Discourse Concerning the Sacrament of the Lords Supper, Section 1 · Chapter 2
CHAP. II.
THis holy action is to be next of all conſidered, as a remembrance or commemoration with thankſgiving, foreign. And thence it is called by the name of Euchariſt, i. e. Thankſgiving, according to the phraſe of Ancient times.Juſtin Martyr, Apolog. 2. For as the bread and wine, the breaking and pouring out, are repreſentations; ſo our takeing, eating and drinking, expreſs our hearty reſentments. This good cheer cannot but breed a certain cheerfulneſs. This Divine Food cannot but fill us with gladneſs. After we have ſwallowed the ſweetneſs of Heaven and Earth, after we have taſted of that which Angels deſire to feed but their eyes withall, how can it chooſe but breed a ſpiritual joy in our ſouls, and make our mouthes break forth into ſinging? If there be any wine that makes glad the heart of man, this ſure is it, which is preſſed (as it were) out of the Coeleſtial Vine, and taſts not of the blood of the Grape, but of the Blood of God. This ſhould ſend up our ſouls in ſongs of praiſe to Heaven; this ſhould make us wiſh that we could evaporate our ſpirits in flames of love, and that our ſouls were nothing but a harmony and conſent, that we might alwayes be tuned to his praiſes. And though the Angels have many ſtrains of Praiſe that we are unacquainted withall; yet this is a note that they cannot ſing,Rev. 1.5, 6. Unto him that hath loved us, and waſhed us from our ſinnes in his own blood, and hath made us Kings and Prieſts unto God and his Father: to him be glory and dominion for ever.
Now for the fuller underſtanding of this, I take theſe ſix things to be conſiderable:
I. That as it is a Feaſt, it betokens joy, and all joy at ſuch times is expreſſed by ſongs. If we will beleeve the wiſer ſort of Heathens, they lookt upon their publick Feaſts, not only as times of eaſe and outward mirth, but as inſtruments to raiſe their thoughts to ſpiritual things, and fill them with an inward joy. So Proclus doth apply their cuſtoms in the foreign, to intellectual things, which, he ſaith, lay hid under ſuch Ceremonies.Lib. 1. in Timaeum. foreign. And among other matters, he ſaith, That their Feaſts on the firſt day of thoſe Solemnities, were an embleme of the perpetual quiet and tranquillity we ſhould labour for in the World, knowing, that if we be filled with God, he brings in with him a never ceaſing feaſt. Do I hear a Heathen ſpeak? Dropt theſe words from the pen of a Pagan? O my ſoul that readeſt this, bluſh to think that thou ſhouldeſt celebrate a Divine Feaſt without a Feaſt, and come to the Table of God empty and void of God. For if they laboured to ſee ſomething Divine under I know not what ſtrange rites; how can we chuſe but be fill'd with God, and Feſtival joys, when we ſit with him at a Heavenly Banquet? And if we be, then there will be all the uſual attendants and companions of ſuch ſeaſons;Luk. 15.25. the ſoul will begin to leap and dance for joy, it will awake Pſaltery and Harp, and all the Inſtruments of Praiſe. And ſo the Apoſtle (ſpeaking I ſuppoſe of the Chriſtian Feaſts and Entertainments) bids them not be drunk with wine, Epheſ. 