tures; for we offer them to him as his own. 2. That he is our righteous Governor, whose law it was, that Adam and we have broken, and who required satisfaction, and hath received the sacrifice and atonement, and hath dispensed with the strict and proper execution of that law, and will rule us hereafter by the law of grace. 3. That he is our Father or Benefactor, who hath freely given us a Redeemer, and the covenant of grace, whose love and favour we have forfeited by sin, but desire and hope to be reconciled by Christ.

As Christ himself was incarnate and true Christ, before he was sacrificed to God, and was sacrificed to God before that sacrifice be communicated for life and nourishment to souls; so in the sacrament, consecration must first make the creature to be the flesh and blood of Christ representative; and then the sacrificing of that flesh and blood must be represented and commemorated; and then the sacrificed flesh and blood communicated to the receivers for their spiritual life.

II. The commemoration chiefly (but not only) respecteth God the Son. For he hath ordained, that these consecrated representations should in their manner and measure, supply the room of his bodily presence, while his body is in heaven: and that thus, as it were, in effigy, in representation, he might be still crucified before the church's eyes; and they might be affected, as if they had seen him on the cross. And that by faith and prayer, they might, as it were, offer him up to God; that is, might shew the Father that sacrifice, once made for sin, in which they trust, and for which it is that they expect all the acceptance of their persons with God, and hope for audience when they beg for mercy, and offer up prayer or praises to him.

III. In the communication, though the sacrament have respect to the Father, as the principal Giver, and to the Son, as both the Gift and Giver, yet hath it a special respect to the Holy Ghost, as being that Spirit given in the flesh and blood, which quickeneth souls; without which, the flesh will profit nothing; and whose operations must convey and apply Christ's saving benefits to us.

John vi. 63. vii. 39. iii. 5. 1 Cor. xii. 12, 13. xv. 45. Gal. iii. 14. iv. 6. Eph. ii. 22.

These three being the parts of the sacrament in whole, as comprehending that sacred action and participation which is essential to it. The material parts, called the relate and correlate, are, 1. Substantial and qualitative. 2. Active and passive. 1. The first, are the bread and wine as signs, and the body and blood of Christ, with his graces and benefits, as the things signified and given. The second, are the actions of breaking, pouring out, and delivering on the minister's part, (after the consecration,) and the taking, eating, and drinking, by the receivers as the sign. And the thing signified is the crucifying or sacrificing of Christ, and the delivering himself with his benefits to the believer, and the receiver's thankful accepting, and using the said gift. To these add the relative form, and the ends, and you have the definition of this sacrament. Of which see more in my "Universal Concord," p. 46, &c.

Direct. III. Look upon the minister as the agent or officer of Christ, who is commissioned by him to seal and deliver to you the covenant and its benefits: and take the bread and wine, as if you heard Christ himself saying to you, Take of my body and blood, and the pardon and grace which is thereby purchased.' It is a great help in the application, to have mercy and pardon brought us by the hand of a commissioned officer of Christ.

Direct. iv. In your preparation beforehand, take heed of these two extremes: 1. That you come not profanely and carelessly, with common hearts, as to a common work h. For God will be sanctified in them that draw near him': and they that eat and drink unworthily, not discerning the Lord's body from common bread, but eating as if it were a common meal, do eat death to themselves, instead of life. 2. Take heed lest your mistakes of the nature of this sacrament, should possess you with such fears of unworthy receiving, and the following dangers, as may quite discompose and unfit your souls for the joyful exercises of faith, and love, and praise, and thanksgiving, to which you are invited. Many that are scrupulous of receiving it in any, save a feast

h Quinam autem indigni, ineptive sint, quibus Angelorum panis præbetur, sacerdotum ipsorum audita confessione, cæterisque perspectis judicium esto. Acosta, lib. vi. cap. 10. pag. 549.

Levit. x. 3.

ing gesture, are too little careful and scrupulous of receiving it in any, save a feasting frame of mind.

