has been our Friend and Benefactor.

He requires nothing of us, but that we will let him have our Company at Supper, there to think, to meditate and discourse of those ob­liging Favours which he hath long since done for us; the effects of which do yet, and will for ever continue with us. And now is this such an hard piece of Service? Has not our Bles­sed Redeemer merited as much at our hands as this comes to? Doth he not however deserve something as an acknowledgment? And if he do, what less can we do for him? Should he have left it to our selves to have made choice of some Method whereby to attest our acceptance, what easier, what cheaper way could we have invented? 'Tis but what we do every day at home; Eating and Drinking, and at a cheaper rate too, it costs us nothing; and therefore if we refuse doing this which is so mighty facil, it appears we will do nothing for him.

For indeed (as Author of the whole Du­ty of Man: Laàies Calling, p. 134. one very well observes) ‘this is not only a Disobedience, but an Unkind­ness which strikes not only at the Authority, but at the Love of our Lord, when he so affects an Union with us, that he creates Mysteries only to effect it; when he descends even to our Sensuality, and because we want spiritual [Page 9]Appetites, puts himself within reach of our natural; and as he once veil'd his Divinity in Flesh, so now he Sacramentally veils even that Flesh under the form of our corporal nourish­ment, only that he may the more indissolvably unite, yea, incorporate himself with us. When I say he does all this, we are not only impi­ous, but inhumane if it will not attract us. Nay farther, when he does all this upon the most endearing Memory of what he has before done for us, when he presents himself to our Embraces in the same form wherein he present­ed himself to God for our Expiation, when he shews us those Wounds which our Iniquities made, those Stripes by which we were healed, and that Death by which we are reviv'd;’ we shall be strangely rude and impious if we turn our Backs, and refuse to commemorate so great a Blessing. But,

2ly. If we be not so ingenuous as to be mov'd by Gratitude and Obedience, let us be so wise as to do it for Interest, for advantage; and therein let us consider, that,

• 1st. Our Faith is hereby confirm'd.
• 2ly. Our Hope is by this strengthned.
• 3ly. Our Charity is thereby inlarg'd.
• [Page 10] 4ly. Our Thankfulness to God is by this en­flam'd: And,
• 5ly. Our Repentance is hereby promoted.

Which five Topicks, if I can make out, may, methinks, be sufficient to evince the reasonable­ness of this our Blessed Saviour's Institution, and be Engagement enough to incite us to do this in remembrance of him.

Of these therefore in Order, and,

First, By a Participation of the blessed Sacra­ment our Faith is confirm'd. 'Tis, I confess, the Accusation that a Mr. Hales of Eaton's Tracts. p. 57. Great Man of our own lays upon our Church, that through a too unrea­sonable fondness of this great Mystery we abuse it to many ends, amongst which he reckons this, That we teach, That it confirms our Faith in Christ; whereas indeed, saies he, the receiving of it is a sign of Faith confirmed; and men come to it, to testifie that they do believe, not to procure that they may be­lieve. But by the favour of that Learned Person, we acknowledge with him, that it is a sign of Belief, and that no man ought to approach that Sacred Ordinance [...]. Li­turg. S. Chrys. & S. Jacob. & vid. Chrys. Homil. 24. in 1. ad Cor. without Faith in Christ's Me­rits: But yet we insist likewise, that there are degrees of that Faith. For that all habits are en­creas'd by being exercised, a slender Philosopher [Page 11]will inform you; and that this Ordinance re­quires great Exercises of the Grace of Faith, a Novice in Divinity will inform you likewise. For we have in this action the most lively Emblem and Representation of God's love to Mankind; we see God in the most severe instance of Tryal (even that of sacrificing his own Son) faithfully accom­plishing his Word; and therefore what ground of distrust can we have, that he will not in con­cerns of an inferiour nature, approve himself to be a God that cannot lye, nor deny himself? How can we in any case distrust his Mercy, or su­spect his Bounty, when in the highest instance we have experienced his Fidelity? If therefore our dependance on the Almighty Goodness be­gin to faint, or our Faith begin to stagger; if the greatness of our Sins deter us from the hopes of his Mercy, let us in the Blessed Sacrament view him shedding the Blood of his own Son to ad­vance our Interest, and to redeem us from the Curse, Gal. 3.13. and then certainly we cannot chuse but argue thus with the Rom. 8. v. 32. Apostle, If God spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us, how shall be not also with him freely give us all things?