5.18, 19.wherein is exceſs, but be filled with the Spirit, ſpeaking to themſelves in Pſalms, and Hymns, and ſpiritual ſongs, ſinging, and making melody in their hearts to the Lord. Theſe two things did commonly finiſh the Heathen Meetings; After they were well liquored with Wine, they uſed to ſing and roar the Hymns of Bacchus. The Apoſtle therefore oppoſes two ſorts of heavenly pleaſure unto that madneſs, bidding them not to gorge themſelves with Wine, but to crave larger Draughts of the Spirit, not to fill the air with foreign to Bacchus, (as the manner was) but with Hallelujahs unto God. Drunk they might be, ſo it were with the Holy Ghoſt: And chaunt they might, ſo it were Pſalms and Thankſgivings to the Lord.Pſal. 36.8. Inebriabuntur ubertate, &c. Vulg. They ſhall be abundantly ſatisfied with the fatneſs of thine houſe (ſaith the Pſalmiſt) and thou ſhalt make them to drink of the River of thy pleaſure. Even a heathen could ſay,Pramium virtutis eſſe perpetuam ebrtetatem. That the reward of virtue is a perpetual drunkenneſs. But then we muſt diſtinguiſh of drunkenneſs as Ficinius doth, who hath well noted, That there is one Earthly and Mundane,v. Argumentum dialogi 2. de Juſto. when the ſoul drinks of Lethe's Cup, and is beſide her ſelf, and unmindfull of all divine things. This is it the Apoſtle ſpeaks againſt, in the beginning of thoſe verſes, as a heatheniſh crime. But there is another coeleſtial drunkenneſs, when the ſoul taſts of Heavenly Nectar, and is indeed out of it ſelf, becauſe above it ſelf: When it forgets theſe mortal things, and is elevated to thoſe which are divine, feeling it ſelf by a ſupernatural heat to be changed from its former habit and ſtate. This is it which the Apoſtle exhorts unto; this is it which we muſt long for when we are at the Supper of the Lord. This is that which the Spouſe means (according to ſome ancient Expoſitors) when ſhe ſaith, He hath brought me into his banquetting-houſe (or Wine-Cellars) and his banner (or covering*For they feaſted upon beds. Cant. 2.4.) over me was Love. The Septuagint make it a prayer, and render it thus: Bring me into his wine-cellar, place love in order over me. Which may be conceived (ſaith one) as the voice of the Church to the Apoſtles or Miniſters,Polychronius. Prepare for me the Supper of the Lord, foreign.ſet me down orderly at the foreign, the feaſt of love. There is nothing that holy ſouls can more deſire, then to be ſo ſatisfied with him, that their mouthes may praiſe him with joyfull lips. This is the fruit of the ſpiritual inebriation, that the ſoul meditate ſpiritual ſongs and hymns to God. And indeed the better ſort of Heathens did in their feaſts ſing the praiſes of famous men; which good Criticks make the true original of the word Encomium. foreign.And ſo the Apoſtle exhorts the Chriſtians, that they would break forth into their praiſes of God and Chriſt, who were moſt worthy of all their hymns.
Before I end this, let me obſerve, That every one may ſing ſuch Hymns as the Apoſtle calls for, and indite them in his own heart unto God, becauſe a Hymn is not (as we ordinarily think) onelyonly praiſe in verſe and metre, but any words of Thankſgiving that ſet forth the merits of him that we extoll. So a Heathen will teach us, if we be ſtill to learn it. When a man (ſaith Libanius) hath any gift given him by God,… 32. foreign. he ſhould by way of thankfulneſs return ſomething unto God: and ſome give one thing, ſome another: The Shepherd offers a Pipe, the Huntſman a Stags head, the Poet a Hymn in metre, the Orator a Hymn without metre; and in my judgment (ſaith he) a Hymn is more valuable with God then Gold, and far to be preferr'd before it.
Now Love will make any one eloquent; if our hearts be full of God, they will run over. Thankſgiving and Praiſe is the natural language of a pious heart; and there is no ſuch copious ſubject whereon to ſpend them as the Lord Chriſt; and in the knowledg of Chriſt, nothing ſo admirable as his death; and therefore when we commemorate that, the high praiſes of God muſt be in our mouths.
