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no facrament left: for a facrament is an outward fign of an inward grace.

Befides, if our fenfes can in any case inform us what any thing is, they inform us that the bread and wine continue bread and wine. And if we cannot truft our fenfes, when we have full opportunity of using them all; how did the apoftles know that our Saviour taught them, and performed miracles; or how do we know any one thing around us? But this doctrine is equally contrary to all reafon too. To believe that our Saviour took his own body, literally fpeaking, in his own hands, and gave the whole of that one body to every one of his apoftles, and that each of them fwallowed him down their throats, though all the while he continued fitting at the table before their eyes: to believe, that the very fame one individual body, which is now in heaven, is also in many thoufands of different places on earth; in fome, ftanding still upon the altar; in others carrying along the ftreets; and fo in motion, and not in motion, at the fame time: to believe, that the fame body can come from a great distance, and meet itself, as the facramental bread often doth in their proceffions, and then pass by itself, and go away from itself to the fame diftance gain; is to believe the most absolute impoffibilities and contradictions. If fuch things can be true, nothing can be false; and if such things cannot be true, the church that teaches them cannot be infallible, whatever arts of puzzling sophistry they may use to prove either that or any of their doctrines. For no reasonings are ever to be minded against plain common fenfe.

They must not say, this doctrine is a mystery. For there is no mystery, no obfcurity in it: but it is as plainly seen to be an error, as any thing else is seen to be a truth. And the more so, because it relates, not to any infinite nature, as God; but entirely to what is finite, a bit of bread and a human body. They must not plead, that God can do all things. For that means only that he can do all things that can be done: not that he can do what cannot be done: make a thing be this and not be this, be here and elsewhere, at the fame time: which is doing and undoing at once, and fo in reality doing nothing. They must not alledge scripture for abfurdities, that would fooner prove fcripture false, than fcripture can prove But it no where teaches them.

them true.

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-We own that our Saviour fays, This is my body which is broken*, and, This is my blood, which is shed †. But he could not mean literally. For as yet his body was not broken, nor his blood fhed: nor is either of them in that condition now. And therefore the bread and wine neither could then, nor can now, be turned into them as fuch. Befides our Saviour faid at the fame time, This cup is the New Teftament in my blood‡. Was the fubftance of the cup then changed into the New Tef tament? And if not, why are we to think the fubftance of the bread and wine changed into his body and blood? The apoftle fays, the Rock, that supplied the Ifraelites with water in the wilderness, was Chrift §: that is, reprefented him. Every body fays, fuch a picture is fuch a person, meaning the reprefentation of him. Why then may not our Saviour's words mean fo too?

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The Romanists object, that though what reprefents a thing naturally, or by virtue of a preceding inftitution, may be call-ed by its name, yet fuch a figure as this, in the words of a new institution, would not be intelligible ||. But the representa tion here is natural enough: and though the institution was new, figurative fpeech was old. And the apoftles would cer tainly rather interpret their Master's words by a very usual figure, than put the abfurdest sense upon them that could be. They object further, that if he had not meant literally, he would have faid, not, this, but this bread, is my body ¶. But we may better argue, that if he had meant literally, he would have faid, in the strongest terms, that he did. For there was great need, furely, of fuch a declaration. But we acknowledge, that the bread and wine are more than a representation of his body and blood: they are the means, by which the be nefits arifing from them are conveyed to us; and have thence a further title to be called by their name. For fo the inftrument, by which a prince forgives an offender, is called his pardon, because it conveys his pardon; the delivery of a writing is called giving poffeffion of an eftate; and a fecurity for a fum of money, is called the fum itfelf; and is fo in vir

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tue and effect, though it is not in ftrictness of speech, and reality of fubftance. Again: Our Saviour, we own, says in St John, that he is the bread of life; that his flesh is meat indeed, and his blood is drink indeed: that whofo eateth the one and drinketh the other, hath eternal life; and that, without doing it, we have no life in us*. But this, if understood literally, would prove, not that the bread in the facrament was turned into his flesh, but that his flesh was turned into bread. And therefore it is not to be understood literally, as indeed he himfelf gives notice: The flesh profiteth nothing: the words which I Speak unto you, they are Spirit, and they are life+: It is not the gross and literal, but the figurative and spiritual, eating and drinking; the partaking by a lively faith of an union with me, and being inwardly nourished by the fruits of my offering up my flesh and blood for you, that alone can be of benefit to the foul.

