Sermons, Treatise · Chapter 2
CHAP. II. Of Errours and Corruptions in the Church; How ſoon they ſprung up; When they are a ground of Separation, and when not. That this Ordinance muſt be ſuitable to Gods Inſtitution: And the Communicants muſt be ſuitable to this Ordinance.
1 COR. 11. 83.
For I have received of the Lord that which alſo I delivered unto you, &c.
THis Epiſtle is directed to the Church of God in1 Cor. 1 2. Grotius in initio hujus Epiſtolae. Heylin Geog. pag. 388. 1 Cor. 1. 5, 7. Corinth, which was ſometime a ſlately City of Greece, much renown'd in ancient Authours, but now is a place of ſmall note, being together with other Cities mentioned in the New Teſtament, ſwallowed up by that great Leviathan of the Land, the Turki…h Empire. In this City was a famous Chriſtian Church of the higheſt degree of elevation for parts and gifts, and ſpiritual endowments, but their beauty was blemiſht with as great blots, ſchiſms, 1 Cor. 1. 11. Denial of the Reſurrection of the dead by ſome of them, 1 Cor. 15. 12. and in this Chapter with a grand abuſe of that high and precious Ordinance the Supper of the Lord with ordinary and unwaſhen hands, polluting it with their own intemperance and drunkenneſs, not brought from their own homes, or from the Tavern to the Table, but uſed at the very Table it ſelf, which that you may underſtand, you may take notice, that it was an ancient cuſtom, foreign, ſaith Zonaras in Concil. 6. in Trullo. in the Primitive times, that the rich and wealthier ſort of Chriſtians did by a common purſe or contributions, furniſh out ſolemn feaſts in the very meeting places, or Churches, and there ſit down promiſcuouſly the rich and poor, which feaſts were called foreign, Feaſts of Love, or Brotherly-charity, to teſtifie the intimate affection of Chriſtians among themſelves. The Scripture ſpeaks of them, Jude verſ. 12. 2 Pet. 2. 13. and the ancient Fathers make often mention of them; The occaſion of them might be this; It's plain, that the Heathens at their Sacrifice had their feſtival entertainments, foreign, in their Idols Temple, that the Jews in their Euchariſtical Sacrifices feaſted before the Lord, God as it were entertaining them to eat and drink with him, and that Chriſt and his Apoſtles feaſted together at the Paſchal Supper before the celebration of the Lords Supper, and ſo by imitation very obvious, the Chriſtians had taken up a cuſtome of feaſting at their religious meetings, at which entertainments no Heathens were preſent, and thereupon they ſuſpected and ſcandalized the Chriſtians for theſe feaſts, de pabulo crudae & poſt convivium meſto Tertul. Apol. c. 7 &c. 39.that they eat and drunk the fleſh and bloud of a childe, and that after they had filled themſelves with wine and good cheer, they fell to inceſtuous and promiſcuous luſts, but the ancient Fathers wipe off theſe aſperſions, &c.
§. 2.
The abuſe of theſe feaſts the Apoſtle reproves from the 17. verſe of this Chapter, for they fomented their ſchiſmes and parties, even at theſe feaſts, one party and their faction ſorting themſelves together in one corner, another at another, as their humour led them, and ſo the common love was broken by private diviſions; then followed another abuſe, the poor that could ſend in nothing, had nothing, but were ſet light by, and ſuffered to ſtarve, while they were filling themſelves, and which was worſt of all, they were intemperate at their feaſts, eating and drinking exceſſively, one is hungry, another is drunken, verſ. 21. The word may ſignifie had drank liberally; as it's ſaid of Joſeph and his brethren, Gen 43. ult. and as the word is uſed, John 2. 10. The Summe is, there was
§. 3.
1. Siding and ſorting themſelves into parties with their meſſes and diſhes of good cheer, each faction by themſelves, verſ. 18. which is contrary to the nature or name of foreign, Feasts of Love.One party went to it before another came, v. 21. & 33.
2. Here was a ſlighting and laying aſide the poor Chriſtians that could ſend in nothing, contrary to the nature of a religious communion, ver. 28, 22.
3. Here was intemperance and exceſs, ver. 21. contrary to Chriſtian ſobriety.
4. Theſe feaſts were made in the Aſſembly or meeting-place (as we ſay the Church) as appears ver. 22. Have ye not houſes? And
§. 4.