II. The Jewiſh Feaſts upon their Sactifices do more plainly inſtruct us in this matter. They that offered peace-offerings unto God were admitted to eat ſome part of them after they were preſented to God, and ſome pieces of them burnt upon the Altar. And this is called partaking of the Altar (which was God's Table,1 Cor. 10.18. Ezek. 41.22. Mal. 1.7.) where they did rejoyce before him as thoſe that were ſuffered to eat and drink with him. So I obſerve, That where there is mention made of their eating before the Lord, (which can ſignifie nothing elſe but their partaking of the Altar, and feaſting at his table) they are ſaid likewiſe to rejoyce before him, Deut. 12.7, 18. Deut. 16.11. in the later of which places, after he had given command concerning the three great Feaſts, he adds ver. 14. Thou ſhalt rejoyce in thy feaſts. And in the later end of King David's Reign, when Solomon was crowned, there was ſacrifices offered in abundance for all Iſrael, (as you may read 1 Chron. 29.21, 22.) and the people are ſaid to eat and drink before the Lord on that day with great gladneſs. But the Pſalmiſts words are moſt to be obſerved to this purpoſe, Pſal. 116.12, 13. where to the queſtion, What ſhall I return to the Lord for all his benefits towards me? he returns this anſwer, I will take the cup of ſalvation, &c. i. e. when I offer foreign, ſacrifices for ſalvation or deliverance that God hath granted me out of trouble, I will remember the mercy of God with all thankfulneſs, as I feaſt upon the remains of that ſacrifice. For it was the manner, that the Maſter of the ſacrifice ſhould begin a cup of Thankſgiving to all the gueſts that he invited, that they might all praiſe God together for that ſalvation, in conſideration of which he paid theſe vowes unto him. And in thoſe words the Ancients thought they taſted the cup of ſalvation which we now drink in the Supper of the Lord; expounding them in the anagogical ſence to ſignifie foreign,Chryſost. in Pſal. 116. the participation of the Chriſtian myſteries. For in them we are to lift up ſongs of praiſe to Heaven, as we feaſt upon the Sacrifice of Chriſt, and we are to laud his Name who hath done ſuch great things for us, and raiſed up a horn of ſalvation to his people. But
III. In the Paſchal ſupper, when they eat the Lamb in memory of the ſalvation out of Egypt, theſe feſtival joys and thankſgivings are more eaſie to be obſerved. At which time that 116 Pſalm was one of thoſe that uſed to be ſung. For the Maſters of the Jewiſh learning tell us, that beſides their forms of bleſſing and thankſgiving, when they took the bread and wine (which I need not recite) they likewiſe ſung a Hymn, beginning at the 113, and reaching to the end of the 118 Pſalm. The former part of it (to the end of the 114,) was recited when they ſat down to eat; and when the fourth and laſt cup went about, then they ſung the later part, which concluded the ſolemnity. This Hymn was called foreign the Aegyptian Hymn,V. Buxtorf. in voc. foreign as Abarbanel relates, in memory of the great deliverance that God vouchſafed them, when he flew the firſt-born of Egypt, and brought them out of the houſe of bondage, that they might for ever ſerve him, and offer ſacrifices unto him. And it may be noted, that the beginning of that Hymn, doth ſo clearly referre to that deliverance, and the later end of it ſo manifeſtly refer to Chriſt (who was in the Paſſeover repreſented) that there could not be one more fitly choſen for that commemoration. Which likewiſe may teach us (if we had no other light to guide us in the buſineſs) that our Lord is to be remembred with ſuch Hymns and Praiſes.