2ly. Our Hope is by this strengthned.

There is nothing which doth more deject a [Page 12]considering man, than the Thoughts of his faln Condition: For what can such Meditations suggest less unto him, than the frowns of an angry God, together with the fatal loss of hap­piness in this World, and eternal Felicity in the next. And such dreadful Apprehensions as these must needs ruffle and discompose our Spirits, and cause a Regret and Dispondency through the whole man. Now when our Souls are put upon the rack by such tormenting Fears: when the hei­nousness of our Sins reminds us of the sadness of our Condition: When our Hope is well nigh lost, and Desperation hath almost swal­lowed us up, will not the sight of Christ cru­cified recruit our dying Hopes, and summon together our scatter'd Spirits? May we not en­tertain comfortable hopes of Mercy, when even before our Eyes we see the Lamb of God groan­ing, bleeding, dying for our Sins? Will it not highly encourage us to consider, that those A­gonies by which our Sins were expiated, were sufficient to content the most rigorous Severity? Must it not needs abate the Wounds of our Conscience, and diminish out Fears whilst we are Eye-witnesses of his Crucifixion, and do in the blessed Sacrament even Behold the Lamb of God [Page 13]that took away the Sins of the World? John 1.19.

'Twould certainly be a disparagement to the Efficacy of our Lord's Passion, should we after all this [...]. Clem. Alex. Strom. 5. despair of Mercy, be utterly disconsolate, and thereby be mov'd away from the hope of the Go­spel, Col. 1.23. But,

3ly. Our Charity is by this enlarg'd, and that,

• 1st. To the whole Church.
• 2ly. To each particular Member.

First, Our Love and Charity is by this enlarg'd to the whole Church. 'Tis observ'd by Glanvil on the Sacra­ment, p. 2. one, That the neglect of the Sacrament hath occa­sioned not only the Debauchery, but the Division of the times; and that the frequent observance of it, would reduce us not only to Sobriety, but to Union likewise. And in the Concil. Apostol. [...]. Can. Apost. 9. Infancy of Christianity well as Concil. Antioch. Concil. Agath. [...]. Syn. Antioch. Can. 2. some Ages since those Per­sons were look'd upon as Disturbers of the Peace and Tranquility of the Church, who refus'd these sacred Mysteries. And the word [...], which the Greek Fathers do so frequently use for the Blessed Sa­crament, seems to intimate no less than [Page 14]a gathering together of Christians in Love and Amity, to return thanks for a common Benefit. And that this Interpretation is genuine, we may reasonably guess from that Practice of the Pri­mitive Christians of sending some part of the Analects or Remains to absent Friends, tho' of other Parishes, as Pledges and Tokens of Love and Agreement in the Unity of the same Faith, as Hist. Eccl. lib. 5 c. 26. Eusebius tells us in Irenaeus his Epistle to Pope Victor; which Constitution continued in force till it was interdicted by the [...]. Can. 14. Council of Laodicea, which was after the middle of the fourth Cen­tury. And altho' that Canon was for some rea­sons abrogated, yet all along those who refus'd to join in such sacred Assemblies, did (in the opinion of all good men) tacitly accuse them­selves to be Enemies to the Church, and [...], &c. Ig­nat. in Epist. ad Ephes. Renegado's to Christianity. And this was the very reason why, (as [...]. Apol. 2. p. 97. Justin Mar­tyr tells us) the absent in his time communi­cated as well as the present; each absent Parishioner having the consecrated Ele­ments carried home to him, to testifie, that altho some important Affairs, or bodily Indis­position intervened, yet they were of the same Mind, and of the same Heart, Acts 4.32. Nay, [Page 15]so absolute a necessity they thought there was for the reception of the Holy Sacrament, that in one of the Canons of Timotheus sometimes Pa­triarch of Alexandria, you may see these words, Vid. Mede's Works, p. 30. [...]. If any of the faithful be a Demoniack, i.e. a Lunatick or Madman, he ought (in his lucida intervalla) to partake of the holy Mysteries. For this is the great Qui in na­tali Domini, Paschate & Pentecoste non commu­nicant Catho­lici non cre­dantur, nec inter Catholicos habeantur. Concil. Agathen. Can. 18. Test of our Religion, and the only [...] that can give any Evidence that we are none of those that cause Divisions amongst us, Rom. 16.17.

