A Good Soldier Maintaining His Militia, Chapter 5
CHAP. V. The administration of the Sacraments in right order, of high concernement to a Kingdome.
That theſe ought to be adminiſtred by, and unto ſitting perſons.
IT is a matter of high conſideration, how exact and accurate the zelots in all ages, good Kings and Princes, all have beene touching Temple or Church-matters: Kings gave their attendance and all diligence thereunto: It was their charge they thought, and their honour, we are ſure, to ſee unto it, that all the filthineſſe was carried out of the Temple, every thing provoking in Gods ſight removed: that the veſſels there, even thoſe be cleanſed; the Prieſts and Levites, who did execute the charge of the Lord, that they be purified; the people ſanctified; all things muſt be done decently and in order for the great Feast was now preparing, they were to keepe the Paſſeover, unto the LORD GOD of Iſraell aReade 2 Chr. chap. 29. & 30. chap. 34, 35. 1 Joh. 2. 16.. It is enough to point at theſe things, and now to ſhew in a few words (in ſo cleare a caſe) how all this relates to us, and is written to provoke them to give all diligence, and to be zealous, whom the LORD has ſet as over-ſeers in ſuch high matters. Ile only ſet down briefly, how it has been; They, whom it does concerne, and are aſſembled together for that high end, will conſider how it ought to be.
Next to the LORDS Day, nothing has been more prophaned, than have the LORDS Sacraments, ſeales of the righteouſneſſe of Faith. The Sacrament of Baptiſme has been adminiſtred by ſons of Belial, who knew not the LORD: And to thoſe children, whoſe Parents, both father and mother, were openly prophane, made no acknowledgement thereof, neither cared, nor could, nor would give a reaſon of their faith, or hope that is in them: I will only adde this to be enquired into, whether a Parent; preſenting his child to the Sacrament, is not to give firſt an account of his faith, and reaſon of his hope, that is in him, and of his intereſt to the covenant? Certaine it is, that, if the Parent were ſo to doe, he would preſent himſelfe and his child before the Lord and His people in a more ſolemne manner, and with more conſideration. We all know how queſtions have been anſwered, and matters ſlubbered over, I FORSAKE THEM ALL; What doe you forſake? All, that is in the world, the luſts of the fleſh; the lusts of the eye; and the pride of life. The Good LORD pardon His ſervants, we have ſpoken, we know not how often, very unadviſedly with our lipps; When we ſaid we forſake them all; we forſook nothing at all; Even at that ſolemne time, and before the Congregation, there was nothing in ſight, but the luſts of the eye; and pride of life. We ſlubbered over, with our Parſons helpe, another queſtion as unadviſedly, as the former, and made anſwer thereunto; ALL THIS I STED FASTLY BELEEVE; All what? That, though the Miniſter can but ſprinckle water upon the child, he can neither cleanſe the water, nor can the water cleanſe the child, yet the LORD CHRIST has done both, and her… in this Sacrament. He gives us cleane waters, Bloud to juſtifie, Water to ſanctifie, All Himſelfe, and all in Himſelfe; and all this, we ſaid, We ſtedfaſtly beleeve. Oh Lord! we underſtood not what we ſaid, We cannot have Faith, and no knowledge. Lord! pardon the iniquitie of thy ſervants; We have provoked Thee exceedingly this way, in not conſidering what we ſaid; We have ſinned, It is in the purpoſe of our hearts to do ſo no more. This now I have ſet downe by way of enquiry only; The Lord inſtruct us to diſcretion touching theſe matters.
