CONSIDERATIONS, MEDITATIONS, AND PRAYERS, IN ORDER TO THE WORTHY RECEIVING THE HOLY COMMUNION OF THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST. The sixth edition enlarged. LUKE xii. 43. Blessed is that servant, whom his Lord when He cometh shall LONDON, PRINTED FOR LUKE MEREDITH, 1698. THE blessed Eucharist, or Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, is of all the mysteries of godliness the most comprehensive, and applicatory to the soul's eternal happiness. It is amongst all Christian duties of highest dignity, and greatest concern. It is both the food and the medicine, the life and the health, the strength and defence, the peace, joy, and delight of the truly religious soul. It is the most effectual means of the nearest union and communion with Christ in this life attainable. It is expressly so called, a 1 Cor. x. 16. "the Communion of the Body of Christ," and "the Communion of the Blood of Christa" which doctrine we are taught as one of the principles of our religion; "the Body and Blood of Christ is verily and indeed taken and received of the faithful in the Lord's Supperb." 2. In the right and reverent administration, with the devout and worthy participation of this "Sacramental Body of Christ," we are incorporated into His holy "mystical Body." So saith our Lord Himself; "He that eateth My flesh, b Church Catechism. and drinketh My blood, dwelleth in Me, and I in him." And such is also the doctrine of the Church of Christ, "If with a true penitent heart, and lively faith, we receive the Holy Sacrament, we spiritually eat the flesh of Christ, and drink His Blood; we dwell in Christ, and Christ in us; we be one with Christ, and Christ with us; we obtain remission of our sins, and all other benefits of His Passiond." 3. Hence then it follows, that whoever owns the name of a Christian, and understands aright what it is to be truly so, and not in vain so called, must acknowledge these two general duties to be incumbent upon him: 1. Not to neglect any opportunity of receiving this blessed Sacrament. 2. To use all possible means, with his utmost endeavours, to receive the same worthily. 1. As to the first; whoso slights or neglects to come, being invited, to the Holy Communion, either, 1. He rightly understands not the holy religion he professeth: or, 2. His religion is • John vi. 56. other but a bare profession; something that perhaps employs his tongue, and strikes upon his ears, to hear and talk about it; but never entered the deep of his heart, truly to believe and practise it." There be too many such persons (God wot) that talk much of religion; yea, many that talk loudly of Communion with Christ, and are seemingly zealous in the external performance of several Christian duties, especially in the frequency of long and loud prayers: but if the many wild extravagancies of such performances did not lay them open, yet their general neglect of this Sacrament, which is the life and quintessence of all Christian offices, and the infallible badge of true Christianity, discovers the hypocrisy of such seeming zealots; that, with the old Pharisees, "they draw nigh unto God with their mouth, and honour Him with their lips; but their heart is not whole with Him, neither are they stedfast in His covenant" Which is further evident, in that, 3. Such persons make no no conscience of sin, which is d Comm. Office. e Matt. xv. 8. f Isaiah xxix. 13; Psalm lxxviii. 36, 37. the transgression of the law of Christ. He commands, saying, "Take, eat," &c. Drink ye all of this," &c. "Do this in remembrance of Meh," &c. "Shew forth the Lord's death till He comei," i" &c. "Come unto Me, all ye that are wearyk," &c. "Ho, every one that thirsteth, comel," &c. Not to come to that blessed Sacrament, being invited, is to disobey all these, and several more positive commands of God: which being also frequently read, heard, preached, and pressed upon the consciences of men, by their conscientious Ministers, and yet still slighted and disobeyed, will undoubtedly incur, if not prevented by a timely true repentance and amendment, that sad and dismal sentence at the last day, "Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire"." 4. Disobedience to these commands of our Lord, in the neglect of this blessed Sacrament, doth declare every such person so neglecting, whatever his excuses may be, 1. in general, that he is more in love with his sins, than with his Savi Matt. xxvi. 27, 28. Matt. xi. 28. • Col. i. 24. our: with the errors of his ways, than with "the truth which is in Jesus ":" or, 2. more particularly, that he prefers either his sloth and negligence, or his enmity and maliciousness, or his temporal concerns and covetousness, or, in a word, some secular or sensual lust, before the purification of his soul in the Blood of Christ, and its nourishment to life eternal. 5. He disobeys the commands, slights the orders, contemns the discipline of Christ's Church, makes no conscience of holding Communion with all the sound and orthodox members of Christ, and the practice of this Communion; but rather implies, nay, openly declares, that he is none of this number, but separate and divided from Christ's mystical Body, "which is the Church," and consequently, not quickened with His Spirit; for these two are inseparable; one Body," the Church; and "one Spirit p" of truth and holiness, which quickeneth this one Body, and this alone. 66 The guilt of any which particulars is so inconsist h Luke xxii. 19, 20. 1 Isaiah lv. 1. P Eph. iv. 4. i 1 Cor. xi. 24-26. " Eph. iv. 21. |