The Kings Censure Upon Rescusants that Refuse the Lords Supper, Sermon 3
THE THIRD SERMON.
IN my laſt I made known the good pleaſure of God the King, to have the marriage feaſt of his ſon or the Sacrament of his body and bloud duly made ready for his people, according to the practiſe of the Primitive Church, in the pureſt times. After which I made my addreſs to thoſe Miniſters, that neglect or refuſe to make ready this feaſt, and anſwered their plea on their peoples behalf. Now I ſhall have the opportunity (my beloved in Chriſt) to make my application to you.
You have heard what the readineſs of the wedding requires at the Miniſters hands. 2Uſe to the Communicants.Now more briefly ſay what will be expected from thence, of you the Communicants. And that is a readineſs alſo in you that are called to come to the feaſt. The King ſaid unto his ſervants, Tell them that are bidden. I have prepared my dinner and all things are ready, come to the marriage. ver. 4.A readineſs, there muſt be of mind to accept his kindneſs, without running another way to the farm on Merchandice: And more then that too. There muſt be a Dreſſing and making of your ſelves ready, anſwerable to the ſolemnity of the wedding. The King overlooks the gueſts, when they are come in, and finding one there without his wedding Garment, checks him for it. How cameſt thou in hither not having made thy ſelf ready, 11.with thy wedding Garment; 12.Nay more then checks, condemns him to be manacled and fettered, 13.and ſo caſt into utter darkneſs, where ſhall be weeping and gnaſhing of teeth. The heavieſt cenſure that can be pronounced; to be excommunicated, and caſt out into that horrid place of helliſh torments. No porticipation, no preſentation ought to be at this feaſt, without due and fitting preparation. Gen. 41.14.Joſeph changed his garments, when he came out of priſon, to appear before Pharoah King of Egypt; put of his ſorded habit and put on ſweeter. So muſt they do that appear at this banket, before the King of Glory. They muſt deponere & aponere, put off and put on, put off the forded habits of their ſins, and put on a reſolution of reformation of life, Epheſ. 4: 22.24.or as St. Paul hath it, put off the Old man with the deceiveable luſts, and by faith put on the new man Chriſt Jeſus, which is after God created in righteouſneſs and holineſs: Coloſ. 3.12.Put off all theſe (ſayes he) anger, wrath, malice, 13:and filthy Communication out of your mouths, 14.and put on as the Elect of God the bowels of mercy, tenderneſs, humbleneſs of mind, meekneſs, long ſuffering, forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, but above all things put on Charity which is the bond of perfection. Of which vertues and graces, the wedding Garment of Sanctification is woven and wrought, though ſome frame it of Charity, and ſome of faith onelyonly, yet the moſt make it the ornament of the ſpirits, vertues and graces in the converſation without, joined with a good conſcience cleanſed from ſin, within.
When God was to come down uppon mount Sinai, Exod. 19.to give the Law he commanded Moſes to ſanctifie the people, two dayes before and charge them to waſh their cloaths, and to be ready on the third day. So when the Lord comes to make us a feaſt of ſat things and refined Wine in mount Sion, his Evangelicall Church: They that ſet in Moſes chair are to teach the people, to ſanctifie themſelves by prayer and examination, and charge them to waſh themſelves by tears of repentance, and contrition, and ſo be ready againſt the time, which if they do accordingly, they ſhall not be Shent for coming without their wedding garment.
As gueſts, thus muſt we all fit and prepare our ſelves, and not only ſo; but more preciſely than ordinary gueſts, Every ſoul is here at this wedding to preſent it ſelf, as a Bride ready trimmed to meet with her Bridgroom, decked with the coſtly ornaments of Chriſts active and paſſive merits which he hath given it, and with thoſe pretious Jewels of the ſpirits, giſts and graces: In a word adorned we muſt be with the righteouſneſs of Juſtification and Sanctification.
But without theſe how diſguiſed and disfigured do people appear in Gods ſight, when they come before him with ulcerous ſores uppon their conſciences, and in the uncleanly raggs of their own unrighteouſneſs. And if they ſhall come as men go now adayes, with the halting feet of Newtrality, eyes blinded through errors and ignorauce, ears dear to Gods truth, tongues dumb in his prayſes, with the wry-neck of averſneſs, black-mouths through blaſphemy, blew-teeth of envy, hands full of bloud and bribery. They muſt look for no better welcome than the five fooliſh Vergins, to whom the Bridegroom ſaid. Depart from me ye workers of Iniquity, I know you not; Or the gueſt here that wanted his wedding garment whom the King commanded, to be bound in chains and caſt into utter darkneſs, where is weeping and gnaſhing of teeth.
