Josephs Party-Colored Coat, Part 8 – Part 16
That they which are reproved may be made manifest among you.
That they whom God from all eternity in his secret councell hath approved, may have their Epiphany and manifestation unto the world, that thus discovered, they may receive from men a Testimoniall of their soundnesse, and sincerity. Not that God hereby gaineth any accession of knowledge (fore-knowne unto God are all his workes from the beginning of the world, Act. 15.18.) but others hereby are certified and assured of that which was doubtfull before: Thus often times Gold-smiths, though they themselves bee sufficiently satisfied of the goodnesse of the gold, yet putteth it to the touch, to content the Beholders.
And hereby also those which are not approved are made manifest. Many who doe foreign, make a brave shew in the flesh, and carry it in a high tryumphant way, wil prove but base when brought to the tryal. Whilst many unknowne man, of whom the world tooke no notice, not suspected for any worth, shall acquit themselves valiant, and appeare glorious to God, and all good men: Many a bright candle formerly hid under a bushell, of a private and obscure life, shall then be set on a Candlestick, and shine forth to the world: And shall cause,
1 Glory to God, who shall be honoured and praysed in these his servants, and as it is Matth. 9.8. The multitudes will marvell, and glorifie God which hath given such power unto men.
2. Honour to these his Champions of the truth. Never had Athanasius so answered his name, and beene so truly immortall in his memory, but for opposing of the Arrians. Never had Saint Augustine beene so famous, but for quelling of Manicheans, Pelagians, Donatists, and whom not for all his Heretikes lay pat for his hand to dash them in peeces.
3. Clearing to the Truth: her old Evidences which have layd long neglected, wil then be searched and found out, her rusty Arguments will be scoured over, and furbished up. Many will run to and fro, and knowledge shal be increased. Those which before shooting at the Truth, were over, under, or wide, wil now with the left handed Gibeonites hit the marke at an haires bredth, and faile not: Many parts of true Doctrine have bin but slenderly guarded, till once they were assaulted by Heretikes, and many good Authors in those points which were never opposed, have written but loosely, and suffered unwary passages to fall from their posting pens. But when theeves are about the countrey, every one will ride with his sword, and stand on his guard; when Heretikes are abroad in the world, Writers weigh each word, ponder each phrase, that they may give the enemies no advantage.
4. Confirmation to weake Christians, many whose hearts and affections were loyall to the Truth, but likely to be overborne by the violence of the opposite party; will hereby bee strengthened, and established in the Right.
5. Those will bee reduced, who (as Agrippa said of himselfe, Act. 26.28. That hee was almost a Christian) are almost Heretikes, not as yet Formati & Radicati Heretici, but such as well going, (or rather ill going that way) will plucke one foot out of the snare, and will returne to the bosome of the Church.
6. Lastly, the Hardned will bee made unexcusable, who obstinately persist in their errours: They cannot plead they lost their way, for want of Guides, but for meere wilfulnesse. And thus God is so good, hee would suffer no Heretikes to bee in the World; were hee not also, so strong and so wise, that hee can extract thus many goods, by permitting them.
VERS. 20.21. When you come together therefore into one place, this is not to eate the Lords Supper. For in eating, every one taketh before other his own Supper; and one is hungry, and another is drunken.
OF the sense of the first of these verses are many and different opinions, both what is meant by This is not to eate, and the Lords Supper. Omitting varietie of Interpretations, we wil embrace that which wee conceive the best.
This is not to eate the Lords Supper.
As if hee had said: True it is yee Corinthians, when yee come together to one place, you eate the Lords Supper (meaning the body and blood of Christ in the Sacrament, so expounded by *Epist. 118. ad Ianuar. cap. 5. Ipsam acceptionem Eucharistiae, caen…m Dominicam vocat.Saint Augustine, and Ambrose, with many other Latine Writers) and yet though you eate it, you doe not eate it. You perform the materiall part of the action, but leave out the life and soule thereof, not doing it legally and solemnely according to Christs Institution Such is your want of charity, and excesse of riot in your Love-feasts [which you eate before the Sacrament] whereby your soules are disturbed, distempered, and quite put out of tune to eate the Supper of the Lord, as yee ought.
DoctA duty not done as it ought to be done, is in effect not done at all. [Esay 64.7.] There is none that calleth upon thy name that stirreth up himselfe to take hold of thee. … at the true Church of God, in whose … it is spoken (as Antiquity expounds it, and may bee demonstrated by unanswerable Arguments) do any times wholly neglect, though too often negligently performe their calling on God; not doing it with that faith, and constancy, care, and fervencie, devotion, and diligence, as they ought, and God requires; they did not call on God, in the same sense as Saint Paul speaketh This is not to eate.