But, besides all this, methinks when we see the Spouse of the Church sacrificing himself for the Peace and Unity of it; when we see himself bequeath this as a Legacy with his dying breath, John. 14.27. My Peace I leave with you, my Peace I give unto you. When we hear him enjoining it to his, Mar. 9.50. Rom. 12.18. Heb. 12 14. Church, and see him bleeding to accomplish it, we can­not for shame make those Wounds wider by our Divisions, and only for an [...], something per­haps in it self indifferent, rent the seamless Coat of Christ. No, we are Dissenters from the Harum & a­liarum ejus­modi disciplinarum, si legem expostules Scripturarum, nullam invedies, sed Traditio praeten­ditur auctrix, consuetudo conservatrix, & fides observatrix. Tertul. in lib. de Coron. Militis. excellent [Page 16]Rules of Primitive Christianity, if for such ni­ceties as these, we play away the Peace of the Church; and 'tis a great sign that our Wounds are very putrid, if the Blood of Christ himself will not cement them.

2ly. The receiving of the Sacrament is a strong Engagement to the Practice of Charity towards every particular Person.

And this Charity I shall branch out into

• 1st. Love.
• 2ly. Beneficence.

And first, That the receiving of the Sacrament must needs enhance our Love one to another, and unite us with the Bond of Peace and Chari­ty, cannot be doubted by any who will but give himself time to consider, that in Holy Writ it is intitled a Jude 12. Love-feast, and a 1 Cor. 11. Feast of Charity; and pursuant to this in the beginning of this Christian Service, the Deacon was anciently wont to cry, [...]. Let no man have ought against his Brother; and then followed the Oscu­lum sanctum, the Kiss of Reconciliation. And thus the Fathers of the first Council of Nice took Sacrificium purum, as appears Canon 5. where they expound [...], to be that which is of­ferred, [...], all Malice and Hy­pocrisie [Page 17]being laid aside; agreeable to that of our blessed Saviour, Matth. 5.23. When thou bringest thy gift to the Altar, &c. go first and be reconciled to thy Brother, &c. And indeed, how it can be otherwise, I do not well see; for we have there the Emblem of a pardoning God, and a loving Saviour; we there see Mercy triumphing over Justice, and a compassionate Jesus advancing our Felicity beyond our Hopes. And can we then insist upon the slender nicety of an offence, rigorously exacting Satisfaction from our fellow-Servant, when we hear our great Lord say, I forgave thee all thou owest? Matth. 18.28. Can we do less than pardon those little Reproaches and Indignities from our Brother, when we know [...]. Epict. Enchir. c. 48. we deserve far worse, and yet see that our innocent Redeemer when he was reviled, reviled not again? 1 Pet. 2.23. How can we do less than love him for whom Christ died? Rom. 14.15. And since we see that God so loved us, as to lay down his life for us, surely we must needs conclude with the Apostle, 1 John 4.11. That we ought also to love one another. But above all, how can we who are by the natural frame of our Constitu­tions, Hiero. in carm. Pythag. subject to the same Passions, do other­wise than forgive our Brother, when 'tis upon [Page 18]that very condition that we are in this Sacrament to receive our own Remission, Matth. 18.33, 35.

2ly. Our Beneficence is hereby likewise enlarg'd.

For what can more create a Respect and E­steem in me for my indigent Brother, than to see in the Sacrament Omnipotence it self veil'd with Misery, and clad with scanty Poverty? to see my Redeemer disrob'd of his Glory, and (as it were) sanctifying a poor disgraceful Condi­tion by his own Longum iter per praecepta, breve & effi­cax per ex­empla. Sen. Ep. 6. Example? How can I con­temn my poor Neighbour, when I see my Redee­mer and my God willingly for my sake embrace the same state? In a word, How can it but open the Bowels of my Commiseration, when I con­sider, that had it not been for one [...], 2 Cor. 8.9. poor Beg­gar, I my self had been eternally miserable?