But I would be loath to tire out your Attenſion with a matter of ſuch ordinary Obſervation; you are not unacquainted with the danger of unworthy Receiving, which there is no way to prevent but by preparation before you come, not by Renegation when you are called. They that do ſo and abſent themſelves to prevent the danger of unworthineſs, in Receiving fall into another as bad, and incur the Kings cenſure, of unworthineſs for Refuſing; who ſaid unto his Servants the wedding is ready, but they that were bidden were not worthy. Which leads to the third partition of the text, where the King ſits in Judicature upon the Recuſants. Of whom there is, The third Partition. Obſervation how dangerous it is to refuſe the grace offered in the word preached. Zach. 7.Querela & Cenſura. The Kings Complaint and his Cenſure.
His complaint is, that they were biden, intimating that they came not, or elſe why ſhould he complain that they were biden, when God ſends to call us he looks we ſhould come, is grieved if we come not. The ſon of God ſighed that the tender of his Grace was not accepted: Oh Jeruſalem, Jeruſalem that killeſt and ſtoneſt the Prophets, how oft would I have gathered thee as an hen doth her chickens, under her wings and they would not come, is angred and offended at Recuſancy. 11.12.They refuſed to harken pulled away the ſhoulder and ſtopped their eares, that they might not hear (and it follows) Therefore came great wrath from the Lord of hosts, 13.who ſcattered them with a wherlwind among the nations: Numb. 16.12.Yea ſo provoked when murmurring and inſurrection againſt his Meſſemgers is joyned with it, 14.that wrath comes out from the Lord for it againſt Corah and his confederats that ſaid we will not come up, 40.which conſumed part of them with ſtrange, fire that came out from the Lord, and the reſt the earth ſwal owed up alive for an example to all ſeditious Separatiſts. And though in our dayes it be free for any ſo long as there is no penalty to mock Gods meſſengers, Cron. 2.36.16.deſpiſe his word, and abuſe his Prophets, yet for this the wrath of the Lord aroſe againſt his people; Iſrael till there was no remedy, but a ruine of their nation. To reſuſe the grace and abuſe the means, and not come when called is dangerous though counted among us, but a thing indifferent God give you all the underſtanding to conſider it.
But that I aime at chifly at this time, The danger of refuſing the Sacrament. Sam. 1.20.is to ſhew the danger of denying grace offered in the Sacrament, God expects they ſhould come that are bidden to it. You ſee that in the Text, he miſſes them that abſent themſelves from it, and makes their empty ſeats as Saul did Davids at the feaſt. And as he put the Queſtion here; Quomodo huc intraſti? how cameſt thou in hither, to him that came unready without his wedding Garment. So will he inquire, for him that abſents himſelf from his preſence there, as he did for Adam, Gen. 3.9.for that ſault in the garden when he ſaid. Adam ubi es? Adam where art thou? God takes notice of mens abſence at this feaſt. Nor is that all the prejudice but a further danger, for if we look into the text we ſhall find they were but dead men, that denyed and came not when they were bidden. They made light of it, v. 5.6.and went one to his Farm another to his Merchandize, and evilly intreated the ſervants that were ſent (ſuch uſage as many of us have found at Recuſants hands) But when the king heard of it, he was wroth and ſent forth his men of war, and ſlew thoſe murderers, and burnt up their City; whereby appears Gods anger and their danger, who either out of neglect or contempt come not when they are called to that Sacrament.