And as this is plainly the fenfe, in which he fays, that his flesh is meat indeed, and his blood is drink indeed: fo it is the sense, in which the latter part of the third answer of our catechifm is to be understood; that the body and blood of Chrift are verily and indeed taken and received by the faithful in the Lord's Supper: Words intended to fhow, that our Church as truly believes the ftrong affurances of scripture concerning this facrament, as the Church of Rome doth; only takes more care to understand them in the right meaning: which is, that though, in one sense, all communicants equally partake of what Chrift calls his body and blood, that is, the outward figns of them; yet, in a much more important fenfe, the faithful only, the pious and virtuous receiver, eats his flesh and drinks his blood; fhares in the life and strength derived to men from his incarnation and death; and through faith in him, becomes by a vital union, one with him; a member, as St Paul expreffes it, of his fleft and his bones : certainly not in a literal sense; which yet the Romanists might as well affert, as that we eat his flesh in a literal fenfe; but in a figurative and spiritual one. In appearance, the facrament of Chrift's death is given to all alike but verily and indeed, in its beneficial effects, to none befides the faithful. Even to the unworthy communicant he is prefent, as he is wherever we meet together in his Name:

:

** John vi. 48, 53, 55•

† Ver. 63.

Eph. v. 30.

Name: but in a better and most gracious sense, to the worthy foul; becoming, by the inward virtue of his Spirit, its food and fuftenance.

This real prefence of Chrift in the facrament, his church hath always believed. But the monstrous notion of his bodily prefence was ftarted 700 years after his death and arofe chiefly from the indifcretion of preachers and writers of warm imaginations, who, instead of explaining judiciously the lofty figures of fcripture language, heightened them, and went beyond them till both it and they had their meaning mistaken moft aftonishingly. And when once an opinion had taken root that feemed to exalt the holy facrament fo much, it easily grew and spread; and the more for its wonderful abfurdity, in those ignorant and fuperftitious ages: till at length, 500 years ago, and 1200 years after our Saviour's birth, it was established for a gospel-truth by the pretended authority of the Romish church. And even this had been tolerable in comparison, if they had not added idolatrous practice to erroneous belief: worshipping, on their knees, a bit of bread for the Son of God. Nor are they content to do this themselves, but with most unchristian cruelty, curfe and murder thofe, who refuse it.

It is true, we also kneel at the facrament, as they do: but for a very different purpose: not to acknowledge any corporal prefence of Chrift's natural flesh and blood; as our church, to prevent all poffibility of misconstruction, exprefsly declares; adding, that his body is in heaven, and not here: but to worship him, who is every where prefent, the invifible God. And this posture of kneeling we by no means look upon, as in itfelf necessary; but as a very becoming appointment; and very fit to accompany the prayer and praises, which we offer up at the instant of receiving; and to exprefs the inward spirit of piety and humility, on which our partaking worthily of this ordinance, and receiving benefit from it, depend. But the benefits of the holy facrament, and the qualifications for it, fhall, God willing, be the fubject of two other difcourfes. In the mean time, confider what hath been faid; and the Lord give you understanding in all things*.

* 2 Tim. ii. 7.

LE C

LECTURE XXXVII.

Of the LORD'S SUPPER.

THE

PART II.

:

HE doctrine of our catechism, concerning the Lord's Supper, hath been already fo far explained, as to show you, that it was ordained, not for the repetition, but the continual remembrance of the facrifice of Chrift; that the outward figns in it are bread and wine; both which the Lord hath commanded to be received by all Chriftians and both which are accordingly received, and not changed and tranfubftantiated into the real and natural body and blood of Chrift: which however the faithful, and they only, do, under this reprefentation of it, verily and indeed receive into a moft beneficial union with themselves; that is, do verily and indeed, by a spiritual connection with their incarnate Redeemer and Head through faith, partake, in this ordinance, of that heavenly favour and grace, which by offering up his body and blood he hath procured for his true difciples and members.

But of what benefits in particular the faithful partake in this facrament, through the grace and favour of God, our catechifm teaches in the fourth anfwer, to which I now proceed and which tells us it is, The ftrengthening and refreshing of our fouls by the body and blood of Chrift, as our bodies are by the bread and wine*. Now both the truth and the manner of this refreshment of our fouls will appear by confidering the nature of the facrament, and the declarations of fcripture concerning it.

Indeed the due preparation for it, the felf-examination required in order to it, and the religious exercifes which that examination

Αλλά πασαθαι ανωχθι τους επι νηυσίν Αχαιός

Σιτε και οίνοιο το γαρ μεν

εςι και αλκής

Hom. II. T. v. 160, 161.

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