5. With theſe juncats and feaſts they joyn'd the celebrationBeza. in Act. 2. in illis convivis. Grot. in Mat. 26. 25. Caſaub. Ex…re. 16. of the Lords-Supper, Menſis ſuis paſcebant, ſaith Auſtin. Epiſt. 118. and therefore the Apoſtle tels them, they defaced it, verſ. …1. This is not to eat the Lords-Supper, for quod non ritè fit, fieri non dicitur; and he doth therefore ſet forth the Lords inſtitution of the Supper, verſ. 23. that they might ſee the bare and naked nature of it, one thing is doubtfull, Whether the Lords-Supper was celebrated at the beginning or end of theſe feaſts? And the doubt riſeth, Becauſe in this Chapter, as is conceived by learnedDiodat Eſtius. Cajetan. in loc. Gerard. in har. p. 461. men, the feaſt went before; as in Chriſts laſt Supper, the paſchal Lamb was firſt eaten, and the Cup was taken after Supper, verſ. 25. and the unworthy coming to it, mentioned v. …9. and the puniſhment of this Church for their unworthineſs, verſ. …0. argues, That their feaſting firſt had unfitted them for the participation of this Ordinance, and yet Chryſoſtom and Donaras ſaith, foreign, After the participation of the Lords Supper the feaſt was; and thatƲbi ſupra. is true, for after-times, for the reproof of the Apoſtle haply had removed the feaſt unto the laſt place for good reaſons▪ but the feaſts were not quite removed out of the Churches of Greece and Africk, whereTertul. Apol. c. 39. we finde them continuing: Inſomuch as the Synod of Laodicea which was about three hundred years after Chriſt, and before the Nicene Councel, made a Canon, cap. 22. foreign, &c. That it is not fit the Agapae ſhould be in Churches or publick places of worſhip, and ſo theſe ancient Feaſts grew out by little and little, and now no remainders of them in all Chriſtendom.
I have been the longer upon this, becauſe I think otherwiſe you would not clearly underſtand the foregoing verſes, that touch upon the abuſe, nor the cauſe and reaſon of the Corinthians coming unworthily to the Lords-Table, and ſo I have ſet up a light in the entry, by which you may finde the way into the better underſtanding of all that follows in this Chapter, wherein he ſets the Lords Supper to rights, which was drowned in a feaſt; Then he orders the addreſs of the Communicants, which through the aforeſaid miſdemeanours had come to it unworthily, and then exhorts them to make it a Communion and not a Diviſion, as they had done, Tarry one for another, verſ. 33. and to prevent the intemperance of publick Feaſts, he bids them, if they muſt eat before they come to the Lords Supper, Let them eat at home, verſ. ult. and ſo clearly abrogates, not the Feaſts, but the order of them, as fore-going the Lords Supper; and here we ſhall ſtand a little and make obſervation.
§. 5.
Obſ. The Apoſtle interdicts not all eating or drinking before the Lords Supper, but this feaſting, and the abuſes growing thence, he doth forbid. Thoſe words,A man may eat before he come to the Lords Table. verſ ult. If any man hunger, let him eat at home, that they come not together unto condemnation, teach us, That this Feaſting was before the Sacrament, and that a man may eat at home, if occaſion be, before he come to the publick Aſſembly. To put a neceſſity upon Faſting, is to put Superſtition into it; for our Saviour at firſt celebrated it after Supper, by neceſſity of the Law of the Paſſeover, but bindes us not by his example to eat firſt, nor by any rule to faſt before it, therefore it is of free obſervation and uſe, yet the cuſtom of coming faſting had ſpread over theAug. Epiſt. 118 Per univerſum orbem mos iſto ſervatur. Chryſ. in 1 Cor. 11. 26. univerſal Church in Auſtins time, Per univerſum orbem, mosiſte ſervatur; Chryſostem ſpeaks too highly of it, foreign, that thou mayest be worthy to receive, for ſetting it aſide as any piece of ſpiritual preparation, and I know not why it may not ſtand, Omnes jejuni celebramus, ſaith that Light of France. Chamier. de Euch. lib. 6 cap 1. §. 13.All the French Churches celebrate the Supper faſting; I hold to the Rule, If any man hunger, &c. either of theſe is beſt which puts the body in beſt tune, to ſerve (as I may ſay) the ſoul in a holy duty.
§. 6.