It is likely the Heathens took their cuſtom of drinking Cups of Praiſes to their gods after their Feaſts,See the Schol. upon Aristoph. in Plut. & Fquit. but eſpecially in Iren. p. 642. foreign. from this Jewiſh Original. The firſt of which they drunk as ſoon as they had ſupped, and called it the Cup foreign, of their Good Genius. The laſt which they drunk for a parting-cup, they called foreign, the Cup of Jupiter the Saviour: And in them they gave praiſe to their Tutelar Angel, and the greateſt of their Gods, their prime Conſervator. For that this drinking was a kind of Sacrifice of Praiſe, and joined with Hymns, Xenophon will teach us, who thus ſpeaks; When the Tables were taken away, In Sympoſ. foreign.they offered a drink-offering, and ſung a ſong of praiſe, and ſo departed. The Cup of Devils or Daemons which the Apoſtle forbids the Corinthians (1 Cor. 10.21.) are by ſome taken to be theſe,Delrio in Iſa. 65.11. which I have mentioned, wherewith they concluded their feaſts, after they had ſacrificed unto them. It may well be ſo, and thus much we learn from them (who did but corrupt many good notions of Religion) that it was an ancient practice in the world, to offer praiſes to God as the laſt and beſt of their ſacrifices. And that this cup which our Saviour filled to his Diſciples, was truly ſuch a cup of ſalvation, you may ſee by his own practice. For,
IV. Our Saviour, in imitation of the Jewiſh ſolemnities, did inſtitute this Supper of his with ſuch joys as I am ſpeaking of. For firſt he did foreign,Matt. 26 1 Cor. … give thanks, or foreign, bleſs and praiſe God. Which was not, becauſe they were then going to ſupper, for St. Matthew ſaith diſtinctly, ver. 16. that as they were eating he took bread and bleſſed; and the cup he took after ſupper) but with a particular reſpect to this buſineſs, that he might reach us what the Miniſter ſhould do, and all the people joyning together with him And Paulus Fagius thinks it not unlikely that our Saviour uſed ſome part of the form of benediction that is ſtill in the Hebrew books,In Targ. Deut. 8. Veriſimile eſ…Chriſtum qui buſdam, quae in his precibus continentur, maxime quod principium & fiaem attin…t, uſum ſuſſe, non autem aliis, quae a poſierioribus Judaeis adaita ſunt. bleſſing God after that manner that then was in uſe among the people of God, to which the latter Jews have made ſome additions.
Secondly, They ſung a Hymn before they departed, which Paulus Burgenſis imagines to have been no other than that Egyptian Hymn which I mentioned before (called by ſome the great Hallet.) becauſe his Diſciples were beſt acquainted with it. And thus much ſeems to me confiderable, that there is not only much of Chriſt in that Hymn (as was noted before) but likewiſe that the whole multitude of Diſciples not many days before, when they brought the Lamb of God which was to be offered at the Paſſeover into Jeruſalem, did rejoyce and ſing Praiſes to God, with a part or it; as may be diſcerned, if you compare Pſal. 118.25, 26. with Mat. 21.9. and Luk. 19.37, 38.
The Paſchal Lamb was to be taken up from the flock four days before the time of its offering,Exod. 12.3, 6. in conformity to which (it is like) our Saviour was ſolemnly now taken and brought to Jeruſalem, juſt ſo many days before he was to be offered (compare Mat. 21, 17, 18. and Mat. 26.1.) and as the Hoſanna which they ſung at his preparation to his ſacrifice, was taken (as you have ſeen) out of that Hymn, ſo it is probable they uſed no other when he was repreſented to them as ſlain and eaten by them. It will not be out of our way for to obſerve further, that this Pſalm was ſo remarkable, that the next day after theſe Hoſanna's (when he ſaw they wrought nothing upon the Phariſees) he reades them their doom out of it, and declares to them his exaltation though they might kill him, Mat. 21.42. The ſtone which the builders refuſed, the ſame is become the head of the corner. This is the Lords doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes. But whatſoever become of this conjecture, and ſuppoſing the Hymn to be unknown; our Lord, no queſtion, taught us by this practice, what we ſhould do when we celebrate his memory. And accordingly you ſhall find in the Scripture.
