The Badges of Christianity, Book 3 · Chapter 12
Chap. 12. Of the first vse of the Lords supper.
HItherto we hauehave spoken of all the partes of this sacrament, as well outwatde as inwarde, which is the first … to be considered in the doctrine of them as we shewed before: now we are to handle the vses or endes of the Lordes Supper, which are aThree ends of the iordes Supper.principally these three: first, to shew forth with thanksgiuing, the death, crosse, and sufferings of christ. Secondly, to teach vsus our communion and growth with and in christ, thirdly, to declare our communion and growth in and with our brethren. In these three, standeth the knowledge of those rich and greate benifites which are bestowed vponall worthy communicants, which hauehave sactified and prepared their heartes for this holy action. These thinges being duely considered, bThe false ends of this sacrament rehearsed and refelled.doe directly condemne the church of Rome, who burying these true ends of the Lords Supper, the commemoration of his passion, the merit of his crosse, our communion with Christ, and our fellowship one with another, hauehave altered it like the ship-mans hose into all forms and fashions, and make it profitable for all purposes, for peace and war, for tempestes and calme weather, for the fruites of the earth, and distemperature of the ayre, for the whole and sick, for men and beasts, for the liuing and for the dead. And to begin with the last, as none of the least corruptions of this Sacrament, it was concluded in a Counsel, that as a prayer therin is made for the liuing, cconc. cabil. can. 33so the remembrance of the dead is to be made in all Masses. It is adiudged an excellent remedy against storms and tempests of the sea, and therefore al seamen are warned in times of danger to call to their mindes and remember to sing the Masses d which are accustomed to be sung for tēpests. And as they make it good in storms: so they make it serue turn in the day of battell to saue them from the sword of the enemy; for the Priests are charged to say the Masses vsed for them that go to wars. Besides, these abuses, they make it auaileable to purge and cleer offendors suspected of any crime, eNum. 5, 19like the bitter and cursed waters, making tryall of the suspected wife, wherupon the counsell of wormes determineth, that If any monasterie be suspected of theft, let him bee purged by the taking of the sacrament. Thus Sybicon Byshop of Spire in the counsell of Mentz did by it purge himselfe of adultery, about the yeare 1100, an vse neuer intended by the spirite of God, nor practised by anie of the Apostles, to institute it to discouer secretes. Likewise, somtimes it is taken to be good against inchanters and inchantments: sometimes to bee good for the remedy and recouery of sickenes, to deliuer soules out of purgatory, to preserue from the plague, to saue cattell, to cure the feuer, to recouer again things lost, to take away toothache, to cleere the eyes, and what not? All these fancies and supposed ends of this Sacrament agree not with the institution of christ, nor with the former vses set down, which now we come to handle and to proue out of the doctrine of the Apostles themselues.
Touching the first and principall end, that is, the remembrance, meditation, and shewing forth the death of christ with all thanksgiuing: this he commaunded to vsus at his last … from vsus, which ought much to stick in our minds because the last words of a deare friend ready to part from vsus, do often times leaue behind both deepe impressions and deuout affections in vsus. Indeede, when we read of the passion and death of christ, it doth not much moue vsus: to heare it opened and expounded, it moueth in a farther degree: but more then these, to hauehave before our eies a visible representation of the crucifieng of christ in his last supper, doth moue vsus most of all. The institution of this Sacrament hee did in wisedome reserue, till the approaching of his death, that we might not forget him when he is gone from vsus. So god the father, after the vniuersal flood drawning the whole world, for a remembrance of his mercy, in deliuering Noah and his family from the waters, and of his promise made, fGen 9, 14neuer to destroy it so againe: left to them and al posterity the … bow. When he had iustly smitten the first borne of the Egyptians, and gratiously saued the first borne of Israel: he commaunded Moses gExo. 13, 1, 2to sanctifie to … al the first born, that first openeth the womb, to remember the day in which they came out of the land of Egypt. When he had miraculously fed the Israelites with Manna from heauen, that men did eate Angels food, hExod. 16, 32he would hauehave a golden pot ful of it to be reserued in the Arke of remembrance, for the better remembrance of so great a work. So likewise, being deliuered by the precious bloode of christ from the floods of sin … hauehave gone ouer our heads, and eased of the heauy burthen that pressed downe our hearts: we hauehave receiued baptisme to keepe vsus in remembrance thereof, that wee are ciensed from the filthynes of sin. Again, being nourished with christs body crucyfied, & his blood shed for vsus, we are cōmanded to vse this mistery, to continue an holy remembrance of his death and passion to our endlesse comfort.