Obſ. 2 How ſoon abuſe crept into this Ordinance of the Supper. It was not above twenty or thirty year from the nativity or birth of this Ordinance when this Epiſtle was written, it was nothing ſo long from the birth or foundation of this Church to this time. The Apoſtle had ſown good corn in this field by his Doctrine. I have delivered unto you the naked inſtitution of Chriſt, and now it ſtands in need of weeding. The Devil was not aſleep in the very ApoſtlesErrour and corruption ſprung up in the Church betime. times. He raiſed up Simon Magus, and after him a fry of Gnosticks, or knowing people, ſo they would be called, but falſly, ſaith Irenaeus, to corrupt the Doctrine; and it was betimes that the Devil ſet his foot in this moſt excellent Ordinance, and from firſt to laſt there have been ſcarce any times wherein ſome ſoil hath not cleaved to this Sacrament, every Age adding or declaring ſomewhat, till it became a monſter, unlike it ſelf in the Romiſh Maſſe, which is a Maſſe of Idolatry and abomination, a very abomination of deſolation to this Ordinance, the ſtamp of Chriſts inſtitution being ſo defaced, that he that minted it cannot own his own coyn; for being an outward Ordinance, conſiſting of outward elements and actions, the fancy of men thinks, this and that dreſſing would do better, and ſo by putting on more ornaments, as they call them, they quite ſpoil the feature of the childe; and if men would be tampering while the Apoſtles lived, what would they do after? If I ſhould ſay, that the unhappieſt and oldeſt weeds have grown in this Garden, I ſhould not ſpeak far wide; I may ſay of it, as Solomon ſaith of man, Eccleſ. 7. 29. Loc, this have I found, that God hath made man right, but they have ſought out many inventions.
§. 7.
Obſ. 3 The Apostle doth not command thoſe that were pure from theſe abuſes to ſeparate from their Communion with the reſt, whom he reproves for their ſinne of Of ſeparation, when ſinful, and when lawfull.coming unworthily. We know not who, or how many were free, but it may ſeem the pooreſt were the pureſt, as commonly they are; but he that reproves ſchiſm doth not command ſeparation; He aſſayes the cure another way,
1. By ſetting the Ordinance right according to Chriſts Inſtitution.
2. By rectifying the Communicants from their unworthy coming, and ſo gives both a purgation, diſallowing their ſchiſm, not allowing any ſeparation.
If Babylon become ahabitation of Devils, then come out of her my people, Rev. 18. 2, 4. Yea flee out and deliver your ſouls, Jer. 51. 6.
If Chriſt muſt be coupled with Belial, the Temple of God with Idols, as it is when Chriſtians participate in Heatheniſh Sacrifices and Idolatries, then, Come out from among them, and be ye ſeparate, 1 Cor. 6. 16, 7. You have an old and famous example in them that left all to go to Jeruſalem when Jereboam ſet up his Calves, and caſt out the Prieſts of the Lord, 2 Chron. 11. 14, 16. For if Bethel turn Bethaven, the houſe of God become the houſe of iniquity, then, Come out of Gilgal, Goe not up to Bethaven Hoſ. 4. 15.
If any that's called a brother, a Profeſſour of the Chriſtian Religion, be a Fornicatour, or Idolater, or covetous, have no free familiarity with him, with ſuch an one, no not to eat, 1 Cor. 5. 11. Turn away from them, 2 Tim. 3. 5.
If they bring corrupt Doctrine, houſe them not, ſalute them not, Epiſt. a. John 10. for that makes you partaker in their ſinne, verſ. 11. If their works be unfruitfull works of darkneſs, be not partakers with them, have no fellowſhip with their workes, Epheſ. 5. 7, 11.
Theſe ſeparations are duty, and unto duty, but for a Corinthian to ſeparate from Gods Church and Gods Ordinance, becauſe ſome come unworthily to the Lords Table is no duty, becauſe there is no command, it is no duty, and therefore we read not this word, Come forth, in any of thoſe Epiſtles written to the ſeven Churches, Revel. …. & 3. againſt which Chriſt ſaith, He hath ſuch and ſuch things; they that lived in the impurer, are not called forth into the purer Churches, but there are promiſes made to them that keep themſelves pure, and duties enjoyned them toward the impure part, for we may not make theſe Churches and Babylon all one, nor make every diſeaſe the plague: Shall the ſons of God, the Angels, forſake the Lords preſence, becauſe Satan comes alſo amongſt them? Job 1. 6. Muſt Shem and Japhet leap out of Noahs Ark, becauſe there is a Cham there; Would not our Saviour rather have ſent for John Baptiſt to have baptized him, rather than himſelf have come from Nazareth to Bethabara, which ſome computeHilderſam in Joh. 4. Lect. 26 p. 122. fourteen Dutch miles, that's of ours fifty ſix? If that generation of vipers that came alſo to Johns Baptiſm, had either polluted the water, or the Ordinance unto Chriſt? Matth. 3. 7, 14. But of this more afterwards.
§. 8.