The first extreme is caused by profaneness and negligence, or by gross ignorance of the nature of the sacramental work. The latter extreme is frequently caused as followeth: 1. By setting this sacrament at a greater distance from other parts of God's worship, than there is cause; so that the excess of reverence doth overwhelm the minds of some with terrors. 2. By studying more the terrible words of eating and drinking damnation to themselves, if they do it unworthily, than all the expressions of love and mercy, which that blessed feast is furnished with. So that when the views of infinite love should ravish them, they are studying wrath and vengeance to terrify them, as if they came to Moses, and not to Christ. 3. By not understanding what maketh a receiver worthy or unworthy, but taking their unwilling infirmities for condemning unworthiness. 4. By receiving it so seldom, as to make it strange to them, whereas if it were administered every Lord's day, as it was in the primitive churches, it would better acquaint them with it, and cure that fear that cometh from strangeness. 5. By imagining, that none that want assurance of their own sincerity, can receive in faith. 6. By contracting an ill habit of mistaken religiousness, placing it all in poring on themselves, and mourning for their corruptions, and not in studying the love of God in Christ, and living in the daily praises of his name, and joyful thanksgiving for his exceeding mercies. 7. And if besides all these the body contract a weak or timorous, melancholy distemper, it will leave the mind capable of almost nothing, but fear and trouble, even in the sweetest works. From many such cases it cometh to pass, that the sacrament of the Lord's supper is become more terrible, and uncomfortable to abundance of such distempered Christians, than any other ordinance of God; and that which should most comfort them, doth trouble them most.

Quest. But is not this sacrament more holy and dreadful, and should it not have more preparation than other parts of worship?'

Answ. For the degree indeed, it should have very careful preparation: and we cannot well compare it with other

parts of worship; as praise, thanksgiving, covenanting with God, prayer, &c. because that all these other parts are here comprised and performed. But doubtless, God must also be sanctified in all his other worship, and his name must not be taken in vain. And when this sacrament was received every Lord's day, and often in the week besides, Christians were supposed to live continually in a state of general preparation, and not to be so far from a due particular preparation, as many poor Christians think they are.

Quest. II. 'How often should the sacrament be now administered, that it neither grow into contempt or strangeness?'

Answ. Ordinarily in well disciplined churches it should be still every Lord's day for 1. We have no reason to prove, that the apostles' example and appointment in this case, was proper to those times, any more than that praise and thanksgiving daily is proper to them: and we may as well deny the obligation of other institutions, or apostolical orders as that. 2. It is a part of the settled order for the Lord's day worship; and omitting it, maimeth and altereth the worship of the day; and occasioneth the omission of the thanksgiving and praise, and lively commemorations of Christ which should be then most performed: and so Christians by use, grow habituated to sadness, and a mourning, melancholy religion, and grow unacquainted with much of the worship and spirit of the gospel. 3. Hereby the Papists' lamentable corruptions of this ordinance have grown up, even by an excess of reverence and fear, which seldom receiving doth increase, till they are come to worship bread as their God. 4. By seldom communicating, men are seduced to think all proper communion of churches lieth in that sacrament, and to be more profanely bold in abusing many other parts of worship. 5. There are better means (by teaching and discipline) to keep the sacrament from contempt, than the omitting or displacing of it. 6. Every Lord's day is no oftener than Christians need it. 7. The frequency will teach them to live prepared, and not only to make much ado once a month or quarter, when the same work is neglected all the year besides; even as one that liveth in continual expectation of death, will live in continual preparation: when he that expecteth it but in some grie

vous sickness, will then be frightened into some seeming preparations, which are not the habit of his soul, but laid by again when the disease is over.

2. But yet I must add, that in some undisciplined churches, and upon some occasions it may be longer omitted or seldomer used; no duty is a duty at all times: and therefore extraordinary cases may raise such impediments, as may hinder us a long time from this, and many other privileges. But the ordinary faultiness of our imperfect hearts, that are apt to grow customary and dull, is no good reason why it should be seldom; any more than why other special duties of worship and church-communion should be seldom. Read well the Epistles of Paul to the Corinthians, and you will find that they were then as bad as the true Christians are now, and that even in this sacrament they were very culpable; and yet Paul seeketh not to cure them by their seldomer communicating.

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Quest. III. Are all the members of the visible church to be admitted to this sacrament, or communicate?'

Answ. All are not to seek it, or to take it, because many may know their own unfitness, when the church or pastors know it not: but all that come to seek it, are to be admitted by the pastors, except such children, idiots, ignorant persons, or heretics, as know not what they are to receive and do, and such as are notoriously wicked or scandalous, and have not manifested their repentance. But then it is presupposed, that none should be numbered with the adult members of the church, but those that have personally owned their baptismal covenant, by a credible profession of true Christianity.

Quest. IV. May a man that hath knowledge, and civility, and common gifts, come and take this sacrament, if he know that he is yet void of true repentance, and other saving grace?'

Answ. No; for he then knoweth himself to be one that is incapable of it in his present state.

Quest. v. May an ungodly man receive this sacrament,

who knoweth not himself to be ungodly?'

Answ. No; for he ought to know it, and his sinful ignorance of his own condition, will not make his sin to be his duty; nor excuse his other faults before God.