eateth and drinketh Damnation to himself; if it were, then indeed we might be justly afraid of coming to this Royal Feaft *,* (for who can fay, I have made my Heart clean, I am pure from my Sin? †) but he that eateth and drinketh unworthily. Now there is a great deal of Difference between these two Things, between a Man's being unworthy to receive this Sacrament, and his receiving it unworthily, which I fhall thus illuftrate:

He, for Example, who hath grofly wrong'd, maliciously flandered, or without any Provocation of mine, treated me very ill, is, as ye will all grant, utterly unworthy of any Kindness or Favour from me. But now, if notwithstanding this Unworthiness, I do him fome confiderable Kindness, and offer him fome Favour, his Unworthiness is no Let or Hinderance to his receiving it; and if he accepts it with a due Sense, and a grateful Mind, and by it is moved to lay afide all his former Enmity and Animofity, and heartily repents him of his former ill Will aagainst me, and ftudies how to requite this Courtesy; it is then plain, that tho' he were unworthy of the Favour, yet he hath now received it worthily, that is, after a due Manner, as he ought to have done, and that it hath had its right Effect upon him:

So we are all unworthy to partake of this holy Banquet; but being invited and admitted, we may behave ourselves as becometh us

*See Dr Bafil Kennet's Sermons, p 61. + Prov. xx, 9.

in fuch a Presence, at fuch a Solemnity; and if by it we thankfully commemorate the Death of our Lord, and renounce all our Sins and former evil Ways, and there give up ourfelves to be governed by him, and vow better Obedience, and are affected with a true Sense of his Love; then, tho' unworthy of fo great a Favour, yet we have worthily, that is after a right Manner (as to God's Acceptance) received this bleffed Sacrament. But if now unworthy of fo great Honour and Favour, we alfo receive it unworthily, after a profane, diforderly Manner, not at all minding the End, Ufe, or Defign of it, without any Repentance for Sins paft, or Refolutions of Amendment for the future; and without any grateful Affection of Love towards our Saviour's dying for. us, we do by this Means indeed highly provoke God Almighty, and juftly incur his most grievous Difpleasure.

From what has been faid, we can already fee the Vanity of thofe Excufes which Men make for neglecting to receive the Holy Sacrament, upon the Account of their Unworthinefs, and the Danger they incur thereby, fince it fo plainly appears, that it is not our Unworthiness, but our Resolution to continue in that State, that makes us unqualified for the Sacrament; and a Pretence of the Danger of receiving unworthily, as a Reafon for not receiving it at all, comes very odly and inconfiftently from the Mouth of an hardened Sinner. Damnation here threatened, if it be understood even of everlasting Punishment,

ment, (for as to temporal Judgments, which would be to them the more grievous I never

heard it, inthis Age, urged as a Plea; Damnation, I fay) cannot be fuppofed reasonably to fcare him from the Sacrament, who runs the conftant Hazard of it, by living in known Sin. This can be no fuch terrible Word to an habitual and refolved Sinner. He that can fwear and talk profanely, and live intemperately, and loofely, and without any Fear or Regret commit mortal Sin, in vain pretends Fear of Damnation, for not doing that which is indeed his Duty; for it is a moft odd and ridiculous Thing to be afraid of doing what our Saviour hath commanded us, whilft we are not in the leaft afraid every Day of doing what he hath forbidden us. How ftrange is this, for Men out of a Dread of Damnation, to neglect their Duty, and yet at the fame Time no to be afraid to live carnal and fenfual Lives * ? If any "Man then, fays, I am a grievous Sinner, " and therefore am afraid to come, wherefore "then do ye not repent and amend? When "God calleth you, are ye not afhamed to fay 66 will not come? When you fhould return "to God will you excufe yourselves, and fay "ye are not ready? Confider earnestly with 6.6 yourselves, how little fuch feigned Excufes "will avail before God." I would further ob

ye

*And yet when it pleases God to fend us Diseases or Misfortunes, it might be very expedient for us feriously to confider whether thefe might not be fent as a Punishment for our unworthy Reception of the Lord's Supper?

*See B. Calamy's Sermons, p. 39, &c. † Communion Office.

*

ferve, that of the two, it seems to me to be the greater Sign of Contempt, wholly to neglect this Sacrament, than to partake of it without fome due Qualification; a wilful Omiffion of a known Duty being certainly more criminal than fome endeavour to discharge it, tho' not with all the Exactnefs and Diligence that might be requifite †. In fhort, the true and only Inference that ought to be drawn from the Apostle's Words is, not to deter us from the Sacrament, but rather to engage us the more diligently to come to it with suitable

* I speak this of a total Omiffion, for there may be fome Cafes, in which, for a Time, a Man may withdraw himself from the Lord's Table, ex. gr. A Man who has been a grievous Sinner, and juft begins to come to himself, might perhaps not imprudently delay for a little while this most folemn Act of Religion, in as much as our Saviour, who commands us to do this, feems to have left fome Liberty in particular Cafes fuch as this is; not having precifely told us, as we have faid, Page 27, bow often we must receive the Holy Sacrament. But furely, there is a vast Difference between abstaining for a little Space, from the Sacrament in fuch a Circumstance, and living in an habitual Neglect of it. In the first Cafe, we may ftay a little to try our Sincerity the better, but in the other, let the Motive be what it will, it is inexcufable, and no less than an open Rebellion to our Saviour's Command. Vid. London Cafes, Vol. i.

†The univerfal Reason of all the World will allow this: Every Man judgeth by this Measure himself, and "we are affured that God will do fo too: If I am a Tutor or a Master, or a Parent, I can much easier forgive my 'Scholar, or Servant, or Child, that, out of fome Regard to my Authority and Command, goes about what I bid ' him, tho' he do it aukwardly, and far from that Exactnefs that I might expect, than I should, if he altogether 'difregarded my Authority, and never took any Care at all to do what I commanded him." Hasketh's Cafe of eating and drinking unworthily, stated, p. 132,

Difpofitions; and what these Difpofitions are I come now to fhew.

And in order thereto, it is neceffary to have Recourse to the Words of the Inftitution, Do this in Remembrance of me, for whoever remembers his Saviour in a due Manner, cannot fail of being acceptably admitted to his Table: And we may further obferve, that St Paul after having reproved the Corinthians, as we have feen, concerning the unworthy Manner with which they received the Holy Sacrament, draws from that particular Cafe this general Conclufion: Let a Man examine himself, and fo let him eat of that Bread, and drink of that Cup. Now, comparing thefe Texts together, it appears that Self-examination is a neceflary Duty, previous to the Lord's Supper, and that it confifts in an Inquiry, whether we eat of that Bread, and drink of that Cup, according to the End for which this bleffed Sacrament was inftituted, or in other Words, whether we do this in Remembrance of Chrift, and if this Remembrance be fuch as is required of us?

Now altho' the Words, Do this in Remembrance of me, do not exprefly mention how we are to remember Chrift, it is evident that this Command carries in it whatever can be the Matter of a Commemoration; and this is fo evident, that Chriftians of all Denominations do not stop at the Words of the Inftitution, but carry their Enquiries farther, in order to

The Socinians themselves do not fcruple to fay, that our Saviour ought to be remembered in the Eucharift, as our Lord, Mafter, and Judge, &c, tho' not a Word of Lord, &c, is in the Words of the Inftitution, as deliver'd by Christ.

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