Obſ. 4 The abuſes reproved were ſuch as depraved the Ordinance, and the corruptions ſuch as put themſelves forth in the Communicants at the very time of their participation. The Lords Supper, was ſo intermedled with their feſtival cheer, as the difference between the Lords body, and their own repaſt was not truly made. They diſcerned not the Lords body. Their corruptions which at all times are blame-worthy, as diviſions, intemperance, ſlighting the poor brethren, do now appear moſt odious and unſuitable, I note hereupon, That ſinne never doth us more hurt than in fruſtrating and diſabling the uſe and fruit of Ordinances. This is not, ſaith he, to eat the Lords Supper, verſ. 20. You come together not for the better, but for the worſe, verſ. 17. We are the worſe, when we bring ſuch ſins as carnalize the heart, and diſapten us for ſpiritual fruition and enjoyment; An outward reverence, as it is an argument of a ſerious ſpirit; ſo it is becoming the Ordinances of the Goſpel; The meeting of the Church is the greateſt meeting in the world, the irreverent uſe of the Lords Supper, call'd for a ſudden Reformation, Other things, ſaith the Apoſtle, …li I ſet in order when I come, verſ. ult. but this cannot ſtay, it's a matter of importance, that the reverence of this Ordinance be preſerv'd, bring not hither then the behaviour of a Tavern, or of your meeting at the Hall of your Company, though grave, but the deportment of Chriſtians that come to the beſt and greateſt Table in the world: It's true, I could worſhip Chriſt though lying in a manger, but I ſhould not put him in a manger, if I had a better room for him in my Inne; Let all things be done decently, or beautifully, 1 Cor. 14. ult.
§. 9.
The words are, For I received of the Lord that which alſo I delivered unto you; A good recommendation of his Doctrine, a good preparative to make way forCameron. Myrothec. in loc. Horac. lib. 2. Satyr. 8. Aeneid. l. 2. their acceptance of it, I received it from the Lord. The expreſſion is Hebrewiſh, with whom; the Teacher is ſaid to give, Prov. 9. 9. The Scholar to receive, and the Latine owns both the words in that ſenſe, That which I have learned, I alſo have delivered; This very Doctrine he had taught them by word of mouth, but now upon occaſion of their ſwerving from it, he repeats and writes them a copy of it for perpetual memory. Beza is in this place a Hypercritick from the word foreign not foreign, and will have it thus, Ut à Domino profectum, I received it upon report, as from the Lord: It weakens not the credit of the Doctrine, whether the Apoſtle had it by immediate revelation, as moſt ſay, or by report of eye-witneſſes, or both; He did receive it from the Lord, and from the Lord he hands it to the Church, and therein, as Eſtius ſaith, he is a fourth Evangeliſt, for John Eſtius in loc,recites not the inſtitution of the Supper, though he ſpeak upon the borders of it, and ſo Paul makes the fourth relator.
The Obſervations hence are,
§. 10.
1. The best way to redreſs and remedy abuſes and corruptions Juſtum regulum adjubet Martyr. Inſtitutio Chriſti certa regula. Calvin.crept into this Ordinance, is to reduce it to the Lords Institution. This the Apoſtle here doth, having opened the nature of the diſeaſe, he applies this medicine, For I have received of the Lord, &c. Our Saviour had uſed this way upon the queſtion of Divorce, which was grown very abuſive, and ſtood in need of regulation; he tries it by the ſtandard of the firſt inſtitution, yea though the authority and antiquity of Moſes was pleaded, But, ſaith Chriſt, from the beginning it was not ſo, Mat. 19. 8. Though errour be old, yet truth is firſt. All corruptions of Ordinances are deviations from their inſtitution, and therefore the falſe copy muſt be corrected by the true original, The inſtitution of Chriſt is the certain Rule; He inſtituted it for a Communion, therefore O Corinthians, your diviſions and contempt of the poor is unſuitable. He inſtituted it as a Sacrament of his body and blood for ſpiritual repaſt, therefore your intemperance and common uſe of it at your feaſts, is not agreeable to the nature and uſe of it, as the ſtandard diſcovers falſe weights and meaſures, and a ſtraight rule, a crooked line, ſo the inſtitution of our Lord, corruptions. The Popiſh-maſſe would not be found in the maſſe, if it were tried by this Rule; but we muſt diſtinguiſh between Chriſts inſtitution of this Sacrament, and his celebration of it, though at the ſame time. The inſtitution ſhews the nature and uſe of it, and abides as a perpetual Rule, He took bread, he bleſt, he broke, he gave, &c. His celebration of it was by reaſon of the Paſſeover attended by very many occaſional circumſtances, after Supper, in a private room, in ſuch a geſture, to ſuch a number, in unlevened bread, &c. It's no corruption to vary in theſe occaſional circumſtances, except we muſt alwayes keep Paſſeovers too. I ſhow'd you before out of Jewiſh Writers, That the Paſſeover of after-times, even that of Chriſt varied in ſuch particulars from the firſt Paſſeover in Egypt, without corruption, and ſo this Supper in all ages hath varied from the firſt celebration in ſuch occaſionals. He, ſaith Naz anzen, Naz. Nat. 40.celebrated the Supper, foreign, in an upper room, we in our houſes of prayer; he after, we before Supper; he before his death, we after his Reſurrection, and ſo accordingly all Divines. It is univerſalis notio, ſaith Chamier, an univerſal notionChamier. de Euchar. l. 8. c. 7. that the circumſtances of an individual action be diſtinguiſht from thoſe that pertain to the Law thereof, and theſe may be of good uſe for inſtruction, not of neceſſary uſe for imitation; I ſay with learned Hooker, Hooker Eccleſ. Polit. l. 5. p. 366To do throughout every like circumſtance with Chriſt were to erre more from the purpoſe he aimed at, then we now do by not following them with ſo nice ſtrictneſs; What is ſuperſtition but to make that neceſſary which is indifferent, and that a part of worſhip which is an accident to it? So Conſtantine the Emperour defer'd his Baptiſm, and almoſt miſt it, becauſe he would have been baptized in Jordan, as Chriſt was. Hold the inſtitution, but be not ſuperſtitious without a command, or hoc facite, in the circumſtances that fall out at the time of celebration.