This end, to wit, to be to vsus a remembrance of Christes sacrifice on the crosse, is taught by the Apostle, So often as ye shall eate of this bread and drinke of this cup, ye shew the lords death till he come. In like manner, the Euangelist Luk, of the bread he saith, Do this in remembrance of me: and of the cup, Do this Luke 22, 19.as oft as ye shall drinke it, in remembrance of me, by declaring his death. And we declare the Lords death, when we publikely confesse with our mouth and beleeue with the heart, that our whole hope and affiance for life and saluation, is surely set in the Lords death, that we may glorifie him by our confession, and exhort others by our example to glorifie him, because his death is our life, his passion is our saluation, his suffering is our reioycing. We our selues are the principall and proper causes that he was torne and tormented: our sinnes wounded him, we our selues crucified him: we, euen we were the causes, for he was chastised for vsus, that by death he might deliuer vsus from death, and from kHeb. 2, 14him that had the power of death. Our euill motions, our vile thoughtes, our corrupt wordes, and our sinfull works, did set on worke Pontius Pilate, Herod, Annas, Caiphas, Iudas, the Gentiles and the Iewes, who were but instruments, as the crosse, nailes, the hammer, and spear: these were, as our seruants and workemen, in the euill action of his crucifieng. Wherefore, to speake the truth, not Sathan the tempter, not Iudas the Traytor, not Caiphas the highpriest, not Pilate the chiefe iudge, not the Iewes that conspired against him, not the false witnesses that accused him, not the band of men that scorned him, not the passengers that nodded their heads at him, not the souldier that pierced him, not the executioners that railed and nailed him on the Crosse, are so much to be accused and reproued for his sufferings, as we, we I say our selues and our owne sinnes. Not that we can excuse those cursed instrumentes that crucified the Lorde of glory, who shall receiue according to their workes, lZach. 12, X Iohn xix, 37when they shall see him whom they hauehave pierced, but to teach vsus chifely to accuse and condemne our selues. We bound him with cords, we beate him with rods, we buffeted him with fistes, we crowned him with thornes, wee reuiled him with our mouthes, we railed at him with reproches, we nodded at him with our heads, we thrust him through with …, we berraied him with a kisse, we pierced his hands and feet with nailes, we crucified him betweene two theeues, wee condemned him through false witnesses, we poured shame and contempt vponupon his person, we iudged him as plagued and smitten of God. For, inasmuch as our f…lts and offences procured these things to be done vntounto him, we were the doers of them, and the dea'ers in them. And surely, then we are profitably grounded in the doctrine of the mWho they are that profit … by christs pastiōpassion of Christ, when our haits cease to sinne, and we are pricked with an inward griefe of those great and grieuous transgressions, n1 Iohn. 3, 6 Esay 53, 5, 6whereby, as with speares, we pierced the side and wounded the very soule of the immaculate lambe of God, as Ioh, 3, Who so sinneth, neither hath seene him, nor knowne him. And the prophet …. teacheth, chap. 53. He was wounded for our transgressions he was broken for our iniquities: the chastssement of our peace was vponupon him, and with his stripes … are healed: the Lord haih layd vponupon him the iniquity of vsus all. Seeing then, christ was slaine for our sins, let vsus kill sin in our selues; seeing he dyed for vsus, let vsus labour that sin may be dead in vsus: seeing he was crucified for vsus and our saluation, let vsus crucifie our owne Instes that they raigne not in our mortall bodies: seeing his hart was pierced with a speare, let vsus hauehave our hearts thrust through, pierced, and pricked, with vnfained sorrow for all our iniquities. This is the right vse, the true end, and the sound comfort following and flowing from the death of christ.
To conclude we must learne and hold for euer, that we hauehave the beg nning and chiefe cause in our selues, which did crucifie christ and crush him with most bitter sorrows: let vsus then be reuenged of our sins, and do al despite we can vntounto them: let vsus endite them, arraigne them, accuse them, condemne them and naile them to his crosse: let vsus kil thē, mortifie them, and bury them in his graue for euer. This is the first end of the supper, which is sanctified by the breaking of the bread and pouring out of the wine, declaring vntounto vsus, that as the body of our lord was broken, and by violent meanes afflicted, so his blood gushed out and flowed plentifully out of his gaping and bleeding wounds. This must be our meditation, whensoeuer we come to the lords table.