V. That the Diſciples did eat this bread foreign, with a gladneſs and leaping of their heart for joy; foreign,Act. 2.46, 47. praiſing and lauding God, extolling of his Name with Hymns for all his benefits.1 Cor. 10.16. foreign … loc. Therefore the Apoſtle Paul calls it the cup of bleſsing, becauſe (ſaith Chryſoſt.) when it is in our hands, we laud the Name of God with ſongs of praiſe, wondring and being aſtoniſhed at this unſpeakable gift: or as Juſtin Martyr doth expreſs it, becauſe the Miniſter taking the cup, gave thanks, and bleſſed God, as our Saviour did, and all the people ſaid Amen, making a ſolemn foreign, or acclamation, and teſtifying thereby their hearts to be in that thankſgiving. But I need not have recourſe to him; the Apoſtle himſelf in the ſame Epiſtle acquaints us with it when he ſaith,1 Cor. 14. v. 16, 17. When thou ſhalt bl-ſs (a)foreign, &c.with the ſpirit (i. e. in an unknown tongue) how ſhall he that is unlearned ſay Amen at thy giving of thanks, (b)foreign.ſeeing he knows not what thou ſayeſt? From theſe words foreign, ſhalt bleſs, and giving thanks: Beza thinks that he touches upon the Lords Supper,So the L. Mr. Thorndike alſo. for they are the very ſame words which are uſed concerning that action of our Saviour when he firſt celebrated this feaſt; as you may ſee Mat. 26.26, 27. And beſides the Apoſtle ſeems in that Chapter to direct the Corinthians how to handle the whole divine ſervice ſo, that it might be to edification. Now having ſpoken concerning Prayer and ſinging of Pſalms, ver. 14.15. and inſtructing them afterward concerning teaching and interpreting of Scripture, ver. 19, 26. in all likelihood he here tells them how to behave themſelves to the ſame profiting of others in the Supper of the Lord, at which there were many rudeneſſes committed by the people. And that which he teacheth them,So Juct…n. foreign. is to give thanks in a known tongue, that ſo all the people when the Miniſter comes to foreign, for ever and ever (as Chryſoſtome ſpeaks) might aſſent with their wiſhes and ſay Amen From whence we may collect, that giving of thanks is ſo conſiderable a part of this ſervice, that in the Apoſtles ſtile it involves the whole of it.
VI. It may further be obſerved, that all Churches in the world have always uſed divine praiſes in this commemoration; and, (if we may believe ancient Records) ſuch as are very conformable to the Jewiſh benedictions at the Paſſeover, foreign, &c. Bleſſed art thou, O Lord, our God, the King of the world, who haſt produced bread out of the earth: and bleſſed art thou, &c. who haſt created the fruit- of the vine. And afterward, Let us bleſs him w…o hath fed us with his own, and by whoſe goodneſs we live, &c. For ſo we reade in Juſtin Martyr and others,Apolog 2. & Conſtit. Apoſt. that in their times the Church uſed to praiſe God for all things, and particularly for thoſe gifts of bread and wine, and ſo for Jeſus Chriſt, his Death, Paſſion, Reſurrection and Aſcenſion; beſeeching the Father of the whole world to accept of the offering they made to him. And in after ages, Cyril of Hieruſalem ſaith foreign, &c. We make mention of the Heaven, the Earth, the Sea, and all the Creatures, reaſonable and unreaſonable; of the Angels, Archangels, and powers of Heaven, praiſing God, and ſaying, Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of Sabbath, &c. Theſe do very much correſpond with thoſe Hebrew formes, which perhaps they were willing in part to imitate, for the greater ſatisfaction of the Jewiſh Chriſtians, who conſtituted part of their aſſemblies: One thing more ſeems to be very clear, that from the Hallel of the Jews it was, that ſome ancient Chriſtians uſed in the 50 days after Eaſter, to ſing and ingemminate Hallelujahs in their aſſemblies,ut autem Hal…iujah per illos ſolos quinqua… ginta dies in Eccleſia cantetur, non uſqucquaque obſervatur, &c. Epiſt. 120. as a remembrance of that great Hymn which the Prince of the Church and his Apoſtles ſung after this ſupper. This St. Aug. takes notice of, but ſaith, that in his days thoſe Hallelujahs uſed to be ſung at other times alſo.