§. 11.
Obſ. 3 That the Apoſtle received from the Lord what he delivered to the Church. This high and honourable Ordinance,This Ordinance we receive from the Lord. the Paſſeover of the Chriſtian Church, we can receive from no higher hand, than the Lord, we may receive from no lower; our faith can be reſolved into no lower authority than the Lord. I believe and receive this, and uſe it, and expect the fruit, not becauſe Paul delivers it to me, but becauſe he receives it from the Lord, and ſo the Apoſtle leads our faith to the original, the firſt authority, and higher we need not, we cannot go: It was the dignity of an Apoſtle to be a receiver from the Lord, or elſe he could not have had the authority of a deliverer to the Church. See the difference between Chriſt and Paul in this matter of delivery to the Church, in Matth. 5. 21, 31, 33. Ye have heard it hath been ſaid of old thus and thus, But I ſay to you; He ſpeaks like the Lord, But I ſay; when Paul comes to ſpeak, Then, I have received from the Lord, he ſpeaks as an Embaſſadour, or a ſervant; No other authority ought to take place in the Church, but of Chriſt only.
§. 12.
The Apoſtles were of high authority in the Church of Chriſt, firſt Apoſtles, ſaith the Text, 1 Cor. 12. 28. yet they were but receivers, there was a higher authority which they advance, I have received from the Lord; See the ſcale or ladder of faith; we receive our Doctrine from the Scriptures, the Scriptures from the Apoſtles and others that were inſpired; they from Chriſt, and Chriſt as Mediatour ſayes, He hath received his miſsion from God; and here alone our faith ſtands, and is quietly ſetled, ſo in the Commonwealth, you receive a warrant from the Conſtable, a meaner man then you, he from the Juſtice, he from the Councel, they from the ſupream power.
And what need or reaſon was there that he ſhould avouch his receiving the doctrine of this Sacrament from the Lord? Was it for that he wrote to the Corinthians, a proud and ſtomackfull people that had his perſon in ſome contempt in compariſon of their preachers, who by their tinkling eloquence led them by the ears into captivity, and were partners with, or patrons of them in theſe abuſes? Therefore he brings the name of the Lord to bear down their naughty ſtomacks, and the Lords inſtitution to whip theſe corruptions out of the Temple: Or
Rather was it for a cloſer reaſon; He that believes to receive a ſoul-benefit from an outward Ordinance of eating and drinking bread and wine, had need to ſee good ground for his believing, for they are incommenſurate and improper to the ſoul; the body may more eaſily be fed with air, than the ſoul with bread and wine; Therefore he appeals to the Lord, for the benefit is from the authour, the vertue and fruit from the inſtitution; He that by a piece of braſs heal'd a mo…tal ſting, can by bread (as I may ſay) feed the hungry ſoul; He put clay in my eyes (ſaith the blinde man) He ſent me to the pool of Siloam, and I waſht, and do ſee, Joh. 9. 15.
§. 13.
Obſ. 3 That the Apoſtle delivered to the Church what he had received from the Lord alſo delivered unto you, (Et omnibus Ecc eſiis meo miniſterio fundatis) and allM…rton in loc. P. Martyr. Churches founded by my Miniſtry; He did receive and deliver, but not inſtitute this Ordinance; He that will inſtitute a Sacrament makes himſelf a God, ſaith Peter Martyr, Had he n…t received he had wanted authority? Had he not delivered, he had wanted faithfulneſs and honeſty, as a meſſenger that keeps theGod alwayes had officers in his Church. Ring ſent to a friend? God hath ever had in his Church ſuch as ſhould be receivers and deliverers, an office of men, taken from among men, and ordained for men in things pertaining to God, as it's defined, Heb. 5. 1. but all are not receivers, as Paul, by immediate hand from the Lord; Moſes receives the Law, and the pattern in the Mount; he was a receiver and deliverer, the Prieſts in their generations did receive and deliver, but they were bound to the Law, and to the Teſtimony: So in the Chriſtian Churches the Apoſtles receive the Word and Sacraments from the Law, they ſee the pattern in the Mount, then there are others in their generations that receive and deliver too, but they are bound to the Law and Teſtimony. Hear the Apoſtle 2 Tim. 2. 2. The things that thou haſt heard of me, commit thou to faithfull men, who ſhall be able to teach others alſo: So that here is Paul that received from the Lord, Timothy from Paul, other faithfull men from Timothy, and others from thoſe faithfull men; There is no government of any Commonwealth on earth, but they have their Officers to receive Lawes and Commands from the higheſt, and to convey and deliver them to the people.
