Josephs Party-Colored Coat, Text 1
VERSE 27. Wherefore whosoever shall eate this Bread, and drinke this Cup of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
LOe these words present us with two principall parts.
1. The sinne.
2. The sinfulnesse of the sinne.
The sinne is the unworthy eating and drinking of the Bread and VVine of the Lord.
Quest.Is any man so wel stored with grace, that he can eate these Sacraments worthily?
Answ.One may doe an action worthily in a three-fold respect; first worthily, Dignitate aequalitatis, as the Labourer is worthy of his hire,Three-fold worthinesse. Luke 10.7.1 This exact worthinesse may claim and challenge a reward due unto it, and the Denier or Detayner doth this worthy party wrong and injury: Now no Saint can receive with this Gods justice-proofe worthinesse, as appeares by their humble confessions, not out of complement, but consciousnesse of their faults, Iacob, Gen. 32.10. Iohn Baptist, Mat. 3.11. Yea, this worthinesse is waved by our Church Liturgy, at the Communion, both (as I may say) in our Grace before meat; Wee be not worthy so much as to gather up the crums under thy Table, and in our Grace after meat; and though wee bee unworthy through our manifold sins to offer unto thee, &c.
2. The second is,2. worthily Dignitate convenientiae aptitudinis, or decentiae, which consists though not in a perfect and exact proportion, yet in some fitnesse, meetnesse, and likenesse unto that which is required; such phrases are frequent in Scripture, Mat. 3.8. Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of Repentance; that is, such as bear no open repugnancy and contradiction to the repentance you professe, but in some sort meet and agreeing thereunto. So, walke worthy of the Lord, Col. 1.10. worthy your calling, Ephes. 4.1. worthy the Gospel, Phil. 1.27. That is, let not your life shame your beliefe, breake not the Commandements against the Creed, let not your practise bee foreign, with your profession. And wee must know, that Peccata surreptitia, sinnes of infirmity (not through their want of wickednesse, but Gods store of mercy) may stand and subsist with this worthinesse of conveniencie. In this acception wee understand in my Text to eat worthily, that is so fitted and prepared, as may beare some resemblance and agreement to the solemnity of the worke wee goe about.
3. There remayneth a third kind of Worthinesse,3. which is Dignitas dignationis, the worthinesse of acceptance, when God for Christs sake is pleased to take our actions in good worth. That is well spoken, which is well taken, and that man is worthy, who by God is accepted so to bee. Indeed if base and ignorant people should cry one up to bee worthy, and prize pebles to bee pearles, hee is no whit the better for the over-valuing of him; but if God pleaseth to esteeme men, worthy, things are as they are accounted by him, his valuing of them puts worth into them, I have blessed him (saith Isaac of Iacob, Gen. 27.33.) Yea and hee shall be blessed; God hath accounted them worthy; yea, and they shall be worthy, as it is Rev. 3.4. They shall walke with me in white, for they are worthy. Let us when wee come to the Sacrament bring with us the worthinesse of fitnesse, and convenience; and God of his goodnesse will be pleased to reward us with the worthinesse of acceptance.
Two sorts of people then doe eate and drinke unworthily. First, the Vnregenerate, those which as it is Heb. 6.1. Have not as yet laid the Foundation of Repentance from dead workes, and faith in Christ, but remaine still in their pure, impure naturals, not ingrafted into Christ. Without this foundation, the faire side-wals of a good nature, and the proud roofe of all morall performances, will both totter and tumble to the ground. Secondly, the Regenerate, but guilty of some sinnes unrepented of, who eate unworthily till they have sued out a speciall pardon out of the Court of Heaven.
Come wee now to the sinfulnesse of the sin: shall bee guilty of the body and blood of the Lord; that is, they are offenders in the same forme with Iudas and the Iewes, guilty of shedding the blood, and wounding the body of Christ: For as those that deface the stamp, or abuse the Seale of a King, are entituled to be traytors, so the unworthy receivers of these elements, which personate & represent Christs body, are interpreted to sin against the body of Christ it selfe: Some Protestants have by Gods Providence escaped in their persons, and yet the papists to manifest their spite have burned their pictures at a stake; Christs person is shot-free from any mans malice, out of the reach of your cruelty, sitting at the right hand of God in Heaven; as for his Picture, it is with us in the Sacraments, and unworthy Receivers shew to the shaddow, what they would doe to the substance if it were in their power, they push as farre as their short hornes will give them leave.
But may one say;Object. Grant unworthy Receiving bee a grievous sinne, yet me thinkes too heavy an accent is put upon it to equalize it with the murthering of Christ; Ionathan said, 1 Sam. 14.43. I did but taste a little honey with the end of my Rod, and loe I must dye; but more justly and grievously may the wicked Communicant complaine; I did but eate a morsell of Bread, and dranke a Draught of wine, and loe I must dye here, hereafter, temporally, and eternally; yea my sinne is heigthned to be even with the sinne of Iudas and the Iewes, who wilfully embrued their hands in Christs blood.
Answ.How ever humane corruption may bee the Advocate to plead herein, yet wee must count sinnes to be so great, as God esteemes them to be. Hee seeth not as man seeth, nor judgeth he as man judgeth: Hee will judge that to be pride, which wee count to be good carriage; that lust which wee count love, that drunkennesse which wee good fellowship, and unworthy receiving which we perchance esteeme a fault, but not of the first magnitude, hee judgeth it the highest of any pardonable sinne, even guiltinesse of Christ blood it selfe. Learne wee from hence to measure and survey a sin in the true heigth, length, and bredth thereof. Hearken not to the partiality of thine owne flesh, which wil make thine offences in number less, in nature lighter; listen not to the suggestions of Satan, which will never suffer us to see our sinnes truely, but is alwayes in the excesse or defect: When wee goe on in a sinfull course, hee beares us in hand, that our sinnes are small; and when we are toucht in conscience he seeks to perswade us that they are too great, Mountaines too big to bee drowned in the Ocean of Gods mercy; but let us measure them by the square of Gods Word, an infallible rule that will not deceive us.
To conclude, men generally hate Pilate and Iudas, if wee see them but in Pictures our blood riseth at them, we could scratch them out with our nayles; being more angry with them, then David with the rich man, that tooke away the poore mans Ewe Lambe; whereas in some sense it may bee said of many of us, Thou art the man. Yet as for those which hitherto have not taken notice of the haynousnesse of this sinne, and through the want of consideration, have beene guilty of the body of Christ; let mee say to them what Saint Peter doth, Act. 3.17. And now brethren, I wot that through Ignorance you did it: Repent therefore, and bee converted, that your sinnes may bee blotted out; And let us all pray with David, Psalme 91.14. Deliver us from blood-guiltinesse O God, but especially from being guilty of the body and blood of thy Sonne.