From all which we may diſcern a farther reaſon why they called this Sacrament by the name of a Sacrifice;Ia iſto aut…m ſacrificio, gratiarum …ctio & commemo…atio eſt carnis Chriſti quam pro … obtulit. Fu…g. de ſide. 1 Pet. 2.5. becauſe they did offer unto God thankſgiving as the Pſalmiſt ſpeaks, Pſal. 50.…4.) which is one of the ſpiritual ſacrifices which every Chriſtian is conſecrated to bring unto him. It is confeſſedly true, that there never was any feſtival inſtituted by any people of the world, but one part of it was a reverend acknowledgment of God, and a thankſgiving to him for his benefits. And there never was any ſolemn feaſt either among Jews, Perſians, Greeks, Aegyptians or Romans, without ſome ſacrifice to their Gods. Chriſtians therefore are not without their ſacrifice alſo, when they keep this feaſt, and ſuch an one as is very befitting God; and which no rational man can deny to deſerve the name.L. 2. foreign. For Porphyry diſputing againſt the eating or ſacrificing of beaſts unto God, denies that thereupon any ill conſequence could be grounded, as if he denied all ſacrifices to him. No ſaith he, foreign, we likewiſe ſacrifice as well as others, foreign, only we will ſacrifice according as is moſt meet. And there he aſſigns to every Deity its proper homage and acknowledgment belonging to it; ſaying, that to the great God who is foreign, He above all, we ſacrifice nothing but pure thoughts, and ſpeak not ſo much as a word of him. But to thoſe that are the off-ſpring of God, the coeleſtial inhabitants, foreign, we give Hymns and praiſes, which are the conceptions and expreſses of our mind; and ſo he proceeds to the more petty tributes paid to leſſer Gods. According then to this Heathen Divine, the praiſes of God may well paſs for the moſt proper ſacrifice; and he makes account that there is none better but onelyonly ſilent adorations. A ſoul breathing forth it ſelf out of an ardent affection in holy Hymns, is more acceptable to God then the richeſt gumms, or the ſweeteſt wood that can fume upon his Altars. But a whole ſoul full of pure thoughts, too great to come out of the mouth, and more clear then to be embodied in words, is tranſcendent to all oblations.
But yet I would not be ſo miſtaken, as if I thought the Chriſtian thankſgiving conſiſted only in inward thoughts, and outward words; For there are Euchariſtical actions alſo whereby we perform a moſt delightſome ſacrifice unto God.
We muſt not when we come to God, appear before him empty; but we are to conſecrate and offer unto him ſome of our temporal goods for the relief of thoſe that are in want, which may cauſe many thankſgivings to be ſent up by them to God.2 Cor. 9.11, 12. It hath been ſaid before, that our whole ſelves ought to be offered as an holocauſt to God, and our love ſhould be ſo great, as to ſpend our ſouls and bodies in his ſervice; now in token that we mean ſo to do, we muſt give ſomething that is ours unto him for to be imployed to his uſes. We are to give God an earneſt of our ſincere and intire devotion to him, by parting with ſomething that we call ours, and transferring it to him. Of this the Apoſtle ſpeaks, Heb. 13.15, 16. where the ſerious Reader (that can ſtay ſo long as to peruſe thoſe Scriptures which I cite) will find both praiſe, and likewiſe communication of our goods to others, to be called ſacrifices. So that the ſpiritual ſacrifice of our ſelves, and the corporal ſacrifice of our goods to him, may teach the Papiſts that we are ſacrificers as well as they, and are made Kings and Prieſts unto God. Yea they may know, that the bread and wine of the Euchariſt, is an offering (out of the ſtock of the whole Congregation) to this ſervice, according as it was in the Primitive times,Apolog. 