§. 14.
The Apoſtle received from the Lord two things, His Commiſſion and his Errand; His Commiſſion to be an Apoſtle, Rom. 1. 5. From Chriſt we have received our Apoſtleſhip, and this he may ſhow to the people, as he doth to theſe Corinthians, 1 Cor. 9. 1. Am I not an Apoſtle? &c. but he doth not deliver this to them; His errand, and that is the Doctrine of the Goſpel, and this he doth both receive and deliver, I have delivered unto you; ſo an Embaſſadour hath a Commiſſion, and that he may ſhow, but delivers not; and he hath an errand, and that he receives from his Lord, and delivers to them to whom he is ſent. There were Prophets in Jeremiah's time that would be deliverers, but they neither received Commiſſion, Jer. 14. 14. I ſent them not; nor errand, Jer. 23. 16. Their viſion was of their own heart; The one of theſe being wanting made a falſe prophet. I fear we have many moe deliverers then receivers from the Lord, either they want one of theſe legs, or both, and yet (which is the wonder they run) having received neither Commiſſion nor Errand from the Lord.
§. 15.
He delivers that to the Church, all that, only that, which firſt he had recived from the Lord; the arrow flees with ſtrength, that is ſhot out of ſuch a Bow; He was a faithfull Embaſſadour or Steward, we have all that, and nothing but that which comes from the Lord; a good depoſitary that fails not of his truſt, the loſſe of a little of Gods truth, is as the loſſe of a Diamond out of a Ring: Chriſt ſpeaks of the leaſt iota's or tittles of the Law, as precious things, and permanent. It was the admirable wit of Homer, to make (in his Poems) Embaſſadours to ſpeak in the ſame words, as they received their errand by the ſame ſpirit, and the ſame inſpiration that he received this Doctrine from the Lord, he alſo delivered it to the Church. How pure doth this Ordinance of the Supper come to our hands? What credit ought it to be of with us? You know the Heathens, and ſo Mahomet that impoſtor, that ſet up or deviſed the heatheniſh Theology or Worſhip, they feigned a converſation with ſome god or goddeſs, a ſpirit, that their votes might be received of the people with awe and credit; for the conſcience of man ſtoops to none but God, from whom we are aſſured by the Apoſtle duplicate page duplicate page that we have this Ordinance, That I received, I alſo delivered to you.
§. 16.
Obſ. 4 That what the Apoſtle had formerly delivered to the Corinthians by lively voice, now he writes upon the occaſion of abuſes grown in, How eaſily do corruptions ſteal Eſtius in loc.in? How ſoon do we forget the Law of Ordinances and inſtitutions of Chriſt? It could not be many years ſince he had delivered the manner of this Ordinance,What neceſſity there is of having the Scripture written. and now he repeats it in writing: What neceſſity is there of having the Scripture written? That it may continue and paſſe pure from generation to generation. Men finde it very requiſite that their Laws be written and upon record; what inconveniences would follow, if not? While the Church of God conſiſted of few perſons or families, as in Noah and Abraham's time, there was the word of God, but not Scripture. It was handed down from father to ſonne by tradition, and the frequent appearances of God to them, ſupplied defects; but afterward God began the example, and wrote the Decalogue in Tables of ſtone, the ancienteſt writing this day in all the world, then Moſes alſo wrote the Scripture, and he is the ancienteſt writer in the world; if all the Greek Law givers or Poets be compared with him, they are but (heri aut nudius tertius ſaith Cunaeus and Joſephus) as of yeſterday, hundreds of years before the Trojan war, yet not ſo many, as Theoph. ad Autolycum. affirms, The Jews had the OldWhich was in Jephaes dayes 900. or 1000. Teſtament written, though they were ſo frequently viſited by extraordinary Prophets; and the Jewiſh Maſoreth had ſo induſtriouſly mended and numbred all the letters in every word of the Old Teſtament, that they knew the number, and could as eaſily miſſe one as