Such Considerations as these, no doubt, the Apostles and Primitive Christians had, when they were so [...]. Just. Mart. Apol. 2. p. 98. universally charitable as to seek out, and send Relief to every indigent Member. Agree­able to which, we retain an [...]. Just. Apol. 2.99. ancient laudable Constitution of contributing at the Lords Ta­ble to the necessities of our Brethren; plainly in­timating, that we think that a mighty proper season, and a most convenient place for such [Page 19]acts of Piety, as if we there see our Redeemer's low Condition, and were sensibly affected with his Indigency; and therefore since it was too late to do it to himself, yet we were resolv'd by way of Gratitude and Obedience to relieve him in his poor Members, which he takes as done to him­self; for Matth. 25.35. I was an hungry, and ye fed me, &c. inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my poor Mem­bers, ye did it unto me.

And indeed, were there nothing in it at first farther than the bare Offering, yet I dare be bold to say, That the frequent Practice of it would beget so great an Esteem and Value for the action, that it would upon all occasions exert it self. For Humanity and Beneficence are so suitable to our Nature, that they win upon the Soul by every repeated Act, and do insensibly ingratiate them­selves in our Affections by an habitual Practice. But then they must do much more so, if that be true, which an ingenious Ladies Cal­ling, 139. modern Writer of our own asserts, That there is not in all the My­stery of Godliness, in all the Oeconomy of the Gospel, so expedite, so infallible a means of the growth in any Grace, as a frequent Participation of this blessed Sa­crament.

For, Fourthly, Our Thankfulness to God is by this enflam'd.

And for evidence of this, we need go no farther than to look into the design of its Institu­tion, Ecclesia im­molat in cor­pore Christi sacrificium laudis. Aug. lib. 1. in adv. leg. [...] p. 20. which our Church-Catechism tells us, was for a thankful Remembrance of the Death of Christ, and of the Benefits which we receive thereby. And accordingly St. Cyril tells us, That when the People began to bring their Offering to the Al­tar, the Priest was to say, Cyril. Ca­tech. Mystag. 5. Chrys. in Hom. 18. in 2 Cor. & Li­turg. Basil. [...], Lift up your Hearts: To which they answered, [...], We lift them up unto the Lord. [...], Let us give thanks unto the Lord. The People answered, [...], It is meet and just we should do so. Which Versicles our English Liturgy in her Communion Service doth (you know) without any alteration retain to this day, to de­note to us how proper a season that has been thought in all Ages of Christianity, to offer up a Sacrifice of Praise and Thanksgiving. And for this reason, no doubt, it is frequently call'd by the Fathers, the Eucharist, to intimate, that as it is a Sign of that second Covenant which God made with man, so it ought to be received with [...]. Justin. Apost. 2. [...], &c. Liturg. S. Marc. in Eccl. Alexandr. Bles­sing and Thanksgiving. But besides, methinks it is preposterous to imagine, that this action which assaults our very Senses, and strikes our Heart [Page 21]by the most lively representation of God's great­est Mercy, should not (if we have any Grati­tude) move us to a chearful acknowledgment.

‘To see God (as one expresses it) send down his very Bowels amongst us to witness his Com­passion, to satisfie for us by his own Death, and attach himself for our liberty, to see our Redeemer and our Friend clad with Beggary and Disgrace, that we may thereby abound in Wealth and Honour;’ To see him executed on a Cross as a Malefactor and a Slave, that we may there­by be freed from the dominion of Satan; to see him humbly stoop from the Joys of Heaven, that we may be nobly advanced thither; to see him who knew no Sin, to be made Sin, and a Curse for us, and that not whilst we were his Friends, but when we were in open hostility with him: Vid. Dr. Bar­row's Passion Serm. These are such Acts of kindness, as none could, none would perform, but he whose Goodness is as extensive as is his Greatness; and therefore if we have any spark of Thankfulness in us, the visible Proof of these things must needs blow it up into the Ardours of Affection, and make us more and more mindful of, and thankful to that God that sav'd us.