2. when (as Juſtin ſaith) they offered bread and wine to the foreign chief Miniſter of the brethren, who took it, and gave praiſe and glory to the Lord of the whole world, and then made foreign) a large and prolix thankſgiving to him that had made them worthy of ſuch gifts. We have foreign, (as Origen his phraſe is) a rational and unſmoaky ſacrifice, we offer our ſelves, and our prayers, and our praiſes, and our goods; ſo that if you pleaſe, we may call the table of the Lord foreign (in Theodoret's ſtile) a rational table, where as God provides, for us, ſo we provide for him in thoſe that are his members, and offer upon it thoſe ſacrifices which are moſt befitting either him or rational creatures. And that you may ſee we are engaged to this kind of offering; it is to be obſerved, that the eating of the Lamb was not all the ſolemnity of the Paſſeover, but they ſacrificed likewiſe offerings of thankſgivings in abundance, that there might be proviſion for the poor. You may underſtand this and a difficult place of Scripture both together. It is ſaid (according to our tranſlation) in Dent. 16.2. Thou ſhalt ſacrifice the Paſseover unto the Lord thy God, of the flock and the herd (or ſheep and Oxen) in the place which he ſhall chuſe, &c. It is well known, that the ſacrifice of the Paſſeover was to be a Lamb (Exod. 12.5.) taken from the ſheep or goats, and might not be of any other kind. Therefore by foreign Oxen, or of the herd, in this place, Aben Ezra, and others, underſtand the Euchariſticall ſacrifices, which we find 2 Chron. 35.7, 9. were offered in great abundance. Or as Abarbanel will have it, Moſes ſpeaks briefly of the Paſſeover (as having ſufficiently told them the manner of it before) ſo that we are to underſtand … to be wanting before foreign (i. e. and to be wanting before of the flock) and thus we read them: Thou ſhalt ſacrifice the Paſseover to the Lord, and ſheep and oxen: whichſoever way we take them, they tell us thus much, that they were other ſacrifices to accompany the Lamb. For the Jews were bound at the three ſolemn feaſts, to be very liberal and bountifull, and offer according to their abilities, that ſo the Levites and ſtrangers, the Fatherleſs and Widow might feaſt and rejoyce together with them, as you may ſee, ver. 10, 11, 16, 17.
Now Chriſt at this feaſt having nothing elſe to offer beſides the Lamb; he did offer himſelf, which was more then if the cattel upon a thouſand hills had been burnt unto God, or all the world had been laid on its funeral pile. In this he dealt the greateſt charity to the world, and by his poverty made us rich. So that we are the more ingaged, not onelyonly by their example, but by his, to offer up ſomething unto God beſide praiſes, that may ſupply the wants of thoſe who may juſtly look to be refreſhed by us.
To conclude then this Chapter; We muſt remember always when we approach to the Table of the Lord, that we are to bring hearts full of thankfulneſs, and mouths full of praiſes, and hands full of Almes; and that we may bring all theſe, we muſt bring our ſelves to be offered to him. Our hearts muſt flame with love, our minds muſt reek with holy thoughts, our mouthes muſt breathe forth praiſes like clouds of incenſe, and our hands muſt not be lifted up with nothing in them; but we muſt pay ſuch acknowledgements unto God, that may really teſtifie that we and all ours are his. We are to think that we come ſolemnly to bleſs the Lord for all his mercies, and eſpecially this great and rich one, that he hath given his Son to die for us, and that he hath purchaſed forgiveneſs, repentance, grace and ſalvation by his death on ſuch deſireable terms; and we muſt think likewiſe, that bleſſing of him includes in it ſelf ſuch good works as will provoke others for to bleſs him.
If you would briefly underſtand therefore what the meaning of this holy Rite is, remember, that it is a Commemoration of Chriſt and his death, with hearty thankſgivings for all the benefits we receive thereby.