Judge in your ſelves brethren, If a King (as in the text) or great ſtates-man ſhall prepare a coſtly feaſt for his poor neighbours, ſend out his ſervants that wait on his perſon firſt to invite, then again to call them at the hour, and they ſlight him and his cheer, will it not be taken as an Indignity to him and a juſt cauſe of indignation againſt them? So is it when you are bidden to the Supper of the Lord, if ye accept not the Grace, there is indignity done to that and indignation to be feared againſt you: ver. 7.Nay more than Indignation. The men that made light on't and went another way, were put to fire and ſword for it, and that was Execution. And the fathers for this feared more than that too, more than a temporall death and deſtruction, even eternall death and damnation; Joh. 6.53.for they underſtanding, the ſaying of our Saviour (Except ye eat the fleſh of the Son of man and drink his bloud, ye have no life in you) not ſimply of a ſpirituall eating and drinking but (which is more ſafe to do) of a Sacramentall alſo, for it is a figurative ſpeech ſayes St. Auguſtin, commanding in paſſione Pomini communicandam & mente ſuaviter recondendum: Lib. 3. de doct. Chriſtiana.to communicate in the Lords paſſion and to lay up in our memories, how Christs fleſh was Crucified for our ſakes. And therefore held they it neceſſary for all to takes it Sacramentally uppon pain of death and damnation which to prevent, Cypre de lapſis.They gave it for a ſureneſs to ſucking children and infants.
And indeed what man that is wiſe unto Salvation, will hazzard his ſoul on his ſpirituall eating by ſaith onelyonly, and from time to time neglect to eat Sacramentally with the mouth alſo, which is a fruit of that faith that muſt ſave and a means to increaſe it, and without which it can hardly be, counted any other but a dead faith: for faith without the work is but dead Jam. 2.26. But a lively faith will make this effectuall application to thy ſoul, to bring thee hither and ſay, (when the Miniſter gives warning to prepare for a Communion) he is the ſervant of the great King, ſent to invite the gueſts to the marriage feaſt of his Son, ſhall I not make ready and go? and at the time of adminiſtration, ſay Chriſts fleſh and bloud, with all the benefits of his Paſſion are now offered under the Elements, of bread and wine, ſhall I not taſte and take? the copy of my pardon is there to be renewed ſigned, and ſealed to my ſoul and conſcience, ſhall I not accept it? The earneſt of Salvation is there given and ſhall I refuſe it? If I do I may not have the like opportunity again, and ſo reſolve with thy ſelf to come when thou art bidden, that the King complain not of thee among the reſt, which for none appearance are cenſured not worthy.The recuſants plea for abſence anſwered. Luk. 14.18.
But before we come to that to the Cenſure; It is fit we hear the Recuſants plea or give them leave to ſpeak for themſelves St. Luke ſayes, They all with one conſent began to make Excuſes, to the Servant that invited them, one ſaid I have bought a Farm and goe to ſee it, 19.I pray thee have me excuſed: 20.another I have bought five yoak of Oxen and I goe to prove them, The excuſes of them in the not.I pray thee have me excuſed: a third I have married a Wife, and cannot come. Sr. Matthew in ſhort ſales, They made light on't, and went their way, one to his Farm, Vërſ. ….another to his Merchandize. Bad excuſes all, and not ſatisfactory. For ſhall the marrying of a carnal Wife ſtay thee from the wedding of thy Soul to Chriſt? Shall the Conjugal Society in Houſe or Family be preferred before the comfortable communion with the Bridegroom of thy Soul in the Sacrament? Or ſhall the Countryfarm be prized above the Kingdome of Heaven? And a company of Oxen, Horſes, and Swine, be more deſired than the communion of the Saints and Angels? God calls thee to come to him then, Et poſt ponitur Deus Bovibus, qui te aequavit Angelis? And ſhall God be ſerved after the Oxen and Beaſts, that hath made thee equal with the Angels? Or will your Merchandize anſwer for your abſence? and your pennyworths of Earthly Gain countervail the loſs of Heavenly Grace? Your buying bodily proviſion excuſe the neglect of thy Souls nouriſhment? Your gathering up Droſs and Dung (as St. Paul terms the riches of the World) ſatisfie for your loſs of Chriſt? or what ſhall it advantage a Man to win the World by a Bargain, and loſe his own Soul by barring that of the means of his Salvation?
But ſo long as all theſe buying and ſelling, farming and wiving, may be done at other times, the ſix daies God allowes for them, the plea will not hold in his Court to excuſe their abſence, who requires their preſence at his Feaſt on another day and time ſet apart for the ſame. No pretence of worldly cares and buſineſs can excuſe them that are bidden.