The other Sacrament has been (for what is done, I leave to the wiſe to judge) as much prophaned by brutiſh Prieſts, and by us, a brutiſh people, as much, I ſay, nay more than the former: To ſay all, I will ſay, in Mr. Calvins words; The Sacrament of the Lords Supper has been too commonly adminiſtred by ſuch vile Perſons, whom you would have di…dained to have ſet with the dogs of Job 30. 1. …. …oeda per…ſtio, dum ſine delectu impudenter ſe i…gerunt ſ…eleſti & palam flagitio ſi homines, quos nemo honeſt us & verecundus ad communem convictum admitreret? ut ad…uc miramur unde rot bella. Calv. …n prim… ep…ſt. ad Cor. cap. 11. …er. 30.your flock: and given to thoſe whom you would not admit to a common table; He addes, and doe we wonder wherefore it is that we are devoured by the ſword, eat-up with famine, conſumed with the peſtilence; that the LORD has opened His Armory, drawne-out againſt us all the weapons of His indignation; doe we wonder at this? Why doe we wonder? the Cauſe is apparent, and in every mans eye; Let us never look to ſee an end of our miſeries, till our lives be amended: and this horrible prophanation of the Lords Table, ſo highly provoking in Gods eyes, be taken away. Bleſſed be God, there is we hope all poſſible care taken, touching theſe great matters, for the removing the ignorant and brutiſh Parſons, the ſetting in their places the honourable and the pretious, that all may be done about theſe Tremenda myſteria, knowingly, conſcientiouſly, decently, and in order. To preſſe this upon thoſe to whom this care doth ſpecially belong, Ile take leave to contribute this to this place. There is one clauſe alwayes ſaid at the Buriall of the dead, where at good men have ſcrupled very much, they have pronounced thoſe received to mercy, who have gone in a way moſt contrary to mercy all their life long. In handing-forth the Bread and Wine to the people, they utter words, which are more to be ſcrupled at, when they give forth thoſe conſecrated ſignes of the Bod… and Bloud of Chriſt to thoſe that are brutiſhly ignorant, or op…nly prophane. Here Ile tell the Reader a ſad Relation; though he may have heard of it before, yet, perhaps, not ſo well conſidered on, as now it may be, thus it is related; A man that had laid-up treaſure for himſelfe, but was not rich towards God bLuke 12. 21., fell ſick unto death; he perceived plainly his ſoule was now required of him, and an account of his ſtewardſhip; he ſends in poſt-haſte for his Paſtour as the manner is, demands of him whether he could give him any comfort; The Miniſter after ſome conſultation with him, anſwered, no, not any comfort for him, he had walked contrary thereunto ſerving the creature more than the Creator: No comfort for ſuch ſervants ſaid the Miniſter; ſay you ſo, ſayes the ſick man, (for now he was ſick-indeed) how have you deceived me! You have, from time to time ſpoken moſt comfortable words to me in the Church, and can you give me no comfort now on my ſick-bed? How oft have you ſaid thus unto me; The Body and Bloud of the Lord Jeſus Chriſt which was given for thee: then you bad me, Take and eat; Take and drinke, in Remembrance that Chriſt gave Himſelfe for me? And can you give me no comfort now? Oh! you ſhould have denyed me comfort then, when time was, and ſo I might have been in a way for comfort in this needfull time now that my dayes are cutting off, I muſt have time no more. Had you told me then when time was, that the Childrens bread belonged not to me, then I might have be thought my ſelfe of my miſerable condition, and have asked more grace. But you, giving me the Lord Chriſt, I thought all was well; Theſe words pierced the eares, and the very heart of the Miniſter, ſo it is reported; And well they might, and engaged his care for after time, to underſtand, as farre as man can doe, the ſtate of His people, whether they be worthy to whom he gives the Body and Bloud of the Lord Chriſt. It is enough to engage all Miniſters to the ſame care: and to haſtenup as neare as can be, to the pattern in the mount, to be patternes and examples before the people, going before them in an holy way, teaching their people publikely, and from houſe to houſe, testifying Acts 20. 20, 2….to them every one, Repentance toward GOD, and Faith toward the LORD JESƲS CHRIST. Amen.
§ V. A good man preciſe in theſe high matters.
THe good ſouldier has much to ſay here, and much againſt himſelfe, but his ſcribe cannot ſet it down; he puts-up his ſupplication to his God, that he would not regard what he did, and how he walked in the dayes of his ignorance; nor be extreme to marke what His ſervant has done, and does now in the dayes of light: he does acknowledge that the ſin of unworthy Receiving is his ſin alſo, he cannot quit himſelfe of it: That ſin is gone into the common heape, and helps to make as the fire kindled in the kingdome, more ſcorching: ſo alſo, the herbes the ſow…er, but yet the Paſſeover the ſweeter: I meane, it helpes to encreaſe a godly ſorrow, and through the exceeding mercy of His Saviour, it makes his Joy the fuller. And now, for the preſent time, and hereafter before He § 11. 2 Cor. 5. 9. foreign We ſtrive as the men of the world for the higheſt preferment and roomes in the world.preſents himſelfe at that table, he ſearcheth his heart, and prieth into it as narrowly as the Jewes into their houſes, which was ſaid before: and ſo he is a worthy Communicant in Gods acceptation: and the lower he fals now before the Lord in humilitie, the higher he riſeth in his Faith, and acceptation with the Lord, which is the earneſt labour and travell of his ſoule, even that he may be accepted of Him. Amen.