Vse.It will abate their pride, who rest on Opus operatum, as bad Divinity as Latine. For a deed done, is a deed not done, where the manner of the doing confutes and confounds the matter of the deed. Yea, in the best of Gods children; as Gideons Army of two and thirty thousand, did shrinke to three hundred, Iudg. 7.6. So it is to bee feared, that their so many Sermons heard, prayers made, Almes given, which they score up to themselves, and reckon upon, will shrinke in the tale, when God takes account of them; and prove Sermons not heard, prayers not made, Almes not given, because not done in forme as he requires.
Yet it is some comfort unto us, if all our actions proceed from faith, and ayming at Gods glory; so that the faylings be rather in the branches, and leafes, than in the roots of our performances. As for the Vnregenerate, they so remayning have in them laesum principium of all true pious workes, all their divine actions are none at all. It being true of their whole list, what *Spondanus Annal. Eccles. in anno 903.one writes of the yeare of our Lord, 903. Annus sua tantum obscuritate illustris, famous only for this, that nothing famous was done in it, and the whole story thereof a very Blanke.
For in eating every one taketh before other his owne Supper.
Herein the Apostle reproveth their abuses in their Love-feasts, whose Institution, Declination, and Corruption, we will briefly describe.
Their Institution.
Love-feasts were founded on no expresse command in Holy Write, but only on the Custome of the Church, who immediatly before the receiving of the Sacrament, as appears both by the Text, and S. Augustines *Loco prius citato.Comment on it; (though Saint Chrysostome makes these Love-feasts to bee after the taking of the Eucharist) used to have a great Feast, to which all the poore people were invited, on the charges of the rich. This they did partly in imitation of our Saviour, who instituted the Sacrament after a full Supper; and partly in expression of their perfect love, and charity towards all men.
Their Declination.
But the number of the rich men encreased, not proportionably with the poore, 1 Cor. 1.26. Behold your calling, that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. The Church (in time of persecution, especially) is like a Copse, wherein the underwood growes much thicker, and faster, than the Oakes. Hence came it to passe, that there were few Hosts, many Guests; few Inviters, many to be invited, and the burden growing heavie, lying on few backs, they wholly omitted the poor, who loath to come without any invitation, [the warrant to keepe a Guest from trespassing on good manners] were excluded from their Feasts.
Their Corruption.
Thus love to men in want, was quickly turned into want of love, Mare Euxinum, into Mare Axinum, Love-feasts into No-love-fasts. (Thus too often Charity is changed into bargaining, Hospitals turned into Exchanges, wherein those are taken in, that can give; and those left out, that have nothing.) The poore people in Corinth did see, and smell, what the rich men tasted, Tantalizing all the while, and having their penury doubled by the Antiperistasis of others plenty; yea, ryot and excesse; for some of them were drunken.
Yet marke by the way, that Saint Paul doth not plant his Arguments poynt-blanke to beat these Love-feasts downe to the ground, wholly to abrogate and make a nullity of them, but onelyonly to correct and reforme the abuses therein, that there might be lesse ryot in the Rich, and more charity towards the poore.
Let not things simply good in themselves, Vse.be done away for their abuses; Abraham said unto God, Gen. 18. To slay the righteous with the wicked, that be farre from thee, and farre be it from us, to casheare the good use of a thing, with the ill abuses annexed thereunto. Hee is a bad husband, that having a spot in his coat, will cut out the cloath, not wash out the dirt. Wherefore in matters of a mixt nature, wherin good and bad, are confusedly jumbled together; let us with the fire of judgement try the drosse from the gold; and with the fanne of discretion winnow the chaffe, from the corne.
For in eating every one taketh, &c.
By Every one, understand not every particular person, in the Church of Corinth, [for then how could some bee hungry.] But every division, the faction of Paul a part, of Apollo a part, the sect of Cephas by it selfe.
His owne Suyper.
Meaning that Love-feast, or plentifull Supper whereof formerly, therefore called their Owne, both because severally provided for their Owne faction, as also in distinction of the Lords Supper, which they tooke afterwards.
And one is hungry.
Here is nothing in the poore to be condemned. For that they were hungry, was no sinne in them, but their punishment; Gods pleasure, and the rich mens fault.Observ. Poverty sometimes keeps men innocent, whiles abused wealth makes rich men to offend.
Something is here in the poore to bee commended, that they would be hungry. Our age affords such unmannerly Harpies, they would have snatched the meat out of the rich mens mouthes. Some will not want a fire, if there be fewell in their neighbours yard: But O let us not unlawfully remove the Land-mark of our estates. Let us rather trespasse against modesty, than honesty, goe naked, than steale clothes; be hungry, and fast, than feast on forbidden food.