having fuffered Death upon the Crols for our Res demption, and as having made there by his own Dblation of himself, once offered, a full, perfe& and lufficient Sacrifice, Dblation, and Satisfaction for the Sins of the whole World *.

It is evident in the next Place, that as the Sacrament was appointed to be received not by one fingly, but by many jointly, or in common; it hereby becomes a focial Act; and that therefore, between thofe who do not mutually agree in this Faith, there can be no lawful Communion. When one Man receives the Sacrament, doth he not thereby profefs his Faith in Chrift? And when another Man is admitted to communicate with him, is he not understood as making the fame Profeffion? And what is this but faying, that joint Communion is and must be founded in a mutual Agreement in the fame Faith? It is to be obferved here, that Faith in Chrift takes in the Belief of every Doctrine which that Faith neceffarily implies, and upon which it fundamentally refts; in which Points, Churches, as well as private Chriftians, must judge for themselves by the Rule of God's Word. Confequently, when any Church or Number of Chriftians have determined for themfelves what is the Faith of Chrift, they may lawfully communicate among themselves whether fuch Determination be right or wrong. I fay lawfully, that is, fo far as the Act of Receiving the Cominunion is concerned. If they err in the Faith, they may be anfwerable for that Error; but fo long as they are fo perfuaded, they cannot be chargeable with a Profanation of the Lord's Table by communicating unworthily. For they perform this Duty agreeably to the End of its Inflitution, according to what they know and understand about it, and more than this the most orthodox Communion cannot do. But then, fuch Church cannot admit any to communicate with them who differ from them in any of thefe Points which they judge neceffary to the * Confecration Prayer,

Faith of a Chriftian; nor can thofe who differ in those Points (knowing themselves fo to differ) lawfully offer themselves to communicate with fuch Church; for this is making Profeffion of an Agreement in the Faith where there is no Agreement, which is a Fraud upon the Society, and a Falfification in the Sight of God. There is another Cafe when Communion with any Church or Society of Chriftians, will accidently become unlawful; and that is, when by human Prefcription, or thro' fome Error in Point of Doctrine, fuch Circumftances come to be connected with the A&t of Communicating, as cannot lawfully be complied with. This is our Cafe with Refpect to the Church of Rome, with which we refufe to hold Communion, because we cannot communicate with them, unless we will profefs our Belief (for Inftance) in the Doctrine of Tranfubftantiation, and without paying religious Adoration to the confecrated Elements; which we judge to be unlawful and idola. trous. This likewife is the Cafe with Refpect to fuch Separatifts from the Church of England, as think our Worship to be contrary to the Law of God. They would in communicating with us, do a Thing to them unlawful, and profane the Lord's Table in fo doing. The Act of Communicating in fuch Cafes, is not Worfhip, but Irreligion.

It is not agreeable to my present Intention to enter into thofe Points which may arife upon the Question of lawful or unlawful, as it concerns the Members of different Communions. And therefore I proceed to a Difqualification of another Kind, which concerns us as Chriftians at large, and will equally affect us of whatever Sect or Communion we may be; and that is an immoral Life. This is presumed in the foregoing Cafes. For the Reason why a Man cannot lawfully communicate with a Church from which he differs in Point of Faith, or on the Account of 'Circumstances which in Confcience he cannot approve, is because falfe Profeffions are an immoral Thing; which fuppoles that an immoral Life is a Dilqualification

F

And

And to this Purpofe the Words of our Liturgy deferve our Attention, in which all who are invited to come to the Holy Communion are exhorted to fearch and examine their own Consciences — that theg may come holy and clean; i. e. (for fo the Exhortation proceeds) to examine their Lives and Conberfations by the Rule of God's Commandments, nor dare, if any of them be a Blafphemer of God, an Hinderer of Sianderer of his ēdo¿D, an Adulterer, or be in Malice, Envy, or any other grievous Crime, till they have repented of their Sins, to come to that holy Table *. All which is but agreeable to the Scripture Directions. For St. Paul fays, let a Man EXAMINE himself, and fo let him eat of that Bread, and drink of that Cup, 1 Cor. xi. 28. That is, let him examine his Life and Converfation, and fee that his moral State be fuch as he can juftify to his own Confcience. The Disorders committed in receiving the Holy Communion (or rather at thofe Featts of Charity which were appendant to it) which gave Occafion to this Advice, were of the moral Kind. There were Divifions among them, ver. 11. In eating each Man took before other his own Supper, and one was hungry, and another was drunken. Thefe were the Fruits of an evil Mind, which was to be corrected before they could come worthily to the Lord's Table. Methinks the Reafon of the Thing speaks itfelf. For what Confiftency can there be in profeffing our Acceptance of God's Mercies in Chrift; if we will take no Care to qualify ourfelves for thofe Mercies, by the Terms upon which the Gofpel offers them? In truth, there is no A&t of Religion for which an Evil Heart will not unqualify us. Even the Prayers of the Wicked are an Abomination +; fo are his Sacrifices, efpecially if he bringeth them with a wicked Mind ‡. And we should not forget with what Scorn God rejects the Jewish Sacrifices for the Defectiveness of thofe who offered them up, in refpect of their moral Qualifications; in that fa

