The Communicants Guide, Title page – Table of contents
THE Communicant's Guide: SHEWING A Safe and Easie WAY TO THE Lord's Table: In Compassion to The Poorer and Weaker Sort OF CHRISTIANS.
By CLEM. ELIS, Rector of Kirkby in Nottinghamshire.
1 Cor. 11. … If we would Iudge our selves, we should not be Iudged.
LONDON: Printed for Iohn Baker at the Sign of the Three Pidgeons in St. Paul's Church-Yard. M DC LXXXV.
TO THE Christian Readers: More especially to those who belong unto my Charge; for whose Help this Book is principally intended.
My Dear Friends,
I Hope none of you will think me so vain, as to publish this Little Book for this Reason, That I suppose there are not many better of the same Subject, and for the same Use, already abroad in the World. I well know, that there be very many; and not a few of them so excellent, that if you had them, and knew how to use them, this that I now present you with might well seem to be superfluous, if not contemptible. But, I hope, till you can be better provided, it may be very useful to you, at least in this. that it may help to fit you for the using of those better: and if this only be the use of it, you ought not to despise it.
The true Reasons then, why I thus tender you my Service, are those, which some of your selves have often prompted me with. When you have been admonished to prepare your selves carefully for the worthy Receiving of this Holy Sacrament, you have been ready to say, That you wanted good helps and Books for that purpose, and you continue ignorant for want of Instruction; for though you hear Sermons, and have been Catechized in publick, and have been examined and instructed privately too by the Minister, yet your Understandings being dull, and your Memories weak, you are not much better for all this, because you want such Books to read as may help you more fully to understand your Duty. This is a Pretence, and no more than so, in very many, whose Love to Sin, and Carelessness of their Souls and all their spiritual Concerns, is indeed the real cause of their Ignorance and Unfitness for this and all other religious Duties. To remove this Pretence, and that you may not delude your selves to your utter undoing, by thinking you have a sufficient Excuse for not doing so necessary a Duty, when you have none, is the cause of my presenting you with this help to the doing of it.
Some of you say, That the most excellent of those Books already extant to this purpose, are too dear, and you are not able to buy them. Herein some of you speak the Truth; such I mean as have not wherewith to buy Bread for their Mouths, or Cloaths for their Backs. But the most of them who thus plead their Poverty, say no more in effect but this: That they think their Money better bestow'd in a Lace or Riband, a Cup of Ale, or a Game at Cards, than on their Souls, which were so dear to Christ, that he paid his most precious Blood to redeem them.
Others say, That those Books are too learned and hard for their Understanding, and they should be no wiser for them if they had them. And indeed there is too much Truth in this: yet are there not wanting such as are so plain and easie, that it can be nothing but your unacquaintedness with the very Princ…ples of Religion, that makes them seem hard. If you were concern'd to understand any other Language than that of the Plow and Cart, or thought it as needful to discourse sometimes of matters relating to God and your own Souls, as to talk to your Horses and Oxen, you might soon learn much Good from the Books you thus complain of.
Some of these Books, you say, are too▪ long and tedious. And it is true, that some of them are longer than they should be for the use of the weaker sort of Christians. But it is no wonder if every good Book seem too long to them who have no Delight in Goodness, and to them that are weary of hearing a short Sermon of an Hour, or it may be not so much. A Book that will cost them some days to read it over understandingly, must needs be very tedious indeed. They that think all their time little enough to trade and drudge in for the World, or their swinish Lusts, cannot spare much of it for their Souls without grudging and wearisomness.
Now that you may not henceforward have any colour for such Pretences, I here offer you one that is, if I mistake not, every way fitted to your Condition and Capacity, for it is cheap, and easie, and short; and yet, I hope, sufficient to teach and direct you in your Duty. I herein endeavour to manifest my hearty Love and Care for your Souls and everlasting Welfare: and if I had no other Reason for writing and publishing it but this only, that I desire to shew my Readiness to serve you, and to cast in my small Mite amongst those that offer more largely out of their Abundance, towards the enriching of your Souls, I may, I hope, be at least excusable.
But, alas, what better will you be for my Kindness if you will not make use of it! This Book, nay all the Books in the World, will not make you Christians, or worthy Communicants, by lying by you, or by a careless reading, without understanding, applying, and practising, no more than your Meat will nourish you without eating it. Some few Years ago I gave you, for the same Reasons which move me now to give you this, a small Summary both of your Faith and Duty, called, Christianity in short; which hath with very many found a welcome much above my Hope or Expectation; the worst Entertainment it hath met with, is from some of you for whose Benefit it was chiefly intended, and who had it gratis. The Reason why it hath been so coldly entertained at home whilst it was so welcome abroad, I am apt to think is this, That you know me better than Strangers do, and seeing my Infirmities daily, do more slightly regard my Endeavours than they who see them not. But remember, I pray you, it is the Doctrine of your Blessed Saviour, that in both that little Book, and this I commend unto you, and not my own Example. Make but use of that as you ought, and my Failings, what hurt soever they do my self, shall not hurt you.
One thing you are to be here minded of: You read things of this nature so imperfectly and so heartlesly, that little of what you read remains with you. An obscene Ballad or idle Tale-Book you can read with Delight; and though imperfectly at first, yet you read them so often, till you grow too perfect in them to your own great Hurt. Why take you not the like Pains in these Helps of Religion? Because you take no Pleasure in Religion, nor care much what becomes of God's Honour, or the Salvation of your Souls. This is too sad a Truth, and you cannot deny it. Your drowsie reading makes all good Books mere Non-sense to you.
If it were not so, you would never be weary of learning your Christian Duty, nor of practising it neither; and you would particularly never rest till you understood the right way of coming worthily to this heavenly Banquet, unto which I here direct you. Whenever men are Christians indeed, they will set a greater Price than now they do upon this unvaluable Token of Divine Love; and they will be ashamed to think that the Table of Devils should have so many Guests, and the Table of the Lord so few.
I have here very plainly, shunning all Disputes and Niceties, laid the whole Duty before you, with the necessity of it, and the way to perform it aright; I have also removed out of your way all the Rubs and Mormoes which are apt to hinder or affright you. Nothing can be wanting but a Will in you to be Christians, and to live so now as that you may live eternally. This is that which I cannot give you, but must not cease to beg it for you of the only Giver of all good Gifts, nor to beseech you, by the Mercies of God, that you will by all means endeavour after it.
To the Grace of God I do mo… heartily commend you in my Prayers, beseeching him to bless this poor Endeavour to the eternal Good of your Souls.
THE CONTENTS.
Chap. I. THE necessity of Receiving this Sacrament.
II. The necessity and way of Receiving it worthily.
III. How to examine our selves about our Baptismal Covenant.
IV. A help for the Examination of our Faith.
V. A help for the Examination of our Repentance and Obedience.
VI. How to examine whether we be rightly disposed for this Sacrament?
VII. What Affections of Soul are sutable to this Sacrament.
VIII. How we are to behave our selves at this Sacrament.
IX. The pretended Reasons for neglecting this Sacrament briefly answered.
X. The Stumbling-blocks cast in our way removed.
Some short Directions and Prayers.