But then when we farther consider our own [Page 22]Demerits, and the miserableness of our former Condition, being Rom. 3.9. under Sin, Rom. 5.16, 18. under Condemna­tion, Gal. 3.10. under the Curse: When we are reminded of the consequent of these things, and consider that nothing but that blood which we see now shed, could expiate for us; and when we withal consider that there are still many thousands, who, whilst we are surrounded with the Sun of Righteous­ness, are wrapp'd up in Darkness and Idolatry; that they starve with Hunger, or surfeit with Profaneness, whilst we are partaking of that Bread that came from Heaven. Certainly such Thoughts as these will nobly advance our Thank­fulness, and make us daily more and more to thirst after those Eucharistick Bowls, and fill our Hearts with passionate Eulogies to the Author of our Redemption.

Fifthly, Our Repentance is hereby promoted.

We usually hate and detest the fawning Trea­chery of Judas that betray'd our Saviour, the black Suggestions of the Jewish Priests that did impeach him, the rude Carriage of the Popu­lacy that did abusively insult over him; we abhor those poisonous Tongues that revil'd him, and those bloody Hands that smote him. How can we then reflect on those Sufferings which are there represented to us, without extream Dis­pleasure [Page 23]against those Sins of ours which were the occasion of them? For, alas! the Jews were but the Instruments of his Passion; the long train of our Iniquities were the chief, the real Actors of that direful Tragedy. Isa. 53.5. He was wounded for our Transgressions, and bruised for our Iniquities. Rom. 4.25. He was delivered for our Offences, and became a Gal. 3.13. Curse for us; that is, It was we, who by our Sins did impeach, did adjudge, did sentence him to death. 'Twas our Obscenity which be­smear'd his glorious Face with Spittle, and our profane Oaths, Cursing and Blasphemy were the false Witnesses that forg'd the black Indict­ment against his sacred Person. 'Twas our Wantonness that expos'd him naked; and our Surfeiting and Drunkenness that gave him Vine­gar and Gall to drink. 'Twas the Virulency of our Psal. 57.4. Tongues which was the Spear that gor'd his precious Side, and our deep Sleep of Sin made him give up the Ghost. And can we then chuse but hate those Sins which were the perfidious Be­trayers of our dearest Friend? Shall we not utterly detest those unjust Slanderers, who have abus'd the Lord of Righteousness? Shall we not for ever abhor those barbarous Murderers that have slain our own Brother?

I remember 'tis recorded in Hist. Imper. Rom. a Pedro Mexia. Vit. Jul. Caes. ancient Story, that when Antony was in a Funeral Oration rheto­rically copious in perswading the Romans to re­venge the Death of Caesar, he expatiates of the great excellency of the Person, shews that he was crown'd with Valour, Wisdom, and Industry; recounts his many Victories, shews his Conduct, and the several Stratagems he made use of, aecy­phers the vast kindness he had for that flourishing City, and how he had attested it by Vid. Testa­mentum Cae­saris in Pedro Mexia. ample Le­gacies at his Death, as well as by his Courage and Resolution whilst he liv'd; and that after all this, he should be barbarously murder'd by his own Senators, was a Crime so heinous, that the Gods themselves stood amaz'd at the horribleness of the Fact. All this they hear, tho' with a mixture of Wrath and Pity, yet with somewhat of Pa­tience. But when he shews them the Princely Vest­ment, and in it the Holes and the Blood which were occasioned by those murdering Instruments; When they see the Purple chang'd into Scarlet, and read the violence of his Enemies by the num­ber of his Wounds which they see in his Gar­ment; This adds Wings to their passionate Re­sentment, and spurs forward their enflam'd In­dignation, they presently snatch Instruments of [Page 25]Revenge out of his own Funeral Pile, and destroy, if not the Persons, the Habitations of the Mur­derers. Now to being this to our selves: We may perhaps hear or read the Passion of our Savi­our elegantly decypher'd, and have the greatness of his Sufferings, and the vastness of his Love de­scribed to us with all the Flourishes of Rhetorick, and not be much transported at the Discourse: But can we in the Blessed Sacrament see his Wounds gaping, his Blood pouring forth, and his Flesh bro­ken in pieces, without Indignation against our selves, who were the direful Actors of this Scene? No sure, if we have any love for our dying Lord, or any respect for a crucify'd Redeemer; if we have any regard to the Sufferings of a beloved Friend, or any kindness for our greatest Benefa­ctour, unless we design to re-act Judas his part, and to crucifie afresh the Lord of Life, Heb. 6.6. [...]. O­rig. con. Cels. lib. 5.272. Unless, whilst we boast our selves Christians, we design to practise and espouse the manner of the Jews; Briefly; unless all our Pretences to Re­ligion and Christianity be but Ceremony and Complement, we shall at such a spectacle as this, be stricken with hatred of our Sins, and a full purpose to decline them for the time to come.

