The Worthy Communicant Rewarded, Title page – Dedication
THE WORTHY COMMUNICANT REWARDED LAID FORTH IN A SERMON, ON JOHN 6.54. PREACHED IN THE Cathedrall of St. PETER in Exeter, on Low-Sunday, being the 21. of Aprill, Anno 1639.
BY WILLIAM SCLATER, MASTER Of Arts, late Fellow of Kings Colledge in Cambridge, now Chaplaine of the Right Reverend Father in God the Lord Biſhop's Baronry of Saint Stephens, and Preacher alſo at S. Martin, in the ſame City.
1 COR. 11.27.
Whoſoever ſhall eate this Bread, and drinke this Cup of the Lord unworthily, ſhall be guilty of the Body and Bloud of the Lord.
Aug. apud P. Lumb. l. 4. diſt. 9. C.
Non manducans manducat, & manducans non manducat, quia non manducans ſacramentaliter, aliquando manducat ſpiritualiter, & è converſo.
LONDON, Printed by R. Y. for G. LATHUM at the Biſhops head in Pauls Church-yard.
TO THE RIGHT WORSHIPFULL Doctor PETERSON, Dean, and Canon reſidentiary of St. Peter in Exeter, Chaplaine in ordinary to his Majeſty, &c. my worthily honoured friend, the exuberancie of all bleſsings.
Reverend Sir,
THat which was graced with your audience, in preaching, with your thanks, when preached, be pleaſed now to honour with your noble Patronage in print; which is a kind of preaching too, that, asa2 Sam. 18.23. Ahimaaz did Cuſhi, and SaintbJohn 20.4. John Saint Peter, doth [out-run] the vocall, by ſo much farther, as it can lengthen out its ſtrides (as Procruſtes ſtretched his gueſts, incPlutarch. in vita Theſei. Plutarch, that were for his bed otherwiſe too ſhort) to reach it ſelf unto the hands, and eyes of thoſe good Catholike Chriſtians, unto whoſe ears my voice, had it bin Stentorian, or as adMar. 3.17. Boanerges, could not come: To preach by the pen, which in the expreſsion of Clemens Alexandrinus is, foreign, is as uſefull ſometimes as to doe ſo by the tongue; and this inſtruction by theeforeign— hand, like to a wedge of gold beaten into a plate, ſpreads more abroad, and often with as large emolument to the Church, as that which is by livelyfforeign. Clemens Alex. lib. prim. Strom. ſpeech, or ſermocination. I may ſeeme perchance by this to light a candle to the Sun, and to cast my ſpoonfull into that vaſt Ocean of knowledge, which we (though ſitting upon the very lees and dregs of time for Atheiſme and ill practice, which with bleeding hearts we view abroad, and wonder at) have lived to ſee make up that propheſie of great Daniel, who foretold it ſhould [gDan. 12.4. abound]; and of the Kingly Prophet, whoſe prediction is now at its full height, and foreign of accompliſhment, God gave the word, and great are the company of thehPſal. 68.11. Preachers; when thus comparatively I lay me in the ballance, I finde moſt others to preponderate; ſith I muſt on the generall audit of my ſelfe, confeſſedly, with Paul, bring in my account withi2 Cor. 12.11 I am nothing. foreign, and with good Calvin, mine emptykCalvin. Inſt. lib. 2. cap 5. ſect. 13. in fine. foreign, ſaying of all my beſt parts, and performances, as S. Andrew of the five loaves and two fiſhes, foreign; alas!lJohn 6.9. What are theſe? They reach not, as I reade of Davids later Worthies, unto the dignity of them2 Sam. 23.19. former, who did not more outſtrip in worth, then Saul did overgrow inn1 Sam. 9.2. ſtature his under brethren, or Zacheus [oLuke 19.4. climb'd] up on the Sycamore, o'relooke the company in the way below with Chriſt: But when againe I meditate, that even a paire ofpLuke 2.24. Turtles, and the twoqMar. 12.42, 43. Mites, where there was no more to give, were valued by that God (who meaſureth more by quality, then byaNon de patrimonio, ſed de animo opus ejus examinans, & conſiderans non quantum ſed ex quanto dediſſet. S. Cypr. lib. de opere & cleemoſyn. ſect. 14. quantity) as a rich oblation, and a large additament to the common corban, and the treaſurie of the Church; and when I think that my little light, though but as a candle, or a glimmering ray of that orientbMal. 4.2. Sun of righteouſneſſe, is given, and derived to me, not to be hidden under thecMat. 5.15. buſhell whether of covetouſneſſe, or obſcurity, nor to be ſet under thedLuke 8.16. bed of lazineſſe, or ſluggiſh eaſe, much leſſe to be dipped in the liquour of what is [eIſa. 5.20. called] good, but [is] the worſt of fellowſhip, till it be quite extinct; but as Saint Paul ſaith even of the commoneſt gift of the Spirit, that its beſtowed, not for oſtentation of the haver, but for tof1 Cor. 12.7. profit withall the whole Church; Why ſhould I be ſhie to pay, though but mygEccleſ. 1.7. rivulet, as in tribute to this Ocean; and to improve, though but my (one) talent, to the beſt advantage of my Lord and Maſter Chriſt, who is wont to give to him thathLuke 8.18. hath (and having doth employ) theiMat. 25.28. more, by how much more the good alreadie given ſpreadeth, and doth become diffuſive to communitie. I would not therefore with the Spider weave this web to thruſt it to a corner, but with the Silk-worme rather ſpinne my thread ſo that it might help to cloath at leaſt ſome younger children of the Church. I muſt confeſſe the Preſſe may now well begin to ſurfet, and askGen. 