you can miſſe a pearl off your chain, and hereof we have the benefit, C…dicem portat Judaeus unde credat Chriſtianus, The Jew ſaith Auſtin, thoughAug. in ſa. 56 himſelf an unbeliever is our Library-keeper, and carries the book after us out of which we get our faith: for how often doth our Lord and his Apoſtles cite thoſe Records; Nor would the Lord let the New Teſtament be unwritten, which in the wide world, over which the Goſpel ſpreads, would have been mangled and transfigured into a thouſand ſhapes. Remember ſometimes in your prayers to give God thanks for the Goſpel written, the Jews never forget the Law in theirs. And yet again, I note it, that many parts of the New Teſtament were written on accidental occaſions, as ill manners occaſion good Laws; ſo Paul writes this Epiſtle, and this part that I preach upon: So the Epiſtle to the Galatians, an occaſion of falſe teachers that mingled Moſes and Chriſt, Law and Goſpel; and all Writers give this occaſion for that lofty and ſublime piece, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was, &c. becauſe the helliſh Gnoſticks did even then begin to adulterate the ſimplicity of the Goſpel, and to bring Chriſt unto a lower rank, and therefore he uſes their very words foreign and foreign Grot. in Proleg. ad Johan.which they had in Plato and Pythagoras his School, and applies them to Chriſt Jeſus; we get this excellent piece of Scripture which intreats upon the preparation of the Communicant above any, above all other, and we get it by the abuſes and corruptions reigning then in Corinth, upon occaſion of their ſin, the whole Church hath gained a Rule for ever, I had almoſt ſaid, as it's ſaid in another reſpect, foelix culpa, happy were theſe corruptions.
§. 17.
Obſ. 5 The ſafeſt, ſimpleſt, certaineſt Rule by which a Communicant may examine himſelf, whether he come worthily to this Table, is to do it by the nature, uſe and end of the Lords Supper. The Apoſtle had found great fault with the Corinthians manner of communicating, to preventBy what rule men are to examine whether they come worthily to the Lords Supper. which he gives one ſhort Rule in theſe words, Let a man examine himſelf; but he ſets down no form of this ſelf-examination; He doth not anſwer the queſtion, How? Yea, he delivers the inſtitution of Chriſt in all points, as that Rule to ſquare the Communicant; For if a man do rightly calculate, he ſhall finde that here is preſented and repreſented the cloſeſt union and communion of the ſoul with Chriſt, the moſt ſpiritual intimacy, the moſt humbling and paſſionate proſpect of a broken Chriſt, the moſt refreſhing water that runs out of that ſmitten Rock, the moſt real exhibition and affording of this to me; and indeed the ſweeteſt and neereſt entercourſe with our Lord, is here ſet forth, as in no other Ordinance, for the manner of it, and then what doth this beſpeak? Doth a feaſt ſo ſet forth beſpeak a ſwine? Are Superſtition, Ignorance, Prophaneneſs, fit garments to come in to ſuch a Supper? Are thoſe Chriſt-killing-ſinnes of ours, which cauſed this breaking of him, fit companions for us to bring to the eating of him? That is, as if we ſhould bring to the Lords Table the bloudy knife that killed him; Let a man but uſe his reaſon with his faith, and ask this broken bread, this poured wine, what they mean, or what they ſpeak, and they will tell him enough, whereby he may examine himſelf, and this is Chemnitius his Rule for examination,Chem. Exam. de preperatione. whom a great man of this Nation ſaith, to be the beſt Scholar of all the Lutherans (Sic inquit Montacut. origenes.)
Uſe. The reſult of all that hath been ſaid, comes to theſe two inſtructions, pertaining either to Miniſter, or people, or both.
1. That this Ordinance of the Supper be ſuitable to the Exod. 25. 40. Heb. 8. 5.inſtitution of Chriſt.
2. That the Communicant be ſuitable to the Ordinance, and then both things which the Apostle ſpeaks unto here, both ſorts of abuſes or corruptions, whether in the Ordinance, or of the Communicants, are ſet to rights, and all is right.
§. 18.