Theſe we have in the Text. Next theſe, The Excuſes of ſome in our time. Of Military Men.we will weigh the excuſes of ſome in our time. The Military Mans, in the firſt place, who attends the ſervice of War that diſquiets the mind, and therefore ſaies he muſt be excuſed: Yet ſuch came to John's Baptiſm, the Sacrament of Regeneration; and why not then to Chriſt's Supper, the Sacrament of Nutrition? If the War be warranted by God's Word, and managed with a good Conſcience, they may eat Bread and drink Wine with the Prieſt after it to their comfort, as Abram did with Melchizedec, the Prieſt of the moſt high God, Gen. 14.18.who brought him forth Bread and Wine, and bleſſed him, at his return from the reſcue of Lot, and the ſlaughter of Chedor loamer the Tyrant, and the Kings with him. But when 'tis otherwiſe, and the Conſcience accuſeth, God's Word condemneth, and Blood cryeth up for vengeance: then let Men forbear, for fear of Judas the Traitor's judgement; Abi retro eum ſacellis tuis qui lucris inhiaes (ſaies St. Cyprian) & cujus manus ſunt ſanguinae plenae, De Coena Domini.Come back thou with thy bags full of ſpoyls, whoſe mouth gapeth after ill gotten goods, and whoſe hands are full of blood: In this caſe an Excommunication is fitter than a Communion, and an eight months excluſion from the Table and Temple both: As St. Ambroſe preſcribed the great Emperour Theodoſius for the good of his Soul, after his raſh Decree, which coſt the lives of 7000 Theſſalonians. Or ſuch a ſtrait penance as St. Cyprian injoyned the lapſed Chriſtians, De Lapſis.whom he bids, Orare impenſius, & rogare, to ſeek God by prayer more inſtantly and earneſtly; Diem luctu tranſigere vigiliis, noctes & fletibus ducere, to ſpend the day in mourning, and the night in watching and weeping; Stratos adhaerere eineri, & cilicio, & ſordibus volutari, to lye and wallow in ſackcloth and aſhes; Eleemoſynis frequenter inſiſtere, quibus animae à morte liberantur, to break off their ſins, Dan. 4.27.as Daniel ſaid to Nebuchadnezzar, by righteouſneſs, and ſhewing mercy to the poor; Juſtis operibus incumbere, quibus peccata purgantur, and to make reſtitution, and do good works, whereby through God's mercy their ſins may be purged and pardoned. A courſe muſt be taken for this to make ready for the Communion, or how ſhall Men ever think to be ready, if they dye, for the day of doom? and dye they muſt, there is no remedy; and if they cannot be prepared to meet Chriſt in the Sacrament, how ſhall they be able to look him in the face at the day of Judgement?
Next, Excuſe of Malicious Men.the Militant may come in the plea of the malicious, who is vexed with Injuries, Arreſts, Suits or Slanders, and therefore ſaies he muſt be excuſed: But how can he expect that at his hands, Mat. 5.44.who commands us to love our Enemies? gives not leave to live one day without Charity. St. Paul limits Wrath within the time of Sun-ſet, Eph. 4.26.Let not the Sun go down upon your Wrath; and Chriſt our Saviour bids, Agree with thy Adverſary quickly, and be reconciled to thy Brother, Mat. 5.25.and ſo offer thy Gift at the Altar. We daily offend God, and would not have him angry with us; ſhall we ſo ſoon and ſo long be angry with them that ſo ſeldome offend us? We pray God to forgive us our treſpaſſes, as we forgive them that treſpaſs againſt us, and if we forgive not them that treſpaſs againſt us, how can we look to be forgiven all our treſpaſſes at Gods hands?
If there be any then in whoſe heart lyes the venome of inveterate Malice, or the poyſon of Aſps under his lips, let him imitate the wiſe Serpent, which leaves Venenum in latibulo, caſts up his Poyſon, and leaves it in his Den behind him, when he goes to drink, that he bane not himſelf: So muſt the ſpitefull and malicious do; leave his Venome of Hatred and Malice when he comes to the Sacrament, that he drink not his own damnation, and not return like the Dog to the Vomit, to reſume it again. Catiline, to make his Conſpirators with him of one mind, cauſed them all to drink to each other Bowls of Wine mingled with Mans Blood: Much rather ſhould that Cup of Wine, which Chriſt hath mingled with his pretious Blood, work that effect, and combine our hearts in brotherly love.