But if we do not proceed thus far, there will [Page 26]however by our receiving be one step made to­wards a new Life: For let the Debauchees of the Age disregard the Methods of Salvation, and put the evil day never so far from them, yet if upon any account (be it Political or other) they appear at the Wedding of the Lamb, they dare not approach without something of a Wedding Gar­ment, some more than ordinary Preparation for this great Interview; there will be at least some few Prayers, and faint Resolutions, some superfi­cial Repentance, or Ahab-like Humiliation; and who knows but these small beginnings, may, like the Cloud of Elijah, overspread the whole man? Who knows but this almost-Convert may find so much Pleasure and inward Comfort from this interval of Impiety, as may occasion a Perseverance? For indeed these weak Intentions do usually continue for some few days after they have received; for the most stout-hearted Sinner cannot so far con­quer his Fears, as to rush from the Lord's Table in­to a Brothel-house, or to remove from the Cup of Blessing to the Cup of Devils. No man, I dare say, is such an accomplish'd Sinner, as to resolve, when he hath a view of his crucify'd Saviour, that he will by his Sins and Impieties, recrucifie that Lord of Life. No; Men have however, good Reso­lutions [Page 27]at such a time as this: 'Tis at least like Seed sown upon a Rock, where it hath some Earth; and who knows but a peculiar influence of Hea­ven may enable it to bring forth Fruit? How­ever there will accrew from this piece-meal Pre­paration this advantage, that it will in some measure bring us to a recollection of our selves, and for some little time stop the career of our Sin, which is always the first Fruits of Repentance.

Thus having, I hope, plainly convinc'd you of the great reasonableness of this our Blessed Saviour's Institution, and shewn you the great in­ducements which we have of doing this in remem­brance of him; and that, if not as we are oblig'd by Duty, yet as it tends so vastly for our Interest, and the improvement of those Graces, without a large share of which, it is impossible for us ever to see God; I should now proceed to draw some few Inferences by way of Application; but before I do that, give me leave to declare, that I desire not to be mistaken in what I have already deliver'd, as if I went about to encourage men to receive the Holy Sacrament remissly, or without prepara­tion. No, the summ of what I have said is only this; That if my great Lord and Master abso­lutely command me without restriction, to do such or such a piece of Service for him, I think I [Page 28]more highly affront him in the careless neglect and never attempting of it, than I can do in the per­forming of it, tho' there be some Defects, some Sphalmata and Errata in the doing of it; I had bet­ter shew my good Will and Obedience to a known Command, tho' I am not thoroughly cleans'd accord­ing to the Purification of the Sanctuary, than disavow my blessed Redeemer by a thorough neglect of so positive a Command. And now what I have to say by way of Application, shall (lest I should abuse your time) be summ'd up briefly in these two Inferences.

First, That the dark Heathen World may more reasonably expect Salvation, than those Christians who wilfully neglect the holy Sacrament.

