Sermons, Treatise · Chapter 32
CHAP. XXXII. The Danger of this Sinne.
§. 1.
4. THe fourth thing expounded was the danger of this ſinne, He eats and drinks judgement to himſelf; if he be a godly man that eats and drinks unworthily, or haply alſo damnation, if he be an hypocrite, for the word foreign, may reſpectively extend to both. A ſtrange phraſe it is to eat and drink judgement, but it is alluſive, and per mimeſin, as ſure as he eats of the Bread and drinks of the Cup unworthily, ſo ſure is judgement to follow thereupon, or to accompany it, for he eats judgement, but it is to himſelf, not to others, except they be partakers in his ſinne, which may be divers ways; So as we have reaſon to inſert in all our prayers, Lord forgive our noſtra aliena, our other mens ſins, but without partnerſhip in the ſinne we need not fear ſhare in the judgement, He eats it to himſelf; and therefore that argument of the Donatiſt, which is riſe now a dayes, Si corruptis ſociaris, &c. If you be joyned with wicked men, how can you be clean? If you pray with them, hear with them, receive the Sacrament with them, was anſwer'd by Austin, True, ſaith he, if we be joyned, but that is not in bodily preſence locally, but by conſent or allowance, and ſo we are no more joyn'd then Chriſt and the Apoſtles were joyn'd with Judas at the Paſſeover or Supper, who I believe was not defiled by his preſence, as neither were thoſe gueſts that came in to the marriage by the preſence of him that had no wedding garment; It's true, example may defile by contagion and infection, but allowance and conſent defiles by acceſſarineſſe unto the ſin.
§. 2 §. 2. The Application.
How precious an Ordinance is this Supper, and yet how dangerous? There is life and death ſet before you It's on one ſide a refreſhing cloud, on the other a flaming fire; ſo by the ſame water and way were the Iſraelites ſaved, and the Aegypians attempting the like were drown'd: Thus Chriſt alſo is a precious ſtone to believers, a ſtumbling and a cruſhing ſtone to unbelievers, and the Word is a ſavour of life, and a ſavour of death; Some mens eyes are open'd by it, and ſome are ſhut; The ſame Ark is to Iſrael a glory, to the Philiſtims a ſcourge; Here is honey in the ſame roſe to the Bee, and poyſon to the Spider, and it is according as you eat and drink worthily or unworthily. We reade in Scripture, that when people cried to Chriſt for cure, uſually he put it upon their faith, According to your faith, and, If thou canst believe; and we never reade of any one that cried, that he was put by for want of faith; for if they gave never ſo little account, Lord, I believe, help my unbelief, it was accepted. The benefit of this Ordinance is according to your Faith, Repentance, and if you can give but any account of them to God, you may drink Chriſt out of this Rock, but if you be in ſinnes of love and delight, and come in your wickedneſſe, you take the Sword by the point, not by the haft, and you ſhall ſmart for your preſumption.
Secondly, The horrible thunder of the Apoſtle in this place, is not to deterre, but to prepare Communicants; An humble ſoul is affrighted with the terrour, and dare not draw nigh this fiery Mount, but it is not ſpoken to affright from the Sacrament, but to enforce a due preparation; When the deſtroying Angel rode his circuit, the Iſraelites lay ſecure within the line of bloud: This bloud here offer'd will protect thee from this condemnation threatned, if thou flie to it. But
Thirdly, The ignorant that are without knowledge, and the ſcandalous without repentance, who are by the common vote of men excepted againſt, as unfit Communicants, they may know that this is a dreadfull eating and drinking, which is accompanied with ſuch a guiltineſſe, and wi…h ſuch judgement, and yet this fiery Sword will not keep them off, they will be ruſhing in to this Tree of Life. It is not envy, malice, or partiality, but it is charity to entreat you not to luſt ſo eagerly after thoſe Quails, which while they are in your mouths, the wrath of God is like to fall upon you, both of you have marks enough of condemnation upon you; Deſire not to adde more, be ſure the King will ſurvey and view his gueſts, you cannot ſcape in the croud; What if you be taken from the Table, and caſt into utter darkneſſe? It concernes me to give you warning; If you take the Allarme, and firſt labour for knowledge, and ſeeke repentance by the means appointed to beget them, and to beget you unto God: Well, If not then, it concernes the Church to ſhew you mercy in making ſtay of you from falling into the fire. For,
Fourthly, The eating and drinking of the Lords Bread, and the Lords Cup unworthily, is a ſinne dangerous to Common-wealths and Churches, for it brings judgement, Epidemick judgement, ſo it did upon this Church of Corinth, foreign, For this cauſe many among you are ſick and die: Haply they had ſome common and mortall ſickneſſe or mortality, and knew not the cauſe of it. Happy we, if we knew the particular cauſe of Gods angry viſitations, ſinne in the generall we acknowledge, but we owne not our particular ſinnes; We have had many, and great, and common calamities, but are fallen from aſſigning them to the abuſe of the Sacrament, and yet we muſt confeſſe that what hath been a doore at which judgements have enter'd may be ſo againe: Howſoever, I think, that rationally I may excite publick Authority to reſtraine or to make proviſion of reſtraint for ſuch ſinnes as are pernicious to Commonwealths, in bringing forth publick judgements, which eat up and conſume the people, and ſuch is this ſinne, as I have ſhowne: I know no Powers can command or compell faith or ſaving grace, but it's a ſure fallacy to inferre from thence, that he may not reſtraine ſinnes that bring publick judgements, or not bring the people to the means of faith. It's a ſaying, that a man cannot make his Horſe drinke without he will, but yet he may have him to the water. God directed the fourth Commandment to Governours, and Parents, and Maſters, and thereby either ſuppoſed they had, or elſe gave them a Power or Commiſſion to ſee the Sabbath kept within their Juriſdictions, not I confeſſe to force the Ger Toſhab, or Proſelyte of the gate, to undertake the whole Religion of the Jew, but onelyonly the ſeven Commandments, as they call them, given to Noah, and not to violate the Sabbath: If he will live among them, he muſt obſerve the Sabbath.
§. 3.
Fifthly, You muſt carefully diſtinguiſh betweene the ground of a mans receiving unworthily, which is, that he hath no ſeed of ſpirituall grace, or comes with reſervation of ſome ſinne haply known to none but himſelf, and God he is not truly within the Covenant, and therefore cannot receive the benefit of the Covenant, but the ground of the Churches Admiſſion is, that he is reputed a member, and hath not forfeited his right by any knowne ſinne juſtly and duly proved againſt him; For all viſible proceedings of the Church, or Civill State, either muſt be Secundum allega…a & probata; Secret ſurmiſes, or doubtfull preſumptions, are no ground of juſt ſentence; though a man doe eat and drink unworthily, yet he cannot alwayes be debarred, while he ſtands a viſible member, and is not proved or alledged guilty of ſome ſinne that may diſmember him. Judas was not caſt out from the Supper for a Thief or a Traitour, becauſe that he was ſo, yet it was not viſibly and duly proved againſt him. Sinne is not ſcandalous, till it be knowne: If it be knowne to me, I muſt performe the office of a brother before I tell the Church: And if it was knowne to me, that a man was not regenerate, I durſt give him the Sacrament, yea I muſt, untill he be orderly convict of ſinne that may debarre him, for the Rule of Gods Word is beſt reaſon, and that Rule eſtabliſhes an order, If he heare not the Church, let him be to thee a Heathen and a Publican, untill then, and upon my private knowledge, he is not to be a Heathen unto me. But of this enough before.