1. That the Ordinance be ſuitable to the inſtitution; For ſee (ſaith he) that thou make all things according to This Ordinance muſt be adminiſtred according to Gods inſtitution.the pattern ſhew'd thee in the Mount; Moſes had no liberty to vary from the matter or form, or any particular; and have not we an inſtitution, and the pattern of this Ordinance ſet before us, not in the Mount, but in the upper-room, where Chriſt celebrated the firſt Supper, and gave forth a hoc facite, This do as oft as ye do it, hoc facite, is as much as, See that ye make or do all things according to the pattern; The Apoſtles were not now at a Councel-Table with their Lord, to give their vote what manner of Sacrament ſhould be appointed, but as gueſts to take and eat at preſent ſuch cheer as the Maſter ſet before them, and in after-times to do This, Do this in remembrance of me, and yet our Lord Chriſt would have his Ordinances adminiſtred foreign decently. Clemens the ancienteſt of Fathers in his Epiſtle to theſe Corinthians, hath an excellent ſaying, foreign, We ought to do all thoſe things orderly which our Maſter hath commanded us to do; For Chriſt himſelf was no friend to ſlovenlineſs, or loathſome naſtineſs (as one obſerves)Hilderſam in John 4. out of that Mark 14. 15. He ſhall ſhew you an upper room furniſhed and prepared; but preſumption is bold, Superſtition adventurous, as if it was called to councel with God, makes no bones of clipping his coyn; and therefore this Sacrament hath been filled with many devices, and long groaned under their inventions, which after long poſſeſſion plead preſcription, and come in after-times to be counted parts, which at firſt were but ſcabs or wens. The Apoſtle did not, durſt not deliver but what he had received; but they that have leſſe power than the Apoſtle, dare deliver what they received not, and by adding or ſubſtracting, do plainly finde fault with Gods own model: Why ſhould the Papiſt give into the mouth of his Communicant a whole wafer, but that he is afraid to break the bread leaſt ſome looſe crums ſhould fall? Why doth he cheat the people wholly of the Cup, but upon pretence that a drop of the bloud might be ſhed or ſpilt? May we not think that they are too nice, and more ſcrupulous than Chriſt, at whoſe breaking bread there might fall crums, and in the Apoſtles drinking, drops from the cup? Superſtition is fooliſh, that pretends holineſs, and corrupts Ordinances, and had rather make than take a Sacrament; We have the Miniſter in the name and ſtead of Chriſt Jeſus; if this be denied (as it is by ſome) I ſhall at preſent affirm but this, That the reverend and moſt ancient Father Juſtin Martyr in his ſecond Apology to the Roman Emperour, written about fifty years after the death of John the Apoſtle, ſets out (as I ſhall ſhew you) the full manner of their adminiſtration of this Sacrament, and therein ſaith, the foreign, or Miniſter, doth pour forth prayer, and gives thanks over the bread and wine, which (I can give no account of private corners) hath been practiſed in the Chriſtian Churches, till this very time and year, being 1500 years at leaſt. The Miniſter takes the bread, and likewiſe takes the Cup. He gives thanks or bleſſeth over the Bread and Cup He breaks the Bread, he ſaith, Take ye, eat ye, drink ye. He pronounces, This bread is the body of our Lord Jeſus Chriſt. This Cup is the New Teſtament in his bloud. You do take, you eat, you drink. This the Miniſter doth; this you do for a remembrance and commemoration of Chriſt, ſhewing forth his death; and this is an Ordinance ſutable to the inſtitution.
§. 19.
2. That the Communicant be ſutable to the Ordinance. When the Song is truly ſet and prickt, the ſinger muſtOf worthy communicating. keep time and tune, or elſe all is not right; The Papiſts have the Ordinance unſuitable to the inſtitution, and we alas have Communicants unſuitable to the Ordinance. That word which follows in this Chapter, that dangerous word foreign, unworthily; what is it but unſutably, we muſt meaſure, and faſhion the Communicant by the Ordinance: He muſt of neceſſity be a Diſciple, to ſuch Chriſt ſpoke, Take ye, eat ye, &c. not as ye are Apoſtles, but as Diſciples; He muſt bring with him a Chriſt receiving, or a Chriſt applying faith, for Take, Eat, without a hand or mouth of the ſoul he cannot; He muſt come with hunger and thirſt for ſtrength and refreſhment, for he doth come to a Table to eat and drink the ſtaff of bread the cordial cheering wine; This ſtrength and nouriſhment is by vertue of his union with Chriſt himſelf, and communion, therefore he comes to eat the very body, and drink the very bloud of Chriſt; He comes as a confederate with God, to receive the ſeal, or as a Legator to receive a Legacy bequeath'd by Will, viz. Chriſt and remiſſion of ſins in Chriſt, for this Cup is the New Covenant, or New Teſtament ſealed with Chriſts bloud; He comes as to a feſtival commemoration, where the founder of the feaſt is remembred with praiſe and honour, Do it in remembrance of me; He looks through and beyond the broken bread and wine poured out, to a broken body and the ſhed bloud of Chriſt; He looks at another taking, then taking of bread; another eating and drinking than of bread and wine, viz. the taking to himſelf, and the ſpiritual and intimate application of Chriſts body and bloud, For he diſcerns the Lords body, and therefore comes as a conſecrated perſon to conſecrated elements, to broken bread with a broken heart, full of affections, as the Ordinance is full of myſteries, and here is a Communicant ſuitable to the Ordinance, and ſo Paul, who received of the Lord, and delivered unto them the inſtitution of Chriſt, hath ſet to rights both the Ordinance, and the Corinthian Communicant.