After theſe we may take the Return of them which keep away for the cauſe of Schiſm and Hereſy, who anſwer with Contumacy, ſay not ſo much as have us excuſed, with them in the Text, but with Corah and his Companions, Numb. 16.when they were ſent for by Moſes, We will not come up: Whoſe firſt Schiſm they made in the Church, was for an example puniſhed with ſuch a Schiſm of the Earth, that it rent aſunder, and they ſank down into Hell.
It is not a cauſleſs ſeparation from Chriſt's Body, the Communion, as St. Paul calls it, or the Congregation, that can excuſe. 1 Cor. 10.16, 17.It excludes outwardly, and, which is worſe, ſeparates inwardly, and cauſes a ſubſtraction of the Spirit of Grace, that is, the Soul that enlivens the whole Myſtical Body of Chriſt, and ſo leaves the divided member in a dead or dying condition. Augustin.Membrum amputatum amittit Spiritum, dum in corpore erat vivebat praeciſum verò amittet Spiritum; A member of the Church cut off by wilfull Schiſm, or deſerved Excommunication, loſes the Spirit. While it remained in the Body, it is actuated and animated by the Spirit, but cut off, the Spirit leaves it, as the Soul doth the Limb divided from the Body. Which is plainly ſeen in many of thoſe ſelf-conceited Separatiſts, who becauſe they like not to retain the knowledge they had of God in their minds, Rom. 1.28.are given over of God to a reprobate mind, as he did the Gentiles, to do things not convenient.
Theſe cannot if they would communicate, and eat Chriſt's crucified Body, unleſs they renounce and repent their erroneous and blaſphemous opinions, and return to the union of the Church, August. de Civ. Dei, lib. 21. cap. 25.which is his Myſtical Body. Non dicendum eſt eum manducare corpus Chriſti, qui in corpore non eſt Chriſti; He cannot be ſaid truly to eat Chriſt's body, that is out of Chriſt's body.
I might ſpend time to diſcuſs their excuſe, The Excuſe of them that receive ſeldome.that often, though not alwaies, abſent themſelves from this holy Feaſt, or come but once a year, at Eaſter onelyonly; like ſome Retainers, that were wont to wait at their Maſters Table at a Chriſtmas, and ſo bid farewell all the year after. And theſe think 'tis enough if they come once at our bidding thrice, or oftner. Their Reaſons; Firſt, Baptiſm, whereby alſo Chriſt is ſignified and received, is not iterated; and ſecondly, Men may feed on Chriſt ſpiritually by faith, though they eat him not ſacramentally with the mouth.
But in ſhort, I ſhall give ſatisfaction to both. To their firſt, That there is not the ſame reaſon of this and the other Sacrament; That's the Sacrament of our new birth, and admiſſion into the Church; This of our Nutrition; we are but once born, once admitted into the Congregation, therefore that Sacrament is but once to be received: But we muſt often take food and nouriſhment to preſerve life and health, and therefore this Sacrament of feeding and refreſhing our Souls is often to be iterated. And to the laſt, which pretends a ſpiritual eating to evade the Sacramental; though that be it which nouriſhes to eternal life, and not the eating of the outward Element without that. Yet the Element being ſanctified to this uſe, to ſignifie and convey Chriſt, with all the benefits of his ſuffering to our Souls. We do by this means feed on him more ſenſibly, fully, and effectually, and the oftner (if reverently and devoutly taken) the more ſtrengthening in all Grace and Salvation: For every ſacramental action conveyes Grace to the well-prepared perſon; though not ex opere operato, as they ſaid at Trent Council, yet ex Det beneplacito, of God's good pleaſure, who hath ordained the Sacraments to be uſed, Pet. Lomb. lib. 4. diſt. 1.Non ſolum ſigniſicandi, ſed etiam ſanctificandi gratia, Not for ſignification onelyonly, but for ſanctification alſo, and that by the means of them his graces may be conveyed.
Careleſly to neglect, or wilfully to contemn the grace offered at this Banquet, is dangerous, it argues a man dead in ſins and treſpaſſes; for if he had the life of Grace in him, he would as living men do, hunger and thirſt after that which nouriſhes and maintains it.