'Tis St. Paul's Rule not to judge those that are without the Churches: But yet if we adhere to the common square of human Opinion, we may just­ly conclude him to be in a better Condition as to his future state, who hath liv'd up to that shadow of Reason and Conscience, which was the bare dictate of Nature, than he who has known the way of Truth, and yet has departed from it. Sins of Ignorance are not clad in so black a dye, as those which are accompanied with a stiff preme­ditated Knowledge: Nor are we so angry at the impertinent peevish actions of little Children, as [Page 29]at the resolute Affronts of him who falls not un­der the denomination of a Minor. And can we then judge less, but that God will more unkindly resent the wilful Abuses and Neglects of Mankind, than the frailties of human Infirmity, or the mi­stakes of blind Ignorance, or a misguided Zeal? He does not desire to reap where he has not sown, but where his hand has been plentiful in dispersing the Seeds of a pure Knowledge and inlightned Re­ligion, there he expects a large increase of his Glo­ry, or else the end of that People shall be Fire and a Curse. Now have we not read and heard of the superstitious bravery of the Pagan World, in the Adoration they pay to their Gods and Pagods? And can we then refrain blushing at the lazy tem­per of a profane Christian, who will do nothing for the sake of his Redeemer? Can we without dis­dain against our selves see them rigorously oppose Nature it self in offering their own Bodies in Sa­crifice to appease their supposed angry Deities? And can we at the same time so highly abuse our Maker, as to deny a performance to those Injun­ctions which he has laid upon us? Could the Pa­gan World be satisfied, that their false Gods re­quir'd nothing of them but what was mighty fa­cile in its observance, with what Io's of Joy would they receive such glad tidings, and readily endea­vour [Page 30]a performance? And then may we not high­ly presume that they will rise up in Judgment a­gainst, and condemn that People (be they who they will) that will not do as much in the Worship of the God of Israel? who will not approach his Temple, tho' at hand, and in the corners of the Streets, whilst the dark Pagan chearfully undertakes the severity of a long and tedious Pilgrimage, who will not fall down in 'H [...]. Clem. A­lexand. lib. 7. Stromat. And [...]. a commemorative Sacrifice to the Holy Jesus, whilst, the other offers not only whole Hecatombs of Bulls and Goats, but even sa­crifice their own Infant-offspring, the Fruit of their Body, for the Sin of their Soul?

And this is the first Inference I make, That the dark Heathen may more reasonably expect Salva­tion, than those Christians who wilfully neglect the Holy Sacrament.

Secondly, We may, from what has been said, infer, That if we neglect this easie Injunction, we do thereby sufficiently denote to the World, that we value our worldly Interests, our Pleasures, or our Profits beyond the means of Grace, and the hopes of Glory.

For let our Employment be what it will, do we not upon all occasions fit and prepare our Affairs by a previous consideration, and put them into such a posture as shall tend the most to our Ad­vantage? [Page 31]Do we suffer every little diversion to cut off the entail of our Profit? Will the Northern Blasts of a severe Winter, or the scorching Sun­beams of the Dog-days, detain the Merchant from his Voyage and the Exchange, or the Tradesman from his Market? Will a few drops of Rain, or a visit from a Friend, divert any of us from the pro­secution of a good Bargain? And yet all and any of these are, we think, excuse enough for our not com­ing to the Sacrament. I am not worthy, saith one, and therefore I cannot come. What man, I pray you, ever us'd the like expression, when he had the ten­der of a fair Estate, or some worldly Emolument? I have not time, says a second, to prepare my self, and may not come without my Wedding-Garment. But hast thou not at the same time extravagantly wasted as many opportunities inter vinum & oleum, or be­twixt the Comb and the Glass, the dressing thy de­caying Body, as would, had they been well em­ploy'd, have fitted and prepar'd thy Soul? My Wife, my Husband, or my Child is sick and indispos'd, and therefore, says a third, I cannot leave them. Would this really keep thee from the Prosecution of thy worldly affairs? Wouldst thou not beg thy Friends pardon for some few hours absence, being to make a very advantageous purchase, or to take posses­sion of some large Estate? Wouldst thou quit [Page 32]thine Interest rather than thy Compl [...]sance, and die poor and a Beggar, rather than [...]e thought un­civil or ungenteel? In a word, let us put such In­terrogatories as these to our selves, and if our Con­sciences answer them in the negative, we must needs confess our selves inexcusable, whilst that which will not palliate our neglect of any worldly Entertainment, shall yet be thought excuse enough for our rude and negligent behaviour towards the Son of God. To conclude; we had much better be plain and ingenuous in the matter, and declare once for all, That we will not obey the Commands of our dying Saviour, than thus to shuffle, and make pitiful Evasions in a matter so momentous. Our Damnation would be much easier, would we so far devest the Hypocrite, as to declare, that we would not serve the Lord; rather than to demean our selves under the pretext of Christ's Disciples; and yet to tax him of such severity, as to declare by our continual neglect, that we cannot do this in remembrance of him. To whom with the Father and Holy Spirit, three Persons and one God, be ascrib'd, as is most due, all Honour, Praise, Might, Majesty and Dominion henceforth, and for ever­more. Amen.