49.14. Iſſachar to couch down under the burdens of thoſe ſons of Anak, thoſe Giant-like voluminous writers on this my ſubject: thoſe are your bulky Elephants that with wholel1 Mac. 6.37. castles-full of paper on their backes, occaſion the common Readers to keep aloofe; their purſe-ſtrings are too weake to tye and hold them, and the acies of their eie-ſight hebetated by ſo too-big objects: I have not writtenm—Tenuis mihi campus aratur. ſuch Iliades after Homer: Many before me have done worthily this*Eſt illud magnae fertilitatis opus, Ovid. Triſt. lib. 2. larger way in Ephratah, and for it are become, as the people in the gates told Boaz, verynRuth 4.11. famous in our Bethleem. I have choſen to preſent my Mother-Church, as Saint Auſtin did Laurentius, with an enchiridion onelyonly, as having limmed out what is more copiouſly pourtraied by others, into a ſmaller draught, and ſo doe offer it, as were Homers Iliades to that mightie Monarch, in a Nutſhell to her. I muſt expect (having thus hoiſed up my ſaile to ſteare amaine) ſome ſurges, ſome whiſtlings of your windy ſpirits, that like to ſummer flies will blow corruption on the ſweeteſt of proviſion: Wee are fallen into thoſe times wherein all Sermons are moſt ſure of cenſure, moſt of all unſure of practice; ſo that when our Sermon is ended, wee can hardly ſay our Sermon is done; wee heare more often of our owne good voices, elocution, memorie, then of our hearers holy doings: My hope is not ſo high as to pleaſe all, nor my intention ſo factiouſly ſordid, as to diſpleaſe any; yet I cannot but ſuſpect the worſt, for that whereas I hitherto (mineoAnno [triceſsimo] carnis aſſumptae, Salvator ad ſigna, & miracula, & doctrinam uſus eſt poteſtate— non antea, quia hac aetate tempus doctrinae inſinuatum eſt rationabile; & ante has metas perperam invadi magiſterium data eſt forma; quia non competit annis impubibus ſedere in cathedra, &c. Cypr. de jejun. & tentat. Chriſti, Sect. 1. age not daring farther) have beene onelyonly as a Standing in a Faire ſet up before anothers doore, and have beene read but in a Preface to ſome bookes publiſhed of my fathers by me; I muſt now ſtand alone upon my owne bottome by my ſelfe: and yet not all alone, but as the learners hand, though framing characters, yet by direction of the Scrivener that holds and guides it, ſo I have ſingly vented nothing, or at all ſteared the leaſt point farther then as I have beene guided by the proper ſtarres and cynoſure of the worthieſt in our Church of England; whoſe names are now all noted in my margin, which I could not mention in my preaching, lest I ſhould have loſt my Sermon in ſo large quotations. Honoured Sir, amidſt the many dangers it is like to meete with, vouchſafe to patronize this my firſt publick Theologicall Eſſay by your countenancing of it: I ſhall [ſo] leſſe feare either the ſpleen or gall of any Reader. One Plato, ſaithpMarcil. Ficin. in vita Platonis. Unus Plato plus eſt quàm Athenienſis populus. Marcilius, is worth all Athens elſe; one pearle out-vies a thouſand pebles; one ſuch Mecoenas, ſo acute an Ariſtarchus of all learning (who approves) beares down before him, like an Indian Hurraca, all the ſullen oppoſition of the whole droves of Momus.
Should I here take occaſion to blazon your ſo many excellent graces, which be like the Spouſes flock of ſheep which came up from the waſhing, even-ſhorne, each one being, not like the Pelican in the wilderneſſe, alone, but every one bearingaCant. 4.2. twinnes, and none is barren among them: Should I pen-down in this Epiſtle that thoſe which are in others rare, and ſingular, are in you but ordinarie and common, I ſhould but make that legible by your owne, which hath long ſince been viſible to the eies of others that have truly known you. But though your various graces (as being all links of one and the ſame chain) might well claime as thoſe in thebScholiaſt. in Thucyd. Lacedaemonian army, a priviledge all of them to be Captaines, and to lead; yet that which is, as Davids Tachmonite, thec2 Sam. 23.8. chiefe among theſe Captaines, and which, as King Lemuels vertuous daughter, dothdPro. 31.29. excell the reſt, is your humble and admired Patience: This is that bulwarke which as acMat. 7.25. rocke returnes the billowes of malevolence in froth, and makes the ſhafts of the meagreſt envie to bee ſplit in vaine: This is that which doth, and ſhall preſerve you, as Alpheus, ſtill untainted by the waſhings of the bittereſtfSic tibi cùm fluctus ſubterlabêre Sicanos, Doris amara ſuam non intermiſceat undam. Virg. Eclog. 10. Doris, till you ſalute at laſt the limpid Arethuſa, and ſweet fountaine of all bliſſe. I will aſſure you, noble Sir, as the great Doctour of the Gentiles told his endeared Corinthians, my heart is muchg2 Cor. 6.11. enlarged towards you, and my reſpectfull thoughts be moſt voluminous, though now my quill (much like mine oratorie, too jejune and dry) hath thus epitomized my expreſsions in a line or two.
But I perceive, as Jordan above his bankes, the meaſure of my affection hath over-ſwoln the bounds of an Epiſtle: What remaines now, but that I muſt implore the favours of Heaven on you, and that you may ſtill perſiſt to beautifie the ſeat you ſit in, to credit the Weſt, and to adorne the Gospell: Mee, both your ſelfe, and your ſo rarely vertuous conſort, (a genuine branch of a most holy, and devout ſtocke) ſhall ever have, though your meanest friend, yet one that hath reſolved to print himſelfe
Your moſt true honourer, in my faithfull obſervances much devoted, WILLIAM SCLATER. Exon. May 11. 1639.