You have heard their Excuſes diſcuſſed, and found unſatiſfactory; I know no reaſon but we may now from the Complaint proceed to the Cenſure of them that were bidden: The Cenſure.But they that were bidden, foreign, were not worthy.
And that's no eaſy Cenſure to undergo, 'Tis a great diſgrace to be counted and called unworthy, as bad as ungratefull, and that's as bad as any thing, Si ingratum dixeris; omnia dixeris, ſay that, and ſay any thing. But the Text implyes ſomething more particularly that they are not worthy of, as of Chriſt the Son, the Bridegroom: And he ſaies ſo in another place, He that will not forſake Father and Mother, Houſe and Land for my ſake, me non dignus eſt, is not worthy of me, or rather, not worthy of his Supper, which is more conſonant to the Text. The King ſaid ſuch words, Luk. 14.24. None of them that were bidden ſhall taſt of my Supper. And what follows then, but if they by refuſing that, as the Jews did the preaching of the Goſpel, the other means of ſalvation, they render themſelves indignos vita, Act. 13.46unworthy of eternal life; and what follows then, but that with thoſe that call Death to them with hands and words, they are digging in morte, worthy to be partakers of it; Wiſd. 1.15, 16.and that not of the firſt death onelyonly, but of the ſecond too, to be bound with him that went without his Wedding-garment to the Feaſt, and caſt into utter darkneſs, where is weeping and gnaſhing of teeth. They that will not taſt the Supper of the Lord (ſaies Salmeron) ſhall taſt the Supper of the Devil, who feeds his Gueſts with biting their tongues, bitter tears, and gnaſhing of teeth.
This is a Cenſure of unworthineſs none would come under; yet who dare ſay, when he comes before God, I am worthy? The Prodigal, who repreſents a penitent Sinner, falls down before his Father, and cryes out, Non ſum dignus, I am no more worthy to be called thy Son. The Centurion, a good man, Luk. 15.whom the People reported worthy to Chriſt, and had built God a Synagogue, a Roof for him to dwell under on Earth, ſaies to the Son of God, I am not worthy thou ſhould'ſt come under my roof. John Baptiſt, Mat. 8.8.greater in Chriſts judgement than any of the Prophets, confeſſes himſelf not worthy to untye Chriſt's Shoes. Mark. 1.7.And we were wont to acknowledge as much of our ſelves when we came to communicate, in our Grace before and after Meat; before, we be not worthy ſo much as to gather up the crums under the Table, and after we be unworthy, by reaſon of our manifold ſins, to offer thee any ſacrifice. It is an axiom in Divinity, foreign, that no man is worthy in Gods ſight.1 Cor. 11.29. The Objection of the danger in unworthy receiving, anſwered.
And here then, what ſhall we ſay to that of St. Pauls, He that cateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh Damnation to himſelf; how ſhall we reconcile that with this? Indeed that Text is now made a ſtumbling-block in the way to this Feaſt by many, who ſay to us calling them to this Marriage, as the Diſciples did to their Maſter, diſcourſing of Marriage, If the caſe be ſo betwixt a Man and his Wife, Mat. 19.10it is not good to marry: So ſay theſe, If the caſe be ſo with them that receive unworthily, then 'tis beſt to refrain.
And yet for all that difficulty (which anſwers this doubt) Men muſt marry, or do worſe; and as for all the Danger that is in Diet, whereby ſome have been ſurfetted, choaked, or poyſoned, Men muſt eat and drink, or elſe famiſh: So notwithſtanding the danger of Damnation that is in eating and drinking unworthily. They muſt feed on Chriſt in the Sacrament; or their Souls ſtarve and periſh.
I ſhall remove this Obſtacle then, and ſhew you the way plain, which is a middle way that we muſt take to avoyd both the danger of unworthineſs in receiving on the one ſide, and this Cenſure of unworthineſs in refuſing on the other; and that is, by coming thither ſanctified and prepared, as you heard before: For by coming when ye are called ye ſhall eſcape the Cenſure of unworthineſs in my Text; and by preparation before you come, the eating and drinking unworthily at the Table; for ſuch are daigned worthy that come ſo, though not ſimply and abſolutely, (in which ſenſe the Saints acknowledge their unworthineſs) yet in reſpect of Divine acceptance and mercy; For to your comfort I tell you, There is in the Book of God a threefold worthineſs or dignity.