* First Invitation. † Prov. xxviii. 9. Chap. i. 27.

mous

mous Paffage of Ifaiah, Chap. i. ver. 11. To what Purpofe is the Multitude of your Sacrifices unto me, faith the Lord? I am full of the burnt Offerings of Rams, and the Fat of fed Beasts, and I delight not in the Blood of Bullocks, or of Lambs, or of He Goats. When je come to appear before me, who hath required this at your Hand to tread my Courts? Bring no more vain Oblations, Incenfe is an Abomination to me, the new Moons and Sabbaths, the calling of Affemblies I cannot away with. It is Iniquity, even the fienm Meeting. Your new Mons and your appointed Feafts my Soul hateth, they are a Trouble unto me, I am weary to bear them. And when ye Spread forth your Hands I will hide mine Eyes from you; yea, when ye make many Prayers I will not hear. Why? your Hands are full of Blood. Wash ye, make you clean, put away the Evil of your Doings from before mine Eyes, cease to do evil, learn to do well, Jeek Judgment, relieve the Opprefed, judge the Fatherlefs, plead for the Widow. There is in all folemn Acts of religious Worship one general Meaning. They are a Profeffion of Duty and Reverence to God; which Profeffion, when there is nothing to anfwer it in our Behaviour, is Mockery and Profaneness, as our Saviour intimates, Matt. xv. 7. Ye Hypocrites, well did Efaias prophesy of you, faying, This People draweth nigh unto me with their Mouth, and honoureth me their Lips, but their Heart is far from me. ·Therefore in vain do they worship me.

This may ferve to fhew in general, that Repentance and a good Life are neceffary to qualify us for the Lord's Table; or if any Thing be yet wanting, let us only confider what was required of those who believed in Chrift upon the preaching of the Apoftles to qualify them for Baptifm; and this, we know, was Repentance. REPENT (fays St. Peter) and be baptized eve ry one of you in the Name of Jefus Chrift, for the Remillion of Sins, Acts ii. 38. Now if Repentance is neceffary to qualify us for one of the Sacraments, it must be neceffary to qualify us for the other too; for they both contain the fame Profeffion, And what F. 2 Senfe

fe is there in fuppofing that any one should be fit te profef- his Relation to Chrift, by the Memorial of Lovenant founded in his Blood, who, wants the Qualifications that are neceflary in order to his very trft Admiffion into it? -But a Question will here arife, In what Degree is Repentance and a good Life neceffary? If no bad Actions would hinder, the wort would be qualified as well as the beft. If no Allowance is to be made for common Failings, the best will be excluded as well as the worst, for abfolutly perfect there are none. Some middle Way therefore there must be between these two Extreams, which I fhall point out as diftinctly as the Nature of the Thing will bear; as well to encourage the weak and over-fcrupulous, as to check the bold and prefumptuous. And,

1. A Diftinction is to be made between fecret and notorious Sins. As to fecret Sins, this Rule is to be offerved, That no Man thould come to the Lord's Table, till he hath taken up fuch Refolutions of Amendment as he may reasonably prefume will be effectual to a new and a better Life. I fay, reasonably preJume; for if it were faid that no Man fhould come till he is abfolutely fecure of his future Conduct, it would be equivalent to faying, that no Man bould come at all; for this is a Security not to be had on this Side the Grave. But a reasonable Prefumption there ought to be; for, in Matters of a civil Nature, no Man thinks it prudent to make a folemn Promife, when he has Caufe to fufpect his Want of Refolution to be as good as his Word; efpecially if a Failure in his Promife will turn to his own Prejudice. We should not be lefs cautious in making folemn Engagements to God; who the oftner we vow, the more he will be offended, if we vow and do not pay. There are fome Sins which if we hold not in great Abhorrence, we may be very certain that we have not the Grace of Repentance, even in the lowest Degree of it. Of this Sort are Blafphemy and Profanenefs, Murder, Adultery, Malice, and the like, of which no Man can be deliberately