1. There is Dignitas meriti, the ſame the Schoolmen call Meritum condigia, a worthineſs of merit. And ſuch a worthineſs of Chriſt in the Sacrament no Saint on Earth ever had. Jacob, Gen. 32.10whom God loved, and with whom he ſo familiarly wreſtled, confeſſes himſelf not worthy of the leaſt of his mercies; much leſs is any worthy of this, the greateſt of all his graces and favours.
2. Dignitas Congruitatis, which they call Meritum Congrui, a worthineſs of fitneſs or Congruity; when, though a Man be not worthy of himſelf, yet hath fitted and prepared himſelf meet for this Solemnity. Col. 1.10. Eph. 4.1. Phil. 1.27.In this ſenſe St. Paul ſaies, Walk worthy of the Lord, worthy of your Calling, worthy of the Goſpel of Chriſt; and that is, ſo near as you can, walk worthy of theſe, or as it becometh them; and in this acception you may be worthy Gueſts at this Feaſt.
3. Beſides theſe, there is Dignitas dignationis Divinae, the worthineſs of Divine acceptance, when a Man counts not himſelf worthy, dignitate ſua, by his own merit and worth, but, dignationem Divina, by God's mercy and favour; God proveth the righteous, ſaith Salomon, and findeth them, dignos ſeipſo, worthy of himſelf. Wiſd. 3.5.They that laboured in the Vineyard but one hour, had wages alike with them that bare the burden and heat of the day; not for that they were ſo worthy, but 'twas their Lord's will, Mat. 20.12I will give to this laſt, as unto thee. And 'tis the good will and pleaſure of God to account them worthy, and make them welcome, that labour truly to make themſelves ready with them that have lead a life more ſtrict and holy. Come to the Marriage then, and bring with you the worthineſs of fitneſs and convenience, and God will vouchſafe you the worthineſs of welcome, and gratious acceptance.
I have delivered the meſſage of my Text, Application.and invited you to the Marriage; Know now, that all things are ready, and the King expects your company. Do not make light of this Leſſon, and ſo ſoon as I have made an end of ſpeaking, forget all you have heard, and ſo go your way, one to his Farm, another to his Merchandize, but come to the Marriage; Neglect not the opportunity, like the five fooliſh Virgins, that wanted Oil in their Lamps, and went out to buy while the Bridegroom came, and for their long tarrying were anſwered, when they called to enter, with a fearfull Decedite, the Bridegroom ſaying to them, Mat. 25.Depart from me ye workers of iniquity. I know you not. Trim up your Lamps with the Oil of Faith and Repentance; have your Lights burning, your Devotion to God, and Charity to Man, burning, and your Light of Good Works ſhining; and now the Bridegroom of your Souls is ready to deſcend into the Sacrament, Go in with him.
But one thing more before I let you go; Behave your ſelves there with all the reverence that may be, towards God and that holy Myſterie. God looks for an awfull regard to his Majeſtie in all places, but moſt of all when we come before the Figures of his Preſence, ſuch as the burning Buſh was to Moſes, Exod 3.2, 5.wherefore God bid him put off the ſhoes from his feet, for the place where he ſtood was holy ground; and the Tabernacle and Temple to the Jews, wherefore he commanded to reverence them. Levit. 19.30.But moſt reverence of all is expected when we approach near the Figure of his Preſence, the Table of the Lord, to touch and taſt the ſanctified ſigns of his Body and Blood, which is the higheſt myſterie of our Chriſtian Religion, and the neareſt preſence and Communion we Sinners can have with God in our Fleſh. O caſt down your ſelves there then, as becometh you, with greateſt humility of heart, and the reverenteſt geſture of body that may be. And ſo go your way, 2 Sam. 24.23.and the Lord your God (as Araunah ſaid to David going to ſacrifice) accept you all that appear before him, and that for the merit and worthineſs of his Son Jeſus Chriſt, the Bridegroom of your Souls, To whom, with the King his Father, and the Holy Ghoſt the Comforter, be all glory, and honour, thanks, praiſe, and prayer, now and for ever. Amen.
FINIS.
End of the text · Thomas Marshall, The Kings Censure Upon Rescusants that Refuse the Lords Supper (1654)